Darren was beside himself. His stupidity in following some ghost into the woods really landed him in hot water and all he could do now was pray that there wouldn't be any backlash for his aunt.
Currently he was sitting on a couch with nothing more than a small blanket wrapped around his body. He grit his teeth nervously as the Alpha sat on the couch across from him with Jasper standing at his side, arms folded and eyes glaring. This did not look good at all.
"So you claim you saw the body from the road on your way into town today?" Liam asked after Jasper explained what happened. "Even though the road is nowhere near where you were found."
The Beta's were in the other room behind closed doors. Liam had excused them for the duration of this interrogation, which Darren was glad for. They really rubbed him the wrong way.
"Yes." Darren replied as calmly as he could.
Honestly, he was scared out of his wits. Up until now, he simply hated these two and felt safe with the knowledge that as long as he didn't do anything too bad, they wouldn't retaliate. Unfortunately he was now under suspicion of a potential murder on pack territory, which gave Alpha Liam every right to punish him however he saw fit. As much as he hated Liam, Darren was all too aware of how powerful the Alpha was. He could easily wipe Darren's existence off the face of the earth if he wanted.
"And you expect us to believe that?" The Alpha's face remained stony, yet Darren knew he was annoyed.
Darren contemplated how he should behave moving forward. Snapping at them was out of the question. For now, he just needed to make sure he wasn't in danger of joining the hunter in the afterlife.
"No." Darren answered honestly.
Jasper sighed, frustrated. "Then why don't you tell us why you were really out there?"
Red hot anger spiked as his ex-bully dared to be irritated with him, and before he could stop himself, Darren's head snapped towards the man and hissed. "I said I don't expect you to believe me. I didn't say I was lying."
Technically he really wasn't lying. After all, he had spotted the ghost from the road and the ghost was the one who led him to the body in the first place.
Liam raised a hand just as Jasper was about to snap back, silencing the younger Alpha. Then he looked Darren dead in the eyes. "I want you to understand what position you're in right now. You are a rogue, an outsider to this pack, who showed up in the middle of a very sensitive investigation and was found in the middle of the night with a dead body. Not to mention the amount of hostility you seem to have towards Mr. Trotter and I, so I can't help but doubt your intentions."
Darren understood where the guy was coming from, he really did, but at the same time his rebellious side refused to be pushed around. Sophie had wanted to talk to these guys before and they wouldn't listen. Well, now he had their undivided attention so he might as well come clean. "If you had actually listened when my aunt and I showed up at the Town Hall earlier, you'd know the full story already."
His reply seemed to intrigue Liam, but the Alpha did not ask and simply gestured for him to continue.
Darren took a breath. "Like my aunt said, she invited me over to help with the investigation, but not because I have FBI knowledge or whatever. She thought I could help because..." He hesitated at this part. It wasn't easy saying it out loud. Honestly he was still on the verge of lying about his powers, which was why he hadn't mentioned the hunters ghost yet. But no, he had to come clean, this was for his aunt's sake. "Because I can see the dead."
The room went silent as the words left his lips. Suddenly everything was spinning and Darren couldn't focus on any one point anymore. He was terrified of how the Alpha was going to react.
"Is that true?" Jasper's voice cut through his fear, and he glanced at the man who looked skeptic, yet curious.
"And why should I believe you?" Liam asked, his poker face returning. "How do I know you're not just saying this for your own protection?" Darren knew the man was referring to the fact that supernatural abilities were highly valued among packs. Because of this, Alphas had a tendency to lure such werewolves in with promises of protection, respect, and other things. He probably was expecting Darren to ask for leniency in exchange for lending his powers out.
At the same time, the man seemed determined to condemn Darren, and Darren found that his fear was slowly being replaced by irritation. "Because even when I was part of this pack, you never had any interest in protecting me."
Jasper and Liam glanced at each other, confused over what he was referring to. Liam then turned his full attention back on Darren. He waited for the Alpha to say something, but Liam just raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate.
Snorting, Darren decided to let them have it. Glaring at Jasper, he spat. "Why don't you tell him what I was best known for in school? Because apparently my words can't be trusted."
