The Alpha's Soul

04

"Honey, what are you doing here?" Tan's father, Quinton, asked as he opened the door at nearly one in the morning to his only child shivering on the front porch.

Tan just walked inside and fell into his father's arms, sobbing as he did so.

Quinton sighed and walked Tan to his old bedroom. "Sweetheart, what happened?" he asked as they sat down on the bed, the same flannel comforter from Tan's childhood still covering it.

"M-My mate thinks I c-can't take care of m-myself," Tan stuttered, curling into his dad's hold.

Even though he was taller and broader than his father because he was an Alpha and his father was an Omega, there was nothing like his dad's comfort and Tan needed it right then.

"Honey, I'm sure he knows you can take care of yourself," Quinton said, laying against the headboard and rubbing Tan's back. "That's just how the super dominant-minded Alphas are. They're protective and say things they don't mean when they're upset or worried."

Tan whimpered. "Why can't I be like them? I want to be one of the strong Alphas but I'm just... not," he said, wiping under his eyes to clean the tears. "I'm weak."

"Want mate," Mika whined inside his head. "Mate knows we aren't weak."

"You're not weak, Tan," Quinton said, holding his son tight. "You were raised by an Omega so it makes sense that your personality isn't as abrasive as other Alphas, but you're a top warrior, aren't you?"

"It doesn't matter," Tan said in a broken voice. "Top warrior or not, he's never going to see me as anything but his stupid, weak mate that he has to protect even though I don't need his protection. And then he won't even speak with me or communicate about what his problems are!"

Quinton tensed at his son's angered tone, but he relaxed when Tan noticed and forced himself to settle down. "Honey, not all Alphas are great communicators. You're a fantastic one, but you must remember when you got into arguments with Calix and Kai when you were little, and even if you tried to talk things out, Calix and Kai always preferred to shut down and go run for a bit to relieve their anger," he explained, reminding Tan of when he was younger and they would argue and he'd never have to run off and calm down from anger.

Instead he'd run off and cry because he did not like when people were upset with him and didn't want to listen and talk it out.

"What am I supposed to do then?" Tan asked, his voice still shaky. "He has so many things he's hiding from me, and I'm sure they're about his past, but he won't talk. How am I supposed to help him or be a good mate if he shuts down?"

"You are good mate. Tiberius says that Luke is scared. You are a good mate," Mika reassured, but Tan ignored him.

Quinton hummed. "You have to learn how to best get through to him. That's how it was with you mother," he said, his voice tightening at the thought of his deceased mate. "She was very much the strong-warrior-Alpha when we were growing up together, before we ever mated or had you. Even then, she only took a month off to keep and eye on both of us before she went back out to patrol and I stayed home with you. She didn't like to talk things out, but she learned how for me."

"What if Luke doesn't want to learn how for me?"

"He's your mate, sweetheart," Quinton reassured him, kissing Tan's forehead. "If he loves you, he'll learn."

Tan sniffed and wiped his tears away. "He's never said he loves me, so I haven't either because I'm scared he won't say it back."

"It's okay to be scared, Tan. I've always told you that it's okay to be afraid and show emotion, no matter what anyone else says."