The Alpha's Unknown Son

CHAPTER 2

Rose

Walking into the school, I make my way to Will's classroom. I know that with my emotions everywhere, I am walking a little slower; making me late again in picking up Will.
I knock on the classroom door and come face to face with a very annoyed Ms.Reynolds.
"Ms. Washington, your late again!"
"I know Ms. Reynolds. I'm so sorry. It won't happen again," I say in a pleading voice.
"You say that every time Rosealine, and you have been late three times already. If it happens again, I must start charging you for aftercare."
I nod my head and step into the classroom.
Will is sitting down on one of the chairs in the room, eating an apple.
"Mommy!" he says as he runs up to me. I bend down to catch him in my arms. I pick him up and spin him around. His laugh fills my ears and melts my heart. His day must've gotten a lot better when school started.
"Come on, baby. We have a lot to do." I grab his hand and pick up his backpack. We say a quick goodbye to his teacher before walking out.
"So, Willy, I have a surprise for you!" I say as we walk to our apartment.
"What is it, Mommy?" he asks, looking up at me with big green eyes.
"Do you remember Grandpa Rich and Grandma Marie?" He nods so I continue.
"Well, your grandpa Rich's daddy isn't feeling so well, so we're going to go see him," I say and see his face light up.
We continue our way to our apartment as we talk about the trip. We will leave at midnight tonight, so by the time we we get home, I make Will a snack and go to his room to pack his clothes.
When I have all the clothes he'll need for the trip, I go to my room. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. As I make my way to the door, I pass Will, who makes a run for the bathroom.
Looking through the peephole, I see my landlord, Jim. I open the door slowly and peep my head out.
"Hi, Jim. Is there something wrong?"
He smirks at me and tries to take a step forward but I block him.
"Hey, Rosie. I need your rent money."
"But I just paid rent last week!"
He just shrugs before handing me an envelope.
"You were behind in payments. It's due by Sunday or you will have to leave."
I look at him wide-eyed and lips slightly parted. He smiles at me and walks away.
Opening the envelope, I see that I was behind three payments, so last weeks' money just barely brought me out of my debt to the man. He knows I don't get paid until next Friday, and I've reminded him multiple times in case he forgot. I'll have to convince him to give me another extension.
I set the envelope aside and go to my room to pack. Will is on my bed, passed out. I cover him up and kiss his forehead before grabbing my suitcase.
I hurried and packed so I could get some sleep before we leave for the airport. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

                                *​*​*

"Mommy, are we going to be there soon?" Will asks for the hundredth time.
We boarded the plane about two hours ago and have about another hour or two to go.
"No, Will, take a nap or something."
He groans and rests his head back on the seat. I sigh and run my hand through his brown locks.
Before we left, I had told Will that Nick would be there. At first, he said he didn't want to meet him, as always, but I reminded him he is his father and Will needed to build his own relationship with him and not base it off of mine. Will agreed to meet him but said he wouldn't be nice unless he was nice to me.
But I knew my son; as soon as he meets his daddy, he'd fall in love. They both act just alike, and it reminds me a lot of when me and Nick were younger.
A little while later, when the plane taxied on the runway, my eyes closed as soon as my head hit the pillow.

                                *​*​*

After another hour, the plane came to a stop in Dallas, Texas. I grab our bags from above and grab Will's hand before exiting the plane.
Looking around the airport, I immediately spot him.
Standing in all of his glory is my Alpha, or ex Alpha, Nick Rollins. He's wearing dark blue jeans and a bright red shirt. Standing next to him is my brother Jake.
Nick's eyes meet mine and all the emotions I've stored away for the past five years comes back to me in seconds. Aurora, my wolf, is clawing to get out and be with her mate, making me stop in my tracks and close my eyes. I plead with her to stop and she thankfully agrees.
Gripping Will's hand tighter, I make my way to them. Nick's eyes follow me the whole time, but it slowly focuses on Will when we get closer.
Both Nick's and my brother's eyes go wide.
"I'm guessing your my ride?" I ask my brother, avoiding all eye contact with Nick.
They both continue to stare at Will, and I can feel his hand squirm under my grip.
"Jake? You didn't become deaf when I left, did you?" I prodded.
"Um, sorry. The car is this way," Jake says and points to the front exit.
I nod my head and walk ahead of the two. We walk to the parking lot in complete silence and soon come to a stop near a black jeep.
"He doesn't need a booster seat, does he?" Jake asks as he puts our bags in the trunk.
"Do you have one?"
"Eh, not really. Ma didn't tell me you'd be bringing anybody else."
"The ride shouldn't be that long. He'll be fine," I assure him.
Jake nods and opens the door for us. Nick stands by his side, quiet. I can feel his eyes on me, but I choose not to return his gaze, knowing my emotions aren't ready. I help buckle Will in and slide into the seat next to his.
Jake and Nick both take the front seats, and we were soon off to the hospital. Things are quiet in the car. I'm sure neither one of them knows what to say. Thankfully, Will breaks the silence.
"Mommy, look there's a toy store!"
"Yeah, baby. Maybe we can go there."
He nods his head excitedly, looking at all the stores. Nick turns his body in the passenger's side to face me and Will.
"What's your name, big man?" He asks Will, a soft smile on his face.
"William! What's yours?

