Chapter 6

That night, when Hunter left the Jones' household, he managed to get his dad to give him a lift home. It was dark when he called and he knew his mum didn't really like him walking home when it was getting late.

"Did you get much work done?" Anthony, Hunter's dad asked when his son climbed into the car.

"Yeah, it was good," he said, putting on his belt when they pulled out of the driveway.

"I'm glad. How's college going? I've heard from Sam that you're settling in well."

"That's going alright too." He yawned and crossed his arms. He couldn't wait to get to bed.

Anthony smiled but glanced at him. "I've been meaning to ask. You've been acting a little distant these past few months and your mother and I can't help but question if you've found your-"

"No," Hunter interrupted. "I haven't."

Anthony knew he was lying about something. He wouldn't act out of character for no reason.

"Well," He sighed. "I tried getting whatever it is you're keeping from me out of Sam but being loyal to you, he couldn't and wouldn't tell me a thing."

Hunter made a mental note to harass Sam when he get's home so he knew exactly what his father asked him.

"I'm not hiding anything," he mumbled and watched the dark street pass by.

"You can't lie to me, son," he chuckled. "Whatever it is, you need to tell us. Are you in trouble?"

"No."

"I'm going to ask Brad then." Anthony was thinking of anything he could to get his son to talk.

"Don't do that," Hunter muttered. "He's not in my good books at the minute." He thought back to when Brad knocked Jacob's bag out of his grip and when he pushed him over outside the classroom. It made his blood boil.

"I know, Sam told me."

Hunter stared at his dad. It was clear that he knew he was hiding something. It's very, very hard to keep secrets in a family like his.

"But of course," Anthony continued, "he didn't tell me why."

"Will you drop it?" he said and rolled his eyes. "If I was keeping something from you, it's for a good reason. But I'm not so just leave me alone."

"You are."

Hunter's picked at his nails with irritation. he wouldn't be able to win an argument with his dad. "I'm not."

"Lie all you want, your mother can smell it on you."

That's when Hunter clenched his jaw. He has tried to stop himself from worrying about his issue because he knew that's one way his parents could tell. And he has been getting more stressed as the weeks roll by.

"She can't because there's nothing to hide."

"I don't like that you're lying right to my face," Anthony said with a stern voice. "I thought you had more respect for me than that."

"Well, I don't."

"Carry on with this attitude and I'll ground you. That is your final warning."

Hunter's anger flowed through him, pumping through his veins. He had to hold it back. Being grounded was the worst form of punishment. He couldn't be cooped up indoors when he spends most of his time outside.

* * * * *

Around ten minutes after Hunter left, Jacob went to his room but he felt a little unusual. An emotion was building up inside of him.

"Don't worry, it's just me being too hot-headed," the voice said, invading his mind.

"What do you mean?" Jacob questioned before lying down in an attempt to relax.

"It's our connection," the voice replied. "We're growing closer."

"You're in my head, how is that not close enough?"

"It just isn't. This is only the start."

Jacob closed his eyes.

"I don't want to grow closer to you. I just want you to get out of my head because you're not real."

"You won't say that when we're connected. I am sorry for all the secrecy, I will explain as much as you would like me to when we're together and bonded."

Jacob frowned and resisted the urge to release his frustration.

"Get out of my head," he grumbled.

"I'm sorry-"

"I don't care if you're sorry," Jacob was losing his patience. He hasn't in a few months, so it had been building up inside of him for a while. "I just want you to stop ruining my life."

"It hurts when you say that." The voice in Jacob's head sounded different. It sounded... emotional.

* * * * *

When Hunter and his dad arrived at their home, they didn't speak for the rest of the journey. It was clear to Anthony that his son was angry and stressed about something. It worried him that he was trying to keep it a secret.

After he parked the car, he turned to look at his boy who was glaring out of the window. Something in his stare shimmered with sadness.

"It clearly isn't good for you to be this angry and upset over-" Hunter was done listening to his dad and climbed out of the car before he could finish. "Hey!" Anthony growled and quickly followed him. "Don't you walk away from me!"

Hunter blocked out his voice and stormed up the wooden steps and into his home. His mother, Margo, stood up from the table and watched him hurry by.

They lived in a small temporary studio so everything was on the same floor, including the bedrooms. Just before Hunter could enter his room, his dad caught up with him and grabbed his shoulder.

Hunter stood still but he needed space to cool down, it wasn't good and it wasn't wise for him to be this irritated.

"Please son," His mother's soothing voice filled his ears. "Tell me what's wrong."

* * * * *

Jacob was sitting on the edge of his bed and he was almost shaking from trying to keep himself together. He could barely cope. He felt weird, almost like his emotions were all over the place and he couldn't keep control of how he felt. Not to mention that the voice was making less and less sense as the days went on. He was feeling overwhelmed, too overwhelmed.

His life was in someone else's hands. Someone who doesn't exist.

* * * * *

"There's nothing wrong."

"Why are you lying to us?" Margo asked. Yes, his dad may have the alpha title but Hunter's mother was just as, or if not more important. Her words were wise and always correct. She could see right through people and it annoyed her son sometimes.

"Just leave me, alone." He tried going into his room but his dad stopped him.

"There's only one thing that I can think of that's making you behave this way."

Hunter pinched the bridge of his nose and turned around. His family held a great secret. There was someone who was growing very special to him who needed to know their secret. He knew the reaction would be huge. Why wouldn't it? To humans, his kind don't exist except for movies and books. They're seen as fictional characters and their existence only goes as far as the imagination.

"Are you developing a connection with a mate?" Margo asked calmly.

Hunter wasn't ready to tell his parents. He had no idea how they would react to something like this. So he swallowed any emotion he had and only showed a blank expression.

"No."

Margo's patience had been stretched almost to its greatest capacity. She knew he was lying but she also knew that he was scared and worried about something.

"Whatever it is, I can tell that it's troubling you. Have you admitted to someone at college about who you are?"

Hunter frowned but quickly stepped back into his room, causing his dad to sigh. Once he was in his room, they couldn't enter because it was his territory and only his. Not even his closest friends would dare to enter. It would be very, very frowned upon for someone to invade it.

"Like I'm stupid enough to admit something like that," he grumbled and crossed his arms.

"Well, sometimes it can be hard-"

"What do you think I would've said?" he scoffed. "Oh yeah, and by the way... I'm a werewolf."