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Chapter 36
- The Bennett's-

-Demarco-

"It's happening again" Jordan said looking at each one of us at the table. "We're running in circles of assumptions, with little information and facts".

"That murder was way too personal for Romeo not to know who this rogue is" Cleon said for the millionth time. "No one would take the time or risk to murder a former Alpha the way that she did. She was smart about this, all these months she's been plotting".

But just like Alpha Tyler Bennett was saying all this morning before he took his leave. "It's an assumption until it could be proven and Romeo, his Beta and Gamma won't admit to it".

Everything was an assumption until it could be proven. Same thing goes for her being a rogue on a murder spree which we ruled out.

Over the past two months after me being sick, she had many chances to caught me alone and attempt to murder me.

But she hasn't and we all don't think she will.

However, it just brings more unanswered questions to why she was passing through my backyard at that moment.

"I feel you Cleon, to have the balls to murder a former Alpha and be successful, it had to be an inside job" Denziel said going through the facts. "It's almost impossible to believe that this rogue just pranced on to Griffins territory and killed their former Alpha without inside help. She had the time to torcher him, someone else definitely knows something. However, Christopher and Romeo aren't very likeable people to begin with".

"His funeral was a joke" Cleon added.

"Exactly" Denziel pointed out. "Their pack hates them. To make a list of suspects who have a personal vendetta to the point they'll risk their lives to assist a rogue in murder, that list would be endless".

We all agreed.

"I don't know what more we could do" Jordan said. "She's unpredictable and we can't just wait for someone else to turn up dead".

"I think it's time to call on the council".

I never saw the day that I'd have to call on the elders for help, but we were lost.

"I agree" Denziel pipped in. "They're the only people who could force Romeo and them to give up information so we could stop this guessing game".

Cleon nodded. "Im on board".

We were all exhausted over the situation.

"I'll make the call". Jordan stood leaving the room with his phone in hand.

As the conversation dropped, we all sat back taking a much needed mental break. Being in that meeting all morning with the Bennett's and getting nowhere was frustrating.

Trying to crack this mystery between Jordan, Cleon, Denziel and myself right after was torcher.

Denziel's attention was back on the sketchbook that he carries around everywhere now in these days.

It was his peace as he coped with finding and losing his mate in the matter of one night. Most times however, he'd would try to attempt to draw her from memory.

He was talented when it came to drawing, but he was never satisfied with the sketches he made of her.

He would always quite halfway through a sketch, draw an x-mark through the drawing, flip the page and try again.

"That's probably the best one" Cleon said looking over his shoulder. "She's pretty".

He mumbled a nonchalant response as he continued drawing.

I appreciated my brother.

He didn't have to be here right now. The meeting only required myself, Jordan and Cleon to be present but he insisted on coming anyways.

"I need the distraction" was his words as I spoke to him on the phone this morning.

For as along as my brother lived on this earth he's never been as focused as he's been these past couple of weeks.

Even during the meeting, he not only surprised myself, but Jordan and Cleon as well.

He was a productive part of the conversation. Separating fact from fiction, entertaining and omitting theories by using proven information. Suggesting new strategies to try and capture the rogue.

He was extremely vocal, but as expected, as soon as the conversation was over he drifted back into his own head and started sketching again. Completely uninterested in anything else.

"We'll find her".

He didn't say anything but it was enough for him to pause for a second, then go right back to his sketch.

It felt like I was losing my brother a little bit each day, so I made sure I told him that everyday. As much as I like this new found sense of maturity to him, I missed my little brother that was annoying, witty and full of life.

After a while longer of drawing, he sighed frustrated and he draw an x-mark, and turned the page.

"I appreciate the optimism but I don't think so big brother. Wherever she is now, she's long gone and I don't think she's coming back".

He never broke eye contact from the blank page.

"It's been a month. I've checked every local community college and university. I went to every frat party and too many bars and clubs that I don't care to count. I've stayed up well into broad daylight every night looking for her with no luck".

Taking the pencil he tapped it on the table. "I'm better off assuming she was a figure of my imagination".

Cleon gave his back a pat.

"Wherever she is, it's meant for you guys to find each other again" Cleon tried motivating him. "Look at Demarco, he almost killed his mate and ran into her again in less than 24 hours" he joked.

It got a slight smirk out of Denziel as he laughed back about that memory.

"I still can't believe I almost killed her" I said out loud.

Denziel chuckled, "Oscar and I were talking about that the other day actually" he shared. "You went from wanting her dead to wanting to procreate with her".

