Page 41 of The Omega's Secret Baby

“What were you doing before I came?” I asked.

He showed me a book that lay beside his pillow. It seemed to be a story about dinosaurs.

“You really like dinosaurs, huh?”

He shrugged. “They're cool. But I want to play outside now.”

“Yeah, I get that. It's nice outside.” I could see a clear sky through the window.

Jake drew his knees toward himself and rested his head on them.

“Would you like to tell me what happened?” I tried.

“I got into a fight at school.”

“How did that happen?”

“Miles was being mean. So I took his sandwich and threw it away. Then he punched me. So I punched him. But I didn't start it!”

“No, I'm sure you didn't.” I rubbed my chin in an effort to look like I was giving this a lot of thought. “Your daddy told me you made him a promise that you weren't going to punch other kids anymore.”

Jake looked away, so maybe that hadn't been the right thing to say.

“He's very sad that you broke your promise,” I tried, because I got the feeling that Jake cared about Eli. Especially if our first encounter was anything to go by. My kid was an alpha, and he wanted to protect his dad. He wouldn't like the idea of him being sad because of something he'd done.

And I was right. Jake turned to me again. “Is he really?” he asked softly.

“Of course he is. He doesn't want you to get into trouble. He's worried about you.”

“He doesn't have to worry about me!”

I almost had to laugh because of how sincere Jake sounded. Quite the little grown-up. “He will always worry about you, even if you become a big boy.”

“I'm already a big boy!” Jake pierced me with his eyes.

I reached out and ruffled his hair. “Of course you are. But that doesn't change anything. You upset your daddy.”

“I didn't want to do that.” He looked aside, letting his hands drop.

“I'm sure it'll be fine. You only have to stop punching other children.”

“I didn't even start it this time! What should I have done?”

“Mhm.” I pretended to think about this for a moment. “You could have told a teacher.” Exactly the advice I'd been given as a teenager. I hadn't taken it, but there was always a chance that my son was smarter than me. I certainly hoped so.

Jake scrunched his nose up. Okay, so he didn't like that idea.

“I know it's not cool, but it does help,” I told him.

“I'm not a tattle-tale.”

“It's okay to tell when someone's hurting you.”

Jake furrowed his brow and I wasn't sure whether he believed me or not.

“Why are you in so much trouble with this Miles kid anyway?” Maybe if I knew what exactly had happened, I could give better advice. I wasn't ready to give up yet. This was my big parenting moment, after all.

“Because he's mean.” Jake pouted.