Filed To Story: Destined Bond with My Forbidden Alpha Novel (Alpha Alexander & Selene)
“What?” he asked.
“You heard me,” she said firmly, clenching her jaw. “You cure him but do not tell him what I did. Not ever.”
“Why?” Peter asked. “We can’t keep that from him!”
“It is not your decision!” Alice growled.
Peter stared back at her, seeing the anger and fear in her eyes. She was right, it wasn’t his decision, and if Alice didn’t want Myka to know, it was her right to keep it from him.
But Peter could not stand the idea.
“I don’t know that I can agree to that,” Peter said quietly.
Alice growled.
“It’s not your decision!” she repeated.
“I know, and I’m sorry. I want to respect your privacy… but I don’t think I can look him in the eye every day, knowing what it cost you and how much it would upset him to find out that we kept it from him.”
“It will hurt him to know either way,” she said through gritted teeth. “All that matters is that he is safe.”
Peter observed Alice. She looked away from him.
He took a deep breath before speaking again.
“Do you know how important you are to him?” Peter asked.
Alice stilled.
“He sees you as his sister. The only family he has,” Peter continued. “Your dreams are his dreams. If you don’t tell him, he won’t let it go. He will encourage you, root for you… he will break your heart with his kindness and love, again and again.”
Alice sniffled. Her body trembled as she fought to hold back the flood of emotion. She swallowed and chuckled.
“Do you know how important he is to me?” she asked softly.
Peter swallowed but said nothing, waiting for her to continue.
“Saving him was the first choice I ever made after becoming a doll,” she said. “And it wasn’t just because of what I witnessed him going through.”
Alice paused, closing her eyes and chewing on her bottom lip.
“I don’t remember much about my time before Holden brought me to Spring,” Alice continued. “But there is one memory that I used to dream about… I think I was, maybe, four. Five? I was too small to be trusted to hold a baby alone. But I wanted to.”
Alice smiled.
“He was so adorable,” she continued. “His chubby cheeks and that gurgled giggle when my mother would tickle his feet or his side.”
She paused, taking in a shaky breath as the tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I remember I sat beside her on a green couch while she held him in her arms. I touched his hair. It was so impossibly soft,” Alice smiled again as she spoke. “I think he was a cousin… or something. I didn’t see him often, so I don’t think he was my brother, but I loved him fiercely.”
Peter licked his lips as he listened to her story.
“That memory… I dreamt about it, but only on the nights after I had seen Myka during the day,” she said. “I think he was a little older than the baby in my dreams… but they were the same person to me. They still are.”
Alice let out a soft laugh, sniffing and wiping her eyes.
“I have done all that I could to protect him. But that sweet boy will blame himself for my pain,” she whispered. “And I don’t know how to protect him from that.”
Peter closed his eyes. His heart ached for her. He understood where she was coming from. Truthfully, he would love to avoid giving Myka that pain, if possible, but it simply wasn’t an option.
“You can’t,” Peter sighed. “You’re right. He will blame himself. But if you don’t tell him, he will see it on his own, and then it will hurt that much worse.”
Alice looked away, wiped her tears, and sniffled.
“Well,” she said, her tone shifting away from the emotional outpouring. “None of that will matter if you don’t find a cure. So, for now, there is no reason to worry about it.”
Peter swallowed and nodded. He had pushed too far and didn’t want to make things any worse for her.
“Excuse me,” a small voice called from the door.
Alice and Peter both turned to see a young girl, only about twelve, standing in the doorway.
“You’re one of the children from the lab,” Alice said, tilting her head slightly with a gentle smile.
The girl nodded.
“What can we help you with?” Alice asked, her tone soft and welcoming.
“I was told I could help you,” the girl said.
Alice furrowed her brows.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
The girl walked further into the room.
“A woman came to see me in my dreams last night. She said that there was something different about me. I told her I was human, and then she smiled and told me to come to see you.”
“Me?” Alice asked.
The girl nodded and then turned to Peter.
“And you.”
Peter lifted his brows.
“This woman,” Alice began. “Did she have dark skin and golden curls?”
The girl nodded.
Alice looked back at Peter with contained hope.
“Talis, Mother of Spring,” she whispered.
Peter stood up taller and looked back at the girl.
“I know about a secret project from the lab,” the girl said. “One that none of the others knew about. Just the man that ran it.”
Alice felt a chill down her spine. She swallowed and took a deep breath.
“What was his name?” she asked.
“It was the man that stayed with you in the fire,” the girl said, “his name was Holden.”
The room was dark. A soft blue glow from the window was the only light source.
Lian stepped into the room. She approached the bed cautiously.
“Talis,” she called out.
There was movement.
“I am here,” Talis replied, slowly sitting up.
Lian saw her and let out a deep sigh. She closed her eyes, gathering her thoughts as she moved to sit beside her old friend.
“What have you done, my friend?” Lian asked softly as she looked over at the woman beside her.
Talis once the picture of a young woman in her late twenties with smooth chocolate skin and curls as golden as the sun. Now, her skin was wrinkled and old, the chocolate color dulled and spotted over time. The golden colors turned almost white, lacking their bounce and sheen.
Talis gave a weary smile. Her breaths were labored and soft.
“I did what was necessary,” she replied.
Lian sighed.
“Did you find a solution for the boy?” she asked.
“I believe so,” Talis smiled. “I listened and looked deeper than ever before, focusing on the smallest similarities and differences in their natural threads. Then, finally, a child echoed, like a bell ringing through time. I don’t know exactly what she will provide, but I believe it will be enough.”
Lian nodded and took Talis’s withered hand in her own.
“You have almost used yourself up,” she said. “That’s dangerous.”
“I know,” Talis replied. “But I couldn’t just stand back and watch anymore. I failed to help Irina all those years ago… and now… Spring has fallen.”
Lian swallowed and nodded sadly.
“Autumn as well.”
“We knew this day would come,” Talis whispered, clenching her teeth as she tried to give a weak smile. “Our lines were muddied almost from the start. It was only a matter of time before they destroyed themselves.”
Lian nodded.
“I am thankful that the last of my blood continues through Bell and her son,” Lian smiled. “Though Autumn is gone, they remain.”
Talis nodded.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?