Page 35 of The Beast's Baby
All he knew for certain was that she made him feel good.
“What do you want?” she asked the woman opposite them, tossing the photo album on the coffee table.
Jay had seen enough of the pictures to have concluded that it was Eva in the pictures with a couple holding a baby. And that the baby looked like it very well could be baby Isobel, as far as Jay could tell.
“I want to give you the information you need to survive your pregnancy,” Eva said, a gentle note in her tone that Jay immediately didn’t trust.
“Why did you give me up?” Isobel countered. “What are you doing here? Why am I here? Why wouldn’t you come see me, ask me here yourself?”
“Yes, all good questions,” Eva agreed. “But I had my reasons. Mainly those reasons were me faking my own death so that people wouldn’t start asking questions around why I wasn’t aging.”
Isobel stared at her. “What is this, a goddamn soap opera?” she asked. “You’re not real. You’re not my mother. You’re the crazy woman responsible for locking me in here, for forcing me into this pregnancy, for using me.”
“I’m also the only female wolf I know who’s gone through four natural pregnancies,” Eva said.
Isobel took stock of that statement while Jay wondered if he’d heard her right.
“Four?” he couldn’t help but ask.
“Yes,” Eva said, glancing at him then turning her attention back on Isobel as she added, matter-of-factly, “You have three older brothers.”
Jay watched the mosaic of emotion that crossed over Isobel’s face at this news and then the soft glow of the wolf within rose in her eyes. He looked at Eva, who was furrowing her brow at her daughter.
“Get out,” Isobel said, voice lowered into a growl. “Now.”
“I just want to help you,” Eva said, voice still deceptively helpful, but Jay could sense the tension in every last part of Isobel.
He held out a hand in warning, a gesture for Eva to get out and leave. “Please,” he said. “I think it’s better you go. Come back tomorrow.”
Isobel wasn’t following up her demand with another one, but he could tell she was seconds away from reaching for the nearest thing and throwing it. Eva hesitated. She clearly didn’t want to cede ground. What type of narcissistic personality disorder did she have that she would walk into their rooms and expect to be welcomed with open arms? Finally, she made the decision to get to her feet, reaching for the photo album but staying her hand.
“Keep it,” she said with another smile. “I’ll come back tomorrow. Sleep well. You’re sleeping for two now.”
And with that, she left. The door swung shut behind her, leaving the room in silence.
He didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know where to look. He wasn’t sure what Isobel needed from him in that moment. He only knew that he wanted to be there for her. In fact, there was nowhere else he’d rather be than right there.
Then she rose to her feet, abruptly, picking up the photo album and tossing it at the door. It hit the glass with a softtwunkand fell on the carpet barely making a sound. Isobel glared at it, but then a sound he hadn’t expected started in the middle of her chest. Laughter. Before too long she was wiping tears from her eyes and though he wanted to join in, he couldn’t. He could tell she was overwhelmed.
He got to his feet and pulled her into a hug again, having her shaking with laughter against his chest until finally she grew still.
“I don’t know why you keep holding me,” she remarked.
“Maybe because I think you need to be held,” he retorted.
She didn’t say anything, but she also didn’t move out of his arms.
“Let’s get some sleep,” he said, running a hand over her dark locks, reveling in how they were as soft as he’d always imagined them to be.
She tilted her head back to look up at him and before he could stop himself, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips.
“My life is falling apart,” she said.
He nodded. “Mine too,” he agreed, not feeling fazed by the statement. All they could do was roll with it at this point. “Maybe it’s good. Maybe we’ll find out that all those pieces…” He trailed off, disbelieving how he’d gotten very close to delivering the corniest line of his life.
She raised her eyebrows, looking truly interested, but he knew she was mocking him. He wasn’t going to take the bait. “All those pieces what?” she prompted innocently.
“No,” he shook his head, beating back a smile. “No, I’m not saying it.”
