Saving Jax

by L. M. Brown

  "Do we really think he'll go through official channels?" Cal asked. "His name is on the records, right?"

  Ty nodded. "You think he may just try to snatch them?"

  "It's a possibility."

  "He won't be able to take them off-world," Timon said. "I put an alert out for all ports to hold him if he tries to leave."

  "There are ways around that," Jax pointed out. "Disguises can fool the spaceport staff quite easily."

  Timon snorted. "The three of you would certainly know about that."

  Jax didn't reply. Instead, he curled up against Ty and tried to will the sky car to move faster than its current crawling pace.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Everyone piled out when they reached the terminal.

  Jax bounced on his paws, eager to get going.

  "You want to go ahead?" Ty asked.

  "Do you mind?"

  "Cal, go with him," Ty said. "We'll catch up with you."

  Jax took off at a run, Cal close at his heels, thankful that Kelon's home was within easy walking distance. He heard one of the youngsters crying as he hurried down the path towards the open door. His heart ached at the sound, even more so when he realised he didn't even know which of the youngsters was upset.

  Inside the burrow, he found his brother and Loris face to face with Lyndon. His three children sat in a row on the couch, all of them visibly upset.

  "You're not taking our children," Loris said.

  "They're my litter," Lyndon said. "I have every right to raise them as I see fit."

  "You gave up that right when you gave them away," Kelon snapped. "Jax!"

  Everyone turned to face him after Kelon's exclamation. Jax and Cal stepped inside. "We've been trying to contact you." He pointed at Kelon's holo-projector, which flashed with missed communication alerts.

  "We've been out for the day with the little ones," Loris explained. "We found this one here when we got back a short while ago. He apparently thinks he can just walk in here and steal our children."

  "I have every right," Lyndon began.

  "You have no rights," Jax snapped. "They aren't your litter anymore."

  Lyndon gestured to the trio on the couch. "Anyone with eyes can see that they are of my line."

  "You gave them away," Jax said. "If you want them back, you'll have to go through the official channels, and we'll fight you every step of the way."

  "You signed your litter away," Lyndon pointed out.

  "I did no such thing," Jax replied. "You stole them and gave them away in my name."

  "Without naming me as their second father," Lyndon added. "That means I can come forward now and claim them, and there's nothing you can do about it."

  "Your name is still on the records," Jax reminded him. "You might not have added your name as father, but you're still mentioned as the one signing off the paperwork for the adoption on my behalf. If anyone looked into things closely, I think they'd have some questions for you."

  "And what do you think will happen if they do look at the adoption?" Lyndon asked. "They'll see how it was rigged to place the litter with your brother, and they'll declare the adoption illegal and put them right back into the adoption pool. They could end up anywhere. Is that what you want?"

  Jax glanced at his litter and wondered how much of the conversation they understood. From the expressions on their faces, enough to be scared of what might happen to them.

  Pawsteps hurrying down the path heralded the arrival of the others and Jax and Cal stepped aside so everyone could crowd in.

  Ty growled at Lyndon, who took a step back in the face of his fury. "You really don't know when to walk away, do you?"

  Lyndon gave them all a smile. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. Orin, I presume Jax and his mates have filled your head with their tall tales about me?"

  "Don't bother," Orin said. "I've seen the holo-recording, and you can consider yourself dismissed from my service."

  Jax tried to hide his surprise. Apparently, his uncle had reconsidered his position on keeping Lyndon in his employ during the long journey.

  Lyndon rolled his eyes. "As if I can't find a better position."

  "You may struggle without my favour," Orin pointed out. "If anyone asks my opinion of you, I'll have no hesitation in telling them how you seduced my nephew and fathered two litters on him without having the decency to claim him as your mate."

  "I have far more ambition than to want him as a mate," Lyndon sneered.

  "So I heard," Orin replied. "Did you really think I would take you as my mate?"

  "I've served you for cycles. Anyone else would have claimed me and made me their heir long ago."

