Prodigal | J2 AU NC-17 | Chapter 6

[fufaraw]

 



Chapter 6

The first days of school, Jensen kept expecting to see Trevor, and find out why the mural had gone neglected all through Christmas break. He didn't see the boy, and nobody else had seen him, either. But he and Jared did run into Trip one day between classes, in the hall with a bunch of his alpha friends.

"Hey, Trip," Jared called. "Trevor needs to get back to working on the mural. I haven't seen him in school since the holidays. Is he okay?"

Trip grinned like he had a secret. "Yeah, you're gonna have to find someone else to finish the mural," he said.

"What? Why, is he sick?"

"Nah, he presented over the holidays. We always knew he was gonna turn out omega. Dad's shipped him off to our Uncle Edgar—Unc will find him a good strong mate, and six months from now Trev'll be ready to pop with his first pups."

Jared blinked, speechless for a moment while the others congratulated Trip on getting his brother mated, and the anticipation of pups in the family.

"But—" Jensen thought, but couldn't bring himself to voice. "Did he want to go? To be mated? Does he even know the alpha he's going to be paired with for the rest of his life?"

It was Jared who asked, "What about his art?" thinking of the schools Trevor was considering for their art programs, the projects he was planning, the travel he hoped to do, to see artworks in other places, the inspiration he sought in others' art.

"Ah, he can maybe paint pictures in the nursery or something, or teach the pups to draw when they're older. But he's gonna have other stuff to keep him busy from now on."

Jared's gaze was distracted by Jensen's immobility. He took a quick appraising glance, not wanting to draw attention to the omega in their midst. Jensen's features were frozen in stone, stubbornly refusing to react to Trip's news. But Jared saw his jaw move as he swallowed convulsively, fighting nausea, Jared could tell. As quickly as he could, he walked Jensen away from the group, found him a place to sit, and brought him some water. Jared took a seat beside Jensen, both of them feeling a need for support. Neither of them felt like talking.

*    *    *

At Jensen's next session with Samantha, she recalled a question Tim had wanted answers for. "Jensen, why did you run?"

"What?"

"I mean, you haven't said you'd ever tried to escape before. Why now?"

Her patient's hands rubbed up and down his thighs, his gaze focused on his hands. She was about to repeat the question when he spoke.

"I knew what was coming, I could feel my heat coming on. As much as I hated it, when I was in heat, I craved sex with the alphas, I needed it. I never had to beg for it, but I would have. The two of them switched off, and I kept begging for more, and they always kept giving it to me until the point when, somehow, we could all tell I was pregnant. My heat disappeared, and so did their interest."

His eyes flashed up to hers and just as quickly away again. "But it didn't happen that way this time. This time Roy looped a lead around my neck and led me away from the den. I had no idea what was going on, but I really expected maybe he wanted me for himself for awhile, so I followed him. We walked for a pretty long while, and then we stopped at this building—no windows, only one door. He led me inside. It was about the size of a big horse stall, with straw spread on the floor. He pointed to a feeder water fountain in a corner, and slipped the lead off me. 'Ed and me,' he told me, 'can't leave you alone when you're in heat. And the truth is, we've got enough pups, we can't afford to raise any more, at least not now. Nobody's going to have to listen to you out here, so you're gonna stay here till you get through your heat. One of us will come back in a few days to fetch you.'"

Jensen paused, still staring at a spot on the wall in front of him.

"He just...left you there, on your own, in heat?" Sam asked, faint horror and firm disapproval evident in her expression, though she tried her professional best to mask it.

He scrubbed his hands over his face, and took a deep breath when he spoke again.
"Yeah. He locked the door, and walked away. I whined and pawed the door, begging him to come back. The next few days were hell. I thought it was bad being fucked over every surface by two horny alphas when I had my heats. But it was miserable—painful, going through it alone. I wanted a knot so bad, I cried, I screamed, I begged for somebody to come and let me out and knot me.

"Nobody came. And finally, the heat broke, and I could think again. I acknowledged the fact that these two werewolves had kidnapped me, had bitten and turned me, had ended my life as a human, had turned me to make me into a breeder. And I had given them the pups they'd wanted, nine of them, three litters. And now, now they were done with me? They had enough pups so I could be tossed aside and left to endure agony all on my own? They took me, they made me into something they wanted and now—I didn't even have the purpose they ruined my life for?"

