Ana walks to the party that the pack had thrown to make them feel welcome, she looks around the room to find few of the pack members readying the food while some were still trying to stick some stickers for decorations.

She finds Adrian and his wife Scarlett speaking with few of the pack mates and as if sensing her Adrian turns his head towards her and she smiles waving at him as he nods his head before going back to talking.

"Are we early?" Jean asks looking around and Ana nods before asking the kids to go around and try to make friends.

"Jean is the one who needs a friend, Ana, while I already have some, come chicken" Emma orders her brother and Ana narrows her eyes at the girl.

"Emma" she warns and the girl smiles sweetly.

"Fine, Hen" Emma mumbles as she walks away and Ana watches the kids.

"Will you be, okay?" Jean asks and when Ana pushes her forward, she laughs before walking towards a group of teenagers.

Ana walks to check out the garden at the pack as everyone were busy with their own things. She finds a bench and sits trying to gather her thoughts on what happened the past few days.

From meeting Crystal to Henry's kidnapping and now staying at Martin's pack, her life along with the kids sure were on a roller coaster and to spin her life even more she agreed to live in Rom's house.

The one man because of whom all the unwanted cycle in her life started, if she had not left and went to meet her sister maybe she would never be able to see them or even know if they were alive.

After their outburst both of them had left to cool down and once they were, they had agreed to stay for the kids but just not together, until he was back, she is to look after Gio and once he is back, she will move or maybe until then if the kids were comfortable in the pack, she will be the only one to move out.

As she cannot stay and watch Rom as if there never was anything between them as if they could just be civil. It was only for the sake of the kids she was ready to compromise anything but her heart was not ready.

The wound even if born years ago was still fresh for her. Before she could even come with the term that she needs to move on she had new things to worry about and in all the years away from him not once has she got a chance to stop and check on herself or the state her heart was.

**********

A ball rolling her way makes Ana look up to find Gio standing and staring at her, so bending she grabs the ball and throws his way but instead of catching it the boy uses his powers to put the ball in mid-air and a sense of Deja vu appears in Ana's head.

"Are you playing alone?" she asks him and Gio grabs the ball making his way towards her.

"No" he replies as he sits beside her on the bench.

"Then is someone playing with you?" she asks him and he shakes his head no once again.

"I found the ball; I was going back but slipped and fell down as the ball rolled away" he points making her eyes go wide as she grabs his hand and checks for any wounds.

"Are you hurt somewhere?" she worries.

"I heal fast" he points making her sigh in relief.

"Still, you should be careful, are you sure you are okay? Do you want me to call your father for you?" she asks and he shakes his head no.

"Dad is busy, don't want to disturb him for nothing"

"It won't be a disturbance if it's for you, Gio. No matter how busy I am sure he will leave everything back for you" she smiles at him.

"Like he left you" he states making her smile slip away.

"Your father did not leave me for you" she clarifies.

"Okay" he nods as they stay in silence.

"You know I will be looking after you when you father leaves, you will be staying with me along with my kids"

"Why do you call them yours when they are not. I know they are not your kids"

"You don't have to be related through blood to call other your family and one does not have to birth a child to be a mother"

"You and my dad are two weird souls. I am not his son yet he gets happy when I call him dad, none of them are yours but you act like you are" he mumbles and she puts her hand on the back of his head smiling at him.

"Maybe one day you will understand the logic" she teases as they both smile.

***********

"There you are. Erika has been looking for you" Rom's voice makes both of them turn to face the man.

"See you around" Gio jumps down the bench as he runs to where his father was and touching his hand the boy runs off leaving Ana alone with Rom.

"Hey" Rom nods as he walks to where Ana was sitting.

"Hey" Ana smiles before he sits next to her.

After their fight they both have apologized and come to the term to stay civilized but seeing him sitting next to her was surreal, yet she did not want to get up and run away,

"So, what were you two doing?" he starts.

"Nothing, just sitting" she replies.

"I will be gone in the morning" he informs and she nods.

"Best of luck"

"Will you be okay with four of them, I mean if you are not, I can ask..."

"I am okay, Rom with Gio being with us but if none of you are then" she lets the sentence hang.

"We are cool. It's just that Gio..."

"Are you insinuating that because he is your son and because of our past I may..."

"No, no. Just that don't want you to be hurt, Ana"

"Don't you think you are few years late to worry about that?" she questions eyeing him and he rubs his face.

"No matter how you feel Ana, I care for you"

"You really had a way to show it"

"You did not let me explain because you left Ana, you fucking left" he growls in frustration.

"Do not use that tone with me Rom and don't you dare play victim. Four years, four wonderful years and it just took one moment for you to forget all about me"

"I asked few hours, Ana, few hours you should have waited for me to be home"

"For what? So, you would explain how you could not stop yourself when you met your mate while all that time I had hoped, wished I was your mate"

"You would not understand"

"I did that is why I left; I still do" she whispers.

"These kids, your sister, you were aware of our kind before you met me?" he asks and she nods.

