Almost as if nothing had happened.
Almost as if she didn't just lose a baby last week.It had been two weeks and no, the pain didn't stop she just found a way to live with it.It was common knowledge to all her coworkers that she was giving the baby up for adoption. Very common knowledge, so when Birdie had found her crying mid shift in the bathroom, her question had been,
'But you never wanted the baby in the first place. I don't understand why you're sad now."
Her words were guttural, like a knife severing her insides. She had instantly wiped her tears and went back to work, she had not spoken to Birdie again after that.
The only part of her day that seemed to give her a brief moment of joy was when Mrs Grace came to pick up the milk for the baby.
Lori managed to pump in the mornings and after work, then she would bag, date and freeze the milk.
They had agreed on every three days, but for some reason Lori couldn't stop producing more milk so Mrs Grace sometimes had to come the next day, she wondered if she was making it worse by donating the milk.
Mrs Grace was very kind. Sometimes when she came over to pick up the milk she'd bring Lori food to eat. Home cooked meals. Once she brought her lasagna and the other day it was a key lime pie.
She also never seemed to tire about giving Lori progress about the baby despite the fact that Lori feigned disinterest whenever she talked about the baby.
They had finally gotten around to naming her. Her name was Emilia. Emilia Caine. They sometimes called her Emmy for short.
Jared had also not come around, perhaps he was still feeling guilty about everything. After all, if he hadn't pushed her she wouldn't have gone into premature labour.
A part of her was glad that he had stayed away, although, knowing him he would never stay away for too long. She prayed and hoped that he was away for good now.
She needed stability in her life. Stability and normalcy.
Jared was a chapter she desperately needed to close. She had been trying to close that chapter for months."Lori! Table three needs a refill!"
Birdie called out and Lori nodded her head as she walked over to the table with a jug of coffee in her hand.
"Hey! I've seen you here before. Didn't you use to be pregnant?"
He asked and Lori nodded.
"Yes. I was."
The man's eyes raked all over her in a look she knew all too well.
"Wow. You look great! I mean for someone who just had a baby you look smoking hot!"
He commented and Lori forced a smile. Unsolicited comments and terrible compliments, it was just the kind of stuff she usually dealt with at the diner.
"Thanks."
She murmured as she left his table.
Hot?
She didn't feel hot. Nothing about her felt hot.
She was hurt. Hurt and broken. And she feared that she might never recover from the pain that she was feeling, the brutal gnawing in her chest.
She was still deep in her feeling and didn't notice when a man walked into the diner.
She was focused on wiping a table that had a kid had made a mess on.
"Ms Wyatt? Are you Ms Wyatt?"
A deep voice asked.
Lori didn't even turn.
"Yes."
She answered. After she was done, she turned and found a tall man right in front of her.
She took a small step back.
He was tall. Something about his presence was towering.
Domineering.
Very tall.
Probably six foot two, he was wearing a charcoal black suit, tailored and cut to suit every inch of his body. He had short dark hair, his face was clean shaven except for the tiny mustache he kept, he had deeply unsettling blue eyes that looked too blue to be natural, a jaw that could cut through ice and cheekbones so beautiful they made his face look like he was molded by some perfect god.
She swallowed hard and looked away, catching herself staring, he had that effect on people and he was probably happy that he did."Can we sit and talk somewhere?"
He asked and Lori glanced at Birdie who was watching her like a hawk.
"Right now? I'm on my shift."
"Who are you?"
She asked.
"I'm Gabriel Caine. The father of the little baby you have been donating your milk to these past two weeks."
"Oh. I'm not due to meet Grace till later today."
Lori mused and the man nodded.
"I know.. I just wanted to talk to you."
Birdie was already approaching them now.
Lori glanced at her and scowled.
"Okay. I finish in ten minutes, can it be after my shift? I'm already on probation and I don't want to annoy my boss any further."
She said and he nodded.
"Okay. I will wait for you in that black car outside."
He said as he pointed to the sleek black car that was outside. Without one more word, he walked out of the diner.
After her shift, Lori went into the locker room and changed.
Good thing she had at least worn something decent. Her faded red dress and old doc martens boots were at least still presentable.
As she walked out of the diner, Mr Gabriel Caine was already out of his car and moving to the other side to open the door for her.
A gentleman?
Wow surprising. Lori couldn't think of the time a man opened the door for her.
