As the afternoon sun beamed through my curtains, my eyes fluttered open. Sitting up in my bed, I sighed. I finally felt rested for once. After going to Richard's pack with Aaisha, Valerio took me home and let me have the morning off of training.
I jumped up from the bed and padded out to the kitchen. Valerio sat at the kitchen table with a coffee in his hand. Dark circles laid under his eyes from his lack of sleep and he yawned.
"How'd you sleep?" he asked.
"Good! How'd you sleep?" I replied.
He raised an eyebrow at me and groaned. "We have to go train. Go get ready. I have a surprise for you today."
My eyes widened, and a smirk spread across his face. I threw on my clothes and we began our walk down the dirt path to the platforms. Warrior wolves walked back and forth on the dirt path, some of them stood guard while others bustled to the edges of the land. They bowed their heads to me as I passed and smiled.
I glanced over at Valerio. "I didn't know Damon had this many warrior wolves," I began.
"He doesn't. Many of these men are from Luca's old pack. Luca has made them cooperate with Damon, so everything will go smoothly during the Ascension. That's why they're so many of them here."
I nodded my head in his direction and turned back to the path. I noticed the man Luca spoke to in our apartment a month ago about taking Luca's pack back. The boy that Damon whipped for misbehavior walked next to him and they both talked quietly together. I smiled at them and they quieted down as they noticed me and bowed their heads.
I raised my eyebrows at their odd behavior and turned back to the path.
As we approached the training platforms, I noticed Luca and Damon scowling at each other from the side of the mat. I turned to Valerio. "This is your surprise?" I whispered. "You know that I'm trying to stay away from them both, so I can focus on the Ascension."
They looked to be in a heated argument. Luca clenched his fists as he glared over at Damon while Damon clenched his jaw.
He glanced over at the two men who talked angrily to each other. "They're not your surprise. I don't know why their at the platforms right now, actually..." he started, furrowing his eyebrows at them. He glanced behind me and a smile stretched across his face. "They are your surprise."
I turned around to see the two pups I saved walking hand in hand towards the platform. They took a seat at the edge of the mat and pulled some dirt from the ground and threw it at each other.
A smile stretched across my face and I hugged Valerio. He knew how to make me happy. I needed time off or something to make me feel better and the pups could definitely do that for me. "Well, they're here to watch us fight, so let's put on a show for them."
I stripped my shirt off and jumped up onto the platform with Valerio.
"Mae!" the kids squealed. I waved at them and smiled.
Valerio stripped his shirt and lowered into a fighting stance. We circled each other for a few moments and slowly inched our way closer to each other. I dodged a few of his attacks and threw a few of my own.
Valerio charged at me, ducking under my stance and gripping the backs of my knees with his hands. He pushed against me, trying to pick me up, but I threw my legs back and sprawled out, making it harder for him. With one of my hands, I forcefully pressed his head down and wrapped my other arm around his neck, putting him into a choke hold.
"Yeah! Beat him up, Mae!" a little voice yelled from the edge of the platform.
"Woo hoo!" the other pup cheered as I tightened the choke.
"Too bad you're not fighting Alexandra again!" the boy laughed.
"Yeah! That was sooo funny!" the girl laughed with him.
"She was all like 'Oh stop, you're hurting me'."
I burst out laughing and loosened my hold on Valerio as I heard the two pups chatting. Valerio pulled himself out of my hold and pushed his shoulder into my stomach, knocking me to the ground. He positioned his body above mine and pinned me to the mat.
Tears streamed from my eyes as the pups continued talking.
Valerio crawled off of me and knelt by my side, smiling down at me as he listened to the children too.
"Mae, you need to concentrate," he said as he tried to suppress a smile.
"Hey, you're the one who brought the kids to my training," I stated, wiping the tears from my cheeks.
"To teach you concentration," he stated.
"Did you really think I would be able to concentrate with two little pups making fun of Alexandra? They're hilarious."
He shook his head and stood up, holding out an arm for me to take. "Alright, training is over for today, but I expect you to be concentrating on your training fully tomorrow. No excuses."
I nodded my head and jumped up, heading to the two pups. As they saw me approach, they jumped up and sprinted to me. They leapt into my arms, weighing me down. Wrapping their arms around my neck, they pulled me into a hug.
"Mae!" they squealed.
"How are my two favorite pups doing?" I asked.
"Hungry!" the boy said.
"Yeah, we asked Alexandra to make us a snack and she said 'No,'" the girl added.
I furrowed my eyebrows together and inhaled sharply. She was getting on my nerves. Something needed to be done about her. I glanced over at Damon to see him smiling at me with the pups from the other side of the platform. I nodded him over to us and he jogged over.
