Secret Daddy

by Liam Kingsley

  “As most of you know, there have been rumors of other shifters in the area,” Jaxon announced. I pulled my gaze back to him and listened attentively. “But now we have confirmed sightings of these other shifters.”

  “Wolves?” someone asked loudly.

  “Can’t we make contact and bring them in to talk?” someone else asked.

  Jaxon swallowed and shook his head. His eyes looked over the crowd and then came to rest squarely on Nicole and me. He looked stricken, and my stomach started to cramp. I knew what he was going to say before he said it.

  “Not wolves. These shifters are…dragons,” he said.

  Nic glanced at me. Her face was etched with worry, but I couldn’t tell if she was upset for her or if she was just worried about me.

  Jaxon looked away from us. “A pack of dragon shifters have been seen causing havoc in the woods, and in nearby towns. And now, small fires have been set off in Timberwood Cove.”

  A murmur of concern spread through the crowd.

  Greer, one of the elders and Jaxon’s father, stepped forward. “There’s no need to take action yet. In the past, dragon shifters have been migratory through this part of the country. They seem to be settling here for longer than usual, possibly due to weather patterns. They may soon move on.”

  Nic put her arm through mine and leaned her head heavily against my shoulder. At the contact I realized I’d been holding my breath. I let it out in a heavy sigh.

  “I need you all to stay vigilant. If you see anything, tell me or a pack alpha immediately,” Jaxon emphasized. “Be cautious in the woods. Don’t run alone.”

  Nicole looked up at me as Jaxon took questions from the crowd. Her gaze pierced mine and a look of sibling love moved between us. I didn’t know where I’d be without her. I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in for a tight hug.

  “Are you two alright?” Linc asked as he appeared out of nowhere. His mate, Shawn was right behind him with their new baby Samuel in his arms and his corgi, Lulu at his feet. Cole stood on tippy-toes to tickle the belly of his baby brother while Lulu sniffed at my legs.

  “We need to get some air,” I said quickly, not wanting to state how much I wasn’t alright in front of everyone.

  Nicole nodded, then wrapped her arm around my waist as we pushed through the crowd and found our way outside. Suddenly, Paco was right at our feet, walking in step with Nicole as if he’d always been a perfectly behaved dog.

  “You okay?” she asked quietly as we paced across the lawn outside the Lodge, heading straight for the thicket of trees near my house.

  “Well, that wasn’t fantastic news,” I admitted.

  “Mm,” she agreed.

  We walked on in silence until we came to a fallen log at the edge of the tree-line and sat down, close together. The weather held the last clutches of an Indian summer, and a warm breeze blew across the Lodge grounds, carrying the scent of our pack with it. It was dense and muddy, and I took in a deep breath. It made me feel safe.

  “I hate thinking about it,” Nicole said in a quiet voice. She looked down at Paco who lay at her feet.

  “About dragon shifters?”

  “Yes, and about what happened to our alpha dad.”

  So did I.

  Suddenly, I felt a buzzing in my pocket. I instinctively reached for my phone, just like I’d done all morning. Sure enough, it was Kyle texting me. And just like every other time I’d looked at that name, it gave me a little thrill of excitement. I grinned. I hadn’t felt excited and giddy about someone like this for years, and it was nice to have something cut through the heaviness of the morning’s news.

  “Is it him?” Nicole asked with a sudden excitement in her voice.

  I gave her a big smile and nodded.

  She nudged me. “Big date today?”

  “Big talk today,” I said while quickly sending Kyle a message to confirm I’d be at his house by noon.

  “Mm, a lot to discuss, I’m sure. Has he told you anything about the kid?”

  “Not too much. Brock is having trouble with his wolf, with controlling him.”

  “That’s not good, but kind of understandable considering he hasn’t had a shifter around him to help out.”

  “I know, and that’s what’s worrying me,” I told her.

  “In what way?”

  “Well, I was excited at first, to know about him, but…”

  “But…”

  “He’s a ten-year-old alpha wolf shifter… I don’t know if I have what it takes, Nic.”

