Beau
"He is not acting like himself," Lanis tells me, with concern etched into his voice.
Worrying will always be a parent's job, no matter how grown your kid is, and right now, I am more worried than I have ever been.
"Alby is going to see him, make sure he is okay."
Alby might not be able to fix this. This is more than we can even imagine.
I think to myself because I don't want Lanis to worry.
Lanis is panicking. He has been helpless in helping Colin, and this is just one more thing that is out of his control.
"Do you trust me?" I reach for him and grab him into my arms.
He nods immediately, "More than anything."
We have come a long way from the beginning, and communication between us is at its strongest.
"I will fix this. I will protect our son.''
"I know this, but she did something to him. He wasn't sure about her, and now she is all he wants. It just doesn't make any sense."
I know what he means. The night before, Colin was making out with Lo, and I felt something there. I felt a longing that only I could understand. Something is off about this.
I just need to figure it out.
"Blue is on his way over. I will talk to him about it, but I just don't want our son to feel ambushed," I explain.
He nods.
Blue scents hit my nostrils as I walk over to the door. "He is here," I tell Lanis, and we walk out of the room together. We walk to the front door, and I open it before he even knocks.
"Welcome back, Beau,'' he smiles immediately. Over time, Blue has grown into his skin from the person I met all those years ago with his father. He has acclimated so well to the pack. Uncle Jules has been to the pack regularly, so he is still part of the family.
"Yeah, it is good to be back home."
The fact that we will be able to deal with this in our home is the only thing that can calm me down in this situation. If I find out that someone tried to hurt my son. I will not take it easy. I will hunt them down and make them pay.
I will show them what sort of person I am. I don't play with my children.
"Have a seat," I lead him into the living room, with Lanis following. His anxiety right now is getting to me, I just want him to be happy, and the only way that can happen is if our kids are all okay.
"What is this about?'' he asks curiously,
I take a deep breath. Blue has always been able to sense things. He would know immediately if there was something different.
I relay everything that happened in the retreat and he listens attentively. Once I am done talking, I wait for him to say something.
"Let me see him, is he in his room?''
I nod.
Colin was really quiet all through the car ride, so I couldn't even tell if he was himself, but when we got home, he said he was tired and Lanis said we should give him some space, which we did.
"Yeah.''
He stands up and I watch him as my phone rings inside my pocket. I look at the caller id and it is an unknown number. I sigh as I press the button to answer.
"I'll take him to Collie," Lanis tells me, and I watch them leave the living room.
"Who is this?'' I ask into the phone.
"Hi, this is Lowell."
The man that has confused my son. I don't really understand the dynamics of their relationship, but if he wasn't in the picture, we might have never even known that something was going on.
"Can I help you?"
He breathes into the phone, and I wait patiently for him to get to the point. "I know this is a lot to ask for, but I need to bring Col to my home, I need to make sure he is okay."
I know what he is asking, but I don't know how I feel about his request.
"You know, there is something off about the whole mate situation. I know so too. There is a way to figure out what is wrong with him.'' he adds, I sense all the desperation in his voice.
"What is the way?"
He sighs into the phone, I am testing his patience--I can tell. Lowell Hemmings is not one of those people that I would ever have imagined being associated with, but this relationship that he somehow has with my son makes it impossible. I know what I saw that night when I saw them kissing. I know my son and I saw the way he looked at him. That can't just change overnight.
Whatever they have done to him is strong, it is strong, but we will fight it.
"The elder in my pack, he is good with dark magic. He can figure it out."
I scoff, "I have an elder in mine," I roll my eyes because I can already tell that he is undermining me.
"I know. Please, I can't focus on anything. I need to bring him back to me.''
His words resonate inside me because I know how I would feel if someone tried to take Lanis from me.
"How do we do this?'' I ask him.
He lets out a breath of relief "Just make it seem like he is coming for Ash, that is the only way he will come.''
I nod, just as Lanis and Blue walk back to the living room "I will find a way, give me a couple of days,'' I end the call and Blue sits down opposite me.
"So what do you think.''
"Your son's energy is not there. I don't know what happened but there is something inside him. Something that is controlling him."
Okay.
Just as I suspected.