Alpha Ace and his Undercover Mate

Chapter 22

Have you ever felt like the whole world was on your shoulders? Like the fate of everything depends on the choices you make?

Well that was how I felt all night, though I may have over exaggerated a bit.

I thought it was a mistake keeping everything from Ace for another day, though Jenna said I should wait.

Could I even trust her? There was no reason for me not to, so why not?

It only made me want to see my mom sooner to clarify everything. I barely slept last night. I woke up every hour to check the clock. Ace even came to stay with me around 4 a.m when he felt my uncomfortableness, and that was how I caught a few Z's.

Now I was on my way to where my mom supposingly lived, and I was feeling all sorts of uneasy.

I thought about how I may not like the answers that I get. I thought about what if Ace or someone else finds out where I was. And most of all, I worried about whether or not Jenna was right about the reason

why my mom hadn't revealed herself to me. What if she genuinely doesn't want to see me? What if Aiden and I are the real reason why she ended up here?

It was all nerve wracking as I trotted down the dirt road that led to a small cozy looking cottage. I stood firm in my spot in front of the door for a few minutes, contemplating if I should leave or not.

Eventually, I mustered up the courage to knock once, then twice. There was no answer so I tried another time.

I felt both disappointed and relieved, as I wasn't sure if I was ready for this. But time was running out, I had to be brave.

After I stood there for another minute or two and there was still no answer, I decided to come back later or tomorrow. Ace took me off 'training duty' due to my pregnancy, so I had more than enough time.

But before I could turn around, a voice sounded behind me.

"Roxanna?"

I froze.

'It was her.'

Her voice was soft and kind, no hint of annoyance present. But no matter how much I tried, I couldn't move.

I heard light footsteps climbing the steps, and my body only grew tenser as if a killer was making his way towards me.

A soft hand pressed to my bare shoulder, causing a shiver to run through my spine. She gently turned me around to face her, and my breath hitched when I saw her.

It was indeed my mom. The woman that hung from our walls, and filled our photo albums. She didn't look different in the least bit. Maybe just the few stress lines in her forehead, but they were barely noticeable.

Her brown eyes scanned mine for some sort of emotion, but all I could do was stare at her in shock.

"My baby girl" She whispered with teary eyes, as she used her thumb to wipe away a fallen tear from my eyes. I still just stood there speechless, but I was sure she understood.

Finally, she pulled me into a hug, and I slowly hugged her back, trying to ensure this was real.

She was here in the flesh. Blood flowing through her veins and all. She was alive, unlike what my dad told me all my life. It made me already doubt his judgement.

"You're alive" I finally found the voice to whisper. She pulled back so she could look at me, and she smiled wide and nodded.

"I am sweetheart. I always have been"

I smiled through the tears and pulled her back to me. It felt good being in her arms. I've missed out on it all my life.

It was then that I noticed that she didn't have the scent of our pack anymore. I pulled back to give her a confused look.

"What happened to you? " I asked in hurt. I couldn't imagine what she might've been through.

She sighed and gestured to the door. "Let's go in and we'll talk over some tea"

I followed her inside her warm house, and she led us to a small dining room. While she was brewing the tea, I took the time to look around the room. Just being in there made me feel like I hadn't lost her at all, like I knew her all my life.

"So I'm assuming you have questions" She started with a gentle smile. I retrieved the tea from her, mumbling a thanks before focusing on my goal.

"I do actually. But how have you been? Are you happy here? "

She smiled and rested her cup down." I have been fine. And I can't say I have been miserable, but happy? Not until recently."

"I don't even know where to start. Why did dad lie to us?"

"I don't know. Your father is a man of reason. But I'm thinking maybe he didn't want his two kids crossing pack borders to go find their mom" She chuckled.

"But would you blame us?" My voice cracked as more tears left my eyes. "We had to grow up without our mom. We missed out on so much "

"I know sweetie" She left her chair to comfort me, and I was more than happy to accept her warmth. I wasn't angry at her, and I wasn't sure if I was angry at dad either. I was just...hurt.

"Couldn't you have come back? Escaped or something?"

"Oh sweetheart I tried. I tried so many times, but John kept me as locked up as possible. Then he put a dog collar on me to keep me in pack lands"

I gaped at this. "That's awful! And Jenna allowed this to happen?"