He finished the water and pitched the bottle into the recycling box.

"I'd had enough. They were done with me? There was no point in me sticking around if they didn't have a use for me anymore. I nosed at the latch, but it was locked. I whined and pawed at the door, and I worked myself into a frenzy. And then I realized, I had hands, even if I hadn't used them in a while. I could work that latch, I could get free. But first I had to shift, to get my hands back.

"So that's what I did. It took a while to figure out how to shift, but I did it, then I tore the door open, and I ran. I stumbled the first few steps, but I settled into this body pretty quickly and my balance came back.

"I had no idea where I was or what direction I should go, I just knew I had to get away before Ed or Roy came back to get me—if they came back at all.

"I hadn't worn clothes in a long time, but I figured I was going to have to find a phone, and there would be people, so I needed clothes. I stole pants and a shirt off somebody's laundry line. They didn't fit, but they covered me, so I kept running. I stumbled across a ranger's cabin, and there was a big wooden sign in the parking lot with a map of the area painted on it. I didn't recognize any of the places, but it gave me a starting point. I kept looking for a map big enough to have a place I knew on it, so I'd know where I was.

"I found one near a boat ramp on a lake–it had Early City on it, right on the edge of the forest. Now that I knew where I was, I found a phone, and I called my old phone number, and Dad answered."

He looked at her for the first time. "And the rest, you know."

*    *    *

Jim noticed at dinner that Jensen looked more tired than usual, and remarked on it. "You feeling all right, boy?"

Jensen sipped at his iced tea and nodded. "I'm fine."

"Everything okay at school?"

The kid nodded, but Jim caught the hesitation. "Jensen, what's going on? I can't help if you don't tell me. Are your classes too hard? Do you need to cut back on the work for a while?"

Jensen shook his head. "No, the class work is fine, it's not that." He poked at his peas with his fork, and finally admitted, "It's the constant business with the senior alphas."

Jim frowned at the news. "Are they harassing you at school?"

"At school, after school, in town, pretty much everywhere." He smirked as he tore a dinner roll in half. "God's gift, every single one of them. And they're gonna make sure I know it."

"I'm sorry, Jensen. I've been aware they're acting too big for their britches. I just didn't know they'd targeted you."

Jensen shook his head. "I don't know if they're messing with me any more than any other kid who's not a senior alpha, and I’ve got Hugo and Lee on my side. But it just gets old, having to be on your guard all the time. Trying to pick routes from class to class to avoid them—can't always be done. And they just don't let anything go. It's constant with them."

"Well, I'm glad you told me. I've had a few talks with some of the ringleaders before, but evidently it wasn't enough. That behavior is not acceptable, and I'm going to see what can be done about it," Beaver promised.

Jensen's tired smile was still nice to see. "Thanks."

Beaver called and asked to sit down with Kim and Ty to talk about the Sons and the unwanted influence they were having on his senior alphas. Rhodes picked up the phone and dialed Omundson, who got on video right away, and the four of them discussed the problem.

"There are some new families moving in out east of town," Ty told them. "They're not too friendly toward strangers, and so far, they seem to be living off the grid."

"Fenris pack?" Omundson speculated.

"Not certain," Ty said, with a headshake. "But I'm thinking it's pretty likely."

Kim jumped at the chance to ask Omundson for people to investigate. "And we might be asking them to move on. I don't think Fenris pack members make good neighbors."

There was a general murmur of agreement, and then Jim asked, "Have you heard from Morgan? How's the hunt going for the alphas who took Jensen?"

"It's ongoing," Tim said. "As a matter of fact, now that I've talked to you, I'm going to ask Morgan to send a team out here. This looks like the first opportunity we've had to actually contact Fenris pack."

"They are reclusive fuckers," Jim observed grimly.

Omundson looked at Ty and Kim. "You might want to hold off on rousting those new neighbors of yours until Morgan's men have a chance to ask them some questions."

*    *    *

The senior alphas didn't let up. The teasing and taunting kept up—and even got worse. It was edging on bullying, and Jensen never knew when he would run into one, or more, of the group. Lee and Hugo did their best, but the alphas were tricky, and as often as not, one or two of them decoyed Jensen's guards away for a few minutes, while the rest went after Jensen. Even if it was only taunting and verbal harassment, it was wearing him down. He did his best to stay close to other people, not to get caught alone. Jared was aware how difficult the seniors were making Jensen's life, and he stayed close to Jensen when he could. The senior alphas weren't afraid of a beta, not even one as big as Jared. But they didn't seem to like having a witness to their hazing of the pretty omega.

