I laid in bed unable to sleep because Titus wasn't in bed with me. I never slept well without him but now that he was mad at me, it was even worse. Guilt gnawed at me until at least four in the morning. I shouldn't have flipped out on him; I knew I was being stupid and immature about this. I knew this day would come and I had tried to prepare myself but nothing could prepare me for how territorial I would be. There was no reason for me to act in such a jealous manor. I should support him through this frustrating time and I was turning my back; I was being selfish and childish and that wasn't me.
I threw the comforter off and slipped into my floor length robe. I didn't hear Titus leave so he was either asleep or watching TV.
As I came down the stairs, I saw Titus sitting up on the couch with his head tilted back, clearly asleep. I crossed the hardwood as quietly as possible and kneeled in front of him, placing my hands on his knees. He instantly woke up and rubbed his face before his attention settled on me with a light frown.
"What," he asked through his sleep coated voice.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
He simply examined me for a moment so I purposely made my eyes just a little bigger so they would water just slightly. He sighed in frustration.
"Dammit, Lizzy. Stop that," he said. I knew I had won him over in that moment.
"Can you forgive me?"
He shook his head absently and leaned forward to kiss the top of my head.
"Yes," he grumbled.
"Come to bed," I prompted as I stood and pulled his hand.
He needed little incentive to sleep in a bed. He was clearly uncomfortable on the couch or at least I hoped he was uncomfortable. I didn't want him to feel comfortable on the couch when I was upstairs, unable to sleep.
"I'm sorry I commanded you," he said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
I rested my hand on his chest as we entered our room and kissed his neck quickly.
"I know."
We laid in bed, his arm wrapped around my waist. I finally felt sleep creep up on me, thankfully. I couldn't function for an entire day without some sleep. Titus was already out cold so I snuggled closer and let sleep take over.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
I sat in my office, anxiously awaiting a call from Titus to tell me how everything went but I hadn't heard from him all day. I had a few minutes before I had to get Christian so I cracked open one of the many textbooks I promised Macy I would read. I didn't necessarily find genetics interesting but I told her I would help her and I had every intention of keeping that promise. Macy didn't deserve to lose her husband over this but on the other hand, could I really blame him for not wanting to be with her if she couldn't have children? Werewolves were big on big families and women that couldn't produce children were viewed as worthless. Macy was too good of a person to have that happen to her.
"Doctor Collins," my receptionist's voice fell over the speaker phone, "Your husband is on line two."
I pressed the responding button, "Thank you, Allison."
I picked up the phone and clicked on the line. I wouldn't admit how my heart raced in anticipation but I really wanted to know what happened.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey, Lizzy. How's work?"
"Just reading a few textbooks other than that, I'm about to pick up Christian. What are you doing?"
"Uh, not much. Claire just left."
"And?"
"I told her I'm married and that you adopted Christian so she has no business here," he said calmly. Too calmly for my likings.
"How did she take that?"
He hesitated, "Not well. I guess her mate died and that's why she came back. She wants Christian back."
I felt my stomach drop at her demand. Fear and rage coursed through me equally. I couldn't decide if I was more angry or if I feared there could be a technicality that would allow her to take Christian from me. I mean, when I adopted him, everything was air tight; I made sure of that but what if there was something we missed? Everything was handled by lawyers, very high paid lawyers, and now I was doubting everything.
"So what did you tell her?"
"I told her it didn't matter that she wants him back. She claimed she is going to take us to court."
"Council court?"
"No, she meant human court."
She really was playing dirty. She knew the only way she would stand a chance would be in a human court but even then, we would win custody of Christian any day. She abandoned him the day he was born and didn't deserve to be in his life. I hated that she would even demand such a thing. I couldn't believe she would have the gall to even suggest that she deserved to be known by my son!
"So what are we going to do?"
"Drop Christian off with Sarah and meet me at my office. Don will be here in an hour to meet with us and just triple check our paperwork."
"Okay. I'll see you in a bit."
"Bye, love."
"Bye."
