Kintsukuroi_ Chapter-4

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Chapter-4

“Benny! How’ve you been, kiddo?” Their neighbour, a bespectacled young beta; greeted when the boy jumped out with a happy squeal the moment the cab stopped in front of the familiar single-storied house with a brick-façade. Then, glancing past him at Jayna, who was stepping out at a more dignified pace- he waved at the omega, “Hey, how was your trip? I thought you were coming back next week?”

Jayna’s smile was strained as she nodded at her friend and waited for Janardan to step out. The alpha shot her a triumphant smile when he managed to successfully complete the transaction with the cab driver but frowned when he noticed Miles leaning over the fence curiously.

Janardan’s lips curled up in a snarl and Jayna was quick to place a calming hand on the alpha’s forearm. Miles jerked back, startled at the hostile response, “Holy- ! Who is that?!”

Jayna shot an apologetic smile at the beta and hurried to retrieve her house-keys from the bag, “Miles, why don’t you gimme a few minutes? There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

The beta nodded uncertainly, shuffling away from the terrifying alpha when he passed by him as Jayna directed Janardan up the porch steps and into the house.

“Well, this is it.” Jayna said, gesturing around at the house. “That door leads to Ben’s room and that one to our roo-...” She choked slightly at the fresh reminder that she would never see her mate again and amended, “well, Adam and my room.”

Janardan nodded as he looked around, taking in the small, open kitchen and living space. There was no provision for a guest suite in the small, but well-maintained home.

“The couch is a pull out one, so you can crash here.” Jayna finished awkwardly.

Janardan nodded wordlessly, eyes still taking in his surroundings.

“Uhm... I uh... Janardan, I need to talk to Miles real quick, alright? You’re okay to stay here?”

The alpha nodded again.

“Well, mi casa es su casa,” Jayna added with a forced laugh and hurried out, not noticing Janardan’s confused expression at the unfamiliar phrase.

Miles was waiting for her as promised.

“Miles,” She breathed, exhaling slowly as some of the tension seeped from her shoulders at the familiar surroundings and people.

“Jayna,” The beta returned, “Who was that guy? And… where’s Adam?”

Jayna closed her eyes and breathed deeply for a moment, struggling to keep her voice steady as she shared, “There- there was an attack on the pack while we were there... a bomb-blast… Adam... Adam didn’t make it.”

“Oh. My. God.” Miles breathed, stricken. He’d been fairly friendly with the blue-eyed alpha and the fact that he would never see Jayna’s mate again visibly upset him. “So this guy is-?”

“My Alpha-in-law wants me to take Ben back to the pack when he’s of age. Janardan is here to make sure I do so.”

If anything, the beta’s eyes widened even more, “Shit!”

Jayna nodded, the gravity of the situation re-establishing itself now that she was actually talking about it to someone. There was an awkward pause as Miles digested the information before leaning forward conspiratorially, “You want to get rid of him?”

Jayna nodded desperately, confessing, “I didn’t know if I could’ve left if I’d disagreed...”

Miles nodded, “Don‘t worry, you’re not alone and you’ve got us all here. We’ll figure something out.”

Jayna nodded tiredly, “Thanks,”

“Is he... did he hurt you?”

“Huh?”

“That alpha looked pretty brutish… did he hurt you?”

“Who? Janardan?”

“Junn-narr-dunn?” Miles repeated, “That’s his name?”

“Yeah,” Jayna breathed, unable to keep from smiling at the way Miles pronounced the Alpha’s name- he wasn’t technically wrong, but his pronunciation was accented and the way he paused between the syllables told her how alien the name sounded to her neighbour. Given how common it was on packlands, she realized that it wasn’t exactly a common name in these parts for the first time.

“Well?” Miles prodded when she failed to respond.

 “Oh! oh no, not at all… he didn’t hurt me. He- ... he’s actually been very good to me so far.”

“Good,” Miles replied definitively, continuing at Jayna’s questioning look. “I’d have been heartbroken if such a magnificent specimen of alpha-hood turned out to be defective, you know?”

Jayna snickered at the beta’s over-the-top lovelorn voice, perfectly aware that Miles was prone to fall in love (or more likely, lust) at the drop of a hat. “I thought you were scared of him,” she teased back, relaxing slightly as their normal banter resumed.

“Nah... well okay, he’s bit intimidating, I’ll admit that but damn, have you seen him?! And uh... are there any more like him?”

“He’s not got any twins as far as I know,” Jayna answered with a laugh, the light-hearted banter unwinding the knot that had lodged itself in her stomach.

