Dying For You

Chapter 21

Theo's POV

Like always, I wake up before the sun because my dreams aren't half as exciting as spending a single moment with Laila. They can't compare.

And yesterday, oh, it was magical. Watching Laila run around in the flowers, in the sun, and watching her discover her freedom was incredible. I will never forget the massive smile on her face for so long. That might have been the best day of my life. She's just so cute!

"Theo!"

Mom runs into the kitchen, pulling the skillet I was using to cook eggs off the stove. "You nearly burned the pack house down!" she sighs, dumping the burned eggs into the garbage.

"Sorry, Mom," I sigh.

Mom sighs, leans against the counter, and crosses her arms. "What's the dumb look for? And why are you up so early? I'm thinking about Laila again."

"Yeah." I smile.

"I'm glad you found your mate, but you must still pay attention to the world around you. What if you set the fire alarm off, and the alarm triggered something in her, and she got scared? Plus, the pack still needs you. You can't be Alpha and zone out like this." Mom scolds me.

"I know. I'm sorry. Yesterday was great, and we've made so much progress the last few days that I can't stop thinking about it." I smile.

"I'm happy for you, my sweet baby, but remember that you live in the world with other people, so you can't just zone out, especially when you are am Alpha," Mom says.

"I know." I sigh.

"So tell me about her." Mom smiles.

I look at her, surprised. "I'd love to. Talking about her is my second favorite thing, only behind spending time with her."

"You know I'd love to meet her. No pressure, I know she is getting used to the world around her, but whenever she is ready, I'd love to meet the girl that makes my son smile like an idiot."

"Thanks, Mom." I roll my eyes.

"No offense." she giggles.

"I'd love for you and Dad to meet her, but I'm not sure right now is the best time. We just told her what werewolves, packs, and mates were yesterday. She just let me hang out with her alone. She has trouble trusting people, which is understandable, but I want to build her trust a little more before introducing her to people. Plus, she has a lot of specific medicines she has to take at specific times, and I think one of them is to help build her immune system so she can go out in the world more, so I don't want her interacting with too many people before she has a better immune system." I explain.

"I know, honey. I'm willing to wait as long as she needs. I was throwing the idea out there." Mom shrugs and turns around to grab a mug of her coffee.

"Mom, I was reading her file the other day-" I start. Mom turns around and looks at me with a sad smile. "Can you tell me about it from your perspective? I want to understand." I ask.

"Ok. Let me get my coffee first." she sighs and turns back to grab her mug.

I make breakfast and sit at Mom's table, sipping her coffee. She sets the mug down and looks at it with a sigh. "So where to begin? I was helping your father sort files when a frantic pack member ran in the door crying, begging us to help. She was screaming that her baby was missing. It took us a long time to calm her down, get coherent information, and get her name. I hugged her and talked, trying to find out her and the kid's names. I finally got it out of her when her dad found her file. He mindlinked her mate, and he came running from training. He was confused and worried. Within the hour, she took us out to the trail by the lake they were walking on and recounted the whole story. You were off at a friend's house after school one day, and once I heard the awful story of how she was looking at the daughter one second and then turned her back for a moment to find that, at that moment, her child was gone without a trace. I couldn't stop thinking about you. I had to come to check on you. I hadn't seen you since I dropped you off at school in the morning, and I was terrified something had happened to you. If someone were going after our kids, the Alpha's oldest son, the heir to the pack, you would be the perfect target. I wish I had stayed to help them look for clues. But honestly, I wasn't much help. I became convinced that you were their next target. I barely let you out of my sight when she first disappeared. I stayed home with you all day every day for a month. I don't remember much of the nitty gritty, but I remember your father being gone all day, every day, for long hours; sometimes, he was out all night for nights on end looking for her or clues. After about a week, we alerted the human police in hopes they could help.

