Page 47 of Bred By the Wolfman

“Robbie!” I interrupt him more firmly this time. The waiter stops next to our table, and Robbie’s about to order when I wave him away. “Two more minutes,” I say. “I haven’t even gotten to look at the menu yet.” When the waiter’s gone, Robbie has a wide-eyed look on his face. “I’m sorry. Before you continue, I need to talk to you about something.”

His face slackens. “Shit.”

Neither of us has to say it for him to know that I’m about to break up with him. It must be obvious on my face.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “But something came up, and?—”

“What kind of ‘something’?” he asks, and I can already hear his voice cracking. I can’t look into his huge, green-brown eyes right now.

“I haven’t told you everything.” I weave my hands together in front of me and stare down at them instead. “I’m not just carrying a regular human baby. I’m carrying, um... a wolfman’s baby.”

I don’t have to look up to imagine his expression.

“And, um,” I barrel onwards, figuring I might as well just rip off the band-aid, “I slept with him. The father. Last night.”

Finally, I chance a look up, and Robbie is... not shocked. If anything, he’s hurt.

And then, angry.

“You lied to me?” he asks, his cheeks already turning pink. “About the baby?”

“I’m sorry.” I squeeze my hands into fists, finding it hard to keep looking at him. “I didn’t want you to?—”

“To judge you? But you didn’t give me the chance, did you? And then you...” He trails off, his face reddening even more as his lips twist. “Then you fucked him?”

He says this loud enough that I duck my head and wave at him. “Keep it down,” I hiss.

“No.” He takes his napkin off his lap and drops it on the table, and his eyes are narrowed in a death glare. “You brought me here to tell me you’ve been lying to me for months, and then you cheated on me, too?” He gets up, tossing his menu. Other people around the restaurant look up from their meals as Robbie makes a scene. “Good thing I didn’t order a drink,” he says, and there’s a look of disgust on his face I’ve never seen before. I didn’t even know Robbie had it in him.

With that, he strides past me, out of the restaurant. I’m shocked to find my eyes aching at the corners where tears threaten to fall.

I knew this would go badly, but I didn’t predict just how badly. Robbie’s been there for me, and I repaid him in the worst way possible.

Man, I was such a shithead.

I drop my head into my hands and cry. The waiter avoids me and the other patrons stare at me as I let it all out, right there at the table. Eventually, I place an order for a gyro to go, and drag myself home feeling like the scum of the earth.

Robbie will never forgive me, I’m sure of it. I’d hoped we might stay friends, but I don’t know where I got that hallucination from. Of course he would want nothing to do with me after I betrayed him.

I didn’t expect it would hurt so much to say goodbye, and I wish I’d done all of this differently.

Damn it, Russ. Why did he have to be so damn hot? Why did his body have to decide that I was his? Why did mine have to fuck me over by wanting him in return?

If I had just thought for five seconds, maybe.

This could have all been so much less complicated. I was supposed to have this baby, give it back, and then move on with my life. That was the plan; that was the deal. I sure didn’t sign up to be a wolfman’s mate and raise that baby with him.

But my stomach twists just thinking about not seeing him again, about handing this child over to him and walking away.

I know that after this, Robbie will be angry. He’ll cuss me out at home, and drink too much with his friends. But he’ll move on, and find another girlfriend, and probably discover his own happiness someday.

Now, however, I have no idea how I could possibly move on from Russ.

nineteen

RUSS

I stay away, and I stay away, and it slowly eats at me.

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