Animalia: The Green Forest, Book 2

Chapter 13

Alex's father answered the doors. "Heya Samm-O!" He greeted Samson cheerfully.
"Hello Ferris." Samson greeted the tom politely. "I want to talk to Alex."
Ferris opened the doors even more. "Go ahead!" He called. "She's resting in her room right now. Her mother is there too."
"Resting?" Samson frowned. "It's early to be resting. Is she okay?"
"She's fine, I think." Ferris closed the doors once Samson had entered. "Jaxon was here earlier. They both had a contest to see who could reach the ceiling by jumping on her bed. Alex hit her head during the challenge. I sent Jaxon back home to let Alex recover in peace."
They were jumping on Alex's bed. How old are they? Five? Samson kept these thoughts to himself. "I'd like to see her now, if it's okay." He asked Ferris. "May I speak to her too, if she's awake?"
Ferris nodded. "You look troubled." He commented. "Is everything alright?"
No. Nothing is okay. Samson sighed. "A lot has been going on lately," he started. "I wanted to talk to Alex about it."
Ferris gave a sympathetic smile. "You and Alex are too young to be going through so much trouble." He patted Samson's shoulder. "If there's ever anything serious going on, you can always talk to me." He purred before walking away.
Samson watched the tom leave. Ferris is such a great guy. He thought as he headed for Alex's room. I've always admired him ever since I was little. Maybe it's because I'm so close to his daughter. But then Jaxon came along. Samson frowned. Jaxon's so much closer to Ferris and Alex even though he's only known them for a year. Lucky guy. He pushed his incoming jealousy aside as he reached the doors to Alex's room.
They were closed. He slowly opened them and poked his head inside. "Hello?"
Alex was sitting up on her bed and leaning against the frame of it. Her mother, Sasha was sitting close beside her.
Sasha turned her head. No matter how many times I see Alex's mom, I still find it hard to believe they're mother and daughter. Samson mused.
Sasha's hair was long and milky white. Her green eyes-which had always looked stressed ever since Alex lost a part of her ear-completely contrasted Alex's bright orange ones.
"Hello there, Samson." Sasha greeted quietly. "Is everything alright?"
Samson stepped into the room. "Is everything alright with her?" He angled his ears toward Alex. "I heard what happened."
"Yes, she's fine." Sasha still looked concerned as she spoke. "At least I hope she is. I was afraid she'd seriously injured herself. I couldn't bear the thought of my kit being hurt again. . ." She sadly glanced at Alex's shredded ear.
Samson stared at it too. He still remembered the day it had been ripped. "I think she's okay. Alex can handle anything that comes her way. Isn't that right?" He glanced at his friend.
Alex nodded determinedly, though she still looked a bit dazed. "Yeah Mom, I'm goochie!" She pointed at her shredded ear. "I've been through worse before, remember?"
Sasha shook her head. "I don't want to remember that day." She murmured.
Samson moved closer. "There were more gains than losses on that day," he gently reminded Sasha. "You were reunited with your daughter. Kasia was defeated. You got your home back. Your family was safe again." Mostly safe, anyway. Samson didn't dare speak those words aloud. Luca's still prowling around.
"But it cost half of my daughter's hearing," Sasha was still unhappy.
"It's okay, Mom!" Alex smiled. "I can still kinda hear from that ear. But I can hear just fine in my other one! One is better than none!"
I wonder how Alex remains so optimistic after everything she's been through. Samson watched his friend carefully. There was a little bit of pain and sadness in her eyes as she spoke. Oh. She's forcing herself to be happy. . .
Samson glanced at Sasha. "I wanted to speak to your daughter about personal matters." He informed her. "Nothing too serious. I just need to get some things off my chest."
Sasha nodded. She gave Alex another sad look before getting up and leaving the room.
Samson climbed into Alex's bed and settled into a sitting position beside her. "Alex." He started. "What's wrong?"
Alex looked surprised. "What?" She gaped at him. "I thought you wanted to talk to me about your problems."
"I do." Samson stared at her intensely. "But I want to know what's bothering you first. Why are you pretending to be happy?"
