In The Company of Wolves 1/9
STORY insane_songbird | ART bflyw | MIX mangacat201 | BETA candygramme
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Words: 4,800
Rating: NC17
Disclaimer: They don’t belong to me… I just make them howl to the moon ;)
Warnings: werewolves, blood/violence, slash, m/m sex, medieval AU, hurt/comfort, dom/sub concepts, first time, fleeting bestiality, minor character death, mentions of homophobia
A/N: This fic is written completely and will be updated twice a week (Monday and Thursday)
| MASTER POST |
Summary: A war as old as time... A warrior with great honor and a young Alpha on his way to become a leader...
... with no love lost between wolf and man, will they be able to unite their strength for peace between their people? For you never know whom you can trust... in the company of wolves.
Part One
The wolf jumped back as the horse kicked out violently before making a mad dash into the brush, pulling its dead rider along by the foot that was still tangled in the saddle. It growled, shifting its position into a strong wide-legged stance, ignoring the stinging pain in its shoulder, where a silver blade had grazed muscle, parting dark fur and leaving a trickle of red blood.
Golden eyes fixed on the scene unfolding. There had been two dozen men and about half as many wolves. Now there were only a handful of humans and three wolves left. They were wounded, all three of them to different degrees, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t kill a man within a few seconds.
This particular wolf was the leader. Its black and brown coat contrasted with the greys of its remaining companions. Broad shoulders and long legs showed the strong body of a healthy young male, and the stance was that of power and authority. He was an alpha through and through. Leadership was what he was born for, and it was his responsibility to stand between his pack mates and the man who was approaching them now with long but steady steps.
The opponent was also a young male of strong build but human, with light brown hair sticking to his forehead from sweat and blood. He held two short swords with slightly bent blades. Their metallic shine in the fading daylight made the wolf snarl with disgust. They were crusted with blood, but that wouldn’t stop the silver from parting a werewolf's flesh like butter on contact.
The alpha crouched down, readying for a jump, but froze waiting for an opening in the man’s defenses that would allow him to rip out his throat without getting gutted trying. There was no such opportunity. The man’s movements were confident and controlled, not allowing any mistakes. The battle would be a hard one to the death. There was no telling who would come out on top.
The man stopped several feet away never dropping his guard, eyes skimming from one wolf to the other but lingering on the alpha, suggesting that he understood the dynamics of wolfish society. The other humans did not dare to approach the scene - whether by command or fear was anyone’s guess.
“I don’t want to fight you. I don’t want to kill you.” The man’s words were calm and sincere, but they were so out of place in their situation that the alpha huffed a snort baring his teeth threateningly.
“If I fight you, I might kill you. I know who you are. If I kill you, this will never end. Right now we don’t even know why we are fighting, but if I kill the future pack alpha there will never be peace.” He took a step back blades still raised, but gaze fixed on one set of golden eyes. “I will let you and the others leave. My men will not stop you. But if you try anything I will kill you, alpha or not. I hope to never see you again.”
They stared at each other for a few long minutes and waited. Everything froze for a long while, then the wolf squared its shoulders, growling a low warning before backing away. It only took the three wolves a few seconds to disappear into the woods once the worse-for-wear humans cleared the circle they had formed around them.
+++ one year later +++
Hazel eyes slid over the party of humans who had come to talk peace with his father. It was not a surprise that the king would not risk his own neck by coming into pack lands, but Lord Morgan was a worthy intermediary, who would not promise what he couldn’t keep. But most importantly he wanted peace just as much as Jared did. It had been a struggle to get the peace talks started, but the pack had lost enough over the last decades. It was time to end the fighting.
There were about a dozen council-men, and double as many guards but Jared wouldn’t spare any of the politicians a second glance once his eyes fell on HIM. It was the same man, the one who had stopped the fighting that day and put politics over bloodshed. He looked cleaner now, handsome and composed. Not that Jared would have forgotten his smell in any situation.
Obviously he was the leader of the guards, and Jared couldn’t think of any better human for such a task. In the past year the wolf had thought a lot about that man, wondering if he were still alive. Then he had heard his pack mates talking about the man with the two silver swords, a human devil who bested every wolf he faced. Jared knew it had to be that man, that Luparius. The Luparii were legendary, an elite group of the royal guard trained to hunt and kill werewolves. He had seen the man’s skill. It made him wonder whether those words of peace had been the truth. Now this man was there for the peace talks, and Jared had his answer.
Their eyes caught, and even though Jared didn’t think he could be recognized in his human form their stares fixed onto each other for a long moment in a re-enactment of their parting a year earlier.
After a minute of green eyes gazing intently into hazel, the human gave Jared a small yet clear nod of acknowledgment before returning to his task of flanking Lord Morgan as the Alpha stepped forward to make introductions.
Wolves like Jared and his pack were not as stiff on formalities as the humans. The hierarchy was clear and ingrained in every member’s instincts. There were alphas, and betas and omegas. It was in their blood.
The humans also had a hierarchy, but although nobility was a birthright too, there were no instincts telling their subordinates to obey. It was a forced regimentation that, despite its usefulness, was very wearying to Jared.
The Alpha stepped forward, and Jared walked to stand at his left shoulder, his rightful place. “I am Gerald, Alpha. This is my son Jared. Welcome to our Den.”
It was not in full accord with human social conventions, but Jared didn’t think that was necessary. They weren’t human after all, and both parties would do well to remember it. Lord Morgan tilted his head in acknowledgment before introducing the senior members of the council who had come for the negotiations. Jared spared each of them one look, filing their names away and swinging his eyes back to the young man standing as a silent sentinel next to the negotiators. His was the only name Jared really wanted to learn, but it was not disclosed.
