POV: SAINT
I knocked on Tom's door and walked in. He was sitting on his bed, lost in thought with a gloomy expression. Lily was on the floor, playing by herself. Since school was out, I assumed this was just a typical day for them until classes started again.
"I see you decided to leave me out, huh?" I said jokingly to Tom, but he didn't seem to notice my presence at all.
"Left you out? Did Tom promise to do something with you?" Lily asked, glancing at me.
"Yeah, he said we'd play together today."
Lily raised an eyebrow and asked, "Aren't you a bit too old to join us?" That felt a bit rude, but I ignored her and turned my focus back to Tom.
"Tom doesn't feel like playing. He doesn't even want to play with me," Lily said as she continued her make-believe toy house.
"Why is that?"
"Because Blake didn't want to play with him."
"Why not?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. We saw him today, but he just ignored us and ran away. He said they told him not to play with us anymore."
That was strange. Why would Sam tell Blake to stop playing with Tom? Or does he know that Mateo and I are onto him? But what does that have to do with the kids? I sat down next to Tom. "Are you okay, Tom?"
He jumped a little, as if he hadn't noticed I was there. "Yes," he replied, still looking sad.
"Lily mentioned what happened. Why didn't Blake want to play with you?"
"I don't know. I did everything he asked. So why doesn't he want to play with me?" he wondered aloud, mostly to himself.
"What did he ask you to do?" I asked, feeling puzzled.
"He said—" he hesitated, as if he almost revealed something he shouldn't. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Tom, can you tell me—"
"Ugh, this is so boring," Lily interrupted, standing up. "If he won't play with you, why don't you just play with me instead?" She frowned and crossed her arms.
"Well... because he's our friend," Tom replied.
"Fine. Uncle Saint, can you take me home? I don't want to play with Tom either," she said as she walked out of the room.
Tom sighed and followed her. "I didn't say I didn't want to play with you."
I hurried after them. I reached the hallway just in time to hear them arguing as they went down the stairs. Jackson emerged from his room with a puzzled expression. "What's going on?"
"They're fighting because Tom won't play with her."
"Why not?"
"It's a long story, but I think you should take Lily home while I talk to Tom."
"Okay," he agreed. He took a few steps before stopping, then turned back to me. He gently rested his hand on my neck, but Lily's loud voice broke the moment.
He cleared his throat and headed downstairs. I watched as he calmed them down and took Lily home. Meanwhile, Tom dashed upstairs, past me, and into his room. I followed him inside and sat on the bed next to him.
"Do you know why Blake doesn't want to play with me?" he asked.
"No. Do you have any idea why?"
"Well," he hesitated, unsure of what to say. I decided to take another direction back to the topic.
"I heard you went into my mind. Can you tell me what you found there?"
"I saw lots of videos of you and other people," he replied, suddenly raising his eyebrows as if he remembered something. "Does daddy not like you?"
"Huh? Why would you think that?"
"Because I saw a video of you and daddy. You were both in his room and he was on top of you, but it looked like he was either fighting or wrestling with you. I couldn't really tell. Does daddy really not like you?"
I instantly understood what he meant. "We weren't fighting at all. We were just... playing," I said, feeling a bit flustered.
"Oh... okay," he shrugged.
"What else did you see?"
"A lot of stuff. I also saw a child who was crying."
"Do you know this child?"
He glanced at me before looking down at his lap. "You mentioned the child was crying, right?" I asked, and he nodded. "Your dad and I are trying to help this child. Someone is making them do a lot of bad things, but we can't help if we don't know who they are," I explained.
He seemed deep in thought before he responded. "But you have to promise me he won't get in trouble," Tom said, extending his pinky finger toward me.
He?
I linked my pinky with his, and he sighed. "It's Blake." My eyes widened when he said that. Blake was Sam's son.
"I saw him crying, and he begged me not to tell anyone he was there because he would get in trouble if she found out."
"She?"
"Yes, but he didn't say who."
"Are you sure it was Blake?" I asked, wanting to confirm.
He nodded, "Yes, I recognized his voice. The child had scratches on his back too. Blake has back scratches."
"Back scratches?" I whispered, remembering I had heard that before. I gasped as I recalled that Tom had mentioned Blake gets back scratches the first time that crazy woman attacked me in the apartment.
Has Blake been the voice behind every attack?
"Tom, should I come with you to Blake's house and try to get him to play with you?" This would be a great chance to see Blake and also see Sam's place.
"Do you think he'll be upset?"
"I doubt it. You could always apologize if he's angry about something."
"That is true. Alright, let's go."
"Can my friend join us? He could help persuade Blake." Tom nodded in agreement.
"Okay, wait here while I let your dad know we're heading to Blake's." He nodded again, and I stepped out.
I no longer doubted Sam's involvement in this whole situation. There was no way he wasn't connected to Blake's voice being used, right?
I rushed to Jackson's room but didn't find him there. Then I checked his study and saw him. "Jackson, I need to—" His scent hit me like a wave, making me feel different all of a sudden.
"What's wrong?" He stood up and walked toward me.
"O-oh, nothing," I stammered, feeling a bit dazed.
"Are you sure?"
I nodded while biting my lip. "Alright. I'll be leaving in a few minutes for a meeting with all the pack leaders." He stepped closer to me.
I nodded again, and he moved in even closer, his face near my neck. "Saint, you really have a different scent." He said as he took a deep breath, "You smell amazing."
I let out a soft moan, still biting my lip. The moment felt intense until a knock interrupted us. Tom walked in. "Aren't we leaving yet?"
"O-oh, yes. Um, Tom and I are heading to Blake's house," I stammered, feeling embarrassed.
"Why?"
I hadn't mentioned that Blake was the unknown child. I also wanted to share about Sam, but I couldn't reveal everything in front of Tom. "I'll explain everything when I get back."
"Okay. You're going with Mateo, right?" I nodded.
"Okay, we'll talk when you get back then." He said.
Tom and I left and soon met up with Mateo. Since I couldn't tell him that Tom was half witch, I explained that Owen had discovered who the small whispering voice belonged to, and it was Blake. He looked very surprised and even more shocked when he realized Blake was Sam's son. Tom led the way as we approached the house. "Isn't he supposed to be home?" Mateo asked.
I shook my head. "Jackson is meeting with all the pack leaders, and I'm pretty sure he'll be there."
"Alright, that's good," he said. When we arrived at the house, I knocked on the door, and we all waited. Blake answered the door. He glanced at each of us but then looked down, clenching his hands at his sides.
"Hey, Blake," Tom said, waving.
"I told you not to come," Blake replied quietly.
"Why? Don't you want to be friends anymore?"
Blake met Tom's gaze with teary eyes and said, "No."
"Blake, who's at the door?" we heard from inside the house. A woman appeared, standing behind Blake. She looked at us, placing a hand protectively on Blake's shoulder, her expression turning into a frown.