It was a little intimidating, just a little, to see the massive wolf come sprinting straight for him. Wren’s ears were flattened back, his head and tail held down low. It wasn’t a friendly approach, but it wasn’t aggressive either.
Wren slowed to walk and slunk into the gazebo. He crawled under the table and lay down. Jackson stared at Wren’s tail - the only visible part of him from where Jackson was sitting.
“Kia will probably be out there for awhile.” There was no response, but Jackson hadn’t expected any. When Wren was human he barely responded, as a wolf, Jackson figured it was useless. “Why don’t you get up on the bench? It’s more comfortable than the floor.”
To his surprise, Wren slowly crept out from under the table. His ears were still flattened tight to his head. He stepped up on to the bench and lay down. Jackson held back his laugh. Wren was almost too large to fit, but he squeezed his
Jackson left Kia in charge of showing Wren how to use the tub and shower. She joined him not long after. “You showed him the selection of soaps?”“Yeah. He seemed a little overwhelmed so I pulled out the ones you use in case he just wanted to stick with that.”Jackson hummed. Kia’s hair was stuck in unattractive clumps. He thought he saw a twig buried in the thick strands. “You might want to shower too.”“Yeah.”She fell onto his bed instead. He pulled his feet out of the way just in time for her land with a muted thump. “He was protecting you earlier.”In the gazebo, when he’d growled at Kia. “That’s what it was? Thank God. I thought he saw you as a threat.”She snorted and rolled her head to the side to look at him. “Nope. He was just telling me to watch it. I just can’t decide if that’s a good sign or not.”Yeah. He kne
Kia sat up and cocked her head to the side. “Wren’s out of his bath. Want me to go get him?”“Yeah.”Jackson was just assuming Wren wouldn’t feel comfortable coming over by himself. To be fair, Kia was the only who really felt comfortable just coming into his room.Kia came back with Wren following behind her. Jackson stared. Wren’s hair was messy, wet, and dripping onto his shirt. He clutched a comb in his hand. his jaw was clenched tight, his shoulders tense. Jackson dropped his gaze back to the comb, then looked back at his hair.“Do you want help combing your hair?” It was a guess, but it was a good guess. Wren’s jaw unclenched at the words and there was only a moment of hesitancy before he nodded.Wren sat in the same chair as before. Jackson took the comb from him, carefully brushing his fingers against Wren’s in the process. Wren didn’t flinch away. Jackson grinned and m
Wren had been through a lot in his life. He’d hurt countless wolves. Countless. He’d been stuck in the same routine of fighting and fear for so long that he’d forgotten what the fresh fear of a brand new situation felt like. The market hadn’t even scared him. He knew what was going to happen. He’d be purchased by a different owner who would run him in the fights again.It hadn’t happened. He never thought it would be scarier to go to someone who wasn’t actively hurting him.He had no control over the whine that left his throat. The first touch, the bending of his fur, he was prepared for pain. Jackson hadn’t hurt him so far. He hadn’t given a single indication of getting enjoyment out of other’s pain. Wren tried to remember that. Jackson’s touch wasn’t forced. Jackson’s touch wasn’t a precursor to pain.So far.Wren held out as long as he could. Every absence of the hand,
Wren whined without realizing he was doing it. His mind was completely caught on the word free. No more collar. No more fear of paralyzing heat, of the inability to move, to escape.Jackson’s hand was gentle on fur. He whined with each stroke. He forced his brain to slow down, his breathing to slow down, to match the pace of Jackson’s strokes.What would Wren do if he was actually free to do as he pleased? A couple days ago and he would have sworn up and down that he’d be happy to hear this news, and part of him was, but… what would he do? He didn’t know how to do anything except fight. He couldn’t… What would he do?“You’re ok.” Jackson spoke from above him and Wren realized his whining was getting louder. “It’s ok if you want to stop. If you don’t like this then we don’t need to do it.”Jackson’s hand was hovering over Wren’s head, n
The car was packed and ready to go. Jackson’s dad was nowhere to be found, but that was expected. Kia was crying and Margaret gave a couple sniffs as she clutched the picnic basket tighter in her hands.Jackson gave them a fond smile. “We’ll be back soon you know. It’s not like we’re leaving forever.” Yet.Margaret sniffed again. Jackson shot Wren an exasperated look and took the basket from her. He handed it to Wren. “I love you, Margaret and I’ll see you soon.” He wrapped her up in a tight hug and held back any laughter as she very deliberately rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. He leaned his head down against hers and gave her as long as she needed.“I love you, too. Stay safe and if you need anything then don’t forget to call. I’ll get your dad to take care of it if I have to kill and impersonate him myself.”Jackson laughed and Margaret gave him a smile before turning t
Night time was chilly in the mountains. Inside of a hotel room, Jackson shouldn’t have noticed the temperature dropping. He should have been nice and warm under the shitty hotel blanket. Instead he was shivering and considering going to get his quilt out of the car.Wren was still in front of the open balcony door. Night had fallen long ago. There was too much cloud cover to see any stars and the wind had only increased. Jackson shivered again and pulled the blanket even tighter.The room was dark, almost all of the light from the moon was smothered under the clouds. Jackson could barely distinguish Wren from the shadows in the room. Another breeze brushed over the exposed skin of Jackson’s face and he tugged the blanket over his head. There was a shuffling sound outside the blanket, but Jackson didn’t want to expose himself to the chill again just yet.
