Chapter 8

[The Mute Alpha - Chapter 8]

Song: Despacito (Remix) [ft. Justin Beiber] by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee

•••

"What are you going to do?" Theo asked as we sat in a living room. I sunk down into the couch with a frown. We were at Autumn's house. She brought us here after we were in the forest for a little bit.

I ran my fingers through my hair. 'I don't know. I really want her to be with me, but I can't just make her leave everything behind. I can't do that to her,' I replied.

"Why not? You're the male. She's basically required to move in with you. That's usually what happens."

'But I want to give her an option.'

Footsteps made Theo and I's conversation cease. Autumn came walking into the room with a couple behind her. I'm pretty sure they're her parents because of their similar characteristics.

Her father shared the same nose and eye color, except Autumn's eyes were softer and I'd prefer staring into her's than her dad's. His hair showed a little bit of grey and his face had a few wrinkles. Other than that, he didn't look that old.

Autumn got her hair from her mom. Her mom's hair was just a little shorter and had some grey strands in it. Her green eyes were warm and bright and had a motherly look to them, if that makes any sense. They were also about the same height, too.

Her parents eyed me as they came into the room. Nervously, I quickly stood up and went over to where they were standing to shake their hands.

Her dad gripped my hand and I winced slightly at how tight it was, but I quickly tried to mask it. He shook my hand. His eyes were cold as he narrowed them at me. "Jared," Autumn's mother warned as she glared at him.

Jared let go of my hand and took a step back. "Sorry," he gritted out.

I turned to Autumn's mom. She had a large, toothy grin on her face. I stuck my hand out for her to take, but what surprised me was that she completely ignored it. Instead, she grabbed my wrist and yanked me towards her.

She wrapped her arms tightly around me and she released a squeal. "I can't believe our daughter finally found her mate!" she exclaimed, her voice laced with excitement. Her hold tightened even more, blocking my airway and making it hard for me breath.

"Mom!" Autumn shouted with a laugh following after,, "He can't breathe."

Autumn's mom quickly let go of me, releasing a giggle, "I'm so sorry. I got overly excited to finally meet you."

Finally?

"Melissa," she said, "Please call me that. And that's my husband, Jared." I glanced over at him, he was already sending me a hard look.

"So....Alpha. I suppose you're going to take our only daughter away from us," Jared gritted out. I frowned at his assumption.

"Jared!" Melissa yelled.

Jared scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn't the same height, but the way his eyes shot daggers at me made him look slightly intimidating. If looks could kill, I would be 10 feet under with a gravestone on top.

"He's probably like every other shitty Alpha out there. Selfish and demanding," he muttered. Most of the Alphas I met aren't like that at all! I've only stumbled across a couple ones who were dicks.

I clenched my fists and my jaw ticked as I could feel anger surge through my veins like adrenaline. He doesn't even know anything about me. He has no right to judge me.

"Dad!" Autumn yelled angrily at the same time Melissa shouted, "Jared!"

Theo got up from his chair and immediately went over to me when he saw my angry eyes. "You need to calm down," he whispered lowly as he gripped my shoulder, "Take a deep breath.

I sucked in a deep breath as I stared back at Jared. I matched him, crossing my arms. I also stood straighter, making myself look more intimidating, showing him that he shouldn't talk shit about me. Melissa grabbed Jared by the ear and started dragging him out of the room, muttering some angry words at him with a few profanities.

"I'm so sorry about my dad," Autumn apologized with a sad look in her eyes, "He's very protective of me, but he's not this protective. He's usually fine when I bring guys over." I stiffened at the last thing she said.

She's been with other guys?

I felt myself frown. Theo winced when he saw the hurt look on my face. I tried to quickly mask it.

"Maybe it's because he's an Alpha," Theo pointed out.

"That's true. But I don't see what the big deal is. He's my mate. My dad can't decide for me, even if Jax is an Alpha," Autumn said.

We could all hear the sound of Melissa's voice as she shouted things at Jared. Autumn cringed. "I'll be right back," she told us before disappearing out of the room.

I groaned and ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. Do all Alphas have to deal with this when they find their mate? It pains me knowing that her own father doesn't like me. It might influence her decision on whether or not she'll go back to my pack with me. I wish there was some way I can change his mind about me.

