REIKA

TWENTY-ONE

ALBAN

I melted into the mesmerizing eyes of the woman I loved the most in this world while waiting for her to repeat those words. Those eyes. One was an electrifying light shade of teal, the other was half teal, half brown, dividing the eye in a diagonal. They shone.

I had placed Reika's hand over my chest so she would feel how hard the organ inside beat for her. She was my very first thought when I woke every morning, the owner of my heart, the mother of my child, the strong leader of one of the biggest packs, the young girl I mindlessly hurt, the daughter of the man I grew up hating, the goddess I couldn't stop thinking of, the kind soul that had given me way more than a poor bastard like me deserved.

"You are Arjun's father," her enticing lips moved, releasing her soft voice, and a smile wanted to take over my face. It was the relief of a painfully long wait lifting off my chest. What I have been waiting for her to acknowledge for years.

Just then, the door swung open, and we both looked down.

Our son, Arjun, had opened the door with his white bunny still in his arms and a messy bed head. Reika gasped hard, and I froze in place. My son sleepily rubbed his face and yawned before saying the words I so desperately wanted to hear from him.

"My dad?" Arjun asked, and our hearts completely stopped before they raced.

—He heard us.

Reika worried, but I didn't stop looking at our beautiful child.

—He fucking heard us! What are we going to do?

She shook my hand, and I just stayed there, glued to the floor, filled with my own emotions. He called me, Dad. My son didn't judge me or hate me. He didn't even know he was supposed to. Arjun took slow steps towards me and I reacted with my instincts. I reached for him and carried his small body in my arms. I held him against my chest, putting my forearm under his bottom, and he lovingly wrapped his arms around my neck. With my free hand, I returned the hug and kissed his forehead.

"Good morning, son." I lovingly voiced, and Reika's eyes widened.

—What the fuck are you doing?

—He already knows. There's no way to take that back.

Bianco spoke for us. My whole concentration was on hugging my child.

—What are we going to do to keep him from blurting it out? We are dead meat.

Reika worried more, but I was strangely calm. I had my child in my arms after sleeping the whole night with my woman pressed against my body and making love to her in the morning. It was a fucking perfect day. A day I thought I could only see in my dreams.

I looked at my Arjun and brushed his bed hair away from his rosy cheeks.

"Reika!" Alpha Idris called for her once more and she tensed up.

—We don't have time for this. Get under the bed now!

She gave us a push towards the bed and pointed at it before she stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. I hugged Arjun tighter.

—Can you hear me?

I smiled, and he nodded against my chest. He was too young to hear the link, but somehow, Bianco taught him how to.

—Dad wants to play a game with you. We need to play hide and seek. Your grandpa is 'it', so he can't find us. Ok? We need to be extra quiet.

Arjun snuggled in my chest as he nodded again. I walked to the other side of the bed, put him down on the floor, and kneeled. As I gave my son a wide smile so he wouldn't feel worried, he smiled back. Putting a finger to my lips, I whispered, 'shhh', and he imitated me, as he had done before.