⥐ ⋞ ☽ ⋟ ⥐
| Jackson |
Cyrus explained his war plans to everyone, and Lumi, the fox-wolf Jackson and Wilson had rescued—who now appeared as a small, shy girl with long, icy hair and dark blue eyes—told him why each approach wouldn't work. So Cyrus quickly came up with another plan one after the other, evidently hoping that Lumi would eventually tell him that he was on the right track.
However, every word either of them said went in one of Jackson's ears and out the other. He couldn't concentrate; all he could think about was what happened with Wilson. Usually, he might be stuck pondering over what he learned in the conference hall; he'd be thinking about the evolving virus, the Zenith, whatever beyond the glaciers meant, and the leaders that he saw inside, but no...his mind was trapped reliving the moment his best friend kissed him.
He hadn't had a chance to tell Damon, and he wasn't sure when he'd get one. It was 4 a.m. already, and after this meeting, it seemed like everyone would be heading off to get some rest before the fight. Maybe then he'd get to tell his mate what happened. He was still afraid of what it might cause, though. Damon and Wilson hated each other, and he was almost certain that Damon was going to try and kill Wilson for this, so maybe waiting until there were people around who could stop him was a better idea. But he didn't want to leave it too long.
Cyrus then sighed loudly and said, "Guy's clearly gotten a lot smarter since the last time we faced each other."
Lumi wriggled around in her chair and nodded in agreement.
"Okay, so we take Maleki," Raphael said as he leaned on Lumi's chair.
"Nah," Cyrus said, shaking his head. "If we show up with anything but wolves in our midst, he has every right to turn down my challenge." He looked down at the map on the table and shifted his eyes from each of the pins Lumi had marked Kane's hiding places with. "Numbers are gonna help us in most situations, but if he's in this narrow gully formation, he could attack from any angle and have the advantage."
Damon then asked, "How do we find which place he's at without alerting him?"
Cyrus tapped his chin while he pondered, and then he looked at Raphael. "You think Alucard will let us use some of those bird things?"
"The sentries," Raphael muttered irritably. "And I don't know. I'll ask him after he's done in the conference hall."
"What's a sentry?" Lalo asked.
"Like...the gargoyles?" Jackson questioned.
Cyrus shook his head. "Nah, it's these little crow bird things that Alucard did some weird demon possession magic to. They'll act like little drones and scour miles of territory in minutes."
"And if we can't use them?" Elias asked.
"We'll figure something else out," Cyrus answered. "All right, we can't really come up with much of an attack plan until we know where Kane is, so just take the next few hours to get some rest. I'll send someone to get you all when it's time to get ready. There's a bunch of spare rooms on the second floor, so go take your pick."
As Cyrus left the room with Raphael and Lumi, everyone else started mumbling and heading for the door.
Jackson was relieved that he was going to be able to get some more rest, but he wasn't sure that he'd get any. He had to tell Damon what happened with Wilson...and now was probably the only chance he'd get. He followed the pack out and up to the second floor, and once he and Damon picked out a room, his heart started racing. He felt anxious and hesitant; however, he wasn't going to convince himself that it was better left unsaid.
Damon pulled the curtains shut and slumped down on the bed with a deep sigh. He then looked at Jackson—who was still standing by the door—and frowned strangely. "What's wrong?" he asked.
He twiddled his fingers together and tried to fight his anxiety, but it was getting harder to breathe, and all he could say was, "I...need to tell you something."
The Alpha sat up. "Tell me what?" He sounded worried.
Jackson exhaled heavily and crossed his arms. "When I went to see Wilson, I...well...something happened."
Damon's frown thickened. "What happened?"
His heart raced so fast that he felt as if it might break free from his chest. He tried to pull the words together, but his fear that Damon was moments from charging out of this room with murder in his eyes urged him to either find the perfect words—words which would keep Damon from losing it—or just lie. No...not lie. Tell him something else. But he wasn't sure that Damon would believe him.
No, he didn't want to avoid it.
"Jackson?"
He tensed up and stared across the room at Damon. "I...well...." He sighed and made his way towards him. He sat beside his mate, and as he looked down at his lap, he let out another deep exhale. "Just promise me that you won't get mad—w-well...you're gonna get mad, so just...please don't go on a rampage."
