Her Desired Alphas

Katya

5 years later

A high-pitched scream makes my gaze snap up from washing the dishes to

look out the kitchen window. Today, the weather is pleasant. The sun is out and is accompanied by a cool breeze. The season change from the cooler months now is finally starting to show.

Marley and Alicia are out in the back garden, playing with the twins. Eziah, my social butterfly, squirts Marley with his water gun. Her scream of excitement and alarm rings out loudly as she runs away.

The twins are six now and couldn’t be more opposite to each other. Kids at school always surround Eziah. Marabella, however, is socially awkward, and more comfortable spending time alone and away from others. Despite that, she does her best to fit in and make a few friends.

Marabella has always been a constant worry for me. She is quiet and shy. Usually, she is reluctant to socialize. So, when she picked a friend to come over here, I felt the excitement bubble up inside me as it has never before.

Since the girls are here, I hope she will open up a little more and try to find time to play.

So, today, I have invited their friends over to play, since this has been a rather rough week for them.

Well, for all of us, really. We had another rogue attack. This has been the fourth in the last two weeks, and tension has been running high. To the point where even the little ones are noticing the pack’s fear and picking up on our stress. And all I can do is hope things get better going forward.

Watching Eziah chase the girls, I chuckle to myself. A faint smile spreads across my lips as I watch Eziah corner Alicia and Marley to squirt them relentlessly. He has a cheeky grin on his face. He is clearly enjoying this.

As I look around, a frown slips onto my face when I don’t spot Marabella straight away. Leaning forward, I peer out the window and finally find her.

She is sitting in the sandpit, playing with her bucket and spade. Her dark hair is falling in front of her face, and suddenly she tosses both items across the sandpit. My brows furrow as I watch her intently. She looks over her shoulder at the other children.

A small smile tugs at her lips and she quickly slips her gloves off and begins molding the sand, which soon begins to take the form of a castle. My brows pinch as she glances around nervously, as if she is worried about being caught having them off.

When I hear the doorbell ring loudly, I turn away from Marabella and glance over my shoulder.

Turning the tap off, I quickly dry my hands on a tea towel, then head out of the kitchen to answer the door. My face splits into a grin when I see Jasmine standing on the doorstep.

“Why didn’t you just let yourself in?” I ask her with a smile.

Jasmine and I are still close despite how many years have passed, but something has been off with her lately. Sure, we have had a few big fights over the years, but we always get over things quickly for the sake of the kids. Saying that, however, our kids are also the reason we have fought in the past.

She and her mate had been having issues, and I know some are regarding Marabella and her being around Marley. I understand her mate’s concerns, but I also feel like it is a little unreasonable. So hearing that, it hurts me as well.

Marabella is just a child. She isn’t dangerous to anyone, not intentionally, anyway. All I want is for her to be able to be a child and spend time around others like other kids are able to. It isn’t always the case, though. Most parents fear for the children when it comes to Marabella playing with them.

“The lock must have clicked; I tried to open it,” Jasmine answers, stepping inside and closing the door behind her.

Oh probably, come on through, the kids are out back having fun.” I lead the way back to the kitchen and turn the kettle on. “Coffee?” I ask her.

“Yes, please, I need one after the day I have had,” she says, peering out the sliding doors at the kids.

“Wait, is that Alicia?” Jasmine asks, stepping closer to the glass sliding doors as she peers out, and I glance out the window while filling the kettle up.

"Yeah, I invited her over, so Marabella has someone to play with."

"So they are friends now? That’s good then, I guess. After everything, I was worried about Marabella.” Jasmine says, sounding a little confused as she takes a seat at the kitchen table.

"What do you mean by now? Those two have always been friends.” I reply, slightly confused. Marabella herself told me Alicia is her friend, and so did Eziah.

Jasmine’s brows crease as she moves closer to the counter. “Oh, sorry, I’m honestly surprised. Maybe Marley got it wrong.” She says, yet she looks genuinely confused.

I stop making the coffee to give her my full attention. “What do you mean?” I turn towards her now, feeling even more confused. Am I missing something? Both Marabella and Eziah claim Alicia is her friend.

“Oh, it’s nothing. She is a good kid. She even came over the other day, but Marley said that Alicia always picks on Marabella at school and that it happens pretty often,” Jasmine tells me.

Our eyes meet and I ponder over what she said. Come to think of it, Alicia has spent most of the day playing with Eziah and not Marabella, but kids fight and make up all the time.

“Maybe Marabella forgot to tell me they argued,” I mutter, trying to recall if she has ever said anything about issues regarding the girl.

I will have to ask her about it later. I’m unable to hide the worry that is filling me up inside. Until I speak to her, I know this will continue to bother me.

