Jackson (surprise!)
Getting off the phone with Evan was one of the hardest things I had to do. He sounded so defeated! I knew I had to get over there to see him, but the problem would be convincing my stubborn mate to come with me!
I had a couple ideas of how to go about doing it.
I decided to first talk to Papa about what was going on, and see what his take on the situation was.
I knocked on Papa's door, and when he said I could, I opened the door, shutting it behind me.
"Jackie, it's nice to see you again! Is there something I can help you with? Or do you just want to talk and catch up?" Emerson Hayes asked jovially.
I smiled. Papa was the only one who had ever dared to give me a nickname like that, and honestly, I liked it because it was special.
The smile faded when I sat down on the chair next to his, and he put down the newspaper he had been reading. The look on my face must've clued him in on the nature of my visit, because his expression and posture did a full 180 and he gave me a serious look.
"What's going on, Jackson? Is something wrong?"
I took a moment to gather my thoughts before attempting to speak.
"It's about Dean..." I started.
Papa frowned. He didn't like my ex-mate, and I couldn't exactly blame him. He'd caused me a lot of pain in the past, but I also couldn't hate Dean either. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have my beautiful girls, and Clayton and I wouldn't have met.
"What about that good-for-nothing Alpha? I heard he was banished from his pack and forced to become a lone wolf. He wasn't even welcomed in any nearby packs or even human towns and had to travel a long way. I haven't heard anything about him recently though." The last part was mumbled, and I was grateful he hadn't heard anything lately.
"Well, he called a couple weeks ago, actually."
Papa raised his eyebrows and stayed silent, wanting me to explain further. I went into detail about what the conversation had been about, and what I told Dean to do for his mate.
Papa was silent for a few minutes as he thought. Finally he gave me an approving look, which I didn't quite understand.
"I'm glad that Alpha-hole decided to change for the better," he said. "And I hope he actually took your advice on it all. Otherwise he will never truly change."
"Actually, he did. I just got off the phone with his mate, Evan. He told me Dean did everything, got flowers that had the meanings he wanted to say, and even continued to do so after they finally marked each other."
"Then why did you come in here looking so serious? Don't tell me you plan to go visit them or some crazy bullshit like that."
I rubbed the back of my head. He hit the nail on the head. But I hadn't had the opportunity yet to tell him why Evan had called.
Before I could, there was a knock on the door. Clayton walked in, two toddlers hanging off his legs, giggling the entire time, as he held a small boy in his arm.
"Did Jackson come in here by any chance?" Clayton asked.
I giggled at the sight of my big, strong alpha being held captive by two giggling three-year-olds with pigtails.
The sound got their attention, as well as their daddy's. Jordan and Jocelyn removed themselves form Clayton's legs and ran to me, screaming, "Papa!"
I scooped my two girls into my lap, holding them close, wanting to hopefully calm down so I could ask Papa for his help.
"Justin and Jacklyn are both taking a nap for now, so I figured I'd bring the three more rambunctious ones with me to find you," Clayton explained, setting Jason on his feet and allowing him to toddle over to me on his chubby little legs.
Jocelyn moved out of the way and made some room for her little brother, like the sweet girl she could be sometimes.
"Now, what was it you wanted to talk to me about, to do with Dean?" Papa reminded me of the previous conversation, causing Clay to freeze, and the twins to stare up at me at the name of a stranger.
"Dean was attacked on the way back from a local flower shop. Apparently, a group of hunters ambushed him in the forest near their pack house, severely injuring him.
"Evan has no clue what all is happening, and he's terrified. He's just found out he's pregnant, and he's worried that his mate may end up missing out on their pup's life."
"And what does that have to do with us? Why come to me? Are you wanting to ask me to watch the pack again, while you take five kids to another pack in order to visit your ex-mate?"
I winced at Papa's accuracy. He sighed and closed his eyes, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Jackson, I can't believe you'd do something like that. After everything that man put you through, you're still wanting to go and visit him? Honestly?"
"Papa, in the three years you've known me, have I ever been the kind of person to hold grudges against anyone? Did I hold a grudge against Alpha Jacobs for when I was sixteen, or did I accept his apology when I met him again after you and Clay rescued me, with his help? As long as someone is willing to apologize for the wrongs they've committed against me, and they are willing to change and fix their mistakes, I can't hold grudges. That's not the kind of person I am. And knowing that this poor kid, who isn't any older than I am, is struggling so much, I can't sit back at do nothing, simply because the person he's mated to happened to hurt me in the past."
When I was done, my mate and Papa were both speechless. I waited for them to say something, anything.
When they didn't speak after several minutes, I took the kids, and we went to my room, where I began packing for my trip. Evan had given me the name of the town they were just outside of, as well as the little flower shop that he and Dean frequented, owned by a kind old lady named Glinda. He said that he'd meet us there if I called and said I was almost there, and he'd lead the way back to the pack house. Although, he simply called it a "den," which I found rather funny.
I was just about done packing, when Clayton and Papa walked into the room. I glanced over my shoulder in acknowledgement of them, but didn't really stop what I was doing. I wanted to make sure I had what I needed.
I found some of my old pregnancy and parenting books that I picked up during my pregnancy with Jason, thinking they may be helpful to pass the time, if nothing else.
I was going to start packing clothes for the kids when I was stopped by Clay.
"What are you doing?" He sounded concerned.
"I'm packing. Even if you two don't want to help me, I'm going. I can't leave Evan when he feels alone. He's in a horrible situation, and I want to help him somehow. Even if it's simply as a shoulder to cry on as a fellow omega."
Clay soon joined me in my efforts, and began packing his own clothes. Papa still hadn't spoken, but I understood his position on the matter. He didn't want me to go because he didn't think I should have to be around Dean after all the bullshit he put me through.
A few minutes later, as I was still working on packing the kids, Papa finally spoke up.
"I'll watch Jocelyn and Jordan while you two are gone. That should make it at least a little easier on you. The other three are just a little too young to be without you for extended periods of time."
"You just don't want Dean meeting his daughters," I deadpanned.
"You got me. But I still think it'd be easier to only have three kids to take care of than five."
"Deven, could you come to the alpha suite please? Thank you," I said through the pack link.
"You don''t have to worry, it won't be just Clay and I going with the kids."
Papa opened his mouth, but there was a knock at the door before he could ask his question. Deven walked in and looked around questioningly.
"Did you need something?" he asked.
"Yes. Clay and I are taking a trip to another pack, and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind accompanying us."
"You mean as a glorified babysitter. You want to bring all five kids with you, but don't think you two alone could handle watching them all on your own, so you want a third set of hands. I get it."
"So would you?" He nodded, and left after I thanked him.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Papa asked, as Clay and I finished getting all packed.
I glanced at him over my shoulder, wondering what he meant.
"You're about to bring five kids to a foreign pack's territory; plus two of those five happen to be the children of the guy who hurt you, and you're going to bring them around not only him, but his new mate? Are you sure this Evan guy isn't a bad person? What if he'd actually teamed up with the hunters who ambushed Dean in the first place?"
"Papa, I love you, but if you had heard the sorrow in that poor man's voice when he struggled to even get the words out, you'd understand that he isn't as bad as you're thinking. In fact, you don't even know the full story yet. Hell, I don't even know the full story, so we can't judge Evan until we meet him and actually talk with him."
Papa sighed in resignation, throwing his hands up in surrender. He walked out of the room huffing about ungrateful kids, and I turned to Clayton, who nodded and helped me gather all the luggage.
We collected the children and met Deven by the van, packing it and piling in, prepared to go on an adventure with no idea what the outcome could be.