Bear with Me (#2, Completed)

44. Revelations

CALLUM

So, it was both of you all along, wasn't it, Fergus? Mother-son collusion to take over the sleuth. I shot him a venomous look as Mahon got back up again and attacked without wasting any time.

Typical- I'm always the bad guy. Well, fuck that shit. I am sick of it, Fergus growled, but I didn't have time for this crap, not when Catriona had her hands wrapped around my mate's throat somewhere up there.

We both reared up with our claws and delivered mighty blows, leaning forward to try and pin each other. Whenever our paws engaged, we used our snouts to inflict powerful bites- the head, the neck, the back, whatever we could get to. The brute strength of our arms and jaws, combined with our sheer weight, made the fight between Fergus and me vicious.

Enough, Mahon roared, before he swiped Fergus's bear ferociously across the head, knocking him unconscious. At least he is no longer a problem.

Fire coursed through Mahon's paws as we sprinted up the slanted side of the ravine to get our mate; my stomach pitted in tight knots while dread crept into my soul. When we finally reached the top of it,  Catriona was waiting for us, her shifted claw pressed against Flame's throat, her other hand holding Scar tightly against her.

It will be okay, Flame- I'll get you out of this, I reached out to her through our link, but I could already sense that my presence calmed her down, her heart no longer galloping like it had seconds earlier.

I took a step towards them, shifting back to my human form, to reason with the woman who raised me when my own mother had refused to do so. 

I never imagined that I would find myself in this situation with her, not with Catty of all people.

"Let her go, Catriona- Scarlett doesn't have anything to do with this." This was not a plea but the command of her Alpha, one that she needed to abide by but instead, she responded with a scoffing laugh.

"Of course, she does, you idiot! This girl is your weakness and will be the downfall of this sleuth," she snarled, something bitter dripping from her tone. "If my plan is going to go down the drain, I might as well take her out of the equation along the way."

Concern grew in my head as I listened. This was not the Catty I knew- it just didn't make sense. She was always so supportive of me, of finding a mate. And in the time that Flame spent with the sleuth, Mara and Catriona had been the ones showing her the ropes and helping her out. I just couldn't understand where this sudden hate for my mate was coming from.

"Why are you doing this, Catty? What happened?" I asked, hoping to get through to her, to the caring woman that I knew. "Did Fergus put you up to this? Is he behind everything?"

I searched her eyes for the warmth that I had seen over the years, but all I could find was a poison-tipped gaze. 

Her face scrunched up as she shook her head, outraged by my questions. "Fergus? That waste of space?" she snapped, and I could barely believe it- I had never heard her say anything bad about him until today. "Is he dead? You would save me a few headaches if you finally took him out. Goddess knows that I would have gotten rid of that useless weakling as soon as I found out what a waste of a shifter he is, but alas...."

There was a genuine wistfulness in her voice- she truly wished that Fergus was dead. Flame and I exchanged stunned looks while I stood there, frozen in my spot, unable to fathom how she could say this about her own son. No matter how Fergus had behaved over the years and despite the hatred he seemed to hold against me, I had never wanted anything to happen to him. I had always hoped that we could turn a new page one day, but that day never came. Yet, to hear Catriona talk about him like that... it made no sense!