The Alpha’s Mute Mate
Episode 76

BROOKE

All I can feel is a heavy arm holding me in place and close to a hard chest behind me.

My eyes flutter open, and the room is still in darkness. I sigh out slightly, trying not to wake Hudson up.

I need to go downstairs, but I don’t know why. I move slightly, lifting Hudson’s arm off me, and sit up slowly in bed. I swing my legs over the side and land my feet on the floor. I grab one of Hudson’s t-shirts to put and a pair of his boxers.

I slowly walk over to the door to the room, but I look over my shoulder at my sleeping mate, who is snoring and in a deep slumber.

I open the door quietly as I can and head downstairs.

I walk straight to the kitchen, where I’m greeted by Sassy, who has two mugs in front of her; she looks up at me with a smile on her face. “I knew you would want something to eat and drink,” she says as she gets up off the stool to grab a plate of sandwiches.

The sight of the sandwiches makes my stomach growl louder than usual; I can’t help but go red in the cheeks.

Sassy smiles and points to the stool next to her. “Sit, eat, Brooke,” she says as she takes the seat she was sitting on before.

I walk over and pull out the stool to sit. Once I sat down, I grabbed a sandwich and took a bite. I can’t help the m**n that slips from my mouth at the taste of it. I closed my eyes and continued to eat. But when I opened my eyes, Sassy was looking at me with a big smile. “Better now,” she says as I take another bite.

“Yes, thank you for these,” I said to her. I nod. But something inside me knows she needs to talk to me about something.

Willow has been sound asleep since I woke up; there is no movement from her.

Sassy looks at me. “You knew I wanted to talk to you about something,” she said, and I looked back at her without saying anything. “Yeah, how is that?”

Sassy smiles. “Ah, there is a bit of magic in both of Willow and you; you can feel things just like she can. I know she is asleep, but I also needed to talk to you about some things that I found out about your kind, but I think Willow may already know. I think you need to be prepared yourself just in case something happens in the future.”

I nod at her but don’t say anything.

Sassy watches me. “Brooke being a Phoenix shifter is an honor, but it is also an honor to us the people, to be in your presence as you are one magnificent being. Phoenix’s are known for being in the Fae world as they needed to be protected, but they have never been in the realm of the Fae for quite some time,” she says with a stern look on her face.

“I think you are safe for now, well for a while at least, especially as you have your mate next to you, but I believe there is something that will happen, and I don’t know when.”

Her face becomes serious all of a sudden “I told Joe and Adonis that I will be part of your pack; I want to make sure there is no threat to your life,” she says and looks at me. “I made a promise to someone that I would look after you and make sure you were protected at all times.”

I stared back at her. “Who did you promise that to?” I asked her, but she smiled, but I heard a voice behind me. “That would be me,” says the voice. I turned around and noticed both Joe and my mother walking into the kitchen.

I couldn’t help but smile at them.

They both took seats on opposites of us. “I asked Sassy to watch over you; she knows more about our kind than anyone. I have been trying to locate information about our kind, but there has been nothing,” says my mother with a stern look.

“Alfred found information about you, didn’t he?” Says Sassy, but Joe shakes his head. “I know Hudson and Todd went to all locations to find all of Alfred’s followers, which I believe they did, but there were no books or anything; if they were there, either they destroyed them, or someone took them.”

I look between all three of them. I can feel Willow move in my head and come closer to the surface. “What’s going on?” She asks in a sleepy voice but stares at Sassy, who turns to me with a smile on her face.

“Willow is awake,” she says softly. I nod to her.

Joe looks at me with a smile. “I have to say, Brooke, it is so nice to hear your voice finally,” he says.

I smile at him.

My mother smiles at me.

I sigh. “I am happy to be able to talk loud; it will give Willow a rest and break,” I say.

“What is wrong?” Asks Joe.

I lean forward slightly as I place my arms out; both my mother and Joe stare at my arms “the regeneration took away all my scars; I am finding everything weird. I haven’t let anything sink in yet, especially as I mated with Hudson.”