As she stepped into the luxury car, she could immediately smell his cologne, she had caught a whiff of it in the diner, but here it was all she could smell in the car. Incredibly sexy, musky and confident. She smoothed her hand over the leather of the car seat, it was probably worth more than she had ever seen in her entire life.
Damn, it must cost a lot.
She had suspected that baby Emilia's family was comfortable, she just didn't know they were so rich.
"First of all, I want to thank you for your help. Your kindness, towards my daughter even in your own pain is admirable."
"I don't know how to ever repay you."
Lori shook her head.
"I don't need payment Mr Caine."
Grace had certainly offered, the first day she had come to pick up the milk and she jsd seen her apartment complex. She had offered.
"I know. And under normal circumstances I wouldn't offer you but I have a proposal for you Ms Wyatt."
"A proposal?"
Lori repeated.
What could a rich well to do man like Mr Gabriel Caine possibly have to do with someone like her?
"As you already know, Grace is the sole caretaker of my daughter. She has been taking care of her since she was born."
"Emilia lost her mother at birth."
Lori nodded.
"But Grace is old and she tires easily. We decided on getting a nanny and Grace mentioned that you're the only person she would recommend."
"A nanny?!"
Lori exclaimed and Gabriel nodded.
"I will respect your decision to decline Ms Wyatt but I would also be equally relieved if you decide to take on the job. I intend to reward you handsomely for your services."
He said as he passed her a contract.
Lori took it with shaky hands.
Was this really happening?
She skimmed through the pages. The sum of ten thousand dollars per month in addition to added benefits hit her.
Whattt?
Ten thousand dollars?!
The requirements were pretty simple, she was to be a live in nanny, responsible for taking care of Emilia and provide her with love and care.
"What do you think?"
The man asked and Lori opened her mouth but no words came out.
Slowly, she cleared her throat and looked at him, he was staring at her intently, watching her every move, her every emotion like a hawk."I need time to read through the contract and think about your offer."
She said as she gulped hard.
He nodded.
"Fair enough. But you have until tomorrow evening. Here's my card."
He handed her a crisp business card.
"Once you make your choice, call me. A car would come to pick up you and your luggage."
After she got out of his car, she watched him drive away while she clutched the document in mild shock.
Emilia Susannah Caine. He liked the name. Emilia, after a childhood friend he lost to cancer and Susannah after her mother. Finally, he was able to take her home, he went back to the hospital right after the full moon to pick her up. Mrs Grace was already doing a good job of handling her. She cried less and less but something told Gabriel that that would be the least of his worries.Emilia was like all babies really, all she really did was eat, sleep, poop and cry and Emilia took each and every one of her tasks seriously. She ate a lot, she went through bottles and bottles of milk that even her donor's milk couldn't sustain her, they had to supplement with formula. She slept a lot during the day, so long as nobody in the house made a noise, she would have her nap times uninterrupted. She equally pooped a lot, the first time Gabriel had to change her diaper, he was mortified. He had called the doctor, was baby poop supposed to be green?! The doctor said it was normal. And the smel
She rang the doorbell twice before someone came to the door. Mrs Fuller opened the door. She was wearing a large grey cardigan and sweatpants. "What do you want?"She said harshly as she tried to close the door. "Please wait! Just hear me out!"Lori begged. "I just, I need to see him... I woke up and they said you had taken him...""See him?!"Mrs Fuller scoffed, retying her robe with anger. "You are not his mother. You relinquished your rights to him remember?"Lori nodded. "I know. I know I did that. But please, can you just let me know where he's buried? I just.. I just want to say goodbye.""Goodbye?!"Mr Fuller appeared from behind, there was a scowl on his face. He must have been listening in on their conversation. "You don't even deserve that! You don't deserve anything. You put his life in jeopardy!""Tom."Mrs Fuller murmured but he ignored his wife."You're the fucking reason he's dead!"Mr Fuller shouted. Lori swallowed hard. She wiped away the tears on her face. "
The nursery was light and airy. Everything was white, even the walls and the crib. It was the prettiest nursery that Lori had ever seen. It had white walls, white walls with a painting of a rainbow on one of the walls. The floor was covered in a thick white rug, there was a large mahogany wardrobe which Lori presumed served as the closet. There was a changing table next to the door and a drawer next to a large cream couch, a rocking chair was next to the window and the baby's crib was in the middle of the room, where Emilia slept peacefully. Her crib was white, all white, save for the yellow blanket that was hanging at the edge of it. Lori took a peek, the baby was fast asleep. Her heart tugged as soon as she saw her and she felt the overwhelming need to hold her. She never had the chance to hold her son. But this baby, this baby she could hold. Emilia looked so peaceful in her sleep, her long dark lashes rested on her chubby cheeks and she pouted when she slept. It was a beautif
