Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/608262. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Underage Category: M/M Fandom: Supernatural_RPF Relationship: Jensen_Ackles/Jared_Padalecki Character: Jensen_Ackles, Jared_Padalecki, Chad_Michael_Murray, Sophia_Bush, Christian_Kane Additional Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega_Dynamics, Knotting, Were-Creatures, Werecats, Werewolves, Underage_Sex, Mpreg, Mildly_Dubious_Consent, Anal_Sex, Age Difference, Age_Swap Stats: Published: 2012-12-25 Words: 8609 ****** Most Prized Possession ****** by mznaughty01 Summary It was just a stupid, silly dare. Spend one hour on the land owned by the Padalecki wolf pack. Jensen knew he could do it. He just hadn’t figured on meeting Jared in the course of doing it or what Jared would mean to his life. One hour. Sixty minutes. Three thousand six hundred seconds. Jensen could do it, he could. He could survive on the land owned by the huge, terrifying wolf pack—the huge, terrifying wolf pack full of huge, terrifying wolves. The pack owned miles and miles of forested land which had a trillion places for Jensen to hide if need be. Plus, Jensen only had to spend a twenty- fourth of his day there. Just one small tiny insignificant hour. That wasn’t so bad. The tricky part was going to be spending it there without getting caught. But it was doable. Scary as shit, but still doable. It was such a short period of time, with luck, Jensen would be in and out and done with the whole fiasco before the wolves knew a thing. The wolves lived in a close knit society deep inside the heart of their territory and they kept to themselves, rarely leaving. They didn’t even allow their pups to attend public schools, preferring home based learning over the curriculum taught by the city of Missoula that was delivered in accordance with the state of Montana’s specifications. Hopefully, it would be weeks before Jensen’s faded scent on the outskirts was noticed and, by then, Jensen would be long gone, mission accomplished, sayonora, sucker. Problem was, Jensen didn’t want to do it. Not at all. Having each and every last one of his teeth pulled with no local anesthetic to numb the pain would be a far less nerve wracking experience to go through than spending even one second on wolf land. It would also be more enjoyable. “You do know you don’t have to do this?” Sophia questioned from her spot by his side. Her concern was wrapped as tight around the quiet words as her fingers were around his wrist. Sophia Bush was a mind reader who could be so right sometimes it was downright creepy while at other times, like now, managing to be so very wrong it was ridiculous. Which meant, cool as it would’ve been, Sophia didn’t really possess any type of ESP. But she was pretty damn intuitive. “Yeah, I kinda do,” Jensen responded. “I need to.” And even though he’d never said one word to her, Jensen was certain Sophia knew the most obvious why behind his decision. Jensen’s stupid fascination with a certain stupid someone. She squeezed his wrist in acknowledgement before releasing her hold. “I know, but...don’t get me wrong, it’s just that I...I don’t know, I mean, ah, wow, this should not be that hard...I guess what I’m trying to say here is that I just don’t...” Get it. Understand. Comprehend. Not surprising. Neither did Jensen. “Same here.” Exhaling the lungful of icy air he’d been holding since their trek began half an hour before, Jensen raised his eyes from the grassy, snow speckled ground crunching underneath his battered boots to watch the group walking a few feet ahead. Michael Rosenbaum and Steve Carlson were at the rear, shoulders jostling against each other’s with every step they took, each having undergone the experience Jensen was about to face on their own sixteenth birthdays back in July and August, respectively. In the middle was the tiny, yet feisty, Genevieve Cortese who’d done it just a couple months before, at the beginning of January, on her sixteenth birthday. Next to her was Danneel Harris, fierce and beautiful, who would be doing it in the middle of March, a few short weeks after Jensen, when she hit the magical number. And, at the forefront, heading the expedition, Chad Michael Murray. “It’s just, well, it’s just that I’ve known him a lot longer than you, Jen, and he’s—” “The douchiest douche to ever douche. I know, Sophy. Believe me, I know.” A startled giggle burst free of Sophia. When Steve turned his head to stare at her in open curiosity, she slapped a hand over her mouth, then whispered to Jensen through her spread open fingers, “I was going to say he’s as immature now as he was when we were all ten, maybe more so now, but the douchiest douche to ever douch works good, too.” Letting her hand drop to her side again, she said, louder, “Mind your own business, Skeevy Stevie.” A finger, midway on Steve’s right hand, stretched upwards in response as he returned his attention to Mike. He just managed to dodge a hard shoulder bump that had been delivered with the intention of taking him down to the ground. Chad. Michael. Murray. With his buzzed blond hair Jensen wanted to run his palms over and his squinty blue eyes Jensen found it so hard not to stare into and get lost in. With his magnetic personality Jensen hated but was drawn to nonetheless. With his viselike hold on Jensen he didn’t even know about, thank the Gods above. Chad Michael Murray, dipshit extraordinaire, professional asshat, reigning fucktard of Davidson High School. He was Jensen’s obsession to the point Jensen put him on the same level as his all-time favorite snack, gummy bears. Yes, Jensen was that far gone. “Look, Jensen, I’ve been thinking.” A few long strands of hair had escaped from the ponytail secured at the nape of Sophia’s neck. With an impatient swipe of her hand, she tucked the wayward locks behind an ear. “I’ve been thinking about you and about Chad and—and, well, about everything, really. And I don’t think what you feel for him is as simple as a passing infatuation. Actually, I’m sure it’s much, much