Page 16 of The Alpha: Part Three
Great. Now I'm in trouble. “He's too little. I'm afraid to drop him.”
“Bullshit.”
Scrubbing my palms across my jawline, I take a breath and give an answer that's going to get me yelled at. “I wouldn't have held the triplets when they were brand new, either. He shouldn't have to deal with my funk until he's old enough to fight it off.”
“That doesn't make sense, Seth. That sounds... I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous. Your funk. Please. Dutch worships you. The girls adore you. You don't have funk. What are you going to do when Desir'ee has a baby? Not hold it? Don't be absurd. A funk. What silly shit. Jasper! Will you bring the baby into the kitchen, please?”
I don't want to have this conversation twice. And this isn't the reason I came over. Not that it matters. When Talia decides to deal with something, she does. I sit down at the table and dig my fingertips into my eyebrows. I'm going to have to hold the baby.
“Why are you afraid of him?” Brandon whispers. “He's just a baby. He's little.”
I cut my eye at him and he lifts his own eyebrows and shrugs.
“Seth,” Jasper says, tipping his chin when he comes into the room with his sleeping bundle. “And Brandon. Everything alright?”
“Give Seth the baby.”
Jasper looks at me, putting real effort into not smiling. “She's been a little upset about this.”
My gaze falls to the baby cuddled in his arms. I can barely see a few tiny fingers curled around the edge of the blanket. Jasper holds out the baby, offering him to me.
When I don't reach for him, Jasper smirks. “You can take him or I can toss him, either way he's going to be in your hands in about four seconds.”
The image of Jasper tossing the baby to me like a ball flashes in my mind, thoroughly horrifying me even though I know he'd never do that, and my arms stretch out before I can stop them. Jasper gently places the baby into my hands and steps back, leaving me awkwardly holding him out from me. Then he wiggles and I clutch him against my chest before I drop him.
He's so warm. And small. I completely understand why Desir'ee wants twelve or fifteen of these.
“See?” Talia crosses her arms. “That's not so bad, is it? There was nothing for you to be afraid of.”
“I'm more afraid now. He's so tiny. And fragile. Take him back.” My mouth says the words, but my arms still cradle the baby against me.
“No,” Talia says. “Now, why are you and Brandon sitting at my table?” She narrows her eyes at Devon.
“For fuck sake, cupcake. Iris isn't even three years old and this little asshole is already trying to take her from us. If he goes with us, I'll have to watch him do it in real time for the next twenty years until she's an adult and can leave us completely. I won't do it.”
“That's not it,” Brandon argues. “I'd never take her. I just can't let her go alone. She has to have one of us, and Cody and Joseph can't go. They have families and they have to finish school. I can go. Then they'll come when they're old enough. We'd never take her. We just need to be with her. Tell him, Seth. Make him understand. You said you would.”
“What is Seth going to make Devon understand?” Alex asks, strolling in the room and going directly to the fridge. “What have I been missing while I was holed up working all day?”
“The packs here tend to form really young,” I start.
“We noticed,” Trent says, appearing in the doorway. “Give me my baby, please.”
Very carefully, I transfer Luca into Trent's hands and immediately regret it. I still don't want to pass on my fucked up gene pool, but I don't think I'll mind holding any and all of the babies from now on. “You can see how Iris is with Brandon, Joseph, and Cody. You see how they are with her. It's obvious.”
Devon just looks at me.
“What do you think would have happened if Mateo had tried to keep Desir'ee from the twins? Do you think she would have been okay being separated from them? Do you think she would have been happy?”
He crosses his arms.
“Did they try to take her from her family, or in any way come between her and her family?”
“I don't know, Pratchett. But Desir'ee isn't Iris, and the twins aren't this kid. And I'm sure as shit not Mateo.”
“He just wants to be near her so he can see for himself that she's safe. He's young, but he's going to be an alpha. He's already protected her once, from something big. Can we just talk about a compromise?” I look from him to the other alphas in the room, and then to the omegas. “You can't say you don't understand where he's coming from.”
All eyes land on Brandon. He squares his shoulders and makes himself as tall as he can in his chair. “If you don't let me go with you, I'll walk. I don't care. I'll sleep in the woods. I'm used to it. I'm going with her.”
