Zeke

We walked into some kid store. Valerie insisted that we buy Kenny a booster seat. Luckily, the kid store was in the same plaza as IHOP. I pulled out my phone as Valerie scanned the seats with Kenny clutching onto her hand. I Googled missing kids. I added in Kenny's name and his age. Nothing showed up.

"Kenny" his head snapped to me. "What's your full name?" I wondered.

He scratched his cheek. "Kenny James" he answered. "My birthday is September third" he said randomly, holding up three fingers. I smiled and nodded my head in understanding. They both continued looking at the seats, Kenny mostly just touched everything like a normal kid does.

I typed Kenny's full name into Google, but nothing popped up. After slipping my phone back in my pocket, I mind-linked Nick and explained the situation. He thought that Kenny might be part of a pack. "I can make some calls to nearby packs" he offered. I thanked him and told him that I would help when I got back home. What are the chances that we would find a little werewolf kid inside of an IHOP?

Something poked my thigh. Looking down, I spotted Kenny. He was pointing towards Valerie. "Valley said get that one" he informed me. I walked over to my mate with Kenny skipping in front of me. "I like the blue" he said with a huge smile. Valerie patted the top of the box. I rolled my eyes and easily picked it up. We walked towards the cash register. "Ninja Turtles!" Kenny dropped Valerie's hand and ran over to the toys.

In a panic, we both followed after him. Luckily, he was safely browsing through the Ninja Turtle toys. "You want one?" I asked. His eyes widened as he quickly nodded his head and grabbed one of the toys off the shelf. "Okay. But you can't run off like that anymore" I bargained. He nodded, clutching the toy to his chest.

Valerie grabbed his hand again and we continued walking. I kept my eyes locked on Kenny just in case he decided to run off to more toys again. Fortunately, we made it to the cash register without any trouble. I paid for the two items and then we walked out. "Bubba is gonna build your seat" Valerie told Kenny as we got to my car. I rolled my eyes and teared open the box, spilling the contents all over my backseat. After reading over the directions several times, I was able to put the booster seat together. "Sit him in the middle so we can both see him" Valerie demanded.

I grumbled about her being bossy as I moved the seat over and began putting all the trash into the empty box. Suddenly, I was punched. I turned around and saw Kenny running back towards Valerie. "Valley told me to!" he screeched. I rolled my eyes and told them to get into the car. "Are you taking me to Sissy?" Kenny wondered as I buckled him into his seat.

Biting my lip, I reluctantly shook my head causing his face to fall. "We're going to my house" I told him softly. "And you can stay with us until we can find your sister" I offered. He frowned, but nodded in agreement. Not knowing what else to say, I closed the door and rounded the car to the driver's seat.

Five minutes into the car ride, Kenny fell asleep. "He's a werewolf" Valerie pointed out. I nodded my head and told her that I knew. "Wait. Is this kidnapping?" she wondered.

Shaking my head, I glanced at Kenny's innocent face in the rearview mirror. "This is helping out a lost child" I said slowly. I didn't even believe myself. But his sister left him in the bathroom. He was obviously alone. And we weren't going to do anything bad to him. The pack would be like temporary guardians until we find Hannah or Simon. I could feel Valerie's discomfort and worry. Reaching over the center console, I grabbed her hand and laced our fingers together. "Weren't you gonna tell me something earlier, when Sam called?" I asked, trying to distract her.

Valerie bit her lip. I had to pull my eyes away from the motion. "It's not important. We can talk about it after we deal with this Kenny stuff" she said, giving me a small smile. I nodded my head in understanding and continued driving. Even though she said it wasn't important, I had a feeling that whatever she was gonna say was significant. "Do you think Kenny will be fine in his own room?" she inquired, drifting away from the subject.

We both glanced back at the kid who was softly snoring in the backseat. "If he wants, he can sleep in our bedroom" I offered. I honestly don't know how long children sleep in the same bed as their parents. But if Kenny would feel more comfortable, then I'm sure we could all fit on the bed. The rest of the ride went by in silence. We got to the pack house and Kenny was still sleeping. "I'll carry him in" I unbuckled the seat belt and carefully pulled Kenny out, making sure his head didn't hit the top of the car.

