Page 34 of The Night Wolf
That’s not possible, you know. Human males can’t have babies.
The wolf shook its huge head, then lay down beside Sean’s wolf again, curling protectively around him. The image faded, and Gareth wanted to call it back. He needed to see the two wolves together again. Seeing the two of them made Gareth wish for something beyond his pack. He wanted what his wolf had shown him. Their wolves lying together, happy and content.
He wished to hell that it was more than a desire on the part of his wolf. If it was possible for a man to have a child, Gareth would love one with Sean. Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. What would their child be like? Would he have Sean’s red hair or his violet eyes? Would they be inquisitive, like Sean? Wanting to behold the world that they’d been born into? Gareth sighed, knowing that it wasn’t going to happen, and that no amount of wishing on his or his wolf’s part would make it so.
He got up from the desk and plodded upstairs, his heart heavy. Who knew that something as simple as his wolf showing what it wanted would have such an impact on Gareth? Why did his wolf’s fantasy set off a longing that Gareth hadn’t known before? Had he thought about a pup of his own? Of course, but he also knew two men couldn’t have a baby without a surrogate. It was biologically impossible, no matter what fan fiction claimed.
When he entered the room, it seemed so damned empty. What he wouldn’t give for someone to curl up with, to love, to…. He sighed. Apparently his wolf wasn’t the only one given to flights of fancy. The long-dead dream came surging back with a vengeance. After a hard day, he’d come home and find the man who would come to own his heart waiting for him. They’d kiss, and like magic, the stresses of the day would vanish. How many times had he had that dream? Hundreds? Thousands?
Sure, he could go out and pick someone up, but he didn’t want that for his wolves. He wanted to give them stability, and anyone he would be with needed to think of the pack first and foremost. How likely was that to happen?
Gareth undressed, then slipped under the black-and-gold comforter with the embroidered wolf and moon that was Lydon’s symbol. He closed his eyes, wanting to sleep, but the only thing he could think of was the vision his wolf had conjured up.
“Why’d you have to do this to me?” he whispered to the dark room as his eyes fluttered shut. The dream, when it came, took him back to when he was eight and the first time he had it, and he had it every night for two years. It was a great memory among the hundreds he had of his childhood.
“Daddy?” Tiny fingers pulled Gareth’s eyelid open and brought him face to face with his pup, who smiled wide at him. “Papa said breakfast will be done soon.”
“Oh, he did, did he?” Gareth reached out and grabbed the squealing boy, rolled him over, then poked him in the ribs. “Are you sure you’re not waking me up because you’re hungry? Don’t try to deny it. I can hear your tummy growling. Or did you eat a wolf?”
The boy giggled, the purest sound Gareth had ever heard. When the bedroom door opened again, Papa stepped into the room and made a beeline for the bed.
“You were supposed to wake him up, not take a nap with him.”
Before the kid could protest, the man slipped into the bed and lay beside Gareth and their son.
“We can’t be up here long. A certain little girl is sure to come looking for us. Seems both the kids are, in their words, staaaaarving.”
On cue, soft footsteps sounded in the hall, and then a tiny girl stood there, hands on her hips, giving them a death glare. “Papa, I’m hungry!”
Gareth sat up and opened his arms. “Come here, baby girl. Lie with your brother, Papa, and me.”
She smiled and ran to him. At the last second, she jumped up and slammed into Gareth, then buried her face in his neck. He lay back, cuddling his daughter while their son snuggled between them.
He’d told his mother, who assured him it was just a dream, but Gareth had been certain it was more than that. And now, knowing what his wolf showed him, he found himself wondering what-if.
Chapter Ten
THE NEXTmorning, Gareth came down to find Sean and Dani sitting at the table, sipping coffee. They were engaged in an animated discussion about the classes that Sean found, and the excitement in his voice warmed Gareth. Dani looked up, saw him in the doorway, and shot him a smile.
“Good morning, Alpha. Coffee?”
He held up a hand. “I’ll get it.”
It was only a few steps across the kitchen, but he was intercepted by Sean, who rushed to the pot, grabbed one of the stoneware cups from the cabinet above the sink, and poured. He picked it up and turned to Gareth.
“Here you are, Alpha.” There was a twinkle in his eye that hadn’t been there before.
“Thank you, Sean.” He accepted the cup, then took a seat at the table. After his first sip, he turned his attention to Dani. “So, what’s going on?”
“Sean’s found a few courses that will help him get a jump on learning the books. He’s also talked with Caleb, who said he would be honored to tutor Sean in any subject he needed help in.” She grinned. “Between you and me, he’s absolutely giddy about it.”
Gareth turned to Sean. “You saw Caleb? But it’s before noon.”
Dani and Sean snickered. She nodded in the direction of the stairs. “He’s been up since six. When I went by his room, he was pulling out books and muttering to himself that they’d need this one, and this one, and this one….” She beamed a smile at Sean. “Caleb really likes you. He’s going to start thinking of you as his big brother. I hope you’re ready for that.”
Sean’s cheeks pinked. “I miss my brother. After my parents….” His eyes softened. “After they sold me to Ryker, I never saw him again. Quinn was only nine when I disappeared out of his life, which makes him twenty-one now. I wonder if he ever thinks about me.”
Gareth’s grip on his cup tightened. The more he heard about Ryker, the more certain he was the man had to go. He needed Lyram to find Ethan so they could remove the old Alpha. He thought Lyram would be a good choice for the job, once Ryker was banished.
