The Heart of a Mate (Alpha/Omega Book 3/3) [Boy/Boy] - 2013

Chapter 1: Four Years

The Heart of a Mate: Chapter 1: Four Years

Lauren's POV

               I rolled out of bed, gently moving Jay's arm from around me to do so. The morning sun shone brightly through the windows of our house and it took everything I had to squint passed it. 

"Daddy?" Jacoby mumbled as I stumbled into the living room. I looked to the young pup, a smile forming on my face, "It's me Jacoby - do you need something?" 

He instantly sat up, his innocent eyes hurriedly scanning the room. "No thank you!" He screamed as he ran into the adjoining room. I slightly laughed at his childish antic as I closed the door to the bathroom. 

               Our tent was really nothing special but it was definitely better than the mansion I occupied in the Demon District. While that place was cold and strange, this place felt like home. 

               I stripped my shirt to expose my marked chest. My branding was still visible under my current tribal stains. In about a week the ink would wear off but the bond between Jay and I would remain. Then there was the single marking on my back, just over my left shoulder blade. I could still make out the mark under the jagged scar that tore its way straight through it - severing the bond I once had with a cocky hybrid that stole my heart. My fingertips lightly caressed the scar, my eyes watering over the way they always did when I thought of Pyro: the asshole that betrayed me almost four years ago. 

               Arms came up around me and I was instantly trapped against my lover's chest. "Baby, please don't think about that." Jay hated when I thought about the past, but in reality, it still surrounded me - every second of every day. 

"He's still alive Jay, I know he is." Jay knew it too... 

               Pyro's body had disappeared shortly after hitting the ground. In the rushed flee, it had been forgotten, Morgan and Marianna, Pyro's biological mother, had disappeared as well. My wing had finally healed but I was still unable to fully use it - I was lucky if I hovered three feet off the ground. 

               I watched as Jay ran around the house, Jacoby right in front of him. Jacoby was only four years old but he could already give his daddy a run for his money. "You can't catch me!" Jacoby squealed. 

Jay stopped for a moment next to me. "Hey Lauren, you wanna get off your ass and help me catch my kid?" He was out of breath and I couldn't help but laugh. 

I attempted to quell my laughter long enough to speak but only ended up laughing harder. "Are you seriously saying he's faster than you? You can't be old yet, you're only twenty-two!" I threw myself at him dramatically. "This cruel world - my lover is an old man!" 

He quieted me with a kiss, his tongue even slipping through my lips. "You're only two years younger than me - I'm not that old..." He smiled, his eyes gleaming a moment before I was dropped back into my chair and Jacoby's screams filled the room. Jay had the pup in his arms, Jacoby trying with all his might to wriggle free. 

"You cheated!" He cried through his giggles. 

"Oh, I did - did I?" Jay carried him to the back room to get him dressed. I was supposed to meet with Langley concerning the Specials District in a few short hours. After they were freed for the second time, all Districts banded together to help rebuild the Specials District, where they now reside. Jay had other plans to attend to so we were going to drop Jacoby off at Mika's. I didn't really like the woman and she definitely didn't like me, but I convinced Jay to allow her to come back for the sake of Jacoby. The pup needed a mother and while I loved him like one, I couldn't just take over Mika's place in his life.