"It''s okay... you will do better next time," Sophie coaxed her sons. "The Alpha is just bigger and stronger than you. You will win when you are as big and strong as he is."


    Her heart fluttered when she said those words. Seeing the duke in his majestic wolf form impressed her so much. Now, she truly associated him with strength and protection. Being around the duke made her feel safe and secure.


    She turned around to congratte Duke Romanov for winning the race or rather thank him for his time. However, before she had the chance to do it, she found the man had returned out clothed in his human form once again.


    The Alpha was really fast.


    "Oh…" Sophie found herself feeling a bit disappointed. Lnd showed his wolf form to her, but he still met her with his mask on.


    She truly wanted to see him without it and found out how he truly look like, even if he was ugly and disfigured. Unfortunately, she could only keep her curiosity to herself.


    ***


    Before Sophie knew it, spring had already passed and summertime arrived. When she woke up in her bed, she found that her two sons Luciel and Jan were already eagerly waiting for her to wake up.


    The two lycan pups had hopped into her bed and started nudging her to get up and open the door for them. When it didn''t work, the two young children started to lick their mother''s cheek to get her attention.


    "Ah, you guys want to go out again?" Sophie smiled at her children and nced out the window. The sun was barely up and the sky was still dark blue and some of the stars were still twinkling.


    It was still so early and yet the two boys had started to anticipate the morning jog with Duke Romanov.


    Sophie eventually got up and opened the door to her bedroom. Duncan who was stationed close to her room happened to see the two young lycan cubs scamper past him and the hallway.


    Normally, the lycan cubs in the Blood River Pack were assigned to one of the adults to act as a teacher and mentor to them. However, most of the ones with Lnd in this castle were warriors already.


    Nobody took on the role… especially when it was their Alpha himself who watched over the kids and personally took on the training and raising them.


    Even before Lnd got out of his own room, Luciel and Jan were already by his door. The Alpha heard them and was actually already prepared to meet up with them.


    During the nights, Lnd took up meditation to calm himself and his growing emotions so when he came out of the door, he was at ease to see the children.


    These two lycan babies seemed to have moved past the fact that he was the Alpha and were simply happy at the attention that Lnd dedicated to them. The man smiled a little underneath his mask and greeted them.


    "Did you two force your mother to wake up early to open the door for you guys again?" Lnd asked.


    Both Luciel and Jan shook their heads at him to the amusement of the Alpha. The two babies looked a bit guilty because their mother had been sleeping well before the two of them disturbed her.


    "You guys are lucky that she loves you that much," Lnd chuckled. Unlike his conversation with Sophie that tended to veer on the quieter side, he was more rxed when talking with the children.


    Every now and then, Lnd nced at the hallway and expected Sophie toe after her children and fuss over them, but to his surprise, she didn''t appear right after them.


    It seemed like Sophie had grown ustomed to their daily jogging and now could entrust her children to Lnd. The Alpha was pleased about it, but the truth was, he longed to see her this morning.


    Sophie often came up to follow after her children and apologized to Lnd for them always being so eager to run with the Alpha and yet at those times, Lnd was blessed by the sight of her.


    Perhaps she stayed in her bed today?


    Well, he couldn''t fault her for wanting to rest if that was the case. Lnd cleared his throat and redirected his gaze to the impatient lycan puppies.


    <o>,m "Ahem, let''s get to the garden now."</o>


    ***


    The truth was that Sophie chose to get up from her bed for another purpose. She truly trusted that Duke Romanov had the best intentions for her children and knew that Luciel and Jan adored the man. So, she wasn''t worried.


    Sophie''s children constantly waited outside of Duke Romanov''s room.


    Instead, she chose to prepare a quick meal for them in the kitchen. Sophie wanted to prepare them a light meal to eat after running outside that wouldn''t strain their body too much to digest.


    "I think he really likes the sandwich I made him at the festival," Sophie said to herself as she prepared a bowl of fresh strawberries. She also made a delicious meat dish for her two boys and they were soon was done.


    Once her preparations wereplete, Sophie made her way out to the garden and encountered her children and Duke Romanov who were just finishing their run. Luciel and Jan perked up once they saw her and rushed forward to their mother.


    "My babies!" Sophie smiled at them and gently took them in her arms. As she did this, Duke Romanov in his wolf form took the opportunity to nod at her and then slink back behind the tree.


    Lnd disappeared to transform back into his human form and get dressed again. After he donned his mask, he walked out to smile at Sophie. "Good morning, Sophia. Did you sleep well? Your boys are energetic as usual."


    Sophie beamed at thepliment. She rubbed her sons'' fur and thanked the Alpha for taking the time to run with Luciel and Jan.


    "Would you like some water, your grace?" Sophie took out a water canister from her basket and offered it to Duke Romanov. She gave him a sheepish smile. "I was tempted to sleep some more, but if my children are awake… how can a mother stay asleep?"


    Lnd epted the canister from Sophie and relished her fingers brushing against his. He inclined his head. "On the contrary, I''d say that you deserve the rest. Thank you for the water."


    Sophie slowly nodded and tried to avert her gaze from the Alpha''s corbones and drenched shirt. It seemed like the sweat from all the running was also evident in his human form.


    "Yes…" Sophie gulped and refocused on kneeling down to feed her children. "I prepared a quick meal for you, my lord. You probably don''t want to eat heavy this early."


    At this point in time, Sophie realized that she was thoroughly intrigued with Duke Romanov''s appearance. She never said it aloud because she didn''t know how to speak about it without it seeming offensive.


    She didn''t care if he was ugly or badly disfigured. She just wanted to see his face underneath his mask. The true him.