"Wonderful, the perfect word to describe my life with you."-Alpha Lorenzo Moretti

One of the first lessons I learned was that there are no second chances in life, even for the supernatural. Every choice, every mistake, and every word leaves an impact that affects the journey our lives take. What if I had never dated Isabel? What if I had marked Alessandra that first night on her birthday? What if my mom had never run out onto the battlefield? Every choice, mine, and those of the people around me led me to where I am today.

Zane De Luca. Alpha. Mate. Father. Son. Best friend.

Every title held importance to me but decades ago, I thought I would never get the chance to live up to them. A long time ago, I was dead on the floor of Selene's temple. I would have stayed dead too if it wasn't for my mate. One of the hardest things to accept as I was dying was the fact that I would never have the family I always envisioned. So to stand here today, surrounded by my family and friends, as we all watched my son blow the candles out on his birthday cake felt surreal.

On this day, eight years ago, Roman De Luca was born. He was the next alpha of the Blood Moon Pack but for now, he was just a kid who was anxious to open his gifts. If there was one thing the De Luca kids could count on it was being spoiled by their grandma on birthdays. Seriously, once Valentina had brought a whole petting zoo to my daughters' party.

"Can I open my gifts now, Nonna?"

"Of course, you can, my handsome man!"

"Yay!" Roman ran off inside towards the table full of gifts.

"Hey! Kid! You didn't even cut the cake yet!" Alessandra shouted.

"Later mama!"

Alessandra rolled her eyes before cutting up pieces of cake to serve the guests.

"I want cake! I want cake!"

The chanting was coming from our twin boys, Luciano and Giovanni. They were...hellhounds. Seriously, I don't recall being as wild as they are at that age but my father had disagreed. At moments like these, I missed him a lot. Giovanni De Luca, my father, and former alpha passed away peacefully last year. It was hard to lose the only parent I had left but it was inevitable. I think he lasted so long without my mom because of his grandkids, otherwise, we would have lost him a long time ago. The day he passed there was a glorious sunset full of pinks, purples, and oranges. It gave me reassurance that my parents were both together again, wherever they were.

Alessandra and I had decided to wait awhile before having kids. She wanted to get her medical practice going and I felt like I need to settle into my role as alpha. We had a lot of fun together. We've traveled to different countries, tried out new hobbies together, and overall just enjoyed each other's company.

"You both only get one slice. Okay? Don't trick your grandparents into giving you more," I told them.

"You're just giving them ideas now, papa," my daughter said sarcastically. Katerina De Luca was only four years old but the girl had some major attitude. I was told that this was a common trait among Romano women.

"Higher uncle, higher!" Mirabella shouted.

"This is the furthest my arms extend, cara," Vincenzo responded, my daughter, hoisted above his head with her arms spread out like a human airplane.

Alessandra and I had read all of Lorenzo Moretti's letters to Rosanna. It was tragic that he never got to share those words with her or experience building a family with her as they both had desperately wanted to. In one of the letters, he had mentioned two names he liked for their future children. Roman was one of them. We had read the letters when Alessandra was pregnant with Katerina and Mirabella. Roman was already four then. It was crazy that we had used the same name for our son that Lorenzo was planning on using. We knew one of the twins would be Katerina, after the late Captain Katerina Bacardi who had been Alessandra's role model in so many ways. When we saw Mirabella on the old page, we knew it was the perfect name for our daughter.

Alessandra says I spoil my girls too much but if I don't, who will? Their mother makes them eat celery. I think they deserve a little pampering after that torture.

"Papa! Look, I'm an airplane!" Mirabella shouted.

"I want to be an airplane too!" Katerina demanded.

"Okay, piccola," I said while swooping her up and holding her above my head.

"Yay!"

Alessandra looked at me disapprovingly. Hey, if my daughter wanted to be an airplane she could be an airplane.

"Papa, look!" Luciano yelled.

I looked down and oh my god my son was holding a rat.

"Luciano! Is that a rat in your hands?" Alessandra yelled.

Luciano's eyes widened like a little cartoon character's at the sound of his mother's anger.

"Giovanni, how did you get on top of the bounce house?" Antonio shouted.

I looked over and my six-year-old son was somehow on top of the bounce house with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Luciano, go put the rat where you found it," I told him.

"Papa, you're not swooshing me like an airplane," Katerina informed me.

"My apologies, principessa."

