She didn’t want to worry, but they’d taken Daphne and she’d been told to wait.
She wanted her baby back in her arms, and that was crazy, but she loved Daphne as if she was her own.
Chapter Six
Winter had excused herself to go to the bathroom, leaving Rocko alone with Lucas.
“That kid isn’t yours,” he said.
“I know.”
“That woman thinks it’s yours.”
“I know.”
“Okay, I’m a little confused. Did you steal a kid to impress this woman? Is that the one you’re wanting?”
“Drop it.”
“It’s kind of hard to drop anything when I’m looking right at this bombshell.”
“There’s nothing to think about.” He wasn’t going to get into this, not in the hospital.
“She’s not your kid. We all have high fevers as children.”
“They’re not fevers if our body is at a naturally higher temperature. Just drop this.”
“I’m not going to drop this, Rocko.”
“It’s Alpha to you.”
“Not in here. I know you. You care about that woman and that kid, especially if you’re willing to risk your life by coming here. We both know this isn’t the place for you, or us.”
“I know that, so why don’t you stop acting like a beta, and just sit there as a concerned friend? Blend in.”
They were forever in danger. Some humans had been able to accept wolves into their society, and then of course, there were those who wanted to hunt to kill. He’d lived most of his life surrounded by the ones who wanted to kill him. Except for his nanny. Winter was a breath of fresh air and so far the only exception.
Being in the hospital exposed them. They were still deadlier than their opponents but bullet holes fucking hurt a lot, and of course there were some wounds they couldn’t heal from, like one in the head or the heart.
“Just let me understand this. There’s going to be a shit load of questions when we get back home.”
He sighed. “The baby isn’t mine, but Winter doesn’t know that. A few months ago, when we didn’t take any prisoners and we wiped out the campground of the men, I stumbled on a woman. She’d been shot and was dying. She wasn’t going to survive but she’d given birth. She begged me to take care of her. I couldn’t walk away and there was no way I would kill a harmless child. I took her. I had every intention of getting rid of her, but it didn’t happen. We got word of the attack, and then Winter was there, and she wasn’t like any of her people. I figured she’d be the nanny I needed.”
“And she’s the woman you want to fuck,” Lucas said. “In all honesty, I thought you had.”
“Don’t speak about her like that,” he said. His wolf didn’t like it.
Fuck his wolf, he didn’t like it.
Lucas’s brow went up. “I hear him, Alpha. You know what that means?”
“I know it means you need to shut the fuck up. She doesn’t know the baby isn’t mine. I want it to stay that way.”
“She’s going to find out.”
“I don’t care.”
Winter returned and he stood. She’d been crying. “Sorry. I’m a mess.” She sat down beside him. “Are you going to … kill me now?”
“Why would I kill you?”
“I disobeyed you. You told me not to leave the house.”
“I think we can overlook that with everything.” They had yet to hear from the doctor. He didn’t like how long it was taking them.
“I was so worried. I didn’t think it was anything. She was off her food all day, and she cried a lot, and then her temperature just spiked, and I panicked. I’m not an expert on baby health.” She ran her fingers through her hair.
He took hold of her hand, locking their fingers together in an effort to try to reassure her, not that he felt it was working. “It’s fine.”
“You’re not going to kill me?”
“No.”
Lucas snorted.
“Why were the guards so surprised?”
“What do you mean?”
“They didn’t believe me about the baby being yours. They must have known your mate.”
He felt Lucas’s judgment, but rather than falling for it, he ignored him. “I’m a private person and so was my mate.”
Why continue with the lie? He didn’t see any reason to. If she knew the truth, would it really matter? He’d used his title to gain her fear so she wouldn’t harm the child, and she hadn’t. She was nothing like the people he’d once known.
“Mr. and Mrs. East,” a woman said, calling out their names.
“She thinks we’re married.”
“Just go along with this, please.”
“I don’t