by Layla Silver
Kenneth would probably hit me or worse if he ever found out about the thoughts I was having, but I was already kicking myself hard for it anyway. He wouldn't have to do a lot because I would happily do it myself. April might be of age, but I was still so much older and had experienced a whole lot more than she probably ever would. I had seen her grow up and the situation would be too awkward for Kenneth to ever accept.
"You awake in there?" Kenneth said on the other side of the door to the tiny guest bedroom I had almost made my own.
"Yes, come in."
He opened the door but only stuck his head inside, smiling.
"I didn't make you stay up too late, did I?"
"You did," I replied with a laugh. "But it had to be done, we were making good progress. And we will sleep anyway when we are dead, right?"
Kenneth chuckled. "Oh right, how could I forget that you are already a workaholic?"
"I like to think that I work just the right amount for the success I aim for."
"You are getting wise in your old age, my friend," he replied, making me groan internally.
I didn't need to be reminded that I was getting older, especially with the feelings I was developing for his daughter.
"You can shower now, I think April is getting ready to start on breakfast. I have to leave early though because I have a meeting in an hour."
I nodded in response to Kenneth's words, and he closed the door behind him. I got up and made the bed quickly before going for an even quicker shower. I didn't want them to have to wait for me while I took my time in the bathroom, so I made my way to the kitchen as soon as I was done.
"Good morning, Julian," April said as I walked in.
She was alone, and I figured Kenneth was preparing for his meeting.
"Good morning, April, did you sleep well?"
'Without me,' I wanted to add. I wanted to ask her all sorts of inappropriate things that had no business being asked in the kitchen or any other place for that matter. I was curious if her bed was big enough for both of us, and which side she preferred. Not that it mattered because I wanted to see her in the center of it, underneath me.
"I did, thank you. And yourself?"
"As well as can be expected in those few hours," I replied with a shrug.
"What would you like for breakfast?"
Seeing April barefoot, with a tiny apron over her short, flared skirt, made me feel like growling. It was an ordinary and innocent scene, but she looked so gorgeous that I couldn't help but imagine her in my own kitchen. Of course, the skirt would have to go, and she would be naked underneath that little apron. I felt my Wolf stir as my teeth elongated a little, the image making me mentally salivate. My friend saved me from embarrassing myself when he walked in, laughing and clapping me on the shoulder gently.
"Do not answer that, it's a trick question!"
I remembered that April had just asked me what I wanted for breakfast, which made me wonder what could be tricky about that. Now that I was used to the father-and-daughter-banter, I knew that he usually made fun of her cooking. Which, to be honest, could use some improvement. Not that I had ever complained about it though, I just ate whatever she served me with a smile on my face.
"Dad, I asked Julian," she said, giving her father a pointed look.
"What are my options?" I asked, forcing my eyes to remain on her face and not her exposed skin beneath that apron.
"Scrambled eggs, sausages, toast, and coffee. Or you can have cereal."
"Scrambled eggs and toast please, I'm curious how you'll prepare them today," I replied.
I was not lying, I was genuinely curious. I'd had breakfast here several times now, and her eggs were never made the same way twice. Which was not a good thing, but I was always eager to find out what she would come up with next. Perhaps I was infatuated, or my palette was finally becoming numb, but I was getting used to her cooking.
"You are a brave man," my friend chuckled as he sat down and reached for the cereal on the table.
I sat too and couldn't help but smile at how we almost filled the kitchen with our big frames.
"I'm making them with onions and tomatoes today," April said, responding to my earlier statement as she went about preparing said eggs.
"I can't wait," I said, leaning back in my chair and watching her as she worked on the stove.
I felt one of those pangs in my chest again, and a sudden wave of loneliness hit me. In spite of the people around me at that moment, I just felt lonely. When was the last time I'd had a home cooked breakfast in my own kitchen? I couldn't even remember, but I vowed to make it tradition every morning in my house as soon as my child was old enough to eat. Because it seemed like my stupid, old heart longed for such simple things now.
"So how's everything coming along? You two were up late yesterday," April asked as she took out two plates and placed them on the counter next to her.
"It won't be too long now, we've made good progress so far," I replied with a smile.
With the amount of time we had been putting in, we really had made a lot of progress. I had been spending a lot of time over, and even sleeping here on most nights too like I had last night. It was hard work, but it would all be worth it in the end. And if I was honest with myself, it was mostly hard due to the fact that I was seeing more and more of April. Which led to my dreams and crazy thoughts about her. Which would ultimately lead to me losing my mind, sooner rather than later.
On the plus side, April seemed to be warming up to me little by little. We could talk and laugh now, unlike the awkwardness between us in the beginning. She seemed to still be annoyed with me over our little parking lot incident, more specifically the fact that I had failed to recognize her. But we had an easy going friendship now, and any negative feelings she had for me would no doubt disappear in no time. I just wasn't sure if it was friendship I wanted though.
