Chapter 82 – Family Reunion
••• Kyson’s POV •••
“When we decided to break free from the Night Shade Pack, we asked a witch to mask her scent. And it turned out to be a good thing. She wasn’t suspected of being a Lycanthrope during the war, and no one wanted to kill her. No one in that area knew she was a Lycanthrope except those in the Silver Shadow Pack,” Alpha Zane told Colton and Aleena.
His explanation made perfect sense. My scent was masked by a witch so as not to get me killed during the war.
Speaking of witch… I glanced at Witch Lily, who had been silent and reducing her presence since we got here. She was masking her scent, too.
“Aleena’s mom’s fate sure was pitiful,” Night mumbled, and I agreed with him. It was tragic that Aleena’s mom still didn’t survive. She wasn’t killed during the war but was still killed because of Andre.
“Hey, Kyson. Remember when we first met Aleena and felt that strange familiarity? I should be because she’s a Lycanthrope, shouldn’t it?” Night continued.
Now that I thought about it, he might be right. It was a different feeling than being her mate.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.
“So, I took after you as a werewolf, and Aleena took after Mom?” Colton asked.
Could it be possible? It seemed possible for one child to be a werewolf and the other to be a Lycanthrope if their parents were like Aleena. However, it would even make more sense if the children were like Colton – stronger than average werewolves when they shifted.
“It should be the case. Isn’t that right… Lily Bell?” Alpha Zane answered Colton and threw a question toward Witch Lily.
Lily… Bell? Bell, as in Aleena Bell?
I looked around and saw different facial expressions from everyone. Alpha Zane had a loving smile; Colton’s eyes were wide open, his mouth gaping open, while Aleena looked doubtful yet expectant. Witch Lily herself was looking at Alpha Zane in shock.
Lucas’ eyes met mine, and I was sure we had the same thought – Witch Lily is Alpha Zane’s mate and the mother of both Colton and Aleena.
“Witch Lily is our mom-in-law?!” Night’s voice was heard in my mind. Even I felt his eyes and mouth were wide open in disbelief.
I saw Alpha Zane stand up and walk toward Witch Lily, who was still frozen in shock. He reached out his hands and pulled her to stand up.
“Lily Bell…” he said with an affectionate voice, gaze, and smile.
Witch Lily’s mouth opened and closed so many times before she, at long last, stuttered, “You… You recognize me?”
“How can I not recognize my own mate?” Alpha Zane asked her, still with the same voice and expression.
I saw Colton look back and forth between his mom and dad, with his eyes still opened wide like saucers and mouth gaping, obviously because of his disbelief. He looked pretty comical, and I would have laughed if this was any other time.
“You… Witch Lily is MOM?!” he shrieked, and everyone flinched from how high his voice was.
“Damn, I felt like he just pierced and tore my eardrums,” Night complained in my mind.
“Hush!” I tried shutting him off with that one word. Couldn’t he realize we were at a family reunion and just shut up?
“Okay…” Much to my surprise, he agreed readily and didn’t sulk.
“Oh, come on, Kyson. I’m not that unreasonable. I’m happy for our mate to reconnect with her family and won’t spoil the sweet moment.” He rolled his eyes at me as if I was the unreasonable one.
Ignoring him, I kept my eyes on the family reunion in front of me.
Up till now, no one had answered Colton’s question. Witch Lily and Alpha Zane were still looking at each other without a care in the world. No one could blame them. Eighteen years without seeing your mates should be equivalent to death, or maybe even more torturous.
“Dad, Dad. Is Witch Lily really Mom?” Colton, the only one who seemed impatient, asked again.
At this point, Alpha Zane broke his eye contact with Witch Lily to look at Colton but didn’t answer his question. Instead, he gently pulled Witch Lily to another two-seater sofa facing all of us and sat down. All the while, he had a slight smile on his face, and he was looking at Colton.
“It seems like Dad is deliberately keeping the suspense. I think he’s teasing Colton,” Night said gleefully. I rolled my eyes at him. These two really love making each other suffer.
“Dad, Dad. Tell me. Is Witch Lily really Mom?” Colton couldn’t seem to contain his impatience as he anxiously repeated his question.
Alpha Zane turned his attention back toward Witch Lily, and his expression softened. “Why don’t you tell us?”
Now everyone’s looking at Witch Lily. She seemed to have regained her composure and looked calm now. Her eyes flicked from Colton to Aleena, and she had an expression and an aura I had never felt from her before – it was motherly.
Aleena’s hand squeezed mine with force so hard that if I weren’t an Alpha Lycanthrope, my bones would have been broken by now.
