Rejected and Pregnant: Claimed By The Dark Alpha Prince-Chapter 685: Avoided her lips
"Flora, hey!" Amelie greeted her warmly, shifting the phone to her other ear. "How have you been?" She glanced down at the bed, where Noah had wiggled out of her lap and flipped onto his stomach, his small hands already grasping a plush soft toy.
"I’ve been well. What about you? How is our little prince?" Flora inquired, her voice bright on the other end.
"We’re doing well, though he’s quite a handful today," Amelie said with a chuckle. "He’s currently preoccupied with his favorite toy. Noah, say hi to your auntie!"
"Ei!" Noah chirped, his focus entirely on the plushie. His tiny fingers found the hard, plastic eye button of the toy and began pulling at it with surprising strength.
"He’s starting to speak, isn’t he?" Flora asked, sounding delighted.
"Yes," Amelie replied, watching as Noah’s brow furrowed in concentration. "They’re a bit broken and garbled, but he definitely has a lot to say these days. Are you at Zander’s place?"
"Yes, I arrived just this morning," Flora replied, her voice carrying a hint of wonder. "It felt so nostalgic stepping back onto pack lands after all this time. Zander has transformed the place. He’s been entirely focused on development since he took over as Alpha. You wouldn’t recognize some of the sectors."
"That is exactly how an Alpha should lead," Amelie noted. As she spoke, she gestured to Ashna, who moved efficiently to fetch the bottle of expressed milk prepared earlier that morning.
"Noah, look, here is your favorite meal," Amelie cooed, gently hovering the bottle near him. Noah’s intense focus shifted from the plush toy’s button to the familiar bottle. To Amelie’s immense relief, he didn’t turn away this time. He reached up, his small hands guiding it toward his mouth, and began to drink greedily before rolling over onto his back to get comfortable.
"You should take some rest, Flora," Amelie said. "Noah needs me now. Take care." Without waiting for a response, she lowered the phone and ended the call.
Flora stood in silence for a moment, a bit stunned by the abrupt click of the line. She had so much more to share with her sister, but she quickly shook off the disappointment.
"Well, I suppose she’s occupied with Noah all the time now," she murmured to herself. Setting the phone on the bedside table, she peeled off her thick, heavy jacket and draped it over the back of a chair.
A sudden knock at the door drew her attention. When she opened it, she found Zander standing there, balancing a tray with a steaming kettle and a cup and saucer.
He walked into the room and placed the tray on the coffee table. As he poured a stream of fragrant black tea into the cup. "You must be freezing after your journey. Drink this."
"Thank you, but you really didn’t have to bring this yourself," Flora muttered, lowering herself into the upholstered chair. "I assume you have plenty of servants in this house to handle such things." She leaned forward, wrapping her hands around the warm cup before taking a sip.
"Well, for my special person, I decided to bring the tea myself," Zander replied, a small smile carving at the corners of his mouth as he sat across from her.
Flora felt her heart flutter at the confession. "You always have a way of reaching the depths of my heart," she murmured, her eyes softening as she looked at him.
"And yet, you still don’t fully reciprocate my feelings," Zander reminded her that held a hint of lingering hurt.
"I do. That’s why I am here, isn’t it?" Flora said, her voice rising with a flash of defensive passion. She took another long sip of the tea before setting the cup down on the saucer. "The pack looks much more secure and structured than the last time I was here."
"I decided to bring sweeping reforms to our security protocols," Zander explained. "I want to reduce crime in this pack as much as possible. No one should feel unsafe on these lands, not under my watch."
"That’s great!" Flora said, offering him a genuine smile.
"My parents likely won’t be joining us here. They’ve decided to head to the palace to be with Amelie and Noah instead," she stated. "Amelie’s first Christmas after getting married and having a child is special and it can’t be ignored."
"Yes, you mentioned that. It’s for the best, honestly," Zander said with a thoughtful gaze. "Your sister needs your parents’ attention. She was deprived of it for a long time, as you well know."
His words cast a shadow of the past over Flora’s face. "Yes," she admitted. "When I was injured, Mom and Dad were far more worried for me than they ever seemed to be for Amelie. They even discussed it at home recently, how Amelie must feel they were biased in their treatment of us. They are trying to be better parents now, but it’s difficult with her living so far away in the palace."
Zander nodded slowly. "Distance makes it easier to apologize, but harder to actually show the change. I hope their visit goes well."
Flora finished the last of her tea in thoughtful silence, the warmth of the porcelain lingering in her palms.
Zander reached out, his fingers brushing hers as he took the empty cup and placed it carefully back on the tray. "You should rest for a while," he said softly. "The journey was long. I’ll come to wake you when it’s time for lunch."
Flora nodded, her domestic instincts kicking in as she reached to take the tray from him, but Zander subtly shifted it out of her reach. "You’re not supposed to do that," he stated firmly, his eyes locking onto hers as he rose to his feet.
Flora stood as well, intending to see him to the door, but she was caught off guard when he stepped into her personal space.
Instead of the lingering, heavy kiss she half-expected, Zander leaned in and pressed a gentle, lingering kiss to her cheek. He intentionally avoided her lips; he knew her boundaries and, more importantly, he wanted their first real kiss to be something monumental, not a hurried moment in a guest room.
He pulled back, a soft glow in his eyes that left Flora in shock. "Sleep well, Flora," he whispered. He then turned and exited the room.
