A young man who believes rules aren't meant for him. A by the book law enforcer. An interrogation gone wrong puts them in each other's paths.
Half-shifter, half-vampire, Alec doesn't really feel he fits in with either species. He likes to use his lo...
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I locked my son's car, holding onto the last few boxes he'd gotten his brother and walked back inside my house. I stopped by the corner table to place Alec's keys on it and to steady my breaths.
Having my eldest here always brought on so many conflicting emotions in me.
Happiness and trepidation to see him, pain at every glare or sarcastic remark, hope that he might give me a chance to make up for the time I was forced to be away from him, and dread that it would never happen.
I'd seen a change in Alec after Ollie's birth. The older boy came over more often and he was a tiny tad nicer, not to me, but at least to the others around us. That made me hope even more and hurt much worse each time he left without us making any progress.
Warmth filled my chest as I walked into the living room to see my sons together, Alec smiling at his baby brother. A blink of an eye later and my insides turned to ice; the smile was gone from my eldest's face the moment he'd noticed me.
I unloaded the boxes on the floor and sat next to Lisa who was going through the presents Alec had bought. There were plenty of toys - including the soft blue ball my boys were playing with - along with some clothes. Alec never held back when it came to providing his little brother and even though he often made snide comments about how someone had to since I couldn't afford it, I could tell by the way he looked at the baby that Alec actually enjoyed shopping for the little one.
Sure, some of the presents weren't really needed - Lisa and I had already gotten Ollie things like a changing table and a baby seat to place in our car - but the ones Alec had delivered to us were much nicer so we'd used his instead, giving the original ones - still new and barely used - away. Getting Ollie two strollers had also been excessive on Alec's part, so we'd stored one at my parents' house in case we needed a spare. I remembered Carter shaking his head when I'd carried the extra one over to my childhood home, but in my mind, I saw Alec being overly generous as his way to show his affections for Ollie so his gifts only brought joy to me.
"Not working today?"
I could tell by the coolness of Alec's tone that he was addressing me and not my wife.
"No. Your grandfather and a couple of other Bullets are, but I'm staying home," I replied.
"Too useless for them to want you around?"
I should be used to such remarks by now, but I felt each like a physical punch to my chest.
"I'm taking the day off," I muttered, Lisa briefly squeezing my hand for support.
"How about I put the clothes away and bring us some snacks?" My mate attempted to steer the conversation to a neutral topic. "What kind of non-alcoholic drink do you want, Alec?"
Alec chuckled, but I couldn't call the sound merry.
