Alpha-mates Chapter-18/ ?
Chapter-18
“Jaybird?”
Jared blinked; coming out of the reverie he had slipped into and recognized that they had reached Padalecki Towers. With a brief nod at Chad he stepped outside, pausing as he considered his options.
“Hey, Chad?”
The beta leaned across the seat, “Yeah?”
“I’m gonna talk to Jensen; you carry on ahead, okay?”
The blonde’s features briefly creased in annoyance but the beta nodded, “Sure, Boss.”
He shook his head at his friend’s adamant refusal to use his actual name before crossing the street and heading into the older alpha’s office. Jensen’s secretary just smiled as he breezed past her; obviously knowing better than to stop him. And halted as he realized that he had walked in on a meeting.
Jensen caught his eyes and wordlessly stood; nodding at the two men he had been speaking with, “Guys, we’ll continue this some other time, alright?”
He briefly wondered what the employees thought of the abrupt dismissal and had no clue what his expression was to have garnered such a response; but then Jensen was pulling him into his arms and Jared couldn’t have brought himself to care as he buried his head in the crook of the Elder’s neck and allowed the tenuous grasp on his composure to slip away.
Jared wasn’t sure how long they stood like that but when he finally- finally; managed to regain some semblance of calm, he realized that Jensen was crooning soft words of comfort as he rocked him; the cradle of his arms a warm and comforting shelter.
“Thanks,” He croaked out, pulling away slightly to look into the older man’s eye. His eyes felt scratchy and his nose was blocked, but although the pain had lessened somewhat; the grief was still very much present.
The Elder simply shook his head, walking them to the leather couch as though he understood Jared’s need to stay close.
He waited till Jensen appeared to be seated comfortably before drawing close again, tucking his head under his mate’s chin even though his greater height made the position slightly uncomfortable.
Jensen didn’t object; silently running his hand up and down Jared’s back and he realized at that instant why he hadn’t broken down on Chad like this despite having known the man longer: because the beta couldn’t have given him this.
“Can’t believe he’s gone...” He mumbled after an indeterminate amount of time.
Jensen nodded, “Wish I had tried reaching out earlier,”
Jared pulled back to glare momentarily before snuggling close again, “Pretty sure that’s supposed to be my line.”
He felt the alpha shake his head, “I remember what it’s like to lose your Dad... And yeah; maybe you are all grown up now; and maybe you guys didn’t speak for a decade... but he’s still the guy who raised you. And I wish I could have met him. .. Hell, if I’d simply asked Ronald about Gerald when I asked for your hand, we could have met him!”
“Jen, if we’re going to be playing ‘if-I-had-done-this’ then let me say if I’d not been such a stubborn idiot and just picked up the phone then my last words to the man wouldn’t have been ‘I-hate-you’”
“I’m sure he knew you didn’t mean it that way, Jay.”
He nodded, “But I could still have called him, Jen. Told him he’d been right. And said that I didn’t hate him- that I... I missed him.”
Jensen hushed the hiccup and tightened his hold on him, “Spoke to your Mom?”
Jared bit his lip, fresh tears springing in his eyes at the memory, “She -she said she didn’t have-didn’t have a son.”
The elder planted a quick kiss on his forehead and continued stroking his back; not wasting breath on empty commiserations. He had nearly relaxed into the hold when he felt the sharp tug of a spasm as it started low on his back and slowly travelled up, making him gasp.
“What?” Jensen asked, shifting along with him so that despite having straightened, he was still firmly ensconced in the older man’s arms.
“Cramp,” He managed to bark out; tensing as the pain moved- seemingly igniting every single nerve on its path as it climbed upwards.
“Okay, relax” Jensen coached, “deep breaths, Padalecki. C’mon now...”
He threw a dirty look over his shoulder even as he tried to breathe through the spreading soreness.
“Damn it, Jay!” Jensen cursed, lowly warning “Gonna go all alpha, okay?” Before his voice took on the double timbre of the Pack Alpha- the second one inaudible but tangible in the goose-bumps that rose up his skin in response, “Relax.”
And before he could comprehend, his body was reacting to the command, the tenseness dissolving as he went boneless in the Elder’s hold.
“Good, now breathe. In...out; good boy. Again, deep breaths; Jay. In... Out.”
