Kisses and hugs...

Selene POV

An uncomfortable silence settled in the car as Maeve went back to sleep. 

Xavier just held her in his arms. I could tell the sudden name tag shocked him and I hoped for my sake that she had done that with sleepy eyes, but this was the first time she was calling anyone dad. 

Even Noah, who was the girls' buddy has had to settle for being called Uncle or Alpha Noah by the girls. The door of the car opened and Lucius slipped into the passenger seat. 

"That was close," he wheezed, leaning his head on the chair and breaking the silence. "Is everyone alright?" he asked, turning to look at us in the back seat of the car. 

"Y...Yes," I croaked. "Are you finished?" 

"Yeah. We made sure the prisoners were unconscious. We will have them transferred to the holding cell in the Pack House. I already asked some of our foot soldiers to search the area for prints of other foxes. These people don't work alone,". 

"How about my children's nanny and the security details attached to me?" I asked. 

"They are currently on their way to the hospital. They'll be fine. The paramedics said their injury is nothing to worry about,". 

"Thank you, Beta," I sighed. "And thank you too, Alpha, for all your help,".

"Great," Lucius nodded. "Can we go now? I'm sure you'd want to rest,". 

The rest of the journey was done in silence and I kept sneaking curious glances at Xavier expecting he would start a conversation about the accusation of the Fox leader levelled against me, but he didn't say anything. 

Finally, we arrived at the Pack House. 

The place still looked unchanged even after three years. The gigantic black gate that stood at the entrance was dark, glossy, and shiny under the faint moonlight. I noticed also that security seemed to be top-notch from when I was still here. 

Even though I was with the Alpha and Beta, we were all subjected to searching; both us and the vehicle we had driven in with. 

"I'm so sorry about that," Xavier murmured as soon as we finished with security. "We're always on high alert so we don't put the lives of the people in danger," he explained. 

"It's alright," I smiled warmly at him. "Being secure is a serious business,". 

As soon as we crossed the gates and all the security checkpoints and headed to the pack house, the skies rumbled and lightning rippled through the sky. 

"What was that?" Lucius asked in bewilderment, "We've not had rain for three years now,". 

A small smile settled on my lips as I looked at the girls. Their presence had caused the rain and, in my experience, the rain always came as a cleansing before anything else would happen. Depending on how much cleansing the pack needed, it would rain endlessly for at least a day or two. 

"Maybe it's the weather playing tricks on us," Xavier said from beside me. "We've lost hopes on it ever raining here,". 

As if in response, another thunder clapped and then it started raining. The first raindrops came tentative and hesitant, as they began to patter on the roof of our car. Before Xavier could say a word, the rain came on strong. 

"Oh, goddess!" Lucius screamed in delight. "This is a miracle, right, Alpha,". 

"I am as shocked as you are," Xavier chuckled, as he placed a hand through the window of the car. "It's truly raining, Lucius. The heavens have smiled at us once again,". 

I sat back and watched in amusement as the men chattered excitedly at what they would do with the new rain by tomorrow. As we drove through the streets, we heard the joyful shouts of people from every corner. 

We even saw some people come out of their houses dancing in the rain and, for the first time since I started doing this, I felt my heart soar with happiness. I was so glad that my Pack would breathe again. 

When we got to the pack house, servants holding umbrellas at the entrance greeted us. Quickly, I ducked under the covers of one of the umbrellas into the pack house and waited for Xavier to come too. I didn't want to usher myself in or show familiarity. 

Together, we entered the house, and I waited in the living room while someone brought towels for me and a cup of hot tea. Xavier said something about us holding on a bit for the maids to arrange where we would sleep tonight. 

A few minutes later, we received the news that the room was ready, and without delay, I followed the girl as she led me towards Xavier's bedroom. 

Active 1: "Here you are, ma'am," the maid stopped in front of the door. "If there's anything you want us to do for you, there's a red button at the head of the bed. If you press it, we will attend to you immediately." 

I didn't want to look suspicious, so I nodded and thanked her before entering the room. 

"This room is SO big," I said as a conversation starter. Looks like it's the master's bedroom,". 

"Yeah," Xavier chuckled from behind me. 

He had gone near the bed and gently laid Maeve on the big bed in the centre of the room. "I'm sorry we don't have baby beds. No child has been born to me ever," he said. 

"It's fine," I nodded, copying his action as I laid Vina "You've done so much for us already and thank you for giving us your room," I added, grinning at him. 

"Fine!" he laughed, putting both hands in his pocket. With a laugh, he explained, "I just wanted to give you guys the best, so I recently renovated my room. It now has a lot of modern facilities and increased security." 

"How about you?" I inquired, "If we're taking your room, then where will you sleep?" I asked. 

"In my wife's room," He responded immediately. "I haven't slept in this room since her death because I kept having terrible nightmares, so I just moved to her room. It's more comfortable and now and again, I feel her presence,". 

"Okay," I nodded, not wanting to delve into his life again, "I'll just take a shower and rest. Thank you so much, Alpha,". 

"You're welcome." he gives me one last smile and starts to leave the room when he turns. His pupils had gone black. He was mind-linking. 

"That was Lucius," he said when his pupils turned normal. "He said he'll get someone to bring all your stuff from the hotel tomorrow morning,". 

"Oh!" I gazed at my soaked loungewear, wondering what I was going to sleep in. "I'll just have to wait then,". 

"Or you could use any of my clothes," he volunteered quickly. There are a few in the closet and I think some pyjamas set. Just use as many as you want, okay? Make yourself comfortable and feel at home,".

"I will," I nodded and watched until he slipped out of the room. 

***

Xavier POV

I had a sheepish smile on my face as I lay on the bed in Selene's room. 

I was overjoyed first for the rain and that Olivia was some steps away from me. I didn't know what to make of the feeling, but I wasn't going to fight it either. I turned and tossed, finding it difficult to fall asleep. 

Outside, it was still raining, with the thunder and lightning increasing each second. It had me wondering if the maids had dropped enough blankets for Olivia and her children and if the incessant thunderclaps had woken the kids up and maybe she was grappling with them.

"I'll just go and see if she's fine and alright, then I'll come back to my room," I tell myself as I slip on a robe covering my nightwear. I sprayed a bit of perfume and checked my hair in the mirror before leaving the room. 

When I got to the door of the master bedroom, I did one last check on my appearance before knocking lightly on the door. After waiting for thirty seconds, there was no response coming from inside. 

I knocked again, this time urgently, but still no response. My heart pumped with fear as I immediately scanned my finger on the lock of the door and ushered myself in. As I closed the door, the door to the bathroom opened and Olivia came out cleaning her hair with a towel. 

She was wearing one of my big T-shirts that stopped right above her knee and a pair of black socks. Desire shot through every part of my body as I took in the sight. 

Water dripping from her hair to her clothes, she was clad in my big tee and I'm sure she had nothing underneath. The mere thoughts of it drove my imagination wild, and a certain part of me moved. 

"Alpha," she stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed me, "Why are you here?"

"Erm...rm I was going to check if you had extra blankets and clothes," I lied lamely. 

"Oh!" she stared strangely at me. "Okay! But we're fine though. The maids did a good job preparing the room within a short amount of time. I love it and I'm sure the girls would love it too when they wake,". 

"Yeah," I nodded. 

The towel slipped from her hand and fell right in front of her. Immediately, she bent to pick it up. My eyes caught the soft mound of her breast and the last thing I remembered was crossing the room to where she stood. 

"A... Alpha," she stammered. "What are you doing?"

I lowered my head and captured her lips.