"My names Nick."
"Oh, that's my daddy's name too. Do you know him?"
I mentally face palm at my son's reaction. I can feel the stare of Nick again, but I keep my eyes to the view on the window. I don't think I have prepared myself enough for this moment.
"I'm not too sure, little man."

"William, the man driving us is your uncle Jake, my brother," I say, trying to avoid the subject at all costs.

Jake winks at him in the mirror, making William smile.

"Hi, Uncle Jake. I'm William. I don't have any brothers or sisters. Mommy said she isn't giving me any for a long time, which I think is so unfair because—"
"Okay, William, I think it's a good time to be quiet now." I hurry and say before this little boy exposes all my dirty secrets.
"Do you have kids, Uncle Jake?"
Jake laughs and shakes his head. I'm honestly surprised. I thought, by now, he already got his mate pregnant.
"What about you? Do you have any kids?" William asks, directing his question to Nick.
Nick shakes his head, a sad smile on his face.
"William, why don't you think of questions for when you see grandma and grandpa?" I say, hoping he will stop this torture he doesn't realize he's putting me through. He nods and puts his headphones in my laptop to watch his show.
"You weren't going to tell me?" Nick says. Now he is the one avoiding eye contact.
Without his eyes on me, I finally get a good look at him. He's still the gorgeous man from all those years ago, but somehow, some things have changed.
His eyes don't hold the life and fun they used to. And one can tell just how tired he really is by his eye bags.
"I didn't think you'd care," I say truthfully, holding his stare when his eyes snap to mine.
"Why wouldn't I, Rose? That's my child."
"You didn't want me, Nick. Why would I ever think you wanted my child?"
"I did want you.."
"Well, you sure know a funny way to show someone that."
He tries to say something but I cut him off, already tired from this conversation.
"Nick, you told me to leave that night. You told me you didn't want me. And then you left for a month and I heard nothing from you. I had to leave. I wasn't going to live a sad life for me or for William. It's been so hard. I didn't know when I'd be ready to come back. I gave him the chance to see you and he chose not to. So can we please just drop this?"
"I'm sorry, Rosealine."
"How did you know he was yours?" I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.
"He looks just like me. I just assumed and you confirmed it."
I just nod and let the group fall back into an awkward silence.
The rest of the drive was quiet with Will sleeping on my shoulder. We arrive at the pack house about an hour later. Nick gets out first and removes the bags out of the car. Jake follows and unlocks the door. I unbuckle my seatbelt and turn to wake up Will.
"Baby, come on. We're here." He shifts in his sleep and slowly opens his bright green eyes. He smiles at me, showing his missing two front teeth, and then he unbuckles his seatbelt. I grab the door handle and open it. I step out and I turn and motion for Will to do the same, and he does.
I set him on the ground and turn towards the house.I collide with a chest instead. Sparks erupt all over my body, and I know instantly that I ran into Nick. He catches me by the waist, keeping me from falling. I mumble a thank you when he steps back, a small smile on his face. He doesn't linger long though and heads for the house.
Before I can take another step to follow him, I hear a loud scream come from the front door. Marcus is standing there, looking as flamboyant as ever, and before I know it, he's running towards me. He grabs me and picks me up, making me squeal and wrap my legs around his waist. I hear two growls and look to see my brother and Nick glaring at us. I send Jake a confused look. I understand why Nick growled ... but Jake?
"Rose. Oh my goddess. I've missed you so much!" he says after he finally puts me down.
"I've missed you too, Marcus!" I say and he hugs me once more before switching his eyes to Will.
"Holy Moly. Who is the handsome boy?" he asks, bending down to be at eye-level with Will. Marcus pinches lightly at his Will's tummy. Will giggles before smiling back at him.
"I'm William!" Will says, waving at Marcus.
Marcus chuckles and waves back before extending his arms to pick up Will. Will throws himself at Marcus and they both laugh.
"Wow! Spitting image of his father. Isn't he, Rose?" Marcus whispers so Will wouldn't hear.
"Yeah, all that hard work of labor for nothing," I say, smiling up at the little boy in Marcus's arms.
We walk into the pack house, the familiar smell invading my nose; reminding me of just how much I missed my life here.
"Is that my baby girl?" I hear my dad's voice from somewhere.
"Dad!" I say as I see him turn from the corner. I don't have time to take in his frame before I'm squeezed into a tight hug.
"Oh, my baby!" My mom walks up and hugs me once my dad lets me go. I hug my mom tightly, her smaller frame matching my own.
Jason, Nick's third in command, walks in and addresses Nick.
"Alpha, the guest bedrooms are set up."
Nick nods and dismisses Jason before focusing his eyes on me. I don't hold his eyes long. I look at my parents instead. They look good, considering they are five years older since the last time I saw them. William runs up to me and stares up at Nick in awe.
"You're an Alpha too? My mommy has friends that are Alphas. We go visit them all the time! They're so nice to me and mommy."
"How are Zayne and Luke?! I haven't seen them since they had their mating ceremony!" Marcus says, making everyone else fall silent.
"You knew where she was the whole time?" Nicks growls, a deadly glare on his face. He takes a step towards a very pale Marcus. Jake steps in front of Marcus in a protective stance.
"Get out of my way, beta."
I can tell by his voice that Nick is losing control of his wolf.
"Alpha, please don't do this. He was just protecting her Nikolia."
"Protecting her from who? She's MY mate!"
"You didn't want her." Jake grits out.
Both men's bodies shake in anger.
"Yeah, maybe it's a good time to say something, Rose," Marcus says as he grips my brother's shirt tightly.
"Uh, okay, let's all calm down. We're blowing this all out of proportion," I say, a little panicked at seeing both my brother and my mate almost to the point of shifting.
My little pep talk was so not working, and I didn't know what else to do.
I looked at Will to see that my parents had taken him out of the room which I was thankful for. I knew the next thing I'm going to do is stupid and would hurt me so badly, but I had no other idea.
I slowly approach Nick, his scent invading my nose, throwing my emotions everywhere. I grab his hand slowly and watch as his breathing calms down. He turns to me, and I use this chance to tell Jake and Marcus to leave.

