Alpha's Choice

| 8 | The New Addition |

| Madison Cloud |

I shifted in my sleep when I feel a small presence nestling up against me. Not questioning it or what it was, I wrap my arms around the heat emitting entity and cuddle in closer before drifting off again.

Sometime later I hear faint murmurs outside my door accompanied by a knock but I kept fading in and out of sleep, so when I didn't reply with an answer the door opens abruptly. I quickly sat up, startled only to be held down by pressure on my chest. I looked down.

"Maddy, have you seen the kid? We can't find him?" Says an alarmed James as his eyes land on the head leaning on my chest and arm around my waist. I squint and scratch my head in confusion. "When did he?" I mumble, looking from little boy to James, who just shrugged. "I'll let you be. I'll go tell Emmett I found him." He says before closing the door a little too loudly. The boy, slightly startled, start to shift before opening his eyes and sitting up. I stay quiet, watching him.

He sits up, rubbing his eyes before slowly looking around, taking in his surroundings. When he finally sees me, he stares blankly as if not yet recognizing that I'm there before his eyes widen slightly, registering his situation. I giggled softly.

"Well, good morning." I smile softly as I rest my elbow on my knee. He looks at me again without saying a word, looking slightly embarrassed. I notice him grab my sheets tightly in his tiny hands as he struggled to talk again. I smiled softly, not wanting to show pity. I softly and slowly place my hand on his head and pat him, hoping it will help his anxiety and nerves go away.

"Hey, it's okay. Don't worry." I reassure him. "Did you have another bad dream?" He says nothing at first. After a couple of seconds, he nods his head and turns to me and I knew exactly what he needed. I opened my arms, and he threw himself at me in search of comfort.

"Shh, it's okay. Everything's going to be okay. We are going to take care of you. I promise." I reassure him.

"I-I miss DeDe... and my mo-mommy." He cries softly in my shoulder." My heart ached for him. "I know, baby boy, I know." I lay back down and let him rest on my chest, letting the steady beat of my heart hum him back to sleep as I softly caress his head.

As I run my hands through his hair, I stare up at the ceiling and start thinking back on the last couple of months and how I ended up in this situation.

It's been somewhere around eight months now since I've been a member of the SilverBone Pack. As soon as I agreed to stay in the pack, the guys had let me recover from my shift and fever and taken it slow with me. Showing me around, introducing me to people, and so on. As soon as the ceremony to accept me into the pack itself finished, I was instantly put to train with Kevin and a new friend I made in the pack; he is one of the pack warriors that stayed, Mark. Not only to bump up my physical strength as a female and Beta Blood but also for my self-esteem and pack reputation.

I've noticed that Emmett's really big on making sure we love ourselves as who we are and what we are no matter what we've been through and his positive attitude not only helped me through my dark times but they've also helped his pack grow as a unit and family. I've gotten to get to know Emmett a lot more throughout these last couple of months. He is everything you could ever ask for in a friend and so much more. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have a crush on him or if I didn't feel attracted to him. What's there not to be attracted about? But I didn't think I could or would ever find someone that I would like again after my whole mate situation, and because of that, I've been too afraid to do anything about it or make a move. I'm scared I might get hurt again, knowing Emmett isn't like Cole at all.

I've learned to put up these walls during my time here around some aspects of my life and I feel like if I don't find a way to bring them down, then I won't be living my life to the fullest. That's not to say we don't flirt from time to time but that's pretty much it, plus I don't know if he feels the same way and I've just been really focused on me lately and finding myself, and now I have this little guy to worry about.