Page 441 of Flirting with Darkness

“What can I do to help?” I asked.

“Be here to distract me and give me advice when I need it,” she answered immediately. “This is uncharted territory for me. I never thought in a million years that I would date multiple men at the same time, but clearly the universe has a way of changing things on you. I can’t help how I feel and I want to see where this is going.”

“You know I never thought I’d be here either,” I reminded her.

“Now your son is about to start school and that is sure to be a stressor for you.”

That was an understatement. “I’m so worried about it, but I have to remind myself that I can’t keep him hidden away from the world and the best way for him to integrate into it is for him to be around others.”

“He’s a smart boy and he’ll do great. You have to trust that he’s going to do his best,” she said and took a bite of blueberry scone.

“I know he’s going to do his best, but I also know how awful kids can be to each other,” I muttered.

After we talked about a few more topics that distracted us from our stressful things, we hugged and said goodbye.

Thor still avoided looking at her and I rolled my eyes openly, earning a scowl from him and the silent treatment all the way to the werewolf den. Deryn had called and asked me to pick up Caleb as he had an issue to deal with on the other side of town. I agreed since I loved going to the den and visiting my friends there.

“There’s my favorite!” Dan boomed as I entered the house. Dan, Deryn’s father and Alpha of the Werewolves, was like an adopted father to me now. He was big, loud, and had the biggest heart ever. He reached to hug me, but a little blur forced him to step back.

Caleb ran out of the kitchen and jumped up into my arms. “Mom!”

I hugged him tightly and kissed his red cheeks. “How was your day?”

“Grandpa Dan showed me how to shift just one part of my body at a time. It was fun!” He smiled so widely and radiated such joy that it had me grinning in return.

“Can I hug your mother now?” Dan asked.

Caleb turned his head to face Dan, his expression turned serious, and after a second, he nodded once. “Yes, you may.” Caleb hopped out of my arms and stepped to the side, letting Dan approach.

My eyes widened and I looked at Dan questioningly, but he just smiled and hugged me.

“Did you have fun with Leona? Aside from the dragon issue?” Dan asked, clearly having heard from Thor about the craziness already.

“Yes, but I think you and I need to have a talk, Alpha.” I made sure I said the title with a bit of growl. Leona had returned to the house already, messaging me that she needed to decompress alone in her room for the remainder of the night.

Dan chuckled. “I think you got me in trouble, pup.”

“I thought I smelled you,” Tamara said as she came inside the front door. My niece was growing up faster than I could have imagined.

I arched a brow at the sassy teenager.

She hugged me and smiled. “Hello, Auntie. I’ve missed you.”

I hugged her back and smiled in return. “There’s the sweet girl I remember. How’s school?”

She and her twin sister were attending the new junior high, which had a mixture of shifters, mages, and humans.

Her left shoulder rose in a shrug. “It’s an adjustment, but I made a few friends.”

“That’s great,” I said encouragingly. The sooner we got kids to interact and connect, the better off our world would be.

“You think, cousin, is going to be able to handle it?” she asked.

I forced a smile. “He’ll do fine. He’s been learning to control his emotions more and more lately.”

“Except when Dan’s encouraging him to act as alpha,” she commented beneath her breath.

“What?” I asked, but she hurried out of the room before I could force an answer out of her. When I turned around to confront Dan, he was gone as well. For such a large man, he moved silently when he wanted to.

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