by A Y Venona
Jason took the glass from Xander’s hand and placed it on the bar. He then held his sides and turned him to face him.
“Xander, I would have preferred it your way too, but whatever the circumstance of our union does not matter because they are all just a matter of details. Xander, you complete my soul. It may have taken me by surprise to find someone who can make me whole from a single touch, but I know that you are whom I want the rest of my life. Will you marry?”
A little pout was formed in those beautiful lips, and Jason’s heart thundered in his chest as he waited for Xander’s reply. And when the pout turned into a smile and then a grin, Jason his whole body lifted and his soul soared.
“Yes, Jason Dyeus, I will marry you.”
Chapter 13
“Everyone is looking forward to this inauguration. Media from different outlets in the whole seven realms are going to be there to witness this event. Warring packs agreed to a truce in deference to this ceremony,” Delvin said. "You're not listening, are you?"
Jason chose to ignore the question. Jason and Delvin were walking through the corridor of the Castle Kappa. The castle was the first line of defense for the whole Pershiane Island since its main gate was the Island’s main entrance. Its main hallway was about 50-foot wide and connected all the six buildings inside the curtain wall. Arches divided the hallway to appropriate each building a section labeled by its own designation, much like a name given to a street in a regular town, or city. They stopped right at the foyer from the main gate.
"If you become the captain, you’ll get to choose your first three guardians. They are around 20 guardians as at your disposal but the three main ones are your main group.”
"You're placing so much faith in me," Jason said as they reached the conference chamber.
Delvin held the doorknob but before opening it, he turned to Jason. “Believe it or not, you’re one of the rare people in the world whom I’ll follow.” Then he smiled. “Not even when Adrian was the captain. There’s something about you, Jason. And I think I know.”
Jason inadvertently grabbed Adrian’s arm. “Tell me.”
“My son Avian, he’s the one who gave me the idea.” Jason’s brow furrowed in confusion. "Avian said you and him have the same beast.” Jason’s frown deepened. Delvin chuckled. “Not literally. Avian did not really know anything about it but he knew what the beast is for the werekin because I taught him about it. But what I can deduce from that is that he and you have the kind of beast.”
“Okay, but isn’t he a delta alpha like me, so I guess that’s what he meant.”
“No, Jason. He meant you’re like him. And he is not a delta alpha.” With a wink, Delvin pushed the door open.
The designs and aesthetic elements of the building that housed the conference hall may have been to Jason’s preference had he not been preoccupied with Delvin’s previous statement. The chamber was a mini amphitheater. The front part of the chamber—that is, the stage— had seating for each side. These were reserved for the elder alphas. The center of the stage had three chairs lined up in a semi-circle around a chair that looked like a throne.
The second half of the chamber was a semi-circle tiered seating. Delvin ushered him to the front seat directly across the platform. Jason had no patience counting how many seats they were all in all, but it’s already filled up when they walked in. The elders proceeded to take their seats at each side of the stage. The alphas stood up when the guardians were introduced and remained standing when Riker entered and took the throne. Jason’s eye immediately located Xander who was seating at Riker’s right. Riker’s gaze met Jason’s.
. “Hey.”
Jason glanced up to see his friend Hearst grinning.
“Daniel secured us some VIP tickets to get in,” his friend said.
Jason cocked his head to the side to see Aaron behind Hearst. His two friends sat on the chairs behind him while Daniel went around to sit on the front row beside Delvin. Daniel bent to kiss Delvin on the lips before he sat down.
“What did I miss?” Daniel said.
“Nothing yet,” Delvin replied.
“This is exciting,” Aaron said as he leaned forward to whisper to Jason. “That’s Riker?” Jason nodded. “He’s huge.”
“Nah, Jason can take him,” Hearst said.
Murmurs echoed in the room.
“Guys, the audience is mostly composed of alphas with alpha sense of hearing, which means there are many who can hear your conversation,” Delvin said.
Delvin’s statement was confirmed when the crowd snickered. Riker glared at their direction.
One of the elders stood up and announced the names of the guardians. He then introduced Riker as their new captain. It was obvious to Jason that Riker was not popular as this announcement was met with silence.
“This proclamation ceremony will not be complete without the presence of our deity Fenrir, but on his behalf please welcome deity Janus.”
To everybody’s amazement a glowing bright sphere suddenly hovered on the stage. Then sphere increased in size in just a matter of a second. A red-haired deity in white and gold ensemble came out of it. He was wearing a combination of white tunic and calf-length wrap-around skirt with a gold belt around the waist and a sash cinched from one shoulder down to the other side of his waist. The entire crowd knelt down including Jason.
“Rise,” the deity said. The audience stood up from where they were kneeling and continued to listen to the god. “I’m not Fenrir, a naturally born leader, who has the gift for public speaking. So I will have to make it short. I am here to deliver the news that the Council of the Gods has decided to choose Riker Ono from the House of Enki as the new Captain of the Guardians, the gods very own elite warriors.”
A polite round of applause reverberated inside the hall following the announcement.
