Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/3884779.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      F/F, F/M, M/M
  Fandom:
      Supernatural_RPF
  Relationship:
      Jensen_Ackles/Jared_Padalecki, Samantha_Ferris/Jeffrey_Dean_Morgan, Steve
      Carlson/Christian_Kane, Sophia_Bush/Chad_Michael_Murray, Michael
      Rosenbaum/Tom_Welling, Genevieve_Cortese/Danneel_Harris
  Character:
      Jensen_Ackles, Jared_Padalecki, Sophia_Bush, Samantha_Ferris, Jeffrey
      Dean_Morgan, Chad_Michael_Murray, Steve_Carlson, Christian_Kane, Michael
      Rosenbaum, David_Boreanaz, Tom_Welling, Misha_Collins, Alona_Tal, Matt
      Cohen, Sebastian_Roché, Ty_Olsson, Brock_Kelly, Original_Female_Character
      (s), Original_Male_Character(s)
  Additional Tags:
      Alpha/Beta/Omega_Dynamics, Animal_Traits, Alternate_Universe_-_Werewolf,
      Violence, Mpreg, Explicit_Sexual_Content, Angsty_Schmoop, Fluff_and
      Angst, Minor_Character_Death, Swearing, Sexual_Assault, Jealousy, War,
      Attempted_Rape/Non-Con, Attempted_Sexual_Assault, Attempted_Seduction,
      Knotting, Mating_Cycles/In_Heat, Pack_Dynamics, Discrimination, Were-
      Creatures, Mates, Bonding
  Stats:
      Published: 2015-05-05 Updated: 2015-07-13 Chapters: 6/? Words: 26859
****** Imprints Of Love ******
by Twin_Feathers
Summary
     When the notorious alpha of the Black Pack finds an abandoned cub in
     the woods and decides to adopt it, nobody expects for the little were
     pup to weasel its way into the heart of the alpha’s rebellious son
     and heir-Jared. Now, almost twenty years after fate brought them
     together, Jensen and Jared are madly in love and freshly mated, but
     when a series of mysterious deaths occur and somebody from Jensen's
     past reappears in his life- will their bond be strong enough to
     survive the obstacles thrown at them?
Notes
     Disclaimer: I don’t own anything. The story is all made up for
     enjoyment; no money is being made with it. The characters mentioned
     in the story belong to themselves and their actual lives have NO
     connection to the story-related content. Everything in this story is
     completely made up by the author.
     Warnings: Mpreg, M/M, RPF, animal traits, graphic descriptions of
     sexual content, graphic descriptions of violence, vulgar language,
     mentions of past abuse, racism, discrimination and sexual harassment.
***** Chapter 1 *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
===============================================================================
                                        
                                        
[aefa]  
                                        
                                    [aegag]
 
 
 
Jared awakes to the sound of cracking thunder.
The familiar weight of Jensen’s body is sprawled out on top of him and Jared
relaxes at the way his mate’s heart is beating in synch with his own from where
their chests are pressed together.
A strobe of lightning illuminates the otherwise pitch black den for a second,
casting a silver shine on his mate’s relaxed features and Jared leans down to
brush a tender kiss against the curve of his lover’s neck.
“Hmm…” Jensen's eyes flutter open in a sweep of thick lashes. “Feels good.”
Rain is lashing against the cave, drumming steadily against the hard granite
rock that shields them from the storm.
Jared smiles against his mate’s skin, his lips tingling with anticipation.
“Yeah?” he asks, running his fingers tenderly down the other man’s back, along
the slope of his spine.
“How good?”
He dips his fingers into his husband’s crack, gently stroking a thumb over the
sensitive skin there and eliciting a sleepy moan in return.
Jensen’s eyes open at half-mast, pupils dilated in arousal and pouty lips
parted to let out hot puffs of air.
He’s so goddamn’ gorgeous like this.
Jared can’t help but think he’s the luckiest man on the planet, having a mate
as stunningly beautiful as his.
Jensen licks his lips, pink tongue tracing his plush mouth and Jared has to
bite back a groan at the sight.
“Good enough to make me wanna ride you even though I could be sleeping right
now,” his mate breathes out against his neck, sending a shiver down his spine.
And that’s all it takes for Jared to lose control.
With a husky growl, he grabs Jensen’s hips and flips him over so that Jared is
looming over the blonde man, their faces only inches apart, their noses almost
touching.
Jensen chuckles, squirming beneath his mate’s body, proud of himself for having
caused Jared's control to slip. “Always knew you were a Neanderthal…” Jensen
jibes, pushing playfully against Jared’s muscled chest in a half attempt to
shove him off.
Jared shuts him up by capturing Jensen’s lips in a fiery kiss, not giving the
other man any time to catch his breath as he starts to plunder his
mouth. “Should have thought about that, before you mated me,” he pants against
Jensen’s slick mouth when they break apart.
His index finger slips down to find Jensen’s leaking hole, rubbing teasing
circles around the man’s puffy entrance.
Jensen must be sore from their numerous lovemaking sessions from the night
before, and yet here he is, begging for more.
“I'm not complaining,” Jensen gasps into his mouth when a first finger breaches
him, eyes fluttering closed and hips bucking down to grind into his alpha’s
touch.
Jared is taking his sweet time with prepping him and when he leans down to run
his tongue over his mate’s nipples, Jensen almost loses it. “More…need more,”
Jensen rasps out desperately and breaks out into a sinful moan when Jared adds
another finger, stretching him wider.
“God, Jay… need you so bad—“
“Boys! You in there?” a female voice rings out through the confines of the cave
and both men freeze at the sound of approaching footsteps.
Jared feels like somebody just poured a bucket of ice water over his head.
He should have scented the approaching beta from miles away, but he had been
too wrapped up in his mate’s enticing odor to notice her entering their den.
“Shitshitshit,“ Jensen is pushing frantically against Jared’s bare chest,
trying to shove him off and cover himself up with the fluffy fur they are lying
on.
Jared’s finger slips out of his hole with an obscene pop and Jensen hisses at
the loss, trying to roll out under his mate’s weight.
Too late.
“Guys? Jeffrey sent me to—“ The words falter when Samantha suddenly appears in
the doorway, eyes widening almost comically at the sight of the two rumpled
looking, naked men that are weirdly entwined with each other on the bed.
There is a split second of silence before she realizes what she’s just
unwittingly walked in on before she bursts out in laughter. “I swear one of
these days the two of you are going to get stuck if you keep going like that.“
“Mom!” Jared exclaims, completely bewildered, while Jensen hides his own
mortification by burying his face in his lover’s sweaty neck. “Oh god. Kill me
now…”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Jensen,” Samantha chides with a roll of her eyes. “I’ve
given you baths when you were a baby. There’s nothing on you I haven’t seen
before.“
“Jesus, Mom—“ Jared sputters, gently prying off his mate’s hands and getting up
from the ground, snatching his trousers from where he’d dropped them over the
backrest of their leather couch. “Could you possibly make this situation any
more awkward?”
Sam shrugs her shoulders, a suggestive smile playing on her lips. “Don’t tempt
me, honey or I’ll tell you all about how your father and I spent the first
months of our mateship together, because that man was just full of stamina, let
me tell you—“
“Stop it,” Jensen groans. “Why do you have to torture us like that?”
“You didn’t have to take that question literally, you know?” Jared tucks up the
zipper of his jeans with an uncomfortable wince, dick still half hard and
bulging beneath the fabric.
Awesome. Now he will have to run around with blue balls for the rest of the
day.
He hopes his mom is happy after having successfully bereft him of his morning
sex and dented his manly pride on top of that.
Judging from the amused look on her face, he doesn’t doubt that she is though.
Sam chuckles; lifting her palms up in surrender.
“Alright, sorry guys. I’ll leave you to yourselves. Just—“ she throws Jared a
pointed look. “Don’t forget that you’ve agreed to accompany your father on his
walk through the pride grounds.”
“Yeah, I’m on my way.”
Sam is already in the doorway when she turns once again. “Oh and he said he
wanted you in your wolf form, so you might as well get out of these jeans… I’m
not gonna sew them back together if you rip them. Although, thinking about it-
you’ve got a husband to do these things for you now.”
Jensen throws her a glower and Sam just winks at him in response, before
slipping out and leaving them alone.
“Please tell me all of that was just a bad dream,” Jensen sighs when she’s
gone, rubbing a hand over his face and then driving it through his dirty blonde
hair, twirling a few of the golden strands through his fingers.
He looks like some kind of debauched angel, lips bright red and cheeks flushed
in embarrassment, torso still covered in a fine sheen of sweat from their
earlier make-out session.
Jared walks over and pulls Jensen up, resting both hands on his mate’s hip
possessively as he holds him steady.
“Sam doesn’t mind. She’s caught us before, remember? When you were sixteen...”
“The laundromat…” Jensen whispers reverently, eyes crinkling at the memory.
He’d been bent over the washing machine, boxers pulled down right below his
ass, Jared’s hot breath panting against the shell of his ear. The machine had
been on hot-water cycle, vibrating beneath him and sending his nerves into
overdrive as he was getting plundered from behind.
Sam had found them an hour later, cuddled up together on a pile of dirty
clothes, naked and sweaty, Jared’s knot still tightly lodged inside Jensen and
spurting cum.
She had never actually mentioned that particular incident, but when they woke
up later that day, they had been covered by a fluffy blanket and found a box of
condoms with a sticky note on top sitting in the center of the laundry room.

‘I’ll let this one slide- you ever fuck without wrapping it up again and I’ll
tell Jeffrey. No kidding. Xx Sam.

Ps. Oh and don’t think this will get you out of washing duty…’

Jared laughs at the memory, tucking a blond strand of hair behind Jensen’s ear.
“Jesus, we were such kids back then… you could have gotten pregnant that
night,” Jared snorts, shaking his head. “Jeffrey would have killed me.”
“Don’t be dramatic,” Jensen chuckles, brushing his lips against his husband’s
temple and nosing at the brown curls of hair that fell into Jared’s face. “It
was the first time we felt our mating call. He would have understood.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Jared sighs, knowing his father would have
been bitterly disappointed if his oldest son- and the future Pack Alpha- had
ended up knocking a 16-year-old Jensen up because he wasn’t able to think with
his upstairs brain for long enough to get a condom on.
Then again, Jeff gets disappointed very easily by Jared.
Trying to not let himself get dragged down by the feeling of inadequacy and the
awareness of his own shortcomings, Jared takes a deep breath- closing his eyes
when the distinct scent of Jensen’s pheromones hits him full force, making his
knees go weak.
“Smell so fucking good, baby.“
Jensen presses a flat palm against Jared’s chest, pushing him back.
‘You gotta get going’ he sends out through their bond, the words loud and clear
in Jared’s mind even though Jensen’s lips had never moved. ‘Jeffrey will blow a
fuse if you’re late again.’
Jared smiles a million-watt smile, feeling all of his mate’s emotions, hearing
every single thought in his mind as their bond opens up between them.
This is what they’ve been missing out on for six years. This is what it feels
like to be mated and to dedicate every ounce of your soul, mind, heart and body
to another person.
He leans forward to press one last lingering kiss against Jensen’s lips. “I’m
gonna miss you.”
"Sap," Jensen fondly rolls his eyes, but leans into him anyway. “It’s only for
a couple of hours. Besides, you can come visit me at the daycare when you’re
finished. We could go grab lunch or something.”
“Or something,” Jared growls with a teasing nip to his mate’s lower lip before
reluctantly pulling away and walking out of the cave.
It was going to be a long day.
 
 [ewrgare]
Chapter End Notes
     Hey guys! So I was planning to make a Verse out of this story but
     I'll only do so if you guys are interested. Please drop me a note if
     you liked the story so far ;) thanks for reading and reviewing!
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
                                        
[rgerg]
 
 
As it turns out, Jared does end up coming too late.
He wants to blame his mate for being too damn’ hot and distracting but he has a
feeling that excuse won’t work too well on his father.
Jeffrey is waiting for him at the foot of Blackdridge Mountain, his tall form
laid out on the cool stone, muscles bulging visibly beneath the black matted
fur of his body.
The high alpha is still imposing- even for a wolf his age, but Jared knows that
his father is no longer as quick on his feet as he used to be.
Sure, Jeff is still quite capable of fighting his own battles and he can be
lethal when the occasion calls for it, but secretly Jared sometimes wonders how
long it will take for the matured wolf to realize that he’s getting older,
slower… and ultimately more prone to attacks of opposing wolf packs.
It won’t be long before another alpha recognizes the early signs of an aging
pack leader and will try to claim his position by challenging him in a deadly
combat.
Of course, Jared will never let that happen.
As Jeffrey’s only son and heir it is his right to take up the alpha pack status
if anything ever was to happen to his father, but if an adversary alpha was to
challenge his father in combat and win over him before Jared could step up as
his rightful successor, the consequences would be unthinkable.
“You’re late…” Jeffrey accuses. “Again.”
There’s a hint of disapproval in his voice, laced with an age-old parental
weariness.
“Yeah, uhm, about that—“ Jared struggles with the words, avoiding the whole
‘getting-caught-fiasco’ because he most certainly doesn’t need his father to
know about Samantha walking in on them.
“I still remember what it’s like to be young and in love, Jared,” Jeffrey sighs
with a reminiscent glimmer in his eyes. “But as future pack alpha you won’t
have the same freedom as other wolves your age do. You’ll have to learn to be
more responsible…to be a fitting role model for younger generations."
After a second of heavy silence, he adds "And you’ll have to learn to put a
sock on the doorknob.”
Jared groans in mortification.
Great.
He should have known his mother wouldn’t be able to keep that little story to
herself.
Trying to ignore the amused sparkle in his father’s eyes, Jared stares intently
at his own paws. “Believe me I got the memo. Can we skip the lecturing and get
a move on?”
“Watch your tone,” Jeffrey rebukes with no real heat in his voice. He’s not out
for a fight, Jared realizes- his father is merely putting him in his place,
showing him that he’s still the high alpha and won't tolerate his
disrespectfulness.
“Yes, sir…” Jared murmurs, sounding more exasperated than apologetic. 
“You've got a big mouth on you,” Jeff unfurls, rolling up onto his haunches.
“You got that from your mother. It’s gonna get you in trouble at some point.”
“Trouble’s my middle name,” Jared murmurs, his movements graceful and slow as
he starts padding through the woods, moving out from the rock spur that
shelters them from the rain.
“And what about Jensen?” his father asks in a deep timbre striding through the
forest by his side, their furs blending with the shaded colors of the trees and
bushes around them as heavy raindrops keep falling from the darkened sky above
their head. "You willing to get him into trouble, too?"
Jared tenses, teeth grinding together at the way his father is trying to push
his buttons. 
"What exactly is it that you're trying to say here, dad?" he challenges,
stopping in his tracks and waiting for his father to do the same. His eyes are
flashing a dangerous shade of steel gray and his inner wolf is riled up with
fury at the silent implication of his father's words.
The alpha barely shoots him a glance over his shoulder, before letting out a
deep exhale."You're no longer the teenage cub you used to be, Jared... you have
a mate now, a mate who'd follow you to the moon and back without a second's
hesitation. So you might be willing to make rash decisions for yourself, but
you better think twice before doing something that could put Jensen in danger."
"Are you saying I'd willingly sit by and watch him get hurt?" he snarls,
hackles rising with indignation. "That I'd somehow jeopardize his life by being
irresponsible and childish- that I'm not apt to have a mate? Is that what
you're saying?"
Jeffrey shakes his head, ducking under a low-hanging branch without slowing his
pace. "No, Jared. I'm just... I just want you to be prepared for what's to
come... being pack alpha isn't going to be easy. I want you to be ready when
it's time."
Jared's nostrils are flaring, but he forces himself to swallow down his anger
and follow his father's footsteps. 
Twenty-five years and still nobody can get to him the way his father does. 
"How's Jensen doing, anyway?" Jeff changes the topic. "Did he recover well from
the mating?"
“He’s doing great,” Jared gives back curtly, unwilling to poison the memory of
their perfect mating with his somber mood.
Heavy rain continues to pour from the darkened sky as they move deeper into the
forest.
He shakes his head, splashing water droplets off his pelt in a high arch, only
to be soaked again the next second.
“We both are, actually,” he adds, aware of the warmth spreading inside his
chest at the truth of his statement. For a moment, the memory of Jensen is
enough to brighten up his whole world.
“That’s good,” He can feel his father’s relief over their pack bond, the
positive energy coming off of Jeffrey in large waves and clearing the tension-
filled air between them.
His father might have had his concerns about Jensen at first, but by now he
seems to have warmed up to the thought of the two of them being together.
“I’m glad to hear that you’re happy,” Jeff softly adds, his fur taking on a
silver glimmer when a few sun rays break through the clouds and branches of the
towering trees around them.
“Did his mating bite heal well? It can get infected very easily. Especially
when he’s around the pups all the time—“
“Dad,” Jared interrupts his father with a hard edge to his voice. He knows the
alpha only means well, but this is taking things too far. 
“He’s doing just fine, believe me. I licked it clean and the wound has scarred
over. I wouldn't be strolling through the woods with you if he wasn't.”
He jumps on a fallen tree trunk that has lodged itself in their path and
settles a piercing gaze on his father’s striding form.
“Alright,” Jeff hums in agreement, instantly noticing the protectiveness in
Jared’s tone and backing off a little.
The mating bite is one of the oldest and most important werewolf traditions-
meant to put a visible and irreversible claim on your mate that would show the
outside world that he or she was taken.
It’s known to be a quite painful process and can sometimes weaken the bitten
wolf for days or even weeks after the coupling if the wound isn’t properly
cleaned. But Jeff should have known better than to assume Jared would ever let
Jensen get hurt that way.
That boy might have serious troubles with punctuality and that big mouth of
his, but if Jeffrey knows one thing for sure it’s that his son would do
anything to ensure his mate’s safety if given the chance.
What he'd said earlier about Jared getting Jensen in trouble- it was unfair
really, because deep down inside Jeffrey knew his son would die a thousand
times over before he'd ever do anything that could harm his mate.
Jensen is the kid’s whole world.
That much is obvious.
But that's all the more reason why Jared needs to finally get that rebellious
streak out of him and grow up.
It was time for him to take on some responsibility for his life.
Maybe Jeff had just chosen the wrong time to embark on the topic.
“What about that cave of yours? Are you finished furnishing?”
They have only just moved into their own den a couple of weeks ago and up until
last Friday, Jensen and him didn’t have anything but a bed and rickety dinner
table to call their own.
Now, the place is filled with both of their stuff, stacks of DVD’s and CD’s and
books and fuzzy rugs to cover the cool granite floor… it’s their home. His and
Jensen’s and Jared has never felt more comfortable anywhere else in the world.
“We’re fine. It’s all set, I told you and Mom to come by for dinner sometime,”
Jared trails off invitingly, knowing his father probably won’t have the time to
comply with his request anyway.
Knowing Jeff, he will be too busy roaming the outskirts of the Pride grounds
for potential intruders or something along the lines of that.
His father has never really known how to put his own family above his job as
the High Alpha.
“Yeah maybe, I’d really like that, son.”
Empty promises.
Jared knows better than to get his hopes up. He can’t even remember the last
time his father has made small talk with him the way he does now.
Nowadays they barely even see each other outside of pack business.
The thought makes his eyes narrow a little in suspicion, because surely there
must be a reason his father had asked him to come join him for his morning walk
and Jared isn’t naïve enough to think it is because the alpha is interested in
his mateship.
They weave around trees until they reach a clearing that overlooks Blackdridge
Mountain and the nearby river- the lusciously green strips of land in between
laced by the outskirts of the forest.
It’s breathtaking.
“Look at this,” the alpha whispers in absolute awe as if the beauty of their
own pride grounds has never occurred to him before. As if he doesn’t walk up
here to look at it every single day. “All of this will be yours one day.”
Jared swallows, feeling the phantom weight of responsibility press down on his
shoulders.
“The people here- every single wolf in this pack will look up at you for
guidance and expect you to take care of them in return- to make the right
decisions for the pack… they’ll be willing to give their lives for you and
Jensen just like they’d give their lives for me and your mother now.”
Was that supposed to be encouraging?
“I’d rather not have anybody die for me…” Jared gruffly responds, the mere
thought of anybody in their pride losing their lives because of him making him
sick.
“I won’t let them.”
"That’s not for you to decide,” Jeff responds with a shake of his head. “Their
steadfast loyalty and trust should honor you. It’s their way of showing
respect.”
“But I don’t need anybody's respect,” Jared protests. “I only need them to be
alive and healthy.”
“One day you’ll understand… that these things go hand in hand. You can’t have
one without the other,” Jeff explains, sounding tired.
He skids to a halt at the edge of the clearing, his huge body ducked low to the
ground, silver muzzle pointed towards the wind.
He scents a group of nearby hunters, humans, roaming the edge of their grounds,
but they haven’t trespassed the borders yet.
Jared feels their presence as well and tenses, whole body going rigid at the
intruding presence of strangers. "Poachers this early on in the year?"
The inherent wrongness of their voices and footsteps coming closer to their
pack territory is making his hackles rise in discomfort and tension.
"Yeah..." Jeff gruffly confirms. "They've been sneaking around the grounds for
a while now... but I think they don't know what they've stumbled across... I
guess it's time to give them a warning."
Jared nods, eyes roaming the green valley beneath him as he scans the area for
any sight of the strangers.
“You wanna do the honors?” Jeff's voice makes him look up, eyes widened in
disbelief.
“A-are you serious?”
“Go ahead,” Jeff chuckles softly, small smile playing around his lips. “It’s
about time you tried it out…”
Jared grins, white teeth elongating as he throws his head back and lets a
thundering howl tear from his throat, waiting for the rest of the pack to chime
in.
He’s proclaiming his territory, as is customary for the pack alpha whenever
someone dares to come to close to their grounds.
Jeffrey has never let him do it before.
The howl gets louder and louder with each wolf that chimes in and Jared
recognized all of their voices, feels their spirits connect with his own in an
overwhelming wave of emotions and thoughts.
When he opens his eyes again he’s swaying with the overwhelming sense of
community and the Poachers are veering away from the pride grounds.
This is his family.
His pack.
His responsibility.

