The Alpha's Unknown Son: A Shifter Romance

by Skylar Thomas

  I nod, not taking my eyes off my kids. I see Rose’s eyes slowly close.

  “She’ll be tired for a while. You’ll wanna hold them ‘til they get hogged away.”

  I laugh, nodding, gently grabbing Carson in my hands and sits beside Rose. Barry brings Carter over and sets him in my arms.

  They wrap their little fingers around my big one. Carter’s eyes flutter open, his big blue eyes staring up at me. I kiss his forehead, making his eyes shut close again.

  The door opens, and everybody stares in awe at the angels in my arms. Will hops over, staring with wide eyes.

  “They’re so tiny, Daddy.”

  I smile and nod. Everybody coos at them, leaving kisses all over them.

  “What names did you guys decide?” My dad asks, taking Carson from me.

  “Carson and Carter!”

  “How did my baby do?” Rick asks, sitting on the edge of the bed, brushing Rose’s hair out of her face.

  “Good. She’s just tired, that’s all.”

  I give Carter to William who is patiently sitting in the chair, waiting.

  “Be careful. You don’t want to hurt him,” I tell him seriously, helping him position him properly in his arms.

  “Daddy, can I give him a kiss?” he asks, looking up at me hopefully.

  I smile and nod my head. He slowly leans down, placing a kiss on his brother’s forehead.

  After being passed around to everybody, the babies start to cry. Rose wakes up and rubs her eyes.

  “I’ll feed them,” she says, sleep still in her voice.

  I nod and take both babies to her. Everybody leaves the room, leaving her to breastfeed in private.

  “They’re beautiful, baby,” I say as I sit beside her, helping her keep Carson upright.

  “They are. They always seem to look just like you, huh?” I laugh, kissing her pouty lips.

  “Maybe the next ones will look like you,” I say, knowing she doesn’t want any more.

  “Yeah, no.”

  I chuckle as I take Carson once she’s done to burp her. We put the babies in their beds and let them sleep.

  I lay down next to Rose and bring her close to me. She lays her head on my shoulder and close her eyes.

  “I love you Nick, Rollins.”

  “I love you too, Rosealine Washington.”

  With that, we drift off to sleep, our past forgotten, and the future with our new family ahead of us.

  Epilogue

  Rose

  Ten Years Later

  “Mom, tell Carson to leave me alone!” Carter shouts from down the hallway.

  I roll my eyes, already having this argument at this time of the day.

  “Carter, be nice to your sister, and Carson, leave your brother alone,” I yell back as I rest my head on the counter. Those two give me headaches every hour of the day.

  “Hey, Mom.” William comes into the kitchen, carrying his school books.

  “Hey, baby. How was school?”

  “It was good. I got an A+ on my test I was studying for, but Ms. Apple is leaving.”

  “That sucks. She’s about to pop though,” I say as I get up to wash the dishes. He nods and opens up his textbook to study.

  I smile over at him, my little monster. He’s grown up so much. He’s not my little baby boy anymore.

  “Where’s Akilah? I thought you were giving her a ride home?” I ask, finding it unusual that the two aren’t side by side. Since the day Kiki got here, they’ve been inseparable.

  “I was supposed to, but she was a little distracted,” he says with a smirk.

  I give him a confused look but he stays quiet.

  “Oh my god, William. Just tell me already!” I groan, getting annoyed.

  He laughs, showing of his dimples he inherited from his father.

  Speak of the devil…

  Nick walks in, wraps his arms around my waist, and plants a kiss on my neck. I let out a sigh, still feeling that hazy feeling every time we touch.

  “Hey, love.” I almost let out a moan at his deep husky voice in my ear.

  “Eww, get a room, you horny freaks. My innocent eyes don’t need to see that.”

  I roll my eyes at him.

  “Oh, whatever, your eyes aren’t innocent!” Akilah says as she walks into the room with a boy about her and Will’s age. They are holding hands.

