I loved our little bubble. I never wanted to leave our little bubble. The outside world didn't exist anymore. I was fine with staying in my house with my little Rene by my side, making Francis run the business and my errands for me. It was peaceful.
And to be fair... I wasn't sure if I wanted to return to my old life as a mafia leader anymore. Not only was I much happier watching Rene and giving my full attention to helping him grow strong, but I was getting old, slow, and tired. My fifties were fast approaching, and our glory days were far gone. And Rene... He didn't need to have anything to do with that kind of life.
So... I actually started reconsidering what I wanted to do with my life.
I stared at the television without paying any attention to it. I had a little baby alpha curled up in my lap, snoozing away, and my mind was occupied by his soft hair... And thoughts about our future. It was weird to even consider abandoning the mafia. It had been my life for the past... thirty years? Thirty-five years? I was a teenager when this life had sucked me in.
I never really looked back. There was nothing to look at, really. Just a little teenage Michael who got a bad hand dealt at birth, lurking behind the dark corners, trying to sell a little bit of weed to earn two bucks. I was glad I never learned to feel bitter about how my life turned out to be. There were times when I'd felt jealousy, yes, but never bitterness. It was no one's fault my parents were drug addicts, and I ended up in the system, then on the streets, and then...
I looked around in my luxurious house, with my newly found mate sleeping in my arms. I made a life for myself. A life I didn't regret. I was the Michael Mercer, after all. The Boss.
But perhaps it was time to be someone else. Someone new.
I looked down at Rene when he moved, his breathing changing. I smiled as I watched him waking up. He opened his sleepy eyes, took one hasty look around, and found me. He smiled drowsily when our eyes met.
"Hey, baby boy..." I murmured, brushing my hand through his hair. "Did you have a good nap?"
"Uh-huh..." he said with a nod, closing his eyes, and curled up under his blanket.
"Need a moment longer?" I asked.
"No..."
"Uh-huh..." I chuckled. I was sure he'd fall back to sleep, but his stomach growled demandingly. "Sounds like you could use a little snack."
He laughed lightly, stretching his body. "I just ate."
"It's actually been... almost three hours," I said, checking the time. "Your body needs fuel. Lots and lots of fuel."
He let out a cute little growl, but it got drowned by the sounds of his stomach. He wrinkled his nose and opened his eyes.
"I guess I could eat," he said, smirking.
"Come on then. I'll make you something," I said, gently petting his shoulder.
It was wonderful, really. In the past few days, his appetite had grown so much it was basically a job to keep him fed. He was constantly hungry, and it was showing. He was gaining weight, and even though it still was subtle, his physique had already changed for the better. His sharp curves were softening, and when I held him, my fingers didn't sink between his bones. He would look so much better in mere weeks.
"What would you like?" I asked him when we stepped into the kitchen.
"I don't know... Everything?" he said, stopping by the kitchen island while I made my way to the fridge.
"Well we have... How about sandwiches? There's plenty of toppings," I asked, staring into the full fridge, but Rene wasn't answering. "Baby?"
I turned to him. He was staring out the window, into the darkening yard. He seemed focused.
"Baby?" I tried again, closing the fridge.
He glanced at me, then turned his back to the window, his expression blank.
"What's the matter?" I asked quietly, making my way to him.
"It's my alpha again..." he mumbled. "I don't get it... Why doesn't it like the yard?"
"Did it get worried again?" I asked, putting my hands on his lower back.
"Yeah..."
"Your alpha just needs time," I said reassuringly, giving him a soothing smile.
"I can't even look out the window without it getting worried," he said.
"Baby... These things take time. You both are doing great," I said, caressing him. "And we have all the time in the world."
He let out an annoyed sigh. "We've been stuck indoors for almost two weeks. Aren't you getting bored?"
"With you, never," I said sternly, leaning in to rub his nose with mine. "You don't worry about this old mafioso, okay? My lazy ass is thrilled about this break."
He chuckled lightly, then leaned his head against mine, breathing in my scent. "I just don't want you to–"
"No. Stop. None of that, okay?" I told him. "You're my baby boy. You're the rest of my life. No matter how long it takes, weeks, months, years, I'll be happy to stay with you inside these walls until you get better."
