☆ Alexis POV
I take in deep breaths, trying hard not to give in to the panic attack that could be creeping in any second now.
“Here, have some ginger tea...”.
“I don't want ginger tea, Daniel! I want my son!” I yell.
He holds the cup out of my face as everyone turns to look at me.
“Alexis, we have every tracker out there looking for Milton. We'll find him. Just calm down” Colton says to me.
It was the first time he'd said anything to me after that night at the bar and the first time speaking to me since he got back from God knows where.
I groan and wrap my arms around myself. Noah lets out a sigh as he steps back into the room we were all scattered across.
“I just got off the phone with my grandfather. No one's left the territory. Pablo's been making sure of that. He's more of a tyrant than an Alpha” he announces, looking a bit wistful.
I rub my burning chest.
“How's that helping?” I ask weakly.
“We know for sure that no one from there has anything to do with Milton being gone. They didn't take him so he has to be around here”.
“But where?” I ask, my tears threatening to spill.
He sighs and looks at me.
“Lexi...”.
“Noah, it's dark already. And our son has not been found. Do not... ask me to calm down” I warn.
He looks away, guilt written all over his face. I hear whispers and turn toward the entrance. She pales and I hear her sharp inhale of breath reach my ear. My chest burns and I stand up with a scowl on my face.
“Alexis I'm sor...”.
“Sorry isn't going to bring my son back, Yara!” I growl. “Why would you lose him like he's a set of keys?!”.
Noah holds me off.
“Stop it,” he tells me.
“No! She's the reason we can't find Milton!”.
“I'm sorry I just slipped away for a little while and...”.
“A little, Yara?! You call this a little while?!” I bark. “You've been gone the entire day! Look at the time! And it's a little while to you?! I don't pay you to slip away for a little while, Yara!”.
“Lexi stop it!” Noah says firmly, turning me to face him. “You're not mad at her, remember that. Don't say anything you're going to regret later. Just stop”.
I huff in frustration and he gently presses my face in his chest.
“Nacho! What happened? Where's Mill?” I hear Malia ask.
I don't bother to pull myself away from Noah.
“And where have you been?” Noah asks her. “We don't see you around here anymore”.
“I have a life you know” she replies. “Where's my godson?”.
“If we knew that, would everyone be this disturbed?” I hear Shannon quip.
I turn my head to look at her.
“I'm sorry” she sighs. “It's getting to me”.
I let out a frustrated sigh and pull away from Noah's hold.
“What?” he asks.
“I'm going to look for him”.
“Where?” Shirley asks.
“I don't know. But I'm not going to stay here and sulk because it's not going to bring my son back” I say.
Malia gives me a sad look.
Where was the weight coming from?
I shake my head.
“Alexis, my guards are out looking for him, okay? Just stay put” Colton says.
I frown.
“No. I will not stay put!” I cry.
“Ale...”.
“My son's missing and I'm supposed to stay put?!” I scoff nastily. “My mother didn't stay put when Madison was taken. And even that do you know what happened? Madison was killed!” I huff angrily. “I am not going to sit around and wait because I am not ready to lose my son so don't you ask me to do that again”.
He nods and I breathe.
“Well if you want to go out and look for him then I think Noah should go with you. You're his parents so you might pick up his scent faster than the trackers” Jason says.
Noah nods.
“Oh hey, Jason. I forgot to give you the keys to your castle. We were cleared this afternoon and amid all this chaos I forgot to do it” I suddenly remember and say.
He chuckles.
“You're ready to fight an army for your son and you pause to give me my keys?” he asks with a smile.
“Well, I take my job very ser...” I trail off.
“What is it?” Noah asks.
I take the keys out of my pocket and look at it.
“The castle,” I say.
“What about the castle?” Malia asks.
“We didn't do a final sweep,” I say, looking at Noah.
He catches on.
“You think he could be in there?” he asks.
“It's worth a shot” Shannon intercepts me.
