A new day dawned, and Anastasia found herself roused by an energetic Alexander gently shaking her awake.
Blinking the drowsiness from her eyes, she offered the young boy a warm smile.
"Good morning, Alex. Did you sleep well?" she asked, ruffling his tousled hair affectionately.
He nodded eagerly. "Uh huh, no bad dreams for this ti." Anastasia internally grinned at how considerate Alex was in trying to relate to her issue. "Are your nightmares gone too?"
Anastasia’s smile softened as she slowly nodded. "Yes, I’m okay now." she stroked his back and hugged him.
Every ti she hugged Alex, she could sll how his pheromones radiated so much happiness.
Sotis she wonders how can Alex love her even though she has been so an to him all these years.
The pair rose and went through their morning routines of washing up and dressing for the day.
When they were done, they headed downstairs as Alexander scampered off to find Willow for playti, and Anastasia made her way to the dining area alone.
However, her steps faltered when her gaze landed on Liam.
He was grinning wolfishly, deep chuckles rumbling from his broad chest as he conversed spiritedly with an impressive female alpha.
The woman was a complete stranger to Anastasia, but what imdiately caught her eye was the casual intimacy between them - the mystery woman’s hand resting possessively on Liam’s forearm as they shared so private joke.
They seem like good friends.
An acidic tendril of scorching jealousy rapidly unfurled in Anastasia’s core, fanning the smoldering embers of her wolf’s feral possessiveness.
Though the mating bond had shattered, remnants of that primal claim still blazed within her, instinctively recoiling at another’s encroachnt on what her wolf still viewed as its mate.
The verdant green monster took firr root as she watched them together, heads bent close in their conspiratorial mirth.
Sohow her mind started picturing herself in the place of that female alpha.
It felt strangely good for her.
So focused was Anastasia on the scene playing out in the kitchen that she didn’t imdiately register Xavier’s approach until he called her na.
She was startled, torn from her jealous reverie to find the striking male watching her with a soft, bemused smile.
Despite his striking beauty - the warm mocha of his smooth skin, high cheekbones, and eyes that sparkled like sunlight dancing on the clearest waters - Anastasia found she could only spare Xavier a passing glance before her gaze was inevitably drawn back to Liam and his friend.
"Good morning," Xavier greeted genially, seemingly unbothered by her distraction. "Did you sleep well after...?" He trailed off delicately, ensuring not to reignite her distress over the previous night’s terrors.
Anastasia passed on a polite smile, appreciative of his tact but still rankled by the reminder. "Thank you for asking. I’m alright, it just...happens sotis," she demurred vaguely.
Seizing on the opening, she quickly redirected the subject. "I’m more curious why Liam worked at my pack as a cook if he’s your brother."
Understanding dawned in Xavier’s warm gaze as he nodded slowly.
Retrieving two glasses of fresh juice, he gestured for her to follow him out onto the secluded balcony.
As they settled into the plush patio chairs, Xavier began retelling the tale of how he and Liam had co to go their separate ways - setting the stage to reveal what had sparked the fracture in their once unshakable bond...
Xavier’s expression clouded with pain as he began recounting the story to Anastasia.
She could sense the weight of the mories pressing heavily upon him, so she remained silent and attentive, allowing him to share at his own pace.
Taking a fortifying sip of juice, Xavier’s gaze grew distant as he delved into the turbulent past.
"Our parents were...well, they seed perfect on the surface," he stated wistfully. "But they were not the best parents in the world. when Liam was born and presented as an oga-alpha hybrid, they saw it as so kind of freakish abnormality."
He shook his head slowly, clearly still confounded by their cruel rejection of their firstborn son.
"They tried everything to ’fix’ him - doctors, specialists, you na it. But obviously, nothing could change his true nature."
Xavier’s jaw ticked with repressed emotion. "By the ti I ca along a few years later, they had...they abandoned Liam. Just discarded him like trash because he didn’t fit their twisted idea of perfection."
Swallowing hard, he continued in a strained murmur. "I was too young to even understand what was happening. I didn’t have any mories of having an older brother until I was 18 and found an old photo."
Anastasia listened raptly, mildly stunned that Xavier had essentially been an only child, unaware of Liam’s very existence until adulthood.
When he paused, seemingly lost in the painful recollections, she couldn’t help but interject softly, "What happened when you realized you had a brother out there sowhere?"
