against her Alpha at the risk of her own life because she knew how Ruby’s parents must have felt. She had no obligation to Ruby’s parents when it came to clan or blood, and Ruby’s clan might very well have been their mortal enemies, but none of that mattered. It was just like Melody, who cared so much for children who weren’t of her own womb. That was a deep kind of love that couldn’t be denied.
8
“Eggs?” Lucas asked eagerly from his chair at the breakfast table.
“You want more?” Melody asked as she scooped a bit onto his plate. “You’ve got a good appetite this morning.”
Lucas pointed at Ruby in her highchair. “Eggs, Ruby?”
“Yes, she might like some, too.” It was hard to know what Ruby was used to eating, but Melody followed her instincts as best as possible. She put a spoonful of scrambled eggs onto the tray and watched as Ruby scooped them up in her fingers. The baby dropped more of them onto herself than into her mouth, but she gave a coo of pleasure as she ate.
“She likes eggs!” Lucas said triumphantly.
It was adorable, but Melody was having a hard time throwing herself into the typically happy work of childcare. As she served juice and milk and wiped up spills, she couldn’t help but think about what a royal prick Roman had been. She didn’t care about his past with the military. It didn’t give him the right to make her feel as though she were too incompetent to take care of these children. She’d certainly kept Lucas out of harm’s way, hadn’t she? Hell, the whole incident might not have even happened if Roman hadn’t been there in the first place. She would’ve known she was there on her own at night, and she wouldn’t have let her guard down for a second. She had always been vigilant, even before there was any known threat.
“Mel’dy mad?” Lucas asked, scraping the last of the eggs from his plate.
She swiped a hand over her forehead, where she could feel tension building, and she forced a smile. “No, sweetie. I was just thinking about some things. Are you all done?”
He nodded eagerly, and she wiped him down and helped him out of his chair.
“Am I too late for breakfast?” Roman said as he walked into the room.
Her muscles jolted with electricity at his presence, but she quickly reminded herself that she was angry with him. Furious. She didn’t want to have anything to do with him, no matter what her snow leopard said. “I thought you left hours ago.”
“I did. I went with Amar to talk to a few more people. He’s determined not to take any action with Ruby until we can be absolutely certain that we’re putting her back in the correct arms.” He grabbed a granola bar from the basket on the counter.
“That’s good.” Melody took a warm, damp washcloth to Ruby’s face. The little girl laughed as it tickled her. Melody didn’t want to smile back, because she was so damn angry, but Ruby was irresistible. At least she had her back to Roman as she returned the baby’s smile. “It’s important to keep her safe.”
He let out a sigh as he unwrapped the granola bar that she wasn’t sure how to interpret. “We think we’ve got a good lead on finding her parents, so it’s quite possible she’ll be going back to them soon.”
“That’s…” Melody hesitated. She knew that Ruby going home was the right thing. If this were her child, she’d certainly want her back. That was part of the problem, though. Melody had built a bond with Ruby in the short time she’d been watching her. She’d taken her in as though she were simply part of the family, and she’d continue to care for her as long as needed. “That’s good,” she finally said.
“Melody, I think we should talk.”
She was purposely not looking at him. She didn’t want to see his handsome face and get weak in the knees all over again. Melody had every right to be angry with him, and she needed to hold onto that as much as possible. That anger would fuel her strength against the demands of her snow leopard, who apparently wasn’t nearly as insulted by his comments after they’d left the zoo. Even as her human side focused on its fury, her animal side longed to sidle up next to him. Melody wished she could squirt it with a spray bottle like a