ROMANCE: BAD BOY ROMANCE: Basketball Daddy (BWWM Alpha Male Billionaire Pregnancy Romance) (African American Unexpected Pregnant Contemporary Romance) (168 page)

There were shelves and shelves filled with baby books. Books about raising your kids as vegetarian, vegan, paleo, freegan. How to give birth to a genius, a philosopher, a poet, an inventor or artist. It was overwhelming. The back copy of each book told her that this book was the only parenting book she needed. If she even thought about picking up a different book she might as well toss her baby right in the trash.

She was starting to regret sending Michael to work without her, but he was still stressing her out without intending too. He kept saying that he was fine, but she caught him biting his nails and calculating moon charts on his phone. She didn’t want to worry. She wanted to enjoy these first few weeks of her pregnancy. She wanted to look at cute baby clothes, mobiles and cribs.

Not surprisingly, there were no books about raising a werewolf’s baby. The one book she really needed was nowhere to be found. She grabbed a copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting from the shelf and headed to the counter. She could always come back for more. Maybe it would make sense to bring Michael. It might just bring him some sense of peace.

Her phone chimed with a text message. She shook her head; it was probably Michael checking up on her. They had only been separated for about thirty minutes and already he was worried.

“You dumb stupid bitch.”

Selina looked down at her phone in shock. The message was from a blocked number. She looked around the bookstore, but everything seemed normal. There was a couple holding hands in the cookbook section, an older woman looking through crafting books. There was no one malicious or dangerous looking around. But that was the beauty of phones. The text could be coming from anywhere.

It’s probably just some dumb prank, probably the same coward who trashed the cars
, she thought to herself as she brought her book up to the counter and paid for it. She deleted the message and stepped out into the street. It was a beautiful day and she decided to walk the six blocks to work. For the first time in a week, she didn’t feel nauseous or tired. She actually had some energy.

“I’m going to find you and make you pay you fat slut.”

Selina looked at her phone in shock. Who was sending these to her? The last part of the message felt personal, like the person knew Selina. It was the same insult as had been on her car. But who could it be? Selina didn’t have any enemies. She tried to keep her life simple. Enemies and feuds seemed so unnecessary to her.

“Who is this?” Selina texted back. She only had to wait a minute for the next response.

“Your worst fucking nightmare.”

She put her phone back in her bag. Selina worked in HR; she knew how to deal with harassment, and she knew responding to these types of messages was a bad idea. It was hard, though. She couldn’t keep herself from checking her phone every other minute. She cursed the “blocked number” icon. People shouldn’t be allowed to remain anonymous like that.

Who could it be?
she wondered. The only people who really disliked her were Lois and Evelyn, but neither of those women would stoop to these tactics, would they? Evelyn would surely not. She was technology deficient and barely knew how to work her cell phone, let alone figure out how to send an anonymous text.

Could it be Lois, then? But the thought was impossible. Lois, with her big hair and name brand clothes. She would never sink so low as to send anonymous mean text messages, would she? Selina didn’t really know Lois all that well. She knew her to be rude and sarcastic, but could she also be this nasty?

Her phone pinged again, letting her know she had a new email. Then it started going off like crazy. She looked down and saw she had forty-five new emails. She opened one and then closed it in shock. It had been a pornographic image, two women and a man with the words “this is for you fat slut” in the subject line.

They were all like that. She stopped opening them. She closed the application and silenced her phone. It continued to buzz in her pocket. Whoever had sent them wasn’t done. She looked around fearfully. She wondered if she should get into a cab. Was it safe to walk down the street? What if the person sending her these messages was watching her right now?

Selina spun around, examining all the faces around her. Was anyone watching her, following her? But she couldn’t tell. The street was busy, filled with people going about their day.  No one seemed to be watching her or staring at her, but who could tell?

Her phone rang. Again it was from a blocked number. She didn’t answer it. Whoever it was left a voicemail. She listened to it. It was heavy breathing, and then the sound of a woman screaming in pain. Shuddering, she hung up the phone. She needed to get out of here. She needed to find Michael and tell him what was happening. He would protect her. He would handle all of this.

She walked to the curb and raised her hand for a cab, but as she did so a black van with tinted windows rolled slowly past her and Selina backed away. What was she supposed to do? Should she call the police? And tell them what? That she was getting weird phone calls and texts? What could the police do other than shrug their shoulders and tell her to turn her phone off and get a new number?

It was a bright and sunny day, but she suddenly felt cold and afraid. She tugged her coat around her and again raised her hand for a cab. She just needed to get to work. Once she was there everything would be fine.

