The Alpha's Unknown Son

CHAPTER 4

Nick

I slowly make my way inside the house as I carry Rose. Her hand grips my shirt tightly, the skin contact between us making me instantly relax. Entering the pack house, I climb the stairs to her and William's room. Pushing open the door, I walk to her bed and gently set her down. As I cover her up with her blanket, I take the time to take a good look at her.
Her blonde hair is matted to her face from crying. Her tear-stained cheeks look as soft as baby's skin. Her long eyelashes are wet from crying.
All her pain shows on her face, and it pains me to say that I'm the reason fot it. I shouldn't have rejected her, and I regret every day I wake up without her. I should have pushed my selfish ways aside. At that time, I thought she wasn't worthy enough of being my mate. In reality, I wasn't worthy enough for her. But it hurts more to know that I missed my son's first five years of life. I don't know if I'll ever be able to make it up to either of them.
I stop staring at her beauty and kiss her forehead before walking out and heading downstairs. I can smell Will's scent as I hit the bottom of the stairs and follow it into the living room. Noah and William are both sitting on the couch watching a kids' show.
"Is mommy ok?" Will asks when he notices me, his eyes filled with worry. I sit opposite him and Noah as I run a hand over my face.
"She's just sad about your great grandpa," I say with a sigh, knowing that's not the full truth. He nods, jumping off the couch he was on to come sit with me.
I wrap my arms around his body, bringing him closer to me as we watch the show.
We stay like that for about an hour when we hear a loud scream come from upstairs. I give Will back to Noah and tell them to stay in the living room. I run upstairs, taking two at a time to Rose's room. I hurry and open the door to see Rose thrashing in her bed, screaming.
"Get off of me, please!"
"Stop!" 
"Please don't hurt him. You can do anything to me"
I go over to the bed and climb on top of her, straddling her. I pry her hands away from her face and see tears streaming down. Her breathing is heavy, but she has stopped moving.
Her breathing goes back to normal, so I climb off of her. She grabs the blankets and pulls them to her chest and over her head, shielding her from the world.
I silently get out of the room but leave the door open slightly in case she has another night terror.
"Did mommy have another nightmare?" Will asks, running up to me latch on my legs.
"Does she usually scream in her sleep, Will?"
"Only sometimes, but she won't tell me why."
I nod my head and tell Marcus and Noah to watch Will while me and Jake go to my office.
"What are you going to do, Alpha?" Jake asks as he sits down on the sofa. I ignore his question and pick up the phone to call the one person who might know.
"Hello?"
"Is this Alpha Zayne?" I ask when I don't recognize the voice.
"No, this is his mate. Who is this?"
"Oh, Alpha Luke, my apologies. It's Alpha Nick Rollins." The line goes dead not long after.
"Who was that?"
"Alpha Luke. Will told Nikolai that he looks similar to his uncle Luke and uncle Zayne, and I kinda just put two and two together, but he hung up."
"Maybe the call just failed."
I nod and was about to redial when the phone rings.
"This is Alpha Nick."
"Alpha Nick, it's me, Zayne. I'm sorry about my mate; he isn't your biggest fan," Zayne says and chuckles at the end.
"Oh, okay then," I say, taken aback a little.
"Anyways, what can I help you with. Nick? How's Will and Rose?"
"They're good, but I'm actually calling about Rose. She had a nightmare and was screaming in her sleep. I was wondering if you know anything about that? She said some odd things during the nightmare that made me worry about why she has them."
The other line stays quiet, and I actually think that they had hung up again, but Zayne speaks after a while.
"I know she sometimes wakes up screaming, but she has never told me or Luke why. The best thing to do is just calm her down during the terror so she doesn't hurt herself."
"Okay, Alpha Zayne. Thank you for your help."
"You're welcome, Nick. Good luck, and I guess congrats on the son."
I chuckle and say a quick thanks before hanging up.
"What did he say?" Jake asks me.
"Not much. Zane doesn't know why she has them," I say and he nods.
"Are you going to ask her about them?"
"And have her hate me more than she already does? Are you insane? No thanks."
"Okay, okay. Fine. Though if what you told me yesterday about wanting her back, it might be a way to get her to open up to you," Jake suggests. I don't want to upset Rosealine, but I need to know all her demons, not just the ones I caused her.
"You might be right, Jake. Thanks. Are you coming to dinner tonight with my family?"
"No man. That's you and Will's time. Is Rose going?"
"Yeah, I think so. I didn't exactly ask her, but I'm pretty sure that she is."
He nods and excuses himself. I follow shortly after to Will.

