=Max=
"I'm sorry, I didn't recognise him until he was inside the elevator." Alexia is walking around the room. "So sorry. I should have caught him before he went down."
I lean against the end of the bed. "It's not your fault. I shouldn't have let him get away in the first place." I look at the piece of paper in my hand and the phone in my other hand. "At least I've got his name. That should help, some."
"And let's hope he gave his real name and not a fake one." Alexia comes over and reaches out. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to keep your mum from calling you too this morning. If not for her, this wouldn't have happened."
"It's okay, it's better than her showing up in the middle of something a lot more embarrassing." I smile. "Not that she hasn't done that before either..."
"I remember that freak-out." Alexia grins. "You slept at our place for a week." She shakes her head. "Are you sure that she isn't just freaking out for nothing? It wouldn't be the first time."
"I don't think so. She sounded almost scared. And she knew something that had happened. There are no cameras or microphones in this room, so how could she have known?" It was creepy, the way she just knew, like she expected it.
"What did she know?" Alexia crosses her arms and looks at me, sceptical.
"Not saying right now. It's too weird." I push myself off the bed and look around the room. "Let's get going. I don't want to stay here any longer."
"Sure." Alexia walks to the door. "I've got waaay better ideas to distract you with anyway."
I follow her down to the main floor where we're greeted and guided to a car waiting in front of the hotel.
We get in and Alexia turns to me immediately. Her face almost seems to shine, her eyes bright and her cheeks flushed, a bit too happy maybe. "Last night I overheard a couple of things, including that there will be an afterparty at a very special location. This car will get us there."
"What, now?" I don't feel like an afterparty right now. There are too many things going on and I want to make sure that Eric is okay.
"Yes, now." Alexia shakes her head. "Like, people will expect you to be there. The media is all over who you took to your room last night."
Oh, great. I thought my mum was exaggerating. "You know it's not my idea of fun. And I'm not sure I can do this right now."
"Well, we're going anyway. I'm not letting you ruin this for yourself." She hooks her arm through mine. "We're doing this. Last night was only the first step. You need to get out more."
"Why?" There is more to this than just the party, that is obvious, but I'm not sure what exactly she wants from me.
"Because you need to find someone to settle down with, duh." Alexia looks at me like I'm stupid, or dense.
I might be both when it comes to social situations, but I'm also pretty sure that what happened last night has way more implications than I know.
"Ehm." I try to come up with a way to stop this 'party till you find the right one' idea of hers.
"Yeah?" She sighs. "Last night was only the start of the trip. We're gonna go to every party until you find your mate. You're a great Alpha, but you need to find your mate and settle down, and staying locked up in your office or house is not gonna make that happen."
Unless you find your mate at the second Mating Ball you ever go to and get the guy knocked up in the same night. It suddenly becomes very clear what I need to do. "I need to go home. Need to talk to my mum." I lean forward, about to touch the button to talk to the driver, but Alexia pulls me back.
"You can't keep running to your mummy every time this comes up.
Stop being a wuss." She lets out another dramatic sigh.
I've got to give her something or she'll never let this idea go. "Mum thinks Eric is my mate." Well, she didn't say it in as many words, but the pregnancy has got to have something to do with it because this has never happened before. Plus, I can feel it too, the bond we created in just a few hours.
"What?!" I finally have her attention. "You can't be right, he's human." "That is why she freaked out too. That is why I need to get home." I
push the button and this time Alexia lets me. "Can you go to the Powell Senior residence instead, please?"
"Of course, sir." The man answers, not asking any questions about the change in plans. Well, he is paid to do, and never ask.
"God, you're so boring." Alexia crosses her arms over her chest. "Don't think I'll be there with you when you talk to your parents."
I smile. Alexia might be a couple of years younger, but she always acts like my big sister in situations like this, one of the few people that my wolf
does not growl at when she acts like she is better than me. "I'm glad. This is between me, my parents and our pack."
"Fine. Whatever." There is nearly a pout on her face before she looks at me directly. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"No clue. But this isn't something I can ignore, or let be for very long."
***
Mum opens the door immediately as I come up the steps to the door. Her hair is not perfectly in place like it is normally and she shakes her head at me. There is no smile in her eyes, instead a deep worry. "Come in, come in."
I wave at Alexia, she waves back at me and closes the door, making the car drive off again.
Mum nearly pulls me into the house. "Where is the kid?"
"He is not a kid, he's only three years younger than me, at most. Now, tell me what is going on."
She shakes her head. "He should be here too. I need to be sure it's true before I can explain it all."
Dad comes into the hallway too, his eyes also full of worry, but there is a small smile on his lips too. "Welcome home. Let's get you something to drink before we start talking about all this." He takes Mum by her arms and leads her into the kitchen. "Come on, sweetheart. A lot has happened to our boy last night."
"He will be a father." The words are only spoken softly, my mum slumped down on a chair.
Dad looks at me and then gets back to making something to drink for us. There is something in his eyes and I'm not sure what it is exactly.
I sit down opposite Mum and reach out to her. "I'm not even sure what that means in this case."
"It means the same as it always does. In nine months you'll be a father to a beautiful little baby." She squeezes my hand.
"How?"
"There is only one way. Nine months pregnancy and then birth." "You know what I mean. He is a man, how can he get pregnant?" Mum looks up as Dad joins us at the table.
Dad looks at us both. "Magic." "Magic?" Right... Nope, not believing it.
"You really need to find the guy before we talk about all this. He must be freaked out." Mum keeps saying that, but I have no way to contact him at the moment.
I remember the look in Eric's eyes. Yeah, he was definitely freaked out. But what man wouldn't be when they're told they're pregnant? After a one night stand even. "He's not even gay."
Dad smiles more now. "You don't need to be gay to fall for one man. Sometimes you're just attracted to someone, no matter their gender. Being gay or straight or bi, it doesn't really say anything. He can still be mostly straight and still love you."
"Gonna be hard to convince him of that, I think." I grab one of the cups on the table, but dad quickly moves it and gives me another one.
"That one's for your mum, to calm her down. She was up all night, following the news."
"Of course." I try to smile but I just can't any more. "I guess I should try to find this guy then. It seems I can't get around it any longer."
"He doesn't need to be. But he is a man, he is pregnant and mated to you. I think you owe him at least an explanation of what is going on.
Having your whole world turned upside down like this is pretty scary."
I grab the two phones from my pocket, mine and Eric's. "I guess I should put my skills to good use then. Gonna have to find where he lives, or where else I might be able to find him."