Jensen considered Jared his best friend, and he was grateful for Jared's support and friendship. They didn't talk about it, but they actually shared a lot of interests, they laughed at the same things, had similar senses of humor, and could talk together about practically any subject, mostly without embarrassment. Jensen wasn't close with anybody his own age but Jared, and sometimes Chad.

Because Chad was an alpha, and because the seniors and the Sons were both cocky and careless, they talked pretty freely around him. He heard a lot, and he told Jared the Sons were really interested in Jensen.

Jared didn't share that knowledge with Jensen, but he passed it on to Lee, and Hugo, who were still guarding Jensen, though more casually and at more of a distance, trying to give the kid some room. Lee had intervened a time or two, and so had Hugo, when Jensen got harassed on the street, leaving a movie, or coming home from school. They sent the young alphas on their way, after some strong warnings, and they mentioned the incidents to Omundson.

But after hearing about the Sons' interest, Jared made it a point to stick closer to Jensen, without making a big deal about it.

It was just a block to Principal Beaver's house, and it was a beautiful afternoon. Jared had just peeled off to stop by the bookstore, and Jensen was sure Hugo was around somewhere.

But not close enough. A car pulled up next to the sidewalk and three alphas jumped out and wrestled Jensen into the back seat. Whooping in triumph, the driver gunned the car, making it fishtail as it took off. Jensen was shoved into the floorboard and couldn't see anything. He tried kicking and punching, but somebody wrapped rope around his arms, pinning them against his ribs, and his hands were jerked painfully behind him, the rope wound around them and tied tight. A hand patted the top of his head, "'S okay, Jennybean. We're gonna take good care of you."

A stream of profanity erupted from Jensen and somebody else snickered and shoved a dirty wad of rag into his mouth. "Now, now, Jenny boy, pretty is as pretty does. And that's not very pretty talk."

Jensen continued to thrash and scream into his gag, and a sudden hard pinch to the skin over his ribs made him yell louder. Finally, someone slapped him across the jaw, and he lost his breath for a few seconds. A pair of yellow eyes in a dark, hawkish face peered into his and a hand tightened on his jaw. "Stow that crap, omega." His jaw was shaken, like a dog with a chew toy. "This is happening, you might as well relax and enjoy it."

No. No. Nonononono. This couldn't be happening. Jared—where was Jared? Where was Hugo? Somebody—somebody had to have seen him get taken. Somebody had to know where he was. He just had to hold on. Somebody would come for him. They had to. He thrashed again and screamed his rage and frustration into the gag, and a hand reached down and pinched his nostrils shut. He couldn't breathe through his mouth because of the gag, and now... He struggled, but the fingers didn't let go. And then...

He woke up tied to a chair in somebody's basement rec room. There was a foosball table, and a flatscreen mounted on the wall over a fireplace and a couch and deep stuffed armchairs arranged around it. Over in the corner was a damn juke box. Where the hell?

He heard sniggers and laughing behind him, and one of the alphas sauntered into his field of view with a beer can in one hand. "Hey, he's awake!"

"Oh good," another voice, and its owner came around to stand looking him over. "Rude of you to pass out and hold up the party, 'mega," this alpha said, taking a swig from the bottle of Jim Beam he carried. "'s okay, though. His eyebrow arched. "Heightens the antici—"

"—pation!" several voices joined in.

Two more alphas walked into Jensen's view. These guys were older than high school age, and there was an intensity, a hardness about them that he recognized—Sons of Fenris. Oh god, he was in deep shit. He might have been able to get the seniors drunk or talk his way out of this with them. But not with the Sons. Dedicated to the creedo that alphas were near-gods and entitled to take whatever they wanted, there was no hope an omega could ever appeal to reason or mercy with them. He sagged in his bonds, his chin down toward his chest, his eyes closing.

"Nah-ah-ah!" one of the seniors caroled. "We want to see those pretty green eyes, 'mega. You keep them open. You're gonna see something you'll like, I promise."

Jensen doubted it.

