He walks over to me, and I reach into the front and grab my water bottle from between the front seats. It is pretty warm today. Drinking some, I offer the bottle to Jonah, who takes it, also thirsty.
Locking the car, we slowly follow the path Malik just went down before ducking out of view.
“Why are we here?” Jonah asks, looking up at the mountain.
“Do you want to go up there and look?” I ask him as he stops.
He peers up at the mountain that holds the cave he lived in before Nora found him. Jonah shakes his head, grabbing my hand. I squeeze his hand, and he returns it, his small one tucked in mine.
However, his next words shock me, and I feel my stomach drop as he peers up at me with tears in his eyes.”Are you leaving me here?”
“What? No, why would I leave you here?” I ask him, tugging him along the path. Jonah shrugs but says nothing for a few seconds when I stop again and come across a boulder. Grabbing him by the arms, I pluck him off the ground and sit him on top of it.
“We are not moving, and I am not helping you down until you tell me what is wrong,” I tell him, leaning on the enormous boulder where Jonah is perched.
Jonah huffs, sitting down and crossing his legs, he sweeps dust and dirt off the top of the rock. I try to wait him out, but after ten minutes, it is clear he isn’t going to tell me.
“Should I get Malik to drop some water off and a sleeping bag? Do you plan on sleeping on that rock because we aren’t leaving here until you tell me?” Jonah remains quiet, tracing the patterns on the boulder with his index finger, his chin propped on his other hand.
“Why did you ask if I was leaving you here?” Jonah mumbles something inaudible, making me look at him.
“Jonah, answer me, or I will command you.” I warn him, and he looks up at me, alarmed.
Of course, I never have or ever will, but the threat seems to have received some reaction from him. His eyes burn with tears, and he wipes his little eyes, and I wrap my arm around him, and he bursts out crying.
“Hey, what’s wrong? I didn’t mean it. I would never command you, you know that,” I tell him, crushing him against my chest, his little hands grip my shirt tightly as he sobs and I brush his hair with my hand, waiting for him to stop, knowing I won’t get a clear answer from him while he is in this state.
After a few minutes, his sobbing turns to hiccups, and I pull away and wipe his face. His eyes go to the mountain trail behind me that leads to the cave where he lived for months on his own. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to bring him here. It seems to have triggered something in him. I hated seeing him this upset.
“What’s wrong? I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.” He shakes his head.
“I don’t want to leave. I want to stay at home,” he whispers, looking down at his hands.
“Why would you leave, Jonah? I don’t want you to leave me, and you aren’t going anywhere, so why would you say that?”
“Because of the baby,” I blink, dumbfounded by his words.
“I don’t understand, Jonah. What’s this got to do with your sister?” I ask him.
“You have a real family now, you won’t want me around anymore, you have a real child now,” he thinks we would throw him away because Sage is pregnant? Jonah chews his fingernail and his eyes go to the cave in the mountain above us. I tug his fingers from his mouth.
“Look at me,” I tell him, Jonah’s eyes reluctantly go to mine with a grim expression on his face, and I can tell he really believes his words, he thinks he is unwanted because Sage is having a baby, and believes he is just a temporary replacement.
“Never, and I mean never, let your mother hear you say that. She may just smack your ass for saying something so ridiculous. You are our son, your sister does not change that. You are our son, just like she is our daughter. You belong to us, and we belong to you. Nothing will ever change that, Jonah.” He looks away, and I grip his face, turning it back so I can see his face.
“Understood?” He nods. “Understood?” I repeat.
“Yes,” he whispers.
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, dad,” Jonah says.
“I never want to hear you say you are not my son again. We were a family the moment I pulled you from the river, I was never going to let you go, you were always mine, and your mothers, do you understand me? You are my son. I am your father, and your sister’s arrival will never change that. We are family, and you are irreplaceable, you are worth more to me than my own life, you are worth more to me than your mothers, we will always put you and your sister ahead of ourselves, and we love you both equally, you are my son, whether or not you came from my cooties.” I tell him. Jonah chuckles, and I smile.
“You are ours, Jonah. I promise you, that will never change. You are my next Alpha and my heir that will never change, no matter how many siblings you have,” I tell him.
“So, I’m still your heir?” He asks.
“Always, unless you don’t want to be, I will never force that on you, but if you want the pack when you are old enough, it is yours,” I tell him, grabbing him off the rock. He wraps his arms around my neck, and I hug him close, inhaling his scent.
“You made us a family, you made me want to be a father,” I whisper, and he nods into my neck.
“Now, are you ready to do your first Alpha job?” I ask him, and he pulls back to look at me. I kiss his little cheek.
“I love you, kiddo.”
“I love you too,” he says, and I set him down on his feet, grabbing his hand, and we start along the trail again.
“So, what is the Alpha Job?” Jonah asks me.
“Bringing the rest of your pack home,” I tell him, stepping out of the treeline into the clearing – the rogues’ camp is in the middle of packing up. Zane is already loading people onto the buses, and tents and fires are being dismantled.
Malik rushes toward us, a big, excited grin on his face.
“Zane said some were still down the river washing laundry, but this is the first time I have been in the camp. I wanted to wait for you to come. They won’t recognize me,” Malik tells me, and I nod to him.