A/N; Thanks to the two readers who reviewed, i assume the others either didn't read last chapter, hated it, or are losing interest in the story...i promise there isn't much long to go...and i have noticed that C/Z's love scenes are not much appreciated but worry not because the nxt chapters will be full of action and heart-ache which will lead to the conclusion... i hav been suffering from writer's block hence my crap writing recently...i hope i do my vision of this story justice without the help of my muse...tis hard to write when not motivated so pls review and tell me anything (discuss story, hate on it, shoot my ideas down) do whatever but pls motivate my muse if you want this to maintain its quality...it is my plea because i lov this story too much to be happy with half-assed last few chapters...thanks xxx

Chapter 35 -

Back in Biggs' office, Alec paced a hole in the floor. Checking the time yet again, he sighed aloud. 'What the hell is taking them so long. I told them to come here about forty minutes ago. They're wasting our time. We could've been doing some important work.' His angry voice boomed in the room. Thankfully, the room was sound-proof. 'Kids...nowadays.' He added, muttering and shaking his head in disapproval.

Biggs was quite surprised to see Alec so worked up. But, he knew the real reason for Alec's impatience and short-temper. His brother, his best friend and his CO never got mad over trivial things. That was Max's job. The recent urgency of his mood and seriousness was due to the real possibility of a war in their beloved nation. It was understandable. Deania was the end-result of years of sacrifices, hard negotiations and patient meetings on behalf of Alec and Max. 'They must've resumed their make-out session when you left.' Biggs tried to lighten the mood, getting a snigger from his son and a raised eyebrow from his brother. He shrugged at them.

'I made it quite clear that they were to report here as soon as possible. They should make-out in their spare time.' Alec rolled his eyes, walking over to a cushioned chair which was placed next to that of Biggs'. He had placed it there at his initial arrival in the room, to make sure he was seated in the right place for the intimate meeting, in the rightful place of an authority figure behind the huge oak table. 'Anyway, I don't think Zeva will allow Cade anywhere near her soon. She looked like she was going to faint when she saw me.' He laughed out loud, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes at his sudden outburst of emotions.

Smiling at his Dad and Uncle who were both in hysterics, Ryan shook his head and snorted. If only Cade could see them right now, laughing at his behaviour. Immediately, feelings of guilt and sadness consumed him as he thought about his own screwed up love life. It was wrong to even call it a love life. He hadn't ever treated Sara with the love that she deserved, the love that he felt for her. At least, Cade was showing Zeva what she meant to him. Even if he said that things were complicated between them. At least, Zeva knew about his love for her, as silent and unsaid his confession of it may be. He was brought back to the present by his Dad's serious tone. 'You should be glad you'll get to keep one of your daughters in your pack forever. It was good that Cade fell for her.'

'Yeah, I'm glad that I don't have to worry about my two older kids. If Cade had accepted Zeva as a sister then I would have had to take proposals for her within a year. And, really I am not looking forward to being in that position for at least a decade or two.' Alec ran a hand through his already tussled hair and sighed, fidgeting with the sleeve of his jacket. It was the rainy season hence the need for such clothing in such a hot part of the world. 'I always had nightmares about Cade knocking up some girl and then having to spend the rest of his life with the girl out of duty rather than love.' Too late, Alec realized his mistake. Looking over at Ryan, he found the boy studying the floor with his utmost concentration, his face pale and crestfallen.

Biggs scoffed. 'At least, Cade would've made such a sacrifice. For us, his family, his pack. For our reputation. But, my spoilt brat of a son here can't do anything for his family.' He pointedly glared at Ryan's motionless form where he was sat on one of the couches.

Alec smelt and sensed Ryan's inner turmoil, his raw emotions. This made him feel bad for the kid. It was so obvious the kid was suffering. It was hardly news that Biggs was pretty judgemental regarding Ryan's behaviour, always had been. 'Biggs, give the kid a break. He's doing the best he can in the situation.' He reasoned. From the corner of his eye, he saw Ryan give him a look of gratitude.

