15. Two surprises

Aleida’s POV

A couple of days have passed, and the warriors have become much better. Three of them are my age and remind me of the trio I have at home, with the difference that this trio has other names; Benjamin, Jonah, and Kyle. They follow me basically everywhere and listen to every word I say as if I’m a saint or something.

“Okay, guys,” I say with a sigh and turn around to look at them. “Out with it, why are you following me everywhere?”

My wolves Cayden and Hunter growl at them but stop immediately when I lift my hand. They sit down on each side of me and watch while I patiently wait for the trio to begin to explain why they feel that their stalker skills need to improve.

“You’re fascinating, and we just wanted to learn more,” Jonah says, unsure, looking down at the ground in shame.

“It’s adorable that you think so, but isn’t it better that you say that instead of following me everywhere in silence like three horny teen-wolves?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

They look at me with wide eyes, and I clearly see how their cheeks change color to red; it seems like they can blush after all! I laugh at their expressions and am about to continue when alpha Paul walks out to me.

“Queen Aleida, as a thank you for all your help, I’ve arranged a surprise for you,” he says, giving me a mysterious smile.

“What-?” I start to answer but abruptly drop it when three large cars drive in front of the house.

I can’t believe my eyes first. A warrior opens the back door and puts down two boys that I recognize right away. My tears fall, and at first, they look confused; until their eyes land on me, and they smile. They get up together and start running towards me.

“Mama!” Alexander exclaims, and I run towards them.

“My babies!” I exclaim and hug my boys while tears burst from my eyes. “Have you been good, boys?”

“Yes, mama,” Elias replies.

You may be surprised that they can already talk even though they’re only a little over a year, but as I mentioned earlier, werewolves develop much faster than humans. Cayden and Hunter whine next to me. I set down my boys, and the wolves immediately lick them, resulting in them laughing out loud.

“Nathan!” I say happily, hurry up to him to hug; he has my princesses in his arms. “Hey, darlings. You’ve grown so much!”

I breathe in their scents deeply, and all three smile big at me. The boys are standing next to me, and it’s only now that I notice that all Paul’s members are standing out on the lawn with big smiles on their lips. I hug Jason, Killian, and Henry when they get out of the car. But when my eyes meet the two pairs of eyes I love the most, I give the girls to betas. Miliano and Kian stand by the cars with tears in their eyes. I use my vampire quickness to get there quickly, resulting in all three of us landing in a pile on the ground. Their arms embrace me, and Kian whines when he feels my scent for the first time in months.

“We’ve missed you so much, Aleida,” Miliano whispers and kisses me.

I’m in my paradise when the boys run towards me, and the betas hand over the girls to us. We stand with Miliano and Elias on my left while Kian stands with Alexander on my right; I stand with my three girls in the middle. The warriors that I trained stand right in front of us simultaneously and put their fists against their chests before bowing to their new guests. My brothers, mates, and betas look at me with a raised eyebrow while I blush at the attention.

“Alphas, betas, and gamma, welcome!” Alpha Paul blissfully exclaims when he sees us together. “And thank you for letting me borrow your mate, sister, and friend for my warriors.”

“Is it Aleida who trains your warriors?” Nathan asks in surprise.

“Of course, I don’t trust anyone else to get my men in order,” Paul responds, smiling, causing Nathan to turn to me.

“How come you can train a neighboring pack’s warriors, but you haven’t offered your help to your big brother?” he asks in a dramatic tone that makes my wolves growl and show their teeth.

“Hunter! Cayden! Down!” I growl at them, and they sit down, so do all the warriors by instinct.

“Jeez, talk about dominance... Can you teach me!?” Jason asks, exhilarated.

I’m about to answer when I smell and growl soundly. There’s nothing to hesitate about; I shift to my massive size and grab the first rogue to arrive. I see others fighting around us, and when I notice that a rogue has taken my son, I see red. My roar echoes over the forests, and everything stops. I run towards the rogue and force up his jaws until my son lands gently on the ground. When I see that he’s safe, I continue to force up the rogue’s jaws until they break off, and he falls to the ground. I pick up my beloved Alexander and stand on my hind legs to keep him close. My big tongue licks away all his tears, and when he calms down, I put him on Hunter’s back before turning toward the other rogues. A loud growl and showing my sharp fangs is all it takes for everyone to bow in front of me. One by one, they lay down on their backs and show their stomachs in submission. Usually, I would try to rehabilitate them, but this time they’ve gone too far in attempting to take my puppies away from me. I kill them all, one by one in pure anger, and I’m completely covered in blood when I finish. Elias and Alexander slowly approach me; only when I see them do I calm down and shift. My body is full of blood that isn’t mine, yet my sons don’t get scared but just hug my neck. The advantage of being a hybrid is that I get back my alpha genes right away once I calm down. This is the first time others have witnessed the unforgiving nature of a hybrid.

