Page 28 of The Alpha's Stolen Mate

I looked at my aunt.

“It's your father,” she said in a toneless voice. “He was attacked by Rogue wolves late last night, and he’s in a coma.”

***

The guard opened the large black gate and waved my aunt's ancient blue Jeep through.

“Do you know if Dad's coma is medically induced?” I asked from the backseat.

“No, it’s not,” my aunt answered. She was gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were white. “His condition is so…critical that he fell into a coma.”

The four of us were silent for a few moments as Aunt Mia slowly drove past the guard.

“Mom, why is Grandpa in a coma?” Grayson asked from beside me. “And what's a coma? How do you fall into one? Did he trip?”

I wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him against my side. Internally, I scolded myself. This situation was hard enough for my son. I needed to be careful with how I explained things no kid should have to understand.

“Grandpa was hurt, and now he has to sleep until he gets better again,” I told him and rubbed his shoulder.

“What does critical mean? Is it bad?” Grayson asked and rubbed his eyes. “Is that why we couldn't bring Goose?” His bottom lip jutted out.

My mom turned around in the passenger seat and grabbed Grayson's hand, answering his questions in a low voice.

I leaned my head back and allowed a few tears to escape my eyes.

After Aunt Mia called a few people from town to take care of the animals while we were away, the three of us rushed around the house, packing our bags. Grayson clutched onto Goose, saying that he wouldn't leave his dog behind. I told him that we would be spending a lot of time in the hospital and Goose wouldn't be allowed in there. Eventually, we packed up the Jeep and the image of Grayson waving frantically at his dog as Goose ran after our car on the other side of the fence truly broke me.

I was shocked to learn that my dad was being treated at Gabriel's secure facility half an hour outside of WaterLock's territory. My father had told me about Gabriel's plans for the facility when my ex-Mate started construction. Originally, he wanted to build a secure spot for the pack to live that was heavily guarded against the Rogue wolves, but the WaterLock pack members, including Gabriel's father, didn't want to move away from the only home they'd ever known.

Something I could relate to.

The sun was just setting over the buildings as we drove through Gabriel's facility. We passed by similar sleek structures that looked like office spaces, a grocery store, and even a coffee shop. Gabriel had developed an entire little community. There were buildings that looked like apartments, and I remembered my dad saying some of his workers lived here and Gabriel had a private residence in the facility as well.

My nerves were shot at this point, and just the thought of being near the place where Gabriel lived made my stomach turn.

“How come dad was taken here and not to Healer Elijah?” I asked.

“Gabriel was the one to find your father,” my mom answered in a small, toneless voice.

My breath caught in my throat.

Just like Gabriel had found me.

But Gabriel was a little too late to save my dad from serious injury.

“I spoke to Gabriel on the phone, too,” my aunt added. “He assured me that he had the best healers in the kingdom working for him. And he'll be safer here than at the pack's hospital.”

Most of the space in my brain was focused on worrying about my dad. But it wasn't lost on me that I was about to see Gabriel for the first time in six years. And how would he react to Grayson? Obviously, he would know that Grayson was his son. I didn't have the mental energy to plan out what I was going to say to him, though.

Right before we left, my mother and aunt expressed how dangerous it would be for me to be so close to WaterLock’s territory. Everyone in my pack thought that I was deathly ill. If someone were to spot me, the Elders might become suspicious of not only me, but of my mother and father, too. And how would I explain Grayson if someone were to see him? What if someone from WaterLock were to notice that my son looked awfully similar to Gabriel…

My mom and aunt suggested that Grayson and I stayed behind for our safety. If it had just been my safety in question, I wouldn't think twice about going. But there was no way I would put my son, or my parents, at risk. What if someone were to discover Gabriel and I broke wolf law six years ago? My son could be punished for my mistakes. And my parents could get in trouble for helping me cover it up. With a sigh, I told my mom and aunt to keep me updated and Grayson and I would stay behind to watch the farm.

But Grayson overheard our conversation. He began to cry and said that even though he would miss Goose, he was coming. He had sensed something was wrong with his grandpa and he wasn't going to be left behind. My son was inconsolable with worry for his grandfather and at the thought of being left behind.

My mom called Gabriel to see what our options were. He assured her that no one from WaterLock resided in his compound and he already told the guards at the front gate to inform him if anyone from the WaterLock pack entered the facility. If that happened, he would make sure I was hidden—my mom hadn't told Gabriel about Grayson since we thought it would be better coming from me in person.

At that moment, I’d just felt grateful that my son and I would be able to come, but now that we were almost to the hospital, worries about seeing Gabriel again spun around my head like a tornado. I could only deal with one issue at a time, though. Tonight, I just wanted to focus on seeing my father and talk to the healers to understand his condition more.

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