Jade shook her head, taking a step back. “No,” she said slowly. “No, you should go with them. They need you.”
Confusion tumbled around in Dawson’s head. “Yeah, but you need me, too,” he said, stepping toward her. He didn’t understand why she was retreating. “The baby - “
Jade held up a hand, shaking her head. Her face had gone pale, her lips pressed into a thin line. “I don’t know about all this wolf stuff,” she said. “I don’t think I want to have anything to do with it. Maybe it’s better you just go. Take care of your responsibilities. I’ll figure out how to manage the baby on my own.
Dawson felt as though she’d struck a hard blow to his gut. “Are... are you saying you don’t want to be with me because I’m a wolf?”
Jade hesitated. “I... I don’t want to say that because I don’t like to discriminate against anyone just because they're different. But...” her eyes flickered over to the other guys.
Ricardo let out a harsh laugh. “But you're afraid of us, and you don’t want your safe, boring life messed up by freaky guys like us.” he bared his fangs, and Jade’s face whitened.
“Ricardo!” Dawson stepped between the two of them, shielding Jade with his body. “That’s enough,” he growled, rage simmering in his gut.
Ricardo stood down, his fangs receding, but he pinned Jade with a scathing look. “Just remember, chica, that your baby’s gonna be half-lobo when he pops outta you,” he said, using the Spanish word for wolf. “Let’s see you try to hold onto your normal life then.”
Jade turned her wide-eyed gaze to Dawson. “Is... is that true?”
Dawson’s heart sank at the stark fear in her gaze. “Yes,” he said, reluctantly. “Sometimes half-breeds are born almost completely human with just a few sensory perks but other times they're shifters like we are.” He gestured to his pack mates. “It’s hard to tell until the baby is born.”
Relief filled Jade’s expression. “So it’s possible my baby will be mostly human.”
Anger tightened Dawson’s face. “Our baby.”
Guilt flashed across Jade’s face, and she took another step back. “Dawson, please,” she said softly. “I... I need time to think about this. Please, please just go.”
Dawson wanted to take her into his arms and shake some sense into her. Didn’t she see how stupid she was being by rejecting him? That baby was going to need him when it was born, and shifters were very territorial of their young. He’d be damned if he let her raise the cub on her own. But, he knew that pushing her right now would only make her dig her heels in more, so he buried the hurt and anger and simply shook his head.
“You know how to reach me if you need me.” He pulled a card from his pocket and set it on the living room table. He turned to his men, whose gazes were filled with sympathy, and then nodded. “Let’s go, guys.”
He left the apartment, his heart heavier than it had ever been in his life.
TWELVE
Hours later, Emily came prancing in through the door wearing a glittering purple evening gown, her cheeks rosy and flushed and a gift bag dangling from her arm. “Jade, I’m home!” she trilled, her blue eyes sparkling.
Jade sat up from the couch and, in a futile gesture, tried to wipe the tears and snot from her face. “Hey,” she said, her swollen throat making her voice hoarse. “Looks like you had a good time.”
“Oh my God.” Emily dropped her bag instantly and rushed to her side. “What happened, hon?” She crouched down beside Jade, searching her face.
Jade sniffled. “I... I talked to Dawson today, the guy I made the baby with.”
Emily’s face turned into a thundercloud. “Did that bastard reject the baby?” she demanded, her cheeks flushing bright pink. “Tell me where to find him right now, and I’ll go beat some sense into him.”
Jade gave a watery laugh, swiping at her nose again. “No, he was happy about the baby, actually. I’m the one who rejected him.”
Emily looked so shocked, Jade thought she could have knocked her over with a feather. “You... you what?” Emily spluttered. “After all this? Why?”
Jade swallowed. That question had been eating at her ever since Dawson had left. “I... he came with some friends,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “And he started talking about crazy stuff that scared me.”
Emily’s brows drew together. “Is he in some kind of gang?”
That’s one way to put it. “I’m not sure,” she evaded. She didn’t want to paint Dawson in such a negative light... but what other analogy could she make?
