No. The Easter Bunny popped out of the bushes and told me. Of course she was there !
The Alpha scratched his head. That doesn’t make any sense though. The police said she died last year in another pack. Why was her ghost even here ?
Darren shook his head at his ignorance. Ghosts don’t haunt places. They haunt people. She had unfinished business with her brother and started haunting Chuck so she could watch over him.
And you really didn’t know them ?
Of course not. I was just repeating what Tasha was telling me so it would look that way to Sally.
But then why would you even bother to help them ? Jasper asked, seeming even more confused. You’re not part of this pack, and they were strangers.
Because Tasha asked me to. Now can we go ? Darren was getting tired of getting interrogated like this. Normally he’d be more understanding since the nature of spirits wasn’t common knowledge, but this was Jasper, so he refused to be nice.
Jasper clearly wanted to ask more questions, but opted to get in the car instead. A few minutes into the ride though, he continued. Do you always do what ghosts ask you to do ?
No. Darren admitted before snapping his mouth shut. He meant to give the guy the silent treatment but his mind wasn’t fully invested in the plan yet, so he answered instinctively.
There had been a few ghosts who asked him to do something dangerous or illegal. He once had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting the spirit of a pedophile who asked him to burn some boxes from his garage. Darren, being nosey, peeked inside and gagged at the photos he found. He turned them in, though it didn’t do much good since the guy was already dead. The ghost proceeded to try and haunt him in revenge for ruining his reputation, but Darren had an exorcist on tab that he went to and got the spirit banished. It was expensive, but worth it.
Darren turned when Jasper didn’t ask him anything else and saw that the mans brow was furrowed in confusion. Rolling his eyes, he stared out the window. I tried asking her about the missing kids. He finally admitted.
Jasper didn’t seem to expect that explanation. Why would you do that ?
Because that’s why my aunt called me here. She wanted to know if I could see any of the kids spirits.
And have you ?
No, thank god. And Tasha didn’t know anything about the kids either. Now shut up already. Darren snapped, irritated over where this speculation was coming from. According to all packs, rogues were selfish, dangerous people who would never go out of their way to help a stranger. Thanks to this belief, it was only natural that an Alpha like Jasper would be confused when a rogue did the opposite. However Darren was done trying to explain himself and refused to answer anymore questions until they arrived at the Alpha’s house. As they pulled up, he spotted the two Beta’s standing in wait.
Jasper got out of the car first and greeted them. Darren followed, but kept his distance and listened in as Beth and Kenny pestered him with monotonous news. They didn’t appear to know anything about what happened earlier, and Jasper didn’t appear willing to bring it up.
Darren decidedly ignored them and trudged towards the house, seeking out a room with a couch so he could relax. Jasper suddenly shot after him. Where are you going ?!
The rogue turned, startled. You dragged my ass all around town to sit in a car and do nothing for hours and you seriously expect me to listen to you chat with your friends ?
Hey ! Kenny stepped in. Do NOT talk to Jasper like that ! Show some respect !
Darren flicked him off with both hands. I will when you ass wipes learn how to earn it.
This time it was Kenny who was reeling back for a punch. Beth stood back with a smirk on her face, eager to see Darren get his lights knocked out. Instead, Jasper stepped in and grabbed Kenny by the elbow, successfully stopping him. It’s not worth it. Jasper grunted. Don’t leave the house. He ordered Darren before finally letting him leave.
Inside, Darren found the living room and flopped on the couch, wiggling his rear until he was comfortable. Then he leaned back with his eyes closed. He had thought Kenny was the chill one between the Beta’s, but it seemed he was just as hateful towards rogues as Beth was. Sighing, he tried to wipe todays events from his mind. He didn’t want to think of anything else for the rest of the day and gladly drifted off to sleep. It was a short lived nap when Garret’s voice woke him up.
Turning around, he noticed it was dark outside. Quickly he stretched, then followed Garrets voice until he found the man in the hallway on the phone.
Don’t worry about it and just come home. You can try again tomorrow. He was saying. He got quiet as he listened for a response. Okay. See you in a few.
The man then hung up the phone and spotted Darren. Oh, you’re awake ?
Yeah. Darren replied. Where’s Assper ?
Jasper ? He corrected. He went out hunting for his mate.
Really ? Darren quirked an eyebrow. I thought he wasn’t allowed to leave my side or something ?
Technically yes, but after what happened today, Dad decided to be lenient on you two. Are you hungry ? He changed the topic.
Darren nodded, realizing he had skipped both lunch and dinner. Gerrit showed him to the kitchen where he pulled out some leftovers to heat up. Darren sat at the table to wait. When the man returned, he had a plate of Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and corn. He even provided a glass of Dr. Pepper.
Want anything else ? He offered. Mom made a mulberry pie if you’re interested ?
No thanks. Darren replied between mouthfuls.
As he ate, he realized he felt something strange. The Rogue’s Collar was causing some sort of tingling sensation that was getting stronger the more he tried to ignore it. Usually this sensation only happened whenever someone tried to use an Alpha Command on him, but neither Liam nor Jasper were home. He dug a finger under the leather strap in an attempt to lessen the sensation, but instead he started feeling Jasper’s presence bore down on him.
Confused, he stopped eating and tried blocking it out. He began imagining a brick wall around his mind, and forced the presence he was sensing to the other side of it. Jasper’s presence put up a struggle, but eventually it started to fade back into a dull sensation.
Glad he was able to successfully block Jasper out, he continued eating, then nearly dropped his food when he heard the door slam open, followed by angry footsteps.
Jasper stormed into the kitchen and went straight for the fridge. Gerrit watched him, perplexed, and waited for the man to pull out some food.
Something wrong ? Gerrit asked.
Jasper angrily sat down at the table and seethed over a plate of cold meatloaf. Yeah, there is. My mate is blocking me out !
Darren gulped. How would he know that ? What was he doing just now to figure out that Darren was pushing his presence away ? Was it an Alpha thing ?
As Jasper seethed in his seat, Darren became worried over just how little he actually knew about mate bonds.
Laying on the floor, Darren squeezed his eyes shut and put all of his brain power into blocking out Jasper.
Upon returning, the young Alpha had ranted about being ignored by his mate before going to bed. Darren at first wanted to say something snarky about how arrogant he was being, yet he didn’t want to draw attention to himself and figured he could wait till later to bring it up.
Checking the time, he realized the screen on the clock read 5 :00 A. M. Groaning, Darren rolled over and tried even harder to shove the presence out of his mind.
Whatever Jasper was doing, it was really straining the Rogues Collar. If this was how bad it was with the collar on, Darren could only imagine how much stronger it’d be if he ever removed it.