Casket Boy part 10
Masterpost | Return to part 9 | Continue to the author's notes and thanks
Eleven omegas were to be deported by the time they reached Ismia. Richings' mood had turned sour with the two lucky ends of grace who had managed to disappear before the soldiers had taken hold of them. It seemed someone, or several someones, had been travelling through the islands to warn about the army's mission. Too bad Jared's name was at the top of the list and Jensen's island the closest to Ismia or he could have been mated - or Jensen present to defend him at the very least - by the time they had disembarked on Tellia's pontoon despite the interdiction.
Jared was spared the ignominy to walk through the whole city naked. The guys at the port all knew him, and Richings and his soldiers were booed and taken to task when they saw Jared led naked and bruised to the wagon.
"The omega's attitude obliged us to put down his rebellious mind with the help of radical means," Richings explained, self-righteous as ever.
This was a mistake. The result was an explosion of anger, and then the convoy had no choice but to leave in a hurry to avoid more troubles. Jared's heart took this as a good sign. He had friends here. His eyes searched for Jensen all along the way, hope diminishing only as they arrived at the harbor, back to the point where everything had begun.
The ship was the same, Jared remarked with distress as he recognized the New Islands.
Even the captain was the same. Limping, rude, and half-drunk, One-Leg made his way through the other omegas gathered in front of the ship, observing and touching them like cattle, taking his sweet time to get to Jared.
It couldn't be. He knew he wouldn't escape a two-month crossing unharmed a second time at the mercy of Captain Pellegrino.
And for once, One-Leg and Jared totally shared the same analysis of the situation.
"Hello again, pretty boy," Pellegrino greeted him in a smug tone. "I was hoping to see you, you know. And here you are, all prepared to play with me and my crew the way I often dreamed."
The captain raised a finger to trail it across Jared's torso, rubbing one nipple then the other before it went down. The other ends of grace protested. Maybe they had already suffered because of Pellegrino, like Jared, or maybe not, but they probably wanted to try and prove right now that unity was strength, terrorized that the same fate would befall them.
"Fate's being kind to me, it seems," Pellegrino continued with the same aplomb. "We're going to have such a fun trip ! And who knows ? If you prove as good as I imagine you will be, maybe I'll just keep you to distract us for many more crossings."
One-Leg didn't leave any room for interpretation of his threat when his hands applied themselves to Jared's body. The other omegas protested even more, attempting to dislodge the captain and make a wall of their own bodies between the alpha and Jared, but his crewmen as well as the soldiers pushed them away, leaving Jared with no protection against the more and more intrusive, repulsive touch of Pellegrino. One of his hands took hold of his half-erect cock and heavy balls, fondling them with obvious delight, while the other reached directly behind him, fingers stroking his right ass cheek before they slid into his crack to reach his hole.
The wrist and ankle cuffs and chains forbid Jared from running away but he wasn't about to give up and spread his legs. He had no way to prevent what was going to happen to him once on the ship, not any more than the humiliation One-Leg was forcing on him right now on purpose, but he would fight the captain all along, to be worthy of his mate's love and trust.
And then Jared and Pellegrino heard at the same moment the very unmistakable click of a pistol being cocked.
Said pistol was pushed right against Jared's assailant's temple. Jensen was holding it, and he looked murderous.
He had spent all his days at the harbor, waiting and praying for Jared's welfare. Time seemed to have slowed down to an unendurable crawl, save for the few hours of sleep he allowed himself to take. None of his men had come with good news, neither the ones scouting the Islands, nor the others at the port or tracking Sheppard. He felt useless, but yet hope never abandoned him, for Jared was his mate and they were made for each other. It was poetic justice that he had to suffer here at the harbor a tiny measure of what Jared had supported all along since they had met in this very place, and he wouldn't dishonor his mate by breaking under the weight of his pain.
All of it was forgotten as soon as he saw Jared. All of it but the rage on behalf of the gentle man treated like a criminal, worse, an animal with as few rights as a chowli facing the rifle of a soldier.
They would pay. All of them : the instigators as well as the executors, the high-ups and the grunts. They would pay and regret the day they had laid a finger on Jared Padalecki. Even the gods wouldn't stand a chance to stop Jensen if it was revealed that Jared had been raped.
Jensen moved in with the ease and silence learned on the shady streets of Tethreya. No one saw him coming, neither the lamenting omegas, nor the soon-to-be dead or prosecuted soldiers. Even the ship's crew members ignored him, too busy encouraging their captain to show the omega his place at the end of his dick.
Thankfully, Jared didn't recognize his scent ; he was far too terrified, and thus failed to alert the vile alpha about his presence. Jensen raised his pistol and aimed.
"Back off and let him go."
Some kind of commotion happened around them, the soldiers raising their rifles and aiming too, Jared's eyes wide with worry for them both, the omegas frightened but determined to shield them, but nothing distracted Jensen from his target.
"My, my," Pellegrino mocked Jared, unconcerned by the threat to his life, "it seems you've found yourself a knight in shining armor. Is it those beautiful sad eyes, or maybe that big cock of yours ?"
Pellegrino kept on fondling Jared's sac, ignoring the threat of the pistol against his skull.
"But your knight didn't mate you. What happened ? Did he despise the idea of you never being more than secondhand material ?"
Pellegrino's eyes took in Jared's whole naked body once again with the most lecherous grin Jensen had ever seen.
"I was the first one to see you naked, right, pretty boy ?"
Jared's full blush and obvious unease told Jensen everything he needed to know. Pellegrino was a fool and a pervert, but he was speaking the truth here, trying to get a rise out of Jensen so that the soldiers would have an excuse to arrest him and leave the opportunity for the captain to take away his mate.
It was clear he didn't know his opponent if he thought it would be so easy. Jensen was indeed angry on Jared's behalf, for all the harm that had obviously been done to him already on the outward journey, but there would be time to ask and console later, when Jared was safely back on their island after their marriage. Jensen would do anything he had to do to ensure that Jared was his, and that no one would ever take his mate away from him again.
He wasn't above killing a man if he had to.
"This is your last warning before I fire. Back. Off."
"Alpha," the cultured and poised voice of the captain of the guards urged him, "you don't want to do this."
"That's where you're mistaken, Richings. I do want to do this, to this scum as well as any one of you I can smell on my mate. But I will let you go alive if you free Jared, now."
"You know we can't do it, we're nothing but servants of the law here."
"You're nothing but liars and kidnappers, as well as trespassers and rapists. Alphas without honor and faith. The world would be better for your death, but I'm judge and jury here so I'll allow you all to live to tell the tale another day in compensation for giving me my mate back. This is more than generous from me when you should all be hanging by the neck on death row, but you're not worth the time and energy it would take to get there. So really, our last option here is to give me my mate back and let me take him home."
"You know I have no power to do this," Richings insisted. "Only Commandant Morgan could make such a decision."
"Well then fetch him right away, before my finger cramps on the trigger and I kill this sorry excuse for a human being by accident."
"That won't be necessary," Morgan's voice rose then from a short distance away.
A path opened in the crowd gathered around the dispute to let the commandant and his two-alpha escort approach the scene on their horses.
"Ackles," he ordered, "put down your gun, there's only civilized people here."
"Not even counting this monster I want dead, I think you've been misled about many of your soldiers, Commandant."
"You have my personal word nothing will be done against you or omega Padalecki during our talks. Is that enough ?"
Jensen wavered and considered, and then decided to take a chance on the commandant, if only to get closer to Jared and lend him his force.
"Very well, as long as we talk. But they do it first."
Morgan nodded to his men who put down their rifles. Only then did Jensen uncock his own pistol and slide it in his breeches by his waist, easily accessible. Before anything else, he searched for a shirt in his back bag and tied it around Jared's waist to hide his body as much as possible around the chains. His mate was battered and trembling - from exhaustion or fear, there was no telling - and he hardly dared look Jensen in the eyes, but he sagged against him when Jensen put the arm not ready to draw his pistol around his body.
"Enjoy this last chance to fondle your omega, alpha," One-Leg taunted them. "He will soon be mine, body and mind."
"Pellegrino !" the commandant condemned before Jensen could retort. "Stop trying to make things worse and don't push your luck."
"Whatever you two civilized men want to discuss, the law in on my side. I delivered that omega six months ago, he is now to be returned, and I am paid for it. I'm not working at a loss. You want to keep the omega, you pay for him."
