Chapter 69 - Sometimes Goodbyes Are Really Hard.

"What's going on, guys?"

Cole asks Dimitri and Massimo as we all take a seat in the living area.

The boys were looking really sad and also a little pained which gave me a bad feeling about what the boys wanted to talk about.

"We have to go back"

"Back...what do you mean by back?"

Massimo looks at me with sad eyes.

"Ma, this was never a permanent trip...we have to go back to our lives in 2039"

"What? no"

I panicked.

"Babe, calm down"

Cole grabbed hold of my hand and held it close to him as Dimitri came and knelt down in front of me grabbing hold of my free hand.

"We have to go back, ma...in a few months time you're gonna be giving birth to us and it'll totally mess with the balance of nature if there are two versions of ourselves in the same time"

"But I..."

"It's gonna be ok, ma"

Dimitri said as he gently squeezed my hand.

"We only came back to assure that you and dad would officially mark and mate with each other so that you could defeat Mason and be happy"

"What do you mean?"

I was so confused and all I could think about was the fact that my sons were leaving me.

"The moon goddess was scared ma because you were fighting way too hard against the mate bond and she was frightened that you would never forgive dad and accept him"

"He's my mate"

I whispered as unshed tears filled my eyes.

"Yer but you were determined to never forgive him and to hate him forever, you were so badly hurt and damaged by everything and everyone that you built a wall so strong and so high making sure that nobody can get through and hurt you again"

"So, the moon goddess sent us to help break that wall if you will and give you and dad a gentle nudge in the right direction towards each other"

"But I don't want you to go"

A sob left my mouth and I was quickly engulfed in a hug by Dimitri, my eldest son.

"It's gonna be ok ma, you'll see us again soon...although we won't be the incredibly sexy and charming men that you see in front of you right now"

I chuckled as I pulled away from Dimitri.

"You're just like your father"

"That's not a bad thing, babe"

We all chuckled.

Dimitri cupped my face and wiped my tears away with his thumb.

"Don't cry ma, you're not a cryer"

"Are you kidding me, Dimitri? crying is all I ever seem to do lately"

"That's because you're pregnant, you were kidnapped and led to believe that your mate was dead, you've earned the right to have a little whinge"

He's right.

"But not anymore ok, you're gonna wipe those tears away and we're gonna spend our last few hours together happy"

"What do you mean? you guys aren't going right now?"

Cole asked confused.

"Nope, in order for us to literally go back to where we came from, we need to form a triangle with three generations of witches from the same familial line so they can chant the spell and send us back home"

"Yer, we've got you and grams, we just need to wait on GG to get here from Hawaii and..."

"GiGi? don't tell me I'm secretly related to GiGi Hadid and she's really a witch and not a runway model?"

I said with a slight chuckle.

"No, we mean GG as in great grams"

"What? grams is on her way here?"

Dimitri and Massimo smiled at me.

"Yer and by the way, she's pissed that no one told her we caught Mason"

"Great, that's all I need, an angry grandmother wolf to come and blow the roof of my house"

I run a hand through my hair as the guys chuckle.

I look up at my handsome boys and smile.

"Well, if you two are gonna be here for a while then let's talk"

"Talk?"

"What about?"

Dimitri and Massimo asked confused but with amused faces.

"Well for starters, you can tell me when I told you about my secret"

"What secret?"

Massimo asked with a face that I know all too well, a face that I f*****g invented.

Oh, this little fucker.

"Shit and there was me thinking I was gonna have to worry about my future daughters doing that face"

Cole said with a lot and I mean a lot of worry in his voice.

"Do not give me that face Massimo Cole Vasquez, I invented that face"

"Busted"

Dimitri laughed but quickly shut up when I glared at him.

"Ok fine, you don't have to go all momma wolf on me"

He said with a chuckle as he got comfy in his seat.

