I spent the day with my family. The thought of having the Belladonna vial kept the pain at bay.

Apart from a little soreness, I felt much better than I did this morning.

The children lit up our humble home with their laughter, as we all sat and ate, playing games and watching movies.

At around five, the doorbell rang and Bryn rushed to open it.

"It's Val!" he screamed from the corridor, and I turned around to see Valente, butterflies erupting in my stomach at the sight of him.

His small smile made me forget any remnants of pain in my body, and I watched him make his way towards me, sitting down on the carpet next to me.

His smile widened as he looked at me, but it wasn't the same as it is when he's truly happy.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Nothing my butterfly. Why would anything be wrong?" he said.

There were many things that could be wrong. I could tell he was hiding his emotions and I didn't like it at all.

"Tell me later?" I asked him.

He nodded his head, letting me see a tiny glimpse of vulnerability on his face for just a fraction of a second before his Alpha mask was up again.

I touched his face and planted a kiss on his cheek softly without warning.

"Eww! Aunty don't give Val cooties!" Bryn screamed.

I laughed at the way Valente just sat there shyly trying to hide a smile, now highly interested in the board game in front of him.

Like we didn't sleep together last night.

At least this time his smile was real.

"Will you play with us Val?" Ymir asked him, pointing at the chess board placed between us.

Neither of the boys knew how to play, but they found it fun to drop my pieces by their own rules, so I let them.

"Oh I don't know, seems pretty tough Ymir. Will you teach me?" Valente replied, discretely coming closer to me.

"Of course we will! We taught Aunty Rayne too!" Bryn said excitedly.

"This piece is called a horse, and we call this one pointy-head," he said, starting to describe all the pieces strewn arbitrarily on the board.

As Valente seemed to hear the boys out through their adorable take on chess, his hand found mine, his thumb rubbing slow circles on my palm that caused a sensation of want in my chest.

"Rosa told me you were in pain again," he asked me privately.

"Renee brought a counter vial with her. It helped Valente," I said, watching him "learn" chess from the little ones.

"Thank goodness," he said sounding relieved, but his expression was one of sadness when Ymir pushed his pawn over with a rook, in a move that made no sense.

"Valente," I heard Renee say as she brought out snacks from the kitchen. She placed them on the center table.

Valente got up to give her a hug, before sitting back down with me. "How've you been Renee?" he asked her.

"We've been very good. You?" Renee asked back as she sat on the sofa behind her children.

Valente looked at me intently before answering.

"I've been good too, lately," he said. His words caused me to blush and I couldn't help but look away from his intense stare.

"Don't do that unless you want me to kiss you in front of your little nephews," he said through the mindlink. "We can both be ballsy."

I surely didn't want him to kiss me in front of the kids.

"It doesn't have to be in front of the kids," he said to me.

I turned to look at him, and it was hard to turn away again.

"Mom, what's this one again?" Ymir asked Renee, his fingers wrapped around a white chess piece.

"That's the King," she replied.

"And this is the Queen," Bryn said holding up its counterpart.

"That's right Bryn. They go together just like Val and Aunty Rayne," she said.

Her words made me smile.

"Maybe. But neither of them can play chess Mom," he said shaking his head, pushing another one of my pieces off the board, causing everyone to laugh.

Gramma came out of the kitchen with freshly grilled sandwiches. She too placed them next to the other snacks on the table and fixed Valente's hair as I figured was her usual greeting for him.

"Eat something son," she said to him, setting a bit of everything on a plate and handing it to him.

He placed the plate in front of me, as if to say, 'eat with me'.

And so I did.

We talked about many things, our conversations light and hearty along with the children's banter.

It was about an hour later when the doorbell rang again.

"He's here," Renee said, rushing to the door.

She opened it to reveal Otto, who wasted not a second to kiss his mate, showing her how much he missed her today.

Bryn and Ymir ran to greet their father, and I could tell Otto was a perfect family man.

He had a kind face, light brown hair which he passed down to both of his sons, and soft brown eyes to match.

He seemed surprised to see Valente sitting next to me, but greeted us all the same.

"I hope the kids didn't bother you too much Rosa," he said to Gramma sitting on the sofa next to Renee.

"My boys are the joy in my life Otto," she said looking at Bryn, Ymir, and also at Valente. "They couldn't possibly be a bother."

"How are things at Haykadi?" I asked him.

"They're good Rayne. Although our pack workers have been quite busy these days. We've been getting a lot of orders for military-use potions and medicines," Otto said.

"Where do the orders come from?" Valente asked him.

"All over. There's nothing unusual about it. They're medical staples. But I feel as if some packs are stocking up on them," he said, taking a plate of sandwiches from Gramma.

Valente seemed to be in deep thought at his words.

"May I ask how come we're blessed with the Alpha in our midst?" he asked Valente, teasingly. His eyes already moving between me and him.

"Rayne wasn't feeling too good. I thought I'd come and check up on her," he replied coolly.

"All right then," he said giving Valente a wink, and me a knowing smile.

"Come on Renee, it's late," he said to his mate.

"Frida's shifting soon, won't you stay?" Gramma said, her face showing concern at the sound of them leaving.

"We shouldn't stay outside our packs for too long Rosa, these are times when we should all be a little careful," he said, to which Gramma nodded.

But his words brought back an anxiety in my mind, and with it a sharp pain in my chest.

Although I didn't show it, Valente immediately held my hand tight.

"Stay calm. I'm here butterfly," he said.

I took a deep breath and calmed myself.

Both the boys hugged me tight and protested violently as I kissed their cheeks goodbye.

"I'll miss you my pumpkin and munchkin," I said to them.

I hugged Otto and then Renee.

"Be careful and remember what I told you," she said before letting go of me.

I nodded my head and smiled at her.

"I will Renee," I replied.

She smiled back and held Bryn's hand as Otto picked up Ymir in his arms.

"Visit soon my children," Gramma said to them.

They all said their goodbyes and left, leaving me, Gramma and Valente at the front door.

I saw the full moon just starting to rise from behind the trees lining my vision.

"Let's go," Valente said, also looking at the bright moon in the black sky.

"It's time."

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