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

She folds against me, clinging tighter than I expected, like she's been holding herself back for far too long. I rub her back

we finally pull apart, she lets out a shaky laugh, wiping at her swollen

my throat thick but my chest strangely

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

loud, but during those

couldn't sleep because the past haunted me. It's

to be a mom," she whispers, her eyes

a smile breaks free. "And trust me, motherhood is a beautiful journey Aspen changed my life in ways t can never explain. I love l her more than

squeezes my hand, a small smile on her

for a moment, the tension

the one

as she studies me.