Filed to story: Sorry Alpha I Am Wolfless Novel
“I missed you, little sis.” Reagan’s voice was sad and happy at the same time. He had been worried about her while she was away, sad that she was not with them, and now happy that she was here. There was a lot going on inside of him, that was easy to see.
“So did I, Talia. I missed you too.” Rika said with her face pressed against Talia’s hair.
“I missed you, too. It was exciting to travel, and I was happy to help, but I missed home way more than I thought that I would.” Talia was always able to talk to Reagan and Rika openly about things. It was just the relationship that they had with each other, and I was glad to see it in front of me.
“OK, if we’re all content now that the hugs were given, I think we can start to settle in a little.” I called out and at that moment, Roisin came over toward me.
“Welcome home, Queen Riviana.” She bowed toward me, but I saw that she was looking out the corner of her eyes toward Gabriel. “Shall I take your things and see to it that they are put away?”
“That is not an immediate priority, Roisin. You can spend some time with Gabriel first. I am sure that you two missed each other.”
“R..really?” She beamed at me happily. “Thank you, Queen Riviana.”
“Not a problem. Gabriel, we will reconvene in two hours to debrief everyone here. Vincent, Shane, David, Jackson, Rawlynne, Rudy, all of you can go and spend time with your families as well. Please return in two hours so that we can hold a meeting with everyone.”
“Riviana.” Joaquin called out to me. “That will be in the middle of dinner, let us reconvene in four hours, at eight this evening.” I understood what he was saying underneath those words. We can spend more time with the kids, then they will be able to spend the time before bed in their rooms while we talk things over with the others that were here.
“Alright. That sounds good. We will meet back in my office in four hours.” I nodded at them. “Enjoy this time with your families. I know that they have all missed you.”
“Thank you.” The words were echoed from everyone that was in the room before they left to do their own thing and relax for the next four hours.
“Mommy, are you home for good now? Are you going to leave again?” Zaley asked as she came running back over to me. She took my hands and looked up into my eyes.
“We’re home for now, sweetheart. I don’t know if we’re going to leave again. I hope that we don’t have to. I want to make sure that we’re together as much as possible.” I squeezed her hands gently, just a little bit of pressure to let her know that I was here and that I loved her more than she knew.
“I don’t want you to leave, Mommy.” She hugged me around her waist, so tightly that it almost hurt.
“I know sweetheart. And I don’t want to leave. Mommy only leaves when she has to. But I promise you that I will always come back to you. To all of you.”
“Momma, is everything OK now? Is the business over?” Reagan was speaking in terms that wouldn’t scare the younger kids. They didn’t know that we were on an investigation for murders, but Reagan and Rika did. They were older and knew more of what was going on than the others. Well, they did know more. Now Talia knew more than they did.
“No. It’s not over, but our research has brought us back home now.” I gave him a meaningful look and spoke in the same coded pattern. “We will talk about it later. For now, let’s have some time together as a family.” I held Zaley closer to me. “How about we let Abigail know that we’re home. I am sure she will need to know so that she makes enough dinner for us all.”
“I’ll tell her.” Zachary volunteered and started to run. Zander and Zayden followed him.
“No, me. I’ll tell her first.”
“No! I want to tell her. I want her to make dessert for us too.” They all ran out of the room and toward the large kitchen that Abigail typically occupied.
Joaquin, the four remaining kids in the room, and I all moved to sit down so that we could relax together. Alexio, the only other person that was still with us, seemed to be at a loss.
“Alexio, I know that you do not have someone to return to at the moment, but you may do as you please for the next few hours. It has been a long trip, and you have worked hard. You deserve a break as well.” I saw him look at Talia and wonder if he should really relax in his duties right now, given what was going to happen soon. Then again, he had to be thinking that we were in the castle, which was heavily guarded with my magic, and she was with her parents who could protect her.
“A..alright. I will return to my room. Thank you.” He nodded and left after a quick bow to Talia. He really was a devoted guard. I just wish that he would find someone to love soon. He was lonely and I knew that he needed to have someone to make him happy. I felt bad that he was here for so long and hadn’t met the right person yet. Then again, all he ever did was work, so that was probably part of the reason why. Maybe I would bring in some potential mates for him and see if they react to him. It would be an idea at least.
I mean, I didn’t want him to be lonely forever. I wanted him to find someone that would make him happy. Someone that he would be able to spend time with when he wasn’t working. The problem would be getting him away from work long enough to actually meet these people. I had a feeling that it would take a cataclysmic event to make that happen. And with a chuckle, I decided to just leave him be and let him live his life the way that he wanted to.
****
Riviana
****
“Mommy, you need to see the project that I am working on in school.” Zaley called out when we were sitting on the couch. She was still holding onto me and hugging me tightly, only now she was hugging me around the shoulders as she knelt on the couch.
“A project already? Isn’t that a little early in the school year?” I didn’t feel like we were gone that long. It was just a little over a couple of weeks, just a day or so more. Today was literally the start of the third week of school.
“It’s an art project. They want something that is going to represent the upcoming harvest moon. I have a beautiful painting that I am making for it, but I don’t think that it will make it into the showcase.” She hung her head as she said that.
“Why not, sweetheart?”
…..
“I’m not good enough, Mommy. And no one likes me. No one wants to have my painting on display.”
“That isn’t true, Zaley. People love you, and you’re a wonderful artist. You just need to persevere and show people what you can do. You know, there was a time when almost everyone in the pack acted like they didn’t like me, but I never gave up.”
“Really?” Zaley lifted her head and looked at me with wonder filled eyes.
“Yes, really. I barely had anyone to talk to outside of my family. But look at mommy now. I am strong and proud of who I became. And I am just as proud of you, Zaley. You are stronger than you know, and you are beautiful, capable, and talented. You do whatever you want to do. And I am sure that you will come through it in the end.” Just as I finished my encouraging words, Zachary, Zander and Zayden all came running back into the room.
“We told her.” Zachary was first in the room and exclaimed a little breathlessly.
“Yeah, she was happy too.” Zander added next.