“Because what happened to Delsanra was because of me. I’m always a nuisance to you, right?” He asked nonchalantly, despite the fact that I could tell this was weighing on his mind.
Seeing your mate like that… it fucking hurt. It tore me up inside, and I wished that I could take away that pain, that it was me in her place. I’d give anything to see her happy, smiling, and laughing… yet I couldn’t do anything but watch her go through this with nothing I could do and feel absolutely useless. It was killing me, but was I going to blame a child? No. He wasn’t even conscious when Kiara called us over. If it was anyone else, maybe I would have been pissed that Delsanra had risked herself, but Dante was a kid. He was eight, and no matter how irritating the asshat could be, I loved him.
“Want the truth?” I asked him. He swallowed and nodded with defiance.
“Obviously.”Now that’s more like the kid I know.
“I don’t hate you, but I am pissed at you for even thinking that I could hate you. Am I that bad?” I raised an eyebrow, and I almost smiled as I saw the flicker of relief in his eyes.
“Sorry…” He looked down, clenching his fists.
“You and my kitten are going to be okay because you are both fighters,” I said quietly. Reaching over, I gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I’m glad you asked me, but seriously, I can’t hate you.” He nodded, giving me a small, cocky smirk.
“Yeah, and I guess Delsanra can never hate me, either.” I raised an eyebrow, this-
“Fucker,” Uncle’s voice came, and we both turned to see him standing there, arms crossed.
“I was thinking more along the lines of asshat…” I countered with an amused smile.
“Fucker does the job,” Uncle remarked coldly. Coming over and taking a seat next to Dante, he placed an arm around his shoulders, “Right, fucker?”
“Yeah. I guess us Rossis suit the name fucker. Right, Dad?” He replied cockily. Like father, like son…
I smiled slightly, remembering my own father. To be the alpha, son, and mate he’d want me to be… was I making him proud? I could feel Uncle’s sharp eyes on me, but I didn’t look at him, keeping my mask in place.
“Yeah, we do. Especially you two,” Uncle said mockingly. “Or more like you three. Your last brother is an equal dick.”
The three sons of three brothers… I just wished we could have a strong bond, something I doubted would ever happen with the hatred that Leo felt towards me.
“Right, I’m off to shower. Think dinner is almost fucking done, too,” Uncle said. Standing up, he slapped my back before he left us alone once more. Dante pushed the bedding off and got up. I could tell it took a lot out of him.
“Need help?”
“No, I’m just going to go get ready, too.”
I smirked. Okay, Dante was still perfectly able. If he was ready to get all dressed up, then he was definitely doing okay.
“For whom, may I ask?”
“Who do you think?” He replied arrogantly, giving me a cocky, annoying smirk before sauntering off the best he could despite his exhaustion.
I chuckled, lightly shaking my head. They were both definitely going to be alright.
The Enemy’s Heir
Kiara
Dinner had been pleasant. It felt nice to have a full house, and for fleeting moments, we were able to forget the weight of everything going on around us. I healed Delsanra, and although it did nothing to the curse, it did give her a little energy, another reason I was glad they were here.
I had just tucked the girls into the bed, Raihana was making Tatum and Ahren sleep, and the rest of the adults were downstairs. Mom was making hot drinks for us all whilst I made sure Dante was settled. He never used to want me to put him to bed, but he didn’t argue over it since the turn of events. I ran my hand through Dante’s hair, kissing his forehead gently as I poured my healing into him, but it did nothing for him. I sighed heavily, looking at my sleeping baby boy and fought back my tears.You are going to get better.
I wished there was more that I could do for him. For Delsanra…
My phone beeped. I picked it up from the bedside drawer and smiled, seeing it was a message from Raven. I unlocked my phone and clicked on it.
‘Call me if you have a moment,’ it read, followed by a purple and black heart emoji. I hit the call button, and she answered almost instantly.
“Hey, Kia, how are you?”
