“I’ll get to that in a minute, but first I have a few questions for Norm,” Jackson said.
Shrugging, Norm said, “Okay…I don’t know if I can answer them since the last thing I remember was eating dinner before waking up in one of Arald’s cells.”
“That’s fine…just answer what you can,” Jackson said. “When you were at Arald’s with Theo, could you read his mind?”
“Yes.”
“What about before…were you able to read anyone’s mind?” asked Jackson.
“No…”
“What about now…whose mind can you read other than Theo’s?”
Norm paused for a moment, worried about why Jackson was asking about his ability. Deciding to be cautious, he said, “Smokey’s.”
“When did that happen?”
“I don’t know…maybe when I found out he was our mate?”
“Was it before you claimed each other?” asked Jackson.
“Yeah.”
“Same as it was with Theo?” asked Jackson.
“Uh-huh,” Norm said.
“Are you asking if we share a mind link?” asked Theo.
“No, honey bunch,” Norm said softly, looking at Jackson. “This is something else, right?”
Nodding, Jackson said, “It is…not every Ghost Bear has that ability.”
“But I do,” Norm murmured.
“It would appear so.”
“Who told you about me?” asked Norm.
“Not about you specifically,” Jackson said. “However, Wesley mentioned that the son of a Ghost Bear Alpha gains the ability to read the minds of pack members when he meets his mate. According to Dylon, Kieran told him you could read Theo’s mind when you were in separate cells.”
“Ki figured it out because I insisted he give my food to Theo on the days he was very hungry.”
“When he asked you about it, what did you say?” asked Jackson.
“I told him the truth…that I could read Theo’s mind even though we hadn’t claimed each other,” Norm said. “But Theo’s father got it wrong because I’m not the son of the Ghost Bear Alpha. My parents are members…that’s all.”
“Hmm…were your parents close to the current Ghost Bear Alpha?” asked Jackson.
“Don’t you mean ‘are they’?” asked Theo.
Norm glanced at Theo for a moment. He wasn’t sure what his mate was implying, but then he looked at Jackson and saw…No way!…sympathy written all over his face. Unable to voice the thought, he merely shook his head in denial.
Jackson saw Norm’s shock first before it morphed into disbelief, and it broke his heart. He knew those feelings as his mind flashed back to the moment Jimmy told him about the death of his younger siblings. And he wished Norm didn’t have to go through this, but as he and his brothers had learned, it was better to face the truth than avoid it. “I’m sorry, Norm…according to Theo’s mom, the Alpha killed your parents shortly after you were sent to Arald’s,” Jackson said softly.
Theo gasped, then leaned over and wrapped his arm around Norm, tears filling his eyes. Looking over to Smokey, he silently begged him for help before whispering in Norm’s ear that he was sorry about his loss.
Growling under his breath, Smokey pulled Norm onto his lap, tucking him against his chest as he tried to quell the trembling of his mate’s body. But it was the coldness of Norm’s skin that alerted Smokey to the danger his mate was in. Wasting no time, he pressed his lips against his mate’s forehead and murmured the ancient words he’d learned from his grandfather.