Alpha Alec's Redemption by Kathy M

My chest aches for her. I know what it's like to carry too much alone, to think silence protects the ones you love when really it just builds more walls.

She doesn't want to worry him, but what she doesn't understand is that by blocking him, she's already worrying him.

"Piper," I say softly, "he's your mate. He wants to share that with you the good and the bad. Blocking him out won't make the fear go away. It'll just make you lonelier and will make him feel like he's failing you."

Her eyes shine, brimming again with tears, and I catch the way her chin trembles as she tries to hold herself together.

"But-But" she stutters, "What will I say? What will I tell him?"

"The truth is that you two created a beautiful life." I whisper. "I feel his life force, Piper; he's already thriving."

The tears she was balancing just a few minutes ago now start flowing down freely.

"Do you need a hug?" I ask carefully, not wanting to push but not wanting her to drown in her silence either.

nods, almost desperately.

clinging tighter than I expected, like she's been holding herself

apart, she lets out a shaky laugh, wiping at her swollen eyes.

admit, my throat thick

the hurt. Beneath the betrayal and bitterness. I had missed her. Piper had been there throughout my

it out loud, but during those quiet moments alone at night.

me. It's then I admitted that I missed

to be a mom," she whispers, her eyes wide, as if she's only now realizing it. Accepting

t can never explain. I love l her more than life and

hand, a small smile

the tension easing into something gentler

one

eyes narrowing as she studies me. "What