  “Who’s this?” Nick asks, pushing me behind him, shielding me from seeing more of the boy. All three bow thier heads at Nick, his alpha tone coming out a little. He’s still very protective of me ever since the whole Wyatt incident. I always tell him I’m fine, and I really am, but he’s an alpha, and they NEVER listen.

  “Alpha, Luna, this is my mate, Kyle. We found out today. I came to introduce him to you guys. I’m sorry for not giving you a heads up, Alpha.” She keeps her eyes trained to the ground. I shake my head and push Nick out of my way.

  “You don’t have to apologize, honey. Please, introduce us.”

  She cracks a smile and pulls her mate a little closer to her.

  “Well, this is Kyle. He’s part of Alpha Thomas’ pack. He was coming back from visiting his grandparents when he came through our pack. We met at the school, and then we, uh, came here.”

  Kyle nuzzles his face in her neck, something all wolves do when they first find their mates. It’s to memorize their scent.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Kyle. Be good to Akilah, her best friend is an alpha, and her dad is a pack warrior, the best at that. Just in case you have any funny ideas,” Nick says, shaking the kid’s hand.

  Kyle’s face pales, and he nods his head fast.

  “How old are you? You have to be eighteen.” William asks, not taking his eyes off of his paper.

  He might be an alpha, a little bit of a player at that, but his studies have always come first.

  “Oh, uh, yeah, I’m nineteen actually.”

  “Have you told your dad yet?” I ask, sitting down on Nick’s lap as he strokes my hair.

  “Not yet. We’re going there now. Thought he should deal with the easier family members first.”

  We all chuckle, knowing how protective Donny is of his daughter.

  “Your dad’s that bad?” Kyle asks, looking slightly terrified.

  “Yes!” We all say in unison.

  Akilah laughs and pulls Kyle out of the room.

  William excuses himself and goes to his room. Nick’s hands start to move up and down my body as he keeps his mouth attached to my neck. I let out a long needed moan, leaning back into him. Just as his hands start to travel down, the little devils walk in. a.k.a Carter and Carson.

  “Mommy, Carter threw one of my books on the floor! He called reading stupid!” Carson cries, coming into the room with Carter trailing behind her.

  “She’s lying! I only threw her book ‘cause she was making me mad and she wasn’t listening to me. It’s her fault, not mine.” He stomps his feet on the ground.

  “I got this one. Go lay down.” Nick lifts me off his lap. I nod and pass the twins who are currently giving their dad their best puppy dog looks.

  I stop in Will’s room to check on him. He smiles and tells me he’s good, so I proceed to my room.

  Plopping down on the bed, I close my eyes, letting them shut. Just as I’m about to drift off to sleep, I feel little hands poke at my face. I open my eyes to see Winston.

  Winston is our little surprise baby. About two years ago, I found out I was pregnant with him. It came as a shock to everybody, but we were happy nonetheless. Of course, I didn’t like the security that had to follow me. But when my little grey-eyed beauty came out, I couldn’t help but be filled with happiness. How he got grey eyes? No clue.

  “Hi, baby. What are you doing in Mommy and Daddy’s room?”

  He laughs, ignoring my question. Instead, he grabs on to my shirt, pulling himself on to my back. He lays down and puts his head on the back of mine. I feel his breathing even out a few minutes later, and I know he’s asleep. I gently roll over, making his
little body flop on to the bed. I bring him to my chest and rock him back and forth when his eyes start to flutter open.

  ‘Hey, babe. Winston is laying down with me, so be quiet when you come in here,’ I mind link Nick.

  I grab the remote, turning the TV to Disney Junior. I close my eyes to take an hour nap, only waking up when I hear the door open.

  Nick comes in covered in paint.

  “What happened to you?” I whisper-yell, carefully getting out of the bed.

  “Your kids did this. After I made them make up, they thought it would be funny to soak me in paint.”

  I roll my eyes and grab his hand in mine, dragging him to the bathroom. I quietly close the door and push Nick towards the counter. I grab a cloth, drench it, and wipe off the paint.

