Page 380 of Alpha Mates

Levi sways on his feet when Julian sets him down, but manages to run over to me. I grin down at him, keeping him close while I set the water to warm.

“So, are you ready, kid?” I ask, and his giddy smile slips a little.

“No,” he whines. “Why can’t I just stay with you guys?”

“Because you’re almost six and you have to learn how to get out there,” Julian answers gently, wiping drool off Damon’s chin, but speaking to Levi. “The first go around was not great, but it’ll be better this time. We promise.”

After Levi’s first disaster of a school experience, we’d kept him home with us, but he couldn’t stay away forever. He’s too smart for that, and he needs to learn how to make friends.

We’d prepped him for it, but he was still scared. It didn’t help that his emotions were getting the better of him lately. He got angry quickly, and sad too, but we were helping him through it. Talking, listening, and teaching him to ride the wave instead of trying to block them out like I used to.

“You’ll be fine,” I promise, testing the water before adding it to the bottle already filled with powder. I shake it as I head back to the table, filling the seat on Damon’s other side, since he refuses to drink from anyone but me.

Levi climbs into his chair and immediately starts shovelling burnt toast and fruit into his mouth while Julian picks the safe route with the cereal.

“Bruuuu,” I trill as I steer my bottle like a plane, “there goes the knife—straight into the heart!” Damon opens his mouth, latching around the bottle and I cheer. “And they die!”

“Stop with the violent themes!” Julian snaps for the umpteenth time, glaring daggers at me. “Be normal. Do trains or planes or something.”

“He likes knives and bombs,” I argue. Damon giggles—confirmation enough. I’d done it the first time in a haze of sleep-deprived madness. He kept refusing his bottle but screamed from hunger. So I improvised. But then he was opening up and I refused to let it go since. “He’s going to be a great fighter.”

“He’s going to be violent,” Julian corrects, but I swat him away.

It wasn’t time yet, but I had a plan to make Damon the greatest alpha that ever lived, and if he was a bit violent, then that couldn’t hurt.

Eating together, I take the brunt of the toast and yoghurt, finishing it all so there’s no doubt in Levi’s mind that we don’t appreciate every bit of this. My stomach churns when it’s all gone, but it’s worth it.

“Thank you so much for the breakfast, Levi,” Julian says once they’re done cleaning up. He leans down to kiss the top of his head, and Levi leans into it. “Let’s get ready so we can see your Aunty Isabel in time.”

Levi runs like there’s a clock on him, and Julian laughs before he turns to me. Arms raised, he flexes his fingers towards Damon. “Give him here.”

“No,” I whine, holding my pup closer while he pokes my cheeks with his chubby fingers.

“We don’t have time for this, Aiden. Give him to me,” he growls as I take a step back. Maybe I could make a run for it. “If you even try it, you’ll spend the night with your hand.”

“You’re sick,” I growl, but hand Damon over.

“Whatever, just go get ready while I bathe him,” he says as he disappears down the hall with a giggling Damon in his hands.

In our laundry room, I throw on a clean shirt and my usual jeans before squeezing my boots on. I head to Levi’s room and find him already dressed and colouring on the floor.

“You’re getting better,” I say, sitting down beside him. He smiles at me before returning to his work. I wait for a moment before I say, “You know nobody’s going to hurt you there, right?”

His crayon stills, and it takes him a moment to peek up. Dark black eyes stare back at me, but I only see the olive-green I once glimpsed.

“They might,” he whispers quietly as he sits up to face me. “Someone can always hurt.”

My chest tightens like there’s a fist around it, but I force myself to be strong as I slide a hand over his hair.

“That’s true,” I say, and I hate myself for saying it when his heart kicks up. “But what do you do if they try to?”

Levi blinks a second before s smile breaks across his face. “Call you!”

“Where?”

In here!he says through the family bond, and it warms from both our sides.

“And what do you do when I’m on the way?” I ask and that grin widens.