Chapter 29
Titus' POV
Little hands petting my large, shifted form turned out to be more relaxing once Amina explained to James that pulling and petting were not the same thing. I had taken to being shifted more often than not as a sense of impending danger grew bigger and bigger as the days passed. We had prepared as much as possible and now we were playing a waiting game, that was all we could do. The constant search missions returned with no results and shaking down members of the surrounding packs returned with even less. I hated that I was being forced to let him get so close to my territory but until a better opportunity presented itself, I was stuck.
"Beck!"
"Steve, lower your voice please."
He paid Amina little attention as he shot off toward Amina's brother Beckham, who he had taken a liking to almost the moment they met.
"Hey kid, listen to your guardian."
He skidded to a stop once he reached his destination, grabbing his inhaler from his pocket and taking a few puffs so that he could catch his breath easier.
"What's a guardian?"
I growled lowly, hoping that Beckham would get the point.
"Uhh, don't worry about it kid."
I let out a low rumble of satisfaction and James looked up at me, that wonderful smile on his face as he reached up and patted me gently on the snout. I gave him a little nudge like I knew he loved, and he fell back into Amina's arms, giggling like mad.
"Y'all are going to give me a cavity with all the sweet shit going on."
"Naughty word! Ya gotta go to the naughty corner."
"Not happening kid. Amina, mom and dad want to see you two, they have something they want to talk about."
Amina picked up James from his place between my paws so that I could shift back.
Amina's POV
"Beckham you have to sit in the naughty corner for swearing, it's the rule and no one is exempt from them."
"Amina I'm a grown ass man."
"No excuses, Titus has had to sit there too and he's the king, so suck it up."
"She's right, it's the rules."
Titus spoke as he took James from my arms, gaining a happy little noise from the boy. I smiled as James clumsily traced the tattoos on Titus' chest. He was quiet for a toddler and was content to sit as close to Titus as he could get which Titus absolutely loved even though he never said it aloud. I knew he had grown attached to both boys but I think he may have seen himself in little James but that didn't lessen his bond with Steve even a little bit.
"What do your parents need?"
Beckham shrugged, never one to be concerned about much of anything as I had noticed in his short time here.
"No idea, they just asked me to relay the message, they're with August and it seems important."
Beckham explained as we walked toward the pack house.
**
Titus didn't bother knocking as he barged into the office where my parents and Titus father and a red headed woman sat around the conference table. It was the same room where Titus had lost his temper, it looked different now that the mess was cleaned up.
"Dad, what's going on?"
"Son, Amina, we've been doing some talking and trying to figure out a way to keep everyone protected."
"What do you mean?"
August looked hesitantly down at the two children in our laps, concern crossing his features.
"We think that the two of you should start the coronation proceedings as soon as possible."
I tensed at the statement. I couldn't do it, I wasn't ready to be a queen. I wasn't ready for everything to be real.
Titus' POV
I felt Amina tense up next to me and clutch Steve a little tighter to her chest. I knew she didn't think she was ready, but if her actions over the last few months have been anything to go by, she's more than ready to take her proper title as the Alpha Queen, the Luna of all wolves.
"Why? Why now?"
"We all know that he's close and Titus you are powerful as the king, but a kingdom is only as strong as its leaders and together, you are unstoppable. Tony needs to be punished for his crimes against Amina and every soul that he's harmed, both living and dead. I know you don't feel as if you are ready Amina, but we all believe in you and we all have faith in you."
Amina's POV
"Amina, darling I know that this is a lot to take in but it's the only way to give the survival of the pack some kind of fighting chance. We believe that even without you two being officially bonded and you as an official royal that we will defeat him but together, the pack as a whole is stronger."
I ignored my mother's words. This was too much for me to take in so I calmly and without speaking, gathered Steve safely in my arms, and left the room ignoring the people calling out my name.
**
Later that night I was awakened by screaming coming from the room that the boys shared next door to Titus' and I's room, and I was out of bed and down the hall with Titus right on my tail.
My heart broke at the sight of Steve sitting up in bed sobbing and little James standing in his crib crying, probably from being woken up so unpleasantly.
Steve reached out to Titus, who had made his way over to his bed while I went to comfort James.
"He's gonna hurt you!"
"Hey, hey buddy calm down for me okay? Just calm down."
"But he's gonna hurt you, he said so!"
Titus held the distraught boy closer to him as he smoothed a large hand gently up and down his back in an attempt to comfort him.
