Chapter 156 –
Cara's POV
Ten Years Later:
We sat perched on top of the hill overlooking the obstacle course, watching as the children lined up to run it. I was holding our youngest baby, Alexea, who was our unexpected gift. She was three years old today and too young to run it. She watched the children below with avid interest as the older children gave each other some good-natured teasing. This happened every time we came to the course. The children loved to try to mess with each other.It was dusk, so the sun would not be a factor like it usually would have been for some of the vampire children. The children were getting placed into their groups. The four-to six-year-olds would be running first. I used to worry about my children running the course, but my children were strong. The course was something they did with their father, who loved to run it with them. Alexei gave them tips and tricks on what to do and how to use their strengths when they ran it. It was special because he ran it with each of our children separately and again as a group. Our children almost had an unfair advantage against their friends and cousins because of that fact. Alexei doesn't think of it the same way.
"The course is open to everyone. They could take advantage of it just as much as we do, Love. It isn't unfair of us to be as strong as we can be, is it?" He asked. I had to bite back a smile, as Alexei loved spending time with our children. He was an excellent father. Alexei was serious about training, and even though our oldest, Mila, was a witch, she trained every day with her father and two of her siblings.
Things were not easy for Mila in the gym we had at home. As the oldest of our five children, she had learned to use her powers to try to keep up with her younger siblings. Vadim, our second child, was eight years old. He and his younger sister, Katya, looked like their father with their hair and eye color. Vadim was Alexei made over, and Katya had my delicate features. They both had blonde hair, shades darker than my platinum blonde, and golden yellow eyes.
They loved jumping and running and were particularly skilled in the obstacle course. Damian was our fourth child, and he was four and a half. He was a warlock and pretty strong with his powers already. He looked like his father, but his eyes and hair color were mine. "Hold up! This content was written for oi.o, but if you're not on our site, someone scraped it. Don't miss out on our newest insights and authentic novels-check out ib. for the full experience."All of our children are very cute, but there is something about Damian that would catch your eye. He is quiet, and usually just speaks when spoken to. I think that is because the other children are older or younger than him. I can see how that would be so frustrating.
Our youngest, Alexea, sat on my lap. She wanted a picnic dinner for her birthday out here near the course. She was the only one of our children who was a hybrid. She had my platinum hair but she had Alexei's golden eyes with large blue flecks in them. Making her eye color very distinctive. I have never seen an eye color like it before. It is all the more amazing when she uses her magical powers as the blue flecks glow. It makes her eyes all the more impressive to see when that happens. She learns very quickly and uses her powers very simply at the moment, like conjuring up something she wants, like a sucker. She is a handful, but we all love her.
Alexea, or Lexie, is already very fast. She wants to join the children about to run the course, but the minimum age is four. She will have to wait another year to join in with them. She was wiggling in my arms and trying to break free, so I was trying to hold her. I didn't want her to get free and end up hurt trying to run the course. Alexei had said he would run it with her, but I shot that down. I knew she was not tall enough to do what was needed, especially over the water challenge, where you had to hold the ropes to get across the thin wooden bar. Lexie just wasn't tall enough to reach the ropes yet. She was about three inches short from her hands, able to grab the ropes. We knew that because Alexei had taken her to check when she asked him to help her run the course last week. She had been heartbroken that she wasn't big enough to run it with her big brother Damian. Lexie had been quiet and had gone to my mother's home several times over the week. My mother didn't mind; she loved spending time with all five of my children.
I knew she enjoyed helping me train my children. My mother and Robert had one more child, Kennedy, her baby girl. Robert is wrapped around Kennedy's little finger. Mom had been training two of her children to control their magic. Bradley was ten, and Kennedy was eight years old. Kennedy had her father's dark brown hair but had our cornflower blue eyes. She looked just like my mother. She was going to be a stunner when she got older.
They both liked to train with Mila. Mom usually trained the three older children, while I trained Damian and Lexie. They all watched when I continued to train with my mother. Mom was a stricter teacher than I was. Which made her have to learn in a different situation than we did. That was three years ago, and since then, I have really applied myself. We do not know what tomorrow is going to bring. I needed to make very sure that I could protect both my family, and this pack.