                                 *​*​*


"Daddy, do you think grandma and grandpa will like me?" Will asks as we wait for Rose to be ready.
"Of course. They'll love you like I do!"
"You love me, Daddy?"
I nod and send him a smile that reaches my ears.
"Do you love Mommy?" Will asks.
"I do, buddy."
He sends me a smile before crashing into my arms. I chuckle and wrap my arms around his tiny body.
"She loves you too, Daddy. I just know it."
I pull back and look at him. He sends me a smile and I return one.
"Im ready." Rose comes in wearing a black skirt and a white long-sleeved shirt. Her hair is perfectly straightened, and she has some makeup on her eyes that really brings out the blue in them.
"Daddy, you're staring."
I come out of my daze and look down to see Will grinning up at me. He pats my leg before running up to his mom.
I grab my phone from the side table and usher the two out the door. My parents' house isn't far away, so I decided that we could walk. We stay in silence for a while before I start to speak. 
"How did you sleep?"
"Good, I guess. Thanks for carrying me in," she says as a blush makes its way up her neck to her cheeks.
"You don't have to thank me."
Walking up to my parents house, I see my brothers Noah and Nathan's cars in the driveway. I ring the doorbell and wait for someone to answer it. Will hides behind Rose's leg, shielding himself. The door swings open seconds later, and my parents, Rachel and Jim, stand there looking as giddy as ever.
"Oh my, Rose, I haven't seen you in forever!" My mother says as she pulls Rose into a tight hug. Rose nods and stares at her awkwardly, not sure to react to the reception.
"Calm down, Mom," Nathan says as he comes and stands by my parents.
"It's nice to see you too, Luna," I greet in return.
"Oh, honey, just call me Rachel. That Luna title belongs to—"
"Mom," I interrupt her in a warning tone.
"Oh, sorry. Anyways, come in!" she says and gestures us to come in. Will grips Rose's pants tightly as we all walk in. She bends down and whispers something in his ear before picking him up.
"Hi, I'm Will," he says quietly. Both my parents and Nathan stand there in shock as they stare at him. My mom's eyes immediatley filled with tears as she sends him a smile.
"Exact replica, isn't he? He seemed to have gotten his brains from Rose," Noah says as he makes his appearance.
I growl at him while Rose silently laughs.
"Oh my, your right; he looks just like you when you were a baby, Nicky," my mom says, using the nickname she has always called me. I groan and go to the couch to sit down. Everybody follows and sits down as well. Rose and Will sits with me on one couch as everybody else takes the other ones.
"So, how old are you, little guy?" my dad asks.
"I'm five, but I'm turning six in two days!" Will says excitedly.
"Wow! You're so big. Are you in school yet?" my mom asks.
"Yep, I'm in pre-K!"
They all nod and continue to fire him questions. Mom heads to the kitchen a little later to finish cooking. After a while, my mom calls us into the dining room to eat.
"So, Rose, do you work?" my dad asks as my mom fishes out the food.
"Yeah, at a diner."
My dad nods before taking a sip of his beer.
"And that pays the bills?" Nathan askz.
"It does."
"Sometimes, Mommy has to leave me with Uncle Luke when it's the weekends cause she works a lot," Will says as he tries to pick up his potatoes with a spoon.
"I didn't mean it like you didn't work hard or anything, Rose,. I was just curious."
"It's okay, Nathan. I didn't take offense," Rose says as she sends him a smile.
"So what are you doing for his party, Rose?" my mom ask.
"I don't know yet. Since we will be here for a while, I guess I would have to discuss it with Nick." .
"Oh, that's great. If you need any help, just let me know!" Mom says excitedly.
"Mommy, can I and Aurora play tag when we get home?"
"Sure, buddy." He claps his hands and shows off his missing teeth when he sends her a smile.
"What about daddy's wolf, can he play too?" Will asks.
"Goddess please say yes. Please say yes!" Nikolai says in my head.
"Um, sure, baby. Why not," Rose says as she gives me a brief glance.
"Yay! I love you mommy!" Will screams as he kisses his mom's face. She smiles at him, the love she has for him showing in her eyes.
We finish eating, and me and Rose take care of the dishes as Will talks with my family.
"Thanks for tonight, Rose."
