Chapter 7 - Lola #2
While they continued bickering, Lola carefully shifted the now-empty bottle and began gently rubbing the baby’s back, as she remembered reading somewhere.
She’d never imagined herself in a situation like this, surrounded by powerful shifters, in the heart of a thriving pack, but suddenly, somehow, she felt less out of place than she had since arriving.
Still deeply confused.
Still mildly terrified.
But not…lost.
“We’ll help however we can,” Felix said, cutting through Nicolas’s next sarcastic quip. He turned to Dane. “In all seriousness, you’re not alone. You never were.”
Dane nodded tightly, “I know.”
Rick was still watching her, though.
And for all her bravado, Lola couldn’t quite look back.
There was something in his gaze she didn’t understand. Something sharp and knowing. He hadn’t objected to her offer, but he hadn’t agreed with it, either. It was like he was waiting. For what, she didn’t know.
The baby let out a small sigh against her shoulder, then promptly threw up down the front of her shirt. “Oh my God.”
Lola froze, arms outstretched in horror, as warm milk soaked through her top.
Dane bit back a laugh.
Nicolas didn’t bother trying, though he at least covered his mouth with his hand.
“Right,” Lola said, eyes wide and voice faint. “So that’s a thing they do. Lovely.”
Felix tossed her a muslin cloth from one of the supply bags, “Welcome to the club.”
“You didn’t say there would be fluids.”
“Just don’t do what Nicolas does and insist on wearing designer shit when handling infants,” said Felix. “Nothing that needs handwashing.”
Lola muttered something unflattering under her breath as she wiped herself off, trying to maintain what little dignity she had left.
Dane stepped forward. “Here, let me—”
“Don’t you dare come near me with your smug alpha charm right now,” she snapped, one arm still awkwardly around the baby. “I smell like cheese.”
“Now you are going to want to go designer to help cover the smell,” said Nicolas breezily. “Though judging by your taste in perfume, you’ve got that covered.”
Lola groaned and dropped her head against the back of the couch.
The baby yawned and promptly fell asleep again on her chest.
It wasn’t ideal.
But somehow, it was working.
The baby was still alive. At least for now.
He slept for a solid twenty minutes before stirring again.
Just enough time for Felix to lay out a few supplies, Nicolas to test every piece of baby equipment for its ‘assembly potential,’ and Rick to silently judge everything from the kitchen doorframe with a disconcertingly steady gaze.
Lola could feel his stare like a low hum at the base of her spine.
She was a shifter. Not a powerful one, her bloodline was decidedly middling, but even she could read intent. And whatever was flickering behind Rick’s quiet appraisal wasn’t idle curiosity. It was an observation. Weighing.
Sizing her up.
Why, she had no idea.
She did her best to ignore it, smoothing a hand down the baby’s back while he wriggled, rooting again. Dane was across the room assembling a bouncer with more concentration than she’d seen him give anything other than combat drills and beer selection.
The silence stretched.
“He likes you,” Felix said quietly.
Lola looked up, startled. “What?”
“The baby,” he said with a small smile. “He’s relaxed when you hold him. That’s a good sign.”
She opened her mouth to deflect, some awkward, defensive remark about pheromones or muscle tone, but the words caught. She glanced down at the infant curled against her chest.
He was relaxed. He felt safe.
And it made her throat ache.
Rick cleared his throat, running a hand through his immaculate hair, “We should get back. If Dane’s going to play house, someone has to pick up the slack on patrol.”
“He’s not playing anything,” Felix said mildly. “This is a new priority. We’ll adjust.”
Rick said nothing. Just nodded once and turned toward the door.
Nicolas offered her a suave grin. “You’ve got this, Lola. I give it three days before Dane’s begging you to move in full time.”
Lola choked on her own breath, cheeks heating. “I…what…absolutely not.”
“Whatever you say,” Nicolas replied, all charm.
They filed out with minimal fuss, a few lingering comments about shifts and border tensions, and then they were gone.
The apartment was quiet again.
Lola didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she let it out all at once.
Dane hovered near the door for a second, then turned back to her. His arms were crossed, his jaw tight.
But his eyes…his eyes looked exhausted.
And maybe a little bit…grateful.
“You didn’t have to do that,” he said quietly. “Any of it.”
“I know,” she replied. Then, after a pause, added, “But he’s yours. And now he’s here. So…what else could I do?”
He didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he walked toward her, slowly, carefully, like she might spook. He crouched beside the couch and looked down at the baby, now dozing again, little mouth slack.
“He’s got your hair,” she said softly.
“Poor kid.”
She smiled despite herself.
They sat in silence for a while. Not awkward. Not easy, either.
She could feel something shifting. The baby’s presence had changed the air in the room, thicker, heavier with responsibility, with something unspoken hanging between them.
Eventually, Dane straightened with a grunt and rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re staying tonight.”
It wasn’t a question.
She arched an eyebrow, “Excuse me?”
“I’m not juggling a newborn, night feeds, and shifting schedules on my own. You’re already halfway covered in sick. You might as well commit.”
“That’s your version of gratitude?”
“That is gratitude,” he said dryly. “High praise from me.”
She looked at him for a long moment. He wasn’t smiling, but the tension had eased from his shoulders. His walls, the ones she’d seen flare up a dozen times since she arrived, were lower now. Not gone. But lowered enough to let her glimpse the man beneath.
Not just the enforcer.
Not just the flirt.
But the man who’d taken a baby from a stranger and hadn’t walked away. And he might try to hide it behind blustering charm, but she saw his statement for what it truly was.
A cry for help.
“Alright,” she said at last, “one night.”
Dane met her eyes, “That’s all I’m asking.”
It wasn’t.
They both knew it.
But she didn’t press.
Instead, she stood, stretched, and adjusted the baby in her arms. “I’ll need somewhere to sleep.”
“You can take the bed. I’ll crash on the couch.”
“That hardly seems fair. You’re the one with a newborn.”
He gave her a look. “I went on a three-day expedition up the mountains last week with no supplies. I can handle a couch.”
She hesitated, then nodded. “Fine. But I’ll take the first shift with the baby monitor. It’s only fair.”
He smirked. “Bossy.”
Lola rolled her eyes and made her way to the bedroom. She paused at the doorway, looked back once.
Dane hadn’t moved.
He was still watching her. Or maybe the baby.
Or maybe something else entirely.
Whatever it was, it lingered behind her as she stepped into the dark.
And it followed her into sleep.