Broken Halves

Chapter Forty-Four

POV: Dani

"Have you put any more thought into the conversation we had a few weeks ago?" Rowan asks me as we sit on the couch in one of the house's living rooms watching Faolan and her daughter Rosie play on the floor with some stackable blocks. I turn away from my friend and focus on bouncing the six month old on my lap.

Six months ago Rowan gave birth to a set of triplets, Raine, River, and Reed, all three boys. Quickly after the discovery that they were having triplets, Rowan and Axl moved out of the packhouse, opting to own a home in town that could house their soon to be family of seven. The house also happened to be closer to the diner which aided as that was now their place of employment. As co-owners, Axl cooked while Rowan and a select few worked as servers.

Their biological oldest, Rosie, is three months older than Faolan and just turned three a few days ago. Meaning, Rowan and Axl decided it was time for her to be sent to the Pack School. Rosie, like all of the other children between the ages of three and six, would be a part of a program that focused on teaching the children to get along with one another and meet their peers before their actual education starts at the age of six. As Faolan is quickly approaching this age, Rowan asked me last week if I was sending him to the program.

In all honesty, the thought terrifies me. Other than a few sleepovers with his grandfather, Quinton, and his best friend Rosie over at Rowan and Axl's house, Faolan has spent every moment of his life with either Jorden or I present. Yes I am fully aware that I have sheltered him much more than is acceptable in our community, but he's my baby, my only baby, and I struggle with the thought of having to let him go.

Faolan has his father's sense of adventure and I can see every day now as he grows older that he will become an exact replica of Cole. I know, if I would let him, Jorden would have already let Faolan interact with the pack and other pack children. Having no problems with leaving Faolan alone with only the entertainment from his imagination and other children, under the watchful eye of other adults that were not us; but I can't cope with it.

Faolan is all I have left of Cole, and I can't lose him like I lost his father. I know he is going to have to leave me someday as he has his own destiny before him, but the longer that I can prolong that departure, the better I am mentally. With that being said however, I am sure Jorden, who is typically very lenient on my wishes when it comes to Faolan as I am his actual parent, will without a doubt put his foot down if I try to persuade him that Faolan will not attend the Pack School's Nursery Program. I already know he will say good Alpha's aren't coddled, and we'd only be setting him up for failure. But damn it, neither he, Cole, nor I had good childhoods and as Faolan's mother it is my responsibility to make sure he enjoys his childhood.

Yes Cole was an amazing Alpha, but at what cost? He spent his summers learning how to sword fight and the rest of his time studying and learning strategy. He grew to despise the man who molded him into an Alpha as there was nothing except tension and cold feelings between grandfather and grandson. I don't want that for Faolan. But, I know eventually I will no longer be able to make that decision for him, as much as I hate to say it, he truly is the last hope for this pack; he needs to be an Alpha.

"He will attend the program after he turns three." I whisper dejectedly as I watch my son babble quietly with Rosie. Whereas she is just as jubilant and outgoing as Rowan, Faolan is quiet and more observed like both Cole and I. My little boy is so much like his father, the only difference being that he possesses my green eyes.

When I first noticed his change in eye color, I cried for an hour. Faolan has so much Cole in him, but his eyes were all mine. Seeing a little boy, a spitting image of my lover, but with my eyes, I was reminded, physically, that Faolan was the creation of Cole and I's love. Forever on, nobody would be able to look at him and only see one of us. Although he favors Cole in all other physical attributes, his eyes mirrored my own, a statement to the world that he came from the both of us; that he is our son.

"What color is this?" I ask Faolan later that night as we laid out on the floor of his bedroom. He was content to play with his animals, quietly mumbling to himself as he worked through a conversation between the tiger and the elephant, but I had other ideas in mind.

At almost three, Faolan is much more of a late bloomer than Rosie who could already sing the ABC's, count to ten, and name all colors of the rainbow. Although they are both potty trained, Faolan has only just begun to speak in small sentences; pairing together three to six words in order to voice his thoughts. Jorden and I had never even attempted running through numbers with him, but we have just recently began to teach colors.

Faolan looks over at me to see that I am pointing at his bedroom walls. Taking a moment to think, my little boy responds with the correct answer. "Geen mama." His words are still heavily influenced by his age, but Jorden and I have been able to decipher what Quinton calls Faolan speech perfectly. "Green correct." I smile as he returns to playing with his toys.

"What about this giraffe Faolan, what color is it?" I ask picking up the toy he discarded only minutes ago in favor of the elephant. If there was one subject that Faolan did excel at, it was animals. What we once thought was only a phase, has morphed into Faolan's passion. He is still obsessed with all animals and their sounds and can usually correctly identify the species every time we venture out to the zoo; which is still weekly.

"ellow." He mumbles, smiling his toothy grin. Before I can respond, another voice steals my thunder as Jorden enters the room and squats down right beside Faolan.

"Yellow, good job buddy. Knucks." Jorden extends his fist signaling that he wants a fist bump from Faolan. The toddler reciprocates the gesture before abandoning all animals to hug his father.

"Daddy! Where you go?" Faolan pouts as he pulls away from Jorden and stares up at him waiting for his response. Jorden sits down fully on the ground and ruffles Faolan's hair before responding. "I had to do some work little man. I was helping Denzell work out some new routines for pack training." Faolan's eyes light up at the mention of training and I know without a doubt that he will enjoy fighting, or at least sparring, just like Cole did.

"I fight!" He exclaims proudly while raising his little fists in a defensive stance that Quinton had taught him a few weeks ago. Jorden laughs before sitting up on his heels and raising his hands to act as targets. "You can fight with the pack when you're a bit older buddy, but you can train with me whenever you want." Faolan grins and begins to punch Jorden's hands like a boxer would if they were learning a new technique.

The ease between the two of them is familiar and it alerts me that today isn't the only time Jorden and Faolan have engaged in mock boxing practice. My eyebrows furrow in worry at the thought that my son is too young, but my attitude changes when I hear Faolan's giggles from Jorden's praise and playful taunts.

Taking a second to observe the just turned 27 year old, I can't help but smile at the genuine grin adorned upon his face. Jorden's eyes are ablaze with delight and I come to the conclusion that this interaction must be one Quinton did with Jorden when he was Faolan's age.

"I strong!" My little warrior yells out as he drops his fists allowing for Jorden to scoop him up into his arms and place kisses all over his face. "Yes you are Faolan, you're superman!" My son bursts out into a fit of giggles as Jorden holds him in a way to mock him flying. As he swoops our toddler up and down throughout the room, causing Faolan to laugh hysterically with joy, I can't help but smile in complete and utter bliss; I love my family.  

Question of the day: Who is the most famous person you have met? 

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