Casket Boy part 6
Masterpost | Return to part 5 | Continue to part 7
It was kind of frighteningly easy to get into that boarding house at night. The lock was a joke, Chad had picked it in less than ten seconds. The steps were politely silent, and the names of the lodgers helpfully indicated on their doors.
Chad had been sitting in Jared's bedroom for the better part of half an hour, and the sun was high enough by now that he was able to see the sleeping omega's body perfectly. Jared already had the sheets pushed away when Chad came in, and he had only had to slide the nightshirt up to his shoulders, gently, to admire the long legs and the toned back, not to mention the ass he had already touched upon their first meeting. Seeing those tantalizing cheeks again, Chad had been unable to resist the need to bend and kiss each of them in turn, lingeringly.
Jared turned over, offering to Chad's contemplation the other side of his body. The nightshirt was stuck by the middle of Jared's torso, so Chad got up and sat on the side of the bed to uncover the top of the omega's chest and get a closer view. He was just as attractive that way, tiny nipples half-hard, just like his cock. Jared was having a very sweet dream, and Chad was loath to break it.
Jared's right hand came up to encircle his dick, loosely at first, then more fiercely, his balls following every move. Jared moaned, murmuring a name Chad couldn't catch, and then his legs drew up, threatening to hit Chad on their way, who was still bent over the omega to keep the nightshirt off his body.
Chad twisted his own body to be able to take in all the details when the omega brought his other hand to his hole, driving three fingers inside himself at once and making Chad wince in sympathy. That had to hurt. But once again, a name passed Jared's lips, something beginning by Jen maybe. Hard to tell, lost in harsh moans of mixed pleasure and pain. And Chad only knew Jen as a girl's name but it was difficult to believe, considering what he was witnessing right now, that Jared was pining for a dick-less mate.
Maybe he could help Jared with this, offer his own cock as a tool for Jared's experimentations ; no harm, no fool, no bond, no mating. Just play a game, a thorough cleaning of the pipes without knotting, and everyone feeling better afterwards. Chad preferred betas himself, he loved to break their calm and reserve, turn them into a blithering mess, but he wouldn't mind a bit of sharing. He was young after all, and experience was a priority to become a masterful alpha.
The moans escalated in time with all Jared's moves. The hand stripping his cock got rougher and quicker, while a fourth digit was added to the pack breaching the omega's rim. Then Jared's body seized up, the clear, sperm-less fluid of an omega fountaining out of his dick to land on his upper chest.
All the signs were there even before he saw Jared coming, but Chad only put them together now : the omega had found his mate. His body was calling out for him, bereft in his absence, and actively seeking a release that wouldn't be needed otherwise. It was highly probable that Chad's offer of help wouldn't be appreciated in such circumstances.
Jared slowly opened his eyes, no understanding or questioning passing through them at first. Then the omega finished waking up and the presence of an alpha in his room at dawn finally registered.
A cry escaped Jared's mouth, but Chad didn't have time to do anything about it before the omega controlled himself. Chad knew why. It was certainly unfair, Jared hadn't invited him, but everyone would blame Jared for Chad's presence in case he was to be found here, not the other way around.
Jared's eyes darted around the room swiftly, taking in the scent as well as his position, the nightshirt Chad was still holding up above his shoulders to keep him naked, the o-jizz staining his torso, the fingers still buried in his ass. The poor guy turned a deep shade of crimson and tears pooled in his eyes.
"Please," he whispered, "let me go, don't hurt me."
"Alright," Chad agreed, "I won't if you just let me look at you all naked."
Jared hesitantly nodded, as if unsure of Chad's good faith.
"So take your shirt off," Chad pushed his luck, a bit annoyed by Jared's reluctance. He had only ever been faithful with the omega, no need to make him feel like a leech.
Trembling, Jared sat on the bed after withdrawing his fingers from his ass. He took the hem of the nightshirt in both hands and raised the garment above his head. Chad took it from him and used it to wipe the omega's chest of the clear come that was slowly trickling down, making him pure and immaculate again.
He pushed Jared to lie back down on the bed, spreading his legs to enjoy the whole picture. Jared was awfully tense, still as red as before, and ready to bolt and fight. Chad felt annoyance overcoming him once again.
"Don't look at me as if I were a monster ! I came here to help."
"Really ? Doesn't seem like it so far. Who's naked and helpless ?"
That was more like the Jared Chad remembered, and okay, he could kind of see his point of view. But Chad wasn't the bad guy here, on the contrary.
"I'm here to warn you not to accept a particular job that will be offered to you today. One of my guys was given a very big tip to pass on to you an address where you are to take delivery of a parcel. But this is only a trap. You'll be forced into the house and then raped by the alpha instigator of the plan."
"How do you know all this ?" Jared wondered, trembling anew.
"I have my sources. You can't be Alpha of Ismia's biggest street clan if you don't know shit."
"And do you know who's the instigator ?"
"Nothing definite, but the man who tipped my guy reeked of Sheppard's police…"
The omega's eyes widened in fear. Chad had heard enough about the Intendant to know that this probably wasn't the first nor the last time he would try to trap Jared, so he made a note to have all his informants on alert for news about the pretty boy, who certainly didn't deserve to end in a brothel because the most powerful and corrupted man of the Islands had taken a fancy to him. He liked the omega enough, despite his trust issues, to try and protect him as much as possible.
Especially if the rumors about the real reason why his parents' inn had burned down were true. Chad would make sure the Intendant never put his filthy hands on the pretty omega he wanted so much.
"Thanks," Jared said with gratitude in his eyes. "What do I owe you for this information ?"
Here was the mistrust again ! Chad had only come to him to repay the debt he owed the omega thanks to whom he had become leader of his street clan.
But now it seemed that the omega needed a quick lesson in trust.
"The price is not that high. I just ask for ten kisses on whatever part of your body I want."
"Maybe I could do a few free deliveries for you," Jared proposed instead. "You decide how many, and I'll do it."
"I have my clan for that. No, the price is as I said : ten kisses and I'm off."
Jared didn't answer right away, but Chad knew he had already won. The omega was as trustworthy as he mistrusted others. He would agree, because he couldn't let Chad go without repaying him, even after the humiliation of their first encounter.
A slight nod signaled once again this agreement.
Jared turned his head to look at the wall while Chad bent to land the first kiss on his right nipple, sucking lightly on it until he felt it rise to attention. The second nipple received the same treatment, plus a soothing lick that had Jared pushing him away furiously.
"That was two," Jared counted, "and please keep your word."
With a chuckle, Chad bent down further to reach Jared's beautiful cock. Chad would have liked to see it again fattened with desire, to feel the vein bulge and the blood run under his lips, but a new erection was unlikely so soon after the previous one and with only eight kisses to go. Eight kisses he wanted to use wisely on other parts of the omega's anatomy. So he spent only three of them on the cock, applying the last one to the tip. This time, it was instinct that had Chad's tongue coming out to taste the pearly fluid remaining in the slit.
Jared pushed him again, but Chad wasn't ready to let go this time. As long as his lips were attached to the crown, the kiss wasn't over, and he sucked for a long while, feeling the cock harden against the omega's will and despite his own worries.
He aimed for the right ball as soon as his mouth left the dick that was standing by itself now, without the help of Chad's hands that had come to play on their own.
"Take your hands off !" Jared ordered between two loud breaths.
Chad did it, only to use his hands to spread Jared's thighs wider and get better access to his balls, as well as a better view of his twitching hole. The omega was aroused, there was no denying it, and Chad was more than ready to help him with his condition. Jared only had to ask.
Once the two balls had been sucked into his mouth for two deep kisses, Chad took a few seconds to think of the better way to proceed. Jared's hole was blinking at him like this, his slick an enchanting perfume gliding down his crack, but the view of his gorgeous ass was not the best.
"Turn over," Chad ordered, "and keep your legs under you, your ass raised for me."
With a furious look and the count of seven, Jared complied. Chad could kind of understand his anger, the position probably reminded him of their first experience together, and it was humiliating at the best of times. But it allowed for the perfect view of the ass Chad wanted to replay as in his memories.
"Spread your legs wider," he commanded, and something snapped in him when Jared obeyed, unable to resist the needs of his body like any good little omega.
Chad's lips landed on the left cheek to begin with, mouth open to let his tongue trail in its wake as they traveled across the whole expanse of soft and highly sensitive skin.
"Not your tongue," Jared kept on saying, but Chad didn't care.
To prevent Jared's escape, Chad brought his hands to the omega's hips and kept him in place while his mouth used his ninth, lingering wet kiss on the second buttock.
The tenth kiss was certainly the biggest deal of all. With his thumbs, he kept Jared's ass cheeks apart and went for the kill. Sliding from the top of the crack to the place where Jared's balls hung in full view, Chad's lips crossed the perineum again to get back to the rim opening regularly to let the slick get out. Here again, he sucked like a madman, mouth closed around the hole and tongue pushing in. Jared's feeble resistance was futile against the power of an alpha.
The scent was heady so Chad drank longer than he had expected. Longer than Jared expected too, obviously, as the omega didn't react before a few long seconds when Chad backed off after having brought himself to completion with only three strokes of his own hand.
Then Jared was all quick moves to sit back against the headboard at the far end of the bed and hide his shame behind a pillow.
"Don't worry," Chad assured him as he finished tucking his cock back in his breeches and then stood up, "your secret's still safe with me."