“Well, what does he do?” Emily demanded. “Is he selling drugs? Weapons? Babies?”
Jade flinched. When Emily put it that way, Dawson didn’t sound that bad at all. But still... “No, nothing like that. It’s just... he and his friends have some really weird beliefs. I think they're kind of crazy, and I don’t want my child to be around that kind of influence.”
Emily sighed. “I don’t suppose you're going to tell me what those beliefs are?”
Jade shook her head. She was too tired to think up a convincing lie. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Alright.” Emily plopped onto the couch next to Jade and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. “You don’t have to. But just for the record, I’m here for you, and I trust your instincts. If you don’t think Dawson will be a good influence on your baby, you've gotta trust your instincts. The only thing that matters is whether or not you will be a good mommy, and we both already know that you will. So chin up, hon. We’ll get through this.”
Jade sniffled, leaning her head against Emily’s shoulder. She didn’t deserve Emily’s pep talk, and she knew it, because the truth was she had no reason to believe Dawson wouldn’t be a good father. She just didn’t know if she believed his story about the wolf thing, and, even if it was true, she didn’t know if she had room for any of that in her life. Marriages had fallen apart for less, and she didn’t want to put herself through that if she didn’t have to.
— — —
One week later
Dawson sighed as he slid onto the barstool at the Blind Bear, a local bar on Union Street owned by a bear shifter pack. The Ursini Bear Clan, while territorial of their own kind, opened their doors to all shifters and became a favorite watering hole for Dawson’s pack.
The place was decked out for Christmas just like every other place. There were twinkling lights hanging above the bar, evergreen garlands with red bows draped across the bar, and tiny little wreathes edging the tops of the bead board running all around the length of the room. There was even a fully decorated tree in the corner with presents... and a sprig of mistletoe hanging above the door leading into the pool room.
The memory of Jade kissing him beneath their mistletoe surged up in his mind’s eye, filling him with warmth until he remembered that he was never going to be able to do that again, abruptly plunging his mood into icy blackness.
“Hey boss.” Randy clapped Dawson on the back as he slid onto the barstool next to him. He signaled to the bartender. “Shot of whiskey for both of us.” He grinned. “After the kick ass job you've done, you deserve to have someone else buy your drinks.”
“Thanks.” Dawson gave him a half-hearted grin. He picked up his glass of whiskey and knocked it back in one shot--determined to drink hard enough and fast enough to overpower the voracious metabolism that made getting drunk a challenge for shifters.
More pack members started filing into the club, taking up the majority of the real estate on the bar as well as many of the tables. Dawson had spent the last couple of days gathering everyone back together and reestablishing the pack’s hierarchy and rules. He’d made Randy his beta and assigned Jeff and Ricardo officer positions. Between the four of them, they’d managed to get all fifty members back to Pasadena and were once again one of the strongest wolf packs in the LA area.
But try as he might, Dawson couldn’t rejoice the way he knew he should. Jade still weighed heavily on his mind. She hadn’t called him sinc
e he’d walked out of her apartment, and his heart ached every time he thought about her and the child growing inside.
“Dude.” Jeff plopped onto the stool next to him. “Why the long face?”
“He’s still moping about that chica.” Ricardo was already sitting on the stool next to Jeff, taking sips from his bottle of Dos Equis and watching the soccer game playing on the flat screen above the bar. “Guess she hasn’t called him back.”
Dawson lifted his head to growl at the slight sneer in Ricardo’s tone, causing the other wolf to drop his eyes—though he didn’t look at all sorry about what he’d said. “Don’t be an asshole,” Dawson warned.
Randy patted Dawson on the shoulder. “Hey man. We already know Ricardo don’t got no heart, so pay him no mind.” Ricardo snorted but Randy blithely ignored him. “What we need to do is pull the pack together and focus on getting you your woman back.”
