“Oh good, it’s you,” Mac said, stepping aside so Jackson could enter.
“What’s up, Mac?” Jackson asked, walking into their suite.
“Just a minute,” Mac muttered, sticking his head out into the hallway to make sure no one was there. Then, shutting the door, he locked it before turning around to face his cousin. “Did you see Theo this morning?”
“No…should I have?”
“No…no, not at all.”
Emerging from the bathroom, Ollie paused when he saw Jackson but then continued over to Mac where he stood by his side. “Good morning, Alpha,” he murmured, bowing his head in respect.
“Good morning, Ollie,” Jackson replied, smiling. “Please call me Jackson.” Then, shifting his gaze to Mac, he said, “Your message mentioned an emergency…”
Nodding, Mac said, “It’s about Theo…and his parents.”
Raising an eyebrow, Jackson asked, “What about them?”
“If you don’t mind, why don’t we move into the sitting room,” Mac proposed.
Jackson nodded and then followed the doctor and his mate into the adjoining room. He didn’t know what to make of this request, but maybe it had to do with Smokey’s thoughts about Ollie having an ulterior motive for coming to the Blackwood Pack. After they were all seated, he asked, “Are they after Theo?”
“What? No…not that I know,” Mac said. Then, glancing at Ollie, he asked, “They aren’t, right?”
“I don’t think so, but then, until I can talk to his parents, I don’t know why they sent my cousin to Arald’s,” Ollie replied.
“Do you know where they are?” asked Jackson.
Nodding, Ollie said, “They’re chained up in the Alpha’s basement.”
Frowning, Jackson sent a questioning glance at Mac before looking back at Ollie. “I don’t understand. Why would their Alpha do that?”
“Who knows? Maybe because they wouldn’t follow one of his orders,” Ollie guessed. “Although I never heard of a Ghost Bear Alpha making a member a slave for that.”
“Me, either,” replied Jackson.
“That’s why I wanted to talk to you,” Mac said. “Oliver came here to get Theo’s help to rescue them. Obviously, Theo can’t go, but I can, and so can Sawyer, but I wanted to talk to you first before asking my brother for his help.”
Staring at Mac, Jackson tried to put all the pieces together, starting with Smokey’s information and ending with Mac’s request to rescue Theo’s parents. But they didn’t fit—at least not until he had more information. Shifting his gaze to the floor, he shook his head at the turn his morning had taken.
“Jackson, according to Oliver, Theo’s parents aren’t…”
Holding up his hand to stop Mac, Jackson looked at Ollie and asked, “How did you find out about Theo’s parents? Was it from your friend at the High Council?”
Ollie’s eyes widened. “No…I saw them chained to the wall in the Alpha’s basement. That’s when I decided to come here so Theo could help me.”
“Last night you said you came here directly from Frontline Doctors,” Jackson said.
“I know, but when I learned my cousin was pregnant, I knew there wasn’t any way he could help me, so I left that part out,” Ollie explained.
“So Theo doesn’t know you found his parents?”
“No…Mac and I agreed it was too dangerous to tell him…especially since I don’t know…” Ollie’s voice trailed off.
“How Theo feels about his parents?” asked Jackson.
“That, too,” Ollie muttered, shifting his gaze to Mac.
“Oliver was afraid Theo would insist on going with him once he found out,” Mac said. “As you know, that would present an untenable situation. Even if Theo agrees to let others rescue his parents, the stress of waiting to find out if the mission is successful could be too much.”