After using Jared's nightshirt to clean his hand, Chad decided it was time to leave. He slowly opened the door, taking a look down the hall before going out. He hadn't taken all these precautions to be caught at the last minute. But the whole house was still sleeping, and Chad was able to get away just as discreetly. The city was beginning to wake up, the animation still restricted to a few shops. The air was nicely scented, the heat very reasonable at this early hour.
He licked his lips again, and Jared's flavor exploded on his palate.
Chad grinned. Yeah, he would have to try an omega out someday. It might not be that bad after all.
The errand Jared had just completed for the bank had brought him to the harbor. He hadn't seen the place since his arrival, and he had taken great care to not ever find himself alone with sailors on a deserted crate-filled street. After the unexpected and frightening reappearance of Chad, Jared didn't want to take any risk.
Still, he was curious by nature, and the sight of the dockworkers hoisting, with the help of ropes and a huge pulley, some crates that had to be at least five times heavier than a normal alpha was able to hold had stopped him for a while. He had watched them piling crate after crate, until something else entirely caught his attention.
Two parallel lines of prisoners marched right past them, ankles and wrists chained, led by six soldiers and Captain Richings. Jared realized as they passed by him that the prisoners were all omegas. Male or female, they looked defeated and exhausted, as if all hope had abandoned them. They also looked unkempt, their clothes appallingly disgusting. It was clear they had had to walk for a while, but there was no telling what kind of other tortures they had endured.
"Who are they ?" he asked one of the dockworkers.
"Ends of grace."
Jared's blank stare encouraged the alpha to go on.
"Casket boys and girls who have come to the end of their King's grace without finding someone to marry. They're brought back to the mainland."
"But… it's humiliating. They're treated like prisoners. Like criminals !"
"You're right, lad. But that's the way it is."
The man shot him a penetrating look.
"You should prepare yourself," he added.
Never, Jared thought. Never would he give One-Leg the pleasure to see him again on his ship. He'd rather slit his own throat.
It was a little bit annoying to see Katie shake Jensen's hand - an alpha's hand - without skipping a beat, as if she had done that kind of thing her whole life, when Jared knew for a fact that she hadn't. She always took everything in stride, the good and the bad, and that was probably why she was the one marrying her alpha when Jared was only friends with his true one.
It was even more annoying that Jensen was just as much of a charmer with Katie as he was with Jared.
"Did they only raise beautiful people in that orphanage of yours ?"
But then it was satisfying for once not to be the only one blushing. Jared wanted to kiss Jensen. To thank him or to stake his claim, he wasn't sure. Good thing Katie was to be married and become unavailable in the next few minutes. Even better, she was already mated and out-of-bounds, Jared could smell it.
It didn't mean he had to like her answer.
"Then you would have been right at home," she replied with a wink.
As soon as the other couple arrived - alpha Worthy's best alpha and her date, people that Jensen seemed to know vaguely - they all followed the fiancés into the temple. The Padre who had refused Jared the shelter of the place not that long ago was the one officiating. His sermon was all-purpose, probably used for all ceremonies he presided at, with no changes but the names of the bride and groom.
But seeing the happiness of his friends' faces, Jared thought he wouldn't mind marrying Jensen like that if it meant spending the rest of his life with his mate.
Still as welcoming, Padre Lehne pushed them towards the exit as soon as the wedding was over, freeing the temple for mass. They walked slowly to the restaurant where Rick had reserved a table for six. There would probably be, sometime later, a bigger feast to celebrate the wedding, and maybe the first child of the couple, a gathering of their neighbors and friends to which everyone would contribute, but today was supposed to be an opportunity for the people just married to reflect on their shared goals and divergent purposes.
Still, the lunch was an amicable moment that they all enjoyed and used to get to know each other.
"So Katie," Jensen asked, his tone alerting Jared immediately, "what can you tell me about Jared ? You grew up together, was he always so wise and perfect ?"
"It's true he always had a good head on his shoulders, but that doesn't mean he never pulled pranks or didn't contribute to his fair share of silly things."
"Oh please, do tell."
"That's not fair, Jensen," Jared intervened, "I can't ask anyone about you. Katie, shut up !"
Alpha Rick was watching them with a benevolent smile, intervening only to put a protective arm around Katie's shoulders. They were just married and already the man felt bound to show his support to his wife in a friendly spat. Jared longed for Jensen to do the same, to put his arms around him to let him feel his force and his love.
"I remember the day," Katie began, "when Jared left the orphanage on his own. He must have been six at most and he was such a cute little thing."
"So he was once little ?" Jensen interrupted her with amusement. "He didn't just spring out of his omega parent's thigh or head, as tall as today and fully equipped for life ?"
Mythology wasn't Katie's forte but she seemed to get the allusion, so Jared let it go with a gentle slap on Jensen's arm.
"Indeed," Katie responded. "He was even smaller than me, if you can believe it. After all, I am one year older - and smarter - than him."
"Why did he leave the orphanage ?"
"He had just learned about true mates, and had come up with the absolute certainty that his mate was waiting for him, somewhere in Tethreya. So he had packed and left to find him. Padre Jim, the orphanage's director, found him a few days later not that far from home, still going through the streets, looking for his elusive alpha. He had a sign hanging around his neck that read something like "I'm Jared and I'm ready for my alpha." He had been lucky enough to be fed and lodged by some nice neighbors, who had alerted the orphanage when they realized who he was."
Jared was hiding behind his hands. Of course Katie had to choose that old, stupid story, her not so subtle way of trying to push Jensen or him to talk about their relationship. She had to be consumed by curiosity.
"Katie ! I was six, I was not responsible for what I did."
"You say that, and yet here you are in Ismia, five thousand miles away from Tethreya, trying to find your mate."
Everybody laughed, even Jared, whose face was half-masked behind his bangs. The omega suddenly felt Jensen's hand brushing the top of his head to comfort him, and he couldn't help but melt against his mate's body. He turned to look at Jensen with a private smile that was given back. Jensen's hand then slid behind his back to settle where his arm was stopped by the back of the chair. And he left it there, fully open against Jared's shoulder blade, sharing warmth and support with his omega.
They were not mated, but Jared had never felt so close to getting everything he had ever dreamed of. Hopefully, Katie and Rick would demonstrate to Jensen that marriage was not something to fear.
The envelope said "to be delivered by hand at the garrison command, office 68." The tip was great so Jared didn't entertain the thought of refusing for even one second. He should have guessed there was something fishy about the by hand mention, though. Anything really secret would have been handled through the internal army mail services, but Jared was too trusting of the uniform when the guy stopped him in the street to say he needed him to deliver his letter as soon as possible.
The trap was set and Jared ran into it with both eyes open and complete confidence. He realized his mistake when the door of office 68 closed behind him and Jared found himself in front of Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
He had so far buried his last encounter with Chad that the risk of another trap had escaped him. He was nothing but a stupid omega, he had to admit it now. He might have escaped Sheppard - momentarily ? - but he was now at Morgan's mercy by his own stupidity.
"Jared," Morgan greeted him, "please come in. I'm sorry I had to use a subterfuge to see you, but you never gave me a chance to explain what happened after our date, and I promise I will behave the way you wish me to."
Jared hesitated. It was true he had completely ignored the commandant's frequent messages and pleas for a meeting, his demands to be listened to and forgiven. He felt too embarrassed for one. But first and foremost, he had no desire to see the man again, even if a more calculating part of him refused to sever their link entirely, to keep the commandant as a fallback in case Jensen never saw reason.
"I have a fairly good idea about what happened, Commandant. We were drugged and we acted in such indecent ways that it's beyond me to enjoy any reminder of that fateful night. Consequently, you'll understand why I prefer to avoid you."
"I do understand. Really, Jared, I do, but I want, no, I need to assure you that I had nothing to do with this altered state we both suffered. Please, come here, I'd like to show you something."
Jared took in the office. There was no heavy curtain hiding a bed, no handcuff lying casually ready to be used on him. Morgan looked sincere, and he kept to the other side of his behemoth of a desk.
"Jared, sweet boy, I know we're not true mates, but I've come to enjoy your company and long for it as much as my body is attracted to yours. And I guess you're not completely repelled by my appearance, if what happened in my house is any indication. No, don't blush, I know we were both under this plant's spell. You have no reason to feel bad ; on the contrary, you showed me your true soul that night, and I find myself wanting to see more."
Jared was indeed blushing, but he couldn't help snorting. His soul, right ! More like his bottom, and everything else for good measure. Trust a gentleman like the commandant to use flowery words to describe that scene retrospectively. Gods, Jared was so disappointed in himself. He knew he had no responsibility in the turn of events, but Morgan was the third alpha to see him naked, the fourth man if he counted that beta doctor, Benedict, who had made him feel like a piece of meat - and he definitely refused to add to the count all those who had seen him during Chad's rite of passage. One too many to touch him far too intimately since he had found his mate, and the very thought of his dishonor made him feel sick.
"Here," Morgan said, holding a long box to open it and show its contents to Jared.
Inside lay some pretty, innocuous flowers. The pale yellow shade of their petals topped strong, bottle-green stems covered with hairs.
"I don't understand. Is it a gift ?" Jared asked, stroking the silky petals.
"It could be, but no, this is the culprit for our ruined date. Papaver Virginiensis, a.k.a. virgins' poppy. Thus named because the omega virgins who smell this flower with their beloved will find themselves mated soon after. Virginiensis is the goddess of mating."
