When Eriko got out of bed, he stepped out of his room and walked into the kitchen to make his morning coffee. He moved slowly, his chest rising with a long, sleepy yawn as he waited for the water to heat up. Once the black coffee was ready, he opened the fridge, grabbed a beer, and mixed it with the coffee inside his proud Daddy-mug.
He called it Coffee-Beer.
He turned toward the living room to sit on one of the couches, only to find his ex-sister-in-law lying on it.
Her eyes were wide open, staring at the ceiling. Her chest rose and fell with short, tense breaths, her posture completely locked up after spending the entire night on the couch.
There happened to be several holes in it.
"Didn’t I tell you to take your pups and leave?" Eriko said as he sipped his Coffee-Beer before sitting down on his single-seater couch. He let out a loud, satisfied sigh through his nose, his hand wrapping around the thick handle of his mug.
"I couldn’t go home while I’m still angry... and you always say I’m free to stay in this house," Princess said, her eyes still counting the holes in the ceiling.
"What is with the holes?" Princess asked. She shifted her head slightly, her neck muscles tight.
"The last tenant I had wasn’t suitable for a wooden floor. His legs kept making holes," Eriko replied. He took another long gulp of his weird drink, his shoulders relaxing against the back of his chair.
"Where is he?"
"I gave him to Pali. That boy’s strength is too mysterious to handle, and the only thing I have is this house." Eriko said, shaking his head with a small chuckle.
"Well, Leo bought you a mansion." Princess pointed out, her eyes flickering over to him for a quick second.
"I am not the type to be swayed by luxury." Eriko sniffed, lifting his chin proudly into the air.
Princess rolled her eyes, having a sense of déjà vu.
What is it with these Omegas not wanting to depend on their Alphas?
It made her head ache just thinking about it, the fast pace of her racing thoughts turning into pure irritation.
"So, since you’re still here, let’s make breakfast before everyone wakes up." Eriko suggested, finishing his mug with a loud thud on the side table.
Princess turned to the side. She dug her elbow into the couch, her face twisting into a bitter look.
"I am not your Alpha. Go find your Alpha and tell him that."
"Okay then, get out of my house and go meet your Omega and talk to her." Eriko snapped back playfully, swatting his hand through the air as he stood up.
And the two prepared breakfast together. Princess would rather do that than go home to meet Faye after what had happened the previous night.
Later, together with Kaye and Dina, she got the five pups ready for the morning.
The kitchen quickly became loud and chaotic, the small toddlers babbling and reaching for spoons while the adults moved around the tight space.
Dina had shared her room with baby Charlie the previous night.
Kaye and Dina asked about Faye, but Princess simply smiled. It was a fake, tight expression that didn’t reach her eyes at all, her lips pressing together hard the moment the name left their mouths.
"She’s home. She was too tired to come." Princess lied smoothly, her chest rising with a forced, calm breath.
While they were having breakfast, Paye entered the house.
Kaye ran to his Nanna and hugged him. He threw his arms around Paye’s legs, his face lighting up with a bright grin.
When Paye looked at the dining table and saw Princess feeding her pups, his eyes scanned the room. He stood entirely straight, his gaze checking every single corner of the kitchen before locking back onto the tall alpha.
He was looking for his little sister.
"Where is Faye?" he asked, looking at his son. His voice was sharp, his chest rising with a quick, questioning breath.
"Aunty Princess said she’s very tired to come," Kaye answered.
"Tired? What happened to my puppy?" Paye demanded.
Princess stood up from her chair and turned to Paye.
"It’s nothing serious. I’m just the one picking up the pups."
"They had a fight. That’s why she’s not here," Eriko blurted out. He didn’t even look up from his plate, shoving a forkful of eggs into his mouth like it was nothing.
"What did you do to my little sister?" Paye demanded. His face turned entirely pale, his fists clenching tight at his sides as his breathing sped up.
"I didn’t do anything to her," Princess defended herself. She matched his glare, her own shoulders widening as she refused to back down in front of everyone.
"This is one of the reason I warned that girl not to mingle with Alphas. Out of all the Alphas in the world, it had to be one of the Kings. It hasn’t even been a year, and you’ve already broken my puppy’s heart." Paye hissed, his voice trembling with a sudden, fierce anger.
"First of all, I did not break your puppy’s heart," Princess replied, mimicking his tone sarcastically. She tilted her head back, her lungs pumping out a loud, mocking breath that made the air in the room turn icy cold.
"We just had an argument. Couples do that. And you have no right to speak about my family’s name like that. We may not be perfect, but we have a history of being loyal to our partners."." Princess barked out, her deep alpha voice beginning to rumble through the small kitchen.
"Princess, come on. That’s enough. Sit down," Eriko said, but Princess wasn’t finished.
"You know, I’ve never liked you. The only reason I tolerated you was because you’re Faye’s brother, and she respects you. You broke my big brother’s heart, and because of that, he became a stranger even to himself. Then you took the one girl I ever called my home for 6 good years." Princess roared, the words flying out of her mouth like hot lava as she let out all the venom she had been holding inside.
Before Princess could say anything else, she turned around and walked out of the house.
"Wait! You forgot your pups!" Dina called after her, still confused by the sudden tension in the room. She stood up from her chair, waving her arm toward the door as the screen slammed shut with a loud rattle.
Then silence...
"Looks like we’re babysitting them again today," Kaye muttered as he walked over to the table to feed the pups. He let out a long, tired sigh through his teeth, picking up the spoon and gently stirring the baby food while the babies started to whine in the sudden silence.