Azaire POV
I kissed her all over. She’d been so brave. I wasn’t surprised, though, because Elaine had an inner strength I admired.
“You were incredible.”
“I nearly shit my pants, Azaire.”
I laughed. “Didn’t look like it when you were levitating. That’s new.”
I held her on my lap as we waited for someone to tell us about Opal and the baby. Richie was a Father! He was thrilled. He wasn’t thrilled about the safe house location being compromised again. This was the second location that had been compromised. The whole point of sending our mates there was so they could be safe. There’s no point in sending them away again.
Frankly, I liked Elaine right where she was, on my lap and glued to my chest.
“I can’t wait until that’s us,” I confessed.
She stared at me and rested her head on my shoulder. “Are you sure?”
I felt her heartbeat quicken.
“There was a time all I wanted was to catch my pup’s scent. That was before I got scared. Pathetic, huh?”
“Of course not. Everyone mourns differently. There’s nothing wrong with being scared. I was scared today.”
I was terrified we wouldn’t get to them in time. Oliver really came through for us when he stepped in to take care of Lucas’ traitor group so Richie and I could get to Opal and Elaine. Richie knew Opal was in labour before the betas called him. I guess I owed Oliver a chance.
“You were brave. No more safe houses,” I said.
“Do you promise?”
I chuckled. “I promise.”
An hour later, the news of the Pack’s heir spread, and the hospital was surrounded by well-wishers and family members. Janet, my mother, arrived with her friends. She still hadn’t explained what she gave to Leon. Holly said he was fine. I didn’t appreciate my Mother feeding my son, who knows what!
I hadn’t spoken to her since I took Leon from her and threatened to keep him away. She called me ungrateful and the worst son in history. She still went behind my back to get Leon from Holly, but I warned my ex not to hand him over.
“So, how’s the baby?” Mom asked.
I tugged my mate to my side and lifted my chin. “He’s fine.”
As Elaine shifted, her sweet scent filled my nostrils, but something was off. I know she’d been in a forest earlier, but that normally didn’t mess with her natural scent. I focused on my Mother.
“Well, aren’t you going to let me see him? Are you going to keep him from me like you’re doing with Lucas?”
I groaned. “Mom, you know Lucas isn’t okay. You babying him won’t help. It’s never helped!”
“Now this is my fault?” she snapped.
Elaine rubbed my back for support. I guided her head towards me to kiss her forehead. There was that scent again. Shit. My heart rate spiked when I realized what this meant.
“Let me see my grandson. I need to hold him. It’s my right.”
“No, Mom, it’s not. You won’t set your sights on my son.”
Richie marched into the private waiting room. Ross and Megan looked like they wanted to seep into the ground. So did I.
“Why the hell not?” Mom stomped her two-inch heel.
Her friends seemed equally uncomfortable with this conversation.
“You ungrateful boys. Your Father never would have let you behave this way!”
“He wouldn’t let you dabble in black magic either. What did you do to Leon?” Richie demanded. “You won’t see Shane unless you come clean.”
Mom looked around, unable to speak. Gosh, what did she do?
“Maybe we could talk in private?” Elaine suggested.
“Yup, Ross,” Megan replied quickly.
“I’ll meet you in the car,” Ross responded.
“We’ll see the baby later, Janet,” one of Mom’s friends said, and they all walked out.
The door closed behind them, and it was just the four of us in the room. Mom looked reluctant to open her mouth.
“We wanted privacy,” she said through gritted teeth.
Elaine exhaled and budged, but I kept her locked in my embrace. I couldn’t let her leave. Not yet.
“She’s my fated mate. Anything you say, you can say in front of her.”
Mom lifted her chin and raised her shoulders. “I didn’t do anything to Leon, and I would never harm any of your children. I was protecting him. As soon as I learned about him, I started sneaking protection magic in his formula to protect him from witch’s magic.”
“Why would he need protection?” Elaine asked.
“Witches are dangerous,” Mom responded.
“So are shifters. The Blood Moon Pack’s lived in harmony with wolves for centuries. You can’t think they’re dangerous for no reason,” Elaine said.
“Spit it out, Mom, if you have nothing to hide,” I growled.
“Oh, shut up. You wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for me!”
“I know that,” I ground out.
“I did what I had to do to get my family. No matter what we did, I couldn’t have children. If I hadn’t done it, your Father would have taken a breeder. I had to!” she rambled.
Richie and I shared a look.
“Dad wouldn’t do that,” Richie said.
