***Seven Years Later***
*Theo*
Ciana set a bowl of oatal in front of Flora and then turned to the mini refrigerator in our suite for a glass of juice.
Although we could have asked the maids to bring food to our rooms, Ciana insisted on making food on her own for our girls once in a while. She said it made her feel like a mother, not just a queen.
“Could you talk to Ava?” she asked, “Make sure that she behaves like a big girl at Flora’s birthday party this afternoon.”
Ava, our first daughter, was seven-years-old. Today was her little sister Flora’s one year birthday, but Ava had been throwing a tantrum for a couple days now.
Ever since Flora was born, Ava had gone through so interesting adjustnts. At first, she had loved having Flora around. It had been sweet to watch Ava hold Flora and kiss her cheeks. She’d even pretend to be a “mommy” and read to Flora.
Unfortunately, our Ava had lost interest in playing a motherly role fast. After only three months, Ava started transitioning to becoming clean, prim, and proper. A little princess. She demanded her own bedroom away from the “noisy, slly, baby,” in the nursery.
Of course, Ciana and I had given Ava her own bedroom. Ava loved the freedom, up until Flora had gotten a walker that allowed her to run around the palace and build up her leg muscles. Flora wanted to follow Ava everywhere.
I smiled, shaking my head at the mory. Ava had hated it. She tried to lock herself in her room a couple nights ago, but Flora found a marker and drew all over Ava’s bedroom door because she couldn’t get in.
Ava was still upset about that. However, today was Flora’s birthday party, and Ava needed to figure out a way to get over her issues with her little sister.
“There is a cake for Flora and cupcakes for Ava so she can feel special and included as well,” Ciana added, “the requirents for food are written on the list.”
I picked up the piece of paper from the counter and looked it over. It had thorough specifications on color, taste, size, design and required ready ti for both the birthday cake and the cupcakes, along with snacks and refreshnts lists for the guests.
Ciana had also drawn little hearts and smiley faces at the bottom, which brought a smile on my lips.
It wouldn’t be a big party by any ans. Despite being the king and the queen, whenever it was possible, Ciana had insisted that we live a lifestyle like ordinary couples and parents. Therefore the birthday party was just a small gathering rather than a grand royal celebration.
“Right, I’ll get the food on the list arranged,” I replied, trying to figure out which chef was most suitable for both the birthday cake and the cupcakes. “And talk to Ava.”
“Remind Ava that she won’t be getting any of her own presents but she will have her own big girl corner with her friends. They’ll all get gift bags, which are different from the gifts that Flora will get from guests,” she kept going, “If Ava is still...”
“Ciana, I got this,” I said quickly. “Ava will be fine.”
After putting the list in my pocket, I leaned down to give a swift kiss on my wife’s lips. But the mont I touched her sweet mouth and breathed in her luscious scent, desire started to rise in my body, and the swift kiss turned into a passionate devour of her lips.
As I pulled myself away, I panted, “Fuck! How co after seven years being married to you, you still set my body on fire so easily?”
“I guess that’s what mates do to each other?” she replied wittily, her cheeks flushing. “Get going, we still have a lot to do for the party and the trip.”
I sighed. She was right. I took a few long breaths in, peeled my gaze off my beautiful wife and headed down the hallway to go to Ava’s room.
Today was a busy day, not only because it was Flora’s first birthday party, but also because right after the party, we would be leaving the palace to have a family vacation for the first ti ever.
Ciana, Ava, Flora and I would stop by Ortiz to pay a short visit to my mother, then spend a week with Ciana’s parents in Alvar before we head to a vacation ho in the western forest for one month.
I couldn’t suppress the smile on my face. Up until a few years ago, neither “family” nor “vacation” even existed in my vocabulary, but now life was full of joy with the ones I loved.
“Daddy!” Ava cheered when I opened her door. She jumped into my arms and hugged .
I smiled and picked her up, giving her a bear hug.
“Are you ready to be my helper today?” I asked, setting her down on the floor.
“Yes, yes,” Ava said, beaming up at .
“Alright. Today’s Flora’s birthday, let’s go tell the kitchen what to make for her birthday cake.”
However, as soon as I ntioned Flora, Ava’s face fell.
“Ava, what’s the matter?” I knew the answer, but I started with my question anyway.
“Nothing...” Ava dropped her eyelids.
“Are you still upset about Flora drawing on your door?”
Ava rolled her eyes. “No, I’m a big girl. I wouldn’t act that childish!”
That wasn’t what I expected. I smirked and shook my head. “You know you are a very good big sister. I love you for that.”
“Do you?” Ava asked, then she let out a dramatic sigh.
I crouched down to be at the sa level as her. “Of course I do. What’s bothering you?”
Ava pouted her lips, and her eyes started to get a little red. “Everyone talks about Flora. They said she was nad ‘Flora’ because when she was born, all flowers welcod her and she’s special.”