He didn't know who made the first move, but the bonds around his arms were cut, his still tied hands jacked up between his shoulder blades so he couldn't try to wriggle free. They marched him on tiptoe across the room and threw him face down on a bed in a corner of the room he hadn't seen till now, and started pulling at his clothes. His jacket and shirt weren't coming off unless they untied his hands, so one bright light pulled out a knife and started slashing the fabric, catching skin now and then.

He was having a lot of fun, by the way he was giggling and snorting as he ripped at Jensen's clothes. But an older alpha, doubtless one of the Sons, took the knife away from him and proceeded to rip delicately at the cloth, digging just the tip between the threads, and severing a path through the fabric, being careful to only nip Jensen's skin in small cuts, here and there, when the knife caught.

Jensen was torn between lying still to avoid being cut, and flinging himself at the knife in hopes of startling the alpha enough he might drop the knife, or at least give Jensen an opening to run.

It went on for a while. The other alphas complained that the one with the knife was taking too long. Someone grabbed it, and violently rent the last of his shirt and hoodie apart, exposing Jensen's chest and arms when they pulled the cloth away. Hands. Hands all over him, stroking, petting, pinching while they crooned at him and taunted him and made him promises that turned his blood to ice water. He wanted to throw up, but he suddenly felt a tug at his fly, and someone was drawing down the zipper, slow, making him feel every pair of teeth as they parted until it was all the way down.

He rolled, to try and keep them from removing his jeans, but there were seven of them—he'd counted—and one of him, and they were alpha, and he was just an omega. His jeans were yanked away, and they rolled him onto his back, and all but one or two stood back a little to look at their prize. The one sitting next to his hip stroked his arm, starting at the shoulder and dragging fingertips down to his wrist. The hand stopped, and his arm was grabbed, turned, and the hand poked at the implant.

"Well damn," the alpha said, turning Jensen's arm to show the rest of them. "He's got one of those implants, keep him from getting knocked up!"

The flick of an opening knife sounded loud in the sudden quiet, and then the knife's owner said, "Well, that's easy. We can just cut it out of him."

"Yeah," someone else said. "I bet he's on suppressants, too, aren't you, Jenny?"

The point of the knife touched his chin, just behind the bone in the soft part of his jaw. "Are you on suppressants, 'mega?"

Jensen's lips drew back in a snarl of frustrated rage. He couldn't speak past the wadded rag in his mouth, but he raged,"Yes, damn you!" even if he couldn't form the words. They understood him.

"Aw. Well, we'll just have to keep you till your last dose runs out. Bring you right into heat then, won't it?" He smiled wide, and reached to tweak Jensen's nipple. "Be begging for it, from all of us, sweetheart. Not an unsolvable problem."

The alpha pulled the rag out of Jensen's mouth, and leaned down to maul his mouth in a brutal parody of a kiss. Jensen jerked violently aside and gasped a breath. The eyes of the alpha bored into his, and he just smiled a slow, wide smile full of teeth and rolled Jensen over onto his belly.

The alpha leaned in, licking at Jensen's neck. He spoke in a low, gravelly voice that had more than a shade of alpha in it. "They didn't mate you, did they? No mating mark. That's lucky for us, pretty."

He licked a wide, slow, wet stripe from Jensen's shoulder up to his ear, biting hard on the lobe. "Uncle Ed said you were pretty. He wasn't lying, you are a very pretty little thing."

Jensen went still, except for his heart suddenly trying to beat its way out of his chest.

"He's gonna be so happy to see you, honey. He's missed you." His cock rutted against Jensen's ass, parting his cheeks and rubbing over his hole. "And you've got a whole big family of little ones who've been missing their momma—they're gonna be happy to see you, too."

Horror overrode the paralyzing fear, and Jensen struggled to escape the alpha's grasp. "People will be looking for me! Omundson will be on your sorry asses. They'll find me long before that happens," Jensen snarled. He tried to make it sound like he believed it. He hoped they believed it. He wanted to believe it.

"I'm sure," the alpha purred, completely unaffected by the omega's puny threats. "Well, just in case that's true, maybe we'd better get on with the proceedings at hand." He grinned and turned to the others. "Right, boys?"

And the whole group roared their approval.

*    *    *

Chad flipped idly through the CDs in the bin, looking for something interesting. His ears perked up as the shop door creaked open and footsteps hurried toward the lunch counter. "Dude!" a random voice said. "They grabbed that omega kid! Right off the street!"

