A Primal Right.
Title: A Primal Right.
Author: lovenhardt1
Banner:qafmaniac.
Word Count: ~58.000. This chapter 3.640
Pairing: Adam/Tommy (Werewolf).
Warnings: Sexual content, minor character death.
Rating: NC17
Disclaimers: The people you might recognize in here are NOT mine. I'm not making any profit, I'm only doing this for fun. There is no way this ever happened and so on. Oh…. And werewolves don’t exist either…. Sowry.
Beta:thrace_adams. Thank you sweetie for all your help, I love you so much for it! All your hard work made mine shine.
Type: Werewolf AU. Romance with just enough angst to make it good.
A/N: This fic is written for my dear friend dkymekare because she loves wolves above.
I had some really incredible cheerleaders on this fic!!! I love you all dearly! And I couldn’t have done it without you! So THANK YOU!!!
Please do not link/copy/share/whatever this anywhere. Thank you.
Summary: You know that feeling of being in control? Of knowing what happens next? You’ve got it all worked out, knows it’ll be hard work but worth it. You’re so focused on carefully laid plans that you kinda forgot about you…. but then something or someone comes along and changes everything. Suddenly you’re not even in charge of your own heart anymore. Yeah. That’s what happened to me.
Sit down and let me tell you a story… you might want to put your legs up and get comfortable, we’ll be here for a while.
It all began a day I was letting my wolf have some fun in the woods…
A quiet knock on my door and the low creak from the doorknob being turned pulled me out of my dream. I didn’t bother opening my eyes; somewhere in my sleep I had already registered her steps before she knocked.
“Hi, can I come in?” Allison asked in an uncharacteristicly shy voice.
I guess that meant I had to look somewhat awake. So I peeked up at her before rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
“Hi, sweet pea, sure.”
Adam nuzzled my neck in his sleep and pulled me a little closer. A barely noticeable but very content sigh warmed my cheek as he let it out.
“When did you come home?” I asked because she hadn’t been home in two weeks, which is a really long time for her. “Just did, I missed you. Can I sleep in here?”
“Hm hmmm.” I lifted my duvet and she crawled in, my bed isn’t big and it's never been a problem before but I haven’t had Adam sleeping in it before either, and he is tall and big and thank fuck he’s also all about cuddles otherwise I would have had to send Allison back, which would have been sort of cruel.
“Wanna talk?” I whispered, no point in not asking her since I was awake now. She rubbed her nose against mine and yawned.
“Wanna sleep.”
“Night then.” I planted a soft kiss on her forehead and got a happy sigh in return.
“Night.”
The sound of Adam sleeping and the warmth of both of them made me drift off. I was just on the edge of sleep when Allison ran a finger along the bone in my nose.
“Tommy?”
“Yeah?”
“Who’s the dude?”
“That’s Adam.”
I don’t know if it was the tone of my voice or if she scented my blood in him, it could also just have been the way we smelled, happy and satisfied or just the fact that he was in my bed but she jumped to the right conclusion.
“He’s good to you?”
I snickered, thinking of how we had spent most of the night, earning a giggle snort from Allison.
“Very.”
“Alright then.”
And that was it, shortly after that she fell asleep. I wondered for a while if the rest of the pack would be as easily convinced that he belonged with us before finally finding sleep again.
I woke up to a morning wood snugged up in the cleft of my ass and the rest of my body tangled up with both Adam and Allison. Oh yeah and Adam’s lips pressing soft and sleepy kisses along my neck. And if it hadn't been because of Allison plastered all over my front then I would have been very happy. But being turned on so doesn’t go along with having your wolf sister all up in your business.
I knew the exact moment he realized we weren’t alone. It was just a second before my mother loudly knocked on the door telling us to get our asses out of bed and get down for breakfast because she'd found what she was looking for. A nervous feeling took root in my stomach and made it a little hard to focus on the confusion on Adam’s face.
Adam looked at Allison, his eyes huge and quizzical. Allison rubbed her eyes and rolled out of bed, stretching her body and yawning loudly.
“You heard her! Get out of bed guys.” She said and bent down to smack a kiss on my lips. I was expecting that and kissed back. Three seconds later she was out the door yelling at my mother that she wanted coffee and not tea with her breakfast.
I turned around to finally greet Adam with a good morning kiss but he was still staring at the door Allison just went out off.
“Who was that?”
“Allison.”
“Allison? Hmm okay, why was she in our bed?”
