For a moment, Leland watched Jan and Luciel playing together in the garden. Then he tightened his embrace on Sophie and whispered, "Sophia, do you want to visit Morgan and Emery?"
Sophie immediately looked up, her eyes sparkling but doubts were evident on her face. "Can we go? Have you finished your work?"
Leland nodded with a smile. "Yes."
After Leland nodded, the happiness inside Sophie returned. "Yes. I do. I did plan to ask you to take me to visit them after your work is done."
Sophie's face lit up as she expressed her wish.
Seeing the happiness on his mate's face, Leland felt both happy and relieved.
At first, he was worried that the long journey from Frisia to Riga would harm Sophie's health. Luckily that didn't happen.
After Jan and Luciel's fifth birthday, Sophie's health gradually improved more significantly.
"You can visit them whenever you want. Because they're there." Leland pointed to a corner in the garden. "I know when we get back, you'll always want to visit them, so I buried them there so you can visit any time."
"Oh, Leland, you are very kind," Sophie said very happily, then turned to hug Leland and gave the man a passionate kiss.
Leland's smile never disappeared. For a moment, he stroked Sophie's head and then jumped out the window.
"Well. Come on! We'll see if you're really healthy," said Leland, holding out his hands to catch Sophie.
"What's wrong? Haven't you always been boasting that you can jump over the academy wall? I want to see if you dare to jump from there," he said again jokingly.
Sophie, who saw Leland's attitude, was stunned. She suddenly remembered her meeting with Nicholas, years ago.
Nicholas caught her when she jumped off the back wall of the academy. She could still clearly remember the incident. The memory always managed to make her miss Nicholas until tears began to well up in her eyes.
Leland, who saw this, immediately approached the window and regretfully said, "Sophia I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I… I was just kidding."
Hearing that, Sophie laughed and said, "Leland, you are so easy to deceive. I was joking too."
Sophie lied and pretended she was joking too. She didn't want her husband to know she was thinking of her first meeting with Nicholas. She thought it was rude to even think about Nic when she was with Leland.
"..."
"Now get ready. I'll show you a beautiful, elegant jump." She lifted her skirt and got ready to climb the window.
"Oh, I can't wait."
For a moment, they smiled at each other. Sophie jumped into Leland's arms. Both laughed heartily when she landed safely in his arms.
"I told you, I am healthy," she told him.
"I see it," Leland replied with a smile. He lowered her to the ground. Then they walked together, holding hands, through the garden to Morgan's and Emery's grave.
Sophie took the time to pluck some flowers, after which she and Leland continued walking towards a corner of the garden. This part of the garden was filled with lush trees and daisies.
When they got there, Leland and Sophie crouched down near a tombstone. It was where their two sons were buried, inside the same grave.
Sophie placed the flowers she brought on top of the grave and started to cry. While Leland was also sad, as usual, he didn't show his feelings.
Leland's principle was he would never show his sadness or weakness in front of others. He didn't want them to use that to bring him down.
He also didn't show them in front of Sophie because he didn't want the woman he loved to be worried or burdened because of him.
He thought it would be better if he kept everything to himself. This way he could shield Sophie from problems and heartache. He didn't mind taking care of them alone as long as Sophie could stay happy.
***
It was a beautiful evening. After Sophie had vented all her longing and sadness, Leland took her back to the terrace to rest. There they sat side by side on a long sofa.
Leland asked Sophie to stop being sad because Morgan and Emery wouldn't like it when their mother cried. After all, they must have been happy up there.
"I know Leland, but I can't help it," Sophie said, leaning on Leland's shoulder. The Alpha hugged her waist with one hand while stroking Sophie's hair with the other.
One thing Sophie regretted was that she had never seen Morgan and Emery. She was very sick due to the poison put in her tea by Dinah, the servant she trusted the most.
When Sophie woke up, she had lost her babies. She didn't even get to attend their funeral. The next time she woke up, she was already in a horse-drawn carriage headed for Frisia.
It was only after four years that she was able to return here. Sophie was looking forward to seeing her children's graves. So, finally seeing them made her relive the memory again and that brought tears to her eyes.
"Mother ...."
Sophie was startled by the voice, as was Leland. She and her mate turned towards the source of the voice.
They were taken aback by Luciel and Jan, who stood before them in their human forms, naked.
"Jan? Luciel?" Sophie widened her eyes in astonishment, then pursed her lips, stifling a laugh. "Good grief…"
The two children stepped closer. Now they could walk on two legs and talk but not very fluently.
Jan sat on Sophie's lap while Luciel sat on Leland's lap.
Jan and Luciel still had a lot to learn, especially not to transform carelessly anywhere. They could shock the people who saw them, and more than that, the most worrying thing was if the person who saw them shift was a lycan hunter. It would be very dangerous for them.
"Are you guys tired of playing, honey?" Sophie asked with a smile. Even though her eyes were still puffy, the sad look on her face was gone.
"Um." Jan and Luciel nodded. Before Sophie could go in and find clothes for them, Lucas came over to them.
"What's the matter, Lucas?" asked Leland.
Lucas was a little surprised when he saw Luciel and Jan, sitting on their parents' lap, naked, but then he focused on Alpha.
The Beta nodded respectfully and said. "There is a messenger from the palace who wants to invite Alpha and Luna to attend the birthday party of Princess Karenina. She is King Nicholas Hannenbergh's fiancee."
Leland furrowed his brows when he heard the report. The man looked deep in thoughts, while Sophie wondered why they were invited when they didn't actually know the king, nor Princess Karenina.
After a moment of silence, Leland asked Lucas to send a reply letter stating that Duke Romanov and his family would be glad to attend the party.
Although Leland didn't understand why they got invited to the party, considering that they did not know or were closely related to King Nicholas and Princess Karenina, Leland still decided to accept the invitation.
By coming to the party as invited guests, he didn't have to bother thinking about ways to infiltrate the palace.
King Hanenbergh had invited his destruction to come.
Leland smiled faintly when he thought that the day he would be able to avenge the Hansleys' deaths was approaching fast.
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