A few minutes later they returned. Jared had his head down, rubbing his ear. "Sorry about that," Melissa muttered, shooting Jared a glare. "We're just protective of Autumn. She's our only child and we love her so much. But I trust you. I know you'll take very good care of her."

I smiled slightly, but shook my head. I bent down and picked up the notepad I had brought with me. I clicked my black pen and started writing, trying to make my words as readable as possible, "I'm giving her a choice."

All of them stared at me in confusion after reading my claim. Jared's eyebrows shot up. "What do you mean by 'giving her a choice'?" he asked. My eyes moved over to Autumn who stared at me in surprise.

"She can come back with me and become my Luna, or she can stay here in this pack and continue living her life."

"But you'll die without your mate. And since you're an Alpha, your need for Autumn is stronger than a normal wolf," Theo said. I sighed, but slowly nodded my head and wrote a bunch of words down on the paper. I turned it around and lifted it up so that they could read it.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." I looked up at Autumn. I could see the emotions on her face. "I want her to be happy. I wouldn't be happy knowing that she's not. I may be selfish, everyone is, but I can never do that to her. I don't want to be the one to cause her sadness. I want to be the one to comfort her. The one to make her happy."

"Awww!" Melissa cooed after she read what I wrote. "That's so cute."

Autumn's lips tugged up into a smile and she walked up to me. My heart started beating a little faster. She gently took the pad from my hands I watched as she slowly teared the page off. Then she handed the pad back to me and folded the piece of paper, putting it in her pocket.

"Give me a few hours, maybe even a day to think this over," she said. Jared opened his mouth to protest, but Autumn cut him off, "This is my decision to make, not yours. I love you dad, but Jax is my mate. You already found your mate. You know how hard it was to be away from her. It's no different for Jax and I. Actually, maybe even worse for Jax."

Jared looked down at the floor and nodded.

"Jax," I looked down at my mate who was still standing in front of me. "I would like to speak with you, please."

I allowed Autumn to take my hand in her's and lead me away from everyone else. My eyes widened when she walked over to the staircase. The wooden stairs creaked under our feet as we ascended them. When we reached the top, we were in a hallway that had five doors. The walls were painted red with a white wood trim at the top and bottom. The floor was wood, like the stairs, and pictures hung on the wall and I stopped at one of them.

It was a picture of a little girl. Her brown hair was tied up into two buns. Her lips were pulled up as she displayed a large smile, one of her front teeth were missing. An ice cream cone was in her hand. Beside her, a man was kneeling. He smiled as he had an arm around her.

I couldn't help but smile. But then memories of my own father started pooling into my mind, making my heart clench.

"That's my dad and I, if you hadn't noticed the resemblance." I turned my head to see Autumn standing next to me, staring at the picture with a smile.

After a few minutes she stepped away from me and started walking down the hallway, calling for me to follow. "My room is at the end of the hallway."

She pushed the door open, revealing her bedroom. It was a decent size and it looked cozy. The walls were purple and the floor was covered with carpeting.

The bed was against the wall, covered with purple bedding and throw pillows of different shades and tints of purple. A night stand painted white stood next to the bed. It had a lamp on it with a clock, her phone, a tissue box, and some lotion. Purple curtains hung in front of a couple windows. There was also a white dresser next to a door that, I'm assuming, lead to a bathroom or a closet.

In the corner of the room was a purple bean bag chair next to a bookshelf that was filled with many books. She also had a small desk that had a computer and a table lamp.

Autumn went over and sat down on her bed, crossing her legs and leaning against the wall. When she saw that I wasn't moving, she motioned me over. Hesitantly, I moved over to her and sat down on the edge of her bed.

We were silent for a minute or two before Autumn spoke up, "Is what you wrote true? Are you willing to let me stay?"

I nodded and placed my notepad on my lap. "I want you to be happy," I wrote on it before showing it to her.

She frowned. "But I wouldn't be happy knowing that my mate is dying just because I was being a selfish bitch."

"And I don't want you to not be happy because I was being selfish."

She sighed, "When I first saw you, you don't know how shocked I was. I had found my mate. I honestly never thought that it would happen, you know." Her eyes were on me. "But then, when you left..." she paused. I looked down at my lap.