Then I swooped her back up and down a couple of times before she got bored and ran to her friends.

Looking over at Alessandra, I realized that for the first time all day, my mate was not surrounded by family members or pack members, so I took my chance. I walked over to the dessert table where she was standing and grabbed her hand before dragging her inside.

Callie and Lilia were standing in the kitchen with Hiro and Jaden. All of their mates were standing beside them as well. All of them had a drink in their hands but I didn't stop to converse. Alessandra giggled beside me as I pushed her into the closet by the stairs and shut the door behind us.

"How do we keep ending up here?"

"Because our kids are little shits who always interrupt us," I answered.

She laughed a little at that.

"They're our little shits though," she whispered.

"Yeah, they are."

I never thought I would have a family so large. It's not just my kids, it's Alessandra's parents, her siblings, her siblings' kids, and more. Honestly, it seems like the Romano family never ends and now I can call them my family too. Alessandra stared at me with adoration and love in her eyes. She had given me all this. The love. The family. The chance. I would never be able to thank her enough for it.

I brought my lips to hers, pressing against her and feeling her softness.

"Thank you," I whispered against her lips.

"For what?"

"For everything."

She smiled and kissed me again. I doubted I'd get enough of her. I could have her by my side for the rest of my life and I'd still seek her out in the afterlife.

"Alessia! Your kid is playing with a rat and the other one won't get down from the bouncy house!" Isabel shouted from somewhere in the house.

"Cara mia, I took the rat from him but he found a squirrel," Mateo, Isabel's chosen mate, shouted.

"I'm never having kids," Isabel muttered.

Alessandra pressed her forehead to my chest and let out a laugh.

"Do you think everyone else's kids are so crazy?" Alessandra asked.

"I doubt it, it must be the Romano in them."

"Romano huh? What about the De Luca? I recall you being a little shit for most of your childhood."

"Yeah? And you're mated to this little shit," I whisper before latching my lips onto her neck.

"Oh..ugh Zane we need to make sure our kids don't do anything bad."

"They probably have a hundred family members at this point. I'm sure someone will look after them," I responded.

She shoots me her "mom glare" which always succeeds in making my kids behave.

"Okay, fine. Let's go get our hellions."

I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the closet. Hiro shot me a grin like we were still in high school and I got my hands in some girl's pants. I shook my head at him and rejoined everyone outside. My hand never left Alessandra. Sometimes I played with her hair, other times I kept my palm on her back.

The mate bond never faded for us. Instead, it got stronger. She consumed my mind and my soul from when the sun rose to when it fell to make room for the moon. There were times when I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the goddess for giving us this second chance. It wasn't easy but it was worth it. For her, I'd do it all again a thousand times over.

Loving her was my life's greatest blessing and I promised to love her from this life to the next. I pulled her to my side and dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

"I love you," I told her.

She smiled her dazzling smile at me, the one that always made me feel like I was on top of the world for making her smile that way.

"I love you," she whispered.

The sun began its descent to make room for the moon. A brilliant display of colors filled the sky as the kids of the pack ran around our backyard while the adults chatted with one another. The beauty of the sunset took my breath away and a small ache in my chest began. I wished for my parents to be here with me, with my family, in person, but knowing that they were somewhere in the universe witnessing this moment was enough.

Alessandra pressed her head against my chest and my arms went around her like a cocoon.

"They're always with you, amore," she said.

"I know."

"You know, in a week we'll be in Italy with beautiful water surrounding us, good food.." Alessandra said in order to take my mind off things.

We had purchased a villa on the Amalfi Coast a couple of years ago. Whenever we had pack business on the Italian grounds of the pack, we always spent a week by ourselves at the villa. It was the perfect vacation and I was already looking forward to it.

"Did Callie say she can cover the clinic for you while you're gone?" I asked.

"Yeah, she'll cover for me."

"Come on, let's go jump in the bouncy house," Alessandra suggested.

"Us? The adults who threw this party?"

"Hey, I can do backflips, you know. I bet you can't even do one, old man."

"Oh, you're on."

We raced each other to the bouncy house, laughter spilling from both our lips.

And isn't that what love was? It was the small moments of joy, the turbulent moments of sadness, the big things, and the little things. It was about fulfilling promises and commitments while honoring each other. It was the greatest blessing ever given by the moon.

I would do everything in my power to keep it.

I promise.