26. Concern
Concern
Dakota
“T he alpha and his mate are... indisposed currently.” The officious personal assistant said as I stood outside of Blake Sweetwater’s office.
“Still? It’s been three days!” I heard my voice rise with incredulity and winced at how sharp it became. “Sorry.”
Dalton, as his name tag on the desk identified him, waved me off. “It’s fine. We’re all concerned for them both, but Axel said Kade’s heat went on a while last time.”
“That’s true.” I rubbed my bearded face in thought. “My dad thought it was just because it had been a while since he’d had one. He’s had another since then, though.”
Axel’s personal assistant was working double duty since Blake hadn’t hired a new one, Axel had said. Dalton was a pale, slim, beta. Some sort of cat shifter, like a lynx, if I was guessing correctly.
“So I should come back then?”
“Could you... um... this isn’t really my place, but everyone is so worried.
Blake forcibly removed Chase from his rooms yesterday and only allows Axel in, but I see how worried Axel is getting.
” Dalton wrung his hands. “Your dad is a doctor, right? Could you ask him to come look at them? There seems to be no sign of it slowing.”
“I can. Yeah, that’s a good idea. Get a doctor’s opinion.”
Moving away from the office door and Dalton, though I was sure he could still hear me, I put in a call to my dad.
As usual, Papa answered with his cheery tone.
I felt bad that I couldn’t make time to chat.
He understood why when I explained why he was calling.
“He’ll make time for this. Be there soon, sweetheart.
” My face reddened when I saw Dalton smile at my interaction with Papa.
I should hate that my Papa called me sweetheart and treated me like a child.
I was in my fifties, but I knew how much they longed for me and I was an only child.
They would always call me their baby bear.
Papa and Dad arrived not long after with Alpha Jason in tow.
They had sent me as a friend to the Sweetwater pack to figure out where things stood in merging.
I knew both alphas were for the idea. Jason wanted to retire and didn’t have a suitable heir in the eyes of the council.
Neither of his children wanted the responsibility of running a pack, anyway. Blake just wanted unity.
I’d had mixed feelings on Blake to start with, but he’d shown me, and my alpha, that he was what a true alpha wolf should be. His pack was thriving and happy. If the concern that Dalton showed told me anything, it was those he ruled over loved Blake.
Axel led dad into Blake’s rooms and they exited half an hour later, frowns marring their faces. “Both are as well as can be expected. Blake is doing a great job of looking after Kade. Himself? Not so much. I’ve given some energy boosting potions Poppy makes for Heatwave.”
I’d forgotten that the betas at Heatwave were often boosted with potions to help them keep up with the omegas that frequented the club. Tate and Asher sometimes had to take potions to keep up with Hiroshi depending on how close he was to his heat. The closer he was, the easier their jobs were.
We took our conversation down to Blake’s office, Jason sitting in the alpha’s chair and looking at home. Dalton came in to offer us refreshments while Axel, Deke and Jason discussed the details of what the merge would entail.
“Kade told us you have an elder, Janet, that he would love to host here. He expressed that the house she was staying in might be difficult for her with reduced mobility,” said Deke carefully.
“Ah yes, this house isn’t any better from what I’ve seen.” Jason mused.
Deke and Axel shared a look before Axel spoke up. “We’d likely set up one of the omega houses for her. I know a family has just moved to a larger property now they have a pup. It wouldn’t take much to renovate and fit the place up, so it was safe for Janet.”
“That sounds perfect. I’m sure that Janet would like to be around the omegas.”
“The omega houses are like their own little compound within the compound. There’s a school in the community center and my brother has dinner with them once a week. If I’m honest, it might be his favorite place in the compound. He spends as much time there with the children as he can.”
Jason smiled. “So Janet would be among the omegas and the children? She’ll love that. I worry that she’s become so isolated and there are so few young in our pack.”
We chatted for a little while longer until there was a commotion at the door.
“I demand to see my son!” The tone set me on edge, but I couldn’t think why.
Roan had been training on gate duty and escorted a red-haired man and a little girl into the office. “Deke, Axel, he wouldn’t take no for an answer. I thought he was going to shift into his fox and run right here. This is Jasper Hayes, Kade’s Papa.”
