***Zane***
"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 can’t 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.I 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.I told you my story.I 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.
Her brown eyes watch me carefully, scrutinizing my every move.
I pull the phone from my pocket and after she unlocks it, I type out my plan.
"I can’t tell you my story, but I can show you," She reads aloud.
"Close your eyes."
She gives me a confused look but I just smile and place my hand over my own eyes to show her what I need from her.
Very hesitantly, she places both hands over her eyes, sighing deeply in annoyance.
Taking a deep breath, I close my own eyes and concentrate, letting down my walls and accepting the river of thoughts coming from my mate.
"This is silly," her voice echoes in my head.
"Shhh,"
I whisper, Talia suddenly jumping up and looking around frantically.
she asks, her
laugh a little and gesture for her to close
***Natalia***
darkness behind my eyelids when suddenly a little white light appears
light, singing a
I wonder, looking around
I decide to follow the
white light envelopes me, temporarily blinding me for a few moments before settling back and revealing a
a high
the tree
connects
a large
small kitchenette equipped with a sink, a toaster oven, a mini fridge, and cabinets which I
beside the the left wall and hundreds
room, there are very few toys, only a small stuffed
an air vent the only means of fresh air, providing ventilation and cool
room, which appears to be bolted shut with
child’s room,
This is a prison.
at the desk, hunching over several sheets of paper.He can’t be
his left eye is completely swollen shut, dark bruises littering the
sleeve as he scribbles "My name is
is a pile of sheets
be Zane’s
to jingle, the little
after several of the locks are undone, the
and warm smile resemble Zane’s whenever he looks at
watching as Zane climbs out of his chair to greet the
her arms, Zane resting his head
is quite handsome, his piercing blue eyes like the ocean, and he is fit
the desk, pulling out
arm who is busy setting up the food on
down at
me kid?" He asks, taking the card and reading the words
Wyatt.You smell very nice and you’re not mean.I like you." he says, his
glad I don’t smell," he
not a
is due any minute now," the woman laughs, Zane nodding in
do you have a card for
and fishes out another card, this one
woman who reads it
her voice cracking a little as she reads before she kneels
she sighs, trying very
pauses, searching
in his own way." see in her eyes that even she doesn’t believe her
have our lunch, okay?" she
Wyatt, the two of them
eats, careful not to chew loudly
him the many birds
suddenly bursts open, a tall man
at about 6ft 4, his bulging muscles and broad shoulders
scar just below
hair is combed back and his eyes
me in here, Ellie?" he snaps at
due for a
has a gift for you," she replies
She’s his mother?I wonder.
man turns to look at
"Go on, Zane,"
him by
made for him on his special
climbing out of his seat and
flared nostrils keeps his
in the eye when addressing me, boy,"
his arm and strikes Zane in the face,
is on her feet in an instant,
snarls, shoving him
was just showing you
not look me in the eye!"
another man in the eye when he’s talking to
"He’s just a boy!"
Zane to
will one
his finger at
a weak
he once again approaches his father.He holds his head high, his freshly
holding them back with all of his
the sobs I know he
shaking legs and tear-stained cheeks, Zane faces his father, my heart swelling
"Read it."
"Sebastian-"
the words, then he doesn’t deserve to call me father," Sebastian
alone in the pitch black
than the memory, however, is the realization that I have been unkind to a man who has
I find Zane staring blankly at the floor, his face devoid of all
comfort him, my
a prisoner in his
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