Number 15

Roman's heart thumped in his chest as they sat in comfortable silence; eyes glued to the television screen.
'I wonder what she's thinking about, is she as nervous as we are about tonight?' His wolf asked, causing him to size her up.
She was reclined on the couch with Xander snuggling close to her like a teddy bear. His little hand rested against her rising and falling bosom.
'He's so lucky, he gets to touch those beautiful lemons every day.' His wolf chirped.
Roman darted out his tongue to wet his bottom lip, unconsciously gripping his pillow and imagining it to be her soft bosom.
'I can't wait for us to mark her.' His wolf stated, stirring lustful desires in the pit of Roman's stomach.
Roman shook his head, dismissing all sinful thoughts and reprimanding his wolf, 'Shut up, Egor. We can't mark her yet, we have to accomplish our mission.'
'Got it.' His wolf replied, sounding a bit disappointed before going mute.
Lorelei felt a pair of eyes boring holes into the side of her head, tugging on the strings of her attention and she averted her gaze from the television to meet his soft orbs.
He broke eye contact immediately, looking at anywhere but her face.
Lei felt heat racing up her cheeks as she solemnly wondered if he was checking her out. She glanced down at her son, shaking her head at his childish behavior of still gripping her breasts.
Xander blinked rapidly, trying to keep his heavy lids open. They fluttered shut and his head swayed, causing him to snap his eyes open.
"Papa bear, it's time for bed," Lei whispered, plastering a kiss on his curly blond hair.
"No, mom. I'm not sleepy." He whined, sticking his hand into her shirt and letting his head fall into her bosom.
"Oh, papa bear. You are, your head was falling a while ago," She said softly, removing his hand from her shirt. "Big boys don't play with boobies."
'They don't?' Roman's wolf asked and they sniggered.
'Shut up.' Roman silenced his wolf.
"But I don't want to." Xander objected and began to cry.
Roman hoisted himself out of the couch and strode over to their chair. He crouched in front of Xander and opened his arms, doing a come hither motion with his fingers as he urged the little boy to get into his arms.
Xander folded his hands over his chest and shook his head, pouting.
Roman puckered his lower lip and beckoned him to get into his arms. He bared his teeth and held a hand over his mouth, moving it from side to side and then spreading his arms, moving them gracefully like the wings of a bird.
"Xander, he wants you to go with him so he can brush your teeth, and guess what?" Lei beamed. "He'll give you a ride on his back."
"Piggyback ride, yay!" Xander's eyes flickered with delight as he clapped his hands and Roman turned his back against the child.
Xander wrapped his little arms around Roman's neck and shouted for joy when Roman sprang up. He ran back and forth, earning giggles from Xander who bounced on his back.
Lorelei's lips curved into a smile as she watched them play. She heaved a sigh, housing a foreign feeling that warmed her heart at the immense affection Roman showered her kid.
Roman raced to the bathroom and got Xander ready for bed. After that, he tucked him in, tapping Xander's chest in a bid to make him sleep. Gradually, Xander's eyes fluttered shut and Roman quietly got to his feet.
He tiptoed to the door, grabbing the knob but stop mid-action when Xander called out to him, "Don't go... I want you to stay with me."
Roman sucked a deep breath in then joined Xander on the bed. Xander crawled into Roman's arms, and in less than five minutes, he fell asleep.
Roman's heart fluttered and the love he had for the child stretched as far as the stars in the sky. He caressed his delicate cheek, melting at the peaceful sight of the sleeping child that mirrored a little Lorelei.
The door creaked open and Roman lazily dragged his eyes to see Lei slipping into the room, whispering, "Is he asleep?"
Roman nodded and she whispered some words of gratitude to him. She stealthily made her way into the bathroom and came out in red checkered pajamas.
She eased herself onto the other side of the bed and Roman unwrapped his arms from around Xander and carefully got off the bed.
"Where are you going?" Lei inquired, adjusting her pillow.
Roman parted his lips to speak but swallowed his words when he remembered he was supposed to be mute.
He rubbed the back of his neck and averted his gaze to the floor with a slight shake of his head.
"Then why did you leave the bed?" Lei knitted her brows into a frown as she lay on the bed, never taking her eyes off him.
He pointed at the floor where he usually slept and she tucked in her lips before saying, "I told you to join us on the bed tonight, the ground is too cold and we don't want to risk giving you pneumonia."
Roman found what she said ridiculous because he was a werewolf, he didn't think such things happened to his kind but he kept the information to himself.
Roman raised his hands, communicating with her using sign language to say, "But I don't want to disturb you."
"And who said you'll be disturbing us?" She inquired. "The bed would contain us, besides, Xander is tiny."
Roman nodded, reluctantly lowering himself to the bed and lying on his back with his eyes glued to the ceiling. There was a veil of silence in the room and he thumbed his ear, listening to both their hearts pounding against the walls of their chests.
Lei's throat ran dry like a desert and she gulped, nursing her neck and her stomach tied itself into knots as she remembered the kiss he pressed against her lips last night.