We turn to look at her.
“I'm sorry but frankly speaking, I don't think I can sit around and wait anymore” she huffs and stands up.
I nod.
“Let's go then”.
*******************
Jason opens the doors to the castle and we all scramble in and disperse, calling out for him.
“Milton sweetie?!”.
“Where are you?!”.
“Come out Milton!”.
“Where are you champ?!”.
“Mill, you in here?!”.
“Milton... please... where are you?!”.
The last call for him belonged to Yara who was already break down. A part of me wanted to go assure her we'll find him and that it wasn't her fault. But I couldn't for obvious reasons.
She lost him. It was her fault. She was gone the entire day when she was supposed to be taking care of him. And I wasn't even sure if we were going to find him at all.
I rub my burning chest to ease once again and Noah pulls me into a hug, kissing the top of my head.
“Don't do that, my love. We'll find him”.
I spot Colton watching us from the corner of my eyes but I don't look at him. I push myself up and give Noah a passionate kiss. He blinks when I pull away and smiles at me.
“Okay then” he chuckles lightly and takes my hand.
“Oh my gosh, I love this flooring!” Amber exclaims as Noah and I step into the living area.
“Amber” Shannon calls out firmly.
She waves her off and turns to me.
“What is it?” she grins.
“A mixture of vitrified tiles, wooden tiles, and lapotra granites” I answer.
“Ouuuuu I've never heard of those” she gasps, growing intrigued. “Where does this go to?” she asks, pointing to the glass door.
“The lawn”.
“Wait, we have a lawn now?” Jason asks with a grin.
“Yes. You asked for the complete American home so I got an old friend from college to work his magic and tadaa, you have a big lawn” I smile.
“Your friend does houses too?” Shirley asks.
“No, he's a landscape architect”.
“There's a difference?” Amber asks.
Oh, God.
“Yes. I design structures such as houses or office buildings and do the interior when I'm required to, while landscape architects like Dalton, produce plans for the outdoor areas around the structures”.
“Wait, wait” Renee calls out to me.
I look at her.
“Dalton? As in the Reid Dalton?” she asks.
“Yes. Alexis went to college with him” Noah answers.
“No way” she chuckles.
I nod.
“My mom's been trying to get him to do a job for her and he's always too busy to respond”.
I chuckle lightly.
“Well, Reid's a little in over his head. He graduated second best in class and for some reason, he still had to prove himself so he went ahead and got himself a doctoral degree in architecture at the University of Hawaii in Manoa”.
“And one phone call from you and he comes running to you?”.
I smile.
“Alexis did graduate top of their class,” Noah says, rubbing my shoulder lovingly.
“And he owes me a lot of favors” I add.
“Oh great” Renee rolls her eyes.
“Don't worry, I'll talk to him and bump you up”.
“Oh that would be amazing, thank you Alex” she smiles at me.
I nod.
“Have you people seen the kitchen?!” Amber exclaims with excitement. “The cabinets are so shiny!”.
“That's plywood with a laminate finish, Amber,” I tell her.
“Oh please, I do require you to do the kitchen in our vacation home” she sighs.
“After I find my son, Amber,” I say and tug Noah away.
He chuckles beside me.
“What?”.
“Nothing. Even during a mini-crisis, you're getting gigs” he jokes.
I pause and playfully nudge him. He laughs and kisses my temple.
“Milton!” Yara's exasperated voice reaches our ears.
Our head snaps in that direction.
“He's in the library” Colton informs us.
Noah and I hurry into the library and there through the door on the floor of the reading nook tucked away behind the shelves, sat Milton, huddled up in a corner.
“Baby” I let out.
Yara stands up from where she's kneeling beside his crying figure, lowers her eyes, and excuses herself.
“Milton, what's wrong champ?” Noah asks.
I tear my eyes away from Yara and turn to my son. Noah is already crouching down beside him. I join.
“Mill” I whisper.
