Selling Myself To The Alpha
Chapter 89

Axel

POV

Fury rages through me as I pack an overnight bag. I will order Omegas to pack the rest. All I want is to get out of here.

I do not know what has gotten into Mother. She has always meddled in my life. It was annoying but it did not bother me, because she did not actually do anything. It was mostly setting up blind dates and "coincidental" encounters, but this? This is unacceptable. How could she for one second think I would be okay with leaving my mate? Or worse, take our baby from her and then send Liana away?

"Axel," Dad says hesitantly before he enters. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know. I'll talk to her."

"It's fine," I pick up my bag and walk to him. My strong, proud father is now a crooked old man and heartbroken. "This isn't your fault." "Please don't go," Dad pleads with emotional eyes.

"I'm sorry, Dad," I rest my hand on his shoulder. "I cannot stay here. But I'm not shutting you out of our lives. We'll see you every day, I promise. But with Mom's attitude, we risk Liana shifting and I'm not taking that chance. I hope you understand." "I do," he inhales deeply and looks up for a moment before turning away. "I would've done the same."

I feel like a monster as I walk to the car. This is not fair towards Dad. He has been nothing but supportive. And he is great with Liana. He embraced and accepted her into his life. But I am not going to make him choose between his wife and son. That is not right, and he deserves better.

Liana POV

I feel groggy and I have the taste of death in my mouth when I open my eyes.

"Welcome back, Luna," Michelle smiles as she picks up my wrist and takes my pulse. "You gave us quite a stare."

"I'm sorry," I mumble and close my eyes. "I tried to control it."

"Not what I meant," she chuckles. "You did the right thing coming here. You were on the verge of shifting."

"What?" I force my eyes open. Last time I checked, there was only a possibility that I would transform.

"Congratulations," she smiles softly at me. "You're a wolf."

"But... after the birth... you said..."

"I know what I speculated," she takes my hand. "But after today, there's no more doubt."

With closed eyes, I listen as Michelle tells me what happened. But I am too dazed and woozy to respond. I want to be happy, but I am also terrified. I do not want to lose Wolfie because I cannot control myself. "And you're sure your happy pills will work?" I ask sceptically when she is done talking.

"Guaranteed," she squeezes my hand.

"Isn't there like a wolf school or something where they can teach me to keep my wolf under control?" I sigh.

"That will happen after you give birth," she laughs. "For now, we concentrate on keeping you and the baby alive."

"Sounds simple enough," I say sarcastically. Nothing about this pregnancy has been simple.

"We're moving you to another room," Michelle ignores me. "You're staying for the night and Axel insisted on joining."

"I got one of the good ones," I smile dreamily.

"Yes, you did," Michelle laughs. "Don't try and get up. You're still recovering from the sedative and might lose your footing."

"I wasn't going to," I mumble. "It's enough effort to stay awake."

"Then don't fight it," Michelle advises. "Go back to sleep. We'll take care of you."

"Thank you," I murmur and allow the darkness to take me away.

**

It takes my eyes a moment to adjust to the dark room but the second I recognise Axel's soft snoring next to me, I relax and snuggle closer to him. "Are you awake?" He mumbles sleepily.

"No," I whisper smiling. "Go back to sleep, I'm only making myself comfortable."

"Liar," he yawns and pulls me closer to my chest. "How are you feeling?" "Hungry," I confess.

"In other words, you're fine," he laughs as he reaches over and presses a button. Seconds later a nurse arrives and Axel orders me food before he looks at me.

"I know what my mother said," his voice is strained. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," gently I stroke his cheek. "If there's one thing I know, it's unreasonable mothers. Besides, I wasn't nice to her either."

"I

I know," he chuckles. "Did you really say f**k her and her title?"

"Yup," I sigh and look at him apologetically. "I'm sorry. I was so infuriated; I shouldn't have said that."

"That's exactly what you should've said," he leans over and kisses me. "And I told her so."

"I think it's safe to say I suck with mothers," I sigh theatrically. "But I'll apologize and ...

