at the slight sneer in Ricardo ’s tone, causing the other wolf to drop his
eyes—though he didn’t look at all sorry about what he’d said. “Don’t be
an asshole,” Dawson warned.
Randy
patted Dawson on the shoulder. “Hey
man. We already know Ricardo don’t got no heart, so pay him no mind.” Ricardo
snorted but Randy blithely ignored him. “What we need to do is pull the pack
together and focus on getting you your woman back.”
Dawson
sat up straighter, taken aback. “I
don’t want to put this problem on the pack’s shoulders,” he protested. “If I
can’t handle this on my own, they’ll think I’m weak.”
Jeff
shook his head. “We all
understand you're under stress, being the new alpha and all. And, it’s pretty
clear to me that your girl just needs to understand that we're not monsters to
be afraid of. She’s gotta see us as her new family and know that we're willing
to welcome her.” He leaned in. “You know women. It’s not enough to just spend
time with them and make love to them. You gotta woo them, go the extra mile,
really show them that you can take care of them.”
Dawson
shook his head. “How am
I supposed to do that?” he asked. “I've already told her I want to take care of
the baby, and she knows how much trouble I went to in order to track her down.
If that’s not showing devotion, I don’t know what is.”
Randy
shrugged. “Women are difficult,”
he said. “If you really want her, you're just gonna have to deal with that and
step it up a little.”
Dawson
nodded slowly. “Alright,”
he said. “What do I have to do?”
"Don ’t worry.” Jeff leaned in along with Randy and
even Ricardo scooted a little closer. “We've got it all worked out. Now, here’s
the plan.”
Chapter
Thirteen
Christmas
Eve
"Are you sure you're pregnant?” Abuelita
demanded, leaning forward. She and Abuelito were seated on the couch in their
living room, across from where Jade was curled up in the recliner.
Jade had gotten onto the road as soon as she’d
received the all-clear from her boss and had arrived a scant hour earlier to
spend Christmas with her grandparents. Her intention had been to sit by the
fire and laugh and talk and share stories... but Abuelita had taken one look at
her pale complexion and the dark circles under her eyes and had called Abuelito
in to demand what was wrong.
"I ’m positive. I took a test, and I've been
suffering from morning sickness for nearly two weeks now.” Whoever had named
it morning sickness was in need of a slap , she thought. The expression was
misleading. Nausea struck her at all different times of the day, without
warning.
"Have
you told him? ” Abuelito asked, his
thick brows furrowing. “The man you were... skiing with?”
Jade
wanted to sink between the cracks of the leather recliner. “I did tell him,” she murmured. “He was happy
about the idea of having children.”
"That ’s excellent.” Abuelita beamed. “Just how I
expected a man like him to react.”
"I
wish you ’d told me when he came to our
apartment,” Abuelito groused. “I would have liked to judge him for myself.”
Abuelit a ignored him. “But nina , if he’s
accepted the baby then why are you so troubled? Starting a family with a man
like that... most women only dream of such a thing.”
Jade ’s insides squirmed uncomfortably as she tried
to figure out a way to tell them her concerns without telling them exactly what
Dawson had said. But instead, she came out with the truth. “He told me that
he’s a shape-shifter,” she blurted.
Her
grandparents
Maggie Brendan
Barbara O'Connor
Jan Washburn
Terri Blackstock
Norah Simone
Barry Kemp
G.P. Taylor
Alan Cumyn
Linda Barnes
Lisa Jackson