38
REBECCA
The next morning I awoke alone in bed: however, a delicious smell of breakfast hovered in the air, sunlight filled the room and I felt definitely better than the day before.
A smile grew on my face as I realized that my sheets were impregnated with my mate’s scent – as all the memories of that night came back to me.
I let myself fall back on the bed.
Wow.
I could hardly even believe it – but I knew it was all real. The truth had come out, which made
me feel as light as a feather… and Reiner and I were together again.
Reiner loved me.
And most importantly, we had never really been divorced.
He was mine, had always been mine – and I was his.
He loved me.
–
We were officially a family – James and Violet would grow up with two parents who loved each
other.
Reiner loved me.
I couldn’t remember ever feeling so happy.
I took the duvet in my hands and buried my face into it, inhaling deeply: for the first time,
those sheets finally smelled like home.
I felt a silly smile grow on my face… a smile that was soon followed by a blush as a specific memory from the night before came back.
Suddenly, I felt quite tense – but in the best possible way, as I felt all those sensations again: Reiner’s mouth on my mark, his c**k pressed against me, his firm, possessive hands on me
My gaze quickly flew to my nightstand drawer and I was quite tempted to reach for it if someone hadn’t knocked on the door.
“Mommy are you up?” Violet asked as she walked in, then smiled. “Yes you are! Yes Daddy Mommy’s up!” she then shouted.
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“Tell her to move, then, or food’s gonna get cold!” Reiner’s voice echoed through the house.
My smile widened.
It felt like a dream – we were together, he was in the kitchen making breakfast, and he had sent our daughter to call me.
I really felt like I was living in the dream he and I had dreamed for years that of a family, which was now finally a reality.
“Mommy Daddy says you have to come for bweakfast or it gets cold,” Violet reported, climbing into the bed and snuggling into my arms. “You know Uncle Mark is coming?”
Since Reiner had come into the kids‘ lives, Mark had also become part of the circus: the pups adored him, he adored them, and he had become their honorary uncle very soon. I could only be happy about that: Mark was an exquisite man, and the more trustworthy people the pups had around them, the safer they’d be.
“Great,” I smiled. “How are you feeling, baby?”
“Now I’m fine… but befowe Daddy said I had some fever still,” she reported. “But I didn’t puke.”
“That’s amazing,” I murmured, kissing her on the forehead. “Go ahead and tell Daddy I’m
coming, I’ll just take a quick shower. Don’t run and don’t get tired, okay?”
Vi nodded, popped a kiss on my cheek, and jumped down – of course running out of the room.
“Violet!” I shouted after her – something I definitely shouldn’t have done, because my throat
protested vehemently, and my voice came out croaky and weak.
Great, I thought grimly and headed towards the bathroom.
“There you are,” Reiner smiled when I managed to get to the kitchen. The flu had taken over
again and teamed up with a sore throat, and I felt worse than the day before.
As soon as he saw the awful look on my face, Reiner’s smile relented a little.
“Oh,” he commented. “You don’t seem to be in the mood for bacon.”
“Unless you want me to throw it up within two minutes…”
“No, I guess not,” he said, hugging me as I leaned my forehead against his warm chest. “Let’s get you on the couch.”
“Jim’s at school,” he informed me as he walked me into the living room. “Wayne brought him, and he’ll also pick him up later. Oh, Sienna stopped by to see how you were doing, but you. were sleeping,” he added. “She says to take as long as you need to get back on track, and
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she’ll take care of everything. She left you a take–out tea and a red velvet cupcake.”
The very mention of that cupcake warmed my heart.
“What a sweetheart,” I smiled.
“You might also want to know that Violet ate your cupcake before Sienna even left.”
Only the fact that he was next to me managed to keep my mood from plummeting. I glanced at the kid, who was sitting at the table intent on eating her breakfast, and she shot me a guilty
little smile.
“It was vewy vewy good,” she said meekly.
“I know,” I grumbled, sitting down on the couch and wrapping myself in the blanket. Sienna
always got those cupcakes from a small bakery nearby, which was always crowded, because
its cupcakes were the absolute best around. “Well, at least we know Violet has an appetite.
That must be a good sign.”
Reiner chuckled, handing me a steaming cup of tea. “Undoubtedly.”
He placed a kiss on my forehead and returned to the kitchen, helping Vi with her breakfast.
Being there all alone and without any distraction, my mind began to wander – more in the
direction of what had happened the night before… and about the things that didn’t quite add
- up.
Reiner, I called out to him.
Hmm.
I swallowed. There’s a problem. About what happened four years ago.
Those words caught his attention, and he gave me a strange look. What do you mean?
When Sheila was trying to send me away, I looked for you through the mate bond… and I felt you, I said. I remember it like it was yesterday. You were furious and you locked me out. But that didn’t happen for you.
I sensed his concern as my own. This is strange, he admitted. I have no memory of you
looking for me that morning. Absolutely none at all.
I know, I saw it! And you know what else is strange? Our bond, I went on. I’m sure I felt it breaking, and I’m sure as hell I didn’t break it myself. Yet it was never actually broken.
He paled. The same goes for me, he said. I felt it break, but I never … broke it myself. I thought you did.
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Thankfully I was already on the couch, because I suddenly felt weak.
Of two things I was sure: of what I’d felt and experienced, and of my husband’s sincerity – both
because I knew his heart and because I could sense that honesty in our bond.
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If none of us had broken that bond if that bond had never been broken, and if I’d reached out
to Reiner but he hadn’t heard me…
Magic, he growled.
Sheila had proved to be resourceful – a computer expert to create a perfect deepfake, one (or some?) of the pack bankers to h****k the money Reiner had wanted to give me, the conspiracy against Reiner … finding a sorcerer or a witch to interfere with our bond must have been like child’s play, for her.
The kids, I gasped, caught by a sudden realization. Tears of fear began to crowd my eyes, and
it took all I had to not burst out crying. Reiner, I was early in the pregnancy when it happened –
what if that spell or whatever it was did something to them?
Don’t worry, he said. This matter will be handled today.
“Mark,” I then heard him say – and I noticed he was on the phone. “Would you be able to come
by this afternoon instead of this morning? Great. Can you tell that friend of yours to come?
Perfect. See you later. Bye.”
After putting the phone down, he helped Violet out of her high chair and sent her to get
dressed: then, he joined me in the living room, kneeling in front of the couch and bringing my
hand to his mouth. “Mark knows a cardiologist who’s also a witch – a very good and powerful one,” she murmured. “They’re coming over afterward to check all of us. I’m sure nothing will
come out and we’ll all turn out fine, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Okay?”
I nodded, feeling very dazed… and violated. “Okay.”
That new realization made me feel dirty – the idea that someone had interfered with the bond
between Reiner and me, the most sacred thing in existence, that had played with our
perceptions, with our souls…
… was terrifying. Even more terrifying was the suspicion that that
interference might have caused something to the kids.
I felt, sharp and burning, the need to have James home – to have my whole family there, where
I could see them and know they were all safe.
Calm down, I forced myself. Jim’s at school, he’s safe, and he and Violet don’t have to bear the
brunt of this situation.