We all shared a good laugh.

"Except you haven't even kissed her yet" Denziel countined. "I don't know what you're waiting for buddy".

I raised my eyebrow curious.

"How do you know that?"

He rolled his eyes a smile on his face.

"Clover talks to Nola. Nola talks to Oscar, who's my best friend. You got to step your game up" he genuinely laughed which was rare.

"We are not the same brother. I like to know the name of the girl I'm interested in before I have my tongue down her throat".

He put his hands up defensively backing down.

"You're right" he said laughing at his own situation. "We are not the same, but I have no regrets about going all the way that night".

Cleon broke our bickering, raising a question.

"I know Patrick's busy with the Mia giving birth any day now. But where's Oscar? I haven't heard from him all day".

It was Sunday, so he definitely didn't have class. He didn't do boarder patrol on Sunday's so my last guess would be that he was with his mate.

I shrugged, but Denziel had the answer to the question.

"He's with Nola" he confirmed my guess. "He was a mess this morning trying to find a good fit to wear. He just found out that Clovers brothers are in town and apparently they treat Nola like a second little sister. They want to meet him tonight so he's trying his best to impress".

With all that information, it was like a truck crashing into the most sensitive nerve in my body.

Oscar was meeting her brothers...and I couldn't.

"He was actually wondering if you would be there too". Denziel directed the question at me, "she did tell you right?"

It took me a minutes to really process.

Did her brothers even know about me? Was she hiding our relationship from them?

Cleon taped the table, breaking me from my own thought. "Demarco you okay?"

Nodding I cleared my throat.

"She told me last night about her brothers. When I suggested coming over to meet them she cut me off mid sentence, and hung up". 

Cleon and Denziel both gave me empathetic looks which angered me. "I'm just surprised that Oscar gets to meet them and I don't".

Defending his best friend Denziel stepped in. "For the record, Oscar just found out this morning. The only reason why they're so interested in Oscar is because Nola have talked about him a lot to them. They wanted to meet the guy she's obsessed about".

I could feel my wolf growling within.

"So Clover doesn't talk about me to her own brothers I guess".

Denziel quickly shook his head. "That's not what I said. Maybe she isn't as open about you to her brother because she's not ready, you know. Your relationship is fairly new and all".

I appreciated him trying to reason on her behalf but my pride was hurt.

So I'm not brag-able.

"Clover just doesn't want me to meet them. I get it".

Lies.

My eyes scanned the table, looking to my keys. I stood patting my pockets and successfully found them.

"Demarco don't do it" Cleon said, knowing exactly where my mind was going. "Whatever you're thinking it's a horrible idea and you know it".

I was just going to stop bye, be in and out.

Pretend like I forgot that she didn't want me over there to begin with. If they didn't know about me before today, they were about to find out.

"She's met all of you, parents and half my pack. I'm just going to say hi". 

They knew my mind was made up, even if I convinced myself of a lie.

I didn't want to say hi, I wanted them to know how I was in her life.

Shaking his head Denziel shut his sketchbook closed and shoved it into his backpack. "I'll go with him. Make sure he doesn't make a fool of his self".

Cleon sat there defeated. "I'll stay and wait for Jordan to get back" he sighed.

Denziel and I headed to her apartment at full speed. He only had to tell me to slow down once for being way over the speed limit.

My emotions were a mess.

I was angry.

My pride was hurt.

I didn't have a definate answer to why she didn't want me around while her brothers were here but everything that I came up with all lead to one thing.

She's ashamed of me.

The adrenaline pumping through my veins was blinding all of my senses, as I took the stairs two at a time and knock on her door with more force than necessary.

Laughter could be heard on the other side of the door as door steps approached the door.

Putting his hand on my shoulder, Denziel gave me a weird questioning look.

"Do you not smell that?"

I didn't have time to process what he was talking about as my small mate opened the door. A bright vibrant smile on her face which quickly transformed once she looked my way.

First it was shock, then fear, then a whole lot of anger. Stepping into the hallway, she pulled the door behind her only leaving it open a crack.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered so her guest couldn't overhear. "I told you, you couldn't come over today. I'm busy".

My wolf wanted to match her energy, force her to submit. She's only raised her voice at me once before and that was because she was upset and on the brink of tears.

This time, she was pissed.

Good, because I was just as pissed as she was.

"So Oscar gets to meet your brothers and I don't?"

"Nola wanted them to meet Oscar, not me" she whispered frustrated.

