“All right, Beast,” Jax said, taking a deep breath the next morning. “This time let’s try to get at least half of it to stay in your mouth.”

Breakfast wasn’t going as smoothly as the dinner had gone the night before. The little guy was covered in banana purée, and so was Jax.

“You have to eat this if you want to grow up and be a strong fireman like your uncle Jax,” he said, scooping another spoonful of the yellow mush. “Catch the airplane.”

Jax made some engine noises as he waved the spoon in the air like an airplane on the way to the kid’s mouth. Beast opened up and then turned his head at the last second letting the pretend airplane crash into his chubby cheek.

“All right,” Jax said, letting out a frustrated breath. “Not a fan of disgusting puréed bananas. Can’t say I blame you.”

He made the rookie mistake of leaving the bowl on the table in front of Beast and walked back to the counter to try his luck with some puréed apples instead.

Beast swung his beastly little arm and knocked the bowl off the table and onto the floor, smiling proudly at the mess he’d made.

“No!” Jax shouted in surprise when he turned and saw the mess. It was all over the tiles, up the wall, coating the chairs—pretty much everywhere but inside the upside down bowl.

The shout startled Beast and his tiny chin started quivering as he stared at the lion shifter with frightened eyes.

“No, don’t cry,” Jax said in a panic as he rushed over. “You’re not in trouble little dude. I was just surprised.”

When he rushed over to console the baby, he slipped on the food and swung his arms up as he nearly fell on the floor. Beast turned from tears to laughs as he watched his new friend regain his balance.

“Oh, that’s funny, huh?” Jax said, chuckling as he watched the kid laughing. “Want me to do it again?”

He threw his arms up in the air again as he pretended to slip on the floor for a second time. Beast laughed even harder, watching with wide blue eyes and a big open mouth. Jax did it again and again, exaggerating the fall even more until he was lying in the cold food and Beast was laughing hysterically.

Jax couldn’t help but laugh too. The baby’s high-pitched laugh was contagious and always got him going.

Without thinking, he grabbed a handful of banana purée and spread it on his face, chuckling as Beast’s wide eyes got even wider as he let out a deep baby belly laugh.

“If the guys could see me now,” he whispered to himself as he made funny faces at the hysterical baby. “I would lose all of my tough guy street cred. You won’t tell, will you Beast?”

Jax couldn’t believe that he was actually enjoying having the kid around. I thought I hated kids?

He still did. But Beast was okay.

After he cleaned up the mess that Beast made, and freed him from the chair by removing the duct tape that was holding him up, he took him outside to get cleaned up. He filled two buckets with soap and water. One for the fire truck, and one for the kid.

Beast laughed and splashed around when Jax placed him in the bucket. It was the perfect fit and held the little boy up in a sitting position. But Jax still kept a close eye on him as he washed the truck, enjoying having the company.

“I like you because you don’t talk,” Jax said as he scrubbed the dead flies off the bumper. “Don’t ever change, Beast.”

When he was done cleaning the truck, Jax took the baby out of the water and carefully dried him off. He was putting a diaper on the kid when he saw a woman that he had never seen before watching him from down the street. She caught Jax’s eye immediately with her jet black hair and bright blue eyes. She looked worried as she watched, hovering near the corner of a building.

Wait a minute…

She was wringing her hands together, looking distressed as she kept her eyes locked on the boy lying on the hood of the fire truck. When she caught Jax’s eye, she quickly disappeared behind the building.

“Hey!” Jax called out, feeling his heart beat a little faster.

She didn’t return so he scooped up Beast and ran down the street to catch her. His pulse was racing as he turned the corner that she had disappeared behind and let out a sigh as he saw an old blue car driving away.

“Do you know her?” Jax whispered to the naked boy in his arms. “Is that who I think it is?”

He let out a sigh as he returned to the firehouse, wondering if he had just seen Beast’s mom.

* * *

Jax picked up Beast after his nap and sat down in front of the television. A talk show was on, showing some clips of children playing. Normally, Jax would have quickly turned off the TV to get away from the images of the kids, but for some reason, he didn’t mind it as much today.

“Is your child watching too much TV?” the female host said as the clips turned from happy children playing outside to obese children parked in front of television sets. “A new study states that American children ages two to five are watching on average more than thirty-two hours of television every week!”