"I thought I'd never get to touch you again," he says as he looks at me with so much regret.
My mind goes haywire and my wolf jumps around in my head. I know I have to stop this before it takes me back to the place I came out of. I snatch my hand away and turn away from him.
"I was just trying to stop you from doing something you would regret. Nothing else, nothing more," he adds.
I walk away, wanting to get as much space between the two of us as possible. I found my parents, Will, Jake, and Marcus in the living room. Will is telling them all about his show-and-tell performance. I sit beside a very shaken up Marcus. Jake is rubbing circles on his back and whispering to him. I look at them weirdly, the affection my brother is showing Marcus catching me off guard once again.
"Am I missing something? Did y'all become best friends or something when I left? Did you trade me for my brother, Marcus?"
Marcus laughs, and I see the fun return to his eyes.
"You know you're not replaceable, Rose, but we are uh..."
"We're mates," Jake says, a proud smile on his face.
I look at both of them, surprised. I sit there with my mouth just wide open. I have never thought in my wildest dreams that they would be mates.
I see their faces fall, and Marcus scoots closer to Jake. I follow their eyes to see Nick standing in the corner. All eyes are on him. Everyone bows their head in respect besides me and William.
"Alpha I'm ... "Marcus starts, but Nick's hand goes up.
"Beta Marcus, you purposefully lied to me, your Alpha, about the whereabouts of Rose. You should face the rightful consequences."
"Nick that's ... " I say, but he cuts me off.
"But I will ignore it this one time. But if you ever disrespect me like that again, I don't care who your mate is, I will make sure you get what you deserve." Marcus nods, a shameful look on his face.
I know Nick's words must have seemed harsh, but I also know he was letting Marcus get off easy.
"Mommy, why is Marcus in trouble?" Will asks, drawing our attention to him.
"He ... um ... he ...uh ... isn't baby ... he's just ... uh ... let's talk about something else," I say with a defeated sigh, not knowing how to answer that question.
"Jake can show you the guest rooms when you two are ready. If any of you need me, I'll be in my office," Nick says and then turns to exit the room. But before he can walk away, little hands stop him. He looks down at William.
I decide not to say anything and just watch the two.
"Why can't you stay? Do you have to do alpha stuff?"
"Yeah, big man. I have to do alpha stuff," Nick says, a look of hurt on his face.
"You look like me," Will says, making Nick's eyes widen. He looks at me silently, asking for some kind of permission. I just shrug my shoulders, letting him decide for himself.
"Yeah, buddy, about that ... A long time ago, before you were born, I did a terrible thing, and even though I regret it every day, I can't go back in time. I hurt your mommy real bad, buddy, and so she left. I didn't know she was carrying you in her tummy when she left though, bud."
I can see everyone's surprise as their Alpha talks with so much emotion in his voice.
"So, you're my daddy?"
"I am, buddy."
William says nothing for a minute and looks back at me. I can see in his eyes that he's going back and forth between forgiving him or not.
"Remember what I told you, big man? You got to forgive everybody no matter what," I remind him.
He nods at me and turns back to Nick. He says nothing and just strolls into Nick's arms. The two hug, and I can see tears in Nick's eyes before he closes them tightly. The scene makes me sad, seeing how much I took away not only from my wolf but from Will.
The two separate and Nick smiles widely at his son.
"Can you stay and hang out with us?" Will asks.
"Uh, sure, buddy, as long as it's okay with your mom."
Everyone turns to me, and I want to roll my eyes at all of them.
"I don't mind, but not for long because he has to be in bed by eight."

