♡︎ 𝐒𝐎𝐅𝐈𝐀'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕 ♡︎
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/ edited /
"I swear I'm never leaving." I gave a mere moan at the taste of the delicious Kian's kebab, as he was so talented in cooking that he even passed the art of making food to his son, making me realise that he did get his skills from his dad.
It was incredible and amazing, and I had to resist my voice before making a fool out of myself in front of the whole family, knowing that I can't be a weird sounding goat during my first meeting with them.
"You shouldn't leave, I have kebab for days." Kian chuckled brightly, while no one talked as they were too busy eating the drumsticks with me.
"This is super good, but I think I'm done." I announced sheepishly, seeing the almost three eaten bones on my plate, while wiping my mouth with a tissue to get rid of the red colour surrounding my lips.
Zander sat beside me very comfortably, keeping his spare hand wrapped around my waist to keep my close, and was already on his fifth drumstick and eyed me warily after digesting my words, kind of ordering me to eat more without uttering anything, and I shook my head with a small smile before assuring him to continue eating.
"Come on dear, you should have some more. You've barely eaten." Mia protested, as she was naturally the kind of mom who would constantly feed her babies, seeing she was silently ordering her husband to make her some more, and he smirked at her mischievously.
They were such a cute couple.
"Exactly, being a werewolf means you have more hunger and a bigger belly to fill. Don't torture and your wolf like that, you can eat with any shame in front of us. I mean, have you seen Mark's plate?" Maya laughed, showing me his plate which had seven finished bones.
Mark was still on his drumstick after stealing one from his sister, causing Maya to gasp and slap him on the back, and he evilly laughed before nodded at me in encouragement for another bite.
How are they able to eat so much and not throw up?
"No seriously, I'm full. I'm not much of an eater." I insisted.
"Why? Is my son not feeding you well enough?" His dad glared at my mate, as he was just innocently eating while widening his eyes, already terrified of his dad.
Awww.
"It's shnot like thet." He protested while speaking gibberish, with his mouth full, making everyone chuckle.
"He feeds me well, but I insist on not eating that much. I don't have that much of a big belly." I mumbled.
"Well it will be our goal to have you eat twelve kebabs next roast!" Mark cheered, as everyone agreed with him.
I was becoming more and more healthy during the previous following days, as Zander actually did a wonderful job of nurturing me back to health, to the point where even Dr. Lee was happy to see my improvement, and my scars were long gone.
And with that, even Evie finished healing herself from the prolonged silver, which was a huge relief considering it did not target any vital organs. So as of now, I'm perfectly labelled as a healthy person.
"Exactly! But now, I really like that she doesn't steal our sticks like Nidia. She's so much better, Nidia was a bitch." Maya growled, as I looked at her in question while everyone stared at her in disbelief.
Huh? Who's she?
"What?" She questioned after seeing everyone gawk at her with tense eyes, before her eyes landed on me, and her cheery look faltered immediately, causing her to cough.
"O-Oh...I mean nothing." She quickly muttered, and I was even more confused, while looking at Zander who was glaring at his sister.
"Who's Nidia?" I asked directly while looking at my mate, as he lightly coughed on his food while I handed him a tissue.
"No one." He curtly replied.
Is she someone from his past?
"You don't have to worry Sofia, she's a nobody." Mia assured with a soft smile, and I looked back at my mate for some answers, only to see him chew on his food aggressively this time, making me frown.
I thought...he said he didn't have a history with anyone other than me.
"Oh boy. Guys chill, you're literally giving her the wrong message. Trust me Sof, she's nothing. She's just someone who didn't fit well us." Mark explained casually.
"Oh.."
"It's true. She's a spec in our lives, or maybe even less than that." Mia further explained.
"I-Is there something I should know?" I hesitantly entreated Zander with a worried face, as he sighed and pulled me closer to him while looking down at me with sly solace in his eyes.
"Trust me, it's nothing. You shouldn't worry unnecessarily." He assured, while kissing me on the forehead, making me look down at my lap with a pout.
I mean, even she was something to him, I'm pretty sure it's in the past...right?
