Find My Heart - Chapter 11: Chapter 11

Joel
"Happy birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Joel, Happy Birthday to you."
I pulled the covers down from over my head and smiled at my mum who was stood in the doorway holding a birthday cake.
"It's a bit early for cake isn't it?" I said with a smile.
"It's never to early for cake!" my mum said in all seriousness.
I chuckled as she came over and placed the cake on my bedside table.
"I've got plates!" she said, proudly pulling out a pair of paper plates from the front pocket of her apron.
"Wow, you've thought of everything," I mocked in good humour.
"Well, it's been such a long time since I've been able to share my son's birthday cake, that I couldn't wait a second longer. Plus you need to get up to get ready for work."
"Oh yeah...work." I grumbled. The last time I went to work, it was at Blackwood manor. With Casper.
I felt my mood take a nosedive as I thought about home.
"Here you go," my mum said, holding out a piece of cake.
I quickly hid my frown and smiled at her, pleased that at least she would get enjoyment out of today.
Personally, I'd have rather just forgotten it was my birthday.
I glanced at the cake, that my mum had obviously got up really early to make, and frowned.
"Um, mum. Why does it have 19 on the cake?"
"It's your age, you idiot," she said, taking a bite and rolling her eyes like she was in heaven.
"But I'm 20," I told her, feeling slightly bad for her that she had got my age wrong.
"No you're not, you're 19," she said with certainty.
"Honestly, I'm 20," I said, a little confused as to why she didn't believe me.
"Joel, I gave birth to you," she said, remarkably calmly, "and I can tell you now that it was exactly 19 years ago."
"But I was born in 1997. That's what my birth certificate says."
My mum's eyes suddenly widened as she stared at me.
"Mum?" I said.
"Oh," was all she offered back.
"What do you mean, oh? So am I 20 or not?"
"Erm, no, you're 19. Just hang on a second," she said, before disappearing out of my room.
"Just hang on a second?" I repeated in disbelief, my voice going up an octave.
How could I have just lost a year? A whole year of my life. This is crazy.
My mum reappeared a moment later, clutching something in her hand.
"Here," she said, passing it to me.
I opened up the paper to see that it was my birth certificate, only this time it said I was born in 1998.
"How can this one be different?" I asked in disbelief.
"Erm, well, they're fakes," she answered nervously before perching herself on the end of my bed.
"What?" I asked, trying my best to get my head to catch up.
"Well, I never told anyone I was pregnant, in case you turned out to be a werewolf, so I couldn't just go and get you registered. So I got you a fake birth certificate. Only they got the date wrong on the first one, so I had to get another made. I obviously sent the wrong one with you when you were adopted."
I just stared at the paper in front of me in disbelief.
"At least you're not a year older than you thought!" my mum said, giving me a cheesy apologetic smile.
"I suppose," I mumbled, still not sure what to make of it all.
"Ok, I better leave you to get ready. Seb will be here to pick you up in half an hour."
"Thanks mum," I said, my mind still reeling.
My mum froze for a second then her face lit up with joy.
"It's my pleasure," she said before walking out of my room.
It took me a moment, but then I realised. I'd just called her 'mum'.
I shook my head and buried my face in my hands. It was my first day at work today and my brain was already mangled.
How could I only be 19? That meant that I was only 2 when I was adopted, not 3. And it means that I was a year younger than everyone in my class. I went to school a whole year too early!
And then when I thought I was 18 I was only 17.
Shit! I sat up abruptly, realisation hitting me like a ton of bricks.
I was 17.
I was 17 when I met Casper.
I was 17 when we touched.
I wasn't even old enough to have had a mate.
Fuck!
I ran my hand through my hair, thinking of how this simple mistake had shaped my entire life. All that time I thought I was Casper's mate, I wasn't even old enough to have a mate! I felt so foolish.
I suppose on the other hand technically I hadn't ruled him out as my mate either.
Only he wasn't. It was too late. He was married to Emily now.
I face planted onto my pillow and let out a muffled groan of frustration.
Life just wasn't fair. I guess I should have worked that one out by now.
I took a deep breath and pulled myself out of bed, heading off to take a shower.
Work. I just needed to focus on work.
I glanced round Sebastian's office. I'd never been in a place like this before.
We were on the 8th floor of a modern tower block and the wall was made from floor to ceiling glass, looking out over the city.
There wasn't much in the office. I guess you could call it the minimalistic look. Just a desk, and one small bookcase. Oh and a plastic looking potted plant.
I couldn't have felt more out of place. I felt a pang in my chest and realised I suddenly missed that green plastic chair.
"So, Joe," Sebastian started, "I've had glowing reports from Bob, saying you sailed through training and made a real difference down there. How did you find it?"
"Yeah, it was good. They're a good team," I replied.
"Super, it's going to be really beneficial to have you on board."