He mutely obeyed, regulating his breathing to match his mate’s and continuing till the sharp agony lessened somewhat; settling into a low throb.
“Better?” Jensen whispered; voice back to normal as he nuzzled behind Jared’s ear.
He nodded wordlessly.
“Alright then, let me have it. How bad did I piss you off this time by going Alpha?”
“You were trying to help-”
“Not an excuse; although you are less susceptible than anyone else.”
“Besides,” Jared whispered, ignoring the interruption and filing away the information for later, “it was kind of hot.”
Jensen snorted, “Seriously?”
He nodded, ducking his head to hide his eyes behind his bangs. “Guess I should let you get back to work now...”
Jensen hummed absently, his fingers probing Jared’s back and shoulders thoughtfully.
“What?”
The older man glanced up, green eyes sparkling, “I think I should give you a massage.”
Jared spluttered- whatever else; he had never expected those words from his former business competitor.
“What? I’ve been told I’m good with my hands...”
“Here?” Jared hedged, wavering between temptation and apprehension.
“Sure, why not?” Jensen shrugged, “It’s not like anyone else is going to stumble in unannounced. And I’ll make sure to lock the door.”
Jared nodded hesitantly, “Ummm... how do you want me?”
“Bent over the table; shirt off.” Jensen answered instantly, rifling through a drawer before turning with a triumphant ‘Aha!’
Jared smiled briefly before doing as recommended, feeling self-conscious once his shirt was gone- he was glad his mate’s office didn’t have a glass wall like his own did; grateful for the privacy afforded by the solid concrete wall. Jensen cleared out a space on his desk for him to lean against and he didn’t dally, moving to spread himself across the emptied space as he pillowed his head on folded arms. He tried not to think about just how vulnerable his position was if Jensen decided to take advantage of it.
The alpha’s palms were warm against his skin, although whatever it was he had poured on him was not, and after a few initial tentative brushes, Jensen seemed to find his rhythm; really getting into the impromptu massage.
“Hey, Jared?” Jensen called after a minute or so.
“Hmmm?” He mumbled, having relaxed into the firm strokes despite the awkwardness of leaning over Jensen’s work table.
“You... you’re really a Sasquatch, man...” Jensen began hesitantly.
He giggled, “Yeah?”
“Yeah, you can laugh all you want,” Jensen grumbled, “But fact is; I can’t reach your shoulders well enough to work them unless I press up against you. That okay?”
Jared blinked, lying silently for a moment as he tried to understand what Jensen was trying to tell him and ultimately deciding it didn’t matter. He nodded.
He jumped slightly when he felt the front of Jensen’s pressed dress-slacks brush against his legs, before realizing that it was just the tycoon stepping closer. He had not noticed before, but previously, it had just been Jensen’s hands on him as he worked Jared’s cramped muscles.
Jensen obviously wasn’t trying to work in a free grope as he massaged Jared, because his hands stayed all business: detecting one knot after another on his back like they had a map of them before digging in and working them over till they dissolved. It hurt some, but it was the good kind of hurt.
He felt his shoulders relax as they were massaged, but before Jensen could finish, the comfortable silence was shattered by the ringing of his phone.
The Elder cursed softly before retrieving it from his jacket pocket and Jared shivered in the sudden cold now that Jensen was no longer pressed up against him.
“Ackles speaking.”
“Oh, hey Kiddo! What’s up?” He glanced up at Jared who was buttoning his shirt, mouthing ‘it’s my nephew’.
The younger man furrowed his brows, whispering “Is everything alright? Amelia?”
Jensen shook his head, whispering “Other one, its Adrian’s kid.”
And then he was responding to whatever had been said on the phone, “Seriously? That was today?”
A pause, then, “Yeah, yeah; I know. It completely slipped my mind and what? Your Dad couldn’t call once to remind me?”
Jensen pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking briefly before continuing, and “No, it’ll take too long for me to come up; you get a cab. Give them my name and the directions to my office... Of course I’m at work, Kiddo!... yeah, yeah... okay then, see you soon.”
∞∞\∞‡∞/∞∞
Jared held back from commenting as the pint-sized twelve year male old version of Jensen’s sister (barring the coal-black hair) looked up at him contemplatively. After Jensen had explained how he had obviously forgotten all about Adrian’s son coming over for a visit given the upheaval in their companies and in their lives; he could not really blame the older man. Besides the child was a welcome distraction from the memories of how he had failed his late father.
