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"What do you think Eva?" Alpha Blake asked expectantly.

"Huh?" they were all staring at me, waiting for my reply. I looked around the table nervously. It's not like I wasn't paying attention to the two pair of mates bickering, but what did they want me to do about it? How is that even a topic to fight over?

"We want to be there when Dan watches Liam shift. Do you think it'll be too much for him to handle?" Evan made the face that he used to make when he wanted me to share my ice cream with him.

"We don't want to scare the poor kid with our over charged up energy, Evan" Emma said, without giving me a chance to open my mouth "let it be a family thing for them"

"We are not fa-"

"That's right, you people can show him your wolves when he's comfortable with his parents' wolves" Luna Alexandra cut me off.

Seriously, why ask me a question when you won't let me answer. And we're not an effing family. I glare at Emma, who doesn't even bother to give me a second glance.

Evan grumbled. Alpha Blake turned to his food, disheartened. The women of this family were scary and they surely had their husbands wrapped around their fingers.

I looked at Liam; he shrugged and went back to feeding Dan. He was looking equally out of place. I should do that too; ignore the loud people at the table.

"So, it's decided" Emma clapped her hands together, looking a bit too excited for something she has no business with. I look at her warily "Eva and Alpha are going to take Dan to the woods today" she turned to me "You guys can take Dan for a walk along the lake in the evening"

"Yes! Yes! That will be good for my little baby here" Luna declared happily pinching Dan's cheek.

-----

"Ready?" Liam asked Dan who in turn grabbed bunch of Liam's hair tightly in his little hands.

"Yes, daddy. GO" Dan yelled, like a commander would march his horse into the battle. The only difference was that instead of horseback, he was sitting on Liam's shoulder and was using Liam's hair as a rein.

Liam was here to carry Dan to the lake; I was carrying a backpack full of essentials. We don't know what Dan's reaction will be so we want to make sure we have everything in case of emergency.

Liam looked at me for a moment before charging into the forest. I followed.

The sun was still sitting comfortably in the horizon. It took us about fifteen minutes to reach the clearing. We slowed down when the lake came into view. Dan was giggling and laughing throughout the journey. Something tells me he'll love patrolling once he comes of age. Liam put him down at the edge of the forest. He trotted away as soon as he was out of Liam's grasp. We followed him leisurely.

"Mommy picnic?" Dan looked eager

"Yes" I said putting my bag down "Should we spread the mat?"

"Tent?" he asked

"No, no tent. We're not staying overnight" I explained.

"He looks well acquainted with camping" Liam smiled at Dan.

"Yes" I replied, watching Dan go through the bag like a pro "We used to take him camping on weekends sometimes. He loves it"

"We" He cleared his throat and sat down with Dan "So, shall we start setting up the 'picnic' buddy?"

"Yes yes yes" Dan jumped up and down.

"At your service sir" Liam gestured with his invisible hat.

Once the mat was placed and the 'picnic' was set appropriately, Dan was settled comfortably in the middle of the arrangement.

"How do you want to do it?" Liam asked, softly.

"I was thinking of sitting here with him. You should probably start from a distance."

He nodded.

"Hey buddy" Dan looked up from the wolf toy he was playing with "let's do something fun. How about I show you the bigger version of that thing" yeah! Good going with 'that thing'. I rolled my eyes at him.

I sat down next to Dan and pulled him on my lap "you remember what Grandpa taught you about our wolves, baby?" he nodded "Do you want to see them?" He didn't respond for a while. I was starting to panic, but soon I heard a small "Ok"

"Are you sure?" he nodded "Alright, let's see what daddy looks like" I grinned and tickled a laugh out of him.

Liam smiled and started walking backwards.

"Here?" he asked, I motioned him with my hand to keep moving.

"Stop" that much distance seemed fine.

Liam stopped.

"What's daddy doing?" Dan asked confused as Liam started stripping.

"You need to get out of your clothes before shifting" I explained "you don't want to tear down your favorite dress, do you?" he nodded fervently.

I kept on looking at Dan, giving some privacy to Liam. I could see Dan's expression changing slowly as Liam shifted in front of him. He suddenly turned in my lap and hugged me tight. I looked up to see Liam's wolf walking towards us. I stopped him with my hand. He halted, his anxious eyes travelling back-and-forth between me and Dan.

"It's Daddy, baby" I ran my fingers through Dan's hair "Don't you want to play with him?"

