Rise of the Underdogs: JACOB

New Clarity

Saying nothing, I went to take a quick shower in the ensuite bathroom. The fan was already humming overhead, a low mechanical whir that didn’t quite drown out the thoughts clawing at the edges of my mind. Setting the water, I stepped under the spray. It was fiery hot at first—perfect for the emotional and mental mess that was my brain. Steam rose instantly, curling around my shoulders like a second skin. The mirror fogged over within seconds, blurring my reflection into something ghostlike and unformed.

My head throbbed, my muscles ached, and I just wanted to go back to sleep. But I knew I wouldn’t. Not while Saffron was awake. Not while she was still healing.

I scrubbed the sweat and grime from my skin until it turned red from the effort. Would Saffron remember this moment—being held, being safe, being sung to. Would she, his mother, like me?

That thought hit harder than expected. Not love. Like. Would she see me and choose me, not because of the bond, but because of who I was? Would she accept that I was there for her despite her past, not in spite of it.

The water pounded against my back, and I leaned into it, letting it scald away the weight of the last twenty-four hours. No window in here, just tile and steam and the fan rattling like it was trying to keep up with my thoughts. I thought about how weird it was that we never remember the start of dreams, only the middle. About how Ember had risked herself to give me peace. About how I hadn’t told her thank you properly.

Yeah, I know. I normally had cold showers, but I needed this one. I needed the outside pain to match the inside. Not to mention that the hot water helped me do a little something else for myself that permitted me to be in my Mates presence without having a raging hard-on.

I closed my eyes and let the heat blur everything. The mirror was useless now, just a wall of condensation. Maybe that was for the best. I didn’t want to see myself—not until I knew who I was becoming.

As I was drying my body and hair, I sighed heavily. Ember had used two different kinds of magic in one go, but she’d been safe. Still, I worried over her the same way I worried over my sisters. Her mother had lost her Mate prior to Ember’s birth and never moved on, so the actual youngest of the crew never had siblings. Then the rest of us came along and boom, she had a chosen family that would burn the world for her.

Sighing as I donned my clean clothes, I shoved everything back into my bag and opened the door. Walking into the room, I felt rather than saw several things happening simultaneously.

One, Ember and the doctor were bent over my Mate, excitement filtering through the pack bond. Through the chatter, I caught several phrases: “Not yet”, “Better than expected”, and “Waking sooner rather than later”. I smiled, knowing then that my girl was a fighter

Two, Saffron was being held by my best friend, who looked completely at home feeding the pup a bottle of goat’s milk formula.

Three, Logan and Heaven were talking softly in the corner about something, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what they were discussing. Then I realized something was missing – her ring.

Stalking over, I dropped my bag on the floor by the door and pulled Valik into the hallway. Lifting Saffron into my own arms, I breathed in his sweet infant scent – powder fresh. With Thorne preoccupied with his Mate, I was using the pup in my arms as a stabilizer. “What’s going on?”

“Had an interesting date with your sister yesterday, but, um, things got pretty heated last night.” He said, his voice low enough that only I could hear. “We, um, half completed the Mating ritual. We… Mated without marking. Completely consensual, I swear.”

“Dude, I don’t need the deets. Just knowing it was consensual was enough,” I told him. “So, what happened to the ring? I mean, we spent ages picking it out before we ended up designing it from scratch.”

Valik blinked at me, “She… doesn’t know you helped.”

“Then don’t tell her if you don’t want to, but she will eventually know,” I reminded him, adjusting my hold on the pup who would hopefully become my future son. “Val, what happened to the ring?”

He flushed bright red from his neck to the tips of his ears. “We agreed it would be her official engagement ring, so it’s back in its box waiting until I officially propose to her. Cleaned up, your girl is beautiful, by the way.”

I smiled, nodding as I gently bounced Saffron while tapping his bottom to burp him. “Thanks, I only hope she’ll accept me.”

“What makes you say that?” He asked, leaning casually against the wall.

Shaking my head, I sighed. “She’s probably suffered, V. She’s a member of the pack known as Arctic Shield.”

