Page 50 of The Alpha and His Childhood Sweetheart (Ribbon #7)

She was right.

I loved seeing her in my clothes. She threw the shirt on, and I popped to the table. She rolled her eyes at me as I looked her up and down. I smirked, “You look better in my clothes than I do.”

Elise took a break from eating her garlic bread. She sat back and stared at me.

Eventually she said, “You really don’t get it, do you?”

I asked, “Get what?”

She replied, “You’re hot. Do you know how many times I’ve had to put people in their place because they want you?” I laughed, “I believe people are getting better at understanding I am yours. Or people have become lackadaisical in telling me when it happens.”

Elise smirked, “I am the Luna.”

I shot back, “And I’m the Alpha, my dear. I know that you punched a few people at the last Summit.”

Elise sighed, “Your siblings are right, you and your dad are know it all’s.”

I laughed, “Sometimes. Technically the one who knows most is Angela. She has sight.”

Elise laughed, “That’s true.”

I asked, “Do you know what she’s been testing?” Elise frowned, “Testing?” I nodded, “I guess she’s testing theories. TJ knows what it is.” Elise shrugged, “I can talk to her.” I loved her for offering.

I explained, “She just thinks she can solve this whole Alexander blurry paths thing.”

Elise advised, “So let her.”

I gasped, “What?” Elise shrugged, “I’m tired of this push and pull trying to get Mel and Alexander to meet. I’m also tired of not seeing Mel. Let Angela try to figure it out. You and I both know who his mate is, and she’s been gone too long. We will all be happier for it if Angela cracks the code.”

I sat back arguing, “She might not figure it out. It might just play out the way it’s supposed to.”

Elise shrugged, “If it does, then it does. If she figures it out that’s better. So long as we didn’t try to stop this Angela thinking train. I’d like to get the hell off of the current train we are on. So, more power to Angela.”

She rubbed her head.

I frowned, “Elise?”

She sighed, “She’s living her dream blah blah fucking BLAH! GOD, I want to run a spike through the part of my brain that keeps repeating that. Who the fuck cares?! She’s living her dream. Great. Awesome. Why does that mean we can never see her except for a few minutes at a time?”

Brutus said, “That’s an excellent point.”

It was but she knew that. She ranted, “They are running her ragged. It’s not going to get better when she gets into Julliard because we all know she’s getting in.”

We did know that. I nodded, “Alright. I won’t say anything about Angela’s theories. I’ll keep it to myself and cross my fingers hoping it will work out.”

Elise sat back and smiled, “Cassie has a plan too, you know?”

I laughed, “Why does it not surprise me that my two sisters are scheming? What’s Cassie’s plan?”

Elise smiled, “It’s generous. She’s going to go to New York and track Melanie down if Alexander and Mel haven’t met by her senior year of college.”

I groaned, “God help us all. I’d like to say there’s no way it will take that long, but the past eighteen years give me pause.”

Elise finished her food and got up to kiss me.

I pulled her down into my lap. I asked her, “You really think you’ll be ready for a pup in a few years?”

Elise nodded, “Yeah, I love babysitting little Kai. Plus, seeing a little you run around? It’s going to be adorable.”

I mused, “Or a mini you. A little girl with her mom’s beautiful eyes.”

Elise teased, “You’re already owned by our imaginary daughter.”

I pointed out, “She could one day be very real.”

Elise laughed, “Most guys want a boy first.” I shrugged, “Yeah, well I want a little girl that looks like her momma.”

I kissed her then pulled back, “In all seriousness though I just want a healthy pup. I don’t care about gender really. I just want you both to be healthy. That’s all I care about.”

Elise smiled at me, “You are perfect EJ Conners.”

I disagreed, “I’m not. You’re just biased, and I would give you the world. Anything I have to give you it’s yours. We are forever. That’s all there is to it.” My light glowed within me.

Elise looked down surprised. I placed my hand on her chest and my light shot into her for the second time. I couldn’t have been happier about it. Elise lowered herself onto me. I hadn’t bothered with clothes. I ripped my shirt off of her and sucked her nipple into my mouth. She threw her head back and moaned.

We didn’t rush and took our time. When we finished Elise whispered, “EJ, what does this mean?”

