Darren was leaning heavily against Jasper as the two wandered back towards town. Every time he tried to walk alone, he felt his knees threaten to buckle beneath him, thus forcing him to accept the assistance.
He had no idea how Jasper got to him so fast without a car, but what he did know was that thanks to water damage, neither one of them had a working phone, so they had no choice but to head back on foot.
"I told Gerrit to call the Red Point Police, but this doesn't look like a place they would think to check." Jasper explained as he tightened his grip around Darren, whose arm was draped over his shoulder.
"hmmm..." Was all Darren managed to mutter.
He was too sore to think properly, and every breath he took felt like he was inhaling shards of glass. The rogue's eyes were burning from the river water, and his mind was unfocused, yet he felt like there was something important that he was forgetting...
Reaching up, the rogue remembered that his collar was now gone, having been left at the bottom of the river. Momentarily, the fog in his mind lifted and he began shooting cautious glances towards the Alpha.
"Hey..." He spoke hesitantly, "You're...You don't seem surprised...?"
That brief question was all Jasper needed to understand the rogue's meaning. "No."
"Why not?" Darren asked more boldly.
"I've known."
"Since when?"
Jasper smiled sadly. "You remember that night we had the pillow fight?"
Darren's mind struggled with the recollection, but eventually he was able to piece together the events that the man was referring to. "But...You kept referring to me as a she? You said you were still looking? And...And what was that thing about you thinking it was my sister?!"
The Alpha chuckled. "You didn't seem interested, so I wasn't going to push it, though sometimes I couldn't help myself. Going into heat was the worst part, I'm sure you know how it is. And I only kept referring to my mate as a 'she' because at first, I wanted it to be a woman. That's what I was raised to expect, but when I realized it was you, I thought that if I kept acting like I was still searching for my mate, then maybe you'd get jealous. But....you didn't, so I tried suggesting it was your sister to see if that would work. "
The rogue stared back in thought. He did feel that the man was acting a little too thick in the head to have not realized this sooner. There had been too many close calls.
"I just don't understand why I couldn't sense the bond until now." Jasper continued.
"You don't know?"
The Alpha shook his head, and Darren explained. "You remember the thing I was wearing around my neck?"
"That weird choker that you never took off? Yeah, it was hard not to notice. You even kept it on when you shifted."
"It's called a Rogue's Collar. It has special properties that protect me from being influenced by other werewolves, so things like the Alpha Command or a Mate Bond wouldn't affect me."
He felt the Alpha's grip tighten a little and knew the man wasn't happy with that answer. "You were really going that far to avoid me?"
"I'm surprised you didn't know. Liam recognized it right away so I assumed he'd have told you about it."
"No. As a matter of fact, it turns out there's a lot that Liam didn't tell me..." He quickly glanced away and cleared his throat. "So are you going to explain how you wound up trapped in a car in the river?"
Darren's feet stopped moving as he finally remembered that important thing he was supposed to bring up. "Where's Mary!?"
"At home I'm assuming?"
The rogue shook his head frantically. "No, she's not. She was the one who tried to kill me!"
As expected, Jasper didn't look convinced, but after thinking it over, the man realized that the back of the car had looked slightly familiar. He hadn't bothered with the license plate since he was in a hurry to find Darren, but the vehicle did resemble the one Mary drove. He'd have to get it retrieved later to confirm.
"She's the one who's taking the kids!" Darren blurted. "That's why Liam wouldn't tell anyone what his lead was, because it was his mate! But she HATED him! Apparently she didn't want to be bonded, but Liam forced her and she found out he had been buying Beta kids from other packs, so she started selling the ones from your pack, and when Liam confronted her, she murdered him and pinned it on Sophie. She also killed the hunter in the woods because that field is right where she-"
"Slow down!" Jasper shook the smaller man gently as the rogue's voice grew more urgent. "If you say it's Mary then I believe you. We just need proof."
"The mail!" Darren turned and clutched Jasper's shirt. "That's the evidence! The private property that Liam was murdered on is right next door to the property she's paying for! And that rusty red car is getting billed to the house because Liam found out and was forwarding her mail so he could look into her spending!"
"Alright, alright." Jasper grasped Darren's hand "Calm down, we can't do anything from the road, so let's focus on getting you back to the pack first, okay?"
Darren sucked in an impatient breath, but nodded and they continued on their way. About fifteen minutes later, they came across a familiar red car blocking the road.
From the look of it, the car was empty.
"Stay here." Jasper ordered as he tentatively released the rogue and made his way to the vehicle.
Darren watched the man check all the windows while he glanced towards the trees to the side, worried that there may be some sort of ambush waiting for them. Then, there was a loud BANG and a sudden pain shot through the rogue's left shoulder.
Jasper's head snapped back to where Darren was standing, and his eyes widened as the rogue's shirt was quickly stained with blood.
Shocked, Darren glanced down at it, then back at Jasper before stumbling forward.
"NO!" Jasper roared, and sprinted back to the rogue's side.