"Do you really think this is going to stop me ?" Jensen snorted. "Name your price."
"For such a lovely boy, surely a prince like you would go as far as 500 piasters."
"Commandant," Jensen asked, eyes still boring into Pellegrino's, "do I have your official promise that Jared will be authorized to stay in the Islands as my mate if I pay this thief ?"
Morgan sighed. Jensen was pretty sure it was all comedy to deceive their audience. Morgan had never wanted Jared to leave, but he couldn't give the appearance of caving or being too eager to jostle the law for a reason that had beautiful eyes and legs that wouldn't quit.
"Very well. This is a special case, seeing you were about to mate, so I know the Intendant will back me up. Omega Padalecki is granted permission to stay and mate you, provided you can come to an agreement with the ship's captain."
"Then the deal is done. Unchain Jared."
Once more, Morgan nodded to Richings to get him to move and free the omega while Jensen searched his bag again, giving the impression he had to rake the bottom to gather such a big sum of money. He didn't want to risk an attack later in the day when he had so much better things to do. Take care of his despondent omega, for example.
He thrust the bills into Pellegrino's hands, keeping one eye on the man to avoid any low blow as he counted the money again, while making sure Jared was unchained properly and completely. The angry red skin of his wrists and ankles bore witness to the fact that he had been restrained all along. Jensen covered them with a fine cloth after he had helped Jared to dress his body completely with breeches and shirt.
"Are we done here, alpha Ackles ?" Morgan lost patience.
Those simple words only served to fuel Jensen's anger again.
"No, we're not, Commandant. The last time you came to my island, I told you in the clearest way that the regiment wasn't welcome on my land. On your advice, I had the official 'No trespassing by strangers, including the army' sign apposed everywhere a boat could come ashore. And yet, your troop chose to ignore that warning. Worse, they chose to ignore my omega's word that we were to be mated. He should have been safe in our house but they assaulted him, and they deported him. They humiliated him for a whole week, keeping him naked and at the mercy of anyone's touch - they can't deny it, their scent is all over him. You had to intervene personally so that he would be given back to me and not treated like a prisoner anymore. So no, we're not done here, Commandant, not by a long shot."
Jensen turned his hateful gaze towards the guards who had taken Jared, Richings included.
"I want those men to apologize formally to my mate, publicly, and I want them treated like he was, naked and vulnerable for a whole week in a prison, so that they can get a taste of their own medicine, and then I want you to send them back to the mainland without wage, thrown out of the army they're dishonoring. Then maybe we'll be done, Commandant, but only if my mate is in agreement with all this and doesn't ask for their dicks to be cut off."
The men tried to appeal to the commandant but Jensen's wrath was enough to shut them up when he made a move in their direction with murder in his eyes. Only Jared's hand on his arm got him to calm down. Jensen didn't recognize himself anymore. He wanted those guys to suffer and die for all the harm that had come to the man he loved. More than ever, he hated that he was supposed to be like them, fearing that he could one day treat Jared in the same way.
Morgan stared at Jensen in obvious turmoil over who to listen to.
"Alright," he finally stated, turning to one of the officers of his escort. "Lieutenant, disarm Captain Richings and his men and take them to the brig. Then summon the tribunal for tomorrow morning."
"Commandant !" several voices shouted at the same time.
"We're alphas," Brown added, "and he's nothing but an omega, no way we should be held accountable for what happened to this whore. He asked for it !"
"You're not even worthy to walk the same ground as him, you vermin," Jensen responded, ready to jump the guy and hit him.
"You'll show both alpha Ackles and omega Padalecki the respect they deserve, is that clear ?" Morgan intervened.
"Commandant, the way we see it, we just put that worthless omega back in his place, everybody knows he's been mocking you for months."
Jensen had been too willing to forget that Jared could have given himself to the officer to think about this aspect of the problem, the possibility that Morgan's soldiers knew of their aborted relationship and Jared's refusal, that they had felt the need to somehow avenge their leader's pride, as if their own had taken a toll in the debacle. It was clear on Jared's face that he had never thought about that either and that he was doing his best to feel guilty here again, for leading Morgan on, however unwillingly.
"He did nothing of the sort !" the commandant defended both Jared and his own alpha pride. "He chose his true alpha and you had no right to interfere with that most sacred bond, not even for me. Alpha Ackles is right, you all need to apologize to omega Padalecki. Now."
One by one, Richings, Brown and Massee came in front of an unsteady Jared to present the most formal and fake apologies. The omega still hadn't uttered a word since Jensen had found him, but then the commandant asked him what he could do to repair the harm done.
"Free all the omegas," Jared answered in a heartbeat. "None of them deserve that treatment either. You don't know what will happen to them on that ship if they keep them chained all the time."
"Sweetheart, I don't think I can…"
"Never mind," Jensen cut in, "I'll pay for them too."
"You won't have to," Morgan decided, and it was clear to Jensen that the man wanted Jared to admire him even though they were not meant to be. "If you think that the omegas are in danger of being mistreated on the ship, it's my duty to prevent such scandal. Therefore, I will proceed immediately to the transfer of their responsibility back to the army's care."
"No way I'm letting you take away all my income, Morgan," Pellegrino intruded, furious. "Padalecki or these omegas, it's one and the same, they belong to me as soon as they're here."
"Mr. Pellegrino," the commandant responded regally, "either you accept this situation and get back to Tethreya right now, or my soldiers can go and take a look at your cargo deck, where you store all the contraband I know you're smuggling with each return trip."
What Morgan didn't mention aloud, but that everyone with a bit of knowledge of how things worked here knew, was that once again the Intendant was totally tied to the smuggling. It was dubious to Jensen that Morgan would dare going so directly against Sheppard, but Pellegrino didn't know it, and Morgan's bluff helped with mollifying him, along with another, very surprising proposition.
"We can also broker another deal," Morgan continued.." Since we have here three former soldiers who don't have a place in these Islands anymore, I offer you to take them back to the mainland, where they will be prosecuted per alpha Ackles' accusations. You can take them with you and use them any way you see fit during the trip, and I'll give you a letter for the Grand Command in Tethreya so that you'll get paid for their transportation. Do we have a deal, Captain ?"
"Shake on it, Commandant."
In the agitation induced by the unchaining of the other omegas and the demotion and subsequent arrest of the three soldiers, Jensen led Jared gently away. He thought he had seen a particular ornate carriage leaving the harbor, one belonging to Sheppard, but forgot all about it when Jared asked if they were going back to Tellia.
"First, we get married," Jensen answered.
Jared sat heavily on his casket. They had come to the palace to retrieve the omega wedding costume and now the view of the outfit symbolizing the purity of the omega offering their body to their mate had his feelings of guilt flaring up again.
"Jensen, you know I hated those soldiers, but they were right, I'm dirty, and you have to know everything before you make any decision. I told you some of the misadventures that happened to me, but not everything, not in detail. Even before I met you, there was Captain Pellegrino, he managed to get me naked one night, but he didn't touch me, I swear. And there was the commandant, and Chad, you know about them, but I didn't really tell you about alpha Nemec, or Julia, and then the soldiers while I was deported…"
He wanted Jensen to know everything about him. If Jensen decided to leave him afterwards, so be it. Better now than in front of the padre joining them. Jared was so afraid of losing Jensen that he forced his way into all those bad memories, unconscious of Jensen trying to stop him. Not until he felt hands cupping his face, lips blocking his words, and he turned his eyes to his alpha to drown in the love directed at him.
"Jared, Jared, slow down, I don't care, I love you, and I know none of this happened because you wanted it. If you need to tell me, to get everything off your chest, I promise I'll listen to you for however long you need. But right now, all I need to know is if you love me and want to marry me."
"Of course, that's all I ever wanted."
"Then let's get ready to go to the temple. Nothing else matters."
"You're not mated already ?" the always judging Padre Lehne asked in surprise at Jared's confusing scent after Jensen told him he wanted to get married right now.
Jared had washed thoroughly before he came here, but he reckoned that it would take making love with Jensen for the disgusting smell to disappear completely.
"Not yet, Padre," Jensen answered easily. "I want Jared to know that everything I own is his too before he offers me his body."
The padre watched them both with a circumspect expression.
"Alpha, can I talk to you in private ?" he finally asked.
"There's no need for privacy. Jared can hear anything you have to tell me."
