07

What if there really was some sort of supernatural force playing part in this whole bond thing though ? After all, it wasn’t exactly normal for a human to be able to change into a wolf, and it was common knowledge that werewolves had some degree of magic in them.

At one point his parents did try to have ‘The Talk’ with him to explain how the bond worked, but they had made it seem like another life lesson about how you should be happy with what life gives you. Naturally he blocked them out.

Downstairs, he heard the sound of knocking at the front door and nervously sucked in a breath. That couldn’t possibly be Jasper, could it ? No, he was too far away to make it here so fast.

« Be right there ! » His aunt called and he heard her footsteps as she answered the door, followed by girly squeals and chatter. He rolled over realizing it was one of her friends, then laughed to himself over how paranoid he was being.

« Did you hear ? » The new voice echoed up to his room. « Jasper’s mate finally appeared ! »

Darren instantly flopped off the bed in shock.

« Is that true ? » His aunt asked. « When ? »

« Today apparently. Though it seems like the poor girl is shy. She ran before he even got a look at her and now he’s moping about it at the Alpha’s house. »

Sophie laughed. « I don’t blame her. I’d be overwhelmed too if I found out my mate was a future Alpha. I can’t imagine having all the stress of helping to run a pack suddenly thrust on me. »

Darren snorted disdainfully. That wasn’t it at all. He simply had zero interest in staying here very long.

« Oh by the way, my nephew is visiting this week. DARREN ! » She abruptly shouted. « Get down here ! I want you to meet someone ! »

Bracing himself for unwanted social interactions, he quickly fixed his hair and went downstairs where he met a rather round yet giggly looking woman in a red summer dress. Her cheeks were rosy, possibly from too much blush, and she had the reddest of lipstick on. Over all, she reminded him of a tomato.

The woman’s smile faltered when he entered, but she quickly put it back on. « Oh, hello ! I don’t think I’ve seen you around before ? »

« Alysha, this is my nephew Darren. Darren was raised here, but moved out about eight years ago. » Sophie explained.

« To another pack ? »

« To live with my brother. »

Alysha gave him another once over before her smile faded completely. « So he’s a rogue. »

The woman’s tone had flattened and she was poorly masking her immediate distaste. This was normal though. Rogues were known for having poor pack mentality and only ever looking out for themselves. A good pack member would put themselves last.

Sophie sighed. « Just because he’s a rogue, doesn’t mean he’s a bad kid. »

Alysha turned and smiled at Sophie like one would do with a child. « Oh I get it, he’s your family. Of course you’re worried for him. Just don’t let him get you into any trouble. Especially not with… » She quickly glanced at Darren before leaning closer and whispering, « Not with everything else that’s going on. »

It was laughable to think the woman wouldn’t expect him to over hear, but he just shrugged it off, not wanting to pick a fight with Sophie’s friend. « I’m just gonna head upstairs, that’s all. » He pointed upwards and began backing away. « You two have fun ! »

He put on the fakest smile he could before leaving. Normally he would have snapped at the woman like he did with Jasper, but at the same time he didn’t want to end any of Sophie’s friendships. She was a member of this pack after all, so it was natural that her pack friends would be wary of her rogue nephew. He just had to swallow his pride and deal with it.

This time he closed the bedroom door behind him to drown out the women’s chatter, but when he turned, his heart nearly leapt out his chest as he was startle by the floating figure of the dead hunter just outside the window.

Darren peeked around the corner into the dining room to make sure the two women were properly distracted. He spotted Sophie at the table chattering on and on about a book she read, with Alysha interjecting every so often about how some movie adaptation was better.

Satisfied that they wouldn’t notice him, he slid against the wall towards the front door. There, he slowly turned the knob and slunk outside.

He didn’t want to interrupt them when his aunt appeared to finally be wound down after running around all day. If he found anything, he’d let her know once he returned.

Making his way to the back yard, he began removing his clothes so they wouldn’t be ruined during his transformation. Midway through he noticed the hunters ghost hovering nearby. « Do you mind ? » He hissed. « Turn around at least ? »

The spirit stared at him a moment longer before his figure did a complete one eighty, and then switched arms so that he was still pointing in the same direction.

Once Darren was down to all but the collar, he shifted as quickly as he could. Unfortunately it wasn’t anywhere near the next full moon, so it took a few minutes. Basically the further away from the full moon it was, the harder it was to shift.

Soon an average looking grey wolf stood beside his neatly folded clothes. Since he was barely two hundred pounds, his wolf self didn’t look much bigger than a normal wolf, so he usually got away with passing as a regular wild animal. The collar he was currently wearing made him seem domesticated though, so he shook himself so his neck fur would fluff out and cover it. Then he trotted in the direction that the ghost was pointing.

Darren knew that doing this at night was risky, but the more he tried to ignore the hunter, the closer the spirit hovered near his face until the guy was practically touching his forehead, which resulted in an ever present wave of cold washing over Darren. He’d never be able to sleep like that, so he decided it was best to get this over with. Unfortunately this ghost appeared to be mute, so he was unable to simply ask what the guy wanted.

Quickly he trotted though the neighborhood, aiming for the tree line. The ghost would disappear whenever he passed it, and then reappear a little ways ahead of him, leading him closer to the edge of town.

Finally making it to the first tree, Darren paused to examine the spirit more closely. His face was weatherworn, probably sunburned, though his spirit was devoid of color now. He had long, stringy grey hair and a rough beard. Overall, he looked like somebody’s grandpa.

Sniffing the air to make sure no one was near, he dove into the foliage. The sky was immediately blotted out by the tree’s above, leaving him at the mercy of his other senses. The smell of pine needles, dirt, moss, squirrels and deer filled his nose. It was very rustic, something he was no longer accustomed to, but it did make him slightly nostalgic.

Not long into his journey, a twig snapped somewhere in the distance and he froze instantly, ears perked in alert. They swiveled, trying to detect exactly where it had come from, but all was silent again minus a single owl hooting in the distance.

He held his breath and listened intently, unconvinced that it had been his imagination. Slowly he lowered his body to the ground, trying to stay out of sight. The wind blew, and with it came the scent of another wolf.

He’d been found.

Apparently the collar didn’t entirely hide his presence. They must have heard him shuffling around in the bushes. The question now was what to do ? The ghost was still hovering overhead and pointing into the woods. Should he ignore the specter and turn himself in so he wouldn’t face too harsh of a punishment ? But what if they decided to attack him since he was a rogue ? The Alphas had already proven that they weren’t interested in listening to anything he had to say, so he doubted he’d have a chance to explain himself. In the end, Darren decided he had to figure out what this ghost was trying to show him, because maybe, just maybe they’d listen if it was something important.

In a split second decision, he darted forward as fast as his paws could carry him. Whoever the other wolf was, they seemed startled by his sudden reaction but quickly took chase.

Crap. They were fast.