Love
It was evening now, and I interacted with everyone including Maleck. I could tell he had ill intentions. He was envious of everything Ellis had and wanted it to be his.
" So, where is their mother," I asked him, looking at the two boys who were running around their play space with my children.
" She's somewhere. I can't seem to keep track of her these days," he shrugged his shoulders and gulped his wine. It was clear from his tone that he didn't care about her. I was about to ask his marital status when he moved closer to me and stared into my gaze. I didn't avert my eyes.
" You're Lovely. Has someone told you that you hold an air of sovereignty? It's so enticing, magnetic even. It's hard to find it in females,"
It was as if he was looking at me in a different light. I rolled my eyes at his last sentence. This man had no idea how powerful women were if they wanted to be.
" I grew up surrounded by powerful women. I know what I am. I'm an alpha blood, and I don't need anyone to tell me my power," I smirked cruelly. However, he only looked impressed by me.
" Ellis is the biggest fool I know for letting you go," My gaze flickered away to the man he mentioned. Ellis' eyes caught mine, and he excused himself from CC and walked towards us. His earnest eyes were purely on his cousin.
Maleck and I straightened as Ellis stood close to me. He was radiating warmth from his body.
" What is it you want, Maleck," he glared at his cousin. Maleck exhaled.
" I brought my children to see this side of the family," he answered.
" I know you're were scheming a takeover of my pack, but let me tell you this now. You won't succeed. Even if you manage to issue a challenge on whatever unsubstantiated ground, you won't win. So, if you love your children, you'll end whatever madness you're devising," Ellis was solemn, his eyes flashing gold.
Maleck didn't flinch visibly, but I saw he called his lycan forth. He was cautious of Ellis.
" I'm not working against you, cousin. I stopped as I couldn't find sponsors among the alpha council for the challenge,"
The apprehension was rising with every passing second between the two, and all I wanted was to escape it before I got caught in the middle.
" Um, excuse me. I'll let you discuss," I said quietly, turning to leave, but Ellis gently placed his hand on my lower back. My heart race skyrocketed at the move, and my eyes slowly stared at him.
" I have nothing more to say to him. Get a drink with me," he said gently, and I nodded.
" You know I was telling Love about the superiority that hangs around her. Any man- Alpha would be blessed to have her. How were you a fool to let her go?" Maleck said with Malice in his tone and gaze.
" I was a fool once, but never again." Ellis' gaze on me made me burn, and at the same time, I shivered with satisfaction.
" Again?" Murmured Maleck, he eyed me up and down. I felt self-conscious which normally doesn't happen to me. He made me feel like he was undressing me with his eyes. I leaned closer to Ellis. He made me feel safe. Ellis growled at him and stalked towards his cousin, but I held him back.
" If she were mine, I'd never leave her for anyone," he said, his eyes traveled further from me, and I saw her in the corner of my vision. Charlotte. She was watching us discreetly. However, she didn't approach us. That was a first. I thought.
" Love will never be yours. Stop wishing," Ellis growled. His alpha aura was dark, and it made his cousin step back cautiously.
"That would be up to the beautiful Love, wouldn't it?"
" Stay away from Love. If I see you five feet from her, I'll rip you apart," Ellis warned dangerously.
" Well, you have no claim over her, and if I decide that I like her, and she wishes to give me a chance, there's nothing you can do about it," Maleck was calm while Ellis was fuming. He was using me to trouble him.
' And how did he go to wanting to like you!' Vee snapped. She didn't like Maleck at all, and neither did I.
" I should mention now that I'm in a relationship with Alpha David Kofflin. Whatever game you think you're playing won't work. I'm no one's puppet," I said to Maleck. His gaze traveled to Ellis's hands around my back, and he smiled tightly.
" Oh, Love Chasia. You are such a lovely, special woman indeed. I'm glad I came," he smiled. Ellis was growling at him, and if I wasn't standing so close, he'd attack him.
" Get out of my house and pack. I don't ever want to see you here again," Ellis snarled, his canines extending.
Maleck bowed his head and walked away from us. Ellis glared at his back.
" Hey," I got his attention. He snapped his gaze to me, and his eyes were back to their normal dark gray.
" You're tense," I said.
" Maleck is planning something new," He grumbled, looking in the direction his cousin left.
" What could he do? He has no pack and no supporters. You won," I told him. He gave me a slight smile, yet his eyes were unsettled.
Our children's giggles caught our attention, and all the tension evaporated from his body, and he smiled.
" They are so precious," his voice was barely a whisper.
" Until they break everything nice and expensive in the house. They ruin everything they touch," I muttered.
" I'd buy a hundred just for them to break again," he said quietly. His eyes were full of love for his children. He cherished them indeed.
" Was it difficult? Love?" he asked.
" What?"
" The pregnancy, birth, and raising them,"
I contemplated telling him about my pregnancy journey. It wasn't an easy one. I exhaled as I started to tell him.
" I gained some weight during pregnancy, and my nose was big. You would have laughed at me," I chuckled, thinking back.
He eyed me with the friendliest of gaze, " I bet you looked more beautiful,"
" I'm not going to lie. The pregnancy was difficult because I was stressed." I sighed. He was hurt, blaming himself for the stress.
" What else?"
" I thought I'd lose them because there was a time I needed an urgent surgery... I had postpartum depression, and they cried so much that I'd end up crying too. It was so challenging, and I missed you so much, Ellis," I confessed, feeling emotional as I thought back on what I went through. I told him everything that happened.
" But all the hardships were worth it. They are my world, my reason for living," I concluded.
" You're so strong, Lovely girl," he said. Lovely girl, he called me that a lot.
" I'm sorry, baby. I wish I was there to hold your hand and rub your feet. To hold them and comfort you," he said. I knew he would have loved to be part of their lives earlier in their life. I needed to say something to him as well.
" I'm sorry too, Ellis. You had the right to know. I was hurting so much that I kept you from your children because of my selfishness,"
There was a warm silence between us. It was serene. Ellis' gaze on me was gentle. I was overwhelmed with emotions, and if he tried to kiss me, I'd let him.
Lost in each other's gaze, I didn't realize when David pulled me from Ellis by the waist, and a deadly growl erupted.