Page 352 of Alpha Mates

“You have to eat anyway,” I argue as I rake a hand through his hair, only to frown. It’s too warm, again. I touch his neck and chest, and my heart sinks when I find them the same.

“I’m tired, Aiden,” Julian whines as he pushes my hand away.

“I know, baby,” I whisper, peeling the blanket away despite his protests. “Come eat, and then you can go back to sleep right after.” Julian groans until I add, “Don’t you want to see Levi?”

That does the trick.

Dragging himself up from our bed, Julian swipes a hand over his face before sliding his eyes to mine. The bags beneath them have deepened even more from yesterday which only deepens my frown. It’s not that he’s not sleeping, because he is. I know because every night, I watch him fall asleep, never stirring, not even once, and yet, he’s still so tired.

“How are you feeling?” I ask as I watch him rise.

“Tired,” he mumbles while he shuffles towards the bathroom. “I’ll be out in a sec. Don’t leave Levi alone.” He closes the door before I can reply,leaving me sitting on the edge of the bed with more worry than I know what to do with.

Exhaustion hit Julian hard after our fight with the rogues—same as it hit me, and every other warrior who’d been out there. We all needed rest, and had plenty of it, but that had been a week ago. We’re all back on our feet. All except Julian.

Julian’s always tired now, like the fatigue had sunk into his bones and taken root.

At first, I figured it was the fallout—a physical toll of losing his family. It made sense, so I let it be. But then he started eating less, he could barely concentrate in the meetings he made it to, and then there’s the change to his scent.

Scents changed, affected by emotions and reactions, but their underlying notes stayed the same. Julian always smelled like summer to me, fresh and sweet, but his scent had changed. It’s barely there, but to a mate’s nose? I noticed almost immediately.

I tried to take him to the healers, but he refused to go. Said he was fine, just a little tired. But in my bones, I can tell it’s something else. But I’m too terrified of pushing Julian a step too far in trying to figure out what it is.

I shove off the bed, walk back the way I came, and Levi’s head snaps up the second he spots me. He sits at the table in his favourite seat. He’s got a strip of bacon in his mouth, and he doesn’t look guilty about it at all.

The smile that I’d readied for him settles in for real.

“How did you get that?” I ask, lifting the cover off the plate I left on the kitchen island. Two pieces are missing. “You shouldn’t even be able to reach that.”

Levi reveals nothing as he shoves the rest of the bacon into his mouth and kicks his legs under the table.

Looking after a kid that wasn’t mine had never interested me, but now, here we are with Levi. At first, I kept thinking that I just had to keep him safe until we had answers about where he’d come from. Last we heard from the Council, they had a lead, but it didn’t sound promising.

No one said it outright, but the chances of Levi’s family still being alive felt slim. Still, he had to have come from somewhere. If he had a pack, then at least he had a home. People he knew who could love and protect him. But until we found them, we would keep him safe.

“Lemonade again?” I ask, grabbing the jug from the fridge. Levi’s still nodding his head by the time I turn around, and my smile widens.

He still didn’t talk much, so we don’t know much about him. But when it comes to food? Kid’s not shy. Lemonade, by far, is his favourite, and any time he gets his hands on it, it’s gone in seconds.

“Good morning,” Julian greets as he joins us and makes a beeline straight for Levi. “Did you sleep well?”

Levi smiles shyly at Julian and nods, which is his version ofgood, and Julian lights up. Levi had that effect on him. Just being close to him revived him. I don’t know how long we’ll get to keep the kid, but I’m grateful for every second.

Levi makes Julian smile, and right now, Julian needs to smile.

I’ve seen my mate cry more this past year as much as he’d seen me, but never the way he had that night he lost his parents.

He’d cried for hours. Quietly, in broken sobs, between short, shaking breaths.

The grief over Oliver came with the separation from his parents, and it had all been too much. It didn’t just settle, it festered. Dug into him like rot and refused to let go. There was no way to claw that sort of pain out. I only felt a portion of it through our bond, but even that was enough to tear me in half.

The tears came every night when I pulled him into my arms, but only then. Around others, and with Levi, it was like nothing had happened.

“What would you like to do today?” Julian asks while I bring over Levi’s breakfast plates. “We can walk around the pack, or visit the library.”

“In between meetings,” I remind him, brushing my fingers over his forehead to check his temperature before I grab my own plate. It’s slightly cooler now, but still not what it should be. “We’ve got lots to do.”

Usually, Julian’s the one keeping track of everything, but heartbreak preoccupies his mind, and what’s left is running on fumes.