Page 179 of Labor of Love

“Dad?” Aled murmured. “You’d actually leave here?”

Todd looked over at Aled and asked, “Do you like living here in this pack, Aled? Didn’t you say the other day you hated how you were treated because of Sylvester?”

“But leave? I’ve never been anywhere else, and there will be vampires there as well. We were always told?—”

“The fall out was like what’s happening now. A shifter was promised to another, then found their mate in a vampire. It seems history is repeating itself.” Anatoly squeezed Kael’s hand, and Kael smiled at him.

“The tension between our species is over a shifter mating with a vampire?” Sherry shook her head. “Their fated mate? All this hatred because of that?”

“Jonas stopped talking to Redford because he painted his fences black.” Todd shook his head. “At the end of the day, I only want the best for my son. If you can provide that, then I’m more than happy. Being forced to mate Nigel… You have no idea how helpless I feel as a parent not to be able to stop it from happening.”

“Dad. It isn’t your fault,” Kael protested. “Sylvester is the alpha of our pack. We fall in line, or he punishes us.”

“Well, not now.” Anatoly pulled out his phone. “One call and I can have you all moved in one night. I can have a plane booked to take you to my town. Pack up everything you want to take, then meet the plane. I can’t teleport large items, unfortunately. Otherwise, I would teleport you and your belongings. This Sylvester won’t know you’ve left until he comes here. The choice is yours.”

“Let’s do it.” Aled glanced at everyone, who looked at him, surprised. “I know what I just said, but they’re mates, and Sylvester would still force Kael to mate someone else, even if he knew Kael had met his mate. He only sees dollar signs. That’s all Kael is worth to him.”

“Are we all agreed?” Todd asked everyone, and Kael saw them nod.

“This is happening so quickly,” he murmured. “I never thought you’d all agree like this.”

“It is, but it needs to happen quickly.” Todd stood and approached Anatoly. “Can we do this tomorrow night, and can you assure me my son will be loved and protected the way he should be?”

“On my honor, I’ll protect him with my own life.”

Todd nodded. “Well, I guess welcome to the family.” He ran a hand over his head. “Tomorrow night?” Sherry nodded, and Aled bit his lip. “Aled?”

“No, I agree, but it’s… Wow.” Aled suddenly jumped and hugged Kael. “You have no idea how happy I am you’re not mating Nigel. You’re still a dick, though.”

Kael pushed him away. “And I’m still four years older than you.”

“And I’m an alpha.”

“And I can have pups or vampires or what?” Kael looked at Anatoly, who shrugged. “You don’t know?”

“I don’t care as long as they are healthy, and you are too.” Anatoly stroked Kael’s cheek. “Want to visit what will be our home?”

Kael grinned and nodded. “Let me get dressed.”

“Just wait. I need assurances that we’ll be accepted,” Todd said. “This is our home…or was. It hasn’t felt like that for a long time, but this is the only place we have. I don’t want us to move, then be kicked out and have nowhere to go.”

“I would never let that happen. You are my mate’s family, and I will always make sure you have a place to call home.”

“You guarantee it?” Todd focused on Anatoly. “We’ll always have a place to live?”

“Always. We always make sure there is a place for a mate and his or her family. And we always talk through our issues, so it doesn’t fester underneath the surface. We have three species who live and work together. That works because we have an open line of communication. We talk. A lot.”

Todd nodded, glanced at Sherry, who nodded in return. “Tomorrow night, we’ll be ready to go. Aled, you need to sort your room out today. You have school tomorrow, and we have to carry on as normal, so we don’t raise any suspicions.”

“Wow, Dad,” Aled murmured. “I never knew you could be like this.”

“I never had to be, but now we all have a chance to live the lives we want to.” Todd nodded to the stairs. “Go upstairs with Kael. You both need to get dressed.” Kael nodded and followed Aled up the stairs, then stopped on the landing.

“Dad has his I’m in charge head on and wow,” Aled whispered.

“I know. I’ve never seen him like this.” Kael peered down the stairs, trying to hear what was being discussed. “I never saw this happening. I thought I’d have to leave you all behind because you wouldn’t accept my mate.”

“Is he really your mate?”

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