I remember him being very worried about that since he didn't want humans poking around too much; the police even pulled him in to interrogate him for hours because they became convinced he had something to do with it since it took him so long to call. After all, most humans think we are just some crazy cult that lives in the woods. The humans had helicopters flying around, looking for anything suspicious. But nothing happened. After a while, the search died out. It became so statistically unlikely that she was still alive that everyone gave up." Mom takes a deep breath as her voice cracks. "We gave up." she whimpers. "She was still alive and suffering; all we did was give up on her." Mom starts to cry. "For 16 years, she suffered because we couldn't do our job properly and because we gave up looking for her. We looked in her parents' eyes and said we couldn't spend time looking anymore and that they may never know what happened because we gave up." Mom is fully sobbing now. "How do you do that? How do you give up on a child? If it were you, I would never have given up. But I looked into her mother's eyes as she pleaded for us to help her, but we gave up." Mom buries her head in her hands as she cries.

"Mom," I sigh and put my hand on her shoulder. "You couldn't have known what they were doing to her. You didn't know if she was alive and can't blame yourself." I try to comfort her. I hate seeing my mom cry. But a large part of me can't help but wonder if we would have found her years earlier if they had tried a little more complicated and didn't give up as quickly. I read the file; I know they didn't give up quickly, but what if they continued to look over the years? We could have found her when she was little, and she could have had an everyday life. Part of me hates my parents for giving up on my mate, but I know it's not their fault. It's the hunters.

"Darling!" Dad runs into the room, looking worried. "I felt you were upset; what's wrong?" Dad takes my place, hugging Mom to calm her down.

"No. No, I'm fine. I didn't mean to wake you up." Mom whimpers.

"It's ok, my love," Dad says as he rubs her back. I take a few steps back, giving them space. Is it wrong that I'm jealous of that? I want my mate bond with Laila to be so strong that I can wake up from a dead sleep when she has shed some tears. I want a love that deep.

"I'm going to go check on Laila," I announce and get up, leaving my uneaten breakfast on the table. I need to see Laila.

"Don't forget the meeting!" Dad yells behind me.

"I know," I huff, closing the door and running down the hall. Since it's so early, the place is practically empty. Only a few warriors and pack members are up and about in the halls, but none of them bother to stop me.

I quietly open the door to Ron and Rebecca's apartment, sneaking in so I don't wake them up.

"Morning, Theo." I look over to see Ron sipping coffee in the kitchen.

"Morning," I answer. So, there was no point in sneaking in. I walk down the hall to Laila's room and see her still sound asleep in her bed, curled up and cuddling into the blanket. She's precious.

I tiptoe into the room, needing to be closer to her. Once I'm about a foot away from her, I inhale deeply. I love her scent. I love that it strengthens as she continues to heal—my beautiful girl.

I can't help myself; I lean forward and kiss her forehead. Laila moans and tugs on the covers some. Slowly, she peeks one eye open and mumbles. "Theo"

"It's me, Laila. I just came to check on you. Get some rest. I love you." Before I'm done talking, she is already asleep again.

She's progressed so much. She used to resist sleeping when we were before her, but now she's sleeping when I'm in the same room. Soon, I'll be sleeping in the same bed as her, holding onto her like she is holding that blanket. God, I can't wait.

