Chapter Twenty-Two – Clever Seer
After the whole kidnapping thing and bad visions and all, Jack expected sleep to take him in one fell swoop, but that didn't happen. His back pressed against Theo's hard and warm body, he lay on one side, ready to slip into the world of dreams. Still, his eyes were wide open and his mind was as fresh as if he'd just woken up after a restful sleep.
Vee was on his back and snoring softly. Jack would normally pester him with questions and pleas to tell him a bedtime story, but he didn't want to disturb such a peaceful sleep.
His head was resting on Theo's arm, which was serving as his own personal pillow. It wasn't soft like a pillow, but that was okay, because Jack felt protected, nothing like the way he'd felt when that creature with branches growing out of its head had him in its clutches.
Everything necessary for a good night's sleep was there. The embers of the fire made by Theo crackled softly, and they continued to give off a soft warm light. The sound of the other two men sleeping nearby should have lulled him to sleep already, but he was clearly in no shape for that to happen.
Shape, right, Jack snorted at his own silly word choice. He had never been in shape, unless by shape he meant a relatively short stick, which pretty much described his 'shape'.
Ah, damn it, letting his mind get caught in stupid threads wasn't working, either. Should he wake up for real and read his cards? Maybe they had changed, indeed; maybe they were changing right now. That horned… whatever was wrong about the cards Jack loved so much being nothing but painted paper. They held many truths, and it was most likely Jack's role to understand them all.
He had all the arguments in the world to disbelieve the horrible visions the horned creature had made him witness. For instance, there was not an ounce of truth in how his kidnapper had tried to make him believe that Vee and Theo didn't want him by their side. Therefore, by sheer logic alone, Jack was completely free to surmise that the other part – which he had left out of his earlier conversation with his companions – was also not true.
Yeah, he should sleep now that he knew that part couldn't be real. As if Jack would be so easy to fool. Granted, in his life, there had been several occasions on which he'd let himself be fooled, like when he bought that golden lottery ticket, believing it was real – spoiler alert, that lottery didn't even exist, and he had been seven at the time, so—
He had taken off his jacket and his bag was most likely lost already, so he had no means to check on the stub he still kept as a memento of his past foolishness. But what if—
No, no, no, he told himself repeatedly. There was no way Theo was a murderer. The poor doggie he was at heart would surely be devastated to hear that he was the one behind the demise of his own pack.
But it wasn't true, anyway. And even if it was – which it wasn't – it wouldn't be Theo's fault at all.
Jack made up his mind. That creature of mist and bad attitude was definitely, but definitely, a trickster. And while Jack hadn't fared well against tricksters in his life so far, maybe his experience with being fooled so many times would be of some help now.
Now that he'd made the decision to stand up to con artists and tricksters and horned demons, he should be able to go to sleep.
But what if, once he closed his eyes, he would see the same scene over and over again: the young wolf finishing off each pack member he found alive? Jack was scared of nightmares; usually he wasn't scared enough to get insomnia, but it looked like that could be happening in this case.
What if telling Vince at least helped? No, he wouldn't burden Vince with that kind of knowledge, either. He was strong, granted, but he might get mad. Yeah, he might get mad, and then he might say something by accident and then Theo would overhear and—
Jack groaned and pushed himself up on one elbow. He was about to nudge Vince and ask him for that bedtime story after all when he noticed a soft blue light painting the cave wall.
What dreadful visions waited for him now? Jack turned his head slowly, exactly like people did in horror movies, anticipating that he wouldn't like what he was about to see.
His eyes grew wide at the sight of the apparition standing at the cave mouth. No, not standing. Floating. Yeah, just like in fairytales. And it was a creature from a fairytale, nothing like that disgusting horned demon.
"Wow." It was a single word, but Jack hoped it conveyed his precise feelings upon seeing the apparition.
It was a woman – a young woman with long flowing hair that swirled around her like it weighed nothing. She was surrounded by a halo of moonlight, and blue fireflies swarmed around her like tiny insects that mistook a streetlight for the real moon. Only she wasn't a streetlight…
"Are you the Moon?" he asked.
It could very well be that he was sleeping and dreaming right now. Only this dream was by no means a nightmare, and it didn't give him the chills.
Child of the sun.
The beautiful apparition didn't move her lips at all, but Jack could hear her anyway, loud and clear.
"Me? Am I a child of the sun? Thanks. I mean, I don't think anyone ever gave me a cooler nickname." Vee and Theo had named him a hedgehog and a field mouse, which did sound a little cute if he thought about it and decided to make the best out of any situation. But being called a child of the sun was way cooler.
