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He growled but didn’t respond right away. He paused his steps and glared over his shoulder. “We both need to focus on raising our son. He’s the priority.”
With that, he walked away, heading to the stairs. I assumed Xander was taking Rafe with him so he could get dressed. I headed back to his room to do the same and gathered clothes for our son once I showered and changed. This was going to be a disaster. I could already feel the darkness brewing but there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about any of this because I’d created this mess.
* * *
The driveback to the city was quiet. Rafe slept and Xander didn’t talk. I wondered what was going through his head but I didn’t ask. Mostly since I was afraid of what he might share. More anger from what I’d done. More confirmation that we could never be or changing his mind about the woman who’d arrived with him. Neither topic was one I wanted to discuss so I remained quiet too.
As soon as we entered the lobby of our building, me moving with quick steps to keep in pace with Xander’s long strides while he carried our son against his chest in one arm and Rafe’s bags over his shoulder, two women from the Bennett pack approached us. Both sets of eyes bounced between Xander and me.
The looks on their faces expressed their thoughts as they whispered between themselves. Most didn’t approve of me. They weren’t always nice and welcoming, but I didn’t care. I had Jo, Zion, and Laz. Not all of the pack members were as blatant with their disapproval as these two and not all of them still harbored ill feelings but some did.
Most of the women in the pack realized I wasn’t going anywhere so they were coming around but not these two. I assumed Xander wouldn’t care but he proved me wrong when he cut off their path, delivering a disapproving stare.
“You don’t need to understand anything about her or our situation.”
“I…we…” Sharma said before Kiara finished her fumbled sentence.
“We don’t care about what you have going on.” She spoke with very little confidence as she peered skeptically at Xander who smiled darkly.
“I don’t get it. She’s not one of us and barely his type.” His tone was condescending and I assumed he was repeating what they were whispering.
Their eyes widened at the same time and he leaned toward the women. “She’s none of your business.Weare none of your business, understood?”
“Understood,” fumbled from both their mouths as they attempted to move around Xander but he spoke once more, halting their steps.
“And disrespecting my son or his mother is the same as disrespecting me. Don’t make that mistake again.” His voice was cold and harsh which had me glaring at them. What the hell had they said about my son?
I was about to ask when they bolted, hurrying out the building. “What did they say?”
He lowered his eyes and started moving again. I quickly fell in step beside Xander. “That he wasn’t mine.”
My mouth dropped open but I remained calm when I asserted the truth. “He’s yours.”
“I know.” His heavy gaze made it to me as the doors to the elevator opened. As soon as we were inside, I looked up at Xander but before I could say what I was thinking, he shook his head. “He’s mine, Toy. I don’t need a test. It won’t be any more convincing than what I’m feeling. He’s mine,” he repeated.
We traveled to the top floor. My unit was on the floor beneath theirs but I chose not to argue the logistics. The closer we got to his place, the more my heart raced. Was she there? If she was, would I be able to control myself from clawing her eyes out or banishing her from existence?
Who was I kidding? My spell casting skills were basic at best. I couldn’t do much to the woman other than cause a few mild discomforts. Like severe acne or warts.
Warts. How cliché. I grinned at the thought then rolled my eyes while Xander unlocked the door and walked inside. I hesitated and he frowned briefly before shaking his head. “She’s not here. Laz and Jo made sure she had a place and no, not on your floor. She’s on the third but I already told you, she’s not your concern.”
I scowled and entered the apartment. I had only been here a few times. Mostly when we were all together our time was spent at Laz or Zion’s apartments. Xander always kept his distance from me and his feelings locked tight. It was surreal how things had changed. Now he wanted me here, with him.
Because of our son.
I followed Xander through the apartment, which was massive and similar to his brothers’. Wide open space, modern features, dark blends of gray and black with a beautiful view of Hollow Grove through the floor to ceiling windows that took up one wall of the living room.
He stopped in the hallway outside one of the rooms and opened the door, motioning for me to enter first. The space was fully decorated with black furniture and blinds with deep gray carpet. It felt masculine and prominent, like him. “You can have this room. Mine is across the hall.”
When I didn’t say anything, he frowned and lowered his eyes to me. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s dark.”
“We can change whatever you want. The other room is an office. We’ll have to move my things out to make it comfortable for our little wild one’s room.”
I smiled up at my baby boy who was still out cold with his head resting on his father's shoulder. “You don’t have to call him that.”
Xander’s brows pinched and he dropped his eyes to our son’s face. “It’s what he’s used to.” His eyes swept the room again then he laid Rafe on the bed, placing his bag on the dresser. “Why don’t you make a list of what we need and we can go out…”
