Chapter 35
In bed between his mates, Theo stared up at the ceiling, watching the room get lighter as the sun rose.
He had slept little since Jackson had told him that Dylon had rescued his parents and they were safe.
The joy that flooded his heart was, unfortunately, quickly replaced with a stream of endless questions in his mind.
And without answers, Theo knew it would be impossible to get some sleep soon.
Sighing quietly, he fought against the urge to call Jackson and demand to see his parents.
He would be patient for the moment, but not for long.
It was too important for him and his cub.
Even though he knew Theo was awake, Norm kept his eyes closed and waited for his mate to speak to him or Smokey.
But silence prevailed, and Norm felt Theo’s frustration beginning to get out of control.
Alarmed, he sent a message through their mind link to Smokey and asked for help.
He knew it was going to take both of them to handle the situation.
Like Norm, Smokey was awake and quiet while Theo sorted out his feelings.
Lying next to his mate, he could feel Theo’s tension grow, which didn’t do either his mate or the cub any good, but he wasn’t sure what to do about it.
Finally, he opened his eyes and growled, “This is bullshit…my vote is for ignoring Jackson and calling Theo’s parents right away.
Waiting isn’t gonna change anything. Theo needs to know now if his parents are a threat to him or not. ”
“We all need to know,” Norm muttered.
“Also, what happened to your parents, pooh bear,” Theo said softly.
“That’s not as important as finding out why your parents filed a complaint about you stealing from them,” Norm said.
Lifting his head, Smokey looked at Norm for a moment before snarling, “I want to know why Theo’s parents included you in their complaint. You had nothing to do with them, so why are they targeting you?”
Theo’s eyes grew enormous. “Oh pooh bear, I never thought of it that way. Do you think they want to break us up?” he asked tearfully.
Shooting a dirty look at Smokey first, Norm then turned his attention to Theo. “Shhh, honeybunch…even if they wanted to, they can’t. Jackson won’t let that happen, and neither will Smokey or me.”
“He’s right,” Smokey growled, “cuz the law is on our side.”
“That’s not very reassuring,” Theo whispered. “Law didn’t matter when pooh bear and I were sent to Arald’s.”
“Well, it does now,” Smokey said, “cuz it’s not just you and Norm anymore.
Now you have a grizzly on your side and trust me…
no fucking ghost bear is gonna take either of you from me, no matter who they are.
” Before either of his mates could respond, one of their phones vibrated.
Looking at the three phones on the nightstand, Smokey grabbed one and handed it to Theo. “It’s for you.”
Theo glanced at the number, then said, “It’s Ollie…should I answer it?”
Norm saw Smokey nod. “Sure…maybe he’ll have some news.”
“Okay,” Theo murmured, accepting the call. “Ollie…is everything all right?”
“Listen, we only have a minute, but there are two people who are eager to talk to you. Are you up for it?”
Nodding, Theo pressed the speaker button, then shakily said, “Hello?”
“Theodore! Is it really you?” Heather whispered.
“Mama! It’s me…Theo,” he shouted, tears running down his cheeks.
So many years had passed since he’d last heard her voice and he had given up it would ever happen again.
But when he was finally rescued from Arald’s and could think about it, he realized he needed to track his parents down if for no other reason than to find out if his parents really cared for him.
Now, hearing his mother’s voice again, he knew, deep down in his soul, his parents loved him and never would’ve condemned him to Arald’s.
Wiping his tears away, he asked, “Is Daddy there?”
“Hey, son, how are you doing?”
“Daddy? Oh, my gods…I can’t believe it. Are you okay?”
“We’re fine…both of us, thanks to Jackson. What about you?”
“Good…oh my gods, I have so much to tell you…did Ollie tell you I have two mates? I can’t wait until you meet them…oh, and I have a surprise for you.”
Chuckling, Wesley said, “We’re eager to meet your mates too, but it’ll have to wait until we’re cleared.”
“Cleared?” Theo asked, confused. Then, glancing at his mates, he whispered, “What does that mean?”
Ollie spoke up. “Theo, Mac and Ian are running some tests on them just to make sure there aren’t any side effects from being locked up for so long.
Sorry to make this short, but it’s time for their next test. I just thought it would be good for you and them to talk, even if it was just for a minute. ”
“It was…it is,” Theo said.
“Ollie, it’s Norm…how much longer will it be before Theo can see his parents?”
“Ahh…not sure…oops…got to go, bye.” Ollie quickly ended the call and slipped his phone into his pocket just as the door to the examination room opened.
Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Ian enter, followed by Mac and Jackson, noticing how serious they looked.