                                *​*​*

For the next half hour, Will meets everyone in the pack house, with everybody cooing and aweing at him. My Mom and Dad have already promised him a shopping spree, and my brother and Marcus promised to take him for ice cream later.
I sit there smiling at the little boy telling everyone about the time Luke took him to the amusement park but was too scared to go on the big rides. My phone goes off in my hand, and I leave the room to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, how did you guys land?" Zayne asks on the other line.
"Good. We just arrived at the pack house."
"That's good. Did you see him yet?" He asks, referring to Nick.
"Yes, Zayne. He picked me up with Jake."
"Dang! That's unfortunate." He chuckles.
I roll my eyes and tell him 'I'll call him later' with an 'I love you' to him and Luke.
As I walk back to the living room, I find Will asleep on Nick's chest and everybody silent.
"Did you like my conversation?" I ask as I sit down on the seat. They remain silent.
"Okay, fine, we were listening, but we're werewolves so we can't help it. So who were you talking to?" Marcus finally says.
"My secret lover." I laugh back.
Nick growls and glares at my phone that's sitting on the arm rest.
I walk over to Nick and grab Will from Nick.
Once I adjust Will in my arms, I look to Nick to show me my room. He gets up from his chair and walks toward the stairs. Everybody kisses Wills' forehead before I follow Nick.
We make it to the second floor, and he shows me to the room, far from the stairs. He opens up the door and gestures me in.
The room is light blue in color with white and black decor.
Setting Will on the bed, I pull up his covers and kiss his forehead. Nick asks if he can kiss him, and I have to resist the urge to roll my eyes. I say yes and Nick moves to kiss Will's forehead. We walk out of the room and head downstairs.
"Can we talk?" Nick asks as we reach the first floor.
I nod and tell him to lead the way. We make our way to his office. It is the same from when I came here when I was a kid, when his father was alpha. He sits down in his office chair as I sit in one of the chairs in front of his desk. We stay in silence while he stares at me. I grow irritated at him, and so I start the conversation.
"Are we going to stay in this awkward silence or are you going to talk? Cause I would rather not be here."
"Are you planning on staying permanently?" he asks not looking me in the eye.
"No," I say dryly, staring at him with a straight face.
"You're going to take him away from me again?" he says, a look of hurt on his face. My wolf whines in my head as she hates seeing her mate sad.
"I have thought little about it, Nick. I'm sure we can figure some split custody or something."
"Rose, were wolves, not humans. Why can't you just stay?"
"I don't want to."
"I'm not asking you to jump into bed with me, Rose. I'm asking you to not take my son away," he says, sounding very irritated.
"I said we can figure it out when the time comes. Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to bed," I say, wanting to get as far away from him as I possibly can. The barrier I have put around our mate bond is starting to crumble the more I'm around him.
"Fine, but this conversation is not over, Rose."
"Goodnight, Alpha."