Bonding With The Enemy (BxB)✔

Chapter 21 - Jared

"What the fuck?!" Jasper yelped, jumping back as he cradled his forehead. "Why would you do that?!"

Darren was still standing against the tree, totally stunned by what just happened. He had gone in heat so suddenly that he had no idea how to deal with it and consented to letting Jasper 'help'. Honestly, he knew the guy didn't deserve the headbutt, but it was a knee-jerk reaction. 

"I don't know." Darren replied lamely.

As the Alpha tentatively checked for bleeding, Darren readjusted his pants so he was no longer exposed. Glancing around, he prayed that no one had witnessed anything.

"Can you at least try not to be such an asshat?" Jasper growled out as his own excitement died down in leu of pain.

"Excuse me? Did you just call me 'pants'?"

"What?"

"What else would an ass wear for a hat?" Darren explained, trying his best to change the topic and spilling word vomit as he did so.

Jasper looked at him like he was insane, then shook his head and stared off into the sky.

It was going to take a while for the scent of their arousal to fade away, so the rogue would have to wait and wash off before he could head back into town without drawing unwanted attention to the fact that he was in heat. "I think I need a bathroom." He muttered, unwilling to make eye contact with the Alpha.

Jasper agreed and they quickly drove to the nearest gas station. The soap there would suffice to wash away most of the scent. When they were done, Darren refused to get in the car and started walking along the nearest strip mall.

The Alpha stepped behind him. "You're not trying to avoid me now, are you?"

A blush returned to the rogue's face as he was confronted with the unwanted topic. "No?"

"Because you agreed to-"

"I know!" Darren snapped and walked faster.

What pissed him off most was the fact that he couldn't even be angry at the man for what he did. Jasper had asked first, and even blamed himself, not knowing it was the mate bond's fault. He thought he was bonded to someone else that had rejected him, and was still willing to 'help' Darren.

"Where are you going?" Jasper asked, keeping up with the beet red rogue.

Darren examined their surroundings before returning his full attention to the Alpha. "I can see more ghosts now."

Jasper suddenly looked excited. "That's great! But, none of the kids disappeared around here?"

"I know. The point of going into town was just to confirm if I could see more. Since the highest population would be closer to the center of town, I figured there'd be a higher concentration of ghosts too." Turning, Darren glanced at a teenage spirit who was leaning against the wall of a music shop.

"So I was right." Jasper concluded. "They weren't showing themselves before because you were an outsider."

It annoyed Darren that the Alpha's suspicions were correct, but he couldn't deny it anymore. After all, ghosts could have preferences too, and these ones were once loyal pack members. The old lady in the park was most likely a rare exception.

Darren sighed dejectedly. "Yeah, big deal. How about we loop back around to areas that the kids were last seen and see if we can find witnesses?"

"Sounds good." Jasper agreed, immediately putting his original plans on hold.

The first place they decided to check was the kindergarten playground. As they pulled up, a chill fell upon the car and suddenly Darren found himself rubbing his arms for warmth. A presence then caught his attention and the rogue turned around to find a strange man slouching in the back seat.