He's gonna defend it with his soul and blood.
No matter what lies ahead of them.
 
[wefqwef]
 
“Lookit, Guys!” Chad throws his arms in the air as soon as Jensen steps through
the daycare. “Look who’s finally been able to rip himself off his mate’s knot
and come join us at work…”
Jensen flips his friend off with a ‘not-amused’ expression and Chad chuckles,
shaking his head.
“Leave him alone, dickhead,” Sophia chides, passing Chad by and pulling Jensen
into a tight hug. “Thank god you’re back. Didn’t know how much longer I’d have
survived with him all on my own,” she whispers into his ear, causing Jensen to
chuckle.
“You are aware that you’re stuck with him for life, right?”
“Guys, I’m right here…” Chad cut in from the side, looking mildly annoyed at
their exchange. “At least wait until I’m gone before you start conspiring
against me.”
Jensen shakes his head and pulls out of his battered leather jacket, throwing
it over the backrest of his office chair. The worn leather is one of Jared’s
old hand-me-downs, which is also the reason why Jensen always wears it, even
though it sits a little loose around his shoulders and has definitely seen
better days.
His gray shirt rides up a little on his hip from the movement, exposing a trail
of bites and hickeys along the cut of his hip and Sophie wolf whistles at the
sight.
"Mama likes..." Sophia teases with a playful wink and Jensen blushes a deep
shade of scarlet, hastily shoving the shirt back in place to cover the marks
up.  
“Get a grip, woman. He’s already scored the pack alpha- no need to stroke his
ego any further than that…” Chad grumbles, pulling her in from the side and
Jensen rolls his eyes at his friends’ antics.
“How about you both get a grip and let me know what I’ve been missing out on
these past few days?” he suggests, trying to get serious.
It's not like he minds his friends’ playful joking but despite the fact that
he’d just spent one of the best weeks of his whole life (being mated was fan-
freaking-tastic), he couldn’t help but miss his job a little while being on
holiday and he was motivated to get right to work now that he was back.
He had always had a nurturing side, but taking care of the cubs and watching
them grow has filled a hole inside of him he hadn’t even been aware of having.
Now after almost four years of working here, Jensen can’t imagine ever doing
anything else. 
He loves his job, loves teaching the kids how to prowl and pounce and growl and
play with the other cubs in the group.
He loves to see them shift for the very first time in their lives and to hear
their inarticulate thoughts when they tentatively start bonding with the pack
spirit.
It’s a miraculous thing to witness and Jensen feels very lucky that he’s been
given the privilege to be close to the pride’s most precious members- the
future generation of the Black Pack.
Protecting the cubs and ensuring that they’re fine is something that he takes
great pride in, but there’s a huge responsibility that comes with the job too.
They are three people working in the daycare- Sophia, Chris and himself. Chad
sometimes helps out when somebody’s on sick-leave or on holiday but for the
greater part of the year it’s just the three of them.
Sophia and he are responsible for the kids while Chris is mostly just there for
protection.
The bulky wolf is one of the core alphas- the self-proclaimed safety guards of
their pack and since the wee ones can hardly defend themselves in a battle,
they always make sure to have one or more alphas around to protect them in case
of emergency.
It isn’t unheard of for adversary packs to attack and ambush the children of
their enemies in order to land an incredibly painful blow from which the
attacked pride would most certainly never recover.
The Black Pack doesn’t have a lot of enemies- given their preceding reputation
and strength in numbers but the mere thought that anything like that could ever
happen to them is utterly unbearable.
Jensen shivers, eyes fixated on a spot on the floor in the distance until
Sophia’s concerned voice rips him out of his gloomy thoughts.
“Hey, you okay?” she gently nudges him from the side, resting a comforting hand
against his back and giving him a questioning frown.
Jensen swallows, shaking his earlier thoughts off and refocusing on his daily
tasks. “Fine… is Chris already here?”
“Yeah, he’s outside with the kids. You sure you’re alright, you look a little
pale, Beta…”
Beta.
It is his new pack status. 
Jensen is born omega, has never really known how anything else. 
His physique is visibly different from most of the other pack members, being
noticeably smaller and more slender than all the other alphas and betas in
their pride- especially when in his wolf form. 
But by definition, his status has gone from “Omega” to “Pack Beta” the second
Jared had bitten his neck, drawing blood in the sacred mating ritual that has
connected their spirits and souls forever.
One day his mate will take over his father’s job as the leader of the pack and
Jensen will have to stand by his side- doing everything in his might to protect
the pack.
Jensen hopes this day won’t come anytime soon, though.
He’s kind of afraid that his friends and family will make a big deal of it and
treat him differently when the time comes. Some of them have already started
looking at him differently- calling him by his new pack status instead of his
name and Jensen doesn’t like it.
“I’m not pack beta yet, Sophia. And even if I was—“ Jensen shakes his head and
exhales softly. “I just want you to treat me as a friend. None of this whole-
respectful, worshipping crap, okay?”
“But you’re Jared’s mate now,” Sophia protests as if that fact would change who
Jensen was- what he was.
“So?” Jensen asks, snatching a stack of paperwork from his office desk and
sifting through the documents in look for any letters or notes that have
arrived in his absence. “I’ve been with Jared for basically all my life,
remember? We’ve been together since before you and Chad even knew each other…
it shouldn’t come to a surprise that we mated—“
Chad rips the documents from Jensen’s hands and dumps them carelessly on a
nearby table.
“Hey!” Jensen growls in annoyance but when both of his friends just stare at
him with disapproving frowns, he squirms a little in his seat.
“Believe me, you didn’t surprise anyone, Jesus… the two of you are like
conjoined at the hip or something…”
“The fact that you’ve been together for so long has nothing to do with the fact
that you’re going to be pack beta one day,” Sophia explains, crossing her arms
in front of her chest. “It makes you more than a friend or a mate or an Omega-
it makes you one of the most important members of this pack because you’ll bear
the alpha’s children.”
Jensen runs a hand over his face and sighs. “See- that’s exactly why we waited
so long with the mating… I knew you guys would make a big deal out of this
when—“
Somebody clears his voice and Jensen’s rant breaks off as he turns his head to
find Chris standing in the doorway, leaning casually against the cool stone.
He’s barefoot and not wearing a shirt, long hair falling over his shoulders in
thick, curly waves.
If Jensen didn’t know any better he’d say Chris must have come in his wolf form
and shifted after his daily morning walk around the premises of the daycare
center.
“You done with your little speech there, Princess?” the man rasps in a deep
voice. “Cause there’s a few kids out there that can’t wait to see you…”
Jensen pulls Chris into a manly half-hug. “Thanks, man. Good to see you.”
“Good to have you back. Listen up, before you go out there… there’s one more
thing you should know—“
Chris hesitates and from the way he’s frowning and biting his lower lip Jensen
can tell that whatever comes next won’t be good.
He shoots a look towards Sophia and Chad, eyebrows drawn up demandingly.
“Alright, spit it out. What’s going on?” 
Sophia pulls out of her mates embrace and sighs heavily, looking oddly guilty
as she walks over to stand before Jensen.
There is more tension-filled silence with Chris and Chad exchanging worried
looks- seemingly having a whole conversation with their eyes.
Sophia just looks apologetic.
What the hell.
“Would somebody please tell me what this is all about?” he demands a bit louder
now and then feels guilty about it the next second, when Sophia’s eyes widen
and she draws back.
Sophie drops her head in submission and Jensen feels like a jerk.
“You remember David?” she asks him in a shaky voice.
The breath catches in Jensen’s throat at the wave of memories that cling to
that name.
He swallows, trying to breathe through the rising sensation of panic in his
chest.
“Why would you ask me that?” he utters, hurt and disbelief bleeding into his
tone.
Sophie knows that he remembers David.
How could he ever forget what that man had done to him when the memories of
what happened between them all these years ago still felt just as painful as
they had felt back then?
Why would Sophia remind him of that bastard?
Chris stepped up from the side protectively as if his closeness could somehow
shield him from the flood of emotions that swamped his heart.
“He came back, Jensen…”
“What?” Jensen exclaims, fingers balled into fists by his side.
It's impossible.
David had been expulsed from the pack for what he’d done and more importantly-
for what he'd tried to do.
And even if he had the nerve to show up again, the core alphas would have
ripped his throat for trespassing their grounds.
“Look,” Chris drives a hand through his hair, pulling the auburn curls back and
away from his face. “We don’t like it either. That bastard found a loophole in
the pack law. He’s got a kid now…”
Jensen’s mouth dries up at the revelation. “Wait a second- did you just
say David Boreanaz has a kid?”
Bastards like him shouldn’t even be let close to children, let alone have any
of their own.
“It gets even worse,” Chad chimes in from the side, looking just as pissed over
the news as the others. “He’s the pup’s only parent, which means we can’t send
him away while the kid’s still so young. Pack law states that—“
“No wolf with a child can ever be rejected when asking for clemency…” Jensen
whispers, having learned the rules within their pride at an early age and never
forgotten.
Any lone wolf who is pregnant or with young offspring and asks the pack for
help needs to be taken up and provided for until the child is old enough to
survive on its own.
It is a dead-end rule.
No way around it.
Jensen closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, steeling himself for what he
dreads is coming next. “I’m guessing that means with have a new addition at the
daycare?”
Because while the mere thought of having David back in the pack almost makes
him physically sick, taking care of that bastard’s kid will also mean the guy
would have an excuse to be around Jensen far more often than he feels ready
for.
Sophia forces a sad little smile onto her lips and that’s all the answer Jensen
needs to know his guess was right.
“Look, man, don’t worry about it, okay?” Chad tries to cheer him up. “Me and
Chris will stick around all the time, making sure the guy doesn’t come close to
you—“
“I don’t need a babysitter, Chad!” Jensen hisses, gritting his teeth in
frustration. He feels his wolf roar up to new life inside him, skin itching
with the need to shift and vent his anger. “It’s the kids you should be worried
about, not me! Or have you all forgotten what that asshole is capable of!”
“Listen, Jeffrey said—“
“Jeffrey knows about this?!”
“Of course he does,” Chris says. “You think we could slide that by him? He’s
pack alpha, Jensen.”
“So why didn’t Jared know? Why didn’t we get informed about this?”
If anything, they should have been told right away. David’s sudden reappearance
concerned them the most after all.
“Jen…” Sophia sighs. “You and Jared were on your honeymoon… Nobody wanted to
bother you with such bad news. Besides, it’s not exactly like it would have
changed anything if you knew—“
Jensen shakes his head, biting his lower lip when realization suddenly sinks
in, heavy like a brick hitting water.
“The walk through the pride grounds…” he murmurs, wanting to slap himself for
not having realized it sooner. “That’s why he wanted Jared to come along. To
tell him about David.”
Chris looked uncomfortable, lips twisted. “Jay’s not gonna take the news well
is he?”
Jensen met the alpha’s gaze with an annoyed eye-roll. “What do you think?”
[sargw4gw]
 
“You did WHAT?!” Jared growls low in his throat, fletching his teeth, muscles
bunching beneath the black fur coating his back.
He must have heard wrong.
His father can’t be serious. 
“You let that fucking pervert back into the pack after what he did to Jensen?!
Are you out of your freaking mind?”
“Watch your tone when you talk to me, boy,” Jeffrey hisses, posture equally as
tense as the two of them face off in the middle of a clearing.
They are mere inches apart from each other, bodies coiled tight and ready to
pounce. Their breathing is heavy, the air around them filled with electricity.
This isn't going to end well.
Jared is ready to tear someone's throat out, his whole body alit with fire. 
He can practically taste the blood on his tongue, can feel the phantom
sensation of oily liquid on his lips.
David is going down for what he did to his mate.
Jared will make sure of it.
 
