Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
Jax
Uncomfortable Options
Shawn brings lunch for everyone when he swaps Todd’s truck for mine before immediately returning to Brooksville to have it detailed.
I’m pleasantly shocked when Chaz arrives to help and it gives me hope tonight’s meeting might not go as poorly as I prepared myself for.
I already plan to do the thing I’ve never done before, and never wanted to do, and that’s invoke Father’s blessings on this operation as a humanitarian mission.
Because when he and Dad started the Ocala Pack one hundred years ago, they did so welcoming people who needed a family and who agreed to follow the rules, no matter who they were.
We’re not asking the nest members or fae or witches to pledge to us, only to obey our rules and respect our hospitality while being courteous to our people. I have no reason to believe they won’t do just that.
Now I have to convince everyone else in the pack of that.
We knock off in time to have dinner and clean up before the meeting. Todd comes back to my house because we both need showers anyway, and there’s no reason for him to drive all the way home just to come back for the meeting.
Shawn isn’t far behind us and brings pizzas home. I don’t blame him for not wanting to cook because he’s spent all day babysitting vehicles.
Have to admit, the two trucks haven’t looked so good in a while. I can’t smell a hint of Mal in either one, and neither can Shawn or Todd, so I think we’re good.
One risk factor reduced, yay.
I opt to eat before my shower so the pizzas don’t get cold.
“How many do you think will show up tonight?” Shawn asks. “I’ve been fielding calls wanting to know what the hell’s going on. I told them to either call you or show up tonight. Or both.” He smirks after his next bite of pizza. “Don’t envy you tonight.”
“I don’t envy me either,” I grumble. “Several of the Alphas aren’t happy about the vampires but I’m hoping they at least back my decision to keep everyone quiet about it.”
“I had a thought while I was sitting and waiting,” Shawn says. “About handling Mal’s initiation.”
Todd sits up a little straighter but doesn’t ask it.
I do. “What’s the idea?”
Shawn tips his head toward Todd. “The milker,” he says. “I mean, okay, guys don’t want to fuck the pup. I get it. But maybe if we get enough milker volunteers from the various non-canine races, we can use that on him before we even start the initiation process.”
I slowly nod. “I mean, we have done that before, but usually for the second phase.”
“There’s nothing saying we can’t modify how we do it,” Shawn adds.
“We could also strap Mal down to the frame, horn him up, let guys jerk off on him, the ones who want to let him blow them do that, shove one of those butt plugs in him that has a hole in the base and use lube syringes to fill him with cum that way from the milker. See what his scent is like after a round of that and go from there. He might smell enough unlike Sterling’s pack that some of the Alphas change their mind about fucking him.
And then repeat the second part after he goes through round one. ”
I realize Todd’s awfully quiet and then recognize what’s going on. “Sorry we’re getting you horned up,” I joke.
Todd slowly shakes his head. “That’s okay.” He shifts in his chair, reaching down to adjust himself.
I drop Shawn a wink. “Feel like helping our guest out?” I realize that’s the wrong thing to say when I spot his tense smile. “Then again, we really don’t have time before the meeting,” I quickly add.
“Nice save,” Todd mutters.
Shawn still hasn’t responded and I’m wondering if I’ve just fucked up again.
After an uncomfortably long moment, Shawn shakes his head.
“Look, like you said, things right now are…unbalanced from our norm. We’ve got a stressful evening ahead, and I just spent the day getting the trucks detailed to hide Mal’s scent.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to have me suddenly smelling like Todd’s fucked me when we don’t know what’ll happen. ”
Sitting back, I closely study my mate. Todd’s now pretending pizza is literally the most fucking interesting thing on the planet, and he’s shoveling it into his snout as fast as possible, likely so he can escape to take his shower and leave us alone to hash this out.
“I’m sorry,” I tell Shawn. “I wasn’t trying to—”
“You know, I’ll get my shower right now,” Todd says, grabbing his paper plate and dropping two more pieces on it as he stands and heads out.
“That was subtle,” Shawn snarks as he watches him retreat.
I wipe my hands and turn in my chair so I’m facing him. “Can we talk about this? Please?”
He glances down the hall, waiting until he hears the hall bathroom door shut and the fart fan running. When he speaks it’s so low I know even Todd can’t hear.
“He’s got it bad for Mal. If we have to ship Mal out it’ll be worse for Todd.
Do I want to be railed tonight? No-fucking-duh, of course I do.
But I had a lot of time to think today, unfortunately.
If shit comes to a head and Mal is scented by any of our ‘guests’, there’s no way in hell they won’t associate his scent with Todd.
I don’t feel like getting in the middle of a grudge there’s no way I can fight back against. I don’t think it’s a good idea right now to risk any hint of Mal’s scent getting on either of us.
How do we know if Mal is scented and they go after him that they won’t go after Todd and anyone who smells like either of them? ”
This isn’t what I expected from him and it irritates me that he’s…
Well, he’s completely correct.
“What do you suggest?” I ask.
“That neither of us fuck around with Todd or Mal until the vampires and everyone are gone and we can figure out the pup’s next step.
Stash him somewhere. If they wipe out Sterling and his pack and then move on, sure, it’ll be safe for the pup here.
After the vampires leave, we’ll bring the pup back and kick off his initiation. ”
“By your reasoning, we should move him, but where, Shawn? Where is safe enough for him? From his father or the vampires, or the others? Where is safer than here?”