  "Rhys is my heir," Orin said. "He's the only member of my family who's shown even the slightest interest in the business."

  Jax glanced at his brother and Loris, and gestured for them to take the youngsters into the other room while Lyndon was distracted by his argument with Orin. He stayed where he was, taking no small amount of pleasure in seeing his uncle's eyes had finally been opened to Lyndon's true nature.

  "Rhys won't have much to inherit anyway," Lyndon commented snidely.

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "You mean you haven't noticed the fall in trade the last few cycles?" Lyndon asked with mock surprise. "All those rumours about your farming methods are taking their toll."

  "Rumours? What rumours?"

  Lyndon shot a smirk at Ty's father. "I'm sure Timon knows what I'm talking about, don't you?"

  Jax wasn't sure what Lyndon was getting at, but from the expression on Ty's father's face, he had a feeling that the older feline did.

  "Do you know what he's referring to?" Orin asked Timon.

  Timon nodded, his face grave. "There have been rumours circulating for some time now about how your lands come to be so fertile when previously the terrain was the most barren on Furyne."

  "What rumours?" Orin snapped.

  Timon didn't seem to wish to meet his gaze. "Rumours of the old ways, blood sacrifices and such like."

  Orin gaped at him. "You're not serious? Oh my paws, you are! I have no idea how such lies started, but I can assure you that they're entirely untrue. Jax, tell him."

  "Me?" Jax laughed and shook his head. "What do I know about how you run your business? You never even spoke to me about it."

  Orin shook his head. "The land is fertile in recent cycles because I've been trialling a new method of irrigation, based on a design that Rhys came up with. People can't seriously believe that I'm sacrificing virgins or some such nonsense."

  Timon coughed. "There are also rumours that people who go to investigate what's happening on your lands tend to disappear."

  "No one has ever come to investigate anything. It's very rare we get visitors so far from the spaceports at all."

  "Still, the rumours do persist."

  Orin huffed. "Have you ever sent anyone to investigate? No, of course you haven't. The only time I had any communication from you was when you wanted me to bring Jax to the mating festival, something which is almost as archaic as the idea of blood sacrifices."

  "Rumours have to begin somewhere."

  Jax almost missed Lyndon's sly smile. He had a fairly good idea where these rumours might have started. "Uncle Orin," he interrupted, "I think perhaps you're asking the wrong feline." He nodded at Lyndon, who continued to smirk.

  Orin rounded on Lyndon with a snarl of fury. "You've been sabotaging my business?"

  Kelon stepped forward. "Your business might be important to you, but my family is my top priority. So can we get back to the main issue here?"

  "My business—" Orin began.

  "Can wait until later," Kelon snapped. "I want some assurances that this despicable feline isn't going to destroy my family."

  "I'm just claiming what is mine," Lyndon said. "What feline wouldn't want to raise his own litter if he had the chance?"

  "You wouldn't," Cal commented sarcastically.

  "Not helping," Ty
said as he walked over to the newly vacated couch and sat down with Fay in his arms. Jax sat beside him and Cal, holding Dem, joined them too. "Father, what are our options here?"

  Timon paced the room, frowning as he mulled over the problem.

  "Can we make the adoption legal?" Kelon asked. "We can't lose them."

  "You could apply again to re-adopt this litter specifically, but if Lyndon or Jax were to oppose you, they would be given priority," Timon replied.

  "I would never oppose it," Jax said. "They're happy and settled here."

  "Unfortunately, Lyndon would," Kelon pointed out.

  Jax could hear the terror in his brother's voice. In all his life he had never regretted his bad judgement as much as he did now. It wasn't just his own life being impacted, it was the lives of his brother, his brother's mate, and their three children.

  He stared at Lyndon, trying to think of a way out of this mess. "What is it you want exactly?" Jax asked.

  "To raise my litter," Lyndon replied with another annoying smirk.