Jared did know that, but now wasn't the time to remind the commandant that being an omega didn't mean being completely uneducated.
"But there was no flower on our table," he recalled instead. "How did we get affected ?"
"Remember that divine sauce we enjoyed so much ? It was the main ingredient. Considering how much we ate, we might think ourselves lucky we didn't take our clothes off right down in the restaurant."
The commandant offered Jared a hesitant smile that disappeared quickly when he saw the omega falter.
"Jared ? Are you unwell ?"
"Are you trying to trick me again ?" Jared accused, feeling weaker by the second.
"No, I swear."
"But you made me smell it, and now I feel hot and…"
Jared looked down at his crotch to see his cock fattening and quickly rising up. Then he found himself held in Morgan's arms before he was gently laid on the desk.
"I swear, Jared, the flowers were cut many days ago, and kept in the box since then. They shouldn't affect you like that. I've smelled them myself, and I'm not affected."
"But you're not…"
Words eluded him, the need to touch himself too overwhelming.
"You're not a virgin omega," he forced out as he pushed his breeches and undergarment down to take his cock in his hand.
He felt a strange fire burning inside him, this need to be taken and loved he usually felt only with Jensen. He had to touch himself.
"Let me help you," Morgan pleaded.
"No," Jared denied him in a whisper. "I don't want you to touch me."
But Jared's frenzy had reached the commandant by now, who began to kiss his face and his lips while his hands couldn't seem to settle on one place, exploring Jared's body with the same lack of a plan as his mouth.
The effect was still less potent than the night in the commandant's mansion. Jared knew where he was, and that he didn't want Morgan to touch him like that. He needed the physical release but didn't enjoy it at all. Even that need was diminishing quickly, living behind a hollow feeling that had him pushing Morgan away before the door of his office opened after a quick knock. Then Captain Richings' voice interrupted his commanding officer.
"I'm sorry, Commandant," Richings said, taking in the sight of Jared half-naked and Morgan half-lying over him. "We thought we heard you tell us to come in."
The groan Morgan had released could have passed for an assent, Jared had to admit it. But it didn't explain why Richings and the soldier accompanying him had to stay there and watch him fumbling to cover himself, hindered by an amorous alpha hell-bent on keeping him as bare as possible.
Neither Richings nor the other soldier offered any help at all to the omega fighting to get free, but the commandant calmed down eventually, standing up and letting go of Jared.
"What do you want, Captain ?" Morgan grumbled, serving himself a big draft of whiskey, probably to occupy his still-trembling hands.
"You asked to be apprised of the prisoners' fates, Commandant. The matter is done, the judge has ruled in favor of death by hanging. Brown here is just back from the tribunal, if you want more details."
"Later," the commandant dismissed them without a look.
Morgan didn't turn back to Jared immediately after the soldiers had gone. They were both breathing heavily and needed to get themselves fully under control before they could look at each other again.
"Sweetheart," Morgan began tentatively, "I hope you will believe me when I tell you my intentions were pure when I arranged for this meeting today. I find myself having to apologize again, but this incident only proves to me what I've thought for a while already."
Morgan came to stand in front of him, offering Jared no opportunity to refuse when he took hold of his hand again or to get down from the desk he was still sitting on.
"I know, though I don't understand why," the commandant continued, "that you've been interested in alpha Ackles. But as far as I can smell, contrary to the rumors, he has made no move to mate you, am I right ?"
"No, he hasn't," Jared was forced to admit, voice drowning in sadness.
"So I feel even more compelled to do this," Morgan said as he applied a feverish kiss to Jared's hand. "Jared Padalecki, will you consent to become my mate and give me your body, to live by my side for the rest of our lives, to serve me while I protect you, to be my dutiful lover and my faithful ally in times of need ?"
Jared felt kind of blindsided. He should have known, but somehow, the way their date had gone had persuaded him that Morgan wasn't serious about their relationship, that, like so many other alphas, he only wanted to get into Jared's breeches. But here they were, Morgan devouring his hand just like he had done pretty much every other time they had chatted, and Jared pressed to make a decision he wasn't ready for.
Who was he kidding ? He knew who he wanted, knew that he wouldn't abandon hope before his last day in the Islands, probably not even before he died. He could have loved the commandant, maybe, if only Jensen hadn't crossed his path. He would have lived a good life as the companion of one of the most important alphas of the region, his children would have grown up wealthy and respected. Without Jensen, Jared could have tried to ignore Morgan's flaws and his opinion about omegas. But there was no way to do that after meeting his true alpha and falling so deeply in love with him.
"I'm sorry, Commandant…" he began to answer, taking his hand back.
"Jared, think about it, don't say no without a good reason."
"I have a good reason. You were right about Jensen Ackles, he's my alpha, my true alpha."
"Surely you must be mistaken. He would have mated you a long time ago if he were."
"I know, I don't understand it either, but I'm not mistaken. He's my mate and in time we will be together. That's why I have to say no. I'm sorry, I'm flattered, but I can't accept your proposition."
"Jared…"
"There will never be anyone else for me than Jensen. So I ask you to accept this answer and respect my choice of not seeing each other again privately."
Jared held the commandant's gaze for a long while, conveying his certainty, before a slight nod of the officer's head granted his wish.
With a little bow, Jared turned away and left.
Chapter 3
"Jensen, where are you ?"
Jared entered the house when his knock went unanswered. He knew how Jensen could get lost in his painting and the absence of answer didn't necessarily mean that the alpha was not home. Jared didn't mind, it was his only job today anyway, and he hoped Jensen would invite him for lunch as usual so they could spend some quality time together. He could wait for as long as the alpha needed to work on his canvas.
"Jensen ?" he tried again. "It's Jared, I brought your mail."
He finally found the alpha, sitting on the blue sofa of the living room, but his smile died as Jared took in the scent of the other person seated right in front of Jensen. An omega, a woman in her thirties, unmated and still quite pretty.
"Hello, Jared," Jensen answered with a welcoming smile. "This is Cindy, we're almost finished. Could you wait for me a little bit on the patio ?"
Jared nodded absently, still stuck on the fact that Jensen was seeing someone else. He should have known it would happen ; no alpha in their twenties, especially not one as gorgeous and interesting and rich as Jensen, would live the life of a monk. Not in these sweet islands where the rules were so easy to bend for the alphas.
He should have known. But it hurt, dear gods, it hurt so much !
Jared walked just as absently to the patio. He could hear the voice of the woman, light and melodious, but the words didn't register past the fact that she seemed nervous, falsely cheerful. Maybe Jared's arrival had frightened her, too.
Don't worry, he wanted to say, the thought bitter and hurtful as always, Jensen made it clear more than once that he doesn't want me.
But then Jensen's voice rose and rid him of his moroseness.
"Alright, I guess there's no need to draw it out. It won't work, Cindy, and I think you know it. You're nice and, I'm sure, very talented, but you're not what I'm looking for."
"Yes, I guess so, alpha Ackles. Though I'm a little sad, it would have been lovely living here…"
Jared heard them move away, Jensen thanking the omega for coming while accompanying her back to the pontoon. Jared had seen her small craft on his way in, but he had just thought Jensen had bought a new one.
He finally sat down and tried to let the peace of the place soothe his aching heart. A small part of him wanted to flee before Jensen joined him. He wasn't sure he could hide his hurt and be the happy friend Jensen enjoyed in him.
Then Jensen was there and another part of Jared, the much bigger one that always felt alive and so good in his mate's presence, shut the other one off.
"For heaven's sake !" Jensen swore as he let himself fall into the cushions of the bench, just a few inches away from Jared. "I should just admit that I will never find a good housekeeper and stop looking ! They always want to change everything from the upside down, the way I use the rooms, my habits… Can you see me eating at strict hours every day because 'this is how a good alpha should live his life' ? I prefer to keep doing it all by myself in this case."
Jared was stunned. Jensen was looking for a housekeeper and he had never told him.
"Why didn't you offer me the job ? You know I've been looking for a steady place for ages."
Jensen gave him a startled look.
"To be honest, it never occurred to me that you could be interested. I haven't advertised that much, just told trusted friends to ask around, but the few omegas I saw were all women past their prime, all of them widows apart from Cindy. I guess a lot of the younger ones fear their reputation will be forever ruined if they live alone with an alpha on an island for an extended period. And the men prefer to work outside most of the time, not stuck inside the house to wash and cook."
"I don't mind the washing or the cooking, and I can do so many other things for you, I've proved it already. Please, Jensen, I want the job. I promise I won't try to change your life or your house."
Jensen's right hand came up to rub the back of his neck, in this gesture Jared had already identified to mean the alpha was either embarrassed or annoyed.
"Jared, I can't employ you."
"You already do," Jared reminded him. "I know it's not the same, and I know I'm just an omega and I'm not as strong or as knowledgeable as an alpha, but I'm resistant, I'm not afraid to work hard, and I can learn what I don't know."
"That's not the problem. I'm pretty sure you'd be a great asset to this island, but you told me what you wanted from me so honestly that I don't want to lead you on."
"You think it's just an excuse to be near you, and seduce you ?"
"Well, it's certainly convenient for you if you're still in the mind of mating me. This is my home, and I need to feel safe here. I left too many things behind to give up the peace I found in this place."