After the introductions, Jared led their human guests toward a meadow that was quiet and sunny. The pack didn’t live in houses or castles but in the Den, which was the center of their territory, actually consisting of many dens and caves that formed an invisible, natural city in the middle of the Black Woods. The king’s negotiators had been offered underground accommodations beforehand, but the humans seemed to not like the thought of it, rather bringing their own tents which were now pitched in the meadow.
Jared didn’t really see the logic behind this since it didn’t matter whether they stayed in the Den or in a tent, had the pack planned on breaking the truce. However they did not, and so he shrugged the question off to play the good host.
“Is there anything more you might need?” He looked at Lord Morgan with what he hoped was a friendly smile. Jared was not used to human interaction the way the older wolves were, those who had more experience dealing with things standing on two legs rather than four. Most of Jared’s human interaction had been in battle.
“No, I think we have all we need. Thank you for your hospitality, Jared.”
Morgan was one of the few who seemed unfazed by the lack of labels and ranks in the wolf society. They seemed to only understand that the Alpha was like the king, and the lack of a title like 'prince' for Jared seemed to make them worry about a lack of respect while addressing Jared by just his name.
He nodded at Morgan, telling him when to expect a pack member to come and invite them for dinner, before leaving the humans to their own ways of getting settled. As he walked back in the direction of the Den, the whiff of that memorable odor that had been there all day grew stronger, and he involuntarily made a beeline to walk towards the Luparius standing on the outskirts of the small town of tents seemingly assessing the forest around them.
Jared gave the man a wide berth as he approached, avoiding sneaking up on him and risking starting an incident. Instead he walked around him at a short distance to approach him from the front. “I remember you.”
Green eyes held his gaze steadily as a small smile tugged on pink lips. “Did I make that much of an impression?”
“Yes, actually. Usually Luparii tried to kill me.”
The man nodded with a small frown. “Hopefully that will change now.”
“I’m Jared.” He really wanted to know the double-sworded devil’s name.
“I know. I am Jensen.”
A small smile spread over Jared’s face as he was told just a single name. Usually the humans insisted on at least two names and a title. This one was different, and Jared liked it.
“Can I ask you something, Jared?”
The wolf shrugged, wondering what question the man could have for him. “Shoot.”
“How serious is this?” Green eyes looked worried as a small frown spread over Jensen’s face.
“What do you mean?”
“The peace talk… how serious is it? Will the pack accept an end of our differences after everything that happened?” It was a question that threw Jared for a moment. He hadn’t expected anything so meaningful or political when he granted Jensen a question. But it was valid.
“Many wolves are bitter. All my life there has been war. We don’t know any difference, and some of us don’t see how things can change. But the Alpha is serious in his will to end the fighting, and when he decides, the pack will follow. That is our way.” He knew it to be true. Everybody would follow the Alpha. It was their instinct down to the core. The only way to disobey was to challenge the Alpha and win. Jared couldn’t think of anyone stupid enough to try that.
Jensen nodded, eye contact breaking as his gaze swept back towards the tents, and the humans gathered there. “Good. I hope your father will decide not to kill us all then.”
“You were granted safe passage for the entire negotiations.” Jared’s eyes narrowed; he felt offended by the lack of trust Jensen’s words betrayed.
“Tell that to the werewolves that have been circling our camp for two hours now.” Jensen looked somber but unimpressed, and Jared was pretty sure that was due to the two silver swords that were safely lodged into two crossed scabbards on his back.
Jared sniffed the air, looking to find which wolves Jensen was talking about. He knew there were some pack members out there, but, due to the proximity to the den, he had not read much into it. But if Jensen claimed they were stalking the human negotiating party, he believed the man. This Luparius had instincts that even some wolves might envy.
There were three wolves walking a perimeter far enough from the meadow not to be seen but definitely circling. He huffed out a breath and set his jaw. Jared would need to teach them a lesson.
“I will… excuse me.” He nodded to the Luparius who seemed just a little smug at being right before turning and walking into the tree line. His nose and arms lengthened and a tail pushed out of his spine. A sleek coat of dark fur covered his whole body by the time he tipped forwards, and he took off at a four-legged run.
+++
It took them two days to broach the subject of a commitment to a real peace, instead of a truce or prolonged negotiations. The main problem was trust, and the fact that humans and wolves did not understand each other very well. To keep a solid peace, a simple truce was not the solution. After another three days, an alliance became an option as common goals started to crystallize. The one thing that made Jared’s stomach churn was the discussion about a sign of commitment, of allegiance. He knew that for wolves the only allegiance was to family. The humans had strong family bonds as well, and that was how Jared himself turned into part of the negotiations.
“If we want to ally ourselves with them, we need a common bond that makes understanding easier. The king has a daughter…”
Jared’s eyebrows rose as he listened to his father’s logic. “I know what you were thinking of… you want her to become family.”
“The king wants you to become family, too.”
Jared nodded as a headache started to form. “Does he know that in order for me to mate with that girl, she’d have to become a werewolf?”
“Yes and that would be the sign of commitment the pack is looking for.”
What could he say to that? He had failed to find a mate in their own pack so far, and if the Alpha needed him to mate in order to end a century of war, Jared would go along with it. He just hoped that the girl had a little spice.
