Page 8 of Daddy Wolf's Secret Baby

The next day, John hosted an outdoor barbecue so that Jace could meet Zac’s and Conner’s families. Zahra loved them all and had a great time. Jace and his cousins formed an instant bond and soon, they were running all over the place, playing a frolicking game of freeze tag. She smiled and sat back in her chair, a sense of peace washing over her.

It’s great to be home, but it’s going to be hard seeing Josiah again. I’ve never stopped loving him.

2

Josiah

Josiah strolled intoHowlers’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.

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