The Silent Alpha novel Chapter 34

 ***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.

Perhaps he will even pretend to not know who I am.

I cannot entertain the idea that anyone will ever accept me as anyone or cause trouble if I stand back and never say a word.I can be the Silent Alpha, the one my father is too afraid to ever let the world know about.

The one who lurks in the shadows, watching over the people he loves from the comfort of the darkness.

Bullshit! Grayson snarls.

This is bullshit and you know it! Our mate is giving us an opportunity to show her who we are, he adds, his anger evident in every word he spews.

Have you forgotten how huge that is? After what her former mate did to her, she is sitting here, asking us to let her in.

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

Will you have a little faith in Moon Goddess for once? Grayson sighs in frustration .

She chose Talia for us for a reason and I, for one, would like to know what that reason is.

Don’t you? Yes, but...But nothing! Grayson roars.No more hiding.

No more silence! You have to remember that you are not the same little boy who used to stand in front of the mirror reciting poetry while his father stood behind him with a cane.

You have a mate who holds your hand when she’s scared and kisses you when she doesn’t know what else to do

.You have a pup who wants you to be his father.

You have a mother who has watched over you for the last twenty years without complaint.

You have a friend who wants to teach you to be a better version of yourself...and you have me, your other half.

We will share this burden together and we will prove to Talia that we deserve every kiss, every hug, and every ounce of her around and watching everyone else find their place in this world except us.

I want to build a home with my mate.I want to lead a pack like Moon Goddess intended, and most of all, I want you to be happy.

Before I can finish processing Grayson’s argument, Talia pulls back the covers and rests her head on my shoulder, her body pressing up against my back as she wraps her arms around me.

"I am trying to understand you," she whispers, her breath ticking the back of my neck.

"So I am not angry or upset with you for keeping your voice to yourself, but I need to know the truth about you.I need to know who you are if you’re going to be my mate."

The entire world disappears as I concentrate on her words.

Her mate...