“How safe will our pack be if they find him here?” he asks. “What happens if we move him and then either Sterling or the vampires kill him regardless of how that situation is settled? We have no right to tell them they can’t kill one of Sterling’s sons when he’s not pack.”
“But he’s safe here because they’ve agreed not to harm anyone in our pack, either while they’re in our territory or after.”
Shawn makes a “keep going” gesture, his head cocked, waiting.
That’s when it hits me and I deflate. “But he’s not part of our pack.”
“Exactly. We can’t initiate him before they get here.
You said it yourself, there’s no time. If we rush his initiation, there’s a good chance he’ll be blackballed because of who he is, with someone hoping the vampires take him out to make the point moot.
I wouldn’t even put it past someone to accidentally leak the info. ”
“Even if I order everyone to keep their snouts shut?”
“Yes. Because we’ve never faced something like this before.
You have a strong grip on this pack, sure, but this is unprecedented.
You can’t expect people who are freaked the fuck out on multiple fronts not to react in unpredictable ways when they’re worried about the safety of their loved ones.
It wouldn’t shock me if someone drops a dime on him to Sterling to get Mal out of our territory. ”
I sit back and study the ceiling for a moment because he’s not wrong.
About any of it.
“I don’t feel right moving him,” I say. “My gut tells me not to.”
“I can always pick him up in the middle of the night, not tell anyone, drive him to Orlando or Tampa or Miami, and put him up in a big hotel. Somewhere touristy, like a resort, where there will be a high turnover of people, crowds to mask his scent. Tell him not to leave the room and order room service for every meal, all on the pack’s tab.
Buy us some time, figure out what the fuck to do with him after the vampires leave. ”
Thinking about it, I run several scenarios through my mind, and none of them end well for Mal. “They won’t harm him if we hide him here,” I say, no longer sure of that. “They’ve requested sanctuary—they came to us. They’ll respect that.”
Shawn scoffs. “Jax, you have no idea if they will. If Sterling is behind all this, he’s killed a lot of people—vampires, shifters, fae, and witches.
If you honestly think you can predict how all of them will behave if they figure out we’re harboring Randolph Sterling’s son, then you’re delusional.
And the last fucking thing we need is a goddamned war over one fucking pup! ”
I study him again because something is…off.
Definitely doesn’t feel right.
“Are you jealous because Todd’s into him?” I softly ask.
“What? No, Jax, what the fuck? I’m not jealous—I’m fucking scared.”
He is, too. Now that I’m paying attention—yes, another fail on my part—I smell it on him.
He’s really scared.
In a way I’ve never seen before.
“We want to try to have a pup,” he softly says.
“I do not want us to do anything that will drag us into a war on multiple fronts. He isn’t anyone’s mate.
Hardly anyone wants to fuck him to initiate him because they’re scared, Jax.
Before the vampires, yeah, it would have been due to his old man’s rep, but I guarantee you there would’ve been a few people willing to do it despite that, even if for no other reason than as a literal fuck-you to Sterling. ”
“How many people have you talked to about this?”
“Today? Only a few. Omegas. The news about the vampires is already out, but only bits, not the full story. The omegas and some gammas are literally shitting bricks and considering going out of town, and if they leave, if you think at least some of their Alphas won’t go with them, then you are definitely not paying attention, Jax. ”
I’m…stunned. “But I’ve had Alphas tell me they’ll help with sentry duty.”
“If the threat was only Sterling and his people coming onto our land, every last fucking one of our packmates would pick up arms, flip him off, and say ‘bring it.’ But they aren’t willing to lay down their lives against non-shifters they know we’re no match against over a grudge for a pup they don’t even know, who isn’t part of our pack. ”
“I’m walking into a buzz-saw tonight, aren’t I?”
He lays a hand over mine. “Whatever you say tonight, absolutely do not give ultimatums. Okay? I don’t think it’s common knowledge about Mal’s connection to Sterling yet.
The freak-outs I had to calm were about the vampires.
But I’m telling you—be prepared. Because if we end up with a revolt over Mal’s presence in light of what’s going on, you will have to make the decision. ”
Goddammit. He’s absolutely right.
And motherfucker, I hate it even more. To the point I’d almost prefer to do something really fucking stupid, like go to Atlanta, show up to talk to Sterling on the pretense I want to make a deal to hand over Mal, and then execute Sterling and let the chips fall where they may.
Except…
Mal’s under our protection but Shawn’s right—he’s not pack. And if things go horribly awry we might not even still have a pack on the other end of things if the vampires decide to take their revenge on him since he’s an easy target.
“What if he is pack?” I ask.
His brows knit in confusion. “How? You try to push him through now as some rush initiation, I’d be willing to bet a non-zero number of Alphas immediately blackball him, not to mention a bunch of others.
Just because Todd could speak to him mentally doesn’t mean they’re automatically mates.
Mal isn’t someone’s mate. If he were, that would swing the pendulum—barely—to the other end of the spectrum.
People would still bitch, sure, but they would fall in line because then it’s the principle.
We still don’t have time to fully initiate him even if he is someone’s mate.
Not under these circumstances. All I’m saying is prepare to make a tough call tonight, Jax.
One you will not like, but which will be in the pack’s best interest. And you know Mike will absolutely agree with me on this. ”
Unfortunately…
I know he’s right about that, too.
I might be forced into an unwinnable situation where I have to make a difficult decision I’ll hate like hell to make.
And I’ll hate myself regardless.