"You have a kid!" Kenny stirred and rubbed his eyes before falling asleep against my shoulder. I growled lowly at Sam, who was standing on the porch. "Where'd the kid come from?" Sam whispered when we got closer.

He opened the door for me. I carried Kenny upstairs and laid him down in my bed. He instantly curled up under the blankets. After leaving the door slightly open, I walked back downstairs. "Can you explain it? I'm gonna help Nick call the packs" I told Valerie. She nodded before I walked into Nick's office.

Nick had his phone pressed against his ear as he nodded his head to whatever the person on the other line was saying. "Yes. Well, thank you for your time. Okay. Goodbye" Nick hung up and turned to me. "Nothing so far" he informed me. I sighed and sat in a chair by his desk. He grabbed a notepad and ripped off a couple pages. "Numbers and names of packs"

I grabbed the pages from him, seeing a few names scratched off. "Thank you" I said gratefully. There were still a lot of names, "I'll finish the rest in my office" He nodded in understanding before I thanked him again and walked out. I went into my upstairs office. My eyes narrowed at my desk chair as I remembered seeing Mina in here. I kicked the chair to the side and grabbed a different one. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed the first number. "Hello. This is Beta Zeke Kingsley from the Blood Star Pack" I introduced.

"Beta Bryce Campbell. How can I help you?" a male voice inquired. I asked him if he had anyone with the last name of 'James' in his pack. "Hold on one moment. I'll check my files" I heard him shuffling and I waited patiently in my chair. "May I ask why you are looking for them?" Bryce questioned.

I explained how Valerie and I found little Kenny. "We're looking for a Hannah James, the little boy's sister" I informed him. More shuffling sounded through the phone before Bryce told me that there was no Hannah James. I thanked him before dialing the next number. "Hello. This is Beta Zeke Kingsley from the Blood Star Pack"

***

Two hours. It took two hours for someone to recognize the name. I was on the phone with Alpha Cameron Morris. He said he knew Kenny and his sister; but he didn't say anything else. He wouldn't give me other information. "Is Kenny safe?" he questioned.

"Yes. Can you tell me where I can find Hannah?" I asked, holding a pen in my hand in case he told me an address or phone number. But he told me that he didn't know where she was. "What about Simon? Kenny said his mom had a friend named Simon" I explained.

There was a creaking noise before I heard a lock click shut. He must've closed the door. "Don't ask about Simon. Don't go and find Hannah. If she left Kenny, then Simon must've been close" Cameron spoke in a hushed tone as if he was telling me a huge secret. I told him to elaborate. "Simon isn't the kid's father. Betsy had Kenny and Hannah with a human before she found Simon. She was born rogue and lived as a normal human. Simon is her mate. But Betsy died couple months back. There was a fire in their house. Hannah and Kenny got out; Betsy didn't" his tone got softer. I could hear the sadness in his voice.

I gave him my condolences. "What's the deal with Simon and Hannah?" I inquired.

Cameron sighed. "Simon went crazy. He was talking about mating with Hannah, she looks a lot like Betsy- almost an exact copy. Hannah knew she was a werewolf and she came to me for help. I moved her into the pack house on my floor. Simon always came by with threats and one day, his fists. I kicked him out the pack the first time he slapped her. But he made some rogue friends. He convinced them that Hannah is his mate and that I'm keeping her hostage. We were getting attacked every week. Hannah told me that she wanted to run. That it was better than other people getting hurt trying to protect her. I gave her some cash and she left two weeks ago"

Such a familiar story. Losing a mate always shakes you up somehow. And of course, the older sister would want to protect her younger brother. "What do you suggest I do?" I wondered.

The other line was quiet for a few moments. It was a hard decision. Kenny could go back to that pack, but that would put him at risk. Simon could possibly use him as bait if he already didn't have Hannah. Or Kenny could stay here. He would be safer, but he wouldn't be with anyone familiar. "Kenny should-"

"Bubba" Cameron's sharp intake of breath told me that he recognized Kenny's voice. I smiled at the kid and motioned for him to come in. He rubbed his eyes and made his way over to me. I held my phone against my ear as I sat Kenny on my lap. "I woke up in a room and followed your voice" he muttered, sleepily lying his head against my chest. "Where's my Ninja Turtle?"

