Page 15 of Daddy Wolf’s Secret Baby (Fated To The Wolf #10)

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Josiah

J osiah went to the mountains. He needed to get some exercise to help him relax a little bit. It was as though her anxiety had rubbed off on him a little. He had to admit that he felt bad for her and it was a lot to handle. Not only did she have her own personal demon haunting her, per se, but she also had to worry about Jace encountering a vampire or a hunter.

It was very warm for March. The sun streaked through the pine trees and melted all the snow off of them. Josiah was a little sad because he loved the snow and thought that it added beauty to the mountain. But then, so did the green leaves on the aspens and other trees.

Zahra’s scent hung around him. It was powerful and all-consuming sometimes, especially when he thought about her.

He cursed himself for being so callous with her all those years ago. What would have happened if he had let her down more gently? What if he had said that she was a kind and beautiful woman and he didn’t want either of them getting hurt? His words had been harsh and selfish.

That was a long time ago. What ifs never help anyone and I’m not the same man I was. Besides, I’ve heard that the fates take us down the road we need to travel in order to reach our destiny.

He thought about their sex. It was so much more than just sex. It was a lot more powerful than that, and he never felt anything like it when he had been with other women – including Madeline, whom he had loved – just not enough.

I care for her a great deal, he thought. I would even say that I loved her as far as a human being and as the mother of my child. It’s too soon to say that I’m in love with her or want her to go through the mating ceremony with me.

He sighed. We’ll just have to take it slow and see where it leads.

Suddenly, Josiah heard a branch snap and the snow crunch. He whipped his head around in the direction that the sound was coming from. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he slowly walked toward the sound.

There wasn’t anyone around, but he could see clear human footprints in the snow. He followed them a distance and then they disappeared. In its place were four-wheeler tracks. Josiah listened intently and he could hear the engine of the machine as it slowly headed down the mountain. He thought about chasing it but decided not to. One, he wasn’t sure if he would catch it, but more importantly, if it was a vamp or two, he wouldn’t be able to beat it.

He turned tail and headed for the shifting tree. A thought suddenly occurred to him and he chuckled to himself. I was about to be a dog chasing a vehicle down the mountain. It’s not the same as a dog chasing a car down the street, but it’s close.

Shaking his head, he said, Thanks, Dad, for the awful sense of humor.

He called Zac to let him know and then headed home.

The next morning, he had to attend a meeting. Luckily, Zac enjoyed meetings about as much as he did. Zac only called meetings when there was something very important to talk about.

“A wolf shifter was found at the base of the mountain this morning. It was Marge Haddox. She was found in her human form and had three sets of fang marks on her neck. Like the others, she was completely drained of blood. It looked as though she had been jumped just as she was getting into her car. The car door was open and her keys were in her hand,” Zac reported. “Her sister, Lily, found her when Marge’s boss called and said she never made it to work. Her sister knew that Marge liked to shift and run first thing in the morning. Marge never answered her phone.”

“Did Lily see the bite marks?” Josiah asked.

Zac nodded. “She did. I was hoping not to start any kind of panic, but word is definitely going to get out now. Lily isn’t going to keep quiet about this. She was never good about keeping a secret even if we asked her to.”

“What are you going to do?” Conner asked.

“I’m going to call a pack meeting tonight and tell them that not only do we have a nest of rogue vampires in the area, but it’s possible that we also have some hunters who are hot on their trail. I will stress that we don’t know if the hunters are a danger to us, although past experiences warrant us to be very careful,” Zac said. “I’ll send out emails as soon as we get done and the rest of you guys can spread the word.”

Everyone left except for Josiah.

Zac ran his fingers through his hair and rubbed his forehead.

“See, that’s why I wouldn’t ever want to be Alpha. You have way too much stress. I think I even see some gray hairs coming in.”

“Olivia pointed them out, thank you very much. My kiddos are too young to take the reins, and Jace says he doesn’t want to. Conner flat out refused to entertain the idea and told me not to even put his name down on the list in case something happens to me.”

Josiah held up his hands. “Don’t look at me, Alpha. I’m much too fond of my sanity to take on a leadership role. I’ve noticed how much your father has relaxed since he retired. He’s not as edgy.”

“I’ve noticed that, too,” Zac said. “Let’s go out to the scene and see if we can figure anything out or if we can pick up some kind of clue that the forensic team might have missed.”

“What do the mundane humans think this is?”

“A sick Satanic cult or something along those lines. Frankly, after three deaths, I’ll be surprised if they don’t put out some type of warning to the public.”

“That will only serve to amuse the vampires, just as it would a regular cult. It would up the ante to the game and the prize would only be a tiny bit harder to catch. There will always be that one person out there, running around, who is convinced that ‘it can’t happen to me.’”

“I agree, but the public does have to be warned.”

On the drive over, Zac said, “You know the gala is next Saturday night.”

“I know. I was thinking about asking Zahra if she wants to go. She’ll be going anyway and it makes sense that we go together, since we have a child together.”

Josiah knew that his reasoning sounded very businesslike. Zac, however, wasn’t going to let it slide.

“People are expecting you two to go together. They are actually expecting to receive their invitations to the mating ceremony.”

Holding up his hands, palm out, Josiah said, “Whoa, there, Nelly. Back up the buggy. That’s going way too far way too fast. I have always cared about her. Those feelings have intensified some, although I’m not ready to jump into that ocean. I was thinking about talking to her about us and suggesting that we take baby steps toward the water and dip our toes in first. We don’t want to get hurt and we certainly don’t want Jace to get hurt.”

Zac nodded. “That makes sense. Just make sure that you and she are on the same page. I would hate to have to beat up one of my best friends for breaking my little sister’s heart.”

“I would really hate that, too,” Josiah said.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the base of the mountain. The forensic crew had already left. The ground around where Marge had lay was scuffed up, although the outline of her body was clear in the mud.

“She would have been upset to be seen this way. Marge was very fastidious about what she looked like,” Josiah said.

Zac nodded. “You’re right about that. She always looked as though she had stepped out of a beauty shop.”

“The question here, again, is whether the vampires knew she was a shifter?”

“Laverne once told me that they could sense other supernatural beings. We talked when she first moved to Angel’s Creek. Dad was the Alpha then, and she wanted to make sure that all the Alphas in the area knew that she and her family were here and they used blood banks. We got into a huge discussion about vampires and that’s one of the little titbits of information she shared with me.”

“Which is a very long-winded way of saying that the vampires knew that they were killing shifters.”

“I’m not going to say a hundred percent that they did, because they may or may not be able to sense others out the same way that Laverne’s folks can. My money, though, says they knew full well that Marge and Eleanor were shifters. It adds to the challenge and fun.”

Josiah and Zac studied the area carefully, but couldn’t pick up on anything that the mundane investigators might have missed. However, he got the feeling they weren’t alone, but he didn’t see anyone when he casually looked around.

“I think we’re being watched.”

Zac nodded. “I get that feeling, too. The question is, vampire or hunter?”