Chapter 263
I sighed, leaning slightly into his touch. “But sometimes I wonder where she went-the Rebecca who filled that book with designs and dreams. The one who thought she might make something beautiful with her own hands someday.”
Dominic took Ella from me, his large hands dwarfing our daughter’s tiny form. He bounced her gently, his movements assured despite her fragility. He’d been just as natural with Lucas from the beginning-a fact that had surprised me, given his initial resistance to fatherhood.
“Show me,” he said, nodding toward the sketchbook.
I sat beside Lucas on the bed, pulling the book into my lap. As I flipped through the pages, I explained each design to Dominic-the inspiration behind a particular silhouette, the way certain fabrics would drape, the technical challenges of various seams and structures.
“I still remember the suit you designed for me,” he said with a smile, as if reminiscing. “The one with the little deer pattern embroidered on it. I really liked it.”
Without waiting for my response, he looked into my eyes and asked, “Don’t you want to restart your fashion design career?”
“It never seemed relevant,” I admitted. “Being your mate, becoming Luna, having Lucas and now Ella-it’s been a whirlwind. This part of me just… got set aside.”
Dominic sat beside me, Ella now calm in the crook of his arm. With his free hand, he turned to the last page with a drawing-dated nearly
three years ago.
“Thank you,” he said suddenly, his voice deep with emotion.
“For what?” I asked, puzzled.
“For Lucas and Ella. For everything you’ve given up to be their mother and my Luna.” His eyes, those intense blue eyes that still made my heart skip, were solemn. “But Rebecca, did it ever occur to you that now might be the perfect time to reclaim this part of yourself?”
I blinked, surprised by the suggestion. “Now? With a newborn and a toddler and pack responsibilities?”
“Now,” he confirmed, shifting Ella slightly as she made a small sound. “The pack is stable. We have resources-Diana, Marianne, others who love our children. And you…”
“What about me?” I asked, feeling Lucas lean against my side, his small fingers still tracing the designs in my book.
“You’ve given everything to everyone else. Perhaps it’s time you reclaimed something for yourself.” Dominic’s gaze was steady, unflinching. “Isn’t that what we want to teach our children? That they can be many things, fulfill many roles without losing themselves?”
Ella began to fuss in earnest now, her tiny face scrunching as she prepared to cry. I automatically reached for her, recognizing the signs of hunger. As I settled her to nurse, Lucas snuggled closer to my side, peering at his sister with the mixture of fascination and slight jealousy that had characterized his reaction to her since her birth.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly, adjusting Ella as she latched. “The City Arts Academy’s new semester starts soon. They have a fashion design program that I’ve always wanted to take, but Ella’s so small. She needs me.”
1/2
14:34
Thu, Oct 2 PEN
Chapter 263
Dominic watched us, his expression softening as it always did when he saw me nursing our children. She does need you, he agreed. ‘A dees Laicas, as do 1, as does the pack. But that doesn’t mean the children and the pack should be reasons you abandon your dreams,
He rose, moving to finish dressing for the day. “Think about it,” he said, leaning down to press a kiss to my forehead. “We’ll find a balance if that’s what you want.”
I looked down at Ella, her eyes closed in contentment as she nursed, then at Lucas, who had returned to examining my sketches with careful attention, Could I really do this? Could I be Luna, mother, and still pursue the dreams I’d set aside?
“Maybe, I said softly, more to myself than to Dominic. “Maybe I could,”
Chapter Comments
1
Write Comments
< SHARE
2/2
14:34 Thu, Oct 2 M…
Mated by Contract to the Alpha
