Leland, who could tell that Sophie's interest was really piqued, couldn't help but feel a bit tempted to suddenly take his mask off.
However, unless he was able to fulfill his promise of avenging her parents… the Alpha didn't feel like he deserved to tell her.
There were a lot of complications and explanations too.
He needed to be strong and hold back the desire to reveal everything.
"Ah, thank you. My cooks could prepare a meal, but I'm sure that the boys are more eager to taste your cooking. You have my compliments." Leland let out a satisfied sigh. "Shall we all eat out here in the garden? A picnic?"
"I would love to… er, that would be lovely, your grace."
Sophie did not want to admit it to herself at all, but as she looked at how her two sons interacted warmly with Duke Romanov, her heart softened at the sight of her boys snuggling and warming up to the Alpha.
At first, she was reluctant and had hoped that her children were human. She thought that since she and Nicholas were both human, even if Nicholas was transformed into a lycan, their human side would still win out by the end.
Now she realized that she was wrong.
This was not the case where she would love them any less, but Sophie's mind wandered into what-if scenarios. A part of her knew that if Nicholas were to see his kids, the reality would be a bit difficult to fathom for him.
While it was true that they were his children, would he be able to fully love them if they reminded him of his curse?
The people in the kingdom of Riga were undoubtedly not willing to accept them and that would hurt Sophie as their mother.
She didn't want her children to go through the exact same thing that Nicholas went through to remove his so-called curse. That was why her heart was at ease as she looked at Duke Romanov with Luciel and Jan.
Sophie smiled and Leland was struck by the sight of her smiling… until the two boys nipped at his fingers and started begging for more scraps of meat. The Alpha rolled his eyes and paid attention to the two boys.
"You guys have been distracting me, haven't you?" Leland chuckled at the two boys.
Sophie sheepishly smiled and winced. She offered Leland the boy's food as she stared at the masked duke. "I'm so sorry, but they really prefer having you feed them."
There was no doubt that these two boys were looking for a father figure and naturally found themselves drawn to the Alpha. They could see the mark of the man on their mother and thus considered him their father.
"It's not a problem to me, Sophia." Leland smiled at her. "They are my children as much as they are yours."
Sophie only smiled back at him and yet there was an intensity in her gaze that left Leland fumbling even as he fed Luciel and Jan. These two cubs were so demanding and didn't seem to care that he was the Alpha.
A bit spoiled perhaps, but Leland was glad that such a thing was possible over mistreatment. Still, the man found himself glancing at the boy's mother and wondering.
If there were any weaknesses that a lycan may have had with mate bonding and sharing their thoughts and emotions, it was this: sometimes it could become hard to distinguish between them.
Leland who grew up mostly repressing his emotions could feel the intensity of Sophie's emotions and sometimes ended up getting overwhelmed by them or he found himself at a lack of words.
Emotions were sometimes difficult to label and one often experienced countless emotions, mixed feelings that left an emotionally stunted Alpha at a loss on how to comfort his mate.
In this scenario, Leland felt the twinge of Sophie's desire to see her children as human and some regret when she thought about her former husband that the Alpha was quick to point out some salient details to appease her.
"Did you know that it's usually when a lycan child is around five years of age that they can gain their human forms and transform then?" Leland said in passing.
"Ah, is that so?" Sophie smiled at him and then looked at her two beautiful cubs. She rubbed Jan's head and sighed wistfully. "I think I did remember Dinah mentioning that."
The next wave of emotions that Leland felt was Sophie's desire and longing for friendship. It filled him with sadness because he realized how lonely his mate must have been.
"Apologies, it seems that Dinah is a bit preoccupied with some other responsibilities in the castle and cannot linger too much to spend time with you," Leland added.
"There is no need to apologize, your grace!" Sophie waved a hand at him and was flustered. "I understand that she may have other priorities as you said."
Leland sighed inwardly and knew he probably needed to discuss the situation with his pack about Sophie's children. Why was it so difficult to deal with people's emotions?
Sophie cleared her throat and blushed. "That is why I am grateful for your presence, Alpha. I do not know if you feel the same way, but I feel like the two of us get along. I am grateful."
"And so am I." Leland smiled and inclined his head. "It was difficult to find anyone who would treat me as you do, like an actual partner and equal. Simply not looking at my title."
"Ah, you make it easy, your grace," Sophie said.
While it was true that during her childhood, Sophie made friends in Hauntingen… unfortunately the years that came later weren't the case. She was often alone and didn't have people she could trust.
In a way, it triggered Leland's own pang of loneliness. If he had been there, the Alpha could have been the one who filled the void of friendship she had and she would fill his.
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