"Yeah, I saw my sister how crazy she was when she met her mate. I saw how happy she was with Jean's father. And even if I did not know how you males feel when you saw the one what I know was that every moment without you would have been nothing but a waste of my birth...

And I tried, you know I tried to fight the attraction between us and you also know you did everything to fight me so we could be together. And I stupidly thought I was the one for you. I did not want you to take blood from me not because I was scared of the bite but I did not want you to think I was like one of the arrangements you had....

I wanted your bite to be special, reserved just for me, when I could have you completely. We were preparing for a wedding, Rom, what if you had found your mate once we were married, you would have left me even if we were, right"

"No" he groans as he puts his head on his hands.

"If you had just waited for me, Ana. I loved you, I know what I did to you was wrong and I wanted to beg for another chance for you"

"Lies" she whispers and he shakes his head no.

"This must be the punishment for my sin, maybe because I betrayed you, broke your heart, I got a mate who did not love me, who hated our bond and she lied in every step, she lied about Gio being ours and look at us now....

I searched for you, I have been searching for you all this time and here you are just when I am going through the worst time, you are here to witness it. Maybe laugh at me" he states and she glances at him with a sad smile.

"Is that how you think I will react? To laugh at your misery?" she asks and he sighs.

"Ana, I am sorry"

"I have not laughed fully after we were done, I have been living in fear Rom, fear of what is next, if we are going to get attacked, if we will have food on the table. Those kids inside have been living in fear, running for their life and I have not gotten one single moment for myself to stop and think where did we go wrong...

Every promise, Rom, every promise you made to me you broke each one of them one by one, you asked me to never fear you but I have been living in fear that you would some day break me and you did, you promised to never hurt me but you did in worst way possible" she accuses as she stares at him.

"You should have stayed, babe"

"And do what, Rom? Do what by staying and waiting?" she shouts at him as tear streams down her face.

"Saved us from this misery, saved me from Vivian, saved Gio from..."

"Oh no, Rom, oh no, never, you do not get to round this up and pinpoint at me. You were the one who mated with her, you were the one who broke us apart and you were the one who believed she had your baby....

Did you look after me because you wanted to be with me? Were you going to break your mating bond if I stayed? So, don't you dare look in my eyes and say things would have been different if I had not left. I am no fool, Rom I refuse to be painted as one....

Every step away broke me, the heaviest thing I raised up was the ring you gave me, pulling it out of my finger and leaving it behind and now all I want is for these kids to be happy, for them to have safe home and if I have to stay out of their lives for it then I will, Rom. I will. I will disappear this instant" she explains breathing heavily as he stares at her wide-eyed.

"I will look after Gio until you are back and I do not need money to do it but if you promise to keep my kids safe here then I will leave once you are back. This time I won't return" with that said she turns and walks away leaving him alone.

***********

Rom growls in anger as he stands and goes to walk away but stops as he finds Crystal staring at him with a small smile he sighs sitting back when she walks towards him.

"Some wounds need time to heal and some needs understanding, but hers, she does not need your frustrations Rom"

"I don't care"

"The problem Rom is that you care and I care for her too. She has gone through hard times to keep the kids safe one who is not even hers, she could have given up but she stayed, fought, protected them"

"That's Ana"

"So, why are you not being able to know her? Why making all the wrong choices, choosing all the wrong words"

"Maybe she is better off without me. I should not give her hope just to hurt her again"

"So, those promises you made will you really break it?" she asks and he eyes her.

"Crystal" he breathes.

"You may see me as a meddling, noisy woman but I ma a woman in love. In love with a man, who stayed away from me for reasons only her knows and because I know the heartache, I don't ever want anyone to go through it, ever, even if the person is my enemy...

I want Ana's happiness Rom and it comes from you and I don't care what everyone thinks but I see what you both feel. It's true you can never walk away from your mate but I have seen Adrian do it, break his bond with his mate because he knew how cruel she had been...

And I understand you could not stop yourself when you saw your mate because I was same when I met Connor, every inch of your body leads you to your mate but when the same bond is created from hatred it also kills it...

Vivian used your bond to benefit; she used your love for Gio for her gain but she is no longer here. Grovel if you have to, beg if you must but pull Ana out of her misery that is your love, turn that misery into her happiness. If it was anyone else, I would have never pushed for a bond but because it's you and her, because it's you Rom, because I know you and your heart...

What happened in past is unchangeable but what you do in present will crave your way for future. This is the only time I ask you to give Ana's happiness back and if you still don't, she will have to create her happiness with someone else" Crystal warns as she runs her hand through Rom's hair smiling at him before she leaves.

**********

Note: You can read Warrior's affection for more on Ana and Rom and I promise you will find mistakes I won't edit but well just going to write only major parts about them which hopefully still will connect you to this beautiful couple.

Just know I am trying to skipping the repeated scenes from all over other books and writing mostly just about this couple.

Rom is a jerk and he could have handle it better but well....yeah *shrugs with raised arms*