Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
“Oh, so now that you’ve decided you miss me, you figure this child I’m carrying is now yours, and well, you want your fun, is that it?” she asked.
“Eloise.”
“No, you know what, save it. I’m not interested. You hurt me, Beau. I…”—she stopped and he watched as she took a breath—“you were my first, and that might not mean anything to you, but it did to me. It meant a lot to me, but trust me, I learn from my mistakes, and when it comes to you, I won’t be making another one.”
“You hate me now but there is going to come a point when you’re going to realize this between us, is happening.”
She’d already started to walk away, and he desperately needed her to stop.
“Why?”
“You’re carrying my child, Eloise.”
“Ah, but you see, you were convinced this wasn’t your child.”
“I can admit to being wrong,” he said.
He climbed out of the truck, but Eloise had already moved toward her front door. “I’ll fix this,” Beau said.
“A relationship cannot just be fixed, Beau!”
He smiled. “That’s what you think, but then again, this is your first relationship, so you don’t know what can be done. Good night, Eloise.”
Chapter Ten
“So what do you think he’s going to do?” Dorothy asked.
“I have no idea. I’ve never been in this situation. You’ve got more experience than me.” Eloise put the last of the stock onto the shelves. Her mother had banned her from carrying fabric and heavy weights. She had to think about her own health and the baby’s.
None of them were talking about the real elephant in the room. She was carrying a wolf baby, and she was very much human. She didn’t know what that meant, but there were times she caught her mother looking at her stomach with concern.
According to Rose, her baby would not eat or claw its way out of the womb. Like humans, they were born human, and none of them showed any wolf signs until they were eighteen. Eighteen—coming of age—signifying a change to that of a wolf.
Eloise didn’t know how she was going to handle raising a wolf child. She put a hand on her stomach and then glanced up to see Dorothy looking at her.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything is fine. You know, just getting used to the whole pregnancy thing.”
“What’s it like?” Dorothy asked.
“Being pregnant?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t know. Rough at the moment. I don’t really feel any differently right now.” She put a hand to her stomach. “The vomiting in the morning sucks, and well, having my clothes feel a little tight isn’t fun.” She shrugged. “I’ll let you know if any of that changes.”
“So, back to the main problem. Beau.”
“Beau is not going to be a problem,” Eloise said.
“But he’s going to try and win you back.”
“I doubt it. He’s probably gone home and seen what a waste of time it is, and I won’t have to worry at all.” Eloise smiled at her sister.
“Uh, Eloise, three very handsome hunks have just entered the shop.”
Eloise spun around to see they were the guys from the ranch, part of Beau’s pack.
She’d only spoken to them in passing, but they all walked toward her. For some reason, she knew they were not going to harm her as they got closer. What surprised her even more was they suddenly bent down on one knee before her. No words were spoken, and they bowed their heads. Eloise looked toward her sister, and it was clear Dorothy didn’t have a clue.
Seconds passed, maybe a full minute, and then they stood, and one by one, reached for her head, to press a kiss to their knuckles. Without another word, they left.
“That’s not something you see every day,” Dorothy said. “Do you have a clue what just happened?”
“Not at all, but they’re part of Beau’s pack.”
“You don’t think he’s just put a weird voodoo spell on you?”
Eloise laughed. “Hopefully not. We better get back to work.”
Hours ticked by, and Eloise was enjoying her lunch. Dorothy had gone out to lunch, and seeing as it was a slow day in the shop, she didn’t mind holding the fort.
Rose came in as she took a bite of her burger.
“Hello, stranger,” Rose said, stepping up to the counter.
With her mouth full of a burger, she simply held her hand up and waved.
“Ah, the meat cravings have struck,” Rose said.
Eloise glanced down at her burger and finished chewing the mouthful she had. “That’s a thing?”
“Yep, wolf pregnancies can be fraught with a lot of emotion,” Rose said. “I’ve been talking to some wolves that have been pregnant from other packs.”
“Oh,” Eloise said. “Do you think it could be the same for me? I’m not a wolf.”
“Well, have you noticed an increased appetite for food, more specifically meat?”
“Yeah,” she said, slowly.
“Then, so far, the effects are quite similar. I would say you need to eat a lot more. You look like you’re losing too much weight, and you need to be gaining weight. Are you starving yourself?”