“You’re really tall.” The child finally decided.
Jared forced a grin, “I suppose I am.”
“And you’re Uncle Jensen’s new mate?”
He nodded again.
“Good,” The child announced solemnly, “He needed someone.”
And Jared barely held back from laughing at the adult sounding words.
“Ready to head out?” Jensen called, as he approached them.
He nodded, “Was just chatting with Petey here.”
“It’s Peter,” The boy corrected instantly and Jared saw Jensen’s knowing smirk.
“C’mon, Pete, daylight’s a-wasting! Hop in.”
The younger boy seemed familiar enough with Jensen’s house to head straight to the children’s room, not even bothering to grab his suitcase as though he knew Jensen would haul it in for him. Jared tried not to frown at that.
“He’s a kid,” Jensen told him, obviously not mistaking his simmering disapproval.
“Yeah, but he’s due to head a Pack someday, Jensen; from anyone else, it’s excusable. Not from Pete.”
The Elder bit his lip at the reminder, not appreciating being told that his nephew needed to change; but didn’t deny the truth in his mate’s words.
∞∞\∞‡∞/∞∞
Jared felt Amelia come up to stand next to him as they watched the two children frolic in the pool next to the house. Accepting the chilled beer with a smile he returned his attention to the boys in the water.
“I guess Jensen’s right, you are a true Beta.” She confided in a conversational tone.
Jared froze, “Pardon?”
“You knew nothing of Packs till recently and now you’re already willing to do anything to protect our Pack, aren’t you? Including consenting to being turned.”
His jaw pulsed at that but he refused to answer.
“But you’re safe; Jensen won’t do that to you.” She assured, obviously realising she had inadvertently hit a nerve.
“I know.” He managed.
“But you think he should,” She mused.
“It’s just...” Jared shrugged, waving a hand towards the children who were busy splashing each other “I can’t picture either of them taking on a Pack Alpha’s responsibilities... I mean, they’re young I know, but...Was- was Jensen like this when he was a kid?”
Amelia shook her head, “No; but you can’t have a Jensen every generation, you know? Sometimes the line weakens before strengthening again.”
∞∞\∞‡∞/∞∞
Jared had never claimed himself to be any good with kids but he was still embarrassed with how relieved he was when Peter left with Amelia and Brian on Sunday evening. It made him wonder how he would fare if he and Jensen ever decided to go for children of their own- especially given he (they) would be missing that biological link with said child.
“What’s eating you?” Jensen asked, sliding into the armchair across from him and passing over a chilled beer.
“Nothin’,”
“So still thinking about who succeeds the Pack after me, then?”
Jared cracked a grin at that, “Not really... was thinkin’ it’s good that we can’t have kids of our own, I guess; because apparently? Business deals I can handle; kids?” He pulled a face, “Completely different story.”
Jensen watched quietly for a few seconds, simply sipping his beer; before leaning forward, “Can I tell you something?”
He nodded.
“Stop worrying about that. We... we’ve not been together for even a year, Jared; and there’s too much going on at the moment. Let’s just get to know each other first, alright?”
Jared nodded, feeling his lips tilt in a wry smile, “Not like we can change our minds if we don’t like something about each other.”
To his surprise, Jensen reached out to snag his arm at that, peering into his eyes earnestly “There’s always a happy medium called compromise, Jay. We can make this work.”
“I know,” He confessed, surprised by how much he meant the words, “But can we convince our investors?”
∞∞\∞‡∞/∞∞
“Hey Jared; you back?”
Jared nodded before realising that the alpha couldn’t see him across the phone connection. “Yeah, got back a few minutes ago,” he confirmed.
“Great, had lunch?”
He smiled as he heard his mate’s question- it was well past their usual lunch hour, but it was obvious that Jensen had been waiting for him to come back from the site. “Not yet, you’ll come by?”
“Yeah, see you in five.”
He filled Jensen in on his on-site observations and the changes to the original plan he thought might be needed based on those observations while they ate. His mate, was his usual patient self as he listened and made recommendations where needed. Deep in discussion over the blue-prints spread across his table, they both startled at the sudden knock on his door.
