“You woke up too early.” I greeted him with a nod.
He nodded back, brushing his black hair before giving me a smirk. “An Alpha never sleeps peacefully in another man’s territory.”
I should find it offensive but I didn’t because he was right. We were taught at a young age to never be complacent, even in our most trusted allies’ territories.
“Just sounds right. Coffee?” I asked him, and he nodded before we both stopped in our tracks.
My brows furrowed while I could sense Darvin’s was just relaxed—too relaxed when he should be the one riled up at the scene in front of us.
“What the fuck is that, Beta?” I was keeping myself from growling.
Standing in front of us by the foot of the stairs was Dominic. In his arms was a sleeping Sofia, carrying her in a bridal style while her head rested against his chest.
Dominic swallowed, his eyes shifting from Darvin to me but focusing more on Darvin.
“I swear I didn’t touch her. We fellasleep in the playroom. Separately. I wanted to get up and didn’t want to leave her there. I’m just going to put her in one of the guest rooms.” He was talking so fast, and this was the first time I heard my Beta stutter. “Then I’ll go. Nothing more.”
I trusted my Beta, he wasn’t a playboy like Sebastian but he was also not a saint. Besides, this was Sofia —Darvin’s sister. The last thing I wanted was to start animosity between us because of this, especially, I knew how much he was protective of his sisters.
My eyes narrowed at my Beta, but I felt Darvin’s hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay. I trust your Beta. Yes, you’d better place her in the guest room. She’s not an early riser and will probably be sleeping until almost noon.”
“Alphas,” Dominic acknowledged his words before swinging past us.
Darvin and I continued walking down the stairs once they were out of sight. “I’m sure Dominic wasn’t lying,” I told him.
“I know and if there’s anything that happened between them, I’m sure it was all Sofia’s doing.” He chuckled.
My eyebrows raised at his statement, but I didn’t say anything. It was enough that he wasn’t blaming my Beta at all.
We walked past the corridor, but before we headed for the kitchen, I swung to the left to check if anyone was still in the entertainment room. The place was empty except for two people, wrapped up in each other’s arms by the big sofa.
Ellie and Dawson.
I let out a sigh of relief. Sooner or later, they would mate, but I couldn’t help the relief brewing in my chest knowing they had just slept and nothing more. I grabbed a blanket sitting on another couch and covered them both before I headed back to where Darvin was standing.
“Now you understand why I worry too much about my sisters. It just comes naturally.”
I nodded my head, knowing his words rang with the truth. And if I were in his shoes, I would probably do the same thing—find someone who would protect my sisters at all costs.
Chapter 90
RILEY.
Nadia and I werestanding by the steps, watching as some of the house helpers cleaned the area where the dinner was held last night.
My mother and her family were already on their way to the airport. They have to catch their flight since the twins have school tomorrow and none of them wanted to miss their classes. Dawson volunteered to drive them, but I had two cars follow them—one ahead and the other behind them. I wasn’t taking a risk. I wanted them to be safe, especially around the territory where rogues might be hiding and waiting for an opportunity to attack.
Darvin and his sisters also went home after breakfast. So the packhouse was back to normal, and both my Beta and Gamma were back at work. It was only me that decided to take a day off so I could spend time with my mate. We still have to celebrate her birthday with just the two of us.
Nadia was instructing the young Omega to place the white flowers in my office and the rest in the Luna’s library on the fourth floor, where she spent most of her free time studying about the pack or simply lounging around with a book when the sound of an approaching car disturbed the peace of the packhouse grounds.
I walked down the stairs to where Nadia was and snaked an arm around her. She hugged me back before we walked to meet whoever was approaching.
“Trent,” I told Nadia as I pecked her forehead.
The car stopped, and Trent emerged from it, carrying a nicely wrapped box.
“Happy birthday to my favorite Luna.” He smiled widely as he came forward and gave my Luna a hug.
