The Alpha's Daughter

XI

“And that is the story of how Emma and I met”, he smiled at the child. He inspected the ribbon interwoven crown braid and the double bow he tied at the back and nodded to himself. He lifted her out of the bed and stood before the mirror, “Do you like it?” the pup's eyes sparkled, nodding aggressively.

She touched her hair in awe, clearly never seeing a braid before. “Is it tight? Does it hurt?” Linus asked wincing as it looked a little too snug in some areas. The child shook her head still smiling at him and very much in love with what he did to her hair.

“Glad to be of service to you Malady”, Linus laughed. She matched him with a grin of her own. He put her on the bed once more, he was at a loss and she was looking at him expectantly.

“Alright”, he lifted her and cradled her to his chest. The child wrapped her arms around his neck until he sat on the bed. She released the hold and simply leaned into him, Linus brushed her fringe from her face with a small smile. “Do you have a name?”

She met his eyes resolutely and tilted her head, and Linus snorted. She seemed attached to that habit.

“I’m Linus and our Alpha is Emilio”, he explained, “so what’s your name?”

The girl shook her head and honestly he expected that.

“Since you don’t have one Emma will probably name you. She named me.”

The pup climbed out of his hold, opting to snuggle up beside him. Linus followed her lead and rested on his back. She got as close as possible, and when she was comfortable she looked at him.

“I guess it’s time for another story. Or I can pick up from where I left off.”

She smiled brilliantly at him.

Linus decided to continue from the moment they entered Emma’s cottage. “Well”, he chuckled, “the first thing I got was a bath, understandably.”

He recalled everything and included that it was nothing like what his younger self expected. Emma was very thorough and although he protested he made no real effort to stop her, so she didn’t hand over the reins.

The bath was warm, and the scent was a little lost to him but he remember it was soothing. His skin itched in many places as the water was filled with all kinds of antiseptics. After the bath and three hair washes, she then showered him and wrapped him in a soft towel. He recalled his skin being so pink at the end of it all.

Emma showed him to her room and sat him on her bed. He watched her rummaging through a chest and then make a sound of triumph. She pulled out a big shirt and shorts with adjustable waist shorts. She excitably closed the space between them and place the items on the bed.

“You can sleep in that tonight”, she smiled, “I’ll go out and buy you some new clothes tomorrow.” She looked him over as he took up the white Tee. “Now would be a good time”, she nodded to herself, “do you know what a blow dryer is?”

“Blow dryer?” he repeated curiously.

Ah, so he doesn’t know. Emma retrieved the device from her bathroom cabinet and plugged it into the socket by her bed. The child watched her curiously.

“It's loud but don’t be afraid”, she explained, “it blows warm hair to dry hair faster. Understand?” He watched her for a moment then nodded slowly. “I’m going to turn it on now”, she told him in advance. Emma pointed the mouth at her hand and turned in the device. The boy flinched. “It’s fine just warm air”, she ran it along her palm as a demonstration, “see?”

The boy stuck out a hand and Emma let some of the warm air touch him. A small smile touched his lips and she mimicked. From the bath, she realised he had an affinity for warmth. She turned off the device again and rested it on the bed, the boy watched Emma retrieve a comb and brush before coming back to him. The kind stranger sat on the bed behind him.

That was the first time in years the boy had his hair done.

Afterwards, she left him to get changed. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen everything already, although embarrassed, the boy was grateful for some semblance of privacy. He was out of the room in under three minutes. At his request, the boy stayed by Emma’s side as she cooked for them. She was confident he’d clean the plate, but it was amusing to watch him eat as though the devil was on his tail. When the boy noticed her smile he slowed, a little embarrassed.

After dinner he was left to watch television alone, but not without explanation. Emma joined him not long after but by that point, his eyelids started to droop. She smiled and led him to his room. Emma tucked him in and feathered light kisses on his head. She stayed by him, playing in his hair till he fell asleep. When Emma was sure he wouldn’t rouse, she retired to her room.

Linus wore a fond smile as he recalled those earlier days. He remembers how quickly he got attached to Emma and how surprised he was that she was an alpha. She said she used scent blockers but he could smell her fine. Maybe it was how much attention she showered him with. Or was it the time she spent with him? Whether it was to watch a movie or to teach him about Were and Shapeshifters and mates. Mates were his favourite thing to learn about, it was comforting to know that there was someone who would love you unconditional because you’re you.

Linus went quiet for a moment, he knew it was wrong but somewhere in his heart, he hoped he was someone special to his saviour. He still does.

