In her mind, Carmen made herself as small as possible, bent low against the screaming pain, and began to build.
When twenty-nine minutes of tense prowling ticked over into a half hour, Alec gave up pacing the hallways and went in search of Luciano.
The ranch was a sprawling building, a mix of older construction and new additions. It was easy to spot the money in the quiet decorations, understated in a way that usually meant someone had taste — and social status. Old money, like his mother, who had turned her husband’s Texas ranch into the sort of place magazines fought to photograph.
Luciano’s home was different. Tasteful, sure, but lived in. Photographs of horses lined one of the hallways, some artistic black and white, some more casual. Following Luciano’s scent led him down another hallway, this one lined with more recent photos.
Kat grinned at him from one picture, an arm looped around her cousin’s neck and a Santa hat perched crookedly on her head. Derek’s smile was wide enough to split his face in two, and the next photo showed him and his wife, Nicole wrapped half around him, her brown eyes alive with joy. A third had Michelle and Nicole together in front of a Christmas tree, and even Michelle’s usual sadness seemed less piercing.
Family pictures. Little Nicole Peyton had made a family here in spite of all of the odds. She’d told the supernatural world and its endless rules about who she could and couldn’t marry to go fuck itself, and had picked the man she loved. Then she’d left.
For all his protestations, for all of his damn rationalizations, it was the one thing Alec had never done. He’d never just…walked away, not even when he’d married Heidi. He’d still played the political games. Tweaked the Conclave’s tail sometimes just because he could. Because someone had to.
Maybe it was time that someone wasn’t him.
The pictures ended at an open doorway, and through it he found Luciano sitting in a wide rocking chair beside a crackling fire, Michelle’s baby cradled in one arm.
A touching domestic scene, if you didn’t think too closely about the fact that the baby’s father had died, a senseless sacrifice to the Conclave’s rabid fear of Michelle.
Alec knocked on the doorframe. «Mind some company?»
«Nah, come in.» Luciano looked up, a measure of quiet sympathy on his face. «I got tired of pacing.»
In this case, solidarity didn’t make Alec feel much better. He dropped into an armchair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. «Worried about Michelle?»
«Unavoidable, I think, but she knows how far she can push herself.»
Michelle was young, but John Peyton would have secured his daughter the best tutors money could buy. Alec forced his thoughts away from all the things that could go wrong and focused on the baby. «How is he? No problems from him showing up early?»
Unmistakable pride and affection lit Luciano’s face. «He’s good. Better than we’d hoped, for being so early. AJ’s strong.»
The phone call when he’d heard about the birth came back to him. AJ. Aaron Junior. Alec didn’t know enough about babies to know if the infant took after his tiny mother or his hulking father. AJ looked small, but not fragile.
Strong, just like Luciano said. Just like both of the kid’s parents. «I’m glad. I heard him yelling this morning, all the way from the guesthouse. Demanding little fellow.»
«I’ve been trying to run interference. Let Michelle get a bit more rest.» The baby yawned, and Luciano stroked his cheek. «It’s hard for her to let someone else take care of him.»
«All things considered, not surprising. But she trusts you.»
«Yes.» After a moment, he looked up, contemplative. «Mahalia said Carmen’s family was responsible for the spell. Her uncle?»
«Her father, more likely.» Alec’s fingers curled toward his palm before he could stop them. «Her uncle’s playing a different game. Ready to make a move on that open Conclave seat.»
«Sometimes I think Derek should have taken it. He’s a good person, and he could have done good things.» He smiled ruefully. «Then I remind myself that he would have been miserable, him and Nick both.»
Derek had challenged a Conclave member for love and vengeance, not out of any desire for power. «He couldn’t have changed the world on his own. Rock the boat too bad, and you’ll get challenged out of your place eventually. Whole damn system’s built to keep the power where it is.»
«I used to believe that. Now I wonder if it’s only what we tell ourselves so we can sleep at night.»
Alec lifted one eyebrow. «You took yourself out of the running pretty spectacularly.»
«Yes, I did.» His eyes were shadowed in the firelight. «I married the Seer. Even if that ends, they’ll never trust me with any power now. And as much as I’d like to say I did it all for Michelle and AJ, I was selfish too. I knew exactly what I was doing.»
For the first time, Alec looked at Luciano — really looked at him — and didn’t see a kid. A man stared back at him, one who’d struck out on his own. Set his own path.
Of course, it made him feel old. He smiled anyway. «Honestly? I feel better knowing you’ve got a little selfish in you. Can’t really trust selfless people.»
«I’ll keep that in mind.» The baby fussed, and Luciano unwrapped the blanket around his upper body. «Cesar Mendoza will never land that seat on the Conclave, not unless he plays dirty. The bad part is that’s about as likely as the sun rising and setting.»
«All I care about is keeping Carmen safe from it. I can deal with the rest of it when the Southeast council gets done picking over each other’s bones.»
«The most they could hope for is to marry her off to someone, make an alliance. That’s not likely.»
He’d thought the same thing before he’d realized how far her father would go. «Let’s hope.»
Luciano tilted his head. «You think the spell was a bid for power?»
«I think I can’t think like someone who’d sacrifice everything and anything for power, so I can’t discount any possibility.»
He nodded slowly. «Makes sense. Either way, it’s a mess.»
«That it is.» Alec fell silent, watching as Luciano soothed the fussy baby. Soon enough, AJ’s protests quieted, and Alec leaned back in his chair. «You’re good with him.»
«He’s my son,» the other man said simply. «Maybe I’m not supposed to think of him that way, but I do.»
For once, Alec chose his words carefully. «I’d say the only one who should have any say in how you think of him is his mother. Screw the rest of the world.»
«Michelle says that a shapeshifter son needs a shapeshifter father.»
Because some things were instinct, but some had to be taught. Even to those who came into being shapeshifters as adults, like Derek. Like Andrew. «I think Michelle’s right. AJ’ll be better off than I ever was. Or you, for that matter.»
«I don’t think we have to be exactly like our kids,» Luciano argued. «Any more than we have to be exactly like our parents.»
Not a curse he’d wish on either of them. «Michelle’s no less that kid’s mother because she’s different from him. That doesn’t mean it won’t be easier on both of them to have someone around who knows what a shapeshifter boy goes through growing up.»
«I’ll be here.» A statement of fact more than anything else. Of intent.
Yep, Luciano was a man now. A man with a son, even if he wasn’t one he’d fathered. «Good for you. I mean it.»
A rustling from the hall drew their attention, and Mahalia walked in, moving slowly, and sank heavily into the rocking chair beside Luciano. «I’m getting too old for this.» She peered over at Alec. «Everything’s done. It worked.»