#Chapter 50: Title
I can’t help but wonder if he’s thinking about his brother.
I can’t really see anything as we stroll through the forest. I don’t have night vision. Fortunately, Alex does. This makes it even more magical when the trees clear to reveal the most beautiful scene.
“Wow!” escapes my lips.
There is a stream ahead of us. The moon is glistening off the water, creating, sparkles of white dancing on the slow
moving, barely rippling surface of water. With the stars above and this stream at our feet, I can’t help but feel like I’m in a movie. Again..
This time, I don’t remind myself that it’s a scary movie.
Alex leads me closer to the water, stopping when we near the edge. “Here.”
He sits on the grass, and I nestle down beside him, close but not quite touching him.
The ground is solid, but the grass is soft. I touch it with my fingers, fully alive in this moment of magic.
It’s very romantic.
Alex talks for a while, mostly about what it was like growing up here. I try to listen, to focus; but all I can think about is his future. That was something that never crossed my mind until we got here. If Alex becomes alpha, that means he has to stay here.
“Ssso. Alpha, huh?”
It’s Alex’s turn to be consider his words beforehand. Something he doesn’t do a lot in the human world, I guess because there is no pressure on him there. I mean, there is, but it’s not life or death, dead brother or lead your pack kinda pressure.
“I’m next in line. But, honestly, it shouldn’t even be an issue until I’m older. Until my parents are gone and my brother is too old to lead. Then, he could even pass me for a son….if he has one old enough.”
“Do you. Want to? Lead, I mean.”
This answer doesn’t take thought. “No.”
Then he goes silent. I look up at the stars, that overwhelming feeling taking over again. We really are so small compared to the universe, so why do our problems seem so big?
Alex feels it, too. He’s not one to sit in silence; he usually tries to fill it with small talk. So I’m forced to keep asking the uncomfortable questions. After all, the more I know, the less I have to wonder about.
“You got upssset. With your mom. Your birthday.”
I hear him inhale, deep and long, and emit a sigh of exasperation. “I knew it was coming, but with everything going on…I tried not to think about it.”
S “Scared?”
“Yes–and no.” He leans back on his hands and stretches out his legs. “I mean, all this is inevitable.”
My chest constricts. I’m afraid to ask this question, but it must be done. “Who. Isss…your mate?”
There is a pause. It’s uncomfortable…and I’m so afraid it is going to be followed by Rita’s name.
“Uhhh…I don’t know,” he finally says. “I won’t know…until I do.”
+25 BONUS
#Chapter 56: Title
“That’s it?”
He shakes his head. “I mean…yeah. It’s so simple but so complicated. You know?”
“Will you…live here…after?”
Again, silence. So, I know the answer can’t be good.
“If Michael is okay, it’ll buy me some time….but I’ll eventually have to come back, yeah. Even if I’m not Alpha.‘
So that’s it. He will have to live here no matter what because he’s a werewolf, regardless of how I feel about him or how he feels about me.
“I’m sorry, but that’s the reality of being me. It doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.”
I didn’t expect this confession. “You do? Care?”
“Of course I do. Don’t you think I’ve fantasized what it would be like if I could just be human? Play hockey, maybe get a job…live as a human? I like that world better, but…it’s not really mine.”
My heart is shriveling up inside my chest; I feel actual, physical pain. This is the only guy I feel I’ve connected with that gives a shit about me. It sure wasn’t Oliver.
Alex pulls his knees up, rests his folded arms on top of them, and lays his head down turned to look at me. “What are you thinking?”
My body coils up to match his. I know this is my chance to be honest, but I don’t think I can put my heart out there like that. Not right now. Not when I know it won’t matter in the long run.
“I wonder when I’ll be able to go home–what my life will be like then.”
The truth is, I’m sad. Heartbroken that I’ll never have a chance with Alex. But now I have to figure out what to do when this is over. For me, that’s returning to the human world.
So, in a way, I’m telling the truth.
“After discovering werewolves?” he asks with a laugh. “Things won’t be the same…for sure.”
I want to say it will be different because he probably won’t be in it, but I don’t. Alex leans toward me, one arm behind my back, and we sit for several moments in silence.
It’s after 9:30 pm when we return to Alex’s parents‘ house and they are seated on the couch waiting for us. Fortunately, Rita is nowhere to be found.
Tala stands to greet me. “I was hoping you two would return before we retired for the night.”
She walks over to me and gives me a hug. I just can’t figure this woman out…
The physical contact is nice, genuine, şo I lean in. I mean, Alex has touched my hand, put his arm around me, things to ensure I feel his presence, but we haven’t been exactly close since we’ve been here.
“I know this has probably been a long day for you, but I would like to speak with you tomorrow–once you’ve rested.”
“Yesss, ma’am.”
She puts a hand on each of my shoulders. “Tala, please.
“Tala.”
2/3
#Chapter 56 Title
She studies my face before letting me go, like she’s searching for something,
Alex, in the meantime, is hanging back, watching us. From the look on his face, I guess he doesn’t know wh going on with his mom, either.
She finally lets me go. “Alex, please show Cynthia to the spare room.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“And be a gentleman–carry her bag,” Mr. Hewlett adds from the couch “Goodnight, Cynthia Boston,” he sen slowly.
And he’s smiling at me, wolfishly.
“Goodnight, Mr. Hewlett.”
Alex rolls his eyes at me, making me giggle. He grabs my bag and makes his way to the hallway,
