(3rd person P.O.V)
Logan woke up with a start, his heart racing and sweat dripping down his forehead. Something was wrong. He just knew it. He quickly grabbed his phone, ready to call his mate and ask her to come home. But before he could dial her number, he caught the scent of his mate mixed with the smell of blood and his brother, Alex.
Panicked, Logan jumped out of bed and ran outside, following the trail of scents. He found his brother carrying an unconscious Erika, with his mother by their side, heading towards the infirmary.
Alex gently laid Erika on the bed and ordered the nurse to call the doctor. Hearing the commotion, their father, Zack, came inside the infirmary and asked them what had happened. Logan sat beside Erika and held her hand while Alex and Melissa tried to explain the situation to Zack.
Before they could finish, the doctor rushed into the room and immediately began to assess Erika's condition. After examining her, the doctor reassured everyone that there was no need to worry. Erika had passed out due to overworking herself and was now out of danger.
"She needs some healthy food and rest. I would also advise your majesty to stay by her side and in physical contact with her. It will help her to recover soon," the doctor said. "She'll be fine in no time."
Zack let out a sigh of relief and thanked the doctor for his help. Alex and his mother also expressed gratitude before the doctor left the room to attend to other patients.
Zack told Melisha to continue when his phone started to ring. He saw it was Arthur and picked it up. Arthur asks if Erika is okay or not. Zack was shocked to hear this question but answered him.
"Yes, she is okay. The doctor said she had overworked herself and passed out due to Exhaustion. Did you know what happened or why she exhausted herself like this?" Zack asks.
"In the middle of the night, Erika mind-link me, telling me that she managed to get inside Victor's mind and wanted me to note down all the information she was gathering while she was inside his mind, but as she got deeper inside his mind, our connection starts getting weaker and weaker, and at one point I thought I lost the contact. I started panicking and tried to reach her but failed. Then suddenly, her inner demon contacted me and asked me to get her out of his mind as soon as possible. After a lot of trouble, I get her out of Victor's mind. Then I tried to get in contact with her but failed. I started getting worried about her and contacted you to confirm that she was alright," Authur explained everything to her.
"I see. Thank you for telling me, Arthur."
"She didn't tell you anything about it?"
"No," Zack said while glaring at Melissa, and she looked away from him, feeling guilty for hiding things from her mate.
"We managed to gather as much information as we could. You would be shocked and furious to know what Victor had done and what he was planning to do. Tell her majesty to call me once she wakes up, so we can discuss all the information we have gathered. I would have organized all the information by then,"
Zack said okay, hung up the call, and then looked at Melissa as if asking her to explain everything. Then he informed them about the conversation he had with Arthur. Logan listened in confusion, trying to understand what was going on.
"What does Arthur mean, Erika tried to get inside Victor's mind. None of us could find his location or tracks of the people or corpses that disappeared out of the blue. Even Erika failed to do that." Logan asked, looking up at his father.
Alex comes forward to explain everything to them about how Erika found a way to find his location and asks their mother to help her to go with them, knowing that if something goes wrong in the process, she will have to pay a high price for it. She also asks her help to get you out of the castle because she knows that if you know how risky the process is, you will stop her. Alex asks Logan if he remembers that he once felt that he had lost Erika. It was because Erika almost lost herself in nature.
"What?" Logan and Zack ask at the same time.
"What are the consequences of using that method?" Logan asks, pinching the bridge of his nose. This time it was Melissa who came forward to answer him.
"It was going into a coma, dying due to exhaustion, losing one inner demon, paralysis, and getting controlled by another powerful vampire."
"What?" Logan and Zack yelled at the same time.
"You know what the consequences are? Even after knowing it, you let her do as she pleases?" Zack asks while Logan tries hard to control himself, so he does not burst his anger on his mother.
"Even after we almost lost her once?" Logan asks, clenching his fist. Melissa nodded while moving closer to his elder son to hide behind him.
Logan's anger boiled over as soon as Melissa nodded in confirmation. Without a second thought, he stormed towards his mother and punched the wall behind her in frustration. The impact made a loud noise, causing Melissa to jump and the others in the room to gasp.
"How could you keep something like this from me?" Logan yelled, panting with anger. "Erika could have died, and I would have no idea what happened. You had no right to put her in danger like that." As she looked at her son, Melissa's eyes were wide with fear and shock. It was the first time she had seen Logan so angry after Ami's incident; worse, it was anger directed at her. "Logan, I'm sorry. We thought we were doing the right thing."
"The right thing?" Logan repeated incredulously. "You put Erika's life on the line for your selfish reasons. How could you do that to her and me?" Logan's accusation hit Melissa hard, causing tears to fall.
"For my selfish reason. How can you say that Logan?" she said, her voice breaking with emotion. "Erika was like my own daughter to me. Not only that, she was the queen and the mother of all creatures. How could I put her life in danger like this?"
Logan glared at his mother, still angry and hurt by her actions. "Then why did you do it?" he demanded.
"We had no choice," Melissa replied, her voice shaking. "If we didn't find Victor in time and stop him, the whole world would be in danger. Erika was willing to risk her own life to protect everyone. Besides, other than her mother. I am also the queen of vampires, who has pledged to save her kingdom, keeping all her feelings and personal motives aside. Do you think I would let her put herself at risk like this if we had any other choice?" She asks in a whisper as tears keep flowing from her eyes.
Logan's anger began dissipating as he listened to his mother's explanation. He knew that Erika had always been selfless and brave, and it was clear that his mother had only acted out duty and responsibility for her kingdom. Still, he couldn't shake the betrayal lingering in his heart.
"I understand why you did it," Logan said, his voice softer now. "But you should have told me. I could have helped or at least been there to support Erika. Instead, I was kept in the dark and left to worry about her."
"No, you have stopped her. Worrying that you would lose her," Mellisha argued.
"Do you think she would have listened to me if I had tried to stop her?" He asks her, as a tear falls from his eyes.
Melissa reached out to touch Logan's arm, her eyes filled with sorrow.
"I'm sorry, Logan. I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted to protect you and Erika and keep you safe."
Logan sighed and looked down at Erika, unconscious in the hospital bed. He knew he needed to let go of his anger and focus on helping her recover, but it would take time for him to fully forgive his mother for keeping such a big secret from him.