I rested my cheek on my palm, trying to stay in control of myself. When I was younger, I had been in total control of myself but ever since I met Titus, I found myself losing the firm grip on my emotions. It was so gradual, I hadn't even realized it was happening until now. I felt out of control and that was not okay with me.
I grabbed my belongings and made my way out of my office, saying goodbye to the receptionists as I exited the building. I knew this would be a difficult time for me and Titus but I was more concerned with how Christian would handle this. Would it be better to shield him from Claire or to tell him what was happening? He was emotionally mature for his age but I just didn't know if this was something he could handle. If his reaction to finding out I wasn't his birth mother was any sort of indication, I think we might have to spare him the details and just let him know the basics. He deserved to know what was happening but I didn't want him to think of Claire as anything. I also didn't want him to feel like she abandoned him because I knew he would carry that for the rest of his life. God, she really fucked things up by coming here. How selfish did she have to be to demand time with Christian! She needed to understand that Christian doesn't know who she is and she should cut ties. It would be the best thing for Christian so he wasn't confused. He had been through enough and I didn't want to subject him to a legal battle with his birth mother.
I drove the couple of blocks to Christian's school, just hoping nothing more had happened. I had half a mind to talk to that little girl's parents myself so Titus didn't come down too harshly on them.
Again, waiting outside the class was the mom I had met yesterday. I thought now was as good a time as any to confront her about what her daughter said. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it but I was going to make it very clear I didn't appreciate her talking about my family situation with her five year old daughter. I took a breath just to make sure I was in full control before approaching the woman.
"Hi, Brittany's mom, right?" I asked.
She nodded, "I am. How are you?"
"I'm well," I said with a polite smile, "Look, I don't know if their teacher told you what happened yesterday but your daughter told my son that I'm not his real mother and that I couldn't love him because of it."
She simply nodded her head which was odd but I continued on regardless.
"I would appreciate it if you spoke to her about it and let her know that my son was very upset by what she said."
"But you're not his mother," she said boldly.
It took me a second to process what she had just said. Most people feared and respected Titus enough to never comment on our situation and those that did comment were not being malicious, they were curious. This woman though, clearly she held a grudge against me.
"Maybe I didn't give birth to him but I raised him and legally, he is my son and that is not your concern. I am trying to be civil about this."
"Elizabeth, adopting your mate's child doesn't make that child yours. Though I commend you for stepping up to the plate, it's time you take the backseat and give me my family back."
My jaw just about hit the ground. So this was Claire. This was how she knew what Christian looked like. She had been stalking the school looking for him. I was damn near speechless. How was I supposed to handle this? I couldn't attack her, as much as I wanted to, I couldn't.
"Titus is my mate and Christian is my son. You would do well to remember that. If I ever see you here again, rest assured this will be a very different conversation."
"Titus and I have a child together. Do you honestly think he wouldn't put that above everything else? I'm sure you know exactly where he stands in regards to our son. He would do anything for Christian, including getting back together with his mother."
Those words hit too close for comfort. Titus had told me he would do anything for Christian and that Christian would always come first, even over me. I was fine with that as long as it was in Christian's best interest but Claire was not in his best interest.
"You abandoned him the second you gave birth," I replied coldly, "You don't deserve either of them and you will never have them in your life. You had your chance and you blew it so leave us alone."
The door flew open and children came running out of the classroom. Christian ran up and wrapped himself around my legs. I hugged him as usual, not wanting to alarm him.
"Hi, Christian," Claire said sweetly.
I couldn't contain the growl that chipped away at my carefully composed mask. Claire ignored me and smiled at Christian. He waved sheepishly at her before turning back to me. Thank God he clearly didn't have any interest in her.
"Come on, we're going to see Dad," I said to Christian.
"I'll see you around," Claire said with a wave as she pulled her daughter along.
I knew this wasn't my last encounter with her but hopefully she would come to her senses and leave us alone. If she cared about Christian at all she would back off and just enjoy Brittany. I understood why she would want Titus back. He was an amazing man and the perfect father and there was no way I would let her interfere with my family.
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