Oliver wanted nothing more then to turn around and give the alpha a big ol’ ‘fuck you.’ But as he felt Alfie’s little hand clutching his, he just kept his eyes on the tank, scooped the boy up and placed him on his hip.
“What do you think that ones called?” He said, battling to keep the words steady as he pointed at a striped tiger shark.
“Mmm, Tiggy!” Alfie said, nuzzling his face into Oliver’s hair.
“What a great name! And that one…”
Patrick had givenup trying to bait Oliver by the time they left the aquarium. The winter sun had started to dip below the horizon, and it was almost dark as they pulled onto the driveway of the foster placement. Alfie fell asleep on the journey home, and just as Oliver was calculating the best way to get him out ofthe child seat, a set of headlights flickered a few metres down the road.
“Oh, look. The lovely Detective Sergeant has come to give us a welcome party,” Patrick said, rolling his eyes. And Oliver realised—with some confusion—that it was in fact Lucas’ green BMW parked up outside the house. Frowning, he switched off the Jazz and stepped out of the car. He watched as Lucas slowly opened the door, his expression stoney and cold. Then the passenger door opened, and he realised with utter horror that Matteus was stepping out of the car.
“Shit,” he said, under his breath.
Totally unsure of how to handle the situation, he strode around to the passenger side and pulled open Alfie’s door. “Go inside,” he barked at Patrick, unclipping Alfie and tugging him into his arms.
Without another word, Patrick turned and walked towards the house, clearly afraid of whatever he saw in Lucas’ expression. With only a cursory glance at Oliver, Lucas stalked straight past him and followed the other alpha towards the house. Oliver turned to Matteus, who was glancing nervously between him and the retreating alphas.
“Why are you here?” Oliver spat, trying not to wake Alfie.
“He knows, Ollie.”
Oliver’s stomach dropped, and he was about to run after them when Matteus caught his arm. “Don’t,” he said. “Don’t go in there.”
“How does he know, Matty?”
“I told him.”
EIGHTEEN
CURSED
Patrick stumbled towards the house, tripping over the threshold only for Lucas to catch the back of his coat and haul him up like a rag doll. Patrick sneered, but Lucas shoved him inside before he could make a scene. Oliver was close behind, fully intending to put a stop to whatever was about to happen. That was until Matteus clapped a hand over his shoulder, wrenching him back.
He was about to shout at his brother, but when Alfie groaned against his neck, all the fight drained out of him. “What’s he doing, Matty?” he said, face growing red from both the cold and his rising panic.
“He’s telling him to stay away. From you and the police station.”
Oliver let out a breath. “So he’s not… he’s not going to fight him?”
Lucas’ expression had been a dark and unreadable thing, but one that Patrick must have understood as he bolted for the house.
Matteus shook his head. “I hope not, otherwise we’ll all be up Shit Creek, won’t we?”
Oliver puffed out a breath and shuffled from foot to foot. “Right. Yeah. But how long are we meant to wait? Alfie’s getting cold.”
Matteus held up a hand and dropped his head. “Just give it a few minutes. We don’t know what your presence will do to the situation. When an alpha protects their mate, it can be a… tense moment.”
“But we’re not mated,” Oliver whispered. “Not officially. Neither of us have the bite.”
“I know. But I think it’s time you changed that, before things really get out of control.”
Swallowing down the rising dread, Oliver propped his chin on Alfie’s head. “It’s not something I can just decide on a whim. And I’m definitely not doing it just because Lucas found out about Patrick. Oh, andthanks very muchfor that, by the way.”
“Pull your head out of your backside,” Matteus whispered, jabbing Oliver’s shoulder. “This isn’t about Patrick. It’s about you getting your shit together.”
“Oh, piss off,” Oliver mouthed, rubbing Alfie’s back to try and keep him warm.
“You can dismiss me all you like, but you know I’m right.” Just then, the front door opened, making them both jump. Patrick came darting out of the house so fast it was hard to tell what was happening.
