Unlike Anything That I Have ever Seen

Kenton


*Dad, where are you?* I ask through the link as soon as hockey practice is over.
*In a meeting. Is everything okay?*
*Yeah, please let me know when you're done*, I tell him as I step beneath the spray of water. After my shower, I meet Asher and the others outside of the locker room. We all head to our respective vehicles and begin heading back towards the crowded house.
*Dad?* I ask once I've made it into the pack house.
*In my office*, he replies immediately. Turning, I make a left and head up the stairs to the second floor, stopping in the doorway of the office, and taking in my dad. 
My Alpha.
His desk is cluttered, covered in stacks of papers and books. I move my attention from the desk to the man seated at it, taking in his appearance. His hair is mussed like he's been running his fingers through the thick locks in frustration or irritation. His face still looks relatively young, but there are circles beneath his eyes, exhaustion marring his features. 
"Is everything okay?" I ask him as I take one of the chairs in front of the desk. "You look like you didn't sleep at all last night."
He sighs tiredly and runs his palms over his face. "That’s because I didn't," he tells me, not meeting my gaze.
"What's going on?" I ask, leaning forward in the chair. "Is there anything that I can do to help?"
"The other packs in this part of the territory are also seeing an uptick in rogue attacks. I'm afraid that they are gearing up for a war."
"But why keep attacking?" I ask, "Yes, us and all the other packs they attack lose warriors, but so do they. You would think that they would lie low and bide their time."
"They're instilling fear in the other wolves, and causing them to question and doubt their Alpha's," He tells me, his tone becoming angry. Sighing, he shakes his head. "You came here for a reason. What did you want to talk about?"
Right.
"The boy that I told you about that I witnessed being abused last week," I start to say, hoping that my hunch is right.
"I remember. What about him?"
Sighing, I look him in the eyes as I speak. "I think he was my mate's brother." As what I've said sinks in, his eyes widen with the realization of what that means.
"You said that he was her brother. Did something else happen?" He asks, leaning forward, his hands steepled together in front of him as he steels himself for what I believe he knows is coming.
"He killed himself," I mutter, my chest hurting for Amaris's loss.
"Because of what happened?" He asks after a moment. Before I can answer, he speaks again. "How? It isn't easy for us wolves to die. Someone who wasn't raised with a pack wouldn't know how to weaken oneself enough to be able to take their own life."
"If what I suspect is true," I start, then get up to shut the door. After sitting back down, I continue. "I don't believe that they had gotten their wolves before he took his own life. Yesterday was Amaris's first time shifting."
"Did you get to speak with her today?" Dad asks at the mention of my mate again.
"No," I tell him, shaking my head back and forth as hurt, frustration, and disappointment wash over me. "She never showed up to school."
Several silent moments tick by as different scenarios rush through my head regarding why she never showed.
"I'm worried about her," I mutter, breaking the silence, with my shoulders slumped, and head lowered towards the floor.
"She can take care of herself. She is strong," he remarks, the hint of a smile quirking up at the corner of his lips. "She is unlike anything that I have ever seen.”
"She's incredible," I reply, thinking about the white wolves' myth that I had been told about growing up. "I would like to try to find her parents. I want her to know them and learn about who she is and where she comes from," I tell him, hoping that I'm not overstepping.
He nods, exhaling. "I'll see what I can find for you. I can't imagine everything that she's been through," he tells me, looking pained at the thoughts going through his head.
The stories of what can happen to children in the foster system are not lost on us. We've heard of the horrible things that have happened, but it's human business. Business that a pack of wolves can't go anywhere near. We can't take them in, or have CPS sniffing around our territory.
If humans found out about us, I have no doubt that mass hysteria would very quickly ensue.
"Back to Axel," I say, bringing our conversation back around to what had brought me here to speak to him in the first place. "I want to seek justice for what happened to him, both for my mate but also because we failed one of our own.”
He purses his lips and nods once more, clearly mulling over my words. "And how do you intend to grant him justice without risking revealing what you are to your human teammates?"
"Former teammates. They were kicked off of the team when Cameron confessed to what they had done to him—and I'm still working that out." I’m surprised that he's even entertaining the idea of letting me get revenge against a handful of humans.
"Find out first if he indeed was one of our own, then come up with a plan," he locks eyes with me, his bright green eyes a near mirror image of my own, nods and then continues, "If he had been, I will take it into consideration."
"Thanks, Dad," as I say this, I stand up and make my way out of his office and back out of the pack house, determined to find and speak with my mate.
After driving around for what seems like hours, I pick up Amaris's warm vanilla scent. It's faint, but as I follow it, it becomes stronger. Pulling over on the side of the road within the little cul-de-sac of houses that could definitely use some fixing up, I get out and close the door behind me.
I follow her scent until I'm standing at the front door of one of the more run-down two-story houses.
After knocking, I take a step back, hooking my thumbs in my front pockets as I listen to the heavy footfalls of the person that is making their way towards the front of the house.
"What?" A deep voice snarls, the person yanking the door open and then taking me in from head to toe, just as I am with him.
The man before me stands around 6'2", and is grossly overweight with his stomach peeking out of the bottom of his grease-stained olive green shirt, and judging by the smell and look of his teeth, he could use a few lessons in proper hygiene.
Once he's finished taking me in, his demeanor changes. He stands up straighter, pulling his shoulders back, and then tries sucking his gut in. "Something that I can help you with boy?" He asks, his voice now carrying a flirty edge to it, which causes disgust to rip through my entire body at the human that Amaris and Axel were placed with.
"Sir," I say with a nod, "I'm looking for Amaris Redding. Is she here?" At the mention of her name, his eyes narrow and I can hear the shift of his heartbeat as it begins to pick up its pace.
"I'm sorry, I didn't get your name." *What's with the shift in demeanor again?* I wonder, *Who does he think I am? CPS?*
"Sir, just answer the question. Is your daughter here?" I ask, using his nervousness to my advantage.
"N-no. She's not made it home from school yet," I nod as if I'm making a mental note of that. "Okay. Can you tell me when you last saw your daughter?"
"Oh, umm... Yester-yeah, yesterday morning, bef-before school," he stutters, sweat breaking out on his forehead.
"You haven't seen or heard from your daughter in over twenty-four hours, and you didn't report to the police or CPS that she's missing?" I ask, pinning him with an accusing glare.
"She's eighteen. It's no longer my responsibility to keep up with that brat," he bites out, taking a step toward me. 
*Well, would you look at that! It seems as though I've struck a nerve.*