Joe places his hand on my arm, uses his fingers to run over my skin, and smiles. “Brooke, Phoenix shifters are amazing creatures. When the first attack happened, you were a child, and so was Willow. Due to the abuse, she lay doormat for a while, but the rest helped heal you more now. Your scars may have been everything, especially after everything you went through, and that will never change, but this is a fresh start for you, my dear.” Joe holds my hand and moves it to his mouth to k**s it. I can’t help but smile

“Brooke, you won’t forget anything that happened to you, but now you can move slowly on and even have a happy life with Hudson, but it starts when you are ready to move on,” says my mother. I look back at her, and she smiles back at me. “Brooke, we all are here for you.”

“Yeah, your mother is right,” says a voice from the doorway; leaning on the doorframe was Hudson staring back at us. “I was wondering where my mate had gone. I woke up alone in bed.”

Hudson moves away from the doorway, walks around to be behind me; he leans over me, and his face comes to my neck and sniffs in my scent. His hands go to my arms to touch.

I can feel everyone’s eyes on us. I look to see all three of them smirking at us. “You know Brooke will be back to bed soon,” says Joe with a smile.

“Well, you best get to bed too, mate,” says Adonis in a sleepy voice, which makes Joe smile wider “You know next time you want a midnight feast, make sure you invite all of us too,” he says as he wraps his arms around Joe.

“Hudson, when you found the followers was there any information regarding what Brooke and I are,” asks my mother. Hudson looks over at her. “There were papers everywhere on the floor, but no books, whatever he had from the library of history, it was gone,” he says, but he moves slightly. “Todd also told me that Alpha Josh and he will be here tomorrow as they have something that needs to be in Brooke and your possession; it is yours.”

My mother looks curious at him but nods. “I know he found books about the Fae kind and all the different kinds of beings that are there who are willing to move to this realm,” she says and looks back at me with sad eyes. “But there was not much about our kind in them.”

“I think we all should go back to bed and see what Todd will bring us tomorrow,” says my mother. “Hopefully, it might give us some ideas of what we can do…….” she says, but she stops as she turns to look towards the doorway. I couldn’t help but notice that my father was standing there staring at us all.

I can’t help but tense under Hudson’s hold on my arms.

Hudson leans down and whispers in my ear, “Brooke, he won’t hurt you,” he says, but when I stare back at my father, the look on his face says it all, I hurt his feelings. He turns and walks away.

I move off the stool. I don’t know what to do.

I can feel everyone’s eyes on me; I turn to look at Hudson. “Can we go back to bed, please?” I ask him.

Hudson, without a word nods, I place a k**s on everyone’s cheek as I wish them all goodnight.

Hudson and I walk away from the kitchen, heading to the bedroom in silence.

As we step inside, Hudson places his hands on my waist and turns me around to face him as he closes the door with his foot “Brooke,” he says as he stares down at me, “You ok?”

I nod without saying anything to him.

Hudson places his lips on mine, which is heaven, but something makes me hold back.

Hudson can tell something is up as he moves back “Brooke, talk to me,” he says in a worried voice.

I look at him. “It’s not you, Hudson,” I say to him and look towards the door behind him.

I can feel Hudson looking at me. “Brooke, You need to talk to him. You don’t have to decide anything right now, but maybe hearing him out, he found out a lot when you were not here, and he needs someone to talk to,” he says. I look back at him. “What do you mean he found out a lot,” I ask him, but Hudson shakes his head. “It’s not my story to tell, babe,” he says.

Hudson’s face goes blank suddenly and comes back after a few moments when he looks at me. “Come with me,” he says as he turns around and opens the door; he holds his hand to me, which I take straight away.

Hudson leads me out through the door and back down through the packhouse, but we head into the garden towards the back entrance.

There standing was my father, who was staring out overlooking the pond. My mother looks back at me and places her hand on his arm, and then she turns to walk towards us.

As she approaches us, she stops in front of me. My eyes never leave my father’s back “Brooke, he is hurting. He knows he hurt you severely, but he wasn’t in the right frame of mind,” she says.

She places her finger under my chin, making me look at her “Brooke, he wants his daughter, but it will be on your terms with what you want to do, but you both need to talk,” she says with a smile.

Hudson, who was still holding my other hand, squeezes it slightly, making me look back at him; he smiles. “You both need to talk; your mother and I will be waiting for you both back in the kitchen.”

Hudson leans down and k****s my lips; he moves away. Both my mother and Hudson walk away, leaving me standing there.

I look back at the man I know I need to talk to, but I need this, everything will be up to me after all this, but I need to know what he has to say.