Hunter leaned forwards and rested his head against Jacob's should as he continued to cover his ears. As soon as he touched his mate, the pain and the voice suddenly stopped echoing in his throbbing mind.
He took a breath and filled himself with Jacob's scent.
"Is that normal?" William questions.
"Apparently." Margo was squeezing her husbands arm, not liking seeing her son in pain.
"What did you hear?" Jacob's voice was replaced by the unfamiliar one invading Hunter's thoughts. He rested his hands on his tense shoulders and lifted his head.
"It said um... these are the exact words," Hunter looked deep into his eyes. "Confront the evil and protect the brave. Keep the secret of your kind by using the power within. May that be psychological or physical. Do what ever it takes to banish those who threaten the wolves."
Jacob listened and understood perfectly.
"It wants us to get rid of the werewolf hunters."
"Does that include your grandparents?"
Jacob nodded slowly.
They both stood up with a thirst to suddenly complete their quest. However, this would not be easy and Jacob wasn't sure how he would be able to do it.
"Well, what did it say?" Anthony asked.
Jacob could feel the mission within him and it wouldn't settle until it was fulfilled.
"We need to get rid of the werewolf hunters."
"That's what it said?" He raised his eyebrows, thinking it would be a bigger task. But it is Jacob's first one so he must be starting out small. "All of them?"
"Just the inconvenient ones."
"They're all inconvenient," Sam sighed. "But if your grandparents have something to do with the ones outside, do you have to get rid of them?"
Jacob nodded however, he wasn't feeling particularly sorry for them at this current moment. How could anyone possibly hate something so much that they want to kill it?
"I need to find them and talk to them face to face." Jacob's mission seemed to be unravelling in his head.
"Or..." Hunter interrupted his trail of thought. "We could capture the ones outside, interrogate them and kill them?"
Margo didn't enjoy hearing the word kill come out of her son's mouth but she can't protect him from the harsh reality of this world no longer. Humans are dangerous with their anger and they needed to be silenced one way or another.
"That's not a bad idea," Anthony was frowning with thought. "Jacob, are you confident enough to teleport and grab one of them?"
"No," Flora added. "I'm not sure they know he's a God or anything at all. They will if he teleports right in front of them."
Everyone was left with a deep frown, matching Anthony's. The hardest part of a plan was making the first step.
"I think..." Jacob trailed off when everyone in the room looked at him. So many eyes fuelled his nervous fidgeting. "Uh..." He lost his words almost instantly but Hunter could hear what he wanted to say.
"We should wait for the ones who are watching us to leave and look for the grandparents in the meantime. If they're the leaders of the organisation, it's better to get to them first." Hunter coiled his fingers around Jacob's hand, sharing his confidence with him. One day he'll learn that his voice should be respected, not ignored like what he was taught by his horrendous mother.
"Okay," Anthony nodded. He turned to Ray and asked about where the grandparents were as Jacob found himself getting lost within Hunter's grey crystal eyes.
"How about you get your lunch first before starting your mission?" Hunter thought with a smile.
"It's our mission," Jacob corrected him and turned toward the mountain of food on the table.
* * * * *
When Scott finished work, he headed straight home. William had called him several times but the day he leaves his phone at home is the day everyone needs to talk to him.
He parked on the drive and climbed out of his car. He was surprised to see no lights on in the house, usually, his son's were home before him. Maybe they were at Hunter's house.
He unlocked the front door and entered.
"Boys?" He yelled and heard his voice echo off the walls. The atmosphere remained quiet while he shut the door behind him, indicating that nobody was in.
He walked through to the kitchen and dropped his keys on the table but his eyes caught sight of the letter he found on the floor this morning.
He picked it up and opened it. He didn't know who it was from as he pulled out a hand written note from the white envelope.
He frowned when he recognised it as his wife's handwriting.
He quickly unfolded it, desperately wanted to know if he should be concerned or not.
"Dear Scott,
I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore. I've caused you so much pain from trying to fix things by myself. Yes, I hate werewolves. I always have and I always will. I can't cope with the fact that my son is one, it's breaking my heart every time I look at him.
So I'm leaving. I know there is so much more to say and to talk about but I'm a coward and I have to escape the easy way. I'm sorry that I can't be the wife that you wanted and the mother you wanted but you're all our kids have ever needed. You're a great dad and they don't need me, not anymore. They're almost adults and Jacob deserves to rebuild his life without me dragging him down.
Now, after finding out about Nathan, you've probably heard all he has to say and I know for a fact he has told you about my parents. If not, then I'm sorry to have to tell you that they are werewolf hunters and have influenced my hatred of the wolves. And no, I have not told them about Jacob and I never would. Part of me leaving is to protect him from them. They hate the Gods and won't hesitate to kill him.