I leave her room and sit across the hall from her bedroom door. I settle in just watching her. I could do this all day long. I'm fascinated with her.

~~~

Begrudgingly, I get up and walk to the living room. Rebecca sets her phone down and looks at me. "Are you still sleeping?" she asks.

"Yeah." I sigh.

"I wonder if she will wake up today at all?" Rebecca wonders.

"Did she wake up at all?" Ron asks.

"I kissed her on her forehead, and she woke up long enough to say my name but then was immediately asleep again," I admit. Why do I feel weird about admitting that I kissed her forehead? Maybe because it's her parents.

"Yesterday was a big day for her. It wouldn't be that surprising that she would be sleeping all day. She used to sleep for days at a time, but as she's gotten better, she's been awake more. But we must remember to be patient and that she is still healing." Ron says.

"I know." Rebecca sighs. "I just want my baby to be ok."

"I know. Me too." Ron hugs his mate.

"I have to go to a meeting. I'll try to come back later if it's not too late. If Laila wakes up, tell her I said good morning." I instruct.

"Ok. Bye, Theo. See you soon." they wave as I leave their apartment. I need to talk to my parents.

Walking into Dad's office, soon to be my office, I see Dad pacing around the room, lost in thought. "What's wrong, Dad?" I ask.

"Oh, good. You're here early. I need to talk to you before they get here," Dad says.

"What's going on?"

"You need to be prepared for what's happening in this meeting. The elders are opposing you taking over without a Luna by your side. You know they opposed you are going to Alpha training unmated and only agreed because Ren has a mate. They argue that you are still not ready to take over without a mate. I know that you are ready, though. You've always been a good kid with a level head on your shoulders. Normally, alphas are hot-headed and aggressive; that's why the rule was created: an alpha must have a Luna because having a mate is someone who can calm the beast. But you know the elders, they are so set in their ways. I've been fighting them on this for weeks, but I think it will help if they get to meet you." Dad explains.

"Okay. So what do I have to do?" I ask. Do I need to tell them about Laila?"

"I don't know. Because you do have a mate, it's just not official." Dad says. "We'll play it by ear to see what we need to disclose. I don't want to subject Laila to unnecessary scrutiny right now." Dad sighs, sitting down in his chair.

"Me either. If they try to say that she isn't Luna material- oh, I'll rip them-" I can't help the growl that escapes my chest.

"Calm down. You get riled up, and that is not what we need." Dad deadpans.

"She's my mate, perfect the way she is," I mumble.

"Yeah, yeah." Dad sighs. "They will be here any minute; go sit behind the desk. I want to get them used to looking at you in charge." Dad stands up and motions to his chair.

"Your chair? Ok," I get up and move to his chair behind the desk.

Dad leans against some cabinets and shelves behind the desks he uses for storage. "How's your mate today?" Dad asks. "Your Mom was worried about her."

"Laila's sleeping. She hasn't woken up today, and we don't know if she will. Yesterday was a big day for her, but I want to see her." I sigh.

"I know what you mean. When I leave your mother, even just for a moment, my soul craves to get back to her. It's an addiction I don't ever plan to recover from." Dad says.

"I'm not that bad yet. I want to be with her, but the mate bond gradually strengthens. And as she heals and more and more of the silver, wolfsbane, and everything else they pumped her full of leaves her body, her scent gets stronger, and the sparks from when I hold her hand get stronger. Oh, I can't wait to meet her wolf. I shifted in front of her yesterday. Did I tell you that?"

"You shifted in front of her?" Dad raises an eyebrow, looking unsure why that's big news.

"We had to explain to her everything about werewolves. But she didn't get scared; she let me shift before her," I explain.

"Oh, that's good!" he smiles. I'm glad she's getting better. She was always the one case that bothered me."

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"They're here." Dad sighs. He crosses his arms and stands up a little straighter. "Come in!" he says a little louder.

A frail old man I've seen many times enters the room slowly. "Good afternoon, Alpha." He nods to my dad, but then his focus shifts to me. "Alpha," he huffs. He doesn't respect me the same way he respects my father.

"Afternoon." Dad greets him.

"As you know, I'm here on behalf of the elders," he starts.

"I know you are often the one to speak up… on their behalf." My dad nods as I try to hide laughter from that slight dig at the older man.

"Yes. I mean no disrespect, Alpha… and Alpha Theo. However, we have very valid concerns that need to be addressed before we can permit the exchange of power and Alpha Theo to take over. Our laws state that 'an Alpha cannot rule without a mate.' We know every Alpha needs a Luna; every Alpha we've ever had has had a Luna by his side. It is a law for a reason; need I remind you of the tyrant that ran this pack centuries ago and forced the pack and elders to make this law." The old man rants.

