Kintsukuroi_Chapter-15
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Chapter-15
“No! You’re not touching
my son!” Jayna protested, pulling Ben to her and wrapping an arm around his
shoulders. She knew that she looked unhinged- what with her wild hair and
horrified eyes, but she refused to let these people lay a finger on her child.
Her alpha-in-law appeared
to be taken aback by her outburst and she scanned the room for a more
understanding gaze until her eyes landed on Janardan. The warrior smiled and
raised a calming hand, “It’s okay, ‘Mega-heir-”
“NO!” She protested, “ I
do not condone corporal punishment of children! I will not allow-”
Janardan shook his head
as he stepped up to the agitated omega, “Sshhh.... relax, no one’s touching
Ben, ‘Mega-heir; I promise.”
“But-?” Jayna trailed
off as the quartermaster appeared and Janardan stepped away with a small smile,
understanding dawning in the tip-tilted hazel eyes, hissing: “Janardan!”
The alpha was passive as
he shook his head and stepped away.
“Janardan!” Jayna called
again, torn between protecting her son and going to the man she’d grown to count
as family. Eventually, deciding she
didn’t really need to choose, she
hurried over- one hand still curled around Ben waist protectively and reached
out with her free hand to grab at the warrior. Janardan’s ears turned red at
the omega’s obvious familiarity and he turned his hand in the loose grip and
raised their entwined hand to his bent head to press a kiss against the omega’s
knuckles.
“Its alright,
Omega-Heir. ... Ssshhhh... Please.
It’s alright, I promise.”
Jayna stared back
helplessly at the alpha, her eyes swimming with tears and suddenly realizing
that she might be making things worse for the alpha, gave a defeated nod
released her hold on the warrior’s hand. She watched helplessly as Janardan
followed the quartermaster out of the room and the Alpha followed the duo,
turning at the door to gesture at them to follow the sad little party.
Jayna watched her son watch the proceedings with wide eyes as he followed the adults into the small, barren, room across the courtyard... Jayna might have appreciated how the morning mist clung to the tree-tops surrounding the house under different circumstances; but right now she could only focus on her son. The boy obviously knew something was going on, something that he hadn’t grasped yet but was making his Mama nervous. Da didn’t look worried though, and that gave him courage. He stayed close to his Mama as they all circled Da and the strange, cruel-looking man who had led them to this room. Then Da took off his shirt and Ben felt the first frisson of unease.
“Woh-bhi,” the strange man said. [Woh-bhi= That too]
But Da shook his head,
glancing towards Ben’s grandfather, “Ben bachcha hai. Please, he’s still
innocent.” [bachcha hai= is a child]
But Thakurda shook his head.
[Thakurda= Paternal grandfather]
Da wrinkled his nose but
lowered his pants as well, the tight black boxers coming into view as the pants
lowered. Ben was unable to stop his giggle, but the adults all remained
serious. At some signal Ben missed, Da reached up and grabbed the thick rope suspended
from the ceiling, and then the strange-man lifted his hand and hit Da with-with a whip!
“No!” Ben screamed,
horrified. He escaped his Mama’s shielding arms with an agile twist and hurried
to his Da. “Stop! You’re hurting him!”
The whip was coming down
a second time and Ben was in the way and Mama was screaming his name and he
could only watch in horror as time seemed to slow and the braided leather
headed towards him. But then Janardan was letting go of the rope he’d grasped
and twisting to put his body between Ben and the whip. Ben gasped as he felt
the sharp hiss of it land against Da’s skin and the icy terror that had frozen
him as he’d watched it come towards him. He whimpered in fear, clutching at Da
as the alpha straightened and pushed him behind himself, one arm curled to keep
Ben shielded.
“Itni himmat tumhari
kaise hui?!” The man with the whip was growling but Da stood tall and immovable
between Ben and the man. “You don’t move from your position during punishment- or have you forgotten that?! You’ll pay
for your disobedience!”[Itni himmat tumhari kaise hui?= How
dare you?]
Ben cowered behind the
warrior as Janardan dismissed the quartermaster’s threats and met the pack-
Alpha’s gaze squarely, “I’ve sworn to protect the Omega-Heir and Master Ben.
That’s my primary duty. Nothing comes before that.”
Thakurda smiled a small,
knowing smile at the declaration and waved a hand. The man with the whip
frowned but fell silent and Janardan walked Ben back to Jayna.
“You stay here, okay
kiddo? No matter what happens, you don’t leave your mother’s side. Promise me,
little Master?”
Ben felt his lips wobble
but bit back the sob that wanted out – not
wanting to seem more like a baby- and nodded. Janardan ruffled his hair
lightly and resumed position. Ben could feel his Mama flinch with every blow
and he felt tears blurring his vision as the whip continued to rain down over
Da. He’d connected the dots by then and realized that they were hurting Da
because of his mistake and he felt fresh tears brim his eyes at the knowledge.
But Da just grabbed the rope tightly and held on. He didn’t whimper or scream
and despite himself, Ben found himself feeling proud. Eventually, after about a
half-a-dozen blows and at some signal Ben didn’t know of, the whipping stopped.
