Kidnapped by My Mate Universe: The Alpha's Doe

My mom stood from her seat. “Oh, sweetheart,” she whispered. She rounded the island and silently opened her arms to me.

I fell into her embrace with a pathetic whimper, blinking furiously to try to keep my panicked tears at bay. But the longer I sat there trying not to cry, the more heavily the tears fell.

After a minute of sitting in my mother’s hold, she leaned back and framed my face with her hands. “Why are you crying, sweetheart?”

It was a great question. Why was I crying? Shouldn’t I be happy? Love was supposed to be a good thing, right? So why did I feel so panicked?

I sniffled and shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. Just scared, I think. This is the first time I’ve admitted my…my feelings for Ace out loud.

“And I’m scared of how strong they are. I never realized… I thought it was just a stupid crush.”

My mom nodded. “The sort of love you and Ace share for each other is extremely special. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed.

“But this has been a long time coming, hasn’t it? I mean, the two of you have been inseparable since you met at six years old.”

“That’s the problem though. What if he doesn’t like me back? What if—?”

The door to the kitchen flew open, making both me and my mom jump, and my six-year-old brother came bursting in.

“Mom, I learned how to swim like a frog today!” Felix yelled, rushing over to us. His curly blond hair was still wet, and his shirt was inside out, probably from rushing to get dressed.

I would’ve laughed at his disheveled appearance if I weren’t so busy wiping the tears from my eyes so he wouldn’t be able to tell I had been crying.

“That’s great, sweetheart!” my mom told him. She scooped him up and set him down on the island counter. “Did you have a good time?”

He nodded, his wide smile showing off the space where his two front teeth were missing. “Yeah! Mrs. Carly showed us how to blow bubbles, and I blew for the longest, and then…”

Elliot came running in next, making a beeline for the fridge. “I’m hungry. What’s for dinner, Mom?” He noticed the unfrosted cupcakes on the stove. “Oooh, can I have one?”

I slapped his hand away. “They’re not ready yet. You can have one after dinner once I frost them.”

He stuck his tongue out at me and turned back to the fridge.

Soon, all seven of my brothers had crowded into our kitchen and were yelling and tearing through the fridge and pantry like little hungry tornadoes.

They snarled and snapped their teeth at each other in their pursuit of food. It was quite the spectacle.

Sometimes, I could have sworn they were more animal than human.

My mom found her way back to me among the chaos and put her hand on my shoulder. “We’ll finish talking about this later, okay? Maybe while we frost the cupcakes tonight?”

I smiled even though I was already regretting sharing so much. It overwhelmed me to know that she had realized my feelings for Ace before I had. What if Ace knew, as well?

“I actually think I might go to bed early tonight. Would you mind finishing the cupcakes yourself?”

She squeezed my shoulder and gave me a sympathetic nod. “Of course, honey.”

“Dotty!” the oldest of my brothers called out to me.

When Thomas was younger, he couldn’t pronounce my name and started calling me Dotty instead of Dorothy. The nickname stuck, and he even managed to pass it down to the rest of my brothers.

“Where’s Ace?” he continued. “I want to show him my new phone!” He pulled a brand-new iPhone out of his pocket and held it out for me to see.

My jaw dropped. “You got Thomas a phone?” I demanded from my dad as he wandered into the kitchen. “It’s nicer than mine! You didn’t get me a cellphone until I was fourteen!”

Dad laughed and rolled his eyes at me as he approached my mother while she chopped carrots. She tilted her head back to look at him, smiled, and kissed him in greeting.

Their cuteness made me want to vomit. They had always been so touchy with each other; far more touchy-feely than Mitchell had ever been with my mom.

You could tell they were in love just by the way my dad held my mom and the way she melted into him.

Dad looked back at me. “We had a landline when you were younger but we got rid of it years ago. Thomas and Elliot need a way to contact us since they’re nearly old enough to be home alone.”

“You got one for Elliot too? So unfair,” I grumbled.

My father chuckled. “You hardly went without, Dorothy. I seem to recall paying quite the hefty bill every month because you couldn’t go an hour without calling Ace.

“And I never told you to stop, now, did I?”

I crossed my arms over my chest with a huff. He had a point.

Without warning, my three-year-old brother went plowing into my legs, forcing me to stumble forward and brace myself against the island counter so I didn’t step on him.

Wes was still perfecting the art of walking and never looked where he was going. Running into things was a common occurrence with him.

He fell back on his butt with an “Uff!” Thankfully, he was back up in record time, yelling the words “I’m okay!” before waddling off to his next destination.

The kid was indestructible.