Deke spoke up. “It’s okay, Roan. You’ve done the right thing by bringing him here.” He turned to the man. “How can we help you, sir?”
His head snapped up and his eyes met mine instead of Deke’s. The same bright amber eyes as Kade. The same delicate features with a slim nose and full lips.
Stunning.
My mate.
My fated mate was Kade’s papa, Jasper.
Impossible . I’d already lost my fated. My mind worked to shove the thought away.
I saw the moment that he recognised what we were to each other and then dismissed it. He took that information and filed it away, turning and giving Deke his attention instead.
Dismissed.
Rejected.
My bear roared inside, and I flinched. Papa rubbed my arm soothingly, his eyes missing nothing. “It’ll be okay, sweetheart,” he soothed in a whisper.
“I’m sorry, Mr Hayes, but Kade’s still in heat. I’m sure you can understand that he wouldn’t want visitors in his room whilst he’s so vulnerable.” My father was just repeating what both Axel and Deke had said, but this time, Jasper deflated.
“I just want to see my son,” he wailed. “It’s been over five years!”
“Don’t be sad, Papa,” the little girl, Angelica, my mind supplied, tried to comfort her sobbing papa.
“Hey, little kit, do you want to see if your papa would like a cookie?” I directed her attention to the plate of cookies the beta cook had supplied.
We had been given so many snacks because he was stress baking.
The alpha being... indisposed was affecting the entire pack.
They missed his strong but loving leadership.
Angelica came over to me where I sat next to the plate and sniffed me. “What are you?” she asked.
Jasper’s head snapped up. “Angel, that’s rude. I’ve told you before.” She flinched and drew back.
“It’s okay, little one.” I said softly, and she came closer as I whispered, “I’m a bear.” I pretended to think, “I can tell what you are.”
“You can?”
“Yes, you have the same pretty hair that your papa has. I bet you’re a fox shifter like him, right?” I felt Jasper shift position, looking uncomfortable from his place across the room.
“I am! You got it right! You’re a clever bear!” She looked over at Jasper with a huge grin. “Papa, can I shift?” She was so excited to show me her alter, but her papa’s answer had her golden brown eyes dimming.
“Not just now, Angel. We have to go back to the hotel after our visit. We’ll come back and you can meet your brother when he’s feeling better.”
I’d forgotten that Kade hadn’t seen Angelica since she was a tiny baby. He’d missed out on so much with her. They’d be like strangers. I felt the pain like a physical thing.
“I don’t like the hotel Papa. It smells funny, and the man is weird.” Angelica looked like she was moments from an outburst.
Axel and Deke looked between each other, obviously using the pack link to speak to each other.
“There’s plenty of room here,” Deke eventually said, “or if you don’t want to stay here, there are the omega houses. We should have one free.”
“I’d rather stay in a hotel, but thank you.” Jasper said carefully.
“But Papa —“
“No Angel.” Jasper’s tone brooked no argument and Angelica’s mouth shut with a snap. He rubbed his face, looking worn out and sad.
“There’s Kade’s house. I have a key.” Was it my imagination or had Jasper glared at me then? “He won’t mind if you stay there.” I hoped he wouldn’t. Axel had told me that Kade hadn’t wanted to go back to his house since that was the place that they had taken him from.
Jasper glanced at his daughter. There was no hiding what they were to each other. They looked too similar. “Would you like that, darling?”
“Yes, please.”
“You’ve caught us at an awkward time,” Alpha Jason said in the silence that followed.
“The packs are on the verge of coming together again and Blake cannot give you pass through rights.” He looked at Axel and Deke, Blake’s family and representatives, Chase relegated to training Roan for the gate.
“I don’t think I’d be out of line if I granted them in the interim.
” I saw Blake’s brother give a small head shake. “Jasper Hayes.”
“Brown. I’m not using Hayes any more.” Jasper interrupted.
“Apologies. Jasper and Angelica Brown?” Jasper nodded.
