I Moved On, Why Don't You

Revelations

Joel's pov

I let the hot water of the shower pour down on me, soothing my muscles and calming my nerves. I thought I would be prepared for today, but a sense of nervousness was slowly building up inside of me.
Sighing, I cut the water off and climbed out of the shower, making my way to the room I had chosen and opening the closet to find an outfit. A small smile crossed my lips when I thought about the Alpha's kindness. Not only had he chosen an empty section of the packhouse where we could be alone, he had someone collect clothes and personal items for us while mom was resting. I quickly dressed and went downstairs, making sure no one was around and cooked a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and bacon, before fixing two plates and going to mom's room. I sat mom's plate on the small bedside table, placing her phone beside it. Kissing her on the forehead, I left her room, sitting on my bed and eating before gathering my school supplies. I put my mp3 player in the pocket of my jeans and the ear buds in my ears, heading to the kitchen to wash my plate and fix myself a couple of sandwiches for lunch, placing, them, an apple and a bag of chips into a brown paper lunch bag I found in a drawer and putting it in my book bag, slinging it over my shoulder.

"So, you're already up?"

I jumped at the sound of the Alpha's voice behind me and heard him chuckle. Placing a hand on my chest to calm my pounding heart, I turned and glared at him playfully.

"Sorry if I scared you, I just wanted to give you this."

Holding out his hand, he handed me a small white envelope.

"What's this?"

"Open it."

Nodding, I carefully tore the paper open, gasping in surprise when I saw five stacks of hundred dollar bills with rubber bands around them.

"This is________."

"A five thousand dollar allowance."

"But I don't understand."

"You don't have a job yet, do you?"

"But I can't take_______."

"Yes you can. If not for yourself then for my grandchild."

"I . . . I'm sorry, I should have told you earlier."

"My son rejected you, didn't he?"

"There were pictures . . . but they weren't me . . . he called me a whore and basically said he was too good for me and then__________."

"Who was it, Joel?"

"What?"

"Who raped you?"

"It . . . It doesn't matter."

The Alpha's eyes turned red and I backed away slightly, afraid.

"It doesn't matter?! They almost killed my son's mate and his unborn child and you say it doesn't matter?!"

"Because it doesn't change anything! Even if they were punished, even if they were killed, it won't change the fact that I'm dirty . . . that I was too weak to protect myself . . . it won't change the fact that I hate who I see when I look in the mirror."

"Joel."

"Please, it doesn't matter . . . I'm leaving soon and I want to put it behind me."

"If that's what you want, I'll let it go for now."

"Thank you. I also want you to keep it between us that Kyle is my child's sire . . . so much has been going on that my mom hasn't figured it out yet and I don't want her getting hurt, especially when he introduces his new mate to her."