25

He had everything under control, nothing was ever going to happen that would take him unawares, asides the guards kept to watch over the entire place, he was also alert, ready for anything that would come his way.



His exact words to Luke, ".. we'll be ready.", it showed he was ready, now all he needed to do was to guard Emily, and guard his children.



If these Intruders would come, they would first start by weakening him emotionally, using Emily and the twins as bait.



He wasn't ignorant of all these, he was fully aware. He thought of all the things he cold to protect his mate and his little pups.



"Hey, Natasha", Emily called out to Natasha who seemed to be very happy, running around the entire house.



Emily crouched down to her level, looking at her, she put her hands on her two arms and said to her, "Can you make me a very special braid for tonight?"



"Yes my lady", Natasha replied with a baby face, her lower lips bent upwards to show her inner pink lips



Emily smiled at her, stroking her hair, motioning for her go get back to the work she was doing.



The house was entirely busy, with maids as servants decorating and moving things up and down, truly, it was going to be the grandest and the biggest party ever.



Emily walked over to the banquet hall, astonished by the decorations and the arrangements of the tables and drinks in there, she smiled as she imagined what the evening would be like.



"Emily!", a deep based voice called out to her from the back. She could recognize whose voice that was and turned her back to clarify her thoughts.



Just as she thought, it was Richard. He was walking confidently, his footsteps echoing through out the entire hall, looking so concerned yet fearful, and his hands dipped in the pocket of his robe.



"Alpha Richard!", She greeted and slightly bowed her head.



That was the first time she ever did that, but she had her reasons for doing it which of course was trying to tease Richard.



He walked up to her, held up her hand and then placed a kiss on her knuckles and held her by her waist.



He stared into her eyes, the silence between them was a grave silence.



But Emily looked into his eyes, there was concern written all over his face, but she wondered what could make him feel so concerned.



There was going to be a party coming up soon, that evening and now he seemed very concerned.



Emily would have regarded what she saw in his eyes to be fear, but she knew her mate so well, he could never be so scared of anything.



He kept staring into her eyes, thoughts filled in his head. Luke's exact words ringing in his head loudly, "... they'll come, not just for you, but for the boys".



Was he getting scared? Was he beginning to follow fear?



He then realized he was staring into Emily's eyes for so long, and then he laughed as he broke the hold and then held her hand in his.



"How do you see the decorations?", Richard asked as he kept on holding he hand and was taking a stroll with her..



"I love the concept! It's beautiful", Emily said happily while she used her eyes to scan the entire room, admiring the beauty and the decorations.



She remembered the worries, the concerns, the fears she saw in his eyes, she could perceive something was happening to him, but she couldn't place it.



"Richard..? ", Emily called out to him while he was lost in thoughts but his gaze still fixed on the entire room.



"Hmm...", Richard shook his head and turned to Emily who called his name



Emily stopped walking, which also prompted him to stop too. Concerningly, he walked over to Emily and looked at her.



"Why did you stop?", He asked her. He had the feeling she enjoyed the stroll but then he wondered what would really make her stop.



"You're worried... Aren't you?", She asked Richard.

He had the feeling she knew something, she knew he felt concerned about something.



That period they had stared into each other's eyes, she had seen some emotions in there, but how could he tell her that he was scared of Intruders attacking his mate and his children.



He couldn't answer the question, he turned his face away, looking for something to distract his thoughts and make him forget the question on a jiffy, but none could do it.



"Look at me", Emily said. Her hands were still placed in his, and so when he was throwing his face away, she dragged him closer to herself and then held his chin.



Then she whispered again, "look... at... me". Her soft voice again, his weakness, it burned him within my



He gets weakened by the texture of her voice and couldn't help but finally look at her.



"What's your worry?", Emily asked again, her hands running his chin, acting as a stress relieve to him.



He couldn't still say a word, his mouth was mumbling something, but it wasn't audible.



Emily knew he was really worried about something, his grip on her hand became tighter and he shook nervously like something was going to happen.



Emily held on to his firmly, her soft hands were still on his chin when he finally said out to her, "I'm worried".



"I love you Emily.. and.. and.. I don't want any harm coming to you or the boys", Richard finally said as his grip lightened.



She could feel the pain in his voice, the tone of his voice and his words were shaky.



He looked at Emily and held her hands and Said to her, "Luke has suspected that Intruders will come today. Thel'll be coming for the boys. I need you to stay safe. I need you to.."



Emily placed her forefinger in his lips trying to calm him down and the she whispered, "Everything is going to be fine, okay? Nothing will happen"



Richard looked at her, but then he realized something.

He was slowly giving into fear and doubts lately, he wasn't the type that got scared of very little things.



He doubted the fact his children, his emotions ever made him weak. He looked at Emily again, this time, he never needed her soft words to comfort him or tell him that everything would be alright.



He planted a kiss on her lips and looked into eyes again. Emily could see his strength rising, his eyes were burning and she could see him smiling.



She was strengthened, she heaved a heavy sigh, and then Richard said to her, "Stay safe. Go get ready"



She watched as he walked away, walking to where Luke stood, still trying to inspect the level of Security for the party.



The evening came, Layla had prepared a hot bath for Emily, using her hand, she stirred the water in a bid to check the temperature of the water if suitable for Emily.



"My lady? Your hot bath ready", Layla said as she knelt slightly in the air.



"Thank you Layla, but I'll need some help in bathing and dressing up", Emily said as she took of her clothes and stepped into the bathtub



Layla took the sponge and helped Emily with her bat asvshe scrubbed her shoulders and her back lightly.



When Layla was done helping her with her bath, she wore her bathrobe and sat in front of the mirror.



"Get me Natasha!", Emily ordered as she still held the towel in her hands, cleaning off some drops of water which were rolling down her face and her hair.



"Yes my lady!", Layla answered as she left the room quietly in search of Natasha.



As soon as Layla was gone, she used the towel again, this time concentrating on her hair, she rubbed the towel all over her hair, trying her best to dry off her moist hair.



As usual, she always tried her best to brush her hair on her own, but she always failed. She didn't really know the ethics of brushing her hair, but surprisingly, the little Natasha could do so easily.



She thought to herself, maybe this time, when she arrives, she would take her time to learn how she brushed the hair to make it smooth.



"My lady... You sent for me", Natasha said in her little tiny innocent voice. She had opened the door so quietly, Emily didn't know she had entered the room.



"Yes...", Emily said gesturing with her hands, ordering her to come closer so as to arrange her hair again.



Natasha walked closer to her, picked up the brush and began to brush the hair slowly.



Just as she had promised herself to watch how Natasha did it, she did and saw the exact way Emily brushed the hair.



She had started brushing the hair from it's base and not from it's top. That was when Emily knew she was always making a mistake.