Too Late Alpha The Mate He Never Wanted (Iris and Eric) novel Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Iris’s POV

My throat went dry.

The car had stopped by the edge of a small park. From the window, I could see the playground.

My chest tightened like it was being squeezed.

I almost told Jasmine to tell the driver to keep moving, but my eyes stayed glued to the children.

My stomach twisted. Part of me wanted to look away, to pretend I hadn’t seen it. Another part of me didn’t want to leave.

I had actually missed the sound of children laughing, that feeling as you held their small hands, and the way their eyes lit up with excitement at every small thing.

“Iris?” Jasmine’s voice cut into my thoughts.

I blinked and realized she and Shane were both looking at me curiously.

“What?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

“You’ve been staring,” Jasmine said, furrowing her eyebrows in concern. “Are you okay?”

I hesitated. “Yeah. Fine.”

But my voice wasn’t convincing, even to myself.

Jasmine tilted her head, looking suspicious now. Shane just raised an eyebrow but didn’t push.

Before I could stop myself, I opened the door and stepped out.

Jasmine and Shane followed.

The closer we got to the playground, the louder the children’s laughter became. A few of them noticed us immediately, and paused their games. I could feel their curious eyes on me as we approached.

I froze for a split second as my instinct screamed at me to turn around and get back in the car.

“They’re not going to bite you,” Jasmine whispered beside me. “Sometimes.”

“Shut up,” I muttered, though my lips twitched.

Immediately we reached some of the children, they didn’t talk at first, just stared at me. Then one boy asked, “Why are your hands wrapped up?”

I glanced down at my bandages, awkward. “I, uh.. got hurt training.”

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The girl tilted her head. “Training? Like a pack warrior?”

“Something like that,” I said.

The boy’s eyes lit up. “That’s cool.”

I blinked at him. Cool? That was the last word I would use to describe myself right now.

However, the hesitation from earlier faded. I crouched down slowly so I wasn’t standing over them.

Soon enough, they started talking all at once. They began asking questions, showing me random little things they were holding, from sticks, to a toy car, to a flower.

I couldn’t keep up with everything, but I was smiling.

Jasmine and Shane glanced at each other, then they shrugged in unison as they too decided to take part in entertaining the children.

So much time passed. I don’t know how long, but I stopped noticing time.

At first, I was stiff, not sure what to say or do. But the kids didn’t seem to care. They laughed at every little thing, and soon I was laughing too.

It was peaceful.

I noticed a little boy sitting on the side of the slide. His face was red, and tears ran down his cheeks. He clutched his scraped knee, crying.

I didn’t delay. I crouched down beside him. “Hey, sweetheart, let me see,” I said softly. He held out his leg, still crying. The scrape wasn’t deep. I gently brushed away the dirt. “That’s not too bad. You’re really brave.”

With time, his sobbing quieted as I consoled him.

“You want to get back to the slide?” I asked.

He nodded, wiping his eyes. I helped him up, ruffling his hair affectionately, and he ran off like nothing had happened.

Jasmine chuckled. “Wow, that’s impressive. You just turned off his waterworks.”

I smiled, shrugging casually.

A little girl tugged on my sleeve suddenly. She held up a sneaker in her small hands. The laces were a tangled mess.

“Can you fix it?” she asked, eyes hopeful.

Jasmine glanced at it from over my shoulder and grimaced. “Yikes. That’s a disaster. You might as well cut it off.”

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The girl pouted. “No! These are my favorite shoes.”

“Yeah, but-“Jasmine started.

“Give it to me,” I interrupted.

The girl handed it over, and I got to work. I slowly began untangling the knots, and in a few minutes, it was loose.

“There,” I said, holding it out.

The girl’s eyes widened. “You fixed it!”

She grabbed it, grinning widely. “Thank you!”

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