You Let Me Stand (Part Seven)
Title: You Let Me Stand
Author: hunters_retreat
Artist: liliaeth
Genre: RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Rating: NC-17
Wordcount: 30K+
Warnings: Physical and emotional abuse, neglect, mentions of past attempted rape, dub-con due to a beta’s heat cycle.
Summary: Three years ago Jensen Ackles had been a feral beta, caged and dangerous to anyone around him. Three years ago the council sent Jared Padalecki and his team into the Two Forks pack to find out the truth about the claims of beta abuse and neglect. What Jared found was a vicious fight to take the pack away from the Alpha and mated to the feral Pack Beta.
Jensen was sent away to heal but Jared stayed behind to clean out the pack and see if it was worth saving. After three years though, Jensen is ready to go home and confront his past. Jared is hesitant but after their reunion at a Beta Right’s conference, he agrees. It isn’t a smooth journey though and not everyone is happy to have Jared as the Alpha of the Two Forks Pack. When outside forces try to tear their fragile pack apart, will they be strong enough to stand together? Or will Jared and Jensen fall apart, and take the Two Forks Pack with them?
Jensen stared out across the back yard took a deep breath before he slowly let it out. It’d been a rough month. Hell, it’d been a rough life, but Jensen was finally settling into being the Pack Beta. The upside of that was that his pack trusted him because he understood what they’d been through. The downside was that there was still no sign of his wayward Alpha.
A month since Jared had saved Jensen from his father. A month since Jensen had flinched away from him for fear that his Alpha wouldn’t want him covered in the old alpha’s blood. A month since Jared had misunderstood and run, afraid that he’d somehow damaged Jensen.
Jensen understood that now. In the moment, he’d thought Jared had run from him but he’d had time to get a better perspective and Jensen knew Jared had run for fear of himself. It had been the same after Jared had gone after the reporter that had gotten too close to Jensen. Knowing Jensen’s past, Jared feared Jensen wouldn’t accept him because of his alpha nature.
Jensen heard the door behind him and watched as Katie and Chris walked in, the rest of Jared’s people behind them as they settled around the Alpha’s kitchen table. It was Jared’s ritual and one that Jensen enjoyed so he’d kept it.
Today it served a purpose.
When Jensen walked up to the table they all seemed to sense his urgency.
“Where is he, Chris?”
Chris looked at the others but Jensen stopped him.
“No. I’m done waiting. Jared has had a month to come home and he’s hiding. I’m done with it. If he thinks he left a damaged Beta behind who isn’t strong enough to know his own mind, then it’s time I dissuade him of the notion. Where is he?”
“He went home,” Rob answered. “Not the movement, but the home he grew up in. It’s only two hours’ drive.”
When the others looked at him Rob shrugged. “Morale. No one is happy without the Alpha here, especially if the Beta isn’t happy without the Alpha here. Jensen’s right. Jared ran because he thought Jensen would hate him. Jared needs to get his ass back here and Jensen is the only one that he’ll listen to.”
He was on the road in less than 45 minutes. He’d have been quicker but Katie refused to let him go before he ate with them. While he ate, Chris packed his bag and Katie packed lunch to send for both of them to eat together.
Jensen was grateful for them all and when he drove off he knew his pack was in good hands until he returned.
The drive seemed to take forever but Jensen let the feel of the road sooth him. He didn’t get to drive often and he enjoyed the freedom he had behind the wheel. He’d never talked to anyone about it. Maybe when they got this all figured out, he and Jared could take a couple road trips just to be on the road together.
The address he’d been given had him pull into a modest sized home in a sleepy town. It was less isolated from the world than Two Forks but it still had a small town feel. When Jensen stopped the car there was no sign of Jared.
He left everything in the car and went to the front door. It was unlocked and Jensen just went in. The place was well kept and Jensen understood that. No matter what had happened, Jared wouldn’t let himself fall to pieces completely.
It would be in big chunks though. Jared probably slept for days and only got up for the occasional trip to the bathroom or kitchen, where he neatly did his business, then shut himself off again.
