Wolf's Pack (Wolves Next Door #3) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,117

it seems there's a chance he infected Theo."

"What?" Lev asked, looking from me to Heather and back. "In the fight? The boys were pretty beat up, but - "

"Before the fight," Heather said. "Evidently, some of our kids are making out on those trails while the others are running around as animals."

I clasped his arm. "Lev, Theo has a headache that no medication is easing. Two days ago, he and your son were intimate, and yes, it was consensual."

"My son's gay?" he asked. "But... he's always had girlfriends."

"Bisexual, it seems," I told him. "He didn't realize that oral sex counts as exposure. The boys thought spitting it out would be safe enough, and now Theo's got symptoms of whatever your version of this is called."

"Nikolai asked us to be the ones to break it to you," Heather added.

"Fuck," Lev breathed, turning away just to grab his keys and wallet from a side table. He turned back to the door but stopped again. "Shirt. Shoes." And then the man rushed towards the back of his house.

I just looked at Heather. "Is he pissed?"

"He seems worried," she said.

And then Lev was back, rushing for the door the pair of us stood before. "Wait," I told him.

"I'm not fucking waiting," the man roared. "There's a boy who's about to have the worst few days of his life, and my son doesn't know how to handle this on his own. Get out of my way, Alpha, or I'll make you."

"If you hurt him," I warned.

Lev just turned to me, his eyes so close I could clearly see how they were green in the center, fading to yellow at the edges. "I'm his father. I'm supposed to protect him, and I'm not doing a very good job, so I'm about to fix that."

Then he just shouldered me aside and kept going, leaving the door standing open behind him. Heather was gaping at me. My heart was pounding. As quickly as I could, I grabbed my phone and started walking to my car. "Close the door, Heather."

But in my hands I was typing out a notice to Gabby that Lev was on his way and might beat us back, but I was only seconds behind. The problem was that I still didn't know what that man intended. He was pissed, but I wasn't sure whether that was directed at himself or his son.

CHAPTER 36

* * *

I pulled up in front of Heather's house just as Lev strode through the door without seeming to knock. The pair of us piled out of my car and ran to catch up. I hit the stairs to the second floor just as the man reached the top, storming down the hall as he followed the kids' voices. I felt like I was chasing him, but Lev barely even noticed I was there.

Then he turned into the last room on the right and the kids all fell silent. "Nik?" Lev asked.

"Dad," Nik breathed just as I reached the room.

For a moment the pair looked at each other, then Lev shoved a hand over his hair. "Is your, uh, friend ok?"

"Boyfriend, Dad," Nik corrected.

"I didn't want to presume." Lev looked like all of his determination had just evaporated. "Is he ok?"

"He's probably exposed to this because I was too fucking scared to ask you about it!" Nik shot back. "So, no. Theo's not ok, but I'm going to make sure he will be, and my alpha's going to help."

Lev rushed forward just to wrap his son in his arms. "Don't you ever think I'll stop loving you, boy. Not ever. You are my son. Gay, straight, or bisexual. All I've ever wanted for you was for you to be happy, and I'm so sorry I let you down."

And Nikolai relaxed, finally hugging back as he melted into the man. "Really?"

"Really," Lev promised. "And we're going to get your boyfriend through this, ok? I never even thought to tell you. Shit, I was embarrassed to tell you about this stuff, and I'm sorry. I just..." He ran his hand over his son's dark hair. "I saw you with the girls, and I just assumed that was it. Nik..." He turned, looking across the room until he saw Theo. "Either of you. The only thing I hate is that people might make this hard on you two, but I'm not gonna be one of them. All I want is someone who treats my son the way he deserves. That's it, Theo, and if that's