CHAPTER 36: TELL ME YOUR SECRET

The moment Becca showed baby Zed’s photo to him, Alpha Maxwell knew right away that he was indeed the father of Debora’s baby.

"Brother, you have the same hair color! Baby Zed is so cute just like you when you were young," Becca commented.

Alpha Maxwell smiled. "Indeed he looked a lot like me when I was still a baby. I can’t wait to hold him in my arms," he said, misty-eyed. He was now the father of two healthy babies. His heart swells with pride.

"Deborah and baby Zed will return on Sunday. But I’m sure she will come here right away as soon as she knows you’re already home," Becca said. Her phone rang and the caller was her boyfriend. "Bro, I will return to my room to talk to my boyfriend. See you later," she quickly said and left the room.

Alpha Maxwell stares at the wall of his room, sighing heavily, and thinking about his son with Deborah. He also had a son with Naomi. He doesn’t want to give up Naomi and baby Jacob though.

His heart was hammered with confusion.

Between Naomi and Deborah, who is the woman he will marry?

What will his decision be?

Deborah would go berserk in jealousy if she knew about Naomi and baby Jacob’s existence. If he initiated a break up with Deborah, she would never agree especially since they already had a son together.

He put the phone back in the drawer and lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling of his room.

After one hour of pondering over his situation, he still couldn’t arrive at a good solution to fix his problem.

There was a soft knock on the door.

When he opened the door, it was his grandma standing outside along with her maid. The maid was holding a tray filled with sweets and a pitcher of refreshing lemon juice.

"Put the tray on the table." Grandma Franchia ordered.

"Yes, madam." The maid entered the room and placed the tray on the table.

"You may go now," Grandma Franchia said.

"Yes, madam," the maid replied and quickly left the room.

Alpha Maxwell poured lemonade into the glass and drank it bottom up. "Grams, do you want some?" he offered.

Grandma Franchia shook her head. "No thanks. I already had one glass before I came here to your room," she said. She placed a box in his hands. "I want to give you this."

"What is it, Gram?" He asked, opening the box. His brows drew together. "A new phone?"

Grandma Franchia nodded her head. "Yep. I just bought that phone a few days ago. I wanted to discard my old one because it was already an old model. But since you are already here, I noticed about your old phone. I think you needed a new one if you want everyone to believe in your fake kidnapping story," she said, lowering herself on the bed.

His forehead creased. "You don’t believe my story, Grams?"

Grandma Franchia nodded her head. "Um, honestly, your kidnapping narrative is unbelievable. Not losing your phone after what you’ve been through is hard to believe. Now tell me, what really happened during your captivity? Are you hiding something from me?" she asked, inspecting his face closely.

Alpha Maxwell sighed, raking his hands through his hair in frustration. Cornered, he looked at his grandmother, ready to tell the truth. "I fuck up big time, Grams," he confessed morosely.

Grandma Franchia lifted an eyebrow. "What did you do this time, my boy?"

Alpha Maxwell grabbed the chair and settled on it, facing his grandma. "Where should I begin?" he asked. Distress clouded his face.

"Begin by saying that the first story you told me was a lie," Grandma Franchia said, wishing he would just stop lying and tell the truth.

Alpha Maxwell took a deep breath. "Alright, I’ll tell you the truth now, Grams. I hope you won’t judge me because of what I have done during my captivity," he said, shifting in the chair, feeling restless, trying to feel comfortable.

Grandma Franchia said, "Go on, my boy. I will listen, and I will not judge you. I know you will never disappear on your own. You lived a good life. We provide you with everything you need. There is no way you would just leave everything behind without a valid reason."

"I know. I will tell you everything, Grams," he said. Suddenly he remembered the letter. "Um, Grams, did you receive a letter from me last month?" he asked.

Grandma Franchia shook her head. "No. We never received any letters from you during your disappearance."

Damn! The facility lied to him and Naomi. They never sent the letter at all.

Grandma Franchia noticed the grim expression on her grandson’s face. "What’s wrong, my boy?"

"Nothing, Grams," he replied, shaking his head.

"Alright, tell me the truth now before everyone arrives tomorrow," Grandma Franchia impatiently said, urging him to reveal his secret before everyone knows about it.

"Um, Grams, the kidnapping part is true. I slept peacefully in my rented room at the hotel and the next time I opened my eyes, I was already lying on the bed inside a windowless room. A terrified woman was in the room with me, another kidnap victim," he explained.