“Heard of them,” he commented. “Didn’t they fall in some kind of battle?”

“Yup, the Battle of the Arctic was the pack verses an army of Rogues that wanted the territory. They ended up succeeding only to kill each other off anyway. It happened around thirty years ago,” I replied. “Ember’s mom and a handful of others survived, but the majority of the pack didn’t make it.”

His eyes snapped to mine, his smirk falling into a more neutrally shocked look. Valik’s eyes misted, his emotional depth hitting hard. “Wow. That’s… that’s heavy, Jake. And your girl? You’re sure that she’s a member of the fallen pack?”

“Yeah, I’m certain based solely on her features. All Arctic Shield wolves have some shade of brown for their skin, always some version of blond for their hair, and always some kind of jewel-toned eyes,” I whispered, staring down at the beautiful baby boy in my arms. “I’m thinking of adopting him.”

Valik’s eyes flicked from my face to Saffron and back again. “Henry and Clara adopted me and Logan. It’s not a bad path if you just think of it as receiving a ready-made family from the Goddess.”

That one actually made me laugh a little.

A commotion in the room grabbed my attention, pulling me subconsciously back to my Mates side. Walking in, Logan caught my eye. With a motion only known to those who knew him, he asked what was going on.

Tapping into the pack link, I said, ‘Nothing. Just a talk between friends.’

‘And?’

Rather than answer, I walked over and leaned against the wall. “Logan, I only dragged him outside the room to have a talk. I was interested in where my sister’s ring went, but now I know.”

“Knowing is half the battle,” he said with the same legendary calm that earned him his title. “Now, before he realizes you’re ratting him out, what did he say? Cause Heaven’s locked solid.”

“Yup, sounds like my sister,” I replied. “I won’t get into many details, because I know he’s gonna want to tell his big brother on his own, but they made a consensual, mutual decision for their collective futures.”

He blinked, all traces of Alpha mode gone as a smile played on his lips. “What you didn’t say just made my entire freaking month, Jake. I’ll stay mum until he brings it up himself, but thanks for the brief heads-up.”

Something in the way he spoke told me I needed to help him, so I pulled on memory threads from childhood. Searching my mind, I took a deep breath. “What do you think Tia Mariana would do in my position? I ask because I’m… I’m scared, Lo-lo. I don’t want to be rejected.”

He froze for a second at the mention of his beloved mother, but I saw it. I saw that small settling behind his gaze that said I’d stopped him from faltering before he knew it was happening. Hell, his childhood fear was that he’d repeat Austin’s mistakes, but that’s what his friends were for. Stopping the thoughts before he slipped into his own twisted version of Hades.

Finally, he said, “She would bake for you, and tell you that Fate only gives the hardest trials to their strongest Warriors. She would probably joke about the girl not being Delta material anyway, and tell you that the Goddess sees and regifts the most deserving with a chance to begin anew. I… I was slipping?”

“And didn’t even know it because you were caught up in the rest of us again,” I answered, my voice low and soft as I appealed to the logical and practical parts of his brain. “Don’t forget what she told us: family is strong. Chosen family is stronger. Friends are good, good friends are hard to find, and great friends are those who burn the world to protect what needs to be protected. She’d tell you not to work too much, and to spend time with your Mate and unborn kip.”

“Kip?” He asked, tilting his head in a way that said he was curious and wanted to learn. It was a master tell that only his closest friends and allies knew of. “Is that your version of kit and pup?”

“You expect me to play fair? Dude,” I shook my head with mock disappointment.

Rather than take offence, as most Alpha’s would, Logan snickered, rolling his eyes as he fell naturally into the same, grounding rhythm we’d used growing up. “You’re a Delta. You play by a set of rules the rest of the world forgot when they assumed your position to be unnecessary. You were born to prove the world wrong, and, so far, you’ve done just that. Take it a day at a time with your lady. I know I don’t need to tell you to treat her the way she deserves. Your father raised you better than that.”

I flinched, but I said nothing more because he was right about my dad. Just like I was right about his Madre.