I will be back

Miliano’s POV

I’m so nervous about going to Aleida’s territory. It isn’t ubiquitous for one alpha to invite another, mostly not everyone in the whole area. Nevertheless, we receive an invitation; the difference is that my brother and I get our personally delivered by her call. I think Henry is joking when he says that she’s waiting on the phone for us. Given that we don’t even know how she is, considering we barely saw her at the gala, of course, it’s a joyful surprise nevertheless. Aleida doesn’t convey any emotion during the conversation; she sounds like a cold alpha, such as Kian and I did in our lives before we found our excellent mate. She tells us that she needs our help, and none of us hesitate whether or not we’ll be there. If our mate needs us, we’re there. It doesn’t matter that she rejected us. After we talked to the elders, we understood that Aleida did all this to protect us as her pack. It belongs to her destiny to keep us all safe, and at that moment, we ignored her appeal to take the threat seriously, resulting in us betraying her. We’re responsible for the cold person she is now; we’re the reason she feels pain after leaving us. We did that, and no one else; we compromise her entire future, and she could’ve died. Those words make me and Kian understand; understand that it isn’t just one of us responsible, but both carry an equal share. That’s why we had to sit down and talk about everything. None of us was particularly good or comfortable with talking emotions, but at that moment, we needed each other. Now we’re in the car with our betas and Jason. Aleida hasn’t said anything about how many we’re allowed to take with us. However, I don’t think she’ll mind that we take our betas and her big brother with us. Although the nervousness is moving around in me, I’m also thrilled that I’ll get to see her again. My mate, my love, my luna, and my future wife... There’s nothing I won’t do for her. The question is whether she still remembers it or whether she constricted everything about us, hoping that it’ll ease the pain that probably cut in her every day since she left. None of us know what happened after she disappeared, and I have no plans to ask. However, I’m very interested in learning the truth. Curiosity killed the cat, after all. I know Aleida well, and she’ll tell us everything in due course when it feels right for her. That’s something that I and everyone else have to respect, even though we’re dying to know.

“What do you think happened to her?” Kian asks.

At this moment, it feels like we’re sharing a mind making me sigh in response because I don’t even want to think about what that nutjob has done to our beautiful mate.

“I don’t know. But I have a feeling that Aleida is pretty fucked up now. Did you hear her on the phone? That’s not our Aleida anymore. This person is cold and doesn’t trust anyone. It sounded like she was worse before either one of us had found her,” I answer, feeling sad for my mate.

“Yeah, I thought that too. What do you suggest we do?” Kian asks.

“There’s not much we can do. I mean, you heard our mate loud and clear; she’s the ultimate alpha. Everyone in town has heard of her pack. They have the best and strongest warriors in the city. And that’s because she trained them herself,” I answer.

“Then why does she need help? Why now?” Kian exclaims with slight frustration.

“I don’t know, brother. I don’t know,” I reply and begin to feel the same frustration.

The rest of the trip is quiet. Both me and Kian are in our own heads, thinking about what has happened and what our mate needs our help with.

When her gamma and beta walk in, my heart almost stops, and not because of fright for them. But because I’m about to see my angel again for more than a couple of minutes, as the alpha gala. I wonder if she has changed. We haven’t seen her for over six months without make-up, stress, and many warriors. I don’t have to wonder for long since she walks in with her head held high and a stony expression on her once smiling face. Dear goddess isn’t she beautiful. When she sits down, she ignores us completely, her poker face on fleek.

“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 but gets interrupted by that fucking prick, Peter.

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

Her beta, gamma, and all her guards standing by the walls growl at him. Hell, we all do. How dare he insult our queen?! Then her angel voice moves across the room with a strong force.

“I can speak for myself just fine,” she answers with authority, he immediately silences, and I can even hear him whimper, making me laugh inside my head; she’s a force to be reckoned with that one. “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.”

That hurts, like for real. Doesn’t Aleida see us, her friends, brothers, and mates as her family anymore?

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

“Because the rogues move towards our borders,” she answers.

What? Why hasn’t Aleida called us sooner? I didn’t understand that it’s this serious. No wonder nobody else has any rogue sightings if they all attack the Blood fangs.

