Page 34 of The Alpha's Son

“You … didn’t fall in love with a guy. You waited and you … I know what they say about you. How you’re boring and you live a boring life, but trust me, Darcy, you did the right thing. I love my kids. They are everything to me, but I can’t change the fact that this is hard. My son is upstairs hating himself, and it’s all because of his dad. He thinks he’s weak and that he’s a failure.”

There was a knock at the door and Kelly groaned.

“Would you like me to get it?” Darcy asked.

“Would you mind?”

“Of course not.” She got to her feet and went to the door, surprised to find Joe on the other side. “Joe?”

“I, ugh, I wanted to apologize to you and we really need to talk. I wouldn’t have interrupted your trip—”

Darcy took his hand. “You don’t need to apologize, but I do need you to do something for me.” She pulled him into the house.

“Darcy?”

She pressed a finger to his lips. “Kelly’s son went through his first transition last night and it was bad. His dad was supposed to come and help guide him but he didn’t turn up, and it looks like he won’t.”

“That’s shit.”

“You had a bad time. Could you go and talk to him?” she asked.

Joe looked toward the staircase. “This is kind of alpha territory.”

“You’re young,” Darcy said. “And you’ve been through it and you’re the alpha’s son. He needs this and so does Kelly.”

They heard her sobbing.

Joe looked toward the stairs and then to her. “I’ll do it, but you have to come with me.”

“Why?”

“I need you to be there,” he said.

Darcy looked toward the room where she had left Kelly. “Let’s go and see if she is okay with this.”

She walked into the room, feeling Joe at her back. He placed a palm flat to her back, and she felt the warmth from his hand. She told Kelly her plan, and the other woman looked so damn happy.

Kelly offered to make them a drink, and Darcy had no choice but to follow Joe upstairs to Andrew’s bedroom.

The man-boy was sitting on the bed, and it looked like he was holding a bowl.

“I thought you were my mom,” he said.

“Hey, man,” Joe said.

Andrew looked up, deathly pale, and his eyes were red-rimmed. He looked terrible. Worse than terrible, and Darcy felt so bad.

“Joe, I, ugh, yeah, man, I’m fine.” He groaned.

“Don’t lie, dude, it is not a good look on you.”

“I think anything would be a good look on me right now other than this shit.” Andrew groaned. “They don’t tell you about this, do they?”

Joe moved toward the bed and sat down. Darcy stayed at the door, watching. Joe put a hand on his back and Andrew winced. “Ah, yes, the pain, I remember it well. You think it will only be on the night of the full moon, don’t you, but then it seems to linger.”

Andrew sighed. “I thought my dad was going to … be here, but he’s busy with his other family. You know, the family he wants. He never told me the pain would get worse.”

“Only for the first time.”