"We are well aware of the law. But Theo is nothing like that Alpha. You've commented to me and others about how level-headed Theo is. He is not as hot-headed and aggressive as some alphas and always could reason in stressful situations." Dad says.

"But the law states-"

"What's the exact wording of that law?" I cut him off.

He looked from me to my father several times before opening the book in his hand and flipping through the pages. "I don't know why that matters; I already told you the law," he huffs. He plops the book on the desk before me, pointing midway down the page. "Here it is, and I quote. 'To take over the pack, first, an Alpha must have a mate.'" He points to the words on the page, reading them to us.

I look at the words to find that it is precisely the law. I look over my shoulder at my dad, who is leaning in, looking at the page. He looks at me and smiles.

"The law is written very plainly. There are no exceptions. It's written plain as day." he boasts, feeling victorious.

Dad and I look at each other, and he shrugs. I turn to the old man. "I have a mate. She's not ready to take over as Luna, but I have a mate." I say.

"It's true. And the law says that 'an Alpha must have a MATE.' Not a Luna. There is no law that states the Luna has to take over at the same time as the Alpha." Dad argues.

"But that pack has always had the Alpha and Luna take over together," he argues.

"Just because it is the way something has always been done doesn't mean that's how it should continue to be done," Dad argues.

"I see no reason to change our rules and customs for the benefit of your son and his mysterious mate, whom nobody knew existed," he scoffs.

"Do you remember Ron and Rebecca's daughter that disappeared, presumed to be taken and murdered by hunters years ago?" Dad asks.

"Yes." he nods skeptically.

"We found her. I'm unsure if you remember the update I gave the pack months ago on the hunters and retrieval of a pack member, but she is the one we found. And once Theo got home from Alpha training, he found her. We are trying to respect her healing process as she recovers from the years of torture she endured from the hunters. And if I remember correctly, you voted to end the search for her 16 years ago; you voted to leave the 3-year-old to fend for herself against a group of hunters." Dad says, crossing his arms.

"That was not the vote. We didn't know if she was still alive, so I voted to move our resources back to caring for the pack." he stammers.

"She is a part of our pack." I nearly yell.

"Now we are paying for that decision. I listened to what you, the elders, and the pack wanted; we stopped looking and buried an empty casket for her. But she's back, and the least we can do as a pack is give her time to adjust and heal." Dad growls.

"I agree, but-"

"So we're settled then. Theo takes over this weekend, and when Laila is ready, she can step up as Luna." Dad says, suddenly calm.

"Well… ok… he has a mate, and the law states he must have a mate. Then we agree." he reluctantly agrees.

"Ok, that's good. Is there anything you need, or can we adjourn this meeting?" My dad asks frankly.

"That is all. Thank you for hearing me out and calming our worries. Have a nice afternoon." he excuses himself, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

"Great. That was going to be the hardest part of this all." Dad sighs.

"Is he normally that…" I struggle to find the right word.

"Annoying? A stickler for the rules? Yes." Dad nods.

"Yeah." I nod. "Hey, Dad, I want to talk to you." I blurt out.

"Is this a conversation for your mother and me or just me?" he asks.

"Mom, too."

"Ok, I'll mindlink her." he nods. He silently walks around the desk, sitting with his back to the door where guests usually sit. "She's on her way." We sit silently for a moment before a knock at the door, and Mom walks in before we answer her.

When Mom is only a couple of steps in the door, she looks at me with a sad smile and stops walking. "Look who's all grown up sitting in the Alpha's seat." Mom coos, walking to take the empty seat next to Dad. "I remember when you were just a pup and sitting on this side of the desk doing your 'Alpha work,' you used to call it. And you would talk to us and tell us all you would do when you took over. Do you remember that, babe?" she looks at my dad and then back to me. "I believe you said when you took over, you would serve birthday cake to the pack daily because it was the best. I believe that's the word you used." she chuckles.

"I said that? I don't remember that at all." we all laugh.

After we stop laughing, Mom sighs and leans back in the chair. "So you had something you wanted to talk to us about?" she questions.

"I want to move out. When Laila gets better, and our relationship grows, I want to go ahead and have an apartment that's ours. Do you know? I'd prefer to have the furniture set up so she can come and visit and get comfortable there; then, when she is ready, she can move in with me. Also, I don't think it's the best look if the Alpha of the pack still lives in the same apartment as his mom and dad." I throw in the last part for good measure.

"Ok. Suppose that's what you want. We can make that happen." Mom nods sadly.

"I thought you would come to that conclusion soon, so I already have a list of all currently available empty apartments. There aren't many right now to choose from, but let's take a look, and you can think about what you want, ok?" Dad smiles.

"That would be great. Let's do it."