Page 69 of Rejected By My Stepbrother Alpha
I took a deep breath and prepared to track him by his scent, but the bastard’s smell was blocked somehow. He could have paid one of the witches who lived in the woods outside my pack’s territory to make a potion that masked his scent.
I swore and took my phone out of my pocket to call my Beta. Quickly, I explained the situation and instructed him to have our investigation team look for the attempted kidnapper. I knew that the chances of apprehending him were low because the only thing I knew about him was the color of his eyes. The team would have to be on the lookout for males with a muscular build who were acting strange. But if there was even the slightest chance of capturing him, the team would need to act quickly before he had the chance to leave the city. The fact that it would be dark soon didn’t help our case either.
I wanted to help with the search, but my heart was pulling me back toward Ivy and Adrian. I wanted to comfort them after this traumatic experience. I scanned the crowded streets one last time before sighing. I turned around with a pit in my stomach, feeling like I’d let Adrianand Ivy down.
“Thank you for walking us to the door,” Ivy said, still clutching Adrian tightly to her.
We were back at their hotel outside the door to their room. I’d called one of the drivers I had on standby so that they wouldn’t have to walk back. On the short drive here, I scanned the streets, my body still tense from what happened.
“Ivy, can I stand guard outside your door tonight?” I asked. “Just in case.”
At first, I was going to order a few of my guards here, but I only trusted myself with the important job of protecting them. After they were safely inside, I would call a few warriors for backup and to sweep the perimeter throughout the night, but I wanted to be the point person in terms of their safety.
To my surprise, it was Adrian who spoke first, instead of Ivy.
“Asher, will you tuck me in and stay with me?” Adrian said in a soft voice. “I'll feel safer with you here.”
As I looked into his wide green eyes, my heart felt like it was going to crack open. At that moment, I knew that I would protect this little boy with my life.
I made eye contact with Ivy, and she nodded, giving me her blessing.
In Adrian’s room, I waited while Ivy gave him a quick bath, and a small smile crossed my face when he came out dressed in red race car pajamas.
But my smile dropped when I noticed a new hesitance to the way he walked as he got into his bed. My stomach churned with anger at the asshole who had caused this new fear in him. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Ivy had a small frown on her face as she watched her son. She had probably noticed the same thing that I had.
Once Adrian was settled in, I tucked the white comforter around him and sat on the edge of his bed.
“Will you read me Goodnight Little Shifter?” he asked and looked at his bedside cabinet with a neatly stacked pile of kids' books.
Grief pressed down on my heart, and I rubbed my chest absentmindedly.
“Of course,” I answered after a beat of silence. “I don’t even needto read from the book. I have that story memorized. That was actually my favorite book when I was your age. I always begged my dad to read it for me.”
“Really?” Adrian said, and his eyes brightened slightly. “That’s another way that we're alike.”
“When you have key lime pie and Goodnight Little Shifter, what more do you need?” I said, and we shared a smile.
“Exactly.”
As I told Adrian the story I knew by heart, I recalled all of the times my dad read me the same story. Strangely, it felt right to continue the tradition with Adrian. In the middle of the story, I glanced over at Ivy. The warm look on her face made my heart skip a beat.
“Will you sit with me until I fall asleep?” Adrian asked me shyly when I was finished.
I patted his knee. “Absolutely.”
He looked past me toward Ivy.
“You too, Mom.”
Ivy walked closer and took a seat in the desk chair. “Of course. I love you, sweetheart. I’m so sorry that happened to you.” She leaned over and smoothed his hair back. “We can talk more about what happened in the morning, but right now, I think it’s best if you rest.”
Adrian nodded and yawned.
Ivy and I sat there for the next thirty minutes as Adrian’s breathing eventually evened out.
When I was certain he was asleep, I inclined my head toward Ivy’s room, and she nodded.
Quietly, we walked into her adjoining room, closing the door, but not shutting it all the way so we could still hear Adrian’s steady breathing.