Da held on to the rope for a few seconds more and then a shiver seemed to quake
his entire body. There was no other reaction, just the one shiver and then Da
was letting go of the rope and straightening. He threw a small smile in their
direction and headed to grab his clothes.
“Your new shahari-kapde
will be kkharab, pretty-boy... and you don’t want that, do you?” The man with
the whip interrupted. He left the room briefly before returning with a
shapeless shift that looked like it was made of a sack and offered it to Da.
“Here, yeh sahi rahega.” [shahari-kapde= fancy city clothes][kkharab= damaged] [yeh sahi rahega= this will be alright]
Da narrowed his eyes but
didn’t object, accepting the brown shift with a nod and slipping it on. Ben
wondered what happened now that they could all apparently leave the unpleasant
room, but his Mama was heading towards their quarters with his hand firmly held
and he didn’t dare protest. They were all quiet as they made the long trek back
to the room, with a small detour to the kitchen to grab some sandwiches and a few
bottles of water.
Ben wanted to ask Da if
it hurt, but the forbidding expression on both adults’ faces had him holding
his tongue. Eventually, they reached the room and Ben watched as Jayna locked
it the moment they were all inside. For the briefest minute, everything was
quiet and then his Mama was grabbing Janardan’s hand in both of her own, “I’m
sorry, I’m sorry... but thank you. Really.
Thank you so much for protecting my baby, Janardan.”
Ben felt his guilt rear
up again, but the alpha only smiled softly and gently freed his hand from his
mom’s grip and ruffled the omega’s hair before stepping back, “Its fine. Is Ben
alright? Did the whip touch him?”
“Yeah. ... I’m fine, the
whip didn’t touch me,” He spoke up, struggling to be like his Da and keep his
voice from shaking, “and I’m so sorry, Da. I didn’t mean to break it, really. I’m
sorry I messed up.”
“I know.” The alpha
absolved him, “it’s okay, Kiddo. Accidents happen, alright? This was not your fault. Understand? I need you
to remember that. This wasn’t your fault.”
Jayna insisted that Janardan
share the bed with them that night instead of taking his usual spot on the
floor by the door and both he and Mama curled into Da the moment the man lay
down, hissing as his raw skin made contact with the bedspread. Jayna swallowed
back her tears as she looked at the stoic alpha who had not complained once
despite the pain he must be in and waited till Ben’s breathing evened out
before she moved to sit up. “Le’mme take a look at your back.”
Janardan shook his head,
“Its fine.”
“Its not,” Jayna argued,
“And I insist.”
Janardan sighed and rolled
over, pulling his shirt up to reveal the vivid red welts marring his skin. Jayna
felt her throat close up at the gory sight and was glad that Ben was exhausted
enough to have fallen fast asleep and missed the horrific wounds. She pulled
out her portable first-aid kit and set about trying to soothe the injuries to
the best of her abilities with the meagre supplies. The alpha gritted his
teeth, hissing softly as she cleaned the wounds- especially when she had to
resort to using her tweezers to pull out the lint (from the shift that he’d
been forced to wear) that had gotten stuck to the skin where it had spilt at
one spot. Once, the wounds were clean, Jayna carefully smeared some antibiotic
ointment over them to keep from getting infected.
Janardan had drifted off
while she was working- a testament to how exhausted the alpha was, and Jayna
smiled down at her little family as she crawled back into her spot and closed her
eyes as well.
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“This has gone on for
long enough,” Jayna hissed on their second day, determined to do something for
the man. Janardan had moved more stiffly than the norm since that morning, but
the warrior hadn’t said anything about the pain- not even a request for a painkiller; and Jayna was determined to do
something. When the man said nothing, he glared at his protector but held his
tongue, mindful of being in the dining all.
“It has to be this way,
‘Mega-heir. Please, don’t worry about me; I can handle it.” Janardan eventually
spoke up, unable to take his wordless pleas.
“You’ve gone two days
without food. It’s not right!”
“One... and a half,” The
alpha corrected, then amended his answer with a sheepish grin, “And I did eat
one of your protein bars. You also got me that sandwich yesterday afternoon.”
“Janardan...” Jayna
whispered, leaning forward unthinkingly and then jerked back as the door creaked
open.
“Ah, you’re already
here,” Her alpha-in-law greeted, “Good, we don’t have to wait for anyone to
arrive then. I’m ravenous!”
Jayna smiled bashfully
and with a last glance at Janardan, headed for her place at the table. “Papa...
if I may, I have a small request...”
The Pack alpha paused
from where he had been reaching for a Sirqua-d
onion and turned his face towards her, “Of course! You are family; you need
not be so hesitant.” [Sirqua= Onion/shallot or sliced radish
pickled in red vinegar and salt.]
Jayna smiled diffidently
and began, “Ummm... it’s- it’s actually about Janardan.”
“He give you trouble?”
The patriarch asked, brow furrowed and throwing an incensed glare towards the
alpha in question. Jayna bit her lip as she watched Janardan duck his head in
response to the fierce look.
