Alpha Alec's Redemption - Chapter 158: Chapter 158

The silence that followed breakfast wasn’t awkward—it was peaceful, like the quiet that came after a long, devastating storm. The kind of silence that didn’t demand to be filled. Alec sat across from me, chewing slowly, eyes occasionally flicking in my direction. I caught him once, and he looked away, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
When we both finished eating, he stood and gathered the plates, heading toward the sink. I followed without thinking, scooping up the cups and setting them beside him before switching on the tap.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he asks, his voice low but with a familiar gruffness that held no real irritation—only disbelief.
I turn to find him staring at me, a deep crease between his brows. I am confused because it was obvious what I was doing. It didn't take a genius to figure out I was about to wash the dishes.
“Washing the dishes?” I reply.
He scowls. “Sadie, sit your ass down. You just came off three days of moon heat, and your legs barely work. You shouldn’t be doing chores.”
I roll my eyes and turn back to the sink. “I’m fine, Alec. I can handle it. You made breakfast, so it’s only fair I clean up after.”
“You’re being stubborn.”
“No, I am not.”
“Yes, you are.”
Goddess, why the hell were we arguing like little children?
“You’re being bossy,” I shoot back with a smirk. “Now are you going to help me rinse these or just stand there pouting?”
He narrows his eyes like he wants to argue further, but eventually he exhales and picks up a towel. “Fine. But you’re not lifting a single damn pan.”
I just sigh and roll my eyes at him. He is being so overprotective as if washing the dishes can actually break me.
We fall into a quiet rhythm, side by side at the sink. There is something strangely intimate about it, the way our shoulders brush every so often, the way his fingers linger when they pass over mine.
It feels so domestic, like this is how things are supposed to be. Like this was how things were supposed to be from the beginning.
“So,” I say after a minute, keeping my tone casual, “whose cabin is this anyway?”
Alec pauses before responding, the sound of water running over the dishes filling the gap. “It’s mine.”
Am I shocked? Definitely. I didn’t expect this to be his. Maybe a friend or something. I never would have imagined Alec having a small, cozy cabin. If anything, I imagined him having a huge-ass mansionette.
I glance at him. “Yours?”
He nods. “Built it three years ago.”
I raise a brow. “Really? And here I thought I knew everything about you. How did I not know you had a secret escape cabin in the middle of the woods?”
He rubs the back of his neck, sheepishly. “Didn’t exactly advertise it.”
I am really curious now. “Why not?”
His shoulders stiffened slightly. “Because I built it for my mate. I wanted a place that was just ours. Somewhere quiet. Private. No one else would know about it… just the two of us.”
I freeze, fingers tightening around the soapy plate in my hand, as the impact of his words settles inside me. I suddenly come crashing down from the cloud nine I was riding on a few minutes ago. Everything in me stills and I feel as if my breath has been knocked out of me.
“So,” I say slowly, my voice above a whisper, “you built it for Lola.”
His silence stretches. Long. Heavy. Do I really need a confirmation when his silence speaks volumes? Who else would he have built it for if it weren’t Lola? And that? That makes me bitter. Makes me angry. Makes me jealous.
The whole thing, including her name on my lips, leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I want nothing but to drop the subject but something inside me just keeps pushing.
I turn slightly to look at him. “Did she ever come here? Did she ever sleep in the bed?”
Alec drops the towel he is holding, reaches for me, and gently pulls me away from the sink. I face him reluctantly.
“No,” he says firmly. “Lola has never been to this cabin. No woman has. Only you.”
I pull away, needing space. Needing clarity. Fuck, for some reason it felt like my insides were burning and it had nothing to do with the heat and everything to do with his past relationship with Lola. It still fucking hurts when I think of how in love he was with her. How he treated her like a queen while I was treated like the invisible stranger.
“It doesn’t matter,” I mutter. “Even if she has never set foot here… you still built it for her.”
Maybe I was still suffering from the aftereffects of the moon heat, but I was fighting back tears. Tears I didn’t want him to see. I wanted to scream and shout, but I didn't do any of that. I couldn't let myself lose control like that.
I rinse off the final plate and hand it to him, not waiting for a reply. My chest feels tight. I walk away, back to the bedroom with heavy steps and heavier thoughts. The towel I’d left folded earlier was still on the bed. I grab it, intending to take a shower, to wash away the swirling storm inside my head.
I am nearly at the bathroom door when I hear his footsteps behind me. Then he is in front of me, cutting off my path.
“Move,” I say without looking at him.
I can’t even begin to look at him, not when my emotions are still raw and I feel like crying my eyes out. Not when I want to lash out and strike at him.
He doesn't.
“Alec, I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
My fingers curl into fists. “If you don’t move willingly, I’ll make you move, and you won't like it when I do.”
“Do what you need to do, Sadie,” he says quietly, “but I’m not moving until you let me explain.”
I move to push past him, but he catches me—gently—and pulls me against him, wrapping his arms around me from behind. Caging me.
“Do you know why I never brought Lola here?” he asks softly near my ear.
Is he serious right now?
I scoff. “You didn’t get the chance. Calvin ruined your perfect little plan before you could execute it.”
He exhales, the breath shaky. “I had this place built the moment I found out she was my supposed mate. I should have brought her here the minute it was finished. I could have. But I didn’t.”
What the actual fuck?
I still. “But that was months before everything went to hell.”
“I know,” he whispers. “I had plenty of chances. But every time I thought about bringing her here, something stopped me. I thought maybe I wanted to wait until we were officially mated, until I marked her. But the truth is… it didn’t feel right.”
I turned slowly in his arms, my eyes searching his face.
“It didn’t feel right?” I echoed.
He nodded. “Not once.”
His answer should have comforted me, yet it did the opposite.
“It didn’t feel right,” I repeat. “And yet you continued parading her and playing mates with her?”
This should have been mine, but instead he gave it all to that woman. He should have been mine, but instead he was too wrapped up in Lola to even realize that she wasn’t his true mate. That pisses me off so badly. Why did things become this way? Why didn’t he just dig harder? Why did he ignore his damn instincts?
His breath hitches. “I know, but I was desperate, Sadie. I was losing hope for my pack. I felt the mate sparks with her so I clung to that, ignoring every other thing that was wrong about her and about our mating.”
Have you ever found out that your partner did something so idiotic that it leaves you wanting to hit him? That is what I am currently feeling.
I remain quiet, just seething in my anger.
“It didn’t feel right bringing Lola here, But with you… I didn’t even think about it. I just brought you here. It felt right without question. That’s when I knew. Deep down, I think I always knew… she wasn’t my mate. She didn’t belong here. You do.”
My throat tightens as I turn and look into his eyes. He looks so sincere. So raw. His green eyes hold nothing back. No walls. No secrets. Just truth, and that? That eases something in me. That makes my anger and bitterness momentarily fade away.
“Alec…”
He cups my face with both hands. “This place has always been yours, Sadie. Even before I knew you were mine.”
He leans in slowly, giving me every chance to pull away.
Maybe it’s the aftereffects of the moon heat, but I don’t.
Our lips meet in a kiss that was soft, slow, and full of emotion. There is no desperation in it. No heat-fueled urgency. Just warmth and honesty.
When we finally break apart, he rests his forehead against mine. “You’re not just someone passing through this place, Sadie. You’re its heart.”
I didn’t know what to say.
So, I just stood there, holding on to him, peaceful but afraid that this could be the start of something, and that really scared me, because as much as deep down I wanted us, I wasn't sure if I was ready to let it all go and start over with him.