The Silent Alpha

***Natalia*** 

"Now it's just you and me," I smile at Zane, the wolf staring at me with anxious eyes.

"Relax," I chuckle.

"I don’t bite."

The nervous look never leaves his eyes as I drag him back to the park.

During the first part of our date with Kota, I watched Zane carefully, noticing how excited he got over such simple things like Dippin Dots or the disco music that was playing during the rides.

It’s obvious this is his first time seeing an amusement park before, leaving me to wonder what else he had yet to experience.I take him to the nearest roller coaster, explaining to him the thrill of dropping and rising ona train.

He doesn’t seem convinced by my explanation, but he nonetheless humors me and gets on the train.

There’s a slight hint of fear in Zane’s eyes as the ride operator locks us into our seats, the automated announcements telling us to keep our arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times.I reach out to hold Zane’s hand and comfort him, interlocking our fingers to let him know we were going to be okay.

The train shoots out of the station, Zane’s eyes widening as we rush down a track, making a sudden sharp turn and climbing up the first hill.

"Hold on tight!" I squeal, growing excited for the drop.

The anticipation grows as the entire park shrinks before our eyes, the sun setting off in the horizon.

The pretty view distracts Zane temporarily before we reach the apex and look down at the drop.

"Oh f**k,"

Someone behind us shouts before we race down the hill, a camera flashing as we zoom past it territied and amused by the sharp turns and sudden drops.

A huge grin is plastered on his face when we get off and I can tell he wants to ride again.

We make our way to the photo booth at the end of the ride, and I laugh my butt off when I see our picture.

I’m smiling like a lunatic with my arms raised in the air while Zane has a look of absolute terror, his eyes and mouth wide open in fright.

"I'm buying it," I giggle, Zane’s ears turning red in embarrassment.

"And I’m going to frame it." He shakes his head in horror, as if willing me not to buy it but I give him a stern look.

"This is a picture of your very first roller coaster," I sigh.

"And I want to remember being the one who shared that moment with you."

His entire face turns redder than a tomato, the edges of his lips slightly curving up in a little smile.

Satisfied that I can now keep the picture, I hand the money to the clerk and receive two copies of our photo.

"Hehe, now I get to remember the look on your face forever," I tease him, shoving the pictures in my purse before he can take them from me.

We go on a few more roller coasters, Zane nervous about each one but coming out of each ride with a contagious smile on his lips.I spot a cotton candy stand and buy two big clouds of cotton for each of us, Zane staring at the large pink cloud with a puzzled look on his face.

"Open your mouth," I laugh, tearing off a piece of his cotton.

Zane hesitantly follows my orders, slowly hanging his mouth open.

"Now, stick your tongue out."

He once again does as he’s told and I place the little cotton fluff on his tongue, his eyes lighting up like a child at Christmas as the candy melts in his mouth, leaving the sugar taste in its wake lutty from my candy.

He holds it out to me and I raise an eyebrow at him.

"You want to feed me?" l ask.

He turns bright red again and lowers his gaze in shame, guilt quickly filling my mind.

Jeez, Talia, why are you such a b***h? I scold myself, opening my mouth and leaning in close to him.

His hand shakes a little as he deposits the little fluff in my mouth, the sugar spreading across my tastebuds.He smiles nervously so I offer hima smile in return and wiggle my eyebrows to ease the awkward tension between us.

"We should try the Ferris wheel," I suggest, pulling him towards the giant wheel at the end of the park.

A young operator greets us and lets us into the little cage, Zane gripping onto the sides when it begins to rock upon our ascension.

"Relax, wolf," I chuckle.

"It's supposed to rock a little.Just sit back and enjoy the view."

Almost as if on cue, we reach the top of the Ferris wheel overlooking the entire park, his breath hitching when he sees the incredible view.

"It’s pretty, isn’t it?"

at the glittering stars decorating the

stay up here for hours just watching

feel his gaze settle on me and I turn to look at him,

face to hide my blush, I sit back in our seats and watch the moon for a bit, listening to

timidly inches closer to me, stretching

my laughter when he carefully drapes his arm behind my seat, knowing

in indulging him on his little quest, I lean my

patterns on his broad chest, my heart

eyes for fear that

happy.That’s the best gift anyone

curl up at his side, allowing him

and for a brief moment, I allow myself

idea is calming, bringing me a sense of comfort knowing Kota would have a dad to look up to...but as with every potential partner I take

could see that Zane and Kota get along just fine, one day

us when I struggle to give him one? Will he find someone else, leaving me to pick up all the pieces of

wheel, the thought lingering in the back of my mind serving as a gentle reminder to

is best I practice caution before diving in

of me, and I text Aurora to let her know that

to the alley, the portal opening to a

ona large stone that will be

enough candles,

"They’re already here."

to us with

the ground with pillows and dishes scattered around it.A basket with a delicious scent coming from it sits in the middle of the blanket, a bottle of wine in ice resting beside

the grass surrounding the picnic, the lake providing a

ask, wondering how

and leading me to the stone

plates and cutleries, producing two

as he pulls out containers of fruits, cheeses, macaroni salads, sandwiches, fried

I eat, as if to see if I’m enjoying the

I say as I finish

He slowly spells out Agnes’s name with his fingers and I mentally pat

had been practicing my signs over the past

recipe because this

puffs out his chest a little in pride at my compliment to his mother, bringing a tiny smile to my

again takes over and we both awkwardly pick at

with a man who does not speak and I find myself running out of things

it seems to only make him nervous.the only real way

and put away my dishes back into the

mate once," I blurt out, carefully wiping my wine glass before finally looking up

"Christian," I sigh.

***Zanet** 

not sure what

very handsome,"

ever met.Practically perfect in every single way, "

shiver runs

runs through my veins but I am

that lam no

be a huge disappointment to her should she ever

a guy like him would take an interest in a girl like me," she says,

wasn’t a geek or a loner or anything like that," she says

definitely not his type. Guess I’m still not his type," she

her eyes and she goes a little quiet, swallowing her emotions

was a wolf.It wasn’t an easy thing to wrap my head around but it made a little sense.It explained why I felt like I was

man ever claiming her as his but I shove him to the back of my mind, reminding him that we did not have a right to be angry that she had a life before meeting

were...um married for

were happy for the most part but of course, it wasn’t all flowers and rainbows.I had to prove myself to the former Alpha and the entire pack that

bottom lip quivers as she wipes away a stray tear

can hear her heartbeat erratically in her chest, the thick scent

spent the last part of our marriage struggling to get pregnant, doing everything I could to give him his pup but

spits through gritted teeth, holding back the more tears desperately wanting to spill onto

took matters into

quiet, balling up her fists at

on the walls I built, letting her thoughts and memories

image of a man and woman laying on a bed together flickers in my head,

the woman moaning louder as

make you my Luna," he

snarls at the memory as I realize Talia’s mate had cheated on her

that finally spilled onto her cheeks in hopes of comforting her from shame of letting me see her

cheated," She whispers, holding back a

pack knew....And they didn’t say a word to me about it.They lied

lied to me! They were supposed to protect their Luna but they lied to me! They lied.Wolves lie!" she sobs, burying her face