The Alpha Next Door

Chapter 15 ⦔ Five-Leaf Akebia

Laila didn't want to have to go to the town over to see a movie with her mate. She didn't like the fact they could only meet in no man's land where members of their packs wouldn't see them. Yet it was all worth it when she got to spend time with Myles.

Once they finally got past the fact their packs were enemies they realized they actually had a lot in common. She caught herself talking to him for hours, completely losing track of time until she realized it was early in the morning and she would have to start getting ready for school.

"What is going to happen Myles?" Asked Laila one night when they were sitting in a restaurant where no one could recognize them. "We can't keep this a secret forever."

"Well, there are three options as far as I can tell. We could come out with it and deal with whatever repercussions we will be forced to face. We could save up and run to no man's land or another pack that would take us. Or we could wait until your friend, Adelia, becomes the Luna of your pack and then she will convince both Alphas to work something out for us." Said Myles as if the whole thing was all very simple.

That was something Laila loved about Myles. He never pretended something was the end of the world when it wasn't. He just sat back patient and quiet until he had a solution to a problem. There was always an opportune moment that Myles was willing to wait for.

"Don't worry about it, my dear. You stress too much. Whatever happens, will happen and we can find a solution to problems when they arise. There is little point worrying about things you have no control over."

"I just don't know how you can not care. How you can still breathe when our world is falling around us?" Asked Laila as she stared up at her mate. She looked into his eyes and she tried to understand how his mind worked.

"I used to worry like you do. Then I pretended to always be calm. I never let people see how panicked I was. Then even when I acted calm things turned out better than when I stressed. Eventually, I just learned to remain calm."

"You puzzle me, Myles." Laila smiled before she kissed her secret boyfriend and she was happy. She spent the night not focused on whether or not they would be caught but instead she focused on enjoying the short time she had with her mate.

There were a few rooms in Adelia's house that were locked from the outside. The attic, the room that contained her paintings, the old study, and her mother's room. It had been left, frozen in time almost since the day her mother died and it was only entered when Adelia or Hugo was feeling nostalgic. When they needed to feel close to there mother.

That particular day both Hugo and Adelia were wandering around the room. They let the objects of the room bring back past memories. Their mother singing to them. Their mother teaching them to shoot. Their mother slowly fading away. Their mother in a box being buried.

"Stop it Adelia."

"Are you serious Hugo? The thing has been sitting here for years just waiting to be opened and you still are too scared to touch it."

"Maybe I just don't want to invade our mum's privacy."

"Stop lying to yourself. You are still scared of father. Scared of what will happen. Well, they are both dead Hugo so there is no need to worry." Argued Adelia as she shoved the key into the lock of the chest that had sat at the end of their mother's bed since they were children.

The key to the chest had always been worn around their mother's neck but when she died their father had taken it. When their father died it had taken them a long time to find the key. It was only earlier in the day that Hugo had found it but now he was regretting showing his sister.

As Adelia opened the chest they were greeted with a simple sight. A few old books, some letters with paper that was turning yellow, a folded wedding dress, and a few smaller boxes.

Adelia rummaged through the things. A few tears fell down her cheeks while her lips made a sad smile as she looked at the things that were sentimental to her mother. Hugo stood in the corner looking out the window as if he was afraid to even watch Adelia do such a thing.

"Did you know mum kept a diary?" Asked Adelia as she opened a box of old diaries filled to the brim with her mother's neat handwriting.

"No, she must have written in it while we were asleep each night."

"I wish you would look through these things Hugo. You were always mum's angel. You would appreciate this all much more than I do. Besides you were older than me when she died. I can barely remember most of this but it would be important to you." Adelia was cut off by the slam of the door as Hugo stormed out of the room.

Adelia spent the night crying as she read through her mother's diaries. She hadn't felt this close to her mother before. She got to learn about what she was like as a child. She laughed at some of the memories but mostly she just took it all in.

That was until she got to the last diary. That's when their father began to slip. That's when things began. Their mother took the brunt of it when she was still alive. Adelia began to get confused as she read the last few entries. She wasn't getting sicker.

The last diary entry read "I will leave tomorrow. I just know I can't take it anymore. I want to take Hugo and Adelia so desperately but that would be too selfish. He treats them well. I could never provide for them. I am not good enough for them. I'm a horrible mother and they would be far better off without me. Hopefully, one day when I realize what is wrong with me then I will beg for them to take me back. I must go now as he is calling me to bed and I would hate to be late."

Adelia wept. She cried for her mother who was clearly so manipulated and abused. She cried for Hugo who she knew would take this horribly. She cried for herself. She cried because her mother had left her. Yet she could still be alive this whole time.

Once Adelia had composed herself there was only one more problem. How would she tell Hugo?