+++
“So you’ll marry this girl?” Jared’s sister was a quirky nineteen year old wolf cub, who was currently grinning at him from above the cup of hot tea she had wangled from one of the humans. She knew how to bat her lashes just right to get anything she wanted.
“I can end a war, Megan. Of course I will… although wolves don’t marry.”
“Well, at least your marriage, sorry mating, will change the world as we know it. Sounds kinda romantic, don’t you think?” She sipped her tea with a wink. “You might not know her yet, but you’ll save the world together.”
“Whatever they put into that drink makes you hallucinate.”
She giggled as he flipped her the bird.
+++
“Where are your swords, Jensen?” Jared had moved up behind the man as humans and wolves gathered for the joint dinner that was part of their negotiation. Jensen was always there, but he kept his distance from the pack members - all but Jared - and, strangely enough, Christian, one of the changed wolves who had joined the pack a few years ago - and most of the human council members as well. He seemed to get along well with Jeffrey and most of the guards, but all in all he was a lone wolf, pun intended.
Green eyes snapped to the young werewolf. His gaze was unwavering but not unpleasant. “I am not very welcome here. Many of your kind think of me as the incarnation of the enemy. Carrying my weapons around here when we are bargaining for peace will set the wrong impression.”
Jared nodded thoughtfully. It was true that this warrior, who had been mystified into a legendary fiend by the wolves he fought, was a guest most pack members wanted to see dead. The looks Jensen got ranged from fear to blank hatred, and Jared was proud of the fact that there had been no incidents so far. The negotiations were nearly over, and peace was at their fingertips.
“You are very careful of politics for a warrior.”
The Luparius shrugged nodding to a few humans walking by to take their seats at the long table. “I want peace.”
“Why?” Jared knew that he was digging, probably overstepping the boundaries of what could be seen as appropriate conversation. “When there’s peace you’ll be out of a job.”
The chuckle that answered was humorless as Jensen shook his head tiredly. “Maybe it’s time we all find something else we can be good at. The suffering has to end, and I will not put my own pride in the way.”
This man with all his layers, the quiet but outspoken person who was the perfect killer while wishing for peace, fascinated Jared beyond belief. He hoped that there would be peace, and they would find a way to work together. Something told him that Jared, the wolf, and Jensen, the Luparius, could be great friends.
+++
“I see you became friends with Jensen.” The cheeky smile on Christian’s face made Jared’s eyebrows rise. Christian was one of the warriors who had fought on both sides of this war. He used to be human, until he was bitten by a wolf in battle. He'd survived but was changed forever. There were quite a few like him here but not as many as there should be. The king’s troops usually killed those that were changed, before they had a chance to desert.
“I wouldn’t call it friends.” Jared wished they would become that one day but a few offhanded conversations on the side, or a life altering political event did not qualify as friendship.
Chris shrugged, face thoughtful. “He’s a good guy, and a great friend to have. You should consider it.”
Jared’s eyes narrowed by their own will, and he scrutinized Christian for a long while. “How do you know him?”
A sigh left the man’s lips as his eyes followed Jensen’s figure crossing the space towards his seat at the dinner table. “From a former life… we used to serve together. Jensen was my commander and a good friend. It’s great to be able to talk to him again.”
Jared had always thought that it must be hard for those that were changed involuntarily to leave everything behind. But now he wondered how many humans who Christian had fought and killed over the last year had been people he knew, former friends even.
Jared opened his mouth to say something that he hadn’t really decided on, when the commotion started. There was a growl and a yell and both men snapped around to face the situation that was unfolding at the far end of the banquet.
There was a pack member in wolf form leaping at the table that had several of the human guards sat. Jared saw Jensen in the middle of the group of men all scuttling sideways in wild leaps to get out of the way. The Luparius was the only one who did not try to escape. The wolf leaped directly at him, and Jared was already running at full speed as he watched the man swing a tin plate at the wolf’s nose, smacking the bared fangs away from him, while the furry body of the creature smashed into him with a heavy thud that crushed the man’s back into the edge of the table.
Jensen grunted in pain but did not hesitate to knock both legs upwards swinging the confusedly blinking wolf over him and smacking it, back first, onto the table. The humans around them, mainly politicians, all backed away, and the shock at the sudden outbreak of violence seemed to stun everybody but Jared and Chris, who were only ten yards away now, Jared changing into his wolf form in mid-run jumping from two legs to four as he growled an order to the aggressor wolf to stop what it was doing, while Chris let out a shout of authority for the rest of the pack to stop them.
It was all a second too late. Jared saw Jensen, still on the ground, twist away from the table, hand twitching upwards to where his swords usually were, and instead leaping to pick up a small iron knife that had fallen off the table during the struggle. The wolf scuttled back to its feet and growled menacingly; it didn’t even seem to hear the barked orders. It jumped once more and Jensen jutted the knife out and embedded it in the wolves neck, but other than a sharp wince added to the battle roar of the beast, it had no effect.
The wolf knocked Jensen backwards and snapped its gaping jaws down hard aiming for the man’s throat. There was nothing Jensen could do but raise his arm to intercept the fangs. Teeth embedded themselves in the man’s wrist and the left side of his neck. The arm had kept the wolf from ripping Jensen’s entire throat out with one bite, but the maw of the wolf was considerably bigger than Jensen’s lower arm, and the fangs were long and sharp, ripping into the soft flesh of his neck viciously.
