Chapter 17: The Lone Alpha

Chapter Fifteen. Davina.

What the hell? One minute I am dreaming about that almost kiss with this infuriating man, the next I find him outside at past midnight, asleep under the caravan, with nothing but a pillow and Max with him. The father of my son is a hot Greek god, who sends shivers over my body with one look, but he is weird as hell and utterly confusing.

“Max, go to bed right now. I will talk to you in a moment”, I tell him. I cannot contain the anger in my voice. I mean anything could have happened to him. He cannot get away with going out onto a field full of strangers in the middle of the night. I watch. as my son walks back into the caravan, his shoulders slumped forward. He looks so forlorn I already feel my anger starting to disappear. However, he needs to learn that he cannot do this, so I haven’t run after him and hugged him, yet.

However, I want an explanation of what the hell just happened from his father. Was he trying to take my son away from me? Was this some plan he had made with Max so that he could kidnap him? The calmness that I felt seeing Max’s upset face disappeared, and anger began to boil inside me again.

I stand with my hands on my hips, glaring at the man who has turned my life and that of my son upside down, as his eyes dip and he glances at my bust. Really? He wants to stare at my tits when I just found his weird ass camping out under my caravan in the middle of the fucking night! I mean what the hell?

I deliberately raise my eyebrows at him, then purposely look down, ready to clear my throat so he stops staring at my tits.

Shite. I forgot I only had a white vest top on and a pair of PJ shorts, and as always, my body decided to react to his presence, and my nipples are pointing at him. I best cross my arms over my chest to cover them, which elicits a soft groan from the infuriating idiot.

“You have exactly two minutes to come up with an explanation before I call the site security and have you removed and sacked!” I threatened him. Do I mean that threat? Honestly, I wish I did, but he looks up at me and although my son has my eyes, the expression behind them is all his father. That lost puppy look, which instantly cools my anger.

Just like his bloody son. Damn him!

“OI FUCKING SHUT UP! SOME OF US ARE TYRING TO SLEEP!” a male voice bellows from next door.

Great, now I have pissed off the neighbours. Just what I didn’t want to do, because honestly, the man is covered in tattoos, with gold knuckle dusters, wears only shorts with his belly hanging over, no hair on his head but a long beard on his face and swears constantly at his kids, and wife or girlfriend. Seriously he unnerves me.

“Look I will try, but I think I should come in before we upset the guys next door more than we have,” Mars tells me.

I know he is right, so I nod my head and stomp inside the caravan, waiting for Mars to follow me.

I watch as Mars walks in, and closes the door behind me, then turns around looking sheepishly at me.

“Well?” I demand, forgetting I was hiding my boobs and placing my hands on my hips again, only realising my mistake as Mars lets out another groan. Guess saggy post-breastfeeding tits do it for him because he is looking at them as if he wants to devour me.

“Eyes up,” I say getting annoyed again.

“Sorry, but they are winking at me. Maybe we should have this conversation after you get a dressing gown or something,” he tells me, his voice almost pleading with me to cover up.

Now, I can do that, and make it easier on both of us. But when I am annoyed, I may get a little petty, so I don’t. I just tilt my head at him and cover the girls with my arms again, giving him my best-perfected pissed-off mother look.

“One minute left!” I tell him, waiting for whatever he thinks is a reasonable explanation for his actions.

“Look, I know you have been doing an amazing job of looking after our son. You are a wonderful mother; any fool can see that. But I just wanted to be close, to protect you both if anything went wrong. Guests can get rowdy, there are sometimes fights in the lower fields. I just wanted to be on hand if anything should go wrong,” Mars sighs.

“I know it sounds crazy, but that is the God’s honest truth,” he continues.

“So, you thought sleeping under the van was the way to go about that? How did that work out? Our son came out of the caravan in the middle of the damned night. Anything could have happened to him!” I try to say as quietly as I can, but my voice rises louder than I intended at the thought of Max heading out on his own. Anything could have happened.

“I know. Look, I must have woken him up. I sometimes get nightmares. He looked concerned when he shook me awake. I am sorry,” he tells me, his eyes looking at his feet.

I want to ask why he gets nightmares, but then I remember that is not my concern, and I need to focus on Max’s safety.

