Alpha Bounded (Alpha's Little Secret Universe)

Chapter 15: What Is Truth

My ability to hear seemed to be the only sense that came back to me as Etienne finished singing. I had assumed he did an amazing job from the cheering and applause that followed right after. If I was in my right mind I would've been able to hear just how beautiful his voice was, but that didn't matter at the moment.

I watched as he bowed, my eyes following every movement he made as he exited the stage and was surrounded by a crowd of people.

"Malachi!" Walker shouted, snapping me out of whatever trance I was in. I looked down at him, noting he seemed slightly irritated, but mostly relieved.

"What's the matter with you? I've been calling you for like three minutes straight," he said. I didn't know how to answer him. My thoughts were all over the place. I had so many questions. How was Etienne here? Did he know I'd be here? Did he even remember me? On top of that, all I could think about was how angry I was when he was taken away. I wanted answers and I wasn't sure if I'd ever get them.

"Malachi..." Walker's eyes began to water as he spoke, causing me to realize what I was feeling was making him react this way. "...what's going on with you?" He asked. I knew he could feel the anxiousness within me every time I thought about Etienne. The kind of anxiousness I got when ever he'd so much as exist in the same space as me when we were alone.

"C-Can we go to the car?" I asked. I didn't want to do this with this many people around. I also wanted to avoid Etienne if at all possible. I wasn't ready to face him. At least not until I understood what my feelings were.

Walker nodded, but refused to take my hand as we walked through the party towards the parking lot. Once we made it outside Walker stopped in front of me, his eyes demanding that I explain. I had never seen him like this towards me before. I felt like he was mad at me. He had every reason to be mad at me. Every need and desire I had was supposed to be given by him and here I was thinking about a boy in my past.

"That singer..." I took a breath, trying to get my words in order. I didn't want to leave any important detail out. He deserved to know the truth and hiding it would just make me feel guiltier. "...I know him. We went to FinchWood together. He was my roommate," I confessed. Walker seemed even more confused as he stared at me. He had no idea. He didn't even consider the possibility of me having a relationship with another Alpha that was a little more than just friends. "He went through a lot there because he was different. I mean, we all were kind of different in our own way, but he was a lot different. Because of that we kind of bonded and we sort of had a thing for each other," I admitted. Walker's face went pale. Almost as if all the life had just been sucked out of him. I could feel him. The shattering of his faith in us within an instant. It was if I had just told him that I didn't want to be with him anymore. The same way Ben had broken me. I think part of it was because he knew my feelings hadn't disappeared for Etienne. For Ben it was a lot more superficial and forced. With Etienne, it probably reminded him of the way I felt about him.

"I'm sorry. I know this is..."

"If you felt this about someone else, why didn't you tell me?!" He demanded, cutting me off. His voice echoed causing me to jump a little as tears began to fall down his face.

"I...I didn't think I'd ever see him again and..."

"So I'm just your second option! I'm your...."

"No!" I shouted back. Walker jumped back, flinching at the sound of my voice. I had never imagined myself scaring him, let alone hurting him. It wasn't an intentional thing and everything was happening so fast that I couldn't control any of it.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. I just..." I shook my head, wishing I had the words. He didn't understand and neither did I. "...You aren't some second option. I've never thought of you that way. You're my one and only option and I want you to know that. I've never considered anyone else, but he brought back old feelings that I thought I got over a long time ago. At one point he was all I had when things were really dark for me. I had just lost my mother and he was the only person I sought comfort in. It was never anything sexual, but feelings were involved. Then he was just snatched away from me," I explained. I couldn't bare to look at Walker like this. He looked absolutely miserable and it was because of me. I had caused him misery. Something I always seemed to do to the people who were supposed to love me.

"I can't right now," he said to me. I didn't understand what that meant. My mind couldn't comprehend what he was saying.

"What do you mean you can't?" I replied. My heart began to speed up and my breath began to shake uncontrollably.

"I can't do this with you Malachi. You...the way you feel about him. It's the same...and..." My eyes watched his lips carefully as he said the words I thought I'd never hear him of all people say.

"...I think we need space."

If I could compare anything to death, it would be watching my mother lose her battle with life itself and Walker basically telling me that he wanted to break up. So my body reacted the same way it did when I saw my mother take her last breath.

Walker's P.O.V

I was caught off guard. I thought that maybe we both just needed some time apart to figure ourselves out first. I was insecure and I hid that very well, but knowing that he felt the way he feels about me about someone else made me think that I could possibly lose him at any point. I feared that in fact. So I wanted to be far ahead of it before it happened.

I just didn't think it would break him the way it did. The pain I felt from him ran deep into my body, effecting me physically as I gripped my stomach. I felt like I had to puke. It was overpowering and knowing that he repressed this feeling constantly left me feeling just as guilty as he did.

"Malachi?" I trembled out, watching the alpha who had quickly become my protector break mentally. His eyes went dark as he fell backwards onto the ground and pulled his knees to his chest in the middle of the parking lot. He didn't make any sound as he cried. He simply stared blankly into space while holding his legs against himself.

"M-Malachi?" I stuttered, dropping to my knees in front of him. What had I just done to him?

"I'm sorry! I take it back. I was being stupid and overly emotional and..."

I suddenly felt my body being pulled upward causing me to begin to kick and scream, only to be shushed by Blair.

"We need to get you both in the car before someone's sees what's going on," she said calmly while placing me down. The driver picked Malachi up with ease placing him into the back seat as I climbed in. The vehicle was silent as Blair got into the passenger seat and looked back at me.

"Why isn't he saying anything?" I whimpered.

"He thinks you don't want him anymore, which is a direct conflict with your pair bond. It's a lot different for alphas in a pair bond, Walker. Not only is it extremely sexual for them, but it's also a very strong emotional attachment to their partner. The moment they think or feel that their omega doesn't want them it sends them into a state of panic," Blair explained.

"But I do want him. I just... I don't know...he's mine and he's shouldn't feel that way about anyone else! It isn't fair!" I sobbed. I probably sounded like the most spoiled brat in the world, but I didn't care. Malachi was meant to be with me and that was the end of it.

"You ever stop to think that maybe those feelings Malachi was having weren't current ones? Just because you feel something from him doesn't make it the full truth," Blair explained. Then what was the truth? Did he love that Alpha singer too? Did he love him at one point in the past? Was I overreacting for no reason? I guess Malachi's reaction to me even teasing the idea of separating was a testament to how he truly felt and I was too dumb to see it. He couldn't be without me and that was the truth.