Alaric’s POV:

I gave my mother one last hard stare before I took out my phone and held it against my ear.

“Talk,” I muttered, turning my back on her.

A few seconds passed while I was waiting for Trip to say something. Static crackled on the other end. “Trip?”

The next thing I heard was the sound of his heavy, uneven breathing. It was ragged, like he was in some sort of pain.

My grip tightened around the phone.

“Sir,” Trip’s voice came out strained, like he was using all ...