Help! Five Beast Alphas Want To Breed Me!!(BL)-Chapter 283: Protect Family

Elián;

My emotions tangle inside me as I stare at her. She’s been quiet for minutes, and it hasn’t been weird. However... The urge to say something... to speak to her, to.. To get to understand what’s going on... That has been eating at me for a while now, and I don’t think I can hold back anymore.

I’m sitting on the edge of my bed, legs folded awkwardly, as I watch Alana, who’s kneeling by the open chest at my feet.

She’s sorting my clothes with meticulous care, folding each piece like they would get offended if they have the slightest crease. She hums under her breath while she works, some gently melodious tune I don’t recognise, and every now and then she pauses to sniff one of my shirts before wrinkling her nose.

"This one smells like Alpha Zephan," she breaks the silence, and I snort.

"That’s because he was all over me the last time I wore it," I reply, and she laughs softly and tosses it aside.

"Figures." She whispers, and as my smile fades, I let myself just... look at her.

Her beautiful, brown hair is pulled back into a loose ponytail, with a few strands slipping rebelliously near her temples. There’s a little smudge of dust on her cheek she hasn’t noticed yet as she’s deep in work.

She looks the same as she always has, and somehow... completely different too. Thinner around the eyes, and tired in a way she never used to be.

She knows now.

She knows about the baby.

About my pregnancy... about how her biggest wish for me is finally coming true.

I told her barely an hour ago, the words tumbling nervously out of me in the way I had rehearsed them. I expected screaming. Jumping. Tears... Something explosive. You know?

How a sister would react if she found out her newlywed sibling was already expecting a little bundle.

But what I got—

She did smile. Her eyes did light up... But it was like watching an explosion restrain itself in a glass cage.

Contained. Pressed down... Wrong.

That was not the shallow... distant reaction I expected from my Alana after getting such news. No... It just... made the new feel... unimportant. That hurt...

And it pointed out that... Something truly is wrong with her.

"You don’t have to organise them by colour," I say gently, and she freezes like I caught her doing something wrong.

"Oh... I just thought—" She begins, and I force a smile.

"It’s okay," I interrupt quickly.

"You don’t have to do anything. You can just... sit." I add, and she blinks at me.

She nods, but keeps folding anyway.

And it breaks me.

Alana doesn’t hover like this. She doesn’t distract herself with busy hands when she’s happy. When she’s truly excited, she vibrates. She talks too fast. She seems like someone who’d cry and laugh at the same time.

This isn’t that...This is camouflage... distance.

I get off the bed, kneel on the floor, and shift closer to her... Careful not to spook her.

My arm brushes hers, and she stiffens instantly.

There it is.

That sharp, telltale jumpiness that she never before had.

Alana used to exude grace... not fear. Not panic... What’s wrong with her?

"Hey," I whisper, and before she can react, I lean forward and wrap my arms around her.

She goes rigid.

Not just startled... Frozen.

Like prey caught out of the blue.

She doesn’t hug me back, and for a heartbeat, she doesn’t even breathe.

"Alana," I whisper, pulling back just enough to see her face.

"Talk to me." I plead, and she blinks. Once. Twice... But she remains silent.

"You’re shaking," I add softly.

"Why are you shaking?" I probe, and she gently shakes her head.

"I’m not," she lies, and it’s a bad lie. One she can not defend.

I cup her cheek, thumb brushing away the dust there as I try to gather strength I’m not even sure I have.

"You don’t have to protect me. You know that, right?" I whisper, and her lips part, but close again.

"I can tell something’s wrong," I continue, voice breaking despite my efforts.

"And it’s killing me not knowing what it is. If you’re in trouble, I want to help. I need to help. You’re my sister... What good have I ever done for you? Don’t make me a shame of a brother. Please... Please let me help, Alana. What’s going on? Why... Why are you cracking so much? You’re... different." I whisper, and she swallows hard.

"You trust me," I continue.

"I know you always have, so trust me now... please..." I push, and her breath shudders.

Her lips wobble, tears flood her eyes, and then she breaks.

A sob tears out of her like it’s been waiting in her lungs for permission to escape.

She folds forward, face crumpling, and hands flying up to cover her mouth as if she’s trying to stop the sound from escaping.