Jared jumped and knocked into the other wolf’s form. The Alpha’s son was huge and he clamped his fangs down on the back of the other wolf’s neck piercing the thick coat of grey fur and pressing hard. He was ready to crush the smaller wolves spine if he had to, but there was a yelp and the jaws around Jensen’s arm and throat let go instantly. Jared hauled the offending wolf away, throwing him several feet sidewards with a vicious growl that resonated through the forest for miles and made all pack members flinch.
Several wolves who had jumped to action upon Chris and Jared’s orders circled the guilty wolf, and he was dragged away, yelping and wincing. Jared didn’t care, didn’t watch. Instead he turned around to see Chris kneeling on the ground both hands clamped to Jensen’s neck as thick red blood pulsed from the wound.
Jared let his body switch back to human form, uncaring that he was stark naked now, and knelt down by Jensen’s head. “Get help here, now!” He screamed at the horrified onlookers, and both humans and wolves scuttled off to fulfill his request.
Jensen was sprawled on his back, right wrist a bloody mess but nothing beside the bloodbath that had taken place at his neck. He was pale, his skin and hair slick with cold sweat and warm blood. He was blinking slowly, face that of shock and incredulity rather than pain and fear. Jared reached behind himself grabbing the edge of a table cloth from the banquet table that was a mess where the fight had overrun it. He pulled the cloth free and tried batting Chris’ hands away to make a tourniquet over the wound.
“No, wait!” Jared glared at the other wolf, growling low in his human throat, but Chris’ look was that of sincere grief and fear. “I need to… just a moment.” He bent over the bleeding man’s body so Jensen’s glassy eyes could see him as he appeared to be quickly losing consciousness. “Jensen. You were bitten… what do you want me to do? Please… let me save you?”
The Luparius blinked slowly for a few seconds as if to clear an invisible fog, but then his head jerked in a small painful nod.
“Yes? We can save you?”
The second nod was hardly even visible as Jensen’s eyes drifted closed. Suddenly Chris grabbed the cloth that Jared still held and bundled it together tightly to press onto the still heavily bleeding wound.
“What the fuck was that about?” Jared took over pressing the makeshift tourniquet against the bloody mess of Jensen’s neck as Chris started clearing a way towards the cave that was the pack's sick station.
The former human just gave Jared a serious look as he started shooing wolves and humans alike out of the way. “Just repaying a debt, Jared.”
Jared frowned but didn’t question the man any further as he busied himself getting into position, so that his arm went beneath Jensen’s shoulders in such a way that his hand could still press down on the wound while his other arm gathered up the man’s legs so he could carry him away.
+++
Jared’s arms were crossed over his chest as he looked down at the scarily pale face of the man he had started to become friends with. His lower lip was red from chewing on it in worry, and his eyes traveled down Jensen's chest regularly to ensure that it was still rising and falling.
“What the fuck was all that about, Chris?” He had smelled the man entering rather than he had heard him.
“Obviously the legendary Luparius with the silver swords killed George’s mate last year. When he heard some of the other wolves talk about Jensen tonight, he snapped…”
Jared nodded tiredly, hands rubbing over his eyes. The bond between mates was strong, and it was understandable to a degree that one who lost their partner would go mad with grief. It didn’t change the fact that this was a violation of the truce that put the whole pack into grave danger. The wolf would be branded omega and probably find a slow and cruel death. It was their kind’s way of dealing with such offenses.
Christian sighed, and the frown on his face was that of genuine concern. Jared was sure that he looked quite similar.
“Chris, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, Jared… but I know what you want to know.”
They stared at each other for a long while, Jared waiting for Chris to answer the unasked question of what his earlier answer had actually meant.
The former human was not a tall man but burly and strong looking, with long dark hair and blazing blue eyes. He looked like the type of man who was hard to get to know and tough to handle. Right now the look on his face was that of pure emotion though, and Jared wondered if he was the first one to hear the story that was coming.
“I was bitten five years ago in a struggle at the northern borders. Jensen was the commander of my team, and we ran into smaller groups of wolves nearly daily on our patrols. I had already known Jensen for a while, and the evening before he'd told me that he expected things to get worse. He had a bad feeling, and he was right.” Chris sighed sitting down on the edge of Jensen’s bed, looking at the injured man with sad eyes. “The next group of wolves we met was bigger, stronger, and we lost half of our men, before we managed to fight them off. There was a big black wolf there, and he caught me in the side… right here.”
Chris pulled his shirt up a little to expose a white set of scars on his left flank. “It was a bite, and we both knew what that meant. Our orders were clear. A bite was a death sentence, simple as that. Jensen had to kill me and burn my body with all the other wolves that were killed that day. But Jensen sent the rest of our team away to find a safe place for the night, while he took care of his friend… only he didn’t. He gave me a choice. If I wanted to try and live as a wolf, I could go as long as I would never come back. But if I didn’t want to be a wolf, he’d end it for me. I was scared, but I didn’t want to die. He let me go.”
With a sigh Chris looked up to catch Jared’s eyes. “He gave me a choice. It was the least I could do to repay that debt to him.”
Jared nodded slowly staring down at the unconscious man, wondering how someone so fierce in battle could be so kind in life. “So you would have let him bleed to death just like that?”
“If he asked me to.”
Once again Jared nodded glad that it hadn’t come to that. “You’re a great friend.”
“No. He is.” Chris fumbled with the blankets to pull them further onto Jensen’s shoulders. “I just hope it wasn’t in vain.”
There was nothing Jared could say to that. They had patched the wounds up as best they could, but the blood loss had been immense. Nobody knew if Jensen would make it through the night.
... next part...
