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| Damon |
The storm was calming. Damon listened to the settling wind and watched the barricade slowly begin to fall still. It wouldn't be much longer now until it was time to go outside and lay the traps.
He was confident that he made the right choice making Wesley his new Gamma, and he knew that Brando, Ezhno, and Leon would serve the pack well as Wesley's Epsilons. Even if it wasn't wartime, he felt he would have still made those choices.
"Dad?" Remus asked.
Damon looked at his son, who was sitting beside him.
"Do you...think we'll ever see the others again?"
With a quiet sigh, Damon leaned his back against the wall. "I don't know, if I'm being honest. There's a part of me that wants to find and help them despite what happened, but I also know that Aysel and Elias won't accept any help I offer."
Remus shuffled around and looked a little uncomfortable.
Damon frowned at him. "What is it?"
"I just...miss Rom."
"I do, too."
"Can't we just...go and look for them?" he asked, turning to face him. "Mom and Elias might not accept your help, but I know others will, especially after Mom his Tainn. I feel like we'd all stand a better chance against Kane if we had even half of the other half of the pack."
Damon dragged his hand over his face. "I have no way of finding them, Remus. I wish I did. The best we can do is take out as many of Kane's wolves as we can to ensure the others are safe out there. If we cross paths with them someday, I'll do whatever I can to try and convince as many of them to come back as possible."
Remus looked down at the floor and nodded sadly.
The Alpha placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "If we don't find them by the time we're finished with this mission, I'll ask the Venaticus for help locating them, I promise."
His face lit up as he looked at Damon. "Really?"
He nodded. "Caedis said that we can have whatever we want in return for our help, so as well as someplace for us to set up a new packhouse, I'll ask them to find your mother and the others."
Remus threw his arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Thanks, Dad."
Damon smiled slightly but placed his hands on both of Remus' shoulders. "Listen, when I take the pack out to set up traps, I want you to stay here with Jackson."
He frowned. "But...wouldn't it be better to have Jackson out there helping you fight those guys? I've seen what he can do, and—"
"I need to keep you both safe," Damon said protectively.
Remus looked over at Jackson. "Is he gonna agree to that, though?"
Damon sighed deeply. "I don't know. I need to talk to him about it."
"Do you want me to go get him? I know you don't like his friend, so...I don't mind."
The Alpha nodded. "Sure. Thank you."
He watched his son get up and head over to Jackson, who was talking to Wilson and Julian. When Remus interrupted them and told Jackson that Damon wanted to talk to him, the Alpha saw Wilson shoot him a hostile glare. He did his best to keep himself composed, though; he needed to remain focused.
When Jackson got up and headed over, Remus went and sat with Tokala and Dustu.
"Uh...hey," Jackson said nervously.
Damon reached up and took his hand. He pulled him down, making him sit beside him, and then leaned his face closer to Jackson's. He kissed his lips, smiled at him, and then leaned his back against the wall again, keeping his eyes on his mate's flustered face. "I need to ask you to do something that I know you're not going to like."
Jackson adorned a sullen expression. "You're gonna ask me to stay here, aren't you?"
He nodded.
"Damon, I—"
"I just want to protect you, Jackson. We don't know what kind of wolves Kane is sending and we don't know what they're capable of. We've lost too many wolves lately, and I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt," he insisted softly, squeezing Jackson's hand.
Jackson shook his head. "I'll be okay, Damon. I promise. I'm kinda more confident now, you know? Sebastien's taught me how to use fire, and I'm sure that could be really helpful, right?"
The Alpha sighed deeply and frowned in confliction. On one hand, Jackson's new abilities could be very useful, but on the other, Damon was so worried about him freezing up again. He didn't blame him, of course, but he was still concerned.
"I don't know," he mumbled. "Anything could happen."
"We'll all be okay."
He sighed and shrugged. Although he was very confident in his wolves, it didn't outweigh his worry for Jackson.
"Um...Damon," he then said.
Damon looked at him.
"There's...actually something I need to ask you."
"What?" he asked curiously.
Jackson twiddled his fingers together. "Well...I was talking to Sebastien, and 'cause I'm an asmodi demon, I'm gonna need blood like two or three times a week, right?"
He nodded. "Mm-hmm."
"And...I've been fine so far because...well, you know. I killed people and stuff. But there aren't any hunters anymore and Sebastien says I need to find somewhere to get it...or someone."
"And you want to ask if I'll be that someone."
Jackson nodded. "I-I mean, like...I'll ask Sebastien how to do it without hurting you or anything before we try—i-if you even want to, that is."
Damon smiled and ran his hand through Jackson's hair. He found it cute when Jackson became flustered and nervous like this. And he didn't even need to think about what he asked. "Of course I will," he said, pulling him closer. When Jackson rested his head on his chest, the Alpha fiddled with his hair. "All I want to do is take care of you. If you need blood, then I'll give you blood."
"Thank you," Jackson said as he moved his arm around him.
"When do you want it?"
"Uh...well...I don't know."
Damon didn't need to see his face to know he was flustered again. "Doesn't it make you stronger?" he asked. "I know some demons drink blood before a fight so that their strength and ethos will be at their peak."
"I mean...I guess so, yeah. B-but I don't wanna take it from you before we go out there and fight Kane's wolves. I don't wanna weaken you."
"I'll be fine," the Alpha said, caressing his head. He also wasn't going to deny the fact that he was a little curious about what it felt like. He'd heard stories about a demon's bite—especially their venom—and he felt just as eager to feel Jackson's fangs in his neck as he felt to have sex with him before they were mated. In fact, he was so eager that he didn't want to have to wait for Sebastien to tell Jackson what he already knew.
Damon took Jackson's hand again and got up. He led him behind a tall barrel—he knew Jackson would probably want privacy—and then made his mate straddle his lap as he sat with his back against the wall.
