Page 17 of Daddy Wolf's Secret Baby

“Are we going to live together as a family?”

Zahra smiled wryly and brushed a lock of hair out of his face. “I’m sorry, Son, but that’s not in the cards. Your father doesn’t love me like that. However, we will make sure that you can see him whenever you want to.”

“Will I be able to spend the night with him?”

“Absolutely. We just have to make sure the time works for both of you.”

Jace was quiet for a second, and she could see his gears turning. “Would I be able to stay with him on a school night?”

“As long as he made sure that you were in bed on time and up and fed on time in the morning.” She grinned at him. “Don’t think that you’re going to be able to stay up all night and then be tired for school.”

“Why would I think that?” His eyes were wide and he was trying to pull the innocent act on her.

“Because I know you. You are a little booger sometimes.”

“Who me? I don’t know what you mean.”

She laughed. “Get some sleep. You have a big day tomorrow.”

Isobel was waiting on the couch for her with a glass of wine.

“Thanks. I needed this. I feel like this week has been a whirlwind, and I haven’t had a second to catch my breath.”

“You’re doing a great job with all of this. I’m proud of you.”

“I think it’s easier for both me and Josiah because neither of us is expected to go through a mating ceremony like we would if I just found out I was pregnant. There’s no point in closing the barn door after the horses get out. Just because we aren’t a couple doesn’t mean that we can work together to give Jace the best life and show him how much we both love him.”

“You still love him, don’t you? I heard you tell Jace that you couldn’t live together because Josiah doesn’t love you that way.”

Zahra shrugged. “I’ve never stopped loving him, but I haven’t been around him for eleven years. He’s not the same man he was and I’m different, too. What I do know is that his scent has haunted me since that night.”

“Fated mates.”

“That’s what they say, but who knows? Maybe something will happen between us and Jace will bring us together and maybe not. I’m not going to count on it. I’ll just keep on keeping on.”

“You’ve done a good job of that so far. Even though your father and I didn’t approve of your decision at the time, we’re still proud of you.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

The alarm rang way too early the next morning. Jace was already awake and was sitting in the kitchen with a book, calmly waiting for someone to make him breakfast.

“I was excited. I couldn’t sleep.”

She tousled his hair. “I understand. I loved school, too.”

They were in the office registering Jace when a young man walked in. He looked at Jace speculatively and said, “You’re the Alpha’s nephew. I’m Sam.”

“Nice to meet you, Sam.”

The receptionist smiled. “Jace, you are going to be in Sam’s class. Sam is an awesome student, and I’m sure that he’ll be happy to show you around.”

Zahra bent down and whispered in Jace’s ear, “I told you so.”

He grinned and the two boys walked to their classroom.

Checking her watch, she winced. She had a job interview with Watson’s and William’s Accounting to get to and she would be late if she didn’t hurry. She breathed a sigh of relief when she pulled into the parking lot with eight minutes to spare.

Jeff Watson and Corinne Williams seemed to be very nice. They asked her why she came back to Angel’s Creek, which she explained. They asked her all of the routine questions and mentioned that she came very highly recommended from her last employer.

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