"Very well, then. You have to know that this omega came to me once, to get shelter in the holy house of the gods. When I wouldn't let him desecrate it, he left for who knows where, and there's no way to know either what he did to find himself another shelter."
Jensen looked at a red-faced Jared. Nothing would be spared to him on this day, it seemed. Jensen only hoped he could make it up to his omega by loving him more than anyone had ever loved their mate. He squeezed Jared's hand to let him know he was not alone.
"The thing is, Padre," he replied, venomous and pissed at the judging bastard, "I can tell you exactly what he did : he found in my home the shelter our supposedly loving gods had refused him. I feel I should add that it was all in good faith, and that I trust Jared with everything. So now, are you going to marry us, or should we find one of the itinerant men of gods to proceed ? You might be interested in knowing that I plan to give a big donation to Virginiensis, to ensure that our marriage is off on a good footing. I don't really care which padre will get to manage this money."
The Padre was not a good man, but that didn't mean he was a fool.
"I trust you know your omega, my son. As for the money, needs are always bigger in a city like Ismia than in the wild. I'm sure the gods prefer that I manage your donation."
He scurried away then to prepare the temple, offering Jensen no chance to change his mind.
Jensen tugged on Jared's hand, leading him to the altar where Misha and a visibly pregnant Katie were waiting for them, to act as their witnesses. Mishael - also pregnant, her scent gave it away - and Rick were there too, as well as the Collins kids playing around before the ceremony began. Jensen had sent two of his guys to fetch them all as soon as he had left the harbor with Jared.
His omega was more gorgeous than ever in his white outfit. Jensen had helped him out of the coat he had donned to walk to the temple and he was now simply wearing the ancestral mid-thigh-length white tunic. The stylized V-neck was lined by a thick red hem prolonged on the front and back by the red head of an arrow, thinning as it went down the tunic until it reached the other hem, symbol of the physical mating about to happen.
Jared was also barefoot, to remind that in ancient times omegas were led entirely naked to the altar, the sign of their coming to the union pure and devoid of any possession, as they were to be possessed by their soon-to-be alpha. On the spur of the moment, Jensen decided to take off his own shoes and stand as an equal next to his omega. His own outfit was dark red, echoing the arrow of Jared's tunic, but there ended the resemblance, for his shirt and the sides of his breeches were embroidered with golden threads in the form of thick and tall trees whose foliage and fruits were fecund and glittering, like a peacock spreading his plumage to seduce his mate and show his wealth, proud as one as Jensen pronounced the words that tied him to his love and heard them back.
Padre Lehne frowned when Jensen refused to repeat the words that amounted to making Jared his slave, transforming them into a prayer for his love. He frowned even more when Jared followed his lead and asked for the same thing in return. Still, the perspective of Jensen's donation shut his mouth and he preferred to send Misha's way a terrible glare for his snickering.
The time came to take the bracelets out of his pocket and offer one to Jared. The drawings matched but it was easy to recognize which one belonged to whom, for the name of their mate was etched on the other side of the metal artwork, Jared for Jensen and Jensen for Jared, keeping close to their pulse point the thought of the man they loved.
Jared's eyes went wide as Jensen attached to his wrist the symbol of their bond. Jensen hoped it meant he liked it and would be proud to wear it for the next eighty years at least, just as proud as he felt when Jared closed his own around his wrist.
Misha and Katie came behind them to each put one hand on the shoulder of the person they witnessed for. Crossing their other arms, their second hand landed on the intended's opposite shoulder, giving the groom and his squire to each other through the symbolic link.
The wedding was done, they were married. No one would ever take Jared away from him again.
He turned to his husband and didn't wait for the padre's blessing to take him in his arms and share a kiss that was all promise of love and happiness. Misha and Katie kept Lehne occupied while Jared and he savored the kiss and relished the security of knowing they couldn't be separated ever again.
Before they all left for the restaurant to feast on this most joyous occasion, Jensen and Jared went back to Lehne.
"Padre, about this donation," Jensen said. "I'm a man of my word, so here it is. But I know already, now that my possessions are Jared's too, that he will give ten times as much to the omega school fund, to make sure that omegas' welfare is well attended to. Maybe he'll create a shelter too, so that none of them are abandoned outside where anybody might hurt them. And I'll back him up, two hundred percent."
Jensen couldn't help feeling the sweetest satisfaction at the Padre's obvious disappointment and anger.
The dinghy was taking them slowly back home. Both men had taken to row on their own side, but they were more interested in trading kisses than rowing efficiently and the trip was proving long, and anything but straight.
"Did you really mean it ?" Jared asked his husband.
The name didn't feel quite real yet. He had tried it a few times during dinner at the restaurant with their friends, but it seemed he would have to use it again and again to make sure it did soon.
"Did I mean what ?" Jensen answered, his free hand roaming Jared's back under his tunic.
"About your possessions being mine too, and the way I would use them."
"Of course I meant it. I know how much you like to help so I'm sure you'll put that money to good use."
More kisses ensued. It was one long hour before they got back home.
Jared thought he would have to get used to this being literal, too.
His casket was waiting for them on the pontoon, delivered thanks to the Intendant, as the note pinned to it attested. They left it there for the time being, eager to get home and alone after seven days apart and far from Tellia.
"When, Jensen ?"
His mate kept on peppering his neck with hungry, slow kisses.
"We'll know when it's time, love. Don't rush it. We need to feel it."
"I've been feeling it for six months now. Don't tell me I'm rushing this."
"You're sexy when you're impatient."
"And you're annoying when you're…"
Jensen shut him up efficiently with another kiss on his lips, one that lingered and drove Jared even crazier. Or maybe that was the fingers playing with his prostate and leading him to orgasm as sure as the sun rose in the east every morning.
"You know," Jensen whispered as if sharing the fruit of years-long meditations, "ancient texts say that just like the highest mountain you climb is the lowest stage your mind can reach, the strongest desire you inspire is the littlest part of the love you share."
Jensen was lying supine next to his mate. They were lazing around in the garden, chasing clouds and the fantastic beings hidden in them.
"What does it mean ?" Jared frowned.
"I have no idea."
Jared broke into laughter at his mate's silliness.
"You are crazy !"
"Hey, don't mock the poor alpha. I'm sorry I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed but you're the teacher, so enlighten me."
"Admit you just invented this drivel, crazy alpha."
Such a relief to hear his mate laugh again, being merry and carefree. There were many reasons why Jensen wanted to wait before any knotting happened. He knew for a fact that their joining would be all the stronger once they were meshed in each other, totally entwined in love and desire. He did invent that fake wisdom hogwash but that didn't mean he hadn't read a lot about mating in his younger days, when he still believed he could find someone who would love him for himself, not for his title or money. Now Jared deserved the best from him, and that best was the only thing that could ever help him forget his ordeal enough so that wound wouldn't fester and damage his beautiful soul. Their bond had already protected Jared along his tumultuous journey. But Jensen refused to let Jared associate somewhere in his mind what all those other alphas had done to him - and one omega, he recalled - with the love they would share from the moment Jensen turned them into a mated couple.
Jared would know the difference instinctively then, and push the bad memories where they belonged, in that part of everyone's mind where they locked away the hurt and wrong to continue to enjoy life. He would seek their mating bond to pursue his self-growth and feed Jensen his own loving support. Of that, Jensen had no doubt. In time, they would become the living proof that alpha and omega mates standing on equal footing could achieve anything they wished for.
The scent of sex was unmistakable in their bedroom, and the little Tarin monkey just didn't want to admit he was not welcome here, trying to sneak up to Jared's side under the sheet every time Jensen and Jared's attentions were engaged somewhere else.
"Have you come on it, even only once ?" Jensen enquired.
Jared blushed as bright as a thousand suns at the reminder of the one time he had let himself come, thinking he was only dreaming Jensen's hands on him. His alpha smiled gently, understanding without word.
"I thought I was dreaming," Jared stammered. "It felt so good, I was thinking of you, and then I woke up and I saw the monkey, playing with my cock again… I just couldn't look you in the eyes again for many hours after that. That's when I finally installed the net you had told me to get."
Then a terrible idea occurred to him.
"You guessed what happened back then, right ? You never said, but you guessed."
Jensen soothed his pride with a loving kiss.
"It gave me some very lovely dreams too, imagining you like that. But it means that our little friend has probably been considering you his mate since then."
"So I have two now," Jared smiled, bittersweet.
"No, only one, and I will fight for you if I have to," Jensen replied, his tone half-playful, half-alpha.