I was thinking that Adam had a lot to learn about being in a pack, but at the same time still convinced that he would fit right in. Mom had sounded happy when she knocked on my door, so I wasn’t about to let Allison being in our bed be a problem. “She‘s been away on a trip and came back last night, she missed me and she just needed to feel at home again.”
“Is she?…… uhm..” and there it was, the jealousy, I so didn’t see it coming, I was too focused on pack behavior to see it from his point of view.
“Nooo, oh my god Adam. She is a wolf sister, part of the pack. And she has been without wolf-contact for two weeks, she just needed to reconnect. Also she is a kid.”
“So it's a wolf thing?” he asked, his tone light and teasing.
He shifted his weight a little and put a thigh between mine, the movement pushing me back onto the mattress. Nodding vigorously and grinning like a loon, because he understood I said, “Yes, a wolf thing.”
“Okay.”
I could feel the smile spreading across my face before he leaned down and kissed me softly, tenderly, and I fucking melted underneath him. When the mood shifted from lazy good morning kisses to Hello hot, he stopped, backed off and said it was time to go down and hear what mom was going to share with us. I groaned loudly and made a show out of rearranging my junk before sulking all the way to the bathroom. Adam soft laughter followed me, and okay perhaps that was not my finest moment, but cockblocking is not funny.
**
Going into the kitchen hand in hand with Adam was a huge deal but Adam didn’t seem to notice, I guess to him it was just a matter of holding his boyfriend’s hand, but to the wolves any display of affection is significant. Touching means you care - a great deal and it shows that the person you care about belongs. It's that simple.
Mom was sitting at the head of the table, Allison to her right, munching on a piece of bacon and telling all about her adventures. Mom had that ‘I missed you too much kiddo to be annoyed that you’re speaking with your mouth full’ look in her eyes.
I let go of Adam’s hand and went over to kiss my mother’s cheek and getting one in return. Mike was pouring himself a mug of coffee huge enough to drown in. I raised an eyebrow before ruffling his hair a little thinking it probably wasn’t a good idea to kiss him since Adam apparently was a little possessive. Mike, however, pulled me in for a one-armed hug.
“When did you get here? I thought you went home last night.” I asked.
“Just got in, Dia called.”
“Sit boys. Have something to eat.”
So we did. I went for the dish with sausages and bacon and when I was done loading my plate, I passed the serving dish on to Adam. Adam politely took it from me and put it back in the center of the table, then he reached for the grapes and a piece of toast. Mike came over with the coffee and poured two steamy hot mugs for Adam and me before sitting down.
Adam’s voice dripped with sarcasm when he looked at my plate. “You’re going to eat all of that?”
“Yeah, why?”
“How are you so tiny and slender, if you eat like that?” Gone was the sarcasm and instead I just heard surprise and awe. He made me laugh, looking adorable like that.
“Um… wolf?” I said and pointed to myself. Adam laughed and leaned in to kiss me, speaking softly against my lips he said, “Then I want to be a wolf too, that bacon smells like heaven.”
I leaned back and took one of my pieces and offered it to him.
“Eat. That what it’s here for.”
“Can’t though, I’ll get fat and nobody will want me then.”
“Hpmf, you leaving me?”
“No. but-”
“Then you got nothing to worry about, you can eat a piece of bacon.”
Adam sighed and took the bacon from me but instead of putting it in his mouth he carefully put it on his plate. I rolled my eyes, pretty sure Adam wouldn't eat the damn bacon. Adam put a grape in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully before asking, “So Mrs. Ratliff, you said you found what you were looking for?”
“Dia, Adam. Please call me Dia. And yes I did. Mike is such a bright young man sometimes.”
I swear that Mike got two inches taller and I had to snort loudly. Mike kicked my ankle under the table and I immediately retaliated. We both got the annoyed ‘boys’ look from mom and my focus was back. Mainly because Adam put a hand on my thigh and his thumb drew circles spreading warmth where it touched.
“So what does that mean?” Adam wanted to know.
“That means we need to introduce you to the pack. I already got in touch with everyone and they’ll all be here the day after tomorrow. Most of them will drop by sooner than that and we’ll probably have to explain things more than once. I hope you have the time to be around?”
Adam nodded like it was the most natural thing in the world. However, my brain was stuck on one word All? I was so fucked. I realized that I hadn’t blocked the others out when all three of them looked at me funnily. I closed them off immediately and got an irritated glare from Mike, the nosy bastard. My mother went on explaining things but I got one of her calm reassuring smiles first.
