my mother 49
791 Words
Chapter 49
By the time I got home, the sun was already starting to set.
The pack house stood quiet, too quiet. It wasn’t how it used to be. Ever since my father passed, the place felt… emptier. Like something vital had been ripped out and never replaced. I pushed the front door open and stepped inside, immediately catching her scent.,Faint.,Too faint. My chest tightened.
“Mom?” I called out, already moving through the house.
“In here,” her voice came, soft… weaker than it should’ve been.
I found her in the living room, curled up on the couch with a blanket around her. She looked smaller somehow, like the life was slowly draining out of her. Her skin was pale, her eyes dull, but she still smiled when she saw me. That nearly broke me.
“You’ve been resting?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
She gave a small nod. “Trying to.”
I walked over, crouching beside her, studying her carefully. Every day, she looked a little worse. Every day, I felt more helpless.
“I told you not to push yourself,” I muttered.
She reached out, placing her hand over mine. It was colder than it should’ve been.
“I’m not,” she said gently. “I just… don’t have the strength I used to.”
The bond.
It was killing her. I swallowed hard, forcing down the anger and frustration clawing at my throat. “I’ll find you a mate,” I said quietly. “I don’t care how long it takes.” Her smile turned sad.
“Ripley…” she whispered, shaking her head slightly. “It doesn’t work like that.”
“I don’t care,” I snapped, a little harsher than I meant to. I looked away, jaw tight. “There has to be someone.”
Silence filled the room for a moment. Then she squeezed my hand weakly.,“Sit with me,” she said softly.
I hesitated… then stood and sat beside her, letting her lean into me. Carefully, like she might break if I moved too fast, I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. For a while, neither of us spoke. Then..
“You met with Alpha Drago?” she asked.
Of course she knew. “Yeah,” I answered. “Talked about rogue issues.”
“And?” she pressed gently.
I huffed out a breath. “He gave advice. Solid advice.”
She hummed, like she expected that. I hesitated… then added, “I also told him.”
She stilled slightly against me. “About your mate,” she said quietly.
“Yeah.”
Another pause. “And?” she asked again.
I let out a slow breath, leaning back against the couch. “He didn’t kill me,” I said dryly.
That earned the faintest hint of a real smile from her.
“But he wanted to,” I added.
“I imagine he did.”
I ran a hand over my face. “I promised him I wouldn’t tell her. Not until she’s older. It’ll be her choice.”
My mother pulled back just enough to look at me, her tired eyes searching mine.,“That was the right thing to do,” she said softly.
“I know.”
“Do you?” she asked gently.
I frowned slightly. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” she said, brushing her fingers lightly against my arm, “that this won’t be easy. For either of you.”
I already knew that..“She’s just a child,” I muttered.
“And you’re not much older than one yourself,” she teased faintly, though her voice lacked strength.
I scoffed. “Feels like I aged ten years in one day.”
She smiled again… but it faded quickly. “You’ll have to be patient,” she said. “Careful. When the time comes, she’ll need someone steady… not just an alpha, but someone she can trust.”
Her words settled heavily in my chest. “I won’t mess this up,” I said quietly.
“I know you won’t.”
Her voice was full of confidence, but it only made the knot in my chest tighten more.,Because I wasn’t worried about me. I was worried about everything else that could go wrong. She shifted slightly, her head resting against my shoulder again.
“Stay with me for a while?” she murmured.
I tightened my arm around her just a little. “I’m not going anywhere.”
And for the first time all day… I let myself just sit there. Not as an alpha.,Not as someone’s future mate.Just a son… holding onto the time he had left.
- Writer