Looking up he saw Chad begin to enter before freezing as he noticed Jensen’s presence, “Dude, You need to eat some-... oh.”
“Mr. Murrey, why don’t you join us as well?” Jensen rejoined, automatically rising to his feet at the beta’s entry in an antiquated gesture of courtesy.
“I... nah; its fine. Thank you.” Chad replied stiffly before swivelling sharply to walk out.
The alpha frowned as he reclaimed his seat after Chad had left, “Did I interrupt something?”
Jared shook his head, trying to dislodge the guilt- he and Chad didn’t have any plans, but they usually ate together after site-inspections; except, he hadn’t remembered their little ritual till Chad had arrived at his door, ready to drag him down to the cafeteria.
“Umm, we’ve been invited to a new year bash,” Jensen remarked casually after awhile when it became clear that the focussed mood with which they had been poring over the blue-prints had disappeared.
“Yeah?”
“Lafferty’s hosting,” Jensen elaborated, “And I guess it might be a big do ‘cause it’s not at his place.”
“Where is it?” Jared asked for the lack of a better question.
“Uhm... here, let me check,” The alpha paused, scrolling through his android before nodding as he located the e-invite. “5B, Maple Street.”
Jared’s eyes widened, “I know that address.”
Green eyes lifted curiously, urging him to continue.
“It’s Chad’s place.”
The corners of the alpha’s lips tilted in a smile, “Didn’t realize they were serious,”
“Me neither,” Jared admitted slowly, biting his lip as the slow stirring of guilt- time had been when he would have been the first person to hear if Chad even liked an alpha, no matter that he was seeing someone seriously enough to host an event together.
And now?
Now, he was the last to be informed.
∞∞\∞‡∞/∞∞
Despite the soup of regret and sadness and curiosity fluttering around in his belly, Jared discovered the party to be surprisingly enjoyable.
Chad doesn’t treat him any different than he ever has and Jared wondered if the beta had not said anything about dating James Lafferty only because he’d assumed Jared to be already aware. And it stung to know that he hadn’t.
Given Lafferty was the co-host; he was not really surprised to note that almost all of Jensen’s friends had been invited too. And barring Chad’s neighbours- a feisty alpha named Sophia and her mate; and his and Jared’s other college room-mate, the guest list was almost identical to the gathering he and Jensen had hosted.
And this time, he finally met Chris’ mate- Steve. Even Misha and Victoria arrived with their precious bundles in tow and though they left early, the half-hour they spent had everybody in the house fawning over the twins.
Jared grinned at his mate’s indignant squawk when Misha unceremoniously handled one squirming baby to Jensen while he headed to change the other when he couldn’t find Victoria but felt his old feelings of inadequacy return when the child relaxed easily into the Pack Alpha’s grip.
“Wanna hold ‘im?” Jensen whispered, glancing up at him.
“And risk traumatising the poor kid? Dude, you’re crazy!” Chad butted in.
Jensen was not swayed though, emerald eyes focussed on his mate, “Jay?”
He bit his lip, holding out his hands uncertainly to accept the tiny blanket-covered bundle, “What if I drop him?”
“Then I kill you.” Victoria; who had returned from wherever she’d been, murmured but didn’t try to stop Jensen transferring the sleeping child to his arms.
“Sshhh, easy,” The Alpha guided, but Jared was already tuning out everything else to focus on the tiny fragile life in his arms. The child remained soundly asleep throughout the entire episode and before he knew it Misha had returned and was reclaiming the cherub.
The Collins left soon after, and Jared looked around trying to locate his mate when saw Tom Welling pull Jensen aside. Curiosity had him trailing after them only to see Tom offer an official looking envelope to the Alpha. Jensen sighed but nodded. The duo continued to talk softly and Jared headed to the kitchen to see whether his friend required any help, not wanting to eavesdrop.
“I was wrong, you know?” Chad told him as the beta directed him to set up one of the snack trays, “You’ll make a great Dad.”
“Yeah?” Jared asked wistfully.
“Jay-bird... you know you deserve a real family, right?”
“I-”
“And... I can help you, if you want,” Chad continued quickly, “I can be a surrogate for your kid.”
Jared whirled around to face his friend, overwhelmed at the offer, “You’d do that?”
“For you,” The beta nodded.
