Chapter 79

#Chapter 79 – Demands My boys save me from this awkward moment, thank god, by bounding into the room.

“Mommy!” Ian shouts, flinging himself onto the couch and crawling up onto my lap.

“Hi papa!” Alvin says, waving at his dad as he rounds the coffee table and crawls up behind me, wrapping his arm around my neck and giving me a sweet kiss on the check.

“Good morning, boys,” I say softly, smiling at them but keeping one eye on the powder keg that is Victor and Amelia. I wrack my brain quickly – did anything? – no. I shake my head, confirming to myself the innocence of the night.

We were just friends, staying up late, having some drinks. Talking. It’s normal, after a very stressful encounter.

Lies, my mind hisses, but I swipe the thought away. Luckily, I have two little six-year-old distractions to help me.

“We were worried about you, mama,” Alvin says, “when you weren’t in the bedroom when we left.”

“Yeah, we promised dad we would protect you while you slept!” Ian says, looking at me sternly. “We can’t do our job if you escape.”

“I’ve had enough of being kept in rooms by big tough guys for awhile, I think,” I say, ruffling his hair.

“But thank you, baby, for protecting me.”

As I talk to the boys, I see Amelia growling at Victor, pulling him into the kitchen. She’s clearly enraged, and I can’t say that I blame her, considering what she came downstairs to. But Victor is holding his own, glaring at her with his arms crossed, not giving way.

The boys join me in peeking over the couch at the two of them.

“Are Amelia and daddy in a fight?” Alvin whispers.

“Yes,” I say, “Amelia is mad.”

“Why is she mad?” Alvin pushes, standing up to get a better view. I pull him down by the back of his shirt and give him a look.

“Don’t break our cover, Alvin,” I mutter. “You have to be stealthy if you’re going to spy.”

“I’m glad they’re in a fight,” Ian whispers, frowning at Amelia. “I hate her.”

“Ian,” I say, disapproving, but then I stop myself. I know that I’m not being the best mother or the kindest woman in this moment – and, yes, I did wake up basically in her fiancé’s lap – but I’m certainly not going to tell my son to deny his very justified dislike of this woman.

Amelia is a snake. I know it in my bones. I’m not going to go out of my way to encourage my boys to hate her, but if they get there on their own? So be it.

Amelia and Victor continue to argue. My boys and I continue to listen.

“I want her gone, Victor,” Amelia growls. “She is toxic to our relationship. Your sons are one thing, but it makes no sense for her to be sleeping in our house –“

“Amelia,” he rumbles. “I’m not sending her away. Since she’s come into our life her own has been in upheaval too, not just yours. And quite frankly, it’s your fault.”

Damn right it is, I think, smirking, glad Victor is on my side.

“If you hadn’t called John Walsh in the first place about his grandsons,” Victor continues, “then none of this would have happened, and she wouldn’t be in your house.”

“Oh?” Amelia crosses her arms again, sneering up at him. “And is my calling John Walsh also the reason why you’re waking up on the couch together, wrapped up like two teenagers?”

“It was an innocent mistake, Amelia,” he says, anger growing at her accusations. “We were up late talking, coming to terms with a very difficult and stressful experience. Nothing happened.”

Amelia narrows her eyes at him, but the doorbell rings. “That will be the tailor,” she throws at him.

“Come to do the final fittings of your suit. Or did you forget? That we’re getting married in a week and a half?”

With that, she spins and stalks off to the door.

“How could I forget,” Victor murmurs, banging a fist on the counter. He sighs and moves off to the coffee machine, needing the caffeine after our late night.

The boys and I continue peeking over the couch, watching his every move.

“Is daddy okay, mama?” Ian asks, considering him.

I sigh and sink back onto the couch, facing into the living room. I pull Alvin gently down with me and give Ian a little kick so that he, too, leaves Victor and Amelia alone to their problems.

“Daddy’s going to be fine,” I say, giving Alvin a cuddle and resting my feet on Ian’s lap. “Don’t worry about him – he’s going to handle everything. Daddy is very capable.”

“Are you okay?” Alvin asks, squishing my cheeks between his hands.

I laugh and pull his hands away, kissing one before I let him take them back. “Yes, baby, I’m fine.”

“You always say you are fine,” Ian says, suspiciously. He pauses a minute, and then asks. “Mama, what happened two days ago? Why did you stay at grandpapa’s and grandmama’s if you didn’t want to be there? Why did daddy have to get dressed all in black to go get you?”

