03

« So. » He decided to try and start a conversation to get his mind off it. « I’m pretty sure the car is private enough. »

Sophie frowned. « I’d rather get you to the pack so that you can’t change you mind after you hear me out. »

Well that didn’t sound good. What did she have to say that could cause him to turn tail and run ?

She refused to speak up any further until they pulled into Parkwood. They passed by the school yard, which was fenced off from the forest, and drove through a small cluster of cul-de-sac’s. Eventually she turned into her driveway and ushered him into the house where he set his bags down by the front door and stretched.

« Have you eaten ? » She asked, suddenly nervous as she rushed into the kitchen and started digging around in the fridge. « We could order out but I made sure to go grocery shopping before you arrived. How does Totino’s pizza rolls sound ? »

He laughed inwardly. Sophie was never good at cooking. « Sounds good. »

She grabbed a paper plate and popped a couple dozen in the microwave, then pulled out a two liter of coke. Darren sat at the dining table and waited patiently, knowing she was delaying their inevitable conversation. Whatever she called him over for really seemed to have her on edge.

Eventually the food was ready and she was left sitting across from him with her hands folded on her lap and an awkward smile on her face. She watched him eat, and Darren made sure to keep eye contact with her the entire time. It was like some sort of extremely uncomfortable staring contest. He looked expectant while she looked ready to run the instant he tried to speak. Finally she caved.

« So I know I called you here under strange circumstances. »

« Nothing strange about visiting my favorite aunt. » He popped a pizza roll in his mouth and smiled.

His response made her visibly relax. « So…Well…Have you heard about what’s been happening in the pack at all ? »

Darren shook his head. He actually did his best to avoid hearing any news from the pack.

Sophie sighed dejectedly. « I guess it would make sense for the Alpha to make sure no information was leaked. » She paused. « About six months ago, little Robbie went missing. He was about five years old and still hasn’t shown up. Alpha Liam sent out a search party with no results. Then, a week later, another kid went missing and the Alpha couldn’t find her either. All the Beta’s were in a frenzy, and the rest of the pack tried searching everywhere for them with no luck. Then when the third kid went missing a month later, the Alpha didn’t say anything. All he would tell us was that he was looking into it, but he didn’t organize anymore search parties. » She suddenly grabbed Darren’s hand. « Darren, thirteen kids have gone missing so far and no one knows where they are ! »

Throughout her story Darren had stopped chewing. He felt like he had just been doused in cold water.

The ghost in the woods…

« And I know you’re wondering what this has to do with you, so I’ll just tell you. I want to know if you saw any of them ? » Sophie asked, almost frantic.

Darren stared back at her, his previous horror still on his face. Then it was replaced by confusion when he realized what she was asking. « …What ? Why…Why would I… ? »

« I know Darren. » She griped his hand tighter. « I’ve known since you were a kid. You think I wouldn’t notice ? You knew I studied occult, but did you ever wonder why ? Your ‘imaginary friends’. Talking to yourself and having sudden outbursts when no one was around ? When you were ten, you used to talk to Miss Floyd for months after she died. No one told you about the funeral and you never even knew the woman’s name before then. «

It finally dawned on him that not only did his aunt know about his powers, but she had been keeping them a secret the whole time as well.

Now he knew why she had called him over. She suspected that the kids were being murdered, and she wanted Darren to confirm it.

Losing his appetite, he pushed his plate away and sat back. Sucking in a breath, he decided he might as well come clean. « I saw something in the woods on our way here. It wasn’t one of the kids though. He looked like a hunter and he was pointing at something. »

Sophie suddenly shot up from her chair excitedly. « Perfect ! We can look around that area. If you haven’t seen any of the kids ghosts yet then that means there’s a good chance they’re still okay, right ? »

« Er, yeah ? » He agreed halfheartedly, though he wasn’t sure how he’d feel if he did stumble upon any of the kids ghosts. Just the thought made his stomach churn.

« We have to tell the Alpha. » She slammed her hand on the table. « He’ll be thrilled ! »

« Wait, hold on ! » It was Darren who shot up from his chair this time. « You know how I feel about the Alpha ! Plus I left the pack without permission. Imagine how he’s going to react ? What do you think he’s going to do when he finds out I have an ability ? »

The main reason werewolves chose to live in packs was for protection. If you had a powerful Alpha, then you didn’t have to worry about other werewolves coming after you. It was actually pretty common for rogues with abilities to be abducted into packs against their will, and Darren absolutely refused to acknowledge Liam as his Alpha.

« Darren. These are CHILDREN ! And they’re still going missing ! » She turned around and rummaged through her bookshelf before returning with a pile of newspaper clippings. She held up a cut out picture of a little girl with red pigtails. « Clarabelle went missing just last week ! »

He held his breath, unwilling to argue. He could be a total dick sometimes, but not if it put kids in danger. If he did nothing, then more could go missing.

Sighing in defeat, he nodded in agreement. Sophie acted immediately as she snatched her car keys back up and ushered Darren out of the house.

Back in the car, they drove towards the Town Hall where Alpha Liam worked. His aunt was much more enthusiastic than Darren was, and about halfway up the steps of the red bricked building, she turned back and grabbed his arm, ushering him in at a quicker pace. He really was not looking forward to this.

His sneakers squeaked against the laminated floors as they wandered down the halls, hunting down the Alphas office and ignoring the receptionist who tried to flag them down. Turning one of the corners, Darren spotted a familiar face.

Tall and lean with short black hair and piercing green eyes, stood the cause of his childhood trauma. He had on a pair of faded jeans, with a dark blue unbuttoned shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Under it was a plane white shirt that just barely masked the mans six pack. He was a whole head taller than Darren was, and flashing a brilliant, perfect smile as he spoke to another pack member, completely unaware that he was being stared down.

As Darren stood rooted to the spot, a strange sensation began to overwhelm him. His chest tightened and his head began swimming. All at once his body was heating up like he were in an oven. The sudden urge to walk up and embrace the man was almost unbearable.

Horror crossed his face for the second time that day when he realized what it was.

He had just bonded with Jasper.

Darren remembered growing up thinking that being mate bonded was some sort of arranged marriage. The way everyone had described it to him as a kid, the moment you knew who it was, you essentially were destined to be together the rest of your lives. There were even old tales claiming that it was the Moon Goddess who was picking out your perfect mate for you, and whatever the goddess said, goes.

Fortunately Darren had the common sense to do his own research instead of listen to what a bunch of old farts said. What he found was a more logical explanation. According to this research, mate bonding is nothing more than your instincts telling you that your ‘destined partner’ had perfectly matching genes to yours and that you two would make great kids some day, which is why you had to be within the range of each others pheromones before the bonding even happened. He much preferred this explanation over some supernatural mother-in-law telling people who to marry.