"I want to know." I mandated softly, while holding his hand under the table in awareness.
"It's basically that when Zander left for London, she was his assistant, and also a trainee for the Shadow Moon Pack Security department to follow her parents' job. Zander was coerced to look forward to years of training to become a god, and for the past 7 years, she was there with him. You could say she kind of got obsessed with him in some time, and she convinced everyone that they were mates because of being delusional. Zander did not lead her on at all, he was pretty clear that he wasn't interested, and that if she escalated, even more, he'd banish her from the pack. But she wouldn't get the message." Maya started with a grimace adorning her face, making me furrow my eyebrows in ephemeral pejorative after hearing her vices.
I looked at Zander after she had started, as his eyes held irritation and anger while he glared at my lap, already deep in thought, but I hugged his arm to let him know that everything is fine, and that I'm not at all mad at him.
He then shifted his gaze to me, and weakly frowned, obviously not liking the subject about her and making it visibly known to everyone. He almost looked uncomfortable while talking about her, making me realise how much that woman might have troubled him non-stop, making a small bit of hostility birth inside me. His eyes told me a whole story, as I sighed out loud.
"Then what happened?" I asked curiously.
"Once his training was finished, Nidia posted on social media everywhere that she was going to become Luna after they would come back, and that she will become Zander's Queen. Zander had enough of her and planned to exile her out of this pack to end this drama once and for all, until she met her mate in our pack itself." Kian continued.
"Jesus, she was so fucking annoying." Zander growled under his breath, while his mom hissed at him.
"No foul language in front of the twins!" She lectured.
"Mom, they are literally 14. They curse every day in the house." Zander grumbled.
"Still babies. And they do it because they copy you." Her mom huffed, making me chuckle.
Zander then glared at both the twins, as they innocently stared at their plates, silently agreeing with Mia, obviously learning things from their older brother, making my mate roll his eyes before nudging me playfully.
"Where is she now?"
"We don't know, as soon as she found her apparent mate, she almost resigned from the council and as his assistant, and lived her own life without involving us. I still remember how he howled with joy on top of a hill as soon as she was gone." Mia chuckled.
"Of course I was happy, I finally didn't have to listen to her rants about some love she had for me." Zander groaned.
"I'm glad she isn't bothering you anymore either, if she would've, I don't think I'd be calm like I am right now." I whispered to him, as he smiled down at me after hearing me talk like this, while I even surprised myself after saying that, already feeling possessive about him.
And I don't regret feeling like that.
He's mine.
Fuck everyone else.
"Okay, that's enough. I'd like to talk to my soon to be daughter alone, you can babysit the twins Zander. And Kian, have a talk with Leon about Red Moon. Now." Mia ordered in her authoritative voice, as instantly Zander and his father stood up straight and did exactly what she said in a flash.
Zander shooed himself and the twins and ran after them to the backyard, already tagging them into a game of tag, causing a round of laughs to follow behind them, while Kian immediately left the scene with a phone in his hand, shouting into it.
"Woah." I gasped at the fast response while looking at their cuteness.
"Works every time." Mia giggled, while getting up herself and offering me her hand. I immediately took it gently, as she led me through the hallways of the mansion for the next few minutes.
We silently walked down the corridors and made sharp terms, and I stared at her impeccable house in awe, encountering numerous paintings and aesthetically pleasing furniture on the way, and she was happy to see my satisfaction after witnessing my reaction towards her choice of designing the house.
We made it to the back porch, where there was an amazing lounge area near the pool, giving us the perfect privacy to talk while we could see all the three siblings playing together, running after each other while almost wrestling in the end.
Holy fuck, he looked so adorable with them.
'Damn right he does.'
"Have a seat dear." Mia contended with a smile, while patting the space beside her on a couch, as I gladly took her offer.
We honestly didn't talk at all in the first few minutes, as we just observed her kids playing in peace, and her eyes clearly displayed the harmony she expected for them to be in, having a content mood to see all of them together after a long time.