I shrugged, “If you die, I die. We could enter the Ribbon, but we could not. Being twice light bound is not a guarantee as we’ve seen. Uncle Aiden and Aunt Lucinda are twice light bound, but they don’t go into the Ribbon.”

I told her, “We will just have to see. What I know is that my light and I agree. You and me, we are forever. That has always been true. Now it’s just official.”

Elise put her forehead on me, “I’ll worry about you if we go into the Ribbon.”

I smiled, “We’ve known each other since we were pups. I’m sure that would be the case for all versions of us.”

Elise snorted, “Unless we are the Melanie and Alexander of some reality.”

I pointed out, “We could fix that for them in the Ribbon, and don’t speak that into existence. That me is probably their moody triplet.”

Elise laughed, “No joke. I can’t believe you shared your light with me again.”

I laughed, “I can’t believe it took my light that long to get on board. You have always been mine. It’s probably because I lean towards my wolf side.”

Brutus snorted, “Yes we do but I am happy about this.”

I pulled back, “I have always loved you with every fiber of my being. I have wanted to share my light with you twice more than once.”

Elise assured me, “I didn’t think otherwise. I’m not upset or worried about it. I’ve always known you lean towards your wolf, Hackura, then the Fairy side last.”

It was true.

She added, “I have been around your siblings that lean towards their Fairy sides. They are far more mischievous than you are. They bring out that side in you when they get you involved. Or your mom does by involving you in one of her pranks.”

She grinned, “In fact, I heard Dylan Frost tell her she needed to write prank ideas down to publish one day. We need to nip that in the bud. The world is not prepared for the scale your mom does pranks on.”

I laughed, “No, they really aren’t.”

I popped us outside and we watched the waves come in from the beach.

Elise asked, “Shouldn’t we get back?”

I reminded her, “The beauty of having as many siblings as I do, means they can handle things if I’m not there. They will not fall apart if we stay here a few moments or hours longer.”

She snuggled into me.

I asked, “So, how many pups do you want?”

Elise answered, “At least four.”

I nodded, “Alright.” She shrugged, “But I’m open to more. Let’s see how labor goes in a few years. I don’t think I’m on your mom's level of popping out twenty of you. At the same time, I love your big family. I love how many siblings I have too.”

I nodded, “That sounds good to me. We’ll just play things by ear. If you decide you’re not ready in a few years, you know it’s fine by me, right?”

Elise playfully shoved me, “Yes, I do know because you are the worlds’ most understanding man. I told your mom a few years ago that she raised incredible men and women. You and your siblings are something else.”

I agreed, “My parents are one of a kind. Especially my mom.”

I looked away because what happened to her as a child still killed me on the inside. Elise took my face into her hands, “She’s saved herself in the Ribbon. Other versions of your mom didn’t suffer as much or like she did, or even at all.”

I whispered, “I’ve read the journals they keep. One version of her was sold as a snack. She was just happy she stopped being raped. That’s just so messed up.”

Elise acknowledged, “It is.”

We were silent for a moment. She asked, “Do you think we will end up in the Ribbon?”

I laughed, “I don’t know, but I doubt it. As you said, I lean more towards my wolf, and my mom figured out we were mates before you were born. No one could ever keep us apart after that. I don’t know what there would be for us to fix. I could be wrong though.”

Elise sighed, “You are rarely ever wrong.”

I laughed, “It has been known to happen from time to time. I feel there is something I’m missing. Sometimes I swear I’m on the edge then nothing happens. I know something is going on though.”

Elise frowned, “About the undergrounds?”

I snorted, “No, that I KNOW has something shady going on.”

Elise asked, “Then what?” I shrugged, “I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like my mind is reaching for something, but I can never quite get there.” Elise admitted, “Yeah, I feel that way too sometimes.”

I kissed her, “Well, between the two of us, one day our brains should be able to grasp it.”

Elise grumbled, “We haven’t yet.”

I squeezed her tightly, “That does seem odd, but we do have a lot going on. I know I don’t say it often enough, but I am so proud of you handle the pack. I’m proud of how you’ve taken over the Luna duties. You are the heart of our pack.” I kissed her forehead.

