The Silent Alpha

***Zane*** 

"Please marry me,"

Talia repeats, her eyes full of tears as she sets Kota down on the floor.

"W-what?" I ask, unsure if I just imagined her proposal.

She steps on the tips of her toes, cupping my cheeks in her warm, soft hands and repeating the most wonderful words to ever leave her lips.

"I love you," she murmurs, my heart pounding against my chest as I struggle to hold back my own tears.

"And I just realized that I’m going to wake up tomorrow...And you won’t be there," she shrugs with a sad smile on her face.

"And that scares me," she whimpers softly.

"Because I-I don’t ever want to wake up without you.I want your face to be the last face I see at night and the first one I see every morning...for the rest of my life." I can’t seem to gather my thoughts and for once, Grayson is as useless as I am.

"I used to be so afraid of your love," she whimpers.

"But now I fear living without it.Please marry me, Zane,"

Talia whispers, gently brushing her lips against mine as sparks tingle across my face.

"I want to be your wife."

No words seem sufficient enough to express the blissful joy I feel in my heart right now as my mate kisses me with all her heart, begging to be mine for the rest of our lives.

I grew up thinking the and now it seems surreal to have a mate love me enough to give me her broken heart.

Despite all her fears, Talia loves me and I love her with all of the light of my soul.

"Y-yes," I reply, wrapping my arms around her waist.

"Y-yes.I-I’ll marry y-you."

She smiles against my lips as I accept her over and over again, forgetting the horrible truth of our reality to share a single moment of true happiness with my mate.

She's going to be my wife! Thank Goddess! Grayson howls ecstatically.

I thought we were going to die alone at this rate! lignore my wolf’s commentary, lifting my beautiful mate in my arms as I deepen our kiss.

"Come back to me, Zane," Talia murmurs between kisses.

"You have to come back so I can be your wife." I nod emphatically as I set her down, taking her hand and kissing it.

"I-I promise.I-I promise I’ll come back to y-you and Kota." I cup her cheeks and shower her head with kisses, Kota hopping up and down with excitement.

"Ewww!" Kota squeals, a huge grin on his face as I kiss his mother.

"No more kisses," he shouts, running up to us with his hands in the air.

I bend over and pick him up, Kota placing his hand over my mouth to stop me from kissing him. Aren’t you forgetting something? Grayson says, his tail flicking side to side.

What? I ask, completely confused.

Must I do everything, he sighs tiredly.

A ring, you gump! You need a ring for our mate! Oh! Right! I gasp, realizing I don’t own anything that remotely resembles a ring.

I’ll have to improvise.Pushing his little hand aside, I whisper instructions in Kota’s ear, the little boy nodding obediently and running off to complete his task.

"Zane, we have to go," Tylen insists.

"We don’t have a lot of time-"

"I-l know," I interrupt him, lifting my hand to silence him.

"J-just give m-me one more minute, p-please."

Tylen eyes Talia and I, sighing tiredly to himself as he gives in.

Just then, Kota returns with the four bead bracelet he made for me a while back.

"Here you go, Daddy," Kota says, placing the bracelet in my hand.

I untie the string, removing the pink and blue beads from the bracelet and handing the blue one to Talia.

"K-Kota made this for m-me.It's our family," I explain, pointing to each bead.

piece of m-me and I-I’m holding a

ring for y-you yet but I-I promise to c-come back so w-we can put our fam-family

"I promise."

"Zane! Now!"

snaps when I kiss Talia one

nod, pecking Talia

love you

"I love you."

and following Tylen towards the door when he suddenly halts, his jaw

leaves his lips and he turns around, storming towards Agnes who

one of them signs a word and for what seems like an eternity,

Interesting...

me to be oblivious on

the chance to answer me as Tylen suddenly removes his dog tag and places it in Agnes’s

Tylen leans in and kisses her gently

go," he snaps, pushing past me and opening

of us staring

questions, Tylen once again yells at me to move, the sound of

hurriedly kiss my pup and mate goodbye once more before

"Ty-Tylen wait!"

time," he shouts back without looking

to move.Sebastian’s troops will mobilize soon and we have to prepare

"B-but Agnes-"

He says, stopping in his tracks and looking at

her," I say

"And?"

huffs, walking past

mate.Why can’t I kiss

eyes widen

completely

me," he

I clear my throat to demand

not an afterthought to

I

to face me,

just thought you

father who is busy speaking with

not notice his son’s obvious hatred and

change of plans," Toran

not just teleport us to

wrist and opening a portal to what appears to

gift has its

to places I have been and I do not know Ravenstone.The airport is as far

I greatly appreciate your

bows, gesturing for us

honor to be in your

compliment with a nod, Toran stepping into the portal with

a deep breath to calm my nerves as

around a table and a large monitor mounted on a wall

sparsely spread around the cabin to create a sophisticated atmosphere and there is a fleet of flight attendants

all settle down for a meeting, Toran pulling up a map of Ravenstone on

and Scarlett Haven are located along the Samish Bay

woods and ocean but Ravenstone is very remote, positioned across five small islands almost three

where most of the pack lives and equipment, food, and

middle of the island ring, there is an abandoned missile silo located on

on the island, buried nine stories underground

outsider, the island appears insignificant and uninhabited but it contains an impenetrable

his soldiers on the eastern side of the island near the bluffs," Toran explains, using a laser pointer to indicate Sebastian’s

he will have a smaller crew jump along these

main dock on the western front for

the map intently in search for a solution to

are greatly

assume we will have to utilize guerilla warfare if

"Precisely,"

Torans smiles.

use them to our advantage to strike and slip out unseen between the islands.We'll have teams stationed here, here and here,

tells me you’ve been training over the last few weeks but are still figuring out your gift?" he asks, though it is not really a

silently and he

don’t find the bunker entrance.Zane, due to your lack of war

gift does your father understand?"

m-my gift is," I reply with