“I’ll get the door,” Jackson said, rising and heading over to it. But before he got there, someone knocked.
“Hey Jackson, you in there?” Smokey called.
“Perfect timing,” Dakota said, grinning.
Rolling his eyes, Jackson pulled open the door and , seeing Norm and Smokey, said, “Hi guys…c’mon in and have a seat.”
“Oh hey, Dakota,” Smokey said, stepping aside to let him out of the room before entering with Norm. After everyone was seated, he said, “Theo is showing Ollie his garden.”
“Good, because…”
“Norm knows about the threat.”
“We agreed Theo doesn’t have to know right now…not until Zane finds out if it’s real,” Norm said.
“Okay,” Jackson said. “But something else has come up. It’s about Theo’s parents. Ollie says that the Ghost Bear Alpha has chained Theo’s parents in his basement and keeps them as slaves. That’s the reason Ollie came here…to ask Theo to go with him to rescue them.”
“What?” Norm gasped.
“I knew he wasn’t telling the truth last night,” muttered Smokey.
Holding up his hand, Jackson said, “He had every intention of telling Theo last night, but changed his mind when he discovered his cousin was pregnant. I found that out this morning. Dylon is coming up with a plan to rescue them.”
“Count me in,” Norm said. “Maybe my parents are being held as well.”
Smokey glared at his mate and snarled, “No fucking way are you or Theo getting near that asshole again.”
“If Theo’s parents are there, then I’ll bet anything so are mine! And I don’t need your permission, mate,” Norm snapped back.
“Enough! It’s up to me who goes on the rescue mission,” Jackson said, letting his Alpha Power fill the room. “I will decide after Dylon gives me his plan. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Alpha,” Norm murmured.
“Good,” Jackson said, pulling back his Alpha power slightly. “Now, the reason you’re here is I need to know Theo’s view of his parents. Has he expressed any interest in contacting or seeing them again after they sent him to Arald’s?”
Norm exchanged glances with Smokey and, after seeing his nod, he looked at Jackson. “Theo told us he’d tried calling his parents a couple of months earlier, but their number had been disconnected.”
“After he told us that, I asked Ghost to see if he could find them, but…shit, now that makes sense,” Smokey muttered.
“What does?”
“There wasn’t any trace of them that Ghost could find,” Smokey said. “They just disappeared, and Ghost thought they were dead.”
“Not dead, but chained up and forced into slavery, according to Ollie,” Jackson said.
“Well, that wasn’t on my bingo card,” Smokey muttered.
“Did Ollie say if he saw anyone else in the basement?” Norm asked softly.
Shaking his head, Jackson replied, “He didn’t say, but then I didn’t ask him. Do you think your parents might be prisoners, too?”
Shrugging, Norm said, “I don’t know…they always had a good relationship with the Alpha but…”
“Yeah…the Alpha could’ve changed his mind, and decided four slaves were better than two,” Smokey muttered. “What a fucking asshole.”
“I’ll tell Dylon to plan for four hostages,” Jackson said. “Regarding Theo, Mac doesn’t want Theo to know about his parents now, but I disagree. Whether Theo is told, you should know, we will rescue them. No shifter may enslave another shifter.”
“Theo has a right to know,” Norm said emphatically. “And it’s his decision whether he wants to see them again.”