Page 16 of Christmas Embrace

“Here what?” Tristan eyed Kade then the baby, a wide grin breaking across his face. “Hey now…you sure you want me holdin’ him?”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Kade laughed.

“What?” Tristan held up his palms defensively.

“You’re a damn wolf. He’s a wolf. Now here, take him for me.”

“Oh Goddess,” Tristan groaned.

“Stop being a wuss. Take him.” Kade cocked his head in annoyance. “I’ve got to get changed. This formula smells dreadful.”

“It was formula. What you’re wearing is just plain ole throw up, dude.”

“He might have a little extra left in him for you. Now here…give me a hand, Alpha.”

“Ah, come here, pup.” Tristan took the baby from Kade’s arms. “Good thing you’ve got Uncle Tris around to stop you from using words like ‘dreadful’. Your daddy there’s a little too formal. Instead of dreadful, you say…I smell like ass.”

“Seriously?” Kade’s brows furrowed with disapproval.

“What?” Tristan laughed and Zach giggled in response.

“Language. I’m going to need a swear jar around here.”

“He’s a wolf. A damn fine one.”

“It’s a good thing he’ll be raised by vampires.” Kade strode toward the door.

Tristan smiled at Zachery who reached for his beard. “You like Uncle Tristan? Yes…yes you do. You’re gonna be the biggest baddest wolf ever. Fast too.”

“Five minutes.” Kade walked out the door, smiling as he caught a glimpse of Tristan making funny faces at the baby. “And no cursing.”

“Thanks for coming with me.” Kade pulled his Mercedes into Logan’s driveway.

“Didn’t have much of a choice, now did I?” Tristan replied.

“I need you to back me up,” Kade told him.

“Yeah, about that.” Tristan held up a dismissive finger, an eyebrow raised.

“I don’t want to hear excuses, Tris. You’re an Alpha. You’ve got influence.”

“Yeah that’s true but…eh…I don’t know how Logan’s gonna react.”

“You’re close friends. He’s your beta.”

“Was. As in past tense. Was my beta. He’s an Alpha now. He’s got his own pack and responsibilities. New Orleans is his territory.”

“He trusts you. I need your help. This is my son I’m talking about.”

The Alpha leaned his head onto the headrest. “Fuck me.”

“I don’t ask for favors very often, Tris.” Kade’s lips tightened in a straight line. He was not giving his son away.

“If the pup’s got family, he may have no other choice but to let them raise him. You know that’s the reality here.”

“His dad is dead. His mom is dead. Those are the only two people I care about. Trinity doesn’t have any family we know about anyway.” Kade paused and glanced toward Logan’s home. “We’re immortals. We live by different rules. I have to believe we are meant to be his parents. We found him twice; even after he was taken, he came back to us. I don’t want to get into a situation where there’s a pack/vampire war over this, but…we’re going to raise our son by any means necessary.” Sydney’s suggestion of leaving New Orleans flashed through his mind.

“No, don’t say another word. I don’t want to know anything,” the wolf protested. Tristan settled his palms on the dashboard and stared through the windshield. “Look, I’ll try. But I can’t make any promises. I want to but I can’t. I know we’re friends. But Logan and I are too. He’s running a pack of his own now. He has to live with the consequences of his actions.”