The Alpha and the Oracle (The Belesone Pack #1)

Chapter 22

He nodded in agreement. She was right. Milo knew fine well that he hadn't expected her to wake up any time soon, so anything she said to him inside his head would have been passed off as a pleasant dream and nothing more. He was so relieved that it wasn't a dream.

Milo, there's a lot we need to talk about. Do you mind if we don't tell anyone else I'm awake yet? She wondered, surprising him with the request.

"But Katie, your family are worried. Let me tell them you're awake and okay. I can use my big bad Alpha orders to make sure you get some peace to sleep." Milo teased her with his compromise. He owed Grene for letting him keep her in his house and for trusting him to take care of her.

Katarina nodded her agreement and since she needed rest to drink her shake anyway, he got up and kissed her forehead gently.

"I'll be right back. And then we really do have to talk." He agreed with her plan and left her to get a moment's rest.

It wasn't going to be easy explaining her wishes to Grene or Josanna, but he hoped he wouldn't have to. Josanna was sitting downstairs watching TV like a zombie, with Leo looking after her and Grene had retired to his guest room to do some paperwork.

Milo made his way over to the guest room and found Grene exactly where he expected to find him. Sitting hunched over paperwork at a desk, staring blindly at the wall, unable to concentrate.

"Grene, she's awake." He started with the most important information and saw the confusion that faced him when Grene turned round. His face was filled with a whole mix of emotions. He understood that. He hadn't expected her to wake up either. If not at all, then certainly not that night.

"She's awake, but she's weak. She can't speak at the moment so she thinks it's best that you don't see her until the morning, when she's feeling better." He wasn't going to lie to Grene, or give him orders. His loyalty to him and his father was something to be thankful for. He deserved better than being treated like any other pack member. After all, he was going to be his father-in-law, in just a few days.

"I guess that makes sense. You're taking good care of her, Milo. You're a good Alpha and a good mate." Grene said, with a faint smile.

Milo felt a swell of pride on hearing those words. He wanted to be as good a man as his own father, as Grene. He wanted to be a strong and just leader for his pack.

He had felt inadequate since taking on the role of Alpha. Somehow the one girl who thought she was just as inadequate as he was, had given him the strength to be a better person and a better Alpha.

He had never had any inclination to be anyone's mate before. His only thought had been to fulfil his duties as an Alpha; take a strong mate, to share the burden of his responsibilities, and have an heir. Katarina had solved that too. He wanted to be with her and spend his life with her. He wanted to love her and give her a happy life. She had given him so much already; anything he had given her paled in comparison.

He nodded to Grene and left the room, quite happy to find Leo making his way up the stairs.

"I heard someone moving around. I figured it was for a reason?" He asked, glancing towards the guest room and Milo's bedroom as if trying to see what was actually happening.

Milo decided that since he was upstairs and he had been spending time with Josanna, it was a good excuse not to deal with a teary girl.

"Yeah, Katarina's awake. I was just telling Grene." He explained the noise he'd heard first. "I think it might be best if you told Josanna though. Katarina doesn't want to see anyone until morning; she's not feeling too well just now. Will you tell Josie?" He wondered, passing on the responsibility to his Beta as was his right as Alpha. He didn't want to have to deal with Josanna or anyone else. He needed to know what had happened to Katarina and what it was going to do to her in the long term.

Was it something that was going to keep happening? He wasn't sure he could deal with that, but he was going to have to learn. Katarina needed him and she was his mate. He wouldn't abandon her when she needed him.

"Sure." Leo shrugged and accepted the task without protest. It was just another thing that told Milo that he liked Josanna more than he was letting on.

"Great. Don't bother waking us in the morning. We'll be down when we're ready." Milo wanted as much time alone with Katarina as he could get, where they could talk and spend time together in peace without anyone butting in.

Whatever Katarina had to tell him was vitally important and he had some pretty monumental things to say to her as well. The less Leo or her family butted in on that time together, the more chance they had of clearing the air and getting themselves organized for the future.

The Elders would be back in just a few days, to unite them and he wanted to have no more secrets in their relationship by that time. He had been stupid enough to underestimate her all his life and now that they were finally together, happy, he wanted to make sure they stayed that way.