The entire building was saturated with the scent of wolves, hormones, artificial cleaners, and perfumes. It burned his nose. His ears hurt from the multitude of voices screaming and laughing and crying. Jackson’s heartbeat was something to focus on, but it couldn’t drown out the sounds completely. Jackson’s scent was smothered out completely when they passed by a room that was actively spraying air freshener.Wren forced himself not to gag. His head started aching at the onslaught of scents.The stairwell was a bit better. The sounds were muffled, but still loud enough to bother him. Jackson’s heartbeat ticked up as they climbed the steps. Wren found it amusing, which was a newer emotion he was still learning to handle.The top floor wasn’t as bad as the first. Less than half of the rooms had people in them and no one was spraying any fake scents in the air. Quiet mutters were being exchanged in the rooms, but Wren tuned them out to
He stepped back. The instant onslaught of cleaners hit him again and he closed his eyes against the smell, against seeing any anger on Jackson’s face. He couldn’t believe he did that. Pushing into his space, forcing Jackson into letting him -“What’s going on?”“The smell.” He forced himself to talk, but kept his eyes shut. He wouldn’t make Jackson wait for an answer this time. Jackson had been so good to him, so far, but Jackson’s heart was still pounding. He was angry. He had to be so angry. “The cleaners used-” His words cut off as a scraping sound filled the room and a gust of wind diluted the scent.Wren opened his eyes. Jackson was leaning against the window sill. He smiled and shook his head. “Wren, you have got to start talking to me. Tell me when things are wrong or hard. Let me know.”Wren stared. He couldn’t figure out what was happening. Jackson… wasn&rs
Jackson dug their big knife out of the drawer. He crushed and minced the garlic and scraped it to the side of the cutting board. “Wren?”“Yeah?”“Check the chicken.”There was a rattle behind him. Jackson turned to the carrots and started peeling them. The peeler was apparently a little loose and cocked the side after just two swipes. “Chicken’s good. Want me to adjust that?”“Nah, I got it.” Jackson straightened the peeler clamped on the edge of the counter. He tightened the grip and switched back to peeling the carrots. “Has anyone texted yet?”“Kia and Belle said they might be a little late. Otherwise, no.”Jackson glanced over. Wren was leaning his hip against the counter. His hair was loose around his shoulders. The sun beamed through their kitchen window and lit him in a warm light. Jackson set the half-peeled carrot down and stepped forward.
Nine months since he’d lost his arm and he and Wren were homeowners. Jackson laughed as he caught sight of the white flakes swirling in the wind outside the kitchen window. He opened the cabinet doors in search of the cocoa. Wren was starting a fire in the fireplace. The first snow of the year was later than normal and nothing more than barely there flurries. “Wren,” Jackson called from the kitchen.“Yeah?”“It’s snowing.” Jackson found the container. He braced it between the counter and his hip and used his hand to pry off the top. He mixed the chocolate into the hot milk, squeezed the excess out of Wren’s tea bag, placed both cups on his tray and carefully carried it into the living room. “Our first kiss was in the snow.”The fire was just starting to catch on the logs. Wren settled on the couch next to him and reached for his steaming mug on the coffee table. He tossed his other arm across Jack
Six months of therapy and rehab and sympathetic looks and Jackson was sick of it. He was tired of living in the hotel. He was tired of nonstop people. Nonstop sound. Nonstop everything. For a moment, he considered asking Wren if Wren would want to move in with Grandma Rose and Grandpa Frank. Then he realized what they could do. What they had the means to do.Wren stepped into their room. He was sweaty from the run with Zain. His dark hair stuck to the back of his neck despite the ponytail’s effort to keep it off. Jackson pushed his laptop to the side and rose up on his knees.Wren leaned forward for a kiss and Jackson pulled him in closer with his arm around Wren’s neck. Wren chuckled and gently disengaged. “What’s going on?”Jackson fell back and reached for his laptop again. He avoided eye contact as he pulled up the screen he had minimized. “I was just thinking that maybe it’s time we get a house? Just for the two of
