Page 9 of Same One
“I’m not interested in dating anytime soon anyway. Maybe when you are independent and moved out. My focus is on you until then.”
Bayen was quiet for a minute, and then as he pulled up to the drive through line at the McDonalds, he said, “That’s kind of sad.”
“What is?” she asked, fiddling on her phone. She’d forgotten what they were talking about.
“It’s kind of sad that your life revolves around raising a kid that isn’t even yours.”
She shrugged. “I probably won’t have kids of my own, Bayen. This is my shot. You’re my shot, you know?”
He sighed and nodded. “Whatever you say.”
“So try not to get kicked out of school, will you? I want to go to your graduation and get those silly Congratulations to my Senior signs for the front yard and throw you a celebration party.”
“Party for two. Dad chased off all your friends.”
Geez, that one stung a little. “That he did,” she said softly. Zane had torn through her life like wildfire. “Maybe I’ll make more friends by the time you graduate. I still have a year and a half. Maybe you’ll make friends too.”
“Everyone at school is scared of me. I sit alone at lunch. Humans suck. No offense.”
She huffed a laugh. “None taken. I don’t like the way you’re treated either.” She crossed her legs as he moved up in the drive through line. “Hey, today when I saw that werewolf? He was just sitting in a coffee shop. No one was messing with him. He was working on something on his laptop, but he seemed comfortable.”
“Was anyone sitting at his table with him?”
Tru pursed her lips. Touché. “No.”
“Exactly.”
Shoot. This was her fear for his life, that he would be alone, and not find his place. Not find a spot where he felt he belonged.
He might not want to meet Tabian, but she still wanted to keep the line of communication open just in case Bayen changed his mind.
It was very nice to meet you too, she typed out. She hesitated, her finger hovering over the send button.
“Rogues are nothing but trouble,” Bayen reminded her, frowning at her texting. He pulled forward and started ordering at the drive through for them. He had all of her orders at every restaurant memorized. Werewolves just had heightened everything.
She deleted the text without sending it and put her phone into her purse to avoid the temptation.
Bayen was right.
Rogues were nothing but trouble, and a Rogue had absolutely destroyed her life and her stepson’s future.
Tabian was a walking red flag that she needed to avoid.
Chapter Three
Tru had left him on ‘read.’
Why did that bother him so much?
Tabian checked his phone again and shook his head, frustrated with himself.
Who cared? She was just some human. There was no future with a human. Sure, Liam and Nory were making it work, but still. Dating a human wasn’t for him.
He checked his phone again and considered throwing the damn thing into the woods.
No one was in Rogue Pack territory but him today. It was midday, everyone was working, and he was here overseeing the delivery and set-up of his home. It was a single-wide mobile home. Instead of siding, it had logs all around the walls, and a green tin roof. The home was delivered quickly, but the front porch had taken three hours for a team to build it. He honestly could’ve done it himself, but he hadn’t known if he would be out on a job while it was delivered and he wanted it to be completed in a day. He’d waited months for it to be built, and he’d done the work to install everything the home would need to operate with all the creature comforts he’d come to appreciate.
He’d done it.
