Lone Wolf Pack 03 - Expecting His Alpha's Child (2 page)

"Except that he is a human man, and he's not supposed to be able to be pregnant to begin with," Saul replied. "Doctor Orwell mentioned DNA changes, but I have no idea what that even means."

On the couch behind them, Jessie watched them talk, an expression of clear helplessness on his face. As far as Finn knew, he was the only case of a child born from male pregnancy in a human-werewolf relationship, but he couldn't point that out. William had revealed that both he and Jessie had nearly died when Jessie had been born, and the reminder wouldn't help Saul any.

Discreetly, Jessie got up and left the room. His belly had already started to grow, showing signs of his own pregnancy. Finn heard another door open and close and guessed that Jessie must have gone to provide his father with some assistance now that Finn was here to keep Saul's temper in check.

Saul must have known that as well, because he sighed heavily. "I should be keeping calm," he said. "I'm not helping Gavin by distracting Jessie and Doctor Orwell. I should be there by his side."

Finn shook his head. He might not have a true mate, but he knew that the scent of Gavin's blood—unavoidable in this case—would drive Saul crazy. It was likely why Saul had become so panicky in the first place. Werewolves weren't known to be exactly rational when their mates were in danger.

"You'll stay here with me and wait," Finn said. "Soon, Doctor Orwell will come through that door, maybe carrying your baby. He'll tell you that your mate is just fine, and you'll be able to see him soon. Gavin is very strong, Saul, and he loves your child a great deal. He won't let anything separate the two of you."

Saul plopped down on the couch where Jessie had been sitting earlier and buried his face in his hands. If he believed Finn, he didn't say it. Moments later, Andreas joined them, but he didn't speak either. Perhaps he was worried about what would happen when his own mate gave birth.

The silence was only interrupted by the sound of a cell phone ringing. Saul lifted his head and blinked in surprise. "That's Gavin's cell," he said, although he made no move to pick it up.

Whoever was calling could probably wait, and Saul didn't seem to plan on giving it any attention. Still, when the caller wouldn't let up, Finn went to retrieve the cell phone himself. He didn't really know why. Maybe he just wanted to have something to do, so that he wouldn't feel so fucking useless. Nonetheless, Saul didn't stop him, so Finn took the call.

"Hello?" he greeted.

"Oh, thank God," a male voice said at the other side of the connection. "Mr. Gavin Price?"

It took a while for Finn to process the question because, for some reason, his libido responded to the stranger's tone. "I'm afraid not. Who is this?"

"My name is Parker Knight and I'm calling with regard to a private matter concerning Mr. Price. Could I speak to him, please?"

It sounded serious, and in spite of the circumstances, Finn wasn't inclined to dismiss the caller. He turned toward Saul, intending to ask his brother what to do. However, Saul was gone. He'd left the living room and was talking in a low voice with Doctor Orwell who'd just come out into the hallway. Judging by the tired smile on the Doctor's face, everything was in order, but it would probably take a while for Gavin or Saul to be able to make any sort of serious decision.

"I'm sorry," Finn said to the caller. "He's unavailable right now."

"Oh." The man's tone went icy. "I see."

Finn realized Parker Knight had interpreted the words in an entirely different way than they were meant. He had no idea about the purpose of the call, but something inside him insisted to keep the other man talking. "One moment. What is this about?"

Parker Knight hesitated. "It is a private matter," he said again. "Who do I have the honor of addressing?"

"My name is Finn Simmons. I'm Gavin's... brother-in-law." And he was, although not according to human legislation. Damn it. "Gavin has suffered a slight accident and my brother, his domestic partner, is tending to him."

The other man made a sound of distress. "I'm so sorry to hear that. Will he be all right?"

Finn remembered Doctor Orwell's smile and strained his hearing for any sounds of distressed howling. Distantly, he thought he could hear the wail of a child, and he grinned. "He'll be fine, but unfortunately, neither of them are available right now."

Parker sighed. "Well, Mr. Simmons, this is a delicate situation." At the other side of the connection, there was a light yelp and a shift of something, like someone else had taken over the phone.

That guess was confirmed seconds later when a childish voice asked, "Gavin? Are you Gavin?"