“When we’re all gathered I’ll tell them about the two of you, how you met and all. I’ll tell them about the three prior cases that I found documentation on. I’ll ask them to welcome you and accept you as ours. It's actually not necessary to do it that way, since I'm still alpha and they have to obey me, but I prefer it that way. This way, on the off chance that someone does protest, it's better if we hear it here first than at council later. Here we have a chance to talk about it. When our pack has welcomed you and accepted you as Tommy’s mate, the next step will be to get Mia’s pack to do the same. Mike seems to think that’s not going to be a problem.”
“Is that it? Sounds too easy, what with the way Tommy was explaining it with your laws.”
Mom smiled at Adam, but looked at me with another ‘this is going to work out look’ in her eyes before returning her gaze to Adam. “No Adam. It's not that simple. Tommy did break our laws and the council won’t be happy about that at all. But that’s where these,” she patted the books, “come in handy. They prove that it has happened before and that the council back then acknowledged it. If our pack is behind this we’re even stronger and if Mia’s pack is willing to do the same," she paused, "and if Mia says that she will accept the pact between them being annulled, you’ll stand even better.”
“But I thought," Adam's brow furrowed in thought, "Tommy said he could risk being an outcast because of us, how is Mia’s word going to change that?”
“I can’t be sure it will, but it'll show the council there are no grudges between them or between our packs, no signs of a war between us. See, it’s the council’s job is to make sure that all wolves behave, so that we can function as a society within human society. That's why these rules are in place, even the ones that seem archaic and superfluous. They're designed to keep all of us safe, no question that some of them could stand to be changed to keep up with the changing times. But we'll worry about that later. For now let’s focus on you meeting the pack. One step at the time.”
“Dia?”
“Yes, Mike.”
Mike nodded towards me and sent mom one of those conspiratorial looks. “Can I borrow Tommy for a minute?”
“Sure, I’ll just entertain Adam for a while. He's got to have a thousand questions in that pretty head of his.”
They shared that look again and damn if I didn't know a set up when I saw one and I sure as hell wasn’t about to get ambushed. No way was I going to let him drag me into the living room and pick my personal life apart.
“Whatever you want to say, you can say here, dude.”
“Okay, but you asked for it.”
My whole posture screamed ‘I dare you’ and of course he did. Man I was never going to learn, was I?
“Why are you scared? Just before when Dia said that everyone would be here, you were scared.”
Adam’s eyes were glued to me, seeing everything, right into my fucking soul. His hand on my thigh squeezed lightly, comforting. I took a deep breath and sucked my lower lip into my mouth before answering, slowly and carefully, “No not scared.”
Not exactly, but maybe too close to the truth than I cared to think about. Mike just glared at me, demanding an answer, had I been wise enough, I would have used my wolf to make him cooperate but I wasn’t. Instead I let my temper get the best of me.
“Fuck you, Mike. You damn well know he hasn’t been home for two years. Not once have I heard from him.”
Shocked Mike asked, “Trent? That was about Trent?”
“Who’s Trent?” Adam asked and twined our fingers together.
“Tommy’s-” Mike began explaining but stopped, his eyebrows almost hitting his hair line when something dawned on him. “Oh my god he left because of you. What the hell Tommy?”
I had sensed the jealous coming from Adam the moment he grabbed my hand, so I was expecting his attempt to stop Mike. “Mike, maybe you should let Tommy-”
“No, I want to know, not just because he left us, but because Tommy doesn’t think he’ll welcome you Adam.” Mike retorted angrily.
Adam turned to look at me again his eyes searching and unsure. “Who is Trent?”
Before I had a chance to say anything, or even catch a breath Mike continued.
“Why Tommy? He loves you, he always has and always will, why wouldn’t he be the first to welcome your mate?”
Trapped between a rock and a hard place, I growled, “Because I fucked up, that’s why. And I’m not scared, but I’ll admit I am a little concerned.”
Allison chimed in at the same time, almost talking over top of me. “Because they were in love, that’s why dickhead. And Tommy’s not sure how Trent will take the news.”
“WHAT?”
“WHAT?”
Adam and Mike both stared at me. Adam pulled his hand away from mine looking like someone had just put a stake through his heart. He pushed his chair out and stood up. Mike just looked like someone had dropped him from the moon.
“Is that true?” Mike asked cautiously, tilting his head and eyeing me suspiciously.
“Um -”
Unable to find words that wouldn’t hurt Adam, I reached out for him instead. He glanced at me quickly, the hurt evident in his eyes. “What happened to me being the-”
“You were! You are!”