  “To do what?”

  “To be a dad,” I said quietly. “To be an alpha dad… How would I ever know where to start with that?”

  Nicole was silent. She looked out at the grounds and I followed her gaze to find the pack spilling out of the Lodge and mingling on the lawn, talking, laughing and playing. Cole and his best friend Liam, Jaxon’s son, had shifted into their wolf forms and they were romping through the yard with their packmates, tumbling over each other and play fighting.

  “Well… You would have a whole pack to help you,” Nicole said as a reminder.

  I swallowed and nodded as I saw Jaxon making his way through the crowd and walking over toward us.

  “I wanted to apologize for not filling you in sooner,” Jaxon said as he approached, lowering his head. “I know what happened to your alpha father, and the subject of dragon shifters must be a sore point. I wanted to tell you about the recent sightings personally, before doing it publicly, but time constraints made it impossible. My apologies.”

  “It’s okay,” Nic responded. “We’re okay.”

  Jaxon scrutinized me and frowned. “I’m not convinced.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “It’s fine. There’s just a lot going on. In fact, I’m glad you’re here. I have news and I need your blessing.”

  Jaxon nodded and urged me to continue.

  “I’ve just found out I have a son,” I told him as I looked at him, squinting into the sunlight that shone behind his head.

  His eyes widened and a huge smile broke across his face.

  “With a human,” I added, and watched as his eyebrows twitched with a little concern. “The boy is ten.”

  “Ten? How did you not know before now? The boy would have shifted years ago, especially if he’s an alpha…”

  “He is, and he has, and I didn’t know because I hooked up with his dad on a one-night stand.”

  “Did the human at least know about us before you put a pup in him?”

  “Um, no.”

  “So we have a young pup out there born to a human, who didn’t know about shifters until he gave birth to one. Do you know how dangerous that was?” Jaxon asked, anger now lacing his tone.

  I understood his anger because as our pack’s leader he was responsible for keeping us safe, which meant keeping us a secret from the majority of humans. Some knew of course, it was inevitable, but they were ones we trusted. No shifter was supposed to go around getting an unenlightened human pregnant. I dropped my head in an apology.

  “He could have told anyone,” Jaxon said, fuming. “Did he tell anyone?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, he told me of a friend who already knew about shifters, or at least he’d heard rumors. Kyle apparently found out from him when Kyle mentioned…the knot.”

  Nicole let out a loud laugh. “Sorry,” she said as I jabbed her with my elbow. “Please, go on.”

  “But I believe that’s the extent of it,” I told Jaxon.

  “You need to find out who this friend is,” he said. “And ascertain if Kyle had told anyone else or if he knows of anyone who knows. God, this could turn out to be a mess.”

  I didn’t apologize again otherwise I’d be doing it all morning.

  “And the child? How’s his temperament?” Jaxon asked.

  “I’m not sure,” I replied honestly. “I only met him for the first time on Saturday. I’m finding out more today.”

  Jaxon nodded, and then looked off into the distance, into the deep dark
of the wood. I had a feeling he was calculating things or putting pieces together.

  “And your relationship with the father…”

  I glanced at Nicole, who put a hand on my knee and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

  “I believe he might be my fated mate,” I said.

  “Might be? You slept with the man. How could you not know?”

  “I was drunk at the time. Very, very drunk. He was too, and I guess I just didn’t notice his scent then, but I met him again and his scent drove me crazy. I mean, it might have then, too, but like I said, I was…drunk.” I didn’t like admitting that. Not even to myself. I could have spent the last ten years or more with my fated mate, but I’d wasted that time because I’d been too busy drinking and getting laid while not particularly caring who I slept with; I was just out for a good time then. Now it was different. I was different.

  Jaxon glanced off into the trees again before looking back at me.

  “Sounds like fate. You have my blessing. And of course we’ll welcome your son and mate into the pack,” he said as he put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it tightly. “However, take it slow, and be careful. Being part of a pack might take them a little getting used to, but at least your son will now have you as his alpha father.”