"No matter how old my boy is becoming, he'll always be the same Zander who would never leave his siblings alone as a kid." She sighed, as I smiled at her words.
"That's really amazing. I just never knew he was amazing with kids." I commented.
"He does wonders dear, I'm sure he'll be able to surprise you many times in the future, of course, that will happen when I'll have mini you and him running around the houses." She chuckled, while I widened my eyes at her.
She already wanted grandkids!?
"I'm kidding Sofia, I know you're very young. I won't pressure you into making me a grandma, I'm still also living my youth." She said with a quirky voice making me laugh.
"You sure do look younger than you are. What's the secret?"
"Zander. He takes care of the kids when I need him to, that's why I don't have stress wrinkles in my 40s." She groaned, as I laughed again.
"If you want, I can spend time with them too if needed." I offered.
"Please do, they love you already," She giggled admittedly, making me have a happy dance in my mind after seeing so much acceptance towards me, before she took a deep sigh into her system.
"You know, Zander wouldn't stop talking about you." She finally muttered.
"What?"
"Ever since he met you in the playground, he would try to convince me and Kian so much to not let him go to London. He only wanted to be with you at all times." She said with a genuine smile.
What—
"O-Oh.."
"From that day onwards, he would always call me and describe your appearance before bed, would either blush or brag about you being his beautiful mate, and he knew since day one that you'd belong to him."
Don't become a tomato with this Sof, resist.
"How did he know? I mean, don't we shift at like 16? He was only 12. I thought you know who your mate is at the right age."
"His wolf, Atlas, is actually more powerful than the wolves in the King family, the first gods. His wolf can rule the whole species, and was even offered that choice by Alpha Luca, but he refused to do so because he wanted equality. He was happy with being a god among two others, as he believed in teamwork and division of responsibilities would bring more fruit, and obviously, it worked. So his senses of mates and general powers are more heightened. It was easier for him to realise you were his mate."
"I-I see." I stuttered stupidly, not knowing what to say again, as her words left me speechless. Evie was proudly purring at the back of my mind, feeling special to have such a male wolf all to herself, as even I shivered with the thought of someone this powerful to be my mate.
"I was so eager to meet you, he wouldn't shut up. He would stay up with Leon at night and talk about you, he would wish during Christmas to reunite with you, and one time, when he was in his wolf form, Atlas would come to me and cry to know you're somewhere out there without him,"
Oh my fucking God, don't squeal like a pig right now. You're a wolf, not a pig.
"He always vowed to save himself for you, and he did. Believe me Sofia, as your position as a goddess, many women might want to ruin you both in the future. Not just Nidia, many women tried to mate with him during heat forcefully. When he would go through heat, he would lock himself in his room, isolating himself for a whole season. He couldn't afford to give his innocence to someone else other than you,"
I swear emotions stop coming to me, I don't want to cry in front of her.
"Always remember, no matter what happens, he will always love you. Never believe the words of other people, because I know you've had a rough past, it's completely normal for you to doubt something, I don't blame you. But give my son a chance, I didn't raise a good god for no reason." She frowned at me with a soft glint of wit in the end, while my eyes almost became glossy.
"Y-Yeah. Forget about that." I quickly objected to talking about the past.
"You're really brave to go through that Sofia, but trust me, Zander would do anything in his power to keep you safe. Never give up on him, he waited for you for almost a decade, so never let anyone sabotage your relationship. Okay?"
"I won't." I promised, as she pulled me into a motherly hug, and I gave her a thank you squeeze.
Guess I really needed that.
"Why right now!? Out of all days!?" Zander boomed near us all of sudden, as both I and Mia quickly broke the hug and saw him on the phone with jet yellow eyes.
What the heck?
"Is it really necessary now?" He sneered into the small device, taking thundering footsteps towards us while tugging at his hair in frustration, and his muscles flexed in a tense notion under his clothes, making me gulp.
"What's going on?" I whispered to Mia curiously.
"I have no idea dear." She whispered back with the same curious look.
Zander tsked into the phone loudly before hanging up, and snarling at the phone, shoving the electronic piece down his pocket in the process.
