ABL 06: Fit To Be Alpha

I walked into the packhouse with Willow's hand in mine when I the laughter from the kitchen welcomed us. She's here. Entering the kitchen, I found my mother, Malakhi, and Amanah having a blast together, as if they had always been the closest.

Amanah looked very different from when she left the house. She had changed into an oversized hoodie and a pair of tights. She sat beside Malakhi, facing my mother as she talked to them. 

Was she wearing Malakhi's hoodie? That wasn't the point, and I had been an ass to let her leave the house crying.

“Oh, hi there,” my mother said sweetly, raising her mug to her lips.

Shit. “I’m going to kill you,” she said through the mind link, and I smiled as I waved my hand. Of course, I'm in trouble again.

“Hi, everyone,” I greeted softly, and it seemed my presence had turned the room grim. Amanah just stared at us before turning around to face my mother. 

“Hey,” Malakhi bit out and faced away as well. 

“Oh, come on, don’t tell me you’re mad too?” I asked him through the link, and he glanced at me, rolling his eyes. 

“Extremely.”

“You don’t even know the whole story,” I expressed, and he turned around to face me again and shook his head. 

“I don’t need to know the story, alpha,” he bit as he got up and walked toward the fridge. And Amanah looked around the room before she whispered softly under her breath,

"They were doing the mind link talking thing again," she breathed before she clapped her hands and looked at my mom. “So, Ma. What were you saying about the tea?” Amanah asked my mother, and I cocked my head to the side. 

“Since when do you call her Ma?” I asked as I sat down before them with Willow. Amanah turned her body slightly away from us.

I could literally feel her anger radiating off her.

“Since I told her to. She’s my child now,” my mother said as a matter of fact, basically telling me to shut up.

“I thought only pack members were allowed to be here,” Willow spoke softly, and Amanah sighed as she rested her chin on her palm and stared at Willow. 

“Last I checked, it was my house, and I can have whoever I want here, Willow. I can also kick people out,” my mother smiled, which didn’t sit well with me.

My mother already favoured Amanah over Willow because she was carrying my child. She knew Willow for much longer.

“Mom,” I said, and she continued talking. 

“And besides, my Amanah carries my grandchild. Of course, I’ll always want her here,” she held her face, and Amanah leaned into my mother, smiling. 

“Malakhi and I have to go now,” she said, standing up, and Malakhi helped her. 

“Oh yes, I forgot about that. Make sure you get everything you need, okay?” 

“I will.”

“And please, watch out for Malakhi. He always gets excited there and won’t come back quickly,” my mother said, and Malakhi gasped. 

“Mom! That is not true,” he said, touching his chest, and she giggled. 

“Where are they going?” I asked; it seemed they kept discussing their plans without consulting with me first. 

“Earth,” my mother said without sparing me a glance. Why was she so mean? “Since you won’t take her, Malakhi offered to, and I agreed,” she crossed her arms over her chest. Daring me to dispute her decision.

“Nobody told me about that; I should be informed if crossing over of realms is going to happen and—”

“You told her to take herself home, so you already knew about the crossover. Don’t pretend as if you didn’t know.”

“But—”

“If you will excuse all of us, we have stuff to do. I have to prepare a room for Amanah, and they need to go.”

“Prepare a room? What for?” I asked, standing up, and my mother walked closer to me, obviously showing me she wasn’t intimidated. 

“Amanah will be staying with me since you don’t want her there,” she raised her head, challenging me. I looked at Amanah, and she stared at us with soul-less eyes. 

“I’m Alpha,” I said, and my mother scoffed. 

“Then act like it,” she whispered, walking away. “Amanah, stay with me until you get your act together!”

“Orion won’t allow that!” I said to her, and my mother cocked her head to the side. 

“Then why isn’t he saying anything?” I wasn’t able to respond. Lately, Orion and I hadn't been on the same page. He’d been very disobedient and rude. He wouldn't even come out to stretch; that was how pissed he had been at me. When he does reveal himself, he always wipes my memories of whatever he did when he did. 

It felt like I was living with a totally different person than when I was growing up with him. I saw the black square portal open with Amanah and Malakhi’s backs to us. 

“Woah, that’s so cool,” she said to Malakhi, smiling. 

“You’ll like it even more in there,” he said. “After you,” Amanah stared at him with curious eyes. “There’s nothing bad, come on.”

“No way, we go in together at the same time. Hold my hand,” she said to him as she put out her hand for him; he didn’t hesitate in holding her hand; he didn’t even think about it. I clenched my jaw as I watched them enter the portal together, and they smiled at each other. 

She was having her first portal experience with another man.

“Be sure to come back on time for dinner, okay!”

“Yes, Mom!” The portal closed, and my mother looked at me and sighed. She was annoyed. 

“Willow, I’m quite sure there’s training today?” My mom slightly tilted her head, and Willow stood up. 

“Uhm, Miall said it’s alright if I don’t go,” Willow stood next to me, and my mother smiled, squinting her eyes. 

“Mhh, Miall says a lot of things without thinking. You’re not Luna yet, so training grounds you go,” my mom smiled, and Willow wavered. “Miall won’t save you from this one.”

“It’s alright, you should go,” I said, kissing her cheek. 

“I’ll see you later?” I nodded, and she smiled. She looked at my mom and bowed before leaving the house. My mom stared at me before she groaned and walked away. 

“Was that necessary?” I asked as I followed behind her. She ignored me as she opened an empty room and removed the covers from the bed. “Mom?”

“What?”

“Did you have to be that mean to Willow?” I asked her, and she looked at me before laughing and shook her head. 

“I was mean to Willow by telling her to go train because she isn’t Luna yet? That was mean?” 

“Yes,” I said, and she laughed, putting her hands on her waist. 

“Willow isn’t Luna. Just because she’s your girlfriend doesn’t mean she should be treated any special way. She was born a wolf, and she knows our rules and regulations. Why should she be given a free pass for sleeping with the Alpha?” She asked distastefully. 

“That isn’t the case—”

“Oh? Then what is the case?”

“Why are you so angry at me?” I asked her, and she rolled her eyes, whispering how dense I could be under her breath.

“You told Amanah to take herself home. You were unreasonably rude to her,” she said softly, her eyes looking saddened. 

“You don’t know the whole story, Mom.”

“All she did was stop you from kissing Willow.” How much did she know?

“She was rude to Willow.”

“She only asked who she was, and Willow lunged at her despite the fact of knowing she was pregnant. You told her she is only here because of Orion, and you don’t want her here!”

“Mom, how can you choose sides? I'm your son!”

“Son? Son, you say?” My mom questioned, smiling before shaking her head. 

“My son would never make someone feel unwanted. He would understand what that girl is going through even though she hides it so well. She’s on a foreign planet, with a species different from hers, and she’s pregnant with your child, Miall, not Orion’s, but yours!" she said in one breath, looking away and pressing her hands on her hips.

"Mom—"

"My son would take responsibility and stop blaming everyone else around him. If you’re still unable to see your faults,” she looked deeply disappointed as she said this. Shaking her head, the words she said next shattered me.

“Then perhaps you aren’t fit to be Alpha just yet.”