Possession (The Mate Games 3)

“Would you rather wait for the next comet to pass by? That’s five years from now. If we want one powerful enough.” Moira narrowed her gaze at me and frowned. “Be grateful we don’t have to do that, Sunday. You’ve waited this long for him. You can wait five more weeks.”

I knew she was right. I was acting like a spoiled brat. My emotions were on a hair trigger these days. The connection I had to Alek and his berserker, combined with all the ridiculous pregnancy hormones raging through me, made my every reaction more intense than it should be.

“I’m sorry. I just... it’s a lot.”

Noah nuzzled my neck and pressed a kiss at the base of my jaw. “It’s all right. We will get him back, but in this, you have to be patient. Besides, you heard Caleb, it’ll be like five days have passed for Alek, not five weeks. Torture for us, the blink of an eye for him.”

His words were meant to be reassuring, and they were to an extent, but something in my gut told me things weren’t going that well for Alek back home. I didn’t know why exactly, but the connection between us had kept me on edge ever since he left. If things were all sunshine and rainbows, wouldn’t I know it?

“There’s one more thing I need before we can start getting this spell ready,” Moira said, almost hesitantly.

“What? I’ll give you anything you need.”

“A piece of him.”

I stared at her like she had lobsters crawling out of her ears. “Excuse me? In case you haven’t noticed, there are literally no pieces of him on this plane.”

“It’s like you’ve never watched an episode of CSI in your life.”

“I haven’t.”

“Well, have you ever heard of DNA, cupcake?”

I wrinkled my nose. “You need his blood? Where are we supposed to find that?”

Moira rolled her eyes like I was a lost cause. “His hair, woman. We need a single strand of that long glorious mane of his. He didn’t exactly pack before he took off. I’m willing to bet he left behind a hairbrush filled with it.”

“Oh, that’s definitely likely.”

Noah cleared his throat. “We’ve already moved all his belongings to the shared house. You have free rein to search his room whenever you wish.”

“I knew I liked you best,” Moira said, winking. “I’m glad you pulled your head out of your ass and put on your daddy pants.”

“Daddy pants? No.”

“Hat?”

“Have you ever seen me wear a hat?”

“Mustache?”

“How about a button?”

I didn’t miss the twinkle in her eye. “Done. Babe?” She looked at Ash, who grinned.

A soft glow lit between her hands, and before I could fully comprehend what just happened, she held out a circular button that saidDaddy?.

“Very funny,” Noah grumbled, but he took it and immediately pinned it to his coat.

“Why the question mark?” I asked, still laughing at the hot pink button with its turquoise font.

“Because unless you make the guys take paternity tests, there are four possible fathers out there.”

Moira’s words were teasing, but I couldn’t help my flinch.Would it always be this way? Did they need to know? Did I?

“I’m this child’s father. No matter what.”

His words made me gasp before I could stop myself. “Really?”