The others nodded in agreement.
“Sorry?” I said. “Why?”
“Because they’re having a kid together,” Alison said in a tone that implied I was dumber than dirt. “That’s it for you.”
“It’s not like that.” I knew the truth of my words. “They aren’t like that.”
“If not now then later,” she added. “It’s just the way it has to be. You’ll be in the way. That kid is going to be pack royalty, if that reaction was anything to go by. As if any of us matter. Don’t fool yourself.”
“Yeah, well it might be a dud and not even shift ever,” Victor said.
“Who cares?” I couldn’t hide the anger in my words. “Like shifting makes a person any better than anyone else.”
He shrugged off my temper. “You’re just saying that because your girlfriend can’t do it.”
I stalked off before I really did make a mistake. I would care about Perdita’s baby, and protect it, whether it could shift or not. Family was family, and each of us mattered. I couldn’t possibly be fooling myself. Not anymore.