Links to the Art Post and the Mix Post can also be found in the Master Post. Go tell my two great ladies just how awesome they are! :D
*hugs* Birdie
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Words: 4,800
Rating: NC17
Disclaimer: They don’t belong to me… I just make them howl to the moon ;)
Warnings: werewolves, blood/violence, slash, m/m sex, medieval AU, hurt/comfort, dom/sub concepts, first time, fleeting bestiality, minor character death, mentions of homophobia
A/N: This fic is written completely and will be updated twice a week (Monday and Thursday)
| MASTER POST |
Summary: A war as old as time... A warrior with great honor and a young Alpha on his way to become a leader...
... with no love lost between wolf and man, will they be able to unite their strength for peace between their people? For you never know whom you can trust... in the company of wolves.
Part One
The wolf jumped back as the horse kicked out violently before making a mad dash into the brush, pulling its dead rider along by the foot that was still tangled in the saddle. It growled, shifting its position into a strong wide-legged stance, ignoring the stinging pain in its shoulder, where a silver blade had grazed muscle, parting dark fur and leaving a trickle of red blood.
Golden eyes fixed on the scene unfolding. There had been two dozen men and about half as many wolves. Now there were only a handful of humans and three wolves left. They were wounded, all three of them to different degrees, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t kill a man within a few seconds.
This particular wolf was the leader. Its black and brown coat contrasted with the greys of its remaining companions. Broad shoulders and long legs showed the strong body of a healthy young male, and the stance was that of power and authority. He was an alpha through and through. Leadership was what he was born for, and it was his responsibility to stand between his pack mates and the man who was approaching them now with long but steady steps.
The opponent was also a young male of strong build but human, with light brown hair sticking to his forehead from sweat and blood. He held two short swords with slightly bent blades. Their metallic shine in the fading daylight made the wolf snarl with disgust. They were crusted with blood, but that wouldn’t stop the silver from parting a werewolf's flesh like butter on contact.
The alpha crouched down, readying for a jump, but froze waiting for an opening in the man’s defenses that would allow him to rip out his throat without getting gutted trying. There was no such opportunity. The man’s movements were confident and controlled, not allowing any mistakes. The battle would be a hard one to the death. There was no telling who would come out on top.
The man stopped several feet away never dropping his guard, eyes skimming from one wolf to the other but lingering on the alpha, suggesting that he understood the dynamics of wolfish society. The other humans did not dare to approach the scene - whether by command or fear was anyone’s guess.
“I don’t want to fight you. I don’t want to kill you.” The man’s words were calm and sincere, but they were so out of place in their situation that the alpha huffed a snort baring his teeth threateningly.
“If I fight you, I might kill you. I know who you are. If I kill you, this will never end. Right now we don’t even know why we are fighting, but if I kill the future pack alpha there will never be peace.” He took a step back blades still raised, but gaze fixed on one set of golden eyes. “I will let you and the others leave. My men will not stop you. But if you try anything I will kill you, alpha or not. I hope to never see you again.”
They stared at each other for a few long minutes and waited. Everything froze for a long while, then the wolf squared its shoulders, growling a low warning before backing away. It only took the three wolves a few seconds to disappear into the woods once the worse-for-wear humans cleared the circle they had formed around them.
+++ one year later +++
Hazel eyes slid over the party of humans who had come to talk peace with his father. It was not a surprise that the king would not risk his own neck by coming into pack lands, but Lord Morgan was a worthy intermediary, who would not promise what he couldn’t keep. But most importantly he wanted peace just as much as Jared did. It had been a struggle to get the peace talks started, but the pack had lost enough over the last decades. It was time to end the fighting.
There were about a dozen council-men, and double as many guards but Jared wouldn’t spare any of the politicians a second glance once his eyes fell on HIM. It was the same man, the one who had stopped the fighting that day and put politics over bloodshed. He looked cleaner now, handsome and composed. Not that Jared would have forgotten his smell in any situation.
Obviously he was the leader of the guards, and Jared couldn’t think of any better human for such a task. In the past year the wolf had thought a lot about that man, wondering if he were still alive. Then he had heard his pack mates talking about the man with the two silver swords, a human devil who bested every wolf he faced. Jared knew it had to be that man, that Luparius. The Luparii were legendary, an elite group of the royal guard trained to hunt and kill werewolves. He had seen the man’s skill. It made him wonder whether those words of peace had been the truth. Now this man was there for the peace talks, and Jared had his answer.
Their eyes caught, and even though Jared didn’t think he could be recognized in his human form their stares fixed onto each other for a long moment in a re-enactment of their parting a year earlier.
After a minute of green eyes gazing intently into hazel, the human gave Jared a small yet clear nod of acknowledgment before returning to his task of flanking Lord Morgan as the Alpha stepped forward to make introductions.
Wolves like Jared and his pack were not as stiff on formalities as the humans. The hierarchy was clear and ingrained in every member’s instincts. There were alphas, and betas and omegas. It was in their blood.
The humans also had a hierarchy, but although nobility was a birthright too, there were no instincts telling their subordinates to obey. It was a forced regimentation that, despite its usefulness, was very wearying to Jared.
The Alpha stepped forward, and Jared walked to stand at his left shoulder, his rightful place. “I am Gerald, Alpha. This is my son Jared. Welcome to our Den.”
It was not in full accord with human social conventions, but Jared didn’t think that was necessary. They weren’t human after all, and both parties would do well to remember it. Lord Morgan tilted his head in acknowledgment before introducing the senior members of the council who had come for the negotiations. Jared spared each of them one look, filing their names away and swinging his eyes back to the young man standing as a silent sentinel next to the negotiators. His was the only name Jared really wanted to learn, but it was not disclosed.
