Werewolves and Innocence Complete Bundle

Prologue

PrologueIt's hard, watching her grow and knowing that she's meant for him without actually doing anything about it. She's a sweet little thing. He can tell, even as she toddles after him, chubby arms and all, that she's going to grow up to be a real heart-breaker.

"Daddy," she calls out even though he's not her father. He bends down and lets her stumble into his open arms, giggling happily. "Daddy, daddy," she babbles, followed by a stream of word that means nothing except to her.

He supposes he could be her father now. He's all of eighteen and is responsible for a child- a human child at that. Human children are notoriously difficult to keep alive. He picks her up easily and fits her in his arms. She's light enough that he can still carry her without feeling her weight at all. Four-years-old and she already has him eating out of the palm of her hand. "Will, baby," he corrects her. "I'm Will, not Daddy."

He lets her cuddle up to him like a little cub because his parents used to let her nuzzle up to them like this and it's how she finds affection. She clings to him with all her strength, not quite understanding why he's the only one she has left. Their parents died in a freak accident and he was faced with a difficult decision. He could either let her go to an orphanage, or raise her on his own pup. He chose the later.

He loves her. He's not going to let some strangers raise her. And she's human. She's going to have a tough time growing up with people who're mostly Shifters who don't know better. She's old enough to go to a kindergarten now and as much as he would want to home-school her, the conditions of his adoption dictate that he needs to be able to provide her with a healthy, happy childhood. If he doesn't, they won't hesitate taking her away. As if anyone in the orphanage could do better.

If anyone hurts her, he's going to tear them with his fangs and make sure they never touch anything ever again.

"Daddy?" she whines.

When he comes back to his mind, she's all curled up in his arms. He's holding her too tight and it must have hurt a little bit, but she clutches him still and seems to understand he's in a maudlin mood.

"I love you, Daddy." She presses a wet kiss on his cheek with a loud, "Mwah!"

He resists the urge to return one for all of two seconds before caving, pressing a kiss on both her chubby cheeks. "I love you too, pumpkin," he says, letting her go. She bolts towards the kindergarten entrance, ecstatic to be able to play with people her own age.

He sighs, feeling a little pang of hurt in his heart to watch her go. He has a feeling he's going to have to get used to that feeling.