Four Months Later
Zander - Age 29
He was NOT happy to be doing this right then. He should be at home with Darcy, taking care of her, not flying to Buckeye Pack to work as a liaison. Zander hadn't taken a liaison job since Darcy had been born, and the only reason he'd agreed to this one was because it was close to home and he could be back there in a few hours. He didn't like it though.
The longer he'd been away from his pup, the more he'd felt like he'd made a huge mistake leaving her alone. What if she needed him? What if she forgot about him while he was gone? What if she started crying and didn't stop until he got back? How did other people do this? He felt like a huge asshole for leaving his daughter. His six month old pup. He was really hating it. His own mother had told him to go, that it would be good for him to spend time apart from her, and now he was pissed at her as well for encouraging him to leave.
Darcy had quickly become the love of his life. He adored her and would do absolutely anything for her and to ensure her safety. She was still small, even though she was six months old now. Dr. Ben, one of their pack doctors had done a full exam on her and said she was perfectly healthy; she was just on the small side because she'd been so premature. He said she would probably always be on the smaller side.
Zander had asked Malachi to induct her into the pack right away as well, and Malachi had agreed, performing a small private induction in his office. Zander hadn't liked it, because Darcy had cried, but he knew it was important. So now, she was most definitely immortal, though Zander still found himself worrying about her more often than not. He hadn't realized being a parent would be quite this stressful or mentally exhausting.
Darcy had been pretty fussy for her first few months. Zander had gotten little sleep as he'd spend several nights walking the floor with her. He partially wondered if she was missing her mother, though he had no idea about that. Charlotte had told him that Darcy probably thought that he was her mother because he was her main caregiver. She recognized his scent and was happiest when she was with him.
But Darcy had gotten out of her fussiness and was a pretty happy pup, which was sort of a relief, though he hated the fact that she was growing up. She was spoiled rotten, as everyone in his family helped to take care of her, and she was almost always being held. But Davina had become her favorite. Zander appreciated Davina so much. She seemed to just have the magic touch with his little girl.
Finding out about Davina had been a rather big shock to the family, though once they'd gotten over the shock factor, they'd all just went with it. Zander was the last one to judge, as he was in a somewhat similar situation, though at least he was the one raising Darcy. And then Davina had showed up, and now it was almost like she'd always been there. She just fit in. And she was most definitely a Beckham.
She had the same mannerisms as the rest of them. The only glaring difference was her British accent. Hers was much more pronounced than Dominic's was.
The fact that she reminded him so much of Zara made him feel like Davina was more of a sister than an aunt. But Zander and the entire family had been thrilled when she'd agreed to stay. Maybe his reasons were a bit selfish, but at the same time, he really liked Davina a lot. He enjoyed spending time chatting with her. He'd been a bit relieved that she was staying.
"Have you tried purring?" Davina had asked him one evening when he was trying to get Darcy to sleep. She was fussy though, and every time he sat down to rock her, she'd cry. Darcy had been a huge lesson in patience for him. Even Zoey had told him he had more patience than anyone she knew.
He was sure he'd looked like a deer in the headlights when Davina had said that to him. She was crazy to suggest something like that. He wasn't a ... oh yes, he was too. "What?"
"You. Purr. You're part panther. You can purr, you know," she reminded him, lifting a single finely arched brow at him.
Okay, she wasn't wrong, but he'd never done it before. And he felt weird doing it in Davina's presence. She might be family, but she was most definitely NOT his mate. It just felt rather intimate. "I'm not doing that with you in here," he told her.
She laughed at that. "Really?"
He rolled his eyes at her. "You're..."
"Beautiful? Amazing? The best aunt in the whole world?" she suggested with a smirk.
"Vain." He shook his head at her and rolled his eyes.
Davina stood, a smile on her lips. "I'll leave, but just let me know if it works."
"Thank you, Davina," Zander said softly. He really did appreciate her, and so did Darcy.
Once she was gone, he settled down in the rocking chair again, wondering how the hell he went about purring. 'Puma?' He wondered if this would actually work. If it did, Davina was a genius.
His cat began to purr, and he let himself relax. He wondered if Darcy could feel how tense he was. Probably. This single father thing was not what he'd thought was going to happen to him, but it was what it was, and as Darcy calmed and her large blue eyes fixated on him, he realized he wouldn't trade any of it for anything. He loved the tiny pup so much.
The purring made him relax too, which was kind of funny. Self-soothing, he supposed. But it had been what she'd needed and seemed to be the easiest way to calm her down, and he could see his cat, Puma, preening in his mind. 'You should have thought of this a month ago,' Zander told him.
His cat hissed in disgust while his wolf chortled, thinking it was hilarious. But Puma still helped. They both loved Darcy just as much as he did.
Zander sat staring out the window of the plane now, his mind back in Pennsylvania. He wanted to get this job done as quickly as possible and get home to his pup. His gaze moved over to his father, Dimitri, who had come along with him. Dimitri was sitting there quietly reading a book, though he looked up when he felt Zander's gaze on him. "You worried?"
He sighed. "How do you know?"
Dimitri smirked. "Because I'm a father, though I was never a single father. Not that I'm berating you for that, but I know it puts a lot of pressure on you. You're both Mom and Dad to Darcy. But you know you're doing a great job with her, Zander."
"You and Mom have been so much help," he said quietly. He wasn't sure what he would have done without them. They'd be so supportive.
"Zander, it's been mostly you. You've taken care of her much more than I thought you would. I half expected you to depend on your mom way more than you have been, but you're the one who gets up with her in the middle of the night and changes her diapers ninety percent of the time. You're the one who does almost everything for her," Dimitri told him.
Zander sat back quietly. He'd never even given it much thought, but he supposed his father was right. But Darcy was his, and he did everything he could for her. He wanted to. He was her father. "Will I ever stop worrying?"
"Nope." Dimitri closed his book. "Wait until she's old enough to start looking for her mate."
Zander scowled at him and Dimitri laughed. "She better be at least a hundred before she even thinks about boys."
Dimitri snorted. "Good luck with that. Believe it or not, I actually wish Zara would find her mate. She's lonely. I want you to as well, but you have Darcy. She keeps you occupied."
Zander gave him a half smile. "I'm too busy to focus on a woman right now."
"Until you find your mate, Zander," Dimitri said with a chuckle. "You'll find room in your heart for her too."
Zander just shook his head. He wasn't quite sure how he would balance his six month old daughter with a mate. He was basically doing everything in reverse, but oh well. It was what it was.