  “Those kids are a mess,” I say as I shake my head. I slip off Nick’s shirt, exposing his chiseled chest.

  “They are, but we love them.”

  I smile as I get the last piece of dried paint off.

  “How did we get here?” Nick asks, pushing a piece of hair behind my ear.

  “What do you mean?”

  “How did we get where we are now. Married, four amazing kids, and just happy.”

  “Sometimes, it takes a rough patch and few bad memories to form for the best ones to come.”

  “You’re amazing. You know that?”

  “Oh, I know.” I say, smirking, as I lean down to connect our lips.

  “Cooties, Mommy, cooties!” Winston says from the door.

  Removing our lips from each other, we see all of our babies standing there. William with a smirk on his face and the twins with a look of disgust. And of course, Winston has no clue what’s going on.

  I open my arms, letting all of them into a giant hug. Nick’s arms wrap around us, squeezing us together. I kiss each of their heads, having to lean up to kiss William since he’s so tall already.

  “I love you, my little alphas and luna.”

  “Ow, Carter, that was my toe!” Carson screeches, the two starting a screaming match once again.

  Moon goddess, help me!

  Can’t get enough of Nick and Rose? Make sure you sign up for the author’s blog to find out more about them!

  Get these two bonus chapters when you sign up at

  bit.ly/SkylarThomasWEB.

  _____

  Here is a sample from another story you may enjoy:

  Chapter 1

  Another scream escaped from my lips as Morgan’s foot made hard contact with my ribs, sending a sickening crack through the air. The blood that filled my mouth was as familiar as the air in my lungs. I could feel the sharp pull of the tears that were gathering in my eyes and begging to escape.

  “And this is for being the worthless piece of trash you are!” he yelled as his fist collided with my cheek, which caused me to fall flat on the floor wheezing for air as my tears and blood became one on the floor.

  He scoffed as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

  “Now get up and make yourself presentable,” he said as I continued fighting for precious air to reach my starving lungs. “I said get up!” He growled angrily once he realized that I hadn’t moved and delivered yet another kick to my ribs.

  A whimper escaped from my lips as I forced my weak arms to hoist me up. Morgan laughed at me as I stumbled and fell a couple times. Once he realized that I couldn’t get up on my own, he roughly grabbed me by my brown locks and pulled me up. I had to bite my bottom lip to keep the scream that was climbing up my throat at bay as my scalp burned.

  “Your dress is in your room. Make yourself presentable,” he whispered harshly in my ear before he let go of my hair and stalked off. “And how good you clean up tonight determines when your next beating’s going to be.”

  I nodded silently as I watched him disappear through the door that led to the rest of the pack house. I mutely stood there for a good three minutes before I hurried out of the annex of the pack house, stepping over the whips and other things that Morgan used to beat me with. I hurried through the maze of hallways and stairs before I finally emerged into the pack house where the pack members were laughing and joking, but all of the laughter and smiles stopped once I walked in.

  I kept my head down and silently made my way through the kitchen and hurried up the stairs toward my room. People thought that I was Morgan’s prized possession and that we were a loving couple who’d give up anything for each other because that was what he wanted them to see. That was why he never hit my face too hard, and when he did hit me, he made sure that it was light enough for it to easily heal over by the time I made it out of the annex.

  I cradled my ribs, pain moving through me like a wave as I did, causing me to silently hiss as I made my way up to my room. I flipped on the lights to see an elegant dress draped across my bed that I could already tell would reveal more of me than I was comfortable with.

  My room was the smallest in the whole pack house despite everyone’s belief. My bed was barely big enough to hold me, and my sheets were covered in dirt and blood from my beatings. I didn’t have a TV or any nice furniture. I only had a bed, a closet full of beautiful clothes I was only to wear when Morgan instructed me to do so, and a single picture, which I had stashed between my mattress and my bed frame.

