Page 12 of Daddy Wolf’s Secret Baby (Fated To The Wolf #10)

11

Zahra

Z ahra sat down on the couch Friday afternoon. She wasn’t sure what she would do with herself that weekend. She had never been away from Jace for an entire weekend. There had been the occasional overnight sleepover with a friend or Ruthie, but not an entire weekend. Moving back to Angel’s Creek had certainly changed her life in a million different ways.

Marie called her Saturday afternoon. “Hey, Girlie. I thought I’d give you time to get acclimated and a chance to breathe. Now that you’ve had a chance to settle in, I wondered if you’d like to have dinner and a couple of drinks tonight.”

She smiled. It seemed like forever since she had talked to Marie, although they had kept in touch while she was in St. Theresa’s, and Marie had visited a couple of times.

“That sounds great. When and where?”

“How about Howlers’ at seven?”

“I’ll be there.”

It had been a long time since Zahra had gone out to simply relax without worrying about Jace. Occasionally, she and Emma had gone out and Ruthie had hung out with Jace. Zahra knew that Jace was in good hands with Josiah. They had quickly taken to each other, and she knew that Josiah would die to protect Jace.

A worry pricked the back of her mind. She had told Josiah about Elias and his threat against Jace, so Josiah would be on high alert if there were any strangers lurking around. Zahra was a protective mama wolf and would destroy anyone who got close to her baby, but Josiah was bigger and stronger. He would do twice as much damage.

Saturday night was a ton of fun. Marie wanted to know how Josiah handled the news that he was a father and that Zahra hadn’t told him she was pregnant.

“I think he’s finally forgiven me, though,” Zahra said, grinning, thinking about their night of sex.

“That’s good. Jace doesn’t need to deal with the stress of you two not getting along while adjusting to a new world.”

Zahra laughed. “I think that he’s adjusting just fine. It’s a good thing that he was already a good kid or he would end up spoiled rotten and impossible to deal with.”

“That’ll slow down once everyone has gotten over the newness of his existence.”

“Mom and Dad are terrible about it, and they were there the day he was born,” Zahra protested, laughing.

They played darts and pool. Several members of the Griffins, the local motorcycle club, were there, and a few of them challenged Zahra and Marie to matches. Most of the time, the two friends won, and Zahra ended up with an extra hundred dollars.

They were about to leave when Sebastian approached her. He and his brother, Rory, were leaders of the club. “How’s that security system working out for you?”

“Great. I haven’t seen any sign of Elias and his men. I’d like to think they are done and will leave me alone, but I’m not that naive.”

“You have my and Callie’s numbers. Call as soon as there is a problem if someone pops up, even if you’re just feeling a little uneasy. Listen to your gut instincts.”

“I appreciate it, my friend.”

It was getting late, so she headed home. Zahra had a feeling that someone was following her, but she wasn’t sure. As soon as she pulled into her garage, she rushed into the house and set the alarm. Zahra was angry. She hated the idea that someone was making her so nervous.

She had lunch with her parents on Sunday afternoon and then made a couple of casseroles that would serve as meals for her and Jace for the week. She read a book, took a long, hot bath, and allowed herself to relax.

During all of this, Josiah was never far from her mind. His face or naked body would take the place of the words in the book, and she got lost in her thoughts. She felt his body covering hers during her bath.

She smiled when she thought of their time together. He had been right about one thing – she was very sore. Zahra hadn’t had sex with any other man, so it had been eleven years. Plus, he was a well-endowed man.

Jace called her to tell her goodnight. He apologized for not calling on Friday or Saturday, but he had been super tired and forgot. Zahra was pretty sure that Nevaeh and Logan had worn him completely out.

Zahra was excited that Jace would be home after school the next morning. She hopped out of bed as soon as her alarm went off and got ready for work.

Her excitement was dampened when she drove to work. Once again, she was certain that someone was following her. A dark blue truck was constantly behind her. When she made a right turn, so did the blue truck. She made a sharp left, cutting off another car, and the truck was hot on her tail. Remembering advice she had heard from a true crime show, she drove to the police station. The truck veered off and she continued on to her office. When she walked inside the building, her hands were shaking and her heart was pounding. She didn’t know if she was more frightened or angry. Zahra was certain that it was either Elias or one of his men trying to scare her.

That afternoon, when she walked outside, she noticed a man standing in the parking lot across the street. He leaned against a dark blue truck and seemed to be watching her intently. She shivered as an icy finger of fear touched every nerve.

She drove to the sporting goods store and bought a couple canisters of bear spray. Her wolf form wouldn’t be enough to match Elias’ or his men, and the bear spray would help – she hoped.

