The Alpha's Mate

Chapter 15

LEAH

I don't know when I fell asleep, but I woke up with a start.

My eyes landed on the wall in front of me. I blinked a few times.

Moving slowly to lay on my back till I noticed something from the corner of my eye.

I looked over, and there she was, my mum, but no Cassie; where the hell did she go?

My mum was looking at me, but as soon as I looked at her, her eyes widened. When she recovered, she moved closer, which made me move slightly away from her. My mum stops, hurt washing over her.

"Sorry," she whispered, which made me look at her. I scanned over her face, which was pale, but her eyes were bloodshot. Had she been crying?

Mum stared at me for a moment and then cleared her throat. "I know this is all new to you," she said. "I didn't want to do any of this."

I stared at her, not believing her.

Mum kept her eyes on me as she carried on talking to me. "I never meant to leave you," she said, a lone tear escaping which was doing nothing to me. "I had issues back then, and I never thought I would be that kind of person to do what I did, but something happened, and things changed."

I frowned. "So that meant leaving your daughter behind without knowing where you went," I said; anger fueling me. I had no care for her; she left me alone as a child. What would a mother do to their own child?

I moved up in the bed, but my eyes never left my mum's face. Her expression changed, and confusion was replaced instead. "I told your father to tell you..." she begins, but I cut her off.

"No," I said, frowning. "He mentioned you contacted him and wanted to see me, but I told him I didn't want to know. I didn't want to see you."

My mum tensed, moved back into her seat, and stared at me. "I guess being away for so long would make you think like that. I should have done more, but things were complicated back then. I thought your father would have told you more."

I stared at her dumbfounded. She was seriously that stupid; I had no contact with her for nine years and had no explanation for why she left me. Dad did try to tell me something, but I never wanted to know.

"Leah, I want to talk to you and want to explain everything about my life. I never wanted to leave you. I never thought I would have to,” she said, her voice squeaky like she was about to cry. “I thought I was destined to be with your father, but luck threw me into the heat of something that changed my life."

"Your lover," I muttered, glaring.

Mum stared at me. "Actually, he wasn't, well, not at first. I met him here when I came home to look after my sick father. I didn't talk to him or anything. I left without telling him and my family, but he found me. He knew about your father, not about you. I was going to take you when I explained it, but nothing went that way. Your father figured out what I was thinking of doing, even finding who he was, and demanded that you stay with him. I had no choice."

I huffed.

"There is always a choice,” I said, knowing they could have worked out an agreement for her to see me. “Dad would never have said anything like that. He would have fought for you, for all of us. Why would you pick someone you just met over someone you have been in love with for years?"

"It's hard to explain," she said, sounding like she was about to lose it. "Your father knew about my past, but when the time came, he took it hard. Leah, I never once forgot about you."

I stared at her, trying to determine if I believed the last part, but I didn't say anything.

Mum sighed, then spoke again. "Leah, I know you want to live with your friend," she said, which made me perk up slightly. "But the law states you have to live with a relative till you turn eighteen, and I am your only living relative, and I want to make things right with you. I know I can't take back what I have missed with you, but I want to try and start something with you or at least try to."

I stared at her, but she carried on. Mum moved closer to me and placed her hand on the bed. I couldn't help but move away from her.

Sadness washed over her as her eyes stayed on me. "I don't want to argue with you, but I want to propose a deal. You will live with me for a year, and once the year is up when you turn eighteen, you can leave. No question, I won't even beg for you to stay. I will let you walk away, but you must stay here for a year and at least try with me."

I stared at her with wide eyes. She was willing to let me go after a year.

Could I cope for a year in this place? Well, wherever this place is.

"All I ask is you get to know me," she said, pulling me back from my thoughts.

I stared at her.

"I won't push you into anything you don't want. I know me showing up at your father's funeral like I did, didn't set a good impression, and Julian is a hard head; he never thinks before he speaks," she said with a blank look, but she carried on, "but I want you to know I would have waited till the end of the month. Still, we had a situation here in the small town, and I was told... I mean, I had to make sure you were safe."

I looked at her. What kind of situation? That didn’t make any sense to me, but something told me she wouldn't tell me even if I asked her anyway, so I left it.

I didn't say anything but thought about everything she had just said. The only option was for me to stay here for the year, but there was also the possibility of leaving; I did have my house that I could go back to, and I could wait till..., but my mind threw an idea my way and a plan formed in my head, something that I could work towards.

I didn't want to stay with her, that was for sure.

The thought of getting to know my mum was a weird feeling. I knew her for the first eight years of my life. If I was honest with myself, she was someone I loved, but now it was all too confusing.

How was I supposed to react to all this? I might always be angry, but when someone you care about leaves with no word or explanation, something must give. I don't know what kind of person she is now; she might be the same or different, but I wasn't willing to find out. A year with her sounded like a manipulative move; I had a family back home, Dani and Lucy, who were more family than she ever will be. I knew everything she was doing was all for her and not me.

What if the doctor didn't phone her? Would she still have bothered? Knowing my father wanted me to talk to her was something else; he knew how to win me. He would have even sat with me while I spoke to her, but at least he would have waited till I had calmed down and agreed; there would have been no rushing me into something like she did.

Staying here wasn't what I wanted to do; she was the one who left me, not the other way around.

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. My head started to pound again.

Opening my eyes and I tried to focus.

"What if I don't want to get to know you?"

Mum stared at me but didn't say anything.

"Why should I?" I asked, getting pissed. "You haven't gotten to know me in nine years, and now, suddenly, you want to have a relationship with me." My mum went to speak, but I didn't let her. I wasn't done. "I have a life back home; did you ever think about that? I mean, yeah, I finished school, but I still had my sports. What about them? What if..."

"Leah," she said, but I glared at her.

"What?" I asked.

My head hurt more, but I needed to tell her what I thought.

"You think, because I have to stay with you, that I have to be nice and a doting daughter to you," I shouted, now caring who heard. "I don't. I didn't want to come here in the first place. This is all for you, to make you look good; it's not about me at all."

My mum looked like she wanted to cry, and I didn't care. I had enough of the way she was treating me, and I didn't have to do crap, not with her.

Leaning back in my bed, I turned over, ensuring my back was to her. I was done.

"Leave me alone. I don't want anything to do with you."

My head pounded, which made me close my eyes.

"Leah," she spoke, but I placed my fingers in my ears to block her out.

Why would I stay with her? Even for a year, I would find a way to leave and do it as often as possible so that she would get the message. I didn't want anything to do with her.

I closed my eyes while letting my mind explore ways to leave, but my head was getting heavy.

I needed to sleep again, but I did anything, I prayed, praying that yellow eyes wouldn't be there when I closed them, but also for my mother not to here when I woke up.

A noise came, but I didn't move my fingers from my ears. I didn't want to give her a chance to talk to me again.

My eyes stayed shut, but heaviness came, and I was sent into darkness, but nothing met me.

I somehow felt relieved that it wasn't yellow eyes.

Being in the darkness, it felt like a place I could escape to which made me sound crazy. Where the hell was I? but slumber came and took hold of me; my eyes grew tired, and I closed them, letting the moment of peace take me away, even if it was only for a few moments.