Elena’s POV.
“Hero, you are letting your sister take the lead purposely!” I yelled from where I sat, watching them play so lovingly.
Hero, who has seen his sister’s countenance change as he continued winning her, now purposely fell back and let her take the lead. He loved her that much.
I can’t believe it’s been two years already, watching them all grown now brought tears to my eyes. Now, I barely remember the pain from my terrible past because my beautiful set of twins has a way of wiping those ugly memories away, the sight of them alone filled my heart with so much joy. How time really flies.
Darius and I had jointly come up with their names. Hero and Athena. Hero loves his sister so much, that he will protect her with everything and the same goes with Athena. That was possible because they were raised in love and compassion and it gladdened my heart to see them grow with the morals that Darius and I instilled in them.
Darius has been the absolute best, he provided the kids with everything they needed and showered them with so much love. They were basically his kids now.
“Mother, are you pained that I got more points than you, the last time you and father played?” Athena clapped back at me.
“Athena, that is such a brutal thing to say,” I pouted.
“Well, you are the one encouraging my brother to not let me win,” she bursted into laughter.
Athena keeps growing smarter every day, she was the complete opposite of her when I was her age. While I was extremely gentle and delicate which got me bullied by the rest of my age mates, Athena was the smartest among her mates, she was respected for her intelligence and brightness. She was used as perfect examples by other parents in the pack.
Sometimes, I wished I was more like her back then, I wouldn’t have gone through so much.
“Mother? Did my words hurt you? I’m sorry,” I suddenly heard Athena’s voice beside me, snapping me out of my trance.
“What? No! why would you think so?” I blurted.
“You suddenly went mute,” she replied in a soft voice, she looked like she was going to burst into tears any moment.
“Come here baby,” I pulled her into my arms. She hated to see anything but a smile on my face, or else she would assume that I was sad. The same goes with her brother.
They were so little yet so protective of me. Now I do not have only Darius pushing for my happiness. These two little pumpkins were an additional, they would do anything to put a smile on my face.
How did I get so blessed?
“My love, I was only admiring how big you’ve grown in just two years, it makes me so happy,” I stroked her cheeks gently.
“Yes, I am a big woman now right?”
I tried to sniff in my laughter as she spoke.
“Of course you are a big woman, I mean look at you,” I kissed her forehead.
“I am a big man too,” I heard Hero say.
“Yes, you are,”
“Father is the biggest man,” Hero blurted.
“Oh, I am?” We suddenly turned towards the direction of his voice.
He leaned down and scooped Hero into his arms. “We are the biggest men.”
Hero couldn’t stop giggling excitedly.
“Hero, let’s go continue playing, Father is here to keep Mother’s company,” Athena said struggling out of my arms, and ran back to the premises, followed immediately by Hero.
“They grew up so fast,” I exhaled a deep breath.
“Yeah.” He came to sit beside me, opening his arms wide, and pulled me in. “We need to talk about us.”
I drew in a deep breath knowing where this was headed already.
“Elena the kids are grown now and they’ve practically become mine, we are one big family, don’t you think it’s high time we made it official?” I stared at him as he spoke.
“I love you so much Elena, so much, I will literally lay down my life for you, but I can’t wait any longer than this, I know I promised to wait but it’s been a long time already, don’t you think it’s time we embrace what we feel for each other?”
“Please say something babydoll,” he kissed my cheek passionately.
I readjusted to face him properly.
“You are the best thing that has happened to me all these years Darius, you have been by my side and you’ve shown me true love and compassion, you took my kids as yours and showered us with so much affection, and of course, I know you will lay down your life for us, what more can I possibly want?”
I paused and cupped his cheeks in my hands, stroking gently.
“I’m saying yes to you Darius, to being your woman, I accept the mate bond. I say yes to us spending every day in each other’s arms and building the biggest happy family in history,” I poured out with a smile on my face.
I watched in satisfaction as his face lit up in uncontrollable excitement.
Of course, I have given it a thought every day for the past few days, though I hadn’t been so sure about it, but right now, nothing felt more right.
I was fully ready to be his woman, I was willing for him to mark me and claim me as his mate and Luna.
He deserved everything, he had patiently waited for me through my bad days until everything fell in place now, he’s truly a blessing handed over to me directly from the moon goddess.
I was sure of my love for him, even though it couldn’t be compared to what I shared with Killian, but I was willing to give it a shot. It was totally worth it.
“Damn! I’ve waited so long for this,” he mumbled leaning closer and captured my lips in a heartwarming kiss. He groaned into my mouth and made to deepen the kiss but I quickly pulled away.
“Darius, the kids,” I muttered and he chuckled.
“Let’s continue inside then,” he winked at me.
“Hero, get your sister and…”
I suddenly trailed off as my gaze fell on an empty space. Hero and Athena were nowhere in sight.