The Alpha's Lifeline

~Chapter five~

"He's been getting worse honestly." Rylan's mum admitted. "He gets quite shaken up by it all."

"I'm not surprised," Adeline mumbled, worrying about him.

Susan stopped for a moment and zoned out, into her mind link.

"Do you feel okay, Adeline...?" She asked quickly and she nodded.

"Rylan asked Brody to mind link me, he's awake. He wanted to make sure it hadn't affected you." Susan smiled and they carried on walking.

"That's sweet." She smiled and Susan nodded.

"He does care." His mother mumbled. "We hope you can help him, sweetie."

"I know."

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"We're back," Susan called.

They all shook off their wet coats and took off their damp clothing, drying off.

Adeline stood by the stairs, looking up them curiously.

"Are you okay?" Rylan's mum asked Adeline.

"Oh, I'm fine... Just... Can go I up and see him...?" She asked and Susan smiled.

She nodded. "Just knock, he might want to put on a shirt or something if he hasn't already."

Adeline walked slowly up the stairs, and along the corridor to Rylan's room, she stood outside of the door, debating whether she had the confidence to go in.

She raised her hand up to the door, and knocked gently, she heard Rylan get up from somewhere and walk towards the door, opening it slowly.

"Oh... Hi." He smiled when he realized it was her. "Did you come to see me?" He frowned.

She nodded, nervously.

He opened the door properly and she walked a few steps in, peering around the door. "You can come in, make yourself comfy... I'm sure we'll be sharing a room at some point in the near future." He mumbled, not thinking about what he just said.

"I guess we haven't really spoken about that." He admitted, walking over to the window, she closed the door behind herself and walked towards him.

"Yeah... I guess we haven't." She said nodding.

There were a few minutes of silence as they both watched out of the window.

"I don't really know what to say," Rylan admitted, breaking the silence. "I'm not going to reject you, I'd never do anything like that." He said quickly, and she nodded. "Let's just take things slow and see how it goes."

"Okay..."

"I don't want to hurt you..." He admitted. "My life is pretty messed up, you shouldn't have to deal with my shit. And I really didn't expect this."

"Hey, no. Don't be like that." She told him and he shrugged.

"Let's change the subject." He suggested but she shook her head, walking over to his bed and sitting down on the edge.

"No, come on. Let's talk about this." Adeline replied and he sighed, staying looking out of the window.

"What do you want to talk about?" He asked.

"Your limits. Us... What's going to happen with us?" She asked and he nodded. "Maybe it would make you feel better."

"My limits... Well, there's not much that I don't hate." He admitted. "I'm not very good with people touching me, and I'm not very good with affection but it's not off-limits..." He told her and she nodded.

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable though." She told him but he shook his head.

"No, I can't stop you from touching me. You're my mate. We need to get close before the bond forces us together. I want to be able to be comfortable around you, it's just going to be difficult for me to get used to." Rylan replied, he turned around and leaned again the window, facing Adeline.

"Maybe we could go out? I don't know... or like, go on walks and stuff." Adeline suggested and he smiled, nodding.

"We'll just take things slow and see how it goes," Rylan replied, wanting to change the subject. "I'll plan something." He said, and Adeline wondered what he meant by that.

"Anyway. Are you okay?" Adeline asked and Rylan shrugged.

"Yeah. I'm okay... It takes me a while to feel normal after the injections but today I didn't feel too bad." He explained and she nodded. "I thought it might have affected you."

"Brody mind linked Susan. She checked on me for you." Adeline added. "Why would it affect me?" She asked.

"Well, I just thought because a bond between us is starting to form that it might have somehow affected you. I don't know, I just wanted to make sure I hadn't hurt you." He explained.

She smiled.

"My father has rearranged my doctor's appointment from yesterday to this lunchtime, I hope you don't mind." Rylan admitted, gulping slightly.

"Are you going to go?" Adeline asked, shuffling back on the bed. She liked it is his room, it smelt like him.

"I think so." He nodded. "I think it's time for me to start sorting myself out."

"That's not a bad thing... You shouldn't have to deal with this now... it'll help you." Adeline tried to be careful with what she said.

"What do you mean by that?" Rylan asked.

"I mean that... Look, you've been through so much already. You should be able to relax and live your life as you want to now. But this..." She tapped on her head a few times. "It's holding you back, I can tell."

Rylan smiled. He looked at his watch and nodded. "I'll go." Adeline smiled.

"It's in a few hours but I should probably get changed and head out soon" Rylan said thinking. He went into his wardrobe and got out another outfit, about to take it into the bathroom to change.

"No, it's okay. I'll go downstairs, you can get changed in here." Adeline said getting up.

"I'll just go to the bathroom." He said quietly but she shook her head.

"Get changed in here, I'll leave you to get ready. It's okay." She insisted and he nodded.

She left the room swiftly and got changed, going back downstairs with a blanket.

"Hi," she said going into the living room and sitting on one of the bean bags. Susan was pottering in the kitchen and Brody was sitting on the couch.

"Hi sweetie" Susan smiled at her. Adeline's eyes wandered around the room to photos of children throughout years of childhood. Not many photos of Rylan are on the wall, only baby and toddler photos.

"You have other children too?" Adeline asked and Susan nodded.

"We'll have to have a night and go through photos, darling. We had a set of twins before we had Rylan. They've both moved out now. Jessica and Tyler. There only a few years older, I suspect you'll get along with Jessica quite well." She went on and Adeline smiled.

"Hi." Rylan appeared by the stairs and came into the living room, putting on his coat. "I'm going to go to my appointment with Dr. Isaac, dad rearranged it for this afternoon. I'll be back a bit later." He went to walk out but stopped himself and came back. He pecked his mother's cheek and smiled at Adeline, giving her a wave, before turning out of the door with Brody.