had resented being forced into an arranged match. He’d wanted to choose his own path, his own mate. In the end, he’d been forced to submit. Still, he never regretted his decision. How could he when he’d been gifted with Willow?
As Tlanuhwa, he understood the dire need for the propagation laws. But as a father, he had a difficult time supporting an archaic mandate that might not be in the best interest of his child.
Willow gave her grandmother a triumphant look. “I’m going to call Lucas.” She grabbed her phone and plopped on the pullout couch in the small living area which also served as Bodie’s bedroom.
Shaking her head, Mary retrieved the plate from the microwave and placed it in front of Bodie. He nodded his thanks without meeting her gaze.
“You’re too soft with her,” his mother said. “It gives her false hope.”
“How?” Bodie swirled his fork through his food.
“She cannot escape the law.” Mary hovered over him. “Unless you want her thrown to wolves, defenseless and shunned.”
Mentally, Bodie snorted. The wolves he’d encountered at the Walker’s Run sanctuary might not be as ruthless as the threat his mother intended.
“I want Willow to be happy.” Bodie watched his daughter. All smiles and giggles as she lounged on the couch and video chatted with Lucas.
“How happy will she be when our race becomes extinct?”
“The Tlanuhwa’s survival isn’t dependent on one girl.”
“What if more fathers think like you?”
Considering the recent conversation that he had with a couple of clansmen, Bodie suspected some already did.
“The Tribunal will be unable to pair the best matches. What then?”
“Maybe we’ll evolve into something more than a tired, frightened people.” Bodie shoveled a forkful of food into his mouth and swallowed without tasting it.
Mary tossed her hands in the air. “If your father were here!”
“We wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Because Bodie would’ve made an entirely different choice. But when his father died, Bodie did what he had to do for his mother’s sake.
“It’s cruel to give her so much freedom. It will only break her heart in the long run.” Huffing, his mother moved into the kitchenette to wash the few dishes in the sink.
Bodie’s heart pinged. His own heart had been broken after falling in love with his college girlfriend. His mind’s eye had even created a reality in which they could’ve lived happily-ever-after, if he had been human.
But he wasn’t, and the Tlanuhwa were the monsters in fairy tales, not the princes and princesses. How many times had his mother told him that there were no true happy endings for their kind? Survival was all that mattered.
He yearned for something different for his daughter.
Maybe that was how the end began. One father breaking with tradition, hoping to give his daughter what he and her mother had been denied.
“Times have changed,” he said quietly. “The Tlanuhwa should, too.”
“Remember,” his mother warned. “That kind of thinking is what got your father killed.”
It wasn’t something Bodie would likely forget.
If he met his father’s fate, his mother and daughter would be all alone and without support. He hoped forging an alliance with the Co-op would ensure that his family would be looked after if anything should happen to him.
“Dad?”
“What, chickadee?” Turning toward Willow, he cleared all worries from his expression.
“Did you get the stuff I need from the craft store in Gainesville?”
“No, but I met Alex’s mom. She owns The Stitchery in Maico and she has everything you need. Enisi can take you after school tomorrow.” He glanced at his mother. “It’s off Sorghum Avenue.”
Bodie wished he could take Willow himself but by the time he got off, Ronni’s store would be closed. He would have to wait until Friday night to get up close and personal with her again. Until then, watching over her from his perch in her backyard would have to suffice.
“Boy or girl?” Ronni asked the pregnant woman walking into the store.
“I didn’t want to know.” Nel Buchanan’s unexpected visit was a bit of sunshine in Ronni’s gloom.
“I bet Gavin had a conniption, or did Doc tell him?”
“Nope. I pulled the HIPAA card. Doc can’t release any of my information without my explicit permission.”
“That’s an advantage of being human,” Ronni laughed. “A wolfan can’t keep a secret from the Alpha.” Something she’d learned when Gavin called about the situation with Jeb minutes after she had received the news and assured her that she had the pack’s support.
Ronni knew she would, but having the Walker’s Run Alpha tell her that personally had meant a lot.
“Which is why Tristan doesn’t know either.” Nel’s skin had a radiant glow, not just from the pregnancy; she was truly happy.
Ronni’s heart pinched. Tristan was lucky to have recently reclaimed his mate after she left him. Having lost her own mate, Ronni had sympathized with his pain. However, Tristan’s mate had returned to him and Ronni’s never could.
Still, that didn’t diminish her happiness that her friends had reunited. And everyone in the pack loved it when a new wolfling was on the way.
“He’s okay with not knowing?”
“Said he didn’t care. He only wants the baby to be healthy.” Rubbing her stomach, Nel walked up to the counter where Ronni stood. “No matter what, he’s going to spoil this little one rotten.”
“As well he should,” Ronni said. “How are the house plans coming?”
“That’s why I’m here.” Nel withdrew a folder from her flashy designer bag. Likely a gift from Tristan’s socialite mother. Nel’s personal style was more subdued.
“Meeting Suzannah today?”
“We had lunch.” Nel grinned. “She was not happy when I told her no one would find out the baby’s sex until delivery. I may not get any more highfalutin gifts.” Thank goodness, Nel mouthed.
“What are these?” Ronni picked up one of the papers Nel had laid on the counter.
“Rough sketches of the interior of the new house. We finally agreed on a floor plan. Tristan is meeting with his dad