“Why were you all bloody when you came back?” Alvin asks, seamlessly taking up the line of questioning.

I am silent a moment, looking between them. I guess part of me was hoping that they would be six-

year-old boys, in this case, and not the Alpha’s genius twins.

“I’m sorry, boys,” I say. “You deserve a better explanation than you’ve gotten. I’ll tell you all about it.”

I close my eyes, organizing my thoughts and deciding where to start, wishing – desperately – for a cup of coffee to help me face this. I can almost smell it, I want it so bad.

Wait…I open my eyes to see a mug of coffee floating, almost magically, before me. “Wha –“

I glance up and see Victor standing over the three of us, holding the mug directly in front of my face.

“Thought you’d need this,” he says with a smirk. “To help you with your spying activities.”

“No, we’re all finished spying on you,” Ian says, looking seriously up at him.

“Yeah, now we’re getting the dirt.” Alvin adds “I’ll leave you to it,” Victor says, nodding at them and then holding my eyes for a moment, asking, without words, if I need his help.

I press my lips together and shake my head, letting him know that I’ve got it. He nods again and walks away, presumably to be measured to death by Amelia’s tailor.

I take a long sip of my coffee and then start. “Boys, there’s been another change in your life, and I think you should know about it. Do you know how daddy claimed you, made you officially his heirs, in that big ceremony?”

The boys nod. “Yes,” Ian said. “We had excellent cake.”

I nod too and repress my smile, seeking to keep this serious.

“Well, we found out a few days ago that your grandpapa has claimed you too. You’re his heirs as well now.”

The boys frown at me, confused. “But we didn’t have a ceremony,” Alvin says.

“Yeah,” Ian agrees, nodding vigorously. “No cake.”

“You didn’t need it,” I say, shrugging. “He claimed you by claiming me. You see, I’m his daughter, so I was born a part of his pack. I…left the pack, when you two were born, to protect you. But now that he knows how great you are, your grandfather wants to have you in his life. So he claimed me back, and in doing so, put the two of you in his line of succession.”

The boys look at me, confused. “But you are part of daddy’s pack,” Alvin says slowly, trying to process everything. “We were there for that ceremony too.”

“Yeah, the one with the magic,” Ian chimes in.

“Magic?” I say, looking at him. Ian and Alvin exchange a look, but say nothing. I shrug, eager to get through this. “I guess the details don’t really matter. But the fact is that your grandfather has claimed as part of his pack. So, when you grow up, you’ll both be the Alphas of his pack and of your dad’s pack.”

I had expected them to be excited about this, but both boys are silent. “What’s wrong?” I ask.

Alvin shrugs one shoulder, still thinking about it. “It’s just a lot,” Ian says, placing his elbows on his knees and then putting his face in his cupped hands. “A little bit ago we didn’t know what we were going to be when we grew up. And then we met daddy, and he told us we’re going to be Alphas. And then we met grandpapa, and he says we’re going to be…double Alphas.”

“I know,” I say, my heart going out to them. “It is a lot. I’m sorry, boys, this is…not what I planned for your life. But it’s beyond my power.” I bite my lip, feeling guilty. So many people would kill to be in my boys’ spot – might kill to be, quite frankly. But to me, it just feels like their world is getting narrower and narrower.

“If we can be like papa, though,” Alvin says, staring into space like Victor does when he’s in deep thought, “then it will not be so bad.”

“Plus, we’ll stick together,” Ian says, nodding. Alvin smiles at him, agreed.

“And we’ll claim you, mama,” Alvin says, giving me a kiss on my cheek. “You can be a member of our pack, if you don’t like being part of grandpapa’s.”

“Yeah!” Ian says, jumping up on the couch. “We’ll do it now!” Alvin jumps up too, and they both point their fingers at me, like wizards performing a spell.

“I claim you!” Ian shouts, his voice very deep and powerful.

“So do I!” Alvin says, mimicking him.

I laugh, pulling them both down on top of me in a lovely little cuddle puddle on the couch. “Thank you, babies,” I say. “I am very safe now.” I give each one a kiss.

But deep down, I know that I am not safe. My father still has his claim on me, whether I’ve escaped his house for now or not. And I know, sooner or later, that he’s going to make a move to take me back.

The question is, when?