“Oh, hell, yes, he would. With all the pressure he got from his council, of course he would have done it. I made a deal with a witch.”
Elaine stiffened beside me. Her face turned pale.
“It wasn’t Avena, was it?” Elaine asked.
“What? Oh, no, it wasn’t. I never saw her again. She said I would have a child, but I would owe the ancestors a great debt. They demanded a first grandchild from each generation. Meaning they would come for Leon if I didn’t try to protect him.”
“Fuck,” I spat.
“Mom, why didn’t you tell us a long time ago? We could have handled this.” Richie ran a hand through his hair.
“Shane is safe, but Leon isn’t. I’m sorry. It’s a secret I carried for so long.”
“Mom, all this time my son could have vanished. How long do we have?”
She shook her head pitifully. How could she keep this to herself? Leon’s been around for weeks; anything could have happened. At the same time, it didn’t make sense because he was nearly two years old. If they were going to take him, they should have taken him a long time ago.
“Richie, I swear I didn’t mean any harm. I just wanted a family.”
Richie looked like he’d run a marathon and come in last. He was just as tired as I was. “Yeah, yeah. You can see him. Now we have to deal with this mess.”
“Can I really see the baby?”
“Yes, but apologize to my fiancee for being such a… for not treating her well.”
She narrowed her eyes at my brother the way she did when we were younger. Her eyes set us straight faster than anything else.
Mom left the room, leaving behind a thick tension in the air. Elaine tried to peel herself away from me again, but I dragged her into my arms and held her tight.
“I need to breathe, Azaire!” she squealed.
“No, you don’t.” I kissed her forehead.
Maybe my reasons for not wanting children were valid after all because this was messed up.
“Shit now what do we do?” Richie asked.
“I have to call Holly. She won’t like this,” I replied.
“When Avena appeared to me at the safe house, she said I had something she wanted. I didn’t understand, but this makes sense. She is a crazy witch, and it would be fitting that she could collect debts on behalf of the ancestors.”
“Elaine, you’re a witch. Can’t you collect the debt? That would be a loophole. You claim Leon it’ll be like he never left the family,” Richie said.
He looked really happy with himself, but Elaine’s statement didn’t make sense.
“Elaine, Leon isn’t yours. Why didn’t Avena say I have something she wanted instead?”
She shrugged. “Because I’m your girlfriend, and what’s yours is mine.”
I shook my head. “Not likely.”
The curse falls on the first grandchild of my Mother’s bloodline.
“You can’t do this!”
“Stay away from us!” Holly yelled.
“I’ll call security if you continue. Forget it, I’m getting the guards,” Holly’s mother threatened.
My brother and I exchanged a look. What now?
We emerged from the waiting room to discover Holly holding Leon protectively from Oliver as Pamela walked into the elevator.
“What the hell is going on?” I demanded.
I didn’t like the look of this. Oliver didn’t look drunk either, so I was very confused.
“I just wanted to talk to her!” Oliver yelled.
“I have nothing to say to him. Azaire, he’s insane,” Holly pleaded.
All the yelling made Leon uncomfortable, and his face twisted with discomfort.
“Holly’s a liar, man,” Oliver spat.
“And you’re not?” Richie questioned.
“Yes, I’m a liar and a crook, but I’m not lying now. Tell him the truth, Holly. Azaire doesn’t know we fucked for two months straight when you were in a relationship.”
Blood drained from my face, and I turned to my ex-girlfriend.
“You did what?”
Holly’s face burned bright pink. “Azaire- I-”
“Save it. What did you do?”
Holly held the boy tighter and backed up. She looked like she’d been caught stealing in a store.
“He was there! He seduced me, and I fell for it.”
I backed up and laughed. “This makes sense. This was why I didn’t catch his scent when you were pregnant.”
“Leon is your son! Just look at him,” Holly blasted.
“You can’t sense another man’s baby.” I shook my head.
“He has your eyes. He’s your son; he loves you so much. Don’t talk like that. I had sex with your cousin, but it meant nothing.”
Oliver rolled his eyes. That’s why he asked me if I was sure Leon was mine.
“He could be Oliver’s son. Our Dads were brothers, and those eyes run in the family.”
“Azaire, please.”
“I want a DNA test done today, but I’m sure Oliver can sense the connection to his pup otherwise, he wouldn’t be here.”
I turned towards the elevator. I needed some air. I needed more than air. I needed to let my wolf out.
“Azaire, wait,” my mate called, but I couldn’t stop, not even for her.