28. Chapter Twenty-seven

Chapter Twenty-seven

Malcolm shuffled from leg to leg. His mouth opened and closed before he took deep breaths through his nose, letting them out through his mouth.

“What about my mother? The one who gave birth to me?” He turned to look at Amelia with longing in his eyes. How could he be greedy enough to want to have two mothers? He didn’t know if she would ever look for him, but there was a spot in his heart that held onto the hope that she loved him.

Amelia tilted her chin at Rome, telling Malcolm that Rome needed to make that decision.

“Malcolm, your human mother is welcome as long as she comes in peace and desires to be there for you.” Rome looked over his pack to see them nodding in agreement.

“Thank you, Alpha… Father. I want to become an adopted son.” His smile trembled, and he braced his shoulders and legs; his eyes were wet with tears.

“No, Malcolm. Not an adopted son, a son of my blood carrying my genetic markers. My real son.” Rome held still, waiting for Malcolm to absorb his words. To know there would be no going back. To become the son of his line would hold great meaning when Malcolm hit his majority. Today it meant he would be loved and cherished the way any child should be. Moreover, his new father had been childless for centuries. He may find himself getting away with murder for a while until Rome adapted to be a father of a teen.

“Yes. I wish to become the son of the alpha and alpha mate. More than that. I wish to become the son of Rome and Amelia Hunter. My family, my parents.” Amelia teared up through her smile, and Rome engulfed Malcolm in a hug. Malcolm stood with his arms straight at his side. His eyes went to Amelia, who gestured a hug.

Malcolm raised his arms and placed them around his new father. Rome hugged him tighter, and Malcolm imitated the motions. The tears he was keeping in check broke loose. He was used to his mother hugging him, but he had never been hugged by a father figure. He had never imagined that he was longing for a father to approve of the man he was becoming.

Rome tucked Malcolm’s head on his chest. He still had some growing to do and may one day be as tall as Rome. He held him until his shoulders stopped shaking, and the tears began to dry up. “How are you doing?”

Malcolm gave him a shaky smile. “Father, my father.”

“I’m just as happy, confused, and startled as you are. I’m also proud to be able to be the one to call you son.” Rome gave him a watery smile and waited for what was next.

“Saul.”

Saul approached carrying an elaborate case. He laid it across his arms and presented it to Rome to open.

Rome opened it and pulled out a dagger that looked like it was pure moonlight.

“Many centuries ago, the goddess Luna presented me with this dagger. If I or the others ever wished to bring someone into our line to make them a son or a daughter, this was the method for doing it.” He lifted it, moonlight blazed from the dagger, overcoming the daylight. The blade was pure light, with symbols shifting in the light. The handle was made of white sapphire.

Rome lowered the dagger to look into Malcolm’s eyes. “This works only if the goddess blesses the union being formed. If you want to be my son, raise your right hand, palm facing outward.”

Malcolm didn’t hesitate. He grew up without a father and gained a stepfather that always hated him. Now he was being offered the chance to become the son of a male, a wolf shifter like him, who would care for him and teach him how to not only be a great wolf, but a great male.

Rome smiled when he saw Malcolm stand in front of him, rock steady. His life would be forever entwined with Malcolm’s. They stood there until the moonlight of the dagger surrounded them. The moonlight infiltrated their bodies until they were shining with light pouring from their pores. When it receded, it went to the hands and bound them together.

The daylight seeped back in as the moonlight retreated to the dagger. Rome placed it back into the container, closing it. On his wrist was a crescent moon with a word from a language he never learned. He looked at Malcolm, who was admiring the symbol on his arm.

Rome was ecstatic. His only regret was that his mate wasn’t wearing the same symbol. He felt the shivery warmth of moonlight on his neck. Luna had decreed what had just happened. She was pleased.

Theron addressed the crowd. “Today we celebrate with a feast, the alpha gaining a son and a son gaining a father.”