Jax cringed as he glanced down at Beast whose eyes were focused on the TV.

“Obesity, high blood pressure, anxiety, and depression are just some of the effects that television can have on your children.”

“Oh, crap,” Jax said in a panic as he quickly grabbed the remote and shut off the TV. “Let’s do something else.”

Beast just stared at him.

“Want to go for a walk?”

Beast just stared at him.

“We’re going for a walk.”

It was a sunny day with a nice breeze and Jax breathed in the fresh mountain air as they walked to the park. He didn’t have a stroller so he just tossed a blanket into the wheelbarrow and put Beast in that.

“See, I’m not just a pretty face,” Jax said proudly to Beast as he carried him down the sidewalk. “I’m also a genius.”

They arrived at the park and Jax took the chubby guy in his arms and walked around, wondering what they could do. “Want to try the slide?”

He placed Beast at the top of the high slide and gave him a pep talk. “Okay,” he said as Beast tried to stick his whole fist into his mouth. “Just land on your feet and you’ll be fine.”

Beast chuckled as the breeze hit his face, taking a thin strand of his adorable blonde hair up for a ride.

“Ready?” Jax asked. “Three, two, one…”

He released the baby and Beast shot down it like a rocket, sailing into the air as he flew off the bottom of the slide.

“Shit!” Jax shouted as the baby went airborne.

Without a second of hesitation, he lunged forward and dove after him, catching him like a football before he hit the ground. Jax landed on his chest with an ‘oomph’ but the baby was okay. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it.

“I don’t think we’ll do that one again,” Jax muttered as he got up with his heart pounding. That had been a little too close.

“Maybe the swings?” He looked over at the swings, contemplated it for half a second, and then shook his head. “How about we just sit on the grass for a while.”

They sat on the soft grass under a large maple tree, enjoying the shade and each other’s company. It was a beautiful park with a sweeping view of the Abrasoka mountains in front of them. Colwood really was a picturesque town and Jax couldn’t believe that he had never enjoyed the park before. It was nice with the sounds of excited children playing on the monkey bars and slides, with the soft murmur of the moms chatting with each other. A bike path wound through the trees on the side of the soccer field and Jax watched a couple slowly cycling down it.

His thoughts drifted to the beautiful woman he had seen earlier. He wanted to know more about her. Her name. What she was like. What had driven her to let go of a kid as amazing as Beast if she was indeed his mother?

He was thinking of her so much that he hadn’t noticed Beast sitting up on his own for the first time.

“Look at you!” he exclaimed with a big smile on his face. “All by yourself!”

Beast was too busy staring at his fingers to respond. “You’re sitting up straight!” Jax said proudly.

The two women who were chatting on the bench stopped talking as they watched him with smiles on their faces.

“Look at my man!” Jax shouted to them. “Sitting like a boss!”

The women laughed as Jax turned and waved to get a grandmother’s attention. He was so proud that he wanted to show everybody. “Look at him,” he said to the elderly lady as she walked over. “He’s sitting up all by himself! I taught him that! Well, not really, but…”

“I think he needs some help,” the woman said as she slowly walked over.

Jax whipped his head back and gulped when he saw Beast folded over with his face in the grass. “Oops!” Jax said as he reached forward to help him, but Beast was a beast and didn’t need any help. He rolled over onto his back and giggled as he looked up at the tree branches that were swaying in the breeze.

“He’s still practicing,” Jax said with a chuckle as the elderly woman admired the kid. “He’ll get it eventually.”

“You make a wonderful father,” she said, smiling warmly at him. “It’s nice to see.”

“Huh?” Jax said, shaking his head in confusion. He thought that she was being sarcastic until he saw the warmth in her smile. “Oh… thanks.”

Me? A good father?

“What’s his name?” the woman asked.

Jax huffed out his chest proudly. “Beast.”

The woman laughed. “You’re a riot,” she said before gushing at the baby boy. “Enjoy your afternoon.”

Jax’s head was swirling with new thoughts as she shuffled away toward her granddaughter who was playing in the sand. I make a great dad?

Jax had never thought that he would ever become a father, but for the first time, he could see it as a possibility.

“Wait a second?” he gasped as he stared at Beast’s chubby face. “Do I like kids now?”

He looked around the park in shock and didn’t feel the revulsion and disgust that he normally felt when he saw children playing.

