{ Theodore }Nukea is annoyed.I manage to get her to follow me to my car and get in, but she turns to the window and stays that way for the entire time, refusing to turn to look at me even when I try to make conversation. To be honest, her clear annoyance is making me feel like a caged up animal. I want to tell her I'm sorry and try to make it better somehow, but... I don't have to apologize for having a girlfriend. We are nothing. And I don't think we can ever be anything. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to make her feel better, so I stop at the first atm I find on the way to school. "Can I have my wallet now?" I ask her, she nods and pulls it out of her purse, then goes back to looking out the window. I hate how anxious I feel to make her stop being so mad, but if there's one thing I know it's that money fixes most things. So, I don't even ask how much was that dress because it’s not even about the dress.I get out of the car and unlock my cards before taking out as much

Once we finish eating, the boys run to the playground and we're left alone again. "The boys are cute," Theo mentions, looking at them as they leave, "You're like their mom, right?""I guess you could say that. I've been taking care of them completely since Beau was two and Knox was like seven," I reply, he's listening to me like he's actually listening to me, which is something you'd expect, but the only person who really listens to me is Violet, "I consider myself only their big sister because I'm fun. I let them sleep in late, I let them have all the desserts they want, sometimes I let them skip school and we play all the time. But I'm the only person who takes care of them, so yeah.""That's nice. You've done a good job, you should be proud," he says and I have to look down and swallow because a lump suddenly forms in my throat and my eyes get watery for a second. I've never had someone say something like that to me before, "Would you like to have your own kids one day?""No way,"

Isabella lets me hear how disappointed she is with me for about another half hour, but once she's satisfied she tells me it's time to go to the appointment. This is the first time I'll be going with her to something of this sort and although I've been confused and worried about the future, my pup's life is still the most important thing to me right now. I let my assistant know I'll be going out again and I almost feel bad about the tired look she gives me, but she decided to work for me, so that’s what she gets. When we get to the doctor's office, she and Isabella talk for a while. Isabella tells her that she's been under stress lately and hasn't been able to eat as she should. That makes me feel like I've been punched in the gut and guilt takes over me. I know it’s because of me and how I totally pulled away in the worst possible moment. Once their chat is over, Isabella lies down on the small gurney and lifts up her blouse to show off her still flat stomach. "We're in the beginn

Isabella is still not very happy even with my promise to buy her a new watch, so I do the only thing I can think of to distract her. I take two steps until I'm glued to her and grab her face in my hands to lift her to me and kiss her. Fortunately, it works and within seconds I feel her body relax. Just a week ago kissing my girlfriend was one of my favorite things to do. But today it's more like a chore. Everything I do is manual, even when I touch her lips with my tongue and move my hands down to her ass. And even though it's completely awful, I can't help but think how different this is from the kiss I had with Nukea. I barely remember it and it wasn't that long, but fuck if it isn't running around in my head every waking moment of the day ever since it happened.Isabella doesn't deserve a man who is thinking about someone else while kissing her. I undo the kiss when she starts to touch my chest. I know she wants something more, but I don't think I'm ready to do anything else w

Theo's wolf holds me and strokes my hair until I calm down. Once I do, he wipes away my tears and leaves light kisses all over my cheeks and forehead. I can't do anything but take it and love it. He's so tender and sweet, he wipes away kiss by kiss the fucked up memory of that guy. "I'm okay now," I tell him in a whisper, "I was just a little scared, but you made it better. Thanks for coming to my rescue.""You rescued yourself, but I'll always be there for you, Nukea, always. It's not a lie or an exaggeration. And it's never going to change," he promises, looking deep into my eyes so I feel the honesty of his words. I nod, because I fully believe him, "The kids?""They're in their room, they're okay too," I tell him. He nods and closes his eyes for a couple of seconds. As soon as he opens them again and stops touching my face, I know it's just Theo again, "Hi, buddy. Thanks for coming.""Of course I would," he says like it’s a given and takes a couple of steps away from me to appro