more serious.” Jensen was, too. And he was sure glad that Sophia did seem to actually have some idea about what was going on with him. Because, try as he might, Jensen himself had never been able to make sense out of his attraction to Chad. He didn’t like the boy, thought he was an asshole. But Jensen’s glowing opinion had never prevented him from wanting to expose his throat and/or belly to Chad every time they crossed each others’ paths. For some unknown reason, Jensen’s traitorous body felt the proper manner to greet Chad was with an absurd posture of subservience. That was a notion Jensen’s mind was in stringent disagreement with, but in the two years Jensen had known Chad he’d never been successful in getting his body to see eye to eye with his brain. In fact, just the opposite had occurred. Jensen’s interest in the idiot had started as just a niggling in the back of his mind with the annoying side effect of causing mild tingles to course through his body any time Chad was near. Then, the niggling had mutated. For about the past year, whenever Chad came around, which was too fucking often, Jensen’s asshole twitched, itching to be stuffed and filled and used. His jeans became uncomfortable and way too tight as blood rushed into his cock, causing it to lengthen and harden and expand. Then, the second mutation had occurred. Sometime over the prior night after the hour had passed marking the sixteenth year since Jensen had been on earth. The day had started out well enough outside of the high, persistent fever Jensen had awoken to and the odd aching emptiness he’d felt all the way down to his bones. It had gone up shit’s creek from there. Because mega freakout didn’t even begin to describe Jensen’s reaction when his to that point harmless, if revolting, arousal had made his ass wet on first sighting Chad (flipping wet like Jensen was a frigging chick with a vagina! What. The. Holy. Hell.) in preparation for the good hard fucking Jensen’s instincts screamed Chad could provide (breeding, his mind had been oh so happy to correct). Jensen had been disgusted beyond belief, in addition to being dumbfounded, at his body’s whispered suggestion to fall to his hands and knees to make it easier for his behind to perform its enthusiastic and lewd rendition of a hey-friend-how-so-very-nice-to-see-you-again greeting when Chad entered the same hallway as him. His internal meltdown hadn’t had anything to do with the school corridor they were in being swamped end-to-end with their snarky peers who would’ve gossiped for days on end about the embarrassing deed had it gone down but because Jensen had known—known!—Chad had been the reason for his unexpected submissive thoughts. No. No. No. No. No. Hell no. Fuck no. Except, it wasn’t really, truly a no. It was more of a gray shaded maybe, kinda, sorta yes. Which explained why Jensen had snuck out of his house (ass still frigging wet, fever still flipping raging, bones still fucking sore), out of the warm comfort of his bed, and why he was getting ready to do what was, hands down, the dumbest thing he’d ever done just because Chad insisted it was what each one of them should do to “prove” themselves on the night of their sixteenth birthdays. Because what Chad said was sooo fucking insightful and important, was the sarcastic protest bouncing around Jensen’s mind even as his body shouted, Hell to the yes! Sophia stopped walking. Not wanting to deal with the others without his one true friend to serve as a buffer, Jensen stopped, too. The limbs of the pine and fir trees high above prevented the slight illumination produced by the half moon from reaching them, but just enough filtered through to highlight the dark haired, brown eyed beauty standing next to Jensen. Sophia appeared both ethereal and unreal. And her attractiveness was more than skin deep. For the hundredth, thousandth, millionth time, the same two questions weighed heavy on Jensen’s mind. Why Chad? Why not Sophia? Their friends were out of sight before Sophia spoke again. “Don’t go through with this, Jensen. Not for Chad. To be honest, I don’t think you should do it at all. Not for any reason.” Jensen was almost tempted to tell Chad to go screw himself on this one. Because sneaking onto wolf land for any length of time, even for as short as an hour, was stupid, idiotic and dangerous. And it was not (absolutely, positively was not) the rite of passage Chad had been passing it off as since he’d thought it up. One, because rites of passages weren’t devised by high, drunk fifteen year olds with more balls than brain. Two, because this particular rite of passage had started just in the past few months, on Mike’s birthday in July. Both reasons were excellent indicators that this rite of passage was less of an honorable, time tested ritual of import marking the end of one stage of life and the beginning of the next and more of a spur of the moment juvenile activity of moronic proportions. But Jensen wouldn’t go against Chad. He couldn’t. He’d go through with the dare—and that’s all it was: a silly, unintelligent dare—just like Mike and Steve and Chad and Gen all had before him. Just like Sophia had before him. Just like Danneel would after him. That, in essence, was the most frustrating thing about the entire situation. Jensen doubted he would ever discover why, on a subconscious level, he was so captivated by Chad and so eager to do everything the douche bag said. Especially since he’d never felt a similar need to obey any other person in his life, the sole exception being the few Alpha Elders who had ever bothered to lower their standards to talk to him, or at him to be more accurate, on the rare occasion. And he’d figured his desire to do as they said was just the result of his inherent manners demanding he listen and show utmost respect to those older than him even if they were jackasses. Bending down, Jensen retrieved a rock sticking up out the snow. As he stood, he tossed the pebble against the nearest tree and watched it bounce off to land on the grass a few feet away. “I have to do