The Silent Alpha novel Chapter 84

***Natalia*** 

"Hello Natalia," a familiar voice whispers timidly.

Gathering my bearings, I realize I’ve run right into Vanessa and knocked her over, a sheepish smile on her face as I help her to her feet.

"Where is Kota?" I ask, looking around the living room in search of my son.

"Here lam, Mommy!"

Kota squeals with his arms raised in the air, peering from the balcony of the stairs.My heart skips a beat when I see his beautiful eyes looking back at me and I rush up the steps to hold him.

"Mommy!" Kota cries, wrapping his arms around my neck in a tight embrace.

"Kota!" I sob into his hair, rocking him from side to side in my arms and showering him with kisses.

"Oh, my beautiful little bean! My sweet frijolito! ’'m here.Mommy’s here and I’m never letting you go," I weep, unable to contain my joy of holding him in my arms again.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I ask, pulling away to inspect his beautiful face.

"My butt hurts," he shakes his head at me, pointing to his legs and his butt.

He wears a little pajama set and I pull back his bottoms to check his wounds.

"Quiche," I gasp, Kota nodding in agreement. I gently pat his butt, murmuring the age old Spanish chant to heal all wounds.

"Sana.Sana.Colita de rana.Hechate un pedo para ti y para tu hermana.{Heal, heal, little frog tail.Fart for you and your sister}."

[AIN: It actually makes no sense but it’s a Spanish rhyme with a twist for whenever a child gets hurt to make them feel better.] Kota bursts into laughter and a tiny stench reaches my nostrils.

"Did you fart?" I ask as he plays with his fingers.

"Yeah," he giggles, the sound breathing life into me.He's okay.My baby is okay.

"You still use that?" Vanessa chuckles softly.

"I remember mom used to say that all the time to us to get us to stop crying." I grab Kota and turn to look at my older sister, taking in her appearance.

She’s showered since I last saw her on the phone but there is still a little bruising on her face and neck.She shifts uncomfortably on her feet, and her eyes keep flickering around in search of danger.

Vanessa and I may be at odds, but I have never wished her any ill, even if she does deserve it.She has a wolf Devina whispers.It's small but I can sense it.

There’s a wall between them.

"You have a wolf,’ Vanessa whispers, a little flicker of delight in her eyes.

"And you’re marked!" she adds with a soft smile.

"Th-that’s great. I’m so happy you moved on!"

An awkward silence forms between us as she musters up the courage to keep speaking.

However, have nothing much to say to her.

"You have a very beautiful son," she says quietly.

"Very beautiful."

"Thanks," I reply after clearing my throat.

"Thank you for ...taking care of him."

"Mommy, can we take Nanessa home with us?" Kota asks, Vanessa smiling at the little boy, though the light never reaches her eyes.

"She’s my friend." She already knows my answer.

"l’m sorry Kota," I whisper, Vanessa’s smile faltering slightly.

"But your friend has her own path to take. Right, Nanessa?"

I feel heartless, but I had given Vanessa a home once and she betrayed me.I will not make the same mistake twice, even if she did protect my pup.

"Right," she answers quietly before forcing her voice to be high and happy.

"But it’s okay, Kota.Maybe one day, you can come visit me and we can have pillow fights."

"Or you can come visit us!" Kota cries with excitement.

"You can meet my Daddy!"

"No!" I snap, Kota and Vanessa both jumping in fright at the harshness of my voice.

"No," I repeat softly, shaking my head as! push past Vanessa.

"No, I’m sorry Kota, but Nanessa is going to be very busy living her own life so she can’t meet Daddy."

"But why not?" Kota whines, small tears springing to his eyes.

I resist the urge to groan and am grateful when Rionna appears around the corner.

"Look, Kota! Nonna!" I squeal with forced excitement, Kota turning in Rionna’s direction.

"Nonna!" he cries, stretching out his arms to greet her.

"Oh my Goddess, Kota!"

Rionna replies, taking Kota from my arms and peppering his cheeks with kisses.

"I’m so glad you’re safe now.I’m so sorry I lost you!"

Tears of relief roll down her cheeks and Kota wipes them all away.

"It’s okay, Nonna," he whispers.

"It’s okay."

