Page 193 of Her Cold-Hearted Alpha: Part 2

Like always, he never wanted to be healed, saying it would heal naturally and he was man enough to deal with a few bites… Something Dante dealt out very generously.

"Is Rayhan not coming?" Raihana asked her mother, who had just walked out of the kitchen, looking forlorn as she looked at the phone in her hand.

"Nope, he said he needs some downtime travelling before he returns to take up his Alpha duties." Maria sighed.

"It’s ok Mom, we saw him when he came for the last festival." Raihana said as she hugged her mom.

"For a few days…" Maria sighed.

"Soon he’ll be home for good." I said confidently.

"Yes, and I’m sure he’ll come for the mating ball." Raihana agreed.

"It’s been three years… and he still hasn’t found his mate, you know he’s skipped a few mating balls." Maria sighed. As she picked up the box of baubles.

"Alejandro was thirty-four when he found me, some things can’t be rushed." I said encouragingly, as I wrapped the tinsel around the stair bannister.

"That’s true. But with the tension between… you know it’s a scary world." Maria whispered, turning to look at me, her eyes filled with worry. Her fingers were tight on the deep blue metallic bauble she was holding.

I frowned. She wasn’t wrong… with every passing season, the hatred and tension between the witches and werewolves in the country had increased tenfold.

Even the coven that was a branch of the main base in Salem had set up many bases across the country. Luckily there weren’t many witches as strong as Endora, the only reason things hadn’t gotten worse was that Endora had been a hybrid; a part wolf. As well as Alejandro’s constant work to keep the other packs in control and refrain from war. Still, witches and werewolves clashed often.

"He is strong. He will manage any witch he comes across." I said confidently as I made my way up the stairs, wrapping the tinsel tightly.

My mind drifted to the Alphas who had left for training. Unlike Rayhan, who visited most holidays. Liam had only come home twice and sadly he didn’t even see Raven who had moved to Aunty Angela’s pack. To this day, I wasn’t sure what happened to make her leave, but she had moved only a few weeks after Liam left.

I was also stunned that Damon hadn’t even made his move, but they didn’t talk about it, and I was too busy doing my part as queen. I was in contact with all three individually, mainly Raven, but the group chat we once had was silent. No one left it, yet no one talked on it, and that hurt.

Alejandro and I spent some holidays with my family, some with his, and sometimes both of our families together.

Grandma Jessica had passed away over a year ago, it seemed the loss of her mate was not something she was able to recover from. Even though Grandad had been a chosen mate, they had marked each other and had created that bond. The feelings were still strong, even if not as strong as a true bond and she had not been able to survive.

I sighed softly, turning as Dante came running, holding…

"Alejandro!" I growled.

"That fucker's a thief. Don’t blame me." Alejandro’s reply came as he snatched the packet of cigarettes from our son.

"You should keep them out of reach then." Marcel remarked as he and Rafael walked in from outside, where they had been setting up the lights, a thin layer of snow covering their coats.

"Exactly." I stated.

Maria simply hid a smile, although she wasn’t as scared of Alejandro anymore or didn’t dislike him as much, she was still wary. Speaking of Alejandro… his bond with his brother had grown too… He now smacked them both over the head, as Dante hurried up the steps towards me.

His red eyes rimmed with those pretty eyelashes staring intently at me. His mop of black curls fell in front of his eyes. Oh, we was such a cherub.

"Mama! Daddy dumb."

I smiled as Alejandro growled.

"Spoiled brat."

"What did Daddy do?" I asked picking him up. "Did you bite Leo?"

"Bite? No." Dante denied vehemently.

Oh, he understood alright, I could feel the guilt rolling off him. I sighed.

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