Jensen shooed the tiny animal away again and then turned Jared on his back to settle over him, his hands playing with his mate's cock in a much more arousing manner.
"The only way to prove to a Tarin monkey that you're not his mate is to smell of your alpha. So who do you want, Jared ?" Jensen asked while he kept stroking the now completely hard dick, playing with the slit already drooling pre-come. "Tiny over there, or a big bad alpha ?"
Jared couldn't help laughing, all the more when Jensen proved his badness with a bite to his neck that had Jared arching up to feel his alpha everywhere against his heated skin.
"I want you, always."
It wasn't even a contest, although the small monkey was still perched on their windowsill, waiting for an opportunity to come back and cuddle again. Jared couldn't help blushing once more, feeling the animal's gaze on them, but then Jensen slid his fingers into him again and everything else was lost to his awareness.
On the third day of their marriage, Jensen took Jared on a boat trip. His aim was to progressively show him the islands that now belonged to the both of them and explain why they were important. He also began to teach him what he knew about geology, a science thanks to which he had brokered quite a few interesting deals that had totally escaped Sheppard's attention, including his biggest source of income out of the bank.
"I can't take you there today, it's right up north of the Islands, close to the most distant point of the Barrier from here. It's got the only gypsum quarry of the region. It's good quality, and it's huge. If something should happen to me, never part with it and you'll live a long and prosperous life."
"Don't talk about that !" Jared shuddered.
"I don't plan on going anywhere, don't worry. But if it happens, my only consoling thought would be to know that I protected you."
Jared stood up and walked to Jensen at the risk of the dinghy capsizing. He sat by his feet and weaved his arms around his alpha's legs, face in his lap.
"If it happens, I will be right with you."
With this promise of undying love, the sun glinting on Jared's wedding bracelet inspired Jensen to take his mate to Visnia and introduce him to his master.
Just as he had imagined, Jared and Radraniakian founded a mutual admiration society on the spot. Mikalé highly approved of his choice too and he took Jared away for a long while, to show him his village but also to dress him like a true Visnian, bare chest and tiny loin cloth more appealing than ever on his mate's gorgeous body.
Jensen felt a pang in his heart when Jared looked at him, equally embarrassed and happy with the sign of Jensen's attraction.
It was time.
The beige, close-fitting shirt worn by Jared, now that they were back home, was patterned with two black, two-inch-wide stripes on each side, running from the collar to the bottom hem. Jensen moved his fingers, tracing both stripes at the same time, ghost of a touch on Jared's neck that fell down Jared's collarbones and soon encountered his nipples, stroking to hardness. Jared was a shivering mess already, mouth opened to try and capture more air for his protesting lungs.
Jensen's touch grew heavier, more focused by the second. It morphed into a pinch and Jared's gasp, enhanced by his hands gripping Jensen's own shirt to get closer, pushed the alpha into escalation. Jensen leaned in, closing his teeth around the right nub to tease it, never quitting with the rubbing and pinching of the other one.
Jared was a litany of wrecked whispers, love and desire merged together, that turned more desperate when Jensen switched position to play with his second nipple in the same fashion, wetting it with saliva through the now soaked shirt.
Jared was trembling without control, wishing for something he couldn't explain, a need he felt in his whole body.
Maybe Jensen knew what it was, for he disrobed him quickly then took him to their bed, ass raised in the air to be able to touch his cock and balls while he was eating at his hole. Loving sounds filled their bedroom, filthy and arousing, almost as much as the feeling of Jensen's tongue sliding deeper and deeper into him along his fingers, opening him up.
"I'm going to mate you tonight," Jensen announced hoarsely, voice deeper than the day of their wedding, "and then we'll be together, love. Forever bonded."
Jensen took off his own clothes then and Jared turned to watch him. He could never get enough of the sight of his alpha in his full glory, hard cock ready to pierce him. They were really up to it this time. Jared sat to take Jensen's dick in his mouth for a while, like he had done every day since their wedding, sucking it to full hardness, feeling the knot growing under his hand.
Jensen urging him to lie down and covering his body turned him on so much. He let his mate push his legs apart and his knees back towards his ears, completely opened for the taking, as it should be. Jensen raised himself on one arm and used his other hand to press his cock against Jared's hole, driving the large member right into his channel thanks to Jared's slick helping with the slide.
He felt so full already, and Jensen wasn't even past the crown of his cock into him. He wanted his alpha whole, so he wriggled and pushed his ass forward to help Jensen, impatient for his mate to possess him entirely. Jensen complied, drove in and bottomed out, thick and long and downright orgasmic.
That's when Jared felt it, the tension of the knot pushing for complete entrance against his overly stretched rim. It was frightening to think about, and somewhat painful in the first seconds, but impossible to resist when it meant joining with the man you loved. When the pleasure skyrocketed to leave you breathless, drunk on that growing feeling of belonging to your mate. Tiny increments that had Jensen more at home in him by the second, and then the final push that got him fully sheathed, sliding again and again with quick-fire strokes of that gland that made Jared see stars, and soon shooting his load inside his omega for the first time. Planting his seed maybe. And Jared followed, coming full force with Jensen's name on his lips.
He felt it happening then, this weird alchemy, like lead turning to gold. His body melting into Jensen's, with neither certifiable end nor discernable beginning. Something changing both of them for the better and for the worse, in this instant and for the years to come.
Now revealed to him was the reason why Jensen had wanted to wait, stirring up all feelings, emotional and physical, to make this shared moment ripple throughout their lives, unending. The center of their love, the core of the couple they had become.
They were one now.
Epilogue
It had been six months since they married.
Jensen had brought him back to the fertility rock a few days after their mating, once they had been able to leave the bedroom and think about something else than each other. And it had only been to make love again for hours, knotted and inseparable, on the holy boulder.
Jared had researched the legend since the first time Jensen had brought him here. The place wasn't consecrated in the sense attributed by their own religion, no padre had ever come to bless the fertility rock, but the local tradition claimed that each island had one of these huge boulders destined for whoever wished to see their union blessed with a new family. It was said to enhance any omega's fertility, to be a mediator between the Earth's forces and those of the divine, to create life in a previously barren womb.
Jared was beyond sure they didn't need that. Maybe that first time, but not now. He was sure because he had already felt and smelled the first signs that soon he would give Jensen the child they had been hoping for.
He had managed to hide the happy news from his mate so far, thanks to a creative mix of herbs, a recipe shared by their Visnian friends, that had put Jensen's nose off the track. Jared had planned his own surprise ; for once he would be the one to lead his wondering alpha to the place where he would break the news.
He had to do it soon, before someone else might realize and let the cat out of the bag. They still enjoyed their shared solitude, and their friends knew not to come around too much, not without warning anyway, lest they catch the newlyweds engaged in some very personal activities. That was the reason why Jared and Jensen, after discussing the merits of having an omega at home to help them, maybe even a mated couple, decided against it for the time being. They would probably need to reconsider the matter once their child was here, if Jared intended to get back to work full time with his mate.
Jared had written to Padre Jim, to tell him about the love of his life, his jobs at the farm and at the new school, and the island that had welcomed him with open arms. Jensen had included a drawing of them both on the day of their wedding, exchanging bracelets, smiles so bright with the love pouring from each of them that everything else around had paled, half-erased. The padre had written back with his blessing for their union, even as he probably had to abandon the hope of seeing Jared again in this lifetime, and said he would keep them in his prayers, wishing for a long and prosperous mating.
He had also absolved Jared, on condition that he meditated about it, for this vicious feeling of joy at the news that the New Islands had sunk into Tethreya's harbor upon its arrival, trapping inside its hull the soldiers who had tried to defile Jared as well as a good part of its crew, One-Leg included.
Jensen hadn't bothered looking for absolution. His hatred of Jared's abusers was still ferocious, even after their deaths. And he praised Jared, saying that he had really saved his ten fellow ends of grace twice when he asked for their freedom.
In the same way he had included Jared in his life early on, Jensen had become less secretive with his painting in the last few months, inviting Jared regularly into his studio to show him his work. He still enjoyed watching Jared in full blush at the sight of his bawdiest efforts, the ones showing Jared spread and open for his lover, but he had agreed to add himself in his latest work, the alpha making love to his beloved omega, both of them naked and aroused, the heat simmering between them palpable in the texture of the paint.
Now Jared couldn't wait to see Jensen's first drawings of their child.
