Page 15

Aegis's Point Of View.

“Gee-gee” The little girl squealed happily as she raced past me.

My heart softened as the sight of the joy on the little Cece's face as she chased after the other pups with a wide smile on her face. The Pack kindergarten space was a large grassy area that smelt like Pine, thatch and wet earth with little brown thatch huts around it in a circular fence. The sun had dipped low behind the hills, painting the horizon in shades of purple and gold as the last rays filtered through the thick forest surrounding the kindergarten. It was a very nice touch, I’ll admit. This pack clearly loved their children because I had ever seen anything like this before. But then again they didn’t have parents like mine.

Children raced all around, some playing pretend houses in the huts, some painting weird looking childish paintings, some drawing and pushing their friends on swings more than heavy for their little bodies.There was one thing constant here- Laughter and joy. This place makes my inner child want to jump and play and run. But I couldn’t. One because I’m a big girl now- Please remember this little Aegis. Two I was here as a babysitter. Little Cece’s Babysitter.

"Cece," I called in the gentle breeze .

The little girl turned,her dark hair whipping in the wind, eyes bright as she ran over to me. The bond between us had grown stronger with every day that passed, and my wolf had quickly settled into the role of her nanny with an ease even i had not anticipated.

"Gee-gee, look!" Emma signed enthusiastically waving around a daisy she had plucked from the grass.

I knelt down, smiling warmly at my little princess as my wolf whistled a happy yip. She was proud of her adopted pup. “That’s very beautiful Baby. We’ll make a daisy crown for my little princess tomorrow okay.”

Her eyes sparkled as she threw her arms around me, her small hands gripping me like I was the most valuable thing in her little world. I hugged her back just as tight. No matter what happens we had each other.

But even as i held Emma, I couldn’t stop my mind from wandering. To her Handsome father. Elijah was relentless. He was everywhere—watching me, touching my arm when he passed me, his gaze lingering on me just a little too long. There were moments when I would feel my resolve soften against the force of his attention. It was harder now to deny the pull between us. He was making it harder to ignore him.

Speaking of the devil, there he was standing at the edge of the clearing, his arms crossed over his broad chest as he watched me hug his daughter. I didn’t even have to see him clearly to know it was him. My body felt his presence as surely as if he had called out my name.He walked towards us effectively blocking the light over us with his massive shoulders. My eyes betrayed me and flickered up to meet his.

His features softened when he looked at his daughter, but when his gaze shifted to me, it was as if the world around us disappeared, leaving only the two of two. I swallowed hard, turning my eyes away to focus on Emma, but it was no use. The man was too sexy for his own good.

“I don’t know why you keep resisting,” came his deep, familiar voice as he bent down to pick his now squealing daughter.

I stiffened at that.

“I’m not resisting anything,” I replied, keeping my tone even.

Elijah chuckled as he threw Cece up into the air, the sound rich and low. “Liar.”

“Look at you two playing house” my wolf mused in amusement.

My cheeks flushed, and i fought desperately to keep my expression neutral as i stood up and brushed the dirt from my knees. “I have work to do, Elijah.”

“Cece’s fine,” he answered, flickering his gaze to the little girl now happily playing with her daisy. “And we both know I’m not talking about Cece.”

“I’m not doing this right now, Not today,” I muttered under my breath already walking away, but Elijah was quicker. He caught my wrist gently, pulling me to a stop. His touch was warm against my skin.

“Aegis,” he said softly, his tone losing the teasing edge. “Why do you keep doing this me? You know I…” He paused before continuing. “I care about you. A lot”

I yanked my arm free from him as my breath hitched at his words. My heart ached, I was torn between wanting to give in and protecting him. He deserved more than a tainted wolf.

“I can’t,” i whispered even knowing those words were quick becoming less true with each passing day. My resistance was weakening, and i hated my self for it.

“You’ll never be ready if you keep running from it,” Elijah said quietly, his voice soft, but there was no missing the Alpha command in it. I knew he wouldn’t push me but there was no denying the pleading behind his words.

He reached for my hand again, this time slower. I let him take it, I let him feel my fingers tremble slightly as they rested in his.

“Stay with me Aegis,” he said softly. “Here with Cece. With…. me.”

We were interrupted before I could answer him.

“Aegis, dear,” Evangeline’s voice came from behind us. “I need your help picking some herbs for baby Nolan's sore tooth poultice. That is if you don’t mind?”

I nodded very grateful for the interruption. I gave Elijah a small apologetic glance before walking over to Evangeline. Evangeline gave me a small smile as we made our way out of the kindergarten to the nearby bush of herbs.

“ So it seems Alpha Elijah is persistent,” Evangeline commented softly. “You know I can actually see why. Your beauty has taken over the Poor Alpha’s mind”

I huffed picking at a brown stalk but a small smile played at my lips despite myself. “I’m still not sure I’m ready for any of the things he has in mind.”

Evangeline chuckled lightly, her old hands slowly mixing herbs in a mortar. “Healing takes time, my dear. But sometimes when the right person comes along they can actually help the process.” She paused, her wise eyes looking at Aegis with warmth. “And I don’t know about you but he seems like the right person.”

I bit my lip unsure how to respond.

“You’ve been through so much, Aegis,” Evangeline continued, her tone softer now. “But you shouldn’t close yourself off from something new just because of old wounds.”

***

The night never seemed to bother the people of the NightWisp pack. In fact they were more active at night than in the day.

“As all wolves should” my wolf mused in my mind.

I was slowly growing used to these evenings and finding comfort in the rhythm of their pack life.I sat in the living room area with the other wolves watching a movie. Emma leaned against me half-asleep. Her tiny fingers fisted the fabric of my shirt tightly.

Rina, the former nanny sat across the room, her eyes narrowing at me. It was no secret that Rina believed Emma should still be under her “ample” care. The woman used to hit Cece , she was purely evil with her big blue eyes and large frontal area. Oh and she had a massive crush on Elijah. Safe to say, my wolf hated her.

She equally resented me but she hid it behind thin smiles , curt nods and veinly constructed jabs.

Elijah stood near the door, his eyes flicking from her to me. The man was wise enough to comment as he mad his way over to me ad little Cece. If Rina thought was leaving, she had another thing coming. I had found a family here, one I never expected.

“ We deserve it”. My wolf added in my mind.

“How is she?”, he asked.

“She’s asleep”.

“i’m sleepy too”.

“So”

He scoffed laughingly before laying down his head on my lap and closing his eyes.

I looked around in a panic but no one noticed. They weren’t even looking at us. But Rina sure did and it made my wolf happy.

Seeing that I wasn’t making any move to push him away, Elijah smiled and made himself more comfortable.

Shameless man.

A packboy brought me a cup of jasmine tea_ my favourite. Apparently Elijah mind-linked him to bring me one. Thoughtful Jerk.

A soft knock sounded at the door and someone opened it.I shifted in her seat, my body tensing. Something was off. Elijah seemed to notice it too, his gaze sharpening as he straightened up.

The door opened to a young male wolf.

“Elijah,” the scout said in a tight hateful voice. “There’s news from the southern border. Alpha Elias is coming.”

My hands clenched around the cup I was holding and the sound of shattering ceramic echoed through the room. Shards of glass fell to the floor as I stood, my breath coming out in quick, shallow gasps.

I couldn’t speak. The world seemed to tilt on its axis as ever

ything came rushing back.

Elias was coming.