"Alpha Damon!" the girl squealed reaching her arms out for him to hold her. He lifted her off of me and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"What's up, Squirt?" he asked, tickling her belly. They laughed together, and my heart warmed. My mind fluttered to the thought of what life could've been like for us if none of this happened. We could've had a happy little family.
I pushed the thought away.
"Guys, why don't you tell Damon what you just told me about Alexandra," I encouraged.
The boy looked to Damon. "We asked her to make us a snack and she wouldn't make one for us."
Damon's eyebrows furrowed together, and a low growl rumbled from his throat. His jaw clenched, and he shook his head. He pursed his lips together and glanced at me. I hardened my eyes at him, telling him he needed to finally do something about her. He nodded in understanding and then turned back to the kids.
"Well, how about Mae and I make you a snack?" he asked.
"I can make them a snack," I interrupted. I just wanted Damon to come over, so they would tell her how bad of a Luna Alexandra was. "You're busy with work for the Ascension."
A smile tugged at his lips. "I can always make time for some of my favorite people," he laughed as he glanced down at the pups. They laughed. His eyes flickered to mine for a moment, and I chewed on the inside of my lip. My heart clenched, and a warm feeling spread throughout my body.
I held the pup closer as we walked back on the dirt path to the pack house.
I plopped the boy down on one of the chairs and walked to the refrigerator.
"What would you both like?" I asked, looking into the fridge.
"I'll take 2 sandwiches, 3 hotdogs, a water, and some fries..." I glanced up and shook my head as Samuel walked into the kitchen.
"If you wanna have that, you're gonna have to make it yourself, Samuel." I smirked at him as he frowned and sat down next to the two kids.
Damon pulled out some meat from the fridge. "Go sit down. I'll make something," he murmured to me. He smiled warmly as his fingers lightly brushed over mine.
I shut my eyes enjoying his closeness and then pulled my hand away. I sat down at the table with the kids and Samuel and we chatted as Damon made dinner. As Damon finished, he put the meat on the plates and everyone jumped up to get their own. After everyone sat back down, Damon smiled over at me.
The two pups sat on either side of Samuel and the three of them began whispering back and forth. Samuel laughed and then the two pups began pointing at Damon and I.
I raised an eyebrow at them. "What're you whispering about over there?" I asked.
The boy covered his mouth with his hand and laughed, his eyes scrunching together.
"We know a secret!" the girl squealed.
"And what's your secret?" Damon asked.
"You and Mae like each other!" the pups yelled together.
My eyes widened as my cheeks reddened. I glanced over at Damon to see a smile plastered on his face.
"Why do you think that?" he urged them to continue. I nudged him hard in the stomach. Why would he ask that?
"Because whenever Mae sees you her eyes glow a little! And whenever you see Mae, you're always super nice to her, nicer than you are to Alexandra," the boy stated.
My heart tightened as the boy admitted that Damon was nicer to me. I knew Damon cared for me more. He had always cared for me a little more than her, but I was glad people noticed it.
"Are we right?" the girl squealed.
"Yeah," Samuel started. "Are we right about you two liking each other?"
"I know I like Mae," Damon admitted.
Everyone turned to me, waiting for my response. "How about we get cleaned up?" I began, not wanting to admit to the feeling I had in my heart for Damon.
The children's smiled disappeared and were replaced with frowns. They posted their elbows on the table and put their chin in their palms. "Awh, come on Mae!"
"Yeah, that didn't answer our question!"
They swayed their feet back and forth under their chair. My face began to tingle, and my heart raced at being placed on the spot in front of everyone. I adverted my gaze to the table and chewed on the inside of my cheek.
"Alright, you pups, that's enough," Damon spoke as he saw my nervousness. He stood from the table and put his dish in the sink. The pups jumped up after him and did the same. Grabbing them by the hands, he walked towards the hallway.
"But, Alpha Damon! Mae didn't answer!" one of the pups stated.
He smirked down at him. "Well, she probably just doesn't want anyone to know if she likes me or not." He squatted down so he was eye level with the pups. "But, between us three, I think she does," he whispered.
The two pups covered their mouths with their hands and giggled and Damon stood back up. As he approached the hallway, he looked over at me and winked, causing me to look down and blush. "I'll see you later, Mae."
A/N
Happy Friday!
Those pups are the freaking cutest little things <3 <3
Softer side of Damon in this chapter. What did you think of him?
Ships? ValerioxMae, DamonxMae, LucaxMae, MaexAaisha, MaexMae?
Warmly, Destiny <3