Saved By The Alpha
Chapter 26

I had only just put Bella down from her afternoon nap when the front door opened. As I hurried down the stairs, I spotted Eli moving from the living room to the kitchen, his shoulders hunched so tightly they almost touched his ears. My throat tightened at once.

I thought he was just going over to Remus’ house to research some things. Did something go wrong? My b***d ran a little colder. Oh no, did they replace something else out about Bella or her family?

“Eli?” I called softly, trying to stop my wonderings from getting any wilder.

He stopped, turning to look at me. Even across the room, I could tell he looked positively exhausted, and my concern only heightened. I closed the distance between us. “Eli, are you okay? Did something happen?”

My wolf whined, pressing against me as I reached for his arm as if she, too, were reaching for his wolf, wishing to nuzzle him or groom him. Anything to console him and wash that weary look away from his face.

He sighed, turning his wrist so he could tangle our fingers together. “My father came over to join us,” he said. When I didn’t remark immediately, he glanced down at our hands and continued. “I had a long overdue conversation with him.”

I could tell from his tone it wasn’t the kind he’d wanted to have. I tried to give him a supportive smile even though he wasn’t looking at me and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Yeah? Did it go okay?”

It was hard to tell if it was the conversation itself that had had this effect on Eli or his father’s reaction.

He sighed heavily. “Let’s go sit on the couch,” he said after a moment. I allowed him to lead me over, sitting close. He untangled our hands to set a hand on his knee. Eli still wouldn’t look at me, but I didn’t push the subject. It was clear something was eating him up inside.

After staring at the blank wall for several moments, he cleared his throat. “So…you know my mother’s mate, Brock.”

I wrinkled my nose and nodded. “Not personally, but yes.”

“He used to take all his anger out on me when I was a kid,” Eli said as if rushing the admission. It took all the breath out of my lungs. “Verbally, physically…he didn’t really seem to care. When I was really young, I tried to hide it because I thought I’d been the problem. When I got older, I…I knew he was doing something wrong, but I didn’t know how to say anything, I guess. And my father never figured it out. I never told him. I only told one person until…well, until earlier this week, I guess.”

I had to force myself to remember to breathe, trying to contain the whirlwind of emotions kicking up inside of me. This wasn’t about me right now; it was about Eli. I wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him close, k!ssing his temple. “Thank you for telling me,” I said quietly. “I can’t…I can’t even imagine, Eli. I had some pretty cruel foster parents, but none of them ever laid a hand on me.”

And they were foster parents — they weren’t my mother’s partner. I couldn’t believe this had gone on under Viola’s roof, and she didn’t notice — or didn’t care.

If anyone harmed a hair on Bella’s little head, I couldn’t say with certainty there wouldn’t be broken bones in the aftermath, and we weren’t even related by b***d. How could Viola ever let anyone harm her child?

I took a steadying breath and squeezed his shoulder. “And your dad…?” I prompted, not wanting to be nosy — but I wanted to know if Nic had finally seen.

Eli exhaled sharply and straightened himself out. “I’ve never seen him look like that,” he said, finally looking over at me. “He tried to jump Brock on the spot. Remus had to stop him.”

I snorted. “Why bother?”

Eli’s expression softened a little. “Because he’s going to banish him. For a wolf like him, being a loner is worse…” He trailed off, but I knew what he was going to say. Being a loner is worse than death. A lot of wolves thought that, but I— I never felt like that.

For a very long time, being a lone wolf was the way I felt safe. It was only over the last several weeks that my opinion on the matter started to change.

I gave Eli another squeeze. “I’m proud of you,” I said quietly. “I know I had nothing to do with it, but I also know how hard it is to talk about that kind of shit. And if you ever want to…I don’t know, vent to me and purge it, I’ll listen. And if you don’t, then that’s okay, too.”

Eli was quiet for a moment, but then he nodded, leaning his weight against me. “Thank you,” he said. We were silent like that for a long time, or maybe only a few moments — I couldn’t tell. I lost track of time, and I didn’t mind. It felt good to be able to support Eli like this after all he had offered me.

Eventually, he spoke back up. “Where’s Bella?”

I turned, pressing my face against his hair and smiling. “She’s having a nap. We read a story together beforehand.”

He hummed quietly. “I’m glad she’s speaking more,” he admitted. “Do you really think she’s a dire wolf, Iris?”

I sighed, some of the anxiety already tightening in my stomach again. I had been trying not to think about that too hard. “I really don’t know,” I admitted. “But if she is, it would only be part, right? Because of the hybrid thing.”

“Right,” Eli said. “Right.” He sighed. “I think we should probably do some research on that…”

“Yeah.” I cuddled up a little closer. As my arm fell away, he wrapped his around my shoulders instead. I closed my eyes, focusing on the warmth that radiated from him. “I have no idea who we’d ask about dire wolves, though. Historians? Biologists? Old shifters?”

Eli shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. If we can take down Project Night Moon, we can do anything.”

The thought warmed me, and I pressed a little closer to him. Maybe he’s right. Maybe we can do anything when we put our heads together. We can figure out what Bella needs to make sure…

My mouth went dry, and I swallowed hard as I opened my eyes back up. I had to clear my throat before I could speak. “Remus has been looking for families for Bella,” I said softly, trying my best to sound like it didn’t bother me. “The whole dire wolf thing will probably really change things, though.”

