Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen – Remedy
Jaden’s POV
My mother had always been a wolfess who wanted all the good things the world could offer. The world had also been at her beck and call since she was the next Alpha. She was loved and admired but not free.
Well, no Alpha was.
It became worse for her after she gave birth to me and then married my father months later. I never knew why they didn’t do it before; perhaps the delay was her attempt to hold on to her freedom. But she lost all access to it after becoming Alpha. Duty was all that remained for her.
Now that she was retired and fulfilling her dreams, I couldn’t call her back to duty. That would be cruel.
“Alpha!” Ralph banged the table, snapping me from my thoughts.
I pouted slightly. “I don’t want to bother my mom. Should she come back now?”
Ralph shrugged. “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen her. Yeah, she should. It’s been a year already. Doesn’t she miss her kids?”
My mother wasn’t like that; she knew we weren’t babies. I smiled, remembering the last words she said to me as she sailed off on her traveling ship.
“Take care of my four babies. I made sure the last one’s hibernating. If any of the babies bother you, hibernate them. Be happy.”
I shook my head. The four babies were Jake and my three uncles, her younger brothers. Since I was her eldest, that made me the newest head of the family.
As a kid, I wondered if my father, the “last baby,” had actually been locked in hibernation by my mother. As an adult, I wasn’t so sure he hadn’t been.
“Ralph, hell hath no fury like a woman’s wrath. My mother would be mad if we brought her back over a blind issue.” I grinned, imagining it.
“Of the Alpha King,” Ralph reminded me.
I rolled my eyes. “You know she never really accepted Chris as the Alpha King.”
My mother would be the last to care.
“Well, tell her about the Lycan. He’s becoming a big problem. Isn’t she worried about her pack?” Ralph commented, looking away.
Why should she be? Wasn’t I the Alpha?
“She left it in my care and trusts me to protect it. Sorry, Ralph, but we can’t bring her back.” I finalized, meeting his gaze.
He glared, blinked, then glanced away. “Well, then, it’s left to us to find what medicine she used to cure herself.”
Find it? “Wait, must we be the ones to find the cure? Chris isn’t only our Alpha King!”
Ralph slammed the table. “Didn’t you read the letter?” He pointed at it.
I took a glimpse and then looked away.
“Ray was informed by Alpha Wayne that your mother had suffered from this. So Ray asked for the remedy. He asked directly!” Ralph hollered.
Now, this was a problem. And it shouldn’t be–I had enough already.
“Look, Ralph, as I said, I don’t know what it is… and I have a lot on my plate,” I said in a low tone.
1/3
Chapter 147
He blew raspberries, kicking the air as he paced. You keep forgetting that we were asked to bring a solution. Should we leave Chris blind?
Certainly not. The only one who’d enjoy it would be Rihanna. And as much as I wanted her happiness now, this wasn’t it.
Ask the librarians to search for my mother’s old journal. She experienced this while fighting a…” I trailed off.
My mother had experienced this while fighting a “lone large beast.” Those were the words she used in her journal. Was that a Lycan?
“I doubt what she was fighting is important to the remedy,” Ralph huffed, walking toward the library.
I frowned, eyeing him. He was too haughty and always eager to help Black Hills. I didn’t know what was wrong with Betas.
From where Ralph walked out, my brother walked in, wearing a smug grin. Frustration beset me again as he didn’t shift his gaze from mine until he sat down beside me.
“You’re in trouble.” His eyes shifted to yellowish–orange, sparking a reaction from my wolf, who felt threatened.
Against my will, my eyes turned red, but I shook it off. What was with my wolf? Was he planning to attack my brother?
“Did you just communicate with my wolf?” I asked Jake, realizing what he did.
He smirked proudly. “Yeah, you aren’t the one in trouble since you weren’t in control. He is. And he had to know.”
I felt relieved knowing I wasn’t the only one scolding this spirit inside me. “So what did he do?” I asked the formidable question.
“Jonah said Rih was in her wolf form and spoke through Beatrice. She limped.” Jake raised a brow.
That meant my wolf had broken her leg.
“She was tired, bleeding from her legs. She was far from you, and it looked like her barrier was what weakened you,” Jake snickered.
Was that a good thing? It meant she had defended herself against me. That my wolf had been attacking her.
“I know it was a duel, but it looked fatal, even from Jonah’s point of view,” Jake shrugged. “I guess that’s why he was disappointed in you.”
That’s it! I’m screwed!
“And before you think you’re screwed, know that this was your wolf’s mistake, not yours,” my brother added.
As comforting as it seemed, I wasn’t at all moved by it. My wolf wasn’t the one she’d see, but me. And I wasn’t going to tell her that I wasn’t in control- that my twisted wolf was!
I jumped from my seat. “Jake, you’ve had girlfriends before. How do I apologize to her?”
“And please don’t recommend flowers,” I warned as he pointed toward Rose Valley.
He put his hands down. “I think flowers are a good way to start. Maybe then, get her a… do you know what she likes?”
I knew little about her likes. She didn’t wear jewelry few female warriors did. And she didn’t dress aesthetically. She was really simple.
“No idea. Think of something… common?”
Jake shrieked. “You want something common for an Alpha she–wolf?”
We stayed quiet for a while.
“Hey, I found the address!” Ralph stormed into the room. “We have to travel, and it’ll take at least two days. C’mon!”
I glanced at Jake tiredly. He shrugged, “I’ll keep thinking till you return.”
2/3
Chapter 147
Sigh. This week wasn’t my week at all.
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