"You might want to sit down for this, Rhea." Azrael said, making himself comfortable in my chair. I swear, his ass better not fart in it. Then again, this was the least of my worries. Kronos had gone to his room to rest after getting attacked brutally by his own mother. That bitch is in her cell. Currently, Azrael and I are in my room discussing important matters.

"I rather stand. Don't worry about me and continue."

Azrael shrugged and blew out a steady breath. "I'm going to try to tell you as fast as possible. Given the situation, Kronos should be the one telling you all this. However, he's mute. The day he tells you is the day he should start writing books for a living."

Did he just make a joke out of Kronos being mute?

Rain scoffed, laying down as she frowned.

'You and me both but I'm sure he means well. Azrael is just himself. You know how he was in the past.'

Rain rolled her eyes at my reply as I cut the link.

"Right, that's true. So cut to the chase." I said, motioning my hand forward. This isn't the time or place to be worry about the little things. If I let the little things bother me, I won't be able to handle what may happen in the future.

"Around the time your parents passed away, you came back to go to their funeral. The pack house was burned down by rogues and we lost many of our pack members. You grieved for months and right after the funeral, you went back to your other home in Florida since you didn't want to be reminded of the past." He paused, continuing. "You wanted no contact from the pack, so we left you be. You rarely visited and only stayed by the outskirts of where the humans were. But just think that if you actually went to the pack house, you might have found Kronos sooner."

I chuckled, thinking bitterly of the past. "Yeah, well, life can be one hell of a ride. Even so, I met him and now we're mates. I regret not coming here sooner and even though I'm here, I still feel pained about their deaths. I miss them, but I've learned to cope with my parents not being here. Actually, when I saw the pack, I felt a slight sting but it wasn't as bad. I don't know what I was so scared of."

"Change, perhaps? We don't ever want to step out of our comfort zone. Maybe if you came to the pack house, it would mean you acknowledged their passing and that time has moved on with or without you. We never like to get out of our comfort zones, but once we do, we feel a little more fearless." Azrael replied casually, crossing his legs.

He just had to hit the nail on the head.

I nodded, approving what he said. I'm definitely happy he's Coco's mate. Through all that struggle, they finally pulled through and he's matured so much since the last time I met him.

Smiling at old times, I snap us back to the present. "Now, what does that have to do with Kronos?"

"Rhea, you didn't want any contact from the pack since you needed time to grieve for your parents. Because of that, Coco stayed by your side a long time and although she visited me, she never went to the pack house. Honestly, she doesn't even know what happened to Kronos. It's a secret that he's mute to most of the other packs. I'm his representative and use the excuse that he's busy. We left you in the dark in regards to Kronos."

Thinking steadily, I just nodded.

Azrael's expression turned turned cold yet sad. He definitely didn't seem like he enjoyed talking about this. "He was abused, as you saw today. When the rogues, who burned down the pack house, kidnapped Kronos, Ouranos went after them. He was outnumbered and ended up slipping into a coma. With Kronos being so young, he couldn't be the alpha just yet. Gaia had to rule the pack herself but decided to use alcohol as a way to cope. Her mate was in a coma like state and one day, she just snapped. She slapped Kronos when she was drunk but apologized. Soon after, it became a daily thing. Once it became a habit, she stopped apologizing and didn't see anything wrong with it. Now, she sees it as a benefiting punishment for a Kronos and blames him for Ouranos's undoing."

Rain snarled, baring her fangs.

Honestly, I was controlling my anger as well. My eyes swirled black, but I needed to think clearly. I wanted to find Gaia and rip her to shreds. Calming myself down, I rubbed my temple, slowly walking back and forth to digest the information. It didn't help that Rain was chanting in my head to do it.

'Rain, I know you're upset. I am just as angry, but we have to be rational. Let's focus on helping Kronos recover.' I said, seeing how Rain nodded and let me continue talking to Azrael.

"Why would she blame Kronos? That wasn't his fault. He was a kid who got kidnapped. You don't see him waving a flag around saying he wants to be taken away, do you?" I said, hating Gaia even more.

He shook his head, "Honestly, I think some part of her lost it. When your mate is near death or in a coma, some wolves can be calm while others lose their sanity. Their bond is weakened. Since Kronos was a kid, he was the easiest target to blame because he was the reason why Ouranos went to fight the rogues. It's easier to blame those who cannot help themselves yet. Gaia needed something to blame, so she chose Kronos."

That sick bitch... Ouranos did his part as his father. What did Gaia do? Nothing. Her method of blaming someone whose completely innocent is ridiculous.

"Also, you're telling me that you left me in the dark because I wouldn't be able to take that Kronos was getting abused by his mother and Ouranos is currently in a coma?" I asked in disbelief.

Azrael nodded.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I finally took that seat he suggested in the beginning but I wanted to set things straight. Staring at him accusingly, I growled, "I know you were thinking of my well-being, but I could have stepped in to help Kronos. You know I would have!"

Azrael stiffened, frowning as he tried to defend his side. "Please understand. At that moment in time, a lot of people in the pack turned against Kronos. Those that felt sympathy or sided with him were either punished or ordered to ignore him. You have no idea how much Kronos went through. Can you tell me without any hesitation that you would have stormed into the pack house you were so scared to enter in after your parents passed away, beat up all the pack members who hurt Kronos, and challenge Luna Gaia for the title of Alpha?"

I was silent, knowing he was right.

What right did I have?

Azrael coughed, feeling nerved after realizing what he said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so harsh. It's just... even I couldn't help him. I was ordered to ignore Kronos's suffering. My wolf had to obey her and till this day, I wish I did more."

I bit my lip in frustration, hating how helpless the situation was. If only I could turn back time. "No, you're right. What you said made sense. How can I help Kronos when Gaia could have just ordered me to do the unspeakable to him."

He smiled and let out a sigh of relief when he saw I understood. Seeing how the conversation started to wrap up, I asked, "Was this all you needed to tell me?"

"Yes. If I remember anything else, I'll let you know."

Waving goodbye, I said, "Thank you."

***

Hearing what had happened, I didn't know what to think. I didn't want to believe that the once beautiful and courageous Luna Gaia turned out to be an abusive person. Who would shamelessly slap her son without reason or how Ouranos, who was the old alpha and Kronos's father, was in a coma. Everything that was said feels so surreal but I witnessed what Gaia did to Kronos. It's all true and that only made me hate her more.

I want to see Kronos.

Rain suggested, scratching behind her ear.

Sooner or later, I found myself in Kronos's room. Quietly walking in, I sat on the edge of his bed and watched his chest rise and fall as he slept soundly. His little snores were very cute and I couldn't help but chuckle just a little bit. Glancing over his arms, I could see the bruises that were once so prominent, were now faint. He still had some minor cuts but they were healing fast. Kronos then started to frown in his sleep as sweat accumulated on his forehead. His hands clenched on the bedsheet.

He's having a nightmare...

I reached over and let my hands comb through his short hair. He tensed up, flinching in his sleep before the sparks calmed him down. More snoozes followed.

As I caressed my mate's cheek, I came to a conclusion. I'll make everyone who hurt him pay for what they've done to him. Seeing his current state, it only strengthen my resolve.

I will protect Kronos and help him protect our pack.

I'll be his strength and help him recover to how he used to be.

No matter the cost.