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I pop the cap on the bottle and find a fruity explosion after my first sip. Wow. I’m holding the opposite of La Croix. This is amazing. Can we order a case?
Cael threads his fingers together before his lips. “You’re coming off rather offensive, Ollie. Not only that, your insecurities are showing.”
Ollie straightens. “Th…”
“Were you attempting to say ‘they are not’?”
Ollie’s foot taps anxiously against the dark wood floor, but he only looks down a moment after Cael’s gaze flicks toward his leg. Then he grips his fist against his shorts and stops. “I hate when you’re tired,” he mumbles. “You need to take care of yourself, just like everyone else.”
“And risk forfeiting an ounce of control? Ollie. Don’t overestimate me.” The patronizing tint to Ollie’s name comes with the barest hint of a smile. “What can I help with?”
Ollie’s jaw locks.
So I do the stupid thing. And speak up.
“Um. Hi.” I wave, lamely, then return my hand to the condensation gathering on the bottle.
Cael’s eyes drag toward me.
“So…um…apparently if Ollie turns me into a full werecanine so we can be together, I won’t be able to interact with my family anymore.” I swallow building nerves. “Is there any way around that?”
“Oh.” Cael relaxes into his chair. “Naturally.”
Hope spikes. “What? Really?”
“Of course. There are ways around just about anything.”
“That’s great!” I half-rise from my seat. “What do we do?”
A moth lands on Cael’s head. “Ollie just has to become an alpha.”
I fall back into my chair. “Wait. I was under the impression that was hard.”
“It is hard. But it’s not impossible.” Cael lifts the moth off his head and peers at it while it washes its face on his extended index finger. “An alpha is the male leader of a pack that has pledged fealty to the head mating pair. More often than not, alphas are simply the patriarch of a family.”
“So…we need to head a family?” My face heats, and I look up at Ollie. “Didn’t you say things would end poorly if we had children before I was fully fae?”
“They don’t have to be your children,” Cael notes. “They just have to be loyal. The pledge is ceremony, too. It’s all about committed respect.”
Ollie’s fist clenches so hard and fast his bones audibly crack. “There’s more to it than that.”
“I suppose. If you’re wanting to be a good alpha. Which absolutely isn’t a requirement.”
A growl lines Ollie’s voice. “Becoming an alpha is a mutual agreement. Packs are supposed to care about each other.”
“The good ones do,” Cael murmurs. “You’d not be mine if only good ones existed, though, now would you?”
“Being an alpha is a responsibility. And so is raising a family. You can’t just find children and force them to be a part of your pack.”
“I thought the human world was overflowing with a need for people willing to do that very thing. Willow’s shows and the books she’s lent me depict an awful shortage of parents. You know it doesn’t matter if they’re human or fae. Can’t you find some human children and give them a home?”
Ollie sighs, smoothing a hand down his face. “No, Cael. That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works.”
“Well. How big does our pack need to be in order for me to continue interacting with my family?” I ask.
Cael tilts his head back and looks at the ceiling. “Minimum, I’d say four members apart from the head mating pair in order to keep a comfortable grasp on both worlds for a handful of hours at a time.”
Adopting four kids. Who knows if I would even qualify for the process. And then there’s the issue of them being human while Ollie and I wouldn’t be. Maybe not the best idea. What about fae orphans? Could we qualify to adopt fae orphans? Are there fae orphans? Cael didn’t exactly offer faerie children just now. He redirected us specifically toward humans.