  "I don't believe you. You've never had a single fatherly instinct in your life. So try again."

  Lyndon sidled over to where Demi rocked the carriage with Patty and Tyme in. "Who have you named as father to these? Me?"

  Jax snorted. He would rather suffer the shame of registering them with no second parent on the entry than put Lyndon's name on it.

  "Ah, I take it that means you lied at the registration," Lyndon remarked. "You do know that's frowned upon?"

  "They aren't registered yet," Ty said.

  "How very lax of you." Lyndon leaned over the carriage. "You might like to hurry up and get that done. It would be a shame if Jax were to lose a second litter, too."

  Timon glared at Lyndon. "You seem to enjoy making threats. Ty has claimed Jax as his mate and when the litter is registered he will be named as their father."

  "I could dispute his declaration."

  "And have it known that you fathered a litter on a feline without having claimed him first?" Timon matched Lyndon's smirk with one of his own. "That is also frowned upon. Now, answer Jax's question. What do you want?"

  Lyndon shrugged. "I want half of Orin's land, and the staff to farm it."

  "Never!" Orin snapped.

  "It's what you owe me," Lyndon said. "And if you sign it over, I'll forget about these litters, permanently."

  Jax couldn't even look at his uncle. Orin had never been that fond of him, and after he had brought shame on the family, he had openly despised him. He couldn't even bring himself to ask whether he might at least consider Lyndon's demand.

  "I owe you nothing," Orin argued. "You've ruined my nephew and made every attempt to destroy my business. I wouldn't give you so much as a private patch for your garden."

  "Jax isn't ruined," Timon said. "He's a fine young feline, despite the abuse he suffered in your home. If you aren't prepared to make amends for what was done to him, I see I'll have to."

  "What do you mean?" Orin asked.

  Timon produced the mating contract that Ty had signed and spread it on the table. "Lyndon's attempted rape of Jax earlier today negates this contract."

  "What?" Kelon shouted. "Jax, are you all right?"

  "I'm fine," Jax hurried to assure him, before gesturing for Timon to continue.

  Timon nodded and ran his finger down the parchment. "I will draw up a new contract and remove the requirement that Lyndon be a part of Ty's household. I'll also prepare a second contract between myself and Lyndon, transferring him a large portion of land, in return for which he will relinquish all claims on the litters he fathered on Jax."

  "Can you do that?" Ty asked.

  "Yes, of course. Would that be sufficient to satisfy you, Lyndon?"

  "How much land are you talking about?" Lyndon asked. "As much as half of Orin's?"

  "No," Timon replied, "but the land will already be cleared which means you'll see profits earlier."

  "Much of Orin's land is ready be farmed too."

  "And a lot of it isn't," Timon said. "I'm sure that even if Orin were minded to give away half his land, he wouldn't be parting with the best half."

  "I'm not parting with any of it," Orin interrupted.

  "What about servants to work the land?" Lyndon pressed.

  "You'll have to hire them yourself, but I'll agree to pay their salaries until the first harvest. You will repay me from the profits. Agreed?"

  "Agreed," Lyndon said.

  "And what about the land I was to receive in the original contract?" Orin asked.

  Timon glared at him. "You'll still get it."

  Jax couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Timon, please, that's too much." Land for his uncle and land for Lyndon.

  Timon held out his hand for Jax to join him at the table.

  Jax stumbled over to him, unsure what he should say, but feeling he had to say something. Timon spoke before Jax had found the right words.

  "Jax, as a high noble, I have more land than I will ever be able to manage. This might seem like a lot to you, but I can afford to let it go."

  "But you shouldn't have to pay for my mistakes."

  Timon smiled kindly. "Everyone makes mistakes now and then. Ty made one when he signed the contract, even though he had reservations. I made one when I didn't take his concerns seriously."

  "Neither of those mistakes involved unclaimed litters," Jax pointed out. "I brought shame on my family, and now you're having to pay such a high price for my foolishness."