Jackson frowned nervously. "Y-you mean...right here?"
The Alpha nodded.
"But...what if I do it wrong?"
"You won't. I trust you," he assured him.
His anxious look didn't fade much, but Jackson nodded and quietly said, "O-okay."
Damon moved his hand to the back of Jackson's head and pulled his face closer to his own. Then, he kissed his lips in an attempt to help settle his mate's nerves, and to his relief, Jackson kissed back, and his tense body started to relax.
With each kiss, Damon felt his anticipation increasing. His heart beat a little faster, and his desire to feel Jackson's bite quickly clashed with his growing arousal. He wanted to start taking his clothes off, but he had to resist and remain focused. This wasn't about sex; it was about giving Jackson what he needed.
After one final kiss, Damon tilted his head to the side and gently guided Jackson's face towards his exposed neck. He closed his eyes and waited, his heart racing, and his desperation becoming unbearable. Would it feel as amazing as he'd heard, or would it hurt like hell? Either way, he wanted to give Jackson what he needed, and knowing that he was doing so made him feel content.
But then Jackson shakily whispered, "Are you sure?"
Damon lightly gripped a fistful of Jackson's hair. "I'm sure," he replied.
Jackson nodded and then nuzzled Damon's neck.
The Alpha tensed up and exhaled deeply, and when he felt Jackson slowly widen his jaw, he tried his best to prepare for whatever he was about to experience.
And then Jackson's fangs pierced through his skin.
After a brief moment of discomfort, Damon felt Jackson's venom ooze into his veins, and it sent a surge of euphoria through his body. He tightened his grip on Jackson's hair and let out a quiet, pleasured groan, and dragged his hands to his mate's waist.
Jackson moaned quietly through his desperate gulps, and when he moved his hand to the back of Damon's head and grasped his hair, he slowly pulled his fangs from his neck and let out a pleased sigh.
Damon smiled at him and dragged his thumb over Jackson's bottom lip, wiping his blood from it. Then, Jackson licked the blood from his thumb and then smiled contently as he rested his forehead against Damon's.
"How is it?" Damon asked with a smirk.
"It's...hard to explain, it's just...really good," he said, gazing into the Alpha's eyes.
The Alpha smiled and stroked the side of Jackson's face. "You can have it whenever you want."
Jackson went to speak—
"But—" Damon interjected, leaning into Jackson's ear— "I should warn you that biting me made me very hard, and if everyone wasn't in this room right now, I'd be fucking you."
He felt Jackson tense up, and when he gripped and squeezed his mate's ass, Jackson exhaled shakily and looked away to hide his flustered face.
Damon grinned as he pulled Jackson forward so that his arousal was digging into his leg. "Do you want me to fuck you?" he whispered, guiding his hands into Jackson's trousers. He then gripped his ass again as Jackson nuzzled his neck.
"I want it," Jackson breathed, moving his hand under Damon's shirt. He then started guiding his fingers over the Alpha's abs.
"If you promise not to make a sound, I could slide my dick inside you right now," he murmured, tightening his grip as a rush of anticipation spiralled through him.
Jackson groaned quietly in frustration. "Fuck me," he pleaded.
Damon laughed lightly and stroked his hands up Jackson's back. "You're going to have to wait," he told him.
His mate huffed and pouted, pulling his hands out of his shirt.
The Alpha gently gripped his jaw and pulled his face closer to his. "Be a good little demon and help me kill Kane's wolves, and then I'll fuck you so hard that you'll cum more than once for me."
Excitement flickered across Jackson's reddening face, but a frown quickly stole his shy expression. "So...you want me to help and not stay here?"
Damon sighed quietly as he dragged his thumb over Jackson's cheek. "I'm not going to lie and say I'm not worried about something happening to you, but I've seen that you can handle yourself. Sebastien is actually doing a good job of teaching you, and your new abilities will help us ensure victory in this war. So, yes. I am saying that you can help, but I need you to promise me that you will be careful—no recklessness...no risks," he said firmly as angst ensnared his heart.
Jackson nodded. "I promise. I just want to be helpful."
The Alpha kissed his lips and told him, "You are helpful in more ways than you know, Jackson."
He smiled shyly in response. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Damon said, wrapping his arms around him.
As much as he might like to sit there and hold him for a while, though, Damon knew that it was time to get to work. They needed to get the traps down before dark, which he could see through the cracks in the barricade wouldn't be long.
"We need to get outside and start working on the traps," he said to Jackson.
He sat up and nodded. "Okay." Then, he stood up and helped Damon to his feet. "I, uh...I've never set traps or anything before, so someone's gonna have to teach me."
Damon smiled at him. "Don't worry. You can keep watching with Dustu." The Alpha then stepped out from behind the barrel and looked around at his pack. "It's time to get to work," he announced.
Everyone started getting up.
"Are we heading straight to the lake after we kill them?" Jackson asked, following him towards the barricade.
"Everyone is going to need to rest after the fight, but we can't stay here because the messenger could lead Kane right to us. We'll head towards the lake but find somewhere to rest along the way," he said, ensuring everyone could hear him.
"I could scout ahead again," Sebastien offered as Damon began taking down the shelves and boxes blocking the door.
The Alpha nodded and tossed a box aside. Then, once the doorway was clear, he turned to face his pack. "Once the traps are ready, Julian, Dustu, and Remus will head back here and wait. The rest of us will take up our ambush positions."
"Understood," the pack said simultaneously.
Damon led the way outside. The snow was knee-deep, perfect for setting traps. He didn't know how many wolves Kane was sending, but he knew his pack were ready for anything.
But he couldn't fight his worry for Jackson. Would he be able to hold his ground? Would he freeze up? Or worse...would he lose control?
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