Isa rolls her eyes but smiles before turning to the boy closest to her.
“Joaninha, this is my mate, Rafael.” He inclines his head toward me, his way of saying hello. “This one is Zheng,” she indicates the black-haired boy with the skateboard, “and this ray of sunshine is Desmond.” I know she’s kidding, because Desmond is definitely not a ray of sunshine. He’s wearing the most brooding expression of the bunch, his eyes still trained on the door Jordy just exited out of. Isa elbows him in the stomach and he pretends to wince, rubbing his stomach, but I don’t miss her smirk. She knows she didn’t really hurt him.
“Ignore him. I swear he knows his manners. He just rarely shows them.”
Rafael tilts his head back and laughs, a deep chuckle that has Isa’s smirk morphing into a wide smile. God, they’re cute together. My heart gives a pathetic lurch. I want what they have. It looks so easy. They’re so content. What if…no. I can’t get ahead of myself here. It was just sex, Jo. Stop trying to remember it as anything else. And besides, once you tell him about César, he still might want nothing to do with you. Shifters mate with other shifters. They create families in their own Packs. He might want César in his life but he won’t want you.
Determination straightens my spine when I think of that. He doesn’t have to like me. He doesn’t owe me any sort of relationship or commitment just because we have a kid together. But he does owe César his attention and affections. I just hope he’s the kind of guy who will step up once he realizes what we created together.
“You look…” Des’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. His head tilts to the side as he scrutinizes my face, nostrils flaring as he takes in my scent. I’ve seen KeAnna do this enough times to recognize what he’s doing. “Familiar,” he finishes. “How do I know you?”
Isa’s eyes brighten. “You two know each other?” She bounces on her feet.
“Not really,” I say with a shrug. I’m not sure if I should be answering her or him, so I go with the less intimidating option of the two. “I’m friends with KeAnna. His sister.”
“Oh! I haven’t met her yet. Is she as stoic and broody as her brother?” She turns to him. “And why doesn’t she go here?”
Des grunts and I laugh. “She’s Desmond’s complete opposite,” I tell her. “And she’s a female wolf,” I say as if that alone answers her question. It does.
“Oh, my God, duh.” She snorts. “But why haven’t I met her yet?”
All three guys shake their heads and Des lets out a grunt. “I haven’t introduced you yet because look how well that worked out for us when you hooked up with baby Liu. I do not need to add fuel to that fire.”
Zheng and Rafael both nod in agreement.
Isa ignores his statement and turns her attention to me.
“Okay, this is great. You know KeAnna and I’m friends with Meiying. The four of us have to get together this weekend. It’ll be so much fun. Girls’ night!”
The guys groan in unison just as the bell rings, signaling that we’re officially late to class. I should probably be a little concerned about that, but I’m too excited over the prospect of making new friends and finding my son’s father to think about anything else.
“Come on. We’ll sort out all the details after school. We better hurry or Mr. Chu is going to bite our heads off.” I follow her to class, a small ball of warmth unfurling in my chest.
As the teacher drones on about this week’s assignment, I slip my cell phone out from my pocket and fire off a text to my mom. It’s only been a few hours, but I’m not used to being away from my little boy this long.
Me:How is he?
Mom:Perfect.
She includesa picture of César sleeping in her arms and I smile, running a finger across the screen before opening a new text conversation and pulling up KeAnna’s number. There is no way this can wait.
Me:He’s here.
Three dots appear almost instantlybecause of course she isn’t paying attention in class. Like she even needs to.
KeAnna:Oh my God! Did you tell him?
I roll my eyes.Is she serious? You don’t just see a guy for the first time in close to two years and drop a baby in his lap day one. She knows I got pregnant at the party, but I never let it slip that he was a shifter. I know she’s my friend and I trust her, but I also know how the Pack works, and Pack always comes first. I wasn’t willing to risk her telling anyone about him before I had the chance to and them possibly taking him away from me.
Me:No. I didn’t get the chance to talk to him, but at least now I know he’s here.
Me:Also, I ran into your brother.
I leaveout the part about her brother being friends with César’s dad. I don’t want word of César getting to Jordy from anyone but me.
KeAnna:Was he an asshole?
I snort.Heads turn my way and I bite my lip, sinking down lower in my seat.