"Mom, can I talk to her for a few minutes?" He demanded with his Alpha voice, making our eyes widen at the sudden change of his mood.
"I'll be right back, I'm sure he's having a tough time. I'll talk to you later." She quickly told me with a smile before excusing herself and leaving us alone.
"What's wrong?" I asked him while getting up slowly, clasping my hands in front of me after again realising how much his figure would tower over mine.
He didn't respond in an instant, as he glared at me with furious eyes, as I could see he was trying to control Atlas at all sorts, making Evie also feel confused with me.
"Hey hey hey, what happened Zander? Talk to me." I pleaded with a frown while grabbing his arms, almost flinching at how tense they were.
"Atlas, look at me." I demanded softly, cupping his cheek to face me, as he looked conflicted in his eyes, almost having a small debate in his mind.
"It's okay, you need to calm down. Can you let Zander have the control back?" I hesitantly requested, seeing him unclench his jaw and stop gritting his teeth after taking in my scent gradually, gripping my hand in his to further suppress the anger, before he closed his eyes for the next few seconds, only to turn back to blue.
He did nothing more than hug me the next instant, hugging me so tightly that I was not on the ground anymore, as I allowed myself to jump into his arms, while he picked me up and lifted me in his embrace.
"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly into his neck, while he was slightly growling to himself, and I kissed his cheek to ease him down.
"You have to tell me Zander, what happened?" I pleaded again, sounding very concerned, looking him straight in his eyes, before he looked defeated and sighed.
"I have to leave today." He muttered.
"W-What?"
"For the next 2 weeks, I can't be here." He spat with gritted teeth, making me throw my hands in the air before face-palming, as I sighed in relief.
"Holy crap! That's completely fine Zander, you scared me to death." I gasped.
"No it's not, I don't want to leave you." He complained cutely, already used to being near me every day, flashing pout toward my figure, and I then noticed something in his ear.
"Your ears are dirty." I whined with a tsk, cleaning his earlobe with my pinky finger after seeing some dirt from all the playing in the garden, as his temples relaxed at my touch and comfort, while he looked down at me.
"If you really have to go, it's okay Zandee. I understand." I spoke with a comforting grin, and he rolled his eyes.
"I can't bear for two weeks without you. I don't want to work far away from you." He grimaced into my neck.
"Where are you going?"
"To Luca. Luca King. He's demanding to do something about these rogues." He groaned.
"If it's about them, I think you should go babe. We have to solve this war sooner or later right?" I pointed out with soft eyes, while he hung his head low in defeat at me.
"I know, but I'm just...ugh. I don't want to leave you." He muttered into my shoulder, as I sighed into his ear from the sparks he gave me, already feeling like he's overly upset about it, before giving him a tight squeeze.
"It's okay, it's just 2 weeks. You'll survive." I chuckled.
"Not without you." He protested.
"Do you want me to come with?"
"Hell no. It won't be safe for you."
"Then go. I'll wait."
He again looked conflicted, clearly not sure about any of this, fighting his wolf in his mind, and I pecked his lips.
"Go Zander, our people need to be safe. 2 weeks is okay, it will pass soon."
"I'll miss you." He whimpered, as our foreheads rested together, and I nuzzled our noses together, as he did the same as our small gesture.
"I'll miss you more. But go knock em' dead, your people need you." I whispered, and he finally nodded in understanding.
"I love you so much baby." He muttered while opening his eyes.
"I love you too my kitten."
"That stupid nickname." He grumbled, making me snicker softly, while he put me finally released me on the ground.
"Come on, let's go pack." I announced before our stretching my hand to him, as he hesitantly took my hand in his and started walking through the house to leave.
Of course I'll miss him like hell, but rogues are no joke.
"What are you doing here?" I heard Mark hiss in the living room as we approved that area, while the whole atmosphere tensed up as soon as we reached where everyone was.
The whole family was glaring at the door, having clenched fists and scowling faces, while Zander also tensed up even more, putting me behind him protectively , and growled lowly.
"Good afternoon boss." A new voice spoke near the door.
"Nidia."
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