 [aewfa]
 
Chapter End Notes
     I know, I know... this chapter wasn't exactly filled with action, but
     don't worry... the plot will thicken as we move along... I'd love to
     hear what you thought, so please drop me a few words if you can spare
     the time. Still interested in more? Please let me know!
***** Chapter 3 *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
                                        
 
„Do you seriously think I would have let Boreanaz back into the pack if I was
left with another choice?”
 His father’s voice carries loudly through the woods, sending birds away in a
flutter of wings above their heads.
 “Oh don’t you dare,” Jared’s lip curls into an angry sneer. “That’s a load of
crap and you know it! There’s always a fucking choice when you’re High Alpha!
You could have rejected his plea for leniency and—" 
“And what?!” Jeff snaps. “Let him roam the woods alone and packless with a
frightened pup on his hands? Let the kid die out there without the protection
of a pack because we weren’t willing to take a risk, is that what you’re
suggesting?” 
“Then why not take the kid and send him on his merry way, huh? There’s plenty
of families in this pack who’d have loved to take on a new cub and treat it
like their own—“ 
Jeffrey is so startled by his son’s suggestion that he momentarily forgets how
to breathe, his gray eyes glinting dangerously in the morning sun.
“The pup has already lost its father, Jared,” the older wolf growls low in his
throat. “I’ll be damned before I rip away the only parent it has left and make
it an orphan.”
“And I’ll be damned before I stand by and watch that asshole get anywhere near
an omega in our pack,” Jared shoots back protectively, muscles and tendons
straining beneath his black coat of fur. “Least of all my own,” he adds with a
possessive growl. “He so much as looksat Jensen and all bets are off, I swear
to god.”
“Jared—“  
Whatever his father wants to say next is interrupted by the sound of a panicked
howl somewhere close by.
They both freeze when a lean wolf with a raven-hued pelt and icicle colored
eyes bolts towards them with inhuman speed, his long, muscular legs stretching
far and eating up the miles beneath his paws.
Jared instantly recognizes the tousled fur and thewy body of his friend.
“Rosenbaum…” Jeff whispers, eyes widening in alarm.
The coppery scent of blood fills the air as Mike skids to a halt in front of
them, kicking up decaying leaves from the ground.
The core alpha is panting, visibly out of breath and from the way his chest is
heaving Jared assumes his friend must have been running for a while.
His snout is painted a dark shade of crimson, the oily substance smeared across
his pelt.
“Mike, what the hell happened—are you hurt?” Jared is on him in a second,
sniffing and nudging at the crusted blood on his friend’s fur to check for any
life-threatening injuries.
“Was it the poachers? Did they cross borders?” Jeffrey cuts in from the side,
every inch the protective alpha of the pack in the face of danger. His dark
eyes are gleaming with the promise of pain and death if anybody was stupid
enough to have hurt one of their pack members.
“Michael!” Jeff snaps when the shaking alpha fails to answer his questions
instantly. “Tell us what happened, now!"
“Dad, give him a second to catch his breath,” Jared intervenes, recognizing the
early signs of a full-fledged panic attack and trying to give his friend some
time to recuperate.
He shifts back to his human form without thinking and grasps his friend’s blood
soaked muzzle with bare hands, turning it from side to side for better
examination.
Michael leans into the touch, his huge form swaying lightly as he utters a low
purr of gratitude from the depth of his throat.
It’s okay. Try to calm down, I’ve got your back, brother… 
Michael seems to register the words and takes a deep breath, fighting for
composure, before looking up to meet Jared’s piercing gaze.
The steel gray eyes are brimming with unshed tears and Jared has to hold back a
gasp at the amount of grief he finds in Michael’s ogles.
Jared has never seen his friend this upset before and that’s saying something,
considering that the core alphas are constantly facing danger and have seen
their fair share of cruelties being the pack’s guardians.
“What happened, man?” Jared asks in a low voice, lightly carding his fingers
through the unkempt mane around Mike’s snout in a gesture of comfort and
support.
“Alpha…”
Jared isn’t sure if Mike’s addressing Jeffrey or him but right now it doesn’t
matter.
“I-I was roaming the outskirts—Fuck.It’s not good—there’s, there’s a body—“
“What body?” Jeff cuts him off and Jared swears none of them is breathing in
the second that follows.
“A dead body- they killed him, Alpha… one of our youngest workers at the
clinic.  An omega.”
“Show me,” Jeff’s voice books no room for arguments. His tone is leaden and
unwavering, but Jared can scent the overwhelming fear that simmers beneath
Jeff’s calm demeanor. “Show me where you found him.”
One look at him and Jared knows that Jeff has made the connection in his mind.
There is only one omega that fits Mike’s description.
Brock Kelly.
The kid must have been 15 or 16 tops… practically a pup. And now he was
supposed to be dead?
Jared gulps and exchanges a somber look with his father.
“Take us to him,” he orders. “Now.”
Despite his initial concerns about having David’s son in their group, the day
goes by relatively uneventful.
The cub- Simon- is surprisingly sweet and playful, even though he lost his Papa
at such a young age and is left with David as a role model.
He’s shy and a little introverted, not quite as boisterous and curious as the
other pups in the daycare, but maybe that’s what draws Jensen to him in the
first place.
Sophia and Chris never stray far from Jensen’s side, shooting him concerned
glances when they think he’s not looking and exchanging disapproving looks when
it becomes clear that Jensen and Simon have an instant connection.
They are concerned for him- worried about what might happen if David finds out
and how he could react to the fact that Jensen was taking care of his kid in
his absence.
They only mean well, but Jensen knows how to take care of himself. 
He doesn’t want them to stick their noses into his business.
Truth is, Simon reminds him a little of himself when he was younger… the kid
has this dark shadow around him- a bone-deep solitude that clings to his soul
that Jensen feels eerily familiar with. 
The pup has lived through too much- been through too much and Jensen feels
protective of the little one- wants to shield him from getting hurt any
further.
He can’t voice his thoughts in front of his friends though.
“He’s a sweet kid, Sophia,” is all he tells the caring Beta after she’s pulled
him aside for a ‘talk’ and bestowed him with one of her motherly looks. “No
clue how he managed to turn out that way with a father like his, but I’m not
gonna look a gift horse in the mouth and neither should you...“
“I’m not, listen, Jensen—“ she sighs, looking unsure of how to continue. “Maybe
it would be best if you didn’t spend so much time with him. For all we know
David could have something against it.“
“Well I don’t care,” Jensen gives back, shrugging a shoulder. “That bastard
doesn’t get a say in what I’m doing in my child care. He’s lucky enough Jeff
let him back in after what happened.”
Sophia looks reluctant at first, but after a second’s hesitation she lets it
go, trusting him to do the right thing.
The rest of the day goes by in a flurry. The kids are excited to have Jensen
back; demanding his whole attention for hours on end before Sophia finally
takes pity on him and sends him off to their office for a coffee break.
Jensen hasn’t been in the office for two seconds when he tenses up- sensing an
alpha’s presence and whirling around.
He should have known.
But when he comes face to face with the man that had haunted him in his dreams
for nearly five years now- the man who nearly destroyed his life- Jensen still
isn’t prepared for the encounter.
The coffee mug falls from his fingers, hitting the granite floor with a loud
shatter- pieces of ceramic flying everywhere and hot liquid splashing in all
directions and scalding his feet.
“Jumpy much?” the alpha speaks, predatory grin stretching his lips apart.
David hasn’t changed at all in the past five years. He’s in his human form,
tall and broad-shouldered, well-built, but not quite as defined as Jared or
Jeffrey. His hair has grown longer over the years he was gone, dark curls
framing his angular face in a tousled curtain of bangs.
Jensen’s first instinct is to attack- every fiber of his being tingling with
the urge to pounce David and rip his throat out.
He’s seen that bastard so often in his dreams- the lopsided smirk on his lips,
the dangerous twinkle in his eyes, wanting to wipe that self-satisfied smirk
right off his face, but now that he has David standing in front of him, alive
and real and right there- he can’t even remember how to breathe.
“What are you doing here?” he asks in a hoarse voice, hating himself for the
way his words waver- anger and panic creeping back into his tone despite his
best efforts to hide them.
David unfurls from where he’s leaning against the cave’s entrance, slowly
stepping inside and taking an examining look around the bureau. “Nice office… I
like what you’ve done with the place.”
“Get the hell out, David or I swear I’ll—“
“You’ll what?” David challenges, coming to a halt in front Jensen, chin lifted
as if daring him to make a move. “What are you gonna do, huh?”
Jensen takes a deep breath.
Being an omega it’s his natural instinct to back down when an alpha is raising
his voice or striking an intimidating pose, but he forces himself to hold the
other man’s gaze defiantly, not giving an inch.
He won't show weakness.
Not in front of David.
The alpha chuckles, stepping even closer and backing him up against the wall.
He presses both of his palms against solid stone, bracketing Jensen’s head and
leans in close to whisper against the omega’s ear.
"Looking a little startled there, gorgeous. What's wrong? Not happy to see me?“
Jensen can smell David’s cologne, heavy and overpowering. The man’s scent is
almost enough to turn his stomach.
He closes his eyes and shakes off the sensation of nausea before shoving David
off with a forceful push to his shoulders, sending him stumbling back a few
steps. “Get the hell off me, asshole. The fucking nerve you have to show up
here and corner me like that after the amicability this pack has shown you…"
“ Amicability?” David repeats incredulously, looking about ready to take
Jensen’s head off. “Is that what you call the degrading treatment I’ve been
subject to? Getting exiled by the pack I’ve considered my family?!”
“Do you want me to feel sorry for you after what you’ve done?” Jensen snorted.
“You got what you deserved, David. You can consider yourself lucky that Jeff
didn’t kill you on the spot after he found out.“
Jensen’s breath is knocked from his lungs when David grabs him by the shoulders
and shoves him up against the wall, fingers curling around his wrists to hold
him in place.
Jensen tries to free himself, tugging forcefully at the hands that hold him
captive, but David is too strong and his struggles are getting him nowhere.
“You think I’m afraid of Jeff?” The alpha leans in, pressing his leg between
Jensen’s thighs and forcing them apart, a twinkle of glee in his hooded eyes as
he brushes his lips against Jensen’s throat in the mockery of affection. “I
could crush that beloved High Alpha of yours with my pinkie if I wanted to...”
“Don’t—“ Jensen protests in a low growl when the alpha’s lips brush his throat,
hot pants of air ghosting across the sensitive skin between his neck and
shoulder. David’s laugh sends a shiver down his spine and Jensen nearly loses
it when the alpha slowly noses away the soft fabric of Jensen’s shirt, exposing
the freshly healed mating bite Jared has put on him a few nights before. 
"Get the fuck off me!" His struggles grow more frantic and Jensen’s skin is
prickling with the need to shift, his inner wolf rioting at the prospect of
having another alpha see him like this- at having David this close to the
sacred claiming mark on his neck.
"Jared will kill you for this—"
“Jared Fucking Padalecki..." David spits the name out as if it was something
poisonous. "I could smell him on you the second I set foot on the pride
grounds. Could scent his claim on you even from miles away. It's ridiculous
really, how that overgrown puppy was stupid enough to get himself tied to a
cheap whore like y—“
Before David gets a chance to finish his sentence, Jensen head-butts the man
directly in the face and hits him hard enough to send him flying back with a
shocked grunt of pain.
Not giving David a chance to recover, Jensen follows his attack with a mean
right hook to the flailing man’s chin, sending him to the ground in a flying
heap of bones.
The alpha’s hands shoot up to where Jensen must have hit his nose- blood
gushing freely from the wound and Jensen’s heart is beating so fast he thinks
it will crack his ribs.
“You don’t ever come close to me again or I’ll tear you to shreds, you hear
me?” Jensen demands in a low hiss of anger, whole body shaking with adrenaline.
David looks up at him, expression murderous.
“You’re worthless, Snow. You’re nothing but a freak that sneaked its way into
the core of this pack to soil an immaculate bloodline with your genes. Jared
may be deceived by your tight little ass and these cock-sucking lips of yours,
but he’ll come to his senses soon enough. Just you wait and see…”
By the end of his speech, Jensen’s shaking all over, fingers clenched into
fists by his side and eyes brimming.
He feels like he’s a young pup again- nine or ten years young and naïve and so
very alone, getting pushed around by the rest of the kids in the pack because
he looks different.
 
 
“Look at his fur!” Tom shrieks, circling Jensen with disgust written all over
his face. It’s the first day of were school and Jensen’s spent nearly all of
his breaks locked up in the bathroom to flee the other kids’ accusing stares
and hateful words.
They have cornered him after his last class and thrown him into one of the
muddy puddles out in the yard, pushing him back into the dirty rainwater
whenever he tried to straighten up.
Now he is shivering with cold, soaked through and through, his shiny white pelt
crusted with layers of grime and mud while his tormentors are standing in a
circle around him, laughing at his tears.
"What are you crying for, Snow?! I thought you wanted to play with us,” David
mocks, throwing a glob of dirt at him and hitting him in the face. Jensen
stumbles from the force of the hit, yelping when his paws slip on the squishy
ground and cause him to tumble over. He drops back down into the puddle, his
paws sinking deeper and another roar of laughter comes from the crowd.
"W-why are you doing t-this?”
He’s never done anything to them but trying to make friends. He isn’t sure what
he’s done to make them hate him.
“Because you’re not one of us. You’ll never be one of us! You’re just an ugly
freak that Jeffrey found in the woods,” Sebastian growls, eyes sparking with a
hatred Jensen can’t even understand.
"You’re such a weirdo not even your own parents wanted to keep you and now
we’re stuck with your ugly mug:“
“What the hell are you doing?!” a sudden voice thunders through the air, dark
and accusing, cutting through the tension-filled air like a knife gliding
through butter. “Get the fuck away from him!”
Jared.
Jensen can’t help the sob of relief that bubbles up from his throat at the
sound of his adoptive brother’s voice. The crowd parts and David’s eyes widen
in shock at the sight of the black wolf in front of him- not much older than
the rest of the kids- but already bigger- already stronger.
Jared’s eyes are dark with anger, his teeth fletched in warning. He takes one
look at Jensen’s mud covered, shivering form in the puddle and snaps.
Roaring up in fury, Jared bolts forward and pounces David, throwing the smaller
wolf to the ground, while the rest of the crowd gasps in shock and scrambles
away, afraid to become the focal point of Jared’s anger.
“Have you done this to him?!” Jared demands in a low and murderous tone- his
paw pressed against David’s throat and claws digging into the other boy’s
vulnerable flesh.
"Answer me!”
David’s eyes are wide and frightened. He bares his neck in surrender.
“Let him go, Jay…” Jensen protests weakly from where he’s watching the scene
unfold, tear-filled eyes staring up at his older brother imploringly.
Jared doesn’t react to his plea, doesn’t even look away from the writhing body
on the ground- the kid that is lying here at his mercy- and could be killed so
easily with a snap of his fingers.
Jensen can't let it happen. 
"Please, Jay... I just wanna go home.”
That seems to rip Jared out of his rigor and with a last warning bite to the
other boy’s neck, he turns towards Jensen and helps him out of the puddle.
“ You okay?” the black wolf gently inquires, his voice turning from low and
dangerous to soft and concerned in a matter of seconds.
He gently nudges Jensen’ side, bumping his head against the smaller wolf’s
cheek in a gesture of love and reassurance.
Jensen sniffles, leaning into Jared’s warmth and feeling whole again for the
first time in hours.
"No;” he chokes out honestly, unable to hide the truth when Jared is looking at
him like this. “I’m really not.”
Jared’s eyes flicker with empathy and before Jensen knows what he’s doing Jared
leans in to lick some of the mud from his adoptive brother’s muzzle.
Jensen closes his eyes, momentarily overwhelmed by the sensation of Jared’s
rough tongue grooming him, but the moment passes as quickly as it came and
after a second Jared pulls back again, looking a little startled by his own
action.
“C’mon let’s get you home… can’t let you catch pneumonia on top of everything
else.”
They turn to go and Jared deliberately delivers another kick to David’s side as
they pass him by, shooting him a warning glower in goodbye. 
"Touch him again and you’re toast. Fair warning, knothead. And that goes for
the rest of you, too!”
 


It wasn’t the last time they’ve made fun of him or discriminated against him
and it most certainly wasn’t the last time Jared’s ever stood up for him and
protected him, but somehow this particular memory sticks out to Jensen the most
right now. 
He still remembers how sad and lonely he’d felt for weeks after that incident
and how he’d felt dirty despite having his fur washed clean right after it
happened.
This constant struggle with being different from the rest of the pack and not
really belonging here it had been a life-long issue for him. 
The feeling of never really being at home here- never really knowing his
origins and feeling like some oddity instead of a valued pack member had
resided within him from an early age on but people like David were reinforcing
it and bringing it back to the forefront of his mind with a brutal ferocity.
“You’re never gonna belong to this pack, Jensen…” David spat out his name as if
it was something disgusting or hateful. The alpha got up from the ground,
wiping a trail of blood from beneath his nose and sending Jensen a deathly
glower.
“You’re an outcast… an abomination and it won’t be long before Jared realizes
that."
“What the hell?!” Chris’ voice cuts off David’s angry rant and it doesn’t take
two seconds for the core alpha to have put himself between Jensen and the
potential source of danger.
Jensen rolls his eyes.
Chris is only about ten minutes too late to play the protector, but he can't
even blame the guy, given that he told Chris to back off and give him some
space to breathe in the first place.
“What are you doing here?! I thought Jeff told you to not roam the ground
without asking permission first? You’re still under custody according to pack
law—“
“Oh please, spare me the speech, Kane. I’m here to get my son and just so
happened to meet an old acquaintance… no harm in that, right?”
“Yeah right. Listen up, douchebag—“ Chris stabs his index finger into David’s
chest, eyes promising death as he draws up his shoulders in a threatening
stance.
Jensen shoots forward to grab his friend’s shoulder, holding him back.
“It’s done. I put him in his place. Don’t cause an unnecessary scene, alright?”
“But he—“
Jensen lets out a long exhale, feeling a bone-deep exhaustion weighing him
down.
All he wants is for him and Jared to spend the night together in their den,
curled up around each other and soaking up each other’s presence.
“I know… just let it go, okay? He's not worth it.”
Chris visibly deflates at the soft plea and steps back from David’s form,
causing Jensen to sigh in relief.
“I’m gonna get Simon…”
He is out the cave and in the playing court before either of them can protest,
hoping that the two alphas won’t start tearing into each other the second he’s
gone.
 
