Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
The laptop swiveled around the room, landing on a little bundle of chub reclining in her bouncer.
“Scratch that,” I said, smiling at the first sight of my girl. “You fight for her.”
Badr had no reaction to seeing his niece by blood, and his daughter under the pack. I wanted to say the resemblance was there for him or Castor, but truly, my baby girl looked like my mother.
She had her soft, wavy curls; mahogany eyes, little button nose, and wide gummy smile—although Mom had teeth. The only thing I kicked in were Hope’s big-for-her-head ears, and my white-boy boyfriend, Castor, stole a little of the melanin from her skin.
Behind Hope was the full view of her massive, over-the-top nursery. The room started out with the wolf pup theme that I chose. All over the walls were little werewolf pups chasing each other through painted forests, all underneath the full moon starry sky I painted for my baby on the ceiling.
Literally all of it was gone and painted over by the acrobatic bear carnival that Lucia wanted and argued hard for while I was preparing the nursery.
Bears on the sheets. Bears doing the trapeze on the walls. Stuffed bears of all sizes all over the room. Hope even had a stuffed bear on her chest, gently propping the bottle she was draining. I looked for the stuffed wolf Edric sent her, but it was nowhere in the frame.
“I swear you’re the overbearing mother-in-law I never wanted.”
Lucia’s chuckles hit the speakers. She didn’t even bother to ask what I meant. Lucia brought the computer closer to the baby. In doing so, we were granted a glimpse of the baby mound poking under her ruby designer dress.
Badr’s popped brows were his only reaction to the discovery.
“Hey, baby girl,” I cooed, flicking Hope’s gaze to me. “How are you, beautiful? You’re getting so big.”
Hope started kicking and waving her arms, responding to the sound of my voice.
My heart melted and spilled down my rib cage. People would go on and on about how they’d kill for their kids. I thought that was just a sentiment until my little girl was born. I literally would raze the whole fucking planet to ash to protect my baby.
And I planned to.
“Okay, baby,” I sang to her. “Show Uncle Daddy your new power so that he finally stops being an asshole.”
“Even if this is real, that will never be what I’m called,” Badr snapped.
I just laughed.
Grumbling insults that she knew I could hear clear as day, Lucia rescued a baby blanket from the chaise—both covered in bears—and plopped down in front of her.
Her irritation washed away the second she looked at my baby, transforming from the cold and deadly vampire princess to a soft and squishy vampire auntie. “Ready, Hope?” She threw up the blanket and brought it down. “Peekaboo. Peekaboo,” she cried.
Badr leaned in, brows furrowing, and shoulder brushing mine. Neither of us did anything about it as we watched Hope and waited for her to turn.
And waited... and waited... and waited...
Hope blinked, giggled, cooed, and flailed her arms as Lucia, loving the game, but what she didn’t do was wink out of sight.
The clock ticked the thirtieth minute since we’d been waiting when Badr’s satisfied grin got too heavy to bear.
“Will you wipe that smile off your face?” I snapped. “Just because she’s not doing it now doesn’t mean I’m lying! I—”
“Give it up, Volana. You and your leech put on a good show, but if you wanted a cute face and chubby cheeks to sway me where your lies couldn’t, you shouldn’t have trotted out this ugly little brat.”
Lucia hissed, launching at the screen, but I was a step ahead of her.
I punched Badr square in the face, knuckles crunching on his cartilage. Blood spurted from his nose as his head whipped around, spraying across the screen. “Don’t you ever speak about my daughter that way.” The icy chill in my voice scared even me. “I’ll rip your fucking throat out, Divan, and you know that’s no bluff.” Inside me, my wolf roared and thrashed against the confines of my soul, eager and willing to tear this bastard to shreds. Oh yes, her obsession with him was evaporating quick.
Badr spat blood on the carpet, snarling. “That was your last fucking mistake, Volana!”
“Get out. We have nothing to prove to you.” Claws erupted from my fingertips. “GET OUT!”
“Gladly!” He whipped the towel off his shoulders and it swung across my desk, knocking half the contents on the floor. “You and I are going to finish this, Headmistress, and that’s a promise! I’m going to put you right back in a maggoty, manure shithole where you belong.”
“Keep shouting your bluster and ignorance louder, pencil dick. Whatever it takes to make you feel like a man.”
Badr slammed out the door, his hatred for me resounding louder than the splintered doorjamb.