this. I don’t have a choice.” That admission, in all its sad, sad simplicity, was the pathetic truth. It would be that lack of choice to force Jensen into disregarding the edict handed down by the Alpha Elders of a time long ago which forbade members of the pride from ever stepping one foot, paw or claw onto pack land as part of the peace treaty they’d negotiated with the wolves during a time when relations had been more hostile than present. The details of the treaty were now no more than a distant memory to most. Just a spoken warning passed down through the generations from mother to daughter, father to son, older sibling to younger or, in special cases such as with Jensen and Sophia, from friend to friend, but two specifics had managed to survive throughout all the years: Bobcats did not enter wolf territory. Ever. In return, wolves were gracious enough to not eat bobcats. Sounded like a good deal to Jensen. Hell, any day he could survive without becoming prey to something higher up on the food chain was counted by him as a win. Scuffing a foot over the ground, Jensen met Sophia’s gaze and said, “But I do want you to tell me what it is that has you so concerned.” “Well, I, ummm, I went over to my gran’s house this afternoon to read through her collection of books on the history of bobcats and wolves and...” The words trailed off, an expression of sadness cloaking Sophia’s face. But more disturbing was the fact she’d broken eye contact in favor of studying a patch of snow free grass. When it became apparent she had no intention on continuing, Jensen prompted, “And what?” Sophia sighed and tugged her ponytail over a shoulder. She twisted the loose ends of her hair around a finger, a gesture which spoke volumes, because Sophia? Not a hair twirling kind of girl. “And what do you know about pack dynamics?” Pack dynamics? Jensen knew next to nothing about pack dynamics because wolves lived in a pack, not bobcats. Bobcats lived in a pride and were all located within the city limits and all subject to the decrees of the presiding board of Alpha Elders. They also all lived separate lives, only coming together as a community once a month, events Jensen had never once attended. The extent of Jensen’s knowledge about pack life was knowing wolves lived close together, by themselves and with no outsiders allowed. They were ruled by a Head Alpha (as in one, singular) with a team of three of his most trusted comrades, all Alphas, to act as his enforcers over the rest of the pack which was made up of less dominant Alphas who were the workers of the group right alongside their Beta brothers and sisters. There were also Omegas in a pack, but they were so protected Jensen didn’t have the slightest clue or idea as to what purpose they served. Jensen stepped in front of Sophia. Several long seconds ticked by as he waited for her to raise her gaze from his chest to his face. When she complied, he asked, “Why?” “Because,” she answered as she stopped playing with her hair, “because you’re not one of us. Not really.” And wasn’t that the crux of the problem? Jensen didn’t belong. He was an outcast. But Jensen refused to view his status as being all bad. There were the occasional silver linings and he was determined to hold on to them whenever they surfaced. Because if he didn’t, if he didn’t choose to see some good in his horrid situation, all that accomplished was making Jensen’s sucky life that much more suckier. Jensen had even managed to identify a positive about tonight’s foolish excursion. He didn’t have to worry about becoming wolf chow because the peace treaty didn’t pertain to him. In theory, Jensen should’ve been able to enter the wolves’ domain without the fear of being punished by the bobcats or the fear of suffering retaliation from the wolves—in actuality, he could enter the wolves’ domain without the fear of being punished by the bobcats, however, doing so without suffering retaliation from the wolves if his transgression was discovered? Yeah, right. Maybe if wolves weren’t huge, terrifying and, most important of all, territorial. Point was, Jensen was allowed to do what his peers weren’t. He wasn’t governed by the same set of laws as they were. Because, while Jensen was a shifter and while he had spent the past two years since moving to Missoula becoming familiar with the local bobcat pride and their ways, he was not a bobcat. Sure, there were certain features he shared with his bobcat brethren (tawny hued fur, a spotted coat, a striped tail), but a bobcat Jensen Ackles was not. Bobcats were regal and stealthy. Known as fierce hunters. And, though not the largest of the feline family, both male and female bobcats carried a nice size to them. When he shifted into his animal form, Jensen was small, cute and cuddly. He even came complete with a set of oversized eyes and a stubby tail. Far as Jensen could figure, according to his markings and his miniature stature and his black feet and Wikipedia, he was a black-footed cat or, in other words, he was the gods-be-damned wildlife version of a house kitten. A house kitten whose ass got soaking, sopping wet for Chad. A house kitten who felt compelled to submit to all of Chad’s wishes and requests. Jensen had never spoken to anybody about his newly discovered that day issue or about the other one he’d known about for quite some time. Not to his adoptive father who’d been living in a drunken haze for years, ever since Jensen’s adoptive mother had died of breast cancer, and who barely knew Jensen was alive most days much less that he wasn’t one hundred percent human. Not to Sophia who Jensen trusted with his life. Not to any of the members of the pride, the vast majority of whom Jensen avoided or had never met because they all seemed to share one exhausted brain cell when it came to Jensen and his second form, considering him inferior and worthy of their sneers. In twenty-four short months, since moving to Missoula and leaving his all too human best friend Sandy behind in West Virginia, silence had managed to become even more of a close confidant