After the introductions, Jared led their human guests toward a meadow that was quiet and sunny. The pack didn’t live in houses or castles but in the Den, which was the center of their territory, actually consisting of many dens and caves that formed an invisible, natural city in the middle of the Black Woods. The king’s negotiators had been offered underground accommodations beforehand, but the humans seemed to not like the thought of it, rather bringing their own tents which were now pitched in the meadow.
Jared didn’t really see the logic behind this since it didn’t matter whether they stayed in the Den or in a tent, had the pack planned on breaking the truce. However they did not, and so he shrugged the question off to play the good host.
“Is there anything more you might need?” He looked at Lord Morgan with what he hoped was a friendly smile. Jared was not used to human interaction the way the older wolves were, those who had more experience dealing with things standing on two legs rather than four. Most of Jared’s human interaction had been in battle.
“No, I think we have all we need. Thank you for your hospitality, Jared.”
Morgan was one of the few who seemed unfazed by the lack of labels and ranks in the wolf society. They seemed to only understand that the Alpha was like the king, and the lack of a title like 'prince' for Jared seemed to make them worry about a lack of respect while addressing Jared by just his name.
He nodded at Morgan, telling him when to expect a pack member to come and invite them for dinner, before leaving the humans to their own ways of getting settled. As he walked back in the direction of the Den, the whiff of that memorable odor that had been there all day grew stronger, and he involuntarily made a beeline to walk towards the Luparius standing on the outskirts of the small town of tents seemingly assessing the forest around them.
Jared gave the man a wide berth as he approached, avoiding sneaking up on him and risking starting an incident. Instead he walked around him at a short distance to approach him from the front. “I remember you.”
Green eyes held his gaze steadily as a small smile tugged on pink lips. “Did I make that much of an impression?”
“Yes, actually. Usually Luparii tried to kill me.”
The man nodded with a small frown. “Hopefully that will change now.”
“I’m Jared.” He really wanted to know the double-sworded devil’s name.
“I know. I am Jensen.”
A small smile spread over Jared’s face as he was told just a single name. Usually the humans insisted on at least two names and a title. This one was different, and Jared liked it.
“Can I ask you something, Jared?”
The wolf shrugged, wondering what question the man could have for him. “Shoot.”
“How serious is this?” Green eyes looked worried as a small frown spread over Jensen’s face.
“What do you mean?”
“The peace talk… how serious is it? Will the pack accept an end of our differences after everything that happened?” It was a question that threw Jared for a moment. He hadn’t expected anything so meaningful or political when he granted Jensen a question. But it was valid.
“Many wolves are bitter. All my life there has been war. We don’t know any difference, and some of us don’t see how things can change. But the Alpha is serious in his will to end the fighting, and when he decides, the pack will follow. That is our way.” He knew it to be true. Everybody would follow the Alpha. It was their instinct down to the core. The only way to disobey was to challenge the Alpha and win. Jared couldn’t think of anyone stupid enough to try that.
Jensen nodded, eye contact breaking as his gaze swept back towards the tents, and the humans gathered there. “Good. I hope your father will decide not to kill us all then.”
“You were granted safe passage for the entire negotiations.” Jared’s eyes narrowed; he felt offended by the lack of trust Jensen’s words betrayed.
“Tell that to the werewolves that have been circling our camp for two hours now.” Jensen looked somber but unimpressed, and Jared was pretty sure that was due to the two silver swords that were safely lodged into two crossed scabbards on his back.
Jared sniffed the air, looking to find which wolves Jensen was talking about. He knew there were some pack members out there, but, due to the proximity to the den, he had not read much into it. But if Jensen claimed they were stalking the human negotiating party, he believed the man. This Luparius had instincts that even some wolves might envy.
There were three wolves walking a perimeter far enough from the meadow not to be seen but definitely circling. He huffed out a breath and set his jaw. Jared would need to teach them a lesson.
“I will… excuse me.” He nodded to the Luparius who seemed just a little smug at being right before turning and walking into the tree line. His nose and arms lengthened and a tail pushed out of his spine. A sleek coat of dark fur covered his whole body by the time he tipped forwards, and he took off at a four-legged run.
+++
It took them two days to broach the subject of a commitment to a real peace, instead of a truce or prolonged negotiations. The main problem was trust, and the fact that humans and wolves did not understand each other very well. To keep a solid peace, a simple truce was not the solution. After another three days, an alliance became an option as common goals started to crystallize. The one thing that made Jared’s stomach churn was the discussion about a sign of commitment, of allegiance. He knew that for wolves the only allegiance was to family. The humans had strong family bonds as well, and that was how Jared himself turned into part of the negotiations.
“If we want to ally ourselves with them, we need a common bond that makes understanding easier. The king has a daughter…”
Jared’s eyebrows rose as he listened to his father’s logic. “I know what you were thinking of… you want her to become family.”
“The king wants you to become family, too.”
Jared nodded as a headache started to form. “Does he know that in order for me to mate with that girl, she’d have to become a werewolf?”
“Yes and that would be the sign of commitment the pack is looking for.”
What could he say to that? He had failed to find a mate in their own pack so far, and if the Alpha needed him to mate in order to end a century of war, Jared would go along with it. He just hoped that the girl had a little spice.
+++
“So you’ll marry this girl?” Jared’s sister was a quirky nineteen year old wolf cub, who was currently grinning at him from above the cup of hot tea she had wangled from one of the humans. She knew how to bat her lashes just right to get anything she wanted.
