The Silent Alpha

*AHZ QnEFE

"You can use my phone if that helps,”

Talia suggests, pulling out her phone from her pocket and unlocking it for me.

Beads of sweat gather at my temple as I stare blankly at the Notepad app.

She's not asking for much, Grayson mutters.

Did you miss the part where she’s been married to a perfect Alpha? I snap at him.

What do you think will go through her head when she realizes she’s mated to a freak? You are being dramatic, Grayson groans.

He wasn't THAT perfect.

He cheated on her! WITH HER SISTER! That's not the point! The point is my own father refused to recognize meas his son! \retort.

When Talia realizes how truly worthless I am, she'll reject me like everyone else has.

Do you not trust our mate will treat us fairly? Grayson asks.

I look up at my mate, her smile faltering with my everlasting silence.

She deserves the truth...

Grayson sighs.

And so do we.

We won't know how she truly feels about us if all we show her is a lie.

But..Anything.

The phone trembles in my hand, my fingers unwilling to type out a message.

Minutes crawl by before Talia finally loses her patience.

"Okay, I think this date is over,”

Talia laughs dryly, my heart sinking as a few tears cling to her eyes.

She wipes at them angrily and starts to get up, disappointed by my lack of response.

"I honestly don't even know what I was expecting,” she mutters, shaking her head at herself.

"This was such a f*****g mistake and I cant even be mad at you because I did this to myself," she huffs, rolling her eyes.

"I should have just kept my mouth shut.”

She presses the palms of her hands against her eyes to stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks.

"Please take me home," she whimpers

"I don't want to be here anymore.”

My mind goes into a panic when I hear the hurt in her voice.l open my mouth to explain but it feels as though the wind has been knocked out of me and all that comes out is a gasp.

Come on! I snap at myself.

Say something! But the harder I try to utter a word, the drier my mouth feels and the heavier my tongue becomes.

All the memories of my father screaming at me to speak come flooding back and the words get caught in my throat, unable to escape.

She deserves the truth, I remind myself, taking a few deep breaths and rising to my feet shoulders and turn her towards me, embracing her in my arms.

I try to hold her to my chest but Talia only shakes her head in anger at me.

"No," she cries.

"You don't get to just hug this all away. told you my story. shared my pain with you," she hiccups. "Why can't you do the same for me?”

Knowing she is right, I urge her to sit back down, patting the space beside me as my eyes plead with her to sit.

Reluctantly, she settles down, hugging her knees to her chest.

"He was just showing you his card!"

"He did not look me in the eye!" Sebastian retorts.

"A real man looks another man in the eye when he’s talking to him."

"He's just a boy!"

Ellie argues, helping Zane to his feet.

"A boy that will one day lead this pack, Elenore,"

Sebastian roars, curling his finger at Zane to come forward.

"And 1 will not leave behind a weak Alpha to take my place.Understand?"

The little boy straightens himself out as he once again approaches his father.He holds his head high, his freshly split lip quivering slightly as he holds the card out to the tall man.

Tears cling to his eyes but little Zane remains strong, holding them back with all of his might so as not to enrage his father any further.

He breathes heavily, swallowing back the sobs I know he wants to let out.

Despite his shaking legs and tear-stained cheeks, Zane faces his father, my heart swelling with pride at his sheer strength and courage at the card with mild disgust.

"Read it."

"Sebastian-"

"If he can't say the words, then he doesn't deserve to call me father,” Sebastian snarls.

The memory fades into the abyss, leaving me all alone in the pitch black with my heart shattering to pieces at what I just witnessed.

Even more painful than the memory, however, is the realization that I have been unkind to a man who has grown up feeling unloved by someone who should have cherished him.

When I open my eyes, I find Zane staring blankly at the floor, his face devoid of all emotion.

I don't even know what to say to help comfort him, my mind still reeling from all the information I got.

He was a prisoner in his own pack.

Agnes is not his mother.

He is an Alpha...And his father is a monster.

But there are still so many questions swirling in my head.

