Unreject Me

Poppa

Kaya’s pov

“Archie is just a little pup. After being so close, Heath just disappeared, so he naturally would have a lot of questions,” Mira pointed out.

“Yeah, I know. But I had to cut him off. Do you remember how he acted that night? He was getting aggressive and scary. All I said was that I liked what we had, and that we didn’t have to give a name to our relationship. He just transformed into someone I never met. I thought he was going to force himself on me.”

“Yeah, he was drunk.”

I almost rolled my eyes at my wolf. “That’s not an excuse!”

“Look. I get you. Neither of us felt safe around him that night. It was strange to see him that violent. But we can’t expect Archie to understand our sentiments. Maybe after he grows up enough to understand things like this, we can talk about it, but certainly not now.”

I had to keep quiet. My wolf's words made sense. In any case, Heath was always nice to Archie. The only time I saw him that angry was that one night.

“And he was drunk! Perhaps you should cut him some slack. He did apologise, didn’t he?” Mira interrupted my thoughts.

“Sometimes I don’t like you,” I told her.

“Of course! You don’t like me. You love me,“ she said with a snicker. “Now let it go for Archie’s sake. Look at him. He is so happy to see Heath.”

As I observed them, a corner of my mouth lifted. I have not seen Archie talk like this in a long time. He poured his heart out, complaining to Heath. He had become so accustomed to seeing him often. I started to have second thoughts about blocking him entirely from Archie’s life. Perhaps I shouldn’t have done that. Heath was never a threat to my son.

Archie had complained to me too when Heath stopped coming to see him. I managed to dodge his questions somehow. Playdates with friends and school had kept him busy. I did, however, occasionally find it difficult to stray from the subject.

I silently observed. Heath carefully avoided giving away the whole truth in each of his patient answers to his questions. He had the option to tell Archie that he was not welcome around, but he chose not to. The truth would have broken my son’s heart and perhaps harboured some amount of resentment towards me in Archie’s heart. I was glad he kept it a secret.

“Poppa got caught up. How’s my little man? I think you have grown since the last time I saw you,” Heath said.

My lips pressed together in a timid smile. Heath handled that pretty well.

“Yes, I have! I can reach mommy’s red vase now!” puffing his little chest out, my son proudly exclaimed.

“Oh, wow! That's so cool!”

My lips curled into a smile. Archie had grown a couple of inches over the past few months “But you shouldn’t try to touch it. You might break it.”

“Yeah,” he hurriedly responded with a shrug of his shoulders, quickly averting his attention towards Heath. “I go to school too. Yesterday, we painted a butterfly using our fingers. It was fun!”

“Sounds like fun, Arch. You are becoming a bog boy, huh?”

“I finish my food now because I want to be big and strong!” Archie threw a glance at me. From the way he looked at me, I knew he was up to something. He leaned into Heath’s ear. “So I can take the cookie jar and them when mommy doesn’t look.”

I hid a smile. Archie must have thought I wouldn’t hear him.

“I don’t think mommy will like that,” Heath whispered back.

Archie raised his forefinger to his lips, gesturing to Heath to keep his voice down, casting a quick glance at me.

I heaved a sigh and ruffled Archie’s hair. “He sure is growing up fast. I wonder if I could keep up with him.”

“Can we go out today?”

What I said was insignificant to my son. He could not take his eyes off of Heath's perpetual smile. I twisted my face into a frown. Was he ignoring me? It sure felt like that. Heath looked at me, his demeanour unchanging.

“I don’t think that is a good idea,” he said, raising his feet. “Why don’t you go and bring me that painting you made at school yesterday?”

“Yes!” Archie exclaimed and dashed inside to get the painting from his room. An awkward silence invaded the air as soon as he left. But not for long.

“I didn’t think I would run into him. Sorry.”

My lips parted. “It is okay. And thanks for not telling him.”

His face wrinkled. “What?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “That I forbade you from meeting him.”

He chuckled. “I deserved that, didn’t I? I am glad you are still tolerating me.”

I laughed and gestured that it was not a big deal with a wave of my hand. I just wanted him to stop. Talking about that night was the last thing I wanted to do.

“Actually, I missed the little guy. If you don’t mind, may I spend a few minutes with him? I am sure he would love it.”

I nodded my head. There was no doubt Archie would love to spend the afternoon with Heath. Perhaps I should allow them to meet sometimes. Just as I allowed him into the living room, Archie returned with his painting, his face beaming with excitement.