He could tell that the young woman was smiling, although her serene face didn't move a muscle. It was so weird, yet so awesome. Jack wanted to have more dreams like this because then he'd have a reason to go to sleep at the same time every night. Maybe he'd even drink a bit of milk beforehand, and follow all the other good advice doctors gave to those who had trouble sleeping like he was having right now.
Unless he was already sleeping.
The woman's skin shone like polished pearl, but she looked alive. When she moved, her robe shimmered in waves and crystal reflections, and Jack didn't want to take his eyes off her.
"You look like the moon incarnate," he whispered. "But I bet you hear that all the time."
She didn't reply this time, only gestured once and made the cave wall come alive. Jack cautiously placed himself on his knees and observed the symbols that flickered and appeared through magic before his eyes.
It had to be magic.
He recognized what he saw right away. The sun, the moon, and the wolf. Only the wolf, now that he looked closer, was in chains. Jack pursed his lips and furrowed his brow in an effort to understand more.
The Alpha is bound by grief he does not understand. His pack does not rest. They are caught between this world and mine, shackled by a hand not their own.
"I see," Jack murmured. "Actually, I don't see much in the sense that I don't quite understand. Is that Theo in chains? Or is that his pack?"
The alpha and his pack are one and the same in spirit.
"Okay, okay, I like getting more info, keep it coming. What should I call you? Your Highness?"
Unlike the evil horned demon who immediately snapped at him when he let his nerves get the better of him, the beautiful apparition floating inside the cave now seemed not only patient, but also amused by his fumbling and babbling.
You must help him break the chains. You must hurry. The one keeping the spirit of Whiteflame in its clutches is bound to tighten the noose.
What noose? Jack opened his mouth to ask but then looked closer at the image on the cave wall. There was a noose, indeed. A rope wrapped around the wolf's neck. It seemed loose right now, but what did it mean?
"So, what am I supposed to do?" he lamented out loud.
You will know, clever seer. You will gain new knowledge, and you will become wise.
"That's awesome to hear, but can you give me a little more? Where do we find this asshole, pardon my French? Can you put in the GPS coordinates for his sorry ass? That would be really helpful, not gonna lie."
You are the one who will lead them there. The alpha and the guardian. You are the thread of light that leads. The guardian is the arm that protects. The alpha is the soul that needs to heal.
"I really love your metaphors."
They are more than that. You will understand. Do not worry. You are stronger than you think, clever seer.
"That's the sort of thing I ought to print out and hang on a wall," Jack said. "So, you're here to give me hope and repair the damage that ugly demon did? Is it a demon? A witch?"
You are not alone, Jack. Know that.
She was already fading, and Jack made a move as if his physical gesture would be able to stop a creature made of light from going back to her own dimension.
"She called me Jack," he whispered to himself. "The Moon knows my name. Like how cool is that?"
Too bad he couldn't share it with Vee and Theo because they were still sound asleep. So, it looked like a lot was resting on his shoulders.
"No pressure or anything," he murmured as he cuddled against Theodore's side and reached for Vincent's arm with one hand, resting it on a large bicep, whose size alone was enough to give him peace of mind about being protected and all.
***
He'd been overly rash telling the clairvoyant that he was important to him, but so far, the field mouse hadn't taken advantage of that to tease him. Theodore never slept late, and this morning was no exception. What surprised him, however, was how soundly he had ended up sleeping by his companions' side. Even if it could very well be considered an exaggeration, they were his pack and offered the same sensation of safety all wolves experienced in the presence of their packs.
All wolves with a pack to call their own.
He had to move his arm carefully so he didn't disturb Jack. Slowly, he wrapped his free arm around the field mouse's lithe body to lift him a little. Before he had the chance to remove his arm from underneath Jack's head, the clairvoyant shifted and rolled toward him, smacking his forehead against his chest.
It would be even more difficult to remove him now. Jack stretched like a kitten and snuck one arm around Theodore's neck. He murmured something only he himself could understand and hid his face in the crook of Theodore's shoulder. His lips moved, touching the sensitive skin there. It was difficult to keep in a giggle.
Giggle? The thought itself was positively outrageous. What kind of alpha giggled?
"Morning, Theo," Jack mumbled sleepily. "Don't get up just yet. There's no school today."
Theodore hesitated, torn between shaking Jack and pushing him off and indulging in that soft embrace a little more. The latter won as Jack threw one leg over him and began sucking gently at the side of his neck.
"I heard morning sex is everything and more," Jack continued his sleepy monologue. "You know, if I didn't know this was just a dream, I'd never have the guts to tell you such crazy stuff. I did put my mouth on your cock, although I have no idea how much or if that counts as a blowjob."
Jack stopped abruptly. He tried to get away, but Theodore rolled him on his back and caught him underneath his larger body.
The pretty eyes snapped open. Even without glasses, they looked big and beautiful on his tiny face.
