Part Nine



The code of ethics was voted into being a week later. Everyone seemed pleased by the fact that the council had attempted to allow everyone to keep their individuality while maintaining the safety of the pack. After the vote, they discussed the new daycare arrangement and Tim volunteered to be the head caregiver and teacher. And Michael was nominated to run the club once it was complete.



There was some discussion about whether they should invite several other humans to the pack. Alicia had a sister living in the area, Debbie wanted to include Vic while Emmett and Mikey both wanted to invite Ted and Blake. There was some division on the subject, so Brian told them all to consider the issue and they could present their arguments at the next meeting, but the decision to invite a new pack member remained the privilege of the Alpha. The pack could petition to include someone, but Brian had the final say. Personally, he was wary of including many more humans, but he had set the precedent of inclusion and was loath to change his stance now.



They celebrated Gus’ second birthday and the party went much more smoothly this time than it had the last. There were no uninvited guests and Gus, who had finally gained complete control over his changes, stayed human throughout.



By June, the renovations were complete and the pack—now 87 members strong—celebrated the grand opening. It was the first meeting that included the 7 new human members that had recently been invited to join. Ted had been flabbergasted, but Blake and Vic had both taken the news in their stride. Alicia’s sister and the other three humans were all fairly open-minded and agreed to keep the pack rules and safety. Justin’s insights and judgment about them had been invaluable.



Meanwhile, Justin was becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of formal mating between himself and Brian. Brian had performed thirteen mating rituals since Ben and Michael’s and he had yet to acknowledge the fact that he and Justin were living as mates. For fuck’s sake, Gus called Justin Daddy. Justin wasn’t trying to force Brian to become monogamous. He was perfectly happy with how their relationship worked. But he did want to know that Brian was his and that he was Brian’s. He wanted the fucking commitment.



Thoroughly fed up with Brian’s lack of action, Justin finally broached the subject one evening when Debbie and Vic were watching Gus. They were getting ready to go out to Babylon, but Justin simply could not face another evening watching Brian fuck other men without some sort of assurance that Brian was his.



“Are we ever going to mate?” Justin asked.



Brian froze in the act of buttoning his shirt but didn’t turn around to face Justin. “I told you how I felt about mating.”



“You also said you didn’t believe in packs and look where that ended up,” Justin said.



“This is different,” Brian muttered.



“Why?” Justin challenged.



Brian finally turned to face his lover and grimaced at the determined look on the blond’s face. “It’ll change things.”



“The only thing that will change is that I would actually be able to call you my mate,” Justin argued. “We already live together. We fuck together. We’re raising Gus together.”



“I’m not having this discussion,” Brian said stubbornly as he sat down on the bed to pull on his shoes. “You know how I feel about this, so just drop it.”



“I don’t understand why you have to be this way,” Justin said miserably. Then he seemed to pull himself together and shored up his resolve. “I don’t understand it, and I’m not going to keep playing house with you. If you won’t be my mate, I’ll find someone who will.”



Brian blinked at that. “You’re leaving me?”



Justin took a deep breath but nodded.



“What about Gus?” Brian asked.



“I’ll always love Gus,” Justin said softly. “And I’ll always be there for him. Kids survive divorce all the time. He’ll survive me moving out.”



Brian stared hard at his lover. “Where are you going to go?”



Justin shrugged. “Emmett’s got an extra room.”



Brian gritted his teeth but nodded. “Fine. Are you coming tonight?”



Justin shook his head. “No. I think maybe I should… pack.”



“Fine,” Brian growled and stormed out of the room.



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Justin waited until Brian was gone before breaking down completely. He needed to get out of the house before he changed his mind. He packed a bag of clothes and then went to the studio and grabbed some of his sketch books and pencils and shoved those into his bag. He could come back for anything else later.



When Justin showed up on Emmett’s doorstep, the tall brunet took one look at his tearstained face and wrapped him up in a tight hug. They spent the evening talking and crying and cursing stubborn men. In the end, Justin felt better about his decision and was ready to face life when the morning came.



For the next several weeks, Justin went through the motions. He went to class and took care of his pack duties. He spent time with Gus. He went to the club. He sometimes went to Babylon and picked up tricks. He and Brian were distantly civil towards each other when they were together for pack business or to hand Gus off. Justin put on a happy face for the world, but inside he was miserable. No matter what he said to Brian, he knew that there would never be a mate that could compare to Brian. Justin was destined to be with the obstinate man.



