Rise of the Underdogs: Jasper

Confrontation and Confirmation

Before heading to bed that night, Mistress Pearl intercepted me in the hallway just outside the rooms. The air was noticeably colder now, my breath mingling with hers in pale, misty clouds as the last embers of the fire faded and the night pressed in around us.

Draped over her shoulders was a tightly knit woollen shawl, its patterns intricate and familiar, offering her some protection against the chill. She gently placed a hand on my arm, her touch firm yet reassuring.

When I looked into her face, I saw that her eyes—though etched with the lines of age—still sparkled with an unmistakable clarity and wisdom. There was a light in them, a depth of understanding that made me feel as though she could see right through me. It was almost as if Mistress Pearl was privy to things I had overlooked. As if she could sense secrets or stories I had failed to notice during these past few months.

“Jasper, a moment, if you please,” she said, her dark eyes reflecting the dimmed electric lights around us. “Do you have the necessary items for the next stop?”

Necessary items? What the heck was this woman talking about?

“I’m not sure I understand, Mistress,” I said, making sure to keep my voice and tone as even as possible.

“You were told to have something ready for the next family, but not that you were to meet me first? How, then, did you know the right road?” She pressed, her face falling slightly.

I hesitated, uncertain how much I should reveal about Ujurak.

There was a strong urge within me to keep his involvement hidden, to preserve the secret that he had been the one guiding us. The thought of exposing this truth unsettled me, not only because it felt like betraying a trust, but also because I did not want to set a poor example for my siblings. I knew that spreading misinformation, no matter how well-intentioned, was not a lesson I wanted them to learn.

More than anything, I was keenly aware of how precarious our safety net was. It was fragile, held together by the truths we shared and the trust we relied on. I could not be the reason it broke, nor could I allow myself to be responsible for teaching my siblings that dishonesty was permissible in difficult situations. The stakes felt too high, and so I resolved to tread carefully, hoping to safeguard both our secret and our family's sense of security.

“The Spirit Bear aided us,” I said.

This was a careful answer; while it was technically true, it allowed me to avoid offering direct confirmation about Ujurak or revealing anything he had taught us. I hoped that in doing so, I could protect both our secret and the lessons that had been entrusted to us.

At my words, Mistress Pearl’s smile faltered, and I saw a glimmer of sadness in her eyes. A distant mist seemed to settle there, as though she was caught in a memory. She spoke softly, her voice laced with both pride and sorrow. “Ujurak always chose the more difficult path. He did so willingly, if only to save those who were ready to learn. Those who would honour and live by the forgotten codex of our people—our kin and kind. The supernatural, I mean.”

“Magic users were sometimes Mated to people from my pack.” I kept my voice measured, aware of how significant this admission was among our kind.

She arched an eyebrow, her curiosity obvious as she pressed, “Not your sister’s pack?”

There was a distinct interest in her tone, as if she was trying to discern a deeper connection or a subtle distinction between the two familial lines.

Shaking my head, I crossed my arms and rubbed my shoulders. Not because of the cold, which rarely troubled me, but as a shield against the anxiety that accompanied revealing difficult truths. The fear of having my honesty rejected settled in, making me instinctively seek comfort. I drew in a shaky breath, steadying myself and deliberately relaxing my posture, determined to face the moment with as much composure as I could muster.

Even if I was still just a pup myself.

“My sister is young, too young to harbour and handle such responsibility. I’d much rather her enjoyment of whatever childhood she’s got left over seeing her stress over things she shouldn’t be burdened with.” I told her.

“But she is Alpha,” the woman answered. “You don’t get to make that distinction.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Akita’s voice sliced through the darkness at the other end of the hallway. She half-stepped into the shadowy light, her eyes glowing with the power of her Alpha blood. “But he is the eldest. Jazzy was told by Maman to protect his siblings and get to Shadow Storm. He doesn’t walk as Alpha of our fallen home, but as my Regent.”

Pearl smiled, soft and assuring. “You’re all very attuned to each other. Like you work on a wavelength that differs from the rest of the world. How very refreshing. But, child, what of when you reach age? What if he doesn’t vacate your rightful seat of power?”

