Alistaire walked back into the bedroom and saw Crevan sitting up in bed waiting for their return.
“Did you have a nice talk?”
“You were listening?”
“I didn’t mean to. I was wondering what was taking so long and went to look, but then I heard you talking to her and came back to bed.” Crevan looked down at his hand then back at Alistaire. “I don’t know who the donor is. The only requirement I…”
Alistaire placed a finger to Crevan’s lips, stopping him from saying any more. “I don’t care who the donor is. I’m just glad you both are willing to let me into your hearts. I meant what I said, she’s half my responsibility now.”
Crevan went to his knees and kissed Alistaire softly on his lips. “You’re a nice guy, Vale.”
“You’re not so bad yourself, Hannigan.” They kissed once more, and just as he was about to lean Crevan back on the bed, Genesis made herself known and started crying. “Let’s get her fed so we can get back to doing adult stuff.”
* * *
A couple of hours later,once they’d gotten Genesis back to sleep, Alistaire was standing by the window looking at the dog tags in his hands. He’d stopped wearing them but kept them in his pocket. He didn’t feel guilty for letting Crevan in his heart and making the man his mate, but he still cared for Fox. Alistaire didn’t think he’d ever get over his first mate but knew it was time he stopped carrying him around like baggage. Alistaire wasn’t sure when he should tell Crevan more about his first mate. It’s not like he could pretend his heart didn’t once belong to another man.
Earlier that night, while making love to Fox, he’d felt something firmly take hold of his heart and not let go. It didn’t scare him since he felt the joining of his and Crevan’s souls becoming one. Alistaire ran his tongue over his teeth, feeling his vampiric fangs’ sharp points—something he hadn’t expected to happen. Not only that, he could feel a slight connection to Synder he hadn’t felt before.
Who would have thought making love to my mate would be the catalyst for finally turning me into a vampire?
He’d pulled out his phone to call Synder but realized the time. Alistaire figured he’d wait to speak with Synder when he returned to Valleywood to get Ava.
“What are you thinking about?”
Alistaire quickly shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to face Crevan. “Ava.”
Crevan stood next to him, leaning against the window. “What about her?”
Alistaire stared at Crevan, seriously wondering if he’d be all right with what he was about to say. After he’d made up his mind to take her in, Alistaire had dug deeper into Trevor Bates’s background. Alistaire had found out Trevor worked in finance and was fired from Wolfe Construction months ago. Quintus had thought something was wrong with the accounts after going through them and had an audit done. He’d found out Trevor was stealing money from the company.
Trevor was ordering cheap products and skimming a few thousand dollars from the company accounts. Apparently, he had a gambling problem and owed some dangerous people a lot of money, and to pay them off, he’d been stealing from Wolfe Construction. After he was fired from his job, he’d emptied his bank account and skipped town—leaving his daughter alone without even saying goodbye.
“I’m thinking of adopting her,” Alistaire finally answered.
Crevan stared at him for a long time before he spoke. “She seems important to you, so you must have a reason why you want to adopt her?”
“Her father skipped town and left her with nothing. I only found out what happened after she got arrested.”
Crevan grabbed his hand, pulling him over to the sitting area and pushed him down on the couch then sat beside him. Out of nowhere, Emma jumped onto Crevan’s lap—curling up and going to sleep. “Talk to me. Tell me what happened.”
Alistaire nodded and explained everything from Ava ending up in Valleywood, searching for her father and getting arrested, and why Trevor Bates got fired from his job. Synder and Kayne were using their resources to locate the man to kick his ass for leaving his daughter alone.
“You’ll have to get him to sign over parental rights to us when we find him. But for now, we need to get Ava settled and make sure she feels safe and loved.”
Alistaire looked up at Crevan when he heard the wordus. “You don’t have to…I mean…”
Crevan placed a finger on Alistaire’s lips. “Stop getting all worked up. What, did you think I wasn’t going to help you?”
“I didn’t know what you were going to do.”
“We’re building a life together, Alistaire,” Crevan said, shutting up anything else he had to say. “We need to start thinking as a family. Me, you, Genesis, and Ava are a family now. We need to start looking out for each other.”
Alistaire smiled, shaking his head as he stared at his mate. “You’re right.”
Crevan leaned closer to him. “Get used to saying those words for the rest of your life.”
“You think so?”
