Page 63 of Alpha's Redemption

Ava and I are tasked with watching over Mom, which means taking her to these appointments. We’re also forced to carry tranquilizers everywhere we go with her, just in case, but she seems to have been able to pull herself out of her episodes each time before anything bad happens.

Mom thanks the nurse who takes her blood before the doctor administers the next dose, shivering when the needle stabs into her arm. Because of the inhibitor, her hair is beginning to gray and she’s aging quickly.

Valen hates that I offered to help watch over her, said I was putting myself at risk, and he’s right, but she’s my mother. The woman taught me to walk, speak, and use a damn spoon; I know if our roles were reversed and it was his father, he would be by his father’s side too.

My mother is deteriorating fast, and the scientists who are working on the cure are working around the clock. More rogues have gone missing, turning up along the borders as forsaken, which only amps up Nixon's claims that they were deliberately turning forsaken to overrun the city.

Speculation and theories over whose claims to believe hang over the entire city like a dark cloud.

Valen sold most of his shares in businesses outside the city to pay half the debt owed to Nixon. Still, Nixon presses for more, and we’ve had enough. We’ve filed against Nixon to have his pack dismantled. My father even went to the media two nights ago and outed everything, including the debt and how Nixon was the one who injected my mother.

Now, we’re waiting for the repercussions. Nixon is officially under investigation, and the werewolf council is now involved. Everyone is on edge since Dad went to live across the city.

Unfortunately, that means my father is also under investigation and forced to remain in his pack territory, the same as Nixon; another reason why I have to help Ava with Mom. Dad can't leave pack borders, and until I marry Valen, he has to stay on the opposite side of town because our packs are still separated. However, the forsaken enzyme inhibitor, now that Nixon won't administer it, can only be given on Valen's territory. The investigation is a slow process that will buy us time, though maybe not much with tensions on the rise.

Riots have started in the streets already, and the city wants answers. Nixon's pack has gone quiet—they don't leave their borders, and only trucks with supplies have entered since he found himself in hot water.

Mom is in a cheery mood as we leave the doctor’s office, almost childlike and giddy as she climbs in the car. Ava sits next to her. As I clip my seatbelt, my phone starts ringing and I quickly answer it after seeing Zoe's name pop up on the screen.

“Hey, what's up?”

“I need you to pick up the kids for me. We’ve sprung a leak. And the fire alarms, for some reason, turned on and have yet to turn off. Macey is also locked in the basement because it tripped the locks and I’m currently standing in water to my knees.” She sighs heavily, sounding frustrated.

Great, this is all we need. This new tech system is becoming a pain in the ass—so many sensors—and I’m starting to second-guess the entire thing.

“Is Macey alright? Is it flooding down there?”

“Yeah, she’s fine. Currently eating all the chocolate and drinking all the wine. At least we know the basement is waterproof,” Zoe laughs. I chuckle. More bad news, but we’ll live.

“The damage?”

“Expensive,” she answers, and I groan.

“Okay, I’ll grab the kids.” I glance at my phone screen, seeing I have to get them now, and curse.

“I may need to drop Mom home first. I only have five seats in this car and I have Mom and Ava with me,” I tell her, which means I’ll be late. Just then, I see Tatum outside, walking directly toward us. Shit! He must have followed us out. He’s on security at the clinic and had tried to stop me on the way in but got called away.

“Never mind, I have a solution,” I tell her, hanging up just as Tatum taps on my window. I push the door open and climb out.

“I thought I missed you,” he says, tugging on the tie around his neck to loosen it.

“Nope, still here. And I kinda need to ask you a favor,” I tell him.

“Great! Then maybe you could do me a favor in return?” he asks. I know what he wants; we’ve all been at Macey for weeks about it, but she refuses to listen; the woman is stubborn. But this is the first time I’ve spoken directly with Tatum about the situation. Usually, all messages come through Valen to me, then through me to Macey. It’s driving me insane!

“You first,” I tell him.

“Macey hasn’t answered a single call from me. She refuses to speak to me and I can't even mind-link with her since she isn't pack-linked.”

“Well, since you are about to solve my problem, I have a solution to yours, too,” I chuckle.

“I'm all ears,” he says.

“Macey is stuck in the basement, but it has an intercom. Zoe is held up and I need to get the kids from school, including Taylor. Come with me and help pick them up. I don't really want them in the car with Mom,” I whisper, and he glances behind me and nods his head.

“Now,thatI can do. I haven't seen Tay in ages. Wait! Will Macey be okay with that?” he asks, and I shrug. Either that or I’ll be twenty minutes late getting them by the time I drive Mom back home.

“Well, I’m out of options, so she'll get over it.”

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