After walking in the garden for a while, Nate calmed down. He realised that what had happened wasn't very natural.
Not on his side as much as on Lara's.
True, he was an Alpha and hated when people challenged his authority. But what had happened to Lara? She refused his orders just because!
«Ah,» he snorted, walking back and reaching the room with his family.
Lara was talking with the pups, her voice sweet like every time she was with them. He hadn't heard that tone with anyone else.
«Don't worry,» she was saying to Scarlet.
The little girl was sobbing, desperate, and Lara was wiping her tears. What made her cry? Was it the argument?
It wasn't that bad, all in all, Nate considered. They just disagreed, nothing more than that.
«Hey,» he said from the door.
Jaden glared at him, but it wasn't the usual gaze filled with hatred. Something had changed between them, but he wasn't ready to find out what.
«What's happening?»
«Nothing,» Lara sighed. «We scared the twins.»
«I'm not scared!» Jaden exclaimed, crossing his arms.
Nate walked to the three and offered his arms to Scarlet. The little girl stared at him for a few seconds before talking.
«Are you going to leave us?» she asked.
Nate's brow flew up, on his forehead, almost reaching his hair. Leaving them? He was asking the exact opposite, for the Moon Goddess. He wanted them in his house, close to him and safe.
«No, I'm not,» he replied.
Hearing it, Scarlet sighed and slipped in his hug. She surrounded his neck with her arms and cried on his shirt.
«You and mommy argued,» she explained. «Don't people leave when they argue?»
«No, Scarlet. They don't.»
«Are you sure?» she hummed, wiping her nose on his shoulder.
«People might fight, but that doesn't mean they leave. We are a family, aren't we? It means we will never leave, even when we fight a lot. I will always be your dad, won't I?»
«But...»
«No buts. This is what being a family means. You don't leave even when you're angry or don't understand the other. You stay and wait for things to get better.»
«So, you won't leave even when mommy says she doesn't want to listen to you...»
He chuckled, starting to understand what had happened there. He was an Alpha, and his pups were wolves. But Lara was human: she reacted differently to authority. Moreover, she was his mate.
His mother and father had a different relationship than the other wolves in the pack. It was a matter of being a couple. An Alpha could be overbearing and command his pack, but he should never act the same way with his mate. Alpha males and females were both leading the pack in one way or the other. There was no hierarchy among them.
«It was my mistake, Scarlet. I should have never talked like that to your mother.»
«Really? You won't?»
«I'll try not to. But when I do, make sure to scold me and remind me I have no right to.»
«But daddy, aren't you the boss?»
«I am.»
«So, why?»
«I am the boss, and your mother will be as well. We will lead the pack together.»
«Is that an easy job?»
«Not at all.»
«I don't want my mommy to do a hard job.»
«I would bet on that,» he sighed.
At least, she wasn't crying anymore.
«Let's talk about that another time, though. Let's return to the fighting and leaving matter. In a family, one doesn't just leave. If they do, then they have never truly been family.»
Scarlet pursed her lips, thinking.
«What happened to your mother won't repeat itself,» he explained. «No matter how bad things get, I won't forget about you. Never.»
«Never ever?»
«Never ever.»
«Now I'm hungry, daddy!»
«Hungry?»
«Grandma said she will bake some cake.»
«I see,» he hummed, turning on his heels.
His daughter had asked for food, and he was going to bring her some. Or to carry her to the dining room, which seemed easier.
Only after crossing the door, he remembered there were two other pairs of eyes staring at him. Two pairs of beautifully brown eyes.
«Shall we go eat?» he inquired, hoping to meet little resistance. «We can talk later.»
«I think it's better if we talk now,» Lara pointed out. «The discussion started in front of the twins, so we should end it here.»
«I'm sorry for my tone, Lara. I think you're safer here in the residence. It won't last forever, just a few days. I won't intrude into your life, by the way. You will have your space here, and the kids will be with you for the whole time.»
«I wasn't angry about this... Rather, I didn't like that you took the decision for me.»
«I'm sorry again. It's your choice to make, but I'd like to remind you it's dangerous out there.»
«I know, I'm not stupid. I should apologise as well. I reacted too fiercely, given the situation.»
«I think it's normal,» Nate chuckled, walking back to the bed and sitting next to her. «A wolf would have acted in the same way... It's odd, but you resemble a female wolf sometimes.»
«It shouldn't surprise you so much. I gave birth to two wolves, after all. But... Wouldn't a wolf obey when ordered by an Alpha?»
«Not the Alpha's mate. Not just that you can resist, get angry or fight with me, but you can help others as well. There's a reason why there are few people in my team, and it's all related to the fact I had no mate. A single Alpha has more difficulties guiding a pack because we're programmed to work in couples. Differently from humans, wolves tend to marry someone they can team up with.»
«So, it was kind of normal,» she said, sighing with relief. She wasn't becoming a crazy, neurotic woman! It was Nate's fault!
«It would be normal for a female Alpha,» he pointed out.
His goal was just a few steps afar. His mood improved after the pitfall of a few minutes before. Lara was going to become his mate, sooner rather than later.. In her heart, she had already accepted it.
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