Page 28 of Daddy Wolf's Secret Baby

They talked, telepathically, nonstop while they loped over the mountain for about an hour and a half. Actually, Jace talked nonstop and Josiah listened. Jace told Josiah about what was going on in school, about his friends here, and his friends in St. Theresa. He listened, happy to spend the time with his son and that Jace was so inclined to tell him everything about his life.

Zahra was putting a large chicken potpie in the oven when they got back to her place.

Jace grinned. “This is my favorite. The top of it is the biscuits that are just like the ones from Red Lobster.”

They playedUnowhile the pot pie baked for forty-five minutes. Zahra won.

After the first couple of bites, Josiah smiled. “I have to admit, Jace was right. This is delicious. I think it’s my new favorite food.”

“Do you like food with a wee bit of spice?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Then wait until you have my hot tamale casserole with cornbread bottom and top and a mixture of hamburger, spices, and poblano peppers in the middle with cheese.”

“You make a lot of casseroles?”

“It’s the easiest way to do things. I can make a casserole or two on the weekend and freeze them so I don’t have to cook during the week.”

“That’s a good plan.”

They played a couple games of dominoes after dinner. Josiah felt a sense of contentment settle in his soul. He was getting to know Jace and Zahra, and in his heart, he knew that they were family, even if he and Zahra weren’t together.

The thought made him pause for a moment. There were no rules that said they couldn’t be together. They were the parents of a very amazing young man, and Josiah had feelings for Zahra. She had been in his heart since she left, even though he never wanted to admit it.

Jace insisted that Josiah read to him before bed. Jace tried to con him into more chapters, but Josiah knew that Zahra had set rules, and he had to enforce them.

After saying goodnight, Zahra asked him to sit down on the couch and she sat in the chair across from him.

“I need to talk to you about something.”

His heart sank. Those words never portended anything good.

“Remember when you asked me if there was a man who would be following me from St. Theresa?”

Josiah nodded, his heart starting to ache.

“Well, there is, but not like you think.”

She explained who Elias was and what he wanted. Zahra included the fact that Elias had said that he would let her keep Jace if she agreed to go through the mating ceremony with him, instead of killing him.

Heartbreak was replaced by hot, white, fury. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

“I just found out that he, or at least his goons, had followed me last night. Honestly, I didn’t expect him to. I figured that after I left, he would find someone else to harass. He’s a strong, good-looking, powerful man and there are dozens of women who would love to be his Luna. I never thought that he would hunt me down.”

“You presented him with a challenge. Men like that can’t resist a challenge. On top of that, he doesn’t like to be told no. He’s not going to let that go,” Josiah said. “You need to either move in with me or your parents so we can help keep you safe.”

Zahra looked at him, shocked. “That’s not going to happen. This is my house and no one is going to scare me out of it. Sebastian put in a brand-new security system designed to keep us safe.”

“You can’t stay here alone. It’s your job to protect Jace.”

Her face grew hard and she narrowed her eyes. “I’ve been taking care of him just fine for the past eleven years. You don’t get to tell me what I can or can’t do.”

“You don’t have to do it alone anymore. I’m here, too. It’s my job to protect my family, and even if we aren’t married, that includes you since you are the mother of my child.”

“No one is going to have that kind of control over me or Jace. Elias doesn’t get to make us move out of this house. He doesn’t get to force me to make changes in our lives. He will not take away our freedom, and we’ll not run and hide.”

“Be reasonable. It would just be for a short while.”

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