Please listen to the song once you've finished reading this chapter. I found it fitting for the end 🌞

"Why can't we just stay in bed and forget about the outside world? Sounds like a nice program, right?"

A sigh, then the cover is ripped away from me. A monster. My mate is a monster. No empathy. No understanding. No -

"Alex, get your delectable ass out of this bed right now!"

I pout at his still gentle but somehow annoyed tone. I'm starting to piss him off. Do I feel bad about it? Kinda. Will I do as he wants ? Hell nah.

"Don't you want to see the little girl?" He tries again, tilting his head in a way that he knows look adorable and might get him what he wants.

Bastard just looks too cute for his own good. I tried to imitate him once and he asked me if I had hurt my neck or something.

"Yes, I want to"

"Will you get out of this bed, then?"

"I - no."

His jaw tightens and I know how badly he wants to give me a spanking. The only reason he has managed to keep his cool so far is because he knows that I'm not just throwing a tantrum here - I am genuinely terrified.

Kyle, Darren, Nate and their baby, Rim, who is a few months old now, are coming to our place for lunch and I am sure I grew a few grey hair just thinking about it.

The worst part? I can't even blame my mate since I was the one to agree to Kyle's idea. He first wanted me to visit them at the pack, and I suggested that the four of them come to our place instead.

The truth is, I was positive that Nate and Darren would politely decline the invitation, maybe using the excuse of their newborn or arguing that Kyle is still too weak to travel - although I am sure they are aware that my best friend would have scream in indignation like he used to do every time they pampered him.

Imagine my surprise and horror when Kyle happily told me that they agreed to come with him. It was too late for me to go back on my words, not that Malik would let me. He said that Kyle would be disappointed and that it was a good sign that his mates were tagging along. He even suggested that they were here to make amends.

Malik. Always the optimistic fool. Well, I suppose it's one of the reasons why I fell in love so badly with him. Opposites attract, as the saying goes.

The feel of a slender body suddenly covering mine forces me to come back to reality.

Hm - nice. Does it mean that my mate will finally give in to my whims? Is it why he is looming over me with a - a sadistic expression?

Shit. That's not good. Last time he had this wicked expression I ended up ejaculating all over my belly with a magic dildo lodged deep inside my ass, when he was just supposed to take it out.

"I will give you an alternative, pup" he whispers against my ear, making me shiver. " We don't have much time left to get ready so I will give you a choice. Either you willingly follow me in the shower and I clean you out nicely, or you stay here and I plug you up so my cum won't drip from your hole in front of our guests. Also, remember that wolves have an excellent sense of smelling so they will probably know what we did last night as soon as they set a foot in the cottage. Now, what do you choose?"

Rotten bastard. Although the thought of being filled with my mate's essence for a longer time is appealing, I certainly don't want my former alpha and his mates to find out about my kinks.

"Let's go to the fucking bathroom" I mumble, trying to sound mad although deep down I am not angry at my mate. I know why he is doing this, and I know that if I had really insisted to cancel the event, he would have give in.

"Good pup" he praises me, which I ignore, elbowing him to get into the shower first and earning myself a firm pat on my left butt cheek.

That was definitely not an undignified squeak that you heard.

As soon as the warm water falls on my shoulders and I feel Malik's hands rubbing soothing circles on my belly, I finally relax a bit. He grabs a sponge and I let him clean me, blushing a little when he carefully scraps his cum out of my hole with his slim fingers.

"I wish you would have chosen the second option. I like the idea of having our guests know that you are mine and that my cum is still inside you" he sighs, making me snort and try to elbow him again.

Key word: try.

"More seriously, you know I will be with you all the time, right, baby? If it's getting too much -"

I smile at that, giving him a quick peck on his nose which has his cheeks turning a light pink.

Aw, I make the cool and collected Malik blush with a simple kiss? That must mean I don't give myself enough credit.

"I know. I was trying to delay the moment to leave the bed because I am super scared but I agree, it's important to seize the opportunity to get closer to Kyle again. Maybe his mates' hatred toward me will gradually lessen"

This time, it's his turn to kiss me and while a slight blush looks healthy on him and enhances his appeal, I turn into a sweaty tomato when my cheeks flush.

"Nobody could hate you, pup"

"You would be surprised"

Before he has time to come up with some witty comeback, the doorbell rings.

Please, Lord above, turn me into a bird so I can fly far away from here, I pray, closing my eyes shut.

When I open my eyes again, I am very surprised to realize that God didn't respond to my prayer.

Instead, my face is cradled in Malik's hands, his thumbs gently stroking my cheeks.

Oh, well. That's even better than being a bird. I am sure I would have been changed into a common, plain-looking kind of bird anyway. Forget about the majestic eagle, meet Alex, the fat pigeon.

"Together, pup?" he asks, taking my hand in his.

