The Silent Alpha

***Zanet** 

My eyes flutter open to find Natalia nestled up by my side, her head resting on my shoulder and her nose buried in my neck.She drapes her left arm over my chest while tucking her left leg over my thigh.

To my right, I feel Kota curled up under my arm, snoring lightly in his sleep as he clutches his little wolf tightly to his chest.

For a moment, I remain perfectly still, afraid the mirage would fade away if I moved.

The sparks tingling across my body from Talia’s touch, however, make me realize I’m not dreaming at all, both my mate and our pup nestled safely in my arms.

This must be what heaven feels like... I tell myself as my heart beats uncontrollably in my chest.

It feels so natural to hold them in my arms, as if they were always meant to be with me.

Kota suddenly stirs, sitting up on his knees and glancing around the room in confusion.

Messy hairs stick out from his head and his pajamas are all rumpled and crooked.

He wipes his tired eyes and looks up at me with a grin.

"I’m hungry," he yawns, stretching out his little arms.

He lays his head on my stomach and gives me puppy eyes.

"Can we make waffles, Zane?"

I smile at him, afraid to move and disturb Talia in her sleep.

It to me and then roll her to her side to free myself from her grasp.

My heart beats frantically as she stirs before she settles into her new spot comfortably, sighing contently in her sleep.

I help Kota brush his teeth and wash his face before we head into the kitchen where I spend a couple of minutes watching videos on my phone on how to make waffles.

Kota is practically dancing on his toes with excitement as I gather ingredients for his breakfast.

"Can I help you?" he asks eagerly, picking up a whisk with a cheeky grin.

"Auntie Gwen lets me help her.Can I please help you?"

His puppy eyes make it incredibly difficult to say no and I put a chair against the counter for him to stand on before placing the mixing bowl in front of him.

I hand measuring cups filled with ingredients to Kota, the little boy happily pouring them into the bowl and repeating the measurements out loud to me.

Placing my hand over his, I guide his little hand through the motion of whisking the ingredients together until we have a nice batter.

I pull out the waffle iron, staring at the infernal contraption until I finally figure out how to turn it on.

"Can I pour?" Kota asks as we both look at the iron.

I give him a measuring cup with some batter and steady him up over the counter while he pours.

"Oopsies..." he gasps as some of the batter spills over the counter.

"I'm sorry, Zane." a beating and a week with no visits from Mom.

The little boy hides his batter covered fingers behind his back, unsure what my reaction will be to his mistake.I never want him to be afraid of me...

"I-It's o-kay," I smile, closing the iron and sitting Kota on the chair.I cup his cheeks, not wanting him to feel like he is in trouble for making a mistake.

"A-a-accidents happen. We j-just ha-have to c-clean it up, o-okay?"

I hand him a towel and help him wipe the counter, high-fiving him when the mess is all gone.

As I flip the waffle iron over to cook the other side, Kota taps me on my shoulder.

"Zane," he says timidly, looking up at me with his large blue and brown eyes.

"Are you my daddy?"

My entire body stiffens but Grayson is more than willing to respond.Say yes, he grumbles.He belongs to us just as much as Talia.He’s ours.

The question, however, can only be answered by Talia.

"I- l-like you and your m-mommy very m-much," I reply with a nervous smile.

"B-but I don’t know what I-I am to you yet."

"I know what you are," He giggles.

"You’re a wolf."

He bursts out into a howl.

"Can I be a wolf like you?" I don’t want him to be a wolf like me...

A wolf who struggles to speak, a wolf who makes too many mistakes, a wolf who will inevitably always fail.

forehead.

a wolf e-even

and settles back into his chair, resting his head on the

he hisses, watching the steam

look up to see

in her sleepy state, she looks incredibly beautiful, my heart nearly skipping

We

out of the chair and rushing over to greet his mother.She raises an eyebrow at me in curiosity as she lifts her pup in her arms, kissing his cheeks

the waffle iron goes off and I hurriedly remove the hot

in front of Kota who smiles proudly at it and shoves the plate

at her, poking his finger into a pool of syrup

lips and she timidly takes a bite, my heart sinking when she swallows with great difficulty and smacks her lips to remove the taste from her tongue buckle from the

gags, taking the plate and throwing

use?" She asks me,

on the counter and she sticks her finger inside to

sound making my heart soar.How could a laugh sound

"Taste it,"

giggles, pushing the jar towards me.I nervously taste the sugar and nearly choke on my own cough when I

her.I throw out the salty batter while Talia

this again," she teases, measuring out the proper amount of sugar

the exchange, sparks

on Talia’s cheeks as she pulls her hand away to tuck some hair

coughs to clear her

help me with the milk and

skips over to his mother who sets him on the chair for him to

the wet ingredient together, Talia

shake as I sift the flour and baking powder together, suddenly feeling very self-conscious about messing

failure collide in my head,

salt, Grayson teases, and I shove him away to

the jar of salt, I accidentally knock over my bowl of dry ingredients, a cloud of flour puffing

at Talia and Kota, afraid to move an

Zane," Kota

up time!" he

climbs out of his chair and scurries into the closet

struggles to maneuver the tall handle, wrapping both arms around it as he pushes the broom in

helpful little tyke only spreads the flour all

"It’s okay Kota,"

chirps, taking the broom

"I'll sweep."

my trembling hands behind my back and remain in the corner, not wanting to make

Kota says, tugging at my

"Accidents happen."

look over at my mate, nearly jumping when I realize she's right in front of me hand.I flinch involuntarily and she

hair," she whispers, carefully reaching into my hair and ruffling it up, another cloud of flour filling the air.I blink at

her toes and kisses me on the nose, resting her head against my forehead.She's not Dad, Grayson

when she timidly places her hand over mine,

touch

suddenly as she touched me, Talia pulls her hand away and smiles nervously

get you some more flour," she whispers, her own heart pounding in her

you'll find the sugar

red.Our third attempt at waffle making finally bears fruit,

makes her way to the table and

are getting along much better,"she signs,yet?" she chuckles,

sign back,

Talia asks, raising an eyebrow

teasing me relentlessly with her kissing

doesn’t seem to pick up on the meaning, but of course,

is Agnes doing?" he

her hands," Talia replies, holding up

spells out his name for

say?" Kota asks, attempting

and folding his fingers to make

O, T, A. See? KOTA," she

tries his best to sign but very quickly forgets how

did Agnes say?" he asks

know," Talia shrugs, my face turning

mean?" She asks, pinching her fingers

my head at her, shoving a large chunk of waffle into my

embarrass me and Agnes goes off to the Main pack house to take

is off today from working at the clinic, leaving the three of us with nothing to

so Talia suggests we go outside for some fun

pack drugstore where Talia purchases a kiddie pool

staring at a bag of multicolored balloons attached to black sticks in the

never played with water balloons before," she laughs, her smile widening when she realizes I

to fix that." She grabs five packs of the balloons and pays at the register, Kota jumping excitedly at

***Natalia*** 

to the sun compared to my darker complexion.I dress him in a pair of shorts and flip flops, Kota very excited for a chance to play with water.I don't

the kitchen where I find Zane hard basketball shorts and a plain white t-shirt.I can make out a few scars on his legs but pretend

at me and he becomes visibly flustered, nearly dropping the tangerine he’s