Jared could certainly understand Jensen's reluctance but he needed the job, as much as he needed to be close to his alpha. He was also pretty sure that he could now refrain from ditching his clothes in front of the man, especially if he was too tired at night to do anything else but fall in bed to sleep.
"Ok," Jared proposed, conciliatory. "Let's make a deal : I promise I won't hit on you if you give us a fair chance to get to know each other. You hire me for a two-week test maybe, or rather a month, and you'll see I'm not lying. Trust me, please. I need this job."
He used the full puppy-eye pleading that was always so effective on Padre Jim when he was a kid, and he saw the exact second when Jensen's resistance crumbled.
Jensen led him through a part of the farmhouse Jared had never explored before. It was right at the end of the building, a small house inside the house, that had belonged to Jensen's previous housekeeper before she left to mate her alpha.
"If you're going to live here for long," Jensen had said, "you'll need your own place where you can retire and be on your own every time you need space and calm."
There was a nice little bathroom, very luminous with the usual white walls, a stony sink fed with water directly pumped from the stream running behind the farmhouse, a big window and a bigger mirror ; a kitchenette with a table for two, another sink and a much smaller oven than the one in the master kitchen, but still usable in case Jared preferred to eat alone at times ; and finally the bedroom, flooded with light pretty much all day through the two opposite French doors.
As Jared took in the surprising vastness of his new home, Jensen was already planning the changes needed.
"We'll have to get you a net fabric to protect your bed if this is to be an omega's room once again, I gave the last one away. There's a big colony of Tarin monkeys, far on the other side of the island, but I bet they'll get your scent soon enough and they'll colonize the house if we're not vigilant."
"Thanks for thinking of me, but it's too hot in summer to sleep behind a net. I'm sure I'll manage. I heard they were only attracted to sexually active omegas anyway and it's not like I am, so…"
Jared was blushing again. It seemed he couldn't stop in front of his alpha, constantly raising topics that had the potential to make him ill at ease with a man he wanted so much.
"In fact, we'll have to get you another bed, too," Jensen went on, giving Jared the time to get himself under control. "This one's a standard omega one, as you can see, which means your feet will hang out."
"I can't let you spend money on my behalf. I could just put the mattress on the floor."
"Money is no issue, not for a longer box spring anyway. We'll make the trip to the city tomorrow and see if we can find what we need. Otherwise, we'll have to order something custom-made for you. We should make a list to make sure we won't forget anything. And we'll have to get your things at the pension, too."
"I don't know how to thank you for everything, alpha."
"Well, I know what you could do."
Jared's heart skipped a beat at these words. It felt like all those occasions other alphas had tried to use to take advantage of the situation and get him into their bed. But such was his luck that Jared highly doubted Jensen was the kind of alpha to play this card, as much as Jared might wish for it this time, and his reluctant mate confirmed it with his next words.
"I don't want you to be any more formal with me now than you were before. I'm not that kind of employer. For example, if you want to stop shaving for a few days, be my guest. I've never understood why it was such a big deal for an omega to be always clean-shaven, anyway ! I bet you'd be very sexy with stubble. And don't forget, you are still required to call me Jensen, not Alpha, or alpha Ackles, or any such nonsense. Is that clear ?"
"Very much, alpha," Jared couldn't help defying him, and he got a smile in return.
It turned out that part of Jared's duty was to eat with his employer as often as possible. Jensen wasn't the kind of alpha to put his feet on the table while he was being served, so they just brought together on the dining room table everything needed for a light supper before they sat facing each other. Jensen cut the end off the bread and was about to put it next to his plate when he turned to Jared.
"Do you like the end ?"
"Yes. I was the only one at the orphanage. The other kids used to prefer the inside of the bread so I was able to enjoy that treat without depriving anyone. Here, they only seem to make sandwich loaves, I don't know why that is."
"All Sheppard's fault ! The ruffian only enjoys sandwich bread, so he lowered taxes on it."
"So where does this one come from ?"
"I know this little bakery in the old town, I have to take you there someday. Their bread is delicious, but they also have some great cakes. I'm pretty sure the one at your friend's wedding was one of their creations."
"And what about you ? Do you like the crusty end too ?"
"Oh yes, you're going to have to fight me to get one !"
"Were you also the only one at home to eat them ?"
Jensen's grin dimmed and Jared feared he had asked the wrong question already, the one that would push Jensen to reconsider his recruitment.
"No, not at all. In fact, my brothers loved them just as much. We used to play to see which of us could make the loudest noise, crunching hard on the crust. But I was the heir, so my father had decided I should always get what I wanted, before my siblings. It sucked all the pleasure I might have felt. I tried to make it up to Eric and Josh by giving it all to them when Father wasn't around, but it just wasn't the same."
Jared didn't really know what to think or reply, it was so out of the realm of his own experience, so he just kept silent.
"Anyway," Jensen continued as he put one of the two ends beside Jared's plate, "I've never understood why they can't make bread with more ends. Honestly, why should there only be two ends to a bread ? Those bakers could try something new. Something star-shaped maybe, like a five-pointed star, and with as many ends ? Or smaller loaves, so that we'd have to buy more of them ? What do you think ?"
"I think you, alpha Ackles, are an epicurean, but you do have good taste."
Jared also thought that he now had the perfect idea to surprise and please Jensen.
"Jensen, where are your nightshirts ? I'm going to the river to do laundry."
The alpha was sketching idly, inspiration clearly eluding him.
"Don't worry about it, I'm not wearing those things to sleep. Only sleep pants, if anything."
Jared was transfixed, looking at his alpha as if he was sitting half-naked in front of him. He blushed once again when he realized that his thoughts were probably written on his face, so he turned and all but ran with his basket of laundry, down to the river.
What he could remember of his alpha's body, memories of the heated moment they had shared upon meeting, or the one time he had helped him disrobe down to his undergarment as Jensen's back was injured, all those images had been the main fantasy of his dreams since his arrival in the Islands. He ached to see him again. A physical ache, that tore through his stomach right to his cock, making it stand at attention, and signaling to his hole that it was time to slick up, to prepare for their mating. Each and every time he thought about it.
But night after night, day after day, Jared was still empty, aching, and lusting.
He sat in the place Jensen had carved on the shore to wash his laundry more easily and began working to reroute his mind onto more secure topics. The task was not unpleasant on such a pretty day, his feet and hands hanging in the cool water, Jensen's scent still with him and mixed with his own thanks to their clothes gathered in the same basket.
Maybe he could delay washing one of Jensen's shirts, just for a few days, to keep the scent of his alpha with him at night and help him sleep.
As big as the house was, Jared still had a lot of time to kill after the end of his daily chores. He had never been one to sit idly while others worked hard to put bread on the table, and watching Jensen in the fields quickly inspired him to learn everything he needed to help him there too.
He first learned how to trim the pilso's foliage. The little trees were nothing much to look at, but Jensen assured him that the fruits they would gather in a month would make him regret his words after the first taste of pilso jam. It was a pleasant job, and Jensen tried to keep him from the most strenuous work, the plowing, hoeing, hilling, harrowing, but Jared made him see reason quickly enough.
While he practiced each bit of new knowledge gathered thanks to Jensen's experience, he listened to his mate telling him about his project in the short or long run, the extensions he planned, the new directions he wanted to input. He explained how difficult it was for him at times to keep both feet on the ground and refrain from beginning too much at the same time. He had been trained to think big, and this little one-man farm had to go slow and modest. Jensen could have hired lots of employees, of course, and have them do all the hard work, but that would be contrary to all the reasons why he had come here, so he forced himself to patience and built his domain slowly, one plot at a time.
Jensen liked animals but he didn't feel competent enough to care for them, nor did he want to have to kill them to feed other people. His only help, one guy coming several times a week from a nearby island, took care of the sheep grazing the meadows of Tellia's west shore and the few horses Jensen kept in pasture and used now and then to scout his land.
Jensen enjoyed the loneliness in Tellia, though he didn't seem to mind Jared's help. On the contrary, working side by side renewed his energy and soon Jensen was dreaming big again.
It would have been easy to feel jealous of the obvious love Jensen had for his island, if Jared hadn't recognized here at work the same passion the alpha had put into helping him out of his troubles. Jared had never possessed anything more important than a few garments and books, so it was a stretch for his mind to imagine what it meant to own something as huge and fertile, productive and nourishing. Jensen had told him how he had managed to buy this land, because a mistaken survey, right after a fire, had caused most of the explored area to be reputed barren. No one but Jensen had bothered to check the truth of that statement. Even then, few were the people rich enough to buy an island of that size, so Sheppard had been very accommodating the day Jensen had offered to take it out of his hands.
It felt to Jared's romantic spirit that Jensen had saved Tellia's generous nature from the Intendant, just as he had saved Jared's virginity. The more Jared learned about the proper way of caring for the island, the more he wanted to improve his skills.
His passion for the island also had a beneficial effect on his economic situation : Jared's first wage was twice bigger than agreed on.
"You're supposed to be a housekeeper," Jensen told him when Jared voiced his surprise, "not a farm boy. Yet you're actually doing two jobs at once, and doing them well."
Jared had never earned that much money in his whole life - a sum he was able to deposit at the bank quasi-entirely, week after week, since he had no needs, being fed and lodged. It was once again a bittersweet feeling, as he knew perfectly well that he would have worked just as much for nothing, had his only goal been to help his mate.