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Previous
Masterpost
Next (coming soon;or maybe not, given I have to finish my this year's spn_J2BigBang submission first)
Next part- Finally!
“Jaybird?”
Jared blinked; coming out of the reverie he had slipped into and recognized that they had reached Padalecki Towers. With a brief nod at Chad he stepped outside, pausing as he considered his options.
“Hey, Chad?”
The beta leaned across the seat, “Yeah?”
“I’m gonna talk to Jensen; you carry on ahead, okay?”
The blonde’s features briefly creased in annoyance but the beta nodded, “Sure, Boss.”
He shook his head at his friend’s adamant refusal to use his actual name before crossing the street and heading into the older alpha’s office. Jensen’s secretary just smiled as he breezed past her; obviously knowing better than to stop him. And halted as he realized that he had walked in on a meeting.
Jensen caught his eyes and wordlessly stood; nodding at the two men he had been speaking with, “Guys, we’ll continue this some other time, alright?”
He briefly wondered what the employees thought of the abrupt dismissal and had no clue what his expression was to have garnered such a response; but then Jensen was pulling him into his arms and Jared couldn’t have brought himself to care as he buried his head in the crook of the Elder’s neck and allowed the tenuous grasp on his composure to slip away.
Jared wasn’t sure how long they stood like that but when he finally- finally; managed to regain some semblance of calm, he realized that Jensen was crooning soft words of comfort as he rocked him; the cradle of his arms a warm and comforting shelter.
“Thanks,” He croaked out, pulling away slightly to look into the older man’s eye. His eyes felt scratchy and his nose was blocked, but although the pain had lessened somewhat; the grief was still very much present.
The Elder simply shook his head, walking them to the leather couch as though he understood Jared’s need to stay close.
He waited till Jensen appeared to be seated comfortably before drawing close again, tucking his head under his mate’s chin even though his greater height made the position slightly uncomfortable.
Jensen didn’t object; silently running his hand up and down Jared’s back and he realized at that instant why he hadn’t broken down on Chad like this despite having known the man longer: because the beta couldn’t have given him this.
“Can’t believe he’s gone...” He mumbled after an indeterminate amount of time.
Jensen nodded, “Wish I had tried reaching out earlier,”
Jared pulled back to glare momentarily before snuggling close again, “Pretty sure that’s supposed to be my line.”
He felt the alpha shake his head, “I remember what it’s like to lose your Dad... And yeah; maybe you are all grown up now; and maybe you guys didn’t speak for a decade... but he’s still the guy who raised you. And I wish I could have met him. .. Hell, if I’d simply asked Ronald about Gerald when I asked for your hand, we could have met him!”
“Jen, if we’re going to be playing ‘if-I-had-done-this’ then let me say if I’d not been such a stubborn idiot and just picked up the phone then my last words to the man wouldn’t have been ‘I-hate-you’”
“I’m sure he knew you didn’t mean it that way, Jay.”
He nodded, “But I could still have called him, Jen. Told him he’d been right. And said that I didn’t hate him- that I... I missed him.”
Jensen hushed the hiccup and tightened his hold on him, “Spoke to your Mom?”
Jared bit his lip, fresh tears springing in his eyes at the memory, “She -she said she didn’t have-didn’t have a son.”
The elder planted a quick kiss on his forehead and continued stroking his back; not wasting breath on empty commiserations. He had nearly relaxed into the hold when he felt the sharp tug of a spasm as it started low on his back and slowly travelled up, making him gasp.
“What?” Jensen asked, shifting along with him so that despite having straightened, he was still firmly ensconced in the older man’s arms.
“Cramp,” He managed to bark out; tensing as the pain moved- seemingly igniting every single nerve on its path as it climbed upwards.
“Okay, relax” Jensen coached, “deep breaths, Padalecki. C’mon now...”
He threw a dirty look over his shoulder even as he tried to breathe through the spreading soreness.
“Damn it, Jay!” Jensen cursed, lowly warning “Gonna go all alpha, okay?” Before his voice took on the double timbre of the Pack Alpha- the second one inaudible but tangible in the goose-bumps that rose up his skin in response, “Relax.”
And before he could comprehend, his body was reacting to the command, the tenseness dissolving as he went boneless in the Elder’s hold.
“Good, now breathe. In...out; good boy. Again, deep breaths; Jay. In... Out.”
