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| Jackson |
The pain lasted exactly an hour. Jackson writhed and fidgeted beside Damon, trying his best to cope with it. The comfort of the bed did nothing to help, and neither did his mate's embrace. Everything that usually helped soothe his discomfort was useless, and he suspected that whatever Lucian did to him was the reason.
He didn't want to be around these people anymore—no...he liked the wolves, but the demons? He didn't want to be a demon. He didn't want to be a part of demon society. He wanted nothing to do with them. But did he even have a choice? Did he get to decide whether or not he wanted to be part of a society that let higher ranks torture someone? He pouted and buried his face into Damon's shirt. Wolf walkers were the same, weren't they? At least they were supposed to be. He remembered what Julian told him about packs and how they treat Omegas, and that was pretty much how Lucian had treated him, wasn't it? Lucian was the Alpha...and he was just the lowly Omega.
And Raphael. Jackson hadn't taken him for a whiny snitch, but he was wrong. But he didn't exactly blame him; if he was part of a royal bloodline, he might end up using his status in the same way. If he'd had bloodline armour back when Aysel and Elias and everyone else were bullying him, maybe he could have avoided everything that happened. But then again...he wasn't a whiny bitch, and if those things hadn't happened, then he might not be where he was now; he might not be Damon's mate, and he might not be taking part in a mission that would save not only wolf walkers but probably the entire Caeleste world.
He was just glad that Wilson didn't have to see him get dragged across that floor and treated like a worthless insect. Yeah, it was embarrassing, and he hated that Damon and the pack witnessed it, but for some reason, he felt as if his best friend seeing it would have been a whole lot worse. Not only would it make him look weak and stupid, but Wilson would have likely tried going for Lucian, too, and unlike Damon, he wasn't as strong and would have definitely had a bone or two broken if he was thrown against a wall.
And he hadn't forgotten about what Wilson said to him before he escaped Kane's arena, either.
"Are you feeling better?" Damon suddenly asked.
Jackson snapped out of his thoughts and exhaled deeply. The pain was finally withering, but it still felt like his leg was on fire. "Not really, but it's fading."
Damon huffed and muttered, "If that white-haired piece of shit wasn't some demon heir, I'd tear him apart."
"Yeah, well, karma will get him someday," Jackson mumbled, although he wasn't entirely sure that was true. As much as he hated to admit it, Lucian had some sort of demon right to do what he did. "I just...wanna get out of here. We need to get to the lab."
"I'd leave right now if we could, but Cyrus said he's holding a meeting later regarding our mission, and we've all got to be there. As much as I want to get this over with, Kane is still out there, and we can't risk running into him again. I assume this meeting will tell us what the plan is and how we deal with this shit."
Jackson sighed heavily. "This pack is like...super strong, though. They have vampires and demons and wolf demons—why can't they deal with Kane while we get to the lab?"
"I guess we'll find out."
With a deep exhale, Jackson rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling...which was painted with murals. He frowned curiously and eyed the hand-painted artwork of dragons, wolves, and humanoid Caeleste; it reminded him of the paintings he saw in that ice cave when he first travelled with Damon's pack, only the images above him had much more detail. Feather-winged men and women, and some with dragon-like wings, too. And in the very centre was a huge white dragon with an almost-white-blue furred mane. It was like something out of the Book of Lore—something someone might find in a Lethidian church.
"Why are there Lethidian paintings in some other god's house?" he asked, glancing at Damon, who was also staring up at the art.
"It's Caederian," the Alpha told him. "That dragon is Vespira, a vessel for the Zenith's power."
His frown thickened. "How do you know th—oh, ancestral knowledge, right?"
He smiled slightly. "I don't know how my ancestors worked so closely with demons."
Jackson leaned up on his arm so that he could see Damon's face. "Sebastien said that Fenrisúlfr is your ancestor—Greymore. I guess we've all been so busy and overwhelmed with multiple shitstorms that we haven't really...well, thought about any of it. And Wesley has fae blood, Tokala's bloodline is super powerful and half of them are cultists, and some crazy demons killed Dustu's family." He frowned and shook his head. "Sirens, Lumi, and God knows what else."
Damon huffed and chuckled. "I think we need a long pack meeting."
"I suppose we could find out more at this meeting with Cyrus. These guys seem to know a lot about Redbloods and Greymore and Kane. Maybe we'll get some answers."
"All this time, I never really knew where my ancestral knowledge came from. I had my mother and father, and their parents, and their parents' parents, but after that, it's all a big blur. No names, no faces, just knowledge. I guess I know now, though. And nobody knows what happened to Greymore—or Fenrisúlfr—so maybe the fact that his soul isn't with the rest of my ancestors means he's still out there," Damon explained slowly—it sounded like he was thinking as he spoke.
"That...kinda makes sense. Do you think the Nosferatu know? Lord Caedis? The Zenith?"
"I don't know, but I'm sure we'll get an answer to that soon, too. I plan to get as much as I can from Cyrus; he's supposed to be one of my relatives, and he's hanging out here with demon heirs, so he has to know a lot more than I do."
Jackson rested his head on Damon's chest. "I hope he can give you the answers you're looking for, and the rest of us. They know about the Holy Grail, too. I know I was gonna ask Lord Caedis to tell me everything he knows about them as part of the deal we made, but if Cyrus can tell me, then maybe I can ask Lord Caedis for something else."
