THE BETA'S FINDINGS

The day Lucas returned to Jacksonville, Damon arrived home at noon after stopping by to grab some groceries from a supermarket in the city's center. He had not been himself since he saw his ex-girlfriend on a public television station, and he was positive that the entire day he had spent cruising the city in his old Volkswagen was not in vain since he had been eager to hear from Lucas about her life in the big city of Seattle.

He could clearly see that he had not prepared for his ex-girlfriend's unexpected appearance at a public show, and it had been bothering him ever since he found out where she had been living since their breakup years ago. He was quite concerned about how Lucas would react when confronting his ex in a distant city after so many years had passed between them. He was not just worried about his son meeting his ex, whom he had thought would put aside any bitter feelings towards him upon seeing his only child but was afraid she would get upset even further once she learned about his desire to patch things up from the beta he sent to see her. Since discovering where his ex had been residing, he has been troubled by a lot of troubling thoughts due to his worry, and for the last three days, he had been barely able to sleep soundly, much alone to wake up in the early hours of the morning. After seeing his ex on live television, he realized that his role as the pack's leader had become even more important and challenging than before. He made the decision to leave his house early on Wednesday morning, about an hour after sunrise, in order to get some fresh air and avoid spending the entire day alone in his house. He brought some cash with him, so he could buy some groceries to make dinner before his son and Lucas would likely return from their trip to Seattle two days earlier.

As he drove his Volkswagen home, he spotted Lucas seated by himself on his front porch, his hands buried in his pockets. He wondered if the beta he had sent to confront his ex-girlfriend with his son had been successful in getting the message through to her without getting a negative response when she saw his son. He drove cautiously and parked the car inside the garage facing the open street at the back of the house close to the wooden fence that divided his property from the neighbor next door, despite his growing anxiety at seeing Lucas watching him drive into the neighborhood.

After leaving the vehicle, Damon hastily made his way to the front porch to meet Lucas while carrying the groceries that he had bought from the store. Lucas greeted him first, shaking hands and then giving each other a brief embrace.

"You could have called me instead of coming in person," Damon murmured as soon as he managed to escape Lucas's cozy hug.

"I could have, but before I returned to Seattle, I briefly have something else to do here”

"Go back? What exactly do you mean? Damon inquired anxiously, "Didn't you return with Andrew after giving Isabelle my message?"

"Relax and talk slowly, mate. Let's answer each of your questions at a time, shall we?” Squeezing his right fingers, Lucas replied.

“I apologize, dude. I've been thinking quite a lot recently” Damon said apologetically.

"I can see that” Lucas retorted

"Then, where is Andrew now?” Damon inquired, peering around in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Andrew but he did not see the boy.

He turned to face Lucas and said, "Where's my son, Lucas?" Damon asked after experiencing the shock that many fathers experience.

“Actually….I didn’t come back with Andrew.” Lucas answered, searching the disappointment in Damon’s face

“Why? Is he with Isabelle?” Damon asked, again.

“No, he’s not. I left him in safe hands at the motel we were lucky to find in Seatle.”

“Then you could have phoned me.”

“Sure, I should have but I have quite a few things to do for Uncle Danny and I figured it would be best to talk to you in person,” Lucas explained.

“Anything the matter?” Damon asked expecting the inevitable. He was not too sure if Lucas’ facial expression was helping him feel a lot more anxious than he was already but he was sure that Lucas had something else in mind that he was curious to find out.

“Uh…It’s about Isabelle..” Lucas replied, fixing his gaze elsewhere instead of looking straight at Damon. It was clear that he did not like the scorching sun affecting his eyes and Damon, was not too affected by hot sunlight since his back was turned facing the rays of the sun, felt things were about to go airy.

“What about her?” Damon inquired further. “

“She was having a bit of a problem dealing with the fact that you sent me judging from the way she behaved when she first saw me and Andrew”

“You mean she wasn’t happy to hear that I sent you.” Damon explained low-spirited, trying his best to understand the situation.

“Exactly and I believe she’s furious right now.” Lucas said further.

“It’s not a surprise that she would be mad at me after all that happened between us.” Damon replied and looked away.

“I guess you have to sort things out yourself with her.” Lucas advised

“I will. What about Andrew? How did she behave when she saw him?” Damon questioned further.

“Honestly, she acted strangely but I do not doubt that the sight of Andrew scared her.”

Lucas answered.

“I see no reason for her to be scared of a little kid unless……” Damon thought for a while but Lucas spoke out before he could complete his statement.

“She’s hiding something.” Lucas speculated.

“Hiding something? I doubt she could have something to hide.” Damon replied, looking elsewhere.

“If that’s not it, then I guess you are being paranoid.”

“I guess you could say that.” Damon answered, nodding his head in affirmation to Lucas’s statements. They both went silent as Damon drifted into deep thought. He had had an eerie feeling about sending Andrew along with Lucas though he had high expectations that Isabelle would see things positively between them if she set her eyes on the little kid but from Lucas’s explanations, he was sure something was indeed wrong with Isabelle though he was not certain what it was. Damon recollected his thoughts and decided to take matters into his own hands.

“Let me guess, You still haven’t figure out a way to pick out the scent of the vampire for Uncle Danny.” Damon said, deliberately changing the subject after getting his thoughts back together.

Lucas sighed heavily before responding, “It is like you said, I haven’t got a single lead. It’s been four days since the attack and he has been pestering me a lot lately to find who stole from him.”

“Then you better start trying hard to get some results.” Damon advised.

“You say it as though it’s easy.”

“I know it’s very difficult to find an assailant we believe must be a hybrid whose scent must have washed off days ago.”

“Or vanished without a trace.” Lucas retorted.

“Yes but the bottom line is that you have a lot riding on your shoulders.”

“I’m aware of that but aren’t you the alpha? This should be your priority.” Lucas replied indignantly.

“My priorities to protect the pack will always remains the same.”

“But it isn’t what it seems here. You ought to be the one trying to catch those murderers, not me.”

“Lucas, I’m doing my best to keep the pack together." Damon replied.

"As it stands, it's not enough. You should help me out with this just like I am helping you out to get Isabelle back."

Lucas suggested, hoping Damon would concede to his demand.