Page 155 of A Second Chance for the Beta
The only one still on the fence seems to be Connor, but he doesn’t complain. He also doesn’t veto out of the project—not that it would have been possible with Liam and all ranked pack members being involved.
Once we wrap up the meeting, I catch up to Connor and walk to training with him.
“You know,” I say. “Life is not just about being a warrior, Connor.”
“I know, Beta Dante,”he says. “It’s just…”
“Just look at your son. He is completely engaged in this project. It’s the first time he is actually doing something for such a cause, and I know for a fact that the kids meet almost daily to work on this. Aren’t you at least a bit proud of the effort he puts into it?”
“I am,”he mutters. “It’s my fault you know.”
“Excuse me?”
“The way Ty acted out, a lot of it is on me. For the last couple of years, I haven’t made much time for him or my mate. I know he wanted to do things with me, but I always declined for reasons. Looking back now, I wonder what these reasons were. I can’t even remember. I just know that Ty is sixteen now, and I don’t have much of a relationship with him.” He pauses.
I’m shocked to say the least. I knew that Ty and his father had a bit of a fallout during the last couple of weeks due to what happened with Charlie and how it happened, but I didn’t know that it began long ago. “What happened?” I ask.
“Sylvia, my mate, she was furious when everything went down a couple of weeks ago. She was a bit angry at Ty but mostly at me. The difference is that she easily forgave Ty for being a dumb kid doing shit to get my attention—her words, not mine—but I know she holds resentment against me. A lot of resentment. She is barely talking to me,” he says. “And the saddest thing is that she is right. I don’t even know what Ty likes to do or anything about his friends. I didn’t even know he was friends with Nicole’s son, although I’ve known Nicole almost my entire life. I don’t know how he is doing at school or what he likes there, just that his grades aren’t the best. I don’t know the last time I had an actual conversation with him.”
“Well, then change that,” I say bluntly.
“What?”
“Ty clearly wants to reconnect with you, or he wouldn’t put his all into this project,” I say. I can’t help but think about my own mother for a moment and how we might never really reconcile. And being friends with Liam ever since he was a baby, I know a lot about the fallout his father and grandfather had… and that Elden grew up with a neglectful father. “Ty is your only child, Connor.”
“Ty is my only child,” he repeats. “Sylvia and I originally didn’t want children. We had other plans with our lives, but Ty happened. It meant we needed to change everything about our lives. For Sylvia her priorities really changed. She decided to keep the baby and she became the best mother possible. But I had more difficulties adapting.”
I feel dread settling inside me. “Please tell me, you never told that to Ty.”
Connor stays silent.
“Goddess, you are lucky all he did was sneak off pack grounds,” I say. “What were you thinking? That’s a truth you never tell your child unless you want to break it, unless you want to sever your bonds to it! Now he knows you don’t want him.”
“But I do!” he exclaims. “It’s not true that I don’t want Ty. I love him. I sometimes just don’t know how to show it. But the moment he was born, I was on board with being a family.”
“But he doesn’t know that,” I point out. “To him it makes no difference. He thinks you never wanted him, and he believes you still don’t want him now. Goddess, Connor!”
“I love Ty,” he repeats once more. “I wish things wouldn’t be so awkward. It’s me. I know it. I just don’t know… how I should be around him. At first, I just tried to make sure to work my butt off so that the old alpha wouldn’t harass my family. I guess I got used to it in a way.”
Man, I’ve been working with Connor for a while now. I know their former alpha was an asshole, but he has been gone for a couple of years. Connor just never moved past it, unlike his mate, Sylvia.
“I don’t know much about having a child,” I admit. “I’m not a father yet, and frankly Charlie is really easy to handle. I know it’s not always a smooth ride, and I’m sure you love Ty. But I know that at one point you might miss the chance to be part of his life.”
“I would hate for him to grow up into a man, find his mate and then move away and never contact me anymore,” he admits. “I don’t want to need to ask Sylvia if she heard from him or if they talked, because I know he won’t be talking to me.” He pauses. “It’s just been so long that I don’t know where to start. I don’t know what to talk to him about or where to take him to.”
That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard, and also slightly enraging. “Ty likes sports,” I tell him. “He is very active. He is the one who got half the kids here into the skateboard hype. Why don’t you help him build that skate park here? The luna assigned this task to Levi, but why don’t you join? You can take your son out for dinner. There are so many coffeeshops and burger places the teens frequent. You can even take him to training. He just wants you to show some interest in him and his life without getting lectured. Goddess, Connor, the kids always meet at ours or Nicole’s place. Why can’t they meet at yours? And when they do, be home! You could take Sylvia and Ty to a weekend trip, do something fun. I’m sure Sylvia would back you up on anything.”
“I sound pathetic, don’t I?”
I have to battle the urge to agree. I’m sure he doesn’t need me to kick him. He already knows he fucked up. “There is still time to change things around,” I say.
“Thank you,” he says. “I’m not sure where to start, but I guess bonding with Ty over his hobbies might be a good idea. I will talk to Levi to let me help him and Ty.”
I feel a bit relieved at his words, but also still worried. Well, at least he knows where he went wrong and is ready to work on his relationship with his son. Sad that it even came that far.
Later that afternoon, I take Charlie to Silverlake to visit Felix and Dario and see how they are doing. Elden awaits us in front of the packhouse in person and then leads us to the infirmary.
“The doctors still won’t let him go back home?” I ask him.
