Chapter 3

Willow Baker POV

"Are you really sure you should be up so soon? You haven't fully recovered," said Sheila as she rocked Asa and hovered over me.

I smiled. Seeing her so full of life and worry, I had never been more grateful that the Moon Goddess gave me a second chance and allowed me to see her again. "I'm fine. I shouldn't impose."

"Leave her be. She's not a child, Sheila," said Rickey as he drank his coffee.

I pretended not to hear him. While I couldn't forgive him for trying to kill my baby in his pursuit for revenge, I knew that grief could drive people mad. Besides, I had already paid him back.

My hands shook in my lap as I recalled exactly what I did to him. I can smell his fresh blood scenting the air. His eyes were staring at me with such hatred as his life had been drained out of him.

"Willow?" The feeling of a hand on my shoulder startled me as I jerked away. Sheila's expression screamed worry. "I think you should rest. You don't look so good."

I placed my hand on hers as I said, "I can't. Rose will be wondering where I am."

If I remembered correctly, the birth had taken the whole day, and I had slept several hours afterwards. Sheila had said this was normal for the first baby, but Rose had been furious that I had disappeared on her.

Of course, I kept Asa's existence a secret.

My parents had lied to the Wright family that I was a virgin so I could serve them. Rose, the Wright family's only child and daughter, had insisted she didn't want whores stinking up the house. She claimed that a non-virgin would infect the place and prevent respectable werewolves from coming over.

They didn't even bother to check if I was a virgin. One look at me and Rose had determined that no one would want to touch me. She said I was too hideous, and that I was perfect to be their maid.

'If anyone's the whore, she is. I wouldn't be surprised if she was fucking a bunch of werewolves behind mommy and daddy's back.'

I snorted at Winter's comment.

This was another thing that had changed compared to the past. Winter and I had not gotten along at all. She hadn't been able to accept how I would submit myself to someone she thought was lesser. She howled and snarled at me to stand up for myself, but I had been so used to submitting to others that I saw no reason to.

When she saw that I wasn't going to change, she stopped talking to me completely. It had been lonely without her, and I filled the void by spending time with Asa. My final moments had been the first time I had heard from her in so long.

'Are you still going to go through with your previous plan? It didn't work last time.'

My original plan had been to cross the border and receive protection from the head of the family ruling the place.

'It's the best course of action. It only failed last time because I chose to stay for so long. If I had left as soon as I gave birth, then no one would have found out about her.'

It was impressive that I could even keep Asa's existence a secret. No one had seemed to realize I was pregnant even with my belly swelling. Rose had said I was eating too much food and took my meals away so I would lose weight. It didn't stop her from mocking me at every turn.

Since I couldn't bring her with me as it wouldn't be safe for her, I had to leave her with Sheila. Constantly going back and forth would have certainly drawn Rose's attention to the frequent trips. She must have noticed Asa's appearance during one of those trips.

Her appearance wasn't something we could exactly hide. If she had only black hair or only black eyes, then it wouldn't have been an issue. There were plenty of werewolves with black hair or black eyes. Only those with strong demon blood had both features.

Rose was right to assume that I must be the mother since neither Sheila nor Rickey had those features. Rickey's eyes were similar in color, but very dark brown was not the same as black.

I knew for sure I didn't have demon blood even though my hair and eye color were pretty dark. That didn't stop other werewolves from spitting in my direction.

It was also the reason why my parents fought. Neither of my parents had dark brown hair or dark brown eyes. They were both blonde, and my dad had dark blue eyes while my mom had light green eyes. It wasn't surprising that there were rumors that my mom had cheated on my dad.

If they were fated mates, no one will ever dare say that, but fated mates were rare. Only the truly fortunate would be assigned fated mates.

I shook my head of those thoughts. Right now wasn't the time to be thinking about the past. I needed to focus on my future with Asa.

If Asa was born just yesterday, that would mean I was about a year in the past. I had a lot of information I could use to barter with the head.

Last time, I was so desperate that I was willing to take the chance that he might just discard me and take my baby only. I was willing to do it to make sure she lived, but this time I wasn't going to let her go. If I had anything to say about it, we were going to live a long and happy life together.

The head was currently not the head and was unmarried. If he wanted to take over the family, he needed a wife and a child. That was where I came in. If I could get there and somehow find a way to speak with him, we could make a deal. On paper, I would be his wife and gain all the protections that came with it while he could become the head sooner.

Then, once I was certain of my place, I'd make sure to repay everyone for everything that happened in my first life.