Grandma Franchia’s brows snapped together. "So the mining story in the tunnel was fake?"

"Yes," Alpha Maxwell replied. "But the kidnapping was true. They imprisoned me and the woman in this windowless room with no way out. We were housed in a facility. But I don’t know what kind of facility. I never saw the whole place. We are given three meals a day and clean drinking water. They also give us a smart TV so we can watch movies and videos all day long."

He paused for a few seconds and took a long deep breath. "They never hurt or tortured us during our captivity," he added.

"What? They kidnapped you... so you could watch TV all day? That’s weird," Grandma commented in astonishment.

"The truth is, the mastermind of our kidnapping wants me and the woman to fall in love and produce a baby. That is the only way we can leave the facility alive," he elaborated further.

Grandma’s eyes widened in astonishment. "Oh, that’s shocking! So what happened next?"

"The girl and I fell in love with each other. I didn’t force her. She was willing to get pregnant so we both could leave the facility together. It’s a mutual decision."

"Did the girl give birth to the baby successfully? And if yes, where is the baby now? And where is the girl? Do you know her? Her family? Have you met her before?" Grandma Franchia fired lots of questions to understand his situation better.

"Yes, she gave birth to my son. Jacob is the name of our son. He is three months old now," he proudly said. His eyes glowed with love for his son.

"So, you love this girl? You truly love her? More than you love Deborah?" Grandma Franchia asked.

"Yes, I truly love her," he said without hesitation, his tone serious.

Grandma Franchia saw the truth in his eyes. "I see. What is the girl’s name?"

"Naomi, that’s her name," he answered.

She asked, "Is she human? Or one of our kind?"

"She is one of us, but she is wolfless," he answered.

"To which pack does she belong?" she asked.

Alpha Maxwell fell silent.

Grandma Franchia has been observing her grandson’s face for a long time. "Come on, tell me the name of her pack. Don’t worry I won’t judge and I won’t tell anyone about her identity," she assured him, wanting to gain his trust.

Alpha Maxwell sighed. "Grams, she belongs to the Blue Moon Pack, our family’s most hated rival."

"Oh..." Grandma’s eyes widened in shock. "You impregnated a woman belonging to the enemy? I think I remember that woman’s name. I saw her a few times featured on the news. So it’s Naomi from the Blue Moon Pack, daughter of Alpha Thomas Green and Luna Alicia Green, am I right?"

He replied, "Yeah, that’s her!"

Grandma shook her head gloomily. "This is not good, my boy. Your parents will never allow you to have any romantic involvement with the daughter of our enemy. That is prohibited in our family!"

Alpha Maxwell’s jaw clenched. "But Grams, Naomi and I had nothing to do with the past. We don’t hate each other. We don’t have direct conflict with each other! We are not enemies. We are lovers and we had a son together!" he protested, annoyed that he and Naomi had to suffer because of the animosity between their families that started a long time ago.

Grandma sighed heavily. "Why do I have a feeling that you had a crush on Naomi for a long time and you instigated this kidnapping scheme so you will have a chance with her? And she has no choice but to fall in love with you. I think you were the mastermind of the kidnapping. Am I right?"

"No! I’m not the mastermind. Even if I like the girl I will never resort to kidnapping," he denied vehemently.

Grandma breathed deeply. "Alright, I believe you. I saw the truth in your eyes."

"Thank you, Grams, for believing in me. I swear to Moon Goddess I’m not the mastermind behind our kidnapping." He proclaimed his innocence again and again.

"I believe in you, my boy. Calm down now," Grandma said, patting his arms gently. "How about this place you mentioned? Can you picture it in your head? Can you go back to that place you called the facility? Do you know anyone there by their face?" she asked curiously.

Alpha Maxwell shakes his head. "No, Grams. All the time during our captivity, the people there wore masks on their faces to hide their identities. We were holed up in a windowless room the majority of our captivity. I can’t even go back there because I don’t know where that place is. The night before they released us, they mixed sleeping drugs into our food during dinner. And when I woke up the next day, I was already lying inside a tent in the middle of the forest. I have no idea where that place is. That is how good they are at protecting the location of the place they put us in," he said dejectedly.

Grandma patted his hand to comfort him. "That’s sad, my boy. We can’t find the mastermind behind your kidnapping because you can’t even remember the place."

"Exactly. I feel useless," he murmured sadly.