“My deity, I apologized for my interruption.”
A verbal ruckus from the crowd erupted in reaction this audacious stunt, and like everybody else, Jason shifted his gaze toward the speaker. Standing to the deity’s right, where the elders were seated, was Hector Brunn, Xander’s father.
But the deity did not seem to be offended, in fact he faced Hector with his brow raised.
“Oh, Hector Brunn, I was not informed of your attendance. But go ahead, you may proceed to whatever it is you want to speak to the crowd.”
“Thank you, my deity. Although the decision of who to lead the guardians resides solely in the council of the gods, the candidate himself has to prove to the world that he deserves the honor. On normal occasion, no one would be brave enough to challenge the chosen champion of the gods. But it doesn’t mean that there won’t be anyone out there who may be interested in the position.”
The deity’s mouth twisted into a smirk. “Are you telling me that someone in the crowd will challenge our chosen champion?”
“Why don’t we ask them?” Hector tilted his chin up as though he was challenging the deity to make that call.
Jason’s heartbeat sped up as listened to the exchange. He clenched his fists. To his side, Delvin whispered. “Hold on.”
The deity’s mouth curled upward in a wry smile, and then he faced the crowd. “Is there anyone here who would like to challenge Riker Ono?”
Delvin nodded at Jason. With his heart still racing like a war horse charging into battle, Jason stood up.
“My deity, my name is Jason Dyeus, and I’m challenging your champion, Riker Ono, for the captain-ship of the Guardians.”
A complete silence fell over the entire hall only to be broken by Riker’s booming voice.
“How fucking dare you!”
Both Jason and Rico launched toward each other, the action that prompted the attendees nearby to separate them.
“Wow, they sure hate each other,” came the voice that miraculously rose above the chaos.
Chapter 14
Jason’s gaze roamed over the walls of bookshelves. The columns were used to hold the corner shelves and to hold the
vault under which a long table was placed. The elders were already seated in their respective seats, but the deity Janus preferring to pace instead of occupying the reserved-only-for-him head of the table befuddled the heck out of Jason. As for Jason and his team’s account, three seats were provided in front of the long table. One for him, for Delvin and Hector.
With all their assessing gazes trained directly on him, Jason was nervous as fuck but he would rather fight three dragons than give them a glimpse of this vulnerability.
“We made a little research and we found out that you did not attend the Alpha Academy,” the leader of the elders said. This one had red hair and a face of an aging alpha. There was not a change in the intensity of their gazes.
“I’ve spent my whole life in the island where your law of the land cannot reach,” Jason said, his voice confident. As far as Jason was concerned, his father was the only authority his people would ever abide.
“What kind of island is that that is out of the reach of the Seven Realms?” said the same leader whom Jason cared not to remember the name.
“As far as our island and its people are concerned, my father is the law. And it has been like that ever since I could remember. I don’t think it is fair for you to judge us and my people without understanding our circumstances. My father visited this part of the world many times, that I could tell you. In fact, the major of Rancor is his friend.”
“And you said the name of your father is Marcus Dyeus. And he is a friend of Lares?”
“Yes, Lares helped us in getting situated in Midland. He gave us money and passports.”
“And he is missing, you said?”
A sudden overwhelming sense of sadness mixed with worry gripped Jason. How long had it been since he last saw his father?
“About two years now since he left our island.”
“Two years?” deity Janus spoke.
The elders themselves had their eyes wide and mouth agape, a strange reaction to something that supposed to be none of their concern.
“Yes,” Jason replied.
“Do you have a mother?” the deity asked.
“No. I only have one father all my life.”
“And your father had stayed in the island all through the years until his disappearance?”
“No, he has been in and out of the island. But he would only leave for a couple of days. The longest was five days until this last one.”
The deity kept his gaze fixed on Jason. His eyes were sharp and probing. Jason felt that gaze like it was tangible, slowing piercing through his skin. Jason’s beast did not take this invasion well. It started to stir, gradually uncoiling itself from the deepest of which it had dwelt. Jason’s eyes started to burn.
“Very well, Jason.” The soothing voice of the deity calmed his beast and appeased it enough to return to the depths of its core.
But the thing was, Jason did not really completely know what happened in the brief seconds until he gazed upon the shocked faces of the elders and even of Delvin and Hector.
“I knew it,” Delvin whispered to his ear. “I fucking knew it.”
Jason swiveled his head to him. “What happened?”
“Your eyes were burning with bright light. Jason, delta alphas’ eyes glowed red. But yours are different.”
Jason glanced to where the deity where standing. The deity had a smirk on his eyes.
“I’ll approve your request to challenge Riker. And if you win, I will personally grant you the exemption to attend the academy. We are all done here.” And to Jason, the god said, “And we will see each other again.”
Silence met this declaration. The elders did not even dare to protest.
On their way back to Delvin’s place, Hector grabbed Jason aside and said, “Stay away from my son.”
✽✽✽
“Here.”
Jason reached out for the glass of wine that Delvin gave. They were inside Delvin’s library. Delvin wanted to talk with Jason while Jason was still riling with fury. Hector’s last words to him still burned in his brain.
