The Silent Alpha

 ***Zane*** 

"Why did you hide your stutter from me?" She asks, her hand reaching out to touch my cheek.

I flinch away, my entire world collapsing in on me.

Quick! Play dead, Grayson snickers, his stupid comment making me even more nervous.

Unable to face my mate, I turn around on my side to hide my shame from her, pulling the covers over my head.

For a long time, the only sound I hear is the pounding of my heart against my ears, drumming louder with every passing second.

"Zane?" Talia whispers, tentatively placing her hand on the covers.

"Zane, please look at me.You don’t have to hide from me."

The fear gripping my heart, however, makes it hard for me to face her.I know better than to speak.

My father spent years reminding me just how worthless my words were and he trained me to be quiet to avoid embarrassing him.

I know all too well that the second she hears my voice, she’ll laugh, or worse...she’ll hate me like my father.You're being irrational, Grayson mutters.

If she really hated you, why on earth would she still be here with you? The Queen gave her a chance to leave and yet she chose to stay here with us! She asked us to protect her and her pup.

Our pup! She kissed us here alone with us! Does that sound like someone who hates you for your flaws? Do her actions remotely resemble Father's? Each individual word he says makes sense, but I cannot understand their meaning together.

How could anyone love me the way lam? My own father could not even stomach the sight of me.

Gamma Wyatt never mistreated me, but he went along with my father’s idea to pass me off as Agne’s son and pretended I did not exist.

He turned a blind eye to the torture and abuse I faced in the Hive.

Agnes cannot hear me so she cannot grow impatient with me when [ have to repeat myself over and over again.

My mother was a kind woman, but I knew all too well that I was a burden to her and that I ruined a lot for her.

She and my father would have had a better marriage had I not stood in the way with my ineptitude.

I was only a month old the day my brother, Jonathan, died but there is no doubt in my mind that she wished my brother had lived instead of me.

He would have been a better son and my father would have been proud to name him as the next heir of Scarlett Haven.

Kota is the only person who does not seem to notice my imperfection, but he is only a child and he does not understand that the man he wants to call Dad cannot even say his name without getting stuck.

One day, he will grow up and find it embarrassing for me to speak around him and his friends.

to not know

never say a word.I can be the Silent Alpha, the one my father is too afraid

shadows, watching over the people he loves

Bullshit! Grayson snarls.

opportunity to show her who we are, he adds, his anger evident in every

huge that is? After what her former mate did to her, she is

little faith in our mate and give her a chance.She deserves it.She deserves someone

Moon Goddess for once? Grayson

a reason and I, for one,

you? Yes, but...But nothing!

more silence! You have to remember that you are not the same little boy who used to stand

she’s scared and kisses you when she doesn’t know

wants you to be his

have a mother who has watched over you for the last twenty years

to teach you to be

every kiss, every hug, and

with my mate.I want to lead a pack like

Grayson’s argument, Talia pulls back the covers and rests her head on my

she whispers, her breath ticking the

to know the

disappears as I concentrate

Her mate...

bicep and gives it a good

anything from me anymore," she murmurs, her fingers

of your flaws and imperfections...all of your pain and worries.You are wrong to assume everyone else

head and look at

so surprised,"she chuckles softly to

lot of

them on either side

her lips almost

I hate

is pain in her eyes

I’m strong?"

"Well I’m not."

eyes but she refuses to let them fall, batting her eyes to make them all go away before she looks at me

She hides...just like me.

time for both of us to come out of hiding.I can feel her heart fluttering in her chest, one beat after the next as neither

cheeks as she leans forward, her lips pressing up against mine

body but I pull away before my mind

look flickers in her eyes as I push myself

and spin her around so that her back is pressed against my