Norm didn’t miss the exchange between the two and, in an instant, the answer he’d been looking for came to him. Pointing a finger at Smokey, he growled, “You told Theo not to tell me about you, didn’t you? That’s why he wouldn’t talk to me. You fucking asshole! Do you have any idea how that would affect him?”
Turning his eyes to Jackson, he blurted out, “You knew, too, and instead of standing up for Theo and me, you let that asshole decide what was best for us…and he hadn’t even met me.” Norm was beginning to breathe heavily, emotion getting the better of him as he thought about his Alpha betraying him and Theo.
“Butyouknow us,” he continued, in a more measured tone, “so how could you let him do it? How could you possibly think Theo would be happy keeping this secret from me? It’s a wonder he didn’t lose our cub.” Shaking his head in disgust, he lowered his voice as he continued. “Let me go. You have no right to hold me…I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Norm, you mis…” Smokey said.
Turning back to his newly discovered mate, Norm growled, “Shut up. I don’t want to hear any more from you.”
“But…”
“No buts,” Norm snapped. “I’ll handle this mess you created by doing what you should have done in the first place.”
“Norman,” Jackson said quietly. “Smokey didn’t do anything. When Theo discovered Smokey was his mate, he forbade me or anyone else from telling you.”
“You’re lying!” Norm snarled. “Theo wouldn’t do that…he tells me everything.”
“Jackson’s telling you the truth,” Steel said. “I was there…”
“NO! I don’t know why you are covering for Smokey, but I know my Theo and he would never keep something like this from me.” Norm was so stressed out he didn’t want to argue anymore. He knew the only person who would tell him the truth was downstairs in a hospital bed. Looking defeated, he asked again, “Will you please let me go, Alpha…Theo needs me.”
“Norm…” Before Smokey could say another word, Jackson shot him a warning look, silencing him.
Releasing Norm from his Alpha power, Jackson watched as the young man headed downstairs to the hospital. He had no doubt Theo would tell him the truth once confronted, but what worried him more was how Norm would take it.
“Maybe I should go with him,” Smokey said.
“Nooo…” Jackson said, sighing. “This is between Norm and Theo. They need to figure out how to repair the trust that’s been damaged by Theo not telling Norm the truth.”
“Does Norm know how critical it is to the health of the cub that Theo doesn’t get stressed out?” asked Smokey.
“No…Mac was waiting until Theo was better before explaining the situation to them,” Steel replied.
“Fucking hell,” Smokey growled.
“I’ll call Mac and let him know what’s happening,” Jackson said, “so he can stand by in case Theo needs him.”
“What about me?” asked Smokey. “I can help too.”
Jackson eyed him. “With what…more stuff your grandfather taught you?”
“If need be…yes,” Smokey murmured, unwilling to say more than that.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jackson replied. “But first, have you figured out the answers to the questions I asked you when we had our talk?”
Chapter 25
Norm waited until Mac had left the room and he was alone with Theo before he let his tears fall. He wasn’t sure what was more painful—that the Fates thought he wasn’t worthy enough to be Theo’s only mate or that his honey bunch didn’t trust him enough to tell him the truth. Since both were equally devastating to him, he guessed it didn’t matter. The future he’d planned for them so carefully wasn’t going to happen; there’d be no wedding and that thought triggered a new wave of tears.
Sitting down dejectedly next to Theo’s bed, Norm gazed at the man who’d suffered so much at the hands of his parents and Arald, only to have his world upended once again. It wasn’t right, but as his father had told him so many times while he was growing up, life wasn’t fair. And because that mantra had been drilled into him, he should have known that his happiness wasn’t guaranteed. Foolishly, he’d ignored it and look where it got him.
Shifting his eyes, Norm stared out the window, trying to figure out how this day could be so bright when his was steeped in darkness. Nothing, he lamented, would ever be the same again and he didn’t have a clue as to how his and Theo’s lives could ever be put back together again. He needed help—that was for sure—and the only one he could absolutely trust was their friend, Kieran.
Norm sighed. Right now, Ki was helping Carson and Remy and who knew how long that might take. Looking down at Theo, his heart broke at the streaks left by the tears on his mate’s face, knowing they would fall again when he woke up. That’s when Norm realized it was up to him to find a path forward for Theo and himself, no matter what the future held for them and Smokey. Theo would then know he could always count on Norm’s support and love.
~/~/~/~/~
“He did what?” asked Jackson.