When Jared comes home that night, the sun has gone down for hours and his limbs
feel about ready to fall off, he's so exhausted.
He can’t shake the image of Brock’s dead body from his mind- can’t forget the
way the boy’s half-opened eyes had stared sightlessly up at him in accusation.
The kid hadn’t just been killed.
He had been slaughtered- assassinated and displayed like some kind of message
for their kind.
Like some kind of warning.
Jared shifts back to his human form, grabbing a pair of discarded jeans from
the back of their leather couch and putting them on, warding off the cool
breeze that drifts into their cave from outside.
They have chosen to buy one of the biggest caves on the very top of Blackridge
mountain, with a stunningly beautiful view over their pride grounds, overseeing
the luscious lands and the nearby forest. 
Sometimes Jared spends hours just watching life unfold from one of the windows
but tonight he needs his mate’s presence to wipe the horrifying images of
Brock’s corpse from his mind.
“Jen?” he asks, grabbing a bottle of water from the kitchen counter and
striding forward to their canopy bed, where Jensen seems to be deeply absorbed
in a novel, earplugs in his ears and nodding his head to the rhythm of some old
classic song that blares from his iPod.
A fond little smile graces Jared's lips at the sight and he leans down, casting
a shadow over his mate’s form before pressing a tender kiss against Jensen’s
golden curls in greeting.
“Hey,” Jensen takes his earplugs out, lighting up the room with the smile he
gives Jared. “Didn’t hear you coming in…”
Jared plops down in their nest of furs and pillows and drapes an arm over his
mate’s shoulders, pulling the omega’s small frame against his chest in a loving
embrace.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t come get you for lunch today…” he apologizes, eyes
averted out of the fear that Jensen might somehow catch a glimpse of the
unspeakable horrors he has witnessed earlier today.
“It’s alright, Sophia made couscous at the daycare,” Jensen explains as he
places a trail of open-mouthed kisses along the angular cut of Jared’s jaw
bone. "Although I did miss you a little."
Jared feels his skin tingle wherever Jensen’s plush lips brush his chin, but
it’s not until his mate’s lips press against his mouth in a gentle prompt for
more, that he pulls away. 
The omega halts his movements, pulling back with a concerned frown on his face.
“What’s wrong?”
Jared tries to shake off his lover’s touch, unwilling to worry his mate with
the terrible news of the loss of their pack member.
But he’s fighting a losing battle.
“Did something happen with Jeff?” Jensen pushes, voice dripping with concern
and eyes filled with unease. “Talk to me Jay, you’re scaring me…”
Jared lets out a shuddery breath, steeling himself for the blow he’d deliver
with his next words.
“Brock… he’s… we found him in the woods today… he’s—“ Jared closes his eyes,
shaking his head. He can’t say the words out loud or it will make the reality
of the fact inevitable.
Jensen’s eyes well up on their own accord and he opens his mouth, looking
horrified.
He knew Brock better than Jared did himself… had hit it off with the young
omega pretty early on and spent a lot of time with the wolf until he had mated
and become busier with work and their daily routines.
“Is he—“
Jared nods and Jensen pales, choking around a lungful of air. 
“I’m so sorry, Jen. There was nothing we could have done... We were too late to
help him.”
“B-but…how?” Jensen wants to know, pressing a palm against his forehead and
squeezing his eyes shut against an onslaught of tears. "Why?"
It physically pains Jared to see his mate this upset, even more so than Brock’s
death had hurt him in the first place.
“It…” Jared swallows, hesitating. He would give anything to spare Jensen the
bad news, but there’s no sense in keeping something this important from him. He
would find out one way or another.
“It might be an opposing pack… it looks like a…”
Jared bites his lower lip and Jensen falters.
“Jay?” his mate asks in a broken voice. “It looks like a what?”
“Like a declaration of war. I think we might be facing a war, Jen.”
 
Chapter End Notes
     Please drop me a review and let me know if you're still interested in
     more. A few kind words from your side make me happy and gets me
     motivated to update faster :D
***** Chapter 4 *****
Chapter Notes
     I'm really sorry for the long wait, guys. I couldn't really get my
     muse on these past few weeks. I tried to compensate by making this
     chapter extra long and I really hope you like it. ;) This chapter
     contains some graphic scenes so please heed the warnings ;) Hope you
     enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
                                        
 
“A war?” Jensen repeats slowly, testing out the word as if it was a foreign
concept. It weighs heavy on his tongue, leaves a rancid aftertaste in his
mouth.
He finds it hard to make sense of what his mate is trying to tell him.
“But how? I mean—“
“I don’t know,” Jared sighs, brushing his thumb over his lover’s cheek. “But
I’ll find out… and I will make whoever is behind this pay for what they did.”
Jensen frowns, deep worry lines creasing his forehead as he eases out of his
mate’s embrace.
“I just… I don’t get it Jay, why would anybody want to hurt Brock? I mean going
after you or Jeff, now that would be a tactical move but—“
“Hey, it’s alright,” Jared reassures, noticing his mate’s growing unease and
instantly feeling the urge to comfort- to do anything to erase the worry from
his husband’s troubled features.
“We’ll figure it out, okay? Jeff will take matters to the council tomorrow and
decide about the further proceedings… Mike and I are going to pay the
surrounding packs a visit, test the waters, see if anything’s fishy—“
Jensen swallows, Adam’s apple bobbing visibly beneath the soft skin on his
throat as he looks up at Jared through his wired reading glasses. “I don’t
know, Jay. That could be dangerous... You might be walking straight into the
hands of the enemy.”
“We don’t know who the enemy is yet, Jensen,” his mate gives back, trying to
appease him.
“That’s my point,” Jensen says heatedly, working himself up even further. “For
all we know any of them could have something to do with Brock’s death. Hell,
Jared- any of them could be planning to kill you or Jeff the second your back
is turned!”
“Look,” Jared breaths out, running his fingers through his rain-soaked hair. “I
know it sucks, but this is part of my job. It’s pack business and I’m not about
to tug tail when one of our own just got killed.”
“No that’s right,” Jensen snorts, getting up from bed and walking over to their
kitchen counter to pour himself a glass of water. “You’re gonna get yourself
killed too.”
“Jen…” Jared sighs, sounding exasperated.
Jensen swallows, trying to calm his frayed nerves.
He knows he is being unfair- knows that it’s stupid to get this affected over
something he holds no control over- something he knew he was getting himself
into the first time he looked at Jared with something more than just brotherly
affection.
And yet he can’t help but feel paralyzed with fear at the prospect of Jared
leaving his side- at the thought of him facing off with potential enemies and
getting himself in danger.
“At least let me come with you…” he suggests after a beat of silence, lifting
his chin to meet Jared’s stormy gaze. “Let me back you up… it’s what pack betas
do, right? We could consider it practice for when these things will become
daily routine—“
“Jen,” Jared cuts his mate off, rolling up into a standing position and walking
over to cross the distance between them. “There’s no need for you to do that,
okay? No wolf would be stupid enough to attack me. Not with the whole Black
Pack on my side- ready to tear them apart.”
He places his arms on Jensen’s hips, pulling him in for a reassuring kiss, but
Jensen turns his face away, green eyes sparking with defiance.
“If it’s so safe- then why can’t I join you?” the omega challenges, withdrawing
completely from Jared’s touch. His eyes have narrowed to small slits and Jared
knows they are seconds away from having their first argument as a mated couple.
His own lips flatten out into a thin line and he drives a hand through his
auburn strands- a nervous habit he's never really been able to break. “Because
it's not necessary, alright? You only just started working again today and I
don’t want you to—“
“You don’t want me to dowhat, Jared?” Jensen challenges, squaring his shoulders
and lifting his chin daringly. “Stand by your side? Back you up? Are you afraid
to show the world what a pushover you mated- what a freak?”
Jared reels back from the words, jaw dropping. 
“What the fuck, Jensen?” he grinds out, looking genuinely puzzled as to why his
lover would speak of himself in such a degrading way. “Where’s that shit even
coming from, huh? When have I ever given you the impression that you are a
freak or a pushover- or anything but the love of my life and my whole freaking
world?”
Jensen’s jaw muscle twitches, eyes downcast and purposefully avoiding his
husband’s piercing gaze.
He's gripping the glass so hard with his fingers, it almost cracks from the
pressure.
“Look at me,” Jared orders in a low, husky growl and Jensen almost shudders at
the authority that drips from his mate's words. He’s all alpha now, strong and
commanding, using his primal superiority to get his mate’s full attention.
Jensen has no other choice but to obey. 
When he looks up, his green eyes meet Jared's in a hooded gaze that settles
like molten lava on Jared’s skin.
Once more, Jared feels overwhelmed by his mate's beauty- the streaks of gold in
his brown hair, the sleek cut of his facial bones, the light dust of freckles
painted across his pale cheeks -like color sprinkled across a plain canvas. 
Twenty years ago Jared had first laid eyes on him and to the day Jensen still
manages to steal his breath away with nothing more but a flutter of lashes.
But it's not just that.
Jensen is also one of the strongest people he knows- capable and selfless and
independent despite everything that happened to him- everything he had endured.
Jensen always came out on top, brushing off the offense, knowing his own worth.
He hasn’t shown such insecurities in a very long time and it scares Jared a
little to see him so crushed.
“Jen…” Jared sighs, voice softening. “If this is about your fur color—“
“It’s not,” Jensen cuts him off, whole body tensing in discomfort.
Jared knows it’s a sore topic, but he also knows when his mate is lying to his
face.
“Did anybody say anthing to you? You don’t usually take offense this easily.”
Jensen snorts humorlessly and looks away again, visibly struggling to keep his
composure.
He knows what his next words are going to do to his alpha- knows how protective
Jared can be- how possessive he can get, but there is just no way he could ever
keep his meeting with David a secret from Jared, especially with the mating
bond now connecting them spiritually.
Jensen figures he might as well get it over with- quick and efficient- almost
like ripping off a band-aid.
“David came by the office today,” he breaths out, barely above a whisper,
setting his water back down on the counted, cool finger tips trailing random
patterns into the damp glass.
He watches the swirl of colors in Jared's eyes take on a misty hue- can
practically feel the exact moment his mate is overcome by understanding.
David came by the office today...
David came by...
David.

The words keep ringing through Jared’s mind until they start making sense- and
then they hit home like a freight train driving into a brick wall.
“What?!” he sneers, backing Jensen up against the kitchen counter, muscular
arms bracketing his mate’s side possessively. “What the fuck did he want?”
Jensen moves along easily, not resisting his mate’s control, emerald eyes
opened wide as he holds Jared’s dangerous glower.
“Nothing… he didn’t hurt me or anything… he just... cornered me in the office
and said some shit and I—“
“Wait, David cornered you?! You were alone with him? Where the hell was
Chris?!”
“Jay…” Jensen rubs a tired hand over his eyes, the beginnings of a headache
causing him to remove his glasses and pinch the bridge of his nose. “Please,
calm down. I’m okay, really. Nothing happened.”
“Calm down?" Jared repeats incredulously, his tone sharp like a bullet singing
the air. "Don’t tell me to calm down when the fucking bastard who molested you
ten years ago comes back for a second round!“
“Jared! Shut up, alright?!” Jensen snaps, eyes sparkling with bright hurt at
the unwanted memories his mate's inconsiderate words have brought back. His
heart is racing in his chest, breath going heavy as he shoves Jared back,
trying to outstep him. “I don’t need Chris for protection. I don’t need anybody
to protect me, alright? David still hasn’t changed- big surprise. He got a
little handsy- I put him back in his place, no harm done.”
“That bastard could have done god knows what to you!” Jared growls, nostrils
flaring as he grabbed Jensen by his wrist and pulled him back against his side,
unwilling to let the issue slide that easily.
“Yeah well he didn’t, okay? Stop causing a scene—“
“I'm not the one who's causing a scene, here.You were the one talking about
being a freak just a minute ago! Did David tell you that shit? Or was it just
your low self-esteem talking?”
Jensen closes his eyes, letting out a long breath he wasn’t aware he had been
holding. “Alright, let’s not… can we not fight? I just… it’s been a long day.
David- he brought up some old memories of…of our childhood and the way I’ve
been treated back then.”
Jared’s features soften instantly, his anger leaving him on a whoosh of air. 
He moves forward, closing the small gap between their bodies and running a
soothing hand up Jensen's arm.“You know a lot has changed since that time,
right? The pack loves you, Jensen. They have accepted you as one of their own,
would give their lives for you if needed. The fact that your fur isn’t black
like ours doesn’t matter to them. Not anymore. And it has never- ever- mattered
to me.”
“I know that, Jay,“ Jensen exhales softly, visibly deflating at the truth
behind Jared’s words. “God… I know… I’m being stupid, sorry- it’s just- it’s
hard seeing David again after all these years and I—“
Jared shuts him up with a kiss, swallowing Jensen's next words with a brush of
his tongue against plush lips.
"It's okay," he whispers with a possessive nip to the corner of Jensen's mouth.
"He's not gonna come close to you again. I'll make sure of it."
Jensen’s hands moves up to cup Jared’s stubbled jaw, slide up into his thick
auburn hair, catching in the tangled, wet mess before yanking him down into
another kiss, teeth clashing in a battle for dominance. 
It has always been that way with them.
Fighting one second, fucking the next.
It used to annoy the hell out of Jeff and Sam.
But that isn’t necessarily a thought Jensen wants to hold on to when Jared is
pressed up against him, hot flesh grinding together, with only the sound of
their panting breaths and the rustling of clothes to underline their make-out
session.
Without warning, Jared manhandles him up against the counter and lifts him onto
perch on its edge, causing Jensen to let out a muffled gasp of shock in
response.
“Did he touch you?” Jared demands in a ragged whisper, eyes blown wide in a
mixture of arousal and bloodlust, hands moving down to cup Jensen’s ass through
the thin fabric of his slacks.
Jensen gasps against Jared’s mouth, eyes squeezed shut in pleasure and legs
falling open to let his mate move closer.
“P-pushed my knees apart 'n pressed me up against the wall,” he admitted in
between pants, fingers digging into the fine cut of Jared's hip bone, as
he thrusts forward to get some friction.
“What else?“ Jared demands, thumb possessively tracing the steady pump of
Jensen's pulsing carotid. “What else did he do?"
“T-the bite… he brushed his lips against the mating bite—I’m sorry Jay, I tried
to stop him but—“
The deadly growl that follows is raw primal instinct and possessive anger.
"Gonna rip his fucking throat out for touching you…For touching what's mine...”
Jared snarls, fumbling heatedly with his zipper, hard cock springing free from
the open V of his jeans. Jensen shudders at the possessiveness in Jared's tone,
pupils blown wide and dilated with arousal.
Jared rips Jensen’s slacks down so fast the omega's breath catches in his
throat and the next second he’s got two of his fingers shoved up his mate’s
dripping hole, fingering him open.
“You’re mine,” Jared repeats roughly, moving in deep with his index and middle
finger and eliciting a broken off gasp of pure pleasure from Jensen when
he brushes them against his mate's prostate. “Nobody ever gets to see you like
this- nobody else gets to watch you fall apart like that or to hear the sweet
little sounds you make when you’re getting well and thoroughly fucked by your
alpha.”
“Jay… god, please—“
“You'll look so beautiful hanging of my knot. You want that don't you? Want me
to fill you up, stuff you full with my knot and breed you?”
"Y-yeah. Fuck yes."
Jared replaces his fingers with his cock and starts rubbing the tip over his
omega’s dripping wet hole. “Tell me who you belong to, Jen.”
“Yours…” Jensen pants out breathlessly, fingers clawing at the bulging muscle
on Jared’s back. “’m yours… god fuck me, please- Alpha—“
Jared growls, burying his nose in the sweaty dip between his mate’s collarbone
and neck and inhaling the sweet scent emanating from his skin. He holds his
omega in place, lining his leaking cock up with Jensen’s entrance and pushing
into the welcoming heat with little to no resistance.
They both groan in pleasure, Jensen's head falling forward against Jared's
shoulder as he tries to breath through the penetration, his tight muscle
clenching and unclenching around Jared's dick as he continues to press in;
stretching him as far as possible. Jensen's moan is muffled by the sweaty dip
of Jared's collar bone, fingers digging into Jared’s back- squeezing his ass,
his hip, pulling him forward in a desperate prompt for more. 
Jared flicks his tongue over the mating bite, gently sucking and nipping at the
soft skin until the flesh is bruised and swollen and Jensen hisses in
discomfort whenever his teeth brush the sensitive patch of skin.
Once his cock is buried balls deep in his mate’s tight hole he gives Jensen a
second to adjust before thrusting forward.
Jensen moans plaintively when Jared starts rocking up into him, hard and deep,
picking up a steady rhythm and sending his omega's nerves into overdrive with
the way he keeps hitting his sweet spot on every single thrust, driving his
shuddering body back against the counter with primal force.“You are mine,
Jensen. I want to hear you say it.”
“Yours,” Jensen pants, gasping when Jared hits his prostate yet again, knocking
the wind from his lungs.
“You’ll never belong to anyone else. Never know the feel of another man’s touch
or the scrape of their lips against yours. Never get fucked by anyone but your
Alpha. Say it.”
“Never. Yours… o-only yours… please—“
“Tell me what you want,” Jared whispers hotly against his ear, teeth clamping
down on Jensen’s exposed neck, biting and licking along the cut of his
collarbone to taste the salty skin on his tongue as he continues to fuck deep
into him. He's keeping him right on the edge of his orgasm, making Jensen's
skin crawl with the slow slide in and out, until he’s so out of it with need he
can barely form coherent sentences. “What do you want, baby?”
“Your k-knot. Need you to knot me, Jay... fuck, just do it already!”
“You want my knot shoved up your tight little hole-stretching it as far as it
gets? Want me to pump you full of my sperm- fill you up with my pups and have
you hanging off my dick for the next couple of hours?”
“Yeah, god—yes!” Jensen yells and Jared bites down hard on his shoulder, teeth
sinking into the soft flesh, reopening the mating bite at the same time as his
knot is lodging itself inside Jensen’s gripping heat.
Using Jensen's momentary distraction to his advantage, Jared lifts him onto
perch on it’s edge.
Jensen lets out a muffled gasp of pleasure at getting manhandled and wraps his
legs around Jared's side, giving them both more leverage as Jared's knot
pulsates inside of him.
Jared can’t look away from the look of pure bliss that is taking over his
mate’s features when he thrusts forward once again, pressing his knot in as far
as it would go- right up against Jensen’s prostate. Jensen comes on a shout,
muscles locking up so hard it almost hurts. Everything kind of fades for a
second and then he slumps bonelessly against his mate's sweaty chest.
It’s the hottest thing Jared’s ever seen- his mate’s eyes are closed in utter
bliss, his kiss-swollen lips parted and cheeks flushed a deep shade of red from
exertion.
Jared feels his whole body shudder with the intensity of his own orgasm as he
rocks up one last time into Jensen, unable to move much with his knot now
firmly in place.
Jensen is pliant and fucked-out against him, shivering occasionally when one
spurt of cum after another hits his prostate.
“God, I love you…” Jared murmurs softly into Jensen’s sweaty blond hair,
inhaling the intoxicating scent of his mate’s pheromones and absent-mindedly
licking at the reopened claiming bite on Jensen’s neck, savouring the bitter
tang of blood that spreads on his tongue.
When Jensen doesn’t immediately respond, Jared frowns, pulling back to cup his
husband’s flushed face. He bites his lip as he takes in the bites littering his
mate’s neck and shoulders.
They look pretty savage.
“Fuck, I'm sorry, did I hurt you? It was just the thing with David… it got me
so riled up and I got carried away—“
“Jay…” Jensen sighs tiredly, tilting his head to the side to kiss Jared's palm.
“I’m fine- stop worrying, okay?”
“But—“ he starts protesting, suddenly regretting his choice to let his primal
instincts and the alpha male wolf inside of him take over control.
The last thing he ever wants to do is hurt Jensen and he would never forgive
himself if it ever actually came to that.
“Jesus, Jay, I said I'm fine. I just came untouched,” Jensen chuckles softly
against his mate’s chest, rubbing his nose into the sweaty skin and inhaling
his mate’s enticing scent, knowing it was now mingled with his own. "That
should tell you something."
“But the mating bite—“ Jared protests weakly, fingers brushing against the
swollen and angry looking skin around the reopened claiming mark.  
Jensen shudders and bites his lower lip to hold back a whimper. “It’s going to
heal, don’t worry about it. Can we just… move over to the bed or something?
Might be more comfy.”
“Uh- yeah, sure… fuck, I’m sorry Jen. Should have thought of that before—“
Jared snakes his arms under his mate’s shaking thighs and hoists his pliant
body up from the counter edge.
Jensen moves along easily, tightening his legs behind Jared’s back and slinging
his arms around his alpha’s neck for support.
Jared carefully lowers him onto the cool cushions of their canopy bed, nudging
his knot against Jensen’s sweet spot in the process and Jensen can't help but
moan when another jolt of pleasure shoots through him at the movement.
So fucking responsive.
The alpha brushes a blond tuft of hair from Jensen’s verdant eyes and holds his
mate’s heavy-lidded gaze for another second before leaning down to kiss him
languidly.
“I love you,” Jensen says with unusually bright eyes, shivering in Jared’s
tender hold. “You’ll never know how much I do.”
“Never get tired of hearing you say that...” Jared noses at his throat,
caressing him with an open-mouthed trail of kisses along the side of his neck.
After a second of blissful silence, Jared closes his eyes and makes a vow. “’m
gonna make David pay for having touched you. He’s not gonna get away a second
time.”
“Jay…” Jensen protests weakly, sounding exhausted. The mood is effectively
broken. “I don’t know—he didn’t really do anything yet—“
“So are we gonna wait for him to do something more serious? And I’m not even
just talking about your safety here- I mean think about all the other omegas in
the pack—think about the kids—“
Jensen sighs, knowing his mate has a point. He’d never forgive himself if David
hurts one of the other wolves in their pack when they could have done something
to prevent it.
“Maybe we should tell Jeff what happened and then he can mention it in front of
the council,“ Jensen suggests, fingers drawing lazy patterns into the sweaty
expanse of Jared's back.
“But—“ Jared starts, getting shushed the next second when Jensen presses a
finger to his lips to silence him.
“Tomorrow. Let’s deal with it tomorrow, okay? I’m kind of worn-out,” Jensen
blushes a little at the confession and Jared’s dick spurts at the sight. 
There is something undeniably hot about a thoroughly fucked-out Jensen.
“Alright. Rest up, baby,” Jared says in a hushed voice, pressing a gentle kiss
against his mate’s lips before settling them both down into a comfortable
position against the pillows. “Love you.”
Jensen hums something unintelligible against Jared’s shoulder, already half
asleep and Jared grins down at his sleeping mate, before closing his own eyes
in blissful serenity.
 