He mutely obeyed, regulating his breathing to match his mate’s and continuing till the sharp agony lessened somewhat; settling into a low throb.
“Better?” Jensen whispered; voice back to normal as he nuzzled behind Jared’s ear.
He nodded wordlessly.
“Alright then, let me have it. How bad did I piss you off this time by going Alpha?”
“You were trying to help-”
“Not an excuse; although you are less susceptible than anyone else.”
“Besides,” Jared whispered, ignoring the interruption and filing away the information for later, “it was kind of hot.”
Jensen snorted, “Seriously?”
He nodded, ducking his head to hide his eyes behind his bangs. “Guess I should let you get back to work now...”
Jensen hummed absently, his fingers probing Jared’s back and shoulders thoughtfully.
“What?”
The older man glanced up, green eyes sparkling, “I think I should give you a massage.”
Jared spluttered- whatever else; he had never expected those words from his former business competitor.
“What? I’ve been told I’m good with my hands...”
“Here?” Jared hedged, wavering between temptation and apprehension.
“Sure, why not?” Jensen shrugged, “It’s not like anyone else is going to stumble in unannounced. And I’ll make sure to lock the door.”
Jared nodded hesitantly, “Ummm... how do you want me?”
“Bent over the table; shirt off.” Jensen answered instantly, rifling through a drawer before turning with a triumphant ‘Aha!’
Jared smiled briefly before doing as recommended, feeling self-conscious once his shirt was gone- he was glad his mate’s office didn’t have a glass wall like his own did; grateful for the privacy afforded by the solid concrete wall. Jensen cleared out a space on his desk for him to lean against and he didn’t dally, moving to spread himself across the emptied space as he pillowed his head on folded arms. He tried not to think about just how vulnerable his position was if Jensen decided to take advantage of it.
The alpha’s palms were warm against his skin, although whatever it was he had poured on him was not, and after a few initial tentative brushes, Jensen seemed to find his rhythm; really getting into the impromptu massage.
“Hey, Jared?” Jensen called after a minute or so.
“Hmmm?” He mumbled, having relaxed into the firm strokes despite the awkwardness of leaning over Jensen’s work table.
“You... you’re really a Sasquatch, man...” Jensen began hesitantly.
He giggled, “Yeah?”
“Yeah, you can laugh all you want,” Jensen grumbled, “But fact is; I can’t reach your shoulders well enough to work them unless I press up against you. That okay?”
Jared blinked, lying silently for a moment as he tried to understand what Jensen was trying to tell him and ultimately deciding it didn’t matter. He nodded.
He jumped slightly when he felt the front of Jensen’s pressed dress-slacks brush against his legs, before realizing that it was just the tycoon stepping closer. He had not noticed before, but previously, it had just been Jensen’s hands on him as he worked Jared’s cramped muscles.
Jensen obviously wasn’t trying to work in a free grope as he massaged Jared, because his hands stayed all business: detecting one knot after another on his back like they had a map of them before digging in and working them over till they dissolved. It hurt some, but it was the good kind of hurt.
He felt his shoulders relax as they were massaged, but before Jensen could finish, the comfortable silence was shattered by the ringing of his phone.
The Elder cursed softly before retrieving it from his jacket pocket and Jared shivered in the sudden cold now that Jensen was no longer pressed up against him.
“Ackles speaking.”
“Oh, hey Kiddo! What’s up?” He glanced up at Jared who was buttoning his shirt, mouthing ‘it’s my nephew’.
The younger man furrowed his brows, whispering “Is everything alright? Amelia?”
Jensen shook his head, whispering “Other one, its Adrian’s kid.”
And then he was responding to whatever had been said on the phone, “Seriously? That was today?”
A pause, then, “Yeah, yeah; I know. It completely slipped my mind and what? Your Dad couldn’t call once to remind me?”
Jensen pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking briefly before continuing, and “No, it’ll take too long for me to come up; you get a cab. Give them my name and the directions to my office... Of course I’m at work, Kiddo!... yeah, yeah... okay then, see you soon.”
∞∞\∞‡∞/∞∞
Jared held back from commenting as the pint-sized twelve year male old version of Jensen’s sister (barring the coal-black hair) looked up at him contemplatively. After Jensen had explained how he had obviously forgotten all about Adrian’s son coming over for a visit given the upheaval in their companies and in their lives; he could not really blame the older man. Besides the child was a welcome distraction from the memories of how he had failed his late father.