“Burn them,” I command the trio, and they do as I say.

I stare into the flames, and the others around me look anxiously in my direction. This is the first time that they’ve seen me lose control completely, and as to why the other rogues submitted to them, it was because afterward, I noticed that the one I killed first was their alpha.

“They tried to take my puppy,” I whisper to myself, and the tears fall without me blinking; I can’t free my gaze from the fire.

I walk to the forest to shift; I need to calm down and get my emotions in check; otherwise, I’m dangerous. Someone tries to follow me, but I hear Kian say to let me be, I need time for myself, and I’ve never loved him as much as I do at this moment. I don’t know how long I run, and I don’t know how many tears fall in the meantime, either. My tears aren’t caused by killing someone; no, my tears fall because I realize how close I was to losing my son. It’s fear, I feel. My energy is gone, and I fall to the ground. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to react before someone bites me in the shoulder and almost penetrates my heart. Several rogues attack me, and I fight against everything I can. But there’s not much I can do without energy. The blood is dripping from my body, and this time it’s mine. Somehow I manage to kill the three rogues and slowly start walking back towards the packhouse. The pain I feel is indescribable, and I crawl the last part. One of the warriors I train walks his perimeter when he discovers me.

“Alpha?” he asks and walks slowly closer to me. “Alpha Aleida?”

When he sees my injuries and hears how weak my heart is, he lifts me and runs as fast as possible towards the pack. I see the moon goddess shaking her head at how I’ve given up my fight, she’s disappointed in me, and I’m about to give up entirely when I hear my family.

“Alphas! Queen Aleida is wounded!” the warrior holding me hysterically exclaims.

I’m too tired to keep my eyes open, but I can hear how panic is increasing among those present. The sparkles I feel under my body indicate that I’m safe in one of my mates’ arms, the person is desperately trying to get me to answer questions, but I simply can’t. Someone is pressing hard against something that hurts my ribs, probably a large flesh wound. I force my eyes to open, and when I see Kian’s tearful face, I feel his pain through the bond. Elisa whines in my head at seeing her mate sad.

Elisa, what are we going to do?

Your body is too weak to be able to heal you; you have to shift.

Okay, let’s do it! What are we waiting for?

There are risks if we shift, Aleida. Serious ones that you must know before we can shift, as this may affect the rest of our lives.

What can happen?

An enchanted rogue bit you, the attack was planned, and you’re cursed. If we shift now, it isn’t sure that we’ll ever be able to shift back.

My heart beats double flips in my chest by hearing her words; what if I’ll never be able to talk to my mates again? I understand the risks she’s talking about; if we stay in animal form, there’s the risk that Elisa’s animal instincts will eventually take over completely, and I’ll disappear. It doesn’t matter; they need me!

Please, do it.

My legs crack and form in new ways like all the times before, but this time it hurts; the pain makes me scream. Kian lays me down on the floor, and it takes me a few minutes to be able to stand me up. My big snout caress Kian who gently pats me. I immediately begin to heal.

“Aleida, what’s going on?” Kian asks with a raised eyebrow in bewilderment.

I’m trying to shift back, and I can’t. The possibility is blocked, and I close my big eyes while a big tear falls. It lands on the floor with a low-key thud; I open my eyes and look at my mates’ anxious facial expressions before telling the truth in our mindlink.

I can’t shift back because I’m bewitched. The rogue who bit me had a curse, and I got it when it bit me; this was their plan. Remember when someone tried to force me to shift at the hospital?

“What? No! What are you talking about!?” Miliano exclaims in fear.

If the curse doesn’t break before it’s too late, Elisa’s instincts will take over, and I’ll disappear piece by piece in our shared mind until there’s nothing left.

“No...,” Kian says quietly, looking into my eyes before breaking apart next to me with his arms around my neck.

I sit down on my hind legs next to him and lick away his tears; I hate to see my mates in pain, no matter who causes it. Miliano sits down on the other side and holds me. Miliano, who’s a little stronger at the moment, explains to the others who are unaware of what’s going on.

“But why is it dangerous then? We can find the cure in time, right?” Jonah asks confusedly.

“Yeah, maybe we can, but if not... A hybrid that has lost control is as dangerous as fifty feral rogues,” Miliano sadly replies.

“Which means that if it goes that far, we have to kill her,” Kian says quietly, and when the truth is out, it becomes dead silent while my heart breaks in my chest.