Chapter 6

Nelly had finished cooking and cleaning and putting Taron to bed. She was going to have a shower and also have a meal. She turned her face to look for her husband but she could not find him. "Luthan!" She yelled out as she grabbed the cover of their tent. She poked her head out. "Luthan!"  She yelled again but he did not answer and she could not still find him.

Nelly scuffed and went  back inside. She was not going to wait around for him because she was tired and stressed. Heaven knew when he would come back. 

An hour passed and soon, Luthan stumbled into the house, reeking of smoke and beer. He woke Taron, his son up as he entered, and the boy began to cry. Nelly, his wife, emerged from the shower and immediately launched into a tirade, demanding to know where he had been and why.

"Luthan! What is wrong with you?!!!" She yelled as her voice tried to penetrate her baby's loud cries and Luthan's whimpering. 

Luthan looked at her, confused as ever, "Nelly..my luna..why are you yelling at your alpha? What has gotten into you?"Luthan said as he stuttered.

Nelly crossed over the room to grab her child Taron from his bed and into her arms, she then turned to him.

"Luthan, I get that you are upset and angry about what happened to you but this is not the way to deal with this. For Pete's sake, You have a fucking child" she screamed at the last part 

Luthan did a cartwheel which surprised Nelly. Was he going mad or not?

As she stared at him, Luthan turned to look at her. He soon fell on the ground, his legs wide open. But his eyes were closed as he spoke. 

"Nelly. Do not talk to me that way. I did not go outside for nothing. I felt frustrated and went to have a drink. Usually, I used to have drinks with my men but since they left, I went to have drinks with some humans. They are really quite fun by the way." He giggled.

Nelly placed Taron in his crib before returning to the living room to face her husband. She was ready to confront him about the state he had been in for the past few weeks. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Luthan, I think it's time we had a talk. You've been drinking too much and it's starting to affect our son and I" 

Luthan looked away, his face darkening. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. Nelly felt her heart sink. This wasn't the first time she had confronted him about his drinking, and he had never taken it well.

Still, she persisted. "Listen, I know things have been difficult since you lost your alpha status. I understand why you feel like you need to escape. But you have to think of yourself, me and our son. You can't keep drinking like this." 

Luthan finally looked up, his eyes filled with a mix of shame and anger. He opened his mouth to speak, but then seemed to think better of it and closed it again. He rose from his seat and approached her. Nelly stepped back, unsure of what he was going to do. 

But he just stood there, his eyes searching hers. Finally, Luthan said, "You're right. I'm sorry. I'll try to do better." 

Nelly felt a wave of relief wash over her. She put her hands on his shoulders and said, "Thank you, Luthan. I know it's hard, but I'm here to help you through it. We'll get through this together." 

Luthan nodded and gave her a small smile before they embraced. Nelly knew things would never be the same, but she hoped that this was a start.

****

The next morning, Nelly had woken up early to prepare a meal for her husband. She had gone to bed with an idea. She thought that if she became more of a good partner and less of a nagging wife to him, Luthan, he might change for the better. She was trying to understand him better and it required effort. She needed to be nice to him for him to be nicer to himself and to the children.

"Hello Luthan" she said as she heard him open the passage to their home. She was sure he had just woken up. "I hope you slept well. You needed the rest after yesterday night." She added as she walked with Taron on her back to him. She wanted to plant kisses on his cheeks when he stopped her and asked her to leave him alone.

Nelly was surprised. She did not understand what had happened for him to react that way. She slowly backed away and went to continue what she was doing.

Luthan sat by a tree trunk as he took out a thread to clean his fangs. Nelly turned to look at the man who was once an alpha. He was now a shadow of himself. Any one who had seen him now would have called him a disgrace to their pack. She sighed as she suddenly felt pity for him. 

"Luthan, I need help with Taron. I want to make us breakfast, could you please help me?" She asked as she uncovered the pot and turned the spoon around, inside it.

"No"

She turned to face him, "what?.. what do you mean by no?"

"I am a man of great value and importance. How dare you ask me to do petty house work? Do I look like a maid?" He asked her. His face stern with a warning look.

"Luthan!!!" She exclaimed.

"Do not bother me woman!! We had a maid, find one of them and get them to help you with hard work. Do not ask me to do such nonsense!!!" He exclaimed as he stood to his feet. He was becoming angry. 

Nelly was also becoming angry and so she raised her voice too. He responded with anger and soon, both their voices could be heard as they made enough noise to wake a whole pack.

Taron was soon crying as both of them were shouting at each other. 

Nelly told  him she was tired and wished  to leave and find herself elsewhere. Luthan roared furiously and soon slapped her. 

Nelly was shocked and hurt as she held her son close to her, shielding him from his father, Luthan's rage. 

She took a few steps back and looked at her husband, her eyes filled with sadness and disappointment. She had expected more from him. 

Before she can say anything, Luthan fell to his knees and apologized, his voice trembling with regret.

He took Taron out of her arms and held him close, as he  whispered apologies and promises. He then took a deep breath and turned to Nelly, his eyes filled with sorrow. 

"I'm sorry," he says. "I shouldn't have done that. Please forgive me."

Nelly hesitated for a moment, then nodded and allowed Luthan to take Taron from her arms. She looked away, her heart still heavy from the unexpected outburst of anger. She knew it would take some time for them to heal from this, but she also knew  that it  was not yet her time to leave. She could not leave her child in that condition and she would not want to take him with her. He was his father's responsibility.

With a heavy heart, she turned back to the stove and got to work on breakfast.

As she worked, she tried to take her mind off what had just happened as she whistled and danced. Nelly knew that thinking about it would hurt her more and she needed to be calm. She needed to make sure she and Luthan could make it through this together. 

And as the morning sun rose into visibility, Nelly laid the meal before Luthan, took out a paper and pen and started to plot her escape. She looked into the sky and smelt the air. It was almost time.