Alfie didn’t look their way, only focusing on his… on Malachi.
“What does that mean… for us… me?” Alfie was having vampire-biting thoughts. Would Malachi have to change him into a wolf? Was Axel a wolf now? He turned so fast he probably gave himself whiplash and faced his brother. “Are you a wolf now?”
“What?” Axel looked at him like he’d lost his mind.
“Look at me, love.” Malachi’s voice was pleading.
Alfie couldn’t take hearing the fear in Malachi’s voice, and he wasn’t upset, just confused.
When he faced Malachi and saw the look in his eyes, he immediately placed a hand on Chi’s cheek. “I’m not upset. I just don’t understand.”
Malachi let out a breath, and he felt the tension drain from him.
“To answer your question, Axel is not a wolf, and you can’t actually change a human into a wolf—at least not that I’ve heard of. You can only be born a wolf,” Malachi said, “but we do live really long lives. Likereallylong. And if we mate…” Alfie heard the hopefulness in Malachi’s voice. “Ifwe mate, you get my lifespan.”
“And the whole baby thing,” Alfie pointed out in a teasing voice.
“Yeah, that too.” Malachi managed a small smile.
“Are you telling me this deal consists of me getting a hot guy that loves me, will never hurt me, I can have kids with him, and I live a super long time?” A grin split Alfie’s face. “Where do I sign?”
Maxim spoke up and interrupted their moment. “Told you everything works out son. The goddess always knows what she’s doing. And Alfie, like I said before son, welcome to the family. I’m sure you and Malachi will be very happy together. I speak for my husband and I when I say we can’t wait to have more grandkids.”
“Dad, don’t scare him away,” Malachi groaned.
Alfie had a feeling that there was nothing this man could do that would scare him off, especially if he kept looking at Alfie like he was Beyoncé at the Grammys.
“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Axel chimed in, giving Alfie a knowing look.
Yeah, his brother knew him very well. The Baines brothers knew a good thing when it was handed to them.
Twenty-Two
Malachi
Breakfast ran so long, it might as well have been brunch, not that Malachi was complaining. Once Alfie loosened up around his parents, conversation flowed freely. Malachi hoped that Alfie would meet his brothers, Marcellus and Mikhail, but with him and Malek at home, they were picking up the slack.
They knew he would do the same for the two of them if the roles were reversed.
He finally managed to get Alfie over to his house and showed his mate around. His home, like all their homes, had been built with a mate and family in mind, so obviously, it was way too big for just him.
Alfie had gushed over everything—especially the kitchen. The way his mate had lingered on the oven, his eyes lit up when he saw that Chi’s house had a professional grade set up in the kitchen. He’d babbled excitedly about how much he would love to bake in them.
Chi had a feeling that it was something he would have to push Alfie on.
From the talks they’d had, it had become apparent to him that Alfie hadn’t really loved Uni, but he also knew his mate didn’t really know what he wanted to do. However, that was something they could deal with later.
He was just so happy that Alfie seemed to love his house, and that was a relief—not that he wouldn’t have gutted the whole thing for his mate.
Alfie’s voice interrupted Chi’s musings, although his attention was always on his mate.
“If I guess where we’re going, will you tell me if I’m right?” Alfie was turned in his seat, his body angled towards Chi, who chuckled at the slight whine that had crept into his mate’s voice.
“You’ll know in less than an hour…” Chi smiled, “…but if you really want to know, I’ll tell you.”
Chi had a feeling this was going to be the rest of his life, giving in to his mate—not that he had a problem with it. Besides, from what he was getting to know about Alfie, his mate didn’t seem like the entitled type. However, he technically hadn’t said he wanted to know, so Malachi would take it as his mate just being excited.
“But, how will I know if I’m dressed appropriately?” Alfie asked.