“See! I did it!”

“Awesome! I love the colours.”

I watched, awestruck, as they blabbered and laughed about the things that made little to no sense. It was crystal clear that my son looked up to this man. Once again, guilt washed over me. I had stopped my son from seeing his role model. I must have hurt his feelings without even realising it.

They played with his toys and watched TV together while I silently watched them. They didn’t mind my presence. My son didn’t seem to realise I was still in the living room.

“Uh...” I heard Mira’s voice in my head.

“Hmm?”

“Is it just me, or do you feel Archie needs a father figure in his life?”

I held back my urge to cringe. Father figure? Wasn’t a mother enough? My gaze darted towards the duo on the sofa while they watched Madagascar on the TV. Archie was curled into a ball beside Heath while he gently ran his fingers through Archie’s hair. Every eye was fixed on the television.

My stomach was knotted up. Even though I wished I was enough for my son, I knew I wasn’t. He was in need of an exemplary male figure. He needed someone he could call dad.

“Poppa is pretty close,” Mira muttered.

I cringed hard. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have let them get so close when I didn’t have anything serious going on with Heath.

“I share your feelings, Kaya. But maybe we should do this for our pup.”

It was the first time I had given it much thought. Maybe I ought to. Though not serious, I did have something going on with Heath, and I couldn’t blame him for wanting something real. He was a good man who merely desired a family.

“Mommy?” Archie’s tiny voice interrupted my train of thoughts.

“Yes, love.”

“I am hungry.”

Shit.

“Uh, let me fix something real quick.”

“Are you going to cook?” Heath asked me, and I answered with a nod of my head.

“Why don't we all go out to eat?” His facial expression suddenly changed. “Uh, if you want to, that is.”

Archie’s eyes lit up. “Can we go, mommy? Please?”

“Sure,” I said, offering a smile. How could I say no to him and break his heart again? I had hurt him enough. “Let me grab my purse.”

A smile curled on Heath’s face. “It is my treat. I am the one who suggested going out.”

***

The lunch was lovely. Archie picked a restaurant that he loved eating at. Seeing him happy was everything for me. I spent most of lunch thinking that if I ever got into a relationship with a man, I would do it solely for Archie. I stole glances at Heath, hoping he didn’t glance back. He didn’t appear to take notice of me, unlike before. His undivided attention was on Archie. Perhaps he was no longer interested in me.

“We can find that out, you know,” Mira uttered.

“Are you suggesting I ask him out?”

“Even better. Ask him if he wants to be your boyfriend.”

***

I did not have the guts to ask him that, especially in front of my pup. I couldn’t even muster up the courage to ask him out on a date. After he dropped us off at our home and left, I took my phone out many times to call or text him, but I just couldn’t do it. It was weird asking a guy out, as I never did that. What I had in the past was either s*x for fun or drunken s*x—never anything serious.

I wrote a text and saved it in drafts without sending it before going to sleep. I needed some time to think with a clear head before doing it.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. It was Heath.

“Hello?”

“Are you seriously asking me to be your boyfriend?”

My eyes widened, and my heart skipped a beat. What? I thought I hadn’t sent that text message! I shouldn’t chicken out now, should I? I cleared my throat.

“Uh, would you?” I said.

Our friends were delighted to hear about our relationship, but my son was probably the happiest. It was a sight to behold, the way his blue eyes brightened when he saw Heath that evening. That night, he tucked him into bed. Watching them together assured me that I had made the right choice.

***

Weeks passed by. The rogue attacks, unfortunately, were still not under control. What we observed was a slight shift in the attacks' style. Despite having a similar beginning to the others, it eventually became disorganised. Their leader seemed to have vanished from their midst. It was strange.

Upon multiple unsuccessful attempts to identify the underlying reason, I concluded that it would be best to visit the packs, beginning with the most frequently attacked one. Attacks on Crystal Lake were the fewest. Given that it was the largest pack within the wolf territory, it made sense. The Howlers were attacked eight times, compared to nine attacks on Opal Moon. When I realised that Black Woods had been attacked an astounding eighteen times in the last three weeks, a frown crept across my face.

It was my duty as the team's leader to go there to conduct a thorough investigation. Eighteen attacks in three weeks was a lot.

“Well, it is time to go back, huh?” Mira mumbled.

I furrowed my brows. Everything about our trip would be work-related, and any interaction I had with their alpha would be done in a formal capacity. Anyway, I doubted I would enjoy my stay there. It was going to be a damn long trip.