  I effortlessly pushed the dress aside and pulled the special picture from its hiding spot. It was the only thing that distracted me from my awful life or brought me peace. In the picture was a handsome man and woman with bright eyes and warm smiles, their laughter forever frozen in time. In their arms rested two young children; one boy and one girl with smiles that matched their parents’. A small smile spread across my lips, causing my face to ache from the once familiar action.

  I gently caressed the photo as the memories came flooding back.

  It was our pack’s twelfth anniversary, and the pack threw a grand celebration for my parents; Alpha and Luna Carter. One of the pack members took a picture of my parents; my older brother, Chris; and I. Grief wrapped its fist around my heart. Its fingers slowly constricted around it until it easily replaced the blood in my veins.

  It had been about five years since the fire that claimed my parents’ and my brother’s lives. How it started was never officially confirmed, but I had a feeling Morgan had something to do with it. One minute, we were all asleep in our house that was separated from the rest of the pack, and the next minute, the fire was reaching toward the sky from every door and window.

  The orange-red flames filled the night as I sobbed in the front yard with Morgan’s arms around me preventing me from jumping into the fire that was feverishly consuming what used to be my house—my home along with my family. Too bad his intentions for saving me weren’t pure.

  Their screams still haunted my dreams sometimes.

  When my parents’ bodies were found, they were burned to a crisp. I would never forget the sight of their blackened skin clinging to their bones. They never found my brother’s body, or what was left of it. They said that his body completely burned to ash.

  I could still see his vibrant green eyes and hear his joyful laughter, and no matter how hard I tried to push the thoughts away, they always filled my mind.

  Why didn’t I burn to ash with them? Why am I the lone survivor? Why wasn’t I good enough for the fire’s wicked flames? Why did they leave me here with Morgan?

  Morgan was their beta at the time of the fire. Ever since my family died and he became alpha, he had been abusing me and blaming me for my parents’ “mistakes” like not treating him with the respect he deserved or for not giving him the power he wanted.

  I pushed back the tears that were blurring my vision as I tucked the picture back into its hiding spot, unable to continue looking at it. I quickly wiped my eyes and focused on the task at hand. In about an hour, one of the strongest alphas in North America named Shane Chase would be coming in search of his mate, whom he had been searching for the past two years. Morgan wanted me to be his arm candy.

  I rolle
d my eyes as I looked at the expensive looking dress, hating myself for being so weak that I couldn’t stand up for myself and allowing him to use me as his silent prize. And what I hate most is how good I am at it: being silent. I haven’t uttered a word since my family’s death.

  I forced my tired legs to carry me to the bathroom where I quickly started a bath in the standard sized tub. I turned and looked at myself in the mirror, noticing how almost every bruise on my face had already healed except for the one on my cheek, which I would have to cover with makeup. I slowly lifted up the hem of the oversized red shirt I was wearing, which revealed a giant purple bluish bruise on my ribs, which would take at least a week to heal.

  I sighed as I walked over to the bathtub and turned off the water. The steam rose from it and collected on my face. I stripped down carefully, careful to avoid the sensitive spots before I slid into the tub, allowing it to wash away all the dirt and terrible thoughts.

  I slowly sank deeper and deeper into the water until the water was just below my nose, and I closed my eyes, trying to imagine what life would be like if my parents were still alive and if I was lucky enough to have someone to call mine forever. A mate was what we call them—two lucky people who were mated together by the Moon Goddess. To have and to hold… forever.

  I felt a small smile grow on my lips at the thought. What a luxury that would be.

  ~

  It was five minutes until our designated meeting time with Alpha Chase when Morgan knocked on my door.

  “Open up, mutt, or I’m coming in,” he said harshly from the opposite side of the door.

  I looked at myself one final time in the mirror to make sure that everything would be to Morgan’s liking, to avoid a beating. My make-up covered my bruises and blemishes to hide every imperfection, the way Morgan instructed me to. I wore red lipstick and mascara with a bit of eye shadow, but I had to make it look natural to meet Morgan’s standards. My brown hair flowed down just below my shoulders, and my dress hugged my figure and cut down so low that it almost reached my belly button.