Alpha Tristan

- Tristan -

"Alina." I gently brushed a few wispy strands of her hair from her face. She was sleeping peacefully between Kara and me, and Kara smiled down at her before glancing at me.

"I'll always be shocked at how deep of a sleeper she is." Kara's sweet voice filtered through the silence and I smiled at her lovingly.

My fingers gently c.a.r.e.s.sed my daughter's face. "She's free of the harsh reality of this world. I want her to always be this carefree." I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Kara curved a warm hand around the nape of my neck and lowered her head to meet my gaze. A soft, angelic smile climbed onto her face and she nodded in agreement. Her eyes dropped to Alina and she squeezed my neck gently. "Our daughter is so beautiful, Tristan."

It wasn't in my nature to disagree. Kara was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen and thankfully, our daughter resembled her the most. There was something about Kara's beauty that drew me in and four years ago, when we got to know each other on a deeper level, her personality amplified that beauty to breathtaking lengths.

"We made her." I quietly spoke in a somewhat awe-filled tone. "This little angel is all ours." I lifted my head to look at Kara and leaned in to kiss her soft lips. She kissed me back with a small smile and after a moment, I pulled back.

Kara's curls were pulled back and just like Alina's, a few errant strands framed her face. I almost reached out for her but she pressed her lips against Alina's cheek and tried to wake her up. The smile pulled at my lips before I kissed my daughter's other cheek, and it widened when she began to stir.

Her oak-brown eyes opened groggily at first until she giggled. We both pulled back and Alina grinned sleepily. She looked absolutely adorable.

"Mummy, Daddy…" she glanced at both of us and wrapped her arms around our necks. She pulled us down again and we happily kissed her face again.

"Good morning, Alina." Kara murmured against her skin with a soft smile.

"Good morning, χαρα μου." I gently ran a hand over her hair.

She grinned brightly. "Good morning!" her energy instantly spiked and she sat up before quickly standing on the bed. "Rise and shine!"

I turned onto my side and peered up at her. She giggled excitedly and I steadied her when she wobbled slightly. "Be careful, honey." I climbed out of bed and smiled when she instantly wrapped her arms around me. Alina was a very big hugger—she would hug Kara and me whenever she could and it was such an endearing thing to experience.

Meeting Kara's gaze over Alina's shoulder, I couldn't get enough of the content smile that was plastered on her face. Happiness was a common emotion felt by all of us and over the past three years, I fulfilled the promise that I made to Kara after that dark time of our lives.

Every day, I had to be thankful for the fact that I had a family and we were happy.

Alina pulled back and clapped her hands excitedly like she usually did. "Rise and shine, Daddy!"

A deep laugh fell from my lips and I helped her down from the bed. "Yes. Rise and shine, Alina."

Kara threw the covers from her body and stretched slowly before walking around the bed to us. She held out her hand and Alina took it. "Let's get you ready."

I busied myself in the other bathroom, freshening up and returning to the bedroom to pull on some clothes. I took a seat on the foot of the bed and looked at Kara and Alina in the bathroom. Kara was fixing our daughter's hair and as I looked between the two of them, I was still amazed by the resemblance.

My heart rate began to pick up and I smiled softly. They could be doing something so simple but I would still get powerful bouts of overwhelming love that bloomed in my c.h.e.s.t for them. I had never loved someone so fiercely before.

Kara glanced at me with a sweet smile, no doubt feeling my emotions. Her attention was brought back to Alina when she started fidgeting. Kara was trying to detangle small knots in Alina's hair and eased her to sit back down.

I waited patiently and when Kara was finished with Alina's hair, Alina ran towards me with a grin. If anything amazed me more about my three-year-old daughter, it was how much energy she had most of the time. I lifted her by her underarms into my l.a.p.

"Do I look pretty, Daddy?"

I pecked her forehead. "ομορφη." (Ó-mor-fee)

Her small button nose scrunched up slightly. "What's that?"

The smile pulled at my lips. "It means beautiful. I think you look beautiful, χαρα μου."

She beamed with happiness. "You're beautiful too, Daddy!"

Kara laughed from the bathroom and entered the conversation. "Daddy is really beautiful, isn't he?"

Alina nodded immediately and I couldn't help but chuckle. I wanted to hear her laugh too so I quickly lowered my head and blew raspberries on her stomach. She instantly shrieked with laughter and I did it for a few seconds before pulling back with a wide grin.

Her eyes shone brightly and I held her in my arms as she caught her breath.

Kara finished with her morning care routine and stepped out of the bathroom with a gentle smile. I stood up and placed Alina on her feet. I was going to take her downstairs to eat some breakfast. When Kara neared me, I tugged her closer by her hand and wrapped an arm around her waist.