“Why would he say that?” Jason said when he could no longer contain the anger bursting out of him.
“One at a time, Jason. One at a time,” Delvin said, sitting in the couch with glass of wine in his hand. His measured calmness irritated Jason. After drinking his wine, he immediately refilled the empty glass with it.
“Xander is my priority. The rest doesn’t matter.”
“How about your father?”
Jason’s eyebrows clumped together as he tried to curb the anger rising in his stomach.
“Delvin, you have no idea how much I wanted my father now. You have no idea.” Jason took a deep breath and then touched his forehead in frustration. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should just abandon everything here and continue my search for him.”
“No. That’s not what I meant. But what’s happening now may have been related to your father too. Jason, in there your eyes glowed white just like Daniel’s, but you’re not an omega,”
Jason emptied his glass and then started pacing.
“Here, another one.”
He took the offered glass and downed its content in one gulp. Delvin’s eyes narrowed. He shook his head with a little smirk on his face, he gave the whole bottle to Jason. Jason did not hesitate to take it and drank it straight from the bottle.
“But since you’re not an omega, there is only one thing you can be,” Delvin said, continuing his previous conversation.
Jason put the bottle on the table, his eyes never leaving Delvin’s.
“I don’t really have much time to wait, Delvin, so spit it out.”
“You’re a true alpha just like my son Avian,” Delvin proclaimed.
Jason’s forehead creased. “Which means what exactly?”
“That you are a god.”
Chapter 15
“What do you mean stay away from him?” Xander said.
He was standing in the middle of their living room with his forehead puckered and his arms crossed. His two fathers were standing at the bar in front of him drinking their favorite wine as though they didn’t just drop a planet on his head. Xander shifted his gaze toward a huge vase in the corner of the bar. How would they react if Xander smashed their favorite vase?
“Xander, you can play with any werekin, or say fae, I don’t care, but not this one,” Lawrence said. His face was a mirror of irritation. With his unruffled long blond hair and his do-not-cross-me attitude, his father had always been the source of their family’s emotional strength. He was unperturbed when in the middle of an argument and tensed situation. But today, he had a look of worry, one that Xander believed he wouldn’t ever see in his father’s face.
“Too late, I already proposed to him. I’ll take him to the gods for this Friday’s mating.”
“Absolutely not!” Lawrence’s voice boomed across the room.
Hector immediately reached out to his husband, calming him down.
“We don’t yell at our son, remember?” Hector said to his spouse, his face wrought with concern. He turned to Xander. “Xan, please have a seat. Let’s discuss it where we are seated.”
Reluctantly, Xander went to the couch to sit. Both Hector and Lawrence took the couch across from him.
“I think we have enough of the wine. A tea is a more appropriate drink for us. I’ll get one,” Lawrence said, standing to get it.
“Please don’t put any charm on it,” Xander said.
“I will definitely put a charm into it, one that can calm my fucking nerves.” After saying this, Lawrence padded to the direction of the kitchen.
Hector poured himself a glass of wine. “I’m not much of a tea drinker myself,” he said and then drinking his glass.
“Do you agree with him, dad?” Xander added the extra word to appeal to the side of his father that was always agreeable to Xander. He only used it occasionally.
Hector’s eyes narrowed on Xander. “You know that I’ll do anything for you, right? Anythi
ng. But this time, Xander…” He paused to take a deep breath. He poured himself another glass and drank the whole thing. “Son, this is serious this time. We won’t be against your choice of mate if it will not harm you.”
“Harm me?”
It was that time that Lawrence came back from the kitchen carrying a tray of teapot and three cups. He placed the tray on the middle table.
“Why would mating with Jason harm me?” Xander asked the question again to ensure this would get ignored.
Lawrence poured himself with a cup of tea.
“Dads?” Xander prompted.
“Can it wait till I get a drink of this first?” Lawrence said. His eyes gleamed with unshed tears.
This image of Lawrence shook Xander to his core and stirred something in him, something that was unlike anything he had ever felt before.
Fear.
He watched Lawrence pick up the cup of tea with his hand shaking and drink it as though his life was dependent on it. Whatever this was that rattled his parents infuriated him and his warrior instinct kicked in, looking for a fight. Xander could not stand Lawrence to be this fazed. His father should be his old self—collected, unflappable, unshakable. And not like this.
After the second cup, the color on Lawrence’s face returned and his eyes clear. He fixed Xander with his sharp golden-green eyes. Hector’s arm was around his husband, supporting him.
“Jason is not what you think he is,” Lawrence said.
“Well, I think I figured that out. He’s not a werekin, not a fae. What is he then? A hybrid?”
Although most hybrids were considered monsters in the society, there were several of them who were actually humans like vampires and incubi. They were lumped into the hybrid category because the society was scared of them. Vampires fed on blood while incubi fed on the human energy. Their very existence was a threat to the humans in the world. Hence they were considered the enemies.
“Jason is not a hybrid. He’s one of us,” Hector answered.