My Tamed Alpha Mate (Book 2)

He was drunk again, like every night. He locked himself away and wouldn't open for anyone, not even his own son, who would be scratching at the door and calling for him. Eventually Lucas stopped begging through the door and stopped referring to him as Daddy. It broke my heart to see a three month old child giving up on his own blood but I knew no one could reach out to Ashton, he was too far gone. Drowning his sorrows in liquor while staring at her picture. "Lucas, come, lets watch a movie," I try to distract the boy from the crashing and shattering of bottles coming from down the hall. "Will Daddy be with us?" he asked looking up at me with his big cornflower eyes. I wish he meant Ashton, but he was referring to Keaton. I've told him many times Keaton isn't his Daddy and I'm not his Mommy, we are his auntie and uncle, but he always seems to forget. I hate having to crush his dreams but I don't want him growing up more confused than he already is. "No, your uncle is very busy in his office right now but maybe he will join us later," I sigh, taking his tiny hand in mine. We walk down the halls, the glass shattering drifting away. Ashton always seems to destroy things when he's dead drunk. Eventually after a few more drinks, he'll pass out then wake up tomorrow and start the whole process over again. I shake my head in pity and disappointment, trying to clear my head. After watching Lion King for the hundredth time, I put Lucas to bed. I change into one of Keaton's shirts and crawl into bed myself. I'm almost asleep when I'm awakened by a racket. The bedroom door slams open and a fuming Alpha, that is my mate comes stomping in. He bangs the door closed, murmuring curse words under his breath not even caring he had woken me up. I sit up in bed angrily still half asleep, "Don't come in using that tone! You may act that way around the warriors but not around me. Not in my house." We've been going at it more often these days. He comes home livid and he expects me to put up with it. At first his behavior scared me shitless, but sadly I've become accustomed to it. The stress of running two packs has taken a toll on both of us. Blackwood is used to having free reign of our land being the most powerful pack, but since Moonshine has moved in; we've had to break up multiple episodes. He whirls around to face me, his features still twisted in anger. "Oh you have no idea what I had to deal with. Not only have I had to set more boundaries between the packs, but apparently fighting with one another is more important that finding that bitch!" I wince when his voice makes the windows shake. This behavior is unacceptable around me, I'm not his punching bag. "I don't fucking care! We're all making sacrifices, do you not think I've had a hard day? Besides taking care of Lucas, I had to maintain the packhouse, facilitate a bunch of petty pack members, the last thing I need is my Alpha coming barging in and waking me up!" I scream back using my own Alpha voice. My wolf growls angrily inside me, not liking the way our mate is talking to us. Keaton crosses his arms but doesn't say anything. "And the stress and worry of BloodAsh coming back at anytime, is getting to me too" I lower my voice, just saying the name makes me nervous. His expression softens, his anger melting away. Moving towards me in bed, he grips my waist and pulls me onto his lap. He holds me while inhaling my scent and soothingly rubbing my back. "You're right. I'm sorry, baby" he murmurs into my neck. I hold his head against me and close my eyes. All nights seem to end with us like this or him storming out to sleep in the room down the hall. "Why do we do this to each other?" I whisper, my heart aching slightly. "Because we are running a land at overcapacity" he answers, not moving away from my neck. "Today's just been a bad day" I sum it up for both of us. He looks up at me, I giggle when I notice he looks like a tiny child. I pull away and slide under the covers, waiting for him to join me. He smiles and pulls his shirt over his head and I marvel at his toned body. "Lucas having trouble again?" He asks, getting in bed with me in only his boxers. I rub my face, exasperated, "I had to pull him away from Ashton's side of the house again. He always wanders over there, it's his wolf. It's his instinct to help his father, but it's not safe." "We have to figure out what to do. We can't keep harboring Ashton. His anger is getting worse, he's a ticking time bomb. I know I'm temporary Alpha of Moonshine, but my duty is to Blackwood. Sooner or later I'm going to need to choose which pack to run and I'll always choose Blackwood." "We can't just throw him out, we may start another war if we do that. We need an alternative that creates stability and maintains the peace" I point out. We sit in silence thinking, trying to find a way to save both packs. The risks are high but it needs to be done one way or another. Suddenly a light bulb goes off in my brain, "Does he have any relatives?" "Not that I know of, why?" Keaton adjusts in bed so he's facing me. "If he has a living relative, we can pass Moonshine to them. They can care for Ashton and get him the necessary help he needs" I explain. "What about Lucas?" My face drops and my hope flatlines. What will become of Lucas? Even if Ashton has relatives that will be willing to take over Moonshine, who will take care of Lucas? "I don't know..." I trail off. "Tell you what, I'll look into it. There has to be someone who can take Ashton off our