Damon scoffed confusedly. "What are you talking about?"
Jackson looked at his confounded face. "Wilson...kissed me."
The confusion immediately faded from Damon's face, and a dangerous, infuriated look warped it—
He grabbed Damon's wrist. "Please don't—"
Damon snarled angrily and stood up, but Jackson tugged him back before he could try to head for the door.
"It meant nothing, okay? And I made sure that he knows that."
He pulled his arm free and stormed towards the door. "I'm going to kill that fucking—"
"Damon!" he insisted as he hurried after him and grabbed his arm again.
The Alpha stopped and looked at him with a furious huff.
"He's just...confused or something. We all went through a whole lot of shit when we were in Kane's arena—he thought that we were gonna die. And I guess it just...I don't know! Just please don't hurt him," he pleaded. He didn't know why he was trying to explain why Wilson did what he did because he didn't really understand.
But Damon wasn't convinced. "That piece of shit has been taunting me since day one," he snarled, glaring at Jackson. "And now he thinks that he can touch you?! I have every fucking right to rip his insides out and make him swallow them!"
Jackson grimaced at the thought of it and shook his head. "I'm mad at him too, okay?" he insisted, trying to pull Damon away from the door. "I don't know why he thought it was okay or what would happen, but you can't hurt him. He's still my friend, and—"
"He clearly wants more than that," he growled.
"Well, he's not going to get it," Jackson said firmly. "And I made sure that he gets that. Maybe...maybe it had something to do with all the meds he's on from his surgery or something—maybe he got confused."
Damon scoffed again, but he was calming down—at least Jackson hoped he was.
Jackson exhaled and slowly pulled the Alpha back towards the bed. "Maybe now that I've told him exactly how I feel, he won't be so weird and rude around you," he said as he sat down and pulled Damon with him.
The Alpha slumped beside him with an angry huff. He scowled aimlessly for a few moments, but then he shook his head and snarled. "No, he needs to be taught a fucking less—"
Before Damon could get up, Jackson pushed him down on his back and straddled his lap. "Please," he implored. "Just...let it go."
Damon glared up at him. "Let it go? How the hell am I supposed to let something like this go?"
Jackson pondered for a moment, but he didn't really have an answer. However, he did know how to take Damon's mind off it. If he could distract him, then maybe he'd calm down enough for them to have a proper conversation about it.
He shrugged and dragged his hand down Damon's chest and to his waist. "I don't know," he answered. "Maybe I can take your mind off it?"
Damon huffed and turned his head to the left, but when Jackson gripped the bulge in his trousers, he tensed up, and the irritated scowl on his face lifted a tiny bit.
Jackson smiled deviously as he stroked Damon's dick. "Maybe I can remind you that I'm all yours," he said quietly.
The Alpha looked conflicted; however, with each stroke of Jackson's hand, the fury on his face lessened. He frowned, he exhaled, and he exhaled angrily, but then he growled frustratedly and abruptly grabbed Jackson's shoulders. He rolled over with him and pinned Jackson on his back, and after an aggressive huff, he started kissing him.
Jackson tensed up as anticipation spiralled through him. He felt a little guilty using sex to distract him, but he wanted it, and he wanted to make sure that Damon understood that he was his and only his. He returned each of the Alpha's kisses, and when their tongues entwined, he moved his hand into Damon's trousers and grasped his dick.
An eager growl carried upon Damon's breath as he stopped kissing him and nuzzled his neck. Jackson hastily pulled the Alpha's trousers off, and they quickly undressed one another. They started kissing again, and while Jackson moved one leg over Damon's back and caressed his shaft, the Alpha spat on two of his fingers and then rubbed it into Jackson's ass.
Jackson gripped a fistful of his mate's hair and tensed up as desperation enthralled him, and when Damon pressed the tip of his dick against his hole, he eagerly pulled Damon towards him so that he'd ease his shaft inside.
Damon complied; he slowly moved his shaft into Jackson's ass, and they both moaned quietly in content as he did.
"You're so fucking tight," Damon breathed as he pinned Jackson's arms above his head, and then he slowly pulled back.
Jackson exhaled deeply and smiled—
Damon abruptly thrusted deep into him, making him exclaim pleasurably. The Alpha laughed quietly in response and then started thrusting, nuzzling Jackson's neck as he hummed contently. Jackson tightened his grip on Damon's hair and moaned in relief and satisfaction as the pleasure spiralled through his tense body.
