The Alpha's Baby(51)

Normally, it was her mom who grew horns and started breathing fire. Her dad was the calm one who snuck her chocolate from the pantry and told her funny stories. Her dad's wrath was frightening, and it was something that she never wanted to endure again.

"I raised you to be a good girl," he said. "How could you do this?"

"I made a mistake." She trembled.

"Overcooking dinner is a mistake. Accidentally leaving the emergency brake on is a mistake. Forgetting to get the mail is a mistake." Her dad snarled. "This is a catastrophe."

"Stop it." Her mom grabbed her husband's arm. "Can't you see her face? She's suffered enough already."

"I'm so sorry." Emmy whimpered. If it wasn't for the baby, then she would've wished the damn werewolf had eaten her.

"Hmph." Her dad pointed at her threateningly. "You think about what you've done, do you hear me?"

Her dad left the kitchen and went upstairs. Emmy looked down at her plate of stuffed peppers and pushed the food away. No entrée in existence could cure the pain she was in now. Seeing Jake turn into a werewolf had already left a gaping hole in her heart—but her dad had just poured acid straight into that hole.

She leaned her head on the counter. "Is he ever going to forgive me?"

"He'll forgive you." Her mom sighed. "Just give him time."

Emmy met the woman's eyes. "Will you?"

"I'm your mother, Emmy. Of course I'll forgive you," her mom said. "But I'm…I'm very disappointed."

Ouch. Another blow. She flinched.

"And shocked, too," her mom continued. "Are you sure you're really pregnant?"

"I've never been surer of anything in my life." Not even in the existence of werewolves.

"I…see." Her mom's face drained of color.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Her mom glanced at the door. "You just finish eating, okay?"

"Mom, please." She reached for her mom, but the woman refused her touch and avoided meeting her eyes.

"I think I'm going to go to bed." Her mom headed for the door. "We'll talk about this in the morning."

Before Emmy could say anything else, her mom left the room. Emmy stared after her, certain that if she felt any more agony, she might crumble to the floor and die.



****



That night, Emmy lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Why had she decided to tell her parents about the baby at the absolute worst time? Why werewolves? And why did the man she loved have to be one of them? Wait, the man she loved? No, that couldn't be right. She didn't love Sebastian. She may have liked him a lot—he was the father of her child, after all—but she didn't love him.

And yet when she thought of Sebastian even now, her heart stirred. Unfortunately, her heart's stirring was followed by a sharp pain in her chest. She gritted her teeth and rolled onto her side. Stupid Sebastian. He just had to be a lying louse…

But is he really that bad? a voice whispered in her head.

Emmy stilled in surprise.

Despite how much she wanted to stay angry at him, she realized Sebastian had told her the truth about what he was. She was the one who'd blown him off, taking what he'd said as a joke. Still, he could have tried a lot harder to get his point across. Though he'd admitted that he was a werewolf once, he hadn't attempted to convince her again. Meanwhile, she'd gone along thinking that Jake was some sort of normal stalker. She hadn't known that he had fangs and claws as big as bananas. A chill ran down her spine, and she sat up, wondering where her dad's shotgun was. She could ask him, but, well, she wasn't sure he'd tell her.

"Shit." She lay back down.

How had things gotten this messed up? She curled up in a ball as more tears dribbled down her cheeks. Thunder boomed outside, making her flinch. That thunder was followed swiftly by the sound of her phone ringing. Somebody had been calling her all night, but she hadn't bothered to check her messages. She was afraid of what she might see.

Still, as she stared determinedly at the wall, her phone started to ring again. And again. And again. Soon the sound of her phone was near constant. She had the feeling that it would ring all night if she didn't turn it off or answer the damn thing. Grimacing, she stood up and pulled the phone out of her purse. She had a grand total of twenty-eight missed calls and thirty-two text messages. She sank onto the bed as another call came in. It was Mary Lou.

Groaning, she decided she had to answer the phone. The woman was both worried and crazy, a lethal combination. She put the phone to her ear.

"Where the hell have you been?" Mary Lou yelled as a way of greeting.

"Hello to you, too." Emmy rolled her eyes.