Sage picked up a book off the shelf and went to the nightstand for his eyeglasses. He loved poetry. Something about it opened his mind just enough that he was able to focus on the words, made him think about himself differently while he was reading it. He sat in the center of the bed and put on his glasses. He only needed them for reading. Most snake-shifters didn’t have great eyesight and needed eyeglasses all the time. It was a genetic issue all snake-shifters had for some reason.
He hadn’t seen his mother in over a year. She had left town one day and had never come back. Sage was an adult, out on his own, so it wasn’t as if he needed her to survive.
She had been a good mom, but she had always said she wanted to see the world, so her leaving wasn’t out of the realm of conceivability. Shifters lived longer than humans, so going years without contact wasn’t that odd, at least not for his family. His dad had been the same way.
In fact, his father had been on a trip to Wyoming, visiting a shifter friend from college, when he’d met Sage’s mom. He had been at thefriend’s house when he saw Sage’s mother come out of the house next door. They were mates so they had made a life together.
That was until his parents had rented an RV. He had been a teenager at the time, so they had practically forced him to go on the stupid camping trip. His parents had had a fight and his father had called her a bitch. Sage still remembered how his father had looked as if someone had hit him in the face with a shovel. His mother had started crying and his dad had left the camp. All night his mother had cried and Dad had stayed away.
Some neighboring campers had found his father on the side of the road a few miles from the grounds. Sage was positive he had been trying to walk to town. Probably needed some liquid courage just to come back and face his mother again. The authorities figured a car hit Sage’s father sometime in the night and instead of calling the accident in as they should have they drove away. He was in his human form when he’d died so they had involved the local police department. As far as Sage knew, his dad’s murder was still open.
His mother had been a wreck afterwards, but some of Mother Estelle’s witch magic had helped her out. Sage remembered staying with Mother Estelle for months after the accident while his mother got her shit together. It took her awhile, but she got through the grieving process.
He missed her. He had taken for granted that she was just fine, celebrating life on some beach somewhere. It wasn’t unheard of for snake shifters to separate from their family units, go off on their own. After hearing Bennett’s story about Garridan just disappearing, he wondered if maybe he should try to find her, just make sure she was okay. The only problem was that Sage had no idea how to find her. She hadn’t taken a cell phone with her, had refused when he suggested it. She’d told him she was going to see the Caribbean and that was it.
He put the book down, laying it on the bed, and left his bedroom, heading into the kitchen, and dialed Ramsey’s number. If anyone would help, it was his alpha. The phone went to voicemail and Sage left a message.
He was just going back into his room when Ramsey came around the corner. Sage tilted his head to the side in a show of respect. “I didn’t know you were here. I just tried to call you.”
“I know.” Ramsey held up his phone, much the same way Ladon had held up the television remote earlier. The need for visual aids must run in the family. “Mom needs you in the living room. Before we go in, I want to talk to you.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“First, what can I help you with?”
“Help me find out if my mom is okay.”
“Why would you think she wasn’t?”
“I don’t know. Bennett said Garridan just disappeared one day. And I was thinking that my mom might be in danger. She hasn’t called in over a month. Of course, I’ve been here and she doesn’t know that, so I may have missed her call.”
“I’ll try to find her.” Ramsey placed a hand on his arm and Sage stiffened, stepping away from him.
“Sorry, Alpha.”
“That’s part of the reason why I’m here actually. Dr. Tucker is in the living room. He’s here to counsel you, get you in a healthier state of mind.”
Sage gripped the chair he was standing next to and took a deep breath, trying to calm the panic. Sage didn’t say a word, though. He was sure whatever came out of his mouth would be harsh and sound angry. He couldn’t talk that way to the Alpha.
His body language must have said enough because Ramsey said, “I know you feel alone, but you’re not.”
“Thank you, Alpha. Ladon said the same thing to me.”
“Sage, I’m not here as your alpha. I’m here as your friend.”
Sage nodded.
“I need to know how comfortable you are around Dr. Tucker.”
“I’m not even comfortable around my own mate, Alpha. So not at all.”
“Would you feel more comfortable with me or Mom in the room with you? I’m only asking because I’m sure Dr. Tucker will ask hard questions. It may be harder for you to talk about stuff in front of us rather than being in a room alone with the Doctor.”
What Sage really wanted to do was go back to his book of poetry and for everyone to leave him alone, but he couldn’t very well tell his alpha that. Sage just shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Ramsey smirked. “Well. Ladon and Jules just left the house. I made them go help Forrest at the cabins for the next few hours, so you’ll have privacy. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
“I don’t really want to talk about it at all, Alpha.”