Before his Dad could protest against Alec defending him, the door opened and in walked the couple-of-the-moment. Ryan was glad to be saved from hearing his Dad's disappointment in him. He already felt bad enough. He didn't need anyone else, especially the people he loved, to make him feel worse. Cade seemed to notice his feelings of hurt, he came to sit next to him straight away without bothering to acknowledge the other adults in the office. 'You okay?' Ryan nodded in response to his brother's concerned inquiry.

Shyness took hold of Zeva as Cade left her side to go to sit with Ryan. For a moment, she stood in the middle of the room. Unsure of where to sit, she went to her Daddy and planted herself in his lap, nuzzling his neck to fill her nose with his familiar scent. She got a paternal kiss on her head and an exchange of scent from her Daddy for her efforts. Then he pulled back and met her gaze, smiling with love shining in his bright green eyes which were so like Cade's.

'Baby, you know I don't mind cuddling but I called you guys here cause I need to discuss something important with you.' Alec smacked his daughter playfully on the back, letting her up and guiding her to the chair opposite him whilst still holding her by her arm. 'You two, come here and sit around the table so the meeting can commence.' He ordered the two young Alpha males who were currently sharing a silent conversation which nobody could ever understand.

Cade and Ryan fulfilled the Alpha Commander's order without hesitation or complain. Seated around the table, they exchanged a glance and shrugged at the adults' serious expression. Cade had taken the seat beside Zeva but kept his hands to himself despite his insane urges. He knew his touchy-feely feelings would not be appreciated by the feisty blonde who could be very shy sometimes, especially when surrounded by others. Her discomfort was easy for him to see and feel. Though she was with family and pack males, she wasn't feeling relaxed. A part of him wanted to comfort her somehow, by touching her or exchanging scents with her. However, he knew it wouldn't really help because she would still be stuck in a room full of Alpha males who had, together, the most testosterone in their body than any family of males in the entire nation. Instead, he decided to get down to discussing whatever they were summoned for. 'Dad, what's up?'

Cade's impatient tone wasn't lost on Alec. He could see his daughter trying to hide her worry and fear. Could practically smell the fear off her. He could bet his life that his son's impatience was due to how his chosen female was feeling rather than his own curiosity. He cleared his throat and sighed deeply. His son wasn't going to like what he was about to say. 'As you guys know we have a potential security issue. The staff at command are stretched to limits with their current work. And, I have some jobs that need to get done. So, I decided, who better to ask than you guys for the tasks as they match your skills anyway.'

'Great.' Simultaneously, the two younger males muttered their disagreement in a tone dripping in sarcasm, rolling their eyes and grinning at each other for their identical thoughts and reactions.

Alec ignored this display of cheekiness from the testosterone-filled teenagers. Truth be told, he was rather amused by their reaction. He had expected them to act like this. In fact, he had already discussed with Biggs, as to how to handle the two if they didn't agree to his request. 'Cade and Ryan, both of you will be in-charge of inventories of everything that is imported and exported in Deania. Usually, Dave handles this task but he has been sent to join the border army. We don't have that many soldiers as you know. We're using as many trained males as we can. Mole said he'd do the inventory but we all know he has other more pressing things to look after. And, he gets rather cranky if he has to over-work a little. I'm sure you'll agree that Command is a better place without a cranky Mole.' Sensing his son's on-coming whine, Alec held out his index finger to shut him up. He needed to get his little speech over without interruptions, before letting the kids have their say. Because, he wasn't looking forward to what they were going to say.

Cade's protest died an immediate, premature death as he gauged his Dad's serious expression. He couldn't say he was used to seeing his Dad's face so void of positive emotions and full of negative emotions. It kind of took him by surprise when his Dad's blazing eyes were directed towards him. His Dad looked every bit the Top Alpha of a nation that he was supposed to be, scary and commanding. Cade nodded, feeling like a caged lion cub. Glancing sideways, he wasn't in the least bit surprised to see Ryan chewing his lips and fidgeting in his chair. A clear sign of his brother's nervous, delicate nerves. Cade felt the sudden urge to protest against the way they were being talked to, like soldiers. If not for his own nerves, then for the sake of his brother's. Although his intentions were pure, he guessed it still wouldn't go down well with the adult males. His Dad would probably make him squirm further just to make his point.

