"Flora, hey!" Alie greeted her warmly, shifting the phone to her other ear. "How have you been?" She glanced down at the bed, where Noah had wiggled out of her lap and flipped onto his stomach, his small hands already grasping a plush soft toy.
"I’ve been well. What about you? How is our little prince?" Flora inquired, her voice bright on the other end.
"We’re doing well, though he’s quite a handful today," Alie said with a chuckle. "He’s currently preoccupied with his favorite toy. Noah, say hi to your auntie!"
"Ei!" Noah chirped, his focus entirely on the plushie. His tiny fingers found the hard, plastic eye button of the toy and began pulling at it with surprising strength.
"He’s starting to speak, isn’t he?" Flora asked, sounding delighted.
"Yes," Alie replied, watching as Noah’s brow furrowed in concentration. "They’re a bit broken and garbled, but he definitely has a lot to say these days. Are you at Zander’s place?"
"Yes, I arrived just this morning," Flora replied, her voice carrying a hint of wonder. "It felt so nostalgic stepping back onto pack lands after all this ti. Zander has transford the place. He’s been entirely focused on developnt since he took over as Alpha. You wouldn’t recognize so of the sectors."
"That is exactly how an Alpha should lead," Alie noted. As she spoke, she gestured to Ashna, who moved efficiently to fetch the bottle of expressed milk prepared earlier that morning.
"Noah, look, here is your favorite al," Alie cooed, gently hovering the bottle near him. Noah’s intense focus shifted from the plush toy’s button to the familiar bottle. To Alie’s imnse relief, he didn’t turn away this ti. He reached up, his small hands guiding it toward his mouth, and began to drink greedily before rolling over onto his back to get comfortable.
"You should take so rest, Flora," Alie said. "Noah needs now. Take care." Without waiting for a response, she lowered the phone and ended the call.
Flora stood in silence for a mont, a bit stunned by the abrupt click of the line. She had so much more to share with her sister, but she quickly shook off the disappointnt.
"Well, I suppose she’s occupied with Noah all the ti now," she murmured to herself. Setting the phone on the bedside table, she peeled off her thick, heavy jacket and draped it over the back of a chair.
A sudden knock at the door drew her attention. When she opened it, she found Zander standing there, balancing a tray with a steaming kettle and a cup and saucer.
He walked into the room and placed the tray on the coffee table. As he poured a stream of fragrant black tea into the cup. "You must be freezing after your journey. Drink this."
"Thank you, but you really didn’t have to bring this yourself," Flora muttered, lowering herself into the upholstered chair. "I assu you have plenty of servants in this house to handle such things." She leaned forward, wrapping her hands around the warm cup before taking a sip.
"Well, for my special person, I decided to bring the tea myself," Zander replied, a small smile carving at the corners of his mouth as he sat across from her.
Flora felt her heart flutter at the confession. "You always have a way of reaching the depths of my heart," she murmured, her eyes softening as she looked at him.
"And yet, you still don’t fully reciprocate my feelings," Zander reminded her that held a hint of lingering hurt.
"I do. That’s why I am here, isn’t it?" Flora said, her voice rising with a flash of defensive passion. She took another long sip of the tea before setting the cup down on the saucer. "The pack looks much more secure and structured than the last ti I was here."
"I decided to bring sweeping reforms to our security protocols," Zander explained. "I want to reduce cri in this pack as much as possible. No one should feel unsafe on these lands, not under my watch."
"That’s great!" Flora said, offering him a genuine smile.
"My parents likely won’t be joining us here. They’ve decided to head to the palace to be with Alie and Noah instead," she stated. "Alie’s first Christmas after getting married and having a child is special and it can’t be ignored."
"Yes, you ntioned that. It’s for the best, honestly," Zander said with a thoughtful gaze. "Your sister needs your parents’ attention. She was deprived of it for a long ti, as you well know."
His words cast a shadow of the past over Flora’s face. "Yes," she admitted. "When I was injured, Mom and Dad were far more worried for than they ever seed to be for Alie. They even discussed it at ho recently, how Alie must feel they were biased in their treatnt of us. They are trying to be better parents now, but it’s difficult with her living so far away in the palace."
Zander nodded slowly. "Distance makes it easier to apologize, but harder to actually show the change. I hope their visit goes well."
Flora finished the last of her tea in thoughtful silence, the warmth of the porcelain lingering in her palms.
Zander reached out, his fingers brushing hers as he took the empty cup and placed it carefully back on the tray. "You should rest for a while," he said softly. "The journey was long. I’ll co to wake you when it’s ti for lunch."
Flora nodded, her dostic instincts kicking in as she reached to take the tray from him, but Zander subtly shifted it out of her reach. "You’re not supposed to do that," he stated firmly, his eyes locking onto hers as he rose to his feet.
Flora stood as well, intending to see him to the door, but she was caught off guard when he stepped into her personal space.
Instead of the lingering, heavy kiss she half-expected, Zander leaned in and pressed a gentle, lingering kiss to her cheek. He intentionally avoided her lips; he knew her boundaries and, more importantly, he wanted their first real kiss to be sothing monuntal, not a hurried mont in a guest room.
He pulled back, a soft glow in his eyes that left Flora in shock. "Sleep well, Flora," he whispered. He then turned and exited the room.
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