Bound by Moonlight; A Night with the Alpha

9

Maya's POV:

“Wake up,” I said as I tapped him a bit more harshly compared to the first time.

I really hated mornings, especially when it was weekday and Carlos was making it worse for me by stressing me out so early. I ran a hand through my hair while trying to keep my temper at bay before I carried him up.

He didn't seem to budge and that was all I needed to see for me to realise that Cheryl had done exactly what I told her not to do. She knew well enough that waking Carlos up would be an issue.

I checked the water before I gently placed him in the tub which was enough to make him wake up. Startled, he splashed some water on me with a look of fear as he tried to process his surroundings.

I let out a chuckle at how cute he seemed and lightly pinched his cheeks. It didn't take long for me to get him ready for school and Cheryl was already awake.

“Babyyyy,” Cheryl said in a voice that was too loud for the morning, so I winced a bit, which made her roll her eyes.

“Cheryl, I told you not to let him stay up,” I said to her as I toasted some slices of bread for myself.

“Did you snitch on me, Carlos?” She asked my son from where he was seated and enjoying his breakfast.

He glanced at me before he shook his head and continued to munch on his cereals. Carlos hardly talks which had me worried at first until I realised that he was just extremely shy.

His personality wasn't anything like mine, but I loved it for him and I've never tried to force him to be outgoing.

“I'm not a fool Cheryl,” I said to her with a small smile before I sipped my tea.

I had been in my room after putting Carlos to bed, so I had no idea that Cheryl had gone behind my back to wake him up. I wasn't okay with it, but I didn't want to make a big deal out of it because over the years, Cheryl had become sensitive.

“Never said you were,” she said and did a little dance before picking one of my toasts.

I didn't complain even though she could have simply made another and I was almost late all thanks to her making Carlos stay up all night.

“We are leaving now,” I said before dumping the used dishes into the dishwasher and leaving the kitchen.

Over the years, the joy that came with having someone else in the house apart from my son and I had diminished, but there was no way I could tell Cheryl that.

The last thing I wanted was for her not to understand that I wanted only my son around me. I wouldn't be surprised if she cried and never contacted me again.

Although I'd withdrawn from everyone and didn't appreciate company, it didn't mean that I didn't want to have any friends at all, so I had to keep quiet about how I felt.

I know that it might be selfish to be that type of person who only reaches out whenever they need someone and never helps, but it's just who I am now.

“I need to meet with my cousin today,” Cheryl informed me just as I was about to shut the door.

I didn't bother replying because a simple ‘okay’ wasn't going to change anything and, since she knew the passcode to my house, informing me didn't really matter.

My phone started to ring just when I got outside, which made me frown because I had no one else to call me except my sister and Cheryl, who was currently at my house.

I couldn't pick because Carlos decided that today was the best day to have me carry him and I didn't mind that. I finally got the chance to pick up my phone, which didn't stop ringing when I got to the car.

It was Cheryl. I frowned because I literally just left the house, and she could have told me whatever she wanted before I did so.

“What's up?” I asked her as I dropped my bag on the seat.

I prayed deep down that she wasn't going to tell me to give her thirty minutes to carpool with us because Carlos would end up being late.

“You didn't reply,” she said in a stiff tone that didn't sit well with me.

I knew that she was referring to the fact that I hadn't said anything after what she told me, but it made no sense that she called to talk about it.

“What?” I said because I was still dumbfounded about how that was an issue.

“You ignored me which isn't really nice, Maya,” Cheryl started and I knew exactly what this was going to lead to.

The last time we fought was because she was so sensitive and insecure and maybe that was even the reason I didn't want anyone around me.

I glanced at my watch and noticed that I wouldn't make it in time if I continued having this conversation with her. I didn't want to give in because this seemed like a very foolish conversation, but I had to for the sake of them and peace.

“I'm sorry,” I said and ended the call before she could say anything else.

I had barely driven out of the garage when my phone started to ring again and it was Cheryl once more, so I didn't pick.

I glanced at Carlos who had his eyes on me and gave him a little smile. I knew I couldn't cuss or anything because Carlos was going to tell Cheryl.

That was another issue I had with Cheryl and I couldn't do anything about it. She always asked Carlos questions about me which felt off because I felt like I was being spied on.

I had been so livid the day Carlos innocently exposed her and when I brought it up with her… let's just say things would have been better if I acted ignorant.

“Mummy, do you have a man?” Carlos asked me one of his weird questions.

It shouldn't have been a surprise, since he had a thing for shocking me with random questions but this one seemed so different.

“Why are you asking? Do you want a dad?” I asked him jokingly even though I knew how much he was against having one.

The frown on his face confirmed that he was still against it and that made me chuckle.

“Aunt Cheryl asked,” Carlos said, and my blood went cold the same time the smile on my face disappeared.

“I see,” I simply said even though my blood was boiling.

I had warned her to stop asking Carlos about me, especially inappropriate questions, but it seemed like she didn't listen. The solution to the issue was to make Carlos sleep in my room until she left.

I really wished the unfortunate turn her life took didn’t affect her so much, but there was nothing I could do about it.

My phone rang as soon as I dropped Carlos off. I took a deep breath to keep myself calm before I picked the call to take whatever insult she was going to throw with tears.

“Maya.”

I frowned when I heard my sister's voice instead of Cheryl's and checked the caller ID. It was indeed my sister that had called.

“Selene,” I greeted and told her to give me a minute to get out of the way of the angry parents that were honking behind me.

“How are you doing?” She said in her usual calm voice that was a contrast to Cheryl's.

“I'm good,” I replied with a sigh while trying to fight the urge to rant about Cheryl.

“Well, I'm coming over tomorrow so…” She trailed off as if the conversation had suddenly become awkward for her.

Even though we had become really close, Selene still found it hard to come over without my permission and I was really grateful for that, even though I would still never turn her down.

“Sure. I'll take a day off for you,” I said and chuckled when she squealed happily.