Warriors (Ghost #4)

Part 57

After everyone has danced with the newlyweds and eaten the whole cake, it's time for the gifts. Every single one of the guests has brought something for Lia and Blake, much to their surprise. They made it clear to everyone that they don't expect anything from them but their presence. But no one wanted to come to the event of the decade, if not century, empty-handed.

Which is why Lia and Blake have now around three hundred packages to open.

Lia stares at the huge pile in disdain, knowing that it'll take eternity to go through all of those prettily packed boxes and bags. Blake is somewhere among the crowd, getting 'congratulated' by the guys from the club. Lia doesn't even want to know what that entails, but she knows it can't be good if Tank forbade her from going with them. He said it was a 'tradition'. Lia called his bullshit, but the Prez still didn't allow her to come with them.

"Lilli?" A timid voice pulls the newly made Mrs Knight from her reverie.

"Hey, Peter, what's wrong?" Lia crouches in front of the ten-year-old boy, smiling at him warmly.

"Um... The water in the pond is cold... and Chris said you can make it warm again..." Peter says shyly, getting a grin from Lia before she follows him to the pond where the younger kids have been playing. They weren't exactly interested in the whole ceremony and partying, so they went to the pond, dipping their feet in the water and splashing each other. Every single kid is soaked to the bone, but they don't seem to mind.

Lia can't help but smile at her adorable cousin. He's so cute and innocent. When the adults cut the cake, he was immediately snatched by Mama Maria and then played with her dreadlocks the whole time she fed him the sweet delicacy. It wasn't long before he was stolen again, though, this time by Aaron and Jax, Thea's youngest sons.

Those two are the wildest kids Lia has ever seen. The second they saw her the day before the wedding, they attacked her with their grabby hands as they gushed over how similar she is to their mother. It was a real challenge to separate them from Lia. She had to bribe them with her magic to get them to let go. They were beyond fascinated that they now have a 'magic auntie' as they called it, even though Lia is technically their cousin. But to Lia it was sweet that they've come to like her so easily. She liked how open and honest they are. They're so cheerful, so happy, so free-willed it tugs at her heartstrings. She wishes she was this happy when she was nine.

"Lilli! Lilli! Lilli!" The kids chant happily when they see the young bride make her way to them, with Peter holding her hand tightly.

"I hear your pond has gone cold..." Lia teases with a smile, getting giggles from the kids.

"Yeah. Can you make it warm?" Jax pouts cutely, pulling the most adorable version of puppy-dog eyes imaginable.

He sure knows how to play his cards.

"Of course." Lia chuckles, crouching by the pond. She puts her hand in the water and lets it heat up, making the kids laugh merrily at how her hand glows red under the surface. "There you go." She gets up after deeming the water hot enough, but the only reaction she gets from the children are loud gasps as they watch the wetness evaporate from her hand due to the heat.

"That's so cool!" Aaron and Jax exclaim at the same time. "Even mom can't do that!"

"You're so awesome!" Dylan, Harry's twelve-year-old son, adds with wide eyes, getting a firm nod in agreement from Thea's son Damon. Even though they're a year apart, with Damon being eleven, they seem to get along well. They haven't separated even once during the whole party.

"Thank you." Lia smiles gratefully, then turns to go back to the guests, only to almost bump into someone's chest. "Damn you, Lorenzo, you could've said something." She admonishes, not caring even one bit that she's speaking to the almighty Alpha King.