Chapter 142

Chapter 142: Theo It was a short flight back. I was surprised to see my parents waiting for us when we landed. Both of them ended up in tears as they hugged Ayla, grateful she was safe. I don’t think Mom let go of Ayla’s hand the entire ride back to the packhouse.

My father updated me on the pack business I missed while I was gone, but other than that, he was pretty quiet. I could tell he was struggling with Harry’s betrayal and treatment of Ayla. I would have to spend some extra time with him soon. I wouldn’t let this be what breaks him after everything he’s been through.

It was late afternoon when we arrived back at the packhouse. I hoped we could slip in without much fuss, but I knew that was wishful thinking. The moment we stepped inside, a slew of people were waiting for us. Annabelle practically threw her daughter into her mate’ s arms and rushed to embrace Ayla.

“Thank the goddess, you’re okay,” she said, squeezing her so hard I worried she’d break a rib.

“Annabelle,” Ayla gasped with a smile, “I still need to breathe.”

“Oh, sorry,” Annabelle said, jumping back. “I’m just so glad to see you back.”

A big frame moved quickly past me, and now Jimmy had her swept up in a bear hug.

“Okay, big guy,” Ayla chuckled, patting him on the back. “I’m all good.”

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10:49 Chapter 142 Thes 11 288 Vouchers He put her back down and sheepishly rubbed his neck.

“Luna, can you wait at least a month or two before you give me a heart attack?” Jimmy said. “I don’t think I’ll make it through another.”

Ayla smiled. “I promise to do my best.”

Jimmy turned to me, pulling me into an embrace as well.

“I’m glad you got her back, Alpha.”

“Me, too,” I said, clapping his back. “But I’ve got a job for you that will help us keep it that way. Talk about it tomorrow?”

He nodded. “I’ll be there.”

My mother wrangled everyone and got them on their way, leaving me to take Ayla to our apartment. We made it up to our wing when Mom caught up with us.

“Theo,” Mom said, “Ayla, I have something to show you.”

We followed as she headed toward the Alpha’s suite. I didn’t know what she had up her sleeve, but I prayed it wouldn’t be too overwhelming for Ayla. Mom stopped before she opened the door.

“I’ve been so worried,” she said, grabbing Ayla’s hand. “I just couldn’t keep still but I felt so helpless. So, when your furniture came in early, I couldn’t help myself. I knew everything would be okay.’

“J She opened the door and ushered us in. I heard Ayla gasp as she stepped inside the door. My mother had fully decorated the suite for us. I thought it looked really nice, and there was something familiar about it.

“You can change anything you want, of course,” Mom rushed. “I tried 21.73%

III r 10:50 Chap 142 Thee to stick with your inspiration looks and got some pictures from your mother’s house. But if you don’t like anything, feel free to get rid of it.”

Ayla turned around and threw her arms around my mother. I released a slow breath.

“It’s perfect, Grace,” Ayla said, “I love it. Thank you.”

1 grinned as my mother teared up.

“Well, you haven’t seen everything yet,” she replied. “Come. Let me give you the tour.”

I hung back as they went to check out the rest of the apartment, I sat down in a recliner in the living room. I rested my head back and closed my eyes. The place didn’t feel like home just yet. It was still missing Ayla’s scent. What lingered from her wasn’t enough. But I could imagine what it would be like when that time came. I got a pretty nice glimpse when I felt her slide onto my lap.

“Do you hate it?” she asked teasingly, lying on my chest. “You hate it all, don’t you?”

I chuckled. “No, babe,” I replied, holding her to me. “It looks great.”

“Everything okay?”

My fingers started playing with her hair, letting the softness relax me like it always did.

“I’m just thinking about everything that needs to be done,” I admitted.

“Didn’t you just get onto me about that this morning?” she admonished.

I laughed. “Yeah, I suppose I did,” I conceded. “I just want to be with 44.94%

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0 r 10 50 Chapter 142 Theo 288 Vouchers you, Ayla. I love you so much. I can’t take this constant feeling like someone is going to come and take you from me.”

Ayla’s lips touched mine, pushing firmly against me as she held me.

“I love you, too. No one is taking me anywhere, babe,” she insisted. “And I’m not going anywhere without you.”

“Good,” I said. “Because this is what I want for the rest of my life.”

We lay together like that for a while. As I replayed everything from the past week for the hundredth time, my mind kept drifting back to my father.

“I’m worried about Dad.” I said softly.

“I know,” Ayla replied. “Me, too. I can’t imagine how hard Harry’s betrayal was for him.”

“It had taken a lot to convince him not to come with us to rescue you,” I told her. “We practically had to sedate him before we left.

But I knew if he went, he’d shift. His wolf isn’t stable enough to handle killing his own Beta or watching his son do it, either. There was no way to predict what would happen. Let alone the damage it would do to his body.”

“We should spend some extra time with him,” Ayla stated. “I think seeing us together will help.”

I smiled against her hair. “Yeah,” I said. “He needs something to be hopeful about.”

Ayla shifted, looking up at me. “That reminds me,” she said. “I was supposed to talk to you about something.”

“Oh, yeah?”

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10:50 Chapter 142 Theo 288 (Vouchers “You remember when you came to get me from your parents’ apartment to tell me about Randy?” Ayla asked.

“Yeah, Dad had asked you to do something,” I replied.

“It was our last session for the book,” she explained. “I asked him if there was anything he wanted to do with his last years.”

“And?”

“He said he wanted to hold his grandchildren.”

I froze. My heart beating a mile a minute in my chest.

“I told him I’d have to talk to...”

I grabbed her face and pulled her to me, my lips crashing into hers. I kissed her deeply and with everything I had.

“More than anything, baby,” I rasped out. “I want pups with you more than anything.”

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