Chapter 65
CARSON I told Josh what we found, but I made sure he didn’t tell Lucian or Leah. I wanted to wait to know what we had was true. There was no point in spreading false hope for anyone or even frightening people. Lynx growled, but I ignored him. He had been close by, taking in everything we had been doing, but he eventually fell asleep. There were still a few things to go through. It was surprising how much we still had left to go through. We went over everything for most of the evening and night until we all left the office. It was getting tiring, and we all needed some rest. We still didn’t know what they were planning and if there were any more attacks. That part was the worst. I was the last to leave the office but couldn’t bring myself to bed. There was no point. I would have to get up in a few hours, and all my mind would be returned to Leah. My mind went to what Josh told me. She was already safe. Something there made me wonder if he was lying, but I put it to the back of my mind. I didn’t need Lynx picking up on it. Walking up the stairs, I didn’t even head to my room. I headed to my mother’s. I wanted to check on her since it had been a few days. I stepped onto her floor and headed to her room. I let myself in. The room was dark, but a faint glow came from her room, meaning she could be awake. Stepping closer, I walked into her room and found her in a chair—sleeping. She had a blanket over her legs while her eyes were closed. My heart raced slightly, wondering how she was. There was so much pain in this room. Over the years, I told Cassie we should move her to another room since it hurt her so much to be in here since our father passed, but when we tried, our mother flipped. But it was too early for her to leave. The room still smelt like our father. His scent lingered everywhere. It eased her knowing she had it, but now, being in here, there was no smell of his left. There was nothing. My eyes scanned around, looking around the room we all used to come to and play when we were younger, but now it was all small and dingy. With a sigh, I moved further into the room and approached my mother. I needed to wake her up and make sure she went to bed. It wasn’t a child’s job, but I didn’t care. Mum had been there for me and Cassie before all this started, and we are here for her now. Moving toward her, I knelt and placed my hand in my mother’s hands, which startled her. Her eyes flew open, and she looked around until she looked at me. Her lips curled up into a small smile. “Carson,” she whispered. “What are you doing here? It is late.” I moved up and sat on the couch next to her. “I know,” I said, giving her a sheepish smile. “I wanted to come and make sure you were okay. Sleeping in the chair isn’t good, mum.” Mum stared at me, but I continued. “I thought Cassie was staying here,” I murmured, looking back at her. Mum frowned. “Carson, I’m not a child,” she muttered. “I can put myself to bed first. As for Cassie, she was here but left at a reasonable time. I told her to go to bed.” I said nothing until she said something that made me look at her, bewildered. “There was an attack on the pack, wasn’t there?” she asked, looking defeated. Movement in my head came, which meant Lynx was awake. He came close, probably wondering what mum was thinking. He always did this when we were nearer to our mother. “Yes,” I murmured, which made her look at me for a moment till she sighed. “What happened?” I stared at her, not knowing whether to leave about Paul and the old gamma for now since, technically, it was rogues that came onto our lands. I told her what I knew and left out what I had to do for now. Mum tensed throughout the conversation but calmed down slightly. Her eyes stayed on me for a long while. “How many died?” I shook my head, not wanting to place that on her. “Not saying.” My mum surprised us by letting out a growl, as she hadn’t displayed her wolf nature much since my father’s passing. “She’s there,” Lynx murmured. “She comes back slowly.” He stopped, which made me look back at him for a moment. His eyes went to me before he started back up again. “I think she would be okay if she knew we got a mate,” he said, which made my eyes widen. Tell my mother about Leah. Before I could even consider it, Lynx spoke. “You need a different perspective on the situation,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. “We can’t rely on her mum and don’t get me started on our beta. He has even tried. Maybe mum could point us in the right direction on how to proceed. She’s human. Maybe she can give us pointers on how to be in her life and be close to her without scaring her.” “Well, we will have to wait until she comes back,” I muttered, just as an image slammed into my mind of Leah watching me shift into my wolf. Leah didn’t exactly have a fair warning about our kind. It all happened suddenly, and we won’t even know how she will take it until she comes back. Josh told me they tried to talk to her about it, but she shut them down, which wasn’t a good start for me. I had to remember that she was still human, and it would take time for her to understand. There was more at play. I still needed to know more about her. Jenny promised she would answer what she could about Leah, but something was wrong with that. “Carson,” mum called out, which brought me back to her. I looked over at her, which made her eyes softened. “I take it you were talking to Lynx?” I gave her a nod and straightened up on the couch. “I asked. I wanted to know more,” she said. I opened my mouth to speak, but my mother carried on. “I know you are keeping something from me. Tell me.” I stared at her for a moment before I spoke. “There is something else about the attack I know,” I murmured, which made me listen to her heart. It spiked, which made a second guess of telling her the rest of what I knew. “But it is not concrete. I don’t want to say anything until I know the truth.” Mum stared, and her face softened slightly. “Okay, that is fair enough.” I stared at her while her eyes bore back. I knew she was searching for something until her eyes flickered between her wolves but then back to hers again. Her wolf was close. Maybe Lynx was right. Maybe telling her I found my mate would help. “There is something else,” I said, keeping my eyes on my mum as I said the seven words. “A few days ago, I found my mate.” Mum’s eyes widened, but she said nothing. “Mum, I found her,” I said, which made my heart feel heavy. “And I need your help.”