Tired, shocked and in pain, Darren fell to the ground facing upwards. The Alpha kneeled over him to inspect the wound, then growled back in the direction they had come.
"Careful Jasper. Rogues are awfully dangerous. You never know when one might turn on you."
Mary started approaching, gun in hand.
Jasper's breathing became uneven as he confronted the woman whom he always thought of as a mother. "But...Why? Why would you do this!?"
"You mean you didn't notice?" She asked, head tilted. "You didn't notice how often Liam would gaslight me whenever I tried to think for myself? How he refused to listen to any input I had? How he forced me to be an obedient house wife? No, I suppose you wouldn't. You two are a lot alike after all."
The woman began circling them until she was between the two and the car. "You didn't care about the people you hurt and used threats to get your way. Then, you surrounded yourself with people who praised you while ignoring everyone else."
Jasper glared. "I listened to Darren."
Mary paused to think that over, then nodded admittingly. "Yes, I suppose that's true, but the damage is already done, and who's to say you won't become just as much of a monster as Liam was?"
"I'm warning you..." Jasper stood slowly. "Stop."
Darren felt the man's Alpha Presence suddenly bore down, and with his words came power.
He had used an Alpha Command.
Mary was unfortunately unaffected. "Sweetheart. Don't you think Liam tried the same thing on me?"
Jasper seemed confused, but tried again. "Put the gun down, now!"
Once more, nothing.
Darren feebly reached over and tugged on the leg of Jasper's pants, drawing the man's eyes downward. His voice was weak, and it took a good amount of strength for him to speak. "Her...Bracelet...Is blocking...Your commands..."
Jasper immediately kneeled back down and held up Darren's head. "Shh! Shh! Shh! Don't try to say anything."
"Well this has been a lovely conversation, but I'm really on a time crunch now. So if you don't mind, I'll be on my way." She aimed the gun towards Jasper.
Another shot rang out and the Alpha fell with a sickening thud. Darren watched in horror as the blood started to pool around his body, but then, just as quickly...It started to retract.
What the fuck?
Suddenly Jasper was getting back on his feet, and a new feeling was coming through their bond.
Rage.
The Alpha turned and snarled at the shocked woman, who then pulled the trigger once more.
Again Jasper stumbled, but this time he caught himself and continued to walk as each injury healed itself seamlessly.
The woman's face became panicked as she quickly realized her advantage was no longer effective. So, she turned to run, but Jasper began shifting as he sprinted after her.
Normally a werewolf only had one form, and it looked very much like an average wolf, but Alphas were different. Alphas had a second form that they could always use regardless of what phase the moon was in. One that more closely resembled the old legends of a bipedal creature. It walked upright like a man, but had all the features of a wolf.
This was the Alpha's true form, intended to only be used when defending the pack.
With a dangerous, inhuman growl, Jasper caught up to the woman and snatched her by the back of her shirt. In response, Mary ducked down, slipping out of her top and backing away in her undershirt.
Jasper quickly tossed the cloth to the side and prowled closer, causing the woman to raise the gun again, this time aiming for his head.
"You might be able to heal general wounds, but what about wounds to the brain?"
The Alpha paused, and Darren felt a wave of panic flow through their bond.
Thanks to their unfiltered connection, the rogue realized why the man was hesitating. It was because she had guessed right. While Jasper could heal just about any wound to his body, he wouldn't be able to recover if his brains were blown out.
Dizzy and fearful, Darren struggled to his feet as he was overcome with new determination.
He had to do something, or else Jasper was going to die.
His mate was going to die.
Darren felt a wave of cold hit him and he gasped, surprised, as his body became light as a feather. The colors of the world began to fall away, replaced by shades of grey as an ethereal glow permeated his vision.
He didn't know what was happening, but what he did know was that one second it was just the three of them, and the next, they were surrounded by ghosts. Some of them were familiar faces, such as the teacher's spirit that guarded the preschool and the old woman from the park. As a matter of fact, it looked like Darren had somehow summoned every ghost from miles around, and they were all focused on Mary.
Both Jasper and Mary were glancing around wide eyed, and it took a second for Darren to realize that he wasn't the only one who could see them.
A rush of adrenaline had the rogue walking forward, and the ghosts copied what he did, circling in on the woman ahead.
Panicked, Mary turned the gun on the supernatural intruders. "Back away! Back away now!" She ordered.
Then she paused when she spotted a familiar face.
This spirit was young and well dressed, and from the looks of it, he recognized her too.
Mary's breath picked up as the man stared back in disappointment, and a sob wracked her body as she lowered the gun.
Taking advantage of the situation, Jasper reacted instantly by rushing forward and disarming the woman with a clawed swipe.
Mary tried to pull away but was startled when all the ghosts suddenly rushed her. All of them slamming into her form and disappearing on contact.
As the last of them faded, Mary fell to her knees, bewildered, and Jasper stood over her to make sure she didn't try to escape again.
Darren, meanwhile, felt like all the energy in his body had been drained and sat down to catch his breath. "Whelp. Didn't know I could do that."
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