“Have you been crying?” my dad asked.

Damn, Wes barging into me made me step under the kitchen light.

My father’s grin had gone, replaced with a concerned frown.

I quickly wiped my eyes again and noticed the smudged mascara on my fingers when I pulled my hands away.

I stepped back into the shadows and shrugged. “Uh, no.” I had no interest in explaining to my father that I was crying because I’d realized I was in love with my best friend.

Thomas grabbed the sleeve of my sweater and tugged on it, dramatically throwing his head back as if I was causing him the biggest inconvenience of his life. I was beyond grateful for his intervention.

“Dottttyyyyy!” he whined. “Where’s Ace? Is he in your room? Can I go get him?”

“Oh, um, Ace actually—”

“But it’s my turn to hang out with Ace!” Elliot chimed in from one of the stools at the kitchen island. He was already getting his homework out of his backpack and setting it down in front of him.

He was always the most responsible of my brothers. He liked to get his homework done and out of the way so he could have the rest of the night to do whatever he wanted.

Thomas, on the other hand, would have to be glued to a chair before he’d even touch his homework.

“He promised he would play Mario Kart with me the next time he came over, and Dad said I could have screen time as soon as I finished my homework.”

“That’s true, Thomas,” Dad confirmed. “It seems like Elliot gets to hang out with Ace tonight.”

Thomas narrowed his eyes. “Not if I get to him first!” he yelled and rushed to the door.

Elliot practically flew off his chair and immediately chased after Thomas in a blur of movement that I could barely comprehend.

I’d never understood how my brothers could move so fast. I’ve never even tried to beat them in a race as all seven were faster than me from the moment they could walk.

And as if their speed and agility weren’t enough, they had Joe’s genes, so were huge too. In a town of giants, they were bigger than most boys, grew like weeds, and ate enough to sustain an army.

Elliot tackled Thomas to the ground with a loud growl. “It’s my turn to hang out with Ace! He hung out with you last time!”

Thomas growled back at him and rolled them over so that he was on top, baring his teeth at his twin brother. “He played Clue with both of us! Not just me!”

“Yeah, but you got to pick the game! I hate Clue!”

“Both of you, stop it!” Dad yelled. He marched over to where they were rolling around on the ground and pulled them apart by the collars of their shirts, forcing them both to stand.

“Neither of you will be hanging out with Ace today!” he admonished in a harsh tone. “And if the two of you keep fighting, you’ll be spending the rest of the night in your room.”

“But that’s not fair!” Elliot exclaimed.

“It wasn’t my fault—”

“Can I hang out with Ace if they’re in trouble?” Easton interjected.

Felix jumped up and down. “But I want to play with Ace!”

My brain was about to explode.

“Ace isn’t even here!” I finally exclaimed, cutting them all off. “I don’t know where he is, but he’s not coming over tonight, so everyone can just stop yelling at each other now, okay?

“Nobody is going to get to hang out with him.” I swallowed. “Not even me.”

For the first time since my brothers got home, there was complete silence in the kitchen. Everyone stared at me.

“What?” Thomas asked. His tone was full of disappointment. “But it’s Wednesday. Ace always comes over on Wednesdays.”

Felix ran up to me and hugged my leg tightly. “But, Dotty, I want to see Ace!”

I slumped against the counter, feeling utterly defeated. I knew exactly how they felt.

My dad released Thomas and Elliot and stepped closer. “Did something happen, Doe? Is he the reason you were crying?”

That question made me feel precariously close to breaking down in tears again. And I hated that. I crossed my arms over my chest and shifted my feet.

The worst part of all of this was that the only person who could make me feel better right now was Ace.

Thankfully, my mom came to my rescue. “Doe is just a little stressed out about school. But it’s nothing to worry about,” she explained.

I was impressed by how quickly she came up with the lie. I was never a good liar. Ace always said he could sense when I was going to lie to him before I even opened my mouth.

My mom put her hand on my shoulder. “Why don’t you go upstairs and lie down? Supper will be ready in a little bit, but you can skip it if you just want to be alone for tonight.”

I gave her the best smile I could muster, trying to communicate my gratitude. “Okay.”

I avoided looking at my dad as I walked by him, hoping he would just let me pass. I should have known better. He stepped in front of me, blocking my path.

When I continued to look away from him, he put his hands on my shoulders.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Doe?” he asked in a gentle tone.

“I’m fine,” I replied. I swallowed down the tears rising in my throat. “Just tired and stressed out like Mom said. Everything is okay.”

He studied me for a few seconds before finally releasing me with a simple nod of his head.