"You mean because I'm a werewolf?" I asked.
Sebastian laughed, "not just because of that, but it helps. And we've never had a wolf on our team with your capabilities before."
I knew he was referring to my wolf, and its strength. I had met a few other werewolves in the team down south where I was sent for training, but none of them were really born for fighting. Their strengths lay elsewhere.
"So, I'm looking to set up another division in Grangehead, and I was hoping you might head up the new team. What do you think?"
I blinked rapidly a few times.
"Seriously me? Lead a whole team?"
"Yeah, why not? Your incredibly capable, a natural born leader, and you know exactly what we're dealing with."
I swallowed hard, amazed that I was going to be trusted with such a responsibility.
Sebastian had been putting together small teams of humans and werewolves to start to deal with crimes both against and commited by werewolves.
He'd told me that werewolves had been on the government's radar for quite some time, and he, having some knowledge of werewolves, had been given the task of setting up a whole crime division specifically to deal with this difficult subject.
The government didn't want the general public to know of our existence, as they were still convinced it would cause fear and panic, and as they were not sure of our intentions and capabilities, the last thing they wanted was for us to be cornered into attacking back.
Sebastian was currently focussing on several groups of active hunters that he wanted to take down.
"So what do you say?" he said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Grangehead? Where's that?" I asked.
"It's about 2 hours drive from here. I've already sorted out an apartment for you to stay in, and I figured it's not too far away so you can easily come and visit your mum."
"Right," I said, my head swimming with yet more information. "So when do I start?"
"Well I've arranged for some of your new team to come and meet us here in about an hour. Then we'll drive over after lunch and show you around your new headquarters. And don't worry, it's nothing like this office. I'm hoping you feel much more at home there."
"Great," I said, nodding along.
I may have just lost a year of my life, but I'd never felt my life moving so quickly before. I just hoped I could keep up.
My team turned out to be made up of 5 humans and 1 other werewolf. His name was Tom and he was mated to a human, and had two children who were also human so he had chosen to move away from his pack to be with his family.
I was amazed to find out just how many werewolves actually lived among humans. There was a whole underground network of us, passing information around and helping other werewolves to fit into society.
Our team base was a small portacabin on the edge of town. It was set up to look like a scrap merchant's yard.
We gathered round the table and watched as Sebastian pulled out some photographs from an envelope.
"These are the leaders of 'Flow'. I've been tracking the hunters for some time now and I firmly believe that if we can take down these ring leaders, we will make a real impact on the number of wolves that are killed.
"Flow?" Tom asked.
"Yes, it's wolf spelt backwards."
We all groaned.
I looked at the pictures as Sebastian placed them on the table in front of me.
"I know him," I said, pointing at a rather tubby man with a scar down his left cheek.
"That's Fitz, full name Arthur Fitzgerald. He's the founder of the group. His nephew Kane," he said, pointing to a photo of a younger man, probably in his thirties, with long greasy looking black hair tied back into a rat's tail, "has been instrumental in getting the group to the size that it is. He set up the web site and handles all the groups social media accounts. He often posts fake stories to try to get people to join in their cause."
Sebastian turned to me and asked, "How do you know him?"
I shrugged. "I came across him and a group of hunters while I was living on Hamley Moors. They set up some traps. Nasty ones too. The type that would snap your leg off of you stood in them. Oh, and I've seen her too," I said picking up a picture of a stern looking woman with hair dyed a bright shade of red, pulled back into a tight ponytail. "She was especially cruel."
"Yes, they don't hold back with their methods," Sebastian said, grimacing a little. "That's Kane's partner Sylvie."
I picked up the photograph of Fitz and studied it intently. It wasn't a face you could easily love. He had a permanent scowl, and his front tooth was chipped, making him look like he had a fang instead of a tooth.
I shivered slightly, then put the photo back down.
"And how exactly are we meant to take them down?" Sonya, the only female in the group asked.
"We stalk their every move," Sebastian answered, "I want to know where they are, what they are doing and who they are associating with at all times. We need to know where they are going to strike next and when."
"So we're going to catch them in the act then?" Tom asked.
"Yes," Sebastian said curtly.
"So we're going to use some wolf pack like bait?" I asked, even though I knew the answer to that question already.
"It's the only way," Sebastian said, showing no trace of emotion.
"Hang on a second," said Tom. "What if they're going to target my pack? I'm not going to stand by and watch it happen."
"You won't have to if you do your job properly," Sebastian said, showing no sign of backing down. "If we know where and when they are going to strike, we'll be ready for them."
"That's a bit risky," Tom mumbled back.
"We all risk things every day we are in this job," Sebastian argued, "sometimes the risks are worth it for the final goal."
Tom didn't say anything further, but I could tell he wasn't too pleased.
I looked back at the photograph of Fitz. I didn't care what it took. I was going to take that bastard down.