His sweet request warmed my heart. “I promise.” Izzy hummed and scooted back towards me as much as possible before lying still and releasing a happy sigh. Within minutes, he was fast asleep in my arms.
Chapter Nine
Izzy ended up snoozing for about two hours. I didn’t sleep quite as long, but I was perfectly content with lying next to him and admiring my beautiful boy. When he finally awoke, I wasn’t a bit surprised to hear that he was hungry again.
But before I prepared him some dinner, we took a shower together and I scrubbed his body carefully, giving extra attention to his sore bottom.
Once we were clean, I combed his hair thoroughly and gently, being careful not to pull too hard or catch his ear. I dressed him in zip up purple fleece jammies printed with yellow stars. It wasn't time for bed yet, but he just looked so damn adorable in them. Plus, he was warm, cozy and happy.
"What sounds good for dinner tonight?" I asked Izzy as I helped him up onto the kitchen counter.
"Hmm…" He opened each cabinet and looked through all of the new food we bought. "Mac and cheese, please," he answered with a smile. "And can we have oatmeal raisin cookies for dessert?"
"Even though you just had ice cream earlier?" I asked with a chuckle.
"But Daddy, these have raisins in them; they're much healthier for me."
I snorted a laugh but couldn't argue with his sneaky logic. "Okay, little one, we can have the cookies."
"Thank you Daddy!"
"If you eat some peas with your macaroni," I added after some thought.
"Deal."
I popped a kiss to his lips and helped him off of the counter. "Why don't you go spread out your blanket in the playroom and we can have another picnic?" He enjoyed our first one so much, and after our roller coaster day, I wanted to treat him.
"Yes!" Izzy punched the air and hustled towards the playroom as I chuckled at his excitement.
I pulled a pot from the cabinet and filled it with water. Just as I placed it on the stovetop, a knock sounded on my door.
"Good evening," I greeted Jett when I opened the door to find him on the other side. "You didn't bring my boy another tower of ice cream, did you?" I teased, but my friend didn't laugh. Instead, his expression was…worried. "What's wrong?"
"There's been an incident downtown. A fire was set in a building close to the library, and shifters were seen in the area. I know you asked not to be disturbed during your time with Izzy, but I thought you'd want to be informed. Soren and Remus left just a few moments ago to check out the scene."
Shit. I hated to leave Izzy, but I didn't want my men to go alone, either. Plus, I worried this attack could be retribution for what I'd done earlier; payback for killing one of their kind. The fire in one building could just be the beginning; what if they wanted to burn down the whole town? They had to be stopped.
"I need to go. Will you stay with Izzy for a while? I need to make sure he's safe, and you're the only person I trust." And Jett was the only one I imagined that Izzy would be comfortable staying with.
"It would be an honor."
I gripped his shoulder in thanks and hooked in my earpiece and mic before calling Izzy out into the living room. He gave a big smile and wave when he saw Jett in the doorway.
"Izzy, Daddy has to go into town to take care of some coven work. It might take a while and it will be very boring, so Jett has offered to stay and play with you while I'm gone." I hated to lie to him, but I didn't want him to worry. The last time he was concerned for my safety, he followed me into trouble and risked his life. I couldn't allow that to happen again. "What's wrong?" I asked when Izzy's face drooped.
"I'll miss you, Daddy."
"I'll miss you too, but I bet you'll have so much fun with Jett that you barely notice I'm gone." He gave me a tiny smile and I kissed the tip of his nose. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Be safe," Jett whispered, and I gave him a nod before heading into the hallway. I heard my friend ask Izzy, “So, what would you like to play?”
“Daddy and I were getting ready to have a dinner picnic.”
“Well, I got here just in time; that sounds like fun.”
“It is! He was making mac and cheese; can you cook that?”
“You’re in luck, buddy; I make killer mac and cheese.”
“Yummy! Daddy said I had to eat peas too if I want cookies.”
I smiled at my sweet boy’s words as I lifted the window at the end of the hall and stepped out onto the ledge. I didn’t have time for elevators or stairs; I needed to get to the blaze as quickly as possible to hopefully catch the shifters before they caused any more damage.
Once I was on the overhang high above the city, I breathed in deeply through my nose and caught the faint scent of smoke in the air. When I focused my eyes, I saw a gray cloud billowing on the other side of town.
I leapt from building to building, racing across rooftops and scaling down walls. When I neared the library, I saw Remus and Soren in the distance ahead of me. I pushed harder to close the gap between us, and we dropped to the ground together.
The building that was burning was an abandoned storefront, whose structure had been deteriorating for years and was unsafe for business. It was an odd choice for an attack, as it probably helped the city clear the space for something new. Nevertheless, I knew this could be only the beginning, and we needed to search for the culprits. Firefighters were already on the scene and nearly had the deserted building extinguished, so I turned to my team.
“Remus, you search the streets in the north and east; Soren, you take south and west. I’ll search nearby buildings; it wouldn’t surprise me a bit for these fuckers to be hanging around to watch their handiwork.”
“Yes, sir.”
The two of them sprinted off in different directions, and I went to work searching the rooftops and alleyways of the surrounding area. I explored the buildings nearby that had the best vantage point, but I found no sign of shifters.
“Report in,” I requested into my microphone.
“I’ve found nothing,” Remus’ voice responded.
“Same here,” Soren agreed. “Everything’s clear. Why the hell would they light up a decrepit old building and bolt? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Just to be assholes?” Remus suggested, but it didn’t feel right. We had to be missing something.
Fear gripped my heart when realization dawned on me. My blood ran cold and my breath was sucked from my lungs. “Because they didn’t give a shit about the fire,” I struggled to whisper. This was a ruse to draw me and my security away from the building; to clear their path to my mate. This was payback for taking the life of one of their own, and they were hitting me where it hurt most.
Izzy’s human body was weaker and easier to harm. If they could take him out, they’d destroy me too. The shifter that ran away earlier had seen both of our faces, so our identities were clear...and he had Izzy’s shoe to track his scent.
“We must get back to the coven house,” I demanded. “Israel’s in trouble.”
I darted back along the path I took before, moving so quickly that I was just a blur and a gust of wind. My lungs burned and my legs ached, but I pushed myself to be faster than ever before. My need to protect Izzy drove my feet forward.