"This isn't a dream, right?" he babbled.
"It's not," Theodore confirmed. Despite his earlier plans of going outside and starting the day worrying about what lay ahead, he now felt in the mood for something else. "What were you saying?"
"I have no idea. I mean, I was sleep-talking, obviously."
"You can't be that shy," Theodore teased the field mouse. "After all, you did have your mouth on my cock."
What was driving him to behave in such a silly way? It had to be Jack's fault and his propensity for fooling around instead of doing proper future-reading or anything else useful. Even as his brain berated him for indulging in such morning activities instead of doing something useful himself, his body behaved in complete opposition to his decision to resist.
"What are you kids doing up so early in the morning? Other people are still trying to sleep," Vince scolded them from a couple of feet away.
That was enough to make Theodore disentangle himself from Jack's embrace. "You two can sleep a little longer. I will scout our surroundings and return with information."
"And I thought you would never let me out of your sight," Jack complained. "You're a bit iffy, Theo, for real."
"I am not iffy." He stopped abruptly. Such a silly accusation didn't deserve a reaction.
"Wishy-washy then?" Jack asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
Theodore was on his feet now. "Neither," he said curtly and turned on his heel. "Guardian, the clairvoyant is in your care. I will not be far away. But it is essential that Jack doesn't disappear again, so be prepared for anything that might happen."
"Wow, anything," Jack commented, rolling over the ground until he ended up propped against Vince's considerably larger frame. "That sounds ominous."
"Aren't you in high spirits after being kidnapped by a horned demon?" Theodore blurted out, annoyed with how easy Jack seemed to switch banners and loyalties. Now he was comfortably cuddled by the guardian's side, and Vince didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around him.
To hell with these silly emotions. What reason had he to feel jealous? They were companions dictated by circumstance. Whatever Jack believed the cards were showing him couldn't be true. What sort of union could the three of them have?
"A-ha," Jack exclaimed, stretching one arm to point an accusing finger at Theodore. "So, it was a horned demon. Not a witch. Or a wizard. Or a--" He started snapping his fingers. "What other creatures from fairytales use magic and are obnoxious about it?"
Theodore would have doubted he had it in him to roll his eyes, but he did just that as he walked out of the cave. Jack's silliness was infectious.
Also, he had another reason to rush out. Rolling around on the floor with Jack had put him into an uncomfortable position, and he needed to cool down and fast. What sort of alpha ignored the severity of the situation they were in so he could enjoy a bit of fumbling with an attractive field mouse?
***
"Vee, you are a complete and utter cockblocker," Jack declared as soon as Theodore was out of earshot.
Vince couldn't help laughing. "So you were planning on fooling around while completely and utterly ignoring that I was sleeping right here. Tsk, tsk, I'm disappointed. I thought we were a throuple."
"That's it," Jack said, full of vigor apparently, despite the early hour. "We are a throuple! You know, just in case Theo simply refuses to admit that we are his pack now. Though we are a pretty slim pack."
"Speak for yourself. I'm far from being slim," Vince argued, tapping his stomach with one hand and using the other to tickle Jack, who jolted out of the way like a cat.
"Anyway, I think Theo was considering whether he wanted to get naughty or not, and you interrupted," Jack continued. "And you know how skittish he is."
"Aren't you the male version of a minx?" Vince teased. "And I thought you were shy."
Jack pursed his lips in the cutest manner possible. "All my shyness and innocence flew out the window the moment I understood how awesome blowjobs are. I still have to realize the same thing about taking it up the butt, but that's got to wait, right? Until we find Theo's pack and we save them and we're heroes. Butt sex comes after."
Vince snuck up on Jack and caught him by the back of his neck, wrapping one arm around his waist. "I don't know about that," he drawled while bending Jack over playfully. "We might have to do it before we become heroes."
"Really?" Jack leaned into Vince's naughty play without an ounce of resistance. Now Vince had him on all fours with his ass pressed against him. "We might lose our motivation."
"I'm sure we won't." Vince caught Jack's shoulders and pulled him back into an upright position. He gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Joke all you want, we need to establish our unbreakable bond to resist this faceless enemy. And defeat it, of course."
"Does that include butt sex?" Jack asked in his usual half-serious, half-banter-like way.
Vince shrugged. "It very well might. Although it might have more to do with Theo marking us both."
"Marking us by…" Jack gave Vince a questioning look.
"By biting us, of course," Vince replied and ruffled Jack's hair. "Let's see what Theodore is getting up to. No one says just because he's an alpha, he can't be in danger."
"I agree. Wait, biting? Like in… biting?" The idea of what a bond with an alpha could and should mean finally dawned on Jack and illuminated his understanding of their situation.
"Totally like in biting," Vince confirmed with a sly smile.
TBC