"For the first time in my life, I felt as if I mattered. On the surface, I was less than the dirt on someone's shoe. But underwater - I was a princess."
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Born without a wolf, Charlie aspires to be a ballet dancer. But a deliberate sabotage crippl...
That night, Gertrude asked me to sit up with her after Ashley and GiGi had gone to bed. "I'm going to cut to the chase," she said without preamble after we'd got ourselves settled. "I know you want to ask my son to be father to your cub. But you're scared to let another male in after the way your former mate treated you. Hence the fine pickle you're in."
I grimaced. "You don't mess around," I said.
Gertrude shrugged. "As I said yesterday, I'm too old and I've seen too much to mess around," she said flatly. She softened her words with a wry smile. "And I know you've been in two minds ever since that pestiferous little bastard came to demand you back. You want very much to be able to trust my son, but you're scared at the same time, thinking he's going to lead you back down the same path Brody led you down. And you're also worried about what Ashley is going to think."
"Yeah," I admitted. "I mean, she didn't have any issues with it, but I don't want to be a homewrecker or anything like that. And how can I know it's more than just protectiveness over me and my cub?"
"You can't, not without asking him," Gertrude said bluntly. She sighed. "I know how you feel, child. I've been in your shoes far too many times to count. I know the helplessness, and the uncertainty, and the worry that someone is going to be hurt somewhere down the line. And the only advice I have for you is to tell Ashley. She's the one who needs to decide how she feels about all this."
I nodded. I didn't want to tell Ashley, but I knew I had to. "You're right," I said reluctantly. "I've been putting it off because I don't want to hurt her, and also because I know how much she loves Harry. I don't want to break them up, and if I have to find another male to be the father to my cub, I will. I'll even be a single mother if I have to, just so long as Brody and his cronies get what's coming to them."
"That's not a risk you should take," Gertrude chastised me. "Your cub needs the protection of a father. Whether it's my son or someone else, the longer you put this off, the harder it's going to be to hold Brody off if he wins. And he will not wait for you to dither."
I sighed. "I know," I said, firming my shoulders.
The next day, I nervously broached the subject with Ashley, noting for the first time, as we hung out in the pool, that she was pregnant also. "I had no idea you were expecting a cub also," I said, by way of opening.
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Ashley smiled. "Neither did I, to be honest," she admitted. "But it's not an entirely unwelcome surprise. There'll only be a few months' difference between them, so they'll grow up really close. If you want to," she added hastily.
I took her hand and squeezed it. "I'd love that," I said. "And that's what I wanted to talk to you about." I took a deep breath. "I was going to ask Harry to be the father to my cub," I said, feeling as if my heart would beat its way out of my chest. "I knew Brody was going to try and claim her after I fled the packhouse in Blackpool, so when Harry stepped up to the plate the day Brody visited, I knew I could trust him. But now that you're expecting as well, I can't really ask that of you, not when you need him to be a father to your cub as well."