 
The next morning comes way too soon.
They exchange a few lazy kisses before Jared reluctantly disentangles his own
limbs from his mate's and gets up to take a shower.
Jensen tries to stay strong but about halfway through one of Jared’s butchered
Bon Jovi songs, he decides to shut his husband’s terrible singing up and sneaks
inside the shower.
Two minutes later he’s pressed against the damp glass, feet slipping and
fingers scrambling for purchase as Jared slowly fingers him open, the hot spray
of water drumming rhythmically against their naked skin as they exchange lazy
kisses over Jensen’s shoulder.
Shower sex has always been one of Jensen’s favorites- there’s just something
extremely intimate about the damp air, the steam and the soft glide of hot
muscle on wet skin.
It’s over way too soon and the water hasn’t even gone cold yet when Jensen
comes, muffling his scream against the damp glass of the shower stall, fingers
scratching down Jared’s bare back and drawing blood in the process.
Jared either doesn’t feel it- being too distracted by his own orgasm, or he
doesn’t say anything, but when they step out of the shower Jensen winces with
guilt at seeing the angry scratch marks on his lover’s back.
“It’s okay, doesn't even hurt,” Jared says, instantly feeling his mate’s
concern over their bond and pulling Jensen in for a reassuring kiss.

“You hungry?” he asks when they break apart and Jensen rolls his eyes at the
question. Jared always seems to be thinking about food.
“I could make some scrambled eggs with toast or—“
“Shouldn’t I be the one making breakfast for you, being your omega and all?”
Jensen lightly teases, nipping playfully at Jared’s lower lip before drying
himself off with the bath towel and striding out into their living room,
leaving his mate to stare after his naked ass.
“Puh-lease,” Jared laughs, admiring the view as he leans back against the
doorway, openly leering at georgeous creation that was his mate. “You don’t
even know how to brew your own coffee… it will be a cold day in hell before you
ever make me breakfa—“
Jared’s sentence is cut off when Jensen chucks a pillow at his head. “Finish
that sentence and it will be a cold day in hell before I let you fuck me
against the shower stall again.”
Jared knows it’s an empty threat but that doesn’t stop him from gulping at the
implied possibility. He shakes the thought off and walks over to the wardrobe
with a soft chuckle, grabbing a clean pair of jeans and putting them on.
The tribunal will only require of him to be in his wolf form, but it’s still a
couple of hours until the trials begin, and Jared isn't even sure if he will
attend the trial for Brock's death.
Maybe he will just ask his father to deal with the council for now and leave to
visit the other packs instead.
He just really isn't sure if he can be in the same roof with the fucking alpha
who had dared to touch his mate again so soon after what had happened without
tearing his throat out.
And that's about the last thing they need right now with everything else going
on.
Jensen is busy brushing his teeth and putting in his contacts while Jared fixes
a quick breakfast for the both of them- eggs and toast for himself and some cut
fruit and yogurt for Jensen.
By the time they are both sitting down, hot mugs of coffee steaming up the air
between them, Jared has finally found the courage to address an issue that has
been nagging at him for the most part of the morning. “Hey, babe?”
“Hmm?” Jensen hums around a mouthful of coffee.
“You’re still… you’re still on birth control, right?”
The words hit right home and Jensen’s eyes widen almost comically as they fly
up to meet Jared's gaze.
“What? Yeah, sure, I mean—“ the omega sputters, clearly taken aback by the
question.
“It’s just, you know that I want to have children with you one day, right? God,
there’s nothing I want more than for us to have a family of our own but—“ Jared
shakes his head, driving a hand through his long auburn hair. “But we’re still
so young and I don’t want us to rush into anything—“
“Jared…” Jensen sighs, halting his husband’s speech with a raised palm. “We’ve
talked about this. I don’t mind waiting, okay? You don’t have to explain, I’m
with you on this. Besides, it’s not exactly the best time now with another pack
attacking and the possibility of an impending war looming on the horizon.“
“I just… last night when we were—I said some things and I—“
“It was dirty talk. I get it. No need to worry, alright? We’re all good.”
“I love you,” Jared says, opening the bond between them to convey the full
extent of his love for the omega. Jensen closes his eyes when a rush of
emotions swaddles his brain and mind.
He takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. “Me too… promise to be careful
today?”
“Always,” Jared gives back easily, but Jensen’s heart is still clenched with
worry. He knows he won’t have a calm second until Jared gets back from his
mission whole and in one piece.
 
 
Tom and Mike’s den is located just a few floors beneath their own inside
Blackridge mountain.
The apartments that are overlooking the pride grounds are more expensive than
the ones that don’t, but Mike has a high rank within their pack being a core
alpha and Tom used to earn good money with his job as a teacher before he took
maternity leave.
Now he’s five months pregnant with Mike's second child, their first born
daughter being only four years old and Jensen tries to drop by as often as
possible- mostly to help the pregnant omega out with his chores around the
household and to babysit little Alice.
Tom and him have been best friends for going on five years now, but they didn’t
always get along so great. When Jensen first arrived at the pack- practically a
pup and looking different from the rest of the wolves living in Blackridge
Mountain, Tommy had made fun of his white pelt and discriminated against him
just like the rest of them.
But he had been one of the first wolves to turn around and actually make an
effort to get to know him better, and Jensen will forever be grateful for that.
When it became clear that Jensen and Jared were destined for each other, he and
Tom used to hang out together more often and found that they had a lot in
common.
Mike and him started dating a little after Jared and Jensen had hooked up and
the four of them were practically inseparable after that.
Their friendship has only grown more intense over the years and Jared and Mike
spend at least one evening per week watching a football game together or
talking a nightly walk through the pride grounds while Jensen and Tom have a
chat or play with Alice.
Today, Jensen knocks on their friends’ door for an entirely different reason,
heart beating wildly in his chest as he waits for Tom to answer it.
Jared's been gone for about an hour now and Jeffrey is still talking to the
council, so Jensen needs somebody to keep his mind off things before he goes
crazy with concern.
Sure enough, the tall dark-haired man opens up on his third knock, eyes
sparkling excitedly in the orange glow of the evening sun that shines into his
den from the outside.
“Hey,” Jensen says, sounding out of breath. His nerves calm a little at the
sight of his friend.
“Oh my god- let me look at you,” Tom cheers, grabbing Jensen’s wrist and
pulling him inside without preamble. He’s got Jensen by the chin a second
later, gently rolling his head to the side to try and get a look the mating
bite that is safely hidden by his worn leather jacket.
“Knock it off, Tommy—“ Jensen gripes, swatting his friend’s fingers away.
“C’mon, you can’t hold out on me like this. You and Jared are finally ma-ted!!
I can’t fucking believe it, never thought I’d see the day,” Tom teases, absent-
mindedly rubbing his palm against his protruding belly in comforting circles.
Jensen swallows at the sight, feeling oddly melancholic. “You make it sound
like it wasn’t a done deal.”
“Well excuse me for getting a little suspicious. You two took your sweet time
making it official. Almost thought you’d gone and found yourself another
alpha—“
“As if. Not exactly like I can resist a mating call, douchebag,” Jensen gives
back gruffly, slipping out of his jacket and dropping down on the comfortable
davenport in Tom’s living room. “Besides, you and Mike took ages to hook up- so
you don’t get to tease me on this. Oh and speaking of which- did you know our
mates are currently out trying to find Brock’s killer?”
Tom sighs, waddling over to their kitchen and wordlessly getting Jensen a beer
from the fridge.
“Shut up, they are going to be fine," Tom shoves the bottle against his chest
in a silent prompt to drink. "You’re overreacting because it’s your first time
alone at home as a newly-wed… you know how often I have to go through this when
Mike’s out there, protecting the pack and getting himself into the line of
fire?”
Jensen takes a sip, closing his eyes at the way the alcohol washes down his
throat. “It’s not like Jared’s never gotten himself in a dangerous situation
before- but this is different, okay?”
“Different how?” Tom huffs.
“Different in that an omega was killed a day ago!” Jensen exclaims angrily,
beer sloshing around dangerously in the bottle as he starts gesturing with his
arms.
“This isn’t just your run-off-the-mills clash with another pack alpha. This
might be something way more serious- and Jared and Mike could be running
straight into an ambush for all we know!“
“Jesus, calm down, Jensen- you’ll wake Alice!”
Too late.
The babyphone starts cackling to life with Alice’s soft cries and Jensen feels
like a jerk. He rubs a tired hand over his face and moves to get up from the
couch, putting his glass down on the table.“Fuck, I’m sorry, Tom. I didn’t mean
to—I’ll go get her—“
“No, it’s fine,” Tom quickly reassures, already moving towards Alice’s room.
“Just go sit down and relax. I’ll be back in a sec…”
Tom comes back five minutes later, carrying a tired four-year-old out into the
living room. Alice’s light brown hair is a mess and she’s rubbing at her eyes,
clutching a battered looking teddy in her hand when Tom sets her on the ground.
The second her baby blue eyes fall on Jensen, they widen in excitement and
every trace of weariness vanishes from her face.
“Uncle Jen!” the girl squeals happily, rushing forward and Jensen feels a
sudden warmth blossoming in his chest.
He catches her around the waist and props her up on his hip. “Hey there,
princess! What are you doing up?”
“I heard your voice and papa said I could come say hello.”
“Awww, sweetheart I’m sorry I woke you up.”
“It’s okay, I wasn’t sleepy anymore anyway…” Alice explains, rubbing her nose
against his neck and wrinkling her forehead when she notices something
different about his scent.
“You smell different, uncle Jensen… are you heated?”
Jensen can’t help but laugh at her unabashed question and use of grammar, but
Tom sends his daughter a look of disapproval. 
“Alice…” he says in a stern voice, ready to reprimand her, but Jensen holds up
his hand to stop him, knowing she didn’t mean to be rude. 
“No puppy, I- I’m not in heat, why would you think that?“
“Papa said that omegas smell different when they’re having their heat or when
they are getting babies. Are you pregnant, uncle Jensen?” she goes on with open
curiosity in his voice and Jensen finds himself swallowing around the sudden
lump in his throat, the words hitting him harder this time.
“Alice! That’s enough now c’mon,” Tom says harshly, causing Alice to flinch in
Jensen’s grasp.
He makes a move to take Alice from his hold, but Jensen stops him once more,
not letting go of the little girl in his arms.“It’s okay, Tommy. She’s just
curious.”
“It’s not polite to ask such questions,” Tom scolds with a pointed glower,
looking exasperated by his daughter’s behavior, almost as if this wasn’t the
first time she’d asked someone awkward questions. “I think it’s time for you to
go back to bed, young lady.“
“No, wait. At least let me explain it to her,” Jensen insists, genuinely
believing that it was good for young children to outright ask for the things
they were curious about. After all, Jensen was kind of used to it, working in
the day care and having to deal with kids all the time.
“You know how your Daddy and Papa love each other very much? Well, it’s the
same for your uncle Jared and me… we- we got mated last week and that’s why I
smell different. It’s his scent- only mingled with mine.”
“You mated uncle Jay? Does that mean you’re pack alpha too?” Alice’s eyes widen
in child-like astonishment and it’s clear from the excited sparkle in them that
she thinks Jensen has won the lottery or something.
Jensen laughs at her enthusiasm. “Uncle Jay isn’t pack alpha quite yet, Ally-
beans, but yeah- when the time is right I’ll rule this pack by his side.”
“Wow…” she whispers, completely in awe by the revelation and that’s when Tom
decides that she’s heard enough, taking a step forward to gently lift her from
Jensen’s hold.
“Yeah. We got some real royalty sitting in our living room, kiddo. How about
you give your majesty a good night kiss before you go back to bed?”
“But I’m not tired yet…" she protests with a pouty whine. "And uncle Jen—“ 
“Uncle Jen and your Papa need to discuss some things in private,“ Tom cuts her
off, but Jensen’s heart clenches at the prospect of the little girl leaving
again so soon.
He can’t exactly say why, but her presence calms him on an almost primal level,
taking his mind off the fact that his mate was out there looking for Brock’s
murderer and potentially getting himself in trouble.
“She can sleep here if you don’t mind.”
The words are out of his mouth before he makes a conscious decision to say them
and the damage is done.
“Yayy! Can I, Papa?! Can I??Plea-ase?” Alice starts wriggling excitedly in her
Papa’s grasp, making grabby motions with her tiny hands and Tom shoots Jensen a
deathly glare over her shoulder.
“Fine… but just this once. This won’t become a habit, you hear me?” Tom gives
in with a sigh and settles down beside Jensen on the couch, watching her
scramble excitedly over into Jensen’s lap and curl up against the omega’s
chest.
Jensen smiles innocently over at Tom, fingers fanned out protectively against
her spine.
Alice’s breathing evens out a few minutes later, her fingers clutching Jensen’s
shirt and her ear pressed against the warm skin over his chest, lulled to sleep
by the rhythmic beat of his heart.
“…So?” Tom asks after a beat of silence, watching his friend and his daughter
with a warm smile playing his lips.
“So what?” Jensen asks, frowning.
“So are you gonna show it to me?”
Jensen rolls his eyes. “You’re not gonna let it go before I do, are you?”
“Nope…” Tom gleefully shakes his head.
"Alright, I'll show you... just- don't freak out okay?" Jensen gives in with a
sigh, cradling Alice with one hand and moving to pull his shirt away from the
wound on his neck with his free one.
Jensen regrets showing Tom the second his friend gasps out in shock at the
sight. “Oh. My. God. He’s a fucking berserk—I knew it!” 