"You told me the story when I was ten years old, I had come home from school upset because a kid from a neighbouring pack had teased me about something that really hurt and confused me and I was in a funk all day because of it"

"You never told me that"

Dimitri growled.

"Yer well, I didn't wanna bother anyone"

Massimo said with tears in his eyes.

"Guys, calm down"

Cole ordered his sons as I kept my eyes firmly on Massimo.

"What did they tease you about?"

I asked with a lot of concern in my tone, Massimo looked up at me and it broke my heart when a stray tear fell down his cheek.

"You and dad"

"What?"

Cole and I looked at each other as Massimo continued his story.

"Rumours were circling around school about dad rejecting you when you were younger, Dimitri managed to put a stop to a lot of the rumours but one kid never listened and continued to harass me and tell me that my father was a bad person who did bad things to my mother and that you guys didn't really love each other, you were just putting up with each other because dad needed a Luna and because he'd forcefully gotten you pregnant"

"WHAT?"

Both myself and Cole growled in pure anger, those little bastards.

I could feel myself getting really angry but luckily for me, Cole managed to calm me down.

"Calm down baby, please"

"They lied to my son and teased him, Cole, how the hell can I be calm after hearing that?"

I growled feeling so angry but Coles touch was very calming.

"Would it make you feel any better ma if I told you that I beat the kid up the next day at school?"

"Oh god"

I groaned.

"You did?"

"What? don't look so shocked, he's my brother, I wasn't gonna let some gamma upstart pick on my alpha brother"

"That's my boy"

"Cole"

Does he really have to encourage them?.

"Can I finish my story?"

"Go ahead, Mass"

I encouraged Massimo who smiled but it didn't reach his ears.

"Well, that night when ma was tucking me into bed, she asked me what had put me in a bad mood all day and I didn't wanna tell her so I asked her if she really loved dad...she was shocked by my question and for a second, I thought she was gonna cry but she didn't, instead she smiled and told me about the day she fell in love with dad, she had snuck into the hospital room when she found out from uncle Angelo that dad was gonna die and when she saw him...she was so brokenhearted and begged him not to die, that's when you realised you were in love with him, you made me promise to never tell anyone and I never did...until now"

"Is that true?"

I turned to face Cole who was staring at me intently.

"Yes"

I whispered.

He smiled at me as he entwined our hands together lifting them up to his mouth and kissing them, he then looked back at our sons with a serious face but his eyes were filled with worry.

"So, I've got a question for you both, before we went into the war with Mason, you both mentioned that myself and Nattie never told you about most of our battles, when you said that...did..did you mean the ones we had with each other?"

I look over at my sons who are sharing a look with each other.

"Boys, answer your dad, NOW!!"

I growled not because I'm angry but because I'm afraid, I'm afraid of their answer and watching my plans for my children never knowing what we went through go up in smoke right before my very eyes.

"If you're wondering if we ever believed the rumours then no...but eventually the rumours got too much for us and we asked you guys about them and you reluctantly told us"

Oh god.

"Do all of you know?"

Dimitri shakes his head no and I felt slightly relieved.

"Only us and Gray know that dad rejected you, Xander, Xavier and Kailani are just babies, Nik and Frankie only care about themselves and Izzy...as far as Izzy is concerned you guys had a Disney romance, one that she hopes to have with her mate one day"

"Wow"

I ran a hand through my hair as I looked over at Cole.

"So much for us never telling them"

"Like I said ma, you guys were reluctant, you only told us because we're stubborn and wouldn't back down"

"Hmm, I wonder where you got that from"

"You"

They all said at the same time and as much as I'd love to say it's not true, I can't, even though I'd love nothing more than to blame Cole for my three elder boys being stubborn alphas to be.

A Few Hours Later...

"Angelo, put me down you ass"

We all laughed as we watched my brother carry Emily into the living room like a sack of spuds.

"Ok"

Angelo throws Emily onto the couch, in the most gentle way possible, at least I think he did, Emily's face didn't really give anything away.

