Chapter 10 The Lorens


    October 11th


    As we approached the door, Leo slipped his hand into mine. I tried to retract away but he only


    squeezed painfully tight and pulled me closer to him.


    "Behave," he hissed, a second or soter therge door opened and the warm glow of lights fell onto


    us.


    We were faced with a woman, not particrly old but not young either with a friendly expression and


    floral apron.


    She radiated warm and good energy and as she looked from Leo to me, she began frantically brushing


    the flour off her apron.


    "Leo! Some warning would have been nice!" she eximed now tidying the wisps of hair that escaped


    her bun, "It''s not every day I meet my eldest son''s mate."


    She then turned to me, "You must be E."


    I smiled nervously before she pulled me into a tight embrace, "It''s so lovely to meet you."


    Her eyes were soft and gentle eyes. Her skin a subtle olive colour and her smile genuine and beaming.


    "I''m Leonardo''s mother," she said before a steely man came from within the house and joined her at


    the door.


    "And this is Antonio, Leonardo''s father," She said.


    Leo was a striking image of his father. The same incredibly tall height, well-built physique, tanned skin,


    distinctive, sharp eyes and honey brown thick hair. Even his presence brought the same sense of


    intimidation and power as Leo''s.


    "Hello, E," Antonio greeted holding his hand out to me, I shook it and felt his firm grip.


    "Nice to meet you both," I said politely.


    "I have to go and sort out some rogue problems and I need to leave E with you," Leo said.


    "Oh, are you sure you can''t stay, Sweetie?" Rosa replied sounding a little disheartened. "We haven''t


    seen you much in weeks."


    "I''ve been busy Mom," he said, "But when I''ve sorted out this...inconvenience, I''lle back and we


    can have a coffee."


    Rosa nodded, "Okay, okay," she said, "Go. Do your job or...whatever it is."


    Leo then kissed the top of my head before leaving.


    I watched him leave before looking back up at Antonio and Rosa.


    Antonio eyed me. He didn''t bear the same friendliness as his mate and stood, his feet shoulder-width


    apart and his arms folded.


    I smiled awkwardly before Rosa ushered me inside, past Antonio and into the hallway.


    "Wee to Ste," she said, "How do you like it so far?"


    "It''s a beautiful pack..." I said with a nod.


    There was a pause of silence.


    "But...?" Antonio asked.


    "Nothing," I said quickly, "It''s nice."


    Antonio''s eyes were still on me as Rosa nced at him.


    "Antonio, would you please make some tea?" She asked noticing the tension, "E,e through."


    She ced her hand on my back and guided me through into the kitchen.


    At the table sat three teenagers, eagerly staring at me with pens in their hands and school work


    sprawled all over the table.


    "Don''t worry they don''t bite," Rosa said with a wink. "This is Lia, Lisa, Be and Lenny," she said


    pointing to the two girls and the boy, "Leo''s youngest three siblings."


    They all waved. His three sisters were all incredibly pretty with delicate little noses and perfectly


    rounded cheeks. Their hair was golden blonde and their eyshes thick and ck. The brother, who


    seemed about fifteen, looked simr but with a wider set jaw and thicker eyebrows. He was still young


    and boyish but I could tell he was going to grow up and take after his father, just like his older brother


    had.


    "Buongiorno," Be said in a soft quiet tone.


    "Who''s scent is that?" a voice said from behind us.


    Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org.


    I turned to the doorway to see a boy, a few years older than me stood eating an apple.


    His eyesnded straight on me and he said, "Oh. Yours I guess."


    "Mateo," Rosa scolded, "That is no way to greet your brother''s mate."


    "Oh yeh, I heard Leo had found some unlucky soul and dragged her home," he said before taking a


    bite of his apple, "You poor thing."


    Antonio turned around from making the tea and shot him a re.


    "Have some respect," he ordered.


    "For my brother?" Mateo scoffed.


    "Your brother is Alpha," Antonio grumbled.


    "Urgh..." somebody groaned as another set of footsteps came down the hall, "Must we argue? She''s


    been here two minutes and you''re already making a bad impression."


    The owner of the voice, an older looking girl, drew up from the hallway behind Mateo and rested her


    hand on his shoulder as she looked at me.