He pulls away from his father's hug and looks up at me with teary eyes.
“What is it champ? You know you can tell us anything right?” Noah asks.
He nods.
“So what is it, baby?” I ask, pushing his damp hair away from his face to kiss his salty forehead.
He shakes his head and continues to cry.
“No...nothing...” he chokes out.
“Milton you're crying. How can you tell me it's nothing?” I ask.
He clutches onto Noah who gives me a desperate look. I could tell he was trying to remain calm for my sake. He wasn't used to a crying child. I sigh and look back down at our son.
“Is it about this morning?” I ask.
Noah furrows his brows.
“Why would this be about...”.
Milton lets out a wail and my eyes widen as my heart tugs.
“Oh my sweet, sweet boy” I coo and sit down on the floor, gathering him into my arms.
Noah lets out a sigh and scratches the corner of his eyebrow.
“This is about your mom and I getting back together, isn't it son?” he asks.
Milton lets out a muffled reply into my chest. My heart breaks.
He didn't want this.
“You don't want it, do you?” Noah asks again, brokenly.
“Milton sweetie, if you weren't okay with Noah and I getting back together you should have just said so. You didn't have to run away. You nearly gave me a heart attack” I say, tearing him away from my chest to look at his face.
His entire face was red.
“I'm okay with you guys getting back together” he sobs.
“Don't give me that, Milton” Noah frowns. “You lied to us about going to see Alina, just to hide in here all day and cry”.
“Hey,” I whisper to Noah and rub his arm.
“No, Alexis. I should have known he wasn't just going to accept me back into your lives. I abandoned you both. That's not something a few months can fix” he huffs.
“Noah, stop” I scold, gesturing to Milton who was looking up at him.
Noah sighs and ruffles Milton's hair gently.
“You should have told us, champ. We would have understood” he says calmly.
Milton sniffs.
“I am okay with you two getting back together, dad”.
“Then why are you...”.
“Because I'm happy” he cuts him off.
“What?” I ask.
Milton nods.
“I'm happy I finally get a mommy and daddy, under one roof” he sniffs. “I'm happy someone's going to teach me how to play soccer and talk to girls,” he says, looking at Noah.
Wait what?!
He turns to me.
“I'm happy you wouldn't have to fix the faucets by yourself anymore when auntie Malia blows it up with her bad magic” he sobs. “I don't want you to worry about me all alone whenever I get sick. I don't want you to worry about how you're going to give me piggyback rides when I get heavier, or how we're going to do all those outdoor stuff I like”.
“Mill...” I sniff.
“And daddy can help me teach you how to ride a bicycle”.
I laugh through my tears.
“So these are happy tears, baby?” I ask, wiping his face.
He nods.
“I didn't want you two to see me crying so I came here instead” he whispers. “I'm very happy we can finally sit down and have a real family dinner”.
Noah pulls him in for a hug and I wipe my face.
“Milton you're only seven years old,” he tells him. “You do not have to worry about adult stuff. We're the parents and we're supposed to do the worrying for you, not the other way around”.
Milton sniffs and nods.
“Just be a kid and don't you ever do that to your mother and me, okay?”.
“I won't” he assures and hugs Noah.
I smile at them and let out a sigh of relief. Noah holds out his free hand and I take it. He gives me a gentle tug to his side and wraps me in a hug too.
“I love you”.
I lift my head and kiss him, making sure Milton's head stayed down.
“I love you too”.
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☆ Shannon's POV
“I heard he's been found” he goes, the minute I step into my bedroom.
“Mm,” I hum, turning on the lights and taking my crown off. “He was hiding out in Jason's incredibly beautiful castle”.
My brother chuckles.
“Is it that beautiful, Shan? Because Amber's been talking my ear off to have the interior of our vacation home redone and only by Alexis”.
I smile t myself.
“Oh, it is beautiful. And she is good... very good” I say as I sit on my bed and take off my shoes. “It'll be worth it, trust me. And your home could use it”.