He went up the main stairs and followed the hall back. He found two bedrooms and a study before he approached the master bedroom.
Jared was asleep on top of the bed, a towel slung low over his hips, like he’d fallen asleep straight out of the shower.
Jensen let out a sigh and stripped out of his own clothes and slid into bed beside Jared.
When Jared opened his eyes, he blinked quickly and focused on Jensen. “Jensen? What are you doing here?”
“I came to get you. You didn’t think I was going to let you get away, did you?”
“Jensen, what I did…”
“You saved me Jared. Again. For years you have been saving me. How could you not understand what that means to me?”
“You were afraid of me.”
“I was afraid of you Jared, but not because you killed him. I thought you finally hated me for what you’d been made to do. For the fight where you challenged him in the first place, for taking a mate when you never would have, for becoming Pack Alpha when you thought it would hurt you and your team. For years of cleaning up a mess that wasn’t yours. I though you finally saw that it was my fault and you hated me for it.”
“I could never hate you,” Jared reassured him.
“I know. It took me a little time to remember that but you ran. I thought you’d come home to me but then the pack helped me realize why you’d actually run. I gave you a little more time, but then I realized you were too stubborn for that to work. So I came to you. Jared, it’s time to come home.”
“Jensen-”
“No. It’s time to come home Jared. I love you. You’re my mate, and I’m done playing this game. You’re my alpha and it’s time for us to go home. Together.”
“Together? “You can really love me, after everything I’ve been?”
“Jared, after everything I was, everything I’ve been, you’ve been at my side. When I couldn’t even be in the same room with you, you were still at my side. What I was before, you made it possible for me to be more. You made it possible for me to be a person again. I’m strong because you believed. I’m happy because you loved me. I’m whole because you let me stand on my own.”
“You really do love me,” Jared said in awe.
“Come home Alpha, and let me show you just how much.”
Jared leaned in and kissed him gently before he let out a small laugh. “Love you so much, Beta. Since the day I saw you.”
“So you’ll come home with me?”
“Yeah. It’s time to go home.”
Author: hunters_retreat
Artist: liliaeth
Genre: RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Rating: NC-17
Wordcount: 30K+
Warnings: Physical and emotional abuse, neglect, mentions of past attempted rape, dub-con due to a beta’s heat cycle.
Summary: Three years ago Jensen Ackles had been a feral beta, caged and dangerous to anyone around him. Three years ago the council sent Jared Padalecki and his team into the Two Forks pack to find out the truth about the claims of beta abuse and neglect. What Jared found was a vicious fight to take the pack away from the Alpha and mated to the feral Pack Beta.
Jensen was sent away to heal but Jared stayed behind to clean out the pack and see if it was worth saving. After three years though, Jensen is ready to go home and confront his past. Jared is hesitant but after their reunion at a Beta Right’s conference, he agrees. It isn’t a smooth journey though and not everyone is happy to have Jared as the Alpha of the Two Forks Pack. When outside forces try to tear their fragile pack apart, will they be strong enough to stand together? Or will Jared and Jensen fall apart, and take the Two Forks Pack with them?
Jensen stared out across the back yard took a deep breath before he slowly let it out. It’d been a rough month. Hell, it’d been a rough life, but Jensen was finally settling into being the Pack Beta. The upside of that was that his pack trusted him because he understood what they’d been through. The downside was that there was still no sign of his wayward Alpha.
A month since Jared had saved Jensen from his father. A month since Jensen had flinched away from him for fear that his Alpha wouldn’t want him covered in the old alpha’s blood. A month since Jared had misunderstood and run, afraid that he’d somehow damaged Jensen.
Jensen understood that now. In the moment, he’d thought Jared had run from him but he’d had time to get a better perspective and Jensen knew Jared had run for fear of himself. It had been the same after Jared had gone after the reporter that had gotten too close to Jensen. Knowing Jensen’s past, Jared feared Jensen wouldn’t accept him because of his alpha nature.