“I hereby grant you pass through rights to Sweetwater and the surrounding areas as one of the pack alphas in Sweetwater. You are free to come and go as you wish. The Sweetwater’s will make sure you have permission to enter at the gate so you can visit your son as soon as he can take visitors. ”
I watched Jasper clench his fists and relent. “Thank you, Alpha.”
“Oh, my gosh! We are the worst!” Papa exclaimed next to me.
“We didn’t introduce anyone! My son, Dakota, is next to me.
” He pointed at us. “He’s Kade’s best friend and boss.
My husband and mate is next to him. Aldrin is a doctor.
He attended Kade. Checked him over earlier.
No concerns aside from how long the heat is taking.
Then we have Deke. He’s Blake’s cousin. Axel, he’s Blake’s brother.
Then, of course, there’s Alpha Jason. He runs the Sweetwater bear pack.
It split a few decades ago, but they are merging soon.
” He smiled at Jasper. “Oh! And I’m James. ”
“Thank you, I’m Jasper Brown and this little one is Angelica.”
“Great! So now we are all introduced. You should leave a number with Deke or Axel so they can call you when Kade can see you. Dakota, sweetheart, do you want to take Kade’s family to his house?
I’m sure they will want some time to relax before Angelica has to go to bed. ” Papa gave me a meaningful look.
“Do you want to follow me in your own car?” I asked Jasper as I stood.
He watched me warily. “That’s a good idea. I have a booster for Angel in my car.”
“Okay, will we head out?”
My phone rang as I neared Kade’s house and I put it on the bluetooth. “Hey, Papa.”
“So?”
“My bear says he’s my mate, but that’s impossible.”
“Maybe The Luna is giving you a second chance? It’s been over thirty years, Dakota.”
“I don’t think it happens like that, Papa.”
“You never know what The Luna has planned.”
“He doesn’t want me. You saw how he acted. He felt something and shut it down.”
“His mate —“
“Ex. They were unbonded.”
“Still, the father of his children was just killed. He hasn’t seen his son in five years and he desperately wanted to see him today and couldn’t. We have no idea what he’s been doing aside from raising that sweet girl all on his own.”
“We don’t know that he was on his own. He might have a mate.” My hands tightened around the steering wheel at the idea.
“I didn’t sense a bite.”
“He could still have someone, Papa. It’s too complicated. Look, I’m at the house and I need to help him change the beds and tidy up, okay? I’ll speak to you tomorrow.”
With quick goodbyes, I ended the call and got out of my truck.
I’d left the space next to Kade’s car for Jasper to park in.
Someone from the pack had arranged for Axel’s vehicle to get towed and repaired already.
Nobody seemed to know what to do with Kade’s car, so it just sat there until he could deal with it himself.
It was tense as Jasper followed me into the house.
The alarm was off since Roan had deactivated it with his password.
If Jasper and Angelica were going to stay there for a while, I’d suggest getting a new one set up, just in case.
I hoped they would move into the compound for safety, but it wasn’t my place.
With Jasper’s help, we got the sheets changed and the laundry on.
Kade kept his house pretty neat, so there wasn’t much to pick up.
Each time I knew where something was, I felt Jasper’s judgment.
“I, uh, helped Kade out when he was ill recently.” I finally explained as the silence prickled between us.
“He was ill?”
“Yeah,” I rubbed the back of my neck, “blockers and scent changing magic don’t mix. He’d been on the blockers for too long.”
Jasper’s eyes widened. “Is he okay?”
Fuck. It wasn’t really my place to say it all. “There were a rough couple of days, but I think he’s okay now.” I couldn’t tell Jasper that the chances of him having grandkids were lessened because of everything he’d been through. Rincoln was after Kade to get Jasper.
He took a deep breath and let it go. “That’s great.”
My bear wanted to stay close to Jasper, but with the house set and beds made, I’d run out of excuses.
“Dakota, will you read me a story? It’s my bedtime.” Angelica said from the smaller bedroom.
“Dakota can’t, darling. He has to go now. You’ll see him again at some point, I’m sure.” He turned to me, his expression closed. “I’ll see you out.”
Guess I was leaving then . I followed him through the house to the front door. “Are we going to talk about this?” I asked as I stood in the open doorway.
“No.” Jasper said with finality, and he closed the door on my face.