Chapter 19 His Inner Turmoil
His Inner Turmoil
Alejandro
Apart from Kataleya, the other two were clearly finding this amusing. I sat on the other bed, and Skyla giggled when the mattress creaked a little. The fuck was it creaking for? I was sure these things were fucking expensive.
“You are too big for that bed,” Little Miss Obvious stated, tucking her black hair behind her ear. “You men really need to learn to sit on the floor when telling stories.”
“Yeah? Is that where you get El and Liam sitting?” She smiled innocently.
“Oh no, us Westwoods don’t really sit on the floor.” Skyla cackled like a witch.
“Burn, Daddy! She’s saying Westwoods are better than Rossis!”
“Yeah, well, I don’t think so. Now, zip those mouths or no story,” I growled. I am not going to argue with an eight-year-old brat.
“Oh… so are you better than Kiara?” The sassy little devil pushed. I narrowed my eyes.
“She’s a Rossi now.”
“Not by blood,” she smirked.
“Daddy, you are amazing. You don’t need anyone telling you that,” Kataleya piped in gently. Okay, fuck, now my daughter was trying to make me feel better?
“Nothing this little thing says bothers me,” I growled. Azura simply blinked back as if she had no fucking clue what I meant and shrugged.
“Oops, sorry, Alejandro,” she said, blinking. I exhaled, running a hand down my face.
“Alright, what kind of story do you want to hear?”
“How you and Mama met!” Skyla piped in.
I was sure they had heard this shit a thousand times, and because I had to fucking censor it, I didn’t even remember what the fuck Kiara or I had told them before…
“Right… so, I was chasing this monster, and it led me towards the Blood Moon Pack territory. Then I saw your mother, who was this amazing white wolf with burning purple eyes. So, I killed the fucker and saved Kiara from being killed.”
“Or she could have protected herself,” Skyla added. I narrowed my eyes at her as all three girls stared at me, waiting for me to continue.
“Maybe. So, anyway, she couldn’t see me, but I remember looking into her gorgeous blue-green eyes as she asked me who I fucking was.”
“So, she shifted back?” Azura asked.
“Yeah, because she was hurt.”
“So, she was naked. Oh, my Goddess, you saw her naked?” She gasped. Skyla giggled.
“Doesn’t fucking matter. Anyway, Liam, Raven, and some other fucker came, so I left. The next day, I was at Elijah’s, and she entered the room, and well, let’s just say she couldn’t keep her eyes off me,” I smirked.
“Dad, it’s you who can’t keep your eyes off Mom,” Skyla remarked, rolling her eyes. “Why do men think it’s all about them?”
“Trust me, you have no idea how egotistical these alphas are,” Azura replied. I exhaled, thinking I needed a fucking drink after this, or maybe fucking ten.
“I think Mama and Daddy both couldn’t keep their eyes off each other,” Kataleya added softly, hugging the plushie she was holding tightly. I didn’t miss the fabric she held tightly in her grip and frowned slightly but said nothing.
“Hmm, maybe. Then what happened?” Azura asked.
“Then, she got angry because I told her dad that she was attacked, and so she was pissed off and came up to my room and just barged in.”
“Ooo,” Skyla smirked. “Then what happened, Daddy?”
“Then I told her I’m the fucking King, and I do as I fucking want,” I smirked, remembering how I pinned her to the bed that day… “And she obviously wasn’t having it. Then she came over to my pack…”
I continued telling the very PG-rated version of the story, with Azura sometimes chipping in and Skyla having her fits of laughter whilst Kataleya listened with a gentle smile on her face.
It felt good knowing she was home. Now to break the curse on Dante and Delsanra.
I prayed we would have a fucking solution soon.
I kept going until the twins fell asleep, but the Westwood devil remained awake, her creepily unblinking eyes staring at me.
“And then?”
“There’s nothing more to tell,” I said, running a hand through my hair.
“Hmm. Well, you aren’t very good at telling stories. Dad is far better,” she stated, snuggling down into the sheets.
“Yeah, well, he can tell stories next time. Unlike him, I’m not so old that I’ve got nothing better to do,” I replied, standing up and pulling the duvet over all three. I noticed how Skyla and Kataleya held each other’s hands in their sleep. This incident would always remain with both of them…
“Well, you aren’t much younger... but don’t worry, Kataleya is going to be fine. You can go now. With me here, even the devil himself won’t approach,” she said, yawning. I frowned. If only she realised we were up against some kind of devil…
“Well, night, little brat.”
