Alpha-mates Chapter-12/ ?
Chapter-12
I’m a Pack Alpha, Jay.....
For a moment the words reverberated in the silence that descended the room at the announcement; but them Amelia was turning towards her brother with a low growl.
“Really Jensen... Even now?”
“Em...”
Jared’s brow furrowed, trying to decipher the silent conversation going on between the siblings.
It didn’t take long before Jensen’s sister was shaking her head vehemently; “No, you need to tell him the truth, Big Brother, you owe him that much!”
Tell him the truth???
“Tell me what?” Jared interrupted, “What else do I need to know?”
“It’s nothing-” Jensen began, only to be cut off by his sister again.
“To you, maybe; but it’s not nothing, Jenny... you need to tell Jared, please.”
Jensen made a low noise in the back of his throat in protest, “And I will, just-”
“Now” Amelia inserted.
“Jensen, what is she talking about?” Jared repeated.
“It’s not a big deal...”
“It’s a HUGE deal!” Amelia’s voice rose in pitch with her vehemence.
Making a split second decision, Jared decided to side with Jensen...kind of... maybe... atleast give him the benefit of doubt, “Em-”
“It’s Amelia” she snapped.
Jared raised his hands in a placatory gesture, mouthing a silent ‘sorry’; “Amelia, is this a bigger issue than Jensen being a Pack Alpha?”
She snorted, “Yes, because he’s not JUST a Pack Alpha, Jared... my brother’s also an Elder.”
“What?!”
She deigned him with a smile so cold; she could have given him hypothermia, and “Jensen’s an Elder... guess he forgot to say that too, didn’t he?”
Jared opened his mouth but closed it without saying anything. The tension in the room was almost a physical presence in itself.
“Jared?” The alpha- the Elder-Pack-Alpha, Jared reminded himself, questioned softly.
“Why?” He was pleased to note that his voice did not waver.
“Why? Why???” Jensen asked incredulously, “Because it doesn’t matter! Who the hell cares if I’m Pack Alpha or an Elder or a...I dunno... a younger? Or even a god-damned unicorn, Jared! You would have been forced to accept me as your mate irrespective! Tell me, would it have mattered if I’d told you this before?”
“It mattered to me.” Jared replied, his voice strangely soft after Jensen’s outburst.
“Really??? Name one- ONE thing you would have done differently if you knew this before!” Jensen demanded.
By now Jared was furious and screaming as well, “I don’t know; alright! I don’t know if I’d have done anything differently; but it mattered...matters” he amended, “-to me that you didn’t think I deserved to know the truth, Jensen!”
He was vaguely aware of Brian beginning to cry in the next room but all his focus was on the emerald-eyed alpha in front of him.
Jensen stood silently before him, not answering his question; his body a rigid line of tension.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He repeated, rage making him ball his hands into fists; desperately wanting to pound something- preferably his so-called-mate’s pretty face.
Jensen’s eyes narrowed at his action, but the alpha didn’t move a muscle; all the same Jared was suddenly beset by a stifling calm. He could still feel the fury pounding through his veins but something was holding him back from venting his frustration. The trapped feeling was relentless- surrounding and sticking to him like a cling-film.
Jared struggled against the restrictive calm, strangely focussed on everything around him: the low hum of the cartoon on TV, the soft-hiccupping sobs of Brian, Amelia’s muffled grimace as she fought the same chokehold as him; the blood pounding at his own temple and Jensen’s laser focussed gaze on him.
As abruptly as he’d felt the unnatural calm, it disappeared in much the same way. “Because it did not- does not, matter.”
And in that second; listening to what Jensen wasn’t saying- he understood what had just happened.
Who says I’m gonna fight fair? ... Jensen had asked him on his first night at Ackles Estate, and right now Jensen was doing just that. Giving him a taste of what it would feel like to go against him. Not a full-scale show; but just a warning.
The alpha was letting him off lightly.
And Jared hated that.
With a low curse, not caring that Jensen’s sister was within hearing range; he stormed off to his room...still holding the crumpled ball of paper in his hand.
∞∞\∞‡∞/∞∞For a long moment, both Jensen and Amelia sat stunned at Jared’s furious retreat, but then Jensen shook off the surprise and went to move after his mate.
