Mia
I had a refreshing dream that night. For the first time in weeks, I didn’t have any nightmare about the werewolf brothers or the dark wizard and woke up feeling strengthened and at alert.
I wondered if it was because of the outing. We had already eaten dinner outside before we got back and I slept off immediately I showered and hit the bed. I wondered if it was because I had had so much fun and had been wiped out that I didn’t have time to think and worry about the thoughts that always plagued my mind before I force myself to drift off to sleep.
I hadn’t needed to force myself to sleep and that was good. I was going to remind the boys about hanging out with them even if they didn’t remember and didn’t want me to.
I spent the day in my room reading a book. I didn’t want to go out where I knew the boys would be. I feared that they might tease me about being clingy to them if they saw me too soon after spending the day with them all through yesterday.
I did that the following day, having the maids bring my food to my bedroom. I was already starting to feel bored and couldn’t contain my happiness when mum and Albert came back home.
I rushed out at the sound of their arrival, throwing myself into her arms as I saw her.
“Mum.” I screeched. “Welcome back.”
She laughed at the show of my enthusiasm. “It’s always a delight to see you too, my dear.”
“I missed you, mum.”
“I missed you, daughter.” She grinned, releasing me so she could greet my brothers with a hug. “How have you been, boys?”
“We have been fine.” They replied, hugging mum one after the other. “Welcome back home.”
“Thanks.” She grinned at them.
“Welcome home, Albert.” I said, stepping into his widespread arms for a hug.
“How have you been, Mia?” He asked.
I nodded. “Fine.”
He turned to the boys as soon as he released me. “Hope you boys have been good?” He said, giving them a meaningful look.
“Yes, daddy.” Quinn chuckled, knowing what his father was referring to.
“Welcome home, dad.” The boys grinned.
Albert seemed to have trouble believing them and turned to me. “Is that right, Mia? Have they been good boys?”
I chuckled at his action and nodded in defence of the boys. “Yes, Albert. They were very good.”
He grinned. “That is good to hear. It seemed like the four of you have all bonded well in our absence.”
“It seems so.” Jack chuckled. “We still have a lot of bonding to do though. Don’t you agree, sister?” He said, looking at me.
I gasped at his words. I couldn’t believe his audacity. I knew what he was referring to and couldn’t believe that he was going to dare to say that while his father was around.
I looked at his other two brothers and shook my head at them though I was slightly amused. They had known what he was saying but pretended to not have an idea. They never ceased to amaze me.
Albert obviously didn’t know what he was saying and was only happy that we had bonded as he grinned and ushered all us inside.
“It is good to be back home with my family.” He said and moved inside. “We have to celebrate. I will tell the cook to get the table ready in the next one hour. Prepare for an early dinner, kids.”
It was fun at the dining table an hour later. We all laughed as we talked and caught up on days that we hadn’t seen each other.
Mum talked of the experiences that she had shared with Albert on their honeymoon and this recent trip that they had been on. It was funny for the boys who had always known their father as a strong alpha to learn of the amusing stuff he had done for love. It was thrilling for me to learn of Albert’s playful nature and I was glad with each smile that I saw on mum’s face that night, knowing that she was happy.
I was assured that she had made the right choice in her remarriage and wouldn’t ever regret it. I glanced at Albert and knew that I didn’t have to be told before knowing that he would rather die first than let my mum being in pain. I knew he loved her and would die protecting her.
“Tell us what you kids have been up to.” Mum said, suddenly changing the topic. “Mia?”
I swallowed, hating that she had mentioned me. What was I going to say? I didn’t have a lot of interesting tales to share as she had just done with Albert.
Why did she have to call me instead of one of the boys? She didn’t have to call me because I was her daughter. I had no doubt that it would have been better if she had called Jack. He would have found something interesting to say and even if it was a lie, I wouldn’t have called him out on it.
“Mia?” Albert asked, giving me a gentle look filled with unmasked curiosity. “You said that you bonded with the boys. We are curious to know what you did.”
I hated that I was in this spot but I couldn’t be mad at my mum for that. I swallowed, thinking of how I was going to start. I didn’t have a flair for storytelling as mum had just displayed earlier and decided to be as simple as I could.
“Nothing much. We went to a karaoke club and had some fun.”
I looked at them, searching their eyes to see if they were disappointed. They didn’t seem to be and I felt relieved. I didn’t want Albert to feel like we had lied to him about bonding because I couldn’t tell a beautiful elaborate tale of our outing.
Mum smiled and scooped some food in her mouth before she talked. “That is good. What matters is that you had fun.”
“Yes, I did, mum.” Albert smiled at my response and seemed to heave a sigh of relief. Maybe he didn’t and I was the one who thought that he did.
“That is all that matters.” Albert said.
Jack snorted. “Don’t mind her, dad. Asides the karaoke club, we also went out to this new restaurant for dinner. We had a treat.” He turned to me. “Why didn’t you tell him about that, sister?”
I didn’t have a response for that. I felt a blush creeping up my face and I quickly placed my palms on my cheeks. I would be arousing questions that I didn’t think I wanted to answer.
I wished I could tell Jack at that moment to stop calling me sister. It was a title that was as harmless as it sounded but I couldn’t help feeling like he was seducing me with the way he called me that.
Gosh. I needed to go back to work. I couldn’t deal with the boys anymore, much more Jack. He was starting to freak me out.
“Are you okay, sister?” Jack asked, looking at me with humor in his eyes.
I let out a frustrated groan. The bastard. I knew he knew what he had done with the smirk on his face and he still had the nerve to tease me about it. That boy was a devil in the flesh of a man.
Albert broke the ice. “She didn’t have to mention all. We just wanted to know what you did.” He said, jumping to my defense.
I exhaled, feeling grateful towards Albert. Mum looked at me and I removed my hands from my cheeks, knowing that she was about to ask why I was doing so. I hoped that I wasn’t still blushing and I looked at her for minutes after I removed the hands.
She didn’t say anything or arch her eyebrows in a strange way and I was relieved, glad that the blush had gone.
We were done with our meals and mum leaned on the chair, looking at us as she took the last of her water.
“This is a great night to stay outside in the garden and get some fresh air. That would be an epic way to end the night.”
“It’s cold, darling.” Albert replied. “You don’t want to stay outside.”
Mum grinned at him. “You say that everytime I talk of going to the garden. You worry too much.”
Albert grinned back at her. “What else would I do if I don’t worry about you, my love?”
Uh. The boys and I exchanged amused looks and quietly, we left the table giving the two lovebirds the privacy they needed. I didn’t think I was ready to watch my mum and Albert kiss and love up on each other.
I sighed on my way to the bedroom as I thought of what mum had said. It sounded like she missed being out in the garden and I knew why Albert was keeping her away from it.
I felt bad about not letting her know about the danger lurking in the house but at the same time, I knew that it was for her own good. She didn’t have to know if I wanted her to have peace. Mum didn’t have to go to the trauma I was going to. Who was going to comfort me if the two of us started to have nightmares about the dark wizard every night?