"Who's gonna hurt me Steve? Who told you that?" he asked the boy.
"That bad man that hurt my mama. He said that he was gonna hurt my daddy. I don't want him to hurt you!"
And that one sentence is what made up my mind.
Titus POV
Daddy.
Daddy.
He called me daddy.
I clutched the little boy closer to me as he slept soundly on my chest. He had had a nightmare about the night of his mother's murder. He described the nightmare in great detail, he'd relived the moment where he was forced to watch Tony murder his mother but where in real life Tony had just walked away and left the boy in the hands of his men, he instead walked over to Steve and stood over him as he described how his daddy, the great alpha of all alphas, was next to die.
Please don' leave me daddy.
Those were the words that the child had mumbled before he fell asleep once again.
"Whatever meeting you have to call to put this together, do it now."
I looked over at my mate who was curled protectively around James.
"Are you sure?"
That fire was back in her eyes.
"I'm ready."
**
"Titus, why have you called a meeting this time of night, it's 3 in the morning."
I'd managed to gather everyone fairly quickly as Amina had requested. So as this was her decision, I motioned her forward so that she could speak for herself. She hitched James higher up on her hip as he tiredly played with his own hair. Both boys had woken up at the loss of our presence and had whined pitifully until we took them with us, not that we had put up much of a fight in the first place. Steve sat on my lap, head resting on my chest, one hand gripping the fabric of my t-shirt, the other resting on the arm I had wrapped around him.
"I've decided that we should proceed with the coronation ceremony."
The Elders and our parents murmured amongst themselves, pride coming from our families, skepticism from the elders. Elder Zuri, also affectionately called Mama by everyone in the pack, was the first to speak up.
"The Goddess has told me about you child, and I agree that it's time for you to come home."
It was a well-known fact that Mama along with being the oldest member of the pack at nearly a hundred years old, was the only living werewolf that was able to communicate with the Moon Goddess. The other elders, afraid to go against the word of the Moon Goddess hastily agreed.
"You are strong, and you are the key to a brighter future. If you are ready there will be no one that will deny you your right to claim your rightful title as queen."
"I'm ready, I'm not afraid anymore and I have more than just myself to protect now and it's taken me too long to realize that. We have too many people, innocent people depending on us to keep them safe and for me to take that away from them because of my own fears is selfish and detrimental to everyone that have put their trust in me as their Luna and I'll be damned if I let him hurt my people when I can do something to stop it."
Pride swelled in my chest at her words, she was talking like a queen.
My father stood proudly, Ariel by his side.
"Then arrangements should be made right away. Should we plan for the introduction of two princes?"
The two boys were a little more alert now that the mood of the room had lifted some and now all eyes were on them. Steve looked around curiously while James had found amusement with Amina's mother's hair. Steve tugged on my shirt, his nose wrinkled in confusion
"Who's a prince daddy?"
My heart warmed at the sound of my new title. I looked around the room to gauge the reactions of the rest of the room as Amina brought James over so that we could sit the boys together. I guess we were having this talk now.
I cleared my throat, nervous all of a sudden.
"Steve, James, there's something that Mina and I wanna ask you."
I wasn't sure how to phrase this so that they could understand clearly but never say I didn't at least try.
"So, you know how your mommies and daddies are in heaven?"
I got a nod from Steve.
"I remember, mama is there with my daddy, but I don't know him."
"Yeah, James, what about you buddy? Do you know that?"
He nodded. "Mama sleeps, don' wake up. She up there now." He said as he pointed up at the ceiling.
Goddess they're too young.
"Yeah kiddo, she's in heaven."
He didn't mention his father, so I chose to leave that for later.
"Well, how about me and Amina be your new mom and dad? Would you like that?"
Steve's eyes went wide.
"I can get a new mama?"
Amina answered. "Only if you want to sweetheart."
Steve flipped.
"Jamie we gots a new mommy and daddy! That mean man took ours away but they're okay now and we got new parents and that means we don' have to leave like that lady said, and we get to be princes!"
James' face lit up and let out a happy little giggle and clapped his hands to show his joy.
"New mama n' daddy!"
Their excitement was contagious, and I grabbed both boys and Amina into a hug and if I shed a few tears, well that'd be our little secret.
**
"Hey Steve, yesterday you said something about a lady saying that you would have to leave. Can you tell me who she was?"
He froze with his spoon of cereal halfway to his mouth, eyes shifting around the room.
"Umm, that was an accident daddy, m' sorry."