She blushed, “You sweet talker you.”

I replied, “Only for you.”

Elise kissed me enjoying the moment. We sat there a little bit longer before I popped us home. I didn’t want her out of my sight for the foreseeable future.

I walked into my office with her. Alexander, Wesley, Theo, Maverick, and my dad were there. Buttercup smiled and bounded up to Elise, “You’re back!”

Elise laughed, “We are.”

Buttercup frowned, “Sorry about those assholes.” Elise laughed, “It’s fine. I had it handled and then EJ showed up with Alexander. What’s going on here?”

Alexander frowned, “I would like to start this by saying everyone is fine.”

I frowned and Elise tensed. Brutus grumbled, “We take ONE simple moment for ourselves, and something goes to hell.”

Yeah, that did seem to be where this was going.

I asked, “What happened?”

Alexander said, “There was a rather large rogue attack on Red Run. Like I said though, everyone is fine.”

Elise frowned, “But it was my parents’ anniversary. They always go to the cabin.” Alexander nodded, “They weren’t there. Your brothers were and they are all fine. Jase called us, as this was deemed an emergency thank god, and we popped in.” There was something in the bond that told me that wasn’t even close to all of it.

Elise slowly said, “Ok, I feel like there’s more to the story.”

I growled, “Alexander.”

Because I knew there was more. Alexander sighed, “There was an attack on the cabin. Not by rogues though it was the Hunters. Your dad got a text telling him to get out the back door. He did. The Hunters came in guns blazing, but your parents weren’t there. They are fine.”

I growled, “What about the Hunters?”

Alexander sighed, “They are all very dead.”

Elise asked, “Our sniper?” Alexander nodded, “Snipers. This was a group of thirty Hunters. Our sniper, it’s clear which ones she shot, took out over half of them. Micah ran the trace on the phone number that texted your dad. This one was bought by our sniper in Missouri. Sadly, there is still no camera footage of them.”

Elise whispered, “I need to go see them.”

I nodded, “Of course, let’s go.”

Alexander linked me, “I uhh kind of toned down the text. Our sniper does not like Peter.” I frowned, “What did the text say?” Alexander winced, “Move your butt if you want to keep your life. They are coming. Maybe try opening up your ears and listening. Can any of you be helpful in Red Run? Do you all have to make my life so damn complicated?! You jerk!”

My eyes widened, “Damn.”

Alexander nodded, “Yup. So, it’s not just Dalton and Dakota. It’s Peter too.”

I replied, “That’s not just ‘doesn’t like him.’ That’s angry, bitter, and very personal.” Alexander nodded. He said, “Mom thinks the person doesn’t hate him, but is mad he doesn’t love her. She says it feels like an Alpha relationship with a pack member who wants to be seen, but I think she just doesn’t like him.”

Brutus reasoned, “Mom’s not usually wrong.”

She wasn’t. I popped Elise to her parents’ house. Elise ran to her mother. Chelsea assured her, “We are fine.”

I walked over and gave Peter a hug that he returned. We parted a moment before Elise threw herself on her dad sobbing. After thirty minutes she’d calmed down. Her mom took her outside to swing on their porch swing.

I turned to face the group left. Dalton, Dakota, and Cooper had joined us. I asked, “Who is this upset with you, Peter?”

Peter ran a hand through his hair, “Honest to god, I have no clue. Someone’s upset enough to send that text, but they saved us too. We’d have been goners.”

Dalton, Dakota, Cooper, and I growled. Cooper said, “It’s not just dad. This is the second time the sniper has communicated with us. She was pissed at Dakota and Dalton about Jase too.”

I questioned, “Have we looked over the pack members you’ve kicked out?”

Peter sighed, “I didn’t kick anyone out because I didn’t have to. I had some pups doing punishments, but nothing to warrant someone being this upset with me. She’s still willing to save my life. That’s the dichotomy I can’t figure out. Our sniper is angry at me personally, but she saved my life and Chelsea’s. While insulting me and the pack but still.”

I agreed, “But still.”

We looked back over his files. Annoyingly, nothing stood out. Peter was right, there was nothing here to find. There were no former female pack members that should be this upset with Peter.