“What have you done to me?” he whispered to Beast. “You broke me. Damn you.”

But even he had to admit that this new kid-friendly Jax was better than the old one. It felt nice to be attached to someone other than himself.

He thought about Monday and what would happen when the lady from child services came to pick him up and was surprised to feel a sadness seeping into him. He really didn’t want his time with the little guy to end.

“You definitely broke me, Beast,” Jax said as he picked him up. “Not cool.”

Beast fell asleep in Jax’s big arms as they walked home. It was uncomfortable dragging the wheelbarrow behind him, but as long as Beast was comfortable, he didn’t mind.

When he turned on his street he caught a glimpse of the blue car from earlier parked down one of the alleyways. He gasped, holding his breath as he looked around for the girl.

His chest fluttered when he saw her standing behind a mailbox, spying on the firehouse that was down the street. She was rocking back and forth, her restless fingers grabbing at the bottom of her shirt as she looked around with quick jerky movements.

It was Beast’s mother all right. He could tell by the anguish and pain radiating off her. And who else would be spying on the firehouse on a Saturday afternoon? It had to be her.

He clutched the sleeping baby to his chest a little tighter as he cautiously approached, not making a sound.

“Looking for something?” he asked when he was right behind her.

She spun around with a gasp, locking eyes with him as she stared in shock. She was absolutely stunning but looked like a mess. She was sweating and her eyes were red and bloodshot as she looked at him with a pained stare. Her hands began trembling as her eyes fell on the sleeping baby boy in Jax’s arms. Her chin quivered and Jax couldn’t help but notice that it had a sharp resemblance to the way Beast’s chin quivered whenever he was upset.

Her panicked eyes softened as she stared at the boy. She looked so tired. So beaten down and dispirited like her heart was permanently broken.

Jax had a strong urge to take her in his arms and protect her, but he fought it back, stepping away from her instead.

She had abandoned Beast with a stranger and was clearly a threat to the boy. And Jax wasn’t about to let any threat get close to the little guy who he had grown so attached to.

The woman raised her arm toward the baby, and then caught herself. Her sad eyes filled with tears when she seemed to realize what she was doing.

“Are you—”

She ran off before Jax could finish the sentence, sprinting past him in the direction of the blue car.

Not this time.

He clutched Beast to his chest and ran after her, arriving at the car as she started the engine. “You’re not going anywhere,” he said as he reached down and grabbed the bottom of the bumper, lifting the back of the car off the ground as she tried to speed away. The spinning tires hit nothing but air as Jax held the car in place with one hand and held Beast with the other.

“I just want to talk to you,” he called out to her. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

The tires slowed to a stop and Jax couldn’t help but feel sorry for her as he watched her head drop forward.

“I can’t,” she said through the open window. “He’ll smell him on me.”

“Who?” Jax asked but she didn’t answer.

His chest tightened as the car door opened and she stepped out. He lowered the car back to the ground before she could see him holding it up with only one hand.

Her terrified eyes were locked on the baby boy who was sleeping through it all. “I just wanted to see him.”

“You don’t have to go,” Jax said softly, wanting her to stay.

Her jaw tightened as she glanced back at the car uneasily. “I shouldn’t be here.”

“You’re his mother, aren’t you?” Jax asked, staring her down.

Her body tightened. “Yes.”

“And you left him at the firehouse?”

She lowered her head, looking like her heart was breaking. “Yes.”

“Why?”

Her eyes were brimming with pain and anguish as she looked at her boy as he slept in the crook of Jax’s arm. “I have to go.”

She darted into her car, but this time, Jax was ready. He shot forward like a bullet, blocking her way as she tried to get into the car.

“Hey,” he said as she stepped back. “Are you okay?”

The poor girl looked like she was fearing for her life.

“I just…”

She looked into his eyes and a force smashed into Jax like a knockout punch. He stood there frozen and transfixed on her face as the bricks and alleyway behind her faded away in a cloud of black, leaving only her radiant face and stunning body in full, glorious view.

A flood of heat and warmth and love filled every nerve and cell in his body as his inner lion bonded to the scared helpless girl in front of him.

When the darkness faded a moment later and she was left looking at him with a confused and frightened look on her face, it struck him.

Beast’s mom was his mate.