Rise of the Underdogs: Jasper

Warrior Born, Gamma Sworn

Twinned white wolves burst from the trees around us, panting hard as they bolted to greet us. Carson and Quint were actually mirrors of each other. Carson, I knew from the darker mark above his left eye. It was in the identical place it would have been were he in human form. Both had a gold-tipped ear - Carson’s was on the right, Quinton’s was on the left. Both had a blue spiral on opposing hips - one clockwise, one counterclockwise - marking them as battle dancers of creation and destruction.

The shield that stops the sword, and the sword that tempers the shield.

Akita followed, her eyes bright with wonder and love as she bolted to me, leaping into my arms with a strength I knew was cultivated from three years of training in my absence. Though only fifteen, nearly sixteen, she was powerful by right and blood.

“I missed you, my brothers!” She squealed, moving to Levi next. “Eileen told me about how you guys saved them. I’m so proud of you!”

Walking into the house, we cleaned ourselves up as we caught up with the three siblings we’d had to leave behind. Colt filled us in on a few things, including his own family duties with twins and his human Mate.

“You guys are nobles in the Werewolf world, so you’re allowed space on the packhouse’s upper and lower decks during the All Hallows Gathering. Don’t forget, magic users call it Samhain in the ancient tongue.” He said as he left. “Hope the house is to your standards, but the younger three have been living here since it was built.”

“The house is perfect, Colt,” I said, and I meant it.

Time seemed to slow for a while, calming to the point that we felt the peace the new Luna Princess brought to the pack. The night we met Neil’s Mate for the first time, was the night I found out my sister was Mated to Kaden. Emotions ran hot when I first heard it, but then my rational brain took over and I realized she couldn’t stay young and innocent forever.

When she got antsy, so did he, and watching him bolt in fear of a girl younger than him was the most hilarious thing I’ve ever seen. He was terrified of rejection, and I knew it.

“I won’t be that man,” I told Dreson when I got close to him and Leif.

Leif raised a brow, “Pardon? I dinnae believe we understand, Jaz.”

I smiled, leaning against the rail of the porch. “Your brother and my sister are matched by the Gods, and my interference would do nothing but cause her pain. I don’t want that. I’ll talk to mine if you talk to yours. However, we northerners have made an art of razzing Mates to test their resolve. Hope you won’t mind.”

Dreson laughed, “Humble him however you want, Jasper. You’re protecting what matters, and we can hardly fault you for that.”

Getting home after the party, after everything wound down and all the children were down for the night, including the one River helped save, we trekked home. Sitting at the table with my sister, I swallowed tightly. “You stood with the Luna Princess tonight.”

“She stood with me when I was confused and afraid of Kaden’s approach. I couldn’t let that Mutt turn Luna Izzy’s introduction to the pack be ruined, so, yes, I jumped in along side Beta Daisy.” Akita scoffed.

“He’s two and a half years your senior. Kaden, I mean,” I said, my voice tight with worry. “I’m not going to stop him from, you know, getting to know you.”

“Really? My birthday is in a few days,” she said, whispering the words into the darkness. “He seems nice. I mean, Luna Izzy and Leif told me a few things about him, but Leif also said that Kaden’s a good guy. That he’s got a good heart.”

I winced. I wasn’t ready for this. For the fact that my baby sister would eventually find her Mate and leave the family home. That her Fated was Kaden? “Kita, you’re almost sixteen – the age of legal consent and the age wherein you would find him eventually. I don’t like it, though.”

She giggled, “I know none of you like that I found him, but I had to grow up eventually, big brother.”

Well, I could hardly argue that. “He is a good guy, but the guys and I will razz him to be sure he’s solid. You’re strong, and you deserve a strong Mate. He’s a Druid prince, yes, but he also works for Neil doing two separate jobs. Interrogation and False Omega.”

My sister blinked, “You’re not fighting me on this?”

“Eight and a half weeks to your sixteenth birthday,” I said. “He’s got that long to pull up his big boy pants and talk to your family about your bond. He’s older, I expect him to be responsible. I also want your wolf’s confirmation before you approach him. Dating only until you’re eighteen. Deal?”