to Jensen than it had ever been before and it had always been one. Jensen was well aware he was the only male in a secret world carting around a matched set of additional secrets that were all his own. Life for Jensen was just full of shits and giggles. Pleading in her pretty, light brown eyes, Sophia said, “Go home. Go home and go back to bed. I just—I just have a really bad feeling about tonight.” “Can’t, Soph.” “Please.” Jensen lifted a hand to Sophia’s face. He drug the pads of his fingers down the satiny skin, wishing again it could’ve been her. “I have to do this. For the very reason you just pointed out. I’m not one of you and I’ll never be one of you. But your pride is still the closest I’ll ever come to knowing my own. I have to do whatever I can to fit in whenever the opportunities present themselves.” There was also the whole issue of Jensen going through with this because Chad said he should. But it was bad enough Sophia knew Jensen was crushing on Chad at all. He wasn’t going to scar her with the more screwed up subservient aspects of his whole love/hate affair with the simpleton. Placing her hand over top of his, holding him in place, Sophia whispered, “Jensen, I don’t think you’re from a pride, I think you’re from a—” “Jenny-baby, where you at?” Chad’s loud voice interrupted. “C’mon, dude, it’s time to get this show on the road! Unless...unless you ain’t man enough? Is that the problem, Jenny-baby? You backing out ‘cuz you scared?” “I’ll be there in just one damn second, massengill!” Jensen yelled back. “What was that, Jenny-baby?” The question was sharp, annoyed. “I couldn’t quite understand you!” “I said, man, chill, I’m coming!” “Oh, shit, guys, Jenny-baby’s going to show us what he’s got!” Earsplitting whoops filled the air. Chad Michael Murray, an Alpha who, like his father, would one day follow in his grandfather’s, great-grandfather’s and great-great-grandfather’s footsteps to become an Alpha Elder. Hopefully at a faaar off point in the future. Didn’t matter. The pride would still be fucked six ways to Sunday when Chad accepted his position of leadership. All the others of their group were just regular bobcats, meaning they weren’t Alphas, meaning no one would be in a role to rein in the dickhead when he got out of control. Which was all the time. And Jensen didn’t see Chad being cured of his idiocy anytime soon. Or ever for that matter. The boy’s case of The Stupids was terminal. “Wish me luck,” Jensen said to Sophia with a wink. Then jogged off towards the rest of the group, shedding his winter coat and shirt along the way. Voice tinged with worry, Sophia called out as she followed, “Jensen, there’s more. There’s something you don’t know. Something about yourself, something important.” “Tell me when I get back.” “No, we have to talk now.” “Later, Sophy. Promise.” “Jensen, you can’t go onto the wolves’ land! Jensen, don’t, please!” But Jensen had already toed off his boots and discarded his socks and stripped free of his jeans and underwear. Naked, he shifted into his feline form and raced past his grinning, laughing peers to enter the land that belonged to the Padalecki pack. He loped ahead, surprised the strong scent of urine wafting off the trees and hard, snow covered ground along the border didn’t fill him with dread and warnings to turn away like the others said they’d all experienced. The source of the odor wasn’t from a single wolf, but several and, combined, while not the most pleasant, it also wasn’t in the least bit repulsive. It felt...familiar. But there was one of the many, one that was separate, one that resonated on an intimate level with Jensen. Nosing the base of a tree saturated with the single scent he’d picked out, Jensen inhaled, long and deep. Shocked, he drew back, but it was too late. He’d gotten a nostril full and a myriad of thoughts already raced through his mind, full-tilt. Home. Love. Acceptance. Protection. Then one last, final thought came, the most powerful of all. Unable to help himself, Jensen pressed further into the forest’s interior. Forgotten behind him was his weird fixation with Chad as well as the only friends he’d ever made who lived the same double life he did. Even Sophia was no longer of any importance. “Jensen!” Jensen had to find him. He was out there somewhere, waiting for Jensen. “Jensen!” Mate. * “Fuck off, Kane.” Jared Padalecki shook the drops of moisture off his cock, then tucked himself back inside his jeans and zipped up. He could feel the eyes of his closest friend burning into the back of his head, trying to get up inside his skull, in search of an answer to the question he’d just posed. Had felt that stare on him the entire time he’d pissed on the tree, strengthening their pack’s mark. Determined to ignore Kane and his need to interject himself into the personal aspects of Jared’s life that were none of his fucking concern, Jared stalked off. But the one constant thing about Kane that had never changed in all the years they’d known each other, since they were little pups wrestling in blades of grass taller than they were, was Kane’s ability to be a persistent fuck. Kane had always been smaller than Jared and, no matter how many times Jared had used that size difference to his advantage to score triumphs, Kane had never once admitted defeat. He’d always come back for more. And he’d always come back with some type of revenge planned out. It was that tenacity which led to Jared and Kane’s tight friendship in their younger years and to Jared naming Kane as his first lieutenant of three when they’d gotten older and Jared had become pack Alpha. It was that tenacity which now led to Jared gnashing his teeth in frustration when Kane proved he was just as unperturbed by Jared’s surliness as he’d ever been by following right along after Jared. They’d gone ten steps before Jared’s willpower to pretend Christian Kane had never been born dissolved. “What?” he snarled, whirling towards his friend. “You know what, Padalecki,” came the easy response. And Jared did. The pack felt it was past time for Jared to