Lnd looked at Sophie deeply. He realized she was really bothered by the fact that she and he didn''t have the same mate bond as those of pure lycan mates.


    It was none of their fault.It''s just how it was. There were some barriers between creatures of different species inmunication and how they build connections with each other.


    Lycans were superior in this regardpared to humans. They could smell their kind, they also couldmunicate in their lycannguage, and for mates, they had the strongest bond of all creatures.


    They could read each other''s minds and understood their mate''s feelings. Humans needed to use their verbal and bodynguage to express their thoughts and feelings.


    However, humans were superior in other aspects. For example, humans were more social and they had moreplex systems in their society. Lycans tend to be more closed off and only cared about their packs.


    Humans were also more keen on research and technology and they made up for theirck of physical prowess by developing technology to help their life. The hybrids were usually the ones who got stuck in the middle. They couldn''t be fully epted by humans and lycans.


    It took them more effort to blend in and prove themselves in their chosenmunity. In some packs, a wolfless hybrid like Sophie would be outcasted by the lycans and she would be forced to live among humans.


    The same goes for hybrids whose lycan genes were stronger and they were born lycans, but had to somehow live among humans.


    They would be considered monsters and they could even get killed. This was especially worse for those who lived in kingdoms like Riga where lycans were considered the royal enemy. They would be hunted and killed.


    Even though Sophie didn''t talk about her insecurity a lot, Lnd always knew what she felt and how it bothered her so much. That''s why he tried to share with her as much as possible what he felt and thought.


    When Sophie showed how much his sharing his life with her meant to her, Lnd had made it a habit to talk to her before they slept.


    That started when Sophie asked him to tell stories about her parents and their childhood together which she couldn''t remember because she was too young back then.


    Sophie was so touched when Lnd told her about the beautiful moments with her parents that she rewarded him with kisses and passionate lovemaking. It was very wholesome.


    After that moment, the quiet Alpha had learned to talk a bit more just because he knew how much it would make his mate happy.


    "I am jealous," said Lnd again. "Even though I have epted him as part of your past, and the father of Luciel and Jan, it doesn''t mean I can ever be friends with him... or stop feeling jealous."


    Sophie smiled and jumped forward to hug Lnd. She wrapped her hands around his neck and tip-toed to kiss him on the lips.


    "I love you," she whispered before she kissed him. Sophie closed her eyes and enjoyed the meeting of their lips. "You are allowed to feel jealous. I understand."


    Lnd closed his eyes too. He could feel Sophie''s honesty and that gave him a sense of relief.


    He returned her kiss more passionately and he pulled her up so she didn''t have to tip-toe. Lnd used his hands to support her buttocks and Sophie instantly wrapped her legs around his waist.


    She opened her lips a little bit and Lnd''s tongue slid through the opening. It ravaged the insides of Sophie''s mouth and twisted her tongue in a fiery duel. She was almost out of breath when Lnd ended the kiss.


    "Lee... Lnd..." Sophie panted when Lnd slowly brought her to bed andy her down. Then, he went down lower to her neck and gave it a small bite which made Sophie whimper.


    His lips and tongue trailed down to her corbone, while his skilled hands quickly stripped Sophie off of her dress. Sophie''s eyes bulged when she realized what he was doing.


    "Lnd..." Sophie whispered in panic. "The babies... we will wake them up..."


    She looked to the side, where the babies basket were ced. Their beautiful children were sleeping very soundly. Anne''s nose crinkled as if sniffing the air and she growled softly, making Sophie''s heart skip a beat.


    Fortunately, Anne didn''t wake up. She rolled around and continued her sleep with her back to them.


    "They won''t wake up," Lnd chuckled. He understood Sophie''s worry. "We have time."


    Sophie bit her lip and hit his arm yfully. She loved that he was initiating sex before he left, it felt so sexy. However, at the same time, she was embarrassed to think that they were doing it in a ce where they were visiting guests. It didn''t feel right.


    It almost felt like having sex in the open field and worried that suddenly anyone could walk in on them. Okay, the babies were sleeping, but what about the older kids?


    Luciel and Jan stayed behind in the dining room to talk with the queen and their father. What if they suddenly came and knocked on the door while Sophie and Lnd were doing the deed? What if the queen came too?


    How could Sophie show her face again before Queen Marianne if that happened?


    "Don''t worry about them," suddenly Lnd spoke in a husky voice. He looked up to see Sophie''s blushed face and touched her cheek lovingly with the back of his hand. "I made sure the king knows that nobody should disturb us. He wouldn''t let theme here until we''re done."


    GULP!


    Sophie batted her eyes when she heard Lnd''s words. She was surprised to see the man smiling mischievously. It was a very rare expression that he was showing now and this made Sophie in awe.


    Gosh... did he intentionally initiate sex with Sophie to mark his ''ownership'' of her and warn Nichs to stay away from his mate?


    Okay, ownership was the wrong word, Sophie thought. Perhaps, ''im'' was a better wording.


    Lycans were extremely sensitive to scent and sound. Perhaps, Lnd made sure Nichs could hear him and Sophie making love from the sounds they made and the scent he emanated to warn Nichs of his ce.


    Being an Alpha Lycan himself, Nichs'' senses were so heightened that he could know whatever things Lnd and Sophie were doing in their chamber.