Jensen brings a hand up to his neck defensively and glares at the other man
when Alice squirms a little in his arms. “Shhh—Not so loud! You’re gonna wake
her up.”
Tom reaches out to tenderly prod at the marked up skin with his fingers, eyes
still wide with shock. “Jesus Christ, Jen… it looks brutal. Did you put some
ointment on it or something? Does it hurt?”
There’s honest worry in his friend’s tone as he inspects the wound, but Jensen
doesn’t share his concern.“It’s fine. He reopened it, that’s why it looks so—“
“He reopened it?! After only just a week? Why would he do that?”
Jensen looks away, quietly contemplating how much he could tell his friend.
“Jen? What happened?” Tom presses, instantly noticing that there was more to
Jared reopening the claiming bite than Jensen let on.
After another beat of silence, Jensen lets out a long breath, taking another
sip from his beer and leaning back against the cushions of the couch.
"David. He dropped by the daycare yesterday… pushed me up against the wall—“
“Oh god—“ Tom looks shaken by the news, tensing up in his spot next to him and
Jensen is quick to comfort him, knowing his friend would only end up assuming
the worst. “Nothing happened. I put him in his place. But Jared… he didn’t take
the news so well- got all alpha male on my ass.”
“Fuck, Jen… are you okay?” Tom asks, sounding worried.
“Yeah, he can get a little possessive sometimes, but I’m fine. It was kinda
hot, actually…”
Tom swats him lightly up the back of his head. “Don’t be stupid. I meant
David—did he say anything to you? Did he touch you?”
Jensen shudders at the memory- feels David’s breath against his skin, can smell
his cologne in the air as he closes his eyes in exhaustion. 
“No. Just the usual stuff. About how my genes are soiled and how I’m
impurifying  a meticulous blood line,” he snorts, feeling silly repeating the
alpha’s hateful words, because how could anybody say something like this and
honestly believe that it was true?
Tom swallows hard. “Jen, I’m so sorry… to think that I ever treated you the way
I did when you first joined the pack—I feel so stupid for that now.”
“Oh c’mon Tommy, that was ages ago… you were a kid back then. You didn’t know
it any better,” Jensen tries to reassure, not having intended for his friend to
feel guilty by telling him what had happened with David the day before.
“That’s no excuse. I just… I still feel like a jerk for that. You were just a
kid too and I made you feel like you were unwanted- like something was wrong
with you, just because your wolf isn't black like the rest of us—“
“It’s okay. You came around, Tom. And that’s all that matters to me,” Jensen
gives back easily, having forgiven Tom for his behavior a long time ago and not
wanting to have this issue standing between them any longer.
He then pulls his phone from his jeans pocket and presses the camera icon,
shifting Alice’s sleeping body a little higher on his chest.
“Maybe you’re right...” Tom sighs and then frowns when Jensen prepares to take
a selfie. “Hey, what are you doing?”
“Showing our husbands what they’re missing out on. Think we should make out?”
Jensen winks at him and leans over to get Tom on the picture as well.
Tom snorts at the suggestion, putting on a grin for the camera nonetheless.
“Somehow I think Jared wouldn’t take too kindly to us making out…”
“You are no fun, you know that?” Jensen laughs and takes the picture.
 

“So David ambushed him?” Mike repeats angrily, his natural alpha-possessiveness
coming out after hearing about how Jensen got cornered by the expulsed alpha
the night before.
Jared doesn’t take offense in his friend’s protective anger, knowing that any
alpha would feel the urge to eliminate any threat towards one of the pack’s
omegas.
“Yeah…” Jared gives back, swallowing his own bout of anger down with a swig of
beer and slamming the glass back down onto the counter of the bar.
They have decided to stop at a small, cozy Inn to get fortified with a hearty
lunch before continuing the exhausting hike to the Blood Pack wolves who lived
at the other end of Blackwood Forest.
“Did you hurt him?” Mike asks after a brief pause, watching Jared’s every move
and trying to read the answer in his friend’s fierce gaze.
“No,” Jared lets out a sigh, ordering another drink. “I promised Jensen not to
do anything rash.”
“Rash?” Mike exclaims disbelievingly. “Dude, that bastard was sniffing around
your mate! Aren’t you gonna do something about it—I mean what if he catches Jen
unaware the next time? What if Chris isn’t there to protect him?“
“Don’t you think I know that?” Jared snarls, shooting his friend an angry
glower and shutting him up effectively. “I’m not gonna let the bastard come
close him again, alright? He even so much as looks at Jensen again and I’ll
snap his goddamn’ neck. But for now I’ll let the tribunal decide. Jeff promised
me to take care of it in my absence…”
Mike snorts, shaking his head and Jared bristles with anger at the other
alpha’s attitude.
“Something you got to say to me, Mike?” he growls in a low and threatening
voice, earning himself a few concerned glances from the other patrons in the
bar.
Mike holds his glower with unabashed defiance, not afraid of the imposing alpha
in front of him.

„I just can’t believe you’d let your father deal with something so personal. If
anybody ever did to Tom what David did to Jensen I’d have ripped his beating
heart right out of his chest.”
“And gotten yourself executed for killing another wolf in the process? You know
that’s against the pack rules, Mike!”
“Not if you were protecting yourself or another wolf—“
“But that’s the fucking problem. David hasn’t hurt anybody yet, he can’t be
penalized for something he hasn’t done yet.”
“So what, you’re just gonna wait until he rapes—“ Michael’s cut off when Jared
slams his flat palm against the table, silencing him with a warning death
glare, whole body tense and teeth fletched threateningly.
The message is clear: You’ve overstepped a line.
It seems that the whole fucking bar’s attention is focused on them now, the
crowd having noticeably quieted at their angry exchange, the tension in the air
cackling with electricity and ready to spark fire.
And that’s when Jared’s phone pipes up, breaking the moment.
Jared blinks, holding Mike’s gaze for just a moment longer, before directing
his attention to his phone, heart skipping a beat at Jensen’s name flashing
back at him from the screen.
The text message contains a picture of Tom, Jensen and Alice, cuddled up on the
couch, Jensen’s eyes sparking with joy as he cradles the little brown-haired
girl against his chest and Tom smiling broadly into the camera, protective arm
wrapped around his pregnant belly and eyes alight with happiness.
The anger leaves Jared’s body in a rush and he swallows, trying to blink away
the unwanted wetness from his eyes.
“Jay?” Mike asks in a shaky voice, looking concerned by Jared’s
uncharacteristically emotional reaction. “Everything alright?”
Jared wordlessly slides his phone over and lets out a slow exhale. Mike blinks
down at the picture, surprised at what he sees before his features smooth out
into a warm smile.
He longingly cradles the phone in his hand before giving it back to Jared. “I’m
sorry, man. I shouldn’t have tried to patronize you—“
“No, I’m the one that’s sorry. You were only being honest with me—“
Mike shakes his head, snorting at their hotheadedness. “I didn’t mean to
question your decisions, Jared. I’m sure you know what’s best for your family,
but when it comes to Jensen and Tom I get irrational—“
“I know the feeling,” Jared sighs, smiling down at the picture once more.
Jensen has only written a couple of words beneath the photo, but it's enough to
warm his heart.
 
‘Guess who’s having a sleepover? Miss you, be careful.’
 
“C’mon,” Jared throws a couple of bills onto the counter and gets up from his
seat, clapping a palm against Mike’s shoulder. “We should get going if we want
to arrive before sunset.”
As soon as the door slams closed behind them, Jared starts shifting, breaking
out into a run, Mike close on his heels.
They have something to take care and they need to get it over with quickly if
they want to get back to their families.
The thought spurs Jared on even more and he lets his wolf take over, feeling
the strength of his ancestors’ propel him forward, adrenaline pumping through
his veins, wind ruffling his black fur as they chase towards the horizon.

Chapter End Notes
     Yayy hope you liked the update!! :D Who is still up for more? Please
     drop me a note to tell me how you liked the update!! I'd love to get
     your insights ;) Cheers!
***** Chapter 5 *****
Chapter Notes
     I created some art for this fic and I really hope you like it :D I'm
     completely new to this whole thing- both story-wise and concerning
     the art so this is all very exciting haha... I couldn't finish this
     chapter in one sitting, so there's a cut in the middle, but I'll try
     to update soon :) Enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
 