“He mentioned that, yeah,” Eli replied, sounding as unemotional as I did.

I didn’t know what to make of that. My wolf desperately wanted to be with him, and in the privacy of my own thoughts…I could admit I wanted to be with him, too, even if I didn’t know exactly how that would work with his home being in London and him being the future alpha of the Longbow Pack. More importantly, though, I had no idea how he felt about being a father, especially to a child he didn’t sire.

It wasn’t unheard of. After all, Remington Silverstreak had raised Remus as his own, and if not for the pack drama that had unfolded, the man might have never revealed Remus’ biological father. But that didn’t mean Eli would want to, and I certainly didn’t want to force him into a situation he didn’t choose. I didn’t want Bella to be trapped in a situation with unhappy parents either.

But the idea of sending her to live with someone else…

The notion grew harder to stomach with each day that passed by.

“I’m having a hard time picturing Bella with someone else,” Eli finally said, breaking the silence.

I jerked up so quickly that I almost knocked my head against his jaw. “What do you mean?” I asked, my eyes wide.

Eli shrugged, l!cking his l!ps. “I don’t know…it’s only been a few weeks, but I just can’t imagine not seeing her when I get up in the morning, you know? Or not hearing her soft voice. Just like I can’t imagine not seeing you at the kitchen table…” He trailed off suddenly as if he were afraid he’d admitted too much.

I sucked in a sharp breath. “It would be crazy though, right? To keep her? I mean, what do we know about raising kids?”

“Nothing,” Eli agreed, nodding sagely. “We don’t know anything. But I don’t think any parents do before they have their first kid.”

I blinked. “Still, it would be crazy. It’s a wild idea.”

He pressed his brows together, studying my face. “Why would it be crazy?”

“Well…” I swallowed hard, trying not to squirm under his gaze. “I don’t have regular employment. My income is kind of feast or famine. I don’t have a permanent home, either. Where would she sleep? Where would she go to school?” Before he could speak, I blurted out, “And I don’t have a pack, either. Bella deserves a pack.”

“Bella deserves the world,” Eli agreed. “But Iris, you have a pack. Hell, you have two packs.”

“What do you mean?”

He offered me a wry smile. “Longbow is your home whenever you want it to be. Remus has said the same about Silver Streak. I was there. I heard him say it. You can’t argue that.”

“I…okay, fine. But that doesn’t solve any of the other issues.”

Eli sighed and shook his head, leaning in to k!ss my cheek. “Once this shit with Project Night Moon is over, we can move back to my condo. You could set up a private investigation firm in Austin if you wanted. You don’t have to though. And even if you base your business in Austin, that doesn’t mean you can’t travel. It just means you get to pick when and where if you go at all.”

I frowned. “But that’s your condo, Eli…”

“Yes,” he said, nodding, “but it can be yours too if you’d like.”

I paused, not entirely sure how to respond to that. It sounded like Eli wanted me in his life — not just me, but Bella, too. Honestly, it sounded too good to be true. I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I’d lost everything in my life once already, and if that happened again…

I took a deep breath. “And if I’d like to?”

The corners of Eli’s mouth lifted. “I’d be very happy,” he said, k!ssing my cheek again. “If someone asked me even a month ago if I wanted kids, I’d have said ‘one day, maybe’. No guarantees. I didn’t even think I wanted to settle down with one person, not after my mother and…well, you know.” He frowned and waved it off, clearly not keen on letting thoughts of Brock ruin the moment.

“But everything has changed. Everything. After London, I tried to picture myself and what I’d do if you decided you wanted to go and never come back…and I couldn’t. I don’t know what I’d do without you and Bella. I want you both in my life, whatever that looks like.”

My heart hung somewhere between my chest and my throat. For a moment, I wanted to ask him to pinch me, afraid this might be a dream, but even then, I was afraid to ruin the tenderness between us with such a request. I pressed my ear against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. I took in the sound of his inhale, his exhale. My wolf thrummed against me, and at that moment, I could feel his stir as well.

It was as if they were tangled together. It was a feeling so foreign and so divine I almost forgot how to breathe.

“I want that, too,” I admitted, my cheek still against his shirt. “Oh, Eli. I really, really want that.”

I could feel him smile as he held me close. “I love you, Iris.”

If I didn’t have a pacemaker, my heart would have stopped right then. “I love you, too,” I replied. I didn’t have to think about it. I didn’t have to force myself to say it. The nerves didn’t come. It was a simple truth. I loved Eli.

I smiled, suddenly feeling a bit of hope. It felt like a ray of sunshine compared to all the doom and gloom we’d been going through. “I love you too, Eli,” I repeated, adoring the way it sounded. He held me a little closer and k!ssed the top of my head.

“We’ll make it work, Iris. I promise,” he said, squeezing me. “We’ll sell the condo and replace a house with a yard so Bella can have all the room she wants. It can be anywhere you want. Austin, London…Paris, Boston, the middle of nowhere, Canada. I don’t care. As long as it’s with you and with Bella, that’s all I need.”

My wolf made a happy noise. “I can’t wait,” I whispered.

For the first time in a long time, I would have a family again. My family. Me and Eli and Bella. And it might not be perfect, but it was mine, and in my eyes, it couldn’t get any better than that.