"What, the one that got bit and turned? Who grabbed him?"

"You know, Greg and Tony and those other alphas, the ones that hang around with the Sons."

"Yeah?"

Chad risked a glance, and saw the kid stand, pull a couple of bills out of his wallet and throw them on the counter. "Where'd they take him?"

"Tony's stepdad's house, I think. His mom and stepdad are away for the weekend, so they've got the basement all to themselves till they get home!"

Both kids hurried out of the store, one asking the other, "You think they'll share..?"

Chad pulled out his cell phone and hit speed dial for Jared. It rang a couple of times, and then, "H'lo?"

"Jared. Where are you, man?"

"Home. What's up?"

"Jensen's been grabbed."

"What? By who?" Before Chad could answer, suspicion crept into Jared's voice. This might be a prank, even though it was a piss-poor one. "How do you know?"

"I overheard a couple of kids talking."

Chad was out of the store and on the street, heading in Jared's direction. "They said it was senior alphas, plus some of the Sons. They're supposed to be holding him at Tony Benbow's stepdad's house. Listen, I'm calling the sheriff, and maybe he'll let me ride along. You want to call Alpha Omundson? And maybe Principal Beaver?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll do that. Chad?"

"What?" Chad was impatient to get Jared off the phone so he could call in to the sheriff's office."

"Thanks. And be careful!"

"Likewise," Chad said, hitting disconnect and dialing 911.

*    *    *

It all went completely to shit after that. There were three or four of them on him at any given time, licking, biting, snuffling at his throat, under his arms, in his hair. And hands, hands stroking and pinching twisting and pulling at his nipples. Finally his briefs were pulled off and one of them took his dick in hand. The traitor thing rose at a touch, and hardened at the attention that Jensen didn't want. Didn't matter, his body didn't listen to his mind, or his heart, and he was made to come. His legs were hoisted high, and fingers probed at his hole. He was covered in hands, in tongues, in sensations he couldn't decipher, couldn't process, couldn't override.

"Who's first?" rang out, and several voices replied. Someone shouldered between Jensen's upraised legs, and he wanted to fight, he wanted to break away from the hands holding him down, but he couldn't. He couldn't. He wasn't strong enough, and his traitor body didn't go along with that plan, at all. No matter what he wanted, this was happening. Again. And he was powerless to prevent it. Again.

And then, dimly, he heard the crack of a door hitting the brick wall as it was thrown open. Voices shouted, deep mature alpha voices that couldn't be withstood. The hands fell away, Jensen's legs dropped to the bed. He lay, spread open and unable to move as someone gathered him up, spoke gently as they wrapped him in the bedsheet and carried him out of the basement.

*    *    *

It was days later before he spoke to anybody. Beaver stayed nearby, and Tim dropped by to look in on Jensen, to pat him on the leg and speak words of encouragement. He could sense Hugo and Lee in the house, but they didn't show themselves, and he thought that was due to shame and regret. It wasn't really their fault; it all happened so fast. And Jensen would tell them that, tell them thanks for finding him, for getting him out of that basement hellhole. He would tell them, but it was going to take a little while.

He emerged from his bedroom, and ate the meal Mara made just for him. He sat in Mr. Beaver's office. They didn't talk, but the company was comforting. Tim dropped by again, now that Jensen was up, and he told Jensen that the Sons were in jail, and the senior alphas were awaiting a council decision on what would be done with them. "They'll be punished," he promised. And he could tell that Jensen accepted the justice of it, but it didn't help with the rage and futility he was feeling. He gripped the boy's shoulder as he left, with the reminder that he was available if Jensen wanted to talk.

They asked if they should call Alan, and Jensen said no. There was nothing he could do, and he would just feel awful. It was Jensen's to deal with, so leave Alan out of it.

Morgan made a special trip, once Jensen was up and talking again. They sat together in Beaver's office, and Morgan told him that it was Jared and Chad who found out what had happened, who called for help, who were responsible for finding him. That brought a smile to Jensen's face—a small one, but a smile.

Gauging Jensen's strength, Morgan told him that Ed had been found, and arrested, and was awaiting trial. Meanwhile he was being interrogated about the whereabouts of Roy.

"Thank you. Thank you for telling me. Thanks for catching him," Jensen said.