Alex leaned closer to Samson. "I don't want my family to worry about me, is all." She murmured. "But I'm okay, really. I've just been tired and sluggish lately."
Samson slung an arm around Alex and pulled her closer to himself. "That's not good." He replied disapprovingly.
Alex snuggled against him. "I guess I still haven't fully recovered from what happened to me last year," her eyes glistened. "I mean yeah, my body's healed from the damage it's received. But the past still haunts me a little bit."
Samson rested his chin on top of her head. Poor girl. He thought sadly. "That's understandable," he murmured. "It's hard to suppress bad memories. No matter how much we try, they'll always just be there. We don't have a choice whether we want to accept them or not."
"Mhm," Alex hummed in response. She closed her eyes and softly asked, "So what's been bothering you lately?"
"What hasn't been bothering me lately?" Samson huffed. "Tsuki and Luca have both been incredibly annoying to deal with. And then there's Rose. She's obsessed with having a family. It's starting to irritate me."
"Why does it bother you so much?" Alex asked curiously. "You're not even her mate. Do you like her?"
Me? Liking Rose? As if! Samson scornfully thought. "Of course I don't like her," he scoffed. She doesn't make me feel the same way you do. But Samson realized that his heart wasn't racing; it always did when he was with Alex. But not this time. He then thought about Rose. Annoying. She's annoying. Despite thinking this, he felt no hostility towards her; only curiosity. Why does she want a family so much? Does she have a mate? Are they planning on having a family? The thought didn't thrill him for some reason.
"Well, I think you like her," Alex purred. "And I think she likes you too! Maybe you should ask her to be your mate!"
Samson felt daunted by the idea. "No," he growled. Strange emotions welled up in him. "I don't like Rose. Why would I ask her to be my mate? That's stupid!"
Alex rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculously stupid sometimes, you know that?" She sounded exasperated. "I think you do like her, but you're too cool to admit it."
"No, you're the stupid one," Samson muttered. "You didn't even know that Jaxon liked you even after he'd admitted it straight to your face a year ago." And you didn't know I liked you even after I dropped that big hint to you in the bathroom. You're the stupid one.
"That was different!" Alex protested. "He was super vague about it!"
"Vague? He was so damn obvious about it!" Samson snorted.
"Well, it wasn't obvious to me!"
"Nothing is obvious to you, Alex." Samson nudged her. "But that's okay. That's why you have me around."
Samson suddenly remembered something, else the main reason why he was here. "Rose is at my house with my mother right now," he started uneasily. "Tsuki is there too. Rose and my mother are helping Tsuki give birth."
Alex's ears perked up. "Tsuki is giving birth?" She sounded dismayed. "At your house? Right now? Why?"
"The idiot wanted Luca with her." Samson explained, his tail lashing with frustration. "She came here looking for him; probably thinking he would help her even though he rejected her for being pregnant in the first place."
"Wow," Alex breathed out. "She's even stupider than I thought."
"She is," Samson agreed. "She better take her kit and leave my home right after she's done. I can't stand her."
"Yeah," Alex agreed. "Tsuki and Luca are already terrible enough. We don't need their spawn or spawns running around."
Samson shuddered at the thought of a mini Tsuki and a mini Luca roaming the forest. That's the last thing we need right now.
Samson stayed in Alex's room for the next few hours, feeling relaxed after their talk. The sun was starting to set when Samson finally hopped off of Alex's bed. "I'm going to head home now," he announced.
"Okay," Alex waved at him.
Samson took his time as he walked back to his house. It was dark when he had finally reached it. Hopefully they're done and Tsuki's gone. He silently prayed to himself as he entered.
The living room was empty. Samson turned and headed for the guest room. His ears dropped when he heard voices. Is Tsuki still trying to give birth? What's taking her so long?
Samson opened the door and stalked into the room. Iris and Rose were standing close to the bed, blocking Tsuki from his view. Only Rose turned when he entered.
She left Iris' side and approached Samson. Her arms were crossed and there was a stern look on her face. "Oh, there you are, Samson." She didn't sound pleased. "Where have you been?"