have mated. He would be thirty in four months' time and still hadn’t yet claimed an Omega for his own. Not a day passed where one of the elderly pack mothers didn’t cluck in disappointment for what they considered to be shameful behavior on Jared’s part. “Your father, may Alpha Jerry rest in peace, mated your mother as soon as she went into estrus on her sixteenth birthday when he was also just sixteen and their first litter, your litter, Alpha Jared, was born three months later,” he’d heard over and over. “And your grandfather, may Alpha George also rest in peace—” That was the point Jared tuned them out. He already knew the story of how the randy bastard had sired two litters with Omegas as soon as he’d figured out the more fun uses for his dick besides marking territory. He knew it had become evident to the reigning Alpha, Jared’s great-grandfather, he had to soon make the serious decision to have his thirteen year old son mated in response to the complaints of the pack since the boy wouldn’t stop tempting underage Omegas out of the off-limits-to-Alphas (yes, that means you, George) cabins all Omegas lived in together from the time their bodies first became able to carry children at age twelve up until they were mentally ready for babies at age sixteen when they went into estrus. He knew the decision had only been reached after the third litter had been born. What Jared did not know, what he did not care to know, was the reason behind the small, secretive smiles on the wrinkled faces of the meddling Omega mothers who felt it was their place to lecture Jared. Jared knew they’d been young girls and boys at the same time as his grandfather and, yeah, wasn’t the implication of that thought more than Jared needed to know. Given the history of his father and grandfather, the general consensus of the pack was that Jared had not been upholding his responsibility. He wasn’t setting a good example to expand the pack and to protect its health by procreating for the younger wolves who all looked up to him. Fuck all of them. Wolves mated for life and Jared would be damned if he would settle for an Omega who wasn’t his lifemate. Having grown up watching his parents, Jared wanted what they had. A bond so deep, he would wither up and die from heartache within hours of his mate’s death and vice versus should he go first. Depressing as hell? Maybe. But would it also be a mating they’d both feel in their very souls and appreciate with every breath they took? Fucking right it would be. Knowing a love that profound was what Jared deserved. What every wolf deserved. Jared exhaled a long sigh. “I already gave you my answer, Kane.” “Eloquent as it was, fuck off doesn’t qualify, son.” Broad shoulders leaned against the trunk of the nearest tree, Kane regarded Jared with knowing blue eyes. “You know you’re nothing but a romantic bastard, right?” “I know what I want, man.” Jared shoved a hand through his hair. Then, gaze narrowed on Kane, he used that same hand to point a finger at the man, asking, “Who put you up to this anyways? Your grandfather?” Kane shrugged. “He had a thing for your grandfather, man. Still sad your grandfather got mated before he was old enough to fuck him himself. And he really feels you’re a letdown to your grandfather’s memory, not to mention being a stingy asshole, by not putting that Pada-cock of yours to good use in the making of pretty babies.” “Pada—” Horrified, Jared choked on the second part of the word. “Gods above, please tell me—” “Yeah, that lovely creation was all his doing, had nothing to do with me. He didn’t like it too much when I tried to convince him Pada-creep is a much better fit for you. Told me I was being a disrespectful pup.” “You are a disrespectful pup,” Jared said with a chuckle. “And you can tell him I’ll mate when I’m good and damn ready and not one moment before. Discussion done. Now make yourself useful. That tree ain’t gonna piss on itself.” While Kane took care of business, Jared walked further down the east border, checking his pack’s mark. And that was when his nostrils started to burn, like he’d stuck his nose in a vat of acid. Bobcats. Either on or near—too fucking near—his pack’s land. Again. Five times in the past nine months the treaty had been broken. This would be the last time. “Kane,” he snapped. “They’re back. Let’s go.” Not bothering to take off his clothes first, Jared shifted, his coat, shirt and jeans becoming shredded rags in the process. He needed to reach the trespassing shits as soon as possible, before they could disappear like they had on all the previous occasions, and disrobing would waste too many precious seconds. Jared took off towards the origin of the stench, the nose of his second form much stronger, leading him where he needed to go. Kane followed right behind him, on his heels. They’d reached the halfway mark when a second, much sweeter scent waylaid Jared. Without a second thought, he changed course. Fuck. Knot. Claim. Now. His. When Jared heard Kane change direction along with him, he rounded on his first, a warning growl rumbling low in his throat, the fur on the back of his neck bristling. With a chuff of confusion, Kane eyed him. Then he stuck his nose in the air and sniffed. His eyes brightened with amused understanding and he let out a snort of wolfish laughter as he backed up. Then he turned around and bounded off, heading again in what had been their original direction. Now that the threat was gone, Jared once again located the heady scent that had sent him on this tangent. It was different than the scent of any and all other Omegas he’d ever come across who were in estrus. For some strange reason, the tart aroma of bobcat was still present but much more subdued and not quite so offensive, almost overcome as it was by that earthy and ripe sweetness. A sweetness that, if there were any other unmated Alphas around, would act as a beacon leading straight to the Omega who was ready and willing to be bred. Thank the Gods above and below Jared was the only Alpha present. Because he’d tear a hole in any other