Three months. His scar was still red and angry. Jackson’s therapist was great. Really. He knew any body image issues he might have were something he’d get over with enough time, but for now, staring at the angry red skin that marked where his arm should be… He felt a stupid mixture of embarassment, shame, and disgust. Jackson was pale. He’d always been pale. He’d never had an issue with it before, but now, the paleness of his skin made the scar look all the more alarming. The knock on the door startled him and he realized he’d been standing there for a little too long. “Just a second,” he called. The shirt was still a struggle to get on, but he was getting quicker every time. Jeans were a no go since he couldn’t button them one handed so he spent all of his time in sweatpants. Sweats were comfortable, but they were just another reminder of what he couldn’t do anymore. What he didn’t have anymore. The empty sleeve hung limp over his shoulder. Jackson turned hi
His dad was on his way to Jackson’s hospital room. Grandma Rose had reassured him countless times that if he changed his mind then she would personally escort him from the entire country. Jackson appreciated the thought, but he needed to talk to his dad. It had been a week since Jackson woke up. A week and Jackson was leaving the hospital in hopefully another day or two. He wanted to talk to his dad now, while he was still in such an impersonal place such as a hospital room.Jackson stared at the door. His dad should be arriving any minute. His dad had told Grandma Rose that he would be there at noon and it was currently 11:57. Wren sat next to him, on his left side, the side of his missing arm. He glanced at the clock. Then the door. Then the clock.When the knock came, he jumped and glanced at Wren. “Can you get it?” Jackson asked. Walking across the room in his hospital gown with one sleeve hanging limp would have put him in too vulnerable a positi
About two hours after your shooting, all of the collars in Oconee stopped working.Jackson didn’t understand. “That’s not possible. I know the coding in those collars backward and forward. There are countless fail-safes. For them to just, stop working…” Jackson shook his head. He was already feeling tired again, but he pushed through. “Do we know what caused it?”“There was a statement put out from that Carmillan Collars PR lady that they were looking into what caused the problem, but that was three days ago. There’s been no word since.”Three days. “What day is it?”“You were shot four days ago. You’ve been in and out of consciousness but every time was only for a few seconds and you were pretty confused,” Kia said. “You mentioned geese a couple of times.”Jackson’s lips twitched in a reluctant smile. “I think I was dreaming of
Jackson woke up confused. His brain was fuzzy and he couldn’t move. The ceiling was unfamiliar to him. It was white and speckled… like a quail egg. Jackson chuckled, but the laugh sounded wrong. He couldn’t stop though, because quails made him think of geese and geese made him think of Kia getting chased by the geese that lived in the pond.His chest heaved as he tried to stop laughing, then a sharp burst of pain stole the laughter from him. He gasped and closed his eyes.“Jackson!” That was Kia. Wasn’t she just chasing the geese? “Jackson! Wren, wake up.” There was a thump. Wren? Did she name the geese? Maybe he’d help her chase them…* * *Jackson opened his eyes to the quail egg ceiling. “Did you get the geese?” There was a weight across his legs that he hadn’t noticed until it was gone. He tried to turn his head, but his muscles didn’t want to work so he just closed
They mingled. Jackson shook countless hands. Laughed with people as he passed them by. The crowd bubbled around him and let him through easily. Kia held tight to one hand as she pulled him forward through the crowd. “Come on!”She shoved him up onto a truck bed, then pushed him higher so he was standing on the cab. A megaphone was shoved in his hand. He gripped it tight and stood up straight. In the most surreal moment of his life, the crowd in front of him stilled and grew silent without a word from him. Hundreds of people. Thousands of people? A lot of people, quiet and staring at him. Jackson lifted his chin and raised his hand in a wave.“Are you ready?”There was a murmur of assent through the crowd.“Please, march quietly. We ask that this be a time to reflect. A time to ask ourselves what else we can do for those oppressed in Oconee. If you’re religious, use this time to pray for our neighbors. If you’re no
Jackson couldn’t believe it. The sheer amount of people who had crammed their way into the small town near the border… He turned to Kia. “How did you do this?”Kia grinned. “The power of the internet… And your second interview was probably the main thing.”People in bright colors carrying signs of various messages milled about. The streets were packed. There were police officers out, some of them carried signs of their own.No More Collars. Freedom For All. No Rest Until We’re All Free.Jackson shook his head and stepped back from the window of his hotel room. “I can’t do this. I shouldn’t be the one speaking.”He heard the shower cut off. Kia leaned against him. “You’ve done so much more than this already, Jackson. Now you’re going to lead this march. You’re going to climb on that stage and you’re going to give that speech. Look out there