It took me a while to remember that I bought him a toy. "It's probably in the car. Go downstairs and ask Valley to go get it for you" I suggested. Kenny shook his head as his little fists grabbed onto my shirt. "You want me to go with you?" He nodded his head. "Call me back tomorrow" I told Cameron. He agreed and told me to keep Kenny safe for the time being before I hung up. "Let's go get that Ninja Turtle!" I feigned excitement as I scooped him into my arms and stood up.

He burst into a fit of giggles as I swung him around my back so I was giving him a piggy back ride. "Valley! Look! I'm taller than you!" Kenny exclaimed as we passed her in the living room.

Valerie gasped and looked up at Kenny. "You are! How did you grow so fast?!" she questioned, amazement all over her face.

Kenny giggled and slid down my back until he was on his feet. "I didn't really grow. Bubba was holding me" he pointed out. Valerie pouted and said something about trickery. "Do you wanna play Ninja Turtles with me?" Kenny asked, trying to lighten Valerie's spirit.

She tapped her chin with a thinking face. "In a little bit. I want you to talk to a friend of mine first" Valerie informed him. I gave her a questioning look. "He should see Caroline. Just to make sure he's okay" Caroline is the only one in the house that actually knows stuff about health. Knowing that Kenny and his sister have been alone for a few weeks, I nodded in agreement. "Bubba will go get your Ninja Turtle and we're gonna go see my friend" she said softly.

He nodded his head and grabbed Valerie's hand as they walked over to the stairs. I quickly got the toy out of my car and jogged upstairs. I followed Valerie's scent to an office on Nick's floor. Kenny was sitting on the desk as Valerie and Caroline stood in front of him. "Did you eat a lot when you were with Sissy?" Caroline wondered as she took his blood pressure.

"Yup! But Sissy didn't cook. We went to restaurants" he chirped. Caroline nodded her head before telling the three of us to follow her. We went to a bathroom and she pulled a scale out. "Forty-one!" Kenny read. "I'm heavy" he mumbled.

Caroline lightly tickled his stomach. "But you're healthy" she told us. "You just have to make sure you keep eating so you'll grow really big!" Caroline informed him.

He giggled and nodded his head. "Am I gonna be taller than Bubba?" he inquired.

I grinned and squatted down, holding out his toy. "Maybe" I admitted. He smiled and wrapped his arms around my neck. I stood up, causing him to squeal as his arms tightened their hold. "Are you hungry?" I asked, holding him on my hip.

Kenny shrugged. "I want a snack" he informed me. I nodded my head and thanked Caroline before going downstairs. I held the pantry door open as Kenny scanned the snacks inside. "Cookies!" he exclaimed, pointing at my Oreos.

Still holding onto Kenny, I grabbed the pack of Oreos and placed it on the counter. "Do you want milk?" He nodded his head. I grabbed a plastic cup, just in case he drops it. A couple minutes later, we were both sitting on the countertop with Oreos and milk. Yesterday, if someone told me that I would be sharing bacon and Oreos; I would've laughed in their face. But for some reason, I didn't mind with Kenny.

He had a smile on his face as he licked the cream off of the cookie; and that smile was enough to make me smile.

_______________

"Love comes unseen; we only see it go"

-Henry Austin Dobson

It amuses me when someone from school starts following me on Wattpad- especially when that someone doesn't like me. I'm secretly sitting in front of my laptop like you don't like me, but you'll read my crap on Wattpad. I'm so smug about it tbh.

But anyways. I have a new addiction. James Patterson. His Alex Cross series. Omg. I'm in love with them. James Patterson is such a good writer. It took me so long to peel myself away from my book so I could finish writing this chapter. You guys should totally read those books if you're like into that suspenseful, criminal stuff.

Kayyyzzz Byeeezzz

~A.J.