I paused for a mont, rembering that it was at the peak of spring while Ciana was in labor carrying Flora. When the sun rose, along with Flora’s cries, new flowers completely covered the hills, as if they blood overnight to welco Flora’s arrival.
People in the palace still talked about that till this day.
Ava continued, “But I’m not special, so you and mommy don’t love any more.”
I tapped on her cute button nose. “Silly girl, we of course love you. And you’re very special too.”
“I don’t believe you. You’re just saying that to make feel better.”
I chuckled and looped her in my arms. “Ava, do you know that you were blessed by the White Queen herself?”
“I was?” Her eyes widened. “Who’s the White Queen?”
“She is a very special and powerful lady who has the closest bloodline to the Moon Goddess. She blessed you while you were in mommy’s belly. Not only that, you helped bring your mommy back to . Your na Ava ans life. You brought our lives back together.”
I smiled softly at her. “You see, not only are you special, but also you’re the most helpful girl I’ve ever t, and we love you with all of our hearts.”
“Whoa...” she gaped. I wasn’t sure whether she understood everything I told her, but from her expression, I’d assud she was convinced that she was a special and valuable family mber.
“So now, my special girl, are you ready for your sister’s party and our vacation?”
“Yes, Daddy! I promise I’ll be very helpful from now on!” she exclaid with a bright smile, but then she tilted her head, blinked at several tis and then said, “Wait a second.”
I arched an eyebrow.
“Daddy, if you and mommy,” she said as she pointed to herself, “and we are on vacation, who will do your work and look after the country?”
***
*Ciana*
Servants got the royal garden set up for the party. There were strears, balloons, and toys for young kids.
Ava was happy to be in her “big girl” corner with her friends. Sherry and Greg’s two boys, Dottie’s three grandkids and so other officers’ children.
I carried Flora on my hip, watching Theo chatting to Alistair, the head of Internal Affairs with Alexander standing next to him.
Theo’s 17-year-old nephew had grown into a handso young man. He was almost as tall as Theo, although he still needed ti to fully develop his muscles.
Compared to his peers, Alexander was way more mature and composed, like he had been all his life, especially now that he had been trained by the best in academic, military, leadership and combat skills.
Theo and I had agreed that neither of us wanted to be on the throne forever. I’d always wanted to explore the world and eventually, once we figured out our favorite place, we’d settle down and raise our family in peace. Therefore, ever since Theo and I got married, he had been grooming Alexander into becoming the next king.
However, I could totally understand that Alexander might be a bit nervous today.
Why? Because as the crown prince of Egoren, the only heir to the throne, Alexander would be left in charge while we were on vacation.
“Ciana!” Brook’s voice pulled out of my thoughts as she hurried over and gave a hug. “I miss you so much. Oh, happy birthday, little Flora,” Brook said, pinching the baby’s cheeks lightly.
“Happy birthday, Flora,” Jake also greeted the baby and turned to , “It’s been a while, Ciana.”
“I miss you both too,” I smiled.
“Ciana, I still can’t believe you sent us away five years ago!” Brook complained jokingly, “You have no idea how much I want to be close to you.”
“I didn’t send you away,” I chuckled, “All I did was tell Theo that your father was unhappy about Jake not being an Alpha. Theo said Jake’s original pack, Regis, still had survivors, and they ought to have a ho to return to. He took it upon himself to make Jake the Alpha of Regis pack and gave Jake a packland as your wedding gift. If you have any complaints, you can discuss that with Theo.”
“What do you want to discuss with ?” Theo’s voice rang from behind . “Good to see you both.”
“Good to see you too, Alpha,” Jake replied, lowering his head. To Jake, Theo would forever be his Alpha. “Brook was just telling Ciana that everything has been going well.”
Brook and I exchanged a look and we both giggled a little.
Theo nodded, “That’s good to hear. Hopefully, pulling both of you away from your pack for a month won’t cause any trouble.”
“Not at all, Your Majesty!” Brook jumped in, “Our pack is doing well. In fact, the whole country has been doing well. We were so happy to hear you’re taking a break. Don’t worry about us, and we’ll do everything we can to assist Prince Alexander. You just go enjoy your vacation!”
Jake nodded, “So true. It’s well deserved.”
I was about to say sothing when Ava’s shouting drew our attention.
“Uncle Warren and Aunt Sophia!”
Warren and Sophia arrived arm in arm and Warren was carrying a big bag of wrapped presents.
“Hello Ava, I love your hairstyle,” Sophia smiled at Ava. “Is it a little different from the one you had two days ago?”
“Yes! It is!” Ava’s eyes sparkled. She had always adored how pretty Sophia was.
Sophia pulled out a shiny crystal hair pin from her purse and told Ava, “Then I think this pin would work great with it.”
Ava hoorayed at her new hair accessories and ran away to show her friends while I gave Warren and Sophia one ard hugs.