"You should feel safe, now," Morgan reassured him. "Roy won't come for you on his own."

Jensen thanked Alpha Morgan again, and once he left, Jensen sat for a long while, and tried to feel reassured, and safe. It didn't work.

He talked to Samantha, and that only added strength to the idea that had been growing in his mind. He checked in with Dr. Speight to make sure his implant was okay, that the suppressants' effect hadn't been compromised by his ordeal. The doctor assured him he was all good on both counts.

He told Speight and anybody else who would listen that he would never be put in that position again. That he was tired of being careful, of being paranoid, and it didn't matter anyway because he could be grabbed at any time, his suppressants withheld, his implant cut away. He was still an omega, the danger would always exist. And he couldn't live anymore as an omega.

He had done his research, studied all sides of the issue, and it changed nothing. He wanted a hysterectomy—the treatment prescribed as a last-ditch measure for omegas with life-threatening disease or trauma. It had never been, and wasn't ever likely to be approved for removing an omega's healthy organs.

Jensen talked it over with Mr. Beaver, who was patient enough to sit and discuss the issue several times. He asked his help to arrange a meeting with Dr. Ferris, Dr. Speight, and Alpha Omundson. Since his visit from Alpha Morgan, and the alpha's personal involvement, bringing news he believed would provide some relief and closure, Jensen felt that Alpha Morgan might be an ally in what Jensen planned to do. He contacted Morgan's office and asked him to come meet with Jensen and the others, and Beaver was surprised when the Alpha said yes.

Omundson expected Jensen to ask to use his office for the meeting, or perhaps Dr. Ferris' office. He, and everyone else was surprised when they were invited to sit around Principal Beaver's dining room table. The adults didn't know it, except for Beaver himself, but Jared was in the office, where he could hear, but not be seen. He had, after all, no information to share, no knowledge to contribute. But Jensen wanted him there, to hear and witness the proceedings first hand, so that, whatever the verdict, Jensen would not have to recount and retell the events. And Jared was willing, even eager, if Jensen could know he was supported, even if Jared wasn't actually at the table.

Once everyone was gathered and seated, with glasses and carafes of water within reach, Jensen thanked each of them for coming. And then he launched into his plea, and his reasons for making it.

"I wasn't born an omega—I wasn't born a werewolf. I was changed, against my will, and with no chance for refusal or appeal, for one purpose. The wolves—the alphas—who kidnapped me wanted a breeder, and they liked my looks." He swept the circle, looking into each of their faces, before he went on.

"Nothing was explained to me. Things were done to me without my understanding or consent, and I existed in a state of ignorance and despair for three years." He sipped at his glass and then set it down.

"When I escaped, my one thought was to return to the life I'd had stolen away. To go back to my home, my family, my friends and my school, and to pick up the threads again and make up for lost time. Very soon, it became clear to me that none of that was ever going to happen. That not only had my life been interrupted by someone else's desires, it had been ended. That while it existed, in a real way, I no longer did, at least not in the way I did before, the way I needed to, to be able to reclaim my life."

Omundson shifted in his seat and prepared to say something. Jensen spoke quietly, politely. But he was heard by all of them. "Let me finish."

"I've been told to start a new life, to learn to be a werewolf, become part of the pack, let go of my life before, of who I was born to be, and become a new thing.

"Part of the existence of that new thing includes belonging to another person. Being obedient, receptive, submissive. Always looking to others to decide important things about my life." He swallowed, and sipped more water. "I haven't made any judgments on anyone else's life. I don't have the authority or experience to argue self-determination with born omegas. They fit into the society—into the pack—as they are meant to, and accept the life they live."

He leaned forward and once again met each pair of eyes before he spoke. "I wasn't born omega. I have tried to live as an omega, but I've finally realized that I can't do that. To be always afraid, to have my independence, my self-determination, my self-worth, dictated by someone—anyone—who decides what my life should be? To have no recourse? No appeal? No other way? That isn't living. Not for me.

"I'm very aware I can't go back to being human, and I'm just becoming aware that there are possibly positive things about being a werewolf. But please believe I'm entirely truthful when I say, I am unable to live as an omega."

Morgan cleared his throat, asking Jensen's permission to speak, and Jensen nodded.

