Filed To Story: Destined Bond with My Forbidden Alpha Novel (Alpha Alexander & Selene)
“I don’t know what all that gives us access to,” Alexander said, “but knowing Alice and seeing Selene’s reaction, I’m guessing that’s a pretty big deal.”
“Landon was, not very subtly, envious of the upgrade,” Fiona grinned.
Alexander chuckled.
“I doubt that this was purely a gesture of goodwill,” he said, “I’m sure Alice has a reason she’s allowing us access.”
“No doubt,” Selene smiled.
Alexander couldn’t help but smile at Selene’s reaction. For him, it wasn’t long ago that even mentioning Alice’s name would send Selene into a frenzy of anger and suspicion. It was nice to see that Selene had made peace with her sister-in-law.
“The top floor is clearly what remains of the treehouse,” Selene said, “what about the second floor?”
“The kitchen wall expansion of the treehouse couldn’t be salvaged with the new designs, so the second floor is designed as a standard apartment. The living room, kitchen, and dining room are all on an open floor plan, and that’s where we see those three large windows. And then in the back is a utility room, bedroom, and bathroom.”
“That’s amazing…” Selene smiled.
Before Alexander disappeared, so much had happened that they had very little time to think about the future. She had never even considered a house.
They had shared his room in the city’s center and the treehouse outside. Both spaces were suitable for only two people. They would have needed more space if they had planned to have a family.
“The third floor, as you know, is what I was able to salvage from the treehouse,” Fiona said. “I’ll be honest, it’s not the same.”
Alexander and Selene looked up at the top floor.
“The inside of the house looks a little rough right now, like I said, a week or two before it’s ready, but the top floor is safe to view. It might be better to take you up rather than explain the differences.”
Alexander and Selene looked at each other, recognizing their nervous excitement. They laughed.
“Let’s go,” Alexander said with a grin.
The stairs led into the wide living room on the top floor. Both Alexander and Selene immediately recognized the wide window they used to stare out. They were higher now than they had been in the tree. The city, the forest, the hills, and even the lake in the distance were all viewable from this vantage point.
Looking out the window, though the view was different, the feeling was familiar. Alexander took a deep breath, letting it back out as though he could relax in a way he hadn’t been able this whole time.
“As you can see,” Fiona called out from the top of the stairs, “the living room was left pretty much the same, but now the bedroom is its own room.”
Fiona pointed toward a door on her left. Alexander looked over, remembering where the bed had been, now surrounded by walls.
“The bathroom is in there as well,” Selene commented.
“Yes,” Fiona said. “Master bedroom, master bath. It was upgraded a bit as well.”
“What are those?” Alexander asked, pointing across the room to two doors.
One was where the kitchen extension had previously been integrated. The other was a few feet down where Alexander’s desk and computer had once been set up.
“That one is an office,” Fiona replied, pointing to the farthest door, “and this one is another bedroom.”
“You built onto the original structure,” he said.
“Of course, dear,” Fiona smiled, “before we were limited by the tree, but this a proper home now.”
Alexander smiled and nodded.
“It is that,” he said, looking at his mother affectionately. “Thank you.”
Fiona felt her heart swell with emotion. She swallowed it down and took a deep breath.
“The rooms aren’t furnished just yet,” she said, “but there is one more thing I would like to show you.”
She opened the office door and stepped inside, with Alexander and Selene following close behind. The room was empty except for an old bookshelf. It was worn, and there were signs of fire damage, but its shelves were filled with what appeared to be leatherbound books.
Fiona approached the bookshelf and looked at the books affectionately before she reached out. As her fingers pressed against the spine of one of the books, she let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes.
“This bookshelf was the only thing that survived the lab’s destruction,” she whispered.
Alexander furrowed his brows, and his eyes widened as he realized what she meant. He moved beside her, looking down at the books he now recognized as old journals. He hesitantly reached his hand out to touch one of them.
“I think,” she continued softly, “he would have wanted you to have them.”