Dawson sat up straighter, taken aback. “I don’t want to put this problem on the pack’s shoulders,” he protested. “If I can’t handle this on my own, they’ll think I’m weak.”
Jeff shook his head. “We all understand you're under stress, being the new alpha and all. And, it’s pretty clear to me that your girl just needs to understand that we're not monsters to be afraid of. She’s gotta see us as her new family and know that we're willing to welcome her.” He leaned in. “You know women. It’s not enough to just spend time with them and make love to them. You gotta woo them, go the extra mile, really show them that you can take care of them.”
Dawson shook his head. “How am I supposed to do that?” he asked. “I've already told her I want to take care of the baby, and she knows how much trouble I went to in order to track her down. If that’s not showing devotion, I don’t know what is.”
Randy shrugged. “Women are difficult,” he said. “If you really want her, you're just gonna have to deal with that and step it up a little.”
Dawson nodded slowly. “Alright,” he said. “What do I have to do?”
“Don’t worry.” Jeff leaned in along with Randy and even Ricardo scooted a little closer. “We've got it all worked out. Now, here’s the plan.”
THIRTEEN
Christmas Eve
“Are you sure you're pregnant?” Abuelita demanded, leaning forward. She and Abuelito were seated on the couch in their living room, across from where Jade was curled up in the recliner.
Jade had gotten onto the road as soon as she’d received the all-clear from her boss and had arrived a scant hour earlier to spend Christmas with her grandparents. Her intention had been to sit by the fire and laugh and talk and share stories... but Abuelita had taken one look at her pale complexion and the dark circles under her eyes and had called Abuelito in to demand what was wrong.
“I’m positive. I took a test, and I've been suffering from morning sickness for nearly two weeks now.” Whoever had named it morning sickness was in need of a slap, she thought. The expression was misleading. Nausea struck her at all different times of the day, without warning.
“Have you told him?” Abuelito asked, his thick brows furrowing. “The man you were... skiing with?”
Jade wanted to sink between the cracks of the leather recliner. “I did tell him,” she murmured. “He was happy about the idea of having children.”
“That’s excellent.” Abuelita beamed. “Just how I expected a man like him to react.”
“I wish you’d told me when he came to our apartment,” Abuelito groused. “I would have liked to judge him for myself.”
Abuelita ignored him. “But nina, if he’s accepted the baby then why are you so troubled? Starting a family with a man like that... most women only dream of such a thing.”
Jade’s insides squirmed uncomfortably as she tried to figure out a way to tell them her concerns without telling them exactly what Dawson had said. But instead, she came out with the truth. “He told me that he’s a shape-shifter,” she blurted.
Her grandparents stared at her for a long moment. “What?” her Abuelita finally asked. “What kind of nonsense is that? Are you trying to say he’s a magician?”
Jade shook her head. She wished he were a magician. That would be so much easier to deal with. “No. He... he’s not human, Abuelita. He can change into a beast... a, a wolf, and he’s the leader of a group of people who can do the same thing.” She swallowed. “I... I, I saw him.”
Abuelito’s eyes narrowed. “What exactly did you see?”
In detail, Jade described the way Dawson’s face had changed, a chill spreading through her veins all over again as she remembered the way his fangs had flashed in the lamplight. “He’d been about to show me his full wolf form, I think, when his friends showed up and told them they needed him. I... I didn’t want to believe him, Abuelito, but I think I do. I think he’s a monster.”
“Well,” Abuelita said, sitting back in her chair. “I don’t know that he’s a monster just because he can change into a beast.”
“Are you crazy?” Abuelito stared at her. “How do you know he isn’t dangerous?”
Abuelita smiled. “My mother... she was Portuguese, and they have a local legend about a creature called lobis-homems. He is a man who was put under a spell by a witch and every evening would roam the land in the shape of a wolf. Usually, they were very shy and sad—but quite nonthreatening.”
“I don’t know that I would call Dawson either of those things,” Jade said slowly.
Abuelito scowled. “What exactly does that mean? Has he threatened you in some way?”