Where is his biological mother? Who is Agnes? Why is he a rogue now when he was the Heir to the title? Did his pack fall? As I look at Zane sitting in perfect silence, however, I realize that none of these questions matter.

All that matters is that he is willing to show me who he is and for now, that is more than enough. In time, 1 will learn more about him.

Without saying a word, I crawl into his lap, Zane gasping as I settle into his arms.

I bury my face in the crook of his neck, wrapping my arms around his stomach.

He doesn't say anything, sit in each other's arms for several minutes, comforting each other with our presence.

Finally, I pull back and cup his cheeks, wanting him to understand that I meant this with every fiber in my being.

"You are the bravest man I've ever met" I murmur, leaning my forehead against his.

"I'm so sorry you went through that.”

At first, shock ripples across his face before he finally processes what I said and he bites his lower lip to contain his emotions

Tears line his eyes but he blinks them away, doing his best to remain strong.But he doesn’t have to be strong anymore.

Not with me.

"Thank you for sharing your gift with me," I whisper against his lips.

"I don't fully understand what you did, but it was beautiful.”

An awkward smile stretches across his face and it becomes obvious he’s not used to this many compliments.

It's adorable to see him so flustered with me but at the same time, my heart breaks knowing he has probably missed out on so many things that I have taken for granted my entire life.

Seeing that we are both being honest and vulnerable, I decide to break my own rule and push myself beyond my comfort zone.

"Can I meet your wolf?" I ask, doing my best to look enthusiastic despite the fire alarms going off in my head.

The last me before an elder.

But Zane has his own wolf, one who deserves a fair chance.

"I would like to thank him..." I add, forcing a smile.

"And you of course, for protecting Kota the other day.” Zane looks nervous, grabbing the phone and typing a question.

"Are you sure?" he types.

The timidness from his childhood still lingers in his eyes, reminding me that despite his incredible power and alpha blood, inside he is still that very shy little boy just wanting to be loved.

"Yes," I murmur, stroking the side of his face.

"I want to see you.All of you.Even the parts that might scare me."

Zane hesitates for a moment but when I gently peck his lips, he seems to be on board with my request.

"What is his name?" I ask, wanting to know who I would be speaking with.

"Grayson," he types, his brows furrowing in a scowl.

"He's an idiot."

"I think I decide that for myself," I chuckle, pecking him again.

I wait patiently as he closes his eyes and when he opens them again, they are no longer brown but gold, swirls of green and honey swimming in his irises.

It's the most beautiful combination I've ever seen.

He very gently slides me off of his lap, rising to his feet and jogging off behind some trees.

I fiddle with my hair as I wait, suddenly very anxious to see Grayson in his wolf form and I stand up on my feet to fix my shirt.

My entire world stops, however, when a silver wolf emerges from the trees, his golden eyes focused only on me.

The wolf gracefully approaches me, my breath hitching in my throat.

I had seen many wolves during my time as Luna, but none compared to Grayson.

The beautiful wolf is covered head to toe with silver fur, each hair glittering with a metallic sheen under the moonlight.

His tail wags with every playful step he takes towards me and I find myself unable to move.

The wolf gently nuzzles his head against mine, his snout lightly brushing my cheek.

I can hear the giant wolf begin to purr, tugging at my shirt as if asking me to follow him.

He leads me to a tiny patch of grass, plopping down on his side to rest.

Unable to resist the temptation of curling up with a warm wolf, I settle in between his paws, gently stroking his head and scratching his ears.

Jack (Christian's wolf) was very temperamental, always on edge and ready to establish dominance over others if they got too close to me.

I constantly found myself facing off with the dominant wolf to protect others from his wrath. Grayson, on the other hand, seems very different.

Although he too possesses a dominant aura, he appears to be far more relaxed, completely content with just being in my presence.

puppy, Grayson groaning and barking at me.

Ultimately annoyed with my stubbornness, the large wolf rolls over onto his back and stares up at the stars.

Curling up beside him, I watch his chest rise and fall, wondering how on earth it was possible to feel this content with a wolf.

"Thank you for tonight.This has been the best first date ever, *

I whisper against his chest.

"I can't wait for our second.”