Her she-wolf yowled sadly. During the weeks after he left, it had been inconsolable. Of course it was—he was their True Mate after all. She had suspected it the first time, but since he never called her, she thought she had been wrong. However, it wasn’t until she realized she was pregnant two months after he left the second time that she confirmed it.
While the signs had been there—how her wolf reacted to him and that his scent was unusually pleasant to her—the only way to really know if a couple was True Mates was if the female got pregnant the first time they had sex. Then, once the female was pregnant, she became invulnerable to any harm. It had been too late when she found out. He had left her—tossed her aside like she was nothing.
“Stop it,” she said through gritted teeth. That was the past. Over and done with. She had Evan to think of now. He was the love of her life—the only thing in the world that mattered now.
Truthfully, she would have never guessed this is how her life would have ended up—nor that she would be so happy being a single mom to Evan and working in her family’s restaurant. Her life before Evan seemed like a million years ago, and the person she was then was a mere memory. Sure, there were times when it was difficult and she longed for the days when the only problem she had was that her favorite boutique had run out of the must-have shoes of the season, but she wouldn’t trade her son for all the shoes and clothes in the world.
“What the—Evan!” A splatter of banana hit her in the chest. Looking at her son, he grinned at her, raising the spoon triumphantly. Somehow, he had gotten his hands on it and had tossed a spoonful of his breakfast at her. “Oh, baby. What am I gonna do with you?” She put her hands on her hips and tried to look serious, but the two boys laughing and giggling made her heart melt. “I—”
A ringing sound interrupted her and she fished her phone from the pocket of her robe. The caller ID flashed her brother-in-law’s name, so she didn’t hesitate answering it.
“Duncan? Is everything all right?” Fear caught in her throat. “Did something happen? Is Jules okay?”
“Hush, lassie, I’ll tell you about Julianna in a bit,” came the soothing brogue from Duncan MacDougal. “But first, I wanted to check on you and the wee ones.”
“I just fed them breakfast.”
“Good. Thank you for watching over Kier, Isabelle.”
“I wish I could have done more.”
“You did good, lassie,” Duncan assured her. “Knowing that Kier was in good hands while we were fighting put us both at ease. Thank you so much, Isabelle.”
“Of course, you know I’d do anything for you and Jules.”
“Aye, and I’m grateful to you.”
Glancing over at the boys, she saw they seemed to be entertaining themselves, so she turned around and whispered into the phone. “But what about Julianna? How is she?”
“She’s doin’ fine now, but it was pretty bad. A fireball got her, and she passed out from the pain.”
Her chest contracted. “Oh no! Please tell me she’s okay now. Is she conscious?”
“Awake, yes, but if it’s not too much trouble, could you come down to the Medical Wing and cheer her up? You don’t have to bring the boys, especially as both of them can be a handful.”
“Not any trouble at all. I’ll find someone who can watch them while I run down there.”
“Thanks, Isabelle, you’re a gem.”
Putting her phone away, she turned to the boys. “C’mon. Let’s get cleaned up and see if Aunty Sofia and Alessandro can watch you.”
After cleaning the boys up and changing her own clothes, she strapped Evan into his stroller and carried Kier in her arms, and rolled them out the door. Her apartment was only a few floors below her brother and sister-in-law’s penthouse, which had actually been her childhood home when her father had been Alpha. It was actually convenient whenever Sofia had needed someone to look after Alessandro while she was at work, though now with Isabelle’s job at the restaurant, they had found other arrangements. But since today was unusual and her usual babysitter might not be ready to accept both pups, Sofia would be the best option. Thankfully, Sofia didn’t mind having them drop in unexpectedly and happily took in both boys so Isabelle could visit Julianna at the medical wing.
The medical wing was on the far end of The Enclave, the compound on the Upper West Side that housed most of the Lycan of New York and their families. She herself had been born there, and so had Evan. She entered the facility, waving hello to Janet, the receptionist, who manned the front door. She guessed that Julianna would probably be in the recovery ward upstairs, so made her way to the third floor.
Peeking through the doorway of the recovery ward, she saw Julianna lying down on one of the beds, and she gasped. It was difficult seeing her strong, no-nonsense sister in a hospital bed. Growing up, she was the tough one, and now …
“Jules! Oh, my God, Jules,” she cried as she burst through the door. “Duncan told me what happened, are you all right?” She hugged Julianna. “I thought—”
“Oh, for crying out loud,” Julianna mumbled. “I’m fine. I’m a Lycan, remember? I may not have True Mate healing powers, but I’ll be fine in a couple of days.”
“The fireball burned a chunk of flesh off her left arm,” Duncan said through gritted teeth. “She fainted from the pain.”
“And they patched me up, but this thing”—she nodded at the bandage on her arm—“itches like the dickens. And don’t even get me started on what generating new skin feels like.”
“Thanks