Scott, you have to understand that you can not let them find out. You are all in serious danger if they do.
So, I guess this is it. Writing this note is the hardest thing I will ever have to do and you all have to know that I will never, ever stop loving you all. My heart throbs with how much I will miss you.
I love you, Scott. I always will,
Grace x"
Scott was utterly speechless.
His wife has left a goodbye note and the chances are, he will not be able to find a single trace of her if he searched for days on end.
His wide eyes spotted something else in the envelope and he pulled it out with shaky hands.
His heart dropped when he realised it was divorce letters.
"No," He breathed and dropped his head in his hands. He knew it might end up down this road but he wasn't prepared for it so suddenly. He was completely in love with Grace, right until the moment he found out that she didn't like werewolves. But twenty years of love can not just be switched off. He was going through some serious heart ache moments when he went to sleep alone and woke up with the right side of the bed empty.
Even coming home to find the house quiet and still wasn't right.
How was he going to tell his children?
Suddenly, he heard the heavy vibrating of a phone. He looked around to see his lying on the windowsill. He took a big breath and ran over to it.
William was calling him and he really didn't want to sound emotional.
"Hello?" He answered and forced a smile onto his face to sound happier.
"Hey dad," His son breathed a sigh of relief. "Did you leave your phone at home?"
"Yeah, sorry son are you okay? Did you have a good day?"
"The day has been a bit... stressful. Can you come to Hunter's house? There have been werewolf Hunter's watching the house today and we think it's because of mum's parents."
"Really?" Scott frowned and gripped the note in his hands. "That's not good at all. I'll set off now, do you or Jacob need anything from the house?"
"No, we're okay thank's dad."
"Okay, I'll see you soon." Scott hung up and took a moment to compose himself. He had to bury this away until he had time to think about it properly. He also had to think about signing the divorce papers and he was in no state to do that.
* * * * *
"Any news now?" Anthony asked his Beta wolf from the couch. He was unbelievably bored because at around two in the afternoon, the werewolf hunter's left the forest and Grace's parents have been reported at home for the rest of the day.
"No, sorry Alpha."
Anthony crossed his arms and watched his son intervene with his mates powers.
"Do you think a can of beans would be too heavy to levitate?" Hunter asked.
Jacob shrugged with a twinkle in his eyes.
"We could try," He said quietly.
Hunter grinned and straightened his arm. He threw the beans in the air but Jacob simply watched it rise until gravity hit it and it fell to the ground. It cracked open and spilt all over the tiles.
"Hunter!" Margo frowned.
"Jacob!" Hunter frowned in return. "You were supposed to levitate it."
Jacob shook his head with a slow blink.
"I don't know how to."
"Hunter, clean up that mess," Margo chuckled.
Her son turned to Sam and raised his eyebrows.
"You heard her."
"Excuse me, all I heard was her telling you to clean it up." He grinned.
Hunter sighed and picked up the tin from the ground as Jacob watched with amusement.
"Maybe use like a penny or something?" He suggested before there was a knock at the door.
"Scott is here," Flora chirped happily and opened the door. However, she was the first to see the despair in his eyes. He was masking his heartbreak well but for her, it was leaking on his expression whether he liked it or not. "Hello, come in."
She stepped aside and watched him walk in, holding an envelope in his unusually tight grip.
Everyone greeted him until Anthony peeled himself up from the couch and guided him over to a quiet corner.
"Did William tell you what has been happening today?" He asked. They both found it a little hard not to picture their parents who died in the same accident when they spoke to each other.
"Yeah. but..." He looked down to the envelope with a sad sigh. "Here, read this. Grace has left me and the kids. This was her goodbye letter."
"You're joking." Anthony's breath caught in his throat, not really expecting to hear that. "Where has she gone?"
"I don't know. She'd want to keep it a secret."
"Scott, I'm so sorry this is happening to you."
"Well, I'm a little stressed of course. She's not just leaving me and the kids, she's leaving the home that I now can't afford to rent with just my income. I'm going to have to look for somewhere different and sell my car for a cheaper one until I can sort out this mess."
Anthony glanced over at his wife who quickly came to his side and listened to him repeating Scott's words to her.
Her eyebrows were raised but she knew Grace was always pathetic, taking the easy way out.
"Well, our other house expansion is almost finished. Maybe they can live with us when it's ready?" Margo suggested. "We'll have to discuss it with all of them but we can't leave Scott drowning in her selfish behaviour. It's not fair."
Anthony smiled at her while Scott watched his boys. They'll be devastated to hear about their mother but maybe it was for the best.
Living without her will be a fresh start, hopefully.