“Stay” Amelia interrupted.
“Em, I need to explain-”
“No, Jensen; you don’t... Atleast, not right now. You just broke the news to your mate, Bro; and not two seconds later you went all Alpha on his ass; you really imagine Jared’s going to be receptive to ANYTHING you have to say now?”
Jensen paused at that, running a hand through his hair, “Damn, I really messed this one up, didn’t I? Okay, but I still have to try; he may not listen, but I need to apologise to him... Look, sorry for exposing Brian to this, alright? I’ll make it up to him later... right now I’ve got to talk to Jared.”
“Jensen, wait.”
He turned, sighing; sometimes he hated having such a wilful sister.
“You go to Brian- kid will be soothed faster with you around... don’t deny it Jenny, just take care of him, alright? And I’ll go talk to Jared.”
“Em...”
“What?”
He shook his head, smiling sadly “just- don’t be too hard on him. Please?”
∞∞\∞‡∞/∞∞Jared glared at the door when it was pushed open after a brief knock, “I didn’t say you could enter.”
Amelia looked at him unrepentantly, “I know, which is why I didn’t ask.”
“I-I’m sorry; I thought it was Jensen...”Jared stammered, surprised to see the sister instead of whom he’d expected.
“I sent him to watch Brian.”
“Yeah? He didn’t send you to cover for him?” He teased, relaxing slightly now that he knew it was the Pack Alpha’s rather plain-spoken sister. In the short time since they had been introduced to each-other, Jared found himself rather fond of the red-head. And something about the diminutive but powerful beta had a soothing effect on his haywire emotions. He briefly wondered if it had something to do with the Ackles’ lineage but quickly dismissed the idea; no way was a beta-irrespective of her heritage, potent enough to override an alpha’s emotions.
“You need to apologise to your husband, Jared.”
“Mate” Jared corrected.
“Mate?”
“Husband indicates some sort of choice, Amelia-”
“And you didn’t have any; umm right...”the beta nodded, “Sorry about that... but the fact still remains, Jared; you need to apologise to him.”
The alpha snorted in surprise, “I think your brain got scrambled by Jensen’s alpha-act and you’re a tad confused...it was your brother who lied to me-”
The unsettlingly familiar green-eyes narrowed sceptically, “Lied?”
“Yeah, you have heard of lying by omission; haven’t you?”
“But Jensen never denied being Pack Alpha, did he?”
“No, but-”
She continued speaking over him as though he hadn’t answered, “And if I know him at all, I suspect he didn’t try covering for it either?”
Jared thought about the time he’d told Jensen that he’d received a call from the Council to prove their mating. The older alpha had been furious, and though he had not expressly said anything about his methods he’d promised to ‘take-care-of-it’; and true to his word Jared had received another call from the Council the very next day, apologising for the inconvenience caused and assuring him that he didn’t have to prove anything.
That should have been his biggest clue, he supposed; because who wielded that kind of power over the Council to garner an apology from them???
“No” he admitted softly.
“Then I suggest you shut up and stop judging my brother, Jared. You don’t know him or his reasons.”
Jared bridled at the rebuke from a beta, “And whose fault is that, Amelia? That I don’t know Jensen?”
She sighed, “What do you know about Pack-Alphas, Jared?”
“Umm, let’s see....They’re giant egos who expect the world to cater to their every whim...?”
She grinned at his snarky retort, “You’re mixing alpha-nature with Pack-Alpha...”
“Uh-huh?”
She laughed, shaking her head, “Alright, let me tell you a story, okay?”
Jared nodded uneasily.
“I have another brother-“
“Adrian, I know.”
“Jensen told you about him?” She asked, surprised.
“Yeah...”
“Wow... he never speaks about him usually.”
Jared’s brow wrinkled in confusion, “Why?”
“Because Adrian is the oldest amongst us-”
“So?”
“Good Heavens!” She swore, “Did you actually sleep through all your high-school history lessons?! You don’t think it’s weird that Jensen’s the Pack Alpha even though he’s the younger son?”
And Jared had never paid much attention to Pack hierarchy, but that was something even he knew. He didn’t know why he hadn’t noticed the anomaly till now.