Masterpost | Return to part 5 | Continue to part 7
It was kind of frighteningly easy to get into that boarding house at night. The lock was a joke, Chad had picked it in less than ten seconds. The steps were politely silent, and the names of the lodgers helpfully indicated on their doors.
Chad had been sitting in Jared's bedroom for the better part of half an hour, and the sun was high enough by now that he was able to see the sleeping omega's body perfectly. Jared already had the sheets pushed away when Chad came in, and he had only had to slide the nightshirt up to his shoulders, gently, to admire the long legs and the toned back, not to mention the ass he had already touched upon their first meeting. Seeing those tantalizing cheeks again, Chad had been unable to resist the need to bend and kiss each of them in turn, lingeringly.
Jared turned over, offering to Chad's contemplation the other side of his body. The nightshirt was stuck by the middle of Jared's torso, so Chad got up and sat on the side of the bed to uncover the top of the omega's chest and get a closer view. He was just as attractive that way, tiny nipples half-hard, just like his cock. Jared was having a very sweet dream, and Chad was loath to break it.
Jared's right hand came up to encircle his dick, loosely at first, then more fiercely, his balls following every move. Jared moaned, murmuring a name Chad couldn't catch, and then his legs drew up, threatening to hit Chad on their way, who was still bent over the omega to keep the nightshirt off his body.
Chad twisted his own body to be able to take in all the details when the omega brought his other hand to his hole, driving three fingers inside himself at once and making Chad wince in sympathy. That had to hurt. But once again, a name passed Jared's lips, something beginning by Jen maybe. Hard to tell, lost in harsh moans of mixed pleasure and pain. And Chad only knew Jen as a girl's name but it was difficult to believe, considering what he was witnessing right now, that Jared was pining for a dick-less mate.
Maybe he could help Jared with this, offer his own cock as a tool for Jared's experimentations ; no harm, no fool, no bond, no mating. Just play a game, a thorough cleaning of the pipes without knotting, and everyone feeling better afterwards. Chad preferred betas himself, he loved to break their calm and reserve, turn them into a blithering mess, but he wouldn't mind a bit of sharing. He was young after all, and experience was a priority to become a masterful alpha.
The moans escalated in time with all Jared's moves. The hand stripping his cock got rougher and quicker, while a fourth digit was added to the pack breaching the omega's rim. Then Jared's body seized up, the clear, sperm-less fluid of an omega fountaining out of his dick to land on his upper chest.
All the signs were there even before he saw Jared coming, but Chad only put them together now : the omega had found his mate. His body was calling out for him, bereft in his absence, and actively seeking a release that wouldn't be needed otherwise. It was highly probable that Chad's offer of help wouldn't be appreciated in such circumstances.
Jared slowly opened his eyes, no understanding or questioning passing through them at first. Then the omega finished waking up and the presence of an alpha in his room at dawn finally registered.
A cry escaped Jared's mouth, but Chad didn't have time to do anything about it before the omega controlled himself. Chad knew why. It was certainly unfair, Jared hadn't invited him, but everyone would blame Jared for Chad's presence in case he was to be found here, not the other way around.
Jared's eyes darted around the room swiftly, taking in the scent as well as his position, the nightshirt Chad was still holding up above his shoulders to keep him naked, the o-jizz staining his torso, the fingers still buried in his ass. The poor guy turned a deep shade of crimson and tears pooled in his eyes.
"Please," he whispered, "let me go, don't hurt me."
"Alright," Chad agreed, "I won't if you just let me look at you all naked."
Jared hesitantly nodded, as if unsure of Chad's good faith.
"So take your shirt off," Chad pushed his luck, a bit annoyed by Jared's reluctance. He had only ever been faithful with the omega, no need to make him feel like a leech.
Trembling, Jared sat on the bed after withdrawing his fingers from his ass. He took the hem of the nightshirt in both hands and raised the garment above his head. Chad took it from him and used it to wipe the omega's chest of the clear come that was slowly trickling down, making him pure and immaculate again.
He pushed Jared to lie back down on the bed, spreading his legs to enjoy the whole picture. Jared was awfully tense, still as red as before, and ready to bolt and fight. Chad felt annoyance overcoming him once again.
"Don't look at me as if I were a monster ! I came here to help."
"Really ? Doesn't seem like it so far. Who's naked and helpless ?"
That was more like the Jared Chad remembered, and okay, he could kind of see his point of view. But Chad wasn't the bad guy here, on the contrary.
"I'm here to warn you not to accept a particular job that will be offered to you today. One of my guys was given a very big tip to pass on to you an address where you are to take delivery of a parcel. But this is only a trap. You'll be forced into the house and then raped by the alpha instigator of the plan."
"How do you know all this ?" Jared wondered, trembling anew.
"I have my sources. You can't be Alpha of Ismia's biggest street clan if you don't know shit."
"And do you know who's the instigator ?"
"Nothing definite, but the man who tipped my guy reeked of Sheppard's police…"
The omega's eyes widened in fear. Chad had heard enough about the Intendant to know that this probably wasn't the first nor the last time he would try to trap Jared, so he made a note to have all his informants on alert for news about the pretty boy, who certainly didn't deserve to end in a brothel because the most powerful and corrupted man of the Islands had taken a fancy to him. He liked the omega enough, despite his trust issues, to try and protect him as much as possible.
Especially if the rumors about the real reason why his parents' inn had burned down were true. Chad would make sure the Intendant never put his filthy hands on the pretty omega he wanted so much.
"Thanks," Jared said with gratitude in his eyes. "What do I owe you for this information ?"
Here was the mistrust again ! Chad had only come to him to repay the debt he owed the omega thanks to whom he had become leader of his street clan.
But now it seemed that the omega needed a quick lesson in trust.
"The price is not that high. I just ask for ten kisses on whatever part of your body I want."
"Maybe I could do a few free deliveries for you," Jared proposed instead. "You decide how many, and I'll do it."
"I have my clan for that. No, the price is as I said : ten kisses and I'm off."
Jared didn't answer right away, but Chad knew he had already won. The omega was as trustworthy as he mistrusted others. He would agree, because he couldn't let Chad go without repaying him, even after the humiliation of their first encounter.
A slight nod signaled once again this agreement.
Jared turned his head to look at the wall while Chad bent to land the first kiss on his right nipple, sucking lightly on it until he felt it rise to attention. The second nipple received the same treatment, plus a soothing lick that had Jared pushing him away furiously.
"That was two," Jared counted, "and please keep your word."
With a chuckle, Chad bent down further to reach Jared's beautiful cock. Chad would have liked to see it again fattened with desire, to feel the vein bulge and the blood run under his lips, but a new erection was unlikely so soon after the previous one and with only eight kisses to go. Eight kisses he wanted to use wisely on other parts of the omega's anatomy. So he spent only three of them on the cock, applying the last one to the tip. This time, it was instinct that had Chad's tongue coming out to taste the pearly fluid remaining in the slit.
Jared pushed him again, but Chad wasn't ready to let go this time. As long as his lips were attached to the crown, the kiss wasn't over, and he sucked for a long while, feeling the cock harden against the omega's will and despite his own worries.
He aimed for the right ball as soon as his mouth left the dick that was standing by itself now, without the help of Chad's hands that had come to play on their own.
"Take your hands off !" Jared ordered between two loud breaths.
Chad did it, only to use his hands to spread Jared's thighs wider and get better access to his balls, as well as a better view of his twitching hole. The omega was aroused, there was no denying it, and Chad was more than ready to help him with his condition. Jared only had to ask.
Once the two balls had been sucked into his mouth for two deep kisses, Chad took a few seconds to think of the better way to proceed. Jared's hole was blinking at him like this, his slick an enchanting perfume gliding down his crack, but the view of his gorgeous ass was not the best.
"Turn over," Chad ordered, "and keep your legs under you, your ass raised for me."
With a furious look and the count of seven, Jared complied. Chad could kind of understand his anger, the position probably reminded him of their first experience together, and it was humiliating at the best of times. But it allowed for the perfect view of the ass Chad wanted to replay as in his memories.
"Spread your legs wider," he commanded, and something snapped in him when Jared obeyed, unable to resist the needs of his body like any good little omega.
Chad's lips landed on the left cheek to begin with, mouth open to let his tongue trail in its wake as they traveled across the whole expanse of soft and highly sensitive skin.
"Not your tongue," Jared kept on saying, but Chad didn't care.
To prevent Jared's escape, Chad brought his hands to the omega's hips and kept him in place while his mouth used his ninth, lingering wet kiss on the second buttock.
The tenth kiss was certainly the biggest deal of all. With his thumbs, he kept Jared's ass cheeks apart and went for the kill. Sliding from the top of the crack to the place where Jared's balls hung in full view, Chad's lips crossed the perineum again to get back to the rim opening regularly to let the slick get out. Here again, he sucked like a madman, mouth closed around the hole and tongue pushing in. Jared's feeble resistance was futile against the power of an alpha.
The scent was heady so Chad drank longer than he had expected. Longer than Jared expected too, obviously, as the omega didn't react before a few long seconds when Chad backed off after having brought himself to completion with only three strokes of his own hand.
Then Jared was all quick moves to sit back against the headboard at the far end of the bed and hide his shame behind a pillow.
"Don't worry," Chad assured him as he finished tucking his cock back in his breeches and then stood up, "your secret's still safe with me."