I pour the coffee and milk into the mugs when suddenly Jasmine shrieks, alarming me. She jumps up and nearly knocks the dining table chair over as she rushes out of the sliding doors.

Concerned, I quickly place the milk carton down and rush to the doors, following her out to see what happened. None of the kids are crying. I spot Jasmine running toward the sandpit. “Marley!”

I glance at the girls playing in the sandpit when Jasmine reaches them and leans over the sandpit and rips Marley out by her arm. “What have I told you, Marley? You know you’re not to get too close when she hasn’t got her gloves on! How many times do I have to keep on telling you?” Jasmine scolds her daughter.

Marley seems confused and visibly upset as she looks down at Marabella. Shocked at my friend, all I do is stare. Marabella looks up at Jasmine and quickly hangs her head, reaching for her gloves. A move that makes my heart squeeze as if she feels like Jasmine just accused her of being a monster.

“I’m sorry, I will put them back on. It’s just that the sand is hard to play with when I wear my gloves,” Marabella tells Jasmine, who nods, turning to look down at her. A sad, guilty smile appears on her face and her cheeks blush.

As much as I understand the concern my friend has for her child, as I watch the heartache on Marabella’s face, it makes my blood boil.

“I’m sorry, sweetie. I didn’t mean it like that.” She tries to lessen the damage that she has already done, but it’s too late.

The way Marabella has closed herself off and shut down is upsetting to see.

“Then how exactly did you mean it, Jasmine? I could only interpret one meaning of what you just said,” I remark, unable to just sit by and do nothing.

“Kat, come on. You know better than anyone else what I mean. You promised me that she would have her gloves on. That is the only reason I even let Marley come. Now I will have to…” Shaking her head, she trails off and exhales. “You know what, never mind. I really can’t do this right now. Come on, Marley, we should head home,” Jasmine says, tugging at her daughter’s hand and rushing off up the side of the packhouse.

Marabella looks down at her hands, a small frown on her face, before glancing back at Jasmine and Marley’s retreating form. Her lip quivers and she shakes her head, clenching her hands into fists.

“Marabella?” I murmur, and she looks up at me. Her gold eyes brim with tears.

“I wasn’t going to touch her, momma, I promise,” she whispers.

“I know, sweetheart, you did nothing wrong,” I tell her.

Eziah reaches over and grabs her hand, and I see him squeeze it and give her a small smile. “It’s okay, sis,” Eziah tells her, and she pulls her hand away and nods. Eziah looks at me, and I sigh.

“I will start making lunch. You guys carry on playing until then, okay?” I tell the kids with a small smile. Despite what has happened, I don’t want to ruin the rest of their afternoon.

“Ok, momma,” Marabella replies, crouching down by the end of the sandpit.

I stroke her hair and kiss her forehead before turning away and walking back inside. Glancing over my shoulder, I watch as she slips her gloves back on and moves to sit next to the sandpit to watch Alicia and Eziah.

I will deal with Jasmine later. Marabella did nothing wrong, and I really don’t like how she reacted in front of my daughter. It irritates me that everyone is so frightened by her; she is only a child.

Fear makes people respond in different ways. I understand that and as much as I hate to admit it, Marabella is treated differently by most people. It can’t be helped, and I try my best to lessen the gut-wrenching blows, when parents say no to letting their kids play.

After the first few times, I learned that Marabella would ask to have a playdate and be all excited and ask me to ring their parents. But when they refused, the look on her face would always break my heart, so I stopped asking in front of her anymore. After a while, she herself stopped asking. That hurt more than I could put into words.

That was why I felt relief when Alicia’s mother agreed for her to come over.

I didn’t particularly like her mother. She is pretty rude and doesn’t seem to differentiate between being too nosy and just plain rude sometimes, not to mention that she is also a big gossip. If you want the entire town to know something, all you have to do is mention it to Ayla, and that will guarantee it will be around town by the end of the day. And a more elaborate, exaggerated version of what she was told.

Walking inside, I grab the bread from the pantry distractedly and begin to make sandwiches for the kids. My own mood is gloomy after what just happened.

If I am feeling like this, Marabella must be feeling far worse, but she always keeps it inside. Hearing the front door open, my heart skips a beat and I’m relieved when I smell Ezra’s scent waft to me, signaling his presence. Finally, he is home.

I have barely turned around, ready to greet him, when Marabella suddenly rushes inside, startling me, as she rushes past me and nearly knocks me over in the process. Alarm rushes through me when I realize her face is streaked with tears.

