Alpha, I Heard It All Novel – While I was doing laundry for my son, I found a condom in his school uniform pocket. Then I saw the disturbing texts on his phone. My son was definitely up to something. I posted for advice: [My eighth-grade son is dating, what should I do?] Top comment: [You should worry about yourself first, not your son.] What? I asked them what they meant. They replied: [Dude, take a closer look at your screenshot. “Clean up quickly, Room 1508 at the Horriston Hotel, I don’t want to hear any pleading.” Kids don’t talk like that.
Also, the Horriston Hotel costs $150 a night. Where would your son gets that kind of money?] [Plus, hotels require a credit card for reservations these days. How would a middle schooler even book a room?] [I’ll bet twenty bucks, it’s not your son who’s dating. You need to check his phone… and prepare for what you might find.] The comments were getting crazier. The speculation in the comments just got crazier and crazier the further I read. A new reply suddenly popped up under the top comment. Someone highlighted part of my screenshot and wrote: [Public service announcement for everyone, see that “sildenafil” in the chat? That’s Viagra.
You know, to… enhance sexual performance.] [A teenage boy doesn’t need that. Middle schoolers get excited just from Victoria’s Secret ads.] [I bet the OP’s husband is using the kid’s phone to text his mistress. This isn’t a coming-of-age love story, folks! If you agree, hit like!] The likes kept rising, climbing to the top. At first, I thought this was absurd. But as I kept reading, my palms started to sweat. I felt tightness in my chest. Everything became blurry. Even so, I couldn’t bring myself to believe Adrian, my perfect Alpha mate, would betray me. I heard the sound of keys at the front door. Adrian wasn’t home.
He’d gone to a conference in the next city and had been gone for two days. When he’s away, we text and FaceTime non-stop. He even tells me when he’s eating or taking a shower. The first thing he did was pull me into a deep embrace. Then, he cupped my face in his hands, his nose nuzzling gently against my neck as he inhaled my scent. “Baby, two days felt like forever. I missed you so much.” He produced a small, elegantly wrapped box. A Bulgari necklace. He remembered. I only glanced at it once while we were shopping.
Noticing my lack of excitement, his expression shifted to concern. “Who upset my sweetheart? Was Marcus being difficult again?” “There’s a new dessert shop downstairs. I’ll get you something sweet, it’ll cheer you up.” “Maybe skip the coffee today, sweetheart, since your period’s about to start. I don’t want it to make your cramps worse.” As he spoke, he grabbed his keys and prepared to head out. “It’s fine, I’m just tired.” He heard me and immediately had me sit on the couch, starting to massage my shoulders. A final test. I reached for his phone. His face remained calm. His chat history was spotless. I was the only contact he had pinned as a favorite.
The most recent texts were only from me and his mother. I put the phone down, feeling guilty. He’s been so good to me. I shouldn’t doubt him. “Sweetie, since you’ve already checked my phone, want to tell me what’s bothering you?” I hesitated but finally decided to let it go. “…I think Marcus is seeing someone.” I told him about finding the condom in Marcus’s suit jacket. Adrian frowned, thoughtful. “The boy’s growing up, huh?” “But he’s still young, reckless. I don’t want him to hurt some poor girl.” “Let me talk to him.” He patted my shoulder reassuringly.
Then he walked toward Marcus’s room. I got up to start packing his suitcase. Suddenly, something fell out of his jacket pocket. Two condoms. Yellow packaging, banana flavor. Exactly like the one I found in Marcus’s uniform. My heart stopped. Just then, my phone buzzed again with a new comment: [Well? The Holliston Hotel—are you going to catch them or not? Find out if it’s your son or your husband!] My hand trembling, I replied: [I’ll go.]