He got back on track because of the girl’s curious eyes. Since Mates weren’t the point of this retelling he omitted to explain it. He thought back to how Emma went months without addressing him by name. He wasn’t offended by it in the slightest, he didn’t have a name after all. That changed three months into his stay.

It was a Saturday, much like the one they had first met. He gathered his courage as he watched Emma prepare to visit the market.

“Can I go with you?” his voice steadier and less gravelly.

Emma, who was about to put on her shoes, stopped. “Sure”, she lit up.

The boy rarely asked for anything, so Emma always got excited when he did. He read her smiled a book and lowered his head to hide his warming cheeks. It’s not that he didn’t want anything, he was just too shy to ask for what he really wanted.

He hummed and took the shopping bags from her. They sat side by side as they put on their shoes and went out. The whole trip was uneventful until they stopped by the butchers. “You have company today”, the burly man smiled at them.

“Yep”, she chirped, “more hands mean we can buy more stuff!”

The boy glanced at the Alpha with a small smile. It was at times like these he wondered if the lady caring for him was really seventeen. The butcher chuckled and the boy looked at him pointedly. A feeling welled in his chest, the way the man gazed at Emma, it was like the boy could read his mind.

The teen felt sick.

He ignored them both when they became engaged in conversation, preferring to take in the interior of the store. He became so absorbed he didn’t notice the “adults” had finished speaking.

“Lin”, Emma called.

“Yea?” He heard himself answer. That snapped out of his reverie, he looked at her slightly confused.

She motioned for him to come closer with a smile. He obliged. “Pick one for dinner”, she pointed at the options in the display glass.

“Beef”, he hummed. Emma nodded and added beef to her order. He leaned against the shelf when the butcher turned his back to bag the parts. “What does Lin mean?”

“Linus”, Emma answered casually as she took the grand total from her purse.

He just hummed. Emma didn’t address him like that at any point in time and he didn’t bring it up.

They made a short detour for ice cream but were on their way home. While walking Emma suddenly stopped and released a mortified yell. Linus watched her curiously pushing the last of his ice cream cone into his cheeks.

“I’m so sorry”, she wailed. He looked at her as if she were crazy, maybe she was a little.

“What exactly are you sorry for?” he decided to humour her.

She frowned at the smirking boy in front of her. “I blurted out a name that I never consulted you on. I don’t even know if you like it”, he watched his face contort to a wide-eyed thinly veiled look of utter incredulity. “Quit looking at me like that”, she whined.

“Nah, I’m just wondering when you got two more heads and a horn”, the boy quipped. Emma let out a distressed huff and he laughed at her. “Ok, I’m done”, he chuckled, “what’s the big deal though?”

“I should’ve talked to about it first”, she scratched her cheek, “I’m sorry.”

He tilted his head. His mouth moved before his brain could filter it, “you could give me a s***h on the face and I’d wear it like a medal.” After the words left his lips, they stared at each other in heavy silence. “Ignore that”, he dismissed it. “I like the name” his voice took a sentimental tone, “so don’t worry too much.”

“I’m not going to just ignore it”, she blocked his path and met his eyes, “there’s no way on Assyra I would hurt or abandon you, not after what you’ve been through.” She searched his face to see if he understood.

His lips pulled into his few genuine smiles, “I know. Trust me I like it.”

She pushed a little but he was able to convince her with much effort. When he had chosen the last name for himself Emma finally conceded.

“Maybe it’ll be different from you”, Linus concluded, “but that’s how I got my name.” His nose twitched, and a smile pulled at his lips. “Dinner is here”, he smiled at her, “someone else too.”

The girl looked to the door, it opened to reveal Emma with a big smile. "I was never able to hide from you Lin", she chuckled.

"Now why would you want to do that?" he dragged playfully.

Emma pouted, "surprises are harder to plan when the other person can easily guess what you're up to."

"No", Linus laughed, "you're just bad a surprises, but they are appriciated."

She huffed with a mock glare. The girl looked between the adults and started to smile slowly. Emma looked at her and began to coo.

"Look at you", she crossed the room. She touched a braid, "how cute." Emma met Linus' eyes, "you haven't lost your touch I see."

He got off the bed and stepped close to the Alpha. He brushed her bangs away from her eyes tenderly. "I wouldn't have been rusty if I still did your hair", he tucked the longer bit of her bang behind her ear.

Emma slowly closed her mouth when she realised her jaw started hanging. Linus' eyes crinkled with a satisfied smile. He retrieved his book bag and books.

"See you around kid", he left after his parting words.