He rolls his eyes.
“Oh, and I'm sure if you asked nicely, she would forgive you and teach you how to be a better person” I add.
He scoffs and stands up to give me a hand with my zipper.
“How was I your first suspect when the boy couldn't be found?”.
I step into my closet to change into my nightdress.
“I can't believe you'd think I have something to do with that, dear sister”.
I step back out and settle in front of the vanity.
“And I can't believe you didn't have anything to do with that, my dearest brother” I repeat in the same fake hurt tone.
He laughs.
“You're lucky nothing bad happened to Milton, and he's back with his parents, safe and sound”.
“Why are you still insisting I had something to do with the child running away?”.
I turn to face him.
“Because you have that mischievous gleam in your eyes, Derek,” I say. “I know you're not up to any good, Derr” I sigh.
“If by good you mean trying to get them to stay longer so you can spend a lot more time with the boy then yes, Shannon. I am up to absolutely no good”.
“Derr..”.
“I see the way you look at the boy, Shan. You have so much love to give him. And that wouldn't have been a problem if you could still conceive. But because of that Alexis and all the drama she brought with her, you were dragged into her family drama and now you can't have children anymore”.
“Derek...”.
“She's robbed you of ever becoming a mother again and no one's doing anything about that? She's out there with no such problem and I'm supposed to watch my little sister suffer? Not while I'm still alive”.
“Derek cut it out!” I say firmly. “I'm okay. I've grown past this”.
“Well, I haven't! And I won't stop until you're really okay” he growls.
I let out an exasperated sigh.
“Derek, please don't do anything to hurt Milton or his parents”.
He looks at me.
“Do you know why Amber and I keep having kids?” he asks.
I shrug.
“Because you want a son too” I answer.
“No, Shan. It might look that way but you know Grandale prides itself in having female children as heir since our grandmother became queen and changed the way things were done”.
“Yes, but I know you still want a son,” I say.
“For you” he lets out.
I furrow my brows.
“What?”.
He sighs and rubs his forehead.
“Amber and I want a son... but not for ourselves... for you”.
I chuckle in confusion and wave my hands in the air to stop him.
“You want a son for me?” I ask.
He walks closer to me and takes my hands in his.
“Why do you think we got married?” he asks.
What?!
“First it was for that, but then we fell in love” he whispers. “Amber and I were the only two people who knew how much pressure you were under when the other twin died and Alina was diagnosed to be blind and crippled”.
I suck in a sharp breath and feel my head begin to throb.
“We know how you and Colton tried to get pregnant again. But it never worked. I know about all the miscarriages you had and when the doctor said you couldn't have children anymore, it broke you”.
I clench my jaw and hold back my tears.
“Shannon, Amber, and I were going to pass off our son... if we had any, to you so you could save your family and maybe... just maybe... Colton would look at you like you weren't the worst thing to happen to him”.
A tear falls.
“There was nothing to save, Derek. Because of me he had to reject his mate, the girl who made him a better person and the one who was still so nice to me after all the crap I gave her” I sob.
“And a son would have fixed it, Shan” Derek says, his eyes searching my face fervently. “But it looks like even a son's not a piece of cake because even I can't make a son. I'm going to have five daughters if this one's born”.
“And it's okay, Derek. I'm okay” I tell him.
He shakes his head.
“She goes in once and it's a boy?” he asks with scorn. “And not just any boy... a primordial. And even if he wasn't, everyone would love him”.
“Derek” I sob.
“Have you heard him laugh, Shan? Amber laughs when he laughs. I...” he grunts.
I touch his arm and smile.
“I laugh when he does, Shannon. And I want that for you. I want that boy to make you happy like he does to all of us... but forever”.
I hug him and he squeezes me.
“That's all I want, Shannon. That's all I want”.
Another double update!
Thank you for reading!
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The last chapters of Catch will hopefully be published tomorrow.
Ciao!
~the_atticwriter