A cab stopped right in front of her and she hopped into the back, giving him the address of her work.  She reached into her bag and turned off her phone. That was the right way to handle this. She sat back and felt better. She just needed to change her number and ignore the harassment until it went away. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was probably the only one.

From the safe interior of the cab, she allowed herself to relax. The world was flashing by outside. Maybe she had left her stalker behind. It was all she could hope for. Maybe she wouldn’t even tell Michael. It would only make him more nervous. This was the last thing he needed to hear. Besides, she didn’t want to go running to him every time she had a problem. She could take care of herself and she was going to prove it. She would change her number, and it would be like none of this had ever happened.

The cab driver pulled into the garage of her building. Selina paid him and jumped out of the car. The parking garage was dark and desolate and silent. Her heels clicked loudly on the pavement as she walked towards the elevator. Soon she would be back in the bright lights of her office. She could go and find Michael, sit on his lap and make out with him for as long as he wanted. That always calmed her down.

Happily, she remembered that Lois wouldn’t even be there. Michael was supposed to give her the news of her transfer first thing in the morning. He wasn’t a procrastinator. She was sure he had done it by now. Selina couldn’t help but be happy. She would be so glad once she no longer had to deal with Lois and her snarky comments. Plus, she didn’t even have to feel bad about Lois getting fired. Technically she was getting a promotion. Everybody was winning.

She was only a few steps from the elevator when she heard a car come revving into the garage. Selina spun around and saw it was a black van. Was it the same one from the street a few minutes ago?

It was going way too fast. It was racing through the garage, careening between the cement pillars. She followed its progress with her eyes until she realized it was heading right for her. With a scream, she backed away and then realized her mistake. The van screeched to a stop, positioning itself between her and the elevator.

Selina scrambled for her phone, realizing with horror that she had turned it off. She spun around to run as the van doors opened up and two men in all black with matching face masks came for her. She ran, but they were on her before she could get very far. One of them grabbed her hair and then another her arms.

She struggled, fighting and scratching, but it was no use. There was a gloved hand crammed over her mouth and her screams were muffled.

“No! No! Help!” she screamed, but no one could hear her. Her arms were wrenched behind her back and roughly tied up. She was lifted off her feet and thrown into the back of the van. She heard the door slam and then they were driving. To where, she had no idea.

Selina’s office was dark. The lights weren’t turned on. She wasn’t back yet. Michael looked up and down the hallway, as if expecting to see her come walking around the corner with that stunning smile on her face, but the hallway remained empty. She wasn't here. Her phone was going straight to voicemail, which meant it was turned off. Selina never turned off her phone.

Something wasn’t right. He could feel it. A nervousness travelled up and down his spine. Something was wrong. He needed to do something, but what? He had no idea where to even begin. He walked back to his office and sat down behind the desk.

He pulled up the “find my phone” app and entered Selina’s information. She was notorious for losing her phone and more than once Michael had found it left in a restaurant or in the bottom of a purse somewhere. But the app didn’t work if the phone was turned off. The last place it had been used was a bookstore on Nineteenth Street, next to the doctor’s office.

He was also able to access her emails and texts. He knew it was wrong, but he also knew she would understand. She hadn’t been heard from in hours, her phone was off. This was an extenuating circumstance.

His mouth fell open as he saw the texts. They had started around ten in the morning and they hadn’t stopped since. There were vile, disgusting emails and text messages filled with threats. His eyes scanned them all. Who would do this? Who would harass Selina like this? It wasn’t possible. She was so sweet, so caring. Everyone liked her. Who could hate her enough to send such horrible things?

He couldn't just sit here and wait. He needed to go and look for Selina. He had to find her now. She was in danger. He left her several messages to call him as soon as she could. He told her he was worried and he loved her. He closed the office, instructing his staff to have Selina call him the moment she arrived, and drove to the bookstore.

But Selina was nowhere to be found. The bookstore was filled with people, but none of them were her. He showed her pictures to the cashier, who remembered someone like that being there a few hours ago, but he hadn’t seen her since.

A few hours ago
. The words rung in his ears. She could be anywhere. He stood in the middle of the sidewalk, wondering where he should go next, what he should do. There was one option. There was one way for him to find Selina. The wolf could do it. He knew her scent; he could find her anywhere.

The only problem was a wolf couldn’t run around downtown Seattle, and that was the last place anyone had seen Selina. He got back into his car and drove home. He drove fast, weaving around other cars, racing down the highway, going well over the limit. He parked his car haphazardly and jumped out.

