Authors: M.E. James
"I made a mistake." She trembled.
"Overcooking dinner is a mistake. Accidentally leaving the emergency brake on is a mistake. Forgetting to get the mail is a mistake." Her dad snarled. "This is a catastrophe."
"Stop it." Her mom grabbed her husband's arm. "Can't you see her face? She's suffered enough already."
"I'm so sorry." Emmy whimpered. If it wasn't for the baby, then she would've wished the damn werewolf had eaten her.
"Hmph." Her dad pointed at her threateningly. "You think about what you've done, do you hear me?"
Her dad left the kitchen and went upstairs. Emmy looked down at her plate of stuffed peppers and pushed the food away. No entrée in existence could cure the pain she was in now. Seeing Jake turn into a werewolf had already left a gaping hole in her heart—but her dad had just poured acid straight into that hole.
She leaned her head on the counter. "Is he ever going to forgive me?"
"He'll forgive you." Her mom sighed. "Just give him time."
Emmy met the woman's eyes. "Will you?"
"I'm your mother, Emmy. Of course I'll forgive you," her mom said. "But I'm…I'm very disappointed."
Ouch. Another blow. She flinched.
"And shocked, too," her mom continued. "Are you sure you're really pregnant?"
"I've never been surer of anything in my life." Not even in the existence of werewolves.
"I…see." Her mom's face drained of color.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Her mom glanced at the door. "You just finish eating, okay?"
"Mom, please." She reached for her mom, but the woman refused her touch and avoided meeting her eyes.
"I think I'm going to go to bed." Her mom headed for the door. "We'll talk about this in the morning."
Before Emmy could say anything else, her mom left the room. Emmy stared after her, certain that if she felt any more agony, she might crumble to the floor and die.
****
That night, Emmy lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Why had she decided to tell her parents about the baby at the absolute worst time? Why werewolves? And why did the man she loved have to be one of them? Wait, the man she loved? No, that couldn't be right. She didn't love Sebastian. She may have liked him a lot—he was the father of her child, after all—but she didn't love him.
And yet when she thought of Sebastian even now, her heart stirred. Unfortunately, her heart's stirring was followed by a sharp pain in her chest. She gritted her teeth and rolled onto her side. Stupid Sebastian. He just had to be a lying louse…
But is he really that bad?
a voice whispered in her head.
Emmy stilled in surprise.
Despite how much she wanted to stay angry at him, she realized Sebastian had told her the truth about what he was. She was the one who'd blown him off, taking what he'd said as a joke. Still, he could have tried a lot harder to get his point across. Though he'd admitted that he was a werewolf once, he hadn't attempted to convince her again. Meanwhile, she'd gone along thinking that Jake was some sort of normal stalker. She hadn't known that he had fangs and claws as big as bananas. A chill ran down her spine, and she sat up, wondering where her dad's shotgun was. She could ask him, but, well, she wasn't sure he'd tell her.
"Shit." She lay back down.
How had things gotten this messed up? She curled up in a ball as more tears dribbled down her cheeks. Thunder boomed outside, making her flinch. That thunder was followed swiftly by the sound of her phone ringing. Somebody had been calling her all night, but she hadn't bothered to check her messages. She was afraid of what she might see.
Still, as she stared determinedly at the wall, her phone started to ring again. And again. And again. Soon the sound of her phone was near constant. She had the feeling that it would ring all night if she didn't turn it off or answer the damn thing. Grimacing, she stood up and pulled the phone out of her purse. She had a grand total of twenty-eight missed calls and thirty-two text messages. She sank onto the bed as another call came in. It was Mary Lou.
Groaning, she decided she had to answer the phone. The woman was both worried and crazy, a lethal combination. She put the phone to her ear.
"Where the hell have you been?" Mary Lou yelled as a way of greeting.
"Hello to you, too." Emmy rolled her eyes.
"Cut the crap." Mary Lou growled. "Sebastian and I have been trying to reach you all night."
"Sebastian?" Emmy tensed. "Where is he?"
"He's on my couch as we speak," Mary Lou said. "He's been calling you nonstop, but he gave up and asked me to try instead."
