Sophie was shocked by how things changed with Duke Romanov. She already knew that the man could be kind in his own distant way.
She had looked forward to their secret tea times and just conversing with one another because, underneath the mask, he turned out to be an interesting man who didn't talk much but always seem to understand her.
Now, Sophie was at a loss for words with how he treated her children.
Leland gently fed each lycan baby a strip of meat and didn't at all seem bothered when they started to lick his hand. The Alpha even chuckled and picked up another strip of meat.
"You little guys are quite hungry," he commented in amusement.
It shouldn't have been possible, but the way that Leland cared for Sophie's children was almost like they were his own. The Alpha chose to see these two lycan cubs as his because he wanted them to have a good life.
Compared to Sophie who lost her parents at a young age, and Leland who grew up not experiencing what it was like to have parental love and care… these children would not know the feeling of being unwanted or not having loving parents.
Leland had every intention of letting them know what it was like to be loved… and wanted.
Sophie's words from before about wanting her children to grow up loving themselves? It was something that struck his heart hard because he knew how difficult it was to accept and love himself.
Even though he was proud of his lineage and didn't have any problems being a lycan, the idea that his parents were not proud of him, and didn't want him, wounded his heart as a child.
Now, the Alpha wanted these children to love themselves and be confident... because that was what Sophie wanted. In order to achieve that, Leland believed that it was up to him to actually step in and take on the role of their father since theirs was gone.
Before the children were born, he often wondered how he would perceive them and if he could love them for being part of Sophie. He knew he loved her enough to accept her children, but was not sure if he could love them like his own since... they would always be the reminder of his mate's first love.
However... once they were here, there was no shred of resentment he felt for them. Those lycan pups were the most adorable creatures he had ever laid his eyes on. And as days went by... his love for them grew.
So what if they were not his biological children?! He mated with Sophie when they were in her womb. They might as well have been his if he found Sophie a few months earlier.
Now that their father was dead, Leland was the only father figure they would ever have. So, why not take on the role?
With that thought in mind, it was easy for the Alpha to be himself around Sophie and her cute children... a protective mate and doting father.
***
<One Month Later>
"Slow down, Luciel!" Sophie called out to one of her more energetic sons and watched him scamper off underneath the table and nearly hit his head against one of the table's legs.
Luciel barely dodged with his lycan reflexes and swiftly shifted on his paw, evading the wooden pillar of pain, and soon grinned in happiness. Until he smacked against something harder instead. It was the wall.
Jan who was the more calm one between the twins watched his brother bumping his head against the wall and sighed. The black-furred lycan puppy winced at the sight as his mother gently picked up Luciel and cradled the grey pup in her arms.
"Ah, haven't I told you to not run around the room?" Sophie scolded her son gently as the lycan baby whimpered and nuzzled against her. He was hurt and wanted some love from his mother.
Sophie found it really hard to stay upset at such an affectionate child. It had already been sixty days since Sophie gave birth to her two sons and as promised by Duke Romanov, her children were quick to grow and developed well into chubby lycan puppies who scampered around the room.
One of them seemed to have inherited Nicholas' rather joyful and free-spirited personality and liked puttering about and sticking his nose into things that weren't his business at all. The other one was calmer and seemed to like quiet and sleeping a lot.
"We're going out, so please just wait, Luciel. It won't take too long before we get our escort, alright?" Sophie said.
Luciel whined at her.
"No, you can't run again on the balcony. You knocked some pots before and that's too much work for the others, alright?" Sophie may not have been able to speak lycan but she somehow knew what her sons were trying to say by mother's instincts.
The way that her children spoke, moved, and otherwise looked at her seemed to be as clear as day. They could not yet speak the human language or transform, but she knew them by heart.
Luciel harrumphed at her and Sophie rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not only saying this because of the other people. I get worried about you injuring yourself. So, please try not to make your mother's poor heart nervous, okay?"
The lycan puppy's ears flattened and he touched his paws on his mother's face and licked her cheek happily.
"Okay, okay, you're forgiven. Just a little more patience, alright?" Sophie said.
She had apologized several times over due to broken pottery and was also unhappy that her son kept bumping and crashing flower vases, pots and was overall naughty. However, just one happy pant from Luciel and Sophie's heart melted instantly.
.
.
____________________
From Missrealitybites:
I know I told you Leland is a bad boy, but I kept writing him in a way that shows him as a doting husband. I have my reason to do that.
Leland is the second man for Sophie. I need to show his good sides to you so you can be at ease when he entered the picture, took center stage, and swoon our female lead.
If I showed his bad boy sides 100%, you would scream and beg me to bring Nicholas back and not torture Sophie with a cold and ruthless man who would make her go through a roller coaster of emotions. Right?
Leland will show his bad boy sides, of course, when we progress into the story deeper and see him from other characters' perspectives, especially Nicholas'. Leland will never be an asshole to Sophie, because he loves her, but he is not a sweet man who treats everyone else the same way he treats Sophie.
The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on (f)reew𝒆(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