I did nothing, not even mindlinking her. I let her be as I felt her anticipation, doubt, fear, and expectation mixing with my own calm emotion in my heart.
Finally, Witch Lily opened her mouth and said the words everyone had been waiting for. “Yes, Colton and Aleena, my children. I’m your mother.”
Colton, for once, was acting against what everyone had expected him to do – he remained silent.
Witch Lily let go of Alpha Zane’s hand and walked toward Colton. “Colton, can Mom hold you?” she asked softly.
Colton just looked at Witch Lily in a daze. Witch Lily didn’t wait for him to reply, and she circled her arms around the back of Colton’s head, drawing him closer for a motherly hug.
“Mom… Mom…” Colton finally broke out of his trance and mumbled out that one word repeatedly.
“Yes, Colton. I’m sorry I had to leave you for so long. Now I’m here. I’ll be here for you with your dad and sister.” Witch Lily rubbed the back of Colton’s head affectionately.
“Mom!” Colton broke down and cried like a small child in her mother’s embrace.
It was a touching scene. We all could feel how much Colton missed his mom. He was only six years old when his mom ‘died’ and had been harboring hatred toward his dad because he couldn’t save his mom and sis. He wouldn’t have that much hate if he didn’t miss his mom.
“Shh… Shh… I’m here, Colton. Mommy’s here,” Witch Lily soothed him.
I looked at Aleena. She had tears in her eyes, but she was smiling sweetly at the same time. She didn’t seem as surprised as Colton, as her mixed emotions were replaced by gladness and happiness. She didn’t break the sweet moment of her mom and brother reconnecting.
“Aleena…” I finally mindlinked her, not wanting her to feel sad because her mom went to her brother first.
She turned her head and body sideways to look at me and leaned her body against mine. “I’m okay, Kyson. Colton needs her more than I need her,” she replied.
I understand what she meant. She hadn’t really felt her parents’ love, but Colton was different. I was glad she didn’t feel sad.
We all watched as Colton cried in his mother’s embrace for a long time. No one tried to disturb the mother-son moment until Alpha Zane stood up and stood in front of Aleena and me. Aleena straightened up in her seat and looked at Alpha Zane.
“Aleena, can Dad hold you?” he asked with a fatherly smile, and arms opened wide.
Aleena looked hesitant, and I felt her awkwardness, but I nudged her to go to her dad. She should feel her parent’s love now. She shouldn’t feel awkward about receiving it.
Aleena looked at me, and I gave an encouraging nod and smile. A sweet smile graced her face before she stood and stepped into her dad’s arms.
“Dad…” she mumbled.
“I’m sorry for not being able to protect you, Aleena. I’m sorry for not being able to see you all this while,” Alpha Zane said softly.
“It’s okay, Dad. I didn’t suffer much. Andre was actually nice to me, even if he was only pretending. After that, I met Kyson, Brother, and Mom. They have been taking good care of me,” Aleena said as she tilted her head to look at her dad.
“You are such a good child. And you’ve grown to be so beautiful and strong. I’m so proud of you,” Alpha Zane told her, and I could feel his fatherly love toward my mate.
“Let’s go to your mom and brother. I’m afraid that he’ll cry out every drop of water in his body if we don’t stop him,” Alpha Zane said as he released Aleena from his arms.
Aleena glanced at me, and I nodded at her, telling her I’d be alright.
“She loves us so much! She even asked for our permission to go to her family!” Night exclaimed happily.
I ignored him, knowing if I retorted back, he would say something that might make me mad.
“Colton, it’s not good to hog your mom for yourself. Your sister also needs her mom,” Aloha Zane said as they approached the mother-son duo.
At his dad’s words, Colton finally stopped crying and let go of his mom.
“Aleena, sister, Witch Lily is our mom!” Colton suddenly turned into his usual self as he exclaimed in excitement and pulled Aleena closer.
Aleena looked at Witch Lily seemed shy to say or do anything. Looking at her daughter being shy, Witch Lily took the lead to pull Aleena into her embrace.
“Silly child. You’ve hugged me and called me ‘Mom’ before. Why are you so shy now?” She chuckled as she rubbed Aleena’s back.
“Aleena, you knew Witch Lily is our Mom?!” Colton, after returning to his usual self, shrieked again.
“No. I just thought Witch Lily was motherly, so I asked for a hug and called her ‘Mom’,” Aleena revealed with a blush on her face.
“You must miss Mom more than me. You can have Mom,” Colton told Aleena happily.
Did he think Witch Lily is an object? This Alpha of the Rogues really could make me speechless.
“But Mom… How did you become a witch? How did you… changed?” Colton asked, which caused everyone to shift their attention to focus entirely on Witch Lily.