"It was the worst feeling ever," she whispered. My heart cracked, feeling like it was impaled by a piece of glass. I made her feel like shit. I could detect the pain in her sad eyes. "Seeing you go...I thought...I-I thought you didn't want me."

My eyes widened and I quickly started scribbling words down on the paper, ignoring the fact that my handwriting, at the moment, wasn't the best. "Of course I wanted you!"

"Then why did you leave me?"

I replied with, "I thought you wouldn't want me..."

She scooted closer to me, her knee brushed against mine. "What made you think that?"

"Because I'm Mute."

I felt her hand on my cheek as she moved my face towards her so that I was looking at her. Then she brought her other hand up so that she was cupping both of my cheeks. "What the hell makes you think that I wouldn't want you just because you can't talk? If anything, I like that about you. It makes you different from all of the other Alphas out there. And I can get used to it. You were paired with me for a reason. The Moon goddess never makes mistakes."

•••

"How long did it take for you and Alpha Jaxton to get here?" Melissa asked Theo as she placed a plate in front of me. The smell of honey-smoked turkey filled the air as she placed a few slices on my plate. Then she scooped some mash potatoes next to it with some gravy. She did the same for Theo. After, she used tongs to pick up a corn on the cob and sit it on the plate.

I looked down at the yummy food in front of me. It smelled so good. Steam from the food flowed through the air. The corn had some butter on it with a little bit of pepper.

"We left yesterday morning. We stopped at ten packs before coming here. Poor Jax, he hasn't slept at all," Theo answered before taking a bite of his mash potatoes.

I took my fork and knife and cut off a piece of turkey, putting it in my mouth. I held back a moan as I tasted sweet and savory turkey. I'm not usually a big fan of turkey, but now I'm starting to rethink my choice.

Both Melissa and Autumn's eyes grew while Jared's expression stayed passive. He stabbed his turkey and shoved it into his mouth, chewing aggressively. "Jaxton, you must be tired," Melissa said with a frown.

After Autumn talked to me, her mother came in and requested that I stay for dinner. Of course I'd agreed to stay. Of course when Jared found out that Theo and I were staying for dinner, he wasn't very happy.

"You should've seen him," Theo chuckled, "He looked like shit this morning and last night. You could tell that being away from his mate was affecting him. It was hitting him hard, like he was shot with a silver bullet."

I rolled my eyes at the drama queen. His comparison didn't even make sense. I mean, I'm pretty sure I didn't look that bad. 'Theo, you're being overdramatic. Stop exaggerating,' I mind-linked Theo, making him laugh.

"But then, you should've seen his face light up like a glow stick when him and his wolf felt your presence nearby." Theo looked at Autumn. A small smile crawled onto her lips as she glanced over at me. I grinned at her before looking down at my plate and taking a bite of my potatoes.

"That's so cute!" Melissa gushed as she nudged Autumn's side. I saw her mouth move as she whispered something under her breath so that only her mother could hear. In response to whatever she said, her mom laughed.

"You two can spend the night if you want," Melissa suggested.

'Do you think Ryland can handle another day?' I asked Theo.

He nodded his head, 'I'm pretty sure he's doing fine. If you want, I can call him to let him know.'

I looked over at Melissa and nodded my head. She grinned. "Great! We have a spare room where Theo can stay. I'm sure Autumn won't mind sharing her room with her mate," she smirked.

Autumn's cheeks reddened. I've noticed that she blushes really easily. It makes her look cute.

"Mom!" she blurted out, "We just met!" I, too, felt heat as blood rushed to my cheeks. I started poking my mash potatoes with my fork.

I'd love the feeling of my mate in my arms, her body against mine as we cuddle. But isn't it a little too soon for that? I'd have to agree with Autumn on this one.

"Don't be silly, Autumn," Melissa waved her hand, "Your father marked me and we mated the same night we met. It was the best feeling I've ever felt. Being able to feel him against my bare skin and having him so close. Having his-"

The sound of a fork clattering against a plate echoed. Our attention turned to Jared whose eyes were wide and his jaw was dropped. I couldn't help but noticed how flustered he looked.

"Mom! We don't need to know!" Autumn cried out as she covered her ears.

Melissa rolled her eyes. "I don't see what the problem is... Anyways, Jaxton, you can sleep in Autumn's room if you'd like or you can sleep on the couch in the living room."

I nodded and gave her a small, toothless smile, making sure to mouth 'thank you'.

