Part Three



Brian and Justin had scarcely reached the parking lot when Jennifer and Daphne came racing out. “Justin! Wait!”  The two men stopped and the two women were soon by their sides.



“Oh Justin!” Jennifer sobbed as she swept her son into a hug. “I’m so proud of you! And I’m going to miss you so much!”



“I know mom,” Justin said and there was a raspiness to his voice that gave away his emotion more than any tears could, though a few tears fell as well. “Dad would never have allowed me to stay anyway, no matter what the pack decided. You saw the way he came after me. He’s barely tolerated my presence since he saw my other forms. We both knew that this day had to come sooner or later.”



“I know,” Jennifer said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “I knew as soon as I heard that they had called you before the council that you would never be coming home again…Oh baby.” Jennifer was crying again and Daphne took her turn to speak while Justin used all his power to try and sooth the two women who meant the world to him, never mind that he felt like he was breaking inside himself. He could hold on for them and fall apart later.



Daphne smiled sadly, tears falling from her eyes. “I wish I could come with you. You always find the best adventures.”



“Finish school, Daph,” Justin told her wisely as he gave her a tight hug. “Think about it for a while. And then if you want to leave them… Like I said, I’ll always be there for you.”



Jennifer had pulled herself together and was wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. “I brought your things. They’re in the car. I couldn’t fit everything, but I packed the most essential items into a couple bags. I put the rest into a storage unit. The key and security code are in your bag. I want you to leave me a number for emergencies. Your father and Garret don’t have to know, but I’d feel better if I knew I could reach you. And I want your promise that if anything happens that you’ll call me. I don’t care what the others think. You may not be pack anymore, but you will always be my baby.”



“I promise,” Justin said and hugged his mom again.



“If we’re going to get his shit, we should do it before the rest finish up and start to leave,” Brian said. “They may have let us walk out of there out of respect for tradition, but you pissed them off pretty bad princess. There’s nothing stopping them from turning on us if they find us lingering on pack property.”



“He’s right,” Jennifer sighed. She led them over to the SUV Craig had bought for her birthday last year and opened the back. She pulled out two suitcases, a duffle bag and Justin’s backpack.  “You should get going.”



“I love you mom,” Justin said and finally let his own tears flow.



Brian put the bags into his jeep and pulled out a business card. “You can reach me at one of these numbers anytime. I’ll make sure Justin gets the message.”



Jennifer gave Brian a wobbly smile. “I guess you aren’t as bad as everyone says. Thank you.”



“Apparently, I’m building a pack here,” Brian said wryly. “So if you ever decide you can’t stand these fuckers any longer, the invitation is open to you. And you, Daphne.”



They said their final farewells before Brian and Justin climbed into the jeep and drove off just as the first members of the pack began to exit the building. Justin watched his mom and Daphne



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“So now what?” Justin asked wearily as he followed Brian into his loft. He had been unusually quiet on the ride, thinking about all of the things that he was going to have to figure out.



“Now we figure out how the hell to coexist,” Brian said. “I already called a realtor. Since tomorrow is a Saturday and I don’t have any pressing meetings, we’ll go start looking for houses tomorrow morning. Then in the afternoon we go pick up Gus. After that… the fuck if I know.”  Brain sighed heavily and flopped onto his white sofa.



Justin sat down on the other end of the stylish furniture. “I’ll have to be enrolled in school somewhere. I’ve still got a few months before I graduate and I know that my father will be calling St. James first thing Monday morning to pull me from there. He won’t keep paying my tuition, and I don’t want to go there anyway. There are too many pack members there. I’d end up creamed by the homophobes.”



Brian looked at Justin,” How old are you, anyway?”



“I just turned 18,” Justin said. “Last month.”



Brian nodded and laid his head back and stared at the ceiling. “I guess we’ll have to figure out what school you need to enroll at. That’s in addition to finding a nanny for Gus.”



Justin nodded and closed his eyes. He was exhausted.



“Don’t fall asleep,” Brian scolded. “There’s a perfectly good bed up there.”



Justin heaved a sigh as he got back up and trudged up the two steps to the bedroom area. For the first time he noticed that Brian had set up a small nursery area in the back of the loft, just like Justin had suggested, privacy screen and all. He smiled and then began pulling off his clothes before crawling between the sheets in just his briefs. A few minutes later, after locking up, Brian followed him to bed.



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Justin awoke to find that the loft was filled with morning light and that Brian was staring at him. “We aren’t mates,” the brunet said.



“Okay,” Justin said through a yawn and a stretch.



“But as long as you’re around, we might as well fuck,” Brian told him.



“What about your one time only rule?” Justin asked curiously.



Brian rolled his eyes. “Never had a shifter before, so I guess that there’s different rules. I’m still planning on fucking the humans as often as I want.”



Justin looked at his Alpha and nodded. “Fine. Then you won’t mind if I do as well.”



Brian was a little disgruntled by the thought that Justin would fuck anyone but him, but he couldn’t really claim exclusive rights to the brat if he wasn’t willing to offer the same. “Fine.”



“Wanna fuck now?” Justin asked. He noticed that Brian was naked and already lying atop the blankets and stroking his morning wood.



“That was the plan,” Brian said. “But we have to make it quick. We’re set to meet the realtor in an hour.”



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“He’s my guardian,” Justin told the realtor snidely when he stared at the two of them for just a little bit longer than was polite. For the sixth time that morning.



Brian snorted but chose not to comment. Instead he looked around the property that the man had brought them to see. It was actually the third place they had seen but the first two had been wholly unacceptable in Brian’s opinion. They were cute little houses in a cute little neighborhood. Brian may have been acquiring a son and a … Justin, but he wasn’t settling down. This place was more what he was looking for.