“That’s what they all call me when they have no better comebacks…” she murmured, turning over. I frowned as I looked at her back. Sassy little brat.
Shaking my head, I left the room and saw El and Scarlett outside of Dante’s room.
Their arms were wrapped around one another as they looked into his room.
I guessed they were going through shit, too, no matter how much they tried to hide it.
These kids were their grandkids, and they were Kiara’s parents…
I walked down the hall, lighting a cigarette.
“The girls are asleep. That pup of yours is fucking draining. No wonder you look so fucking old. She sucks the fucking life out of you,” I remarked.
“She is a notch above Kiara as a kid, for sure,” Elijah smirked. It was then that I realised Scarlett’s eyes were slightly red. She looked away, smiling faintly, always acting fucking tough.
“She’s entertaining,” she replied smoothly as Elijah kissed her, running his fingers through her hair. I could tell they were mind-linking, and Scarlett nodded.
“I can get someone else to sit with Kiara... if you two want to stay together, I can watch the girls,” I said quietly. Although I wanted to be by her side, I was willing to sacrifice my own needs to do what I knew Kiara would want… be there for our pups and for her parents.
Scarlett shook her head, looking up at me.
“No, you need to be by her side. I’m completely fine,” she whispered, despite her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She reached up, placing a hand on my shoulder. “You need the rest too.”
“I’ll fix this shit,” I promised quietly.
“We will, together,” she replied, tiptoeing as she yanked my head down and kissed my cheek.
Scarlett and I didn’t really have a mother-and-son relationship considering she was far too fucking close to my age, but despite the fact that there was no name to our relationship, she was Kiara’s mother, and that was the most important thing.
The frown on Elijah’s face told me how fucking jealous he got of anyone Scarlett gave attention to, and I smirked, wrapping my arms around Scarlett.
Who doesn’t like to add a little spice to Elijah’s irritation?
He frowned when Scarlett hugged me back. I gave her a quick squeeze, thinking I fucking knew how she was feeling.
“Your man’s fucking jealous,” I remarked, letting go of her. She rolled her eyes.
“Seriously, of your daughter’s mate?” She asked him sceptically.
“I wasn’t jealous,” he growled, pulling her into his arms and kissing her neck. Fucking possessive.
“Yeah?” I smirked, glancing into Dante’s room.
He was fast asleep, the red veins looking even more prominent as he slept. I re-entered the room, going over to the sleeping boy, and slowly took off the necklace that suppressed his powers. His strong aura filled the room, promising a truly powerful alpha when the time came.
“What are you doing?” Elijah asked from behind me.
“He once said he feels like it weighs him down. I know it won’t do anything, but at least he can feel a little lighter.” I glanced at him, and he nodded, moving back the blanket that lay on the mattress onto the floor before he dropped onto it.
“Makes sense.”
I gave a nod, leaving the room and shutting the door behind me quietly before returning to my own room. Kevin and Serena both looked tired yet alert. The empty pizza box on the side told me they had at least had food.
“Anything?” I asked
“No,” Serena sighed. I nodded emotionlessly.
“Head home. Get some rest.”
She nodded, casting a final glance at Kiara before picking up the empty pizza boxes and the two cans.
“Night, beautiful,” Kevin murmured, picking up Kiara’s hand and giving it a soft kiss before laying it back on top of the duvet. He lowered his head to me before he left the room, shutting the door behind him.
I locked it before going over to the bed. The cut along her forehead was almost gone. Her long lashes touched her face lightly, her plump lips looking as fucking kissable as ever. I took hold of her chin, rubbing my thumb along them whilst taking a long drag on my cigarette with the other.
I missed her. Despite her being right there, I fucking missed her voice, her touch, her embrace… just her.
I turned away from her, trying to calm the overwhelming emotions that threatened to take over, the guilt returning with a vengeance.
I stubbed the cigarette out, leaving it in the little ashtray, and headed to the bathroom, placing Dante’s necklace on the drawer next to Kiara’s rings.
Maybe a shower would relieve some of the fucking tension I was feeling.
Who was I fucking kidding? Until I found that bastard, killed him, and fixed all this, I couldn’t relax.
I stripped, getting into the shower and letting the water run down my tattooed body. I closed my eyes, bracing my hand on the wall, and rested my forehead against the cool tiles.
It had been years since that feeling of uselessness and being a fucking failure had returned to me…
ever since Raf’s death… and it was fucking back.
Maybe I had gotten too soft. Sure, I trained a little less now that I had a family, but if I was going to be at my best, then I needed to become stronger, needed to fucking do better…
I had slipped and gotten far too relaxed.