The transformation was already starting. The stress and terror of Selina being missing was forcing the transition. He felt as if he couldn't hold it back any longer. He walked through the house, ripping off his clothes as he went. He pulled off his sweater, his shoes and his pants, leaving a trail of clothes to the back door.

Once he was on the patio he fell to all fours, and an instant later he was the wolf. The world came into startling clarity in front of him. There was suddenly a brand new sensation: smell. A human’s nose was nothing compared to a wolf’s. He couldn’t just smell the earth and freshly cut grass, he could smell the other animals around.

There was a squirrel racing up a tree. Another dog had been in the woods and left his scent everywhere. The wolf raised his hackles at that. Michael felt the instinctual drive to go and mark what was his. He took two steps and then stopped himself. This wasn’t why he was here. He needed to find Selina.

He knew her scent. He didn’t need to smell her clothes. He lifted his nose to the air and smelled. Yes, he could smell her. Her scent was all around. On the chairs in the patio, on the floor where her bare feet had trod. But his wolf nose was able to tell that these were old smells. She hadn’t been here for a while.

He lifted his head to the wind. He could smell a thousand different things, but none of them were Selina. He took off at a run into the forest. The last place anyone had seen Selina had been in town, so he headed that way. The human knew the way to get there. The wolf ran along the highway, staying far back in the trees, going on sound alone.

He sniffed the air constantly, filtering through the thousands of smells. He ignored the scent of deer, voles, mice and other wolves, and kept focusing on moving forward. He ran towards the city, running and running. His long tongue lolled out of his mouth. His breath came out in ragged gasps.

There was no sign of Selina, but there was a rabbit not far off. He couldn’t hold himself back. His nose snuffled in the brush and then his jaws snapped down on the rabbit, snapping its neck quickly. He feasted upon it, ripping the fur off and eating the flesh. It only took a moment, but it energized the wolf.

He ran for hours. He crossed streets, hugged the shadows and stuck to the woods as best he could. Even the wolf was tired, a near impossible thing. There were still no clues as to where Selina might be. He needed to think. If someone had grabbed her, where would they take her? There was a large lake not far off with a lot of hunting cabins that were left empty most of the year. It was the perfect place to hide someone.

It was only a guess, but he had to start somewhere. He moved in between the houses, sniffing the doorsteps and driveways, searching for any hint of Selina’s scent. He ran along the roads, avoiding the headlights of the cars. Night had fallen. He had been out for hours with nothing to show for his efforts, but he couldn't stop. He had to find her. The police would demand that she be missing for 72 hours before they would even launch an investigation. He couldn’t wait that long. He wouldn't allow Selina to be a prisoner for that long.

His head twitched. Was it possible? He smelled her. Just the hint and then it was gone. He raised his nose to the air and smelled again, moving in the direction of the wind. There it was again, her sweet floral perfume. He followed it, letting his nose guide him. The smell was faint, she was still far away, but he was getting closer.

He could smell her more clearly now. Her scent and her perfume, but also something more. The smell of her fear. Sweat and panic were pouring from her. He raced towards her, staying close to the ground. They were far from the other hunting cabins now. They were far back in the woods. There weren’t any houses around. Wherever Selina was, she was isolated and alone.

He went faster, listening for any sounds, but other than the animals of the forest there wasn’t any noise. Her smell was getting stronger. He was getting closer. Then he started to hear voices. The low voices of grumbling men. He couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. He wasn’t listening to them. There was something else. The sound of a woman crying quietly.

Selina. He bared his fangs as the cabin came into view. It was nothing more than a rundown shack. There was no electricity, only candles and hurricane lamps. Slowly, Michael approached the house. His wolf paws made no noise on the forest floor. He approached the door. He could smell three different scents, Selina and two men. He peered through the windows and saw two men sitting at a table playing cards.

He moved around to the back of the shack and peered through another window. His heart jumped in his wolf body. There she was. The room was bare. There was just a thin carpet on the floor. Selina was on her side, her hands tied behind her back, her head covered in a black bag.

He was going to kill them. He was going to rip their heads right off their bodies. They had touched his woman and now the wolf was going to make them pay. He was going to crash through the window and devour them one by one. He fell back on his haunches and prepared to jump.

Just as he was about to jump he heard a car turn down the long drive. He pulled himself back into the brush and crouched down. The car drove past him, unaware of the giant predator lurking in the bushes. He waited for the car to park and then watched the driver step out and head towards the door. His heart stopped when he saw who it was.