Rejected By My Mate; Claimed By Lycan Quadruplets Chapter 177

Third person POV

The house was never quiet when four five-year-olds had a plan.

By the time Lisa walked out of the kitchen that morning, she already sensed something unusual. Elias, Aria, Kael, and Lyra sat at the dining table in an unnaturally straight line, their small hands folded, their eyes following her every move like cats ready to pounce.

“What,” Lisa asked slowly, narrowing her eyes, “are you four up to?”

“Nothing,” Elias said far too quickly. He smiled with the sort of innocent grin that only made a mother suspicious.

Aria nudged him with her elbow. “Shh, don’t give it away.”

“Give what away?” Lisa placed her hands on her hips. “I know that face. You’re planning something.”

Lyra’s little mouth trembled like she might spill everything right there, but Kael pinched her hand under the table. She squeaked but clamped her lips shut.

“Just sit down, Mommy,” Aria said sweetly, patting the chair beside her. “We made breakfast.”

Lisa froze. “You what?”

Before she could protest, Elias hopped off his chair and scampered into the kitchen. A second later he returned, dragging a tray so big it nearly toppled him. On it sat a chaotic assortment of food: slightly burnt toast, eggs scrambled into clumps, a tower of cookies, and—of all things—a bowl of pickles.

Lisa pressed a hand over her mouth to hide the laugh that bubbled up. “You… made this?”

“We worked hard!” Kael said defensively. “Lyra cracked the eggs, Aria mixed, Elias cooked, and I was the boss.”

“Obviously,” Aria muttered under her breath.

Lisa sat down reluctantly. “Alright. Thank you, my darlings. But what’s the occasion?”

Four voices shouted at once. “Family breakfast!”

Before Lisa could ask what that meant, there was a knock at the door. The kids’ heads snapped up in perfect unison, eyes wide with barely-contained glee.

“Who could that be?” Lisa murmured, rising to answer it.

But Elias beat her to it, sprinting across the room and yanking the door open. On the threshold stood Enzo, tall and imposing as ever, his dark gaze flickering between Elias and Lisa.

“Enzo,” Lisa breathed, startled. “What are you—”

Before she could finish, Kael leapt off his chair and yelled, “You’re just in time!” He grabbed Enzo’s hand and tugged with all his five-year-old strength. “Come eat breakfast with us!”

Enzo blinked down at him, utterly thrown. “I… what?”

Lisa hurried forward, flustered. “No, no, he’s busy, Kael. Enzo has things to do—”

But Lyra piped up from the table, her little voice insistent. “Please? It’s family breakfast. Family has to sit together.”

Enzo’s gaze darted to Lisa’s, and something softened in his usually hard features. He hesitated, then allowed Kael to drag him inside.

Lisa pinched the bridge of her nose. “This is ridiculous.”

But before she could argue further, another knock came at the door. This time, Aria dashed over and flung it open to reveal Ash, standing there with an uncertain smile.

“Ash!” Aria squealed. “You came too!” She tugged him in, ignoring Lisa’s mortified expression.

Ash looked around, confused, until he spotted the tray of food on the table. “Uh… what’s going on?”

“Family breakfast,” Elias explained proudly.

Ash’s brows lifted. His eyes met Lisa’s, but she quickly looked away, heat crawling up her neck.

She barely had time to gather herself before a third knock came. Atlas walked in with his usual lazy grin, ruffling Elias’s hair as though he belonged there.

And then Kael appeared from nowhere with Gamma Kael—his namesake—pushing him toward the table.

Lisa stood frozen in the middle of the chaos, her heart pounding. Four men. Four brothers. Four pairs of eyes now fixed on her with varying degrees of amusement and awkwardness.

And four little children clapping their hands like they had just orchestrated the greatest surprise in history.

“Sit, sit!” Lyra chirped. “Everyone sit together! Mommy too!”

Lisa opened her mouth to object, but Elias and Aria were already tugging her toward a chair. “No excuses, Mommy,” Elias said firmly. “You always say breakfast is important.”

Trapped, Lisa lowered herself onto the chair, glaring at her children’s gleeful faces.

The brothers, clearly bemused but curious, slowly took their places around the table. Enzo sat opposite Lisa, his broad shoulders taking up too much space. Ash slid in beside her with an apologetic glance. Atlas plopped down with a wink at the kids, and Gamma Kael sat stiffly, as though unsure what exactly he was agreeing to.

“Alright,” Lisa said firmly, “ten minutes, and then everyone goes home.”

But her kids weren’t listening. They were already piling toast onto plates, shoving them toward the men.

