↣ Better than Her

∾ 𝔼𝕡𝕚𝕤𝕠𝕕𝕖 𝟚𝟘: 𝔹𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 ℍ𝕖𝕣 ∾

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𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐙𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓 of the window, with a serious expression on his face. Even though they thought he couldn't feel the change - he could. His wait had finally started to bear its fruit, and he knew that soon enough, she would be in his arms.

Her warmth shall melt away his ice, to make him feel again.

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 never talked about, as Lucian avoided Esmeray at any cost. The stranger had captured his attention without doing anything at all - it was like her presence was all he ever needed to remain sane.

But even if he restricted himself from glancing in her direction, the mere sound of her laugh will distract him and he would be left entranced in her beauty. He couldn't resist her even if he wanted to because every act of hers was admirable.

"Ray, come here, now! These little pain-in-the-butt are driving me crazy!" Benjamin exclaimed.

Esmeray, who was busy thinking about the mightily Alpha whose stares she could feel all over her body, snapped her attention to her new friend and suppressed her laugh when she found him tackled to the ground by a dozen pups.

It seemed that the big bad wolf had finally had his fall.

The day was beautiful, with the birds chirping and the murmurs of delighted werewolves all around. It had been a week since she finally found herself getting comfortable around the members of the Ignis pack, their canines and wolf forms didn't scare her anymore.

Benjamin and she had become very close friends, considering that they were almost inseparable. He introduced her to the other pack members and she bonded with them on numerous occasions. The pack members were very friendly and accepting but she doubted that their kindness was mainly because Lucian had ordered to do so.

Everyone thought of her as a she-wolf who was bitten by a vampire and had lost her wolf in the process. She knew that Martin, the doctor who had treated her, was suspicious of her identity as Ben had told her that he was experimenting on her blood since its match wasn't found on the werewolf database.

Esmeray didn't want him looking too deep into her because that will bring him closer to finding the truth about her identity.

"They are pups, Ben! You need to watch your tongue around them!" Ray exclaimed.

It turns out, Ben had multiple pack duties and one of them was taking care of the pups when the elders will be gone to do their pack duties and training. She had no idea how he remained so energetic after getting only six hours of sleep a day.

But it was clear to her that Ben did an absolutely disastrous job at taking care of the pups.

"They aren't pups, they are demons! Remind me why did I take the job, again?" he shouts back.

Esmeray laughs and rushes towards him. The sight of him being tackled down by the pups was amusing, she wished she could take a snap of this moment for her to joke about in the future in front of his kids.

"Because you believe that you can do anything. Seems to me that you were just being your delusional self when you made that claim," she giggles.

Her attention then diverts back to the pups.

They weren't turned, so it was easier to deal with them. Moreover, their canines weren't well-developed.

A boy with dirty blonde hair and warm brown eyes sat on top of Ben, while two girls - one with brown hair and the other with ginger hair sat on his legs to support their friend.

"Now, why are you torturing my dear friend? What did he ever do to you, little ones?" she asks.

"He told me that I couldn't have a girlfriend! He says I am too young for it!" the boy exclaimed. The accusation made Esmeray chuckle - the children these days are out of control.

"I am Justin's girlfriend! And I will support him no matter what," the ginger head says.

Now, this generation was getting out of control. As a child, her only concern was if her mother had cooked her favorite dish for the dinner, and nowadays children are concerned about relationships.

"No! I am his girlfriend! He doesn't like you, Beth!" the other girl says.

"You know nothing, Heather," the ginger head replies.

And by the look on Justin's face, he seemed to be enjoying the two girls bicker over him. Looks like he was a playboy in making.

"Get them off me, Ray. Don't just stand there!" Ben complains.

That was the hardest part of this situation. Even though Esmeray had her experience with children, they were unpredictable at times.

"Well, if you guys leave Ben alone, then we can play house. Who would be Justin's wife?" she said, hoping that the children will buy the distraction.

"I will!" both the girls shout at the same time.

"The girl who reaches the pack house first keeps the role. And Justin, if you are going to be a good husband, you better start arranging your house for your wife. Girls don't like messy places," she suggests.

It takes a second for the three of them to get up and start running towards the pack house. Thankfully, they were in the yard near the pack house so she didn't lose sight of them.

"Thank God! I thought I was going to die by the hands of ten-year-olds," Ben says and sighs in relief.

This causes Esmeray to chuckle, but someone had to break the news to Ben.

"It's isn't over, Ben. We still have an hour left," she says.

Ben simply groans.

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𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 trick to get around children according to Esmeray. Stop treating them like they are inferior to you. If you do, then they naturally get comfortable around you and trust you. At least, that's what babysitting her younger siblings has taught Esmeray.

Considering that she had a whole bunch of younger siblings and there were more on the way when she last saw her mother, she applauded herself for being able to be a good care taker of children.

"So, I shouldn't waste my time on him?" Beth says.

Esmeray turns her attention to the little ginger head whose innocent green eyes stared at her.

"Yes, Beth. You are beautiful and if Justin doesn't care that you weren't his wife, and Heather was, you should move on. He is just messing with you. There are many boys who would love to be your husband," she replied, pointing to the bunch of male pups who were busy playing with their cars.

Beth thinks for a while.

"You are right. He doesn't like me, so I shouldn't like him. My mother says that if a man doesn't treat you right, he ain't right," she says in her sweet voice.

Well, at least her mother raised the girl correctly.

"Great, now help me with the cupcakes. We have to put the frosting on the left ones," Esmeray says.

Ben's laughter fills the air with that of the children. Esmeray had taught her little secret to him and it seemed to her that he learned it quite quickly and well enough. The children are scattered everywhere, some playing with their toys, the babies sleeping soundly in their beds and some running around. There wasn't any chaos in the packhouse as such, not like the one Ben had claimed about.

He had told her that usually, the Luna took care of the children when the adults were gone - but she did an average job. By average he had meant terrible since he had told her that sometimes the children will go missing and the babies will be crying. Considering it was not the situation here, she felt proud.

Soon enough, the door to the packhouse opened. Beth went running to her mother as she walked in. The adults looked all sweaty and dirty, perhaps from the run they just had. But what made Esmeray confused was the look on all the parent's faces. They were surprised.

Did she do anything wrong?

"Now-" she heard Lucian say as he walked in but as soon as his eyes swept the children in the hall of the packhouse, he was left speechless.

"What in the world? They seem... normal," he said.

Mia, his mate, held the same dumbstruck expression. Never had the Luna seen the children more behaving than this moment. Usually, when the adults arrived from the run they couldn't get any rest since they have to clear up the absolute mess their young ones left behind. But today, there was no such thing.

"Mum, I made cupcakes with Ray! She is so awesome!" Beth exclaimed.

Lucian's eyes snapped to Esmeray, who was standing with a piping bag in one of her hands and a tray of cupcakes in front of her. She looked stunning even with her hair being slightly covered with the frosting.

He felt proud of her, though. Even though it was her first time, she took care of the children just fine.

"How did you manage to do this? We can never get them in control," a she-wolf asks.

Esmeray shrugs her shoulders.

"I don't know - it just happened," she replies.

If only they knew the number of siblings she had.

"I have to say this, but you did a better job than any one of us could have. Even better than the Luna," one of the mother whispers. Esmeray hoped that Mia didn't hear the she-wolf.

But it seemed that the Luna, very much did.

And if looks could kill, Esmeray would have been six-feet under the ground by now because of Mia. Yet, she didn't care. It made her feel better.

Because she was better.

Better than her.

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