Alec wasn't blind to the discomfort of the kids, he just knew voicing the matter wouldn't help them. The only thing that was going to help was, pretending he wasn't commanding them and hurrying up with the meeting so it ended quickly. 'I don't care what you guys think of your new jobs. You can go and whine to your mothers.' All colour drained from Cade and Ryan's faces at the mention of Max and Cece. 'Zeva, I have found you a very interesting job. You'll probably love it.' He addressed his daughter, grinning and leaning forward to stroke her hair with affection.

Zeva's eyes lit up. Excitement and anticipation made her nearly squeal in a room full of males. Succeeding in quenching her girly tendencies to squeal at everything, this she blamed on Mila, she, instead, jumped out of her chair and planted herself on the table in front of her Daddy. 'What is my job going to be?' She asked in expectation as she clutched her hands together. Both sets of her parents are gonna be proud of her, she'd make sure of it. 'Please, Daddy, tell me.'

Alec loved his daughter's enthusiasm. It was infectious. Just like her mother's. When Max set her mind to do something, she was like this. It was uncanny, how alike they were despite not being related biologically. 'You will be trading on the financial markets. You can use your talent with numbers and probabilities/odds to make decisions.'

Zeva's face fell. 'I don't know how to do that. I mean I don't know anything about financial markets.' She pouted.

Alec rushed to assure her. 'You won't be working alone. Suzuki will be working with you. I've already had a word with him. He'll teach you everything you need to know.'

'If you've got Suzuki doing the job, why do you want Zeva to do it as well?' Cade snarled. He hated that asshole. Even if he didn't before, he did now.

'We need a lot of money. We've always allocated some funds to trading because it's how we make free money. Suzuki is good but he isn't exactly a genius when it comes to the actual trading. He blames his poor strike rate on testosterone but I think he just isn't that great with predicting accurately. And, at the moment, we can't afford to lose any money. We figured, it would be best to have two maths geniuses working together to make us money than one.' Alec explained, patiently.

'Why do you suddenly need so much money? We hardly use any money here.' Cade dead-panned, throwing his hands up to show his exasperation.

'In case you've forgotten, we have a potential world war on the horizon.' Biggs spoke up for the first time since Alec had started telling the kids about their new positions, anger evident in his tone.

'But, I don't want her anywhere near that pig. You know how he is.' Cade whined, giving Ryan a pleading look to help him out.

'Suzuki can be very forthcoming in his advances.' Ryan tried to stick up for his brother's reasoning, didn't want to let him down. That said, he had no intention to scare Zeva though. Nevertheless, he actually agreed with his best friend on this one. Suzuki was a notorious playboy. Being in his mid-twenties, he still hadn't claimed a female as a chosen mate.

'He is aware which pack and family Zeva belongs to. He wouldn't dare try anything.' Biggs declared. He prided himself in the protection he gave to the females of his family and pack. And, knew Alec was as strict in his protection of their females.

Realizing he wasn't going to be able to sway them to see things his way, Cade relented the argument. 'Fine. When do we start?' He asked, feeling resigned.

'Now. The sooner the better. You two, go find Dalton. He's expecting you. Zeva, you come with me. I'll take you to Suzuki's space. He works near the computer rooms. It'll be easier for you to be closer to Sara now.' Alec got up, helping his daughter off the table.

'I need to talk to Zeva.' Cade mumbled, loud enough for everyone to hear. 'Alone.' He felt himself go red. Damn. He was not blushing...he was not blushing. He breathed in and out without making it obvious.

Biggs laughed out loud. 'Well, don't let us stop you. You can go in hallway to say your goodbyes.' He winked, knowingly.