“Yeah,” Amelia agreed, apparently satisfied by his silence, “He took everybody by surprise when he proved to be the stronger alpha... Dad and mom, they never mentioned anything, you know... but everyone knew that when the boys came of age, it would create a huge furore... I mean traditionally, it was Adrian who was supposed to succeed Dad, but then the Pack would have split its loyalties; and that was provided Jensen even actually agreed to back down. However, when Jensen was nearly seven; his scent abruptly disappeared.”
“What?!” Jared asked in surprise, because he could scent Jensen just fine, nothing overwhelming; but the alpha’s woodsy scent was perfectly clear to Jared- Even at this instant, Jared knew his mate was somewhere in the house simply by scent.
“Well, not disappeared disappeared, you know...” Amelia fluttered her hands in a vague gesture, “Just, it had lost its potency... he was just an average alpha by scent; not THE ‘future’ Pack-Alpha...and so...uh, yeah, Mom and Dad eventually figured that Jensen was suppressing his scent-”
“Seriously; at seven?” Jared tried to remember when he had learnt to control his scent enough not to give away what he was feeling all the time- he must have been what, fifteen/sixteen?
“Six and a half actually; but yes”
“But -but why?”
“Because he had figured it out that given how powerful his scent was, Adrian might be forced to step down in favour of Jensen... and to prevent that, he began concealing his scent... he wasn’t perfect at first; but he managed to reduce it enough that it was always less than Adrian’s. At that age he’d figured it out that the lesser number of people knew him to be the stronger alpha, the better chance Adrian would have of inheriting Dad’s mantle.”
“Wow...so how is it that-” He trailed off uncertainly.
“He’s Pack Alpha now?” The beta asked, “Well, at thirteen Adrian attended a seminar on medicine and decided he wanted to pursue that for a career. He was being groomed as Heir-apparent by then; so the first person he actually confessed to; was not Dad, but Jensen. He asked Jensen if he would accept that responsibility so that he could follow his dreams.”
“And Jen agreed?”
Amelia smiled; realizing that Jared had used the nickname unconsciously, “Reluctantly; he was...is convinced that Adrian only did it because despite Jensen keeping himself in tight control, any news of his strength would weaken the Pack... and so his brother had chosen to take the higher road.”
“You sound like you don’t quite believe that.”
“’Coz it’s not true. Adrian honestly didn’t want this job. And Jensen was somehow born for it.”
“I see.”
“Do you, really? Because so far I’m yet to tell you that Jensen offered to exile himself from the Pack.”
“He did what?”
“Exile himself... well, first he offered to make a public declaration that he would never contest Adrian for the position, but when Adrian refused; he said he could walk away and never come back... he was just nine then... so obviously, ever practical; he said he’d stay on till he was sixteen but then he would leave... it was only when Adrian still refused, threatening to run away himself if Jensen didn’t gracefully accept the title; that Jensen finally caved.”
“...”
“Now do you understand a Pack Alpha’s primary instinct, Jared?”
He stayed silent trying to picture Jensen at nine, pleading with his big-brother not to give up his rank and promising to stay away from home. His heart broke for the desperate-but-sweet little boy his mate had once been.
She gave a soft laugh, answering her own question; “Protection. A Pack Alpha protects, Jared. .. At seven he was protecting his older brother, Jared...and if Jensen didn’t tell you about this now, then it was because he was protecting you... or trying to, at any rate.”
Jared nodded, suddenly remembering the older alpha shielding him with his own body when they had been hosed down prior to their ‘Isolation’ to allow the mating-bond to settle; and the man who had slashed his palm wide-open to sign a blood-bond with less fuss than most people made for a stubbed-toe in his effort to prove that he would never hurt Jared. “I’m still not apologising to him, Amelia.”
“He won’t ask or even expect you to.”
Jared smiled softly, knowing it was true... for the first time since they had mated, he felt like he was close to unravelling the enigma that was Jensen Ackles.
Amelia reached for the door-knob; “He wanted to speak to you; explain... should I send him here?”
“No. Just- tell him I’ll need a little more time. Please.”
“I will.” She nodded, “Well, I’d better head home now, my husband will be waiting...Bye, Jared. Take care.”
∞∞\∞‡∞/∞∞The shadows outside had lengthened to cloak the surrounding woods in the diffused light of dusk when Jared opened his door at a hesitant knock to find Jensen waiting for him.
