Filed to story: Sorry Alpha I Am Wolfless Novel
“I know what you mean, Shawn.” I gave him a nod, and then looked at everyone else as well. “However, I understand that this is probably the best option that we have. If we do this, if we go on these shows, we can get them to understand that we are not a threat. All we need to do is stay calm no matter what they do or say. And we need to stay consistent. We need to make sure that there is the same information given each time we go on one of these shows. We can share some of our history with them, and we can make sure that they know that we aren’t trying to hurt them at all.”
“Precisely.” Vincent was nodding at me. “That is exactly what I was thinking as well.” He was grinning, happy in the knowledge that he and I were thinking along the same lines.
“I think we should do it.” Joaquin nodded next to me. “It is the best way to keep getting the word out there. We need them to understand that we are not here to try and hurt them.”
“Agreed.” Several others seemed to think along these same lines and weren’t afraid to voice that now. There were a lot of people nodding and agreeing with Joaquin and Vincent.
“I think we need to do it as well.” I looked out at them all. “We need to be a united front for them all. We need to tell them that most of our people are just like them, normal everyday people that work and live their lives with their families. We aren’t that different from them. Vincent, please start setting these up for us. Joaquin and I will go on most of them, we will take Reagan and Rika with us a few times, and maybe even Talia. I am not sure if we should take the quads though. They are still so young.”
“Think about it, Riviana. If you do take them on one of these shows, they will see that you are truly a large and loving family. I know that you don’t want to put the kids out there because it might be dangerous, but if you think that those monsters can’t find them without them being on those shows then you are delusional.” I heard the ring of truth in Dietrich’s voice. He was being firm to make sure that I didn’t let doubt fill my mind too much.
“He is right.” Unusually serious, Shane spoke in a firm voice as he stepped up next to his brother in-law. “They will find the kids no matter what. It is best to show your united and loving family to them instead of hiding a part of it from them. That is my opinion anyway.” He shrugged and stepped back to where he had been a moment ago.
“You’re right.” I let his words sink in and this was the conclusion that I had come to. “They will find the kids no matter what. That is why we need to be united and vigilant. Vincent, take care of the arrangements. We will do this. And when we have to, we will take the kids. All of them if they are requested.”
“Yes, Riviana.” Vincent nodded and smiled. He thought that this was a good idea, and so did I. We would tell the world the truth, and they would see that we weren’t their enemies.
Still, there was a little bit of anxiety that was coursing through me at the moment. I don’t know a single person, at least a mother, that wouldn’t be worried about this coming situation. However, as a queen and a leader I need to be on top of these things and rise above them. I needed to set aside my worries and my fears. I needed to guide my people into this new frontier that we had created for ourselves. And like I told them before all of this started, we were going to be OK. I would make sure of that. We would all be just fine in the end.
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Riviana
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It has been a few days now, since the reveal, that is. There has been little to no disturbance so far, and if we are lucky, this is how things will go for the foreseeable future. That doesn’t mean that we won’t be working proactively to make sure that we are viewed in a positive light. There is a lot that we need to take into consideration at the moment, and there is no time at all for us to take it easy.
Still, today was Christmas. I had been busy preparing for this for a while now. Not only was I preparing for this holiday, but I had been getting ready for a week from today, when the quads were going to turn eleven. This was a busy time of year for us, but I refused to let the kids feel like they were being ripped off. They didn’t deserve that. Not with all that they have had to go through in their lives. They needed their special days.
There were some traditions that we had never stopped since Joaquin and I celebrated our first Christmas together. And there are others that we have added over the years as we have had more and more people added to our family and community. Today, on this day of remembering to be thankful for all that you have and the people that you are with, this day of caring and giving, I was going to make sure that we followed through with them all.
There was going to be a big difference today, something that wasn’t usual for us, but I didn’t mind doing it at all. We were going to be having a visitor today. Someone that wasn’t used to spending the holidays with other people. And that visitor was Lara, the reporter that we had recently struck a deal with. She was supposed to be here before we got started with our typical morning holiday routine.
