The Female Alpha’s Sanctuary

Chapter 181

I blink at her.

She blinks at me.

And then I turn to Laura.

“Oh dear, Violet honey.”

Laura scoops Violet in her arms much to Violet’s protest as those chubby hands make grabby gestures

at me. She’s whining, fussing in Laura’s hold when I find new profound confidence inside me. Shakily, I

stand and reach my arms out to the child. She immediately halts her fussing, big eyes blinking and

starts leaning into my arms when she sees them extended her way. The sour look on her face wiped

clean and in place a look of content.

Laura doesn’t miss the change of expression and takes it in kind.

“My niece Violet really seems to like you. She usually doesn’t take to strangers.’

Laura says, easing the toddler into my arms.

Violet’s small body radiates with warmth. The softness of her little form a comforting, nostalgic feel

when she clings onto my neck. Her little head settling at the crook of my shoulders. The feel of her silky

hair tucked between my neck and shoulder makes me freeze in slight concern. This was the first time I

held a child since then. I didn’t have the courage to do so before.

“Shall we? The men must be antsy waiting for us. Hopefully no one broke anything yet.”

Violet tightened her hold around my neck, nuzzling her little face into my hair. It took all I had not to

think about how Lila used to do the same. The feeling of a child pressed up to me was almost too

unusual after everything that happened. The trauma of the last time I held a child and what followed still

fresh in my memory.

A wound that was so deep it couldn’t even scar.

་ བ ན Laura and I walked down the stairs side by side, loud murmurs of conversation and bustling sounding

from where we were. I could hear Weston arguing with Emerson, Isaac cutting in a few times to ease

the the tension but overall was sure the argument wasn’t anything alarming. After hearing the words

“Ironman is better”, I was sure it wasn’t anything life threatening.

We walked into the living room, Stefan and Raizel talking in the corner of the room while the other three

was huddled in the center. Xavier crawling on the floor looks up when he senses us and starts going

my way when he sees Violet in my arms. He’s still looking up at me, grabbing onto my legs that he

uses as leverage until he’s unsteadily standing up. Those puffy cheeks puff when he starts bouncing on

his feet.

“Up. Up.”

Violet pulls from my neck and stares down at Xavier in scrutiny,

“No.”

It’s that one word that catches everyones attention. Emerson is the first to respond.

“D-did Violet just talk?”

Isaac goes next.

“Holy sh it your neck-”

Then goes Weston,

h

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The Female Alpha’s Sanctuary

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Chapter 181

“Awww, look at how cute they are. Alpha, Alpha! Take a picture. You know you want to.”

I drift my gaze to Raizel and he openly stares. His father looked at him strangely, noticing the shift in

his mood. Raizel’s eyebrows scrunched together like he was seeing a confusing puzzle at hand. His

firm body tight and upright. He slowly walks over to me, blinking as he stares down at the dress. The

look of pure disbelief laced in his expression,

“That dress-”

He mumbled, trailing off at the end. He looked so shell shocked. The words he wanted to say escaping

him as he stared. I could feel his wolf’s excitement reach me but from the look on his face he looked

utterly confused. Laura who hadn’t really noticed the grave look on Raizel’s face gushes in glee,

“Oh, that old thing. It was a gift from your grandmother. She wanted me to pass it on to my daughter as

an heirloom, but seeing as you would never wear it I gave it to Selene-”

“No,”

Raizel shakes his head, his hands lightly gripping my arms. Violet who’d been peacefully cocooning

herself into my chest makes a face at Raizel. She grabs onto the neckline of the dress, small fingers

curling into the fabric tightly. His expression and tenseness setting her off with alarm,

“That dress, I- I’ve seen it before.”

He swallows thickly, eyes searching mine with determination overpowering everything else in his eyes.

There’s a mixture of emotions flooding out of him. Panic. Confusion. Intrigue. Hope.

Glimmering, thick hope.

“Rome, have you been going through my closet? I hadn’t taken it out since I was pregnant with you-”

“The vision.”

He cuts her off sharply, not looking at his mother. It’s like something triggered the change in the air. I

feel everyone tense aside from Isaac, the kids and I.

“The vision with the witches. I saw it then. The silhouette I was chasing after”

his gaze falls to the pure white fabric draped over me. Lifting one hand, he holds the strip of apparel in

between his fingers. A look of astonishment written on his face.

“-she was wearing it. ”

Raizel’s eyes never left mine.

The heated fix set deep in his expression never wavering from the evident confusion he felt. I didn’t

understand why he looked at me like that. Why it seemed like he couldn’t believe I was standing there

or why he stared after the dress like it was some magical thing balancing on a thin beam of needing to

be destroyed or worshipped. That alone set me on edge.

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