"Together" I whisper with a less enthusiastic voice, although I give a small squeeze to his hand to show him I appreciate the gesture.

Ten minutes later.

Everything is good. Everything is perfect. Everything is fantastic. They all look perfectly at ease. Kyle and Nate are arguing about who should be the one to hold the baby, Rim, on their laps, Malik went to the kitchen to fix us something to drink and Darren is watching his mates, his expression a mixture of fondness and annoyance.

Why am I still freaking out, when everything turned out better than expected? They all greeted me very politely, and Nate and Darren didn't even say anything when my best friend hugged me like he hadn't seen me for months, which is actually the case.

So far, I haven't been taking part to the conversation, which isn't surprising, given as I am generally not at ease in social situations. I have to force myself this time, though, because after all this is my house, they are my guests and I don't want them to get bored. Plus, now that Nate and Darren seem less hostile toward me, I should try to ease the tension that still lingers between us.

Kyle has been trying to make me talk by asking me random questions about Malik, but I only gave him short answers, which may have discouraged him a bit in his attempts to have a casual conversation.

Anyway, he and Nate are busy with the baby now so I don't have to try to entertain them. That leaves us with ... Darren.

I gasp, my anxiety spiking up as I risk a quick glance in his direction. As I expected, he is already looking at me, his expression thoughtful. Does he want to say something to me? Or maybe he is planning a way to kill me without breaking his mate's heart.

Yeah, but if he wanted to kill me, he would have already done so, right?

He wants to enjoy the appetizer first. A man gotta have a sense of priorities.

Okay, I know I am exaggerating and that he isn't going to harm me, at least not physically, but I still feel uncomfortable with the way my former alpha is looking at me.

Talk to him, my wolf, Orion, urges me.

But what can I say?

Anything! Ask about the baby. That's a pretty safe topic. People love babbling about their newborns.

Right.

"So, huh, Darren" I start, making him tilt his head expectantly. "I-huh."

I can't do it!

I get up quickly, muttering under my breath about needing to take something upstairs, before rushing into my bedroom.

I don't even close the door behind me as I collapse on the ground, forcing myself to take a sitting position as I hide my now wet face behind my hands.

Why am I so weak? They must think I am weird. Maybe they now believe that I have done something else, some new betrayal that is making me feel guilty. Maybe they are already leaving.

Well, I guess I got what I wanted. It will always be Malik and me only.

What's happening to me? I can't breath and my hands won't stop trembling. My heart beats way too fast.

Maybe I am dying.

I hear the sounds of footsteps getting closer, but when I don't recognize my mate's familiar scent, I raise my head in surprise.

Darren !

I can't escape, so I just make myself appear as small as possible, my eyes never leaving his impressive figure as he approaches me with cautious steps, before crouching in front of me.

I can't bear to see him this close so I cowardly close my eyes, only to immediately open them when he orders me to look at him with a firm yet gentle voice.

He may not be my alpha any longer but I can't help to acknowledge his position and authority over me.

"Alex. You're having a panic attack" he says softly, to which I can only nod weakly.

I've never had one before, but it makes sense.

"Can I touch you?"

I nod again and I feel myself being lifted up, before he puts me on his laps, my back against his chest.

Oh my God. If I wasn't already having a panic attack, then I would probably freak out to be in such an intimate position with my former leader.

"Alex, listen. I want you to inhale and exhale slowly. Just copy my breathing. Can you do that for me?"

I do as instructed, and thanks to the breathing exercice combined with the calming effect of his steady heartbeat against my back, my heart slowly returns to a normal rythme and I find myself able to breath without it being so painful.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yes. Thank you" I reply, hastily climbing down from his laps, making him laugh a bit at my embarrassment.

"No problem. Glad that I could be of any help." he replies with a sincere tone and I nod at that, as I motion toward the door with an interrogative manner but he just shakes his head at that.

"Before we join the others downstairs, may I have a word with you, Alex?"

Here we go.

"Y-yes"

"I wanted to apologize"

Silence. Is he doing what I think he is doing ? Oh my God, Malik was right!

"It's okay. You don't have to apologize. I am still a traitor" I reply, making him wince.

"You're not. Anyway, reality is always more complicated than it first appears and I shouldn't have judged you so quickly, without giving you a chance to explain yourself first. I didn't act like a true alpha and for that I am deeply sorry"

In his big brown eyes, I see nothing but a sincere desire to make amends, which has me nodding again because apparently today it's my main mean of communicating.

" I started doubting my decision to ban you from the pack after we met in that chalet with your mate. After that, Kyle explained to me why you did it and when even Nate started to take Kyle's side, I became aware of what I already knew deep down: I had to apologize. The two of them help me realize that sometimes I am too harsh and take unfair decisions, especially when my loved ones are involved. I know it will take time, but I hope you will be able to forgive me and that we can get to know each other better. I am sorry that you had to suffer for so long, being packless and without a mate"

I don't say anything, instead handing him my hand, which he takes wordlessly, his emotions for once written all over his face.

