Bonding With The Enemy (BxB)✔

Chapter 10 - Shouldn't Have Said That

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.

Praying that the Alpha didn't somehow discover a way to track him, he managed to get at least one hour of sleep.

The next day, Jasper got out of bed bright and early, leaving Darren laying on the floor in misery. He had a massive headache that throbbed against the backs of his eyes and head. He wasn't looking forward to enduring this in the car all day.

Jasper didn't say a word as he quickly dressed and left the room. Darren momentarily considered if he should slip out of town and leave the missing kids to the authorities, but then he remembered that he was also under suspicion and running would definitely make him look bad. Plus there was probably some sort of criminal offense he'd be charged with if he tried to leave before getting cleared.

Realizing he didn't have many options, he decided to just keep doing what he was doing and head downstairs for breakfast. Once again he found Liam, Mary, Garret and Jasper sitting at the table. Still uncomfortable in the Alpha's home, he took the seat farthest away from everyone as usual.

"Garret told us what happened." Mary was saying to Jasper. "Trust me, she's just nervous. Heaven knows I was when I found out I was bonded to an Alpha." She turned and put a loving hand over Liam's. The man smiled fondly back at her. 

"But she blocked me out all night." Jasper huffed, pushing a few strips of bacon around on his plate. "Why would she do that? We could at least meet and talk about it before she decides to reject me."

Garret pitched in. "I'm sure she's not rejecting you. It's like Mom said. She's probably nervous since you're in line to be the next Alpha. Put yourself in her shoes. What if she's not sure that she's fit to help lead the pack?"

"That's right." Mary agreed. "That was my first concern. I actually tried to hide from Liam at first, but of course he tracked me down and assured me that I had nothing to worry about."

"But I can't track her!" Jasper pounded the table. "I can sense her, but I don't know where she is, and when I try to find her, it's like she completely blocks the bond."

"That's impossible." Liam spoke for the first time, his face serious. "The only way a bond can be blocked would be if someone was using some form of ability or artifact to do so."

Darren gulped.

With a sigh, Jasper ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Maybe. I could sense that she was pretty powerful. That's probably it."

This conversation was a rollercoaster of emotions for Darren. He was nervous about being discovered, frustrated that everyone kept trying to encourage Jasper, and angry that the man wouldn't accept being rejected. He wanted to say something, but Darren knew his temper would flare and he'd most likely say something he shouldn't.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Jasper pounded the table again. "But that doesn't excuse avoiding me!" He grit. "I can sense her presence constantly, so it's not like I can just ignore her. Why wouldn't she want to talk at least? I just want to know why she doesn't want me."