The Silent Alpha

"*Zane*** 

"Are you fighting with me or staying out of this war?" Toran asks, a crippling fear grasping onto me.

My gaze shifts between my mate and mother, my heart unable to decide what to do.

I can’t bear the thought of leaving Talia and Kota alone knowing that her wolf will soon emerge for its first shift but I had already lost my mother once and I don’t have the strength to lose her again.

As I struggle to find my answer, Rionna replies for me.

"You will not drag my son into this," she declares, standing protectively in front of me.

"I am Ravenstone’s Luna and it’s me Sebastian wants.I’ll go back.You just leave my son out of this."

Toran eyes my mother with an emotionless expression plastered on his face and he sighs tiredly as he formulates a response.

My mind, however, drifts off to the memories of my mother and father when I was a child.

My father aimed most of his anger towards me but my mother was never exempt from his abuse.

He would not hesitate to slap or hit her if she stood in the way of my punishment and she always did.

"Why did you stop?"

My father snarls, slowly unbuckling his belt from his waist.He rises to his feet, towering over me as I hold my book with trembling hands.

"I didn’t say you could stop." I stare at the word "colonel" from the poem I am reading, tears springing to my eyes as I realize I will inevitably stutter through it. I purse my lips and shake my head, preferring to take my punishment now rather than anger him more with my failure.

"Say it," my father commands as I hold my breath, close my eyes, and start to count.

1...2...3...4...

I hear his swift footsteps start to charge towards me, the sting of his belt rippling behind my thigh.

At once, the breath I’ve been holding is released with a scream as I receive a second lick to the back of my knees.

"Dadd-"

"I told you to speak!"

My father roars, raising his hand above his head to hit me again.

"Sebastian, stop it!"

My mother begs, tugging at his shirt in a weak attempt to get him to stop whipping me.

"Stop it! Stop it, don’t hurt my baby!"

She beats her fists against his shoulders to make him stop and he shoves her away from him absent-mindedly to hit me again.

When she doesn’t stop attacking him, he turns against her, pinning her to the ground with his large thighs and grabbing at her belt, my mother begging for him to let her go.

She calls to his wolf but it seems my father is in complete control, beating her over and over again until he draws blood.

Horrified, I pick up the book again and search for my place through my tears.

"Col-co- colo-" I stammer through hiccups as my father snarls at me.

"Say it right and I'll stop," he challenges me, my legs shaking so severely, I have to kneel to keep from falling over.

"I-It’s okay, Zane," my mother wheezes.

"You can-"

"Shut up!"

My father roars, grabbing my mother by the throat before turning to me.

"You better speak up, boy or I’ll hurt her.It was the longest day of my life that day, my mother taking the blows without ever getting angry with me.Even as I failed over and over again, she did not scream at me, nor did she ever blame me for her hospital visit that day.I cannot let my mother face that monster again.

"N-no..." I protest, shaking my head at my mother and pushing her aside.

"N-no...y-you can’t go."

"Zane, it’s my pack-"

ou-out you married

can’t hanging open

go in y-your place.I-I don’t want him to h-hurt y-you

head in her hands, cursing herself for being unable to remember her life with my father.It does not matter to me, however.I remember...and I do not want my father to ever

touch but she does not utter a word as I beg to

in Kota’s hair and I sense the

"Ta-Talia..."

hand another squeeze and shakes

"It’s okay..."

her best to

going to be okay, so you don’t have to worry about us," she says through

"We'll be fine."

and looks me in the eye, leaning forward to kiss

love you,"

back to me in

we do not get the chance to exchange them as Toran reminds us of

the cars in

his attack and we need to prepare for what he might have up

face falters slightly, softening as he looks up at

"Ri..."

entirely, turning

as my mothers slams the door behind her, and his thoughts slowly trickle into my

love," he thinks to himself before the man of stone returns,

aloud before walking out

yawns tiredly, Talia smoothing back his

he lays his head on Talia’s shoulder

grins, ruffling up Kota’s

Talia," Queen Aurora

few hours as well." My heart sinks to the pit

protect my family while I

been summoned to France to deal with Alpha Jacque and Benoit," the

worry.I’ll try to be back as

will pro-protect my family?" I

Oliver explains.

gives him a stern look.My heart begins to beat a little faster and I question if I am making the right decision to leave

Zane.Talia, Kota, Rionna, and Agnes will

Aurora continues.

the kingdom from the LLuvia Blanca Pack for the time being so

shouldn’t be any

Talia tries to reassure

look," she says with

surrounded by wolves.We'll be

also cannot let my

I'll help you

and pulling

too eager to get rid of us, Grayson sulks, a part

as she walks me out of the office,

my walls to listen in on her thoughts, hearing her count each step she takes in "Left, right, left, right,

keeping a strong

at the dining table with Rionna, pouring a cup

beside Rionna with an envelope in his

conversation all on their own so we walk past them up the

on the bed while she searches for my bag and she

Kota asks as Talia

Talia chirps with

dresser," she says, pointing to the dresser on the far side of

pairs of my socks which she carefully

ignores me, humming quietly to herself as she

scanning the

Talia gasps,

my toiletries and waves

put this on.It’s hot and you’re

look washes over her face

a sound as it becomes evidently clear Talia is just trying to cope.I can’t seem to find the right 4 words to soothe her fears, the uncertainty of this war clouding my every

her head and running back

Kota suddenly asks, climbing on the bed to play with the zipper of

going on a

with the jar of hair gel in