The King's Wife Is The Alpha's Mate

The other baby nudged Sophie's leg and begged to be picked up with a cute look on his face. Sophie smiled and carefully picked up the plump lycan to kiss his head and soothed him.

"I haven't forgotten about you, Jan. Your brother just always gets himself in a lot of trouble, you know?" She chuckled. "You, on the other hand, never make me worry."

The lycan puppy called Jan nodded his head and seemed to have understood his mother. He was great at deciphering his mother's words and tone despite the fact that the lycan language was easier for them.

Luciel nipped at his brother and tried to swat his brother with a paw.

"Now, now. Don't fight with one another, okay?" Sophie separated the two lycan puppies and shook her head. At first, it was hard to carry the two of them at the same time, but now, Sophie was strong enough to hold them both.

Luciel reluctantly nodded his head while Jan swatted him in the head as his brother lowered his guard. Jan growled at his brother and tried to return the favor, squirming in their mother's arms like living chubby logs.

"Boys." Sophie shook her head.

Jan was also active and liked chasing after his brother but seemed to be more cool and liked to observe things when given the chance. Sophie often caught her son sniffing things and also looking out at the window.

The idea of raising two twin boys was a daunting task. The fact that they were lycan babies made it even more difficult because of their species' natural inclination to bite a lot of things. Fortunately, Sophie was not alone in this struggle to raise her sons.

A simple knock on the door alerted both Sophie and her pups of who had arrived. Normally, Dinah would call out before entering and there were some of the bodyguards too.

However, the person who came was no other than Duke Romanov himself. After Sophie gave him permission to step in, the Alpha entered the room and smiled warmly at them.

"As promised, I'm here to take the boys on a quick run," Leland said.

Sophie was grateful that Duke Romanov had such a soft spot for her sons, it was almost felt like they were his own,  which made her feel so touched whenever she thought about it. She smiled and ducked her head. "Thank you so much,  my lord."

"It's not a problem at all, Sophia," Leland said. He actually wanted to tell her to stop calling him with honorifics, but couldn't find the excuse as to why she should. So, in the meantime, he got himself used to it.

The man cleared his throat. "As lycans, we are already active from birth and blessed with a boundless amount of energy that needs to be used up or else they become antsy."

"But it doesn't have to be you…" Sophie slowly said.

She actually had the suspicion that Duke Romanov was doing his best to include the boys in his daily schedule in order to protect them. She couldn't expect the other pack members to do it with her sons because they seem to dislike her Luciel and Jan.

Dinah was still Sophie's maidservant, but she had grown a bit distant to Sophie and no longer stayed that much to talk or chat with her, which made her feel upset.

It was as if the birth of her children and knowing that it was not their Alpha's made things complicated between Sophie and the rest of the pack.

There was also the fact that Katherine, her old tutor, was also no longer around Hastings when Sophie asked Duke Romanov about it some time ago.

​ Sophie knew that she found satisfaction in taking care of her children but somehow, it almost felt like she lost the friends that she had made. The only one who remained a constant presence in her life beside her children…was no other than Duke Romanov himself.

"It's also important to train them," Leland assured her and tried to cheer her up. "Would you like to watch us run?"

Sophie's eyes widened, this was the first time that he offered to also take her.

The reason why Leland didn't offer to have Sophie join them in his runs with her boys previously was because he was worried about Sophie's health. Also, he found it hard to concentrate whenever she was around.

His mate's presence alone caused Leland to be more attentive to no one else but her. However, now that she seemed to have recovered her health after she gave birth,  and she was in need of cheering up, the Alpha offered to take her on their morning jog.

Leland sensed that Sophie was upset lately. It was probably because of the reaction of the pack members when they realized that their Luna gave birth to someone else's children and not Leland's.

The man didn't care about them and how they perceived the situation. However, he cared about how that made Sophie feel. He didn't want her to feel upset by their treatment.

He didn't want to threaten those people and forced his pack members to show respect to Sophie and her children. It was too obvious and not his style.

He would rather show them how much this woman and her children meant to him. So, if his pack members wanted to be in his good grace, they'd better learn to treat Sophie and the twins better.

Even if the entire Blood River Pack were aghast at the sudden events and couldn't help but change their mood, so what?

They did not outwardly rebel or attempt to hurt Sophie or her children in any way because these lycans would answer to Leland's wrath, but Sophie's reputation took a small dive.

Leland was no miracle maker and he could not force his pack to change their inmost feelings about their Luna, but as long as they respected their Luna and her children, then there was no problem.

***