He let out a little happy hum, his smile growing wider. He rested his hands on my cheeks and closed his eyes, melting my heart.
"The rest of your life, huh...?" he whispered.
"The rest of my life," I whispered back just as quietly.
Even though it broke my heart knowing that the rest of my life was much, much shorter than his...
"Can we... After we eat... I want to go outside. Just for a moment," he said carefully, saving me from the heartache of thinking about him all alone once I'd be gone.
"Of course. Anything you want," I said, wiggling my nose against his.
Later, after we finished eating, we headed outside. We'd had a couple of short walks around my garden in the past few days, but Rene's alpha was slow at getting used to being outside. When we stepped outside, Rene stopped to stare at the shadows, his alpha again on high alert. He inched closer to me until he had glued himself to my side. I put my arm around him while he slowly took a hold of my clothes, his eyes wide as he looked around. It hurt to see him so scared. I assumed the dim light of the setting sun was making things worse, since he wasn't calming down at all, no matter how long we stood there.
"I..." he began, his voice weak and shivering. He turned to stare at yet another bush, pressing himself tighter against me. "I, uh..."
"It's all right, baby boy. Maybe we should try again tomorrow. It's getting too dark," I told him soothingly, battling against my own alpha – Rene's distress was really working it up.
I wasn't sure if he even heard me. He turned back around and stared at the gates looming in the distance. He fell completely immobile. It didn't seem like he was even breathing as he listened. All my senses were in overdrive while I tried to detect anything out of the ordinary. There was nothing, but my alpha didn't like this. It didn't like this at all.
"Let's get inside," I said, and almost pushed Rene through the doorway.
"I don't get it..." Rene whispered while I closed and locked the door. "It's like my alpha is getting worse..."
"It was dark outside," I said, still peering into the yard while pulling the curtains closed.
My alpha was really worked up...
"I'm sorry..." Rene whispered.
"Hey, baby... It's all right. These things take time," I told him, smiling as I wrapped my arms around him to calm him down. "Don't worry about it."
He wrapped his arms around me and hid his face against my shoulder. He was shivering, and no matter how hard I tried, he wasn't really calming down. Neither was my alpha. I turned back to the windows and pushed the curtain aside just enough to see the yard. There was nothing. Rene's alpha was simply scared of the wide-open space, the countless hiding spots, and the darkness.
But I'd not survived this long by being an idiot.
"It's all right baby boy... You're all right..." I muttered while grabbing my phone. I held my boy tightly against my chest, rocking him soothingly while I called Francis. He picked up quickly. "Hey, Francis... I know it's late, but I'm feeling a bit uneasy over here. Would you mind grabbing a couple of guys and come hang out with us? We can watch the game."
"Uneasy?" Francis repeated, sounding alerted.
"Yeah... May not be anything, but... Would you mind bringing some good scotch while you're at it?" I asked.
"We're on our way," Francis said and hung up.
My alpha was getting more and more agitated. I stared at the phone for a second, grinding my teeth together. Scotch was our code word for assault rifles. That kind of uneasy.
I put the phone back into my pocket and turned my attention to Rene. He was really holding onto me.
"Hey, baby boy...?" I murmured, but he refused to look up. His hold on me only grew tighter. "You're all right. Old Uncle Francis is bringing the party to us. They'll help me watch over you while you sleep."
I spent a moment trying to soothe him, humming gently, rocking him slowly, and whispering calming words in his ear. He was calming down a little, but his fear worried me. It never took this long to calm him...
And then... something alerted my alpha. I gritted my teeth together, hugging my boy tightly, then reached for the curtain. I moved it ever so slightly, just enough to see the yard. There was something small shining just above my tall brick fence. The top of a ladder.
"I fucking hate being right," I growled, let go of the curtain, grabbed my boy by his hand, and hurried toward the basement. "We need to go, baby."
Rene followed me, his eyes wide in fear. "What did you...?"
"Don't worry about it. Stay quiet and follow me," I told him in a hushed voice. "I'll keep you safe."
