Aleena’s POV
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“Fine. But let me tell you that I won’t be easy on you both in the name of FAMILY or FEMALE. And if you both can survive a week with me, then the training will start.”, I warned. Whatever I was today, I had trained harder for that because of staying in a boarding school full of Alpha pups. It was not easy to survive without getting bullied. I wouldn’t get that no one bullied me when I was new there, but each and every day, I had to prepare myself to be better and stronger.
“Thank you! Thank you!”, They both jumped on, hugging me tightly. I hesitated at first but eventually hugged them back.
“Great then! Along with Stephen, we two will also join your pack.”, Paige said happily, breaking the hug.
“Yes! In that way, we can finally step out of our comfort zone. Because we can never change our lives until we step out of our comfort zone; change begins at the end of our comfort zone.”, Nora said with determination.
“But before that, do discuss it with your parents without keeping a gun on my shoulder.”, I told them. “Now, I will have to check the situation of the pack.”
“Oh! Okay. At least inform mom and dad by saying that you’re leaving.”, Nora suggested. “Come on!”, Saying this, she started taking me toward Eva’s room, holding my hand. No doubt she was Stephen’s sister. He, too, had held my hand in the same way when he took me in front of his family members when they were mad at me. But at the same time, I didn’t want to face anyone without Stephen by my side. But I didn’t trust my big mouth, and upsetting his family members meant upsetting him.
‘Have you observed?’ Leia asked.
‘Observe what?’
‘That you can’t speak or think a sentence without bringing our mate’s name on your mouth or mind.’, Leia pointed out.
‘So? Is that a bad thing?’
‘And you almost stopped breathing when Eva mentioned that if she wouldn’t step in, then Stephen would have been at her place.’
‘Don’t remind me that part.’
‘And you also bad when he prioritizes work before us.’
‘What do you want to say, Leia? Say it clearly.’
‘That you’re in love.’
‘What rubbish? This is a mate bond. Nothing more than that.’
‘Keep telling that to yourself. I’m just telling the symptoms of love:
One, Your thoughts return to him regularly.
Two, You feel safe with him.
Three, life feels more exciting.
And four, You want to spend a lot of time together. And I know about it because I’m in love! I’m in love!.’
By that time, we had reached Eva’s room, and all of a sudden, everyone stopped speaking whatever they were talking about a moment ago as if they were bad-mouthing me. Everyone looked at me like I was the eighth wonder of the world.
“Why are you standing there? Come here”, It was dad who spoke, and I did the same. “I didn’t tell you before, but you made me proud twice.”, he added, patting my cheek. “Francis would have been so proud of you, seeing your back-to-back excellent and mindblowing fighting skills.”
“I second that.”, Uncle James said. “To be honest, I never gave that freedom to Paige and treated her with extreme care like a glass doll but seeing you and Eva, I think I too should have trained her more like a warrior than just self-defense.”
“Didn’t you hear that James that ‘Behind every independent girl, of course, there is a man called DAD.’?” Aunt Emma said before looking at me. “Paige told me everything that happened over there, and by hearing her voice, I could say that she was highly smitten by your fighting skills.”
“I agree with Aunt Emma.”, That voice surprised me. Widening my eyes, I turned my gaze toward Daniel, “Well, I’m surprised that I’m saying this, but I need to admit that you are too good at your work. I mean, even that sneaking in and out of the pack part. I was pissed earlier when I came to know about you sneaking out of the pack, but when I came to know how you utilize that part of the time, then I must say that I was shocked beyond anything. People need the guts to do what you have done. Also, your last move at the end of the fight to save Eva was something that I didn’t expect from you. But you proved me wrong. And I’m not feeling ashamed that I’m glad that you prove me wrong.”, he said while I looked at him, still in shock.
Why?
Because this was the longest paragraph, he had ever said to me.
“Long story, short! Thank you for saving the life of my mate and my pup. And I know I should not be doing this, but I can’t help myself from telling the truth. That’s true that you’re independent because of your dad. But behind your this success, there is an understanding man called ‘Husband.'”
“To be honest, I will never have to leave Eva to do anything alone. You can name it whatever you want, but Stephen did. I even warned him that you might ditch him after coming into power, but he believed in you and understood your intentions and feelings when no one else did. So, yes! Even my brother needed to get credit.”, he finished.
‘That’s true.’, Leia chirped.
“You should go home and freshen up, Dear.”, Mom said before I would have informed her that I had to leave. I smiled, knowing that even she was not mad at me. I believed that saving Eva and her pup acted like a boon for me, even though it wasn’t a plan. I opened my mouth to say that I would be staying now at Silver Moon Pack when she spoke again.
“I know.”
“You know?” I questioned in surprise.
“Not just me, but everyone knows and understands the amount of workload that landed on your shoulder. On the top, all the people with whom you’re going to work with it all the unknown to you.”, She said the same line which I would have used to explain to everyone. She reached near me and placed her hand on my cheek. “But just remember that we all are here and at the distance of an hour.”
Everyone was there, but the one whom I wanted near me was busy with his duties. I bit my inner cheek from complaining about his younger son.
“Where is Stephen, Daniel?” Mom asked, turning her head toward Daniel.
“Umm … he is busy.”
Busy, my ass!!
“It will be better if you find a new Beta for yourself soon because just like you need your mate near you all the time. His priorities should be his mate, and that would be possible if you keep him busy with pack works all the time.”
“I get it, Mom.”
******
#TBC