Hated By The Alpha-Chapter 184: Lake’s Suspicion

Lake stood behind Audrey, watching her with suppressed anger as she laughed and chatted with Leon on the sofa, even Mikhail seemed to be happy to see him.

"But you did have to come all the way, Leon. You could have just called to check up on us. We’re doing just fine," Audrey said, smiling.

"Yeah, we’re fine. Daddy takes great care of us, and I don’t wanna leave anymore," Mikhail added.

Lake suddenly felt his lips turn up in a smile as she heard Mikhail’s words. He felt a certain kind of pride surge through his heart, and the surprised look that flashed through Leon’s eyes wasn’t missed by him.

"I know I could have called, but I was beginning to get bored without you, Audrey. But, if you want me to leave, I will -"

"Leave," Lake suddenly pitched in.

Audrey and Leon turned their heads to look at Lake; Audrey had an amused, exasperated look while Leon’s had a pissed and contemptuous look.

"That’s no way to treat a visitor," Leon commented, frowning.

Lake was about to reply when Isabella walked in with Miranda by her side.

"Isabella," Leon stood from the couch the moment he saw Isabella, smiling as he walked over to hug her.

"Leon, when did you get here?" Isabella asked, surprised and happy to see him.

"A few minutes ago," Leon stepped away to look at her face.

"Ah, you’re welcome. This is my... Miranda. Miranda, this is Leon. He was like Audrey’s backbone in Paris," Miranda introduced.

She had wanted to refer to Miranda as her sister but she remembered that Lake did not know of that yet.

"Good day, Ma’am," Leon greeted Miranda.

Miranda smiled at Leon, "You’re welcome to our p...city. You must be hungry; please follow me; the food is almost ready," Sha said to him.

"Do feed him, Miranda, I’ll be taking Audrey and Mikhail to the... for a walk," Lake walked around to hold Mikhail’s hand.

"Can he come with us?" Mikhail asked, holding Leon’s hand and looking up at Audrey and Lake.

"I don’t think it’s -"

"He can. You can come with us, Leon," Audrey subtly nudged Lake’s side and shook her head at him.

Lake sighed, "Of course, he can come with." He agreed reluctantly.

"Then, we’ll have the food ready before your return," Miranda assured.

"Thank you, Miranda. Let’s go, Leon," Audrey held Leon’s hand and led him out of the living room.

Lake had Mikhail in his arms as he walked behind Audrey and Leon as they headed to the forest, the veins in his head popping in suppressed anger and jealousy as he saw how Leon possessively held Audrey’s hand. It was supposed to be him holding her hand, this was supposed to be a family stroll.

"Daddy?" Mikhail called quietly.

Lake blinked away from Leon and Audrey and turned to Mikhail, "Yes, buddy?" He managed to smile at him.

"Are you upset?" Mikhail questioned.

Lake chuckled softly, "No. Why?" He asked.

Mikhail pointed to Leon, "Leon is holding Moma and you’re not happy about it, right?" He held Lake’s face.

Lake sighed, "I don’t like it, do you?" He whispered.

Mikhail smiled and leaned his face closer to Lake’s, "You don’t have to be jealous; Moma loved you, even before I was born." He whispered.

Lake suddenly halted, staring seriously into Mikhail’s eyes, "What did you say?" He asked, glancing at Audrey who was still walking ahead with Leon.

Mikhail nodded, "It’s the truth, she told me so," He assured.

Lake looked away from Audrey and nodded at Mikhail, giving him a reluctant smile. "Thanks, little man. I feel much better," He kissed Mikhail’s cheek and proceeded to walk behind Audrey and Leon.

He wasn’t going to disregard what Mikhail had said. Deep down, he knew that the connection he felt for Audrey and the kid wasn’t an ordinary one. He knew something was missing from his memory, and he didn’t need a witch’s magic to realize that Audrey filled that absence in his life.

He was almost a hundred percent sure that Audrey was the one who wrote him that letter, but he couldn’t remember the incident that led to their separation nor could he remember his time with her.

Again, what made his belief so strong were those blurry flashes he got each time he tried to get close to Audrey; he knew they were not for nothing. And he could see it in Audrey’s eyes, she wanted to get close to him, but she seemed to be afraid of something.

He knew she was protecting him from something.

He didn’t need her protection; he needed her love and acknowledgment, and he was going to get it by all means.

Mikhail’s words were like the fuel he needed to take the next step, and he would, soon.

He needed to mark her, bound her to himself and only death could separate them from the moment he sank his fangs into her.

"I want to walk, Daddy," Mikhail’s excited voice spoke beside him as they reached the entrance of the forest.

Lake gently lowered the kid to the ground, "Stay close," He said to Mikhail.

Mikhail nodded and over to Audrey.

