Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Alistair had to ask. He knew his ex well enough. If her parents said to do something, she’d do it. It was why he never picked a fight with them, no matter how rude or condescending they were to him. He didn't want them telling her to take away his kids.
She hesitated, which he expected, but the way her eyes darted back and forth told him she was considering it from all angles.
That had always been her way, choosing what best suited her image down to what kind of coffee she drank in the morning.
It was exhausting most days, but now, it might just work in his favor.
He waited on pins and needles, knowing she had plenty of evidence of his instability before the bands were put on to hold up her sole custody claim for years to come if she wanted to, until her chin came up and a familiar defiance overtook her expression.
“They don’t get a say. Not in this. Not after what they did.
I refuse to align myself and my image to that kind of cruelty. ”
Did he wish she’d focused more on what was best for the kids and what they needed to thrive?
Sure. But he knew better to expect that.
And amongst all her flaws, Edwina wasn’t a liar.
The conviction in her voice said she wouldn’t back down when her parents eventually put up a fuss about him visiting with his kids. He’d take what he could get.
“Thank you, Edwina.”
She nodded sharply once, then glanced sidelong toward the front door again. She wanted to chase after her parents, or maybe after Dilwyn. She only stayed because of his grandmother.
“We were discussing a sleepover earlier. As long as you’re comfortable, I will return the children to you in the morning,” his grandmother informed her.
Edwina opened her mouth, then closed it, flicking her gaze back to Alistair, or more specifically, his wrists.
He’d worn a long sleeve henley to keep the bands covered since he didn’t want to have to explain them to his kids, but for Edwina’s peace of mind, he rolled the sleeves up, revealing the bands that kept his magic at bay.
She sucked in a sharp breath, a pained look crossing her face, then shook her head. “I’m sorry. Yes, a sleepover is fine. I’ll just let them know and say goodnight.”
She hurried off without a backward glance, and Alistair let out a long sigh, leaning against Elijah a little in relief.
For a minute there he’d been worried he’d lose all access to his kids.
He felt like he should be grateful his ex-wife was so vain.
If it wouldn’t look so bad for her, she probably wouldn’t have thought twice about never letting him see them again.
Spinning around, his grandmother zeroed in on the bands still uncovered on his wrists. “We’re removing those. Now.”
“No we aren’t,” he argued, covering them again, like that would somehow put them out of her mind.
“Alistair–” she began, her expression mulish.
“Whether or not Gerard manipulated me into wearing them, they’ve given me my life back.
I couldn’t separate reality from flashbacks.
It wasn’t safe for me to be around my family.
I’m not going to turn my nose up at everything I’ve gotten back just because of how the bands were brought to my attention. And I’m not discussing it further.”
He gave his focus to Elijah, who still looked upset by the whole interaction.
He’d felt when Elijah lost his temper, the whole house must have felt something, and he was glad nothing more dangerous had gone down.
The fact that he’d felt it at all was enough of a warning that whatever was happening was bad.
When he’d felt that shift in the air, he’d worried Elijah was cornered somewhere and reacting to protect himself.
He never considered that the telepath might be standing up for him.
Fighting for him. It took his breath away.
Cupping Elijah’s neck, he stroked his jaw with his thumbs, soothing him. “Are you alright?”
Elijah wrapped his long slender fingers around Alistair’s wrists, keeping him from pulling away. He hummed a sound of agreement, leaning into Alistair’s touch, and Alistair swore he felt himself falling for the man in that moment. He was just so sweet.
He’d expected more of an argument from his grandmother, but she seemed to realize arguing was useless. Instead, she pointed a bony finger toward the backyard. “Go. Play with your children. I’ll set up the rooms for the night. I’m assuming I’ll only need to set two?”
Elijah’s cheeks burned at the implication, but Alistair saw the tease for what it was. He tore his gaze away from Elijah’s, giving her a dry look. “Sounds good.”
She seemed pleased by that, at least, and wandered off, dragging Isaac with her despite his protests.
He was so much like her, stubborn down to his core, and she liked to torment him.
He knew Isaac secretly loved their connection and only protested because he’d likely been away from his mate too long for his comfort.
His parents went out the back door, giving them privacy. Alistair took the gift offered, wrapping his arms around Elijah and soaking in the quiet moment.
“I’m sorry. I didn't mean to get involved in your business.
They didn't notice me at first, which now that I think about it is kind of shocking. You might have been right about the magic in the forest throwing people off. I honestly thought that you were just saying that to make me feel better, but I gave it a try anyway and–”
“Eli…” he chuckled, pulling away so he could smack a kiss on the sweet man’s lips. He rambled when he was nervous and this obviously worried him, but it didn’t upset him that Elijah got involved. He trusted him.
Elijah’s shoulders slumped. “I was just trying to find a tray. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. But I overheard what they were saying, and I couldn’t just let them think it was okay and– mmph!”
