Derek
Derek went straight to bed that night, not wanting to answer anyone’s questions.
Several nights per week, one of the pack members would make a bonfire in the center of the pack. Over the past five years, they’d created quite a cozy area on pack land. They had their homes, where some families chose to live, and then they had a central area where they all hung out. They’d expanded and had a healer’s cabin, and an office area where Roman conducted business, as well as a school cabin and daycare cabin for the kids whose parents wanted them to stay on pack land.
They had a playground, and a basketball court, and of course all the natural features that shifters liked, such as streams, trees, and rolling hills. But one of their favorite things to do was sit around the bonfire. Sometimes they roasted meat, sometimes they just hung out.
Derek was at the bonfire most nights. He’d sit with Roman and relax, and even sometimes one of his exes would come sit with him and they’d roast a few marshmallows.
But he knew that if he went down to the bonfire, he’d get peppered with questions – about Kyra. He’d opened his big mouth, and now he had to deal with the consequences of his nosy pack members.
But a good night’s rest was welcome, because the next day, he was scheduled to lead training exercises with the pack. His friend Jesse was supposed to help him. Jesse was a little older than he and Roman were, but he’d always been like a brother to them.
Fifteen years ago, Derek and Roman had learned the basics at Blackwood Academy when they were eighteen, but they’d had to fast-track their knowledge after the sudden death of Roman’s father. They hadn’t had time to really absorb anything but the basics because they were thrown into the day-to-day running of a large pack.
But as the years went by, the pack had grown and become more modern, even before the move to Anchorage. During his travels, Derek had met other packs who’d invested in security – mainly in training their members how to defend themselves. So Derek had pushed Roman to learn more techniques for keeping the pack safe. Roman was old-fashioned, but he did listen to Derek most of the time.
When they’d moved and had access to fast internet and a stable power grid, they’d added some electronic surveillance as well. But they also added martial arts and weapons training, and that was where Jesse came in. Derek was able to shoot a gun, bow and arrow proficiently, and he was top-notch at throwing knives, but Jesse was skilled in hand-to-hand combat techniques, as well as martial arts and evasive techniques.
The pack members, both male and female, had been eager to learn.
The next morning at sunrise, Derek got everything set up for the training. Jesse usually joined him for that part, but as the minutes went by, he didn’t show. That wasn’t like him. The students started to trickle into the clearing. Today they were working with the older teens.
“Has anyone seen Jesse?” Derek asked the small group.
“Not today,” one kid replied. “Are you sure he’s in town?”
Jesse did have a reputation for being a bit of a flake. He was like Derek; he liked to party and travel and see the world. But they were different when it came to being responsible. Where pack matters were concerned, Derek was all business. When he’d taken the vow as the Alpha’s second in command, he’d promised to treat the job with the reverence it deserved.
Sure he was only eighteen at the time, but so was Roman, and he had the weight of the entire pack bearing down on his shoulders. So while Roman hadn’t counted on that type of responsibility for many years, he was happy to step up, which meant Derek did his part too.
Derek had had a trip planned for the Bahamas right after they graduated from Blackwood Academy. He’d always wanted to travel, but he’d been underage, and his parents had no inclination to allow it. But for his eighteenth birthday, he’d booked a trip to the Caribbean. He’d worked chopping wood, and he’d saved every single penny.
Until he’d booked the Caribbean trip, he’d satisfied his urges for the nightlife with clandestine trips to the city as often as he could. His friends knew, but they helped him keep it hidden. It had surprised him that most of the other males his age didn’t feel the same drive to occasionally escape pack life that Derek did. But they accepted him and his wanderlust, and that was fine.
Derek had tried to cancel the trip to the Bahamas, but Roman refused. “You have to go. You worked for it. And you’ve already paid for it!”
“Of course, I’m not fucking going,” Derek had yelled. “I can’t go lie on a beach while you’re holding everything together here.”
“You deserve a break. You’ve held me together through all of this,” Roman had said. His voice broke as he yelled back. In front of everyone else, Roman was strong in the face of his father’s death and the loss of some of their pack land to the fire. But with Derek, he would allow himself to fall apart.
Derek was glad his brother thought so. He’d done his best. It had been hard dealing with such a huge loss. Not only had they lost their Alpha, but Roman lost his father. And he’d been like a second father to Derek as well. They’d all been floundering, trying to figure out a way to proceed.
At Roman’s insistence, Derek had gone. He’d had a blast, despite the lingering guilt. That’s when he’d developed a taste for travel, for remote locations, and for extreme sports. And for females. Human or shifter, he would date them all.
But he came back relaxed and ready to help Roman tackle running the pack at eighteen years old. So even though Roman rolled his eyes about it, he always supported Derek's need to break free and travel several times a year.
He’d found a kindred spirit in Jesse. But this morning, Jesse was nowhere to be found. Derek wasn't particularly concerned. He had always known that Jesse had a penchant for following whatever way the wind blew. Today happened to be one of those days. But as the day wore on, he did grow more concerned.
It wasn't like Jesse not to be in touch at all. Usually if he did flake out, he would let Derek know what was going on and why. It wasn't always a good excuse, but it was an excuse. He texted Roman and Jameson, as well as Tristan, who was in charge of their security since they had moved to Anchorage.
None of them had heard from Jesse. There was no way he could go out with Kyra if something was wrong with Jesse. No one had heard from him. And he did not have a mate or any cubs.
He really wanted to see Kyra, but as one of the leaders of the packs, it was his duty to look for someone who was missing. He would do it for anyone, not just his friend.
Possiblymissing, he corrected. Jesse wasn’t actually missing.
He picked up the phone and called her, hoping she wouldn't think he was trying to blow her off. “Hey, I'm really sorry, but one of my packmates is missing and no one has heard from him. As the second in command, it's part of my duty to look for him. I would do it anyway, because he's my friend."