"That's good, I really can't wait for you to launch this business. Then I can finally get some financial compensation for all the support I've given you guys."
"What support?" her father asked, almost snorting milk as he laughed.
"Making you breakfast after a long night, bringing you tea when you work late and generally letting you bask in my awesome presence."
"Now how do you present that to the shareholders again?" He pretended to think.
"Careful, or I withdraw the hot beverage privileges," she warned sternly, but I could see the corners of her mouth twitching with a hidden smile.
"Oh, no! Now who will ever switch on the kettle and drop tea bags in the cups? Such a complicated task, left in the hands of two incapable men!" I gave her my best wolfish grin, and she burst into laughter.
"My father has been coaching you, I see," she said, biting her lip as she put a full plate in front of me.
The eggs looked interesting and smelled edible enough, and my enhanced Wolf senses couldn't detect any rawness left in the meal. I clearly remembered the last time she had tried a medium done steak, and it had turned out to be more on the rare side than anything close to medium. I had smelled the blood before I even saw it up close, and it had been the most uncomfortable dinner I'd ever had in my life.
Father and daughter watched me as I took my fork and gently stabbed a large chunk of the eggs before taking my first bite. It was a different flavor than what I was used to, but not different in a bad way. I took another bite and decided that I liked them, giving a thumbs-up to the chef. She grinned triumphantly, which almost knocked me out of my chair. Knowing that I put that look on her face was worth eating anything she might cook in the future, both good and bad.
"Well, I better be on my way. I'm meeting your uncle, and you know how he gets when I'm late," my friend said as he stood up and put his empty bowl in the sink. "I'm leaving you with good company at least.”
"And if he remains good I might even make him a special lunch," she said, giving her father a kiss on the cheek.
"And that is my cue to leave!" Kenneth exclaimed dramaticall
y, grabbing his bag and leaving the kitchen.
I smiled warmly at April who was shaking her head. "You two have an amazing relationship."
She nodded before responding. "Well, it's just the two of us now, so I guess we've gotten closer over the years."
"You weren't always close?" I asked, proceeding to finish my breakfast so that I would have something to do besides look at her as she spoke.
"Being an only child kind of forces you to be close to your parents," she laughed. "But I was closer to my mom than dad, even though dad and I had our moments."
"It must have been really hard for you when your mom passed. How did you get through that?"
"We're really going for the hard questions today, aren't we?" She laughed again then took a sip of her coffee.
"I'm sorry if I'm intrusive. You can call me out whenever I step over the line."
"No, it's alright. It used to be harder right after she died, and dad just completely shut down on me. I mean, he would make sure everything was OK around the house, but he just wasn't himself. My uncle stepped in to take care of both of us for a little while, and he really helped me through those difficult first few months."
"So you and your uncle must be close then?"
"It's both a blessing and a curse, trust me," she replied with a slight roll of her beautiful eyes.
"How so?"
"It's like having two dads, twice the love but also twice the overprotectiveness."
I smiled in understanding, and her gaze seemed to be drawn to my lips for a second, or maybe I just imagined it. That line of thought was going to ruin the flow we were currently having, so I went back to being the good guy I really wasn't and pushed it away. Well, not really, more like stored it away for a later time.
"Do you do a lot of things that they need to protect you from?" I smirked, deliberately ignoring the voice in my head that had just vowed to be a good guy.
April bit her lip in thought, and I almost groaned. She had no idea what she was doing to me, and I wasn't even sure if I wanted her to stop.
"I think I've always been the good, boring kid to be honest. But my uncle is the one who freaks out the most over any little thing that I do. I guess it's because he's the Alpha, and just hates it when I don't do what he wants."
"And what's the worst thing you have ever done?" I asked, thinking that this line of conversation was probably the worst thing I had ever done myself. Because it would lead to nowhere good.
April blushed and shook her head as a look that I couldn't decipher passed over her face.
"No, enough of me. What about you? What do you do when you are not forgetting faces and building empires?"
I groaned and closed my eyes playfully with my hand, opening my fingers to expose one eye. She was trying hard not to laugh but eventually gave in.
"I thought I was forgiven for that."
She shook her head and pursed her lips. "Never. But you could try making it up to me."
"Name anything, and I'll do it."
"Teach me how to ride your motorcycle," she grinned, and I immediately shook my head.
"No, can't do, I don't want your father to kill me."
"Fair enough, then race me."
"Race you?" I asked in confusion, thinking we were still talking about bikes.
"Yes. Shift and race me. The loser has to do anything the winner wants, within reason of course."
"And you think you can win?"
She just winked and stood up to do the dishes. "Let me finish up, and you'll see."
I doubted she could outrun me, but I had been dying to see her Wolf and would take any chance I could to see her.
"Good thing I'm not busy today then. Because I'll probably need another hour or so after to comfort you," I said with a laugh, standing up to help her so we would be done sooner.