John was terrible for doing that! And Jenna made it seem as if he wasn't the bad guy.

"You talked to Jenna? " She asked with a little shock. But before I could answer she added, "Of course you did. You're the Alpha's mate. I knew you two would've ended up together"

"Jenna said so" I smiled at the conversation I had yesterday. I could see why they were friends.

"How much did she tell you? "

I explained in short everything that I learnt yesterday, hoping that it was the truth and that mom knew where to pick up.

"So she left the hard part for me huh? "

"I didn't kno-"

"It's okay love. I don't mind digging up a few graves" I cringed at how that sounded which made her chuckle lightly and held me closer. I cuddled further into her arms as she continued the story.

"When Jenna lost her baby, John went crazy. I heard it was almost as if he was the one who needed medication. His behaviour only made Jenna more unstable, and as much as I knew John as an ass sometimes, he loved his mate"

I chuckled a little at her choice of words, despite the seriousness of the conversation.

"Having lost the baby plus John's craziness, Jenna was worse than I ever saw her before. Even when she lost her mom when we were teenagers was better than this. Ace was just a three year old toddler, and you and Aiden just turned two when John struck us unexpectedly.

"He blamed your dad for what happened to his baby, saying that if Blake hadn't had come to his pack demanding land, his wife and child would still be okay. I agreed with him for that part. " I gasped at that and slightly flinched back, but she only held me tighter.

"Hush child. It's only the truth"

I nodded and relaxed back into her. She was right, but I believed that both men's ego was the main cause of everything.

"As crazy as John was, he wouldn't dear hurt a hair on either you or Aiden's head to avenge his baby, so he targeted me. He launched a surprise attack on our pack, taking even more of your dad's land, took his people and he took me"

That was the story I heard all my life, only now it was the full version. Dad told us that Alpha John was just ruthless, power hungry and savage. Ruthless, he might have been, but hurt he was too. And as far as I know, hurt people hurt people. Mom sighed before continuing.

"He would've killed me and all those people, just to make Blake feel what he felt. Though we didn't know who pushed us to the ground that day, it was Blake who started the fight" She hung her head at that and I felt my inside churn. Jenna didn't mention that.

"Really? "

She nodded. "When John refused to give him the land that was supposedly his, he threw the first punch. Even though John could've escorted him out of his pack immediately, his ego wouldn't allow that. Jenna and I were foolish to try and break them up, but it all happened so fast"

I nodded in understanding as my tears resumed. This was why Jenna told me not to label my bad guy so quickly. But the sad thing was, even knowing all this, I still couldn't label dad as a bad guy.

Was that bad?

"John knew that Jenna would never forgive him if he killed me or anyone from my pack, so he forcefully mixed my blood and his, making me a member of his pack and cutting all my connections from my pack. He only did it with me"

"But that's illegal! " I gasped in disbelief.

"I know. But apart from the members that he took with me, every other member thought I died when the connection broke. But Blake? I knew he knew that I wasn't dead, since the mate bond didn't break. But that was enough punishment John could give Blake"

It all made sense now. That explained why everyone thought she was dead. Surely if anyone but dad knew she was still alive, I would've heard it somehow.

I assumed he told us that she died a few months after our birth because he didn't want us raging out in revenge if he told us this pack had 'killed' her. From the minute John took her he'd been planning ways to get her back I'm sure.

When everything else failed, he used Aiden an I, disguising it as a plan to get back the land and his people. Surely he wants them back too, but he wants mom more.

That's why he's been so determined about the mission. And he wouldn't dare tell anyone that she's alive, because he wouldn't dare open any doors to mistakes because of emotions. He's a smart one, my dad.

And when John died, it just made his job easier. Aiden and I weren't nearly finished training, so when Ace took over just in time when we had completed our training, he sent us already feeling like a winner.

His rules made so much sense now. He wouldn't risk us finding mom here, so he forbade us from wandering around Ace's pack, labeling it as 'idle and unprofessional'. When in reality, he just didn't want us to see her. He instructed us to stay away from members that still had our scent, saying it would lead us one step closer to being found out. When in reality, he didn't want them to tell us about mom.

He had this all figured out. Yes he wanted back his land and members, but he just really wanted his mate. And I wouldn't blame him, but he went about it all wrong.