Capturing Elijah’s lips in a kiss stopped him from spiraling, and he kept them pressed together until he felt the tension leave Elijah’s body and his grip on Alistair’s shirt relax. Only then did he pull away to whisper against his lips.“Thank you for having my back. It means a lot.”
“You’ve protected me since we started working together. I wanted to protect you too,” Elijah whispered back.
The words made Alistair’s stomach flip. He hadn’t had someone protecting him since he left the military. He’d missed the security of knowing someone always had his back. He was glad that someone was Elijah.
Elijah leaned closer, nuzzling his chin a lot like Helios did. It was adorable, and it took everything in Alistair not to snatch the man up and drag him up to an empty room. The house was big enough, they could probably disappear for a while.
His kids came bursting into the kitchen, crowding his legs and hiding as Charlie, his cousin’s mate, came creeping in, pretending to be a monster looking for them.
“Fee Fi Fo Fum…” he growled.
They giggled and squealed, squeezing themselves between him and Elijah to protect themselves from their uncle.
Elijah cocked his head with the frown. “I thought that particular human story was about a giant, not an orc.”
Charlie straightened with his own matching frown. “Wait. Really?”
Pursing his lips, Elijah squinted as he tried to remember the tale. “Wasn’t it something about a beanstalk and a giant? My father taught a course on human fairytales once, and he read them all to me and my brother. I’m pretty sure it was a giant.”
“Huh.” Charlie scratched his head, then shrugged. “That’s fine. One less story about evil orcs. Alright, kiddos. You’re safe from me. I’m gonna go find my mate. We’ll play again soon.”
“Aw, man,” Thayer grouched.
Hazel was amiable to the change, burying her face against Alistair’s middle and hugging him tightly. Alistair tried not to let the heartbreak show on his face. He hated how upset she was still. He’d been apart from them for too long.
“You know, Isaac always told me about the magic of the forest. I’d like to see it before it gets too dark.
Think you and your dad could show me?” Elijah asked the twins, distracting them and giving Alistair a chance to school his face again.
He shot a grateful look at his boyfriend, following Thayer out as he excitedly told Elijah about all the cool things he’d seen in the forest. A walk sounded like a good idea to him, too.
Just another reason he was glad he’d asked Elijah to come along.
Elijah was picking up more and more from Alistair the more time they spent together. Alistair had said the magic blockers wouldn’t allow him to read him deeply, but the more time they spent together the more easily he picked up on how Alistair was feeling.
Like now, for instance. He practically shared Alistair’s need to stay close to his children, but a heavy sense of dread accompanied it.
He just couldn’t figure out why without an explanation.
They were tucking the kids in for the night, and Alistair had just finished reading them a story, so he didn’t understand where the dread was coming from unless Alistair was already upset about the kids going home tomorrow.
He could understand that, but worrying about it would only take away from the joy of the moment.
He was going to talk to Alistair about it after the kids were asleep when Hazel asked, “Daddy? Can you sleep with us?”
That dread suddenly compounded with a heavy dose of fear, leaving Elijah a little shell shocked.
What was it that was so upsetting– Oh. For a moment, he’d forgotten about Alistair’s nightmares.
He’d said he and Elijah couldn’t share a bed because he had nightmares that sometimes turned violent.
A common issue with people with PTSD unfortunately.
One quick glance at Alistair’s face said he wished he could stay with the kids, but was too afraid of hurting them.
Leaning close to whisper in his ear, Elijah offered, “I can come get you once I’m sure they’re asleep and make sure to wake you early so you can come back. They never need to know you left.”
If he could fully connect to Alistair with his magic, he could probably stop any nightmares from happening, but with the magic blockers, that was unlikely, and he didn’t want to give Alistair false hope.
But keeping an eye on the kids to make sure they were actually asleep before Alistair snuck away was definitely within his ability.
Alistair smiled gratefully and nodded, climbing into bed with his kids and pulling them close.
It was adorable to watch and Elijah resisted the urge to pull out his phone and snap a picture, wishing them a good night as he turned off the light and slipped out of the room.
He sat beside the door, listening to the little whispers as the kids told stories to their dad in an attempt to stay awake longer, and smiled to himself when Alistair only hummed in acknowledgement and waited.
Soon enough, they drifted off, and he made sure to wait until they were in a deep enough sleep that movement wouldn’t wake them before creeping back into the room and whispering to get Alistair’s attention.
“Alistair.”
“Mm…”
Uh oh. He sounded half asleep. It would go directly against his promise if he allowed him to stay.
“Alistair. Come to bed.”
That got him a grunt, but no movement. How to get the man to move? He pondered it for a moment before an idea popped into his head.
“Alistair, I’m going to go touch myself. Do you want to join me?”
Sucking in a breath, Alistair sounded a lot more alert when he asked, “What?”
Snickering, Elijah tugged his pant leg. “Come on. Our room is across the hall.”