                                        
„Uncle Jen!“ Jensen lets out a shocked ‘omph’ when Alice jumps on his chest to
wake him up, knocking the wind from his lungs in one swoop.
Her squeal of excitement sends his ears ringing and he groans, trying to hide
from the world by burying himself beneath his blanket.
He’s never been a morning person to begin with- but having to deal with a hyper
energetic four-year-old so early in the morning is definitely more than he can
stomach.
“Daddy said you have to get up, it’s already light outside,” Alice says
cheerfully and Jensen lifts a heavy arm when she climbs beneath the blanket and
snuggles up close to him beneath the duvet.
“Just a few more minutes, kiddo…” he mumbles tiredly into her soft auburn
curls, hugging her small body close to his chest and breathing in the soft
smell of baby shampoo that clings to her skin.
He’s already half back to sleep when the covers are suddenly ripped off his
body and Jensen finds himself on the receiving end of his best friend’s glower.
“Get your ass into gear, Jensen. It’s already half past seven and we need to
get going if you don’t want your in-laws to kick your ass.”
“You said a bad word, daddy! ” Alice’s hands fly up to her mouth, her eyes wide
with shock and Jensen can't help but chuckle at her reaction.
“Yeah, yeah laugh it up, Jen... We'll see if you still find it funny when I
teach your kids their first swear words…” Tom grumbles with fake annoyance,
before reaching over to tickle his daughter and sending her into a fit of
uncontrolled laughter.
Alice cries for him to stop, squirming around on the couch next to Jensen and
scrambling up into his lap to try and evade her father’s searching fingers.
“Do something uncle Jen! You’ve got to help me!” she laughs and Jensen figures
it’s already too late to go back to sleep for him anyways- so he lunges
forward, knocking Tom back against the floor in a flurry of motion. 
He’s careful as not to be too vicious with his attack, making sure Tom’s fall
is cushioned by the thick Persian carpet that’s spread across the floor as well
as the blanket his best friend has so cruelly bereft him of earlier.   
“Quick, Allie, I’ll hold him down—“ Jensen grins, holding Tom’s arms stretched
above his head as he sits on top of his chest, holding him captive. Alice
squeals with joy, bouncing happily onto her father’s chest as she tries to
mimic his earlier tickle attack with her tiny fingers.
Tom’s laughing-probably more from shock and his daughter’s amusement than the
actual tickling. 
“So you’re gonna team up against me now, is that it?” Tom snatches his daughter
around the waist and  blows a sloppy raspberry against her flushed cheek in
revenge. 
“Betrayed by my own flesh and blood daughter? You break my heart, Allie."
Alice is clutching at her tummy, her tiny frame shaking with the force of her
hitched breaths of laughter and Tom meets Jensen’s gaze over her shoulder, his
own happiness etched plainly across his features.
Jensen slowly straightens up from the ground, reaching out to help Tom up and
steadying his friend when he sways a little. “Y’alright?”
“Yeah… stupid hormones,” Tom grouches, closing his eyes for a moment to fight
the bout of dizziness he's overcome with from moving too quickly.
“It's my fault. I shouldn’t have pushed you—“ Jensen starts, but Tom doesn't
let him go any further than that.
“Jen, stop it. I’m alright. Got my were genes to protect me, remember?” he
says, nudging Jensen’s shoulder. “Besides, something tells me that the little
whirlwind enjoyed the action.”
Jensen bites his lower lip, watching guiltily as Tom rubs a soothing hand over
his stomach.
Omega’s are designed to carry pups. Their whole body functions are directed
towards protecting the children they are carrying and keeping them healthy.
Similarly to the accelerated healing process any werewolf has, omegas usually
don’t have to worry about losing their child during pregnancy like humans do.
They can even shift and go on sprints through the woods up until the fifth or
sixth month of pregnancy without having to be concerned about harming their
unborn pup because it’s their nature to do so.
A little roughhousing is nothing to a pregnant omega. Jensen knows all that,
but he still can’t help but feel guilty for having been so careless with his
friend when he was carrying new life inside him.
“Here,” Tom’s voice cuts through his thoughts when he shoves a steaming mug of
coffee into his hands. “Drink some of this… I’ll get Alice ready for the
funeral. You can have a shower if you want, there’s still enough time.”
Jensen swallows.
He almost forgot about Brock’s funeral.
With a heavy sigh, he gulps down his coffee and starts towards the bathroom.
No sense delaying the inevitable.
The atmosphere and overall mood of the funeral are gloomy- as was to be
expected.
The whole pack has gathered to take leave of Brock and Jensen can practically
feel the community prickle with tension and fear over the cruel act of violence
that had cost the young omega his life.
Funerals aren’t really a common occurrence in their circles- given the healing
abilities and extended lifespan of a werewolf, which makes it even harder to
watch Brock’s lifeless body burn to ashes on the traditional wooden pire, his
last remains going up in flames as his soul being carried on into the
afterlife.
Alice starts crying at some point and a few other wolves chime in, joining
Brock’s family members and his boyfriend as they quietly wipe at the incessant
stream of tears that roll down their cheeks.
Jensen feels his own throat burning, eyes bright and shiny as he watches the
flames climb higher through a blurred veil of tears.
He’s in his wolf form, sun blazing on his pristine white fur, causing it to
shimmer slightly in the hot midday sun. 
He wishes Jared would be here to give him support.
Jensen tenses when Jeffrey takes up his spot on the pedestal before the burning
pire and starts his speech.
“No words will ever be able to express the pain I feel over the loss of Brock
as a valued member of this pack. This young wolf has never done anything but
bring joy to the people around him and in the aftereffect of the unspeakable
horrors that cost Brock his life, I’d like to give my condolences to his family
and the man I’m sure he would have mated if given the chance—“ Jeffrey pauses,
sending Brock’s former boyfriend a sorrowful look full of regret.
Jensen finds himself blinking rapidly when the young alpha breaks down in front
of the crowd, shaking with heart-broken sobs at the loss of his lover and
future mate.
He shudders involuntarily at the thought of what it must feel like to be in the
alpha’s place right now- to be faced with the heart-shattering pain of losing
the love of your life and being unable to do anything against it.
His heart goes out for the grieving wolf and not for the first time today,
Jensen wishes for Jared to be here to comfort him.
Jeffrey thanks everyone for coming and they end the ceremony by lighting up
candles and lanterns and releasing them into the blue, cloudless sky above
their heads.
Jensen moves to leave, ready to talk to Jeffrey about the outcomes of the
trials from the night before, when a young pup suddenly bumps into his side,
causing his step to falter.
“Hey there, kiddo,” Jensen softly speaks, leaning down to help the black bundle
of fur back up onto its feet. “You okay? Did you hurt yourself?”
It takes a second for Jensen to recognize the familiar blue eyes he’s staring
into but by then it’s already too late.
“Simon! I told you to watch your fucking feet, you worthless little brat,”
David’s angry voice cuts through the air, landing like a whip on Jensen’s skin.
“I-I’m s-sorry—“ Simon whispers timidly and Jensen frowns, deeply concerned by
the withdrawn posture and demure tone of the kid.
There’s no trace of the boisterous happiness and curiosity Jensen sees whenever
he looks into Alice’s eyes- or into any other pair of eyes from the pups in his
daycare.
The only thing Jensen can see when he looks down Simon’s eyes is fear.
“It’s okay, buddy,” Jensen tries to reassure, smiling down at the pup. “No harm
done, right?”
“Nobody asked you for your opinion…” David spits out, causing Jensen’s hackles
to rise in indignation.
“Well too bad, cause I don’t need your permission to voice it,” Jensen gives
back, always quick at the repartee.
He crouches down before the pup, trying to get them both on eye-level, but
Simon is purposefully avoiding his gaze- almost as if he’s afraid to face him.
“Hey, kiddo, remember me? It’s Jensen…”
“Save your breath, Snow. He won’t talk to you… not anymore.”
“What the hell do you mean?” Jensen bristles with anger, not liking the
implication behind David’s words. “What did you tell him, David?”
“D-daddy said—“ Simon starts in a small voice, but David cuts him off again
with a clipped “Shut up!”
The cup shrinks back from his father’s tone and nearly topples over when David
carelessly jerks him back by the gruff of his neck. It's the last fucking
straw.
“You fucking bastard—“ Jensen’s patience snaps and he lunges forward, throwing
David off balance and knocking them both to the ground.
With a vicious snarl, Jensen seizes the black alpha wolf by the neck, clamping
his teeth down threateningly, using the alpha’s momentary distractedness to his
advantage.
But the other wolf recovers quickly, kicking Jensen in the stomach with his
muscular hind legs and Jensen yelps in pain when he’s being hit in the kidneys.
Before he can recover from the blow and pounce David in another attack, strong
arms wind themselves around him, holding him tight. “That’s enough- stop it
right now, that’s a fucking order.”
Jeffrey’s voice cuts through the veil of red that clouds Jensen’s vision and
he’s breathing heavily, instantly calming his struggles at the commanding tone
in the pack alpha’s tone.
“Shift! Both of you,” Jeff sneers and it’s only then that Jensen notices the
crowd of people that have gathered around them- watching the scene unfold with
equal parts of shock and horror.
He shifts back into his human form, well aware of the fact that he was naked
and exposed right there in front of the eyes of their pack members.
It doesn’t really matter to him.
After all, it isn’t exactly uncommon for them to see each other naked- with the
constant form-shifting they have become used to not always having clothes
around.
And Jensen wouldn’t mind if it was just the pack seeing him but he nearly
throws up in disgust at the way David’s appreciative gaze trails up and down
his naked body.
Jensen can feel Jeffrey’s pulsing race against his spine from where the alpha
is pressed up against him, can feel the older man’s hot pants of air in his
neck as he tries to catch his breath.
After a tense second or two, Jeff finally lets go off him, convinced that
Jensen won’t try to attack the alpha again. 
“What the hell are you thinking- starting a fight in the middle of a sacred
pack ritual! Do you even realize how disrespectful this is to Brock and his
family?!”
“You should be ashamed of yourselves,“ Sam agrees with her mate, sending Jensen
a motherly scowl of disapproval and picking Simon up from the ground to let him
snuggle against her chest.
“He called his son a‘worthless’ brat,” Jensen points out, nostrils flaring as
he meets David’s fiery gaze over the distance. “He fucking manhandled him-
Jeff, you can’t just let that slide! Simon’s just a little kid, for god’s sake-
he can't protect himself.”
Simon whimpers a little, sounding lost and afraid as he buries his tiny snout
in Sam’s neck.
“Is that true?” Jeffrey demands in a low growl, eyes narrowing threateningly.
“I can call my son whatever I goddamn’ well please, Morgan,” David snaps,
eliciting a few shocked gasps from the crowd.
“Oh hell no, you can’t you fucking bastard,” Chris chimes in from the side,
still in his wolf form and quickly losing his temper. His teeth are fletched
and his claws are digging into the muddy patch of soil beneath him. “You don’t
deserve to call yourself a father if you treat your own kid that way.”
“And stop leering at Jensen while we’re at it,” Tom growls protectively, Alice
propped up on his hip as he takes up a supportive stance beside Jensen. “He’s
mated in case you haven’t noticed…”
“Oh, I’ve noticed alright… not like that’s something you can easily miss with
the way Jared marked him up. But you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?”
David snorts in disgust at the sight of Tom’s rounded belly. “Knocked up like
the good little omega bitch you are. At least Mike knows that the only thing
you’ll ever be good for is—“
“Finish that sentence and you’ll be dead before you hit the ground, Boreanaz.”
Jensen’s breath catches in his throat at the sharpness of Jeff’s tone when he
interjects the rogue alpha’s words.
“Touchy subject, Jeff? I’m sure you don’t want to disrespect Brock or his
family by getting into another fight, right?” David teases with a lopsided grin
on his face. He doesn't get any further when Jeff lunges forward, pressing a
bulky arm against the rogue alpha's throat and pinning him against a tree.
“Listen up you sonofabitch, cause I’m only going to say this once,” Jeff hisses
into his face, well aware of the dozens of eyes that are trained on him, ready
to back him up in a fight if necessary. “I let you back into this pack,
ignoring everythingthat you’ve done because your son deserves a stable
environment to grow up in. But if I ever- and I mean EVER- see you treat your
own child with anything less than parental affection- or if I have reason to
believe you’d ever hurt him, I will personally break your neck, you understand
me?”
“You can’t be serious!” Jensen protests, eyes wide with disbelief as he
processes his adoptive father’s words. “If you have reason to believe? He
already fucking shoved him around- he called him ‘worthless’—Simon’s afraid of
him and all you’re gonna do is give him another warning? What more reason do
you need to be convinced that he's a terrible father?!"
"Mind your tone, boy," Jeffrey growls low in his throat and Jensen swallows at
the warning glower the alpha shoots him from the corner of his eyes. "I won't
take this- not even from you."
Jensen balls his hands into fists, frustrated with Jeff's stubbornness.
“Jensen honey, let’s talk about this at home alright?” Sam tries to calm him
down, resting a comforting palm on his shoulder, but Jensen shrugs her hand
off, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“No! Don't you see the parallel here? I mean are we all just going to ignore
the fact that David’s arrival and Brock’s death pretty much happened at the
same time?”
“So what- I’m a killer now?” David challenges with a raised eyebrow, looking
somewhat amused by the suggestion and Jensen feels his fingers twitch in
anticipation- wants nothing more than to wipe the smug look from that self-
satisfied asshole’s face.
“How can that be true when I spent the day in custody, huh? I had that idiot
Kane hanging around my fucking neck for the better part of the day so how
exactly should I’ve been able to kill Brock without him noticing it?”
Jensen seeks out Chris’ gaze, trying to figure out whether the words are true
and his heart sinks when the core alpha confirms the claim with a curt nod.
“He’s right… I didn’t leave his side all day after he ambushed you in the
office.”
“But that can’t be true! He must have found a way! What did the council say?”
Jensen demands in a sharp tone, not wanting to delay his talk with Jeffrey for
even just a second longer. He needs to know what the tribunal decided- needs to
know if they’ve found out anything about Brock’s death- about his killer.
But once more, Samantha interferes. “Jensen Ross Padalecki, we are NOT going to
discuss the details of the trials in front of a recently deceased pack member’s
friends and family, you hear me?”
She sets Simon back on the ground and reluctantly nudges him back towards his
flesh and blood father.
“Yeah, JR, do what mommy dearest tells you,“ David quips as he wraps his meaty
fingers around his son’s arm and tugs him forward. Simon stumbles over his own
short legs from the unexpected movement and Jensen nearly loses his shit all
over again at the sight.
He gives a small start forward, ready to attack once more but Jeffrey stops his
advance with a flat palm against his chest. 
“Heed my fucking words, David,“ Jeff snarls at the alpha, stabbing his index
finger warningly into the other man’s chest. “And if you know what’s good for
you, you’ll stay away from Jensen, too. Because if Jared ever sees you within a
two miles radius from his mate again,I’ll be the least of your worries, you
understand?”
“Crystal,” David gives back easily, looking for all intents and purposes as if
he couldn’t be bothered less by Jeffrey’s words.
Jensen looks after the retreating forms of the alpha and his son- watching
Simon stumble a few more times as he tries to hold up with his father’s too
quick footsteps.
“I’m so terribly sorry for the inconveniences, Nancy—“ Jeffrey apologizes to
Brock’s mother and it’s only then that Jensen can rip himself away from the
sight of the retreating alpha and his son.
“C’mon, let’s get you out of here, I think we need to talk…” Sam says, gently
nudging his shoulder in a prompt to get him moving.
 
 
The sun has almost gone done by the time Jared and Mike arrive at the pride
lands of the Blood Pack- a relatively strong pack with a deadly reputation,
known for their immaculate bloodline and their radical and outdated views on
race laws.
Jared has been here a couple of times already- for pack reunions and various
kinds of wolf rituals but he has always been repelled by this particular pack-
not liking their beliefs and traditions and downright hating way they treated
their omegas.
The blood pact is strong in numbers, counting over a hundred wolves and the
scary thing is that almost all of them are alphas. Jeffrey had once explained
to him that it was because of the pack’s obsolete viewpoints that they didn’t
like to have too many omegas in their pack, thinking of them to be worthless
and only good for reproduction.
Another thing Jared doesn’t like about them is the fact that they have a
tradition where newly inaugurated wolves must cut themselves with silver when
joining their pack. They put salt in the wound afterwards so that it won’t heal
as easily and leaves a nasty scar in the process to show pack loyalty.
Hence also the name- blood pack. 
If a new pup is born, the same ritual is performed- regardless of the fact that
they are essentially hurting vulnerable children who couldn’t defend themselves
even if they wanted to.
It’s savagery and Jared skin crawls with disgust every time he sees one of
their kind with vicious scars marking up their faces or arms.
He doesn’t like the idea of forcing pack members to prove their fidelity in
such a radical way.
Either a wolf is loyal, or he isn’t. But there’s no way to blackmail somebody
into compliance if their heart isn’t in the game.
“And who do we have here?” a deep voice sounds through the air as they pass the
gates of the pack grounds and Jared freezes in place, turning into the
direction the words had come from.
“If it isn’t Jared Padalecki and one of his most loyal lapdogs…”
A tawny gold-brown wolf with eyes as bright as the moon is grinning down at
them from a suspension bridge that connects the tree crowns above their heads.
The pack alpha.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Jared?” Luther smirks down at
them, eyes glinting predatorily.
Jared swallows, hackles rising at the other alpha’s self-assured demeanor.
“I’m afraid it’s less of a pleasure than you might think.”
Chapter End Notes
     So, I know it's a pretty slow build-up and there's still a lot of
     plotholes, but we're getting there... Next chapter will deal with the
     blood pack and further introduce Luther as a character. Oh and Jensen
     is let in on a shocking reveal concerning David... I would really
     appreciate it if you'd drop me a few words about how you liked the
     new chapter. It means a lot to me to get your insights on the
     story.Thanks!
***** Chapter 6 *****
Chapter Notes
     Hey guys! Finally the update is ready. I am so sorry for the delay- I
     just moved to a city at the other end of the world and I was terribly
     jet-lagged and needed to get settled. Some explicit descriptions in
     this chapter. Please heed the warnings. Enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
                                        
