“I think your wolf likes me,” I blurted out.
Lorenzo choked on his sausage. After several strained coughs, he took a sip of orange juice and looked up at me with glazed eyes.
“Is everything okay?” the waitress asked in a concerned voice.
“He’s fine,” I said. “He’s just choking on his pride.”
Her thin, painted-on eyebrows arched. “Well, if you need anything, holler.”
Lorenzo resumed eating and furrowed his brow. “You forget that I have control in wolf form.”
I swallowed my bite and set the sandwich down. “No, I didn’t forget. But I can also tell when you’re asleep and your wolf is the only one in charge. He’s less afraid to show his affection in public than you are.”
“You’re mistaken. My wolf doesn’t warm up to others. My pack has spoken of his behavior, and most of them keep their distance.”
I leaned in close. “Maybe they stay away because they think you’re in control, and they’re trying hard not to say or do anything that would offend you. He likes me. Just accept it.”
Lorenzo sawed into his meat and took a large bite. “He doesn’t like you; he tolerates you as he does everyone else.”
“Thunder nuzzles against me and licks my belly. If that’s what he does with people he tolerates, I’d love to see how he behaves around those he likes.”
Lorenzo froze mid-bite, his neck turning a dark shade of red. Then he gave me a private look I couldn’t discern.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I don’t know if it’s my place.”
“As long as your tongue is still attached to your head, feel free to use it.”
Lorenzo smirked and stroked his bristly jaw. He’d skipped shaving that morning, even though we’d stopped off at a hotel to rest along the way. “Why didn’t you claim your son?”
“Because he’s loved.”
“You don’t think you could offer him more love? The love only a real mother can give her son?”
“What’s ‘real’ mean? What I saw in that room was as real as it gets. You can’t deny the fierce devotion in his father’s eyes and the love in his mother’s heart.”
Lorenzo slowly threaded his hair away from his face, doing it in such a way that would get me to notice every gesture he made. “He belongs in a pack.”
“Lakota has the chance to live in a diverse environment, and they’ll be his pack. There’s a Shifter living with them who’ll teach him what he needs to know when the time comes. He won’t grow up with prejudice; he’ll be a freethinker and do great things. How many children have that opportunity?”
“You don’t want him?”
“Of course I want him!” I shouted, slamming my hand against the table.
I quieted my voice when the older man lowered his book and looked up at me. My chest tightened, and Lorenzo picked up a bottle that had tipped over.
“I can’t be selfish about this, Lorenzo. It’s not about me and what I want anymore; it never was. I’ve given the ultimate gift of life and put that into the universe. Our spirits will always be connected, and I know someday our lives will intersect again,” I said, overcome with emotion. “But I sometimes wonder if he would have been that happy—that protected—had he stayed with me. My pack was rough, and he would have been influenced by those men. Even now, taking him would only cause him pain and confusion. I have to be selfless and think what’s best for Lakota. If anyone uses my decision as a measure for how much or how little I love my son, then that’s a person I don’t want to know. This is harder than you can imagine, but I’m at peace. This was not a life I was meant to have. Fate stepped in, and he’s right where he needs to be. There’s a greater purpose for my son, and someday I’ll be witness to the remarkable man he becomes. He has more than I could have given him, and what a blessing for that childless couple.”
He lightly shook his head. “You should be sainted.”
“I’m not perfect,” I quickly said. “Maybe this is a mistake. Maybe I have fears and doubts in my head, but right now, it feels like the right thing to do. Stealing him away from the only family he’s ever known would devastate him. I have to follow my heart, and my wolf seems content with my decision.”
Lorenzo laughed and sat back. “Your wolf put on quite the show in front of Lakota.”
“Surely it wasn’t that bad,” I said, brushing away a tear.
Lorenzo ate more of his scrambled eggs. “I have no doubt you’ll be seeing the video. The mother recorded it on her phone. I made sure to give her Austin’s information so she could send it to him.”
“So now I need to ask you a question.”
His jaw continued working as he searched my eyes. After chewing his food, Lorenzo set his fork down, folded his hands on the table, and gave me his undivided attention. “And what question is that?”