"Moma," Mikhail held Audrey’s hand.

Audrey looked at her son and smiled, "Which side do you want to go, sweetheart?" She asked.

Mikhail looked at Leon before answering, "I want to take him to some place beautiful, I found it out when Mark brought me here," He replied and started to lead Leon into the forest.

Leon’s chuckled and followed the young boy. "Okay, Mikhail, but we better slow down so we don’t lose mummy," he suggested.

But Mikhail seemed to know his way because he kept leading Leon deeper into the forest.

Audrey smiled as she watched her son; she was about to move forward when she felt Lake wrap his hand around her wrist. She paused and turned to face him.

"What’s the problem, handsome?" She smiled at him. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Lake felt his heart melt as he stared into her green eyes, behind those smiles, he could sense her pain, it was heavy and dark.

Gently, he drew her into his arms, hugging her, in a sweet, assuring hug.

Audrey placed her head on his chest for a few seconds before she raised her head to look at his face, "What’s this?" She murmured.

Lake raised his hand to caress her face, his grey eyes softening as he stared longer at her; he palmed the side of her face and leaned closer to her face, "I love you." He whispered.

Audrey gulped; she no longer knew how to deal with Lake’s affection; she was getting scared for them. Her urge to give herself to him as a mate increased every day. She was running out of defense techniques to use.

Her breath turned hot as she gazed into his eyes, her hands gripped the sides of his shirt, and her mind begged her to tell him everything she’d been hiding from him.

"I mean it, Audrey. I love you. I don’t know what we might have faced in the past, but, finding you this second time is our redemption to make everything right again. I know we’ve met before, and, I know Mikhail is mine... I’m just pleading with you to open up to me and let me share your troubles with you. I do love you, Audrey, stop drawing away from me, please," His hand tightened around her as she tried to step away from him.

Audrey was shocked to hear Lake’s words. This time, it didn’t sound like he was making assumptions; he sounded sure and grounded.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lake," She bit her lower lips.

Lake gently used his thumb to pull out her lower lip from between her teeth, "You do, Audrey." He whispered and kissed her.

Audrey was feeling defeated, there was nothing forced about Lake’s kiss, yet she felt his determination and passion from it.

He loved her, and he wasn’t scared to let her know, but Audrey could feel that it was not just about love anymore; he was starting to embrace the familiarity he felt with her; he wanted to unravel the memories by all means possible.

She felt his tender lips kissing her ever so softly, his arms telling the story of how possessive he was toward her.

Slowly, she managed to move her face away from his, staring into his eyes, "I really don’t know what you’re talking about, Lake," She whispered.

"Now you’re hurting me, Audrey. It’s okay if you can’t say you love me yet, but don’t lie to me, Audrey. I’m an Alpha; my instincts are never wrong, nor is my wolf. We recognize you, Audrey; you’re a missing part of life; please... stop trying to create more rift between us. Don’t lie to me," He placed his forehead on hers, a tear slipping down his eye.

"I’ve been hurting so much, Moma, but after meeting you, you gave me purpose... please, don’t try to take away that purpose from me. I’d die, Audrey; this is not me trying to sound romantic; I’m being serious. I can feel it, if you leave my side, I’d die. Don’t leave me again," He sniffed.

Audrey instantly hugged Lake, her heart shattering as he saw his tears and heard the pain in his voice. She hugged him silently, rubbing his back, "I’m not going anywhere, Lake, I promise." She gritted her teeth in anger and frustration.

It was time to look for her next move, she could not allow the man she loved to keep suffering this way. He felt like she was withdrawing her affection from him but that wasn’t the case, she was dying to shower him with love but something was holding her back.

She needed to pay another visit to her garden, it was time she sought another approach to their matter.

"Moma!" Mikhail ran over to them and held Audrey’s hand.

"Hey, where’s Leon?" She asked, not letting go of Lake’s hand.

"There," Mikhail pointed to a tree in front of them.

Leon walked over to them, his eyes glancing at Audrey’s hand holding Lake’s.

He cleared his throat as he approached them. "Um, he keeps saying he wants to see what’s behind some gate," Leon said, scratching the back of his head.

"What gate?" Lake questioned, looking confused; he couldn’t remember having any gates in his forests.

Audrey froze. She didn’t know whether he was shocked or impressed; she knew what Mikhail was talking about, and she never imagined he could find it without her.

It could only mean one thing: Mikhail was tuning in to some powers within him.

"It’s a white gate, Moma. I kept showing Leon, but he said he couldn’t see it. Come on, Daddy, I’ll show you," Mikhail led Lake away, his steps sure and precise.

"Fuck... what do I do?" Audrey murmured as he watched he’d them go.

This wasn’t the way she planned to let Lake know, especially not with Leon around.