“You’re really tall.” The child finally decided.
Jared forced a grin, “I suppose I am.”
“And you’re Uncle Jensen’s new mate?”
He nodded again.
“Good,” The child announced solemnly, “He needed someone.”
And Jared barely held back from laughing at the adult sounding words.
“Ready to head out?” Jensen called, as he approached them.
He nodded, “Was just chatting with Petey here.”
“It’s Peter,” The boy corrected instantly and Jared saw Jensen’s knowing smirk.
“C’mon, Pete, daylight’s a-wasting! Hop in.”
The younger boy seemed familiar enough with Jensen’s house to head straight to the children’s room, not even bothering to grab his suitcase as though he knew Jensen would haul it in for him. Jared tried not to frown at that.
“He’s a kid,” Jensen told him, obviously not mistaking his simmering disapproval.
“Yeah, but he’s due to head a Pack someday, Jensen; from anyone else, it’s excusable. Not from Pete.”
The Elder bit his lip at the reminder, not appreciating being told that his nephew needed to change; but didn’t deny the truth in his mate’s words.
∞∞\∞‡∞/∞∞
Jared felt Amelia come up to stand next to him as they watched the two children frolic in the pool next to the house. Accepting the chilled beer with a smile he returned his attention to the boys in the water.
“I guess Jensen’s right, you are a true Beta.” She confided in a conversational tone.
Jared froze, “Pardon?”
“You knew nothing of Packs till recently and now you’re already willing to do anything to protect our Pack, aren’t you? Including consenting to being turned.”
His jaw pulsed at that but he refused to answer.
“But you’re safe; Jensen won’t do that to you.” She assured, obviously realising she had inadvertently hit a nerve.
“I know.” He managed.
“But you think he should,” She mused.
“It’s just...” Jared shrugged, waving a hand towards the children who were busy splashing each other “I can’t picture either of them taking on a Pack Alpha’s responsibilities... I mean, they’re young I know, but...Was- was Jensen like this when he was a kid?”
Amelia shook her head, “No; but you can’t have a Jensen every generation, you know? Sometimes the line weakens before strengthening again.”
∞∞\∞‡∞/∞∞
Jared had never claimed himself to be any good with kids but he was still embarrassed with how relieved he was when Peter left with Amelia and Brian on Sunday evening. It made him wonder how he would fare if he and Jensen ever decided to go for children of their own- especially given he (they) would be missing that biological link with said child.
“What’s eating you?” Jensen asked, sliding into the armchair across from him and passing over a chilled beer.
“Nothin’,”
“So still thinking about who succeeds the Pack after me, then?”
Jared cracked a grin at that, “Not really... was thinkin’ it’s good that we can’t have kids of our own, I guess; because apparently? Business deals I can handle; kids?” He pulled a face, “Completely different story.”
Jensen watched quietly for a few seconds, simply sipping his beer; before leaning forward, “Can I tell you something?”
He nodded.
“Stop worrying about that. We... we’ve not been together for even a year, Jared; and there’s too much going on at the moment. Let’s just get to know each other first, alright?”
Jared nodded, feeling his lips tilt in a wry smile, “Not like we can change our minds if we don’t like something about each other.”
To his surprise, Jensen reached out to snag his arm at that, peering into his eyes earnestly “There’s always a happy medium called compromise, Jay. We can make this work.”
“I know,” He confessed, surprised by how much he meant the words, “But can we convince our investors?”
∞∞\∞‡∞/∞∞
“Hey Jared; you back?”
Jared nodded before realising that the alpha couldn’t see him across the phone connection. “Yeah, got back a few minutes ago,” he confirmed.
“Great, had lunch?”
He smiled as he heard his mate’s question- it was well past their usual lunch hour, but it was obvious that Jensen had been waiting for him to come back from the site. “Not yet, you’ll come by?”
“Yeah, see you in five.”
He filled Jensen in on his on-site observations and the changes to the original plan he thought might be needed based on those observations while they ate. His mate, was his usual patient self as he listened and made recommendations where needed. Deep in discussion over the blue-prints spread across his table, they both startled at the sudden knock on his door.
