Don't touch me

**Angel:**

I watched Dimitri leave the infirmary, waving for Antonia to go to him.

The children needed to go to school, and with Haizel sick, I knew she wouldn't take her daughter.

"Dad," Antonia called out to her father. Dimitri turned to face her and kneeled in front of her. She took a step back, hesitant, before nodding.

"Good morning," Dimitri said, his voice thick with emotion. "Your mother is still sick, do you want to go in and see her?"

"I came to say I have to go to school. I didn't know who was going to take me because mom always chose one of the maids for that." She said, looking at her father. I looked away from the two of them, wanting to ignore the Alpha's presence. I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt to cover the bruise on my arm. Luckily, the man had twisted my wrist, and it would take a little longer to heal.

"I'll take you if you..."

"You don't need to," she said, stopping her father. I looked at my feet before clearing my throat, reminding her to be polite to her father. Antonia, who was looking at me, smiled. That was also how I reminded her of her manners when she forgot them. "Thank you."

"Can I please ask nanny Mariana to take me?" She asked, and Dimitri looked at me for a second before looking at his daughter. I had to avoid the man's eyes because it was something I was against when it came to my son. I didn't like the maids taking him to school, especially because I knew what it was like to be left by domestic workers. That was how things were done when I was younger. My mother didn't even wait for me to go to school. She was either taking care of her own things or sleeping. Either way, there was no time for me.

"Yes, she can take you." He said, and Antonia looked at me.

"Thank you for letting me stay the night, Aunt Angel." She said, and I smiled. She nodded and took a step back before I placed my hand on my son's shoulder, signaling for him to turn around. He saw his father, and Dimitri saw that both children were fine. I didn't need to spend time beside him nor worry about confronting him.

"Come on, Antonia, it's time for school." I said, and she nodded. We both turned to leave before Dimitri cleared his throat, breaking my train of thought.

"Angel," he said, his tone calm as he spoke. I looked away from him before signaling to my son, wanting him to wait for me in the living room.

"I'll be there in a minute, baby." I said, and he nodded. He walked towards the living room, leaving me alone with the man. I turned to face him and shook my head, waiting for what he was going to say.

"Thank you for letting Antonia stay with you last night. It was hard with her mother, and..."

"I let her stay with me because I didn't want her to see you as the monster she was afraid of." I said, stopping him. "She was scared and she is still my son's sister. I chose to have the conscience that you don't have. Excuse me, I have to take my son to school..."

"Angel..."

"I have nothing to talk to you about." I said, stopping him. "Don't come near me again, Dimitri. And I told this to my brother, and I will tell you; if you think about laying a finger on me again, you will lose it. This is my final word."

I turned to walk away, not saying another word.

To my surprise, the Alpha didn't stop me...

"You were about to be late," said Alpha Locke behind me. I smiled, shaking my head at the man.

My son was already in his first class, and that was something I was grateful for. The last thing I wanted was for him to be late for school because of his father, and I knew that would have happened if Dimitri had chosen to stop me.

"I got caught up with some things." I said, and he nodded.

"I can imagine," he said, waving to me. He looked at my car for a second and then at his. "Do you want to keep your car here or...?"

"I was thinking we could both drive? You lead the way and I'll follow? Or you can send me the location of where we're going and I can meet you there." I said, stopping the man. He frowned at my words, but I knew not to trust anyone so quickly. I had to pick up Ashton later today and the last thing I needed was to be late.

"This isn't how I imagined this would happen." Locke said, looking at his feet for a second.

"Don't get me wrong, Locke, but I have a son, and I have to be here to pick him up before it's time for him to go home. I don't rely on the Alpha's maids and I don't intend to." I said, and he nodded, thankfully choosing to respect what I was doing for my son.

"Alright, let's go to my office first; I think I can arrange a suitable office for you. One where you can work, and you know, being close to mine; I can arrange a suitable price." He said, and I smiled.

"That's very kind of you..."

"See it first, then you can decide if you like it or not. Then we can go to a nearby café, discuss matters there and you can give me your final answer about the office. And it's close to the school. You won't have to worry about rush hour or a crowd. It's one of the reasons I sometimes take responsibility for picking up my nieces and nephews." He said, and I smiled.

"You don't have a child of your own?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"Not yet," he said, and I nodded. "So, how about I send you the location now? We can meet there in a few minutes."

"Alright," I said, taking my phone out of my pocket. He sent the location in a minute, and my eyes brightened when I saw it was a six-minute drive. "I'll see you shortly..."