The Silent Alpha (Natalia)

Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Hidden II ***Natalia***

Zane suddenly doubles over in pain, his hands gripping his head as a small whimper escapes his throat.His breathing becomes ragged, and I fear he might pass out with every heavy breath.

Wyatt steps forward to soothe the young pup, but Sebastian’s booming voice makes him cower back in his place.

“Do not coddle him!” Sebastian warns, his voice echoing off the walls.

“He must be a man and face his fate on his own.”

Zane’s legs finally give in, and he falls to his knees until finally, his pain stops.

Panting, he slowly raises his head to face his father, wiping his tear-streaked cheeks with his sleeves.

“You will remain here until I find a way to make you go away,” Sebastian snarls, before turing on his heel to leave.

Wyatt does not move, his eyes glued to the trembling little boy still sitting on his knees.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles to Zane, a single tear sliding down his cheek.

“WYATT!”

Sebastian calls over his shoulder, Wyatt wiping his face and following his Alpha out the door.

The door slams shut, the bolts jingling as they lock Zane in his prison.

towards the little boy, he fades away like sand between my fingers, the memory melting back into the darkness.

The pitch black only lasts a moment before I once again find myself in the same room, Zane looking up at his father, a small shaking woman behind him.

As I look closer, I realize it’s Agnes, much younger but just as beautiful as she is now.

“You will be moving to the Omega house with her,” Sebastian snaps.

“She’ll help you pack your things.” He growls when both Agnes and Zane remain frozen in place.

“Do I have to repeat myself? Get moving!” he commands, pushing Agnes into the room.

He leaves without another word, Zane rushing over to help Agnes to her feet.

At first Agnes shields herself from Zane’s touch but when she recognizes that he only means to help, she allows him to hold her hands.

She signs the word “thank you” to him but Zane does not seem to understand.

Agnes then pulls out a pen and paper from her pocket and the two of them exchange greetings in silence.

Almost instantly, Zane takes a liking to Agnes, smiling very brightly at her with every note she writes.

How long had it been since he had someone to talk to? I wonder, my heart growing heavy as I watch him fall in love with Agnes.

They exchange several notes before she helps him pack his things in a small suitcase.He doesn’t pack much, just some room holding a small suitcase and handing it to Agnes.

“These are some clothes for you,” Wyatt explains slowly to Agnes, who only stares blankly at him.

“f**k,” Wyatt groans when he realizes she does not understand him.

Zane, however, grabs a piece of paper and writes out what Wyatt said for Agnes.She smiles and nods, Wyatt sighing with relief.

“Zane, you’ll need to explain everything to her,” Wyatts says, Zane nodding back at him.

“From now on, you two are Agnes and Zane Thorne, mother and son.You are two rogues who lost their pack, the Snow Belle pack, thanks to Ravenstone and its allies.Do you understand?”

Zane processes this information and again nods.So that’s how she became his mother, I say to myself, putting all the pieces together.

“Tell her that in a couple of weeks, we’ll have the paperwork for her to take full legal custody of you,” Wyatt adds.

“She’ll be your mother in the eyes of the State and this pack.”

After Zane explains the situation to Agnes, the three of them walk out the room, Zane looking back at his prison one last time before closing the door.

Once again, the memory fades, the pitch black shifting into a very tiny room with two small cots.

There are two dressers beside the beds and a door on the left wall that leads to the bathroom and shower away.

Zane looks about 10 or 11 years old now, but to my dismay, there are still bruises on his face.

An alarm goes off when the clock strikes 5:30 am, Zane waking with a start.

As he sits up, I see a large blood stain on his t-shirt and on his bed.

He rushes off to the shower to wash up for the day and when he steps out of the shower, he is dressed only in his jeans, revealing a long cut between his shoulder blades that resembles the tip of a whip.

There are other wounds and scars on his back and torso, and I’m left to wonder how any wolf could hurt a pup with no wolf.

Zane quietly collects Agnes’ clothes from a dresser, folding it all neatly and placing it at the foot of her bed.

I watch as he gently taps on her shoulder, helping her into a sitting position when she wakes.

She signs something to him, and he audibly groans before getting up to get the first aid kit.

With special care, she cleans his wound and redresses it, cupping Zane’s cheeks and kissing his forehead when she’s finished.