Alpha who dared to come near his mate. His mate. And not just any mate, but his lifemate. Picking up speed, Jared followed his mate’s trail. Questions sped through his mind as fast as he himself ran. His mate’s scent wasn’t familiar, so who was he or she? Was he or she from a different pack? Since the nearest pack was six hundred miles away, in Oregon, why so far from home? And was the Alpha of his mate’s old pack a fucking idiot, allowing a pack’s most prized possession of all, an Omega, to wander out alone without protection, much less an Omega in estrus? Most importantly, where the fuck was his mate at now? The last question was answered when Jared cleared the massive stump of the fallen pine in his path with a single jump. A smallish feline was backed against the tree right in front of where Jared landed, back arched and hackles raised, having heard Jared’s approach. In a bid to come off as harmless, Jared plopped his ass on the ground as he watched the cat, whose luminescent green eyes glittered with a warning for Jared to stay away and whose mouth was opened wide and emitting a high pitched hiss. Jared was not impressed. He was ten times bigger than his would be opponent who appeared to be a...mini-bobcat? So...his mate was a bobcat kitten? No, not a kitten considering his mate was old enough to be in estrus. The runt then? Jared’s mate had been the runt of his litter and, going by current appearances, was still the runt. Well, the species of his lifemate explained one thing at least: why his mate’s scent had seemed so off to Jared. What it didn’t explain was the existence of an Omega bobcat. There was no such thing as Omega bobcats or Beta bobcats either for that matter. Bobcat society consisted of two subsets: Alphas and everyone else. And it certainly didn’t explain the existence of the unheard of Omega bobcat being a male. Omega was synonymous with life bearer, male or female, and last Jared had heard, male bobcats just did not possess the right equipment to be Omegas. But there was no doubt the cat in front of Jared was a male. Or that he was able to give birth to young. Unable to resist the pull of their bond, the temptation of the virile Alpha so near who was his lifemate, the Omega contradicted his aggressive behavior by turning and presenting his backside to Jared. His head was down, forelegs bent, rear quarters raised and tail off to the side, even as he hissed all the while. Welcoming, glistening hole responsible for the delicious aroma that was all around Jared and fucking with his head? Yep, able to bear life. A set of nice sized testes and a well hidden, just visible sheath that protected his mate’s penis? Yep, male. Huh. Well, they would sort all of that out later. For now, an invitation had been given and nature demanded Jared accept. It was time for Jared to claim what was his. Jared pushed to his feet and approached his mate with slow steps. Caution was a necessity as Jared did know a little something about the mating habits of felines. And what he really knew was that he didn’t feel like being batted across his muzzle by a set of razor sharp claws if the cat decided Jared’s advance was premature. His extra effort was wasted, however, because the cat let out a loud screech when he decided Jared was too close. Then he took off across the forest’s floor. Not about to be dissuaded, Jared followed. Although he could’ve overtaken his mate with ease, Jared stayed far enough behind to let his mate think he was getting away in the hopes the cat would tire himself out to the point there would be no resistance when Jared caught up and mounted him. But he also stayed close enough to prevent his mate from even thinking about scrambling up into the top of a tree for protection. Climbing trees was not something Jared had ever enjoyed doing, though he would if push came to shove. And claiming his mate definitely lay far in the land of shove. Fifteen minutes passed and his mate still showed no signs of fatigue, or slowing down, and Jared’s patience was long gone. They were deep into the lands of Jared’s pack and he knew this section of the forest like the back of his hand. He and Kane had explored the steep hills here and their sharp drop-offs in depth when they were pups, swimming in the hidden pools far below for hours afterwards. One of which his oblivious mate was on a straight path towards. All he had to do was clear that hill in front of him... Then it was a twenty foot drop. If the craggy rocks on the way down didn’t kill his mate, then colliding with the layer of solid ice covering the top of the lake would. The force all in his hind legs, Jared leaped. He shifted forms mid-jump, then reached out and snagged his mate’s in motion body. Jared hit the frozen ground hard, rocks and twigs and snow making for a very uncomfortable landing. It also made for a very pissed off Jared. He wrestled his hissing mate until he had him pinned down beneath him. The continued fighting did nothing to help dispel Jared’s foul mood. “Shift,” he barked after blocking his mate’s unsuccessful swipe at his face. His demand was met with another attempt to gouge out his eyes. “Shift, damn you.” One minute, Jared had a spitting mad kitty on his hands. The next, there was the most furious, gorgeous boy he had ever seen under his palms. His mate’s hair was the same sandy brown the base coat of his fur had been and his eyes were the same shade of dark green, just minus the whole reflective aspect and the vertical slitted pupils. The naked form pressed against Jared was long and lean, a perfect fit. His mate was no runt. He was no runt at all. And the freckles. They were sprinkled all over his mate’s pale face down to his paler shoulders and even paler chest and, Gods above, Jared wanted to engage in a game of connect the dots. Using strings of his come to draw the lines. Jared’s anger dissipated, replaced by a staggering desire. “Who are you?” his mate asked, tone wary. “You know.” “My...my mate?” The answer was posed as an unbelieving question. “Got it in one.” “But—but you can’t be! I