Lone Wolf (Wilde Brothers Ranch #6)- Scarlett Grove Page 0,20

she could hide it from her friends anymore. She'd avoided telling them about it to delay the inevitable fallout. But the more her body changed, the less she would be able to blow off the weight gain as not working out enough.

She hurried out of the store, gripping her bag against her chest. She was going to have to contact Dylan soon and let him know that he was going to be a father. Her doctor was right. He was the one who should be raising his child. It was going to be a little girl. A little wolf shifter like her father. Even though Annie didn't want to have to explain to Dylan why they could never be together, she couldn't keep the child from her father. She knew it was wrong, but she just needed more time.

As she was heading back to her car through a different corridor, she passed a store full of baby supplies. A little onesie with a giraffe on the front and matching baby socks stopped her dead in her tracks. She walked closer to the window and stared down at the tiny socks. She imagined what her baby’s feet would look like in those socks. She placed her fingers against the glass, staring, unblinking. The baby moved inside her, its little feet tapping against her insides. She pressed her hand to her stomach, and tears rolled down her face.

She walked into the store, picked up a soft blanket, and rubbed it against her cheek. A woman with a child in a stroller walked up beside her. Annie was startled out of her thoughts and looked down at the baby cooing in its snuggly seat.

“My little Jasper loves that blanket,” the woman said. “You can't go wrong.”

“Thank you,” she stuttered.

“When are you due?” the other woman asked.

“In June,” Annie said.

“A summer child. Jasper was born in June.” The mother looked wistfully down at her baby boy.

He began to fuss, and the mother said her goodbyes, wheeling her child out of the store. Annie's heart clenched in her chest, and she felt as if she might double over and puke or cry. She was stuck in place for several minutes before going to the counter to buy the blanket and the little socks. She didn't know why she was buying these things. Annie couldn't keep the child. She needed to go to either a couple who couldn't have their own or to her father. But until then, the baby was growing inside her and belonged to her. Her secret summer child.

She hurried back to her car and was home before she realized it. She took everything upstairs and changed into one of the new maternity outfits. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her pregnancy was going to be impossible to hide any longer. She would have to explain it to her friends the next time she saw them… unless she avoided them completely. Then she would have to explain that she wasn't going to keep it and that she was never going to see her fated mate again.

She sat on the couch and pulled out the card her doctor had given her. This therapist worked with expectant moms struggling to adjust to the transition into motherhood. Annie wiped the tears from her eyes and shoved the card back into her pocket. She didn't need a therapist. She knew what she needed—to keep her life and her problems to herself. To keep a low profile. To keep everyone at arms’ length. It had worked so far. And it would continue working.

If her friends rejected her for what she needed to do, she would have to accept that. Maybe it would be better if she came to terms with not having anyone close enough to see how broken she really was. It was a sad prospect, but one she had to accept. If she was going to keep her distance from the world and keep herself safe, it was the only real option.

12

Dylan picked up his phone and answered the call from Zander.

“I have the information you were looking for,” Zander said.

“You found her?”

“We did. It took a little digging. But my friend assures me this is the woman.”

Dylan received a text message and put the phone on speaker while he opened the attachment. The photograph was of Annie. He squeezed his eyes closed and sat down in a kitchen chair.

“That's her,” he said, his voice cracking.

“This is her address,” Zander said.

Another text message from Zander