"It's no problem. Stay however long you want."

The rest of dinner was spent in mostly silence. The only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of our forks against our plates. Every once in awhile, someone would say something, but not a full blown conversation.

After dinner, I stood up and started picking up everyone's empty plates. "Oh you don't have to do that," Autumn said, reaching for the stack. I shook my head and continued carrying them into the nice kitchen.

I placed them into the sink and began washing them. When I finished, all of the dishes were placed on the drying rack. Melissa came into the room and frowned when she saw me over by the sink. "Did you do the dishes?" She asked and I nodded in response. "Oh, you shouldn't have done that. You're our guest!"

I shrugged. It felt like it was the least I could do. They provided a really good dinner and they're letting Theo and I spend the night.

"Autumn is watching TV. You can join her if you want," Melissa stated as she started cleaning up around the kitchen.

I walked out of the room and into the living room. Autumn sat on the couch, curled up in a blanket. She held a remote in her hand and had it pointing at the TV screen, surfing the channels.

Her head turned towards me when she heard my footsteps. She smiled, "Hey." I waved my hand and went over to sit down next to her, making sure there was a reasonable distance between us.

"Theo told me to tell you that he is going to bed. He said that he's really tired. He also wanted you to know that he talked with Ryland and everything is going well at your pack."

I couldn't help but feel how tired I was. However, I didn't want to go to sleep for some reason. Spending some time with my mate seemed a lot more appealing.

"You guys seem pretty close," she stated, "Is he the only one you communicate with?"

My eyes lowered from the TV and I moved my head up and down in response to her question.

"He's lucky, you know." I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. What does she mean by that? She must've noticed how confused I looked because she answered my question. "He's the only one who gets to hear your voice, even if it is through a mind-link. I bet your voice is the most beautiful thing ever."

Our eyes locked. The sincerity in her voice and eyes made my heart tug. I wish she could hear it. I don't even know what it actually sounds like because I'm pretty sure it sounds different in my head.

I found myself getting lost in her eyes. The light from the TV casted a glow on the side of her face, creating a shadow on the other side of her face. Her hair was a little messier than before. Pieces of hair poked out of her bun and some longer strands started falling out of it. But it made her look even more beautiful. I couldn't take my eyes off her.

"You're staring," she whispered, not breaking eye contact. I smirked at her, but didn't look away. I leaned forward and reached my hand up. My fingers brushed away a strand of hair that fell in front of her eyes, tucking it behind her ear. My knuckles lightly brushed the skin on her cheek, and I could see her shudder slightly under my touch.

I tried to hold back the yawn that threatened to escape, but I couldn't. Autumn's skeptical look caught my eyes. "You should go to bed. It's been over twenty-four hours."

I haven't had a good night sleep in over a week. After the party, the idea of Autumn being out there kept me mostly awake. Now I probably could sleep really well, but like I said before, I don't want to. How could I when Autumn is right here?

This may be the only time I get to spend time with her if she doesn't come back with me. I felt a pain in my chest at that thought. My wolf whimpered, making me feel even worse.

"Please go to sleep. You look so tired," she said, cupping my cheeks. She dragged her finger across the skin under my eye. "You have bags under your eyes. Really dark ones."

She scooted closer to me, getting rid of the extra space that I created. "Here," she gently pushed my head down so that it was on her lap. Then she took the blanket that was around her and put some of it on me so that we were both warm. She draped her arm over my side and used her other hand to run her fingers through my messy hair.

My eyes involuntarily drifted closed. My body relaxed and my breaths started to even out. I slipped into a darkness that welcomed me with open arms, keeping me captive until morning.

•••

Hey guys!!! Did you all enjoy the chapter? I sure hope so 😊  I didn't realize how long this chapter was until I saw the word count! Lol. It was over 3,800 words. In my opinion, that's a lot. But maybe to a reader, not so much.

Thank you all so much for all of the votes and the awesome comments! I love reading them. It makes me really happy.

Please let me know what you guys think about my story so far?

I'm also starting to have a hard time figuring out what songs to play at the beginning of the chapters. So if there's a song you love, just let me know. Also if you have a specific artist or band please feel free to comment them. I personally love Panic! At the Disco, if you haven't noticed yet.

Thank you guys again! Love you ❤️

~Jordan

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