“He will if he knows what’s good for him,” another voice, Carson this time, said before he slipped into place on Akita’s right as her shield. “He’s sworn an oath to step back when she’s ready to step up. If you weren’t listening, the key phrase there was ‘when she is ready’. Not before. Not after.”

I growled low, letting him know he overstepped the line.

His head bowed, Carson gently took our sister’s hand. “Come on, sissy. You need rest if you’re going to lead us someday. Like Maman use to say, we gotta sleep and eat right to grow up properly.”

She looked at him, “You’re just trying to keep me out of this.”

“Both of you go to bed,” I breathed. raking my hands through my hair, I realized too late this was my own fault. I allowed my emotions to run hot, and it brought my family running to me, to my defence, even though I didn’t need defending. “I appreciate your stepping in, but please get some rest. We still have a long way to go, and good rest will help us stay clear-headed.”

Moving to my side, my sister tilted her head, “But…” she trailed off, her eyes searching my face. “I see. Okay, big brother. Come on, Cars. Jasper’s serious, so we better not give him a reason to ground us.”

“De-facto Daddy got his fur in a knot,” Carson said, his mocking joke only making me laugh quietly in the shadowed chill of the hall.

“If you don’t listen, I’ll make you carry Kita’s backpack tomorrow.” I promised softly. “And I won’t let you share the burden, either.”

He paled, grabbing Akita’s hand again as he led her back to the room we were assigned to sleep in, “Yup, nope. Not on my list of things to do in the morning.”

As they vanished into the darkness of the bedroom, the door clicking shut like a gunshot in the still silence, Pearl looked as if she’d seen something completely out of the norm. Newsflash: her normal was not our normal. We were beings who knew that working together as one helped more than having everyone arguing over the supposed ‘right path’.

“How peculiar,” she commented, almost amused. “You gave no order, only a strong suggestion, and they obey.”

“It bother’s you?” I asked.

She shook her head, “Not at all, but some bonds that start before this checkpoint do not normally make it through the entire journey unscathed. Some unions – alliances, if you will – don’t survive the questions I pose, and they fall apart at the seams. They begin questioning each other’s true intent and find things unknown to them before arriving at my sanctuary.”

For a single breath of time, I was confused by her. “What does that have to do with us?”

Her laugh was light, airy, and tinged with something I couldn’t quite place. “With you and your siblings, Jasper, I’m seeing the opposite. Rather than becoming distant with each other or allowing shadows, misinformation, and external things to put a wedge between you all, you doubled down. You instinctively guard each other, not out of jealousy, but out of love and adoration for the familial bonds you share.”

“It was how we were raised,” I replied. “Mother taught me how to elevate and bring them down to earth. I think she was preparing me for the inevitable. For the attack that took her from us.”

“And your sire? I haven’t heard you speak much of him,” she pressed, her question hitting a sore spot that I hadn’t really gotten over yet.

Not bothering to think, I allowed the words to flow from me. A torrent of dark emotions that threatened me since that first night. “I don’t think I will ever ‘get over it’, but the anger, the embarrassment, the reality that his greed and ego caused a cascade of death and destruction? I will live with that and try to keep my siblings from the same pain.”

“Your truth is heard and accepted, Jasper Stone,” Pearl said, her voice even softer now. “Those wounds will close, seal, but never leave. Your lives are forever tainted by your sire’s choices, and now you make the most of what’s left behind.”

For a moment, I felt something shift inside me. Not enough to cause drastic change, but something that spoke of my mother’s persistence. Her training, her words of pure, heartfelt wisdom pierced through the darkness that had been threatening to consume me from the night we first started running.

The question wasn’t if I could step back. It wasn’t even if I held my brothers and sister to the same standards. The true inquiry, the question behind the question was what I was willing to sacrifice of myself to keep them alive.

“Everything.”

“What?” The woman asked.

“I would give my very essence to ensure those five pups reach safety,” I answered.

“Smart boy,” she replied. “Rest now. Morning comes with more work and travel.”