Relieved that we are now all together, I lead everyone downstairs to discuss a plan of attack and hope Kota doesn’t bring up Vanessa again.

"So this cabin was once an old meeting place?" I ask as we gather in the living room.

"Yes," Jordan replies as I look around the cabin and notice a lot of windows and glass doors.

"Not a lot of coverage," I observe.

"Yes, the cabin was designed to look unassuming," Jordan says.

"But downstairs in the cellar is where the old meeting room used to be.Alphas from the neighboring areas would gather here for business and to settle disputes.There’s a secret entrance to the cellar from the surrounding woods," he adds.

"It was meant to allow Alphas to remain anonymous if they wanted to hold private meetings.Here, I’ll show you."

He leads us down to the old cellar, the steps narrow and creaky.The meeting room is dark but well kept, with a gorgeous antique chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

In the middle of the room is a long table with handcrafted wooden chairs and velvet blue cushions.

There are built in shelves lining the cellar walls with hundreds of books on war and political strategies, business practices and laws, religions, and even martial art disciplines.

The shelves are also adorned with beautiful wolf carvings and figurines.

Jordan walks up to a howling wolf figurine on one of the shelves and tilts it up.

A hidden door opens from behind a shelf on the opposite side of the room, a cloud of dust rising as it opens to reveal a dark tunnel.

"Do you know where exactly that tunnel leads to and if it’s still usable?" I ask through a cough, swatting my hand to get the dust away from me.

"It should be.Christian and I used to play in it when we were kids and would throw parties here as teens," he shrugs.

"The tunnel leads to the southern part of the woods and has an exit hidden within an old hollow tree." I turn to Rionna and she seems to be thinking the same thing I am.

"Well, we shouldn’t waste anymore time then," I say, taking Kota in my arms and giving him one last good squeeze.

"Nonna and Nanessa are going to take you far away from the cabin to somewhere safe in the trees, okay?" I explain to my little bean, his face filling with worry.

"But what about you, Mommy?" He asks.

"Are you coming with us?"

"No, baby," I whisper.

"I have to talk to the man who took you and make sure he never does it again."

A small whimper escapes his lips and I give him another squeeze to soothe him.

"I need you to be a brave little man for me, okay?" I murmur, kissing his chubby cheeks.

"You have to protect Nonna and Nanessa.They’re afraid of the dark.Can you take care of them for me? Like a superhero?"

"Like Daddy?" He asks.

"Yes, just like Daddy," I whisper.

"Can you be my little superhero like Daddy?"

He nods his little head and I give him one last hug.

"I love you so much, Kota.So so much."

"I love you too, Mommy," he says as I hand him over to Rionna.

"Please," I beg her, Rionna draping a blanket over Dakota’s head to shield him from the cold air coming from the tunnel.

"Please take care of my baby."

"With my life," Rionna says, tucking Kota into the blanket so that he’s nice and snug in her arms.

"Please be careful.Rionna steps into the tunnel but Vanessa lingers back, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I-I’m so sorry for everything I’ve done to you," She whimpers.

"I know what I did is unforgivable, and nothing short of cruel."

"You’re right," I reply coldly.

"It was unforgivable."

"l’m sorry," she says in a small voice.

The bruises on her pale face don’t compare to the broken soul peeking through her eyes, and I feel a lump form in my throat.

"What did Christian mean when he asked about the baby?" I ask quietly.

She casts her eyes to the floor and with a trembling voice, answers with dread, "He wanted to know if he killed my baby."

I close my eyes to hide tears that spring to my eyes and I look away to gather my bearings.I may have hated my sister, but no mother should ever lose her child.

"And I now understand what it’s like to lose your mate," she adds quietly.

"He killed my mate...He killed my Derek."

Both Jordan and I stare at her in shock.

"Derek’s dead?" Jordan asks, a crack in his voice.

Vanessa can only nod her head as she bursts into tears.

"I’m sorry! I’m very sorry for what I did! I didn’t know it hurt this much," she cries.

She looks so small as she sobs into her hands and I resist the urge to comfort her.

"I...’m glad you realized you f****d up," I whisper.

"But I’m not ready to forgive you or let you back into my life.I’m sorry, but when this is all over, I don’t want to see you again.I wish you a long, happy life Nessa.I really do.Just not with me in it."