As Alexander’s finger grazed the spine of his father’s journal, he sighed heavily and closed his eyes.
The remains of the treehouse, the last of his father’s journals and bookshelf. His family’s legacy had been built into the bones of this house.
“Thank you,” he whispered, reaching out and squeezing his mother’s hand gently. “Thank you so much.”
Fiona felt the weight she had long carried in her chest begin to ease as she held her son’s hand. These journals were the last of Cain’s possessions. She had held onto them all these years, desperate to keep him and Alexander with her.
But now, she felt like she could finally let them go. She knew that Alexander could appreciate them without being bound by them.
“Alexander,” Fiona whispered.
He turned and looked at her.
Fiona smiled and touched his cheek.
“You are no longer the Alpha of Summer,” Fiona said softly, “and you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. I do not intend to force or influence you to do anything.
“I just wanted to make sure that you and Selene knew that no matter where you go or how long you are gone, you always have a home to come back to.”
Fiona placed the key to the house in Alexander’s hand.
“This place is yours, but it’s not ready to be your home just yet,” she said. “Take your time looking around and lock up when you return to your room.”
Alexander hugged his mother and thanked her again as he walked her to the front door and watched her walk back down the path. He wondered if he should offer to walk her home, then smiled as he saw a familiar young Alpha step out from the trees and take her arm.
“Rising and setting of the sun my ass…” he whispered to himself with a grin.
He closed the door, returning up the stairs to Selene, who stood before the great window looking out at the night sky.
As he put his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder, he looked out at the view of the city and the hills and then up at the bright stars that sparkled in the dark.
“It’s good to be home,” he whispered.
Selene hugged his arms around her belly and leaned back into him.
“I can’t believe Mom did this,” he said.
“I can’t either,” Selene replied. “It almost feels like we’ve gone back in time.”
Alexander smiled. He thought about the friends and family they had spent the evening with. They had all grown and changed while he was gone, but not so much that he felt the distance between them. Some he even felt closer to than he had before he disappeared.
“I didn’t realize how much I missed everyone,” he said softly. “How excited I was to see them.”
Selene took a deep breath, lowering her eyes to the city in the distance.
“To catch up, learn how they have been, what they’re up to now,” Alexander continued, smiling brightly.
He kissed Selene’s shoulder.
“They all seem happy,” he sighed. “They’ve done well in their lives. I’m honestly relieved.”
Selene didn’t reply. She only stared out into the night.
“Selene?” Alexander called.
When she still didn’t respond, he reached up and turned her chin so that she faced him. He met her hazel eyes. In them, he saw unshed tears. Selene swallowed and turned away.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, holding her tighter.
She swallowed again and took another deep breath.
“I just…” she began softly, “I just realized… that all those things you learned about tonight, all the things that our friends, our family, have done or been through in the past five years… it was the first time I was learning about a lot of them as well.”
Alexander was surprised, but quickly the feeling fell away. He understood after all the things she had told him and the things that Galen and his mother had told him. Selene’s entire focus in the five years he was gone was getting him back.
“I knew I had kept my distance,” she whispered, “I just never realized how large that distance had grown.”
Selene thought of all the calls she had ignored. All the invitations she had rejected. Back then, she had told herself that there wasn’t time to return home when they called and that she needed to keep her mind on finding Alexander.
But the truth was far more straightforward than that. She couldn’t handle watching them all live their lives. Not just because she was still hurting but because she was afraid. Afraid that if she stayed, she might find a reason to move on. To let go of Alexander.
Selene lowered her head, and Alexander felt a wet drop hit his arm. He turned her in his arms and hugged her.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered into her ear. “Because of me…”
Selene shook her head.
“No,” she whispered. “I don’t regret not giving up on you, and I would never change that.”
She licked her lips and took a deep breath.
“I just wish…” she continued, “I had been around more, for everyone else. That I hadn’t thought not giving up on you meant I had to give up on them…”
Alexander sighed and stroked her cheek gently.
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?