Silence of the Alpha

Silence of the Alpha Chapter Eight

The next few days passed by quickly, barely giving me any time to think about anything. Phoenix tried to ask me about it all, but stopped when he saw how uncomfortable it made me. Kaine and Mike did everything they could to keep my distracted. When Phoenix was off doing Alpha stuff, they took me shopping and out to eat. We got weird looks from all of the people wherever we went. We must have looked odd; two tall, muscular men dragging around a small, quiet girl. They never stopped talking, keeping my head filled with all of their comments and questions.

Now it was Sunday night, and we were all sitting around the dining room table, eating a delicious meal cooked by myself. The boys were all laughing and talking, including Phoenix. I simply nodded at everything said to me while I ate my meal.

Near the end of dinner, Phoenix turned to face me. "We have to go to school tomorrow." I blanched. I couldn't go back. My pack was there, and they must know what happened with my father.

I expressed my concern using my eyes, pleading with him. He just shook his head with a tone of finality. "We have to. We need to graduate so we can take over the pack completely." I sighed, knowing I wasn't going to win this.

It was silent again, the only sound being the scraping of forks on almost empty plates. Finally, Kaine cleared his throat, glancing up at me. "I'll be leaving town for a few days." I furrowed my brows, confused as to why he was telling me this.

Phoenix noticed my confusion and put his fork down, slowly wiping his mouth with his napkin. "Kaine is going to search for your father." My eyes shot back to Kaine. His head was down, but it was more out of respect than shame.

"It is my duty as Beta to do anything that the Alpha cannot do. That includes anything dangerous or suicidal. It is also my duty to protect the Luna from all harm. The consequence of not doing so is death." The serious tone of his voice shocked me. He always looked and sounded so carefree and happy. I didn't know he had to do these things. That would certainly explain why his eyes would always search for something when we were out shopping this weekend.

When I didn't respond, he looked up, worry evident on his face. When he saw the shock in my eyes, he reached out and took my hand in his, earning a growl from my jealous mate. He ignored the threat and just looked at me. "I'll be fine. I'm a big boy; I can do this on my own. And it only makes sense... Beta against Beta, right?" I just nodded. I was trying to remind myself that he was a wolf and he could take a lot of beatings before he really felt it.

Realization hit me then. I surprised myself by speaking. "You haven't mated."

Kaine just cocked his head to the side, as if saying 'so?'. I shook my head, exasperated. "He is still technically mated. And his mate is dead, making him even stronger. He will kill you if he sees you."

He sighed, realizing my point. He looked torn. "I have to protect you. Because I don't have a mate, you are the most important person in my life. Phoenix needs me to protect you, so I will."

I whipped my head around to glare at Phoenix. He just looked at me innocently, not caring that he was sending his Beta out to be killed. "Don't glare at me like that. I'm just doing this for your protection." I continued glaring for a few more seconds before turning to look at Mike, who was sitting there silently, listening to our conversation.

He raised his hands as if he were surrendering. "Don't look at me. I didn't know about any of this. This is new to me as well." I groaned and leaned back into my chair. I couldn't believe this. Why couldn't my father have just home-schooled me instead of sending me to school with them?

I heard Kaine stand up, his footsteps growing louder as he got near me. He pulled me from my chair and hugged me to the point where I almost couldn't breathe. "I'm so sorry, little one. I know you're worried. Trust me, I'm scared to death. Just know that you're worth it, okay?" I nodded into his chest before tapping his back with my hand, trying to tell him that I couldn't breathe. He took the hint and laughed, releasing me from his death grip.