After using Jared's nightshirt to clean his hand, Chad decided it was time to leave. He slowly opened the door, taking a look down the hall before going out. He hadn't taken all these precautions to be caught at the last minute. But the whole house was still sleeping, and Chad was able to get away just as discreetly. The city was beginning to wake up, the animation still restricted to a few shops. The air was nicely scented, the heat very reasonable at this early hour.
He licked his lips again, and Jared's flavor exploded on his palate.
Chad grinned. Yeah, he would have to try an omega out someday. It might not be that bad after all.
The errand Jared had just completed for the bank had brought him to the harbor. He hadn't seen the place since his arrival, and he had taken great care to not ever find himself alone with sailors on a deserted crate-filled street. After the unexpected and frightening reappearance of Chad, Jared didn't want to take any risk.
Still, he was curious by nature, and the sight of the dockworkers hoisting, with the help of ropes and a huge pulley, some crates that had to be at least five times heavier than a normal alpha was able to hold had stopped him for a while. He had watched them piling crate after crate, until something else entirely caught his attention.
Two parallel lines of prisoners marched right past them, ankles and wrists chained, led by six soldiers and Captain Richings. Jared realized as they passed by him that the prisoners were all omegas. Male or female, they looked defeated and exhausted, as if all hope had abandoned them. They also looked unkempt, their clothes appallingly disgusting. It was clear they had had to walk for a while, but there was no telling what kind of other tortures they had endured.
"Who are they ?" he asked one of the dockworkers.
"Ends of grace."
Jared's blank stare encouraged the alpha to go on.
"Casket boys and girls who have come to the end of their King's grace without finding someone to marry. They're brought back to the mainland."
"But… it's humiliating. They're treated like prisoners. Like criminals !"
"You're right, lad. But that's the way it is."
The man shot him a penetrating look.
"You should prepare yourself," he added.
Never, Jared thought. Never would he give One-Leg the pleasure to see him again on his ship. He'd rather slit his own throat.
It was a little bit annoying to see Katie shake Jensen's hand - an alpha's hand - without skipping a beat, as if she had done that kind of thing her whole life, when Jared knew for a fact that she hadn't. She always took everything in stride, the good and the bad, and that was probably why she was the one marrying her alpha when Jared was only friends with his true one.
It was even more annoying that Jensen was just as much of a charmer with Katie as he was with Jared.
"Did they only raise beautiful people in that orphanage of yours ?"
But then it was satisfying for once not to be the only one blushing. Jared wanted to kiss Jensen. To thank him or to stake his claim, he wasn't sure. Good thing Katie was to be married and become unavailable in the next few minutes. Even better, she was already mated and out-of-bounds, Jared could smell it.
It didn't mean he had to like her answer.
"Then you would have been right at home," she replied with a wink.
As soon as the other couple arrived - alpha Worthy's best alpha and her date, people that Jensen seemed to know vaguely - they all followed the fiancés into the temple. The Padre who had refused Jared the shelter of the place not that long ago was the one officiating. His sermon was all-purpose, probably used for all ceremonies he presided at, with no changes but the names of the bride and groom.
But seeing the happiness of his friends' faces, Jared thought he wouldn't mind marrying Jensen like that if it meant spending the rest of his life with his mate.
Still as welcoming, Padre Lehne pushed them towards the exit as soon as the wedding was over, freeing the temple for mass. They walked slowly to the restaurant where Rick had reserved a table for six. There would probably be, sometime later, a bigger feast to celebrate the wedding, and maybe the first child of the couple, a gathering of their neighbors and friends to which everyone would contribute, but today was supposed to be an opportunity for the people just married to reflect on their shared goals and divergent purposes.
Still, the lunch was an amicable moment that they all enjoyed and used to get to know each other.
"So Katie," Jensen asked, his tone alerting Jared immediately, "what can you tell me about Jared ? You grew up together, was he always so wise and perfect ?"
"It's true he always had a good head on his shoulders, but that doesn't mean he never pulled pranks or didn't contribute to his fair share of silly things."
"Oh please, do tell."
"That's not fair, Jensen," Jared intervened, "I can't ask anyone about you. Katie, shut up !"
Alpha Rick was watching them with a benevolent smile, intervening only to put a protective arm around Katie's shoulders. They were just married and already the man felt bound to show his support to his wife in a friendly spat. Jared longed for Jensen to do the same, to put his arms around him to let him feel his force and his love.
"I remember the day," Katie began, "when Jared left the orphanage on his own. He must have been six at most and he was such a cute little thing."
"So he was once little ?" Jensen interrupted her with amusement. "He didn't just spring out of his omega parent's thigh or head, as tall as today and fully equipped for life ?"
Mythology wasn't Katie's forte but she seemed to get the allusion, so Jared let it go with a gentle slap on Jensen's arm.
"Indeed," Katie responded. "He was even smaller than me, if you can believe it. After all, I am one year older - and smarter - than him."
"Why did he leave the orphanage ?"
"He had just learned about true mates, and had come up with the absolute certainty that his mate was waiting for him, somewhere in Tethreya. So he had packed and left to find him. Padre Jim, the orphanage's director, found him a few days later not that far from home, still going through the streets, looking for his elusive alpha. He had a sign hanging around his neck that read something like "I'm Jared and I'm ready for my alpha." He had been lucky enough to be fed and lodged by some nice neighbors, who had alerted the orphanage when they realized who he was."
Jared was hiding behind his hands. Of course Katie had to choose that old, stupid story, her not so subtle way of trying to push Jensen or him to talk about their relationship. She had to be consumed by curiosity.
"Katie ! I was six, I was not responsible for what I did."
"You say that, and yet here you are in Ismia, five thousand miles away from Tethreya, trying to find your mate."
Everybody laughed, even Jared, whose face was half-masked behind his bangs. The omega suddenly felt Jensen's hand brushing the top of his head to comfort him, and he couldn't help but melt against his mate's body. He turned to look at Jensen with a private smile that was given back. Jensen's hand then slid behind his back to settle where his arm was stopped by the back of the chair. And he left it there, fully open against Jared's shoulder blade, sharing warmth and support with his omega.
They were not mated, but Jared had never felt so close to getting everything he had ever dreamed of. Hopefully, Katie and Rick would demonstrate to Jensen that marriage was not something to fear.
The envelope said "to be delivered by hand at the garrison command, office 68." The tip was great so Jared didn't entertain the thought of refusing for even one second. He should have guessed there was something fishy about the by hand mention, though. Anything really secret would have been handled through the internal army mail services, but Jared was too trusting of the uniform when the guy stopped him in the street to say he needed him to deliver his letter as soon as possible.
The trap was set and Jared ran into it with both eyes open and complete confidence. He realized his mistake when the door of office 68 closed behind him and Jared found himself in front of Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
He had so far buried his last encounter with Chad that the risk of another trap had escaped him. He was nothing but a stupid omega, he had to admit it now. He might have escaped Sheppard - momentarily ? - but he was now at Morgan's mercy by his own stupidity.
"Jared," Morgan greeted him, "please come in. I'm sorry I had to use a subterfuge to see you, but you never gave me a chance to explain what happened after our date, and I promise I will behave the way you wish me to."
Jared hesitated. It was true he had completely ignored the commandant's frequent messages and pleas for a meeting, his demands to be listened to and forgiven. He felt too embarrassed for one. But first and foremost, he had no desire to see the man again, even if a more calculating part of him refused to sever their link entirely, to keep the commandant as a fallback in case Jensen never saw reason.
"I have a fairly good idea about what happened, Commandant. We were drugged and we acted in such indecent ways that it's beyond me to enjoy any reminder of that fateful night. Consequently, you'll understand why I prefer to avoid you."
"I do understand. Really, Jared, I do, but I want, no, I need to assure you that I had nothing to do with this altered state we both suffered. Please, come here, I'd like to show you something."
Jared took in the office. There was no heavy curtain hiding a bed, no handcuff lying casually ready to be used on him. Morgan looked sincere, and he kept to the other side of his behemoth of a desk.
"Jared, sweet boy, I know we're not true mates, but I've come to enjoy your company and long for it as much as my body is attracted to yours. And I guess you're not completely repelled by my appearance, if what happened in my house is any indication. No, don't blush, I know we were both under this plant's spell. You have no reason to feel bad ; on the contrary, you showed me your true soul that night, and I find myself wanting to see more."
Jared was indeed blushing, but he couldn't help snorting. His soul, right ! More like his bottom, and everything else for good measure. Trust a gentleman like the commandant to use flowery words to describe that scene retrospectively. Gods, Jared was so disappointed in himself. He knew he had no responsibility in the turn of events, but Morgan was the third alpha to see him naked, the fourth man if he counted that beta doctor, Benedict, who had made him feel like a piece of meat - and he definitely refused to add to the count all those who had seen him during Chad's rite of passage. One too many to touch him far too intimately since he had found his mate, and the very thought of his dishonor made him feel sick.
"Here," Morgan said, holding a long box to open it and show its contents to Jared.
Inside lay some pretty, innocuous flowers. The pale yellow shade of their petals topped strong, bottle-green stems covered with hairs.
"I don't understand. Is it a gift ?" Jared asked, stroking the silky petals.
"It could be, but no, this is the culprit for our ruined date. Papaver Virginiensis, a.k.a. virgins' poppy. Thus named because the omega virgins who smell this flower with their beloved will find themselves mated soon after. Virginiensis is the goddess of mating."
