Toxic Rose Thorns - Chapter 61: Chapter 61

Knightly
The joy on their faces when they see me is nothing compared to the excitement they cried out with when Phoebe stepped out from behind me. Phoebe falls to her knees seconds before Ayrie smacks right into her. Aizen's smile comes with relief. He patiently waits for Ayrie to stop crying before he wiggles between them.
"You were right, Daddy," Ayrie rushes over to me and jumps off the ground. "She is fine. She is. She is,"
If I had hesitated, I wouldn't have caught her. The strength she used to push off the floor isn't the power a child uses. When her little body collides with mine, she nearly knocks the air out of me. She doesn't even flinch as she starts peppering me with kisses.
"Are you okay?" I hold her before me as she giggles, kicking her legs out. "Did you hurt yourself?"
She rambles something in French as she reaches for me.
"Ayrie, you have to be careful," Phoebe laughs.
"Alpha Knightly," the woman I spoke to this morning when I dropped them off, waves me down. A low rumbly sound stops her in her tracks when her eyes land on Phoebe who is holding our son.
"That's their teacher," I place my hand on her shoulder and she instantly calms down. Ms. Reedly lowers her gaze as she approaches with a little more caution this time. "Ms. Reedly," I greet her. "How was the first day?"
"Hi," she struggles to put anything together as she slowly raises her eyes to look at my mate. Phoebe has amazingly gotten a hold of herself already. She clears her throat and sets Aizen down to hold his hand in hers.
"Sorry," Phoebe says politely. "It's new,"
"Don't worry, Alpha Altaha. It was my mistake to just run over here. I promise it'll never happen again," she bows her head in submission. Phoebe looks over at me with panic shining in her eyes.
"Is there something wrong?" I ask because she will keep apologizing until one of us tells her to knock her shit off. It's the omega way.
"Not exactly," she says holding up three folders. "I have the pups' transcripts here and I think that they may be in the wrong class. Both Ayrie and Aizen are a lot more advanced than we anticipated. Headmaster Gorgon would like me to advise you to set up a placement test for them to take by the end of this week," she opens up the top folder and politely offers it to Phoebe. "I took the liberty to gather all of the information you need here. I also printed some out in French,"
"Their first language is French. We lived in France until now. I should have made it clear with the counselor. Thank you," Phoebe says as she flips through the pages. "I was actually going to bring it up with you after you sent the syllabus last Friday,"
"Understandibly," Ms. Reedly says under her breath.
"Anything else?" I ask.
"They breezed through the day and kept a bit to themselves," she shakes her head.
"Thank you. Will they continue with you for the rest of the week?"
"Yes, until they're tests are processed and placed," she nods.
"Okay," Phoebe nods and looks down at the two other folders in her arms.
"Oh, these stay with me. I have to take them back to the office. Have a good day, Alphas," she bows formally and then awkwardly spins away to get away as fast as she can without it looking too strange.
It would have worked if she wasn't scolding herself under her breath. I laugh because for once that's not a reaction I illicit. Phoebe is completely unaware of the aura she now has around her and she doesn't know that she might have had it all along.
It could explain why her stepmother was so hostile toward her and why her father was so indifferent. They had no idea what it was they had in their home. The same way I didn't know what it was, I came across six years ago.
The twins are running the last two days for her. Their bond is more than clear in the way they finish each other's sentences. How they can predict their movements and what they're going to talk about next. It looks and sounds rehearsed.
Tweedle tallness and Tweedle smallest are probably right. The two of them can grow up to be a fucking problem for the Savages. It's been centuries since they've been challenged for the crown.
My wolf bristles inside of me with pride. Their laughter is piecing together something inside of him because the usual rage and urge to attack anything that gets too close is at ease. While I appreciate it all things considered. I don't think now is the time to let his guard down. This is the easy part for us, but it doesn't mean those after me will ever stop. My alpha call is still the strongest under the King's. Killing me guarantees the king's demise.
Maybe being nicer to Perry wouldn't be such a bad idea. She's related to the king and it would be in all of our best interests if we weren't out in the open the way we are. I'd be willing to take a place in the hierarchy. There's no way I'm letting Perry run shit on her own without anyone watching her back.
"What are you thinking about so hard?" Phoebe asks when we arrive back at the ranch.
The twins run inside with my mom and sister. The two of them take them without looking back at us. I am so grateful for their help. I have no fucking idea what the hell I'm doing.
"Everything," I answer truthfully. "We have a lot to catch up on,"
"I need my scribe and your sister's notebook," she nods. "I would love to see your impeccable notes from your health class, Alpha Knightly,"
I lick my lips hating the way it feels to hear her call me that. I've always hated it and it's kind of a kick in the balls to hear it from her.
"All right, Alpha Altaha. I'll go get them," I agree. I stop her from racing up the stairs. She looks down at my hand around her wrist and then up at me. "Please, never call me that again,"
"I promise," she agrees.
I watch as she hesitates to run up the stairs. She takes them one by one as she mumbles something under her breath.
"Sorry, girl. He doesn't deserve us to comfort him right now. There's a principle and he crossed a boundary he shouldn't have,"
The way my stomach drops when my wolf realizes that she is in fact angry at us makes me smile. The one thing that the two of us have in common is that no one has ever told us no. It's the one thing that has gotten me this far. We both hate that it's our mate who is going to teach us this lesson. With my mark on her, we're equal, my command no longer works on her.
"You're as creepy as ever," Elliot says as he comes down the stairs.
"Thanks," I say rushing up the stairs. He stops me when I get to him.
"I want to ask you something when you have time. Help Phoebs out first. I'll be here for a while. I cleared my schedule," he taps my chest.
"You good?" I ask him because Eli has never said anything like that to me before.
"Yeah, I'm great. I'm really happy for you, brother," he smiles genuinely. "I just wish you'd get out of your own way, man. We all need you,"