Zack"s POV"Mother." Zack acknowledged the woman in front of him with a tight smile. The expression on her face told him that she was not here to see him. He opened the door fully and stepped aside for her to enter.
Meiling stepped inside hurriedly, asking, "Where is Elize?! What happened to he-" She stopped dead in the middle of the room, facing the huge bed in front of her. The worried expression on her face changed into an alarmed one on seeing the figure lying on the bed.
Elize smiled weakly at his mother. Zack looked at his mate with curiosity. How could she smile at his mother like that, after knowing about everything that she did to her people?
"h.e.l.lo aunty Meiling." Elize said in a weak voice.
Meiling"s voice rose up in alarm. "Oh dear! What happened to you my poor little kid? Does it hurt?" She asked, taking a step forward to get a closer look.
It was evident that she was shocked to see Elize like this. Or was she acting in front of him? Did she know something about grandfather"s plans? Zack"s mind was filled with thoughts.
"I"m totally fine aunty Meiling. Everyone is just exaggerating." Elize replied awkwardly.
"What nonsense! You look like an incubus drained your entire blood out! How are you fine?!"Meiling chided, as she started walking towards the bed. In a flash, Zack was sitting on the bed alongside Elize, effectively stopping her advance before she reached the frail girl. He didn"t trust his mother enough to let her come close to his mate anymore.
Meiling"s eyebrows shot up in question. "Zack?"
"Mother you cannot-"
Before Zack finished the sentence, he felt a sharp pain on his lower back. "Aah!" He screamed and turned around.
Elize was glaring at him.
"Dare you finish that sentence! She"s your mother!" Elize scolded him through their mind link.
"But she could be the reason that you got hurt!" Zack retorted. He was surprised at her att.i.tude towards his mother. But it somehow warmed his heart at the same time. His mate was too kind, he thought.
"We don"t know that yet Zack." Elize replied. She pursed her lips in protest.
Zack rolled his eyes. "Fine. Only because you"re cute when you do that." he said with a smile.
Elize grinned at him.
Zack looked at his mate lovingly. She was so beautiful when she smiled like that. She looked like a small kid in an woman"s body. Although right now, she looked more like a dying child. He thought to himself sadly. The smile on his face was replaced with a grim look once again.
"You don"t have to worry about her Meiling. I am here now." Aileen said, getting up from the chair beside the bed.
Meiling turned towards the old witch. Surprise flashed in her eyes. "Oh Aileen! When did you arrive? I"m so sorry that I was not here to receive you. You see I had to-"
Aileen chuckled, raising her hand up. "It"s okay. I don"t need any explanation. Right now all I care about is finding a cure for Elize." She said, with a stern smile.
"Of course of course. How inconsiderate of me to mention other things." Meiling said, waiving her hands in the air awkwardly.
An angry bruise peeked out from underneath her long sleeves. Zack growled, seeing the ugly violet mark around his mother"s pale white skin. Meiling quickly put her right hand down, covering the bruise with her sleeves desperately. She looked at Zack with guilty eyes.
He knew that she wouldn"t tell him anything about it no matter how much he insisted. So he decided to test her. If she knew something about grandfather"s plans, she was bound to slip at some point. Zack thought.
"Mother, where did you go? You were gone for two whole days! I had Nina search the entire Island for you. You were nowhere to be found." he asked, putting on a concerned face.
Meiling looked around nervously. Realizing that everyone"s attention was focused on her, she sighed. "I"m sorry son, for leaving without informing you. I just returned from the mainland." She paused. Looking at Zack with sad eyes, she continued, "You see, my friend, Meifeng"s mother was feeling unwell from the past week. I just went to check on her as soon as I got the news."
"Ohh." Zack replied with a neutral expression. He had noticed the slight twitch of her eyes when she was explaining. From years of living together with his mother, he knew that it happened only when she was lying.
Giving him a slight nod, Meiling peeked at Elize who was lying on the bed behind Zack. Pointing a finger towards her, she asked, "But what happened to her? Nina was the one to inform me about it. But all I heard was that she somehow fell ill."
Suddenly Aileen laughed dryly. "You should ask that to your father. Where pray, is that man?" She asked.
"I"m sorry, what is it that you"re implying Aileen?" Meiling asked, her face registering shock.
Zack knew that it had to be him who asked her about it. She owed at least that much to him after lying on his face like that. He asked, "Mother, did you know about the Tohar Sehlah? Did you know that grandfather had found it?"
Meiling turned around to face her son. She looked at him with disbelief.
"What?! That"s impossible! Father wouldn"t have hid that from me. I think you"re mistaken."
"No I"m not mother. All the men of our pack were present yesterday night when grandfather showcased it to them in the hidden garden." Zack said, trying hard to maintain his composure.
When did she get so good at acting?! It was clearly her who helped grandfather! Even if she didn"t, she would be the one person on the Island who"d know of all his plans. As she didn"t bother to share it with him, she was as good as his grandfather"s accomplice.
"The hidden garden? But why would father use that place? Jebediah had clearly banned entry to that place before his death." Meiling asked, her eyes widening with fear.
"I don"t know mother. I thought you"d know." Zack said sarcastically.
"How am I supposed to know?!" She asked, waving her hands in the air in irritation.
"Mother you-"
"Do you suspect me son? Do you think that I did this to Elize?" She shouted, no more able to control her emotions. Tears rolled down her eyes as she walked towards her son. She stopped, inches from him. She reached out her hand to touch his face. c.o.c.king her head to the side, she asked with a pitiful expression on her face, "Do you doubt your mother my dearest child?"
The expression on her face was tearing his heart apart. He had never seen his mother putting her emotions on display like that ever. Not even on his father"s death. Maybe he was too harsh on her? He thought helplessly.
"Mother, that"s not what I am saying." Zack said, his face cast down in guilt.
"Then what-"
Aileen cleared her throat. Meiling"s turned towards her, quickly wiping off the tears from her cheeks.
The old witch said, "Meiling. I respect you because you were a strong Luna and above all, a kind one." She paused, looking at the woman in front of her for confirmation.
Zack looked at his mother. Her expression had changed into a less distraught one, as she slowly smiled. Aileen continued, "You were less like your father and more a reflection of Jebediah. If you know anything, anything at all, you need to tell us now."
Meiling sighed. "I-"
All of a sudden, Mikail rushed into the room. Without thinking about anything, he suddenly shouted, interrupting Meiling. "Alpha!"
"What is it Mikail?" Zack asked, clearly irritated from being interrupted in the midst of a personal moment.
Mikail was breathing heavy. Ignoring Zack"s irritated expression, he said, "We have searched the entire island. Alpha Li is gone."
Zack"s blood froze. "What?!"