The door from Max’s room opens slightly and he pops his tear-stained face around it, looking at us.

“Please don’t send Daddy away. It was not his fault. Thrax said Daddy was upset and we needed to find him. He woke me up. Please don’t blame Daddy. I will go in time out in the morning, and not go to the archery, for punishment. You can even have all the ice cream mammy, but don’t send him away,” Max sobs.

Okay, so that just made me feel like a piece of shit!

“Baby boy, come here,” I tell him, and he walks over his head looking at the floor, much like his father, and I scoop him into my arms, and settle him onto my lap.

“Max, you must know that it is dangerous to go out in the middle of the night. No matter what you hear. You should have come to me, and I would go out and make sure everything was okay son,” I gently tell him, needing my boy to understand that he cannot do this ever again.

“I am sorry. But Thrax loves you and Daddy, and he just wants to protect you, like you do us,” Max tells me.

Bless my son’s heart. Clearly, he feels responsible for me in his own little way. That is not how things should be. No. He should be carefree, happy, wanting to play, but he has always clung to me. I need to do a better job of making him feel safe.

“Please can I still see Daddy?” Max asks again.

I let out a heavy breath. I cannot refuse that request, no matter how tempting it would be to say to Mars to get out and leave us alone, given all the confusing thoughts and things that are going on right now.

“I won’t. But your daddy needs to know his boundaries. Now, lets get you to bed you have a busy day tomorrow, and it is very late,” I smile at my boy, then pick him up in my arms to take him back to bed.

“Davina, could you give me two seconds with him, I have something I feel I need to say,” Mars asks.

I let out a long-lamented sigh and nod my head. Max wants his father and to be reassured he will not be taken away from him again, I am doing this for my son. it has nothing to do with this confusing and annoying pull I feel toward him.

Absolutely. Nothing.

Oh, who am I kidding, it is a mixture of both.

Mars looks at Max and smiles. Then I swear his eyes turn silvery again as he looks at him.

“Max, you and Thrax have done an excellent job of protecting Mammy. But Daddy is here now, and you do not need to worry. I will always be near to protect you whilst you are here, so you can rest easy son,” Mars tells him, his eyes now returning to their forest green colour.

What the hell?

“Say good night to your Daddy Max,”

“Night, night, Daddy,” Max says, then yawns as I place him back into his bedroom, and into bed.

I walk back into the living area and see Mars standing near the door.

“Look, you need some boundaries. You cannot come sleeping under my caravan,” I sigh.

“Davina, I will not lie to you. I will be sleeping under there until you leave to go home. I have to protect you. Our son needs me to protect you and him right now,” he tells me. I can see the determination in his eyes and recognise a losing battle when I see one.

“Were you under there last night?” I asked.

Mars nods his head at me, and I roll my lips together, shaking my head slightly, and looking off to the side as I think about what to do.

“You are not sleeping under the van. If Max wakes up and wants you, it is dangerous for him to go outside in the middle of the night. Look, there is another small room, or that sofa pulls out into a small double bed. Grab your pillow, I will get the spare bedding. If you insist on this protection mission you seem to be on, then you can sleep here,” I yield, knowing that I want Max to have at least a week of being like every other child and to feel safe and carefree. My being a single mother is affecting him. I am wondering if that is what this imaginary dog thing is about, a way for him to feel safer.

That is the only reason I am allowing this. The. Only. Reason!

“Thank you. For what it is worth, I am sorry,” Mars tells me.

“Yeah, well it was pretty stupid of you to sleep on bloody gravel under a caravan!” I say shaking my head at him, still a little shocked and weird by him doing that. But I cannot deny that a part of me likes it. God knows why.

“Not just for that. But for the way I behaved the night we made Max. I have a reason, honestly, I do. We need to talk properly but right now you need some sleep. Thank you again, for everything. For being an amazing mother to our son, for holding everything together, and for understanding and letting me stay here,” Mars tells me.

“I wouldn’t say I understand, but anyway. The spare bedding is in the little room, take your pick of where you want to sleep, but given your height and build, I would suggest out here, that small room is minuscule, I doubt you will fit in there,” I tell him, then head off to my room, in a state of confusion and attraction that I need to get over.