Page 144 of Wicked Savage Wolves
“Why don’t you get cleaned up and little man and I will wait for you in the living room?” He presses a kiss to my temple and bounces César in his arms. “Don’t worry, momma. I’ve got this.”
61
Jo
The weekend passes and I somehow manage not to throw myself at Jordy every time he comes over, despite the heavy tension between us. My mind is a jumbled mess. I don’t know what the two of us sleeping together means, and it’s driving me insane. Shifters are generally free spirits when it comes to hooking up with people, as Jordy has demonstrated with his player reputation. Is that all it was? A hookup? Or is it something more?
We haven’t talked about what this is. I’m not even sure what I want it to mean.
We’ve kissed. Touched. But we haven’t had sex again. My body wants him. Craves him. But my mind tells me I need to slow down. There is too much on the line to rush into whatever this is turning into. I want to believe we can be one big happy family. What girl doesn’t want her Cinderella story? But it all seems too good to be true.
Jordy doesn’t do commitment. I’ve heard enough stories. Rumors. The thought that he’ll tire of playing family is a feeling I can’t shake, and that's without taking into consideration that he’s a wolf. I know he proposed, but that was duty and honor speaking. Obligation. And despite my feelings for him, I would never want to trap him into a relationship.
On top of that, I’ve given up on my mom being available for César. I need to take matters into my own hands. This, at least, is something I feel confident in working out.
I walk into my first period class with César on my hip. The bell will ring in just a few minutes, so I’ll need to make this quick.
Word is Diego’s sentencing is set for Wednesday afternoon, and Mom is frantically trying to figure out a way to get him released, but the vampires are walking away. Which is a relief.
It’s insane how ignorant she’s behaving. She’s somehow convinced he has a doppleganger out there or that Isa’s been manipulated into believing it was Diego who attacked her when it was really someone else. She is completely blind to the fact that he is a bloodthirsty vampire.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love for Diego to be innocent. My mom loves him. Truly and completely loves him, but she didn’t see the look on his face when confronted with Isa in the kitchen. She didn’t hear his admission of guilt. And that’s what that was. An admission. He knows what he did, and the fact that he had zero remorse makes me wonder just how many other people he’s hurt. How many more he’d hurt if given the opportunity.
I’ve never had a great relationship with Diego, but I never had issues with him either. He was just always…there. It creeps me way the heck out to know that all this time, I’ve been living with a murderer. Would he have hurt César if he knew his father was a shifter?
I shiver just thinking about it. It keeps me up at night. Knowing he was there. I’m glad I never left César alone with him. Never trusted him enough to watch my boy.
Heading toward Mr. Albert’s desk, I consider what I’m going to say just as his head lifts from a stack of assignments he’s been grading, judging by the red pen in his hand.
“Ms. Sousa.” He gives César a curious once-over. “Can I help you with something?”
I shift César’s weight to my other side and nod. “Yeah. Sorry. I won’t be in class today. Actually, I probably won’t make it all week. Again.” I exhale a sigh. “I was hoping you’d let me make up this week’s assignments somehow, and any quizzes we might have coming up since I missed Friday’s exam?”
His lips purse and he looks a little closer at the baby boy in my arms. “He yours?”
I nod and offer him a small smile. “Yeah, he’s mine.”
He nods to himself. “Okay. When you first enrolled we were informed you had a child. I didn’t realize he was so young. We’ll make it work.”
“Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. You have no idea. I promise to stay on top of things. I can even drop my assignments off daily after school gets out. Whatever you—”
“Ms. Sousa, I believe you misunderstand me.”
My stomach drops. What? I thought…
“I didn’t mean I would send you home with independent study assignments. I meant you could continue coming to class and bring your son with you.”
“To class?” No way am I hearing him right. What high school teacher is okay with a nine-month-old in their classroom?
“Yes. And before you leave I’ll have you write down the names of your other teachers and get things sorted out with them. If they don’t want you in the classroom you can use the teacher’s lounge to do your assignments away from other students, or perhaps the library if you’d be more comfortable there.” He leans forward in his seat, his nostrils flaring as he makes an obvious show of taking in our scent. His eyes widen before he masks his surprise. “He’s a shifter. This shouldn’t be an issue for any of your teachers who happen to be Pack. The others, I’ll see that they come around.”
I don’t bother correcting his assumption about César, unsurprised he carries Jordy’s scent. Emotion clogs my throat and my vision blurs. “Why?” The single word passes my lips in a whisper, and I suck in a shaking breath as I struggle to maintain my composure. “Why are you jumping to help me like this?” Because that’s exactly what he’s doing. He doesn’t have to go out of his way for me. Emailing me assignments and letting me retake tests is already going above and beyond, but this…letting me complete my senior year as a student. This is so much more.
Mr. Albert stands and moves around his desk. He reaches a tentative hand out and César latches onto his finger, waving his arm and jabbering away with a drooly grin on his face.
“Ms. Sousa, you are one of the brightest students I have ever had the pleasure of teaching. You are diligent. Studious. You think outside of the box and your creativity in thought knows no bounds. You can make something of yourself should you decide to. Having a child does not mean you have to sacrifice your opportunities. If anything, it means you must get a little…creative in how you achieve your goals.”
I sniff and blink away my tears. “I really appreciate this. You have no idea. But, I’m not so sure the school will let me—”