This place was a renovated fire house near Liberty Ave. The entrance to the house led to a small foyer with steps leading up straight ahead, down the hall to the kitchen, to an office on the right or to the living room to the left. The old bay doors had been replaced with bay windows that let lots of light into the main living space and overlooked the small garden out front. The living room, where the trucks used to park, was huge. It had hard wood floors and more windows along the side wall.



The kitchen was open to the living room, with a small dining area in between, and had a nice breakfast bar and professional grade appliances. Off the back of the kitchen was the breakfast nook and the laundry and utility room. There were also stairs to the cellar, which currently looked dingy and dark, but was dry and could easily be finished to make a family room and exercise room.



The office had more bay windows and there was plenty of light which filtered through the sheer curtains still hanging. Justin mentioned that it would be a great office or library.



They went upstairs next and the realtor pointed out how the old dormitories had been broken up into four bedrooms and the master suite. Each of the bedrooms was a good size and had good light. One bedroom in particular had windows on two sides and a sky light. It also had a utility sink.



“The former owner’s daughter was an artist,” the realtor told them. “She used this room for her studio. I’m sure you could easily have that sink removed.”



“No!” Justin said vehemently before Brian could even contemplate that.



“And why not?” Brian asked.



Justin flushed. “I’m sorry, it’s just, that’s what I want to do: be an artist. If we got this place, I could use this room as my studio and keep all of my paints and stuff out of your way.”



Brian regarded Justin. There was so much he didn’t know about this kid he had invited into his life and home. “We’ll see.”



The master suite was situated over the kitchen and took up the entire back end of the house. It had a small sitting area as soon as you entered which led to the bedroom. Off the bedroom there was a huge walk in closet and the bathroom. The master bath had a large steam shower, a soaking tub, and two sinks.



Finally, they went up to the roof, where the previous owners had built a small roof garden, complete with deck, hot tub and built in barbecue. Brian wanted to look out back and found that there was no back yard, only a small parking area off of the alley, but at least there was space to park three cars off the street. And the street that the property was on was fairly quiet, despite it’s nearness to Liberty Ave. They would actually be close enough to walk to the clubs.



Brian looked at Justin, who was looking longingly at the stainless steel appliances when he returned inside. Brian sighed and knew that this was the right place for them. “Let’s talk numbers,” Brian told the realtor.



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Brian put in an offer and they went to lunch to celebrate. Justin had never been to the Liberty Diner, he had never been anywhere on Liberty Ave before two nights ago, so Brian took him there. It was just Brian’s luck that practically all of his human friends were having lunch at the same time.



“Brian! Where have you been?” Mikey called out to him as soon as Justin and Brian had taken a seat in a booth beside theirs. “I haven’t seen you since… Wait. What’s that twink doing here?”



“Isn’t that the trick you ditched Michael for?” Emmett asked Ted just watched in awe of the blond.



Brian rolled his eyes. “Guys, this is Justin. He lives with me now. Justin, this is Michael, Emmett and Ted: the three stooges.”



Justin smiled at them. “Nice to meet you.”



“So was it love at first sight?” Emmett asked excitedly.



“Umm…” Justin didn’t know what to say to that. It had been for him. Or near enough. But he knew Brian wasn’t there yet.



“Fuck off Honeycutt,” Brian said. “We aren’t a couple. Justin’s more like…”



“An apprentice,” Justin filled in.



“That’s right,” Brian said with a smirk. “I’ll be mentoring Justin on how to be the best homosexual he can be.”



“Dear lord,” a red haired woman said before crossing herself. “He’s finally hit rock bottom and is passing his wicked ways on to another generation.”



“No, that would be my son Gus,” Brian said. “Justin’s not that much younger than me.”



The group went quiet for a moment and Brian realized that he hadn’t told any of them about Gus being born, or modified their memories. Justin apparently realized that too, because he began filling them in on the details of Thursday night, keeping their attention long enough to allow Brian time to fiddle with their minds a little. While he was at it, he placed a suggestion in each of their minds that would make them accept Justin’s place in his life just a little easier. Brian didn’t usually do things like that, but since he was already in there, it seemed like a good idea just this once.



“So we’re going to go pick him up from the hospital in a little while,” Justin concluded just as Brian was pulling out of the last one’s mind.



“Well, congratulations, kiddo,” Debbie said. “Now explain how you picked up this little ray of sunshine.”



Brian rolled his eyes again. “His folks tossed him out after they found out he’s gay.” Brian figured he could play the sympathy card and at least three of the four would buy into it.



“Oh, Sunshine!” Debbie cooed. “You need a milkshake to cheer you up.” And then she was off to put in an order for them that they hadn’t actually given.



“That’s Debbie, by the way,” Brian told Justin. “She’s Michael’s mom and sort of like a surrogate mom to me. She took me in when I left my folks.”



“She seems very… nice,” Justin said warily.



“And loud,” Michael said from his place leaning over the back of the other booth. “That’s okay. She takes some getting used to, but she’s a great mom. Now that she knows about you, she’ll try to smother you, so watch out.”



“And fatten you up,” Brian muttered.



Sure enough, ten minutes later, Debbie was back with a double cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate milkshake for Justin and a turkey sandwich on whole wheat for Brian. Justin dug into his meal with gusto and Debbie looked on with approval while Brian shuddered at the thought of all that grease. “At least he knows how to enjoy his food,” Debbie scolded when she saw Brian’s face.



The others all laughed at that and Justin felt a little better, like maybe he could belong to this human pack.