“Try it!” Aria demanded, thrusting a cookie into Ash’s hand.

Ash blinked, then obediently took a bite. His eyes widened slightly at the absurd combination of sugar and scrambled eggs still on his tongue, but he forced a smile. “Delicious.”

Aria beamed. “See, Mommy? He likes it.”

Atlas picked up a pickle, popped it into his mouth, and declared, “Best breakfast I’ve ever had.”

Lyra’s eyes shone with pride.

Enzo, however, stared down at his plate with a frown. Elias nudged him insistently. “Eat. You’re the daddy, so you have to.”

The word froze the room. Lisa nearly choked on her water. “Elias!” she hissed.

But Elias was already watching Enzo expectantly, his chin raised in challenge. Enzo’s gaze flickered to Lisa again, unreadable, before he picked up the fork and took a slow bite of the burnt toast.

“It’s good,” he said simply.

Elias’s face split into a grin so wide it nearly split his cheeks.

Kael leaned across the table, whispering far too loudly, “See? He does the frown like me. Told you he’s my dad.”

Lisa dropped her head into her hands, mortified.

The brothers exchanged glances—some amused, some thoughtful. None of them corrected the children.

---

Breakfast was chaos. The kids climbed on laps, traded plates, spilled juice, and chattered nonstop.

Aria insisted Atlas braid her hair. He tried, fumbling with the strands, until Ash leaned over and took over with surprising skill.

“You’re good at that,” Atlas teased.

Ash shrugged. “Learned a long time ago. Comes in handy.”

Aria giggled as Ash finished the braid neatly. “See, Mommy? He’s good with kids.”

Lisa bit her tongue, refusing to respond.

Meanwhile, Kael—her son—challenged Gamma Kael to an arm-wrestling match right on the table.

“You’ll lose,” Gamma Kael warned, but he placed his arm down anyway.

Little Kael grunted, straining with all his might, his face red. Gamma Kael let him push his arm halfway down before pretending to struggle.

Elias and Lyra cheered wildly as Kael slammed their namesake’s hand against the table. “I win!”

“You’re strong,” Gamma Kael said with a small smile, ruffling his hair.

The boy glowed with pride.

Across the table, Elias had wriggled into Enzo’s lap, pointing at his stern face. “See, Mommy? He looks serious like me.”

Enzo didn’t push him off. Instead, he let Elias chatter on about his toy soldiers, even helping him march two pieces of bread across the plate like tiny warriors.

Lyra, the quietest of the four, curled into Ash’s side, whispering stories about her dolls. Ash listened intently, nodding at every detail, his gentle hand smoothing her hair.

Lisa watched it all in stunned silence. She had braced herself for chaos, for rejection, for awkwardness so sharp it would cut through the air. Instead, she saw something she hadn’t expected at all—softness.

The brothers, for all their pride and rough edges, didn’t push the children away. They listened, they smiled, they let themselves be pulled into games and chatter.

And her children—her heart—were glowing like they’d just discovered the world’s greatest treasure.

Lisa swallowed hard, her chest tight.

---

By the time breakfast ended, the kitchen was a disaster and Lisa’s nerves were frayed. But her children weren’t finished.

That evening, they struck again.

“Mommy,” Aria said sweetly, tugging her hand, “we should have dinner tonight too.”

Lisa, exhausted, shook her head. “Not tonight, darling.”

“But we already invited them,” Elias announced proudly, bursting into the room.

Lisa’s heart dropped. “You what?”

And sure enough, there was another knock at the door.

This time, all four brothers arrived together, led in triumphantly by her giggling children.

Lisa wanted the ground to swallow her whole.

But dinner happened. Somehow, miraculously, it happened.

The kids set the table—crooked but full of enthusiasm—placing seats so that Lisa was stuck in the middle with Enzo on one side and Ash on the other. Atlas winked across from her, while Gamma Kael silently watched, his gaze unreadable.

The food was simple: spaghetti that Aria had helped stir, garlic bread that Elias had nearly burned, and juice mixed far too strong.

It was messy, awkward, and loud.

But it was also… warm.

Enzo cut up Kael’s spaghetti patiently, Ash helped Lyra wipe sauce off her chin, Atlas pretended to sword fight with Elias using breadsticks, and Gamma Kael surprised everyone by telling a funny story that made Aria laugh so hard she spilled her drink.

Lisa sat in the middle, overwhelmed, caught between wanting to scold and wanting to cry.

Her children were glowing. The brothers were trying. And despite herself, despite every wall she had built, something in her chest softened.

Maybe, just maybe, her children’s ridiculous mission wasn’t so ridiculous after all.