    "What my brother should have said is, nice to meet you, E. Wee to this wonderful, functional


    family."


    She was taller than the other sisters with darker hair and a stronger physique. Her voice too was


    deeper and more affirmative as she stood sure of her self and confident.


    She then shoved past Mateo and held her hand out to me, "I''m Elena."


    I smiled and shook her hand, "Hello Elena."


    I then looked around. The room suddenly felt incredibly full.


    "There are so many of you," I said.


    "Wait until you meet the others..." Mateo said.


    "Marco, Carlos," Antonio called, "Get down here."


    "There are only three more don''t worry," Elena said, "But Maria, our eldest sister, who was the only one


    that kept the peace around here, ditched us to live with her mate."


    Just then two more boys came into the kitchen.


    They werepletely identical.


    "And these are our twins," Rosa said, "They respond to either and even I get it wrong so don''t worry too


    much."


    As they passed the doorway, Mateo kicked out his foot, tripping one of them up.


    "Mateo behave," Rosa said.


    The twin responded by shoving him as heughed.


    "Carlos!" Rosa eximed, "I am so sorry for this, E."


    "That joke is really getting old, Mateo," Carlos said as Mateo ruffled his hair, "Do it again and I''llce


    the whiskey under your bed with wolfsbane."


    With that Mateo''s face dropped, "You little shit," he hissed before looking to his mother.


    "You have whiskey under your bed, huh?" Rosa asked.


    "...No?" Mateo said, guilt written all over his face.


    Rosa narrowed her eyes before turning to me, "I''m sorry about my horrible sons," she said before


    ring back at Mateo, "Don''t think you''ve gotten away with that, young man."


    "It''s okay," I said with a slightugh, "So altogether there are ten of you?" I asked looking around.


    "Yes it is a tradition in the Ste pack for the Alpha and Luna to have that number of children," Rosa


    exined.


    My face dropped, "What?"


    "You don''t know?" Rosa asked.


    "So Leo hasn''t bored you with all the Neptune/Astrea shit yet?" Mateo asked.


    "Language Mateo," Rosa said as Elena elbowed him in the ribs. "And do not disrespect the Goddesses


    like that."


    "He told me some things about how the pack formed and the traditions," I replied, "but he said nothing


    about having ten kids."


    "Well pack legend says when the pack was formed, a star constetion called Lupus with ten bright


    stars," Rosa exined, "Each one blesses the Alpha with a child."


    "Well..." I said.


    I wasn''t even nning having one kid with him to be honest.


    "Good luck," Elena said with augh, "Can I offer you a cookie to help with the shock?"


    I smiled and nodded as she reached into a tin and handed me a chocte chip biscuit before the tin


    was passed around to everyone.


    "E,e through to the lounge," Rosa said, "And sit down."


    "Mateo, Marco, Carlos, finish making the tea," Antonio said handing Mateo the carton of milk before he


    followed Rosa and me.


    "So how are you getting on with my son?" Rosa asked sitting next to me on the sofa.


    "He''s...well...a bit.." I stuttered


    "Bossy?"


    "Arrogant?"


    "Controlling?"


    "Annoying?"


    Elena, Mateo, Marco and Carlos said from the kitchen.


    "Can I take all four?" I asked.


    "A total dick?" Mateo added.


    "Mateo!" Rosa said.


    I turned to see him through the kitchen door putting his hands in the air as if he was surrendering


    I could tell that Mateo was the troublemaker of the family but it made meugh.


    "Don''t worry I''m sure he will settle down. He''s just a little excited about meeting his mate, that''s all,"


    Rosa said reassuringly.


    "He''s been waiting six years for you," Antonio said as Elena came into the lounge, followed by Mateo


    with cups of tea in his hand.


    "Here you go," he said handing me one, "So which pack are you from?"


    "Oh," I said quietly and not sure exactly how to answer. "Well...I guess I''m a rogue."


    The room to awkward silence for a few short moments.


    "But I''ve been living in Kellington for nearly seven years amongst the humans," I said.


    Rosa nodded and smiled, slightly taken aback.


    However, Antonio just watched me once again.


    "What did you say your second name was?" Antonio asked hesitantly.