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I’m a Pack Alpha, Jay.....
For a moment the words reverberated in the silence that descended the room at the announcement; but them Amelia was turning towards her brother with a low growl.
“Really Jensen... Even now?”
“Em...”
Jared’s brow furrowed, trying to decipher the silent conversation going on between the siblings.
It didn’t take long before Jensen’s sister was shaking her head vehemently; “No, you need to tell him the truth, Big Brother, you owe him that much!”
Tell him the truth???
“Tell me what?” Jared interrupted, “What else do I need to know?”
“It’s nothing-” Jensen began, only to be cut off by his sister again.
“To you, maybe; but it’s not nothing, Jenny... you need to tell Jared, please.”
Jensen made a low noise in the back of his throat in protest, “And I will, just-”
“Now” Amelia inserted.
“Jensen, what is she talking about?” Jared repeated.
“It’s not a big deal...”
“It’s a HUGE deal!” Amelia’s voice rose in pitch with her vehemence.
Making a split second decision, Jared decided to side with Jensen...kind of... maybe... atleast give him the benefit of doubt, “Em-”
“It’s Amelia” she snapped.
Jared raised his hands in a placatory gesture, mouthing a silent ‘sorry’; “Amelia, is this a bigger issue than Jensen being a Pack Alpha?”
She snorted, “Yes, because he’s not JUST a Pack Alpha, Jared... my brother’s also an Elder.”
“What?!”
She deigned him with a smile so cold; she could have given him hypothermia, and “Jensen’s an Elder... guess he forgot to say that too, didn’t he?”
Jared opened his mouth but closed it without saying anything. The tension in the room was almost a physical presence in itself.
“Jared?” The alpha- the Elder-Pack-Alpha, Jared reminded himself, questioned softly.
“Why?” He was pleased to note that his voice did not waver.
“Why? Why???” Jensen asked incredulously, “Because it doesn’t matter! Who the hell cares if I’m Pack Alpha or an Elder or a...I dunno... a younger? Or even a god-damned unicorn, Jared! You would have been forced to accept me as your mate irrespective! Tell me, would it have mattered if I’d told you this before?”
“It mattered to me.” Jared replied, his voice strangely soft after Jensen’s outburst.
“Really??? Name one- ONE thing you would have done differently if you knew this before!” Jensen demanded.
By now Jared was furious and screaming as well, “I don’t know; alright! I don’t know if I’d have done anything differently; but it mattered...matters” he amended, “-to me that you didn’t think I deserved to know the truth, Jensen!”
He was vaguely aware of Brian beginning to cry in the next room but all his focus was on the emerald-eyed alpha in front of him.
Jensen stood silently before him, not answering his question; his body a rigid line of tension.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He repeated, rage making him ball his hands into fists; desperately wanting to pound something- preferably his so-called-mate’s pretty face.
Jensen’s eyes narrowed at his action, but the alpha didn’t move a muscle; all the same Jared was suddenly beset by a stifling calm. He could still feel the fury pounding through his veins but something was holding him back from venting his frustration. The trapped feeling was relentless- surrounding and sticking to him like a cling-film.
Jared struggled against the restrictive calm, strangely focussed on everything around him: the low hum of the cartoon on TV, the soft-hiccupping sobs of Brian, Amelia’s muffled grimace as she fought the same chokehold as him; the blood pounding at his own temple and Jensen’s laser focussed gaze on him.
As abruptly as he’d felt the unnatural calm, it disappeared in much the same way. “Because it did not- does not, matter.”
And in that second; listening to what Jensen wasn’t saying- he understood what had just happened.
Who says I’m gonna fight fair? ... Jensen had asked him on his first night at Ackles Estate, and right now Jensen was doing just that. Giving him a taste of what it would feel like to go against him. Not a full-scale show; but just a warning.
The alpha was letting him off lightly.
And Jared hated that.
With a low curse, not caring that Jensen’s sister was within hearing range; he stormed off to his room...still holding the crumpled ball of paper in his hand.
∞∞\∞‡∞/∞∞For a long moment, both Jensen and Amelia sat stunned at Jared’s furious retreat, but then Jensen shook off the surprise and went to move after his mate.
“Stay” Amelia interrupted.