“Happy birthday, Flora, I can’t believe how much you’ve grown in just two days!” Sophia took Flora from my arms to kiss her cheeks before she greeted and Brook, “Hi Ciana. Hi Brook.”
Seven years ago, she requested to co back to the palace to pursue her love for Warren while doing her fair contribution for the country. Even till today, I was still surprised by how much her love for Warren had changed her.
Warren and Sophia weren’t each other’s fated mate, however, they still got married and they seed to be happy together. To be honest, sotis, I was quite impressed by Sophia’s persistence.
Warren gently poked at Flora’s pink face. “It felt like yesterday when you were just born! In a blink of an eye, you’re already one year old!”
Then he turned to and Theo, “Are you guys all packed? Also, how’s Alex feeling? He must be a bit nervous.”
I spotted Alexander walking towards us, so I told Warren with a smile, “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”
“Uncle Warren, Aunt Sophia, Alpha Jake, Luna Brook, you’re all here, welco back to the palace,” Alex nodded to each of them like a confident grown-up. I was proud of him still keeping his cool.
“Are you prepared to look after the kingdom while Theo and Ciana are gone?” Warren asked.
Alexander took a deep breath in and nodded his head firmly, “I believe so. I’ve done my preparations and I think I can handle this.”
I knew Alexander had been well-trained. In the past two years, he had been shadowing Theo in most of Theo’s etings. Sotis, Theo also sent him docunts to review, but to hear him say so confidently that he was ready, made all six adults present all pleasantly surprised at his answer.
Warren patted his shoulder and asked the question in my mind too, “Buddy, I’m happy to hear you’re so confident. Just curious, what preparations have you done?”
Alexander gave us another confident nod and pulled out a calendar. “I’ve been quite nervous ever since the vacation was announced, so I asked uncle Theo for advice. He suggested that I put together a list of what needs to be done in the next month with deadlines and assignees. I finished revising that last night, and I feel much better afterwards.”
He showed us his calendar and agenda. Every day, it had scheduled etings listed as well as the tasks that were due. The tasks were color coded.
Alexander explained, “Each of the colors represents the assignee. For example, blue is Internal Affairs, so the assignee is Alistair and red is Treasury, so the assignee is Simon.”
Brook comnted, “I saw quite a lot of black here, whoever that is, he has a lot of work.”
Alexander nodded, “Exactly, those are normally done by the king, and that was why I was very nervous at first.”
I couldn’t help but ask, “At first? So now you’re not nervous?”
He looked up to and grinned, “I made so revisions. Look, here.”
We leaned closer, and I noticed that above each of the black blocks, there was either a letter “W” or a letter “J”.
“After much consideration, I split those tasks to Uncle Warren and Alpha Jake. Now I feel much better!” He was very proud of himself.
“Wait, wait, wait... Alex, then what are you doing this whole month if Jake and I are doing your work?” Warren asked.
“Uncle Theo said leaders are not doers. I only need to put the plan together, and hand it to soone else to execute.”
Warren whipped his head to protest Theo, “Theo, you’re okay with it? Just because you’re on vacation doesn’t an that I’ve signed up for more work!”
Theo ignored him and looked to Jake, “Jake, do you have any issues with the assignnts?”
Jake lowered his head and replied respectfully, “No, Alpha, it’s my pleasure.”
Theo then looked at Warren with a mischievous grin, “See, Jake didn’t have a problem with it, so you should be fine. Alex, great job with the delegation.”
Seeing Warren throwing daggers at Theo with his gaze, I couldn’t help but break into laughter.
Alexander stood taller, obviously proud of his howork. “Thank you, Uncle Theo, I’m glad to help. Also, I’ve been thinking about it. If this works out well, you and Ciana should go on vacation more often.”
I managed to say, “That’s quite considerate of you...”
Alexander sighed, “That way, hopefully you guys have a baby boy soon, and I won’t have to do this any more.”
I choked myself, and Theo cleared his throat.
This ti, it was Warren who laughed out aloud. After he was able to speak again, he gave Alex a thumbs up. “Your Highness, just for what you’ve said, I gladly accept your assignnts!”
“Mommy, Daddy,” Ava ran over and inford us, “the cake is here. Ti for candles and singing!”
Theo and I exchanged a look. I could see the peace and contentnt in his eyes as his body relaxed and any tension in my own body was relieved as well.
Everyone seed to be happy. Alex was growing up very mature, confident and strong, the country would be left in good hands when we went away.
We smiled at each other, more than ready for our long awaited family vacation, more than ready for the next phase of our lives.
*******
—End of Runaway Breeder of the Dark King—
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Dear all, thank you so much for reading Runaway Breeder of the Dark King. I couldn’t believe the series had reached almost 500 ###Chapters! I wouldn’t be able to do this without your support. Thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart.
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