Chapter 46 - Homecoming

HEARING THAT LENA WAS SCARED shocked Alaric to the core. She never said anything. She never showed any signs. He didn’t feel her fear through the mate bond. He frowned as he carefully studied her, but it seemed as though she was actually being honest with him.

Sadly, he had to remind himself that she seemed to be honest with him on a couple of previous occasions, only for him to find out that she had been lying and then she ran. He wanted to believe that she was telling the truth. No, he believed that she was telling the truth, but his traitorous heart didn’t want to believe her. It was his damn heart that got him into this situation in the first place.

“Look, you don’t have to believe me. You don’t even have to forgive me. Just don’t kill me. It would hurt Ben to lose his mother.” She stopped half-way through what seemed to be a loud thought when he frowned.

“Why on earth would I kill you? You know I can’t. You are my mate. We went through all that shit for a reason, Lena!” Alaric growled. He was furious that she could even think he would kill her. Had she forgotten that he could die if she did? That they accepted each other because even just a rejection could have killed him. It made him realize how weak alphas really were without their mates. How weak he was. He was beginning to think the old ways of taking more than one mate might be the better thing to do!

Unfortunately, he couldn’t imagine life with another first, and secondly, he sure as hell wouldn’t survive a second wife if he could barely keep track of the first one! She shifted her position in her chair and the slit in her dress revealed her beautiful legs. Yup, there was no way on earth he would be able to even just look at another woman … It wasn’t as if he hadn’t tried while she was away.

He had tried so many times since the day he met her, but certain body parts just didn’t work unless she was around. Frustrated with his current emotional state and the fact that she was right there and he couldn’t have her, he sighed and poured himself a drink.

“You and Ben can sleep in my room until we decide what to do.” He wanted her. He wanted nothing more than to feel her naked skin press up against his own, but if it was going to happen ever again, they both needed to figure out what they really wanted. He rolled his eyes at his own thoughts. He knew exactly what he wanted, but now wasn’t the right time.

He couldn’t make love to his mate until he was sure that she wanted it. His mind was all over the place as they walked back to his room and he wondered if she ever really loved him or if she faked their entire time together just so she could find some way out. They couldn’t rush into anything this time around. He couldn’t. He had to think about his son’s needs first.

Ben was fast asleep when they walked into the room and he left a soft kiss on the boy’s cheek before leaving them alone. His son smelled so good, that he suddenly understood why mothers were forever sniffing their children. They really did smell good. His mind drifted to Lena and what she had gone through giving birth in that small house.

He was simply mystified that she had done it all on her own in that place she called a house. He wondered how they survived through the winters with hardly any roof, and all he could think of was how incredibly strong Lena and her son were to have survived out there for so long. He still couldn’t believe that they had been right there this entire time.

He still had so many questions, but for now at least, they were home. He could stop wondering what happened to her. He had a son. There was so much to be thankful for that he just had to focus on that and not wonder when she would run again.

LENA TOOK THE FIRST POPPER hot shower she had taken since she left the pack house and looked at herself in the mirror. Her body has changed since she was last here. Having Ben changed it. Her hips were a tad bigger and it changed her from looking like a teenager to having that perfect hourglass figure every woman desired. Her breasts were a little fuller than they used to be and she had kind of hoped they would go back to their original size, but they didn’t.

She was still toned and trim, but she looked softer than her previous reflection did in this mirror. Tying her hair up, she changed before slipping under the covers beside Ben. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep. For the first time in a long time, she could sleep. Really sleep. The kind where she didn’t have to lie with one eye open to make sure they were safe.

Waking up with a start a couple of hours later, she was anxious to find Ben wasn’t there. She checked her watch and noted that it was dinner time, which could only mean he was either with Rebecca or Alaric stole him. It was a strange thing, but she wasn’t worried about Ben. She was shocked when she woke up and he wasn’t there, but she knew he was safe wherever he was in the house.

Nobody would harm her son here. She still didn’t know what she was going to do about the magic thing, but she knew her son was safe. He was with his pack. The way it was meant to be. Sighing, she slipped out of bed and quickly straightened it out before making her way to the dining room. She had hoped Ben would have returned by the time she made the bed, but since that was clearly not going to happen, she would have to go and look for him.

The dining room fell silent as she walked in and Alaric jumped out of his seat at the very end of the room. Ben was seated right beside him and Lena had to fight the urge to giggle when she saw the high chair they brought in for him. She was suddenly glad that she taught Ben to eat at the dining table or this might have been a lot more awkward than it already was. She could feel people staring as Alaric made his way over to her and guided her to her seat beside him.

Ben was already explaining all the different kinds of food in front of him and she smiled, feeling as if the pack was on the verge of something! Someone had to say something. Surely, they didn’t just accept that their Luna was back and now everything would just continue where it left off when she left …

“We are grateful to have our Luna and my son back with us. I want to remind all of you no matter what happened. Lena is your Luna and you will treat her with the respect her rank deserves. I also want to let you all know that now that we have our Luna back …” He looked at Rebecca and then at Lena. “She will be training Rebecca in magical arts.” The room fell even more silent as Alaric cleared his throat. “You all know that my sister and I are half-wolf and half blood witch. I don’t want anything to interfere with Rebecca’s training.”

With that said, he sat down and paid attention to Ben when Lena felt Rebecca’s hand on her arm. Lena was still in shock at what she had just heard when she turned her head to look at Rebecca seated beside her.

“Lena, if my brother hasn’t told you yet. We tried to do my birthday gifts. You know the ones you told me about that your parents gave you, but I haven’t received my powers. We don’t know if we did something wrong or what happened, but I really need your help.” Lena couldn’t believe what she was hearing as her head snapped from Rebecca to Alaric and back.

When she first walked in there, all she could think was that her life as a witch was finally over. Now they were asking her to train Rebecca … Out in the open … In front of everybody … She clearly had a lot to catch up on and Rebecca seemed eager to bring her up to speed. Lena couldn’t help but steal the odd look in Alaric’s direction each time Rebecca informed her of everything that changed while she was away.

She was furious when she heard that Alaric burned all the magic books, but she could understand why. What could have happened if she had stayed? She wondered as she agreed to help Rebecca.