I woke early and got dressed alongside Joaquin. He and I were wearing nicer clothes, but something that was still comfortable. We didn’t want to throw our wealth into the faces of others either, although anyone who knew our names knew that we were some of the wealthiest people in the world, so that was pretty hard to do. Still, we got dressed like we usually did. I wore a dress that didn’t hide my belly this time. I wasn’t going to hide Reeselynn this time around.
After my makeup was done, not too much just enough to see that it was there, and my hair was braided into a simple style, I left the tower with Joaquin and headed down to the front door. We must have had some impeccable timing this time around, because the moment that we opened the door to the swirling snow, we saw that Lara was pulling up in her beat up old car. I could tell that it was one of those loved and well cared for old machines that people had a hard time letting go of.
…..
“Good morning, Lara.” I called out to her as I stepped out into the swirling snow.
“Good morning.” She smiled up to me as she grabbed her camera from her car. “Were you watching the security tapes or something?” She wondered, thinking that we had seen her driving up the long winding driveway.
“Nope. We just had really good timing. It happens from time to time.”
“I bet it does.” She grinned and shook her head. “I have this camera here, but I am also wearing one. That way I get more than one angle. Is that alright?” She was intent on making sure that she didn’t do anything that she wasn’t supposed to.
“That is fine. I just want to make sure that you get all that you need. We have a busy day though, so I hope that you are prepared for it.”
“Most definitely.” She looked ready to take on the world, let alone a busy day in the Gray family.
Joaquin and I led Lara up to our tower. All the way that we walked with her, Joaquin and I explained to her how the castle came to be, why it was here that it was built, and the power that the land had in it. We explained to her that it was the magic itself that had built this castle, we just shaped it with our connection to that magic. She was eagerly lapping it all up as well, intent on getting all the data that she could.
“You are going to be the first human to enter the royal tower.” Joaquin told her as he hit the button for the elevator.
“The royal tower is where we live with our children. In the past, when we first built the tower, our parents lived here with us as well. They wanted to be close to the kids and all that was going on. Now that we have been here for so long though, they have moved on to living in their own homes. Our parents have even had more children. Joaquin and I each have a younger sister that are almost the same age as our quadruplets.”
“Wow.” I could tell that Lara thought that this was insane, and in truth it really was. Still, it was our family, and we were used to it by now.
When we got out of the elevator at the main living area, we saw that the kids were all waiting for us. I hadn’t been sure that they would be awake yet, so seeing them was a shock to us all.
“What are you all doing here?” I asked them in a shocked tone.
“We were waiting for you. We knew that you had gone to greet Lara, so we wanted to get ready.” Reagan explained. “It is time for breakfast now, if you are ready to eat.”
“Of course.” I stepped forward and hugged him. “Merry Christmas, Reagan.” My hug to him turned into a large family hug between the nine of us.
After the hug was over, we all went into the dining room. I knew that Lara thought that she was just going to be filming our meal and observing things, but that wasn’t what I had planned. I told her to set the camera up so that it could see the entire table and then to take a seat. She was joining us for the meal.
This suggestion surprised Lara, because she didn’t think that she was here to join the holiday, just to observe it. Still, she did as I told her to and took a seat opposite me at the table. She was smiling happily the entire time too. She hadn’t been a part of a celebration like this in a while, and it showed in her eyes.
We enjoyed the meal that was made for us. We had apple strudel French toast, cinnamon swirl pancakes, baked and fried biscuits, bacon, sausage, ham, hash browns, eggs, sweet rice, and fruit. It was delicious, and we all ate to our heart’s content.
With the meal over, it was time for us all to go into the living room to open presents. This wasn’t anything overly special, everyone that celebrates Christmas does this same thing at some point during the holiday. However, I think that the amount of presents under our tree was a lot compared to most. We had some for me, Joaquin, Reagan, Rika, Talia, Zachary, Zander, Zayden, Zaley, and all our extended family that would be coming here later this evening. That was when they would open their gifts, and the kids would open more from all their various aunts and uncles.