“I can end a war, Megan. Of course I will… although wolves don’t marry.”
“Well, at least your marriage, sorry mating, will change the world as we know it. Sounds kinda romantic, don’t you think?” She sipped her tea with a wink. “You might not know her yet, but you’ll save the world together.”
“Whatever they put into that drink makes you hallucinate.”
She giggled as he flipped her the bird.
+++
“Where are your swords, Jensen?” Jared had moved up behind the man as humans and wolves gathered for the joint dinner that was part of their negotiation. Jensen was always there, but he kept his distance from the pack members - all but Jared - and, strangely enough, Christian, one of the changed wolves who had joined the pack a few years ago - and most of the human council members as well. He seemed to get along well with Jeffrey and most of the guards, but all in all he was a lone wolf, pun intended.
Green eyes snapped to the young werewolf. His gaze was unwavering but not unpleasant. “I am not very welcome here. Many of your kind think of me as the incarnation of the enemy. Carrying my weapons around here when we are bargaining for peace will set the wrong impression.”
Jared nodded thoughtfully. It was true that this warrior, who had been mystified into a legendary fiend by the wolves he fought, was a guest most pack members wanted to see dead. The looks Jensen got ranged from fear to blank hatred, and Jared was proud of the fact that there had been no incidents so far. The negotiations were nearly over, and peace was at their fingertips.
“You are very careful of politics for a warrior.”
The Luparius shrugged nodding to a few humans walking by to take their seats at the long table. “I want peace.”
“Why?” Jared knew that he was digging, probably overstepping the boundaries of what could be seen as appropriate conversation. “When there’s peace you’ll be out of a job.”
The chuckle that answered was humorless as Jensen shook his head tiredly. “Maybe it’s time we all find something else we can be good at. The suffering has to end, and I will not put my own pride in the way.”
This man with all his layers, the quiet but outspoken person who was the perfect killer while wishing for peace, fascinated Jared beyond belief. He hoped that there would be peace, and they would find a way to work together. Something told him that Jared, the wolf, and Jensen, the Luparius, could be great friends.
+++
“I see you became friends with Jensen.” The cheeky smile on Christian’s face made Jared’s eyebrows rise. Christian was one of the warriors who had fought on both sides of this war. He used to be human, until he was bitten by a wolf in battle. He'd survived but was changed forever. There were quite a few like him here but not as many as there should be. The king’s troops usually killed those that were changed, before they had a chance to desert.
“I wouldn’t call it friends.” Jared wished they would become that one day but a few offhanded conversations on the side, or a life altering political event did not qualify as friendship.
Chris shrugged, face thoughtful. “He’s a good guy, and a great friend to have. You should consider it.”
Jared’s eyes narrowed by their own will, and he scrutinized Christian for a long while. “How do you know him?”
A sigh left the man’s lips as his eyes followed Jensen’s figure crossing the space towards his seat at the dinner table. “From a former life… we used to serve together. Jensen was my commander and a good friend. It’s great to be able to talk to him again.”
Jared had always thought that it must be hard for those that were changed involuntarily to leave everything behind. But now he wondered how many humans who Christian had fought and killed over the last year had been people he knew, former friends even.
Jared opened his mouth to say something that he hadn’t really decided on, when the commotion started. There was a growl and a yell and both men snapped around to face the situation that was unfolding at the far end of the banquet.
There was a pack member in wolf form leaping at the table that had several of the human guards sat. Jared saw Jensen in the middle of the group of men all scuttling sideways in wild leaps to get out of the way. The Luparius was the only one who did not try to escape. The wolf leaped directly at him, and Jared was already running at full speed as he watched the man swing a tin plate at the wolf’s nose, smacking the bared fangs away from him, while the furry body of the creature smashed into him with a heavy thud that crushed the man’s back into the edge of the table.
Jensen grunted in pain but did not hesitate to knock both legs upwards swinging the confusedly blinking wolf over him and smacking it, back first, onto the table. The humans around them, mainly politicians, all backed away, and the shock at the sudden outbreak of violence seemed to stun everybody but Jared and Chris, who were only ten yards away now, Jared changing into his wolf form in mid-run jumping from two legs to four as he growled an order to the aggressor wolf to stop what it was doing, while Chris let out a shout of authority for the rest of the pack to stop them.
It was all a second too late. Jared saw Jensen, still on the ground, twist away from the table, hand twitching upwards to where his swords usually were, and instead leaping to pick up a small iron knife that had fallen off the table during the struggle. The wolf scuttled back to its feet and growled menacingly; it didn’t even seem to hear the barked orders. It jumped once more and Jensen jutted the knife out and embedded it in the wolves neck, but other than a sharp wince added to the battle roar of the beast, it had no effect.
The wolf knocked Jensen backwards and snapped its gaping jaws down hard aiming for the man’s throat. There was nothing Jensen could do but raise his arm to intercept the fangs. Teeth embedded themselves in the man’s wrist and the left side of his neck. The arm had kept the wolf from ripping Jensen’s entire throat out with one bite, but the maw of the wolf was considerably bigger than Jensen’s lower arm, and the fangs were long and sharp, ripping into the soft flesh of his neck viciously.
Jared jumped and knocked into the other wolf’s form. The Alpha’s son was huge and he clamped his fangs down on the back of the other wolf’s neck piercing the thick coat of grey fur and pressing hard. He was ready to crush the smaller wolves spine if he had to, but there was a yelp and the jaws around Jensen’s arm and throat let go instantly. Jared hauled the offending wolf away, throwing him several feet sidewards with a vicious growl that resonated through the forest for miles and made all pack members flinch.