Masterpost | Return to part 9 | Continue to the author's notes and thanks
Eleven omegas were to be deported by the time they reached Ismia. Richings' mood had turned sour with the two lucky ends of grace who had managed to disappear before the soldiers had taken hold of them. It seemed someone, or several someones, had been travelling through the islands to warn about the army's mission. Too bad Jared's name was at the top of the list and Jensen's island the closest to Ismia or he could have been mated - or Jensen present to defend him at the very least - by the time they had disembarked on Tellia's pontoon despite the interdiction.
Jared was spared the ignominy to walk through the whole city naked. The guys at the port all knew him, and Richings and his soldiers were booed and taken to task when they saw Jared led naked and bruised to the wagon.
"The omega's attitude obliged us to put down his rebellious mind with the help of radical means," Richings explained, self-righteous as ever.
This was a mistake. The result was an explosion of anger, and then the convoy had no choice but to leave in a hurry to avoid more troubles. Jared's heart took this as a good sign. He had friends here. His eyes searched for Jensen all along the way, hope diminishing only as they arrived at the harbor, back to the point where everything had begun.
The ship was the same, Jared remarked with distress as he recognized the New Islands.
Even the captain was the same. Limping, rude, and half-drunk, One-Leg made his way through the other omegas gathered in front of the ship, observing and touching them like cattle, taking his sweet time to get to Jared.
It couldn't be. He knew he wouldn't escape a two-month crossing unharmed a second time at the mercy of Captain Pellegrino.
And for once, One-Leg and Jared totally shared the same analysis of the situation.
"Hello again, pretty boy," Pellegrino greeted him in a smug tone. "I was hoping to see you, you know. And here you are, all prepared to play with me and my crew the way I often dreamed."
The captain raised a finger to trail it across Jared's torso, rubbing one nipple then the other before it went down. The other ends of grace protested. Maybe they had already suffered because of Pellegrino, like Jared, or maybe not, but they probably wanted to try and prove right now that unity was strength, terrorized that the same fate would befall them.
"Fate's being kind to me, it seems," Pellegrino continued with the same aplomb. "We're going to have such a fun trip ! And who knows ? If you prove as good as I imagine you will be, maybe I'll just keep you to distract us for many more crossings."
One-Leg didn't leave any room for interpretation of his threat when his hands applied themselves to Jared's body. The other omegas protested even more, attempting to dislodge the captain and make a wall of their own bodies between the alpha and Jared, but his crewmen as well as the soldiers pushed them away, leaving Jared with no protection against the more and more intrusive, repulsive touch of Pellegrino. One of his hands took hold of his half-erect cock and heavy balls, fondling them with obvious delight, while the other reached directly behind him, fingers stroking his right ass cheek before they slid into his crack to reach his hole.
The wrist and ankle cuffs and chains forbid Jared from running away but he wasn't about to give up and spread his legs. He had no way to prevent what was going to happen to him once on the ship, not any more than the humiliation One-Leg was forcing on him right now on purpose, but he would fight the captain all along, to be worthy of his mate's love and trust.
And then Jared and Pellegrino heard at the same moment the very unmistakable click of a pistol being cocked.
Said pistol was pushed right against Jared's assailant's temple. Jensen was holding it, and he looked murderous.
He had spent all his days at the harbor, waiting and praying for Jared's welfare. Time seemed to have slowed down to an unendurable crawl, save for the few hours of sleep he allowed himself to take. None of his men had come with good news, neither the ones scouting the Islands, nor the others at the port or tracking Sheppard. He felt useless, but yet hope never abandoned him, for Jared was his mate and they were made for each other. It was poetic justice that he had to suffer here at the harbor a tiny measure of what Jared had supported all along since they had met in this very place, and he wouldn't dishonor his mate by breaking under the weight of his pain.
All of it was forgotten as soon as he saw Jared. All of it but the rage on behalf of the gentle man treated like a criminal, worse, an animal with as few rights as a chowli facing the rifle of a soldier.
They would pay. All of them : the instigators as well as the executors, the high-ups and the grunts. They would pay and regret the day they had laid a finger on Jared Padalecki. Even the gods wouldn't stand a chance to stop Jensen if it was revealed that Jared had been raped.
Jensen moved in with the ease and silence learned on the shady streets of Tethreya. No one saw him coming, neither the lamenting omegas, nor the soon-to-be dead or prosecuted soldiers. Even the ship's crew members ignored him, too busy encouraging their captain to show the omega his place at the end of his dick.
Thankfully, Jared didn't recognize his scent ; he was far too terrified, and thus failed to alert the vile alpha about his presence. Jensen raised his pistol and aimed.
"Back off and let him go."
Some kind of commotion happened around them, the soldiers raising their rifles and aiming too, Jared's eyes wide with worry for them both, the omegas frightened but determined to shield them, but nothing distracted Jensen from his target.
"My, my," Pellegrino mocked Jared, unconcerned by the threat to his life, "it seems you've found yourself a knight in shining armor. Is it those beautiful sad eyes, or maybe that big cock of yours ?"
Pellegrino kept on fondling Jared's sac, ignoring the threat of the pistol against his skull.
"But your knight didn't mate you. What happened ? Did he despise the idea of you never being more than secondhand material ?"
Pellegrino's eyes took in Jared's whole naked body once again with the most lecherous grin Jensen had ever seen.
"I was the first one to see you naked, right, pretty boy ?"
Jared's full blush and obvious unease told Jensen everything he needed to know. Pellegrino was a fool and a pervert, but he was speaking the truth here, trying to get a rise out of Jensen so that the soldiers would have an excuse to arrest him and leave the opportunity for the captain to take away his mate.
It was clear he didn't know his opponent if he thought it would be so easy. Jensen was indeed angry on Jared's behalf, for all the harm that had obviously been done to him already on the outward journey, but there would be time to ask and console later, when Jared was safely back on their island after their marriage. Jensen would do anything he had to do to ensure that Jared was his, and that no one would ever take his mate away from him again.
He wasn't above killing a man if he had to.
"This is your last warning before I fire. Back. Off."
"Alpha," the cultured and poised voice of the captain of the guards urged him, "you don't want to do this."
"That's where you're mistaken, Richings. I do want to do this, to this scum as well as any one of you I can smell on my mate. But I will let you go alive if you free Jared, now."
"You know we can't do it, we're nothing but servants of the law here."
"You're nothing but liars and kidnappers, as well as trespassers and rapists. Alphas without honor and faith. The world would be better for your death, but I'm judge and jury here so I'll allow you all to live to tell the tale another day in compensation for giving me my mate back. This is more than generous from me when you should all be hanging by the neck on death row, but you're not worth the time and energy it would take to get there. So really, our last option here is to give me my mate back and let me take him home."
"You know I have no power to do this," Richings insisted. "Only Commandant Morgan could make such a decision."
"Well then fetch him right away, before my finger cramps on the trigger and I kill this sorry excuse for a human being by accident."
"That won't be necessary," Morgan's voice rose then from a short distance away.
A path opened in the crowd gathered around the dispute to let the commandant and his two-alpha escort approach the scene on their horses.
"Ackles," he ordered, "put down your gun, there's only civilized people here."
"Not even counting this monster I want dead, I think you've been misled about many of your soldiers, Commandant."
"You have my personal word nothing will be done against you or omega Padalecki during our talks. Is that enough ?"
Jensen wavered and considered, and then decided to take a chance on the commandant, if only to get closer to Jared and lend him his force.
"Very well, as long as we talk. But they do it first."
Morgan nodded to his men who put down their rifles. Only then did Jensen uncock his own pistol and slide it in his breeches by his waist, easily accessible. Before anything else, he searched for a shirt in his back bag and tied it around Jared's waist to hide his body as much as possible around the chains. His mate was battered and trembling - from exhaustion or fear, there was no telling - and he hardly dared look Jensen in the eyes, but he sagged against him when Jensen put the arm not ready to draw his pistol around his body.
"Enjoy this last chance to fondle your omega, alpha," One-Leg taunted them. "He will soon be mine, body and mind."
"Pellegrino !" the commandant condemned before Jensen could retort. "Stop trying to make things worse and don't push your luck."
"Whatever you two civilized men want to discuss, the law in on my side. I delivered that omega six months ago, he is now to be returned, and I am paid for it. I'm not working at a loss. You want to keep the omega, you pay for him."
