Atticus was so much more than I’d given him credit for, and he was slowly changing my opinion about Vampires. Men had only wanted me for either my money or looks, and I had neither right now. I was pregnant without a dime to my name, and he was saying all the right things.
Gosh, I’ve beaten myself up for so long that I forgot what it’s like to truly be seen.
“If you don’t mind my saying, your parents were awful.”
I rested my hands on my belly. “My mother said, ‘I don’t want that monster living in my house.’ I’ve never forgotten that, and I suppose it hurts more because it wasn’t said in the heat of an argument. She meant it.” Tears stung my eyes at the bittersweet memories of my childhood. “You know what she told me?”
His eyebrows drew together.
“She wanted to have more kids so she wouldn’t go to her grave knowing that I was all they’d brought into this world. I don’t know if they succeeded, but it feels like they wanted to erase me. I was just a young girl. None of it was my fault, and my wolves weren’t any trouble.”
“So you must relate to how this baby will someday feel.”
Then it hit me how similar our situations were, only this baby would know from day one that it was different from other Shifters. It had taken me years before I figured out my defect, and the pain of rejection cut so deep that I would never fully mend.
I stared at my belly and wondered if my baby would have a normal life—if it would resent me. How could a child ever love me when I was the reason it was born different? Despite my fears, I experienced a growing connection to this unborn soul—an attachment that hadn’t existed before. Now that I’d temporarily separated from my pack, I had time to reflect.
I wanted this baby to be loved and always come first, but could I be a good mother? Would they be better off with two parents?
As my feelings were changing, so was my uncertainty. Worst of all, so were my fears. Instead of worrying what the pack might do or how I would handle adoption, I worried about the birth. I worried for the health and safety of the baby.
I worried that I might wind up loving it too much to let go.
Chapter 15
Atticus prepared two ready-made meals that Joy could pull from the fridge and heat up anytime she was hungry. Shortly before dinner, he received an urgent call from Tak. They’d captured one of the Vampires and needed his immediate assistance.
He was more than obliged to help out.
Leaving Joy alone wasn’t a concern. Even if the lab knew about her, they would never find her here, nor would they be able to enter the home without blasting it apart. The shutters were impenetrable, and earlier, he had shown her a hidden escape route in the wine cellar.
Atticus found her curled up in the oversized chair, knitting what appeared to be a tiny hat. “I’m going to run errands and pick up your medicine. I’ll be gone a few hours.” There was no need to worry her, and it wasn’t a total lie. At least not if you counted interrogation as an errand. “Is there anything you need?”
“I’m fine. I’ll probably turn in early,” she said before yawning.
Since his pilot was off duty, Atticus took the motorcycle and sped to the Arrowhead territory, where Lucian was waiting at the gate.
Catcher charged out of the brush, snarling and barking.
Lucian stepped between them. “He’s with us, Catcher. Calm your ass down.”
After sniffing the air and growling, Catcher trotted to the fence and checked things out while Atticus walked with Lucian up the long driveway. The gate was too far away from the homestead to see it.
“We caught him a few hours ago,” Lucian began. “I got a notification when a security alarm was tripped at the back end of the property. Usually it’s just a wild animal, but I reviewed the footage and didn’t see anything. The camera barely picked up movement since he was shadow walking. We didn’t have time to do anything, but some of us were already in place. Mel shot him.”
Atticus quirked a brow. “She was outside?”
Lucian snorted. “In a tree. You know Mel.”
That he did. He remembered the time Melody slept overnight in a graveyard on a dare when she was a teen. Her father’s wolf tracked her down and chased after her friends, who were sitting outside the gates, waiting for her to come out screaming. Then he trotted into the graveyard, and instead of making her go back home, he stayed with her through the night. She still got in trouble for listening to her friends, but her parents were unconventional and appreciated her spirited ways.
“How did she capture him?”
Lucian picked up the pace while scanning the property. “She has arrows made from impalement wood. Tak stationed the wolves all over, but Mel wanted to sit in a tree all day with her quiver and bow. Fell asleep at one point. When the Vampire got closer to the house, Lakota chased his ass down. We heardhis wolf barking, and when I came outside, the security lights popped on.”
“That slowed him down,” Atticus said, pointing out the obvious that Vampires could only shadow walk in the shadows.
“He didn’t notice Mel standing in the tree.” Lucian chuckled. “She took him down with one shot.”