"l understand," she replies.

"I knew that would be your answer.I just needed you to know that I wanted to change and that I am sorry."

"Thank you," I nod, swallowing back my sob.

"Now hurry ...and good luck to you."

"You too..." she whispers as she wipes her tears.

I nod silently, watching as she disappears into the tunnel before turning to Jordan and heading back upstairs to the living room.

"Please tell me you have at least trained for this stupid challenge you plan on undertaking?" I ask Jordan once we’re left alone.

"Christian and I have trained our entire lives together," Jordan sighs.

"That’s not an answer,"I snap as I try to figure out a back-up plan. I had plenty of warrior training when I was Luna and even had sessions with Christian, but as a human, I was no match for an Alpha.

Well, you're not human anymore...

Devina shrugs.

And I am an Alpha.An Alpha who can’t shift, I mutter.

"I’ve trained a little since I was tasked with overthrowing Christian but I’ve been a little busy trying to find you," Jordan retorts.

"Wait, the challenge wasn’t your idea?" I ask.

"I have been trying to tell you this for over a week now!" he snaps.

"Your lovely ex-husband has actually lost his f*****g mind! So much so, that Jack has been killing innocent pack members for the past four years every time we failed to find you.Even his own mother and father believe he is unfit to be Alpha.They called a meeting and asked me to challenge him for the title."

A chill runs down my spine.

Just what exactlyamI dealing with?

 "Jack has been running the show ever since he discovered you had a son," he adds.

"He’s built this delusion in his head that you will forgive him for what Christian did and take your place by his side again."

"What Christian did?" I scoff, anger boiling in my veins as old memories come flooding back.

"What about what he did? Jack hit me that day! He rejected me! He did nothing to stop his human!"

"I told you, Jack and Christian...they’re not the same man and wolf you once loved. Jack has it all planned out.Your rooms have all been restored, he has clothes for you and Kota, your Luna ceremony and wedding have already been planned out, and he has your dresses picked out.He even went ring shopping for you! The only thing he needs now is...well you."

I want to scream with disgust but I manage to contain my anger when a thought pops into my head.

‘can’t beat him physically and I don’t have any confidence in Jordan's plan at all..But what if...what if! play into Jack’s delusion? _lonce escaped this hell hole just by playing into Christian’s disappointment in me.Perhaps I can do it again.

But we're marked and turned, Devina reminds me.And how will you explain Kota’s absence? Devinaasks.

Christian will know something is up when he realizes Kota isn’t here.

Before I can come up with a solution, I hear a commotion outside.

Jordan and I both look at each other in confusion and we race to the end of the hall to look out the window onto the driveway.

My heart sinks with dread when I see an army of guards in wolf form filling up the driveway.

They snarl and growl, warning us that any attempt at escape is futile.

A dark figure rushes through the trees in the surrounding forest, drawing my attention, and my heart sinks to the pit of my stomach as Christian emerges from the trees.

Devina snarls with disgust when his handsome face looks up at us, Jack’s green eyes gleaming with insanity.

Jack’s in control...

Iobserve, making a decision I hope I don’t regret.

"Follow my lead," I hiss at Jordan as we step away from the window.

"What do you plan on doing?" he asks, grabbing onto my hands.

"Something crazy," I mutter.

I turn the porch light on as I step out onto the porch, counting my steps to keep myself from losing my cool when I come face to face with the monster who dared touch my child.

"My love! My Tiny, it’s so good to see you here again.I’ve missed you so much, Tiny,"

Jack whispers before he suddenly stops at the base of the porch.

"Tiny," he gasps.

"Y-you have a wolf..."

My mouth feels very dry as Devina growls in response, but I remind myself now is not the time to lose my s**t.

"Y-yes," I nod, forcing a smile on my face.

"Y-yes I do.He rushes up the steps until he stands only a few feet away from me and I do my best to stand still and not tremble with rage in his presence.

"That’s wonderful!" he says as he towers over me.

"You could not be more perfect now," he adds with excitement.

"I've dreamed of this moment for so long, it feels unreal to-" His smile drops from his face, his hands shaking at his sides as he glares at my neck.

"Tiny," he snarls through gritted teeth.

"Who marked you!?"