Their son hadn't come home last night. The empty room triggered a panic in Evelyn that felt totally rational. A wave of paranoid nausea thinking maybe he'd been taken, too. She rushed to check on her children, stomach twisting in knots only to untie when she found them both asleep. Unharmed and untouched. A quick press on the Ether found the older Mal asleep as well. Asleep. Just not here.
Oh. Her heart broke. She choked on a sob standing in the doorway of her son's room, hand caught over her mouth so she didn't make any noise to wake him. She didn't understand how her beautiful, kind-hearted son has grown into something so cold.
She sank into quiet. Unusual for such a lively woman. The morning passed without much more than asking her Mate and son what they wanted for breakfast. If they wanted more. It wasn't until Mal asked to go outside and play did she seem to come alive again.
"No!" She snapped quickly, moving beyond him to lock the door. "Stay inside today," she added, softer. "Don't go anywhere without me or your dad, understand?"
Mal was shocked. Normally she shooed him out of the house to go play with his friends. He glanced at Kalen, dark eyes wide with confusion and a little fear. He didn't understand where this was coming from, why his mother was acting strange. "But--"
"No!" She interrupted.
He recoiled a little and sagged. "Okay," he conceded, obviously disappointed and making sure she knew it. He slid out of his chair and sulked the whole way to his room. Making a show of it especially as she followed him with Celeste in her arms. He wondered what had happened that was making her so mean.
