MATED TO MY EX’S UNCLE

CHAPTER 5

[PRESENT DAY]

"I'm sorry, Mr. Edgar, but I cannot do that."

"Cannot? Or will not?"

"Ba ba ba." Azilla made a grab for her phone. She lightly tugged on his rosy cheeks and held it out of his reach. He substituted for it by stuffing his fingers into his mouth instead.

"Both, sir. You know I am a good worker. You know I am diligent and I show up and do what is asked of me within reason. What you are asking is not within reason…"

He snorted on the other end. "A woman in your position cannot really afford to have standards, Mara. You're a single mother, no husband, and you are behind on rent. All I am asking for is one dinner date in my hotel. I have seen the way you carry yourself at work, especially with that thick body of yours. You are not a naive woman. You know exactly the effect you have on a man."

"Sir, but… I come to work dressed professionally."

"You come to work in a bouncing body like that and call it professional? Look, Mar. I am not asking for much. Let me get to know you a little better, let me see what is underneath all that composure. You scratch my back and I keep you on the payroll."

What was wrong with these men for crying out loud.

"I can't do it, sir. I'm sorry that would be unprofessional and against my personal work ethics."

The warmth evaporated from his voice completely.

"Are you forgetting that you've come late to work twice this month?"

"I have a son, sir and I have to find someone to watch him before I can go anywhere. My friend works morning shifts at the hospital as a nurse so I have to get him to the babysitter first, and the schedules you give me are always last minute, so sometimes—"

"Save it. I did not tell you to go and get yourself pregnant without a husband, did I? That was your choice. If you are going to reject my proposition, and you think yourself too precious to give me one night of dinner in my hotel, then I have no use for you. Consider yourself fired."

The line went dead. She sat there with her lips slightly parted. He had not even paid her salary for the month. Almost as if Azilla felt what she was feeling, he screwed up his small face and began to cry.

"Here, here, give him to me." Crystal set him on her lap and reached for the bowl of mashed food on the counter. "Edgar Allen is disgusting. He has a wife and six kids with the youngest not any older than you are."

Mara sank into the sofa and pressed her fingers to her forehead. "I needed that salary, I am so behind on rent right now. The caretaker has been calling and I do not know what to tell him."

"Come and stay with me," Crystal said, not looking away from Azilla's face. "My place is small but we will manage."

"Your parents are there."

"So?"

"Your mother does not like me."

"I mean, technically… it's not everyday someone tells you that they are a werewolf."

Mara sighed.

"Okay then... find a smaller apartment."

"This apartment is the best deal I have ever seen in my life and I refuse to give it up. It is fully furnished, in the half of the city, free water, free electricity and the rent isn't even half the supposed price. Where will I find another place like this?"

She would have to figure this out at all costs. She had never been late on rent before, not once in the two years she had lived here. The caretaker had never needed to call her because she was always the one calling him with her rent already sorted and absolutely no drama involved. But ever since Mr Edgar started being on her case, things started tanking real bad.

Her phone rang and she picked it up, hoping that it was Mr Edgar and he was ready to reconsider firing her.

"Barnacles…" It was Mr. Dablos. The caretaker.

"Don't answer it, Mara. Your mood cannot get any worse than it is already."

"I think I do. It would be rude for me to avoid his calls simply because I do not have the money."

"Exactly. You do not have the money, will answering him produce it?"

Azilla cooed and Crystal did another "here-comes-the-choo-choo-train" for him to accept the spoonful. Mara bit her fingernails as the phone rang.

Do I pick?

Do I not pick?

Gah… She slid on the green icon before she could do a double take.

"Miss Hayes." The caretaker's voice was flat. "I have to let you know that Mr. Tate is here at the property today. He would like to speak with you in person."

Her stomach dropped. "That is not necessary. Please tell him I just need an extension, just a few more months, I can explain the situation, I just lost my job today and—"

"I understand, and I am sorry to hear that, I truly am." He did sound sorry. "But this is outside of what I am able to control. Mr. Tate has his policies and you are significantly behind. He would just like to speak with you when you have a moment."

"If I had the money I would have already paid. Please, sir… all I need is an extension. Just a few more months to figure something out, two maybe three."

"I'm sorry, Miss Hayes but my hands are tied. Maybe you can try talking to Mr. Tates and he would listen." He hung up.

Mr. Tates was a grumpy pudgy man with an attitude. Unlike Mr. Dablos who was very warm, Mr. Tates was better off avoided. He wouldn't even listen to her.

She put the phone down on the table and looked at Crystal.

"What was it with people hanging up on me today?" she said.

Crystal winced sympathetically and passed Azilla across to her. She took him and he immediately pressed his cheek against her jaw, she pressed her lips to the top of his dark hair and held him close, saying a quiet prayer to whoever was listening that Mr. Tate would hear her out and give her some time.

The doorbell rang and she immediately knew that it was him. She held her baby closer and went to the door, taking a deep breath before twisting the knob and pulling it.

The man standing on the other side was not Mr. Tate.

He was tall, broader than the doorframe seemed built to accommodate. Dark hair, and a pair of amber eyes that she would have recognized anywhere.

The man who had pioneered her banishment.

Derick Wellington looked at her, and then his gaze dropped to the child on her hip. A ghost of a smile played at the corner of his lips. His fingers reached out and lifted her chin.

"I believe you owe me three months rent," His eyes moved to Azilla. "And a son."

Time stopped around in literal sense. Her spine had gone fish cold but before she could get a single word out, his body seized and he dropped to the ground. Black veins crawled across his arms and neck.

And right by his rib… sat a deep gash seeping blood.