“Em, I need to explain-”
“No, Jensen; you don’t... Atleast, not right now. You just broke the news to your mate, Bro; and not two seconds later you went all Alpha on his ass; you really imagine Jared’s going to be receptive to ANYTHING you have to say now?”
Jensen paused at that, running a hand through his hair, “Damn, I really messed this one up, didn’t I? Okay, but I still have to try; he may not listen, but I need to apologise to him... Look, sorry for exposing Brian to this, alright? I’ll make it up to him later... right now I’ve got to talk to Jared.”
“Jensen, wait.”
He turned, sighing; sometimes he hated having such a wilful sister.
“You go to Brian- kid will be soothed faster with you around... don’t deny it Jenny, just take care of him, alright? And I’ll go talk to Jared.”
“Em...”
“What?”
He shook his head, smiling sadly “just- don’t be too hard on him. Please?”
∞∞\∞‡∞/∞∞Jared glared at the door when it was pushed open after a brief knock, “I didn’t say you could enter.”
Amelia looked at him unrepentantly, “I know, which is why I didn’t ask.”
“I-I’m sorry; I thought it was Jensen...”Jared stammered, surprised to see the sister instead of whom he’d expected.
“I sent him to watch Brian.”
“Yeah? He didn’t send you to cover for him?” He teased, relaxing slightly now that he knew it was the Pack Alpha’s rather plain-spoken sister. In the short time since they had been introduced to each-other, Jared found himself rather fond of the red-head. And something about the diminutive but powerful beta had a soothing effect on his haywire emotions. He briefly wondered if it had something to do with the Ackles’ lineage but quickly dismissed the idea; no way was a beta-irrespective of her heritage, potent enough to override an alpha’s emotions.
“You need to apologise to your husband, Jared.”
“Mate” Jared corrected.
“Mate?”
“Husband indicates some sort of choice, Amelia-”
“And you didn’t have any; umm right...”the beta nodded, “Sorry about that... but the fact still remains, Jared; you need to apologise to him.”
The alpha snorted in surprise, “I think your brain got scrambled by Jensen’s alpha-act and you’re a tad confused...it was your brother who lied to me-”
The unsettlingly familiar green-eyes narrowed sceptically, “Lied?”
“Yeah, you have heard of lying by omission; haven’t you?”
“But Jensen never denied being Pack Alpha, did he?”
“No, but-”
She continued speaking over him as though he hadn’t answered, “And if I know him at all, I suspect he didn’t try covering for it either?”
Jared thought about the time he’d told Jensen that he’d received a call from the Council to prove their mating. The older alpha had been furious, and though he had not expressly said anything about his methods he’d promised to ‘take-care-of-it’; and true to his word Jared had received another call from the Council the very next day, apologising for the inconvenience caused and assuring him that he didn’t have to prove anything.
That should have been his biggest clue, he supposed; because who wielded that kind of power over the Council to garner an apology from them???
“No” he admitted softly.
“Then I suggest you shut up and stop judging my brother, Jared. You don’t know him or his reasons.”
Jared bridled at the rebuke from a beta, “And whose fault is that, Amelia? That I don’t know Jensen?”
She sighed, “What do you know about Pack-Alphas, Jared?”
“Umm, let’s see....They’re giant egos who expect the world to cater to their every whim...?”
She grinned at his snarky retort, “You’re mixing alpha-nature with Pack-Alpha...”
“Uh-huh?”
She laughed, shaking her head, “Alright, let me tell you a story, okay?”
Jared nodded uneasily.
“I have another brother-“
“Adrian, I know.”
“Jensen told you about him?” She asked, surprised.
“Yeah...”
“Wow... he never speaks about him usually.”
Jared’s brow wrinkled in confusion, “Why?”
“Because Adrian is the oldest amongst us-”
“So?”
“Good Heavens!” She swore, “Did you actually sleep through all your high-school history lessons?! You don’t think it’s weird that Jensen’s the Pack Alpha even though he’s the younger son?”
And Jared had never paid much attention to Pack hierarchy, but that was something even he knew. He didn’t know why he hadn’t noticed the anomaly till now.