I needed my guns. While we rushed down the stairs, I grabbed my phone again and called back to Francis.
"Boss?"
"There's someone in my yard. You better fucking hurry," I told him as we burst through the door.
"How many?"
"Couldn't see. Expect a lot," I told him as I led Rene to the corner closet.
"Fuck! We're fifteen minutes away!"
"Just get here!" I hissed and hung up, searching for the keys to the closet. I glanced at Rene. He was so scared... At the verge of panic. "It's all right, baby. I'll protect you."
"What's going on...?" he whispered, his voice choked.
"I don't know, but I'll deal with it, don't worry," I said, yanked the door open, and hurried to get my guns. "You know how to shoot?"
He froze at my question, tears in his eyes. He was shutting down in fear.
"It's all right," I said, loading two of the guns and shoved my pockets full of clips. "I can deal with this, and Francis is here soon. We'll be fine."
If only I knew what we were up against... Who was our enemy? Terrorists? Rival gangs? The army? And how many were there? But one thing was certain. The way both of our alphas had reacted told me we were in real danger.
With Rene with me, I couldn't take any chances. I needed to take him out of here, then come back to deal with whoever it was that had invaded my yard.
"Let's go. Nice and quiet, okay?" I told Rene, leading him back to the stairs. He didn't reply to me. One look at him told me his alpha was in full control of the body. "It's all right, baby boy. I'll get us out of here."
I turned off the lights on our way up, then hurried to the kitchen. It was thankfully dark, so it was easier to stay hidden from the view. I cursed my massive windows while I led Rene behind the kitchen island, crouching the entire way. I stopped behind it and peered outside. There was movement by the fence, behind the bushes... I counted at least four people, and I thought I saw a silhouette of a gun...
"Fuck..."
The door to my garage was at the very back of the kitchen. I had a nice, strong pickup truck right behind the door. We could use it to bust down the door and my gates to get to safety. But we'd have to show ourselves to get to it, and we'd have to drive past those people.
But it was our only option.
"Rene? Baby?" I whispered, cupping his cheeks. He didn't react to me. "Baby, if you can hear me, you have to stay down but run as fast as you can to that door, okay?"
No response... He didn't even blink. Even his alpha was scared out of his mind. I just had to... I'd carry him if needed.
With a racing heart, I looked out the window again. I saw dark figures moving, but still staying by the fence. They were regrouping... We had no time to waste. If we had any luck on our side, no one would look inside. I hoped the darkness was enough to hide us from their view.
"Come on, baby," I whispered, pulling him with me when I hurried out of our hiding place and headed to the door.
Seconds later, I burst through it, pulling Rene with me, then closed it. I turned to face my cars and hurried straight to the truck. I listened to the sounds coming from outside, but heard nothing. Maybe they hadn't noticed us yet...?
"Get in the car, baby," I said when we got to it, but at that moment, they opened fire.
I yanked Rene behind my Mercedes when the first wave of rapid fire quickly ate away at my garage door, destroying my cars. So they did notice us... And they had assault rifles...
"We need to go, we need to go..." I told Rene, pulling him back to the door we just came from, shooting at the enemy until my clip was empty.
We burst through the door again, and didn't stop there. While the gunmen were focusing on tearing down the garage, we were free to run through the kitchen without them realizing we weren't by the cars anymore. But when we rounded the corner and entered the living room, I heard the glass breaking in the kitchen.
I had a new plan already. There was a smaller gate at the back of my yard, so if we were quick, we could use it to escape. It would take them a while to get around my–
The living room windows blew up, sending glass and debris and fire in our way. I stumbled back, shielding Rene with my body. Something big hit me on my side, knocking me out of balance, but I stayed up on my feet. I heard shouting and more gunshots just outside the building. We had no choice but to retreat, so I pushed Rene out of the living room, blindly firing my gun at the enemy, hoping I got at least a few good hits.
But how many were there...?
"Come on – this way, this way..." I mumbled, wobbling a little when I tried to run. There was something wrong with my side... The hit... Fuck, it was painful... "This way, baby..."
