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Alpha Kilian stared at Ben for the longest time as he contemplated a suitable reply. They were in public, after all.
Eventually, he asked, “Are you hurt?”
Ben shook his head and answered, “No. I’m okay.”
Just then, Thalia stepped forward and asked accusatorily, “What are you playing at, Alpha Kilian ? How could you whisk him away at a whim? You could’ve frightened the poor kid to death!”
Thalia’s accusation prompted Alpha Kilian to explain, “I’ve been kind enough not to accuse you of abducting my son to this place. Why are you turning the blame on me now?”
“I…”
“Daddy, I wanted Thalia to accompany me!” Tony piped up.
“No, it was me!” Ben argued, fighting with his brother to shoulder the blame.
Thalia subconsciously smiled at the young boys’ antics. She was delighted to see how they were protecting her.
Looks like I didn’t adore them for nothing.
Then, she arched her brow smugly and shot Alpha Kilian a challenging look. “See that? I didn’t kidnap them. In fact, they kidnapped me. I suppose you should pay me some protection fees instead, Alpha Morris .”
“You call that protection?” Alpha Kilian fired back.
Thalia argued, “They’re safe and healthy!”
Scoffing, Alpha Kilian replied flatly, “Okay. I’ll settle the score with you soon.” “Fine! I’ll be waiting!”
Please! I’m not scared of Alpha Kilian at all!
Meanwhile, Alpha Kilian refrained from commenting on Thalia’s behavior after realizing how protective his sons were of her. Doing so would only backfire and hurt his relationship with them instead.
Dave, on the other hand, was still overwhelmed with shock. “J, this is your son too?” Dave croaked, utterly incredulous. Calmly, Alpha Kilian nodded and said, “Yes.”
“Your biological child?”
That earned Dave a disdainful look from Alpha Kilian , who questioned, “What’s with your question? Do you have a child who’s not your biological offspring?”
Dave sputtered in reply, “I don’t have a kid!”
As an afterthought, Alpha Kilian added, “I have twins.” He realized his mistake and corrected himself. “To be accurate, I have triplets.”
“Triplets?” Bewildered, Dave stammered, “T-There’s another one?”
He spun around and surveyed his surroundings as though worried a third child would materialize out of thin air.
Tony declared, “You can stop looking, Alpha Handsome. My younger sister isn’t here.”
Dave turned to look at Alpha Kilian ‘s eldest son and asked, “So the two of you have a younger sister?” Nodding, Tony added, “Yes! She’s really pretty and adorable!”
Dave had no words to express his astonishment.
What on earth happened to Alpha Kilian these past few years? How did he suddenly end up with three kids? Two sons and a daughter! What kind of luck is this?
Before he could ask further questions, Alpha Kilian said, “I know you’re bursting with questions, and I
promise to answer them on the way back.”
He firmly put a stop to Dave’s otherwise-imminent onslaught of queries. “Let’s go!”
Tony stared at them and asked, “Where are we going, Daddy?”
“Well, for starters, we’re going somewhere safer than this place!” replied Alpha Kilian . “Our luggage is still in the hotel.”
“I’ll get someone to retrieve it for you.”
Eventually, Tony nodded and went along with his father’s wishes. Suddenly, Thalia declared, “You all go ahead. I won’t be joining.”
“Why?” asked Tony .
She glanced at Alpha Kilian and Dave before saying softly, “It’s not convenient.” Dave retorted, “What’s so inconvenient? Because we’re all male?”
Thalia remained silent, but the boys immediately understood her reasons.
She addressed Tony and Ben , “It’s fine. Don’t worry about me. I have some business to attend to anyway. You can call me anytime. I haven’t been to Forbidden forest for many years, so I’ll take this time to do some sightseeing as well.”
Unconvinced, Ben protested, “But-”
“I won’t change hotels. You can come here to meet me anytime,” reassured Thalia.
At that juncture, Tony and Ben had little choice but to agree with her decision. Thalia said, “Well, stay safe. I’ll be going back in!”
Tony nodded, drawing a smile from Thalia.
Before she left, she glanced at Dave, who suddenly thought she looked familiar. He wondered if he had crossed paths with her in the past.
On the way home, Alpha Kilian arranged for the children to have a car to themselves while he sat in another
with Dave.
Away from prying ears, Dave asked Alpha Kilian , “Did you say she was from Darknetz?” Alpha Kilian nodded.
Dave mulled over the revelation. Suddenly, he connected the dots and recalled why Thalia seemed so familiar. “Is she Darknetz Ace?”
Alpha Kilian nodded in response.
Confused, Dave questioned, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? We should’ve captured her and impaired Darknetz’s capabilities. Wouldn’t that have been better?”