The Alpha sped up. His thrusts became more aggressive with each plunge, and Jackson couldn't help but cry out in sheer delight. And then Damon tightened his grip and growled against Jackson's neck, "You're mine."
Jackson's heart raced in his chest. He wrapped his legs around Damon's waist and whined contently, "Yes!"
Damon lightly clamped his jaw down on Jackson's shoulder and thrusted harder and faster. Jackson moaned and whined as the pleasure quickly became too much for him to handle. He could feel himself approaching his peak—
"Say it," Damon demanded and gently bit Jackson's ear.
He panted and tried to find his voice, and with a moan upon his breath, he replied, "I'm yours."
The Alpha snarled and bit Jackson's neck. "You're mine," he growled possessively.
"I'm...y—fuck, fuck!" he cried as his body reached its limit. He whined feverishly as he climaxed, and when Damon thrusted deep into him one last time, the Alpha moaned in relief, and Jackson felt his dick throbbing inside him. An overwhelming feeling of satisfaction consumed him as he felt his mate's cum ooze into him, and he couldn't help but hum contently.
Damon exhaled deeply against Jackson's neck as he slowly pulled his dick out, and then he lifted his head to look down at him. The Alpha smiled, and Jackson smiled back, and when Damon kissed his lips, he relaxed his legs and ran his fingers through his mate's hair.
"I love you," Jackson said quietly.
"I love you, too," Damon replied and kissed his lips again. "Wait here."
Jackson watched him get up and head to the on-suite. He came out with some tissues, and after he helped Jackson clean up, he tossed the tissues in the trash can and crawled into bed beside him. Jackson rested his head on Damon's chest, and after a deep, relieved sigh, he closed his eyes and relaxed. He wanted to hold on to this feeling of serenity; even if it was just for a few minutes, he wanted to continue ignoring his worries.
But as the silent minutes passed by, Jackson's euphoria faded, and Wilson crept back into his head. He didn't want to think about it.
"How long do you think this Kane stuff is gonna take?" he asked Damon.
The Alpha exhaled deeply. "I don't know. It could be over in a day, or it could take a week. I wanted to suggest leaving Cyrus to deal with it and clear a path for us, but I don't want to risk that plan not working. This'll probably be over faster with us helping, and Cyrus definitely has the numbers to face Kane's pack, but I don't know Cyrus well enough to feel confident that he can beat Kane."
"He's got demon stuff or something, too, right?" Jackson asked.
"He does, and he confirmed that Fenrisúlfr is both our ancestor, but I'm so far down the line that the demon blood was eventually bred out of us Greybloods. But if he's anywhere near as powerful as Raphael, then maybe he will stand a chance."
Jackson wasn't surprised to hear that Fenrisúlfr was Damon's ancestor; after the name Greymore was thrown around so much, and everything he heard while at the Venaticus building, it was pretty much as clear as day, but Damon had confirmation now, and he was glad for him. "So, is Greymore where you're getting all your ancestral knowledge from?"
"I still don't know. But we talked about Tokala, too. He might be able to access the Redblood ethos, and if he can, then our chances of getting through the mountains would be a whole lot better. I need to talk to him and Raphael, but I don't know when I'll have the time. Maybe before the meeting," the Alpha mumbled.
"Yeah, I mean...Raph—Heir Zephyr...I don't really have the words," Jackson fumbled. "He can heal people, he's crazy strong; if Tokala could do that kinda stuff, then...yeah, we'll be a whole lot safer out there."
Damon sighed and tightened his embrace around him. "We can work it all out later. Let's just get some rest while we can."
Jackson nodded in agreement. He didn't want to think right now; he just wanted to lay there, rest, and enjoy Damon's embrace. But it wouldn't last forever. In a few hours, they'd be planning their attack on Kane, and Wilson would also likely be out of the hospital.... He didn't know how he felt about that. He wasn't ready to face him, nor was he ready for the shitstorm that was going to erupt when the muto and Damon came face to face.
He didn't want to think about that either...but his worry wasn't so easily banished. What was Damon going to do when he saw Wilson? And whatever it was...would he be able to stop him?
⥐ ⋞ ☽ ⋟ ⥐