Jasper looked confused. "You were the quiet kid."
"Who talked to himself." Darren filled in the blanks. "Or snapped at people who weren't there!'" He made air quotes over the last two words. "Well guess what, there were people there, you just didn't see them."
The man's eyes seemed to spark in realization as he finally caught on to what he was saying. "You mean, all those times you were talking to chairs, or yelling out of nowhere....You were talking to-"
"To ghosts." Darren finished angrily. "Now how about you tell your precious Alpha why I left? Since the last time I tried to explain what you were doing to me, he sure as hell didn't seem remotely interested." He finished with a glare towards Liam.
Liam cast a curious glance at Jasper who was now standing speechless, either from the realization that his old victim had been talking to ghosts, or the fact that he was being called out, Darren wasn't sure. In the end, he continued. "Come on Jasper! You didn't mind bragging to your friends every time you harassed me. What was it you liked to call me? Schizo Freak? Weird Kid? How about the fact that the day I left the pack was the day you and your friends jumped me on my way home!?"
"That's enough!" Liam raised a hand to stop Darren from his tantrum. By this time he was breathing hard, glaring down his old abuser. It felt good getting that off his chest.
Liam continued to stare at Jasper who was now staring back at him, wide eyed. "I believe we will need to have a separate discussion after this." He warned, to which Jasper remained quiet.
Then he returned his attention to Darren. "Say that we believe you and you do have the power to speak with the dead. You are still a rogue. Before we can trust you at all, I'm going to need to know your whereabouts for the passed six months. I'll have to run a background check."
Six months. That was when the first kid went missing. He wasn't suggesting...? "You're not actually suspecting me of taking the kids?!" He burst.
"Yes, I am." Liam replied calmly. "Because as I'm sure you've heard, we haven't had any luck in this investigation and need to cover all our bases. You are a variable who's been tossed in the middle of this. If we didn't do a background check on everyone involved, then I would be a terrible Alpha."
You already are. Darren thought, but kept his mouth shut. "So what do I do until then?"
"You will be staying here." Liam stood. "We don't have any evidence to have you held in police custody, but I don't like having rogues wandering around while my pack is already on edge. Your aunt clearly can't keep a proper eye on you, so we'll do it instead. At least until we get the results back."
Darren gaped at him. What he heard sounded essentially the same as being held in custody, but instead of at the station it was at the Alpha's house. If he argued, the man could assume he was guilty and turn him in to the police, but if he waited until his background check returned, he could help with the investigation like his aunt wanted. After they figured out what happened to the kids, he could skip town before anyone tried to stop him.
He covered his eyes and shook his head. "Fine. Whatever."
Satisfied, Liam turned his attention to the other man in the room. "Jasper." He put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "A word please."
Jasper's face went white, and Darren watched as the pair walked into another room.
Glancing around, he finally took in his surroundings. It wasn't quite a living room since there was no television, but there was a fireplace at the far end surrounded by bookshelves. As a matter of fact, the entire room looked like a library as the walls were decorated with shelves upon shelves of books, with four sofas scattered around. There was one single long back chair set in front of the fireplace with a painted portrait of the packs first Alpha hung above it.
He tapped his feet a bit, listening intently for any signs of yelling or fighting. He hoped in his darkest of hearts that Liam was letting Jasper have it, but at the same time he knew the man wouldn't do anything bad to the guy. Jasper was Liam's prized Alpha-In-Training after all. Plus the guy was probably gonna sugarcoat whatever he did to Darren.
The time seemed to drag on forever as he waited for them to return and grant him permission to leave the room. At one point he was tempted to slip away, but the presence of the two Betas waiting on the other side of the doors encouraged him to stay put.
Finally the doors opened and in stepped the two Alpha's. Liam was as stoned faced as ever while Jasper looked extremely uncomfortable. The two stood before Darren again and this time Darren got out of his chair to see what they had to say.
"It's been decided that for the duration of your stay, Jasper will be your personal escort." Liam declared.
---
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