Jace's POV
When we came home from the party to find out that Carter was missing, a million thoughts ran through my head all at once. Jazz started to panic and I started thinking out loud. After everything I decided that I should run the area and see if I find anything. I left the house and I was about to phase when I see Carter come into our backyard in his wolf form. I did the first thing that came to my mind which was to scream "Where the fuck have you been?" I wanted it to be more like "You're ALIVE! Are you alright?" but clearly it came out differently.
I regreted saying that very soon as I saw 3 more wolves walk behind him.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware we had guests coming over. My apologies." I said.
They all shifted and Carter introduced me to them. We went in to find Jazz on my phone. When she turned around, she was a little surprised but pulled herself together very quickly. After a while she was looking at Kathleen in a very weird way. I wasn't sure as to what she was thinking but I was just glad that she wasn't interested in the guys. They were twins and they were my age. Max and Jacob.
After the introductions there was awkward silence that Jazz decided to break.
"Umm... It's getting late. We can chat tomorrow morning. Did you guys eat?" She said.
"Yes, we did eat. Your brother made sure we got some food." Kathleen said smiling.
"Ok, I was wondering if you guys were ready for bed or wanted to shower or something. You do look really tired." Jazz said politely.
"Oh yeah... tired is an understatement." Jake (aka Jacob) said. All it took was a glare from Kathleen to shut him up.
"Hahaha, alright than. Unfortunately there's only one guest bedroom and the basement doesn't have beds. So I was wondering if it would be ok for the twins to share the guest bedroom. Kathleen can stay in my room for tonight. Is... that... ok with everyone?" Jazz said. Oh how much she reminded me of mom. Everyone agreed to it, though Carter didn't seem comfortable with that but he didn't say anything. I showed the twins the room and Jazz took Kathleen to hers.
It was morning and I had to get to work. When I came down to the kitchen at around 7:15, Carter was already there.
"Good morning" I said.
"Good morning, I've taken today off. I talked to the manager last night. If you want, you can take the day off too. Call in sick or get someone to cover for you." He said.
"We need to buy groceries today. I didn't get them yesterday. How about I do a half day. When you come to drop me, you can pick groceries up and come get me around noon." I said.
"Alright, that works." he said handing me the milk from the fridge.
"So, how long are they staying?" I asked him about our guests.
"Umm... yeah, about that. Well, let me tell you from the beginning. I was at the dinner with the guys when I got a call from the neighbouring alpha. He said he has caught 3 wolves trespassing on the ground we share. He wanted meet me. To be honest, I was scared that we had been located. I got there as fast as I could to see Kathy, Max and Jake in their human form. Alpha explained that they were unaware that the territory was claimed but he didn't want to take the risk. He asked me if I knew them and obviously I didn't.After a long discussion, they were proved innocent. Alpha offered them to join their pack but they politely declined.
Their youngest sister was Jazz's age and they lost her to drugs. After that, their parents tried to stop the drug business in their area and were killed by rogues because of it. The entire pack was attacked. A lot of lives were lost. Kathy took charge of the pack and they were attacked again. This time, the pack voted that this place was no longer safe and asked to move. Kathy cared about all of them and she understood that the pack wasn't strong enough to survive another attack so she suggested that everyone moves to different places for safety. Everyone agreed.
She had a feeling that someone was following them even after they left home. When she investigated a little, she figured that someone WAS following them. She didn't know why people were after them but she wanted her brothers safe so they covered their tracks and ran. They've been running around for a few weeks looking for a place to settle. She didn't want to join a pack for obvious reasons. I brought them here for the time being... I'm sorry this happened all of a sudden." He said explaining the whole situation.
"Hey, I would've done the same. Just one question though... the drugs thing... umm.." I was looking for words to phrase this properly.
"I have the same feeling which is why I feel responsible." Carter answered the question I wanted to ask.
"You shouldn't though. You left that life a long time ago. What happened to Kathy and her pack had nothing to do with you." I said reassuring him.
"Anyways, let's go, you'll be late for work." He said getting up. In the car I just double checked the list of things to buy and added a few more items. Carter and I got the groceries and than he left as I went to the manager's office to arrange for my half day. The manager is really nice and since my records have been good, she agreed.
After work, Carter came to pick me up with the twins. He was being very weird. For the first time, he seemed nervous and unsure. I mean he's been nervous before but never was it so damn evident on his face. Instead of home, he drove us to a coffee shop. I was having a hard time understanding what was going on.
