Chapter 6

The bastard. Alvin stood, hands clenched into fists, staring at the empty space Eli had just occupied. Eli had kissed him, had made Alvin respond until Alvin had come to his senses and kicked him out. It had been hard to push Eli away. His body had wanted to feel its mate, a crushing need that had almost overwhelmed Alvin. But he had realized and told Eli to leave.

What was the point of kissing if there could be nothing between them? Wasn't that like a form of torture? To kiss and touch, then walk away like nothing had happened?

Alvin checked the locks on the doors and windows, then set the alarm and went upstairs, somehow remembering not to stomp. He didn't want to wake the kids up. His skin shivered, his wolf brushing beneath it, and Alvin paused. When was the last time he'd shifted and ran in his wolf form?

Furrowing his brow, Alvin tried to remember and couldn't. Too long. When he dropped the kids off at school tomorrow, he would find some time to let his wolf run free and clear his mind. Somehow, find ten minutes to be free of his human force and feel the ground beneath his paws.

In his bedroom, Alvin stripped and slipped beneath the cool sheets on his bed. Pushing thoughts of Eli from his mind, Alvin tried to sleep, but he knew it would be a struggle. He hurt. Deep inside. His heart ached, and he curled up, wrapping his arm around his waist.

Everyone wanted to find their mate. Everyone wanted to find that one person who was meant for them, the one who held the other half of their soul. When two shifters came together, they mated quickly, but when it was a shifter and a human, they took their time. Shifters knew when they found their mate, but for humans, it took a little longer.

Alvin would have none of that. Thanks to the bastard who was his mate. Supposed mate. Maybe whoever or whatever decided the two of them should be together had messed up when it came to Alvin and Eli, because this hurt. The first tear fell, and he scrubbed it away. He wasn't going to cry over someone he barely knew. Not now. He was going to sleep and wake up tomorrow. A fresh start. A new day.

Which didn't happen.

Did he get two or fewer hours of sleep? He knew it wasn't more than that. He'd clock watched most of the night, which only made his insomnia worse. Now he was bone tired and had a full day ahead of him.

Alvin dropped the kids off at school and trudged to work, his legs dragging. Another day, another dollar. That was the saying, wasn't it? Once inside work, Emilio took one look at him and grimaced, then asked him to do the stock check so he could put the order in for the following week.

Stock check. Counting tins of veg, pasta, and things. So exciting.

By the end of the day, Alvin was wrecked. Tired and cranky and in need of a night off—which he wouldn't get—he collected the kids from school and drove home. Once there, it was the same routine until he got them to bed and then he went himself.

He'd seen nothing of Eli, but he wasn't surprised in the least. He'd didn't think he would see anything of him now, because Eli had made the decision and fuck anyone else, including his so-called mate. At least tomorrow was Saturday, and he could have a lazy start to the day. If the kids let him.

He loved them so much, but he wanted one day where he wasn't up at the asscrack of dawn. Just one day where he could stay in bed and do nothing. Maybe one day in the future, when the kids were older. Maybe when he had found someone who wanted him and didn't care that he had siblings he was raising. Did that person exist? Out there, away from Morefield.

Away from Morefield. He'd have to think about that, but it did hold a glimmer of a possible new beginning.

"Rise and shine!"Sax's cheery voice came through the phone, and Alvin grinned. "What are you doing today?"

"Just me and the kids hanging out. We might go to the park later. Why?"

"I haven't seen you in so long with everything that's going on. At least Albie might be making a return, but he'll stay inside and not patrol. He was only released a couple of days ago and asked to be put back to work. Serenity was not impressed, but she understands. Wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't there with him when he's working."

"Should he be back if he's still recovering?" He didn't really know Albie well, but the few times they'd met and talked, he'd always been kind, and Serenity was great. She was open and funny and loved her mate.

"He's only doing a few hours to ease back into it. I think it's the military in him. Can't be on the sidelines when fellow soldiers are out in the field. Something like that. Jim and Rand tried to explain it to me, but if I had those injuries, I'd be in bed for a year."

Alvin agreed, even though he didn't know the full extent of Albie's injuries. He knew about the attack, knew Albie had been injured and that Fabien had died. That had shaken him. Fabien was a vampire, and they were hard to kill.

"And Fabien. It feels strange not seeing him in the shop, picking up groceries. It's scary that he died."

"The team is a mess but carrying on. They have no choice. Things are ramping up. With the raids on the labs and the creation of the hybrid army, things are tense."

"How are Deac and Eli?" He was a fool to ask, but the words had slipped out before he'd even had a chance to think about them.