Jared did know that, but now wasn't the time to remind the commandant that being an omega didn't mean being completely uneducated.
"But there was no flower on our table," he recalled instead. "How did we get affected ?"
"Remember that divine sauce we enjoyed so much ? It was the main ingredient. Considering how much we ate, we might think ourselves lucky we didn't take our clothes off right down in the restaurant."
The commandant offered Jared a hesitant smile that disappeared quickly when he saw the omega falter.
"Jared ? Are you unwell ?"
"Are you trying to trick me again ?" Jared accused, feeling weaker by the second.
"No, I swear."
"But you made me smell it, and now I feel hot and…"
Jared looked down at his crotch to see his cock fattening and quickly rising up. Then he found himself held in Morgan's arms before he was gently laid on the desk.
"I swear, Jared, the flowers were cut many days ago, and kept in the box since then. They shouldn't affect you like that. I've smelled them myself, and I'm not affected."
"But you're not…"
Words eluded him, the need to touch himself too overwhelming.
"You're not a virgin omega," he forced out as he pushed his breeches and undergarment down to take his cock in his hand.
He felt a strange fire burning inside him, this need to be taken and loved he usually felt only with Jensen. He had to touch himself.
"Let me help you," Morgan pleaded.
"No," Jared denied him in a whisper. "I don't want you to touch me."
But Jared's frenzy had reached the commandant by now, who began to kiss his face and his lips while his hands couldn't seem to settle on one place, exploring Jared's body with the same lack of a plan as his mouth.
The effect was still less potent than the night in the commandant's mansion. Jared knew where he was, and that he didn't want Morgan to touch him like that. He needed the physical release but didn't enjoy it at all. Even that need was diminishing quickly, living behind a hollow feeling that had him pushing Morgan away before the door of his office opened after a quick knock. Then Captain Richings' voice interrupted his commanding officer.
"I'm sorry, Commandant," Richings said, taking in the sight of Jared half-naked and Morgan half-lying over him. "We thought we heard you tell us to come in."
The groan Morgan had released could have passed for an assent, Jared had to admit it. But it didn't explain why Richings and the soldier accompanying him had to stay there and watch him fumbling to cover himself, hindered by an amorous alpha hell-bent on keeping him as bare as possible.
Neither Richings nor the other soldier offered any help at all to the omega fighting to get free, but the commandant calmed down eventually, standing up and letting go of Jared.
"What do you want, Captain ?" Morgan grumbled, serving himself a big draft of whiskey, probably to occupy his still-trembling hands.
"You asked to be apprised of the prisoners' fates, Commandant. The matter is done, the judge has ruled in favor of death by hanging. Brown here is just back from the tribunal, if you want more details."
"Later," the commandant dismissed them without a look.
Morgan didn't turn back to Jared immediately after the soldiers had gone. They were both breathing heavily and needed to get themselves fully under control before they could look at each other again.
"Sweetheart," Morgan began tentatively, "I hope you will believe me when I tell you my intentions were pure when I arranged for this meeting today. I find myself having to apologize again, but this incident only proves to me what I've thought for a while already."
Morgan came to stand in front of him, offering Jared no opportunity to refuse when he took hold of his hand again or to get down from the desk he was still sitting on.
"I know, though I don't understand why," the commandant continued, "that you've been interested in alpha Ackles. But as far as I can smell, contrary to the rumors, he has made no move to mate you, am I right ?"
"No, he hasn't," Jared was forced to admit, voice drowning in sadness.
"So I feel even more compelled to do this," Morgan said as he applied a feverish kiss to Jared's hand. "Jared Padalecki, will you consent to become my mate and give me your body, to live by my side for the rest of our lives, to serve me while I protect you, to be my dutiful lover and my faithful ally in times of need ?"
Jared felt kind of blindsided. He should have known, but somehow, the way their date had gone had persuaded him that Morgan wasn't serious about their relationship, that, like so many other alphas, he only wanted to get into Jared's breeches. But here they were, Morgan devouring his hand just like he had done pretty much every other time they had chatted, and Jared pressed to make a decision he wasn't ready for.
Who was he kidding ? He knew who he wanted, knew that he wouldn't abandon hope before his last day in the Islands, probably not even before he died. He could have loved the commandant, maybe, if only Jensen hadn't crossed his path. He would have lived a good life as the companion of one of the most important alphas of the region, his children would have grown up wealthy and respected. Without Jensen, Jared could have tried to ignore Morgan's flaws and his opinion about omegas. But there was no way to do that after meeting his true alpha and falling so deeply in love with him.
"I'm sorry, Commandant…" he began to answer, taking his hand back.
"Jared, think about it, don't say no without a good reason."
"I have a good reason. You were right about Jensen Ackles, he's my alpha, my true alpha."
"Surely you must be mistaken. He would have mated you a long time ago if he were."
"I know, I don't understand it either, but I'm not mistaken. He's my mate and in time we will be together. That's why I have to say no. I'm sorry, I'm flattered, but I can't accept your proposition."
"Jared…"
"There will never be anyone else for me than Jensen. So I ask you to accept this answer and respect my choice of not seeing each other again privately."
Jared held the commandant's gaze for a long while, conveying his certainty, before a slight nod of the officer's head granted his wish.
With a little bow, Jared turned away and left.
Chapter 3
"Jensen, where are you ?"
Jared entered the house when his knock went unanswered. He knew how Jensen could get lost in his painting and the absence of answer didn't necessarily mean that the alpha was not home. Jared didn't mind, it was his only job today anyway, and he hoped Jensen would invite him for lunch as usual so they could spend some quality time together. He could wait for as long as the alpha needed to work on his canvas.
"Jensen ?" he tried again. "It's Jared, I brought your mail."
He finally found the alpha, sitting on the blue sofa of the living room, but his smile died as Jared took in the scent of the other person seated right in front of Jensen. An omega, a woman in her thirties, unmated and still quite pretty.
"Hello, Jared," Jensen answered with a welcoming smile. "This is Cindy, we're almost finished. Could you wait for me a little bit on the patio ?"
Jared nodded absently, still stuck on the fact that Jensen was seeing someone else. He should have known it would happen ; no alpha in their twenties, especially not one as gorgeous and interesting and rich as Jensen, would live the life of a monk. Not in these sweet islands where the rules were so easy to bend for the alphas.
He should have known. But it hurt, dear gods, it hurt so much !
Jared walked just as absently to the patio. He could hear the voice of the woman, light and melodious, but the words didn't register past the fact that she seemed nervous, falsely cheerful. Maybe Jared's arrival had frightened her, too.
Don't worry, he wanted to say, the thought bitter and hurtful as always, Jensen made it clear more than once that he doesn't want me.
But then Jensen's voice rose and rid him of his moroseness.
"Alright, I guess there's no need to draw it out. It won't work, Cindy, and I think you know it. You're nice and, I'm sure, very talented, but you're not what I'm looking for."
"Yes, I guess so, alpha Ackles. Though I'm a little sad, it would have been lovely living here…"
Jared heard them move away, Jensen thanking the omega for coming while accompanying her back to the pontoon. Jared had seen her small craft on his way in, but he had just thought Jensen had bought a new one.
He finally sat down and tried to let the peace of the place soothe his aching heart. A small part of him wanted to flee before Jensen joined him. He wasn't sure he could hide his hurt and be the happy friend Jensen enjoyed in him.
Then Jensen was there and another part of Jared, the much bigger one that always felt alive and so good in his mate's presence, shut the other one off.
"For heaven's sake !" Jensen swore as he let himself fall into the cushions of the bench, just a few inches away from Jared. "I should just admit that I will never find a good housekeeper and stop looking ! They always want to change everything from the upside down, the way I use the rooms, my habits… Can you see me eating at strict hours every day because 'this is how a good alpha should live his life' ? I prefer to keep doing it all by myself in this case."
Jared was stunned. Jensen was looking for a housekeeper and he had never told him.
"Why didn't you offer me the job ? You know I've been looking for a steady place for ages."
Jensen gave him a startled look.
"To be honest, it never occurred to me that you could be interested. I haven't advertised that much, just told trusted friends to ask around, but the few omegas I saw were all women past their prime, all of them widows apart from Cindy. I guess a lot of the younger ones fear their reputation will be forever ruined if they live alone with an alpha on an island for an extended period. And the men prefer to work outside most of the time, not stuck inside the house to wash and cook."
"I don't mind the washing or the cooking, and I can do so many other things for you, I've proved it already. Please, Jensen, I want the job. I promise I won't try to change your life or your house."
Jensen's right hand came up to rub the back of his neck, in this gesture Jared had already identified to mean the alpha was either embarrassed or annoyed.
"Jared, I can't employ you."
"You already do," Jared reminded him. "I know it's not the same, and I know I'm just an omega and I'm not as strong or as knowledgeable as an alpha, but I'm resistant, I'm not afraid to work hard, and I can learn what I don't know."
"That's not the problem. I'm pretty sure you'd be a great asset to this island, but you told me what you wanted from me so honestly that I don't want to lead you on."
"You think it's just an excuse to be near you, and seduce you ?"
"Well, it's certainly convenient for you if you're still in the mind of mating me. This is my home, and I need to feel safe here. I left too many things behind to give up the peace I found in this place."