"But Jensen, what alternative is there? You say you can't go back to being human—and that maybe, now, you don't want to be human, that you might learn to be happy as a were. But you are omega. We've done everything we can with modern medicine to suppress your heats, to prevent pregnancies. What else can we do?"

Jensen breathed deep. This was the moment his future rested on. "Sterlization. Removal of everything that makes me omega. Make me a beta, and let me live free of the fear that someone—anyone—on a whim, or with some purpose that has nothing to do with my will can remove my access to suppressants and contraception. Can force me into heats, into pregnancy, whenever they want."

Omundson spoke. "There are laws," he began, and Jensen shut him down.

"And we see how well they work." Omundson had the grace to look rueful as Jensen continued. "I know that because none of you are omega you can't really understand how deeply my aversion runs. But truly, without one bit of overdramatizing, and from the bottom of my heart, if I'm forced to remain an omega, there is no point in living. I can't live in constant fear. I can't cower and wait, expecting catastrophe with every breath I take.

"I'm aware sterlization is forbidden except in cases that are life threatening. I suggest to you that my case is exactly that. I wasn't born an omega, I was never meant to be an omega. I can't live as an omega. Allow me the surgery to realign my gender to beta, and let me live the fullest life that's possible for me."

Epilogue.

Jensen strode up the hill, breathing deep, and muscles working loosely and strong. He felt no threat of danger, didn't feel the need to move furtively from one sheltered point to the next, not any more. Jared waited for him at the top of the hill, and they fell into step together.

"You look good." Jared smiled. It was nice to see.

"I feel great," Jensen grinned back. "Let's do this."

They both started stripping out of their clothes, and Jensen said, "It's time I learn what it's like to be a werewolf."

They shifted at the same time, Jensen just a second or two behind. Jared play-bowed, and Jensen snuffled at his neck. With a yip, they both turned and dashed off through the trees.

Fin

Comments are like fuel for the soul || Master Post  || Art Post

Comments

[mre-quecky.livejournal.com]

oh wow, what an amazing story, absolutely loooved! I would love to bookmark this on ao3, so can you let me know when you post there? Also,poor Trevor :( if at all possible I would looove to read a sequel about Trevor!

[fufaraw]

Thank you. Yes, Trev's a favorite character of mine.

The AO3 link in the masterpost should go live today or tomorrow, thanks for asking about it!

[trishabooms.livejournal.com]

My plan for today had been to sit out in the sun and work on my tan, after a quick flick through my phone. It didn’t happen because I found this story and couldn’t stop reading. Hubby must have made me a cup of coffee at some point, I just found it, cold on the shelf.

I loved this. It was different and it was totally absorbing. I really liked the way that this was all about Jensen and that everyone else, even his dad, was a secondary character.

It was beautifully written and conceived. Thank you so much for sharing.

[fufaraw]

Oh my goodness, what a wonderful comment, thank you!

I have to confess to reading Lamb clandestinely when I felt obligated to keep working on Prodigal. I promised myself once Prodigal was posted to leave a comment on Lamb, which I shall do today, with my thanks.

Prodigal was begun for the 2016 BB. I stopped writing at 17K words, realizing I could make draft deadline wc, but the story just wasn't there. I poked at it for 2017 BB, but it just laid there like a dead flounder, until last summer. It took a couple of months' work before I had to admit to myself that editing what I had wasn't going to work, and starting over.

Despite really wanting to tell this story, it fought me every step of the way. I'm glad it's done. And I'm glad you found something of worth in it.

I'm going to go try very hard to write something fluffy and fun, now. (Sh'yeah. Like that will ever happen.)

Thank you so much for reading, and sharing your reaction. Means a lot.

[anniespinkhouse.livejournal.com]

Well done! I feel there should be balloons and ticker tape.

I love that this was Jensen's journey and he had to make it mostly alone which mirrors his decision at the end. It was his body to decide what to do with. I like to think that it is a starting point for the pack in general because the young alphas really need to know that omegas aren't just there for their pleasure and taking. Yes it will take time but once one were has taken a stand it might get easier beyond that.

[fufaraw]

Mimosas and cabana boys peeling grapes, more like. Thank you! And thanks for the cheerleading along the way--it helped to keep me going.

In reaction to a comment, I'm afraid there's already a timestamp percolating. We shall see if it works out. In the future. No...farther in the future. Meantime, mimosas.