Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 35696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Pushing all of her questions out of her mind, she focused on the journey, keeping Daphne safe in her arms and waiting for whatever he decided to do with her for disobeying his instructions. He could kill her. He hadn’t made it a secret he’d killed many humans.
She’d be one in a long line of them.
Did she want to die?
No, there were a lot of things she wanted to experience in life. Being happy, falling in love, sex, having a family. All of them were ideals she wanted.
Again, she focused on the baby in her arms. This was her only future right now. Taking care of this little one and making sure she lived this through to become a toddler.
Arriving at the hospital, she didn’t hesitate. She jumped out of the truck and rushed into the hospital, going to the main reception.
“I need a doctor. She’s sick, really sick.”
A couple of nurses who’d been at the main desk came forward. “What seems to be the problem?”
She told them of the day, of her being upset and nothing seeming to soothe her, followed by the fever, and the last temperature check.
“We’ll take care of your baby. We’re going to need to have a look at her.”
She hated as they took her from her arms, as another doctor, a female one, came toward her. “Any history we need to know about?”
It all went by in a blur, especially as Rocko put a hand on her shoulder. “Nothing. She’s been perfectly healthy. Please, just fix her.”
He didn’t mention being a wolf or anything else. Was Daphne really his child?
Tears filled her eyes. She didn’t want to worry, but they’d taken Daphne and she’d been told to wait.
She wanted her baby back in her arms, and that was crazy, but she loved Daphne as if she was her own.
Chapter Six
Winter had excused herself to go to the bathroom, leaving Rocko alone with Lucas.
“That kid isn’t yours,” he said.
“I know.”
“That woman thinks it’s yours.”
“I know.”
“Okay, I’m a little confused. Did you steal a kid to impress this woman? Is that the one you’re wanting?”
“Drop it.”
“It’s kind of hard to drop anything when I’m looking right at this bombshell.”
“There’s nothing to think about.” He wasn’t going to get into this, not in the hospital.
“She’s not your kid. We all have high fevers as children.”
“They’re not fevers if our body is at a naturally higher temperature. Just drop this.”
“I’m not going to drop this, Rocko.”
“It’s Alpha to you.”
“Not in here. I know you. You care about that woman and that kid, especially if you’re willing to risk your life by coming here. We both know this isn’t the place for you, or us.”
“I know that, so why don’t you stop acting like a beta, and just sit there as a concerned friend? Blend in.”
They were forever in danger. Some humans had been able to accept wolves into their society, and then of course, there were those who wanted to hunt to kill. He’d lived most of his life surrounded by the ones who wanted to kill him. Except for his nanny. Winter was a breath of fresh air and so far the only exception.
Being in the hospital exposed them. They were still deadlier than their opponents but bullet holes fucking hurt a lot, and of course there were some wounds they couldn’t heal from, like one in the head or the heart.
“Just let me understand this. There’s going to be a shit load of questions when we get back home.”
He sighed. “The baby isn’t mine, but Winter doesn’t know that. A few months ago, when we didn’t take any prisoners and we wiped out the campground of the men, I stumbled on a woman. She’d been shot and was dying. She wasn’t going to survive but she’d given birth. She begged me to take care of her. I couldn’t walk away and there was no way I would kill a harmless child. I took her. I had every intention of getting rid of her, but it didn’t happen. We got word of the attack, and then Winter was there, and she wasn’t like any of her people. I figured she’d be the nanny I needed.”
“And she’s the woman you want to fuck,” Lucas said. “In all honesty, I thought you had.”
“Don’t speak about her like that,” he said. His wolf didn’t like it.
Fuck his wolf, he didn’t like it.
Lucas’s brow went up. “I hear him, Alpha. You know what that means?”
“I know it means you need to shut the fuck up. She doesn’t know the baby isn’t mine. I want it to stay that way.”
“She’s going to find out.”
“I don’t care.”
Winter returned and he stood. She’d been crying. “Sorry. I’m a mess.” She sat down beside him. “Are you going to … kill me now?”
“Why would I kill you?”