I was snapped out of my thoughts at hearing my mate's voice. "So, Jaxon, are we still allowed to use our strengths?"
It was as funny now as it was ten years ago when he asked Jaxon that question for the first time. It is a rule that you can use your own special powers. Yet Alexei always asks in front of the children before each of their races. The four-to six-year-old children were all lined up at the start of the course. They were bouncing in their excitement, ready to go.
"Of course, Alexei. The children can use any of their special strengths on the course," Jaxon responded with a roll of his eyes.
Nadia was Dmitry and Tatiana's youngest child, and she was five. Next to her was Dara, who was six and the youngest daughter of Ivan and Bonnie. Bonnie had been turned into a vampire, just as Tatiana had. So, all of their children were vampires. Our son Damian was next to Dara. Devon was next to him. He was six and was Brenna and Jaxon's youngest child. Tricia, six, was next to him. She was the youngest child of Trevor and his mate, Bethany. Our daughter, Katya, was at the end of the line.
Katya had begged us to allow her to run in the seven to nine-year-olds. She is two months from turning seven and didn't want to compete against the "babies," as she put it. She was not happy that we told her she would have to wait. Alexei told her, as the oldest of all six children, that she should be able to do well on the course. Katya was nothing if not competitive. She stopped asking and was happy to complete with the four to six-year-olds group.
Katya always had her eye on the prize, and I saw the determination in her eyes. She was going to go full tilt through this course. I saw Alexei turn to look and me and smile at me. He loved to watch out children compete. He gave me a wink, and Lexie was gone the next instant. She appeared next to her father and took a spot next to Katya, who was trying to tell her to return to me when the gun sounded to start the race. Katya was so surprised at her sister just showing up next to her that she was no longer the first one off the line. I wanted to call Lexie back, but my mother, sitting beside me, placed her hand on my leg to stop me.
"Just give her a chance, Cara. It's her birthday. She wanted to do this so badly. Alexei is with her; he won't allow her to get hurt," my mother said calmly.
I could tell this had been planned out between my mate, my mother, and Lexie. He kept pace with her, and she was listening to his instructions and was doing great. But I was still worried. The children's course was not as challenging as the adult course, but it was still hard. She was only three. Her little arms were not long enough, but my worry decreased with each obstacle. Lexie would not win, but she was using her strength and magic to help her when needed.
I walked down the hill towards the finish line. Katya had already gotten over her surprise and was setting a blinding pace as she quickly moved up to the front of the group. Tricia was also six, about to be seven too, and was the daughter of an Alpha. Her mother was a Beta, and Tricia was a strong competitor. She had taken off as soon as the gun sounded. She knew she had to. She was a wolf competing against a vampire. She had to start and continue to stay focused.
I wasn't worried about Katya, I have watched her train with her father numerous occasions. Katya was not about to allow anyone else to beat her. I cheered for her as I continued to head towards the finish line. I cheered for Damian and Lexie, too. They had to have helped her in secret. I knew that because I had not taught Lexie to teleport. She was already a handful, our most rambunctious child. I wasn't trying to make things harder on myself, trying to curb her instincts. I planned to wait until she was five to teach her how to do that.
Alexei had stayed next to Lexie the whole time. Running right alongside her next to the course, still calling out instructions. I could hear the crowd cheering Lexie and Tricia on as they neared the finish line, but I was watching out for my baby. She was behind everyone but had the biggest smile, probably for getting away from me to come and run the course. She was approaching the water obstacle, and I was worried she would fall in. I knew Alexei would dive in after her if she did, but I didn't want her to be scared of the course. That and her age were the biggest reasons I wanted her to wait.
I watched as she took a running leap, grabbing the end rope. She swung back and forth until she could get hold of the next rope. It took her about a minute and a half, but she did it on her own. Damian and Katya were standing on either side of me as we all cheered Lexie on. Her little feet pounded the ground as she approached the finish line. She fell to her knees as she crossed the line before her father swept her into his arms to hug her. He was proud of her, and I was, too. He doted on all our children, praising them for every accomplishment they achieved. He was there to comfort and encourage them as they needed him to."I did it, Mommy!" Lexie's excited voice rang out.