Alpha's Blind Luna novel Chapter 86

Reaching out, I took Reagan as well. Walking into the nursery, I laid them both down in the crib. Within a couple minutes they were snoozing. Brushing the back of my finger over both their chubby cheek, I smiled letting my mind focus solely on them for a moment. I turned on the mobile above, made up of little wolves that played soft music and the sound of rain. Another flick of the switch and stars reflected on the ceiling, illuminating the room just a little.

“Sleep. I’m watching. Don’t you worry.”

Silently, I stepped out of the room and closed the door, leaving just a crack. Hector was downstairs, leaning against the doorframe of the back door. Walking into the kitchen, I set up the baby monitor on my tablet and started to pull out food for dinner.

“You’re really good with them.” Hector leaned back to look at me, a wry smile on his face. “Imagine, all your worrying for nothing.”

I scoffed. “I think they like Vale better.”

He laughed. “No, they like me better. They tolerate you and Vale.”

I failed to stop the smile to come over my face. Hector chuckled and turned back to look out the door. The sound of the waves were loud enough that it filled the otherwise quiet house. My clanging around the kitchen added to it but for the most part, even that couldn’t quiet the crashing sound.

“You need to help Vale, Zeke.”

Humming, I glanced at Hector’s back. “With what?”

“If he starts a war with his mom, he’ll lose. You have to help him come to his senses. Maybe not immediately, don’t force him, but he needs to see that there is always a reason behind her actions. She doesn’t take them lightly. Not anymore. It’s always to protect someone, usually her kids. He needs to give her a chance to tell her side. Not just believe what he sees from the outside. That’s not the whole picture.”

“I’m not sure I can do that. He’s been so much better lately. I don’t want to push him.”

Hector reached back and grabbed the packet of cigarettes that now stayed above the beam framing the door. “Then you’ll lose him.”

Before I could ask what he meant, the door shut behind him and I watched through the glass as he walked down to the water and stood, smoking. I wanted to ask, but there was a trepidation to my thoughts. That maybe I really didn’t want to know what he meant.

For a moment I stared at the salmon on the counter, thinking maybe it could give me the answers. How to talk to Vale. How to be a wise Alpha. How to be a good father. How to navigate this world that for so long I’d never been apart of. This fish was holding the answers in its bones and I needed to pick them out.

It was slow, but I was methodical in the picking out of the bones with tweezers. For the first time in a while, my thoughts fell back to Rose and to my pack. There wasn’t any news, so that was at least good. Any news that came across our desks was bad. Her pup would be five…going on six, if I remembered correctly. I wondered if they had had more or if Owen finally introduced his mate to the pack. My hand stopped over the fish, staring it down. So much had changed.

Glancing at the monitor, I smiled. It was hard. The chaos and unknown was scary. Would I change it though? Would I go back to my old pack? No. Absolutely not.

“What’s for dinner?”

I was startled by Jax, as he sat on one of the stools. “Goddess, when did you get in?”

“You and Vale. I swear. You’re the only two werewolves that can be startled when you’re focusing on tasks.”

Chuckling, I ran my finger along the salmon, feeling for any bones I may have missed. “That’s not a bad thing.”

Jax hummed, shaking his head. “What’s with Sir Stress-Smoke out there?”

“Vale put a bounty on Auri. Apparently, she killed High Councilor Mark.”

He snorted. “Dude, was an asshole. I’m sure he deserved it.”

The pan I was holding slipped, clanging onto the oven. “Jax!”

“What? It’s true.”

“He died!”

Jax shrugged. “So? Mom had a reason for it. She always does.”

I looked at him for a second, trying to see if there was any doubt but there wasn’t. He, unaware of my stare, reached over and grabbed a couple carrots from the counter I set out.

“Why is Vale putting a bounty on her? Goddess knows he’s just sending people to their untimely demise. She hasn’t come back for a reason. You force her back and there will be hell to pay.”

Shrugging, I sighed. “I genuinely don’t know. I really don’t…”

-

I jolted awake and whipped my head to look at the monitor. The twins were sleeping soundly in the crib and I sighed, flopping back into the pillow. My eyes caught movement in the room and I saw Vale, wrapped in a towel, rummaging through the closet.

“Vale?” My voice cracked and sounding groggy.

“Zeke, shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes. “What time is it?”

“About three. Go back to sleep.”

My eyes dropped for a moment and I felt sleep start to take me until my head fell forward. “Where were you? It’s been weeks.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” He turned off the light in the closet and came out in a pair of boxers with a white shirt. “We were following a few leads of where my mother was. They turned up outdated. Or she was a step ahead of us. Either way, I’ve left Peter in change.”

He climbed into bed and slipped under the covers. Pulling me down, he rested my head on his chest and took my hand. Intertwining our fingers, he sighed and ran his other hand down my back.

“I can feel what you’re thinking, and I don’t want to talk about it.”

My eyes narrowed. “What do you think I’m going to ask?”

“Nice try, Zeke. Just go back to sleep. I’m exhausted.”

I hummed, closing my eyes. “We’ll talk about it when you’re ready. But…” Nuzzling closer to him, I threw my leg over his. “…for the record, not that it means much, but I think you’re wrong in doing this.”

His chest rose a bit higher and fell, in a deep sigh. The darkness and silence came over us for a bit until I thought I heard the soft snores. I chuckled, knowing it was him trying to fake asleep.

“How do you have so much faith in her?”

“How do you not?”

His chest rose and fell again. He shifted slightly under the blankets and his arm tightened around me. Vale’s voice sounded like he was in pain.