I glance through the window, and I can just make out Eziah, yelling at Alicia. I take off after Marabella. She races down the hallway beside the stairs, only to run straight into her father, the impact making her tumble backward and fall onto the ground.

“Woah, what’s going on?” Ezra asks, crouching down next to her as he helps her up.

As soon as I get a better look at Marabella, I instantly notice that she is covered in sand.

Ezra brushes it off and gently grips her arms.

“Hey, what’s wrong, baby?” he asks again, but Marabella shakes her head, crying uncontrollably as she tries to pull away.

“Marabella?” Ezra asks just as the front door opens, and Mateo walks in, saying something.

His words cut off when he spots our daughter crying. “Bella, what happened?” Mateo asks, stopping next to Ezra and peering down at her.

“They all hate me. Everyone hates me,” Marabella cries.

“Who hates you? Nobody hates you, baby,” Ezra tells her, a frown creases his brow. I chew my lip, watching on with worry surging through me. This isn’t the first time Marabella has broken down over her gifts. I can’t even blame her. The way she is

treated only adds to her stress.

“Everyone. I am a freak, a monster! I don’t want this!” she sobs.

“Don’t say that. That is not true,” Ezra scolds her.

He hates hearing her say things like that and hates it even more that she is made to feel this way. We all did. There is nothing worse to watch your own child suffer, especially at such a young and vulnerable age as hers.

She is only six. No child should feel hated. And although we try to shield her from the judgment and the treatment, it is near impossible when she has a Moon Goddess for a mother and two Alpha fathers.

No matter where we go, we are constantly receiving unwanted attention, and therefore, so is Marabella.

The whispers always get to me. The hardest part is being the bigger person and not rising or reacting to their hurtful words. Instead, I try to ignore them.

There was one time when Ezra once lost his temper, but I don’t blame him, not after what happened. If he didn’t end up killing the asshole, one of us would have.

It was an Alpha meeting, and we brought the kids to play with the other Pack Alphas children when one man, who had no children and had his pack taken by a rival Alpha for cruelty to his members, took a jab at the twins. All because I refused to help him.

“Ah, so here they are! The blessed and cursed twins, abominations, and that one.” he had said, pointing at Marabella. She was only two at the time. “She should have been

put down at birth!” The growl that left Ezra as Maddox pushed forward still sends a shiver up my spine to this day.

He had killed him within seconds and then had challenged everyone else in the hall to speak up if they had anything to say. None did; none were game enough to, after watching the man get torn apart. His dead, bleeding body at Ezra’s feet, while he was drenched in blood, was a gruesome display of the power Ezra holds.

Even if they wanted to, they were far too terrified to have the courage to.

I shake the memory away, returning to the present. My mind forced me into the memories and that’s why I realize I have missed half of what is going on as I look at Marabella.

“Daddy, no! Please don’t touch me! You can’t touch me! No one can touch me!” Marabella shrieks as Ezra tears the gloves off her hands. Marabella is hysterical as she tries to pull away from him.

“You don’t scare me; you are not a monster,” Ezra tells her firmly, and I feel my heart skip a beat as Marabella tries to rip her hands away.

As I stand here and watch my child’s distress, I once again notice how hard it is to be the bystander that only stays aside and watches.

I am grateful Ezra is here right now. He grabs her hands and presses them against his face. “You are not a monster, you hear me? You do not scare me, you’re my beautiful daughter. Look, nothing happened, see?” Marabella pulls away, but he refuses to let her hands go.

Marabella holds her breath while Ezra stares at her, trying to get her to see she is not what they claim. “Dad, please,” Marabella begs.

“Say it,” Ezra tells her, and she knows until she listens he won’t let it slide or let her

go.

“I’m not a monster,” Marabella tells him reluctantly, and another round of violent sobs escapes her.

Ezra hushes her softly until she calms down and finally stops crying. He pulls her to him, hugging her little body tightly, and his eyes go to mine.

“Alicia is not welcome here again,” Ezra says through the mind link.

Pursing my lips, I glance back up the hall toward the kitchen. Mateo wanders off out the back. Yes, it is best if Mateo returns her to her mother; mine and Ezra’s tempers quickly erupt. He is definitely the calm one of us all. I know Alicia has something to do with her being upset.

And I don’t trust myself not to give her mother the spanking her daughter deserves. I despise bullies; Marabella is a sweet girl. I just hope she can survive everyone else, and I’m determined to help her try. I know all too well what it feels like to be ostracized by your pack.

“Don’t let what they say in, don’t let it in, Marabella. They are beneath you,” Ezra comforts her, and she nods against his shoulder, hugging him back. Ezra’s eyes flick up to mine. I see the unspoken worry in his eyes for our little girl.