 
The thing about Luther is that he’s an asshole.
Jared knows that without a single doubt in his mind.
The guy is an arrogant, egoistic bastard with too much self-confidence and way
too much power.
But there’s just something about his character- something Jared has never been
quite able to put his finger on- that is undeniably fascinating. 
Jared likes to think it’s his human appearance, all broad-shouldered,
personified elegance with silken blond hair that cascades over his shoulders
like the waves of a waterfall.
His cheek bones are poking out beneath the pale complexion of his skin,
pronouncing the angular cut of his features and he’s always got this charming
smile on his lips.
And then there are the scars, of course, jagged and discolored, spreading
across Luther’s eyelid and most of his right cheek like tiny bolts of
lightning.
Jared imagines that people might be revolted by the sight but Luther wears his
scars with so much confidence that he finds himself unbothered by them. 
He honestly doesn’t care if the pack alpha feels the need to maim himself, but
what he does care about is the fact that the crazy bastard thinks it is okay to
do the same to the rest of his pack- including pups.
Now that’s where he draws the line.
It is savagery, plain and simple.
And Jared can’t really get over that fact even when he’s being cordially
invited to stay for dinner and led to the pack alpha’s splendid office on top
of the highest tree crown in the forest.
“So?” the pack alpha flicks his golden zippo and languidly sucks on the butt of
his cigarette, lighting it up in the dim shine of his office, eyes glinting
predatorily over to where Jared is sitting.
“What news could be terrible enough for the glorious Jared Padalecki to seek
out the presence of my humble self?”
His deep voice is practically dripping honey and Jared isn't fooled by the
saccharine tone for one second.
Discomfort, hot and urgent, claws at his insides as he fidgets around in his
seat, trying to swallow down the snappy response that's on the tip of his
tongue.
He suddenly wishes he hadn’t told Mike to wait outside- that he hadn’t asked
Luther for a private conversation because this wolf was sending out such strong
negative vibes that it made his skin crawl with the urge to attack. 
Mike is the more level-headed of the two of them, always making him contemplate
his actions and their possible consequences instead of doing something rash.
Without his cool demeanor to ground him, Jared feels himself quickly losing his
patience.
“Don’t put yourself down on my account, Luther. It’s not your style.”
“I see your manners haven’t improved much since the last time I saw you,”
Luther chuckles, shrugging the offense off as he pours Jared and himself a
glass of Whiskey. 
“So are you going to let me in on the reason for your visit or do you want me
to guess?”
Jared’s eyes narrow, his features grimacing with barely disguised anger.
“One of our omegas was brutally murdered last night,” he says matter-of-factly,
shoulders squared and whole posture rigid as he gauges Luther’s reaction to the
words, tries to detect even just the slightest flicker of emotion in the other
wolf’s gaze.
"We found him in the woods... practically ripped to shreds."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Luther says, keeping his expression carefully neutral
and not giving anything away as he slides the glass of Whiskey across his
wooden oak table towards Jared’s chest.
He doesn't sound sorry at all.
“I assume you believe my pack has something to do with that unfortunate
occurrence?” the pack alpha smiles, pearly white teeth glinting from behind
stretched lips.
Jared leans slightly forward in his seat.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ve had something to do with it, Luther. Only question is why
and how.”
The fake smile slowly fades from Luther’s lips and Jared sees a spark of white,
hot anger settle on his skin when the long-haired man looks at him.
“Don’t you think it’s a little reckless to come here, into my pack- into my
house and insult me like this? Your father and I have an agreement- a peace
treaty signed in blood. It’s non-negotiable.”
“I know about the treaty,” Jared spits out coldly, getting up from his seat to
lean over Luther’s wooden desk, muscular arms propped up against the oak
surface as he towers over the other man- using his height and bulkiness to his
advantage. "But apparently it didn't keep you from going after Brock.”
Luther holds Jared’s fiery gaze as he stabs his cigarette out against the
table.
“You are lucky I respect your father, Jared. Or else you wouldn’t leave my
grounds breathing after what you just implied.”
Jared huffs, looking down at the scar-faced pack alpha with disdain.
Okay, screw patience. 
“Drop the fucking act, Luther! Do you really think I’m buying the shit you’re
trying to sell me here? You loathe my father. You’d gladly snap his neck if
given the chance and you’d do the same to me. The only reason you haven’t done
it yet is because my pack would come after you if you tried and not because of
some stupid treaty."
“It seems you have made up your mind on this, what more is there for me to
say?” Luther replies in a calm voice, not rising up to the bait.
“You’re not even going to defend yourself are you?” Jared sneers, fingers
twitching at his sides and jaw locked tight enough to hurt. “So what- you got
tired of beating your own omegas around? Needed a little alternation in who you
could degrade and mutilate next, is that it?”
There is a sharp undertone to his words, but Luther seems unbothered by it.
“See, Jared,” he sighs, bored by the other man's rising anger. “I don’t expect
your small-minded brain to understand this, but there is a difference between
hating omegas and knowing their worth. The Greek letter ‘Omega’ comes last in
the alphabet for a reason. They are the weak links in a robust chain- the less
of them you have, the stronger you ultimately are. One might even say whoever
killed your precious omega wolf did you a favor...”
“That's bullshit!” Jared slams his hand down on the tabletop so hard the whole
desk is rattling from the force of it.
He’s bristling, nostrils flaring and heart beating wildly in his chest, every
muscle flexed and ready to snap forward.
“They are givers of life. Their caring nature is the equivalence to an alpha’s
fiery character- without them we would be nothing. It’s our duty to protect
them and not to use their physical weakness in our favor.”
"Well that was a lovely speech," Luther chuckles, lighting another cigarette
and taking a deep drag. “But one fact remains the same: they are designed to be
subservient. They are our dominions by biology, unable to defy an order or go
against their sexual lasciviousness even if they wanted to. And that makes them
practically useless. Take your mate for example, congratulations by the way—“
Jared doesn’t know how Luther found out about his mating- too much time has
passed since the last time they saw each other for the alpha to have noticed
the slight change of his scent.
But what he does know is that the bastard’s just crossed a line by mentioning
Jensen.
His inner wolf is surging up to new life inside of him, growling possessively
at the mere thought of Luther even just knowing about Jensen- much less
speaking about his mate.“You don’t talk about him, ever, Luther, you fucking
understand me?!" 
“So fierce,” Luther grins with a soft shake of his head, exhaling a cloud of
smoke and momentarily disappearing behind a veil of gray swirls. “He must be
special if you are that protective of him.Tell me, Jared, how much does he mean
to you?”
Jared blinks, taken aback by the question.
“He’s my mate,” he answers simply as if that one word could somehow encompass
the depth and extent of everything that Jensen means to him.
It’s not exactly like he can put a price tag on half of his soul. 
“He’s everything to me.”
“And see,” Luther starts, pointing a finger towards Jared. “That right there is
what condemns you. Love will be your ultimate downfall if you expose yourself
to it. It’s like an all-consuming disease that takes hold of your body and
infects all your cells.”
“If you really believe that, I feel sorry for you,” Jared hisses, unable to
comprehend how anyone could think so lowly about the one thing that made life
worth living.
It is true- in a way he supposes love can really make you vulnerable, but Jared
would rather take that risk than to live a life without Jensen. His mate is the
part that completes him and he wouldn’t want to miss that for anything.
“Well, I gotta give it to you, Jared, omegas do come with certain perks,”
Luther says, eyes glinting with mischief when he takes a sip from his Whiskey
and hums blissfully around the edge of the glass. 
Jared’s teeth grind together and his fingers clench into fists by his side,
ready to rearrange that smug bastard’s face for his disrespectful words.
“I can't hold it against you that you wanted one for yourself- especially not
with the way they get when they're in heat,” Luther clamps the cigarette
between thin lips and claps his hands a few times, causing the door to the
office to open and a guy in his early twenties to emerge in the doorway.
The young man is gorgeous— tall, lithe body bulked up with clearly defined
muscle beneath tan skin, thick auburn hair and exotically shaped eyes in a
startling shade of blue.
Jared does a double take on him, mouth going a little slack as he stares.
He honestly hasn’t had eyes for anyone else but Jensen ever since they got
together in their teens (and secretively even before that), but even so he can
still appreciate a good-looking body when he sees one.
“Close the door,” Luther commands, waving the young man inside and the boy
complies easily, eyes downcast and long black lashes fanned out against rosy
cheeks.
Omega.
Jared knows it even before he’s hit with the wave of pheromones that emanate
from the boy’s skin when he moves closer to the desk, dutifully sinking to his
knees beside the chair Luther’s sitting in.
The intoxicatingly sweet scent is nearly bringing Jared to his knees and he has
to squeeze his eyes shut for a second, heat pooling in his belly and cock
stirring in his jeans.
He feels disgusted with his body’s reaction- knows he shouldn’t feel attracted
to anyone but Jensen- knows he doesn’tfeel attracted to anybody but his mate-
but the wave of lust and need and desperation that hits him when the boy’s
emotions transfer through their wolves’ bond would drive any hot-blooded young
alpha male to lose his composure.
“What are you doing? “ Jared’s stomach cramps with panic at the sight of the
boy sinking to his knees- the kid can’t be older than what- sixteen, seventeen?
He shouldn’t be out here when he’s in heat and he most certainly shouldn’t be
mouthing at Luther’s crotch the way he is- shouldn’t drag the other man’s
zipper open with his teeth like he has done this millions of times before.
Jared wants to hurl at the sight but his eyes are glued to the spot and he just
can’t get himself to look away.
“You never gotten a blowjob before, Jared? You look like you’re seeing this for
the first time.”
“He’s not your mate! Hell, the kid probably isn’t even off age yet- what's
wrong with you?!”
“There are no matings in my pack, Jared, all we do is take and give. The few
omegas we have will service all of us.”
Service.
Jared cringes at the word, feeling anger flare up in the pit of his stomach at
the degrading expression. “You mean you are using them as you please… against
their will?”
His hackles are rising, teeth clenched together tight enough to snap.
“Who says they don’t like it?” Luther smirks, before gently guiding the young
omega’s head down towards his rapidly hardening dick.
“You're loving this, aren't you?” Luther asks the young omega and the boy nods
shakily, lips shiny with saliva as he sucks the pack alpha’s half-hard length
into his mouth. "That's what I thought. Now open wide and be a good little
bitch..."
Luther gasps when the omega takes him down, not giving the young man any time
to adjust as he tightens his long fingers in the boy’s dark hair and holds him
in place to fuck his mouth.
It’s obscene and gruesome and Jared’s can't shake the feeling that that smug
bastard is putting on a show for him to make him lose his composure.
It works.
“You’re a fucking sick son of a bitch, you know that?!” Jared snaps, swiping
his arms across the table and throwing the items on Luther’s desk to the ground
in a flurry of movement. “He’s in heat! He needs to be taken care of- needs to
be mated! What the hell are you doing, keeping him out here when he’s like
this?“
“Oh, he’s taken care of alright, aren’t you sweetheart?” Luther chuckles,
patting the boy’s hair  as if praising a dog.
But the omega isn’t cared for in the slightest.
He practically reeks of desperation, whole body shaking from exertion even as
he keeps up a steady suction, bared muscles glistening with sweat in the dim
lights of the tree crown.
He should be locked somewhere in a room with his mate or at the very least some
toys to take the edge off, but instead, Luther is keeping him on his knees like
a slave that is forced to pleasure him.
It makes Jared want to jump over there and break Luther’s fucking neck.
Letting his hand slide lower along the boy’s bare and sweat-slick flank, Luther
slaps the skin on the boy’s perky ass, eliciting a shocked gasp of pain from
the kid and Jared’s vision turns red.
“You son of a bitch!”
Without thinking about the possible consequences, Jared lunges, pouncing on
Luther as he throws them both to the ground in a heap of flying limbs.
“Here,” Sam shoves a bottle of water into Jensen’s shaking hands and guides him
over to an empty chair in their kitchen.
“Sit down and drink something. You are too pale.”
Jensen puts the water aside and rakes his fingers through his hair.
“I’m fine. Now what was that all about?” He looks over at Jeffrey with a
demanding glare and narrows his eyes in suspicion. “What happened with the
council today, Jeff?”
The alpha sighs and exchanges a long, concerned look with Chris- one of the
 most experienced core alphas in their pack and one of Jeffrey’s oldest friends
and advisors.
He has apparently been let in on something that Jensen isn’t privy to and it
pisses him off. "Okay, would somebody please start explaining to me what's
going on?"
“Look, Jensen,” Jeffrey sighs after a short moment, grabbing his own chair from
the table and plopping down into it next to him. “I tried to bring up David’s
repudiation during the trials… based on what happened back when he first
attacked you.”
Jensen chews on his lower lip, averting his gaze when a wave of shame rushes
through him.
He feels the sudden urge to cross his arms in front of his chest, but he forces
his hands to reside by his side instead, not wanting to show his discomfort.
“It was supposed to help our case, but the council cleared him of all his
charges.”
“They what?” Jensen exclaims, whole body going rigid with tension. “But he
assaulted me! How can they acquit him of his charges? There were witnesses, for
god’s sake—“
“Jensen, calm down, honey,“ Sam cuts in from aside, gently grasping his upper
arm in a gesture that was meant to ground and comfort him. “We know what that
bastard did to you. And it’s unforgivable.”
“Then how could he get away so easily?” Jensen protests, voice cracking with
disbelief and anger.
Jeffrey meets his gaze over the table. “We believe David has made some
connections in the years of his absence. He might have found allies in
adversary packs and come back with bad intentions.”
Jensen shudders, feeling overwhelmed by the information.
The thought that the rogue alpha might have come back for revenge hadn’t even
crossed his mind until now. He had been naïve enough to actually believe
David’s story about having lost his mate and being all alone with the task of
raising Simon.
“We believe he might have friends in the council who secretly support him,”
Chris goes on, eyes hooded and glimmering with darkness.
“What are they out for?” Jensen knows the answer to his own question before
anyone can answer it.
“The pack. They are probably planning an attack as we speak.” Samantha explains
with a sigh of her own, rubbing a hand over her tired face.
Jensen feels sick at the words.
“And Brock?” Jensen asks, afraid of the answer.
Jeffrey’s lips twist into a thin, angry line at the mention of the recently
deceased omega. “They are killing our omegas… trying to emotionally weaken us
before the attack. It’s an ancient war practice and a quite effective one at
that.”
Chris has a murderous look on his face when he speaks up. “These fucking
cowards don’t even have the balls to attack us up front. They’d rather go after
the weakest link in the chain and plunge our alphas into devastating grief over
the loss of their mates.”
Jensen swallows and shakes his head in denial. “But Chris- you said it
yourself… David couldn’t have killed Brock. You were with him the entire day.”
Jeffrey and Sam exchange a worried look, whole conversations flowing between
them without the use of words and Jensen can’t help but feel as if he’s missing
something essential.
“What?” he frowns. “What is it?”
Jeff’s mouth falls open, but it takes a moment for the words to roll from his
lips. “If David really has something to do with all this, he must have had some
kind of accomplice.”
Jensen takes the words in and lets out a slow, shudder of a  breath. “You mean
somebody from the pack? Are we talking about a traitor?”
“It’s a possibility…” Jeff answers with a gloomy look on his face, cheek muscle
twitching. “But until we know for sure, I would appreciate it if none of you
would tell anyone. We can’t cause any more panic in the pack."
“So what happens next?” Jensen pushes, feeling unease blossom in the pit of his
stomach at the possible repercussions all of this could have on their pride.
More than ever he wishes for Jared to be here and to support their pack with
guidance and strength.
“David will be shadowed 24/7. Until further notice, I will impose a curfew on
all omegas of the pack… None of them should roam the grounds unless accompanied
by an alpha or beta wolf, who could protect them if necessary. The same goes
for cubs and teens… I want them all under surveillance.”
Jensen feels everything inside of him recoil at the alpha’s words. “You can’t
be serious!” he exclaims, throwing his hands in the air in frustration. “You
can’t just lock us away like that! It’s ridiculous and degrading!”
“Jensen—“
“No, Sam!” Jensen cuts her off sharply, green eyes sparkling with unleashed
fury.“I’m not some fragile thing that needs protecting, alright? I can very
well walk to work and back again without having some alpha escorting me to the
freaking door.”
Jeff shoots up from his seat, squaring his shoulders and jutting out his chin
daringly as he towers over Jensen’s form. “I think you’re forgetting who you’re
talking to, Jensen. It isn’t your place to disobey me.”
His calm voice is unwavering, but still laced with an undeniable dominance and
to his utter shame and horror, Jensen feels his omega nature assert itself to
the alpha's commanding voice as he lowered his head in instinctive submission.
“What about Simon?” he asks in a timid voice, not wanting to see the sweet pup
in the care of a potential traitor. “Are we just going to leave him in David’s
custody?”
“Simon isn’t showing any outward signs of abuse, Jensen,” Samantha gives back
in a soft tone, covering the back of Jensen’s hand with her own. “Unless that
changes, there’s nothing we can do- especially with the council’s verdict.”
Jensen squeezes his eyes shut in frustration, before hastily getting up from
his seat and making a start for the cave’s exit.
“Where are you going?” Jeff calls after him, sounding exasperated.
“Out.”
Jeff jerks his head to the side, motioning for Chris to follow the omega and
Samantha crosses her arms in front of her chest as she watches the core alpha
jog out after her adoptive son.
“He’s an emotional wreck, Jeff, maybe we should call Jared…“
“No,” Jeffrey cuts her off with a brisk shake of his head. “Jensen will do that
himself, right after he took Chris’ head off for following him.”
Sam snorts at that. “You are aware that no curfew will ever get this boy to
give up his independence, right? God knows Jensen fought way too hard for it to
be losing it now.”
“He will if Jared orders him to do so.”
Samantha’s gaze darkens and she juts out her hip. “Jared would never force
Jensen to do anything he doesn't want to do.”
Jeff doesn’t meet her gaze as he stares off into the distance.
“Our son wants his mate safe, Sam. And that's the only thing that counts.”
Jensen hammers his knuckles against Tom’s door until jolts of pain shoot
through them.
As soon as the door to the den opens with the tell-tale squeak of rusty hinges,
Jensen slips inside, grabbing a startled looking Tom by the lapels of the dark
blue bathrobe he’s wearing.
“Jensen- what—“
“When was the last time you talked to Mike?” Jensen blurts out, heart beating
frantically in his chest and fingers tightening around the soft fabric of Tom’s
bathrobe.
Tom frowns, looking startled by Jensen’s strange demeanor.
His friend pulls the door closed and locks it, bath towel wrapped around his
shower-soaked hair like a turban.
“Must have been a few hours ago, after the funeral. Why are you asking?”
“Because I can’t reach Jared on his phone! I’ve tried it three times already,”
Jensen waves his cell through the air as if to somehow proof its uselessness
before carelessly throwing it onto Tom’s couch and carding his hands through
his hair in a panicked manner.
Tom seems to notice his friend’s impending breakdown and gently guides him over
to one of the bar stools at the kitchen counter. 
“Alright, how about you calm down there for a second. Maybe he’s in the middle
of a meeting or something. I’m sure everything's alright.”
“You don’t know that!” Jensen exclaims, voice wavering on the edge of panic as
a new wave of frustration wells up inside of him. “He could be hurt or worse
and I can’t even fucking leave the house without a chaperon following me
around—"
“Jensen, you’re not making any sense. what are you talking about?” Tom asks and
despite Jeffrey’s order to keep things secret for now, Jensen can’t help the
truth from bubbling up to the surface.
“All omegas in the pack are put on a curfew because of what happened to
Brock. Jeffrey’s going to announce it tomorrow morning. He wants us to be
shadowed by alphas as if we couldn’t defend ourselves in a battle.”
Tom sighs heavily, pulling his bathrobe tighter around his shoulders before
sitting down next to Jensen at the bar.
“I’m sure it will only be for a couple of days… just until everyone has calmed
down from the shock of Brock’s death.”
Jensen sniffs miserably and to his own mortification he realizes that he’s
close to crying, eyes eerily wet with unspilt tears.
"Woah, hey.." Tom slings an arm around his shoulder and pulls him in against
his side. “C’mon, Jensen, it’s all going to be alright.”
“But—“ Jensen chortles and Tom squeezes his neck in reassurance.
“Look, how about I try calling Mike and you ask him about Jared, huh? Just to
calm your nerves?”
Jensen hastily wipes a hand over his eyes, biting his lower lip to rein his
composure.
He isn’t usually this emotional- hasn’t cried in a long while, but now that
he’s started he finds it incredibly hard to stop.
One of his friends died a day ago, his mate could be hurt for all he knows and
Jensen isn’t even allowed to make a step of his own because of that whole
surveillance bullshit. Oh and he almost forgot the crazy perve that's after him
and probably is connected somehow to Brock’s death. 
“I’m sure he’s fine, Jen,” Tom tries again when he sees a new glimmer of tears
rise spark to life in Jensen’s emerald eyes. “Don’t you think you’d feel it if
something had happened to him?”
The truth is Jensen doesn’t really know what he should or should not be feeling
through the bond.
They have only just started testing it out and hesitantly connected their mind
and spirits with each other.
It’s not exactly like they’ve been doing this for years and their bond still
isn’t strong enough to transmit thoughts and emotions over such large
distances.
“I don’t know… I don’t—can I please just call Mike?”
“Sure,” Tom puts a smile up for his sake, but Jensen can see the worry lines
that are etched into his friend’s features when he types in Mike's number.
“Here you go…”
Jensen fumbles for the phone and quickly proceeds to press it to his ear,
sighing out a breath of instant relief when Mike picks up after only one ring.
“Babe, everything okay?” Mike’s voice sounds rushed and out of breath when he
answers, his tone is dripping with concern and it’s only then that Jensen
realizes how ridiculous he’s behaving, calling his pregnant friend's husband
and making it seem like Tom had gone into early labor or something...
“Tommy?” Mike presses when Jensen fails to answer immediately. “Fuck, baby are
you alright? Is something wrong?”
“Mike, it’s me. Tom is fine, he’s sitting right next to me. I- I was actually
trying to reach Jared… is he with you?”
“Jensen…” Mike sighs, sounding worried and Jensen’s heart skips a beat at the
reluctance he hears over the crackle of the phone.
“What’s going on, Mike? Why isn’t he answering? Did something happen to him?“
“Hold on,” Mike instructs and Jensen swallows when he hears the phone getting
moved around on the other end of the line.
Tom’s forehead crinkles and he mouths a question at Jensen, who shrugs in
return, not really sure what's happening.
“Jen?” Jared’s voice suddenly rings through the speaker and Jensen almost
slides off the stool with relief.
He closes his eyes and lets out a long, trembling exhale he hadn’t been aware
of holding.
“You okay?” Jared asks and Jensen wants nothing more than to reach through the
phone and hit his mate up the head.
“You’re asking me that?” he says around a watery snort. “I’ve been calling you
and you didn’t respond. You had me so worried, Jay, I thought you got hurt or—“
“I’m fine,” Jared gives back, but Jensen doesn't have to look at him to know
that he isn't telling the whole truth
“You’re not. Why are you lying to me?”
“Jensen…” Jared sighs.
He sounds off.
Something is definitely going on and Jensen doesn’t think he’ll like it.
His heart clenches painfully in his chest. “What’s wrong?”
“You remember our peace treaty with the Blood Pack?” Jared asks and a mental
image of scarred skin and long blond hair pops up in Jensen’s mind.
He shudders at the mere thought, goose bumps running across his skin.
Jared hadn't mentioned that he was going to visit the Blood Pack.
Luther was never good news.
“What about it?”
There is a tense moment of silence before Jared speaks.
“I might have broken it."
Chapter End Notes
     Hope you enjoyed this chapter, guys! :) There's a storm brewing and
     the boys are certainly in for some action. I hope you are still up
     for more! Please let me know what you thought. Reviews are love!
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