He shook his head and looked up "Uncle Evan" he whispered

He remembers. My eyes darted to Liam.

"Daddy loves you. He won't hurt you"

He still refused to bulge. He didn't seem to be afraid of Liam but recognizes the wolf from the day with Evan. Maybe I should have shifted before Liam.

"But mommy wants to play with daddy" I tried to take a different approach "Would you like to watch?" he remained silent.

I softly put him on the mat and stood up. I gave him an encouraging smile, he looked back with apprehension.

I took a few steps away from the mat and sat down on my knees. I looked at Liam asking him to come to me. He slowly started walking towards me.

"No. mommy" Dan yelled

"It's going to be fine baby. Daddy won't harm mommy" I turned to look at Liam who was now towering over me. He was huge; I had to tilt my head upwards to look at his face. For a moment, when my eyes met his, I forgot why we were here. His dark eyes were fixed on me and I felt my entire body shiver under his intense gaze.

Shaking the nervousness off me, I moved my hands to cup his face. He leaned towards my touch, rubbing his face against my hand. That was so un-Liam like. I grinned and turned to Dan. He looked curious.

"See?" I told him "Dad's not scary at all" I ran a hand over Liam's fur "Isn't he cute?" Liam glared at me. Ok maybe the big bad wolf doesn't like being called cute.

Dan looked almost tempted, so I nudged Liam towards him. I felt the loss of warmth as soon as he moved away. My body forced me to move with him.

Liam stood at the edge of the mat, giving Dan the space to decide the next step. After looking at Liam for almost a minute with wide eyes, Dan finally stood up.

He took a few steps cautiously and put his palm forward. Liam slowly rubbed his nose on Dan's awaiting hand and moved back. Confused, Dan looked at his palm, examining it. He then took a few more steps towards Liam. This time when Liam rubbed his nose against his palm, he giggled.

I can't explain the warmth that spread through my heart when I watched them play. It was surreal. They were soon rolling on the ground with Dan wrapped securely in Liam's huge furry body.

"Ok boys, time for a ride" I said walking towards them. I picked Dan up and placed him on Liam's back. He quickly wrapped both his arms around Liam and held on to his fur.

Liam stood up "Whoaaa!" Dan yelled "Awesome, daddy" Liam shook the dirt off his fur. He let out an excited howl before taking off.

By the time they returned, Dan's face was all red and hot. He was dripped in sweat, he was still screaming and giggling for more "Goddess!" I helped him off Liam "You need to get out of these clothes like right now."

I placed him on the mat, took his wet clothes off, dried him with a towel and got him into clothes that I packed from home. Liam was sitting beside Dan and watching us.

"I think we should get going. The sun won't stay up for more than an hour" I turned to Liam once I was done with Dan.

He shook his head and gave me a pointed look.

"What?" He rolled his eyes "You can just shift and tell me, you know" He raised a paw and pointed towards me and then rubbed that paw on his other paw "Nope. Still nothing" I shook my head. He let out a low frustrated growl. Well I'm sorry that I'm not good at playing dumb charades with a wolf.

I almost had a heart attack when he started pulling the sleeve of my shirt with his teeth "What the eff are you doing?" he glared at me and then pointed towards Dan. "Sorry. I didn't say the word though" he snorted.

Can I just forget for a minute that he's my alpha and kill him please?

He hopelessly looked around before his gaze landed on a piece of twig "You should have thought of that earlier" I bit back. He picked that twig up with his teeth and wrote "SHIFT" on the ground.

I read the word out loud and then looked at him confused "Why?" he pointed at Dan who was looking equally confused at our antics "Oh! I need to show him my wolf too" he nodded. "Stay with him" I said as I got up to move into the forest. He moved close to Dan who snuggled into his fur.

"Dan, get ready to see how stunning your mommy is" I yelled as I ran into the forest. I could hear Liam snort again. I hope he chokes on his food today.

They were both staring at me as I made my way back. My wolf was happy at the attention she was getting. I sat down next to Dan on the other side of Liam.

"Mommy?" Dan said, amazement clearly floating in his striking green eyes "I saw you in my dleam" he recalled.

I nodded and nudged him playfully in his stomach. He giggled and leaned into me. He hugged me spreading his little arms as far as he could "You ale so pletty mommy" I beamed. This has to be the best complement I have ever received and will ever receive. Nothing can ever beat it. I wrapped my neck around Dan and licked him in joy.

