Jason's POV

　　"Abigail?" I called out; images of her face chased the remnants of a nightmare from my head.

　　"Shush, son." I heard my mother's voice soothed, her fingers stroking lovingly up and down my arm, just like she had when I was a child and had gotten hurt. Opening my eyes, I looked around the sea of faces and winced, seeing Kayla sitting beside me; how had Archer not noticed her presence? 

　　Offering her an apologetic look, I felt guilt eat at my stomach as Kayla gently squeezed my hand and offered me a tight smile. It was forced! She was angry!

　　"Do you blame her?" Archer mumbled groggily in the back of my mind; I could tell he was fragile even if his wit was intact.

　　"You betrayed your mate bond," he mumbled, making me snort loudly,

　　"I recall that was a joint effort; you were not exactly refusing." Silence followed my statement; apparently, he had nothing cocky to say to that. 

　　Looking back at Kayla, I took note of her slumped shoulders, red-rimmed eyes and dishevelled hair, hating that it was my fault she looked so hurt and broken. My eyes drifted from her to the worried look on my mother's face, her fingers still tracing over my arm tenderly.

　　"What's going on?" I asked, looking at other pack members as they tended to things around the room. Pulling myself up in the bed, pain shot through my shoulder. Archer roared at the pain, making me realise that he, too, was weak, which explained why my mother looked like she had been ready to burst into tears; if Archer had MIA, he would not have been able to heal me from my apparent injuries. 

　　"You were attacked." My Father's voice cut through the room; my mother's eyes were heavy and filled with something I couldn't place. "What do you remember?" My Father added as he sat on the end of my bed; pain ripped through my body. 

　　"Fuck! Is this what it feels like to be human?" I groaned to Archer, who snorted softly before disappearing to the back of my head. 

　　"Son?" My Father prompted stiffly, making me sense; something was up! 

　　"Where is Abigail?" I asked again, looking around at the other beds in the room; seeing they were all empty apart from mine, I felt my jaw tighten as Archer started to wake, adrenaline fueling us both. 

　　"Jason, tell me what happened, and I will explain where Abigail is." 

　　"No. You will tell me where she is, or I will rip the pack house apart to find her!" I growled, looking from my Father to my Mother and Kayla, they were hiding something from me, and I wasn't impressed with being out of the loop.

　　"She's gone!" My Father sighed, looking at me with hard eyes, clearly unimpressed with my temper. 

　　"GONE?" I bellowed as fear ate at my gut and gripped my spine.

　　"Not dead, you fool; she has left! And a good thing too!" He remarked with a nod to Kayla, who looked incredibly uncomfortable—playing with the frayed edge of the tissue in her lap. I knew I was being insensitive, but I didn't get a shit! She may be my mate, but I could see she was safe, hurt but safe! I needed to know where Abigail was and if she was ok! However, something in the way my parents glared at each other told me she wasn't! And that my Father had something to do with it! 

　　"Where?" I asked, raising my hands in frustration.

　　"Home! Marcus dropped her back at her apartment; she's safe!" He admitted, sitting back against the headboard; I frowned, making a mental note to confirm this with Marcus because something felt off. 

　　"So, now we know the girl is safe. Can you tell me what happened tonight?" There was something in the way he said 'the girl' that got my backup. Archer, too, had fully woken and was carefully assessing my Father, which worked for me as it meant I was now healing nicely! 

　　"Tommy got Abigail drunk, so I took her for a walk to sober her up. Then we were attacked, and I woke up in this bed surrounded by you guys." I explained, giving him the cliff notes version.

　　"I need more than that." He conveyed, pulling his leg under him as he turned to face me, his hand resting on my mother's. Tension spread to my mother's eyes as he touched her gently. She pulled away, getting up to grab me some water; my eye stalked her as she stood beside me and handed me the glass with trembling hands. Reaching out, I cupped her hand in mine, holding onto it until she looked at me; seeing the concern in her eyes, I knew she wanted to say something but couldn't. 

　　"Thanks ma!" I winked at her, reassuring her discreetly. 

　　"What would you like to know, Pa?" I asked casually, taking a sip of the water. 

　　"Did you see what attacked you?" My Father asked, the irritation starting to seep into his tone and pulling at the corner of his eyes. 

　　"A wolf, fucking massive beast! Easily twice the size of Archer and Rage. All black, but it had red eyes. It wasn't one of the packs; it smelt different. Undoubtedly a rogue." I divulged honestly. 

　　"It took me by surprise when I was.." Pausing, I looked at Kayla and sighed, I knew she knew what had happened between Abigail, and I should have been able to feel it down the bond, but that didn't mean I was completely heartless. I didn't want to have to say it aloud and hurt her further. 

　　"Busy!" I added, diverting my eyes from hers, but I could feel the pain soak through the bond, tugging at my heart. 

　　"Busy?" My Father scoffed, looking at me with disgust. "All those years of training I have given you skilled you in the ways of an Alpha, and you can't even sense a threat when it comes. What could have distracted you so much?" He asked, raising a brow; he was pushing me to answer to admit my failings; why? All that would do was hurt Kayla, and I didn't want to do that. But he did, it seems!

　　"She already knows; the longer you prolong it, the worse she feels. Address the elephant in the room." Archer snapped at me, connecting with her wolf Rose. 

　　"It's ok!" Kayla's sweet voice impregnated my head, making me sigh. 

　　"I was with Abigail." 

　　"In what capacity?" He retorted quickly, making me hiss. 

　　"Why does it matter?" I asked cautiously, keeping my eyes locked on my Father. 

　　"I think we all know what capacity they were together, Alpha!" Kayla answered, frustrated, but something told me that frustration was not aimed at me but rather at my Father. 

　　"Thank you, Kayla. But I would like to hear it from my son." He retaliated, his eyes not leaving mine. 

　　"Mother, can you and Kayla excuse us, please." I snipped, squeezing Kayla's hand as she stood up and walked by, nodding to her apologetically. With the door closing, I locked my eyes furiously on my Father. 

　　"That was uncalled for!" I hissed. "You made her feel.."

　　"I am not the one who betrayed the most sacred of our bonds, Jason! You think she doesn't already know you fucked the tart!" He fumed, cutting me off.

　　"Tell me, son, what if your mistake has gotten her pregnant? Do you want to shame Kayla like that? Or the pack?" And there it was, the real reason he was angry... fear of me bringing shame to the family.

　　"I hope she is!" I laughed, "I hope they both are!" I declared truthfully. "And neither would be a mistake, I assure you."