Chapter Seven

Trekking back to the packhouse with a young boy clutching my hand was not the way I planned to spend the early hours of Saturday morning, but as the sun rose in the sky and the scars on his malnourished body became visible, I scratched any item from my non-existent to-do list. 

“We’re almost at the infirmary, Allison has the team waiting for us to check him out.” Alpha Devin informed after a few good kilometres of walking and the treeline came into view, revealing the buildings of the pack.

“Sophia! Are you okay?!” Alpha Allison engulfed me in a tight hug before letting go to examine my body for any sign of injury, which apart from a few small scratches, I was free of, “I was so worried!” she smoothed her hands over my face and looked at me with a deep frown. 

“I’m sorry I worried you, I’ll-” I looked around at the curious eyes which wouldn’t seem to leave us and dropped my gaze to the hand clutching mine, “I’ll explain later, he needs medical attention first.” 

As if she only then noticed the boy hiding behind me, Alpha Allison dropped to her knees and inspected the boy with her eyes and a smile on her face, “Hey little man, I’m Alpha Allison, what’s yours?” She asked the question I had failed to even think of. 

“It’s okay, they are going to help you, we won’t hurt you, I promise.” I reminded him and gently tugged on his hand to bring him beside me and he complied, but neither of us missed the trembling of his body. 

“Sophia is right, see this friend of mine?” She pointed at Doctor Winters who stepped forward with an encouraging smile, “She just wants to check on these nasty cuts you have, she will put some medicine on them so they won’t hurt anymore. Will you let her?” 

At first, all he did was stare, as if he were contemplating her honesty, but eventually, it came, the tiniest of nods which made her smile in return.

Just as Alpha Allison stood to lead us into the infirmary a strong force crashed into the dirt before us causing us to stumble back and raised a huge cloud of dust.

I didn’t see them move, but in a split second we were surrounded by pack warriors and my view was partly obscured by Alpha Devin’s large form.

“Who are you and what is your business on my land!” He growled deeply while Alpha Allison narrowed her eyes at the stranger when the dust started to settle. 

“I don’t want trouble, just hand over the boy and I’ll be on my way.” The low tone of his voice sent strange shivers up my spine. 

As the dust settled a peculiar scent filled my senses, somehow it resembled a pine forest on a rainy day with a hint of lilac and it made my head spin. It was intoxicating.

Stepping out from behind Alpha Devin my eyes landed on the handsome man staring at Alpha Devin with defiance, but it wasn’t that which caught my attention. 

His familiar cobalt-blue eyes glittered in the morning sun. Eyes like that were hard to forget. 

He looked different than I remembered, his shoulders had since filled out and his chest puffed out, even his voice was different, but the arrogant smile on his lips told the same old story of mischief. 

Mate

I couldn’t believe it. After all these years, here he was standing before me- my mate.

“You’re on my land, you’ve already got trouble.” my attention snapped back to reality. Alpha Devin stepped closer to him, but his eyes neither waivered nor cowered under the intimidation. 

“Do you know this man?” Alpha Allison asked the little boy, but all he did was cower away from the eyes on him.

“Throw him in the dungeons.” Alpha Devin snapped at the warriors surrounding us.. 

“Wait, stop.” My own voice startled me and with wide eyes, I stared a the ghost from my past, but instead of the light of recognition I expected to see in his eyes, all that met my gaze was cold indifference. 

“Don’t lock him up.” I swallowed deeply, feeling my heart pounding in my chest. 

“Why not?” Alpha Devin frowned at me, “Do you know this man, Sophia?” He inquired, but my eyes never left Jasper’s blues. 

“What do you want with the boy?” I blew out a shaky breath. 

“I don’t know, I just followed him here,” Jasper responded cooly. I couldn’t help but wonder if he recognised me at all. Surely I wasn’t that forgettable. 

“Please don’t lock him up, I- I understand him.” my hands fisted at my sides as I looked between the two Alphas.

They shared a look and nodded, “Take him to the interrogation room.” Alpha Devin ordered to the guards and a relieved breath left my lips. 

I couldn't help but stare helplessly after them as they dragged Jasper’s bulky body till it was out of sight. 

He didn’t look at me, not once. 

“Sophia?” Alpha Allison snapped me from my inner turmoil, “Are you okay?” nodding quickly, I glanced at the boy behind me and tugged him softly through the swing doors, careful to avoid the gaping hole in the ground. 

Did he fall from the sky?      

***

“Good news is he doesn’t seem to have any internal scarring or bleeding, only a few cuts and a deep gash on his arm which we stitched up without hassle. He is severely undernourished so I got an IV going to help him gather some strength, he’s surprisingly compliant and luckily he stopped trembling after a while, but he still isn't saying anything, all I was able to get from him are a few small gestures. Do you have any idea what he was doing out there?” I listened half-heartedly as Doctor Winters explained the boy’s diagnosis I nearly missed the question.

“I just found him cowering against a tree, shivering and whimpering in the dark.” I supplied and it didn’t take a genius to hear the unspoken question. “What were you doing in the forest alone at night?” but neither voiced their concerns. 

“I guess time will tell, he’s sleeping now, I’d like to keep him at least till tomorrow to observe his condition.” Alpha Allison nodded in agreement. I stood by quietly as they wrapped up their exchange. 

“He’s just a scared little boy lost in a big bad world, it’s good Sophia found him. Take care of him Doctor Winters, we will come around later to see him.” I took that as my cue and fell into step with Alpha Allison after bidding the doctor goodbye.

My mind was still stuck on the strange encounter earlier. I couldn’t believe he was here, but more than that, my heart squeezed painfully when I recalled the coldness in his eyes when they landed on me. 

I guess he did forget me after all.