"d**k"

"Hey, watch your language"

"Pfft, pot calling the kettle black"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You curse like twenty drunk sailors"

Whatever.

I roll my eyes.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"They called us"

Angelo pointed at Dimitri and Massimo as he lay down on top of Emily resting his head on her chest.

"Why did you invite them here?"

I asked confused.

"Because it's time"

I tried really hard not to be sad or at least not to show how sad I am but I failed.

"Don't be sad, baby"

Cole whispered in my ear before kissing my cheek.

"I can't help it"

I whispered as I rested my head against his.

The room was silent but not for long when the angry voice of one seriously pissed of grandmother reverberated throughout the whole house.

"IT SLIPPED YOUR MINDS!!...IT SLIPPED YOUR f*****g MINDS!!"

"What's going on?"

Emily asked dragging out the what.

I look over at my sons and they knew exactly what I'm thinking.

"Grams is back"

We said at the same time just as my grandmother came walking in whilst scolding my parents and big brothers.

"How did capturing Mason slip your mind, Tia? we've only talked like twenty times since you rescued my dear grand-daughter, speaking of which, hi, my beautiful Natalia"

My grams gushes as she pulls me up and squashes me in a hug whilst kissing my cheeks and congratulating me on my pregnancy.

"Erm grams...you didn't by any chance fall into an ocean of margaritas on the way here, did you?"

Everyone chuckled whilst I was trying really hard not to puke.

"No, don't be silly Nattie, it was just a kiddy pool"

"Are you sure it was just a kiddy pool?"

She chuckled as she repeatedly said how funny I am, I'm not even trying to be funny, my grams is drunk and smells every inch of it, oh god, I think I'm actually gonna be sick.

I started to feel weird and nearly fell down.

"Whoa, are you ok?"

Cole immediately jumped up and was by my side holding me up.

"I'm fine, I'm ok, it's just grams new odour is making me sick"

"Oh lord, Christian go and sober your grams up, we need her for the spell"

My momma said sounding embarrassed and fed up.

"Come on baby, sit"

I sat down and instantly felt better especially since I was focusing myself on breathing in only Coles scent which managed to ease the queasiness.

"Well, whilst we wait for GG to get sober..."

"That could take a while, grams has had enough alcohol to drown Russia"

Nathan interrupted Dimitri as everyone laughed.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted....me and Massimo have got some things to say before we leave"

"What is it?"

I asked with curiosity as Dimitri stood looking uncomfortable.

"Mass, do you wanna do the honours?"

Massimo glares at his brother as their eyes glazed over.

"Dimitri, Massimo"

I said both of their names quite a few times but they just ignored me, in the end, I did something that I probably shouldn't have done but I did anyway because they were annoying me, I picked up the box of tissues that was on the table next to me and I threw it at Dimitri's head.

"AAHHH!!, ma, what the hell?"

"You two were stuck in a mind link and ignoring me, how else was I supposed to knock one of you out of it?"

"You could've found a less painful way to do it, ma"

"Oh calm your knickers Dimitri, it was a box of tissues, not a brick"

"Says you, it didn't hit your head"

Urgh!!.

"Anyway"

Massimo dragged out sounding bored.

"The moon goddess has given Dimitri and I permission to give Auntie Emily and Uncle Angelo a message"

"A message? what message?"

Emily and Angelo got up from the couch looking both intrigued and confused which, to be honest, so am I, what kind of message would the moon goddess have for them?.

"Do you remember what Dimitri revealed to ma before the rogues attacked?"

"Yer, he revealed her pregnancy to her which FYI Nattie, you should've freaking known, I mean come on how can you not know that you're pregnant?"

Oh my god.

"Erm babe"

"Shut up Angelo a second, I mean come on Nattie, you were feeling faint and queasy, you slept for way too long after you fainted, that's another one you fainted HELLO!! and not to mention how horny you are"

Everyone groaned in disgust whilst I glared at my incredibly dumb best friend.