Laying a soft kiss on her lips, I smiled down at her. "You're so beautiful, baby." I desperately wanted to feel her mouth on mine so I covered Alina's eyes with my hand before kissing Kara. It wasn't a long kiss by any means. It lasted a few moments and Kara brought her hands up to cradle my face.

"Thank you, Tristan."

Alina pulled my hand from her face and held onto it. Kara kissed my cheek and brushed past me towards the walk-in wardrobe. I led Alina towards the kitchen and sat her in her booster seat.

"What do you want to eat?" I asked even though I knew the answer already.

"Peanut butter sandwich!"

I shook my head with a gentle smile but made her the sandwich, cutting it up into squares for her and taking the crust off. When I placed it in front of her, she clapped her hands in excitement and picked it up.

Kara came down the stairs, fully dressed and smiled softly at me. "Are you coming with me to the training field?"

I nodded and reached for her hand to feel it in mine. "For the first session. Then we're going to visit Christian and Brielle." Our betas had a new addition to the family. Their son was born one year ago and he was one of the most adorable babies I had ever seen.

Kara grinned at the sound of their names. "Give Leo a big hug for me." She linked our fingers gently and peered up at me with her beautiful mahogany-coloured eyes. "I want to visit them tomorrow."

"I'll take over training for tomorrow." I laid a kiss on her forehead before stepping back and turning to the stove. Once I cooked something up for Kara and myself, we were on our way to the training field.

Training was a constant occurrence in our pack. Ever since the beginning of the war nine years ago, the main thing that affected everyone was their inability to protect themselves and others properly. As soon as I became alpha, I implemented daily training sessions for all those old enough.

It meant there would always be protectors within the pack. The people Kara and I spent the most time with training were the newly shifted teenagers. Shifting occurred at eighteen and the best thing one could have was complete control over their wolf.

Being able to protect themselves in wolf form was so important because it was imperative that they knew that fighting in wolf form was more carnal and violent. It was pure animal and if they were ever attacked by a werewolf in wolf form, they would be in huge danger.

Going for the jugular was every werewolf's go-to place of attack. It was quick and reduced the chances of survival.

"Daddy," Alina pouted when it got too difficult for her to walk in the snow.

I lifted her into my arms and with my hand, I tightened the scarf around her neck to keep her warm. Kara looped her arm with mine and walked close to me. I glanced at her and pushed a thought into her mind.

'I love it when you touch me.'

Innocent or not, I lived off the feeling I got whenever Kara touched me. Over the past three and a half years, the mate pull had just gotten stronger and stronger. I couldn't be away from her for too long and I craved her touch like a madman. It was the exact same for her and the best part of my day was always the end of it when she would let me hold her in bed.

She glanced up at me and pressed a light kiss to my shoulder.

When we reached the training ground, there was a small crowd of people who were play-fighting. As soon as Alina saw Markus, one of my best fighters, she yelled out his name excitedly. I had to quickly put her down before she ran over to him and hugged his legs.

He chuckled and placed a hand on her shoulder. Markus was dear to us all. He had been the one I chose to protect Kara the last time she went to London, and he was the one who held me back when I almost lost sight of myself a few months after that.

I was grateful for his undying loyalty and Alina had instantly taken a liking to him when he first met her.

"Hey, hummingbird." Markus smiled warmly and crouched down to hug her properly.

Hummingbirds symbolised healing, love, good luck and joy. It was a name the pack called Alina because she embodied them all. She had come after a very dark time and brought a new light to the pack. She had caused the love between us all to grow and she was my good luck charm and joy all in one. My daughter was a very special girl—it was why she was so loved by anyone and everyone.

"Hey, Markie!" she exclaimed, wrapping her small arms around his neck. She hugged him tightly and Kara and I grinned at the sight.

As she went around to every single person to give them a hug, Kara turned to me. "She's a pure soul." Her eyes were bright and I instantly agreed.

"We're raising her right, αγάπη μου."

She pulled my arm across her shoulders and curled into me with a sweet smile on her face. "We are. She's going to be an amazing Luna when she's old enough."

"She has you to learn from." I murmured into her hair. "You're everything this pack has ever wanted and needed."

Kara peered up at me with a bright fire of love burning in her oak-coloured eyes. "I will forever be thankful of how persistent you were in the beginning. This is everything I've ever wanted."

I hugged her tighter. "You've always had my heart. Always." I delivered a soft kiss to the tip of her nose and cleared my throat when the field fell silent. Alina made her way back to me and I allowed Kara to do the honours.

"Let the training begin."