  Timon shook his head. "I don't see it that way."

  "You don't?"

  "No. I see a delightful young feline who has made my son very happy. That makes you a member of my family and as such I will do everything within my power to protect you, just as I would Ty. The same goes for Cal. You see, Jax, this is what families do for each other." Timon shot a quick glance at Orin before returning his gaze to Jax. "I know you haven't had a lot of experience in what a real family does, but you'll learn in time."

  Jax sniffled and he realised he was dangerously close to tears again. "I don't deserve all this."

  "Yes, you do," Timon assured him. "Now, let's get these contracts prepared and signed so we can say our farewells to Orin and Lyndon."

  Jax nodded. He could tell from Timon's tone that he was as eager to see the back of Orin and Lyndon as Jax himself was.

  It was full dark by the time they were finished. Timon had gone over every single line of each of the contracts until he was entirely satisfied with their contents. Then Ty, Cal and Jax had done the same. Even Kelon and Loris had read through the terms, to ensure their family was completely protected from any future claim by Lyndon.

  Jax suspected his brother no longer had anything to worry about on that score. Lyndon had what he wanted, and he had never shown any interest in his litters. He doubted he would start now. When the contracts were signed and Lyndon strolled out of the door without even a glance at his young, Jax wasn't even surprised.

  "Let's hope we've seen the last of him," Loris commented.

  "If he shows his face again, send word to me," Timon replied. "The land he's been granted is several days’ travel from both here and the palace. It's also close to the Great Lake's spaceport, which means he won't need to come to the one here to trade off-world. If he turns up in this area, then he runs the risk of losing the land he's just been given."

  Timon turned to Orin. "And are you satisfied with the new contract?"

  Orin finished reading the mating contract and signed it with a flourish. "Jax." He nodded at him, a vague acknowledgement of his presence, before turning to the door. When he reached it he glanced back over his shoulder. "Take care of your litters."

  Jax nodded. "I will." He supposed that was as close to an apology as he was ever going to get. He didn't care. He had Ty, Cal, and a family who loved him. He didn't need anyone else.

  Epilogue

  Four cycles later

  "Who's the father?" Jax asked eagerly as Ty and Cal hovered over the two cri
bs that now contained the male and dual-gendered babies he had given birth to a short while ago.

  The three of them had been undecided as to whose litter Jax should carry. In the end they had decided to make it a surprise, with both of his mates taking him one after the other, and sometimes simultaneously. As such, they couldn't be sure as to which of them had fathered the babies.

  "Do they both have my markings?" Jax asked. "What about their eye colour?" If they were both solid white felines with blue eyes, there was little they could do with their current technology to figure out who was the second father. Maybe they could put both Ty and Cal on the records when they registered them. Jax could just imagine the sorts of looks that would generate.

  Ty shook his head and picked up one of the babies. He turned round to reveal a son with black and white stripes.

  Jax grinned. "I guess that means Cal will have to wait for you to give birth to meet his first babies."

  Ty was pregnant as well, and due any time. That part hadn't been planned, Ty and Cal had got a little carried away one night, with predictable results, but they were sure they could cope.

  "Not so long," Cal said as he picked up their dual-gendered baby, revealing calico markings just like per father's.

  "Oh my," Jax whispered, his face flushing as he realised what this meant. "Ty, how in the world are we going to explain this to your parents?"

  Ty laughed. "Explain what? My parents are well aware that the three of us share a bed and have sex with each other."

  "But…" Jax waved his hand between the two babies. "How did this happen?"

  Cal smirked. "Well, about six months ago—"

  "I don't need a lecture on the mechanics of sex," Jax interrupted. "I meant how could one be fathered by each of you?"

  Ty sat beside him. "It's actually not that unusual, especially in relationships with more than two felines."

  "Are you sure?" Jax took his son from Ty's arms and rocked him gently. "And your parents won't know it's because you and Cal were… you know… inside me at the same time?"