The White Wolf

Chasing Neverland

“Are you KIDDING me?!” Alex's voice rings out across the dead silent bar.

“Alex, listen, I know how this looks” Val pleads.

“The hell you do. You just swore off life-threatening missions and seconds later, you jump at chasing a myth with a complete stranger?!” Alex remarks, steadily losing his cool demeanor.

“I'm not a COMPLETE stranger, Alex," the mysterious figure countered, nonchalantly taking a barstool. He effortlessly summoned a bottle of whiskey and restored a shattered glass with a casual gesture. "And it's no legend. It's real. I've witnessed it."

"Well, fantastic, Damien. Let's embark on a quest to Neverland because you've 'seen' it," Alex retorted, eyes clenched, fists pounding the table.

"Wait, you two actually know each other?" Val interjected, her confusion evident as she glanced back and forth between the two men.A tense silence settled in, both men locking eyes in a standoff. "Really?!"

“All you need to know, Val” Alex begins. “…is that this guy isn’t someone you want hanging around. He has a record of risking everything and everyone so long as he gets what he wants.”

I’ll admit this mission is going to be dangerous, but it’s nothing Valarie here can’t handle when compared to what she’s already experienced. So, it would do us a lotta good if you could put your personal feelings aside. This isn’t your call to make,” Damien asserts in a serious tone.

“What do you get out of this?” Alex asks, staring daggers at him.

“Okay, can you two shut up?” Val bursts. “I’m sick of everyone trying to tell me what to frigging do.”

Damien steps back, hands raised in surrender, and returns to his seat. Alex sinks onto a stool, looking defeated, fingers at his temple.

“Do as you please... I can't stop you," he concedes.

"I hoped you'd grasp why I'm doing this. I don't like it either, but if I succeed, no one will need to worry about me anymore," Val explains.

“"When will you realize you mean more than just a wolf to those who genuinely care about you?" Alex implores, then turns his gaze to Damien, who's calmly nursing another glass of whiskey.

"I'm not opposed to you reclaiming your powers. It's your current state of mind and, most importantly, who you'll be teaming up with on this risky venture that concerns me. You don't have to do this now. We can find another way... Anything but this," Alex pleads.

“Yeah, and how many times has she heard that from everyone else that hasn’t disappointed her, huh?” Damien scoffs.

“And you are her best bet at actually achieving this.”

“Not me. Not on my own. But I believe we can do it together. You're the one with unfounded paranoia here," Damien retorts.

“You never answered my question”, Alex says, fixing him a steely gaze.

“The catch? How about we all walk out with our greatest desires? Look, we’ve got issues and like you said, I will do whatever it takes to get things done. Only this time, I don’t walk out with the price myself. You’ve got to trust that.”

Adam looks at Valerie, his expression desperate. Surely, she can't trust a word he's saying, right?

"I just have one question. Who's 'we'?"

****

Making her way back home, Val contemplates the potential the proposal revealed to her could have and what it could mean to her existence. Conflicted between feelings of fear and excitement, she still could not rid of the look of disappointment Alex had on his face at her verdict. A journey that promised peril with a reward she had so yearned for, for a long time. How could she not chase it? And why couldn’t he just understand?

A lone figure stays waiting at the porch of the Pack House- Val’s home. He doesn’t move, he just stares into the distance deep in his thoughts. Valerie gingerly walks up to the front porch, refusing to meet his eyes. Its uneasy given the outburst she had with her brother earlier in the woods. That moment has been the most vulnerable she has been in a long time and without the surge of adrenaline, embarrassment churns in her stomach. Regardless, she knows she has to say something at least… before she runs off and does something completely and utterly stupid.

“Hey, Jacques, I…” She begins

“It's alright," he responds gently, cutting her off. He releases a deep, unsteady breath before continuing, his gaze fixed in the distance. "I can't claim to truly understand what you're going through. But I can imagine how tough it must be, living each day feeling like an outsider. Like you don't really belong here, with us. It's not fair, it really isn't, and if I could change it, I would." He shifts his position on the porch rail to face her.

“You know, I do talk a big game about you. I bet you could take on everyone in this pack, even in their werewolves. Everyone save for Xavier and me, of course…” He chuckles, lightening the mood. Despite the guilt weighing on her, her brother's ease puts her at ease, too, prompting a small chuckle to escape her lips.

“…I don’t believe you’re a weak link”, he says more seriously. “I very well know you can handle yourself out there, but that doesn’t mean I don’t worry. We have the pack looking out for us but you’re the only family I’ve got left and can’t afford to lose you too.”

“You won’t”, Val asserts.

“You can't make that promise, Val..." Jacques snaps, his tone tinged with frustration. The once breezy porch suddenly feels stifling with tension. Jacques sighs, collecting himself before he continues. "You can't make that promise, Val. Not with the way you've been acting lately. You go out there and rub the wrong people the wrong way. That doesn't just affect you or me. It puts everyone in danger."

They both let a moment pass for the realization of his words to sink in. Guilt gnaws at Valerie at what she was about to go do. Her brother wouldn't approve; she knows this. But she had never sought his approval on anything she has done, so this was more about reassuring him and getting him and the pack to back off.

"Jacques, there's something I need to tell you," Valerie begins.

"You've got another 'important mission' to chase after, right?" he responds.

"Yeah," she admits, avoiding his gaze.

Jacques let out an exasperated sigh. "I could already tell. Come on..." He raises an eyebrow, feigning hurt. "I taught you how to read body language. Did you really think I wouldn't notice your evasive behavior? And with this psychic connection we have, I can sense strong emotions coming from you."

"So, you understand that I have to do this," Valerie asserts.

"What I understand is that you never really care about my thoughts or feelings. You just do as you please and return home beaten and battered. So why would today be any different? Would anything I say now make a difference?" he questions.

"That's fair," she concedes.

"Yeah, you'd know a lot about that. Xavier and the pack are all waiting inside. I just wanted to give you a heads up before you go in. It's not going to be easy, so brace yourself," he advises, giving her a once-over before heading back indoors.

Valerie takes a moment to register how eerily quiet the compound is, with only the distant sound of crickets. The knot in her stomach tightens. After another minute, she lets out a frustrated grunt before making her way inside.