Gabriel could smell her even before he saw her. He knew what room she was in before Grace told him. A part of him was very relieved that she had decided to take the job, not for anything else really, but the fact that he believed she was most suitable to the job. He had told no one yet that she was his mate, not even his closest advisors. He could imagine the hysteria that would come with making a public announcement. Especially with the the fact that she wasn't human. How would the elders of his pack approach that? What would the other rivals think of? When they heard that he had a weak mate? A human mate?No, it was best to keep Lori away from that, that was until he figured out what to do with her. He had seen her and given her the ground rules, all the while noticing that something about her scent had changed, he couldn't place what exactly it was, but the scent was there. She looked more relaxed now, although he could still see the shadows behind her eyes. How could he not? S
The baby woke her up. She had retired to her bed after pumping and snugged into the covers with the baby monitor to sleep. Lori didn't think she caught a wink of sleep, then the sound of Emilia crying blasted into her ears. She was out of her room in a minute. Forgetting she was only wearing a night shirt and panties. She got to Emilia's room in a flash and picked up the crying baby. She started shushing her by rocking her back and forth and that seemed to work for a while before she launched into another wail.Oh God. Lori thought as she paled, she was going to wake up everyone at this rate. She thought as she hastily set her down on the changing table to check if she needed a diaper change. No, no diaper change needed. Just a very fussy baby who might be very hungry. There was no milk in the nursery, Lori had transfered it all to the kitchen downstairs, which now seemed like a bad idea since she would have to go down and get it.Doing that, she might risk waking everyone up
"How was your first night with the baby?"Grace asked later in the morning when she came into the house. She had her greying hair in a bun and she was wearing her usual sweater and slacks. The only difference was that there was a pair of glasses on her face. She kissed Emilia on the forehead and stroked her cheeks lovingly before turning to Lori. Lori looked sleep deprived. Her eyes were sunken and her hair looked greasy like she had not taken a bath. Grace felt pity for her, she must have not slept through the night. "She did good. She didn't sleep but she did good."Lori added. She had brought the baby down the stairs and into the living room where her rockaroo swing was. She placed the baby in it and settled on the nearest couch. Lori didn't know why she thought Grace was a live in housekeeper but apparently she wasn't. She regularly took shifts with Gregory. Grace luckily took time out to explain the work dynamics of everyone that worked at the Caine household. Gregory was
They had dinner together. All of them at the table. Lori, Grace and Mr Gabriel. Lori didn't dare ask where the cousin she had seen earlier was. But she did see Grace taking food out for him before they started eating. Dinner was pasta, like Grace had mentioned earlier, Mr Gabriel was oddly quiet, he seemed to have a lot on his mind. Lori was quiet throughout the entire meal and she finished her meal fast enough to leave the table.Gabriel watched her leave the table after she was done. He knew she just arrived, but she didnt seem too fond of him. They also didn't talk much either, all their conversation were centered around the baby, nothing more.Gabriel wished he could have a normal conversation with her, at least once but he didn't know how to approach her."It'll take time."Grace said as she pulled him out of his thoughts."What?"Gabriel said as he jerked a little, surprised by her voice. He had actually forgot that she was on the table with them. Grace always ate her meals w
The underground was a scary place. Scary and dangerous, for non-werewolves and for werewolves that were not from the Moon fang pack.It was located deep in the city, like many of Gabriel's other establishment were. Gabriel liked to drop in once a week, mostly unannounced, just to check up on what the werewolves were doing. The Underground used to be a former meeting ground, but then it had become too small and it was used as a training ground. One of the many training grounds the pack had in the city. To a normal human from the outside world, it looked like a fight club, a place where people came to box, fight and where people bet to see people fight. Draco had brought the werewolves who claimed to be part of his pack there, because that was the one of the places they couldn't escape. It was entirely surrounded by werewolves from his pack. And he wanted to be sure they were part of his pack before he provided them with whatever they needed. When Gabriel became Alpha, he would nev