mean, okay, I admit when I first caught my mate’s scent at the pack’s border, the idea briefly crossed my mind that he might be one of the Padalecki mutts, but—but, c’mon, man, it’s not like it was an idea I actually took seriously! You’re a dog! I’m not!” “Really, love, no need for all the insults.” Bending his head, Jared nuzzled his mate’s long neck, getting a nose full of sweet ripeness that traveled straight to his cock. He planted his hands on the ground to the sides of his mate’s face to push up off him a little. “And I am not a mutt or a dog, I’m a wolf.” “Wolf, dog, mutt, whatever. It’s all the same.” His mate tried to push Jared even further away but Jared refused to move. “And I am not your love.” “That is the one thing that you definitely are, but what you are not is a bobcat. Unless those pussies have finally managed to catch a clue about evolution, only about a thousand years too late, and are giving birth to Omegas now.” Jared leaned in quick for another deep whiff which left him aching to stake his claim nownownow when he pulled back. “So that leaves the question unanswered of what, exactly, are you?” “Tired of being sniffed by you and also so over you. Now get off!” Jared sat up on his knees, using one to nudge the legs beneath him open. “Soon, impatient one.” “Get off now, damn it!” “Oh, don’t worry, love, we’ll both be getting off before too long here.” “Fucker!” his mate yowled. “I meant get off of me!” Bucking, he tried his hardest to knock Jared off. But even though his mate was not a little thing, Jared was still bigger, still more determined. In the end, all his mate ended up accomplishing with all of his wiggling was to open up a space for Jared to slot into between his spread thighs. And even that wasn’t enough for Jared. It was no good just being close to his goal, especially since Jared had always been such an overachiever. So Jared grabbed the hips of the male beneath him in a strong grip and angled his ass upwards, allowing Jared unobstructed access to where he really wanted to be. Ready to slide into its new home, Jared’s dick prodded at his mate’s hole. The opening fluttered around his tip, allowing Jared to push past the naturally lubed sphincter with just the tiniest snap of his hips. The breach was enough to make his mate stop fighting. Green orbs, dark with a combination of lust and resentment, glared at Jared. “Jensen, you moron.” “Hmmm?” The feel of his mate’s tight channel accepting more of him was a distraction Jared did not want to pull his attention from. “We’re doing this, so I figured we should at least know each other’s names. I’m Jensen. And you’re a fucking moron.” “I’ve been called worse,” Jared said, a smug smirk covering his face. “But the name is Jared.” “Or fucking moron.” Yeah, Jared had been called that before, too, by a few of the pack’s more vocal mothers who were unhappy with him. No point in disagreeing. “Or fucking moron,” he agreed since it seemed to make his mate happy. Then, he bottomed out, his cock surrounded on all sides by Jensen’s constricting heat, and that line of conversation was done. “Your ass,” he growled, “your ass is so fucking tight, Jensen. So fucking hot. Made just for me.” Strokes deep and steady, Jared fucked Jensen. He pulled all the way back, stopping when he was in danger of sliding out completely, then fed his cock to Jensen’s greedy, hungry hole in a slow thrust. It felt so good to Jared, and to Jensen as well if his loud purrs were anything to go by, that Jared repeated the action, this time the fattening knob of flesh at the base of his cock catching on Jensen’s rim as he pulled out and also when he pushed back in. When Jared tried the move for a third time, his swollen knot prevented him from making his retreat. They were locked together, tight. “Touch yourself,” he demanded. “Touch yourself and make yourself come.” Eyes locked with Jensen’s, Jared spared a brief glance down to make sure his orders had been followed. Then he focused on Jensen’s pretty face, watched him suck in a quick breath of air as his hand jacked his hard cock up and down—and, oh yeah, Jensen was certainly no runt in that department either—then he savored the moment when Jensen’s hot come splashed over both of their stomachs. Satisfied that his mate was taken care of, Jared let the muscles contracting around his cock milk out his own orgasm. He growled as his nuts emptied in a rush that left him light headed and contented, then collapsed on top of Jensen, blanketing his mate’s body with his own to keep him warm as they would be tied for a while. The claim had been made. And their link was a living, growing thing Jared could actually feel in his soul as it took shape and solidified and knew Jensen could feel it binding them together as well. It was indestructible. It was irrevocable. It was irreversible. “So, Jared,” Jensen spoke about fifteen minutes later, much too soon for him to be lucid. Jared, still in space cadet land, answered with a grunt. “Uh huh, right back atcha. But I really need you to let me up, dude. My ass is cold, wet and sore and the ground really ain’t helping it none, so, yeah, up.” Though his knot was still swollen, it had gone down enough for Jared to pull free with only minimal discomfort to Jensen. Before he rolled away, Jared watched for a few seconds as his come leaked out of Jensen’s abused, still twitching hole. It was a slow trickle that left him feeling satisfied on a deep, intrinsic level. “How ya feeling, love?” The look Jensen shot Jared answered far better than words ever could. “Like I just got humped in the ass by a dog, but oh that’s right, I did just get humped in the ass by a dog, so not bad considering.” “Wolf,” Jared corrected with a chuckle. He lay on his side, head propped up on a hand, staring down at his mate. “Mutt, that’s what I said.” Jensen stood up and stretched his arms above his head. He let them fall back down to his sides, then used his fingernails to chip off the dried come covering his belly. “Seriously, though, I feel...I don’t know, this morning, when I woke up, I