Jensen heard the door behind him and watched as Katie and Chris walked in, the rest of Jared’s people behind them as they settled around the Alpha’s kitchen table. It was Jared’s ritual and one that Jensen enjoyed so he’d kept it.
Today it served a purpose.
When Jensen walked up to the table they all seemed to sense his urgency.
“Where is he, Chris?”
Chris looked at the others but Jensen stopped him.
“No. I’m done waiting. Jared has had a month to come home and he’s hiding. I’m done with it. If he thinks he left a damaged Beta behind who isn’t strong enough to know his own mind, then it’s time I dissuade him of the notion. Where is he?”
“He went home,” Rob answered. “Not the movement, but the home he grew up in. It’s only two hours’ drive.”
When the others looked at him Rob shrugged. “Morale. No one is happy without the Alpha here, especially if the Beta isn’t happy without the Alpha here. Jensen’s right. Jared ran because he thought Jensen would hate him. Jared needs to get his ass back here and Jensen is the only one that he’ll listen to.”
He was on the road in less than 45 minutes. He’d have been quicker but Katie refused to let him go before he ate with them. While he ate, Chris packed his bag and Katie packed lunch to send for both of them to eat together.
Jensen was grateful for them all and when he drove off he knew his pack was in good hands until he returned.
The drive seemed to take forever but Jensen let the feel of the road sooth him. He didn’t get to drive often and he enjoyed the freedom he had behind the wheel. He’d never talked to anyone about it. Maybe when they got this all figured out, he and Jared could take a couple road trips just to be on the road together.
The address he’d been given had him pull into a modest sized home in a sleepy town. It was less isolated from the world than Two Forks but it still had a small town feel. When Jensen stopped the car there was no sign of Jared.
He left everything in the car and went to the front door. It was unlocked and Jensen just went in. The place was well kept and Jensen understood that. No matter what had happened, Jared wouldn’t let himself fall to pieces completely.
It would be in big chunks though. Jared probably slept for days and only got up for the occasional trip to the bathroom or kitchen, where he neatly did his business, then shut himself off again.
He went up the main stairs and followed the hall back. He found two bedrooms and a study before he approached the master bedroom.
Jared was asleep on top of the bed, a towel slung low over his hips, like he’d fallen asleep straight out of the shower.
Jensen let out a sigh and stripped out of his own clothes and slid into bed beside Jared.
When Jared opened his eyes, he blinked quickly and focused on Jensen. “Jensen? What are you doing here?”
“I came to get you. You didn’t think I was going to let you get away, did you?”
“Jensen, what I did…”
“You saved me Jared. Again. For years you have been saving me. How could you not understand what that means to me?”
“You were afraid of me.”
“I was afraid of you Jared, but not because you killed him. I thought you finally hated me for what you’d been made to do. For the fight where you challenged him in the first place, for taking a mate when you never would have, for becoming Pack Alpha when you thought it would hurt you and your team. For years of cleaning up a mess that wasn’t yours. I though you finally saw that it was my fault and you hated me for it.”
“I could never hate you,” Jared reassured him.
“I know. It took me a little time to remember that but you ran. I thought you’d come home to me but then the pack helped me realize why you’d actually run. I gave you a little more time, but then I realized you were too stubborn for that to work. So I came to you. Jared, it’s time to come home.”
“Jensen-”
“No. It’s time to come home Jared. I love you. You’re my mate, and I’m done playing this game. You’re my alpha and it’s time for us to go home. Together.”
“Together? “You can really love me, after everything I’ve been?”
“Jared, after everything I was, everything I’ve been, you’ve been at my side. When I couldn’t even be in the same room with you, you were still at my side. What I was before, you made it possible for me to be more. You made it possible for me to be a person again. I’m strong because you believed. I’m happy because you loved me. I’m whole because you let me stand on my own.”
“You really do love me,” Jared said in awe.
“Come home Alpha, and let me show you just how much.”
Jared leaned in and kissed him gently before he let out a small laugh. “Love you so much, Beta. Since the day I saw you.”
“So you’ll come home with me?”
“Yeah. It’s time to go home.”