The pack howled, and the brothers joined in. Then they dismissed going to the official place that held festivals.

Amelia sat down heavily on Rome’s couch in his office. They could see the pack celebrating and not be in the midst of the crowd. The feast had been going on for hours, and she needed to get away and take some quiet time.

“Be careful with the way you sit, I don’t think it’s good for you or the pup,” she smiled. Couldn’t help it. There was her overprotective mate. He sat next to her and placed her legs in his lap, giving her a foot massage. The moan that left her was rather indecent, but it felt so good.

“I love the way you sound.” He lifted each of her feet and kissed the arches.

“I never thought, couldn’t imagine falling in love with someone like you. The thought of love scares me at times, like it did when I was younger. I worry that someone will take me away from you. It could be death or simply being locked in a lab and treated like a specimen.” Her hand went to her belly, stroking their child. Her child would also become a specimen or killed. The hatred and the greed in the world sat heavily on her shoulders because she knew they were aimed at her.

“How do others do it? How do they live their lives, knowing one wrong move can bring everything they love down around them? That death is a heartbeat away and that prejudice is always aiming for them?” Her heart bled at the thought of others going through any part of what she was going through.

“They do it the same way you do. They take it one day at a time and walk the streets cautiously. This shouldn’t be the way of life, but for some like you, it is.”

“You shouldn’t have to have this in your life.” As much as she loved Rome, and she did, it had nothing to do with being fated mates. He was bigger than life to her. The way he looked was obviously a turn-on. It was more than that, though. The way he loved her and took care of his pack. He opened his heart and brought a teenager who had nothing and no one into his life and made him family. She’d never seen that kind of love and compassion. Rome would walk away from his pack with his small family following him if that was what it took to save their lives and the lives of his pack.

“I love you. Yes, you’re my fated mate, but if I hadn’t told you, it wouldn’t matter. You’re fated because you’re perfect for me, and I’d love you, fated or not.” She could feel his heartbeat and the sincerity in his words. Her journey had been worth it to meet the love of her life and the little one she couldn’t wait to be born.

There was a knock on the door before Saul asked to come in. He came in with Theron and Malcolm trailing behind him. Amelia tried to hide her smile. As much as she loved all of Rome’s brothers, this was her little family right here.

“Trying to hide?” Saul joked.

“We brought goodies,” Theron quipped, holding up a cooler.

“I just brought myself,” Malcolm said, looking nervous.

“Why would we need any more than that?” Rome winked at him and watched as his shoulders eased, and a smile fluttered around his lips.

“Sit,” Amelia commanded. “I needed rest, and it was becoming too much for me to deal with.” She opened the cooler and got a cold bottle of water.

Malcolm walked to the back of the couch, leaning down to kiss Amelia on the cheek. “Mom, Dad.” His eyes were wet, but no tears fell.

Amelia wrapped her arms around his neck and hung on tight before letting go. “It’s amazing to be accepted for who and what you are, isn’t it?”

“It is.” It came out as a whisper before he went and sat on the chair next to Amelia’s head.

Amelia looked around, this was her family, and she would die for them, but she’d much rather live for them. Her precious girl was kicking in her womb as if she knew that she was safe and around family. Rome placed his hand over her child before he kissed Amelia’s belly.

“You’re safe,” he murmured, rubbing his hands over his mate’s belly.

“Malcolm?” Amelia said, her voice full of worry. He had gone from slouching in the chair with a bag of chips on his lap to sitting up straight, arms taut and hands clutching the arms f the chair.

Theron was the closest to him and grabbed the chips before Malcolm stood up. His beautiful honey-brown eyes were white with silver pupils.

“Time is not your friend. The hunter gets ever closer. Your life and those you have never met depend on victory, but defeat is all too possible.”

Theron grabbed Malcolm as he fell, preventing him from hitting the floor.

Amelia looked at Rome. Fate was coming for her, and she wasn’t sure she was ready.