Page 24 of The Alpha's Forbidden Heir

Aria

“Mommy! Wake up! Wake up, Mommy!”

The soft weight of Elias lands squarely on my stomach, followed by a cascade of giggles wakes me up. His tiny hands grab my face, and the warm, sticky kiss he plants on my cheek sends a jolt of energy through me before my brain has even caught up.

“Good morning to you too, sticky fingers,” I mumble, squinting one eye open at him. His wide grin lights up the room, and his dark curls bounce as he wiggles against me.

“I’m not sticky!” He laughs, pressing his nose against mine.

“No?” I arch an eyebrow, feigning seriousness. “What’s this then?” I point to the faint smear of chocolate on the corner of his mouth.

“It’s… um…” His face scrunches up like he’s solving a riddle. “It’s cause… I was… brushing my teeth!”

“Elias,” I say, trying to keep my voice stern, though I’m already smiling.

“Okay, okay!” He throws his hands up, giggling. “It’s from the candy, but I didn’t mean to!”

“Candy? At…” I glance at the clock on the bedside table. “Seven in the morning?”

“I was extremely hungry, Mommy!”

I grab him, pulling him into a tickle attack that sends him into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. “Hungry for trouble, maybe!”

“No, Mommy! Stop, stop!”

“Say you’ll listen to Mommy from now on!”

“I will! Promise!” He gasps between laughs, squirming against the onslaught.

“You promise?”

“Pinkie promise, Mommy!”

I stop tickling him, pull him close and press a kiss to his forehead. He smells like a little boy and chocolate, and my heart aches with a kind of love so fierce it scares me sometimes.

“Alright, mister. Time to get up and ready for school,” I sit up and stretch.

“Do I have to?”

“Yes.” I flick his nose. “And we both know you love school.”

He groans dramatically but hops off the bed, grabbing my hand to pull me toward the bathroom.

Elias stands on the small stool by the sink, gripping his toothbrush like it’s a sword. I hand him the toothpaste, watching as he meticulously squirts an enormous blob onto the bristles.

“Elias,” I warn.

“What?” He looks at me with wide, innocent eyes, the kind that makes it hard to be mad at him.

“That’s too much toothpaste, baby. It’s going to foam everywhere!”

He giggles, wiping a bit off with his finger and sticking it back in the tube. “Is this good now?”

“Much better.”

As he brushes, his little voice bubbles with questions between swipes. “Mommy, why do we gotta brush teeth every day?”

“Because if we don’t, they’ll get yucky, and you won’t be able to eat all your favorite foods.”

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