felt sick and wrong and it lasted pretty much throughout the entire day and, uh, I had some other, er, issues going on with me, but now—now I can feel that you’re a part of me, which should seriously be weird, but totally isn’t, and—I don’t know...I also feel...different?” “Really?” Interest aroused, Jared also got to his feet and approached Jensen. He cupped a hand around the back of his mate’s head, fingers buried in the soft, spiky bristles, and used the leverage to tug him closer. The scent of estrus still cloaked the boy, but was faint and fast fading and though he knew what that meant, Jared still prodded, “Different how?” “Like it’s all gone,” Jensen confirmed, voice low with a hint of worry threaded through. “What did you do to me, Jared?” “Only what any good Alpha would do for their Omega.” “But I’m not an Omega. Bobcats aren’t born as Omegas. Either you’re an Alpha or you’re not and I’m not and, hell, if I even know what being an Omega means.” Pulling back, Jared met a set of confused jade orbs. “See, the thing is, you’re not a bobcat, Jensen, so those rules wouldn’t necessarily apply to you, would they? What are you?” “A black footed cat maybe, adopted by an unsuspecting human family definitely,” was the complicated response he received. And, well, shit, the boy honestly had no clue what species he was or what role he’d been born to play in life. “In my world,” Jared said, keeping his tone soft and soothing, massaging the base of Jensen’s neck with the pads of his fingers, all in an effort to soften the shock he was about to deliver, “and I suspect also in yours, the world you come from originally, not the one you know now, Alpha means leader, Beta means follower and Omega...” “Omega means what?” “Mother.” A snort escaped Jensen, the sound full of disbelief. “Well, I’m no one’s mother and never will be.” He gestured in the general vicinity of his soft, come splattered cock. “In case you haven’t noticed, dude, wrong equipment.” “Wrong side.” “My ass?” was what Jensen came right back with. “You think I’m supposed to push a baby out of my ass? Are you shitting me? Wait, no, there was a really unintentional bad pun in there somewhere, but for real though, you are shitting me, right?” Falling back a couple feet, Jensen’s eyes widened a fraction more with each step he put between them. “For fuck’s sake, you’re serious, aren’t you?” “Dead.” And true realization was well on its way to arriving in: Five. Four. Thr— “You just used your mutant sperm to impregnate me with your monster mutt, didn’t you? That’s why I feel different! You—you—you son of a fucking bitch!” Even if he’d wanted to, Jared wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from giving his amused answer of, “Why, yes, Jensen, yes, I am.” Jensen stopped talking, shock evident. Then...he laughed. Hard, gut churning bouts of mirth that rolled out of him in waves. Eyebrows quirked in question, Jared waited out his mate. Body still quaking, Jensen said, “Up until two years ago, I thought I was the only freak alive who could shift into an animal. Then I came here and discovered just how wrong I was. Up until one hour ago, I thought I would spend the rest of my life trying to fit into a pride I knew would never accept me with my only family being a negligent drunk human for a father and my only friend a shifter, who’s awesome, but doesn’t know everything there is to know about me.” Quieter, calmer—happier—Jensen added, “Then I met you.” “I’m your family now and your best friend. I’m your everything just as you are mine. And I’m never letting you go, Jensen. Never.” “Yeah, I can roll with that. Even with the giving birth to your ass baby part.” A beat passed, then Jensen whispered, “Thank you.” Arm slung around Jensen’s shoulder, Jared pulled him close again for a quick squeeze and a brush of their lips together. He released his hold as they started walking, Jared taking lead so he could ensure the way home was safe for his mate and the precious cargo growing inside his womb. “Just so it doesn’t come as a surprise, you should know that I’m not just one of the Padalecki mutts, I am the Padalecki mutt.” “You’re the Alpha of the pack?” Jensen stopped to ask. “Yes, I’m the Alpha of the pack.” Jared grabbed his mate’s hand and tugged on it until the boy started walking again. “And now you’re the pack’s Omega- Alpha.” “Oh.” A few more steps passed in silence, then, “Any other secrets you’re planning to share with me today?” The monster mutt Jensen would be giving birth to? Actually was more than likely going to be five to six monster mutts, if not more, all jostling to be born at the same time. But Jensen had absorbed enough shocks on his first day as Omega of the pack’s Alpha and he hadn’t even met his new family yet. That was going to be an experience all of its own accord as the pack overcame the surprise of Jensen being a cat shifter, rather than a wolf, a recovery which would no doubt be spearheaded by the Omegas once they realized Jensen was carrying their Alpha's young and started their mother henning of him. Yep, Jared would be saving the pertinent information about the average size of a litter for a rainy day. And the fact that their young would be whelped in puppy form? A pack mother would be breaking that news to Jensen. In fact, after Kane updated Jared on the status of the trespassing bobcats (who were probably acquaintances of Jensen’s, thus granting them an automatic reprieve from being turned over to the Alpha Elders for harsh punishment to receiving a stern reprimand direct from Jared), Jared would advise Kane his grandfather was the lucky winner responsible for informing the pretty kitty he would quite literally be giving birth to canines. And it would be Kane’s duty to inform his grandfather of the task he’d been given. If he was smart, Kane would find a way to spin it as an honor to be cherished rather than the unenviable job it really was. “Nah,” Jared said to Jensen, turning towards him to flash a quick grin, “no more secrets for today.” Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!