The knife in Emmy's heart twisted. Sebastian was sitting on Mary Lou's couch. No, a
werewolf
was sitting on Mary Lou's couch. And the woman didn't even know it! Holy shit. She hoped that Sebastian wasn't dangerous, but if he was, her best friend was in serious trouble.
"I want you to walk out of your apartment." She was shaking. "Leave and find a hotel room."
"Okay, are you going loony?" Mary Lou asked. "Why would I do that?"
"Sebastian could be dangerous." Her hand trembled on the phone.
"Oh, puh-leaze." Mary Lou snorted. "That man isn't dangerous. And do you know what he's been up to all night? He's been having a nervous breakdown, worrying about you. When he went into your apartment and saw that messed up note you left him, his eyes actually looked a little red. Of course it could have been my imagination, but I swore I saw it."
Her heart rate increased. Had he really been that worried? Maybe that meant he cared about her after all. No, wait, she shouldn't allow herself to seek comfort in Sebastian. She still didn't know whether he could be trusted. Going back to him might mean that she was putting her baby in harm's way.
"Listen to me." Her nostrils flared. "Have I ever lied to you when it was really important?"
"Well, you once told me that Margie Flanders had hair extensions, but she was actually wearing a wig," Mary Lou said.
She was hysterical. "If you don't listen to me right now, then I'm going to sneak into your apartment while you're sleeping and cut up all of your thongs."
"No." Mary Lou sounded scandalized.
"I'll even destroy the pink one with the lacy bow," she said. "I know it's your favorite."
"Not the pink one." Mary Lou groaned.
"Yes." And if the situation hadn't been so dire, she would have been repulsed she even knew that Mary Lou had a thong with a lacy bow.
"This shit just got real." Mary Lou gasped. "You better not be playing with me."
"I'm not." She shook her head. "I don't know if Sebastian is dangerous or not, but don't take any chances. Just get out of your apartment as fast as you can."
"But where are you?" Mary Lou asked. "Are you safe?"
She looked around her tiny room. "I think so. I'm at my parents' house. As far as I know, Sebastian has no idea where that is."
"You're at your parents' house?" Mary Lou snorted. "I remember that place. It's about as well protected as a dog house."
"Oh, great." Now she was even more worried.
"Sorry. I just freaked you out, huh?" Mary Lou sighed. "Well, do you want me to leave now?"
"No, go tomorrow," she said sarcastically. "Or better yet, wait till next week."
"Shut your trap, sassy pants," Mary Lou said. "I'm out of here."
"Good." She sighed. "Call me tomorrow morning?"
"Damn straight," Mary Lou said. "And tomorrow will you tell me what's got you so freaked out?"
Emmy froze. No way was she even mentioning the word werewolf. Still, by tomorrow she could have a story invented that was much more believable than the truth.
"I'll tell you," she lied.
"You'd better." Mary Lou sniffed. "If you don't, I can do a little apartment demolition of my own."
"I definitely regret giving you the key to my apartment." She rolled her eyes.
"Don't even try to take it back either," Mary Lou said. "One of the men I've, ahem, spent intimate time with is rather good at copying keys."
"I hate you," she muttered.
"Sure you do," Mary Lou said. "Now I should go or else I really will be here until next week."
"Drive safe." She knew the woman couldn't see six inches in front of her face.
"Don't I always?" Mary Lou asked.
Emmy didn't say anything.
"Some best friend you are." The woman sighed. "Bye."
"Bye."
After Mary Lou ended the call, Emmy flopped onto the bed. As she stared at the ceiling, she sighed, feeling even more restless than before. Still, at least now she knew that Mary Lou would be safe. Now the only person she had to worry about was her baby.
And she was definitely worried.
Emmy must have fallen asleep because she awoke to the smell of bacon and pancakes. Groaning, she rolled onto her side and glanced at the clock. It was ten o'clock in the morning, yet she felt like it was the middle of the night. Despite that, she doubted she would be able to fall asleep again. She was too riled up. Plus, she had to admit that she was starving. The smell of bacon always stirred her appetite.
Yet even as her stomach rumbled, she hesitated before going down to the kitchen. She'd had a pretty big altercation with her parents last night, and it was still on her mind. Well, she had to go downstairs eventually. It wasn't like she could stay up in her room and starve to death, not with being pregnant and everything. Plus, if she were to be honest, she didn't mind arguing if she got bacon out of it. After all, bacon was, well, bacon.