Several wolves who had jumped to action upon Chris and Jared’s orders circled the guilty wolf, and he was dragged away, yelping and wincing. Jared didn’t care, didn’t watch. Instead he turned around to see Chris kneeling on the ground both hands clamped to Jensen’s neck as thick red blood pulsed from the wound.
Jared let his body switch back to human form, uncaring that he was stark naked now, and knelt down by Jensen’s head. “Get help here, now!” He screamed at the horrified onlookers, and both humans and wolves scuttled off to fulfill his request.
Jensen was sprawled on his back, right wrist a bloody mess but nothing beside the bloodbath that had taken place at his neck. He was pale, his skin and hair slick with cold sweat and warm blood. He was blinking slowly, face that of shock and incredulity rather than pain and fear. Jared reached behind himself grabbing the edge of a table cloth from the banquet table that was a mess where the fight had overrun it. He pulled the cloth free and tried batting Chris’ hands away to make a tourniquet over the wound.
“No, wait!” Jared glared at the other wolf, growling low in his human throat, but Chris’ look was that of sincere grief and fear. “I need to… just a moment.” He bent over the bleeding man’s body so Jensen’s glassy eyes could see him as he appeared to be quickly losing consciousness. “Jensen. You were bitten… what do you want me to do? Please… let me save you?”
The Luparius blinked slowly for a few seconds as if to clear an invisible fog, but then his head jerked in a small painful nod.
“Yes? We can save you?”
The second nod was hardly even visible as Jensen’s eyes drifted closed. Suddenly Chris grabbed the cloth that Jared still held and bundled it together tightly to press onto the still heavily bleeding wound.
“What the fuck was that about?” Jared took over pressing the makeshift tourniquet against the bloody mess of Jensen’s neck as Chris started clearing a way towards the cave that was the pack's sick station.
The former human just gave Jared a serious look as he started shooing wolves and humans alike out of the way. “Just repaying a debt, Jared.”
Jared frowned but didn’t question the man any further as he busied himself getting into position, so that his arm went beneath Jensen’s shoulders in such a way that his hand could still press down on the wound while his other arm gathered up the man’s legs so he could carry him away.
+++
Jared’s arms were crossed over his chest as he looked down at the scarily pale face of the man he had started to become friends with. His lower lip was red from chewing on it in worry, and his eyes traveled down Jensen's chest regularly to ensure that it was still rising and falling.
“What the fuck was all that about, Chris?” He had smelled the man entering rather than he had heard him.
“Obviously the legendary Luparius with the silver swords killed George’s mate last year. When he heard some of the other wolves talk about Jensen tonight, he snapped…”
Jared nodded tiredly, hands rubbing over his eyes. The bond between mates was strong, and it was understandable to a degree that one who lost their partner would go mad with grief. It didn’t change the fact that this was a violation of the truce that put the whole pack into grave danger. The wolf would be branded omega and probably find a slow and cruel death. It was their kind’s way of dealing with such offenses.
Christian sighed, and the frown on his face was that of genuine concern. Jared was sure that he looked quite similar.
“Chris, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, Jared… but I know what you want to know.”
They stared at each other for a long while, Jared waiting for Chris to answer the unasked question of what his earlier answer had actually meant.
The former human was not a tall man but burly and strong looking, with long dark hair and blazing blue eyes. He looked like the type of man who was hard to get to know and tough to handle. Right now the look on his face was that of pure emotion though, and Jared wondered if he was the first one to hear the story that was coming.
“I was bitten five years ago in a struggle at the northern borders. Jensen was the commander of my team, and we ran into smaller groups of wolves nearly daily on our patrols. I had already known Jensen for a while, and the evening before he'd told me that he expected things to get worse. He had a bad feeling, and he was right.” Chris sighed sitting down on the edge of Jensen’s bed, looking at the injured man with sad eyes. “The next group of wolves we met was bigger, stronger, and we lost half of our men, before we managed to fight them off. There was a big black wolf there, and he caught me in the side… right here.”
Chris pulled his shirt up a little to expose a white set of scars on his left flank. “It was a bite, and we both knew what that meant. Our orders were clear. A bite was a death sentence, simple as that. Jensen had to kill me and burn my body with all the other wolves that were killed that day. But Jensen sent the rest of our team away to find a safe place for the night, while he took care of his friend… only he didn’t. He gave me a choice. If I wanted to try and live as a wolf, I could go as long as I would never come back. But if I didn’t want to be a wolf, he’d end it for me. I was scared, but I didn’t want to die. He let me go.”
With a sigh Chris looked up to catch Jared’s eyes. “He gave me a choice. It was the least I could do to repay that debt to him.”
Jared nodded slowly staring down at the unconscious man, wondering how someone so fierce in battle could be so kind in life. “So you would have let him bleed to death just like that?”
“If he asked me to.”
Once again Jared nodded glad that it hadn’t come to that. “You’re a great friend.”
“No. He is.” Chris fumbled with the blankets to pull them further onto Jensen’s shoulders. “I just hope it wasn’t in vain.”
There was nothing Jared could say to that. They had patched the wounds up as best they could, but the blood loss had been immense. Nobody knew if Jensen would make it through the night.
... next part...
Links to the Art Post and the Mix Post can also be found in the Master Post. Go tell my two great ladies just how awesome they are! :D
*hugs* Birdie