Page 46 of Wolf Forsaken

When my parents died, I lost a part of myself. I lost a family that loved and cherished me. But in that drawer in my dad’s desk had been a gift.

The map to a new family.

Chapter Fifteen

Ivy

Waiting around was doing nothing to help keep the anxiety that was forming a tight ball in my stomach away. We should have been doing something, anything really, to remove Dante from his place of power. He could do a lot of damage to the pack and the entire wolf kind in a short time if we didn't act fast.

There couldn't be that many wolves on his side, could there?

I stared at Riley's number pulled up on Sara's phone and considered what I was going to tell her. If I said the wrong thing, she'd show up in Arbor Falls, and that was the last thing we needed.

"Hello?" Her voice sounded tired when she answered, and I straightened in my seat on the couch.

"Ri? What's wrong?" It was eleven o'clock in the morning and Riley wasn't one to sleep in. She helped run a nonprofit ocean cleanup organization and was always up and raring to go before the sun rose.

"Ivy! Where the hell have you been? You better tell me that a hot man or men have had you in their fuck nest and holding you hostage with their fancy peens or I'm going to be mad, and you know how stabby I get when I'm mad." She had perked up some, but didn't sound like her normal self.

"Fuck nest? Where did that come from?" I laughed and cringed when Manny looked over from where he and Sara were doing something on the laptop at the table. "And there are four peens now, by the way."

"Four? Girl. I can hardly handle three. A fuck nest is where demons mate... it was in a book I just finished. I told the guys we needed a fuck nest like the main character, but now I don't know." She cleared her throat. "Where have you been, and do I need to come save you?"

"I'm fine. Now you don't know if you need one? What's going on with you? Do I need to come saveyou?"

"Something's brewing, but I'm not sure what exactly. The guys have been called to the city on guard rotations." She sighed. I couldn’t blame her for being upset. She didn’t like living under the water where the city was located. "They're only called when something is going on and more of them are needed."

"And what about you? They didn't call you?" She was a siren, so if something was going on, she would have been called too.

"Well." Another sigh. "I can't because I'm pregnant."

"What?" I jumped out of my seat, my voice echoing through the building. "When? How? When are you due?"

She laughed. "I think we know how, Ivy. We've been trying, I just didn't want to say anything until it happened and everything was okay. I'm twelve weeks."

"This is so exciting! Congratulations! Oh my God, that means I'm going to be an aunt!" I was squealing and was not ashamed. "Wait. How is the water situation going to work?"

Riley and her mom didn't have to stay in the water, although it made them calmer and their lives longer. On the other hand, tritons were born in water and had to train to shift and be on land.

“Right now we’re waiting to see if I need to move underwater… a siren and triton have never had babies together before to anyone’s knowledge." She sounded scared and my heart went out to her. "The main thing is that he or she is healthy and happy. If that means I have to move, so be it."

“I'm sure it will all work out. You know that Jax, Morgan, and Blake will take care of you and protect you one hundred percent.” I hoped my men were as devoted to me as Riley's men were to her.

We talked for a little longer about Cole, Eli, Xander, and Silas without me giving too much information away, and I reassured her everything was fine. Now I really needed to make sure she didn't end up coming to Arbor Falls since she was pregnant. The last thing we needed was the wrath of the tritons and sirens coming down on us if something happened to her.

She could definitely hold her own, but getting in the middle of a wolf battle wouldn't be good considering her strength was in the water.

After talking to Jessica and making sure she also knew I was fine and just going through a quarter life crisis, I wandered outside to see what everyone was doing.

The guys had headed out to train before I got on the phone, and as much as I had wanted to join them, I also had to make sure my human business was taken care of. The bills didn't stop just because I wasn't at home or because I wasn't a human.

On the far side of the property was a metal barn, but I couldn't smell horses or other farm animals. The large metal doors were open, and music came from inside.

I looked down at myself, wondering if I should go change. Carly had given me a pair of yoga pants and a sports bra, but last time I wore something revealing to work out, I nearly started a riot.

Screw that. If they couldn't handle my comfort, they could go suck Dante's big toe.

I stopped at the entrance and my eyes widened. It had what you'd expect in a gym, but it also had an octagon, several punching bags, and dummies. It made me want to crack my knuckles.

---