"Like?" Damon asked with an intrigued tone in his voice.
"I don't know. He can...he can bring people back from the dead, right? Like he did for Sebastien. Maybe...I can ask him to bring my mom back," he said sullenly. "Or my dad, who I never got to know. Or both of them."
"Bringing people back from the dead sounds like it has a hefty price, Jackson," Damon said sincerely. "Sebastien's bound to serve Caedis for eternity; you're not going to make that sacrifice."
He shook his head. "No, I don't want that. But he did say that I could have anything in exchange. Surely that counts."
"I don't know," the Alpha grumbled.
"I guess I could ask when the time comes. But then if I ask, he could twist things, right? Like the devil always does in movies and shit. I don't wanna make some stupid mistake and end up mopping the halls of hell or something."
Damon stifled a laugh. "What? I don't think he'd turn you into a janitor."
"You never know. Sebastien's basically an errand boy."
"Well, Sebastien didn't read the terms properly."
"I guess," Jackson mumbled.
He shifted his attention back to his leg. Although he wasn't in utter agony anymore, he still felt uncomfortable. It was like his body was trying to heal a non-existent wound. But it was healing...somehow, and he felt better.
When he glanced up at Damon, he said, "I want to go and see how Wilson's doing. That wound looked...nasty, and I wanna make sure he's doing okay." He hadn't heard anything about his friend since Lucian's backwards punishment, and he needed to see if he was okay.
Damon sighed but said, "All right. I'll come with—"
"No, I...think I should see him alone. You guys don't exactly get on, and I don't want you to start arguing or anything while he's trying to heal."
"I don't trust him. He attacked you, Jackson," he insisted with a concerned frown.
"I know, but..." he paused and huffed. "I'm not gonna make excuses for him, to be honest. Yeah, he lost control of himself. But he's not riled up right now or even in his tiger form. He's probably sedated or something, too. I mean it'd hurt like hell to have that kinda wound operated on while you're conscious."
"Then I'll stand outside the ro—"
"I know you wanna protect me, Damon, but I'll be fine." He felt bad turning him down, but he just wanted to have one conversation with Wilson that didn't evolve into an argument between him and Damon. "I won't be long, either. Did Cyrus say what time he's having the meeting?"
"No," he grumbled. "But I'm sure he'll gather everyone up when it's time."
"Well...while I'm checking on Wilson, maybe you can find Cyrus and ask him about Fenrisúlfr?" he suggested.
"I suppose," Damon replied, but he didn't sound too happy.
Jackson sat up and looked down at him. "I'll be fine, Damon. I promise. I just need to see if he's okay."
Damon stared up at him; the expression on his face journeyed from irritated to concerned and stopped at hesitated. But he relented and placed his hand on the side of Jackson's face. "Okay, but if I get any sense that you're in danger, I won't hesitate to come down there."
He smiled at him. "I'm not gonna be in danger." He leaned closer and kissed Damon's lips. "I love you."
The Alpha smiled, too, and ran his fingers through Jackson's hair. "I love you, too."
Jackson then concentrated on his leg again, and to his relief, the pain was pretty much gone. "Do you wanna meet back here when we're both done if Cyrus hasn't called for the meeting yet?"
Damon nodded and sat up. "I should go and check on the pack, too."
He pouted and looked down at his lap. "Do you think...do you think they all see me differently because of how stupid and useless Lucian made me look?" he asked sullenly.
The Alpha frowned and shook his head. "There wasn't anything you could have done, Jackson, and they all know that. I'm sure that they all hate Lucian as much as we do."
"It was embarrassing," he grumbled. "I'm supposed to be this hybrid, and I couldn't even try to defend myself."
"It wasn't your fault, Jackson. These demons and wolves are from bloodlines older than even mine, and just like with wolf walkers, a demon's bloodline gives them power that others don't have. Even if you could have tried, there wouldn't have been much you could do except make it worse. And I fucking hate admitting it, but it's true. As much as I want to claw both Lucian and Raphael's eyes out, the only thing any of us can do right now is avoid them," Damon said firmly.
Jackson nodded and looked over at the door to try and hide his embarrassed face. "Hopefully Lucien's gone back to Silverlake. I don't ever wanna see him again."
"I'm sure he's run back to Caedis to write his little report."
"Yeah," he mumbled. He sighed quietly and glanced at Damon. "Well, my leg feels better, so I'm gonna go see Wilson now. I'll see you back here later?"
Damon nodded, and when Jackson got up, so did he. "Do you want me to see if Cyrus will tell me anything about the Holy Grail?"
Jackson shrugged as he headed towards the door. "Sure, thank you."
When Jackson pulled the door open, Damon gently gripped his arm and turned him to face him. He kissed his lips and then his forehead before saying, "Just be careful, okay?"
"I'll be okay," he insisted. "See you in a little."
The Alpha nodded again and then turned around. He headed down the left hallway, leaving Jackson alone.
It was then that he realized he had no idea how to get to the medical wing or hospital or whatever it was called. He pulled the bedroom door shut behind him and stared down the right hallway. He could hear voices coming from that way, so maybe he could find someone who would point him in the right direction.
He just hoped that he wouldn't see Raphael. That was the last thing he needed.
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