Chapter Twenty: Oh Crap, We Forgot Pt. 1
Austin's P.O.V
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RECAP
"When I woke up, they told me that he'd gotten away, and that I almost died. They asked me why I let him get that far, why my wolf had done nothing to stop him. What they didn't know was that my wolf couldn't fight back, he'd been forcing me to stop hunting, leaving my wolf weak and starving. Even after they'd saved me, I couldn't mind-link or eat by myself, I couldn't even heal a paper cut." I mumbled, bitterness seeping into my voice.
It was so painful to remember everything, all the pain and feelings coming back to haunt me.
Especially since I know he's somewhere out there, alive and well.
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I sat there, frozen in shock as I listened to his story. I wasn't quite comprehending how someone could hurt Jace like that, the sweet sweet boy that sat in front of me now.
I pulled away from him and stared down at his beautiful face. He looked so vulnerable with tears streaming down his face, the hurt forever etched into his haunted eyes. It just doesn't make sense how someone could be that cruel to someone as innocent as Jace was -still is.
This man, this nice, caring, and thoughtful man, had been hurt beyond repair by his own mate. How could anyone do that to another person, let alone their soul mate?
Jace is beyond sweet, he does more than put others above himself, hell, he makes sure your comfortable rather than himself. He'd probably walk through coal just to make you laugh if that was what you wanted.
This caring man couldn't hurt a fly even if he wanted, yet the world seemed out to hurt him more than anything.
As I looked at his tear stained face, I knew that I would do anything in my power to make sure no one hurt him again.
"I don't know what I should say, but I do know what I can say. I know I'm not exactly th-the strongest wolf out th-there, but I promise I'll do everything in my power t-to make sure no one ever hurts you again.
"I won't be able to erase th-the memories of what happened to you, but I will t-try my best t-to help ease th-the pain. You've already done so much for me, so I want t-to start t-the long journey t-to paying you back." I whispered, placing my hands on his cheeks.
His eyes slowly opened as my speech came to a close. Those beautiful dark blue eyes I'd grown to love, held a look of gratitude and love. Just beyond that you could still see the pain and betrayal, maybe it would always be there.
I just hope that one day it'll be easier to get through a day without having that awful memory so strongly present.
"Th-thank you, Tiny." He whispered, pecking my nose as his tears slowly dried up.
"There's no thanks necessary, that's w-what I'm here f-for." I whispered back, blushing as he stared down at me with a look of adoration.
"I don't know what I'd do without you." He said, hugging me to his chest once again.
"You'd probably s-sleep the day away, eat cereal for the rest o-of your life, and leave m-my puppy to fend for h-himself." I listed off, glancing over at a sleeping Dean.
Someone had set up a small little area for him in here. He was currently laying on a fluffy square cushion, surrounded by stuffed animals and above a blue and white flowered blanket.
I quietly climbed off of Jace and made my way over to Dean. I gently removed the blanket from under him and laid it on top of his shivering body, tucking it in all around.
I smiled when he nuzzled into the soft fabric, emitting a cute little whine as his movements stilled.
He's so adorable when he sleeps. He seems to do that a lot, we try to stay our distance from the room at night so he could rest as much as possible. he still has to get most of his strength back, so he never leaves the room.
I feel bad for him, but anytime he tries to leave the room, he can barely make it a step out before running back in and falling asleep in the middle of the floor. The pack moms have to come up here and feed him from a bottle, rather than little pieces of solid food like the rest of the pups get.
His teeth are still a bit sensitive, he can't really chew anything without whimpering every time he opens and closes his mouth. It's painful just to watch.
The poor boy can't seem to catch a break from the wretched pack we left behind days age, I probably would be tired too after everything that's happened to him.
I quietly cooed at him before returning my attention to Jace, only to find him watching us with a small smile on his face.
I crawled back over to the bed and climbed up the side of the bed frame, gasping when Jace wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me off my knees, gently placing me onto his lap.
"H-hai there." I whispered, blushing as he kissed my forehead and smiled down at me.
