421: THREE YEARS OLD

THREE YEARS OLD

"NO!" Kace's heart skipped a beat as he rushed toward a certain little girl, who was trying to climb the stairs the moment no one was paying attention to her.2

Lana walked out of her room when she heard Kace's cry and found the big guy getting down the stairs while carrying Hope. 

"Why does she like to climb the stairs so much?!" Kace tugged his hair in frustration as he noticed Lana standing on the second floor, staring down at him and Hope.

"I don't know. She just likes it." Lana shrugged her shoulders and walked back to her room, there was something that she had to finish because Serefina needed it this evening. "I will be in my room if you need me." She said before turning on her heel and left the two people there. 

"I want stairs!" Hope tried to wriggle her small body out of Kace's grip, but it was definitely a futile attempt. "Bad brother! Climb!" Hope pounded her small fists on Kace's chest because he didn't let her go. 

"No! It's dangerous!" Kace objected and carried her back to the kitchen. He was making lunch for Hope when his baby girl rushed out of the kitchen. "And I am not a bad guy."

"Bad! Bad!" Hope kept pounding her small fists on Kace's chest and started to cry. 

"You will fall." Kace sighed helplessly, he didn't like it when his baby girl got a grieved like this. "You have to eat."

"No eating." Hope covered her mouth with her little hands and shook her head as her pigtails swung in sync with her movements. "No eating."

"No, you have to eat." Kace put her down on her chair and brought the bowl that was filled with cereal to her. "Eat, okay?"

Yet, the little girl frowned and stared at Kace with her teary eyes while pouting her lips, ready to cry her heart out. 

"No. No. No. don't cry…" Kace panicked and squatted down in front of her. "Sst… sst…"

However, the more anxious Kace became, the more her tears spilled from her beautiful eyes until her cries echoed inside the kitchen. 

"Lana… Lana…" Hope sobbed pitifully until her face turned red. 

Seeing his mate crying relentlessly, Kace tried to coax her while wiping away her tears. "LANA! LANA!" Even Kace cried out to call the other girl. 

"What? Why? What happened?" The sounds of Lana footsteps could be heard as she rushed down the stairs and ran down the corridor.

The first scene that she noticed was; Hope, who was crying with tears streaming down her cheeks and Kace, who seemed like he was just a second away to start crying too.

"What is going on here?" Lana was confused. 

"Lana…" Hope raised both of her arms, asking the girl to carry her. "Climb…" She said between her sobs.

Lana immediately approached the little girl and picked her up from her chair. "What happened to her?"

"She wants to climb the stairs… but, it's dangerous." Kace pouted and grimaced when Hope didn't even want to see him. 

"Why is she like that?" Kace spoke pitifully. "Why doesn't she like me? I just don't want her to get hurt…"

At this moment, Lana really wanted to face- palm herself because she couldn't understand, how the legendary Kace Donovan, who managed to survive the great war and led their kind along with his two other brothers, managed to act all pitiful, childish and over sensitive like he was being right now.

Just because he got rejected by a three year old child. 

"Kace. Please. You don't live up to your name as the great Lycan." Lana glared at Kace. This man was totally clueless of how to handle his little mate.

Well, Lana couldn't blame him. Kace was only allowed to meet Hope once a year and every time he came, Hope would forget about him. 

She was only a child after all.

And Kace's over protective nature didn't help the case either. He would freak out about everything while Hope was an adventurous little child. 

Lana could already see that as Hope had always been curious about her surroundings. 

"Bad brother!" Hope cried into the crook of Lana's shoulder.

"Nooo…" Kace howled when he heard Hope's words. "No, baby no…"

Lana sent Kace a look that said; stay put.

Kace, who was about to approach Hope and explain why he did not allow her to climb the stairs, as though Hope could understand him, stopped in his tracks and stood still obediently, watching as Lana coaxed her.

"What do you want baby?" Lana caressed her back and nuzzled her head. A gesture that Kace envied oh so terribly. 

"Climb." Hope raised her head and pointed in the direction of the kitchen door. She wanted to climb the stairs.

Indeed, this was her favorite activity now.

"Alright, but after that, you have to eat." Lana tried to compromise with her 

"No." Hope shook her head and covered her mouth again.

"If you don't eat, then I will not let you climb the stairs again." Lana's expression turned stern. 

"Climb the stairs!" Hope pouted her lips. Though her tears had stopped, her long lashes were still wet. She looked like a stubborn little girl now. 

"No eat, no climb the stairs." Lana also didn't back down as she looked straight into her eyes. "Okay?"

Hope lowered her eyes and snuggled into the crook of Lana's shoulder as she replied sullenly. "Okay…"

That little banter made Kace open his eyes wide in surprise. How could Lana deal a conversation like that?

"Do you want to ride a wolf?" Lana asked again and gave Kace a look. 

"Wuulf?" Hope raised her head again and bit her lip as she nodded excitedly before a smile bloomed on her face. "Hope wants wuulf!"

"You can ask him. He can show you a wolf." Lana nodded to Kace, who was looking at her eagerly. "He can give you a wolf."

Hope turned her attention to Kace, thinking, while the later stood still, waiting for her reaction and the moment Hope raised her arms toward Kace, his heart swelled with happiness as he carried her.

"Wuulf for Hope?"

"I will give you everything, baby."

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