34

That night, Darren caught Jasper eyeing him from across the room as the two got ready for bed.
What ? He snapped, not liking the amount of attention the man was giving him. He had been jumped twice already and was not up for letting it happen a third time.
Jasper frowned. Nothing. I’ll go sleep downstairs.
With that, the young Alpha grabbed a blanket and left.
Darren stared at the bed for a long moment, considering whether or not it’d be safe to sleep on. He knew there was a high probability of having a wet dream if he got too comfortable, so he opted to do something to prevent this.
After removing his night clothes, the rogue began shifting into his wolf form. He decided this would be the safest thing to do since it would be hard to ‘drive stick’ without hands.
Once he was fully shifted, he circled around his little pile on the floor and laid down. Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, a presence began pulling at his mind.
He immediately knew what it was, and felt like the connection was somehow stronger than before despite the Collar blocking the worst of it. This unsettled the rogue as he curled up even tighter and attempted to push the man out of his head. Unfortunately this didn’t seem to work and Jasper doubled down on his efforts.
Grunting, Darren rolled over and tried to sleep with about as much success as usual.
Jasper’s tugging eventually stopped some time early the next morning. Thanks to that, Darren decided he might as well get up for the day.
Shifting back to his human form, he got dressed and went downstairs. No one else appeared to be awake yet, and Jasper was still passed out on the couch, so the rogue decided to poke around for a bit.
Just as he was passing the kitchen, he heard a noise down the hall that drew his attention. Following the sound, he found a study room with it’s door ajar. Curious, he peeked through the crack and spotted Liam sorting through paperwork.
The papers in the man’s hands had pictures of children paperclipped to them, and Darren stared intently, wondering just what it was that Liam was up to so early in the morning.
I know you’re there, Mr. Nelson. Why don’t you come in and have a seat ? The Alpha spoke without looking up from his work, and Darren all but jumped out of his skin as he was caught spying.
Meekly, the rogue opened the door and stepped inside.
Liam flopped a set of folders onto the desk and focused on Darren, causing the rogue to want to shrink back in embarrassment.
I’ve been wanting to have a proper talk with you since our last…encounter. He said the last word almost regretfully.
Darren opened his mouth, prepared to make a rude comment, then snapped it shut when he remembered how close Liam came to destroying his Rogue’s Collar last time.
I want you to know, The Alpha circled around the desk and stood in front of it. My first and foremost goal is making sure Jasper is ready to take over this pack when the time comes. Unfortunately, there have been a lot of distractions lately, and they seem to be interfering with my teachings.
Darren decided to brave a question. What kind of leader were you hoping to make him if all you want him to do is follow your orders ?
Liam tilted his head. A proper one.
Irritation ignited in the rogue, and he clenched his fist to stop himself from saying anything too abrasive. Jasper is trying to fix things with the pack members he used to bully. This was something he would have done a long time ago if it weren’t for your ‘teachings’. He’s technically strengthening his connection to the pack by doing this, so I don’t understand how that wouldn’t make him a proper leader. It felt odd to be defending Jasper like this, but Darren had to make this man see that what was happening was not as bad as he was making it out to be.
That’s not what I’m talking about. The Alpha folded his arms. I’m talking about the fact that he is being swayed by your words too easily. You made him question my leadership practically over night, and now he’s openly disobeying me and going off to do his own thing, thus neglecting his duties. At this rate, he will not be ready to take on the responsibility of Alpha when the time comes. Furthermore, you convinced him to give up on finding his mate when he should have tried harder. Yet when you suggested that he may have hurt her, he gave up without question ? No werewolf can resist the pull of the bond, so I can’t help but wonder how it is that your words have so much power over him.
Liam eyed the small rogue, examining his reaction as Darren squirmed under his scrutiny.
As a matter of fact, the only person who would have the power to convince someone to give up on their bond would be their mate.
Despite his best efforts not to react, the rogue couldn’t help how his body locked up at the insinuation. This did not go unnoticed by the Alpha, and Darren realized he just outed himself.
Liam squinted as realization dawned on him. I want to let you know something important. Being bonded to an Alpha doesn’t mean you have the same authority. It is the mate’s responsibility to support their partner, and vice versa. Now that I’ve confirmed my suspicions, I suppose I can understand your actions a bit better. But be warned, what you think is the right thing may not always be the right decision. Alphas have to act differently from the ones they lead, and sometimes, sacrifices have to be made.
Darren assumed the guy was referring to Jasper’s old victims, thus suggesting that he let Jasper forget about apologizing to them and focus on more ‘important’ things. That or he was trying to convince Darren to stop telling him what to do.
Whatever he was trying to say, Darren had no intention of complying. Jasper was a big boy and could make his own decisions. All Darren was doing was calling him out on his bullshit, and he certainly had no plans of stopping now.
Liam waved towards the door as though he had gotten his point across. You are dismissed.
Darren took the opportunity to bolt. Once he had a good distance between himself and the Alpha, panic set in.
Was Liam going to tell Jasper that Darren was his mate ?
That was more than likely, but there was nothing the rogue could do about it other than wait in anticipation.
He sat silently during breakfast and listened in as the family had their usual small talk before dispersing for work. Darren felt relieved when his bond with Jasper hadn’t been brought up.
Halfway to the car, Jasper started staring at him worriedly.
Are you alright ? The young Alpha asked.
Darren nodded wordlessly, which only seemed to worry the man even more.
Are you sure ? Jasper pushed. You’re not normally this quiet.
The rogue stared out the window, pointedly ignoring the topic. He was too exhausted to have a decent conversation right now.
Turning a corner, Darren suddenly spotted a familiar figure and broke his silence as he shot forward. STOP THE CAR !
Jasper slammed on the breaks, startled, but didn’t have time to ask anything before the rogue hopped out and ran towards the little girl that was playfully spinning around a light post.
Hey ! Wait up ! Jasper called from the car as he hurried to find a safe place to park.
Looking around, Darren didn’t spot any adults nearby, so it was extremely odd for this girl to be here alone. As soon as Jasper caught up, he pointed towards her and asked, Do you see her ?
Who ?
Well that answered that question.
Walking up to her, the little girl stopped what she was doing and backed away. Darren made sure to get a good look before she faded away. It was definitely the same girl, but her hair was down this morning and she had on a pink shirt with the word ‘princess’ written in glitter.
Can you do me a favor ? Darren asked Jasper.
Depends on what it is ?