"Oh... Alana," I choke, pulling her into me again, and this time, she clings to me.

Her fingers twist into my shirt, knuckles white, and shoulders shaking violently as she cries like she’s been holding it in for days... Weeks? Maybe longer...

Seeing her like this... and hearing her cry like this for the first time breaks me. It reaches into me and rips my heart apart.

I cry too.

Silent, useless tears slide down my face as I hold her. As I rock her gently, like I can fix this just by being here.

I hate this feeling. Hate it with everything in me.

The feeling of knowing someone you love is drowning and not knowing where the water is coming from, or how to pull them out.

"I’m sorry," she gasps.

"I’m sorry— I can’t fight it—" She adds, and I gulp.

"Don’t," I whisper fiercely, wiping her tears with trembling hands.

"Don’t apologise. Just tell me. What’s wrong, Alana? Are you in trouble?" I whisper, and she pulls back slightly, eyes red, breath hiccupping.

"Asa..." she whispers, and my heart skips a beat.

"What about her?"

Alana’s gaze flicks instinctively toward the door. Fear flashes across her face so fast it grips me, too.

"She’s not—" Her voice breaks.

"She’s not what she seems." She whispers, and cold spreads through my veins.

"What do you mean?" I ask carefully.

"Alana, what does that mean?" I demand in confusion, and she opens her mouth.

However, just then, the door bursts open.

It slams against the wall so hard tthat he force shakes the shelves.

"A- Alana!" Asa calls as she storms into the room, breathless, with eyes sharp and scanning like she’s counting exits.

She didn’t knock. She just... burst in like she owns the place.

Alana instantly recoils, and my jaw drops at this.

Her hands drop from my shirt, and her body angles away from me, with her shoulders curling inward like she’s trying to disappear.

Fear consumes her... Real fear.

And at the sight of it, something inside me snaps.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing?" I shout, shooting to my feet as I turn to the tramp who just barged into my room.

"This is my room!" I scream further, and Asa flinches.

"I’m sorry," she says quickly, eyes flicking back to Alana.

"I wouldn’t interrupt if it weren’t urgent."

"I don’t care," I snap.

"You don’t barge into my room like this. Ever!" I scream, and she gulps.

"It’s the nursery," Asa blurts. "One of the babies is missing, and Queen Selthía wants to see all the maids and guards assigned to tend to the nursery last night. Alana’s needed now." She explains, and my stomach drops.

The excuse is good. Too good.

"You could’ve sent someone else," I hiss. "Or waited," I add, and she stared at me like I’m heartless.

"But Master Elian, a baby is missing." She retorts, already backing toward the door. "This couldn’t possibly be more important than—"

"Get. Out," I growl, cutting her off, and the room goes still.

Asa freezes, eyes widening slightly.

"Pardon?"

"I said, get the fuck out of my room!" I yell, and I see her jaw tighten.

"Master Elián, this isn’t—"

"I don’t care what you have to say," I shout. "

You don’t get to storm in here and scare her like that. You don’t get to pull her away like she’s yours." I add, and Alana gasps quietly.

Asa’s eyes flicker with something dark. Calculating, and worry blooms inside me.

"Alana," she says softly, changing in a tone that shakes my spine.

"We need to go." She says like a subtle order, and as though under a spell, Alana stands.

Immediately.

"I—I’ll be right back," she says quickly, avoiding my eyes, and my mouth falls open.

"I just need to— I promise—" She begins as she stars backinga way from me, and I try to reach for her.

"Alana, wait," I say, grabbing her wrist, but she pulls free.

"I have to," she whispers. "I’ll come back. I swear." She adds, and with that, she follows Asa out.

The door shuts behind them with a final, hollow thud that leaves an ache in my chest.

I stand there, staring at the closed door, unable to understand what the fuck just happened.

My hands curl into fists, and anger replaces air in my lungs.

I sink onto the edge of the bed, with my heart pounding painfully.

She’s not what she seems. Alana’s words echo in my mind, and I shut my eyes.

Whatever Asa is doing... whatever hold she has...

I’m not going to let it continue.

I don’t know how yet, but I will stop her.

Because Alana is my family, and I will protect her.

I must.