Tristan walked in. He sighed, “I ran down all our possibilities, but nothing popped.”

I snorted, “What possibilities? I see nothing here to run.”

Tristan shrugged, “I know but I ran through Charline’s old friends. They all met their mates and left. None hold any ill will and are just glad they didn’t share her fate. They are grateful to Peter.”

We all pause then Tristan yelled, “What the hell is going on? He may be the former Alpha now, but he’s always been a second dad to me. He’s a good man. I’m telling you when we get a face to face with this sniper and I’ll tell her that kind of disrespect doesn’t fly here.”

Peter sighed, “I understand the inclination T, but we need to know why she’s so mad. I will deal with whatever it is after that. This note concerns me along with Haley’s analysis of it. Someone is hurting deeply and thinks I’m ignoring them.”

People didn’t tend to like it when they were ignored.

Peter groaned, “Your mom said this should make it obvious who the sniper is. She’s trying to tell us who she is, and I have nothing. Not one clue, but this”

he held up the print out of the text, “tells me who she is. I just can’t find it.”

I told him, “We don’t see it either.” He rubbed his temples.

Elise came back inside and hugged her dad. Drake walked in and hugged Petter too. Sam went to Chelsea. Sam cried, “We got back as fast as we could.”

I asked, “Where were you guys?”

Drake explained, “We’d gotten in the car to drive to New York to surprise Mel. I had to pull over a few times since we weren’t feeling well, but when we got this call, we started back. She got into Julliard, and we wanted to celebrate with her.” Of course she got in.

Brutus groaned, “Let’s just buy tickets for Broadway and happen to walk by the school.”

It was a solid plan. Drake told Peter, “I’m so glad you’re ok, man.”

Peter laughed, “You and me both.” I linked Elise, “I’ll be right back.”

I popped to the Kyle’s cabin. It was a mess. So, I snapped it back to normal. I sighed asking aloud, “Why did the sniper save him if she hates him?”

My phone dinged. I looked down. I had a new text from an unknown number. I flipped it open.

Unknown: For her

I yelled, “For who?”

I waited but no response came, and I smelled nothing nearby. I conjured listening devices and found one. I spoke to the device and whoever was listening. “I don’t know what you think Peter Kyle did, but he is a good man. If you’d just come talk to us, I know we could sort this out.”

I waited for a text.

It didn’t come so I continued, “He’s a mess because he can’t figure out who you are. We all think that text should tell us, but we don’t know. For that, I’m sorry because my mom thinks you’re hurting, and we should know you. You want me to know who you are, so tell me. I’m right here and I’m listening.” Nothing.

I made one last ditch effort, “You said it was for her. For who?”

Nothing came. Brutus groaned, “It was a good try.”

I said, “I can keep trying.” The device’s little red light turned off. They’d remotely disabled it. Dang it!

I sent Micah a text to try and trace the number. I held my hands out and hid the cabin. Only the Kyle’s, McAlister’s, or Conners blood could get in here now. I popped back. I told Peter, “I fixed the Cabin. Only my family, yours, and the McAlister’s can get in now.”

Peter hugged me, “Thank you.”

I replied, “We are family.” I showed him my phone and he frowned. I shrugged thinking maybe it was for Chelsea.

We went home after Elise had settled. When she went to sleep, I found my brothers. I told them what happened. Alexander frowned, “I think you’re forgetting someone. You asked the question. Who is YOUR mate?”

I frowned, “You think this was for Elise?”

Alexander answered, “Yes, I think that’s what the sniper tells herself. Obviously, there are other reasons.” I asked, “Such as?”

He answered, “The Resistance stops this kind of thing. Obviously, there’s anger, but this is a person who also cares about Peter himself.”

I raised an eyebrow, “That’s awfully insightful, brother.”

Alexander laughed, “I can only take credit for pointing out that the ‘for her’ text is for Elise. The other part is all mom.” I knew that.

I nodded and went to bed. If only the sniper would meet with us. We could solve this thing and work together to bring the rings and the Hunters down.

I’d just bet the Resistance had information about the real undergrounds too. I sighed getting annoyed. One day we’d get this figured out. I just hoped it was one day soon.