Mate Mysteries

Chapter 40

"Zara, would you be happy to stay here with mum for as long as it takes for her to get better?" Krey asked. His mother had gone back to sleep, and his Omegas were restless in another Packhouse.

"Yes, absolutely," Zara said, holding her head high. She was an older wolf, and would fit in better to an older Pack, just for a little while. Zara's eyes beamed with pride at being asked.

"Good. Are you committed to talking to Francis at the end of each day to give updates on how mum is doing?"

"Definitely!"

"Okay. I'll arrange for your stuff to be delivered later today. We need to get home." Krey was reluctant to leave his mother, but Penelope was set on making her feel better, and he doubted he could do a better job back at Crescent Packhouse. He wanted to leave before his mother woke up and made it harder for him to go by being so sad. At least she looked peaceful when she slept.

"Are you sure you want to go straight away?" Pip asked.

Krey mulled over the option for a little longer, but he was set on leaving and sorting plans to capture the Southern Alpha as quickly as possible. His mother needed space from him because he reminded her of the one person she couldn't forget, and it was tearing her apart. "I'm sure. I can phone her tonight if she wants to talk." Krey would usually storm off, so Pip couldn't see his uncertainty. Instead he turned his back to the Omega wolves, so only Pip could see the flecks of doubt in his eyes.

"Penelope will look after her," Pip smiled. Krey was often uncertain of his decisions, but often went with what he wanted, not with what was right. Now, he was making a decision that was right, and needed reassurance.

"She will," Krey said, nodding. He used to not care at all about what his mother was up to. Now, he would think about her every day until he could see her smile again. I'm getting soft, he thought, ruffling Pip's hair a bit too enthusiastically and turning on his heels. "Okay, let's go."

Rocket and Bethan quickly said goodbye to Zara before running with Pip down the corridor to keep up with their Alpha. Krey said thank you to Penelope, and the wolves that dragged his mother from the ocean, and the Omega medics who brought her back to life.

They had to walk along the top of the cliffs in human forms. The morning was no longer so early, and humans littered the cold beach. Stormy weather always lured them closer with surfboards, or the old walkers with raincoats. Pip looked out to sea, listening to the noise of it crashing against the rocks below. Wind whipped his skin, and he stood closer to Krey for warmth.

Krey had paused by the cliffside too, eyeing the humans. They were outside the Packhouse and at the beach. He was with his mate and had the perfect opportunity to walk bare foot in the sand and to forget about the stresses of their werewolf life, just for 30 minutes. "Wanna paddle or something?" he asked.

Pip looking up to him with eyebrows pushing towards his hairline. His round eyes matched the colour of the sky. "Really?" he squeaked.

"Yeah, just for-" Pip started jogging towards the zigzag route and Rocket and Bethan panicked.

"Pip!" Rocket yelled but Krey silenced him, following lazily down the cliff. "Let him run. It's been a while." Krey hadn't seen such a big grin on his face as Pip slipped on each sharp bend down the zigzag path.

When he reached the sand, Pip tripped on the slight raise that separated the walking path from the sand and fell flat on his face.

Rocket didn't even try to keep in his laughter. Bethan raised a brow, and Krey covered his mouth to contain how funny it was to see his mate face plant the sand.