Greatest Curse (Book 2)

Conquer Fear

He was disgusted with who he is.

And that made me curious. Gave me a lick of hope.

I wanted to see who was behind the mask. Maybe we could make something work. Maybe it didn't have to be this way.

The sound of the front door to my home opening and closing dragged me from my train of depressing thoughts. The sound was followed by my mother's voice calling out to me wondering if I had arrived home. Sitting up, I shuffled out from under the covers and padded across the short space from my bed to the door.

I headed downstairs following the sound of rustling bags and dishes clanking lightly. "Mom." I greeted quietly, my gaze on the back of her head since her back was to the doorway. My mother turned around immediately, her warm smile in greeting quickly diminishing when she caught the look on my face.

That was the thing with my parents. They knew me so well, that I couldn't hide anything from them. I hadn't said a word that I'd found my mate. They know I'm keeping something, but they didn't pressure me. I would tell them in my own time.

"Pumpkin? What's wrong?" she asked, her brow creasing with worry as she made her way over to me. I met her halfway, coming to stand at the island counter where she had a few brown bags placed, the brown decorated with a familiar burger logo.

Burger King.

My favourite.

"Nothing." I assured her, trying my best to bring a mask of stoicism down on my features. I plopped down on a chair and began ruffling through the bags trying to figure out which one was mine. I ate a lot despite my small body, my typical Burger King meal consisting of their chicken sandwich, fries, and chicken nuggets completed with their barbeque dip sauce. Of course, I'd have a drink to go with it.

Unwrapping the sandwich, I then pulled out the box of chicken nuggets, and opened the two barbeque dips. I glanced up to find my mother giving me a disapproving stare. Of course, she wouldn't believe me. She's my mother. She knew me better than most, could tell when I was distressed, and when I lied. Like I was now.

"Asher Stone." she called firmly. My shoulders slumped, and I took a tired sigh, meeting her concerned blue eyes.

"Yes, mother." I returned, knowing that she wasn't about to take any crap from me. She addressed me only by my full name when she was cross with me or trying to tell me I can't feed her crapped out lies. My mother crossed her arms over her chest, deep blonde curls ruffling with her movements over her shoulder.

"I'm your mother. I can tell when you're lying." Taking the seat next to me, she turned so that her body was facing me. I turned as well, my hands settling in my lap. She cupped my chin for a moment. "What's wrong, son?"

"I found my mate." I admitted, swirling a fry in the barbeque dip. She gasped, her eyes alight with excitement. However, when she took note of my sombre aura, her features softened, and she frowned.

"You're not happy?" My gaze fell. It's not that.

It's not that at all.

I'm afraid of what could happen between Jaxon and me. It's no longer a mystery to me the darkness that Jaxon lives in constantly. How it happened and why he lets himself fall deeper into it, I'm not sure I want to know.

I wanted to completely ignore it all and forget about our conversation earlier. But the look in his eyes, and the desperation in his voice was something that I, as his mate, couldn't just ignore. I couldn't put it out of my mind.

So, I told her. I told her about Jaxon West. About how he was the one who stirred up trouble with Marcana when he challenged our third-in-command for his mate. I told her about what our relationship was like, and eventually, I got around to summarizing our conversation from earlier at the coffee house.