She turned her back against him, cradling her stomach; her lips tingled for his to connect with hers again.
Roman's chest constricted, squeezing his heart as he could perceive the longing desire that oozed off her skin with his heightened senses.
'Is she sleeping?' His wolf asked, prompting him to glance at her from the side of his eyes.
'I don't know.' Roman answered, turning his head to look at her.
His eyes traveled down her waist and lingered on her protruding buttocks. He bit his lip, dragging his eyes back to her delicious-looking neck.
'Get a grip of yourself.' He scolded himself and his wolf howled, wanting to mark her already.
He squeezed his eyes shut, reminiscing about her lilac lips and sweet tongue.
A sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead and he sucked in a sharp breath. Lei turned, and he snapped his eyes close in pretense.
He felt her eyes on his face and his skin tingled. When the sound of her turning to back him once again filled the room, he opened his eyes and released his breath.
****
A distant sound tugged at her consciousness and she turned, letting the throes of unconsciousness snatch her once again. A frown creased her forehead when the sound grew louder and soon, her eyes were peeled open to Xander, sitting on the bed and playing with Roman's Greek nose.
"Papa bear..." She drawled, stretching on the bed like a cat. "Let him be."
"Hi, momma!" Xander grinned, releasing Roman's nose after rousing him from his sleep.
"Hi, baby. How are you, can't fall asleep?" She asked, wrapping her hands around Xander and pulling him in for a kiss on the cheek.
He chuckled, returning her kiss with a light peck on her lips.
She looked at Roman and apologized. "Sorry that he woke you up."
She retracted her hands from Xander and picked up her wristwatch from the bedside table.
"It's just seven-thirty in the morn-" She paused and her eyes widened. "Moon goddess, it's seven-thirty in the morning!"
She jumped off the bed and dashed into the toilet with heavy joints.
She hastily prepared for work and kissed Xander before rushing out of the house.
"Good morning, sorry that I'm late." She breathed heavily as she marched into the cafe with her heart racing as she feared the boss would give her a query.
"Luckily for you, the boss isn't here yet," Anne said with a small smile playing at the sides of her lips.
Lei heaved a sigh of relief and got settled behind the bar.
"Woah!" Anne's smile disappeared as she took Lei's appearance in. "Why do you look like a mess?"
"I couldn't sleep all night," Lei responded, struggling to keep her eyes open as she stifled a yawn and stretched her hands over her head, feeling like her joints needed some grease.
"Why?" Anne's lips curled into a mischievous smile. "What were you doing all night with that sexy god of yours?"
Lei popped her eyes open and smacked Annie's arm. "Get your mind out of the gutters."
They shared a laugh and a customer walked in.
***
Roman's eyes fluttered shut as he dozed, head falling to the side. He hadn't slept all through the night and when he finally did, Xander woke him up.
There was a loud thud and Roman jolted, snapping his eyes open and furtively glancing around. A head-splitting headache spiderwebbed his entire head and he winced, massaging his temples.
'Xander!' He exclaimed in his head, tensing his muscles when he didn't see the little curly head playing with the toys that were scattered on the floor.
He rose and walked into the room, scanning the four yellow walls for Xander but it was empty. Another crashing sound resonated through the house, sounding like it was coming from the kitchen.
With swift strides, he reached the kitchen and his eyes almost fell out of the socket when he saw Xander sitting and licking milk off the ground.
'Blood moon!' His wolf exclaimed. 'What is the child doing?'
'It's obvious that he turned the entire milk on himself and the floor.' Roman replied to his wolf with a facepalm.
Roman picked the now white child from the floor and sat him on his little chair.
He grabbed a broom and then pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand before sweeping the powdered milk away and taking Xander for a new bath.
Xander was energetic and wanted to play outside but Roman was afraid and kept him indoors to prevent his pack from bullying the innocent child again.
He dropped Xander into the bathtub and had a glance at himself in the mirror. His forehead creased into a deep frown when he saw how sleep-deprived he looked. His eyes had dark circles underneath them and his hair was left in messy arrays.
"Yippie!" Xander exclaimed, splashing water around and drawing Roman out of his trance.
**
"What?!" The Alpha banged his fists on the armrest of his throne with a scowl on his face. "You mean he's still basking in the relaxed life of that pack with that miserable human?!"
"Yes, my lord." The spy offered the king a curt bow, keeping his eyes on the floor.
"What a fool!" The king thundered, tightening his jaw and shaking his head, causing his crown which was as black as his soul to incline.
He stroked his beard, hating that his son was degrading himself by mingling with a human. He wrinkled his nose in distaste.
"A mere human..." His skin crawled and the word tasted bitter on his tongue.
The king doubted the ability of his son. If he couldn't do a minor task without getting distracted by a mere human then he might as well prevent him from claiming his birthright of being Alpha.
He snarled and started, "Track the thing and kill her when Roman is absent." He ordered in a menacing tone.
"Yes, my king. I will not let you down." The spy bowed.
The alpha dismissed him with a slight wave of his hand as he stared into nothingness, tugging at his beard.