  I nodded, doing my best to have complete faith in what my alpha leader was saying. Easier said than done when I had a big pit of self-doubt grumbling in my chest. Young alpha shifters needed an alpha father, it was part of our nature, but they needed a father who knew how to be one.

  “Tell me more information about his situation when you have it. And I’d like to meet the omega father as soon as possible,” he said.

  A yelp shot through the yard and Jaxon turned to look at the crowd. His son Liam, in his wolf form, was yelping as Cole bit down on his neck.

  “Cole!” Nicole shouted as she got to her feet. “Be gentle!”

  Paco immediately shot off and bowled Cole over. Jaxon was close behind and helped Liam to his feet as the boy changed into his human form. Cole also shifted as he tumbled backward. Paco immediately licked at his face.

  Nic stormed over and started lecturing Cole about being gentle with his friend while Liam blushed bright red and insisted he was fine. I groaned and ran a hand through my hair as I watched the scene unfold. I sat still on the log and wondered how hard it could be to keep pubescent shifter boys in line. Very hard, I guessed. I was getting what I’d wished for on my birthday candles… But had that wish been a mistake?

  My phone buzzed again.

  See you soon :) - K.

  It was almost midday. I pushed down my feelings of doubt, hurried home, and got ready to see him.

  “You look…amazing,” Kyle said with a smile as he opened the kitchen door for me. Actually, he was the one who looked amazing in a different Feather Boats t-shirt that had a low-cut neckline, revealing his lightly freckled skin across his chest and collarbones.

  I brushed off his flattery and cautiously made my way into the house. He lived in town on the corner of Poplar Road and Silvercoat Way, right near the doggy daycare that Paco attended, and I could hear the odd bark from there until Kyle closed the door behind me.

  The kitchen smelled like freshly cooked bread, punctuated by Kyle’s scent. I took a deep breath as I stepped through the threshold and looked around the kitchen.

  “It’s lovely in here,” I said, gazing over beautifully displayed pots, recipe books, and spice racks. The wooden countertops and kitchen island held bowls of fruit, cups stuffed with utensils, and a few piles of what looked like Brock’s homework.

  “I live here with my sister and her girlfriend. They’re out during the day for work,” Kyle explained before shrugging. “They have good taste in interior design.”

  “But I guess this is yours?” I made my way over to the living room then stopped in front of a built-in cabinet that displayed hundreds or possibly thousands of CDs, records and cassette tapes. Kyle let out a nervous laugh and nodded as he came up beside me.

  “Yep, that’s my contribution to the interior design.”

  “It’s impressive,” I said genuinely. The whole house felt impressive, to be honest. It wasn’t big, but it was so cozy and well-designed I felt completely at home. I wondered how much of that had to do with Kyle’s scent being all over the place.

  I took in another greedy breath as I leaned closer to him. I could hear his breathing quicken before he pulled away and wandered back into the kitchen.

  “Tea?” he asked. I caught a little quiver of nervousness in his voice, and it made me feel better about my own nerves.

  We sat at the kitchen bench and Kyle poured me a cup of tea with shaking hands. He gave me an embarrassed grin as he placed the teapot back on the counter, and I gave him an understanding smile. This was a strange situation. How do you start talking about the kid you had from a one-night stand, ten years ago?

  “So, Brock…” Kyle said, but he suddenly stopped as we both reached for the freshly poured cup of tea and our hands touched. A zap of excitement ran through me, and I felt a little dizzy from the pull I felt toward him. He slowly took his hand back and placed it on his lap.

  “Sorry. So, we both agree I’m his other biological father?”

  Kyle nodded. “I’m certain. We could do a DNA test if you—”

  “No.” I shook my head. “We couldn’t.”

  “Oh, right. Because of…” Kyle waved his hand around as if indicating something beyond words.

  “Because I don’t want a DNA lab having my kind of DNA,” I said. I smirked and took a sip of tea. It was hot and sweet, and just how I liked it.

  “Right.”