“No!” She objected
hurriedly, afraid that Janardan would be dragged away for another punishment
which he didn’t deserve. “He hasn’t done anything wrong, actually... And he’s
meticulous about his duties-”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“He’s always watching
over me and Ben, Papa. Never abandoning his post for even a minute... but he’s
not allowed to join us during meal-times and so he hasn’t eaten since we’ve
arrived. He-...” Jayna caught herself with a swift glance at the warrior in
question, “I’m concerned that the starvation might affect his ability to
protect Ben and me in the event of a ... a mishap.”
The Alpha smirked
indulgently, “I’m sure you’ve thought a solution to the problem as well?”
Jayna ducked her head,
embarrassed; before glancing up and forging ahead, “Please permit him to eat in
here.”
“Of course he can eat,”
The Pack alpha declared magnanimously, “He’s not allowed at the table but yes,
he may eat with us.”
“That shouldn’t be a
problem,” Paul- Adam’s cousin (an alpha Jayna avoided whole-heartedly, something
about the man’s lean, hungry look frightening her to the core) chimed in from
his place at the table, taking a huge bite of his roast and chewing with his
mouth open as he continued to speak. Jayna struggled to ignore the sight of the
half-masticated pieces she could see behind the man’s teeth, “Jenny, you know
what to do; don’t you? You sure had enough practice with Adam- may his soul rest in peace.”
Jayna furrowed her brow
in confusion as Janardan’s jaw clenched once before the warrior gave a crisp
nod and stepped forward- moving as close as he could between Jayna and Paul’s
chairs and gracefully dropped to his knees.
Jayna felt her throat
close as she watched the alpha’s studied calm and imagined the humiliation the
man must have been feeling. She once again remembered Janardan’s initial
hesitation at joining them at the table during mealtimes and hated that she
finally understood the cause. She was snapped out of her morose contemplations
as Paul picked up a half-chewed-and then
discarded- piece of chicken skin from the edge of the plate where he had been
piling the cleaned bones and dangled it before Janardan’s face.
“Here,” Adam’s cousin
called out in a blatantly sarcastic way, “Since your omega is too preoccupied
with feeding herself to give you any food, I’ll offer you some.”
Jayna had to force back
her tears as Janardan stiffly accepted the scrap and muttered a low, but
clearly audible ‘Thank-you, Maalik’.
[Maalik= Master]
“Aren’t you going to eat
what I’ve been so kind as to offer you?” Paul asked when Janardan made no move
towards eating the disgusting scrap.
Janardan’s head lowered
as he put the half-eaten and rejected piece in his mouth and chewed with
visible difficulty.
“Swallow it, Jenny. You
know what I’ll do if you spit it out.” The man added in an undertone audible only
to her and Janardan.
Jayna felt nausea bubble
up her throat and used every ounce of determination she possessed to force down
the bile as the warrior’s throat worked visibly as he obeyed the vile
directive. Clearing her throat, she called out in a clear voice: “Janardan,
here.”
The alpha’s eyes showed
his gratitude more than his hollow words of appreciation as Janardan accepted
the hastily put together sandwich Jayna offered. She had assumed they had had
enough of humiliating Janardan when the meal continued without further interruption
and were almost done with dessert when Paul spoke up again.
“Come, you must be
thirsty,” The greasy haired alpha called out, “And the juice was so excellent
today too.”
Jayna’s eyes widened in horror
as she realized the man was clumsily undoing his pants with his left hand. A
glance at Janardan’s resigned expression and fisted hands told her the alpha
understood what was about to happen as well and Jayna had had enough. She
turned to her alpha-in-law (who was lost in his own meal) at the head of the
table and called out desperately, “Papa, please!”
Everyone froze at her loud
voice.
“I understand why Janardan
can’t join us at the table and I won’t ask you to change your customs to soothe
my ‘delicate sensibilities’... and I also understand that since he’s my protector, feeding him is my responsibility. And I’m
willing to carry it out to the best of my abilities... but I request that I be the
only one tasked with that responsibility.”
“Paul just wants to help
you, Beta... lighten the load a little,” [Beta= child]
“I understand and
decline his help. Besides, there are children at this table and while I cannot
speak for all of them, I cannot – will
not- allow my son to witness such crude acts.”
“Ooh, your daughter-in-law’s
a spitfire, Uncle.” Paul interrupted, clearly not worried by the accusations.
“Yes, I dare say that she
is very outspoken,” Jayna’s father-in-law agreed in a deceptively mild tone,
“But I must admit that she is right on this occasion, Paul. There are children at this table and I shall
have to ask you to maintain decorum.”
The alpha looked taken
aback at the reprimand, “I- I’m sorry.”
The Pack alpha just
nodded and continued eating, unperturbed.
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Earlier Parts: Prologue- Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter-3- Chapter 4- Chapter 5 - Chapter 6-
Chapter 7- Chapter 8- Chapter 9 - Chapter-10 - Chapter-11- Chapter-12- Chapter-13- Chapter-14
As always, comments and critique is welcome :-)
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