She nods and hands me a bowl to dry.
"I was thinking that maybe the pack could meet Will at his party. It's kind'a getting hard hiding him away from everybody," I say, a little hesitant to hear her answer.
"Okay."
"Really? Your okay with that?" I ask, clearly shocked.
"Why wouldn't I let the pack meet Will? His party is the perfect time too."
"I think so too. Since we're talking, I wanted to apologize fully to you. For everything Rose, I'm truly sorry," I say, giving her my full attention, but she ignores me.
"I don't need apologies, Nick. What's done is done." A sharp pain erupts in my chest and I hear Nikolai whimper. I ignore the pain and go back to washing dishes.
We finish the dishes in silence and decide it was to call it a night.
"Mom, we have to get him home. Please let him go," I plead to my mom who doesn't want to let him go.
"Rachel, you can come over tomorrow to watch him if you want. I have to do a few things so ... " Rose suggests, and my mom agrees and lets go of a half-asleep Will. We say a last goodbye to everybody before taking off. The walk is done in silence and we get home not long after.
"Mommy, can we still play tag?" Will ask as he yawns.
"No, baby, maybe tomorrow. It's your bedtime."
He nods resting his head on her shoulder. They disappear after I give Will a kiss goodnight.
My phone rings not long after.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Alpha Nick. We just wanted to inform you that Rich Sr. passed away at 9:50 tonight," Cindy, one the pack nurses, says on the other line. I sit down on the edge of the couch as I sigh loudly.
"Thanks, Cindy. Have you informed Rich and Marie?"
"Yes, Alpha. I was hoping you could tell the luna and beta." I agree and say a quick 'thank you' before hanging up. I head to my office to gather my thoughts before having to deliver the news. I sit in my chair and think of the best way to go about the situation. A knock on my door brings me out of my thoughts. I tell the person to come in and see Jake standing in front of me with Marcus and Noah at his side. Jake has tears on his face, and Marcus is trying his best to comfort him.
"Did you tell her yet?" he asks, and I shake my head.
"Can I do it?"
"Of course, Jake. I'm so sorry."
He nods and we all leave the room.
Rose is coming down the stairs but stops on the last step when she sees us. Jake looks up at her with his matching blue eyes that have tears swimming in them. Her eyes start to water, and she grabs the rail for support.
"It's Gramps, Ro. He's gone," Jake says, barely a whisper. He goes to his sister to hold her.
"No, no, no, no. This can't be happening. He's supposed to live forever. He promised he would, Jake. He promised." Her whole body starts to shake as she lets the tears hit her brother's shoulder. My wolf whimpers, not liking our mate crying. I want to comfort her, but I hold myself from doing so.
"I know, sis. I know."
"He's gone, Jake. He won't see Will grow up or tell me it's going to be okay anymore. He-he's gone," she says as she cries gets louder.
My phones goes off once again, making all heads whip to me. Rose sends me a death glare before she starts screaming.
"This is your fault! You're an alpha! You're supposed to protect your pack, but you let one die!"
Soon enough, she's in front of me. She starts to hit my chest and push me back. Jake tries to grab her, but she's too fast for him.
"I COULD HAVE SPENT MORE TIME WITH HIM IF YOU JUST ACCEPTED ME. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU SO MUCH." My back hits the wall and Rose tries to hit me, but I grab her arms and switch us around. She is now pressed against the wall.
"Rose, calm down." I growl out and watch as realization dawns on her face. She looks at me for a long time before pulling away and running upstairs. I decide not to follow her and just go back to the others.
"Alpha, I'm sorry. They were just close so—"
"Its okay, Marcus. I understand her actions. Just watch her please."
He nods before going back to comforting his still-crying mate.
"Where are you going?" Noah asks as he follows me to the backyard.
"For a run. Don't follow me." I step outside and let the cool night wind hit my skin. I start off into a run to the woods and shift midair into my wolf..
My mind drifts off to Rose. She says she hates me. But how do you make a person, that hates you, fall in love with you?