Even if Finn had figured out something was going on, this development still took him by surprise. "Err... No. I'm a friend of his."

"Oh," the voice replied, its owner obviously disappointed.

Finn had to say something. "My name is Finn," he offered. "What's yours?"

"I'm Jackie." The boy sniffed, obviously a step away from crying. "I want to talk to my brother. Is Gav hurt like Mommie?"

The pieces of the puzzle began to slide into place. Finn didn't know much about Gavin's family, but bits and pieces of scattered conversation had suggested Gavin was estranged from them. However, Finn was fairly certain Gavin would still want to know about his mother being injured, and about the fact that his brother seemed to be relying on him. But both things would shake him, perhaps more than it was smart right now.

"He's just a little sick and he can't come to the phone," Finn tried to reassure the child.

It didn't work. At his words, the boy actually started to cry. "He doesn't want to talk to us."

Before Finn could reply, Parker Knight retrieved his cell phone from the child. "My apologies, Mr. Simmons. Jackie and Kyle are very resourceful."

"I take it they're Gavin's brothers," Finn guessed, not that it was that hard.

"Yes," the other man confirmed tightly. Obviously, he didn't want to say more—or perhaps he couldn't since he only had Finn's word on his connection to Gavin. "Unfortunately, Mrs. Cook—their mother, and that of Mr. Price—is temporarily incapacitated. I work with Social Services and have been helping her out, but she's expressed her desire to leave Jack and Kyle in Mr. Price's care. But if he is hurt too…" A sigh. "Can you tell me if he will be available soon?"

With the corner of his eye, Finn caught sight of Doctor Orwell hovering in the doorway. Andreas and Jessie were nowhere to be seen, and Finn surmised they must have gone to check up on Gavin. "One moment," he told Parker. "I need to consult Gavin's physician."

Covering the receiver with his hand, he directed his attention toward Doctor Orwell. "How's Gavin? How's the baby?"

"The procedure went well," his father's mate said. "The baby is completely healthy. As for Gavin, he should be able to get out of bed normally tomorrow and make a complete recovery by next week. But for the moment, he's completely exhausted. I wouldn't recommend straining him with any sudden information."

Doctor Orwell must have caught bits and pieces of the conversation, which was probably a good thing since his input was very important. Finn considered the situation and made a split second decision. "Look, here's the thing," he told Parker. "Gavin literally just came out of surgery. He's going to be fine, but he's not in any condition to handle things like that. I'll give my brother a heads up so he can tell Gavin about it, but it'll be a few days until Gavin could even travel. Besides, news of his mother's sickness could harm him."

"That's quite understandable," Parker said, sounding torn and deep in thought. Obviously, he believed he was on his own when it came to caring for Jack and Kyle.

"In any case," Finn hastened to assure him, "that doesn't mean he won't want to take them. In fact, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to."

"But here is the problem," Parker mused. "Will the children be well cared for given Mr. Price's condition?"

"Definitely," Finn replied without missing a beat. "Gavin is great with children and he'd want to have Jack and Kyle living with him. And even if he's sick, there's my brother. He and Gavin have a child of their own so he knows how to handle youngsters." He paused, feeling like he needed to add something else, but not quite sure what it should be. "Mr. Knight, here's what we're going to do. I'll travel there and give you a hand. Maybe I could meet the kids, ease their minds a bit? Hopefully, by the time all the arrangements are made, Gavin will be better."

"Sounds good," Parker said after a small moment of hesitation. "Do you have a pen? I'll give you my address."

A shiver of something unidentifiable swept over Finn at the offer. He shook it off and focused on the practicalities of what he was doing. Given the circumstances and his current situation—specifically Alpha Adler's imminent attack on them—he should probably be focusing on ensuring his pack was safe. But his brother needed him, and so did Gavin. Finn owed them for being an asshole when the two of them had first gotten together.

He quickly jotted down the address Parker gave him, all the while hoping he was doing the right thing. He was making some decisions he might not have been entitled to, but what choice did he have, really? "Okay," he told Parker. "I'll be there tomorrow."

"I'll be waiting," Parker said.

Finn didn't know why, but those words went straight to his dick. He missed Parker's voice no sooner had it turned into the unyielding dial tone, but he banished that thought as quickly as it popped into his mind.