“Yeah,” Amelia agreed, apparently satisfied by his silence, “He took everybody by surprise when he proved to be the stronger alpha... Dad and mom, they never mentioned anything, you know... but everyone knew that when the boys came of age, it would create a huge furore... I mean traditionally, it was Adrian who was supposed to succeed Dad, but then the Pack would have split its loyalties; and that was provided Jensen even actually agreed to back down. However, when Jensen was nearly seven; his scent abruptly disappeared.”
“What?!” Jared asked in surprise, because he could scent Jensen just fine, nothing overwhelming; but the alpha’s woodsy scent was perfectly clear to Jared- Even at this instant, Jared knew his mate was somewhere in the house simply by scent.
“Well, not disappeared disappeared, you know...” Amelia fluttered her hands in a vague gesture, “Just, it had lost its potency... he was just an average alpha by scent; not THE ‘future’ Pack-Alpha...and so...uh, yeah, Mom and Dad eventually figured that Jensen was suppressing his scent-”
“Seriously; at seven?” Jared tried to remember when he had learnt to control his scent enough not to give away what he was feeling all the time- he must have been what, fifteen/sixteen?
“Six and a half actually; but yes”
“But -but why?”
“Because he had figured it out that given how powerful his scent was, Adrian might be forced to step down in favour of Jensen... and to prevent that, he began concealing his scent... he wasn’t perfect at first; but he managed to reduce it enough that it was always less than Adrian’s. At that age he’d figured it out that the lesser number of people knew him to be the stronger alpha, the better chance Adrian would have of inheriting Dad’s mantle.”
“Wow...so how is it that-” He trailed off uncertainly.
“He’s Pack Alpha now?” The beta asked, “Well, at thirteen Adrian attended a seminar on medicine and decided he wanted to pursue that for a career. He was being groomed as Heir-apparent by then; so the first person he actually confessed to; was not Dad, but Jensen. He asked Jensen if he would accept that responsibility so that he could follow his dreams.”
“And Jen agreed?”
Amelia smiled; realizing that Jared had used the nickname unconsciously, “Reluctantly; he was...is convinced that Adrian only did it because despite Jensen keeping himself in tight control, any news of his strength would weaken the Pack... and so his brother had chosen to take the higher road.”
“You sound like you don’t quite believe that.”
“’Coz it’s not true. Adrian honestly didn’t want this job. And Jensen was somehow born for it.”
“I see.”
“Do you, really? Because so far I’m yet to tell you that Jensen offered to exile himself from the Pack.”
“He did what?”
“Exile himself... well, first he offered to make a public declaration that he would never contest Adrian for the position, but when Adrian refused; he said he could walk away and never come back... he was just nine then... so obviously, ever practical; he said he’d stay on till he was sixteen but then he would leave... it was only when Adrian still refused, threatening to run away himself if Jensen didn’t gracefully accept the title; that Jensen finally caved.”
“...”
“Now do you understand a Pack Alpha’s primary instinct, Jared?”
He stayed silent trying to picture Jensen at nine, pleading with his big-brother not to give up his rank and promising to stay away from home. His heart broke for the desperate-but-sweet little boy his mate had once been.
She gave a soft laugh, answering her own question; “Protection. A Pack Alpha protects, Jared. .. At seven he was protecting his older brother, Jared...and if Jensen didn’t tell you about this now, then it was because he was protecting you... or trying to, at any rate.”
Jared nodded, suddenly remembering the older alpha shielding him with his own body when they had been hosed down prior to their ‘Isolation’ to allow the mating-bond to settle; and the man who had slashed his palm wide-open to sign a blood-bond with less fuss than most people made for a stubbed-toe in his effort to prove that he would never hurt Jared. “I’m still not apologising to him, Amelia.”
“He won’t ask or even expect you to.”
Jared smiled softly, knowing it was true... for the first time since they had mated, he felt like he was close to unravelling the enigma that was Jensen Ackles.
Amelia reached for the door-knob; “He wanted to speak to you; explain... should I send him here?”
“No. Just- tell him I’ll need a little more time. Please.”
“I will.” She nodded, “Well, I’d better head home now, my husband will be waiting...Bye, Jared. Take care.”
∞∞\∞‡∞/∞∞The shadows outside had lengthened to cloak the surrounding woods in the diffused light of dusk when Jared opened his door at a hesitant knock to find Jensen waiting for him.
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