Page 265 of Omega for the Pack

She was mumbling something under her breath.

I never believed in her witchery magic shenanigans, but the people of Howl’s Edge seemed to trust my mother, Zaneesha.

“Hello, son,” she said in a scratchy voice, resting her hands on her knees. She turned to me slowly, as if it took all her energy.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” I asked, kneeling outside of her circle of candles in the dark room. The shadows from the flames danced around the room. “I’ve brought you food. It’s on the kitchen counter.”

“I’m being weakened by the Shadow Wolf,” she said quietly. “Ever since it left the sigma that I entrapped him with. He’s not contained anymore.”

The Shadow Wolf was her imagination of a demon. Something I never understood. But from the stories she told me, she had summoned him to help save Howl’s Edge Island years ago. My dad had passed away on my tenth birthday. Even though my mother was an omega, she only had one mate, whichwas unheard of. Nobody questioned her because of how much she helped everyone on the island. She did her own thing as an omega.

“Are you saying the Shadow Wolf’s here?”

“Yes,” she shuddered. “This circle of protection can only last so long. I fear he may take over me.”

“You need to leave this house, Ma,” I said. “Maybe some fresh air will help. Nothing is going to take over you.”

“I know you never believed in this stuff,” she said, looking off to the corner as if she could actually see the Shadow Wolf. She wiped her forehead with a rag. “I cannot leave this circle until I can find a way.”

“This is ridiculous. You’re getting weaker every day. Please live in the house with me at least,” I said. “You can have my room until we can move into the mansion I purchased last week for us.”

“I don’t want to put you in danger,” she said. Her excuse for years was that she needed to be alone to do her business and didn’t want to be around anyone else’s toxic energy. “I saw your omega the other day. She’s very pretty.”

“Yeah, she’s not ours, though,” I said, giving up on trying to convince her to live a normal life with me. My mother was the only blood relative I had left in this world, and I didn’t want to see her expire this way.

“Why not?”

“I’m matching her up with a pack. She’s been looking for a long time for the right pack.”

“What ifyouare the pack for her?”

“I’ll think about it,” I said to stop her from prying. I had enough discussing Jade for one day.

“Can you please bring the food in here?”

“Yes, of course,” I said, leaving the room. I needed her to eat something. She looked ill and didn’t look like her usual self at all.Her skin had a yellow tinge to it, and her eyes were baggy from lack of sleep.

It was only a matter of time before I would have to drag her to the hospital. Her mental health was slowly declining, despite what the people thought. I believed she could concoct herbal remedies for people but not magical powers. It was too far-fetched for me to believe. I wasn’t around when she conjured up this mythical Shadow Wolf, and I wasn’t there when she helped various people with their problems.

I needed to get her the help she needed before I lost her too.

Eleven

JADE

“How many males do you prefer for your future pack?” asked Caleb.

Later that night, we were all sitting in the living room while Caleb drilled me with questions of what I would be looking for in my perfect match. He seemed remorseful about the Onyxpaw Pack, but I didn’t blame him.

None of us could have foreseen what would have happened. But this time he was determined to match me with the pack of my dreams, and I was hopeful he would find one. Bruce wasn’t around either for some reason, and Caleb wasn’t answering any questions regarding him.

“Four, but the max I’d take is eight,” I said bluntly. Dravin sitting next to me on the couch smirked at my answer. “What’s so funny? An omega has needs.”

“Nothing's funny,” he said hastily when I glared at him.

“All alphas?”

“A mix is fine,” I said. “It would be nice to have a sensitive beta in the pack and maybe a hot delta or two.”

---