Wringing out as much of the water as he could from his clothes, he returned to the spare room and bagged up everything that had Jaspers scent on it. Tossing it in the closet, he waited till early the next morning to start a load of laundry.
By the time Sophie woke up, his pajamas were nearly dried, though they were still soggy and uncomfortable to wear.
You’re up early. Sophie noted suspiciously. You didn’t sneak out again, did you ?
Nope. Darren answered honestly. You want pancakes ? I can make breakfast. He offered, hoping for something to do as he waited for his laundry to finish.
As previously mentioned, his aunt was not the best cook, so getting a hot breakfast was a rare occasion and she gratefully accepted.
Making his way to the kitchen, he started on the batter and whistled to himself. Sophie sat at the table and scrolled through the social media apps on her phone. Darren kept glancing back at her, wondering if he should ask her if she knew any obscure details about bonding, but at the same time he feared any sort of confirmation on his suspicions.
Eventually his aunt noticed. Either spill it or stop burning my pans.
I don’t even know why you have these, It’s not like you use them. Darren joked as he prepared the first batch of pancakes. So um, it’s not anything serious. I was just wondering, what with Jaspers situation and all, er…What all do you know about bonding ?
Sophie looked at him like he had grown a second head. Didn’t my sister teach that to you when you were a kid ?
Darren shrugged. I had a tendency to block her out.
Me too. Sophie sighed in agreement. Alright, well, I’m not exactly a goldmine of information since I’ve never been bonded before, but I can tell you what I heard.
Darren flipped a pancake and listened.
First of all, She began, A bond only happens once you come of age somewhere between eighteen and twenty one. It’s not an exact age since everyone matures at different rates, but generally speaking, bonding only happens once both partners have reached maturity. Oh, and it only happens when the two are physically close to each other.
Darren already knew all of that, but at the moment, he was looking for more obscure facts. What about what’s happening with Jasper ?
I don’t know what’s up with him. Sophie admitted. I heard that his mate was rejecting him and he wasn’t handling it well.
Do you know what happens if you reject the bond ?
It doesn’t happen often, but from what I read, it’s not all that pleasant. Some of the descriptions I heard was that there would always be an itch in the back of your mind that you can’t scratch. Sort of like sensing your rejected partner for the rest of your life. Plus, some of my friends said that when they didn’t confirm the bond fast enough, they went into heat.
Darren dropped the pan, spraying hot butter on himself. Yelping, he quickly went to clean everything up before continuing the conversation. What does it mean to confirm the bond ? He asked, despite already knowing this as well. For some reason he couldn’t help but hope for a different answer than the one he’d been told growing up.
Sex, Darren. Usually when people find their bonded partners they jump into bed immediately. If they don’t, then after a while they’ll go into heat, but I’m guessing it passes eventually.
We’re not animals though ! Darren argued, surprising Sophie as she stared at him curiously.
No, we’re not. We’re werewolves. Half people, half animal. She explained in a sarcastically sweet tone as though Darren were a young child.
Darren pursed his lips in annoyance, then returned to cleaning, unhappy to learn that he now had another issue to deal with.
Do not leave my sight ! Sophie ordered as they got out of the car.
Darren shrugged half heartedly. Pretty sure we agreed that that would be a bad idea at this point.
After breakfast, Darren had to wander around town with Sophie, similar to how he had to do so with Jasper. This was the downside to being a rogue. Pack rules required that any visiting rogues be constantly monitored by a trusted pack member to make sure they didn’t cause any trouble. It made sense, to a degree.
As if running around shopping wasn’t bad enough though, he was also forced to do all the carrying, then was immediately dragged over to the park where three of the missing kids were last seen.
The park itself was a flat field of grass with a soccer goal, a swing set, a jungle gym and a small rock climbing wall. There were a few picnic tables under the nearby trees and a jogging trail that ran through the woods. If Darren had to guess, whoever took the kids had probably hidden out in the trees away from those paths so they wouldn’t be spotted.
A sudden squeal followed by crying drew Darren’s eye to a toddler who had just fallen off the swings. The boy’s mother quickly scooped him up and started inspecting his head, though it didn’t look like it was too serious of an injury. The swing wasn’t very high off the ground after all.
Well ? Sophie asked, looking around the park.
Instead of replying, Darren started wandering closer to the trees in case there were any spirits lurking out of sight. Sophie followed close behind as she continued to scan their surroundings. At first, Darren wondered if she was still trying to spot ghosts herself, but then figured she was more likely searching for overlooked evidence that the police may have missed. After a brief search, he determined there were none in the woods.
Nothing. I’ve only spotted two ghosts in this entire town. What the heck happened to them all ? Darren thought out loud as he returned to the playground.
Sophie tilted her head. What do you mean ? Were there more before ?
Yeah. At least, it felt like there were. Darren scratched the back of his neck in thought. He had been pestered by spirits every month when he was younger. He had grown accustomed to one particular spirit, a man in an old fedora, who used to stand around the bus stop quietly. He never looked up or said a word. The spirit had creeped Darren out at first, but after a while he became like a permanent fixture that never moved from that one spot. The rogue briefly wondered if the man’s spirit was still lingering there….
Is that Jasper ? Sophie froze in her tracks, as did Darren when he heard that name slip from her lips.
Instantly he scanned the park for confirmation. After last night, he wanted to distance himself as much as possible from the Alpha. So far he was able to stave off his heat by focusing on the investigation, but there was no telling how long that would be enough. Luckily the bastard stopped trying to call out to him through the bond.
Darren’s eyes eventually found their target. Jasper was currently standing by his Nissan in the parking lot. The man looked…Well, he looked normal to say the least. The rogue had hoped the Alpha would be out of it for at least a week. Guess shock didn’t last that long when it was caused by supernatural forces…
Huffing, Darren decidedly ignored Jaspers sudden appearance and started heading for Sophie’s car. He figured the man was here on Alpha business anyways.
I weft it ovew hewe ! Came the voice of a young child.
The adorable accent had the rogue turning his head to find a chubby little girl by the swing set. She was possibly only five or six and digging through the wood chips. A man then walked up behind her and began doing likewise.
Sweetheart, I think someone may have walked off with it by now. He cooed to the little girl.
The child pouted and tossed a handful of woodchips at the nearby swing. Nuh uh ! She argued on the verge of a fit.
That was when Darren finally found his ghost. She was an elderly woman in a hospital gown, standing near the rock climbing wall and pointing at the ground. Her transparent figure hovered a few feet away as she stared the child down, hoping to be seen somehow.
Veering from his original course, Darren approached the spirit and looked where she was pointing. There, half buried in the wood chips, was a silver heart shaped pendant. Without a word, he picked it up and called over to the two. Hey ! Is this yours ?
The father looked up and saw the chain hanging from the rogues hand. Relief washed over his face as the little girl squealed. Before the man could stop her, she ran over to Darren, arms outstretched.
Her adorable efforts to reach the piece of jewelry drew a giggle from Darren as he handed the necklace over. She clutched it in her chubby little hands and smiled up at him.
Thank you. The father said as he caught up. That was her grandmother’s pendant. I didn’t know she snuck it out of the house. I’m so glad it wasn’t lost.
No problem. Darren noticed that the old woman was smiling fondly down at the little girl.