I Rejected You, Alpha
Chapter 97

ELEIA’S POV

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After Alpha Reece left, Aiden came back inside and closed the doors to the castle for the entire day. He scooped Cleo up, took Felix’s hand and said to bring Arlen before dismissing the nanny. I frowned questionably at him, but took our son and followed him as he walked to the back door where there’s a small playground that has fences around, a beautiful garden, a pond with fish that has a little bridge over it you could walk over. I’ve never been back there, but I’ve glanced at it and when Aiden leads us into the place, he calls an omega to arrange a pic nic basket for us and the children.

He slowly sits down on the grass, letting Cleo sit on one leg and Felix on the other. I sit down across from them, crossing my legs and I sit Arlen upright, holding him, “Now look…” Aiden starts, glancing at Felix, “This is Cleo, right?” he smiles at Felix while he nods, “And she’s not just a friend, she’s more. She is your sister, our family and we will treat her as such, meaning that we will protect her, stand by her, love and care for her, understand? I’m telling you this because you understand me, Arlen will grow up knowing that Cleo is his big sister, but she is the same age as you and that means you’ll have to accept that, if you can?” the way Aiden speaks to him warms my entire body as I sit and stare at Felix as he looks up at Aiden, his eyes bright and a big smile covering his face. “Yes daddy, she’s my sister.” he beams so proudly that my eyes start to water from proud and joy.

“Then go play.” Aiden lets them stand and they laugh before they run off to the play set, both of them climbing the jungle gym before they slide down the big red plastic slide.

“He’s gotten bigger.” I sniff, blinking away the unshed tears. “You weren’t gone that long.” Aiden mutters, the sadness in his voice makes my heart squeeze. I could tell that he was worried, still is since I didn’t really tell him what happened.

“I know, but it feels so long. Being away from you and the kids was hard…” I murmur, inhaling a deep breath through my nose.

“So are we going to talk about it?” he asks and I feel like I should have seen this coming. “Well the night he took me, I was knocked out the entire time until I woke up in his car, parked in a field and he told me why he did what he did, it’s all because of her.” I glance at Cleo as she smiles and giggles as Felix chases her.

“I asked him if I could come and say goodbye, but he didn’t trust me..My heart broke thinking that I would never see you again, or the kids.” I bite my bottom l*p as my eyes start to sting. “But she’s just a kid and what kind of Queen would I be if I let an innocent child die?” I snort, shaking my head before tucking a strand of lose hair behind my ear, glancing down at Arlen who’s pulling at the grass between his legs.

“I thought I was going to die, but I accepted my fate and when the day came, he accidentally almost overdosed me, the hunters thought I was dead and told him to get rid of my body because all they were interested in, was my wolf’s head.” the anger bubbling in my chest makes me roll my eyes, “But I woke up and all he wanted was to save his daughter and I went along, ready to show them I’m alive and run for the rest of my life.” I stare at the kids swinging, smiling and laughing as their little legs kick back and forth.

“Why?” Aiden asks, his narrowed eyes focused on mine, “I was afraid that they would come for you and the kids, since I was no longer here.” I shrug and his eyes soften, “Don’t you ever dare to sacrifice yourself for me.” he grits out, but he doesn’t sound mad, he sounds more concern, hurt and determined.

“It wasn’t just for you Aiden, it was for our sons too but look, I’m fine and now we have a daughter too.” I glance at Cleo and smile.

“Still, in the future, let me save you. I ran these woods flat to look for you and I couldn’t feel you…I can’t do that again. I can’t lose you, ever.” he reaches for my hand and I give it to him. His thumb gently caresses the top of my hand as he stares at me, “You know we’ll die someday.” I offer a small smile, “Someday, just not in the near future.” he slightly shake his head.

“Fine, until then, you can be my night and shining armor.” I shrug, giggling.

He stares at me, the shimmer in his eyes making me feel like the luckiest girl in the world, the way the edges of his mouth raise as he smiles makes butterflies erupt in my stomach and I can’t help but fall even more in love with him.

We sit and enjoy the rest of the afternoon, baking in the sun, watching Felix and Cleo play, eating when the basket comes. I live in this moment, taking in every moment of this perfect afternoon, relieved that I’m home. When the sun starts to set, we take the kids inside, bathe them, feed them some more right before we tuck them into bed and read them a story about the powerful Moon Goddess before they fall asleep.

Aiden and I climb into bed and as I lay with my head on his chest, my arm draped over his abdomen and I listen to his steady heartbeat starting to raise.

“What’s the matter?” I ask, titling my head upwards and I glance up at him, “It doesn’t feel over.” he mutters, his eyes focused on the ceiling. “What do you mean?” I ask and he shrugs, staying silent for a moment, “Alpha Reece, he seemed determined to get Cleo back, he didn’t seem happy that we chased him away.”, “We owe him nothing.” I snort and he hums, “I know.” he murmurs under his breath. “But?” I ask, already feeling it, “But I need to investigate, what if he’s one of those people who abuses children? I mean, he needs orphans for that…” he sighs and anger builds in my chest, feeling ready to explode, “He better not be.” I seethe, shaking my head. “I hope he isn’t…but I can’t shake the feeling.”, “We’ll get to the bottom of it.” I hug him tighter.