The beta swatted at her arm in friendly retaliation.

Jayna chuckled at his juvenile action but her laughter faded as the extent of her loss settled in, “What do I do, Miles?”

“You have us, J-bird. All of us... we’ll figure something out, don’t you worry your pretty little head ‘bout it, okay? In the meantime, are you okay to let him stay in your house? Because if not, you know you and Ben are always welcome to crash at my place anytime, right? Just say the word and I’ll sneak you two in. ... actually, that’s not a bad idea. Wait till dude’s conked out- maaybee help him along with a few drops of Temazepam- and sneak away. When he wakes up, he can figure out that he failed on the first day of his job and hey presto! He’s back to his rotten pack on the next flight.”

Jayna forgot sometimes that for all his light-heartedness, Miles held a doctorate in pharmacology and could rattle off names of drugs like nobody’s business. “Marzipan? I’m assuming you mean a drug and not a confectionary...?”

Miles chuckled, “Temazepam, not marzipan; you idiot! Do you always think with your stomach?! It’s a drug for those suffering from insomnia... it’ll help him fall asleep and better still stay asleep.”

“I can’t risk you like that.” Jayna shook her head, “So thank you for the offer, but no.”

“You’re acting like that Adonis you’ve got stashed in your place will kill me or something,”

 “He could,” Jayna confessed miserably, “He’s a warrior, Miles. He was covered in blood –none of it his, the first time I met him. So I really don’t know, alright? Maybe he’ll not kill you outright, but I can’t let you take that chance... and besides, he’s like a bloodhound. He has not left me since the second Alpha assigned him to watch over us- he even insisted on checking the bathroom before I entered! And I’m fairly sure he’s keeping an eye on me through the window right this second. I-… I’d never be able to sneak off on his watch...”

“First, you’re not putting me at risk. I’m volunteering to be your hero.” Miles paused to accentuate his words with a fist thumb on his chest and a wink, “And second, I’ll bet my Doctorate that a little chemical help will put him in la-la-land and you’ll be able to sneak off safely.”

Jayna sighed, “Yeah, maybe I’ll be able to get out. But what then? He wakes up and tracks us down. ... I’m sure that’s going to piss him off... and Miles, I sort of really- really don’t wanna piss him off, you know? I mean, if it was just me... but-” She shrugged.

“It’s not like I would hesitate to call the cops on his sexy little butt the minute he sets foot on my property, but yeah...” The beta frowned but nodded, “I understand. You’ve got to think of Ben too.”

“Exactly,” Jayna admitted, “Speaking of, I think I’d better go back and check on them.”

Miles nodded, “Yeah, okay. And Jayna? Don’t worry, alright? I’ll tell the guys. You focus on keeping you and Ben safe from your hot-ass Terminator.”

Jayna gave a watery laugh at the reference to the lethal cyborg and hurried inside.

Jayna stepped back inside to find Janardan reaching towards Ben, the pup looking perfectly happy to accept whatever the Alpha had been offering and- fresh from her discussion with Miles on how Janardan was here to keep an eye on her and make sure Ben was taught the chauvinistic ways of the pack’s alphas- it made Jayna furious. She strode forward and smacked Janardan’s hand away, only sparing a cursory glance at the light patter of objects falling- apparently the alpha had opened his palm in surprise at Jayna’s action, dropping whatever he’d been offering the child. A faint pang of guilt twisted her gut as she noticed the strewn home-made candies (popular back in the pack-lands) on the floor but her protective instincts were louder.

“Let's get one thing clear, Janardan-” She began, this was her homeland and she was not about to kowtow to anyone, even a warrior-alpha like Janardan. When the Alpha only looked at her curiously instead of seeking retribution for the dropped sweets, she hardened her heart and continued, “I don't like you. I don't want you here, and I'm certainly not going to help you with your mission. But if you still want to stay here, be my guest. Just know that I will not be doing anything for you and neither will I be helping you. This is my home and if you live here, you have to follow my rules. Is that clear?”

Janardan met her gaze calmly, unperturbed by her show of anger- but of course, Jayna mused sourly; the man was probably used to staring down threats far worse than a widowed omega. However, the alpha’s eyes only held understanding and a bleak resignation that gnawed at her conscience, “Of course Omega-heir. I understand.”

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Chapter-5

Earlier Parts: Prologue - Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter-3

Author's Note-

Voting for August’s story-theme will open on 15^th of July, 2020 and close on the 31^st July, 2020. So if you want a story in the genre of YOUR CHOICE, be sure to vote in the poll for next month’s theme !

As always, comments and critique is welcome :-)