hands." "He's not a pet or a object, we can't just discard him" I frown, eyeing my mate. "He lost the right to respect and courtesy when he nearly killed his newborn son" Keaton reminds me, growling at the thought. I gulp remembering the very day he's talking about. After Lucas was born we attempted to let Ashton take care of him, hoping it would lift him out of the darkness. After a day, we found Lucas screaming and crying in his crib all while Ashton sat a few feet away looking out the window drinking with an expressionless face. When Lucas wouldn't stop crying Ashton broke the liquor bottle and approached the crib with the intention of slitting Lucas' throat. Gone was the strong leader of Moonshine and in place was a monster. "Lucas almost died" I whisper, tears flooding my eyes. "He almost died when his mother gave birth to him, only to nearly be killed by his father" Keaton murmurs, wrapping his arms around me in comfort. "That child has been through so much. We can't let him leave with Ashton, he won't survive a third time" I sob, covering my mouth with my hand. "We'll figure something out, Lola. I won't let Lucas live with Ashton again, I promise." ❦❧ "Still nothing to report Luna" a warrior bows his head before leaving the office. I place my head in my hands and rub my temples. I am passed stressed, I'm close to an aneurysm. I stand up and in split second of frustration, I start throwing stacks of failed reports and unsuccessful searches off the desk. The papers explode into the air like fireworks before falling to the ground. I stand in the middle of the mess trying not to scream my head off. Nothing. Not a trace of Blair and her rogue pack. It's like she evaporated into thin air. "Luna?" a pack member asks from the doorway. I shake my head repeatedly not bothering to make eye contact, "Not now." I hear her feet scurry away leaving me alone in this part of the house. Just as I am about to throw a stack of books, Keaton rushes in. "Whoa hold it, you're about two more throws from destroying my office" "Our office dipshit" I growl in pure hostility. My mate holds his hands up in surrender, slowly approaching like a cautious zoo worker attending to a vicious lion. He eventually makes it to me and gently takes the stack of books out of my hands. "You need sleep. You've hardly come to bed all week. You've gone over the same maps night and day, it's not going to change" he sighs, setting the books on the dark wood desk behind me. "A whole rogue pack can't disappear into thin air, they're out there somewhere and I'm going to find them" I say with determination moving to look out the big window facing the woods. "And we'll keep on looking till we find them. But we've come up empty. I have our best informants out there, even neighboring packs have joined the search" Keaton comes up behind me and places his large hands on my waist. "There has to be more we can do, there's always more" I rasp. The office door opens behind us and the joyous squeal of Lucas fills the room. My mood is instantly lifted by the sight of the small boy hobbling to me on his chubby legs. Christina smiles brightly from the doorway watching the scene unfold. "Hi there cutie" I greet him when he wobbles into my open arms. "Hi Mommy!" he murrmers burying his head in my shoulder. I look back at Keaton who shares the same sympathetic look as me. I hate that name. Mommy. "It's Auntie Lola, Lucas. Just like my name is Auntie Chris" Christina corrects him walking further into the office. Lucas only hums in response, nearly asleep in my chest. I look down at the small boy who's almost an orphan. My heart breaks for him every time I think of his situation. Keaton holds me against his body, I can feel his concern for me. Soon Lucas' breathing becomes heavy as he slips into dreamland. "Want me to put him in bed?" Christina whispers, gesturing to the sleeping baby. "No I'll do it. Thanks for the help Chris. What would I do without you?" I shake my head lovingly. "Lucky for you, you'll never find out" she gets up to hug me. She embraces me as best she can and nods to Keaton, "Alpha." "Beta" he nods back. "Well off I go to tuck my own baby in. My twenty three old baby, my mate" she cracks a smile. "Bye hun, sleep well" I say softly. She blows a kiss before disappearing into the dark hall. The pack house is silent now, every pack member asleep. I feel the simplicity of the house and the underlying strength that makes this pack strong. "We should go to bed ourselves, little mate" the husky voice breathing in my ear. "Kea" I warn, glad Lucas isn't awake to witness the arousing air growing. "Let's put him down before I can't stop myself. I'd hate to scar his innocent brain so soon" he smirks against my neck. Once we make it upstairs and into the makeshift nursery, we make quick work of changing Lucas into his pajamas. I can feel the erotic intensity of Keaton behind me the entire time. "Seriously, while putting our nephew to bed? You have no shame Alpha" I scold playfully. "Not where you're concerned Luna" I can practically hear the smirk in his voice. I roll my eyes and pull the covers over Lucas' tiny body before kissing him goodnight. We close the door quietly and as soon as we do, Keaton drags me to our own room. We haven't 'connected' in a long time since the war and search. Hell this is the first night we haven't fought that resulted in not talking for days. I need this as much as he does. I need to know we aren't dead, that we can put aside what's happened to have one night to ourselves.