The three of them came to a stop before Wesley and Heather, but before they could speak, Ollie asked, “Did you figure out what drug my aunt and uncle were given?”
“No, not yet,” Ian said. “And frankly, I don’t think we will ever know unless we can get a sample.”
Wesley exchanged a quick glance with Ollie before he asked, “Does that mean we can see Theo now?”
“Not yet,” Jackson said, pulling over the chair in the corner and sitting down. “There are things you need to know about what happened to Theo and his mate Norm after that night. Did your Alpha ever mention a shifter by the name of Arald?”
Heather looked at her husband and shook her head. “I don’t recall him ever saying it.”
Wesley turned to Jackson, “Me neither. All he said was that we had sold Theo.”
“We didn’t do that!” Heather exclaimed vehemently. “He’s our world.”
“What happened to our son?” asked Wesley. “And how did he end up in a wolf pack?”
“Theo was drugged the night of the dinner…”
“By who?” demanded Wesley.
“I don’t know yet, but if it wasn’t you or your wife, then it had to be Norman’s parents or your Alpha,” Jackson said. “And my money’s on your Alpha since he was the one who claimed you sold Theo.”
“He’s a nasty piece of work,” mumbled Wesley. “My brother wanted us to come with him when he left the pack, but we didn’t.”
“Why not?” asked Ollie.
Shrugging, Wesley said, “I thought my brother was exaggerating when he warned us the Alpha was really bad. It turned out he was right.”
“Getting back to that night…do you remember who was there?” asked Jackson.
“No,” Wesley and Heather said in unison.
“According to Theo, Norman’s parents invited you and Theo over for dinner to celebrate their son finding his Fated Mate,” Jackson said. “Does that sound familiar to either of you?”
Shaking his head, Wesley said, “Heather and I have talked about that so many times over the years, but neither of us can remember that evening at all.”
“What’s the last memory you have of your son?” asked Jackson.
“When he left for school that day,” Wesley said. “We remember nothing after that until we woke up in the cell.”
“Hmm…did you see Norman’s parents after that night?”
Heather glanced at her husband for a moment, before turning back to Jackson. “No, but we also didn’t know their son was Theo’s mate.”
“Did the Alpha accuse Norman’s parents of selling him?” asked Jackson.
“If he did, we never heard about it,” Wesley replied. “They certainly weren’t in the basement with us.”
Heather said quietly, “He killed them.”
“How do you know that?” asked Wesley, staring at his wife.
“I heard one enforcer tell his buddy about the Alpha killing them for messing up his plan. He mentioned their names, but since I didn’t know them, I wasn’t paying that much attention until I heard Theo’s name mentioned.”
“Do you know what plan they were referring to?” asked Jackson.
Shaking her head, Heather said, “Only that it had to do with the former Alpha’s son.”
“Our former Alpha didn’t have a son,” Wesley said. “He died in childbirth along with his mother.”
“Well, according to the enforcers, the son lived,” Heather insisted.
“If that’s true, how did your current Alpha become Alpha?” asked Jackson.
“From what we were told, our old Alpha chose him when he was dying,” Wesley said.
Jackson thought for a moment, then asked, “Is it possible the former Alpha’s son didn’t die?”
“Anything is possible,” Wesley said. “But proving it is another matter.”
“Hmm…let’s assume for the moment that the son is alive…how would we go about proving he is the rightful heir?” Jackson asked.
“DNA testing would be the best way,” Ian replied.
“But we would need the father’s DNA in order for that to work,” Mac said.
“And he’s dead,” Jackson said. “So, who else can you use?”
“A sibling…a brother would be best,” Ian said.
Jackson looked over at Wesley and asked, “Do you know if the former Alpha had any brothers?”
“Yeah…our current Alpha is the old Alpha’s brother,” Wesley said. “According to him, that’s the reason he was chosen.”
“We need to get a sample from him,” Jackson said. “This is finally making sense.”
“What is?” asked Ollie, mystified, as he looked at Mac.
“I’m betting Jackson thinks Norman is the former Alpha’s son and the legal heir to the Ghost Bear pack.”
Ollie stared at his mate for a moment before shifting his focus to Jackson. “How the heck did you ever reach that conclusion?”
“Before I answer that, I have another question for Wesley,” Jackson said. “Is there something that happens when a Ghost Bear Alpha finds his mate?”
Nodding, Wesley said, “I don’t know everything that occurs, but I know he develops the ability to read the thoughts of every member in his pack.”
“And if that happened to Norman after he met Theo, then…”
“Everyone would know he’s the son of the former Alpha and legal heir!” Wesley said excitedly.