Cade felt his face get redder and hotter, if it was even possible. A sideways look confirmed that Zeva was blushing too. For good measure, he glared at the smirking adults and marched out of the room, followed by Zeva. She didn't look happy.

'Did you have to embarrass me like that, you ass?' She huffed out.

'I know you love it.' He winked at her. After that initial short interaction, silence befell them for a good five minutes. 'Erm...I just wanna say, don't let that bastard near you, okay?' He scratched at the back of his neck.

'Is that all you wanted to say?' She glared daggers at him. 'You think I can't look after myself?'

'Well, you needed my help when Raul was picking on you.' He scoffed.

'I wasn't sure about the strength of males then. I know now. Since, I have beat the crap out of you a lot of times now.' She smiled, devilishly and tapped her biker-boots on the floor, impatiently.

'I always let you hit me. I must love pain. Anyway, If I smell that bastard's scent coming off any part of your body, I'm gonna kill you both.' Cade growled low in his throat at the mere thought of such a thing happening. 'I am not joking. I mean it.'

Zeva snorted. 'Oh please. I don't kill you when I smell other females on you. You think I like that? You asshole, I'm not the one whose the whore here but you seem to be implying that.'

Unknown to Zeva and Cade, Biggs' office was just like their parent's. It was sound-proof but everything said in the hallway could be heard from inside the office. At the moment, all three males in the room were laughing at the expense of Cade. In their hearts, they also felt bad for him because they felt his pain. However, this was just too hilariously funny to not laugh at. Cade was currently getting an earful from Zeva. Then, as suddenly as the exchange of heated words had started, it stopped. Seconds later, a few moans could be heard.

'They're always making out.' Ryan muttered under his breath and coughed.

That evening, Cade came home to find Zeva stretched out on his favourite couch, reading a book which she was engrossed in and listening to her ipod. Feeling good about the fact that she didn't even notice him come in because her animal side recognised him as her mate, he sat down beside the arm of the couch where her head was and pulled out one of her earphones. 'Hey.'

Scrambling to sit up, she blushed. He'd caught her off guard. She wasn't supposed to be so relaxed, especially not when she was babysitting and house-watching. 'Hey. You're late. You haven't eaten, have you?'

'Nah, I'm starving. Ryan had to leave a little earlier. Something about a check-up for Sara and the baby. I decided to finish up his work too. Where's everyone?' He noticed the silence and the lack of his screaming sisters and fighting parents. Were they alone? Fuck. This would be the first time. Subconsciously, he moved closer to her.

'Mommy and Daddy are still at work. They aren't coming home tonight. They said they have to go over some battle plans and stuff. They're gonna sleep in one of the dormitories at Command. The girls are in their bedroom. They were hollering at each other a few minutes ago. They must've ran out of steam. Erm...I have put dinner on. So, if you wanna go wash up or something, you can. It'll be ready in about six minutes.' She knew she was rambling. He hadn't asked her about dinner. For some reason, she felt uneasy with the lustful looks he was giving her. They were different from the way he usually looked at her. Realizing his close proximity, she maneuvered out of his reach and off the couch. 'I'm checking on the dinner.' Using this as an excuse, she made her way into the kitchen. Still felt his intense eyes following her every move.

'Did you pick the girls from school?' Cade followed her into the kitchen and washed his hands under her watchful eyes, she was obsessed with cleanliness. Taking the plates and cutlery into the dining area, he started to set the table.

Full of love for her soul-mate, she gazed adoringly at him for his efforts to try and help her. 'I picked them from Cece's. She insisted that we stay there for the night but I refused. I said we could handle the girls. Anyway, I sleep better here. It feels safe.' Getting a nod of agreement, she went quiet.

Dinner being on the table, they called the girls. The twins had been awfully silent since Cade had come home. Cade and Zeva had no clue of the reason. When they asked them, the twins just tiptoed around the subject, avoiding it. What they didn't know was that they had been listening to their siblings' conversation and had been peeking from the hallway. The girls had been gushing over their siblings like a couple of fangirls whose most loved OTP was coming true.