“Expecting a bear problem?” the clerk joked.

“More like a rabid wolf problem,” she said.

The clerk gave her a searching look but didn’t ask any additional questions.

Jace was very excited to see her. “I missed you, Mom. I had tons of fun, but it would have been a lot better if you were there. Did you know that I’ve never been gone for a whole weekend before?”

“I did know that and I missed you, too. I’m so glad that you had fun. I knew you would. Your father and his parents are pretty wonderful people.”

“They are. Grandpa said that he would help me build my very own motorcycle. I’m so excited.”

“I thought you wanted a horse?”

“You can’t build a horse, silly. But I can have both.”

Zahra giggled. “You want to have your cake and eat it, too.”

“What’s the point of having cake if you’re not going to eat it?”

“I’ve often wondered that myself.”

“Then why did you say it?”

“I don’t know, Jace.”

Zahra couldn’t help but laugh at his logic.

She was in a good mood until she was just about ready to go to bed. Someone knocked on her door. Her heart sank. It was Dwayne, one of Elias’ friends.

“Open the door, Zahra.”

“Go away. I’m calling the police right now.”

“You know they can’t do anything to me.” He laughed.

She quickly texted Callie. One of them is on my porch.

The response was immediate. On my way.

“Elias sends his regards. He is determined that you will be his Luna. If you agree, he’ll let Jace live. He wanted me to remind you that, in the past, any previous children of a Luna’s were killed so they couldn’t inherit. However, as long as Jace stays with his current pack, he won’t be touched.”

“Go to hell and take Elias with you.”

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be. What Elias wants, Elias gets. One way or the other, you will be the Luna.”

Suddenly, there was a loud commotion outside. Zahra peeked outside in time to see a huge dragon with beautiful, dark blue iridescent scales land in her yard. The beast slowly approached Dwayne, who pressed himself against the door.

“I’m just the messenger,” he said, holding his hands up in a surrender position.

Callie let loose with a hot, steamy mist. Dwayne screamed from the pain.

I’m her protector. Messenger or not, you will leave her alone. Next time, I won’t be so kind and I’ll use fire , Callie conveyed telepathically.

“This won’t be the end of this,” Dwayne said, his voice shaking as he slowly walked back to his truck, his skin already blistering.

And I’m happy to roast you like a marshmallow.

Dwayne jumped in his truck and sped off. Zahra threw open her door and invited Callie in.

The dragon shifted to the beautiful woman. “Thanks, but I need to get back home. We were in the middle of a poker game.”

“I’m sorry to have bothered you.”

“It was no bother at all. This was fun. I like seeing bad guys cry. They think they can get away with anything they want. Please, don’t hesitate to call.”

“Thank you.”

Smiling, Callie shifted back to her dragon form and flew off.

Jace woke up and walked into the room just in time to see Callie shift and leave.

“I wish I was a dragon shifter. That would be so much fun.”

“It likely would be. But you should be happy to be a wolf shifter. There are billions of people in this world who can’t shift at all.”

“Who was at the door?”

“It was one of Elias’ friends. He wants us to go back to St. Theresa.”

“I don’t want to go back. I miss my friends, but I like it here.”

“Me, too, Buddy. Don’t worry. We’re home now and we’ll be staying.”

After she got Jace back in bed, she called Zac and told him everything that happened.

“I don’t know if Elias is in town, but it’s obvious that his goons are.”

“I knew they were here and I was about to call you. I was waiting until this evening after I thought Jace would be asleep. You know it’s customary for people visiting from other packs to check in with the Alpha. A couple of them approached me today and told me they were there to take you back to Elias.”

An icy cold hand gripped her heart and she shivered. “What did you tell them?”

“I informed them that you were a member of our pack and the Alpha’s sister and that you wouldn’t be going anywhere against your will. You would have the protection of the entire pack. They said they understood my words, but they had to obey their Alpha.”

“One of them is going to be hurting for at least a couple of days, even if shifters do heal faster than mundane folks.”

“Don’t you think that you would be a lot safer if you and Jace moved back to Mom and Dad’s for a while?”

“Absolutely not. I have a great security system here. Callie is on call. I will not let him disrupt my life.”

“You’re a stubborn wench.”

“Thank you. You aren’t the first to notice that endearing quality.”

He growled. She smiled.

After they got off the phone, she called Emma.

“Elias has sent his goons after me. Dwayne got steamed by a dragon for bothering me. That was just a warning.”

“I doubt if that’s going to deter him. He’s already made announcements that you’re going to be the next Luna.”

Zahra sighed heavily. “I have no idea why he’s so fixated on me.”

“Because you are the first person to tell him no.”