    "Jones," I answered and I thought for a second that I had seen him look down at Rosa with a slightly


    raised eyebrow.


    "Well you don''t have to be a rogue anymore," she said suddenly, "You''re one of us now."


    Antonio didn''t say much after that, he just sat in an armchair sipping from his mug as Rosa, Elena and


    Mateo chatted to me for hours.


    But after a while, Mateo had to go out for a training session and Elena went to see Maria, the eldest


    sister so, except Antonio lurking creepily in the corner, it was just Rosa and me.


    "So are you happy with Leo?" Rosa asked me.


    I forced a smile and nodded.


    Absolutely not, I thought.


    "So why haven''t you finished the mating process yet? You have no mark and you haven''t mated,"


    Antonio said, speaking up for the first time in a long time.


    "Antonio..." Rosa mumbled, "You don''t need to answer that, E."


    "She does," he replied, "Somethings not right."


    "We only met two days ago," I answered.


    "I think we both know that sort of stuff usually happens on the first-day mates meet," he said, scoffing at


    my feeble excuse.  "Rosa was my Luna within hours. What''s holding you two back?"


    Rosa took my hand, "Are you okay? You know that you can talk to me right? I am like your second


    mother now," she said with a reassuring smile, "Soe on. Spill."


    I swallowed nervously.


    This wasn''t exactly a conversation I was expecting to have with Leo''s parents.


    "I''m okay," I said.


    "Leo tells me you were somewhat reluctant to go home with him," Antonio said bluntly, "Why?"


    "Antonio," Rosa said. "Do you minding leaving this to me? It''s kind of a girl thing."


    He sighed and left the room as Rosa brought her lips to my ear.


    "Like father, like son," she whispered causing a smile to creep onto my lips.


    I already saw Rosa as an ally here. From exchanging just a few words with Antonio, I could tell being


    his mate put her in a simr position as I was in.


    "All I can do is I apologise for them both," she continued, "Leonardo is...Leonardo. I can see why you


    didn''t jump at the chance to let him take you home but there was no chance he would ever let you slip


    away. I''m sure you''d heard of him before?"


    I nodded.


    "And he doesn''t exactly make up for his reputation with a pleasant personality. But he''s your mate," she


    said, "And I promise you he can be alright."


    "He''s only alright when I''m not resisting his attempts to domineer me."


    Rosa sighed, "Being mated to an Alpha isn''t easy. Especially if you value your independence. I know


    that better than anyone. Before Alpha Leonardo Loren it was Alpha Antonio Loren and despite my


    efforts to make him a nicer person, he has turned out just like his father."


    "That implies it''s in his nature," I replied, "But I don''t believe anyone is born evil."


    I suddenly bit my tongue, "I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to say you did a bad job of bringing him up-"


    "It''s okay, dear," she said, "I''ve already shed my fair share of tears over what he has be and as a


    mother, I do sometimes feel like I have failed. But whilst evil maybe isn''t natural, it is in his blood to be


    an Alpha," she said with a sigh. "It makes him stubborn, controlling, protective, short-tempered. But the


    ruthlessness? He learnt from his father. And his father before that and his father before that. I tried to


    break the cycle but I couldn''t. Antonio believes that the way the Alphas of this pack have always carried


    out their business is what makes it so powerful and prosperous. So he wasn''t willing to bring up Leo


    any different."


    I took her hand and squeezed, "You know...people change."


    She looked up to me and furrowed her eyebrows.


    "All my life, when I see something wrong, I fight it until its put right. It''s got me in a lot of trouble but I


    carry on. No matter the consequences," I continued.


    She smiled and ced her hand on my knee, "You''re full of spirit and optimism, E. I hope he doesn''t


    crush that out of you. But just know, you have a long fight ahead of you if you want to put all of


    Leonardo''s ''wrong'' right. You''re taking on an almost impossible task."


    "He doesn''t look like he''s gonna let me go anywhere so I''ve got eighty good years, right?" I asked.


    She smiled. Just then there was a knock on the door.


    "Mom," Leo''s voice called, "It''s me."


    "Talk of the devil and he shall appear," Rosa said in forced good humour as she quickly wiped up her


    tears and swallowed a sob.y