Jade shook her head quickly. “No, of course not. He’s been very sweet and charming and attentive and...” And, well, basically perfect, she realized with a sinking heart, perfect in every way except for the shifting thing. Was she really being so stupid as to throw him away just because of a genetic mutation that made him different? “He’s never laid a finger on me.” Except to cause her great pleasure, of course, she thought, heat creeping up her neck.
“Well, he sounds like a good man regardless of whether or not he fits the legend,” Abuelita decided. “You should give him another chance.”
Jade sighed. “I’ll think about it,” she told them. “For now, I’d really just like to take a break from everything and relax.”
“Of course,” Abuelita soothed. She stood up and then leaned down to wrap her arms around Jade. Jade sighed again as she sank into the comforting embrace and hoped her grandmother was right. She really, really wanted Dawson to be the good man Abuelita thought he was.
— — —
“Jade! Jade, wake up!”
Jade sat up in bed, the sound of her Abuelto’s voice piercing through the fog of sleep. For a moment she experienced a sense of deja vu, wondering if he needed her to help man the front desk again, but it was far too early, only four in the morning. And besides, he sounded happy, not stressed.
“Jade! Are you awake?”
She shuffled out of bed to open the door. “What is it?” she asked, curious and bewildered at the sheer joy lighting her grandfather’s face. He was practically bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, his dark eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Santa came last night,” he said, giving her a million-watt grin. “Hurry and dress. You must see!”
Abuelito gave her enough time to slip on boots and shrug on a robe before dragging her downstairs to the lobby. Jade’s jaw dropped when they reached the bottom of the staircase. In the middle of the foyer was a huge tree, twice as tall as the one they usually got, draped in ribbons and ornaments and twinkling lights of all different colors. An enormous pile of presents sat beneath the tree, some of them with her name on them in a bold, masculine script she did not recognize.
“Oh Abuelito...” she whispered, staring up at the tree in awe. “Did you do this last night?”
Abuelito shook his head. “Not me. I received a very generous donation yesterday evening from a wonderful man, which included this tree and all these presents.” His eyes twinkled.
“
We’ll be able to make the upgrades to the Lodge and fix all the plumbing and electrical issues for real now,” Abuelita added, her eyes shining as she joined them.
Jade was flabbergasted. “Who... who would make such a generous donation?” She wondered, her mind whirling as she tried to figure out what she was missing.
Her grandmother smiled. “If you want to know, he’s waiting outside. Why don’t you go and see?”
Jade’s heart began thumping hard in her chest as she began to realize who it might be. Hesitantly, she crossed the lobby, one small step at a time until she reached the double doors that would lead out into the snowy cold. Her hand hesitated on the brass handle, unsure as to what exactly she would find when she went outside.
“Go on,” her grandfather urged. “It’ll be fine.”
She opened the door and stepped out onto the porch and then gasped. Sitting at the foot of the porch was a huge, white wolf with silver eyes staring up at her, patiently. His tail wagged at the sight of her, and, as he opened his mouth, tongue lolling, she knew that it was Dawson.
But, he wasn’t the only wolf out there.
Spread out on the lawn behind him were at least fifty other wolves, all of different colors and sizes... and they were playing in the snow. Some were at least as huge as Dawson while others looked adolescent, as if they were just coming into puberty. They pounced on each other and rolled in the snow, spraying white fluffy flakes all over with their wagging tails and bodies.
“Oh, how cute,” she murmured as she caught sight of a trio of wolf cubs frolicking in the snow. Dawson flicked his ears and then turned and barked at the cubs. Instantly they broke apart, tails wagging, and trotted through the snow and up the steps toward her.
“Oh my goodness.” She crouched down so she could pet one of them, and it surprised her by jumping straight into her lap, knocking her down. The other two followed suit, and she giggled as their wet, rough tongues laved at her face and neck, their little paws pressing into her arms and chest.
Sugar, Spice, and Shifters: A Touch of Holiday Magic Page 69