Page 18 of Daddy Wolf’s Secret Baby (Fated To The Wolf #10)
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Zahra
Z ahra had a great day at work and was in a good mood when she picked up Jace from school. They were planning on hanging out and relaxing, having a mother and son night. She was planning on making spicy shrimp and sweet noodles, which was one of Jace’s favorites.
However, fear gripped her heart, and all the color drained from her face when she saw an envelope stuck in her door.
“What’s wrong, Mom?” Jace asked, his voice shaking with fear at her reaction.
“Just a letter. We’ll be okay.”
With trembling hands, she struggled to get the key to fit in the door. Finally, it opened. She practically shoved Jace inside and slammed the door behind her, engaging the deadbolt before keying in the code to the alarm.
“Go do your homework,” she said.
“I don’t have any.”
“Then please go watch television for a few minutes.”
He looked at her and she was afraid that he would protest. However, he simply nodded his head and walked slowly into the other room.
Dreading what she would find, she slowly pulled the note out of the envelope.
My Dearest Zahra,
I have pictures of the gown you wore to your pack’s gala. You were absolutely stunning and I was so aroused when I saw the pictures.
It has come to my attention that you have been keeping company with a fellow, named Josiah, who is Jace’s father. According to my men, you two have been getting quite cozy. Let me make myself very clear. You belong to me. I will kill anyone who touches what is mine.
You can’t avoid me forever. It will be much easier and safer for everyone if you leave Jace with his father and come back to St. Theresa so that we can go through the mating ceremony, so you can be my Luna. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that you have plenty of pups to keep you busy and you won’t even remember the bastard child of yours.
Don’t keep me waiting. It could get very ugly if you do.
Elias
Zahra sank down into the chair and stared into space, her hands shaking. She bit her bottom lip. I don’t know whether I’m angrier or more frightened.
She jumped when Jace put his hand on her shoulder.
“Mom, are you okay?”
Zahra didn’t want to scare Jace, but she always believed in being honest with him.
“I’ll be okay. Elias sent me a note because he wants me to be his Luna.”
“Well, that’s not going to happen. Me, Dad, Uncle Zac, and Uncle Conner will protect you.”
“That’s right, Baby Boy.”
“Mom, I’m not a baby. I’m all grown up now.”
She smiled at him and hugged him tightly. “You’ll always be my baby boy, even when you’re as big as your daddy.”
“I guess so. Just don’t call me that in front of my friends.”
“I promise. Go watch television or play a game.”
She sent a group text to Zac and Josiah. There was a letter from Elias waiting for me when I got home. He’s done playing nice.
Both of them said they would be there shortly. Zac showed up about thirty seconds before Josiah.
Zac’s face grew hard. “He must have someone constantly watching the house in order to get these pictures. I guess one of his minions either heard about the gala or they talked to someone who gave them the information.”
“You know that in Angel’s Creek, everyone knows everyone’s business. You can fart in the middle of the night in your bathroom, and the next day the old biddies are looking at you funny. The mundane humans know about all the shifters in the area and know about the galas and other ceremonies.” Zahra sighed. “Hell, they might know before the shifters do.”
She meant to elicit a smile from the men but both of them kept the grim look on their faces.
Jace wandered back in from the living room and Zahra absently picked him up and put him in her lap. He leaned back against her and she wrapped her arms around him, cuddling her son.
“I know that it’s a waste of breath to ask you to come stay with me or your parents,” Josiah said slowly.
“Ah, you’ve come to know me so well.”
“I’ll have more people patrol the area. Keep your doors and windows locked and the alarm set. Even if you’re only walking home from Mom and Dad’s, don’t walk home alone after dark.”
“I have bear spray.”
Zac lowered his head and grinned. “Be that as it may, please make sure you have an escort. That’s not much to ask. Dad will be glad to walk with you, and he’s still a pretty ferocious fighter if he needs to be.”
“Okay, I can agree to that.”
Josiah grabbed her hand. “I just got you back and just got my son. I couldn’t stand to lose you now.”
Butterflies fluttered in Zahra’s stomach. “You won’t.”
Zac left and Josiah stayed for dinner, leaving after they put Jace to bed. Jace was getting quite used to having his father around at bedtime.
The next morning was crazy. As soon as she rolled out of bed, she was running. Zahra made breakfast for her and Jace. Josiah stopped by to take him to school so Zahra could go to her parents’ place and pick up her mother for her treatment in Raton. Then, it was hurry up and wait. It was worth it, though.
The doctor smiled at Isobel after the scans and her chemo. “The treatment is working. There is still a way to go, but, barring any complications, you’ll be fine. You won’t have to get a mastectomy. Thank goodness you got a mammogram and we were able to catch it early.”
“It helps that I have a good doctor.”
Isobel made her next appointment and then she said, “Lunch is my treat.”
“I won’t say no.”
After they ordered, Zahra told Isobel about how the relationship between her and Josiah was going.
“I have a feeling that you guys are going to be fine. You know your father and I didn’t always get along.”
Zahra smiled. She had heard the story a million times, but her mother loved to tell it, so she would listen.
“I always thought that he was arrogant and insufferable, and he thought I was stuck up and annoying. He was already the Alpha, but I didn’t treat him any differently since I’d known him my entire life. Then, one day, we were on the mountain with a couple of other shifters and we were confronted by several rogue bear and wolf shifters. Two bear shifters and a wolf shifter attacked him since they knew he was the Alpha. I jumped one of the bears and Sean’s daddy got another one. The four of us working together managed to fend off the six shifters. We all had tons of injuries but made it down the mountain and to the clan doctor. We’ve been together ever since.”
“That’s a sweet story.”
“I know. The funny thing is that I had an idea that he was my fated mate because I could smell his scent since I was sixteen. He’ll say the same thing.”
“I’m pretty sure that Josiah is mine. But we’ll take the relationship slow. There’s no reason to rush anything.”
“That’s wise.” Her mother took a bite of her loaded burrito and asked, “What’s up with Elias.”
Zahra told her about the letter.
“You and Jace need to come stay with us until this can be resolved.”
“I already told you, that it wouldn’t matter. We wouldn’t be under lock and key twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. I have a security system, bear spray, and a feisty dragon on call.”
Isobel sighed heavily and took another bite.
“If things get any more intense, we’ll come to stay, I promise.”
“Fine.”
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. I know that Beth, Taryn, and Savvy would be happy to just cure your cancer. Why don’t you let them?”
“I didn’t tell anyone about the cancer, except your father, until I started treatment. If I was further along and medicine wouldn’t have helped, then I would have let them. I don’t want to take advantage of their magic.”
“You know that sounds completely ridiculous. It’s not like they’re going to run out.”
“I know that. But they need to know that they are loved because they are wonderful people. Not because they can cure me.”
“They know that. You could be done with chemo and everything.”
Isobel just grinned and shrugged.
“From now on when people tell me that I’m being stubborn, I’m going to tell them to lodge a complaint with the manufacturer.”
Isobel laughed. They talked about Jace, Conner’s and Zac’s kids, and everything else on the way home. Zahra truly enjoyed her time with her mother. In spite of Elias, vampires, and hunters, she was glad to be home.