After that, we decide to go back to the living room, the atmosphere between us much more relaxed and almost friendly.

Just when we are about to open the door, we hear my mate's voice, sounding much more excited than usual:

"Thank you so much for the magic dildo, Nate! You're right, curiosity got the best of him and he tried it on."

"I guess you had a good time 'helping' him to take it out?" Nate replies, sounding smug.

"The best!"

"What about the two liters bottle of lube? I can order you a new one, if you want. We usually finish it in one week, although with Kyle's pregnancy, it lasted a bit long-"

"You're so getting your ass whooped the minute they leave" I exclaim while barging into the room, all previous shyness forgotten.

At least my mate has the decency to look embarrassed, while the always perverted Nate gives me a bright smile, which disappears the second he sees my face.

"Darren! What have you done to him?" He yells, getting closer to me to get a better look at my face. "I thought you were going to apologize, not make him cry"

"I am alright" I say in a hurry, as I hear my mate growling at Nate's accusation. "I just had an emotional breakdown of some sort but I am much better now"

"Come here" he says, opening his arms with an unusually shy expression and I surprise myself by rushing into his embrace. Maybe I shouldn't be so forgiving but I still have my responsibility in what happened, plus Nate was always my second favorite person in the pack, after Kyle, that goes without saying.

"Alex! I leave for five minutes to change Rim and when I come back, I find you already trying to steal my men!" Kyle exclaims as hell enters the room, his hands on his hips and a faked expression of indignation on his face.

We all laugh at that, although Malik looks relieved when I let go of Nate to go sit next to him on the sofa.

He gestures me to sit on his laps and I start protesting, only to realize that Kyle, the big bad warrior, is now shamelessly sitting on Darren's laps, while Nate has his head against the alpha's shoulder.

No shame no game, I decide, doing exactly what I have been craving to do since they arrived : I climb on my mate's laps before hiding my face against the crook of his neck to inhale his calming scent deeply.

"Please don't hug them like that again" he whispers against my ear. "When I saw you with your arms around Nate, I really regretted not plugging your tight little hole earlier. I am sure they would have never touch you with my scent all over you"

I blush and look behind me, sighting in relief as I realize they are all too busy to cuddle each other to really pay attention to Malik's words.

Well, except Nate, who winks at me with that wicked expression of his.

Maybe it's not good to let these two meet. They are way too creative in the same perverted way. I shall warn Kyle about it.

The rest of the afternoon is spend peacefully as we have a walk then play some games while eating cookies - I think I have a hack for the game "Time Bomb". Another impressive fact about me to add on my tombstone, I guess.

I am still relieved when they leave because I always need to recharge my battery after interacting with people.

Plus, I am dying to have all my mate's undivided attention again.

" How do you feel?" he asks softly as I pull him against me.

"So good. Relieved."

"Would you like to see them again soon?"

"Of course! Darren even told me that we could come live with the pack, but I am not too sure about it"

"Take your time, pup. Don't force yourself too much. We can do whatever you're comfortable with."

A loud bang on the door make me jump in surprise and I open it to see Kyle looking at me with a sheepish expression.

"Sorry, I forgot Rim's bottle" he explains before rushing to the kitchen.

"How can you be so distracted?" I tease him as he comes back with the bottle in his hand.

"Having a baby makes you more easily distracted. Too much things to think about. Wait until you get yours. We'll talk about it in a few months, alright?"

I tense at that, not understanding, as Malik gasps behind me.

"Wh- What? It's imp-"

"How can you not - well I guess your mate is a vampire, so his sense of smelling is not as good as ours, no offense, Malik."

"None taken"

"How did you not realize it, Alex? We didn't mention it because we thought maybe you're not ready to talk about it but we knew the second you let us in. You're a few weeks pregnant, my friend".

THE END :)

A/N: So this is it ^^ I will upload a note soon to tell you more about extra chapters and my ideas for the next book, but for now, I want to thank you all for your amazing support throughout this journey with Alex and Malik 🧡

I am especially grateful to these lovely readers who have been supporting me so actively:

@b_Sta607 you're the best 🧡 and I will miss your lovely and funny comments.

@VanDownByTheRiver  @BelovedLovelessGee
@user13613700 @um_okay_14 @loolo123
@GuppiesBubbles @NeetuSunar @azariaa
@erumafia Visualdiva @Skatlecubed @ediblezombiebrain @ivyrenAl
@belleadri @Ilove145 .... you guys have been amazing ! 💫

I can't tag everyone, but know that you are all loved by me 😋🥰

Have a nice week-end and I hope you stay on board for the next story ! 🤫📕