The Silent Alpha novel Chapter 76

***Natalia*** 

Rionna’s face pales when she turns to face me, a young woman standing at her side attempting to comfort her.

Something is very wrong here, Devina whispers.

"Where is Kota?" I ask, dread settling in the pit of my stomach.

"Where is my baby?"

"I- I ," Rionna stammers, tears clinging to her eyes as she looks around the play center frantically.

"I was just reading a magazine..." she whimpers.

"And then-" I follow her gaze, not seeing Kota anywhere in the playcenter.

"Where is my baby?" I repeat, handing my things to Celina and storming through the play center.

"Kota? Kota, ¢ donde estas? Dakota!"

Rionna follows close behind me, tears streaming down her face as I search for my pup.My lungs feel as though they are collapsing, every breath I take labored and almost too painful to take.I hold my breath as I search the area, refusing to breathe until I know my baby is safe.

A lump forms in my throat, trapping in the scream I want to release so desperately that it scratches and claws at my soul.

After a thorough search, I turn to Rionna, hoping this is all just a sick joke she’s playing.

"Where is he, Ri?" I ask her calmly, growing irritated when she opens her mouth but says nothing.

Grabbing her by the shoulders, I shake her violently.

"Where is my baby?!"

"I-I’m so sorry!" she cries, collapsing on her knees and begging for forgiveness.

"I was just reading my magazine when this-this man came up to me and-"

"Aman?!" I snap.

"What man?!"

"I don’t know." Rionna shakes her head.

"He was tall...blue eyes," she says, gesturing to her eyes.

"H-his hair, it was light but not blonde."

A chill crawls up my spine as she describes the man she had spoke to.

"H-He asked me which kid was mine and then I woke up all alone”  Rionna explains.

"I started searching for Kota and ....Oh Goddess! I’m so sorry!"

She sobs, taking my hands in hers and squeezing them for comfort.

"I don’t...I don’t know what happened! I don’t know! I looked away for just a moment, it was just a moment-"

She weeps uncontrollably, Agnes doing her best to soothe her.

Meanwhile, something inside me is breaking, shattering into a million pieces as I try to take a breath and find myself unable to inhale even an ounce of air.My chest tightens and it hurts.It hurts to breathe.

All the sounds of the world, Rionna’s sobs, the laughter of the children playing in the background, the questions Celina asks the other adults in the room...

suddenly go quiet, and all I hear is the sound of my own beating heart.

Ba dump...

Ba dump...

Ba dump..

Dakota...

It means friend and for many weeks after I left Silver Crest, Kota was my only friend.

After he was born, Kota became my only source of happiness and my daily reminder to keep moving forward.I could not just collapse because I had a little someone depending on me to be strong and brave.I had to work, I had to forget, I had to build my walls nice and tall so no one would ever hurt us again.

But now, as the world around me continues moving forward, my world...my small beautiful little world is gone.

All the pent up frustration I’ve held in for so long has finally reached its limit.It starts with the tears rolling down my cheeks and a burning in my throat.

My face flushes with anguish and Celina tries to calm me down.

"Breathe, Talia, breathe!" she says cupping my cheeks.

"I-I can’t!" I gasp, unable to fill my lungs with air.

"I can’t breathe!"

"Shhh, shhh." she soothes, smoothing back my hair.

I suddenly feel an electric jolt ripple through my body, a calming sensation spreading down my spine.

"Breathe," Celina murmurs, taking in a deep breath with me and letting it out slowly.

"That’s it," she whispers as we breathe in and out.

"Atta girl.Breathe in and out.In and out."

I give her a quizzical look when I finally manage to catch my breath and she smiles sheepishly.

"I’m a healer," she replies.

"Now, let’s get your baby back.So this man," she says, turning back to Rionna.

"Did he give a name? Talia, do you recognize the description?"

"It’s Christian," I reply, wiping away my tears.

"There’s no doubt in my mind it’s him.He’s the only man that would have any interest in Dakota."

"He said you would know where to find him," Rionna adds.

"That’s all I remember."

"Well, do you?" Celina asks me.

I try to quell my racing thoughts and think for a moment but I am interrupted by my phone ringing.

Pulling it out of my bag, I check the caller ID before answering, my blood boiling with anger.

"Did you help him take my baby?!" I snarl.

"Did you help him do this to me because I swear to you with every fiber in my body, if that bastard hurts my baby, if that bastard harms a hair on Kota’s head, I will hunt you down! I will skin you alive and tear you limb from limb." I pant, Devina growling violently in agreement.

"Now, you are going to tell me exactly what you know about Christian and his plans.I want to know everything!"

"Christian has Dakota?" Jordan replies, the sound of his voice irritating me.

"Don’t play stupid!" I snap, putting the phone on speaker.

"I’m not! I swear!" he argues.

"I swear I didn’t know.Yes, Christian sent me to come find you, but I still don’t know exactly where you are.I just flew into California because I found your plane tickets and a phone number from the area.Christian doesn’t trust me anymore.He had me followed and watched and last night we discovered Christian is working with witches to find you and Kota.That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you! Christian is using magic! He’s coming for you-"

"Who is ‘we’?" I ask, growing angry with myself for not listening to the warning signs sooner.

"Qi Oi, mon cheri, Micah and Nikki," Micah shouts into the receiver in response.

"And some other random kid who's been watching Jordan like a blind hawk."

"Where are you?" I ask.

"We just arrived in some City about 2 hours north of San Francisco," Jordan replies.

"We were going to- what’s the pack called?- The Blood Moon Pack."

"They’re going to Patrick's pack," Celina mutters.

"Tell them to meet us at River moon."

"Forget Blood Moon.Go to River Moon," I instruct them.

"Meet us there in 20 minutes."

The drive back to River Moon is silent, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I lower down the window, my fears slowly suffocating me as we get closer to the pack house.

Beside me, Rionna avoids my gaze, the guilt overwhelming me as I watch her fidget with her ring.

Without saying a word, I curl up beside her, Rionna looked shocked as I rest my head on her shoulder.

At first, she remains very still but as tears begin to trickle down my cheeks, she wraps me up in her embrace and holds me.

"He must be so scared." I whimper, the thought of Christian or Jack hurting my baby terrifying me.