Kintsukuroi_ Chapter-1

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CHAPTER-1

“Please...”

Twice in less than seventy-two hours, Jayna found herself on her knees, trying to reason with an alpha. Where the first time she had been confident of the alpha’s affections for her, this time was completely unchartered territory, “Don’t do this, Papa... please...”

“Nahi! I’ve lost my son, I’m not losing my grandson!” was the obstinate response.

“Please... A-Adam wouldn’t have wanted this...” Jayna whimpered.

Losing her mate so brutally had been hard enough, but her Alpha-in-law had declared that he would raise Ben to take his place as the Fahlmer-clan Alpha on his passing and Jayna didn’t want that. She and Adam had raised Ben the way Jayna had been: with lots of love and gentle guidance; in a traditional pack, Ben would grow up like the alphas here- thinking violence to be the only answer and treating omegas as those below him... Her alpha-in-law had nothing against  Jayna leaving- and had been unexpectedly understanding about the fact that this was not her world and that she would like to head back ‘home’, but he was adamant about keeping Ben with him.

When Jayna refused to be parted from her son: she’d just lost her mate; she would rather die than lose her son as well; he told her she was welcome to stay as well. She was free to choose whether or not she continued to live in the pack, her son was the one he was not going to allow anyone to take from him.

“Please, Papa... Alpha-” She repeated, hoping to reason with the obstinate head of the pack, “You allowed Adam to leave to pursue his studies” – if she could only convince the man to let Jayna and Ben leave for the city.... she had friends there, family... She was sure she’d be able to come up with a plan to get them away from this man permanently once in her own territory... but here on the packlands, she was woefully alone. If only she could get away from here and stabilize the playing field, because her Alpha-in-law was the be-all and end-all of authority over here and she did not have anyone to support or back her up… Her mind worked at a million miles a minute as she tried to figure out ways to convince the man to let her leave with Ben.

She widened her eyes and tried to look as vulnerable as she could- not that it was a stretch: this was the most vulnerable she had ever felt in her life; hoping not seeming like a threat would help convince the older man. “Please, Alpha…?”

“I’m not making that mistake twice!” The older man spat.

“Mis-mistake?” Jayna repeated, taken aback.

“Yes! I sent him to there to study... I warned him about the tramps- but no; he had to go and sample the local cuisine! And was foolish enough to get hitched to one... Doesn’t know our customs, doesn’t speak the language... disrespects him at every turn and only good for spreading her legs... Tell me, what you could have possibly given him that the omegas here couldn’t?!”

Jayna felt tears sting her eyes at this stark reveal of her father-in-law’s opinion of her, only managing a weak protest of: “I loved him!”

“Love!” The alpha snorted.

 “She says she loved our son!” The alpha repeated theatrically loud, arms spread wide for the invisible audience of his empty study, “If you loved him, why did you keep him from his homeland for so many years? Why did you not let him come home to visit us? Keep our grandson from us?!”

And with a sinking feeling, Jayna understood just what Adam’s excuse for not visiting his family had been- her late husband had always maintained that the pack was not where he wanted to raise Ben and that he wanted to move away from those customs, especially when Jayna had enquired why he never wanted to introduce her to his family. At first she had thought Adam intended to keep her like a ‘dirty little secret’, but then the man had proposed and actually mated her and Jayna had believed him when he said that he didn’t want to go back even if he spoke to his family on the regular. Only, it appeared that having run out of excuses to stay away, Adam had resorted to painting Jayna as the villain to his pack.

“I did love your son,” Jayna countered softly but in a firmer tone, “And nothing you say can take away from that truth... but if you loved your son, you will respect his wishes,”

“What’re you trying to say?” The man growled, eyes narrowing dangerously.

“Adam wanted Ben to be raised in the city. I want the same.” She answered, resolutely facing the glowering eyes head-on. She didn’t stand up, not wanting to seem like a challenger; but refused to keep her head lowered any longer.

The Alpha shook his head, “No, I cannot allow my heir to leave the pack.”

“Adam was your heir too!” Jayna argued, “And look what happened to him on packland ! He spent nearly a decade in the city and he was safe! Do you really think it’s going to be any safer for Ben?! Besides, you allowed Adam to go and further his education. If you allowed your son, why won’t you allow mine?”

The alpha frowned before answering, “Because I trusted my son to return... and he didn’t come back- not for nine long years! What proof do I have that you would come back? Besides, you’re young, what if you give Ben up and mate with another? Even if you keep him, what guarantee do I have that you’ll tell him about his pack and the family that he’s got here?”

Jayna hesitated, searching for a solution before going with the first idea that came to her: “So send one of your men back with me! Adam got three tickets; you can have one of your men accompany us. ... He – uhm... he can stay with us and teach Ben about the customs of your pack... And ensure that I bring him back once Ben is of age.”

The Pack alpha considered this before asking, “And when will the boy be ‘of age’, from your perspective?”

Never, Jayna wanted to shout but forced herself to remain calm and not react at this thin sliver of hope. Composure was her best friend at the moment, she reminded herself as she tried to think of an appropriate answer that she would be able to defend logically, “When he is twenty-one... that’s the minimum age of consent for drinking or –or-or for driving in the city. So I guess twenty-one should qualify him for returning as well...?”

“No, I let Adam leave for his studies; I may concede to your arguments and allow Ben to do the same... but twenty one is too old. He will not remember anything about his people and his pack… I want an heir, not an alien as my successor.”

“Okay, okay! Eighteen... We’ll come back when he turns eighteen!” Jayna offered immediately, not wanting to antagonize the man and eager to agree to nearly anything to get the chance to leave.

“And that would allow him ample time to complete his studies?” Her Alpha-in-law countered with an arched eyebrow at her easy capitulation, visibly suspicious of her response.

Jayna swallowed down her frustration, trying to make it sound as logical as she could, “It would not be enough for higher studies or for a University degree, but for a basic degree? Hopefully, yes.”

“Hopefully?”

“Ben is too young for me to judge his academic merit just yet… I hope he will proceed normally, but it would be unfair of me not to warn you that he may showcase a learning disability once he’s older. If that were the case, he would understandably take longer-”

“My grandson is not disabled!” the man interrupted with a furious growl.

“No! I’m not saying he’s disabled, Papa. … and it’s not an actual disability- just what it’s called. It means he takes longer at his lessons than his peers- that’s all!”

“Fair enough,” The alpha reluctantly agreed after thinking it over, before briefly stepping out of the room and asking for someone to be sent up.

 The man made small conversation once he returned, much calmer now and accepting of Jayna as his daughter-in-law; telling Jayna about the hopes he had for Adam and what he now hoped from Ben. His rambling made Jayna relax slightly, for the first time seeing the Alpha as a person and as a father and grandfather who loved his children instead of the harsh Pack Alpha she’d always seen him as. She was brought out of her thoughts by a sharp rap on the door and then a hulking alpha strode in. The man had obviously just transformed from his other form -and Jayna would never get over the casualness with which these people transformed: back in the city, your wolf-form was considered to be intimate and private, only to be revealed to close family and your mate. Jayna felt herself flush with second-hand embarrassment as the alpha strode in, devoid of clothing and with large swathes of red splattered liberally over his torso. He carried a large metallic shield and Jayna shivered as she took in the flesh and blood that caked its surface.

“You summoned, Alpha?” The warrior asked as he bowed before his pack Alpha.

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Continue to: Chapter-2

MasterPost

Earlier Part(s): Prologue