Jared could certainly understand Jensen's reluctance but he needed the job, as much as he needed to be close to his alpha. He was also pretty sure that he could now refrain from ditching his clothes in front of the man, especially if he was too tired at night to do anything else but fall in bed to sleep.
"Ok," Jared proposed, conciliatory. "Let's make a deal : I promise I won't hit on you if you give us a fair chance to get to know each other. You hire me for a two-week test maybe, or rather a month, and you'll see I'm not lying. Trust me, please. I need this job."
He used the full puppy-eye pleading that was always so effective on Padre Jim when he was a kid, and he saw the exact second when Jensen's resistance crumbled.
Jensen led him through a part of the farmhouse Jared had never explored before. It was right at the end of the building, a small house inside the house, that had belonged to Jensen's previous housekeeper before she left to mate her alpha.
"If you're going to live here for long," Jensen had said, "you'll need your own place where you can retire and be on your own every time you need space and calm."
There was a nice little bathroom, very luminous with the usual white walls, a stony sink fed with water directly pumped from the stream running behind the farmhouse, a big window and a bigger mirror ; a kitchenette with a table for two, another sink and a much smaller oven than the one in the master kitchen, but still usable in case Jared preferred to eat alone at times ; and finally the bedroom, flooded with light pretty much all day through the two opposite French doors.
As Jared took in the surprising vastness of his new home, Jensen was already planning the changes needed.
"We'll have to get you a net fabric to protect your bed if this is to be an omega's room once again, I gave the last one away. There's a big colony of Tarin monkeys, far on the other side of the island, but I bet they'll get your scent soon enough and they'll colonize the house if we're not vigilant."
"Thanks for thinking of me, but it's too hot in summer to sleep behind a net. I'm sure I'll manage. I heard they were only attracted to sexually active omegas anyway and it's not like I am, so…"
Jared was blushing again. It seemed he couldn't stop in front of his alpha, constantly raising topics that had the potential to make him ill at ease with a man he wanted so much.
"In fact, we'll have to get you another bed, too," Jensen went on, giving Jared the time to get himself under control. "This one's a standard omega one, as you can see, which means your feet will hang out."
"I can't let you spend money on my behalf. I could just put the mattress on the floor."
"Money is no issue, not for a longer box spring anyway. We'll make the trip to the city tomorrow and see if we can find what we need. Otherwise, we'll have to order something custom-made for you. We should make a list to make sure we won't forget anything. And we'll have to get your things at the pension, too."
"I don't know how to thank you for everything, alpha."
"Well, I know what you could do."
Jared's heart skipped a beat at these words. It felt like all those occasions other alphas had tried to use to take advantage of the situation and get him into their bed. But such was his luck that Jared highly doubted Jensen was the kind of alpha to play this card, as much as Jared might wish for it this time, and his reluctant mate confirmed it with his next words.
"I don't want you to be any more formal with me now than you were before. I'm not that kind of employer. For example, if you want to stop shaving for a few days, be my guest. I've never understood why it was such a big deal for an omega to be always clean-shaven, anyway ! I bet you'd be very sexy with stubble. And don't forget, you are still required to call me Jensen, not Alpha, or alpha Ackles, or any such nonsense. Is that clear ?"
"Very much, alpha," Jared couldn't help defying him, and he got a smile in return.
It turned out that part of Jared's duty was to eat with his employer as often as possible. Jensen wasn't the kind of alpha to put his feet on the table while he was being served, so they just brought together on the dining room table everything needed for a light supper before they sat facing each other. Jensen cut the end off the bread and was about to put it next to his plate when he turned to Jared.
"Do you like the end ?"
"Yes. I was the only one at the orphanage. The other kids used to prefer the inside of the bread so I was able to enjoy that treat without depriving anyone. Here, they only seem to make sandwich loaves, I don't know why that is."
"All Sheppard's fault ! The ruffian only enjoys sandwich bread, so he lowered taxes on it."
"So where does this one come from ?"
"I know this little bakery in the old town, I have to take you there someday. Their bread is delicious, but they also have some great cakes. I'm pretty sure the one at your friend's wedding was one of their creations."
"And what about you ? Do you like the crusty end too ?"
"Oh yes, you're going to have to fight me to get one !"
"Were you also the only one at home to eat them ?"
Jensen's grin dimmed and Jared feared he had asked the wrong question already, the one that would push Jensen to reconsider his recruitment.
"No, not at all. In fact, my brothers loved them just as much. We used to play to see which of us could make the loudest noise, crunching hard on the crust. But I was the heir, so my father had decided I should always get what I wanted, before my siblings. It sucked all the pleasure I might have felt. I tried to make it up to Eric and Josh by giving it all to them when Father wasn't around, but it just wasn't the same."
Jared didn't really know what to think or reply, it was so out of the realm of his own experience, so he just kept silent.
"Anyway," Jensen continued as he put one of the two ends beside Jared's plate, "I've never understood why they can't make bread with more ends. Honestly, why should there only be two ends to a bread ? Those bakers could try something new. Something star-shaped maybe, like a five-pointed star, and with as many ends ? Or smaller loaves, so that we'd have to buy more of them ? What do you think ?"
"I think you, alpha Ackles, are an epicurean, but you do have good taste."
Jared also thought that he now had the perfect idea to surprise and please Jensen.
"Jensen, where are your nightshirts ? I'm going to the river to do laundry."
The alpha was sketching idly, inspiration clearly eluding him.
"Don't worry about it, I'm not wearing those things to sleep. Only sleep pants, if anything."
Jared was transfixed, looking at his alpha as if he was sitting half-naked in front of him. He blushed once again when he realized that his thoughts were probably written on his face, so he turned and all but ran with his basket of laundry, down to the river.
What he could remember of his alpha's body, memories of the heated moment they had shared upon meeting, or the one time he had helped him disrobe down to his undergarment as Jensen's back was injured, all those images had been the main fantasy of his dreams since his arrival in the Islands. He ached to see him again. A physical ache, that tore through his stomach right to his cock, making it stand at attention, and signaling to his hole that it was time to slick up, to prepare for their mating. Each and every time he thought about it.
But night after night, day after day, Jared was still empty, aching, and lusting.
He sat in the place Jensen had carved on the shore to wash his laundry more easily and began working to reroute his mind onto more secure topics. The task was not unpleasant on such a pretty day, his feet and hands hanging in the cool water, Jensen's scent still with him and mixed with his own thanks to their clothes gathered in the same basket.
Maybe he could delay washing one of Jensen's shirts, just for a few days, to keep the scent of his alpha with him at night and help him sleep.
As big as the house was, Jared still had a lot of time to kill after the end of his daily chores. He had never been one to sit idly while others worked hard to put bread on the table, and watching Jensen in the fields quickly inspired him to learn everything he needed to help him there too.
He first learned how to trim the pilso's foliage. The little trees were nothing much to look at, but Jensen assured him that the fruits they would gather in a month would make him regret his words after the first taste of pilso jam. It was a pleasant job, and Jensen tried to keep him from the most strenuous work, the plowing, hoeing, hilling, harrowing, but Jared made him see reason quickly enough.
While he practiced each bit of new knowledge gathered thanks to Jensen's experience, he listened to his mate telling him about his project in the short or long run, the extensions he planned, the new directions he wanted to input. He explained how difficult it was for him at times to keep both feet on the ground and refrain from beginning too much at the same time. He had been trained to think big, and this little one-man farm had to go slow and modest. Jensen could have hired lots of employees, of course, and have them do all the hard work, but that would be contrary to all the reasons why he had come here, so he forced himself to patience and built his domain slowly, one plot at a time.
Jensen liked animals but he didn't feel competent enough to care for them, nor did he want to have to kill them to feed other people. His only help, one guy coming several times a week from a nearby island, took care of the sheep grazing the meadows of Tellia's west shore and the few horses Jensen kept in pasture and used now and then to scout his land.
Jensen enjoyed the loneliness in Tellia, though he didn't seem to mind Jared's help. On the contrary, working side by side renewed his energy and soon Jensen was dreaming big again.
It would have been easy to feel jealous of the obvious love Jensen had for his island, if Jared hadn't recognized here at work the same passion the alpha had put into helping him out of his troubles. Jared had never possessed anything more important than a few garments and books, so it was a stretch for his mind to imagine what it meant to own something as huge and fertile, productive and nourishing. Jensen had told him how he had managed to buy this land, because a mistaken survey, right after a fire, had caused most of the explored area to be reputed barren. No one but Jensen had bothered to check the truth of that statement. Even then, few were the people rich enough to buy an island of that size, so Sheppard had been very accommodating the day Jensen had offered to take it out of his hands.
It felt to Jared's romantic spirit that Jensen had saved Tellia's generous nature from the Intendant, just as he had saved Jared's virginity. The more Jared learned about the proper way of caring for the island, the more he wanted to improve his skills.
His passion for the island also had a beneficial effect on his economic situation : Jared's first wage was twice bigger than agreed on.
"You're supposed to be a housekeeper," Jensen told him when Jared voiced his surprise, "not a farm boy. Yet you're actually doing two jobs at once, and doing them well."
Jared had never earned that much money in his whole life - a sum he was able to deposit at the bank quasi-entirely, week after week, since he had no needs, being fed and lodged. It was once again a bittersweet feeling, as he knew perfectly well that he would have worked just as much for nothing, had his only goal been to help his mate.
Masterpost | Return to part 5 | Continue to part 7