Alpha Ian's The One and Only

Chapter 6

The next day

Someone's continuous staring and the rustling of the bedsheet woke me up. I opened my eyes and looked at the intruder trying to get into my blanket.

"Good morning, monkey."

On hearing my voice, beautiful sapphire eyes immediately looked at me. Briella immediately snuggled into my blanket and scooted closer to me.

"Good morning, mama."

"What are you doing up so early?"

"It's 11 am, mama. Claire told me not to wake you up because you were working late. So I was waiting for you to wake up."

"Hmm." Kissing her forehead, I cherished the moment. "Did you eat breakfast?"

"Yes, Claire made pancakes. We saved you some pizza from yesterday. You should finish it before Liam gobbles the entire pizza. He has been eyeing it since yesterday."

I laughed lightly, "Okay. Did you give Claire or Liam any trouble?" I tickled her sides.

Bri giggled, "Nooo..." and broke into fits of laughter. We were rolling on the bed, hitting each other with pillows, and laughing when Claire barged into the room.

"Bri, I told you not to wake her up!"

"I didn't!" "She didn't." We both said simultaneously. Bri and I looked at each other, then at Claire, and started attacking Claire with pillows. She shrieked, running around the room.

"You can't have pillow fights without me!" We looked at Liam standing at the door, holding his pillow, a red sheet tied to his neck like a cape. Soon we were all a laughing mess sprawled over my bed.

"I love you all," Bri said. Her face was flushed, eyes sparkling with laughter and a big grin.

"I love you too, chipmunk."

"I love you three, munchkin."

"I love you four, monkey."

Liam, Claire and I replied, smiling. They are my life. I don't know what will I do without them. Looking at the clock, I noticed it was almost noon.

"Okay, I will freshen up now and meet you all downstairs," I said, getting up from bed, leaving them giggling on the bed. I went through my morning routine. Despite our morning fun, the events of the last night hovered in my mind.

The car ride to my lab was filled with silence. Ian held my hand throughout the ride. Ian Taggart. He is an unexpected surprise in my life. I want to stay away from him, but at the same time, I crave him like my favourite chocolate. That is not good. How can I be affected so much by a man within a couple of hours of meeting him?

As soon as we reached the lab, the men formed a tight protective circle around me. Once inside, we divided the work. I quickly gathered the materials while Slade packed them properly, and the rest secured the area. Except for Ian, who stood by my side. Slade tried talking to me, which caused another argument between us.

"I agree my way of approaching the situation was unconventional, but you need to understand the gravity of the situation. The Scythe will find out about your connection to us in no time. Past and present. And I don't want them to catch us unprepared again. Ian is your mate. He will protect you and your family better than anyone. He..."

"I am this close to bashing your head with this canister." With one hand, I showed him the close proximity of my thumb and index finger, and in another hand, I held the said canister.

"It won't do anything. He has a thick head," Ace said from his position by the door.

"Slade, drop the topic." This came from Ian. Seeing my surprise, he added, "I want to know everything about you. But you are not ready to share because you don't trust me. I understand. And I am willing to wait. Also, my protection is not conditional; I am always with you. I will protect you and your family until my last breath."