"You're so cute." He chuckled, tugging me against his chest and holding me close.
"S-stop." I mumbled, hiding my face in the large expanse that is his chest.
His bare chest is so warm pressed up against my cheek, I could fall asleep like this- wait a minute. Bare chest?
"J-Jace, where the h-hell did your sh-shirt go?" My eyes bulged as I shot my head up, narrowly missing his chin in a headbutt, "I don't even re-remember you t-taking it of-ff."
He only chuckled more, putting my head back against his chest, "well, I realized how hot it was when you were wrapping our baby boy in that blanket there, so I chucked it when you were crawling back over here. It landed right next to Dean's bed, he likes the smell of us when he's sleeping."
His explanation only puzzled me more. I glanced over to Dean again to find his head now resting on Jace's missing shirt, my eyebrows creased as I thought out loud, "I have no idea how I missed that."
"I don't either, i guess your'e just a tad bit off today." He stated, burying his nose in my hair.
I shivered as I heard a soft moan escape from his lips and ruffle the hair at the top of my head, "hey, no fair. Quit trying to distract me."
My protest went unnoticed as he continued to busy himself with my scent, his lips landing wherever his nose had previously been. I squirmed in amusement, my skin seeming to be rather ticklish at the top of my head.
I let out a suppressed giggle, my eyes widening as my hands shut up to cover my mouth as more giggles tried to escape. Jace paused in his endeavor to look down at me curiously. Something in his eyes clicked as he slowly leaned back in and kissed the center of my head, eyes never leaving my face as he waited to see some sort of reaction from me.
I clenched my jaw against the chuckle that wanted to come out, my jaw straining against the force I was using to keep it closed.
"Your ticklish, aren't you little one?" He asked, smiling at me with a deviant smile on his face.
"N-no." I stuttered out, removing my hands so I could talk a little better.
"Yes you are. You can't even keep a straight face every time I kiss you at the top of your head, love." He whispered, placing yet another kiss where his chin once lay.
"I h-have no idea what y-you're talking about." I muttered, attempting to release myself from his grip.
Only managing to succeed in getting myself trapped underneath him, I gave up on struggling and decided to pout instead. When Jace realized I was no longer struggling, he moved back and looked down at me.
His eyes immediately widened and he began to nuzzle his face into the side of my neck, "aww hun, I was just kidding. Please don't be mad at me."
I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him against me, kissing his forehead, "I'm not mad at you."
"Good." He whispered, shifting so he could lean up and plant a chaste kiss on my lips.
I sighed into the kiss, never wanting this moment to end.
'I don't think I'll ever get used to this.' I thought, smiling when he whimpered.
"I don't want to, but we have to stop." He mumbled, breaking the kiss all too soon.
"W-why?" I whispered, afraid that I'd done something wrong.
He seemed to pick up on my tone and began to shake his head, pecking my lips once more, "no, it's not you. It's just....if we don't stop now, I'll want to go further than just making out. I fear I won't be able to control myself with you being so close."
Color flooded my cheeks as I caught his meaning.
"O-oh." I whispered, letting a small smile grow on my lips.
"Yeah, I'm sorry if that's weird or anything." He stated, hiding his face in my neck once more.
"N-no, it's kind of f-flattering really, I-I -." My sentence was cut off when a yawn decided it would be okay to come out.
"You are tired, we should take a nap." Jace decided, flipping us over so he was on the bottom and I was curled up on his chest this time.
"Y-you don't h-have to." I mumbled, already on the verge of sleeping.
"I want to. If I can't fall asleep, I'll just hold you and keep you safe." He cooed, kissing my cheek as he settled back into the mattress with the blankets pulled over us.
"O-okay." I whispered, already half asleep by the time we were tucked in.
"Sweet dreams, love. I'll be here whenever you wake up." With that said, his soft voice lulled me to sleep.
It was his voice that left me unprepared for the disarray and panic that would ensue once I'd woken from this peaceful slumber wrapped in Jace's strong arms.
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