Once they arrived at Dave’s house, Alpha Kilian settled the boys in a bedroom. Before he left, he said, “Rest earlier tonight. We’ll talk tomorrow morning.” “Do we have to talk about it?” asked Tony .
Alpha Kilian turned around and asked, “What do you think?”
“Why don’t we talk about it now instead of leaving it for tomorrow? How can I sleep well if I’m worrying over it all night?” argued Tony .
His father replied drily, “You didn’t seem that worried when you were sneakily trailing me.” Tony wisely remained silent.
His silence drew a smirk from Alpha Kilian , who turned to leave the room. Suddenly, Ben asked, “Daddy, is there any news on Nelly yet?”
He turned around and stared at his younger son. Hesitation flashed through his eyes before he said reassuringly, “We have news, but I always arrive a step too late. Don’t worry. She’s safe now, and I’ll make sure I’m not late again!”
Ben nodded. “Okay.” “Get some rest.”
Finally, Alpha Kilian left their room.
Once the door closed, Tony heaved a sigh of relief and turned to his brother. “Why did Daddy put us in the same room tonight?”
“How should I know?”
“Don’t you think Daddy’s acting strangely tonight?” asked Tony .
Ben gave his brother’s question some serious thought before nodding. “He’s a little weird.”
Tony hopped onto the bed and muttered, “I’m sure Daddy has something up his sleeves for tomorrow!”
“I’ll be counting on you tomorrow!”This content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .
Ben ‘s cryptic comment befuddled Tony . “Why?”
“Because you’re the only one who can play Daddy at his own game!”
Tony narrowed his eyes and asked, “Is that a compliment?”
Ben merely retorted, “What do you think Thalia would say to answer your question?” His older brother immediately lost interest and said, “Don’t pick up bad habits from Thalia.” “I think Thalia’s words make a lot of sense!”
“Don’t blindly follow other people’s lives. Everyone is unique and has their own path to follow!” With that, Tony flopped down on the bed.
Ben realized the problem with their sleeping arrangement as he watched Tony bunching up the blankets. Frowning, he asked, “How can I sleep if you do that?”
“Ask Daddy to give you your own room, then,” came Tony ‘s muffled reply. “Why don’t you go instead?”
Tony insisted, “I took the bed first.”
Unwilling to back off, Ben crawled onto the bed and began fighting with his brother for the blankets.
Meanwhile, Alpha Kilian had headed downstairs after leaving the boys’ room.
Dave was resting on a couch in the living room. When he spotted Alpha Kilian , he could not help but
comment, “I’m still struggling to digest everything I’ve learned today!” He met Alpha Kilian ‘s gaze and mused out loud, “Has this all been a fantastical dream?”
Alpha Kilian plonked himself on the couch and deadpanned, “Why don’t you shoot yourself? Then you’ll know!”
Dave was not amused.
He abruptly approached Alpha Kilian and blurted, “I always thought you were a firm believer in bachelorhood. I can’t believe your values have changed so much. You even have kids now! Three kids!”
Cautiously, he continued, “Actually, how do you feel about the whole situation?” “What feelings about what situation?” Alpha Kilian side-eyed his curious subordinate. “Having children, of course! How does it feel like?”
Dave truly struggled to wrap his head around the whole idea.
Alpha Kilian has always been the farthest thing from a fatherly figure. How did he suddenly end up with two kids? Wait, it’s three kids!
Dave’s curious expression brought a frown to Alpha Kilian ‘s expression. “Erm, it feels kind of strange yet wonderful?”
“How so?”
“Do you really want to know?” “Yes!” Dave nodded vigorously.
“Why don’t you have a kid yourself?” Alpha Kilian replied. That effectively shut Dave up.
That’s not something I would even remotely consider! “Enough with the jokes!”
Alpha Kilian explained himself, “I’m not kidding. Having a son is nothing special, but once you have a daughter, you’ll know exactly how wonderful it is!”
“In what way?” Dave was perplexed.
Alpha Kilian thought of Donna . His gaze softened as he said, “She’ll stick to you twenty-four-seven. She’s always adorable and cares about you; she’ll say the sweetest things to lift your mood. She’s sensible, cute, and caring. Once you look at her, all your worries will disappear in an instant.”
Alas, Dave remained as baffled as ever.
He simply could not picture Alpha Kilian cuddling a daughter lovingly. Dave asked disbelievingly, “Are you sure it’s that magical?”
“Of course! In fact, you’d feel compelled to give her the best of everything in the entire world.” The tender expression on Alpha Kilian ‘s face seemed genuine enough.
Even Dave’s doubts began to waver.
Noticing his subordinate’s thoughtful expression, Alpha Kilian said, “Trust me. Once you have a kid, you’ll understand how it feels. That kid will be your entire world.”
Dave snapped out of his thoughts. After a pause, he replied, “Have a kid? That won’t do! I’ll need to have more kids than you!”