My Other Half| BoyxBoy

Chapter 24 - Parenthood

Collin-------->

Chapter 24

~Parenthood~

I watch as Collin's chest falls and rises at a steady pace, his small little lips puckered. Every once in a while, he'll make suckling motions as if he's feeding.

This little boy means more to me than I can fathom. The adoration and growing love are rapid and almost too much for me to handle. I've known him for only a couple of hours, but the obsession I have for him already is astounding.

The obsession is different than it is with my mate. While both are forms of possessions, the types of love are different. With Collin, I want to watch over and protect him— guide him through life and love him with my whole being.

Archer is my life partner. We rely on each completely. There's a sense of equality in our relationship. Where I give as much love and protection to him, as he does to me. There's this whole new type of protection I have for Collin. It's completely different. And while, obviously, the structure of our relationships is different, it goes deeper than that.

Two knocks echo through the quiet room and I tense. Instinctually, I pull Collin closer to me. He stirs slightly, which makes me want to rip the person's head off for daring to wake him. The door opens slowly before Mike peeks his head in. I glare as he walks over to the bed and sits by my feet.

"Axel," He whispers, placing his hand on my knee tenderly.

"I'm not letting anyone take him," I grit out and he sighs while shaking his head. "I'm serious, Mike. No one is taking him. He's mine," I growl lowly. Mike glances back and forth between the two of us. When he reaches out to touch Collin, a literal growl forms in my chest, as I smack Mike's hand away. His eyes widen as he inspects mine.

"Oh dear." He swallows thickly. "Oh honey, you imprinted him." My eyebrows scrunch together, and he leans forward to place his hand over his mouth. It stays silent for a long while, but I refuse to break it. Mike's eyes dance around the floor aimlessly as he appears to be in deep thought.

Collin starts whining and pulls us out of our zoned-out state. I pick him up immediately, cradling him to my chest as I begin to rock him back and forth.

"Imprinting on a child is not uncommon as a werewolf," Mike begins slowly, making me glance up at him. "Usually it's inside of a pack though. For example, Jonah. His parents passed away when he was quite young. Jenny imprinted on Jonah. It's an emotional bond. Very similar to mates. But where that's a romantic bond, this one is parental."

"I-I didn't do it on purpose," I say quietly and Mike chuckles.

"I know you didn't. You don't really have control over it. The fates choose our destiny, Axel." I finally look up to meet his gaze, my bottom lip threatening to tremble as tears well up in my eyes.

The sudden wave of emotion isn't intentional and defiantly without cause.

"Oh sweetie." Mike pulls me into a tight hug, but he's thankfully careful not to crush Collin. "It's okay."

"You can't take him from me," I cry and he shushes me, as he nods against my shoulder.

"Once you imprint there's nothing we can do. Your wolf will rip heads off before anyone can so much as try to take him away." I pull away quickly, my eyes widening.