Page 22 of Fallout
“I’ll see you later.” He looks at Parker, giving him a look. Parker hides his grin, though I’m pretty sure my dad notices. He walks out the door that leads to the garage.
Parker turns to me, raising an eyebrow. “Your dad is kinda scary.”
“Your dad is an alpha—it doesn’t get scarier than that,” I protest. “Never mind the fact that he hated me at first.”
“He did not hate you.”
I don’t bother responding—we both know he’s wrong.
Parker steps closer to me, giving me a proper kiss. When he does, I feel something twist in my gut. It takes me a moment to place the emotion—it’s guilt.
I pull back and look at Parker. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He turns away from me. “We should get going.”
Okay, he’s definitely hiding something.
I don’t mention it as we head to his Jeep. He opens the passenger side door for me and gives me another sweet kiss before I get in.
Parker has a lot on him. He’s the future alpha, which is a lot in itself. But he’s also trying to find that other supernatural that’s on pack land and he feels responsible for my protection. I should go easy on him. He’s only eighteen—that’s young to have all of this on him.
“When is your birthday?” I ask Parker after he gets in.
Parker turns to me, a smirk on his face. “You don’t know my birthday?”
“It’s never come up.” I shrug. “Do you know my birthday?”
His grin widens. “Of course I do—it’s July twenty seventh.”
I frown. “How did you know?”
“I make it a point to know everything about you.” He grabs my hand with his free one. “My birthday is April seventeenth.”
“Shouldn’t you have already graduated?” I ask.
He nods. “Yes, but I started school a year late. Since Will and Blaine are my betas, he wanted me to be in class with them.”
“They’re your betas? How does that work?” I angle my body to him.
“Being an alpha is a blood thing. So my dad was always going to produce the next alpha, just like one of our sons will one day be alpha,” Parker explains.
My cheeks warm at the mention of us someday having children.
Parker clears his throat. “But anybody can be a beta. It’s based on strength. But it also has a little to do with chemistry. I obviously have to be able to get along with my betas. Thankfully, I get along great with Will and Blaine.”
I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. “So our firstborn son will be alpha?”
He shrugs. “Maybe, maybe not. It’s not always the firstborn that is alpha. And all my younger brothers have the potential, but I’m the strongest.”
“That would be strange—to have a younger brother be alpha.”
“It happens often. Alpha Benson—he is everybody’s alpha—is the youngest of three sons.” When he sees the confused look on my face, he further explains. “He’s… kind of like a king. He’s the guy who makes sure all the alphas stay in check. Occasionally, an alpha will have to be dealt with.”
“Ah, okay.” I clear my throat. “So, uh, how is the search for that other supernatural going?”
Parker tenses as he keeps his eyes straight ahead at the road. “We’re still trying to find him.”
Once again, I’m hit with that feeling in my gut that feels an awful lot like guilt.