"No," he cuts me off quickly. "She must apologize to you. Never apologize for standing up for yourself."

"Love, she's your mother," I say patiently as I cup his face. "And we're living together. It would be best for all if she and I can sort this out. I'm not taking back what I've said but I could've said it nicer."

"Believe me, I would've said much worse if I were in your shoes," he smiles as he plays with my hair. "You don't owe her anything and we're not going back to that house until she apologizes and adjusts her attitude towards you."

"And that might never happen," I exhale deeply and sit up. "We cannot do that to your dad. He doesn't deserve this, and neither do you. This thing is between me and your mother."

"Then what do you propose, Liana?" He grunts irritated. "Sweep it under the rug as if nothing happened for the sake of me and my dad? What about next time? What if you can't control the shift and somebody dies?"

"Even if we do move into my cottage, I must learn to control my wolf," I reason. "Either that or lock me up in a padded room to shield me from everything that could trigger me until Wolfie is born." "That's why Michelle is prescribing those pills," he argues. "So that you don't lose control."

"And by that argument, I can face your mother," I say irritated.

"What do you want me to do, Liana?" Axel grunts and gets out of bed. "I'm doing my best here but nothing I suggest is good enough for you."

"Okay, wow," I hold my hands up defensively. "This conversation is turning into a huge misunderstanding. I know your decisions are in my best interest and I'm trying to do the same for you, Axel."

He sighs defeated and sits down on the bed and I climb onto his lap.

"This isn't supposed to be about me, it's supposed to be about us," I wrap my arms around his neck. "My needs are not supposed to be all that matters. Your mother doesn't like me, but she loves you. Sure, she's a meddler and in her distorted way, she wants to help you. In her mind, she is protecting her son from the wrong person. Can you honestly say that you wouldn't do the same for Wolfie one day if he came home with a gold digger?"

"But you're not like that," he grunts and buries his face in my neck.

"And she doesn't know it," I stroke his hair. "Because she doesn't want to, and neither of us can change that. As much as I want to kick your mother, she's still your mother and your father's mate. Can you imagine how torn he is?"

"What are we supposed to do then, wise ass?" His arms tighten around my waist. "Because I can't see a solution without cutting her out of our lives."

"As much satisfaction it would give me to give her the boot, nobody wins," I say sympathetically. "Not her, not you, not your dad and least of all Wolfie. She's his only grandmother. Your mother and I must replace a way to coexist in peace. Let me talk to her, okay?" "What if you get angry and shift?" He asks concerned.

"I'll take an extra pill," I smile. "And I promise I'll remove myself from the situation before it gets too bad."

"The only way you're doing this is if I'm with you," he insists.

"You're more than welcome," I shrug. "I'm not hiding anything."

"Why?" He looks at me perplexed. "Why are you so insistent to get along with her? I get you're doing this for me and Wolfie, but we'll be fine without her."

"Because I know how it feels," I smile sadly. "Separating the heart and the mind isn't easy, Axel. I know it's better without my parents, but I still miss them. My dad was a great dad. Sometimes I miss him so much that my heart wants to explode. Until Leon's death, he was always there for me. He always took my side. It's been months and I still cannot comprehend what exactly happened. I expected it from Mom, but not from him. I'm dying to tell him he's going to be a grandfather. He would've loved it. The loss of my mother isn't that great. She is toxic and a narcissist. I know it, but my heart yearns for her love because she is my mother. Nothing can change that. Not even the cold hard truth that she's incapable of loving me. I can't go back to them, Axel. I can't fix them. My mind knows it, but my heart is mourning. And I don't want that for you."

"You're saying all of this but still you're willing to open yourself to rejection from my mother," he sighs. "She's not worth it."

"This is different," I kiss him softly. "I don't crave your mother's love or acceptance. She didn't hurt my feelings today, Axel. She infuriated me because of what she's doing to you and there's no fucking way she's going to pull those stunts with our child. Respectfully." "Michelle is right about you," his fingers tangle into my hair and he pulls my lips closer. "You're going to be one hell of a Luna."