“Yeah, that’s not very strange since your whole pack is full of them,” Fred snorts.

I laugh inside my head again; oh, dear little Fred. You have no idea what you just did, do you? She growls, and for the first time ever, she bares her canines at him. Hell, even I’m freaking out.

“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.”

Ouch. The queen card, you go, girl!

“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 pack, as all of you should know. We show no mercy. It’s the rabid and wild rogues that’s the problem,” Aleida explains.

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

She sighs and walks towards the meeting doors. It looks like she exchanges something, and we all look confused. She walks back to her seat with two pups in her arms. Is that-.

“Because of my sons,” she answers and gives us all a stern look.

“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, and even I’m impressed.

“Yes,” Aleida answers, sighing.

Everyone begins to talk with each other. It’s not easy to control a pack, and Aleida has two boys plus a company to take care of. She does this all on her own when all it takes is one phone call, and we would be here.

“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,” Aleida says and slams the wooden hammer on the table.

Everyone walks out. Well, not everyone-me, Kian, Henry, Killian, Jason, and Nathan stay. One of the boys, who looks precisely like Kian, begins to cry. She bounces him lightly like a pro.

“Shh, it’s okay, baby. You’re going to be fine; mommy is here,” she coos and ignores us altogether; it’s evident that she’s terrified to meet our eyes.

“Yo-you kept them and took care of them,” I say with a grateful feeling in my chest, her eyes meet mine, and they’re full of longing, pain, and love for us all.

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

She walks up to Kian and puts one of the boys in his arms. Then she does the same to me; this little boy in my arms looks exactly like me.

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

“Yeah, I’m pissed at that,” she snorts but looks amused.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I ask her seriously.

“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,” Aleida answers truthfully.

“What about these then?” I ask, pointing at our pups.

“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,” she points at us. “Or keep my boys alive. For me, the choice was obvious and simple. I would die for them.”

Oh, goddess, I love this woman.

“Thank you,” Kian says.

I think this is one of the few times I’ve seen him cry. And talking about crying, the little pup in my arms begins to cry. What the hell do I do!? But I don’t have to think about that since Aleida takes him from my arms. She bounces him, and he falls asleep again.

“How did you do that?” I ask, astonished at how fast she calms him down.

“I’ve carried these two monsters inside me and taken care of them for months. I know who likes what and what they need,” Aleida answers with a smile and puts him back in my arms.

“My son,” Kian says and looks at his boy with such love; that’s when he says something that makes my heart beat faster.

“Mama,” he says, and Aleida rises from her chair to take him from Kian.

“Oh baby, I’m so proud of you,” she says with happiness; she is an incredible woman and a fantastic mother.

“Mama,” he says again, and she smiled big at her pup.

“That’s right, baby, I’m your momma. I love you so much,” she sniffles.

I’ve never heard her sniffle from something that makes her happy before. But it’s clear how happy that little man makes her; she even nuzzles his neck. A knock on the door makes her pick up the boy in my arms and walk towards the intruder.

“Two hours, max,” she says with a stern face, making the omega nod her head before slipping out of the room with our sons; huh, our sons!

“Two hours?” Kian asks, and she turns to him.

“If they sleep for longer, then I’m not going to rest tonight,” she answers; he walks up to her and hugs her close.

“Thank you for giving birth to the most beautiful thing in the whole world. Thank you for everything,” Kian says; Aleida hugs him awkwardly; she isn’t comfortable right now. “I’m so sorry I didn’t listen. So sorry.”

That’s it; I need to touch her also. I put my arms around her, and then she relaxes. She needs us both, even if she probably won’t admit it. We stand there together, and it feels incredible to have her in my arms again. The mother of my child has kept him protected when I couldn’t. We break apart when Nathan clears his throat.

“Can someone tell me why I didn’t get to hold my nephews?” he asks, resulting in Aleida laughing before hugging him just as close as she did with Kian and me.

Jason joins them, and it almost makes me cry to see her feel safe with her brothers. The only thing that moves inside my head is that I need to protect my pups and her. I also need to put more puppies in her; we aren’t nearly close to being done!