Page 3 of Daddy Wolf’s Secret Baby (Fated To The Wolf #10)

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Josiah

J osiah strolled into Howlers’ Bar and Grill , owned by Sean McCullum, a prominent member of the Nightshade Wolf Shifters Pack. Many different shifters hung out at the place, and mundane humans were welcomed as well.

He sat on one of the stools at the counter. Jade, another pack member and one of Sean’s managers, greeted him with a smile.

“Hi, Josiah. You’re usual?”

He nodded. “Yep. A beer, steak, baked potatoes, and fried okra.”

“You do know that we have other food on the menu, right?”

Josiah simply grinned at her as she put the napkin and beer in front of him. “I’ll let the cook know.”

He pulled out his phone to read, People of the Wolf, a historical fiction novel by Kathleen O’Neal Gear and Michael Gear. Each book was a fictional story about a different Native American nation that was based on lore and artifacts found related to the different peoples.

A couple talking at the table close to the bar caught his attention.

“I’m so excited. I haven’t seen her in forever. Unfortunately, life kept me from going to St. Theresa very often, but now she’s moved back to stay.”

Josiah knew that Zahra had moved to St. Theresa soon after their encounter at the party.

“That’s awesome, Marie. Have you had a chance to see her?”

“No, she just got back yesterday and today they’re having a family get-together. She promised that we’ll hang out soon. She and Jace need to get settled first.”

“That makes sense. Moving all that way isn’t easy. I’ve also heard that Isabel has breast cancer.”

Josiah blocked out the rest of the conversation. He had thought about Zahra a lot over the years. Having sex with her had been incredibly intense and sometimes, he believed that he could still smell her scent on him. It was a mixture of vanilla and her own essence.

He winced as the last conversation they had together replayed in his mind. Shaking his head, Josiah pictured the look on her face when he told her that they couldn’t have a relationship because he didn’t want to jeopardize his friendship with Zac and his position with the pack.

For the millionth time, he wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t been such a jackass.

His heart lurched with jealousy when he thought about the fact that she had a son. It meant that she had found someone to love her the way that she was meant to be loved.

“This is all on you,” he muttered to himself.

He had dated over the years but never found anyone who was right for him. There was one woman he had been with for a while and she had been expecting a proposal. She didn’t seem too surprised, though, when he broke their relationship off instead because his heart just wasn’t in it.

“A penny for your thoughts,” Jade said, putting a plate in front of him.

“What?”

She laughed. “You’ve been staring off into space for a while now. I could see the gears turning, and I’m sure that smoke was actually starting to come out of your ears.”

Josiah laughed. “That’s what happens when I start thinking deeply about a subject. I was just thinking about the different Native American people who lived in this area.”

He told her about the book series he was interested in.

“I’ll have to check them out. I’ve always enjoyed historical fiction, and I love stories about Native Americans.”

They talked while he ate and then he left his usual fifty percent tip and headed home. Not for the first time, he went to sleep thinking about Zahra with a heart full of regrets.

Zac called a pack meeting a couple of days later. There was a little bit of pack business, but the main purpose was to welcome Zahra and Jace home.

Josiah laughed at himself because he felt a little nervous seeing her again. Nothing had made him feel that nervous for a long time. He was hyper-aware that she was there. It was almost as though some type of tangible energy reached between them, instantly connecting their bodies.

He glanced over at her a couple of times, catching her glancing at him.

This is like high school. Both of us are pretending that we’re not looking at the other. It’s almost comical.

A million words flitted through his mind as he tried to figure out what he should say to her. There was no way that he could avoid her forever. He wanted to join the crowd that surrounded her and Jace after the meeting was over, but couldn’t seem to make his legs move in that direction.

He noticed that Zac and Conner were looking at him strangely, and he figured that she had told them what had happened all those years ago.

Great. What am I supposed to say to them? I was drinking and doinked your sister, but I wasn’t ready for a relationship? That would be a good way to get skinned alive.

He edged closer. Zahra was just as sweet and gracious as she had always been. She looked each person in their eyes and smiled, genuinely interested in the conversation. Jace was polite to everyone but stayed close to his mother and grandmother.

The meeting ended and Zahra and Jace seemed to disappear. He headed outside, planning on going home, ordering pizza, and having a couple of beers. He passed by a group of his mother’s friends.

“Did you see Jace?” one of them asked.

“Yeah, he looks exactly like Josiah. Jace is a spitting image of him.”

His heart lurched. What did they mean? How could Jace look like me?

He shook his head, got into his truck, and headed home, thinking about Zahra. Although it didn’t seem possible, she was even more beautiful now than she was when she was eighteen.