Xavier’s expression hardened. "I confronted our parents, demanded to know where he was and the full truth. At first, they refused to tell anything..." His words hung ominously for a beat before he continued in a low rumble. "But I eventually got it out of them - how they had abandoned Liam as a child, simply for being...different. They did not even regret it."
The muscle twitching in his tightly clenched jaw revealed the depth of Xavier’s rage at the revelation. "I was so angry at them, at the injustice they had done to my own flesh and blood, that I challenged my father for the Alpha’s position."
Anastasia’s eyes widened increntally. To defy the ruling Alpha as a re 18-year-old was nearly unheard of - and from Xavier’s grim tone, she inferred he had actually succeeded in the unthinkable.
"I killed him in that challenge," he stated flatly, not a shred of remorse in his voice. "My mother was so distraught over losing her fated mate that she withered away shortly after."
Anastasia’s inner wolf lurched uneasily at the casual ntion of such savage violence, even as her human side understood the driving forces behind Xavier’s drastic actions.
"After that, I took care of my baby sister Willow while launching an intensive search for Liam, his na was not Liam Snow. The na my parents gave him was Julianne Werner. "
Xavier continued in a softer tone, the hard edges easing from his countenance. "It took years of following every lead, missing piece by tiny piece - until finally, blessedly, I found him here at Midnight Pack."
A faint, wistful smile played at the corners of Xavier’s full lips at the mory. "Reuniting with my brother was...indescribable. The greatest mont of my life."
As his tale concluded, Anastasia could only gaze at this extraordinary man with a newfound sense of wonder and respect.
To have endured such tumult and still erge as nobility personified was a remarkable quality indeed.
A radiant smile blossod across Anastasia’s features as she regarded Xavier with warmth and admiration.
"What you’ve done for your family, for your brother - it’s incredible. I have such deep respect for the lengths you went to in order to reunite with Liam."
Xavier’s own grin stretched wide, tinged with bittersweet emotion as he struggled to keep his composure.
Tears shimred unshed in the corners of his soulful eyes as the weight of those mories overwheld him anew.
Sensing his vulnerability in that mont, Anastasia acted on instinct and hesitantly wrapped her arms around the striking alpha in a gentle embrace.
Xavier froze briefly before chuckling, the tension bleeding from his powerful fra as he returned the hug fiercely.
"Thank you," he murmured gruffly against the crown of her head. "I needed that."
Their tender mont was interrupted by a sharp rap at the balcony doors.
Anastasia turned to find Liam standing there, a tight smile plastered across his ruggedly handso features.
"Morning," he greeted them curtly, shifting his gaze between the pair. "Breakfast is ready."
Xavier slowly disentangled himself from Anastasia’s arms with evident reluctance.
Squeezing her shoulder gratefully, he told her, "Join when you’re ready."
Then, turning to address Liam, who spoke, "Give us just a minute, Xavier. We’ll be right there."
Xavier nodded with a gentle smile as he wiped his tears away, "Of course. I’ll keep your plate warm."
The mont the doors clicked shut behind the retreating Xavier, Liam’s facade instantly shattered.
The pleasant mask crumpled into a snarl of unadulterated fury as he stalked toward Anastasia with raw nace in every powerful stride.
"Don’t you ever dare touch my brother again," he hissed vehently, roughly grasping her shoulders and leaning in until his words were a scorching caress against her skin. "Do you understand ?"
Anastasia could only gape at him in stunned silence, confused by the abrupt shift in his deanor.
Her lack of response seed to further enrage the volatile wolf.
Sharp claws extended from his fingertips, pricking into the tender flesh of his palm until ruby beads of blood welled up.
"Don’t co anywhere near my family again, I saw the tears in my brother’s eyes. Do not dare ask him about it again. Actually, don’t even talk to him or Willow."
Liam raged, spittle flying as he drove each venomous word ho like a barb tearing into her. "I know you’re only here for the alliance - but I swear to the goddamn moon, if you so much as look at them the wrong way, you’re going to regret the day you slithered into our lives."
The muscle ticking in his clenched jaw revealed the depth of his fury, the undisguised threat seething in the midnight depths of his eyes.
With one last contemptuous sneer, he whirled on his heel and stord off the balcony, leaving a shocked Anastasia staring dazedly at his bloodied hand.
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