Banished With His Heir

Snow Fight

Everything about this morning is peaceful yet also filled with energy. Everyone was by the frozen lake at seven in the morning, just after the morning run, and were all admiring the scenic view.

Aside from Neo and Tri who were already frolicking on the ice as River and Titus watched carefully like the protective dad and older brother they were

The snow is white and clean, the lake is dazzling under the sun, and the weather was not too cold. That is, compared to the usual, but for Tri and Titus there wasn't much of a difference as they still wore more layers.

"Hear me out," Skye says as he turns to me with a smirk

Sometimes I have this millisecond in my head where I blink and instead of seeing the eighteen year old Skye, it's the little boy that I used to bake cookies with White hair, blue eyes, and a bunny tooth smile.

Now he's taller, broader, and has a lot more hair on his brows and head, that were obviously black as black could be, making his light blue eyes pop from his face even more. He was a handsome young man I'm just glad he also grew up to be an even nicer person

I looked at him with a raised brow. "What mischievous activity do you have in mind at seven o'clock?"

"Snow angels," his smirk widened.

"Snow angels?" I repeated in order to confirm if he had really said what I believe I heard.

"Snow angels," he confirmed with a head nod before turning and walking over to a flatter part of the snow.

I followed after him, walking and digging my foot into the once clean and untouched snow, crushing each uncrushed frozen water crystal with every step.

Skye runs ahead before tripping. He dropped face first into the snow and I couldn't contain my laughter. It was so unexpected and the way he fell just made it even funnier.

He doesn't mind though as he uses this moment of him being on the ground already to start his masterpiece

"Hurry up, slowpoke." He says before turning around and lying down on the snow, stretching his arms out and widening his legs. I catch up and plop myself down right next to him. I begin to windshield-wiper my hands and legs back and forth until I feel like I've made enough indentation on the ground.

Skye pushes himself up to watch me, an amused smile plastered on his face.

"Very good work, big sis. Outstanding form." He comments as if he's some kind of judge in a snow angel-making contest. I don't know if that's a thing, but it would be interesting to watch.

I chuckle at his words before standing up and turning to look at my creation, then to Skye's.

"You can tell me the truth," I said to him. "Yours is way better"

I guess having longer limbs was a sheer advantage for making snow angels Mine just looked like someone shoveled on the wrong spots then decided to redo it

"Oh don't beat yourself up," he says as he turns to me with a genuine yet also teasing smile "Some people were born to create magnificent snow art And I just so happen to be one of them."

I roll my eyes at him before letting out a lighthearted chuckle. There's a few seconds of silence before I turn back to him, only to find him already looking at me

"I don't think I've told you this before, but I'm really glad you're here again" He says and this time there is nothing tease-like in his voice or expression. He is one hundred ten percent sincere

"I've missed my big sister," he adds and I couldn't help but smile

"I'm going to miss you," I said to him, emphasizing the 'you' word.

He looked at me confused and worried. "Why? Where are you going?"

I shake my head. "Not me, you When you find your mate. It's just a matter of time, right?"

His face relaxed when he realized I wasn't going anywhere, before he looked away and seemed like he was deep in his thoughts. "I'm not in any rush at all. If she shows up, great If she doesn't, I've got all that I need right here."

My smile widened as I continued to look at him, taking in Skye Colden, a fine young man but already filled with so much knowledge and wisdom

I placed my hand on his shoulder which made him turn to me with a soft look in his eyes "You're a great guy, Skye. I'm sure whoever she is will be extremely lucky to have you as her mate. You will treat her like a queen."

His hand lifted up to place it over mine that was on his shoulder. "You deserve a mate that will treat you like that, too. Even if it isn't my brother, as long as you're happy, you should be with him."

I gulped as I blinked at him, slightly at a loss for words. I hadn't really thought about it that way This whole time, all I was thinking of was what was best for Neo, and that was this Pack. It was this place where he belonged, this place where he could have both his parents and a big family that would look out for him.

My eyes wandered off to the side where I saw Titus He's off the ice, cheering on Tri and Neo with a big smile, and my stomach flutters at just the sight of him

Then there was River. He was already skating next to Neo, holding his hand as they glided around the lake. He was a good dad. A better dad than I thought he could ever be, and Neo was happy. So, so happy

My heart may long for Titus, my mate, but it's the same heart that prioritizes Neo's happiness first, and if that means choosing River, then I already know my answer. I don't know how long I was staring at the two because the next thing I know, I felt something soft yet slightly hard hit my back. When I turned around, Skye was already behind me and was looking at me with a devilish grin... snowball in hand.

"You don't want to do that," I said as I squinted my eyes at him.

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do, big sis?" He asks as he slowly saunters his way towards me, savoring the trivial power he currently yielded in his hand.

"I'm going to..." I start to say, but before I could finish, a snowball lands perfectly on Skye's chest and when my head swiftly turned to where it came from, Zane was laughing his ass off.

"Frost!" Skye shouted annoyed before throwing the snowball on his hand towards Zane, but it missed him by an inch.

"Thanks for avenging me," I told Zane as he walked up to me.

He gave me a quick wink. "Battle isn't over yet. Ready your weapon, soldier."

I smiled before dropping down to the snow and started forming one in my hand as quickly as possible.

"Yo, this isn't fair! There are way too many people on your team!" I heard Skye shout and when I turned around, Titus and River were already walking closer to us with snowballs in their hands.

Something about seeing two big guys walking with a tiny white ball and clear vengeance on their eyes while two tiny kids tried to catch up from behind them made me laugh.

"Aspen, Nas, team up with me!" He shouted for help and not a second later, we had already formed teams and made bases and shields out of snow.

Just like that, a snow fight ensued, and laughter filled the air.

Instantly, this moment right here, became my favorite memory where there was no judgment, no problems or worries. It was all just a good time and a lot of smiles. Though Skye would say otherwise.

Unfortunately... I had no idea that a few hours later, havoc would come upon us in the form of an unexpected visitor.