"Coping. It helps that Eli has SEAL training along with some of the others. It's their expertise that is helping us right now. Along with the information we got from the fucked-up scientist."

"What scientist?" This was new. He hadn't heard about the scientist.

"Shit. You aren't supposed to know about that."

"And now I do, so tell me more."

"Between us?" Sax whispered the words.

"Always." He'd never betray Sax, and when Sax had told him to beef up security around his home, he'd done it immediately.

"On one of the recent raids before Fabien died, they rescued around a hundred shifters and found some nut job of a man who loved nothing better than experimenting on shifters."

Alvin's mouth fell open. "How many?"

"Yeah, and not that far from here, either. Hidden in plain sight, the fuckers. That scent suppressor spray they use is too fucking good. Can't sniff them out at all."

"This is getting scary, Sax."

"Always watch your back and make sure the house is locked up tight every night. I hate the idea of you living on the edge of town like you do."

Alvin had never considered it like that, but now… "Eli told me to make sure I locked up too."

"Eli? When did you see him? The man is so elusive. If he didn't run security here, I don't think I would ever see him."

Alvin didn't want to answer Sax's question. "We've met."

"Alvin. what is it? Has he said something to you?" Alvin bit his lip, debating what to tell Sax. "Alvin. Tell me if he has hurt you. I'll kick the fucker in the nuts."

"I'm his mate," he blurted, then winced.

"You're his what?!" Sax shouted.

"Shhh. Not so loud. He doesn't want me, and I'm fine with that. Fuck him. I don't need someone like him. I'm happy. I have a family, a home, a job, and great friends. Why would I want a miserable old man like him in my life?"

"Because he's your mate," Sax said softly. "You know Jim and I didn't have the best start, but I can't imagine living my life without him in it even when I want to throw something at him."

"He told me it would never happen."

Sax snorted. "I wonder how many times those words have been uttered. Think about Manu and Preston. They can barely be in the same room with each other, but somehow, they work."

"They fuck. Not sure if I'd call that working." Alvin smiled, remembering the last time he'd seen them together. They were arguing about something, then kissed, and then other things. In their truck. At least it hadn't been anywhere too public.

Sax burst out laughing. "At least they do fuck."

Alvin exhaled heavily and closed his eyes. "He's known for years," he murmured. "Saw me, scented me, and avoided me. He would have kept on avoiding me, too, if we hadn't run into each other. I would have never known, because he would have made sure we never met."

Sax hissed. "Bastard. How could he do that to you? I want to kick the fucker in the nuts."

"He did it because he doesn't want a mate." Alvin paused. "He had one. She died. He wasn't expecting to have another one. Please don't tell Jim."

"He had another mate? How? I thought shifters only had one mate. That's strange."

"He lost her when they were kids, so that could be a reason why. What the fuck do I know? He doesn't tell me anything. I'm surprised he told me that much." He was shocked about it even now, and he'd had several hours to process what Eli had told him.

"It's not fair to you, though, is it? You're a shifter, and he's your mate, so what about you?"

"When I said I'd find someone else, he kinda…er…yeah. He kissed me."

"Really? I think he's more interested than he says he is if he reacts like that. Hmmm."

That hmmm had Alvin paying more attention. "What are you thinking about?"

"What if he saw you with someone else? Like a date?"

"That isn't fair to the date or him." Though he actually liked the idea. How would Elliot react if he saw Alvin with another person? Would he be able to walk away and say nothing? It wasn't the time to play those games with everything happening.

"Fuck him. Look at how he's treating you. I know he's cold and distant, but he can't do this to you. Can't you jump on him and bite him? Won't that get things started?"

"And what if he won't finish it? We'll be left in this strange limbo, and I don't want to live that. I don't want to live like this, knowing my mate doesn't want me, but I can't do anything about it. So I'm going to live my life, raise my family, and find someone who wants me."

"I really want to kick him in the nuts. Hard. Repeatedly. Make the fucker squirm on the floor. I'd enjoy it too." Alvin heard the deep sigh. "I'll come around in an hour or so and we will take the kids out. We can have a cake after. My treat."

"Sax—"

"No, I want to. With everything going on, I don't get to see the people I care about, so one hour and be ready."

Sax hung up before Alvin could try to refuse again and, in a way, he was glad Sax had. He did want to go out and spend some time with his friend. He'd missed him recently. He missed being young and free, but this was the hand he'd been dealt, and he loved his siblings. He wouldn't have anyone else raise them but him.

Throwing back the covers of his bed, he smiled. Today was a day to have some fun.