I will be back

Aleida’s POV

I can’t stop pacing back and forth in my office. My mates are on their way here and will arrive shortly. When I called them yesterday, I had decided to tell them about the puppies, but after a night’s sleep, I’m no longer sure if it’s the right time to do so. It’s still uncertain what the future will look like, and I don’t want to contribute to my mates’ concerns. So far, I manage to cope with the situation, and although it hurts when another loved one dies, I have no choice but to move on. Clare doesn’t want me to walk around mourning her; she wants me to stand more vigorous than ever; I know it-prepared to fight for what I believe is right. I walk out of the office and down the stairs. In the kitchen, omegas are in full swing by cooking the food for our guests.

“How’s it going in here?” I ask.

“Alpha,” they all say in acknowledgment and bow their heads in respect.

“It’s going great here. There’s no reason to worry,” one of the omegas answers with a big smile.

“There’s nothing I can help with?” I ask; she laughs quietly and slowly shakes her head.

“We have control here. The food will be ready on time.”

“Okay, thank you for your hard work,” I tell them with a smile, resulting in several smiles in return before they continue the cooking.

They begin gossiping about something that doesn’t interest me; I take that as a sign to leave. In the backyard, the preparations for the dinner are in full swing. Michael stands and barks out orders about where the outside furniture should be. When he sees me, he nods with a smile on his face before scolding a young warrior who puts the table in the wrong place. I laugh and shake my head before walking back into the packhouse. My feet carry me up the flight of stairs until I’m standing outside the rooms. The omegas are preparing the bedrooms where my mates and their associates will be sleeping. There are two large queen beds in all the rooms, and they all have new sheets. After checking the rooms, I proceed up another flight of stairs to check on my boys. Alexander babbles at me when I enter the room, and Elias is sleeping.

“Hey, my good boy, how are you?” I ask Alexander in a baby voice.

He giggles at me and grabs my hair. His big eyes stare into mine, and he smiles big. Damn, he’s so much like Kian.

“Are you hungry, honey?” I ask while pulling down my shirt and let him eat.

My eyes close, and I try to relax while having a quiet and rare moment with my son. I can’t get away without telling my mates about our sons because I’m so stupid that I said they could stay over if they wanted to. I’m an alpha; talking before thinking is dangerous and a rookie mistake. Alexander yawns, and I know that he got enough milk for now. I put him down in his crib, who is in my room; I can’t sleep unless I have them both in here with me at night. Elias yawns with the cutest little scrunch of his nose when I pick him up. He truly is a smaller version of Miliano and a natural food wreck, just like his daddy. Both of them are very similar to their fathers. That’s probably how I’ve managed to survive without them these couple of months.

“You’re so beautiful, my dear Elias,” I coo at him while he’s eating; I would do anything for them.

I’m in my office waiting for all the other alphas to arrive and move into the large meeting room on the first floor. Michael is coming to get me when it’s time, which is soon. Since it’s me who calls the meeting and am alpha over the others, it’s a tradition that I’ll walk in last. Right now, it doesn’t do me anything; I’m happy to oblige. My nerves are through the roof, and my heart is thumping hard in my chest. Since I left my old life behind, the anxiety that I’ve fought with is starting to creep inside me more often. No, I don’t have time for this shit! I can have an anxiety attack any other day, but not fucking today. Thank the goddess, that’s when I hear someone knocking on the door. I know it’s Michael; I can recognize his scent miles away. He doesn’t wait for my answer but sticks his head through the door and looks around the room until he finds me at the window.

“Is it time?” I ask.

He nods his head, and I walk towards the door. We march side by side through the hall. Right before we’re entering the room, he stops me and turns me toward him.

“You can do this, and you’re doing the right thing. We’re behind you in this, all of us. Luis and I are with you the whole time,” Michael says, and I nod my head just as Luis moves toward us.

Luis opens the room and walks in first, as my gamma, he’s walking in first with Michael, as my beta, behind him, and lastly, me. The cold alpha that I am walks through the door with my stern expression. Everyone’s there; even my brother sits at the table. He smiles at me, but I don’t smile back; I can’t show any emotions right now. Because if I do, I’m going to cry. I sit down in my alpha chair.

“Welcome, everyone, and thank you for coming. As you know, our alpha calls you here to ask for a certain protection for our pack,” Michael says.

“And why can’t she speak for herself? Is she that weak?” Peter asks with disgust.

That earns him growls from my beta, gamma, and the thirty-ish guards standing by the walls. I lift my hand, and they quiet down.

“I can speak for myself just fine,” I answer, using my alpha aura, which probably makes him regret calling me weak; I look around the room with my head held high. “I asked you here because I need your help as much as you need mine. You’re my people, and it’s my job to protect you. But I can’t do that if no one is here to protect my family.”

I see my brothers, old pack, and mates twitch at that. They probably think that I don’t see them as my family anymore, but on the other hand, they don’t know about the new family members we share.