April threw her head back and laughed, a genuine laugh that shook her entire body. I had to stop for a second to just look at her, realizing that I didn't just find her attractive physically, but I genuinely liked everything about her. I could spend an entire day with her and never get bored, that was just the kind of person April was. I wanted to tell her right then that she was beautiful, but the word felt too superficial.
"Ready now?" she said, drawing me out of my thoughts.
She had a competitive glint in her eye, and her playful spirit was definitely contagious. So I felt really happy an hour later when I won.
Chapter 12 – April
I smiled to myself as I looked at the few lines I had managed to knit in the last hour. Having the whole day to myself had proven to be quite productive to my hobby, and I had just undone the lines only three times. Quite an improvement from the last time I had tried this, which had resulted in me undoing the whole thing several times until I had given up. I owed it all to Julian, who had said something to me that had woken up my desire to see this through. 'Passion outweighs skill sometimes,' he'd said. He had been talking about my cooking skills or lack thereof, but it had reminded me of every project I had abandoned because I had lacked the skill for it.
"I'm actually improving," I smiled again and patted my belly, updating the baby on what I had done so far.
Talking to the baby was fast becoming part of my daily routine. It made me feel closer to the little being sharing my body for the next few months. How wonderfully strange motherhood was. It was overwhelming to be constantly reminded of the miracle that was pregnancy. To think, one day soon a whole new person was going to be introduced to the world. Someone with a different face and different personality from everyone else in the world. It never ceased to amaze me, and it was changing me in ways I never thought possible.
"You know, you've been a rather easy baby so far. No weird cravings, huh? You certainly don't take after me," I said as I playfully shook my head at my tummy until I froze.
What if the baby took after me in every way after it was born? I had never really thought of that to be honest. That there could be a little boy or girl out there in the world with my DNA, and I would never know the wonderful person they might become. A wonderful person who couldn't cook well, but never stopped trying. Someone who would love letting their Wolf free and running in the woods any chance they got. Someone I might enjoy getting to know, yet I would say goodbye to them the moment they came to the world.
Such thoughts were dangerous, of course, but I couldn't help myself. And it only served to upset my Wolf. Wolves were pack creatures, and it had been so since the dawn of time. It was something that made us stronger, and rogue Wolves usually ended up getting shot by humans or worse fates befell them in their short lives. Having a pack was like having an extended family that had your back no matter what, and it was how we had managed to flourish over generations. Now my Wolf was beginning to feel like we had yet another little pack member to protect.
It made me wonder how other shifter surrogates had done it over the years. Did they all go through what I was feeling right now at some point in their pregnancies? Or was this just unique to me because I loved so fiercely?
"Always so deep in thought, little one?"
My uncle's strong Alpha aura suddenly filled the room, drawing me out of my thoughts. He smiled at me and leaned in to give me a kiss on the forehead.
"Hi, Uncle Jay," I greeted him with a smile of my own.
Despite our recent tension, I still loved him and was always happy to see him. The big man definitely got on my nerves, but he was family.
"You look radiant," he said it as if he was surprised, which made me feel like rolling my eyes.
"Thank you," I said instead, deciding to tease him a little. "I would say the same about you but..." I let my sentence trail, and he burst onto laughter.
"You try running a pack and see if you get time to go to the spa," he said with a snort.
I couldn't tell him that I probably just had a pregnancy glow, and it had nothing to do with facials or massages.
"You should try running more often," I suggested. "It does wonders
for your health and personality."
"Are you trying to say I'm a grumpy old man?"
I shook my head and smirked. "Old no, but definitely grumpy."
"I thought this house suddenly felt smaller," my father said as he walked in to greet my uncle.
"Both of you should probably join the circus as comedian werewolves," Uncle Jay said drily.
"Only if you are ring master, uncle Jay," I said with a wink, laying my hand on my belly with a happy sigh.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" dad asked.
"Just some cold water, thanks. It's been a rather long day."
I looked at my uncle as he said that, noting that he really did look exhausted. I did not envy his position at all, being in charge of so many Wolves and making sure every one of them was safe and happy. He probably had so many cases to oversee, and some of them took a toll on him even though he was the strongest person I knew.
"Anything I can help with?" dad offered as he brought a glass of water with ice.
"No it's alright, my beta is handling it. I've just been too busy, that's all, but it will be fine. I'm sure you have your hands full here anyway."
He looked at me as he said that, making it clear that he still thought I'd made a terrible decision and he wasn't going to accept it anytime soon.
"You're taking good care of yourself, right?"
I nodded. "Of course."
"Still not running too much, I hope?" he asked, raising a brow at me.
"How much is too much? Because regular exercise is actually good for the baby."
"This is your first pregnancy, April, you might want to take it easy. I'll not have you straining yourself over a stranger's child."
"I promise you that I am not straining myself, but stranger's child or not, I owe it to this baby to be as healthy as I possibly can," I replied, feeling my frustration starting to build.