  “And because it’s unnecessary. My intuition says, very clearly, that he’s my son.”

  Kyle let out a relieved sigh and nodded. “Okay. Good. We’re on the same page. So, to give you some background… I was serious when I said I tried to look for you. I don’t want to put any pressure on you, but you should know I’ve always wanted to find Brock’s dad, and he’s always wanted me to find you. You can be as involved in this as you want to be…”

  “I want to be here for him. It’s not right for him to grow up without an alpha, let alone without a shifter to guide him,” I said sternly. I needed to get that across; that an alpha shifter child needed an alpha shifter father. That wasn’t really up for debate even if I wasn’t completely certain I was the right father for him.

  Kyle nodded and took a sip of his tea. “That makes sense.”

  I liked how quickly he accepted my assertion, and I felt myself relaxing.

  “You seem really positive about all of this,” he said.

  “Do I?” I shook my head and laughed. “I’m a little nervous. I didn’t have an alpha father as I was growing up, and my omega father was, is, absent to say the least. I’m not exactly sure how to be a dad. But I know how to be an alpha wolf shifter.”

  “Hm,” Kyle said, biting his lip.

  “But that’s why wolf shifters live in packs,” I said, taking a moment to sip my tea. Kyle raised his eyebrows.

  “Packs…”

  “There are about one hundred shifters in Timberwood Cove,” I explained, and then laughed as Kyle spat out his tea into his cup. “Some of us live in the gated community on the north side of town. We call it the homestead, and we call ourselves the Timberwood Cove Pack. Not very original but we’ve been here for generations. Other packs moved to the town, and that’s fine. We get along really well, keeping mostly segregated but getting together for meetings when it looks like there might be trouble. Our particular pack is a tight knit family. We predominantly live with relatives, our chosen mates or…our fated mates.”

  “Fated mates? Sorry, listen, all of these terms are very new to me and it all sounds wild.”

  “It’s a phenomenon where our wolf instincts just know that someone is meant to be with us forever.”

  Kyle looked at my face as though he were seeing it for the first time.

  “Like true love?” he
asked quietly.

  I nodded. “Similar to true love, but deeper. It’s more of a soul bonding… When an alpha claims his fated omega mate—”

  “Uh, claims his omega? That sounds a little antiquated,” he said, sitting upright.

  I grimaced. “The language is outdated. But it’s an ancient ritual where the alpha imprints the omega by biting his neck. From then on the two of them have a deeply devoted bond that lasts through time.”

  “Are we…fated? Do you want to claim me?” he asked quietly.

  Take it slow, Jaxon had said. But what was I going to do? Lie to my mate?

  “Well… Yes, we are.”

  A shy smile touched Kyle’s lips, and it struck me that he was a true romantic who loved the idea of being soul mates. His romanticism was undoubtedly why he played love songs all night long. Something I probably should have picked up on earlier.

  “And if I was to claim you, you’d become a wolf shifter, like Brock and me.” I hoped that would be Kyle’s decider, that he’d want to share the same experiences as his son.

  Kyle’s eyes widened as he stared at me. “Wow. Okay. This is a lot to take in. But wait—how do you know? That we’re…fated?”

  “There’s a certain scent I pick up from you and—”

  “I smell?” He let out a loud laugh that made me smile.

  “You smell good,” I said. Without actual thought, I put a hand on his knee. A warmth spread through my fingers, and I squeezed his leg gently. Kyle grazed his fingertips across the back of my wrist, sending a shiver up my spine.

  “It’s a scent that’s unique to you, that only I can smell. If you were a wolf shifter, you’d smell a unique scent on me too. And there’s a feeling. An…undeniable attraction.”

  Kyle licked his lips and gazed at my mouth.

  I took in a deep breath to try and relax, but his scent hit me harder than ever. I wanted to kiss him, hold him, assure him everything was going to be alright. I wanted to make him mine.

  Kyle leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. “I need a minute to get my mind around this. Or a week. Maybe a year.”

  I nodded, accepting that he needed some time, but praying it wouldn’t take that long.