"Do you really think this is going to stop me ?" Jensen snorted. "Name your price."
"For such a lovely boy, surely a prince like you would go as far as 500 piasters."
"Commandant," Jensen asked, eyes still boring into Pellegrino's, "do I have your official promise that Jared will be authorized to stay in the Islands as my mate if I pay this thief ?"
Morgan sighed. Jensen was pretty sure it was all comedy to deceive their audience. Morgan had never wanted Jared to leave, but he couldn't give the appearance of caving or being too eager to jostle the law for a reason that had beautiful eyes and legs that wouldn't quit.
"Very well. This is a special case, seeing you were about to mate, so I know the Intendant will back me up. Omega Padalecki is granted permission to stay and mate you, provided you can come to an agreement with the ship's captain."
"Then the deal is done. Unchain Jared."
Once more, Morgan nodded to Richings to get him to move and free the omega while Jensen searched his bag again, giving the impression he had to rake the bottom to gather such a big sum of money. He didn't want to risk an attack later in the day when he had so much better things to do. Take care of his despondent omega, for example.
He thrust the bills into Pellegrino's hands, keeping one eye on the man to avoid any low blow as he counted the money again, while making sure Jared was unchained properly and completely. The angry red skin of his wrists and ankles bore witness to the fact that he had been restrained all along. Jensen covered them with a fine cloth after he had helped Jared to dress his body completely with breeches and shirt.
"Are we done here, alpha Ackles ?" Morgan lost patience.
Those simple words only served to fuel Jensen's anger again.
"No, we're not, Commandant. The last time you came to my island, I told you in the clearest way that the regiment wasn't welcome on my land. On your advice, I had the official 'No trespassing by strangers, including the army' sign apposed everywhere a boat could come ashore. And yet, your troop chose to ignore that warning. Worse, they chose to ignore my omega's word that we were to be mated. He should have been safe in our house but they assaulted him, and they deported him. They humiliated him for a whole week, keeping him naked and at the mercy of anyone's touch - they can't deny it, their scent is all over him. You had to intervene personally so that he would be given back to me and not treated like a prisoner anymore. So no, we're not done here, Commandant, not by a long shot."
Jensen turned his hateful gaze towards the guards who had taken Jared, Richings included.
"I want those men to apologize formally to my mate, publicly, and I want them treated like he was, naked and vulnerable for a whole week in a prison, so that they can get a taste of their own medicine, and then I want you to send them back to the mainland without wage, thrown out of the army they're dishonoring. Then maybe we'll be done, Commandant, but only if my mate is in agreement with all this and doesn't ask for their dicks to be cut off."
The men tried to appeal to the commandant but Jensen's wrath was enough to shut them up when he made a move in their direction with murder in his eyes. Only Jared's hand on his arm got him to calm down. Jensen didn't recognize himself anymore. He wanted those guys to suffer and die for all the harm that had come to the man he loved. More than ever, he hated that he was supposed to be like them, fearing that he could one day treat Jared in the same way.
Morgan stared at Jensen in obvious turmoil over who to listen to.
"Alright," he finally stated, turning to one of the officers of his escort. "Lieutenant, disarm Captain Richings and his men and take them to the brig. Then summon the tribunal for tomorrow morning."
"Commandant !" several voices shouted at the same time.
"We're alphas," Brown added, "and he's nothing but an omega, no way we should be held accountable for what happened to this whore. He asked for it !"
"You're not even worthy to walk the same ground as him, you vermin," Jensen responded, ready to jump the guy and hit him.
"You'll show both alpha Ackles and omega Padalecki the respect they deserve, is that clear ?" Morgan intervened.
"Commandant, the way we see it, we just put that worthless omega back in his place, everybody knows he's been mocking you for months."
Jensen had been too willing to forget that Jared could have given himself to the officer to think about this aspect of the problem, the possibility that Morgan's soldiers knew of their aborted relationship and Jared's refusal, that they had felt the need to somehow avenge their leader's pride, as if their own had taken a toll in the debacle. It was clear on Jared's face that he had never thought about that either and that he was doing his best to feel guilty here again, for leading Morgan on, however unwillingly.
"He did nothing of the sort !" the commandant defended both Jared and his own alpha pride. "He chose his true alpha and you had no right to interfere with that most sacred bond, not even for me. Alpha Ackles is right, you all need to apologize to omega Padalecki. Now."
One by one, Richings, Brown and Massee came in front of an unsteady Jared to present the most formal and fake apologies. The omega still hadn't uttered a word since Jensen had found him, but then the commandant asked him what he could do to repair the harm done.
"Free all the omegas," Jared answered in a heartbeat. "None of them deserve that treatment either. You don't know what will happen to them on that ship if they keep them chained all the time."
"Sweetheart, I don't think I can…"
"Never mind," Jensen cut in, "I'll pay for them too."
"You won't have to," Morgan decided, and it was clear to Jensen that the man wanted Jared to admire him even though they were not meant to be. "If you think that the omegas are in danger of being mistreated on the ship, it's my duty to prevent such scandal. Therefore, I will proceed immediately to the transfer of their responsibility back to the army's care."
"No way I'm letting you take away all my income, Morgan," Pellegrino intruded, furious. "Padalecki or these omegas, it's one and the same, they belong to me as soon as they're here."
"Mr. Pellegrino," the commandant responded regally, "either you accept this situation and get back to Tethreya right now, or my soldiers can go and take a look at your cargo deck, where you store all the contraband I know you're smuggling with each return trip."
What Morgan didn't mention aloud, but that everyone with a bit of knowledge of how things worked here knew, was that once again the Intendant was totally tied to the smuggling. It was dubious to Jensen that Morgan would dare going so directly against Sheppard, but Pellegrino didn't know it, and Morgan's bluff helped with mollifying him, along with another, very surprising proposition.
"We can also broker another deal," Morgan continued.." Since we have here three former soldiers who don't have a place in these Islands anymore, I offer you to take them back to the mainland, where they will be prosecuted per alpha Ackles' accusations. You can take them with you and use them any way you see fit during the trip, and I'll give you a letter for the Grand Command in Tethreya so that you'll get paid for their transportation. Do we have a deal, Captain ?"
"Shake on it, Commandant."
In the agitation induced by the unchaining of the other omegas and the demotion and subsequent arrest of the three soldiers, Jensen led Jared gently away. He thought he had seen a particular ornate carriage leaving the harbor, one belonging to Sheppard, but forgot all about it when Jared asked if they were going back to Tellia.
"First, we get married," Jensen answered.
Jared sat heavily on his casket. They had come to the palace to retrieve the omega wedding costume and now the view of the outfit symbolizing the purity of the omega offering their body to their mate had his feelings of guilt flaring up again.
"Jensen, you know I hated those soldiers, but they were right, I'm dirty, and you have to know everything before you make any decision. I told you some of the misadventures that happened to me, but not everything, not in detail. Even before I met you, there was Captain Pellegrino, he managed to get me naked one night, but he didn't touch me, I swear. And there was the commandant, and Chad, you know about them, but I didn't really tell you about alpha Nemec, or Julia, and then the soldiers while I was deported…"
He wanted Jensen to know everything about him. If Jensen decided to leave him afterwards, so be it. Better now than in front of the padre joining them. Jared was so afraid of losing Jensen that he forced his way into all those bad memories, unconscious of Jensen trying to stop him. Not until he felt hands cupping his face, lips blocking his words, and he turned his eyes to his alpha to drown in the love directed at him.
"Jared, Jared, slow down, I don't care, I love you, and I know none of this happened because you wanted it. If you need to tell me, to get everything off your chest, I promise I'll listen to you for however long you need. But right now, all I need to know is if you love me and want to marry me."
"Of course, that's all I ever wanted."
"Then let's get ready to go to the temple. Nothing else matters."
"You're not mated already ?" the always judging Padre Lehne asked in surprise at Jared's confusing scent after Jensen told him he wanted to get married right now.
Jared had washed thoroughly before he came here, but he reckoned that it would take making love with Jensen for the disgusting smell to disappear completely.
"Not yet, Padre," Jensen answered easily. "I want Jared to know that everything I own is his too before he offers me his body."
The padre watched them both with a circumspect expression.
"Alpha, can I talk to you in private ?" he finally asked.
"There's no need for privacy. Jared can hear anything you have to tell me."