Once they finish cleaning up and tidying up their room, the two of them head out to the mess hall, several other omegas trickling in for breakfast.

They all line up to receive their food, Zane and Agnes being pushed to the back of the line.

When it’s their turn to receive a plate, all that is left is a single pancake.

Tears fill my eyes as I watch Zane not hesitate to hand the plate to Agnes while he grabs two glasses of orange juice.

Agnes frowns at him as they sit down at a table near the comer, pushing her plate towards Zane.

He only shakes his head and sips his orange juice quietly.

She signs to him, but he again pancake in half, taking one half and pushing the other towards Zane.

Seeing that Agnes is not going to give in, he begrudgingly takes his half and eats it.

I find it hard to not admire their love for each other.

Zane was not her son and Agnes was not his mother, and yet they took care of each other like a small family.

They were not bitter or angry about their situation, but just happy to have each other’s company and share what little they had.

The head of the Omegas, a small stout woman with a head full of gray hairs, stands at the front of the mess hall with a clipboard in her hands.

She calls our names one by one, giving out assignments for the day.She calls Agnes’ name and looks at Zane to explain.

“Agnes, you are on Laundry duty with Maureen and Lily.All the linens, bedding and towels need to be washed, pressed and put away,” the Head Omega instructs.

“Zane, you are to report to the construction site with Amadeas.He will give you your assignments.”

Zane translates to Agnes and her face pales.

They argue for a moment before she storms away to do her work, leaving young Zane to himself.

He sulks for a moment but then puts on a brave face and walks out of the mess hall.

I follow him outside, my eyes wandering to take in his pack. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

It is not nearly as big as River Moon, but it is bigger than Silver as a second glance, as if he did not exist to them.

He arrives at what appears to be a construction site of a playground, several men carrying bars, slides and other pieces to be installed.

Zane is the youngest person on the crew, the other men towering over him.

A man with a thick blonde beard calls Zane forward, and instructs him to fill the sandbox, pointing towards the wheelbarrows and sandbags.

Zane says nothing and grabs a pair of gloves before attempting to pick up a sandbag.

I watch in horror as he struggles to lift the bag over his head, huffing and puffing as finally tosses it into the wheelbarrow.

His face turns red as he pushes the barrow towards the sandbox, the task requiring all of his strength and concentration.

The man shouts at Zane to hurry up, beads of sweat gathering on his forehead.

“Stop!”

I scream at the man when he shoves Zane out of his way, Zane struggling to not lose his footing.I look around in desperation at the other men, begging them to help Zane, but they do nothing as they continue their own work.

As Zane pours the sand into the sandbox, a group of women stroll by, one of them holding the hand of a small three-year old child.

“Look Caine,” the woman says as she points at the construction zone.

“Look what Daddy is building for you.”

This must be Zane’s little brother, the next Alpha in line, I note, studying the woman and child.

And she must be the new Caine grins cheekily at the playground while the Luna boasts to the others about her husband and all the wonderful things he’s building for their son.

As she speaks, she lets go of Caine’s hand, the little boy wandering towards the construction site on his own.

With everyone busily completing their tasks, no one seems to notice the little boy walking towards the sandbox.

Zane empties out his wheelbarrow, wiping his dirty face with the back of his hand when he notices the little boy walking towards him.

As he looks around to see where Caine came from, a small boom lift with two people holding the hood of the slide tower drives into the construction area directly along the path Caine is walking on.

The driver is completely focused on ensuring that the hood does not hit any of the poles already installed and cannot see little Caine standing in his path.

Zane sprints towards the little boy, just barely reaching Caine in time to carry him to safety.

The little boy screams as Zane carries him out of harm’s way, drawing the attention of the women chattering away on the edge of the construction site.

The Luna rushes toward her son.

“Get away from him, you filthy animal!” she snaps, pulling Caine out of Zane’s arms and slapping him across the cheek.

“You are never to touch your future Alpha again.Do you understand?” she snarls, her face twisting in disgust as she storms off.

“f*****g mutt.” there are tears streaming down my cheeks.

I can’t even begin to imagine the years of pain and torture Zane endured all those years or how much it hurt to be rejected over and over again by everyone who was meant to love him.

Shame fills my heart as I realize that I too rejected him, and it makes me wonder…will he ever be able to forgive me?