"Oh my god"

Emily said shocked as she looked at my sons with realisation hitting her like a ton of bricks, her eyes then widened as she started to rapidly shake her head and stutter almost every word that came out of her mouth.

"N..No, i..it's imposs..possible, I..I w..was t..told I couldn't g..get pregnant b..because o..of the t..torture I..I was p..put th..through"

"No, they said there was a chance you couldn't get pregnant auntie Emily but..."

He stopped as he placed his hand on Emily's stomach just like Dimitri did with me.

"You are"

Emily's hands shot up to her mouth as her eyes watered and she whispered oh my god over and over again.

"Oh my god, Em"

I said feeling so happy for my best friend.

I was there when they came home from the hospital with the news that their chances of becoming parents were slim, I still remember the day Angelo broke down in my arms fearing that he'll never be a father and he'll never be able to make his mate a mother and now look at them.

"I'm gonna be a dad?"

Angelo asked in disbelief.

"Yer bro, congratulations"

Cole said giving Angelo a hug, I didn't wanna feel left out so I jumped up and joined them wrapping my arms around the both of them.

"Congratulations Angelo"

"Thanks, baby girl"

Angelo beams with pride as he kisses my head.

Everyone's happiness was shortlived when my momma and grams appeared with Christian.

"It's time"

"Urgh!!, I thought it would take forever to sober her up"

I said placing my forehead onto Cole's bicep.

Cole and Angelo chuckled which made me smile sadly.

"Ok fine, since this really shitty thing has to happen, where do you want us?"

"Language Natalia"

"At least we can confirm grams is sober, she's telling me to watch my language"

Everyone laughed as my grams mock glared at me.

"We need to form a triangle with Dimitri and Massimo in the middle, we then need to cut both of our palms and join hands so we can say the chant and send them home"

"Ok, let's do this"

Everyone says their goodbyes to Dimitri and Massimo which was really sad and painful even though I'll be meeting their baby selves very soon.

"Koa, do you wanna do the honours?"

My grams said with a smile whilst waving a dagger in her hand, ok, this isn't creepy at all.

"Of cutting my mothers-in-law, my wifes and my baby girls palms, I'd be honoured"

My dad joked and I chuckled whilst trying to suppress the tears.

He came around each of us cutting our palms until we were bleeding, he looked into my eyes with a sad yet reassuring look before kissing my cheek and leaving the triangle.

"Let's join hands, my darlings"

We join hands mixing our blood together.

"Wait, just one more thing before we go"

Dimitri says with a smile whilst looking at me before narrowing his eyes at Cole.

"Dad make sure you monitor ma and her champagne consumption at your future wedding, she gets kinda crazy and starts doing embarrassing things when she's drunk"

"What?....what are you talking about, Dimitri? we're already married"

I said in a duh tone.

I mean how could he forget? it was a great wedding.

"Let's just say dad made good on his promise, ma"

I was confused at first until I remembered something that Cole told me at the beach house.

"I'm gonna give you the wedding of your dreams, Nattie even if I have to die trying"

I look over at Cole and he winks at me.

A gentle squeeze on both of my bloody hands brings me back to what I have to do.

"Are you ready, Nattie?"

I nod my head as I look up at my sons and smile.

"Let's do this"

We close our eyes and repeat the same chant over and over again.

"Hear these words, hear the rhyme, heed the hope within their minds, send them back to where they'll find, what they wish in place and time"

A strong wind blew around us letting us know that the spell was working.

I opened my eyes and looked at my sons one last time who mouthed I love you to me and I mouthed it back just in time before they disappeared.

When the spell ended, all three of us fell to the ground, Cole and my dad were quickly by me and my momma whilst Nathan and Christian were right by our grams.

"It's done, they're back in their time"

"Are you ok, mi amor?"

I nod my head as I place my hand on my stomach.

"We're fine"