He put the cell phone away and turned toward the doctor. The other man was giving him an unreadable look. "You do need to mention it to Saul. But Gavin won't be fit for travel so soon, and he probably won't want to leave his son. You going there is likely our best bet, but you also have to consider the fact that Gavin's mother might not trust you with her children."

Finn grimaced. "I'll speak to her and then make sure she and Gavin talk on the phone."

Doctor Orwell nodded approvingly. "That would work, I think."

Still puzzling over the call, Finn forced himself to put it out of his mind. He'd come here for an entirely different reason, and while Doctor Orwell's words had reassured him, he needed to see some things for himself.

He headed toward Gavin's room just as Jessie and Andreas stepped out. Jessie frowned at him, like he couldn't understand what phone call could be more important than Gavin's newborn. Finn had to admit that the situation was pretty strange, but he had no way of explaining it to Jessie and Andreas. And so, he just nodded at the two men and walked inside.

The room smelled like blood, but not in a scary way. Finn had visited recent mothers in the pack, and it hadn't been much different. Gavin would probably be moved soon—in fact Finn would bet money that Doctor Orwell had planned to do exactly that when he'd left. But for the moment, both he and Saul were here, Gavin lying in bed, very pale, but conscious, while Saul stood next to him, rocking a small child.

The sight made Finn's heart do a funny leap, but then, he'd been dwelling far too much on what Saul had and he didn't these days. He walked to Saul's side and took in the reddish face of the newborn. He couldn't say the baby looked like anyone in particular, but then again, they never did. Finn suspected that went for babies of all species, human, werewolf, or otherwise.

Still, he needed something to say that would sound halfway coherent so he tried, "He looks just like you."

Saul turned and threw him a crooked grin, every inch of him the proud parent. "He does, doesn't he? Although he has Gavin's hair."

Indeed, a tuft of blond hair covered the child's scalp. And then, the baby opened his eyes and fixed Finn with a piercing gray gaze. Finn looked back at him, and suddenly, the child started to wail.

Finn flinched, while on the bed, Gavin stirred, obviously very tired, but too anxious about his son to rest. Saul sat down next to his mate, petting Gavin's hair and whispering, "It's all right. I have him."

Saul wordlessly passed the baby to Gavin. As soon as he was in his birth father's arms, the newborn settled down. Finn knew he needed to get out of here, so he leaned in closer to his brother. "I need a word with you when you're free," he whispered in Saul's ear. "It's important."

Saul nodded, but Finn didn't think his brother was listening. Not that Finn blamed him. In fact, he didn't even have the heart to interrupt him now, in this moment that obviously meant so much to him. "I'll wait for you," he offered and left the room without another word.

It was hours later that Saul finally came looking for him. Finn was outside, staring at the darkening sky and wondering what he'd tell his father about his sudden trip. He'd called earlier to let the older werewolf know he was a grandfather, but he hadn't mentioned anything about Parker, or Gavin's brothers.

"Hey," Saul greeted him. "Thanks for sticking around. I know there are a lot of things you need to do with the pack."

Finn didn't even bother getting into that. If he thought about it too much, he'd give himself a headache and it wouldn't help him make any headway with his current problem. "Remember that phone call earlier?"

Saul just stared at him with a blank look that told Finn his brother didn't have any idea what Finn was talking about. It was probably true—the last thing Saul could have focused on during Gavin's labor was a call. "I took a call on Gavin's cell. It was more instinct than anything else, I can't really explain it. Anyway, here's the thing. The man on the phone was from Social Services. Apparently, Gavin's mother is in the hospital—I don't know the details."

Saul cursed. "Shit. That's going to hit him hard. Is she going to be all right?"

"Yes, but there's more," Finn replied. "It's about Gavin's brothers. Turns out that while she recovers, the two kids need to come stay here."

It complicated the situation severely. Gavin's brother were both human, and they'd be forcibly introduced into the paranormal world. Then again, Saul and Gavin would probably be able to keep the secret for the weeks or months it took for Gavin's mother to recuperate.

Saul must have known this as well, because he said, "Of course we'll care for them. Moon be blessed, this is just the worst possible time."