The grin that split her face told me she was content with the terms. He rose, her arms moving to encircle my neck. Placing a kiss on my cheek, she shuddered with excitement. “Deal! Night, Jazzy!”

“Sleep well, sister,” I answered.

River stepped from the shadows, his eyes glittering in the lamplight. Sitting across from me in the seat Akita vacated, he stared at me. “You’ve always been the level-headed one. You’re right though. Kaden is totally getting razzed by five overprotective older brothers.”

Laughing, I got up to move to the window. Wind picked up, chilled with early frost. “He’s a good man. I trust him.”

“So do the rest of us, but he’s still getting fed the entire family’s teasing one way or another. Think he’ll really wait?” Levi asked, appearing in the door leading to the stairs. “Dude, this place is solid. I can’t believe Colt designed it for us.”

“He had help,” Carson chuckled.

Quinton shook his head, “We two and Kita helped building and added the symbols of our homeland.”

“We wanted a place truly ours,” Carson finished in their weird-as-heck way of talking.

I glanced at them, these four boys who had followed me into the unknown only three and a half years before. Pride was tempered by reality, grief by growth, and loneliness by pack. “This isn’t the worst thing to happen to us, but we will be having fine fun with our sister’s Mate. He’s to know that we take bonds seriously enough to question his noble intentions.”

Another few months passed in general quiet while I took over training the pups. When Neil gave me the green light to stop babying them, I made the pups who were burning through my patience understand that I was no pushover.

Never was. Never would be.

After six solid months, I’d whipped them into shape so disciplined that their parents were thanking me personally. When test time came around, Neil, now a strong, stable Alpha, oversaw the pups’ progress.

That was when he also blindsided me. His admission that he’d read through everything regarding my people, that he was happy to have known me and my family. Then he dropped an atom bomb into my lap and I didn’t know where to put myself.

The request was formal, Colton was howling in laughter on the ground, and my mind was reeling with the implications. I’d been officially given the role – in all capacity – of Gamma. My tasks were finding any others who would join the pack willingly to bolster our numbers, and to be the Luna’s personal guard on an as-needed basis.

I was sure, at first, that Prince Neil was joking. He was not, but I knew I had to ask someone.

Later, when Kaden came by to see Akita, I pulled him aside. “Did you know?”

“About the Gamma thing? Not until after Colt called to tell me and Dre an hour ago,” he admitted. “I got tickets to the movies if you’re okay with letting me take my Mate out.”

Akita bounced over the stairs, her honey eyes shimmering. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail that was braided, the white-gold strands reaching her hips. The blue jeans, white sneakers, and a pink tank top she was wearing fit her like a second skin while a dark gray sweater topped off her outfit nicely. “What’s playing?”

“It’s Friday the thirteenth, and the theater is showing the movie of the same name. So, wanna go catch a thriller then grab some pizza?” Kaden asked, keeping a healthy distance from my sister.

Having pulled him aside before her birthday, I explained her age and when approaching her would be okay. He’d paled, and, trust me, it was not a good look for the guy considering his naturally dark complexion, but told me he understood and that it gave him time to come to terms with her being his Mate. Now he was taking his time, moving in baby steps with my newly-shifted sister.

Her wolf, Sivu (meaning Leader), recognized Kaden’s as her Mate. After that, my brother’s and I had no choice but to allow things to flow naturally. Taking that step back was not as easy as it sounded, but I still held strong to the -

“Jazzy?” Akita called over to me, snapping me back to the present.

“What?”

She smiled, “You’re… distracted. Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I answered. “Go enjoy your date, sis. Kaden, she’s still in school so bring her home at a reasonable hour please.”

“You got it,” he called back to me.

Watching as they left, I sighed. Turning back to my brothers, I gave the twins a grin and a nod. “Keep a distance, but do not interfere. You watch, you defend, but you do not piss off our sister.”

Carson and Quinton nodded, agreeing to the terms I set down. When they were gone, I sat down to play cards with River and Levi to pass the time.