Bonding With The Enemy (BxB)✔

Chapter 12 - A New Development

"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.