That was the final thought that caused her to jump out of bed. Self-confidence was all well and good, but bacon was the ultimate motivator. She headed down the stairs and into the kitchen. When she walked through the door, she saw her dad frying bacon while her mom placed a ham-and-cheese omelet on a plate. Emmy raised an eyebrow. Her mom wasn't the type of woman to let her family starve, but she didn't normally whip up a spread like this for breakfast unless it was a holiday or she was trying to cushion the blow before delivering bad news. Emmy hadn't seen her mom make a breakfast like this since her uncle, Raphe, had choked on a chicken bone in the middle of a fast-food parking lot.
"Hey, guys." She timidly entered the kitchen.
"You're awake." Her mom whirled around, cheesy spatula in hand. "I was hoping the smells would lure you down."
"It always worked like a charm when you were younger," her dad said.
The smell of food was the only way to raise a teenagedaughter from the dead in time for school. "Well, yeah."
Awkward silence fell. She wrung her hands, uncertain.
"About last night…" Emmy chewed her bottom lip.
Her mom sighed. "Yes, we wanted to talk to you about last night, didn't we, Doug?"
Her mom elbowed her dad in the ribs.
Rubbing his side, her dad nodded. "Ahem. Yes."
"Neither of us approve of what you did." Her mom gave her a stern look. "Babies should be conceived after marriage."
"And even then, it's better to wait a long time before you conceive anything," her dad said. "In fact, I think a marriage works just as well if you never consummate it."
"Doug…" Her mom's eyes narrowed.
"Oh, all right. I'm sorry." The man grunted. "I guess I always saw you as my innocent little girl. The fact that this happened has shaken me."
"I'm sorry." She hung her head in shame.
"Well, you should be." Her dad was gruff.
As Emmy's heart ached, she sighed. Finally, her dad's eyes softened.
"I guess you're going to have to deal with the consequences of your actions without me yelling at you." Her dad's mustache twitched. "But where's the man who did this to you? It takes two to tango, if you catch my drift."
Oh, she caught his drift and more. Her cheeks reddened. "He's…"
He's a monstrous beast who can rip me to shreds.
"Well?" Even her mom looked intrigued now.
"Doesn't he want to be involved?" Her dad groaned. "That immature, selfish bastard."
"He wants to be involved." Why did she feel the urge to protect Sebastian? "He's been very attentive."
Something strange happened then—her heart ached for Sebastian. After all, she knew he cared about the baby. On top of that, it was obvious how much he liked her. For the first time, she realized that she missed him. And not just a little. She missed him a lot. But how could she trust him knowing what he was? The thought was almost too much to handle.
"If he's being attentive, then why isn't he here?" her dad asked. "A man should take responsibility for his actions. It's not like a woman is asexual and can impregnate herself."
Her mom glared at him. "Doug, knock it off."
"Well, he wanted to marry me," she admitted. "He's trying to take responsibility."
"What?" Her mom's eyes brightened. "You're engaged?"
She'd considered herself unattached ever since she'd found out what he was. "No, we aren't engaged anymore. We're too different. I don't think it's going to work out."
"But you're pregnant." Her dad said this as if it made all the difference.
"Isn't it better to be alone than to stay with someone who could be bad for the baby?" She could just imagine a werewolf staring down her child. Yet her baby would be a werewolf, too, wouldn't it? That meant Sebastian may need to be around, even if he was…special.
Wait, no. Shit, shit, shit.
Completely unaware that her skillet had started to smolder, her mom's eyes widened. "Is he unfit to raise a child?"
Emmy shrugged. "The thing is, I don't know. He could be a good dad."
Her dad looked disgusted. "What do you mean, you don't know? If something is unclear, then you go and talk it out. That's the way it is."
"It's not that simple." Her fists balled at her sides.
"Let me tell you something, young lady, you're about to bring a life into this world." Her dad pointed a finger at her. "And while a single mom can raise a child on her own, having a father involved can make everything a lot better. I'm not saying to get yourself involved with anyone dangerous, but this isn't the time to play games. It's the time to buckle down and get serious because having a baby is going to be one of the hardest things you'll ever have to do."