“Right! I need some air.”
He strode out of the kitchen, leaving me behind. I glared angrily at Mike and Allison before hissing, “Happy now?”
I realized I wasn’t being fair to them but the hurt and betrayal I had seen in Adam’s eyes killed me, and I was aching to make things right between us again.
The front door slammed so hard I wondered briefly if it was still on its hinges. My mom frowned and asked if I truly believed Trent could become a problem. I shrugged and left to find Adam. I had to explain to him first, then the family. They weren’t my first concern anymore, he was.
Adam was half way across the meadow, so I set off in a run to catch up with him. When I was by his side I grabbed his arm and pleaded, “Adam wait.”
He slowed down but kept walking and with a frustrated sigh he ran a hand through his hair, leaving it a bit messy. My fingers itched to comb through it to straighten it out, or maybe just to touch, reconnect, because I felt damn lost right now.
“I get that I can’t be mad at you for this, but damn Tommy! I felt special.”
“You are! Just let me explain.”
He stopped abruptly and I almost ran into him. “I’m not sure I wanna hear it. And I don’t get why I’m this jealous, but I am and picturing you with-”
“But that’s the thing Adam, I was never with him.”
I ached to make this right again. My wolf wanted me close and cuddled up to Adam, wanted to bare its belly to show just how much I was his. I’ve never wanted to roll over like that before. This had nothing to do with lust; it was all about wanting him happy and smiling again. My wolf, a fucking alpha born, was confusing the shit out of me with its sudden desire to surrender to someone else like this.
Adam looked at me like he didn’t believe a single word but really wanted to at the same time, “Really?”
“He left because he was in love with me, not the other way around.”
He narrowed his eyes, "But Allison said that you were -" he waved his hand in frustration. "Nevermind. Why did he leave?”
“Because, argh.”
I turned away from him, too many emotions on his face for me to deal with. He grabbed my hand and even though his voice still was hard, his touch was gentle, leading me back. “Just say it. Get it over with.”
I swallowed and stumbled embarrassingly over the words. “We were close, maybe we were too close to just being friends. I - I don’t even know. But that was what I felt, friendship. I wasn’t ready to change that. He wanted more, and after one drunken night clubbing and dancing where the lines maybe got a little blurry, we ended up having a fight. The last thing he said to me was that if I wasn’t going to man up then he had to leave because he couldn’t be close to me and not be with me. So I said to him, that things would have been very different had he been a chick. Next morning all his things were packed and he was gone. He'd left a note for me saying that he would come home whenever I asked him to if it meant that we could have a future together. I never asked him to come home. And I haven’t heard a word from him since.”
The look in Adam's eyes had gone from angry and hurt to understanding and warmth. His arms had snaked around my neck and pulled me closer as I told him the story I'd never shared with anyone else.
“Hm. Okay.”
“I hurt him Adam. And now he has to come home, to me, wanting him to not only accept a human, but a male one. It's a lot to ask. I don’t doubt that he has moved on, I don’t have any illusions about him still wanting to be with me. But it's still a lot to ask. And Trent can be a moody and stubborn guy.”
“But he also loved you; Mike said that! I can’t imagine he wants you to be unhappy. If you love someone, truly love someone, then you want that person to be happy, even if it means it can’t be with you.”
I looked down at my feet. Adam was making a point here and it made me feel shy for some reason. I looked up at him through my fringe and he brushed my hair away so tenderly that it almost hurt.
“If I said to you that I wanted to go through the mating with Mia, would you be happy for me?”
He shook his head, and held his hand so it cupped my jaw, his thumb caressing my cheek bone. I wanted to melt into that touch.
“No, because it wouldn’t make you happy. If you smiled at Mia the way you smile at me, or if your breath hitched in your throat and that sweet blush spread across your cheeks or if you got that heat flaring in your eyes when she touched you, then yes, I would. I would back off and be jealous as fuck, but I could never stand between you and her.”
He said that so intimately that my stomach did a silly flip flop and I just had to kiss him. He opened up to me right away and with a few soft strokes of tongue and a gentle nip at his lips my world settled again.
He laughed cheekily and winked like I was the one that had needed to get the hell out of the kitchen and slamming doors so the hinges whined. Not that I really cared, his laugher seemed to instantly brighten the whole world.
“So, why don’t we go back and tell the others what you just told me. I’m sure Mike is dying to know and maybe your mom should know too. And then when he shows up we’ll deal with it together.”
Have I mentioned how awesome Adam is?
chapter 8