Page 9 of Her Big Bad Wolf
“Oh, but I would. I can manage for one day without you.”
My heart was breaking. I didn’t want to believe I was dispensable. Not here.
Then she winked at me. “Just don’t make a habit of it. We still very much need you.”
I sighed. That made me feel a little better at least. And I knew she was right. I wasn’t a hundred percent right now. But I hated to admit it.
Begrudgingly, I did as she said. I didn’t even stop in to see my babies. I just left. It felt so wrong. I didn’t even know what I was supposed to do with myself.
Back in my car, I sat there for a few minutes until Emma knocked on my door.
“What are you doing here? We’ve got this.”
“Mary called you in?”
She shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I don’t have any plans for today anyway.”
Emma was working part time for me now that the triplets she watched attended pre-school three days a week in preparation to start Kindergarten next year. She worked 2 of those days and babysat the two days they weren’t here.
“But it’s your day off.”
“I don’t mind. I don’t really have anything to do today and feel a little lost without my munchkins. I’m glad she called me. It sounds like you need a break.”
“It was just a long night, that’s all. I’m fine.”
“Well, you look like shit. I think Mary was right.”
I groaned. Leave it to Emma to give it to me straight.
“Now, get on out of here,” she insisted.
“Fine. Just take care of my littles.”
“Like they were my own.”
I nodded knowing Emma understood.
She and her mate, Painter, hadn’t conceived a little gorilla of their own. I wasn’t sure if that was because she couldn’t or they just didn’t want to. I’d only started working with Emma this year and still didn’t feel like it was my place to ask.
It still blew my mind sometimes that she was a gorilla shifter and not a wolf. It wasn’t that long ago that we were all wolves and wouldn’t have dreamed of it any other way. Now there were gorillas, bears, foxes, opossums, and a bunch of other shifter types in the Pack.
For the most part we all coexisted peacefully. Wolves still outnumbered the rest, but with Westin Force bringing newstrays back with every mission, I was never certain what sort of shifter would be walking through my door next.
It really didn’t matter to me, though. I loved every single kid the same.
Sure, there had been some skirmishes and adjustments for others, but Kyle had remained firm that those seeking asylum here would be treated no differently. That was sometimes easier said than done, but I agreed with the theory of it.
Why couldn’t we all coexist? Did it really matter what type of animal we shifted into? It wasn’t like any of us spent a great deal of time in our fur anymore. We were mostly human and very civilized. Sometimes I had to stop and remind myself that Emma wasn’t a wolf. She was still Pack, or at least I thought of her that way.
Unfortunately, not everyone was as comfortable with them. I’d had a firsthand peek at some of the shit Kyle had to deal with. There had been threats to my center for allowing non-wolves to attend. And I had lost a few kids over such things too. Kyle personally addressed each and every instance, but he couldn’t exactly force people to change their minds, though he did have the power to ensure they didn’t act on it.
I often worried that with Westin being such a large Pack that eventually a division would arise that couldn’t be overcome and lead to an uprising within Westin Pack. I personally wouldn’t be surprised if it was over inter-species.
But I knew that wasn’t my battle at this time. I did what I could to make everyone feel welcome and I never treated a child any differently because of the animal he or she may someday become. My job was simply to love on them, make them feel safe, and prepare them to enter big school confidently when the time came.
I had the best job in the world.
I frowned, hating that I’d been kicked out of work today. I was the boss. This shouldn’t have happened, but Mary still had this air of authority around her that I just couldn’t overcome, or wasn’t brave enough to test would be more accurate.