"Very well, then. You have to know that this omega came to me once, to get shelter in the holy house of the gods. When I wouldn't let him desecrate it, he left for who knows where, and there's no way to know either what he did to find himself another shelter."
Jensen looked at a red-faced Jared. Nothing would be spared to him on this day, it seemed. Jensen only hoped he could make it up to his omega by loving him more than anyone had ever loved their mate. He squeezed Jared's hand to let him know he was not alone.
"The thing is, Padre," he replied, venomous and pissed at the judging bastard, "I can tell you exactly what he did : he found in my home the shelter our supposedly loving gods had refused him. I feel I should add that it was all in good faith, and that I trust Jared with everything. So now, are you going to marry us, or should we find one of the itinerant men of gods to proceed ? You might be interested in knowing that I plan to give a big donation to Virginiensis, to ensure that our marriage is off on a good footing. I don't really care which padre will get to manage this money."
The Padre was not a good man, but that didn't mean he was a fool.
"I trust you know your omega, my son. As for the money, needs are always bigger in a city like Ismia than in the wild. I'm sure the gods prefer that I manage your donation."
He scurried away then to prepare the temple, offering Jensen no chance to change his mind.
Jensen tugged on Jared's hand, leading him to the altar where Misha and a visibly pregnant Katie were waiting for them, to act as their witnesses. Mishael - also pregnant, her scent gave it away - and Rick were there too, as well as the Collins kids playing around before the ceremony began. Jensen had sent two of his guys to fetch them all as soon as he had left the harbor with Jared.
His omega was more gorgeous than ever in his white outfit. Jensen had helped him out of the coat he had donned to walk to the temple and he was now simply wearing the ancestral mid-thigh-length white tunic. The stylized V-neck was lined by a thick red hem prolonged on the front and back by the red head of an arrow, thinning as it went down the tunic until it reached the other hem, symbol of the physical mating about to happen.
Jared was also barefoot, to remind that in ancient times omegas were led entirely naked to the altar, the sign of their coming to the union pure and devoid of any possession, as they were to be possessed by their soon-to-be alpha. On the spur of the moment, Jensen decided to take off his own shoes and stand as an equal next to his omega. His own outfit was dark red, echoing the arrow of Jared's tunic, but there ended the resemblance, for his shirt and the sides of his breeches were embroidered with golden threads in the form of thick and tall trees whose foliage and fruits were fecund and glittering, like a peacock spreading his plumage to seduce his mate and show his wealth, proud as one as Jensen pronounced the words that tied him to his love and heard them back.
Padre Lehne frowned when Jensen refused to repeat the words that amounted to making Jared his slave, transforming them into a prayer for his love. He frowned even more when Jared followed his lead and asked for the same thing in return. Still, the perspective of Jensen's donation shut his mouth and he preferred to send Misha's way a terrible glare for his snickering.
The time came to take the bracelets out of his pocket and offer one to Jared. The drawings matched but it was easy to recognize which one belonged to whom, for the name of their mate was etched on the other side of the metal artwork, Jared for Jensen and Jensen for Jared, keeping close to their pulse point the thought of the man they loved.
Jared's eyes went wide as Jensen attached to his wrist the symbol of their bond. Jensen hoped it meant he liked it and would be proud to wear it for the next eighty years at least, just as proud as he felt when Jared closed his own around his wrist.
Misha and Katie came behind them to each put one hand on the shoulder of the person they witnessed for. Crossing their other arms, their second hand landed on the intended's opposite shoulder, giving the groom and his squire to each other through the symbolic link.
The wedding was done, they were married. No one would ever take Jared away from him again.
He turned to his husband and didn't wait for the padre's blessing to take him in his arms and share a kiss that was all promise of love and happiness. Misha and Katie kept Lehne occupied while Jared and he savored the kiss and relished the security of knowing they couldn't be separated ever again.
Before they all left for the restaurant to feast on this most joyous occasion, Jensen and Jared went back to Lehne.
"Padre, about this donation," Jensen said. "I'm a man of my word, so here it is. But I know already, now that my possessions are Jared's too, that he will give ten times as much to the omega school fund, to make sure that omegas' welfare is well attended to. Maybe he'll create a shelter too, so that none of them are abandoned outside where anybody might hurt them. And I'll back him up, two hundred percent."
Jensen couldn't help feeling the sweetest satisfaction at the Padre's obvious disappointment and anger.
The dinghy was taking them slowly back home. Both men had taken to row on their own side, but they were more interested in trading kisses than rowing efficiently and the trip was proving long, and anything but straight.
"Did you really mean it ?" Jared asked his husband.
The name didn't feel quite real yet. He had tried it a few times during dinner at the restaurant with their friends, but it seemed he would have to use it again and again to make sure it did soon.
"Did I mean what ?" Jensen answered, his free hand roaming Jared's back under his tunic.
"About your possessions being mine too, and the way I would use them."
"Of course I meant it. I know how much you like to help so I'm sure you'll put that money to good use."
More kisses ensued. It was one long hour before they got back home.
Jared thought he would have to get used to this being literal, too.
His casket was waiting for them on the pontoon, delivered thanks to the Intendant, as the note pinned to it attested. They left it there for the time being, eager to get home and alone after seven days apart and far from Tellia.
"When, Jensen ?"
His mate kept on peppering his neck with hungry, slow kisses.
"We'll know when it's time, love. Don't rush it. We need to feel it."
"I've been feeling it for six months now. Don't tell me I'm rushing this."
"You're sexy when you're impatient."
"And you're annoying when you're…"
Jensen shut him up efficiently with another kiss on his lips, one that lingered and drove Jared even crazier. Or maybe that was the fingers playing with his prostate and leading him to orgasm as sure as the sun rose in the east every morning.
"You know," Jensen whispered as if sharing the fruit of years-long meditations, "ancient texts say that just like the highest mountain you climb is the lowest stage your mind can reach, the strongest desire you inspire is the littlest part of the love you share."
Jensen was lying supine next to his mate. They were lazing around in the garden, chasing clouds and the fantastic beings hidden in them.
"What does it mean ?" Jared frowned.
"I have no idea."
Jared broke into laughter at his mate's silliness.
"You are crazy !"
"Hey, don't mock the poor alpha. I'm sorry I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed but you're the teacher, so enlighten me."
"Admit you just invented this drivel, crazy alpha."
Such a relief to hear his mate laugh again, being merry and carefree. There were many reasons why Jensen wanted to wait before any knotting happened. He knew for a fact that their joining would be all the stronger once they were meshed in each other, totally entwined in love and desire. He did invent that fake wisdom hogwash but that didn't mean he hadn't read a lot about mating in his younger days, when he still believed he could find someone who would love him for himself, not for his title or money. Now Jared deserved the best from him, and that best was the only thing that could ever help him forget his ordeal enough so that wound wouldn't fester and damage his beautiful soul. Their bond had already protected Jared along his tumultuous journey. But Jensen refused to let Jared associate somewhere in his mind what all those other alphas had done to him - and one omega, he recalled - with the love they would share from the moment Jensen turned them into a mated couple.
Jared would know the difference instinctively then, and push the bad memories where they belonged, in that part of everyone's mind where they locked away the hurt and wrong to continue to enjoy life. He would seek their mating bond to pursue his self-growth and feed Jensen his own loving support. Of that, Jensen had no doubt. In time, they would become the living proof that alpha and omega mates standing on equal footing could achieve anything they wished for.
The scent of sex was unmistakable in their bedroom, and the little Tarin monkey just didn't want to admit he was not welcome here, trying to sneak up to Jared's side under the sheet every time Jensen and Jared's attentions were engaged somewhere else.
"Have you come on it, even only once ?" Jensen enquired.
Jared blushed as bright as a thousand suns at the reminder of the one time he had let himself come, thinking he was only dreaming Jensen's hands on him. His alpha smiled gently, understanding without word.
"I thought I was dreaming," Jared stammered. "It felt so good, I was thinking of you, and then I woke up and I saw the monkey, playing with my cock again… I just couldn't look you in the eyes again for many hours after that. That's when I finally installed the net you had told me to get."
Then a terrible idea occurred to him.
"You guessed what happened back then, right ? You never said, but you guessed."
Jensen soothed his pride with a loving kiss.
"It gave me some very lovely dreams too, imagining you like that. But it means that our little friend has probably been considering you his mate since then."
"So I have two now," Jared smiled, bittersweet.
"No, only one, and I will fight for you if I have to," Jensen replied, his tone half-playful, half-alpha.