After eating a large pizza, he sat on the couch. The women’s words came back to his mind. He pictured Jace and had to admit that the two of them did share some features.

Jace is ten. Zahra left a month after we had sex.

The truth hit him like a ton of bricks and nearly made his heart stop. Jace is my son.

He wanted to rush over to John’s and Isabel’s house, but it was too late. After tossing and turning all night long, he was up at the crack of dawn. He drank a ton of coffee and went to the mountain for a run, biding his time until it was an acceptable time to visit.

A wide range of emotions exploded in Josiah as he stood on the porch, waiting for someone to answer. John smiled when he opened the door.

“Josiah, what a pleasant surprise.”

Josiah had the idea that John wasn’t surprised at all by his visit.

“Good morning, Alpha.”

Even though John had retired and handed the reins to Zac, everyone still called John Alpha.

John stepped back, opening the door wide, in a silent invitation.

Isabel walked to the door. “Who is it?”

Then, she saw Josiah standing there, and she exchanged knowing glances with her husband.

“Good morning, Luna. I was hoping that I could talk to Zahra.”

“Of course,” she said. “She’s in the sitting room.”

John started to follow Josiah into the room, but Isabel grabbed his arm and shook her head.

Zahra was sitting on the couch with a computer in her lap. She looked up and her face instantly drained of all color.

“Josiah.”

“We need to talk.”

She nodded and waved to a chair, although he was too pent up to sit down.

“Is Jace my son?”

“Yes.”

Her response took him by surprise. He half expected her to deny it.

“Why did you hide my son from me?” he demanded angrily.

“I didn’t hide him from you. You told me the day after we had sex that there was no future for the two of us. You said that the sex was a mistake and that you wouldn’t risk your friendship with Zac or your potential position with the pack by being with me. There was no way in the world that I was going to trap you into a relationship you didn’t want with a baby. That would make all three of our lives miserable.”

Her voice was quiet and calm. He couldn’t argue with her reasoning. Josiah knew that he had been very harsh with her, and she had every right to feel that way.

“What are you going to do now? Are you here to stay?”

“Yes.”

“I would like to have a chance to get to know my son.”

“Of course. He knows all about you. I never once badmouthed you. I simply told him that the time wasn’t right for you to be a part of his life.”

He believed her. The Zahra he knew wasn’t the kind to bad mouth him.

“You had no right. I should have been allowed to make a decision for myself.” He was still angry, and his words came out as a loud growl.

Zahra shook her head. “You would have felt like you had to be a part of our lives, and you would have resented us for it. You weren’t ready to settle down and be a family, especially with me.”

“You don’t know that and you didn’t give me a chance to say one way or the other,” he roared.

The door opened and Zac walked in. “Cool it. We don’t yell in this house. If you can’t talk in a civilized manner, you’re going to have to leave until you can.”

“You knew,” Josiah barked.

“I knew she had a child. I recently found out that you were the father,” Zac replied calmly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It wasn’t my news to tell. Zahra promised that she would talk to you the first chance she got.”

Flaming red heat rose into Josiah’s face and he clenched his hands.

“You’re going to have to calm down or leave until you can,” Zac said again.

Just then, Jace walked into the room, his eyes wide. Josiah wondered how much of the argument he’d heard.

Josiah looked down into the face that mirrored his own. “Hello, Jace.”

“Hi. I know who you are. Mom showed me pictures of you and talked about you.”

“That’s great. I hope we can spend some time together and get to know each other.”

“I’d like that,” Jace said. “Grandma says that breakfast is ready.”

He nodded at Josiah and left.

Zahra walked toward the door and turned around. “Of course, you’ll have time to get to know him, but just because you’re the sperm donor doesn’t mean you get to suddenly put the daddy hat on. You will have to take things slow with him and get to know him.” She followed Jace to the kitchen.

“How in the hell am I supposed to catch up on ten years of his life?”

Zac looked at him sympathetically. “I understand that you’re frustrated, but Zahra made the best decision she knew how to make at the time. What’s done can’t be undone, and all the accusations and all the should-haves in the world aren’t going to change that. At least Zahra has been honest with Jace about you. You have a complete start with him.”

Josiah’s chest heaved with anger and frustration. He bit his tongue, trying to remember that it was Zahra’s brother and his Alpha standing in front of him.

“I suggest that you text Zahra and set up a time and place for you and Jace to hang out and start to get to know each other.”

Zac rattled off Zahra’s number and Josiah programmed it into his phone. Josiah nodded and stalked out of the house without another word. He drove back to the mountain for his second run for the morning, anger pouring out of his pores like steaming sweat. His world just got turned upside down.