"And why don't you want me to meet them?"

"Because I don't!" she now broke her silence from a whisper to a full blown out yell. She took a deep breath, trying to recollect herself as she ran her hand through her short hair lowering her voice again. "You can't meet them yet. Not now Demarco, don't push me on this please. We can talk about this later but right now I need to get back and you need to go" she plead, begging with her eyes for me to listen.

She touched my arm, which soothed me. Only just a little bit.

"I hear you lucky charm" I said honestly. "But it doesn't sit well with me that your ashamed of our relationship".

She frowned, a little hurt.

"Sis, who is it?"

She jumped, her hand falling from my arm at the voice.

The opportunity to be offended was quickly gone because in that moment I realized exactly what Denziel was trying to warn me about.

The voice was familiar, and so was the scents.

The cracked door opened fully and his eyes instant went to me.

Maybe if I would've listened and waited, I would've been more prepared for this moment.

In the doorway of her apartment stood her older brothers. Beta Andrew Bennett and behind him, no other than her eldest brother, Alpha Tyler Bennett.

Or should I say...

"Drew, TJ this is Demarco and his brother, Denziel" Clover finally said turning to her brothers.

"They're friends that just wanted to passed by and say hello" she lied giving me a sharp look. "They're now leaving".

Denziel had the same astonished looked on his face that quickly turned into pure humor. As he smirk, he mind linked me.

'Maybe we shouldn't did more research on this one'.

My old, teasing little brother was back for the moment as my now sticky situation brought him joy.

He was right, this is something huge to miss.

As the boys came out in the hall, the similarity were apparent as they stood on either side of their sister.

Everything lined up.

Clover always referred to her brothers as TJ and Drew. I guess I always assumed those were nicknames but it never accrued to me to decode what their names actually were.

Even the timeline added up.

At the same time I kidnapped Clover up until my recovery, Tyler...or should I say TJ was looking for his sister that him and his younger brother couldn't contact for weeks.

Coincidentally the day after she spoke to Drew, I spoke to TJ who let me know that they found her and she was safe. 

Staring at the siblings, three things didn't add up.

Her last name is Reign, theirs is Bennett.

She not a wolf, and they are.

How did she have knowledge that the werewolf world existed when her brothers are the leaders of one of the largest packs in North American.

No one said anything for a long moment.

"So which one is the boyfriend sis?" Tyler said breaking the silence.

"How much you wanna be it's him" Andrew said nodding towards me. "He has the whole 'nice to meet you' surprised look in his eyes" he laughted.

Denziel finally let his laughter free, my own brother exposing me.

"He's definitely the boyfriend" he states with his hands up in surrender. "You should've listen to Cleon" he whispered to me, that full blown smile on his face that I haven't seen in weeks.

Nice to see that my misery was the source of his happiness, even if it was just for a moment.

"Nice to meet you Denziel" Andrew being the first one to make a move, shaking Denziel hand as if he were a stranger. Denziel played along with the sharaid. Then turning to me, "Demarco, it's a pleasure to finally meet you" he said extended his hand towards me.

There was a glint in his eyes that told me to go with the act. I shook his hand as if I've never met him a day in my life.

"Clover has been very secretive about you" he continued glancing over at his little sister. "So secretive that we didn't know your name up until this moment" he smiled back to me.

"You would've hunted him down" she said frustrated, "I know how you guys get".

She was angry there was no denying that. But at least for the moment she seemed more angry with her brothers and not me.

Andrew...Drew came over to shake my hand just as TJ did. "We did get to meet Oscar" he highlighted. To Clover, it probably came off as being eager but everyone else know he was being sarcastic. "Nola mentioned that you and Oscar were close friends".

For the first time in my life I was lost for words, as I simply nodded my head trying to stay calm as I proceed what was going on in my head.

His anger was nothing close to the intensity that I was getting from both brothers combined.

Tyler pushed the door all the way open.

"Come in, join us for dinner" it wasn't a question it was a statement. "We'd love to get to know the man that caught our sisters eye".

Tyler was no longer the friendly supportive older brother figure I could turn to for help. He was no longer that easy going, peacemaking Alpha that I knew.

He was calculating, and as he stood behind his sister...overbearingly protective.

What have I gotten myself into.

Denziel took it upon himself and walked right in. Andrew following behind him, then Clover.

I followed behind her closely, but big brother was not having it.

"We need to talk" he lowly said, passing by, leaving me to close the door.