Catarina’s Pov
“The truth?” Alex looked surprised. “Are you sure that’s what you want?” He stroked my hair affectionately and I nodded. It was for the best. They would find out eventually and I hated the idea of them growing up and hating me for not telling them their true heritage. “They need to know.” I sighed and wished it wasn’t so difficult.
“I will be with you every step of the way. I’m just so glad that we have each other now.” Alex told me and gave me a hug. I felt so good being in his arms, safe and protected.
“In fact, I want to announce you as my queen at the ball. I am so lucky to have you by my side that I want the world to know.” He grinned excitedly.
“Who will be coming?” I asked.
“Alphas and Luna’s from all over, my dearest.” He spoke.
“What if he’s there?”
I hated to hear myself ask those words, but I needed to be sure. I could not risk him finding me.
“Rest assured, he will not be attending. He has no invite. My men have already made sure of that.” He smirked and I felt relief wash over me.
“I hope you are right.” I spoke.
“He will be stupid to try anything. I am the king, and he will do well to remember that.” Alex scoffed causing me to feel a lot better already.
He was right. Lochlan would be stupid to challenge the king, he was an imbecile. I hated that I had ever loved him or been intimate with him. My twins were the only good thing to come from that part of my past. I had lost my family and my friends because of him. He was a complete waste of oxygen. Severing all ties with him after he cheated on me with my then best friend was something I just had to do. I couldn’t stay there after seeing and hearing that. It broke me and my wolf, Matilda. I’m so thankful that I have her back again. I thought that I had lost her for good. The mark where he had marked me was non-existent now. We were no longer tied together as one. He would probably have moved on and made Tara his Luna by now. It was difficult for me at first to avoid all contact with my friends and my family. He would have brainwashed them all into thinking that I had done wrong, that I had been the one to run away because I had a guilty conscience. Oh, wrong they would all be to believe his string of lies. He never loved me. I was just a convenience when it suited him. I wanted to never see or hear from him again. It made me sick to the pit of my stomach to think that he would ever get his filthy hands on my two precious babies.
I would rather die than ever let that happen. They would find out sooner or later about their father, but they had never asked before.
I could fool them into thinking Alex was their father but lying would make me as bad as Lochlan. Besides, there was no denying that my twins were his since they had similar similarities. I knew it would be harder to hide that as they got older.
“Cat. Listen to me. Everything will be ok.” Alex kissed my cheek and bought me back to reality. I blinked a couple of times and then hugged him tightly, wrapping my arms around him.
“He will not feel anything since that mate bond was severed a long time ago. He would have found you by now. Plus, you rejected him and that weakened the bond. He may not have accepted it, but the damage was done by you rejecting him and being away for so long. You are no longer his.” Alex went on and I nodded. He was right.
“Besides, you are mine now. Nobody will be taking you from me.” He pushed me down and straddled me, pinning my arms down above my head and looking me in the eyes. Oh, goddess how handsome he was. The moon goddess had truly blessed me with this second chance mate. I would be forever grateful to her.
“And you’re mine.” I giggled before his lips landed on mine and we started to kiss.
I felt so good with him. It just felt right and everything else was pushed to the back of my mind as I kissed him back.
As our lips parted, a tender smile graced my face, and I gazed deeply into Alex's eyes. The love and devotion that radiated from him gave me strength, reminding me that together we could conquer any obstacle that lay ahead.
"We'll face this challenge, my love," I whispered, my voice filled with determination. "And we'll do it together."