The Silent Alpha novel Chapter 20

 ***Jane*** 

Agnes and I spend the morning with Kota, Rosalie, Rosalie’s baby Emile, and Evan, fighting our own anxiety from our lack of activity.

In all my life, I had never had a moment to rest, to just sit and watch a movie or play games without a care in the world.

Even if there was chance that I completed my chores, my mind and self-hatred would torture me relentlessly.

As a pup, my father put me through rigorous schooling and speech therapies to make me the best Alpha I could be.

Of course, I could never live up to his expectations.

He would make me stand before him once a week to recite the history of our pack or the laws that governed it and the kingdom.

If I faltered in my pronunciation, I would be struck with a whip.

There was never a day that I made it out of a recital without shedding blood.

My mother would weep sorrowfully, begging my father helplessly to have mercy.

She would sometimes be beaten herself for attempting to shield me.

It hurt my soul to fail her so miserably but no matter how hard I concentrated, my tongue would only grow stiffer, and my words would slur like a drunk.

After I was demoted to Omega status, I became a field hand, carrying weapons for the warriors in training or helping maintain the equipment in the hot sun or cold winters.

As I grew older, I learned many things to make myself useful such as plumbing, mechanics, painting and other basic maintenance jobs.

Agnes is no different.

With her hearing gone, she had to make herself useful to earn her meals.

No one wants an extra mouth to feed.

She was beaten relentlessly by other Omegas if she slipped up.

She learned to be quick in the kitchen, never resting for fear she would be cast out or killed by the Omegas.

So, as we sit comfortably on the couch watching Aladdin with Kota, Agnes and I find it hard to rest, wondering if at any moment, this pack’s kindness would run out.

Even Grayson could not find the words to soothe my racing thoughts.

Feeling myself about to break, I get up quietly and search for a pen and paper before approaching Rosalie with a note.

"Are you sure there is nothing we can do to be of service 2" Rosalie reads aloud before raising an eyebrow at me.

"Are you bored?" She asks nervously.

"W-we can go to the park if you like.Kota could stretch his legs and play with some other pups.Let me just get the stroller for Emile," she says as Evan gets up from his spot to find said stroller.I shake my head at her, writing out my response.

"We just don't want to be a burden."She stares at the note before smiling up at me.

"You are our guests, not a burden," She chuckles.

"Gwen asked for this favor and need," She smiles.

"Just relax and enjoy yourselves. Take this a small vacation while Gwen finishes up her work."

Just then we hear the door open, and Natalia appears on her own, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

"You're back!" Rosalie chirps.

"How was the walk? Did you see all of River Moon?" She asks with a cheerful smile.

Talia smiles sheepishly, her eyes staring at her hands.

"It was ...eye opening..." she replies quietly.

"Aurora just had an emergency to deal with."

There's a serious tone in her voice and Rosalie appears to understand the true meaning behind her words.

"Well, you've come just in time.I think Kota might enjoy some time at the park,"

She gestures to Kota watching the movie on the floor with Rio lying lazily next to him.

"Yeah, mommy!" Kota cries, scrambling to his feet.

"Can we go to the park?"

Talia looks anxiously at Rosalie and I before giving her consent, Kota bouncing with excitement while Rio jumps at his feet.

Evan returns with the stroller for Rosalie's pup, some blankets, and Rio’s toys.

Rosalie chatters away, pointing out different buildings and explaining their purpose to us to keep the walk from being awkward.

Talia stays close to me, watching Kota like a hawk whenever he runs ahead of us with Rio reassure her that her pup is safe.

When we finally arrive at the park, I help Evan set up a picnic for the girls, spreading out a blanket with snacks and pillows for them to sit on.

Kota races with Rio through the open field to the playground, several pups gathering around him and Rio.

He makes friends with ease, and they begin a game of sorts where they run after each other and freeze in place if touched.

Talia's eyes remain vigilant, and I wish with all my heart that I could help comfort in some way, but I know better than to push her here.

She is already frightened.

I do not need to scare her any further.

Agnes walks around the perimeter of the park, picking flowers, thin sticks, and long blades of grass.

She returns with a large pile of foliage and begins weaving them into crowns, her nimble fingers delicately folding the flower stems and blades of grass into intricate designs.

Rosalie watches with awe over her shoulder, praising her incredible weaving skills.

Agnes then presents the crown to Rosalie, placing it on top of her head.

"Is this for me?" Rosalie asks with a smile as she puts her now sleeping pup away in his stroller.

"Thank you," she says, remembering the ‘thank you’ sign from this morning.

Agnes weaves yet another flower crown and places it on Talia's head.

Talia nearly jumps with fright at the gesture, having been so focused on her pup and not noticing Agnes getting near her.

Agnes "Sorry,"

She signs with a trembling hand, stepping back.

Talia blinks at her for a few moments before taking the flower crown and squeezing Agnes' hand.

"Sorry, you just scared me, is all," Talia apologizes, turning to me to explain.

Agnes smiles nervously and apologizes once again for scaring her.

Rosalie watches their interaction with intrigue before asking a question I had been asking myself since I first met my mate.

"So why are you so afraid of werewolves?" She asks bluntly, placing her chin in her hand and looking at Talia with interest.

"Were you attacked?" Talia shifts uncomfortably on her pillow and shakes her head.

"You have a lovely pup..." she says with a forced smile, adjusting her flower crown.

"How old is he?"

Rosalie purses her lips in a tight line, as if holding her tongue, before turning to the stroller.

"He's four months old… almost five,"

Rosalie smiles proudly before her face grows sad.

"Aurora had a hard time talking to us about her story," she says with a sigh.

"So, I get it if you don't want to tell us.But just FYI, you are safe here so you can stop looking at us like we're going to eat you," she says with a light chuckle.

"We would have hurt you already if we wanted to."

Talia remains silent and watches Kota play with the other pups.

Rosalie seems to have more questions but decides to keep them to herself for the time being.We remain at the park for lunch and a few hours thereafter until Kota and Rio tire themselves out and lifting his arms up for me to carry him.

Talia forces a smile, but I can see the hurt in her eyes at being pushed aside.

Before I can urge Kota to go to his mother, Talia shakes her head at me to stop and walks on ahead of us to the guest house can feel a small pain in my heart as we make the small trek in silence and try to think of something I could do to make her feel better.

Maybe hold her hand...