'Are. Pretty' my eyes flickered to Liam instantly. I forgot that we could talk to each other. I am not a part of the patrol team so obviously I never had to talk to the alpha in my wolf form.

'He'll get there. He's three' I countered.

'Almost four' Liam reminded. I hate it when he's right. Dan turns four next month.

'So, what am I supposed to do about it?' I asked frustrated.

'Let me handle it' he said authoritatively. God help my poor kid.

It was my turn to roll my eyes 'You know, just because he's you son doesn't mean you have to train him to be as perfect and boring as you were at his age'

He raised a brow 'You weren't born when I was his age. How would you know what I was like at his age?'

I glared at him and turned to focus on Dan. It wasn't because I was losing, it was simply pointless arguing with that infuriating I'm-always-right man.

We played with Dan until the sun was no longer in sight. He was so happy. It was a day well lived.

------

"Yes, I'll make sure he's there this time. I promise" I tried to persuade the woman on the other end "I had no idea that he ditched out of the previous arrangement"

'That was so embarrassing for my client Miss Taylor'

"I'm really sorry. I'll personally monitor him this time. Can you please convince her to meet him just this once?"

'We will have to fix a date with another client this time' she said exasperated.

"Thank you" I was grateful for her dedication. Although I pay her for her work, it's always nice to see someone work so hard.

I yelled in frustration as soon as I put the phone down. I'm going to chew him raw today. I almost dug a hole in my phone as I dialled him.

"Yes, ma'am"

I took a deep breath "Last Fiday. 6 p.m. Where were you?" I spit out.

A long silence answered me "I was with this beautiful girl I bumped into, on my way to the date you set me up for. She was sooooo beautiful that by the time I looked away it was already midnight" the humor laced in his voice clearly indicated that he was enjoying fooling me.

"I'll be there with you this Friday when you bump into that sooooo beautiful girl again" I replied

"Noooo. I thought it was a one-time thing" he whined

"I told you it was a ten-time thing. You have to meet new people, Ray"

"I'm meeting new people everyday"

"Sure. Friday. I'll be there. I'll personally escort you"

"Will you sit through the date with me?"

"I'll be watching. So, don't for a second think of repeating your stupid tricks" I threatened

"But I really did meet this awesome girl-" he started

"I'll be there on Friday, let's have a look at her too" I challenged. I knew very well of this non-existent girl.

"Fine" he grumbled.

----

"What's going on here?" I asked my next door neighbor. It was late in the afternoon, I was returning from work. People were gathered at the gate of the house opposite to mine blocking my gateway as well.

"Their son brought his girlfriend home last night at his sister's 16th birthday party. Today, once all the guests left, they started blasting him" she whispered.

I did attend the party; that made me curious "So? What's wrong with him bringing his girlfriend home?"

"She's not his mate" She said.

"Ummmm..... so?" Am I supposed to get the entire story from just a sentence?

"Oh dear! Of course you wouldn't know" she patted my back "You know, the circumstances in which our Alpha's wife died and all that happened before and after that, everyone in the pack is really scared of not respecting the mating bond enough. They think, it's the moon goddess's way of teaching this generation a lesson with the Alpha as an example" I held onto the pillar of my gate for support, my knees were giving away as my heartbeat paced up.

Another woman next to us spoke up "It's not just our pack. The story has reached the neighboring packs as well. Parents are keeping stricter eyes on their children. No one wants to face the wrath of the moon goddess."

"But...But she d-died because of the complications in her pregnancy. She was a human" I managed to argue.

"There are other human mates of wolves who give birth to healthy pups" My neighbour was a kind woman and it felt strange that she would cater to such rumours "Of course the other day I told them that even you gave birth to Alpha's pup. But they argued that yours was an unavoidable circumstance and because the alpha didn't give you his heart, you were saved" I couldn't hold back any more. I felt a lone tear escape my eyes.

"Oh sweetheart, don't cry. What happened to our poor alpha was really unfortunate...."

I could no longer hear what she was saying as I rushed past her and others into the forest. My feet didn't stop until I reached the familiar mountain top. I yelled and growled at the top of my voice calling for him until there was no more energy left in me. My knees gave away and I fell down on the ground. The tears however didn't stop even as I gasped for air.

I don't know how long I sat there until I felt him shake me violently. I looked up slowly into his worried eyes "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Did I kill her?" I whispered.

*****