Looking up he saw Chad begin to enter before freezing as he noticed Jensen’s presence, “Dude, You need to eat some-... oh.”
“Mr. Murrey, why don’t you join us as well?” Jensen rejoined, automatically rising to his feet at the beta’s entry in an antiquated gesture of courtesy.
“I... nah; its fine. Thank you.” Chad replied stiffly before swivelling sharply to walk out.
The alpha frowned as he reclaimed his seat after Chad had left, “Did I interrupt something?”
Jared shook his head, trying to dislodge the guilt- he and Chad didn’t have any plans, but they usually ate together after site-inspections; except, he hadn’t remembered their little ritual till Chad had arrived at his door, ready to drag him down to the cafeteria.
“Umm, we’ve been invited to a new year bash,” Jensen remarked casually after awhile when it became clear that the focussed mood with which they had been poring over the blue-prints had disappeared.
“Yeah?”
“Lafferty’s hosting,” Jensen elaborated, “And I guess it might be a big do ‘cause it’s not at his place.”
“Where is it?” Jared asked for the lack of a better question.
“Uhm... here, let me check,” The alpha paused, scrolling through his android before nodding as he located the e-invite. “5B, Maple Street.”
Jared’s eyes widened, “I know that address.”
Green eyes lifted curiously, urging him to continue.
“It’s Chad’s place.”
The corners of the alpha’s lips tilted in a smile, “Didn’t realize they were serious,”
“Me neither,” Jared admitted slowly, biting his lip as the slow stirring of guilt- time had been when he would have been the first person to hear if Chad even liked an alpha, no matter that he was seeing someone seriously enough to host an event together.
And now?
Now, he was the last to be informed.
∞∞\∞‡∞/∞∞
Despite the soup of regret and sadness and curiosity fluttering around in his belly, Jared discovered the party to be surprisingly enjoyable.
Chad doesn’t treat him any different than he ever has and Jared wondered if the beta had not said anything about dating James Lafferty only because he’d assumed Jared to be already aware. And it stung to know that he hadn’t.
Given Lafferty was the co-host; he was not really surprised to note that almost all of Jensen’s friends had been invited too. And barring Chad’s neighbours- a feisty alpha named Sophia and her mate; and his and Jared’s other college room-mate, the guest list was almost identical to the gathering he and Jensen had hosted.
And this time, he finally met Chris’ mate- Steve. Even Misha and Victoria arrived with their precious bundles in tow and though they left early, the half-hour they spent had everybody in the house fawning over the twins.
Jared grinned at his mate’s indignant squawk when Misha unceremoniously handled one squirming baby to Jensen while he headed to change the other when he couldn’t find Victoria but felt his old feelings of inadequacy return when the child relaxed easily into the Pack Alpha’s grip.
“Wanna hold ‘im?” Jensen whispered, glancing up at him.
“And risk traumatising the poor kid? Dude, you’re crazy!” Chad butted in.
Jensen was not swayed though, emerald eyes focussed on his mate, “Jay?”
He bit his lip, holding out his hands uncertainly to accept the tiny blanket-covered bundle, “What if I drop him?”
“Then I kill you.” Victoria; who had returned from wherever she’d been, murmured but didn’t try to stop Jensen transferring the sleeping child to his arms.
“Sshhh, easy,” The Alpha guided, but Jared was already tuning out everything else to focus on the tiny fragile life in his arms. The child remained soundly asleep throughout the entire episode and before he knew it Misha had returned and was reclaiming the cherub.
The Collins left soon after, and Jared looked around trying to locate his mate when saw Tom Welling pull Jensen aside. Curiosity had him trailing after them only to see Tom offer an official looking envelope to the Alpha. Jensen sighed but nodded. The duo continued to talk softly and Jared headed to the kitchen to see whether his friend required any help, not wanting to eavesdrop.
“I was wrong, you know?” Chad told him as the beta directed him to set up one of the snack trays, “You’ll make a great Dad.”
“Yeah?” Jared asked wistfully.
“Jay-bird... you know you deserve a real family, right?”
“I-”
“And... I can help you, if you want,” Chad continued quickly, “I can be a surrogate for your kid.”
Jared whirled around to face his friend, overwhelmed at the offer, “You’d do that?”
“For you,” The beta nodded.
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