We retreated into the entrance hall, but there were already people behind the front door, trying to tear it down. The enemies who'd broken into the garage were already making their way through the kitchen. The basement was a dead end... All we could do was get upstairs, and... And?
"This way," I coughed and ran up the stairs with nowhere else to go.
On our way to the very back of the second floor, I pushed over all the chairs and bookshelves to slow down the enemy. We reached my office, the very last room at the end of the hallway, and hurried in. I shoved Rene into the safety of the furthest corner and went to push a big cabinet in front of the door. My side... Every push felt like someone was stabbing me with hot iron...
Once the door was blockaded, I turned back to Rene, getting ready to fight, but I suddenly felt dizzy. The world spinning around me, I wobbled closer to my baby boy, but fell on my knees before I could reach him.
"Michael!"
Rene was by my side in a heartbeat and dragged me the rest of the way to safety – if there was safety in this house anymore. I heard gunshots and smaller explosions, and I could smell fire. Rene rested me against the wall, right below the window. He was crying silently when he leaned over me, his scared, teary eyes right in front of me.
"Michael... No... Michael..." he whispered, his voice broken when he pushed my clothes aside to see my side. He froze for a moment, then lifted his hands and stared at his bloodied skin. There was a lot of it. "No, no, no, no... You can't die now," he told me, panicking.
I stared up at him, at his beautiful blue eyes... "Baby... You have to go," I whispered, and coughed in pain. "Climb out the window."
"No. No, no, no... You promised," he whispered, pressing his hands hard on my wound, using my clothes to try to stop the bleeding.
"Please, baby, you have to run," I said, trying to take his hand, but my strength was fading. "Please. Go."
"You promised I can stay with you," he whispered, his desperate cries breaking my heart. "I just found you..."
I could hear shouting and rushed footsteps outside in the hallway, approaching us as the enemy searched through the rooms.
"I can hold them back... You have to go, baby. Don't let them kill you," I muttered, trying to get the empty clip out of my gun, but it was getting slippery from my blood. "Save yourself."
"You said I can stay with you forever," he said. "I'm not leaving you."
Someone shot through the door, but we weren't anywhere near it. I tried again to get the clip out of my gun, but my hands were failing. My body was slowly losing the battle.
"Rene... You have to go," I told him when the people started breaking through the door.
"I won't leave you," he said. "You promised I can stay with you."
The door was going to give up at any second... There was no time left. It fucking hurt knowing I'd failed to protect him. My baby boy... My true mate, my darling boy... But my body was too damaged... There was nothing I could do... And that future I thought we would have... I would never see my baby boy thrive... We had only a couple of seconds left together... That was our whole future together...
How did this night turn out like this...?
"Mercer! Give us the boy!"
"Never..." I breathed out, but there was nothing I could do.
The door was crackling loudly, almost off its hinges, but the cabinet was still holding them back. I looked up at Rene. My Rene... My beautiful boy.
"I love you, my sweet boy..." I whispered. "You should've run."
"You promised I can stay with you," he said, taking the gun from me. "So you better not leave me."
"I don't want to leave you," I said, coughing again.
"Then don't. Promise me you won't leave me," he whispered, taking off the empty clip and putting in a new one.
"It's over for me..."
"Promise me!"
He'd never yelled before...
I smiled up at him. "I try not to."
The door burst open, sending the cabinet flying on the door. I saw three people behind it, peering in with their rifles ready, searching for us. But they never saw us. Rene aimed the gun, and three quick shots later, they all fell dead on the floor.
I let out a tired laugh, trying to keep my eyes open. The smell of roses was strong now...
"Now I get it..." I whispered when Rene continued pressing on my wound. "Beautiful... and dangerous... like a rose..."
"Stay with me, Michael," he whispered. "My love. My light in the dark."
"I love you..." I muttered. "I'll watch over you... I promise."
My Rene... He would be fine... He could protect himself. I didn't want to leave him, but my body was tired. I didn't want to go, but it was my time. I could feel it.
"Michael, no... No, please, stay with me..."
I couldn't see him anymore.
"Please, I love you..."
I wished I could stay...
"Don't leave me..."
I wished...
[Psst, Ream subscribers can read this chapter in Rene's point of view]