Jensen shooed the tiny animal away again and then turned Jared on his back to settle over him, his hands playing with his mate's cock in a much more arousing manner.
"The only way to prove to a Tarin monkey that you're not his mate is to smell of your alpha. So who do you want, Jared ?" Jensen asked while he kept stroking the now completely hard dick, playing with the slit already drooling pre-come. "Tiny over there, or a big bad alpha ?"
Jared couldn't help laughing, all the more when Jensen proved his badness with a bite to his neck that had Jared arching up to feel his alpha everywhere against his heated skin.
"I want you, always."
It wasn't even a contest, although the small monkey was still perched on their windowsill, waiting for an opportunity to come back and cuddle again. Jared couldn't help blushing once more, feeling the animal's gaze on them, but then Jensen slid his fingers into him again and everything else was lost to his awareness.
On the third day of their marriage, Jensen took Jared on a boat trip. His aim was to progressively show him the islands that now belonged to the both of them and explain why they were important. He also began to teach him what he knew about geology, a science thanks to which he had brokered quite a few interesting deals that had totally escaped Sheppard's attention, including his biggest source of income out of the bank.
"I can't take you there today, it's right up north of the Islands, close to the most distant point of the Barrier from here. It's got the only gypsum quarry of the region. It's good quality, and it's huge. If something should happen to me, never part with it and you'll live a long and prosperous life."
"Don't talk about that !" Jared shuddered.
"I don't plan on going anywhere, don't worry. But if it happens, my only consoling thought would be to know that I protected you."
Jared stood up and walked to Jensen at the risk of the dinghy capsizing. He sat by his feet and weaved his arms around his alpha's legs, face in his lap.
"If it happens, I will be right with you."
With this promise of undying love, the sun glinting on Jared's wedding bracelet inspired Jensen to take his mate to Visnia and introduce him to his master.
Just as he had imagined, Jared and Radraniakian founded a mutual admiration society on the spot. Mikalé highly approved of his choice too and he took Jared away for a long while, to show him his village but also to dress him like a true Visnian, bare chest and tiny loin cloth more appealing than ever on his mate's gorgeous body.
Jensen felt a pang in his heart when Jared looked at him, equally embarrassed and happy with the sign of Jensen's attraction.
It was time.
The beige, close-fitting shirt worn by Jared, now that they were back home, was patterned with two black, two-inch-wide stripes on each side, running from the collar to the bottom hem. Jensen moved his fingers, tracing both stripes at the same time, ghost of a touch on Jared's neck that fell down Jared's collarbones and soon encountered his nipples, stroking to hardness. Jared was a shivering mess already, mouth opened to try and capture more air for his protesting lungs.
Jensen's touch grew heavier, more focused by the second. It morphed into a pinch and Jared's gasp, enhanced by his hands gripping Jensen's own shirt to get closer, pushed the alpha into escalation. Jensen leaned in, closing his teeth around the right nub to tease it, never quitting with the rubbing and pinching of the other one.
Jared was a litany of wrecked whispers, love and desire merged together, that turned more desperate when Jensen switched position to play with his second nipple in the same fashion, wetting it with saliva through the now soaked shirt.
Jared was trembling without control, wishing for something he couldn't explain, a need he felt in his whole body.
Maybe Jensen knew what it was, for he disrobed him quickly then took him to their bed, ass raised in the air to be able to touch his cock and balls while he was eating at his hole. Loving sounds filled their bedroom, filthy and arousing, almost as much as the feeling of Jensen's tongue sliding deeper and deeper into him along his fingers, opening him up.
"I'm going to mate you tonight," Jensen announced hoarsely, voice deeper than the day of their wedding, "and then we'll be together, love. Forever bonded."
Jensen took off his own clothes then and Jared turned to watch him. He could never get enough of the sight of his alpha in his full glory, hard cock ready to pierce him. They were really up to it this time. Jared sat to take Jensen's dick in his mouth for a while, like he had done every day since their wedding, sucking it to full hardness, feeling the knot growing under his hand.
Jensen urging him to lie down and covering his body turned him on so much. He let his mate push his legs apart and his knees back towards his ears, completely opened for the taking, as it should be. Jensen raised himself on one arm and used his other hand to press his cock against Jared's hole, driving the large member right into his channel thanks to Jared's slick helping with the slide.
He felt so full already, and Jensen wasn't even past the crown of his cock into him. He wanted his alpha whole, so he wriggled and pushed his ass forward to help Jensen, impatient for his mate to possess him entirely. Jensen complied, drove in and bottomed out, thick and long and downright orgasmic.
That's when Jared felt it, the tension of the knot pushing for complete entrance against his overly stretched rim. It was frightening to think about, and somewhat painful in the first seconds, but impossible to resist when it meant joining with the man you loved. When the pleasure skyrocketed to leave you breathless, drunk on that growing feeling of belonging to your mate. Tiny increments that had Jensen more at home in him by the second, and then the final push that got him fully sheathed, sliding again and again with quick-fire strokes of that gland that made Jared see stars, and soon shooting his load inside his omega for the first time. Planting his seed maybe. And Jared followed, coming full force with Jensen's name on his lips.
He felt it happening then, this weird alchemy, like lead turning to gold. His body melting into Jensen's, with neither certifiable end nor discernable beginning. Something changing both of them for the better and for the worse, in this instant and for the years to come.
Now revealed to him was the reason why Jensen had wanted to wait, stirring up all feelings, emotional and physical, to make this shared moment ripple throughout their lives, unending. The center of their love, the core of the couple they had become.
They were one now.
Epilogue
It had been six months since they married.
Jensen had brought him back to the fertility rock a few days after their mating, once they had been able to leave the bedroom and think about something else than each other. And it had only been to make love again for hours, knotted and inseparable, on the holy boulder.
Jared had researched the legend since the first time Jensen had brought him here. The place wasn't consecrated in the sense attributed by their own religion, no padre had ever come to bless the fertility rock, but the local tradition claimed that each island had one of these huge boulders destined for whoever wished to see their union blessed with a new family. It was said to enhance any omega's fertility, to be a mediator between the Earth's forces and those of the divine, to create life in a previously barren womb.
Jared was beyond sure they didn't need that. Maybe that first time, but not now. He was sure because he had already felt and smelled the first signs that soon he would give Jensen the child they had been hoping for.
He had managed to hide the happy news from his mate so far, thanks to a creative mix of herbs, a recipe shared by their Visnian friends, that had put Jensen's nose off the track. Jared had planned his own surprise ; for once he would be the one to lead his wondering alpha to the place where he would break the news.
He had to do it soon, before someone else might realize and let the cat out of the bag. They still enjoyed their shared solitude, and their friends knew not to come around too much, not without warning anyway, lest they catch the newlyweds engaged in some very personal activities. That was the reason why Jared and Jensen, after discussing the merits of having an omega at home to help them, maybe even a mated couple, decided against it for the time being. They would probably need to reconsider the matter once their child was here, if Jared intended to get back to work full time with his mate.
Jared had written to Padre Jim, to tell him about the love of his life, his jobs at the farm and at the new school, and the island that had welcomed him with open arms. Jensen had included a drawing of them both on the day of their wedding, exchanging bracelets, smiles so bright with the love pouring from each of them that everything else around had paled, half-erased. The padre had written back with his blessing for their union, even as he probably had to abandon the hope of seeing Jared again in this lifetime, and said he would keep them in his prayers, wishing for a long and prosperous mating.
He had also absolved Jared, on condition that he meditated about it, for this vicious feeling of joy at the news that the New Islands had sunk into Tethreya's harbor upon its arrival, trapping inside its hull the soldiers who had tried to defile Jared as well as a good part of its crew, One-Leg included.
Jensen hadn't bothered looking for absolution. His hatred of Jared's abusers was still ferocious, even after their deaths. And he praised Jared, saying that he had really saved his ten fellow ends of grace twice when he asked for their freedom.
In the same way he had included Jared in his life early on, Jensen had become less secretive with his painting in the last few months, inviting Jared regularly into his studio to show him his work. He still enjoyed watching Jared in full blush at the sight of his bawdiest efforts, the ones showing Jared spread and open for his lover, but he had agreed to add himself in his latest work, the alpha making love to his beloved omega, both of them naked and aroused, the heat simmering between them palpable in the texture of the paint.
Now Jared couldn't wait to see Jensen's first drawings of their child.
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