“And pray tell, why would you need that? You have the strongest warriors and most growing pack in the whole city,” Clark points out.

“Because the rogues move towards our borders,” I answer.

“Yeah, that’s not very strange since your whole pack is full of them,” Fred snorts, resulting in me growling loudly at him and shows my canines; he instantly crawls in the chair and whimpers, pathetic.

“It’s one thing to insult me and my intelligence as alpha; go right ahead. It’s a different thing to challenge my authority as your fucking queen,” I say in a cold tone while everyone looks baffled at me; I never use my rank, but now I have no choice. “I’m not going to be ashamed to help these people get a new chance in life. It’s not the rogues that are the problem here; I can control my pack just fine. They all know what happens if you fuck up in this territory, as all of you should know; we show no mercy. It’s the rabid and wild rogues that’s the problem.”

“But as you said, you have control and are the queen. Why do you need help?” Paul asks.

I sigh and rise from my seat, wishing that I wouldn’t have to bring my pups into this, but now I have no choice. Their lives are in danger. I walk toward the door and pick up my boys from the arms of an omega before turning around slowly to show my puppies. I turned around slowly, showing my puppies.

“Because of my sons,” I answer coldly; Miliano and Kian look at me with big eyes.

“Do you mean that you’ve been taking care of one of the biggest packs in the city, expanding your company, and taken care of these boys this whole time on your own?” Clark asks with wide eyes.

“Yes,” I answer with a sigh while everyone begins to murmur. “I understand that this is a big decision. My suggestion is that everyone takes a breather in the backyard, eat something, and then we come back here to finish. Meeting adjourned.”

Everyone rises and walks out of the room, except my mates, their betas, and my brothers. Alexander begins to cry, and I lift him to my shoulder, bouncing him.

“Shh, it’s okay, baby. You’re going to be fine; mommy is here,” I coo, ignoring my small audience; not daring to look up.

“Yo-you kept them and took care of them,” Miliano says in a broken voice; finally, I look at him with tears in my eyes.

“How could I not? They are my puppies,” I ask.

I rise, walk up to them before placing Alexander in Kian’s arms and Elias in Miliano’s. They just stare at the miniature copies while I sit down again—Alexander giggles, and Elias yawns as usual, constantly tired, that one.

“They look just like us,” Kian says, smiling with tears.

“Yeah, I’m pissed at that,” I say with a snort; Miliano raises his head at me.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Miliano asks.

“Because it was too dangerous. When I called you, that was minutes before I ran through uncharted lands to get here with my pack. My pack is my priority,” I answer.

“And what about these then?” he asks, pointing at our puppies.

“They’re werewolf princes and heirs to this pack. Of course, they are my priority. But I had a choice to make. Make all of you my priority,” I say and point at all of them. “Or keep my boys alive. For me, the choice was obvious and simple. I would die for them.”

The silence in the room is suffocating. Alexander’s giggles are everything you can hear.

“Thank you,” Kian says with tears on his cheeks.

I just nod. Elias begins to cry, and Miliano looks terrified; I pick him up and bounce him lightly. He immediately relaxes and falls asleep.

“How did you do that?” Miliano asks.

“I’ve carried these two monsters inside me and taken care of them for months. I know who likes what and what they need,” I answer with a smile while giving Elias back to Miliano; Kian holds Alexander up while looking closely at him.

“My son,” he says, astonished.

Alexander smiles and puts his tiny fists in his face. I’m about to sit down when my son says his first words while looking at me.

“Mama.”

I look at him with big eyes. My tears fall freely while I pick him up from his dad. I know that puppies evolve very fast, like walking, talking, etcetera much quicker than human babies. But damn! Two months old and talks!

“Oh baby, I’m so proud of you,” I coo at him.

“Mama,” he says again.

“That’s right, baby, I’m your momma. I love you so much,” I sniffle at his neck, inhaling my son’s scent.

I pick up Elias also and nuzzle his neck. A knock at the door startles me. The omega from earlier opens the door, prepared to take my boys back to the bedroom.

“Two hours, max,” I tell her; she nods her head and walks out again.

“Two hours?” Miliano asks.

“If they sleep for longer, then I’m not going to rest tonight,” I answer.

Kian rises from his chair and walks up to me with determined steps. Before I can react, he holds me close in his arms.

“Thank you for giving birth to the most beautiful thing in the whole world. Thank you for everything,” Kian sniffles, I put my arms around him, and he actually begins crying. “I’m so sorry I didn’t listen. So sorry.”

Miliano walks up to us and puts his arms around me. We stand there for a couple of minutes before my big brother clears his throat.

“Can someone tell me why I didn’t get to hold my nephews?” Nathan asks.

I chuckle at him before hugging him close; Jason joins us as they make me feel whole again. My family is with me, and they don’t hate me at all.