Greykin Valley

| 46 | Bloody Glade

⥐ ⋞ ☽ ⋟ ⥐

| Jackson |

Melancholy constricted Jackson like a starved serpent. Although the wound on his muzzle had healed, those inside his heart hadn't. He'd asked Wilson too many times to try and get along with Damon, and it just wasn't happening.

He didn't want to have to choose between his mate and his best friend, but with the way things were going, it was starting to look as if he was going to have no choice. They could have killed each other if someone didn't step in, and Jackson was afraid that if they started fighting again, he might not be able to stop them next time.

And his heart ached when he thought about the fact that he almost let himself tell Wilson that if it happened again, he should go back to the Venaticus. He didn't want that, but...he didn't know what to do. Wilson kept butting into pack conversation despite being told that he had no place doing so, and while Jackson understood how frustrating that must be for him, there were rules among lycans, right? Wilson knew that better than he did, yet he was still breaking them.

However, Wilson was travelling with them, so surely he should be allowed a say? Sebastien was—but then again, Sebastien wasn't a lycan.

He was starting to feel frustrated. Why couldn't Damon and Wilson just get along?

While the pack followed behind him and Damon, Jackson glanced back at Wilson. The tiger was walking at the very end of the line, hanging his head in shame, and a sorrowful frown clung to his striped face. Jackson felt bad for him—of course he did. Wilson was his best friend, and he knew how much he preferred to be included. Being pushed aside like this was probably upsetting him, and even more so since he couldn't join Jackson in any discussion he was having with the pack.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked quietly.

Jackson took his eyes off the muto and looked at the Alpha. "Yeah."

"How's your muzzle?"

"It's fine."

Damon nodded and faced ahead.

Everyone seemed tense right now. Jackson could feel it in the air, and he could see it on every wolf's face.

"When do you think Sebastien will be back?" Remus asked Damon.

"I don't know," he answered.

"Do you want me to go and look for him?" Tokala called from behind them. "It's been over an hour."

"We'll give him until we reach a place for the ambush," Damon replied.

Tokala nodded.

"What's the plan this time?" Wesley asked as he moved past Tokala and walked behind Damon. "I'd be up for an all-out brawl; tear those fuckers apart."

"There aren't enough of us for that," Damon replied, glancing back at him. "We have to be cautious and smart. We'll use all our resources."

"Resources meaning Jackson and Sebastien, right?" the Gamma questioned.

Damon looked a little hesitant to agree.

But Jackson didn't mind it. He knew that his demon powers were a valuable resource to the pack. So, he looked at Wesley and said, "I'll do whatever I can."

"Wouldn't it be cool if we all had these like...unique abilities?" Julian said almost excitedly.

Lalo frowned at them. "What are you talking about?"