Fated but Forgotten

Chapter 19 - Rocco

Sitting in my office, I was surprised by just how easily I had slipped back into work. My mind had repeatedly fallen to Aria, but I pushed her to one side as best as I could and focused on my responsibilities as the Beta. I needed to prove to myself I was still worthy of the title, because in recent weeks, maybe longer, I had allowed my pack to slip down my list of priorities, and that was not how a Beta should be.

I was relieved that Micah and our pack Gamma, Madden, along with our warrior teams, had worked so hard after the attack to reassess all aspects of pack safety and security, all while rebuilding the pack, until our pack was now probably close to being the safest it had ever been. Maybe we had been lapsed. I didn’t like to think of that, but either way, unfortunately, many packs are weak to rogue attacks. It had just been the attack that came to our pack had been one of the worst ones…

The door of my office opened, for Micah to walk in, mug of coffee in hand. “Good to see you, bro.” he smiled warmly in my direction as the door closed noisily behind him. “Glad you took my suggestion.”

I bit back the irritation that bubbled beneath my skin. Took his suggestion? I am sure it had been far from a suggestion when he had threatened me with an Alpha order. That would have forced me to do as he wanted, regardless of what I wanted, not to mention causing me pain and discomfort. For him to have threatened me, apparently one of his closest friends, with that when I was already going through so much simply did not sit right with me. Not when Micah rarely used his Alpha order… but, instead, I simply nodded in acknowledgment of his words, not willing to get into another disagreement with my Alpha. I was trying to think positively.

And Micah clearly did not think twice about his words as he walked confidently across my office, dropping himself onto the sofa that stretched over the main wall, before looking towards me. “Your Dad said he found you last night and had a little chat. Glad he was able to be there for you too. I think your family have been missing you.” His words seemed genuine enough, and to an outsider they would likely appear genuine too. But, I knew my friend, and I knew how he worked. I knew that Micah had played a part in all the things that occurred last night, or else my Dad would not have known to reach out when he did.

“Yes.” I answered abruptly. Suddenly, I was not willing to talk to my closest friend. Usually the two of us had so much to sit and chat about, often spending so many hours doing just that; but now, I saw him as an irritation, and wished he was anywhere but in my office.

My tone of voice must have given me away, because the expression upon Micah's face changed instantly. “Hey, Roc, come on, don’t be like that. I am trying to help.” He looked at me pleadingly, and when I looked across the room at him, he didn’t look quite the big, dominant Alpha that he was, or that he had been acting. He looked more like the teenage boy I remember growing up. The one that I spent many years being there for after he lost his Mum. The one that I spent so much time laughing and joking with…

I felt myself sighing heavily. He was my friend, irrelevant of how frustrated I may feel. “I know.” I muttered, so quietly it was barely audible. I hated admitting he might be right.

The heavy sigh this time came from Micah. He dropped his head to his hands, having placed his coffee onto the coffee table. “I have struggled too, bro. Not knowing what to do for the right thing. It kills me to see you like this. It destroyed me knowing your girl was hurt. It made me feel like I failed as an Alpha, but also it made me feel I failed you as a best friend. And there is no worse feeling than that. I promised you when she came here we would keep her safe. We have always been so close… there for one another, and suddenly you were so distant… and it scared me.” Micah spoke, and his words were uneven.

I had no idea I had made my friend feel like this, although he was always good at hiding his emotions. Putting on a brave face. That was exactly what he had done when he lost his mother. Or, to everyone else he had done that, I was the one he had come to when it came to letting out his feelings… speaking about it all… so his Dad never knew the pain he was in, because Micah was already terrified of his Dad crumbling to pieces at the loss of his mate. I had been his support, and now it seemed he was trying to be mine, and I had not allowed him to be. I hated I had made him feel like this. I had pushed my friend away,

But before I had a chance to apologize, he continued. “But, I know why you needed your space, Roc, I can’t imagine Anna not being there or her not remembering me. But, I was scared by Aria not being there, I might lose you too. I can’t lose you. You are like family to me.” His eyes looked at me again, this time filled with emotion, and I felt my heart tighten at his words. “All we want is to be there for you, and find a way to make this work.”

I nodded. “I know. I am trying now.” I whispered, realizing that by blocking them all out and trying to do this alone I may have made things worse. I needed to try to fix this. I smiled sadly at my friend, unsure if my plan would even work, but knowing that I was going to give it a damn good try.

“Well, I am glad. And, guess what I heard?” he looked at me with a mischievous smile suddenly which had me intrigued,

I shrugged, not having any idea where he was going with this. If Anna was anything to go by, it could well be any type of pack gossip…

“A certain doctor I spoke to this morning when I did my usual check-in to see how the beautiful young Beta’s wife was doing, told me she had been asking if the handsome and mysterious Beta that visits her room was okay. Curious it seemed why he had not been at the hospital.” Micah spoke, all the while holding back a big smile upon his face. And as he spoke I could not help the racing in my heart. Did this mean things were working? Was Aria actually missing me?!