He was lying to me. I walked over to him and knelt down next to his seat so that we were level.
"Now Steve, I don't think that was an accident. Did she say she would hurt you? You know I would never let that happen, but I need you to tell me who said that to you and Jamie."
He put his spoon down into his bowl and tucked his lips into his mouth as if that would stop him from speaking and looked down at the table. He was afraid, I could smell it on him.
"It really was an accident, I didn't mean it."
"So, you made that up? All by yourself?"
He nodded, still not looking at me.
Michael, I need you down in the kitchen ASAP.
On my way.
Michael was there less than a minute later.
"What's up?"
"I want you to answer me honestly."
He looked at me curiously but nodded his consent.
"Have I ever broken a promise to you?"
"No, never."
I turned back to Steve and gently forced his head up so that we were looking at each other.
"Hear that kiddo? Daddy doesn't break his promises, so I want you to believe me when I say that I won't let anyone hurt you. I'll always keep you safe, but I need you to tell me who that woman was. Who told you that I would make you and your brother leave?"
His eyes shifted around the room as they filled with tears and his lower lip started to wobble as his breathing sped up. Panic attack.
"I- I can't, I'm scared."
Shit. I pushed him too much, his breathing was getting out of control and he was gasping for air. I pulled out his inhaler that I always carried around, but it didn't seem to be doing its job. His lips were quickly turning blue as he panicked further because he couldn't catch his breath. I wasted no more time as I picked him up and took off at a dead sprint toward the pack hospital.
**
A doctor snatched him from my arms as soon as she was able to case the situation. He was placed on a stretcher a wheeled out of my sight, from experience I knew I wouldn't be allowed back, and I didn't try to force my way back because I didn't want to be the reason that something went wrong.
"Titus! What happened?"
I knew I couldn't lie to her.
"He had a panic attack."
Amina's eyes shot up to her hairline.
"What? That's never happened before, will he be okay?"
"I don't know, Yvonne just took him back, where's James?"
"He's with my parents, why?"
"I was talking with Steve about something he said yesterday that I didn't really catch onto until this morning. He said that some lady told him that they would have to leave if we didn't agree to be their parents, but when I brought it up to him earlier, he said that he'd made it up. I pressed him a little more and he was so scared he had a panic attack. Someone threatened him and he's too afraid to tell me."
Michael looked personally offended as he spoke.
"Who the fuck is threatening children? It can't be Tatiana, she's on lockdown so she can't even leave her room, so she doesn't know that the boys even exist, and her friends are spineless without her, none of them are dumb enough to go after your kids and expect to get away with it."
"I can't even think of anyone that doesn't adore them, I've never even left them around strangers so that means-"
I cut her off with a low growl.
"It's someone we know."
Further conversation was halted as the rest of our friends and families approached us, worried looks on all of their faces.
"Honey what happened?"
I looked at Ariel. Could it be her? No. She would never do anything like that.
"He had a panic attack."
I chose to keep the details under wraps just in case the one who threatened him was here, just because he said it was a woman, doesn't mean that they hadn't coached him to say that.
"Oh, that poor baby."
Alana? Was it her? She didn't have the best parental track record. But no, she wouldn't dare, her relationship with Amina was too important to her.
"Alpha."
The doctor, Yvonne's, voice matched her grave expression.
Oh Goddess, is he dead?
"There's something you need to see, Luna, you should come as well."
We looked at each other, worry and panic on both our faces. We rushed after the doctor as she stopped at the room where I assume, she'd had Steve moved to. My heart clenched at the sight of him, my sonlying in a bed that was much too big for him, a clear breathing mask covering his face and an IV drip in his arm.
"He's going to be fine, he's just tired himself out but there's something that I think needs to be brought to your attention, I'd like to ask a few questions first."
I nodded for her to go along.
"Has Steven been behaving differently? Distancing himself, shying away from other adults? Has he been relying less on your help with things like dressing or checking in on him when he bathes?"
I nodded.
"Yeah, he's started to insist on dressing himself in his room and he doesn't like for us to check on him at bath time. He said he can do it alone."
I'm a big boy mama, I can do it myself.
Yvonne nodded and pursed her lips.
"Well, I think I know why."
She said as she gently peeled back the thin blanket that covered Steve's thin frame.
I heard Amina cry out before my vision completely blacked out.
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James and Steve 100% look like this when they grow up. I based them off of Marvel's characters Captain America(Steve for those who may not know. On the right.) and The Winter Soldier (James On the left).