Meanwhile, Brian was slowly falling apart behind closed doors. In public, he was acting like a bear with a thorn in its paw. He growled at everyone. Even Cynthia, his loyal assistant, was ready to quit. The only person safe from Brian’s moods was Gus. And Justin. Brian refused to let the blond see the affect his absence was having on him. He refused to acknowledge the power the younger man held over him.



For three months they danced around each other and the rest of the pack stewed and gossiped about their disintegrating relationship. They did their best not to let it interfere with pack business, but it was almost impossible. The pack had come to be based upon the way Brian and Justin worked together to make the pack stable. Without the strength of their combined efforts, and with both barely functioning, everyone saw a decline in the way the pack was being run.



“We have to do something,” Ben told the council. He had called the council together to deal with the grumblings and problems that had been caused by the rift between Alpha and Beta.



“What can we do, though?” Mary asked. “They are both so stubborn.”



“Justin is absolutely miserable,” Jennifer said. “But he won’t go back.”



“And Brian’s more of an asshole than usual,” Debbie said. “But he’s the most obstinate man I’ve ever met.”



“Well, we have to do something,” Tim said.  “What exactly is the problem?”



Jennifer sighed. “Justin wants a mating ceremony. Which is perfectly understandable, but Brian refuses.”



“They live as mates already, or they did,” Matt pointed out. “What does a ceremony matter in the end?”



“It shows that Brian’s as committed to making things work as Justin is,” Debbie said. “I’ll work on Brian. I’ve been that boy’s mother for fifteen years; if anyone but Justin can make him see sense it’ll be me.”



“And I’ll work on Justin,” Jennifer said.



Ben nodded. “They both need to understand that the strength of the pack lies in their leadership and they aren’t doing a very good job at the moment. People are relying on them. They need to sort this out. Either get back together or figure out how to work together.”



“In the meantime, we need to work to reassure the pack that the pack is stable,” Mary said. “they need to know that this is just a temporary glitch, and not a reason to panic.”



Ben began handing out lists of pack members and they all agreed to visit and talk to everyone on their part of the list.



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Jennifer appealed to Justin the next day. She took him out to lunch and gently explained how the rift between him and Brian was negatively affecting the rest of the pack.



“God, I’m so sorry,” Justin moaned. “I know it’s stupid to be so caught up on something that doesn’t really change anything, but it matters to me, mom.”



“It’s not stupid,” Jennifer sighed. “But is it worth destroying the pack over? You worked so hard to get it to where it is today.”



“I told him I was going to look for someone who would be willing to be my mate, but the truth is that I can’t even look at anyone else in those terms,” Justin said. “From the very first time I met Brian I knew he was destined to be my mate. I just can’t seem to convince him of that. After two and a half years we’re at the same place we were when we started.”



“He’s miserable without you,” Jennifer said. “He tries not to show it around you, but he’s completely unbearable with everyone. Only Gus seems to be spared from his horrific moods. He misses you. He loves you, even if he has no idea how to say it. Can’t that be enough?”



Justin gave a small self-deprecating chuckle. “It’ll have to be. I’m miserable without him too.”



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Debbie let herself into Brian’s office, ignoring Cynthia’s protests. “Brian Kinney, you asshole!”



Brian looked up from the copy he was reviewing and handed the papers off to the two men sitting across from him. “Make the changes we discussed and we’ll talk more later.”



Debbie watched the two men file out but her main focus was Brian. Once they were alone, she took a seat on the sofa and glared at him. “Well? Get your ass over here so we can talk. And bring the joint I know you have in your desk drawer.”



Brian bit his lips and rolled his eyes, but he complied. Once the joint was lit and passed, he asked, “What did I do now?”



“Besides being an asshole to everyone?” Debbie asked sweetly before taking another hit and passing the blunt back. “Don’t think I don’t know why you’ve been grumpier than that bear you can change into. You miss him.”



Brian looked away but didn’t deny it. “He made his choice.”



“Would it really hurt anything to just give him what he wants?” Debbie asked. “You love him.”



Brian shrugged. “Mating…”



“You and he aren’t your folks, kiddo,” Debbie said. “You’ve proved that. You’re raising Gus together and doing a fucking great job of it. You’ve been living together for almost three years. You aren’t your folks and no ceremony is going to turn you into them.”



Brian finally looked at Debbie. “He deserves someone who can give him the shit I can’t. He deserves someone who can say the words back when he tells them he loves them.”



“He deserves to be happy,” Debbie countered. “For some godforsaken reason you make him happy. You deserve to be happy too. And I’ve never seen you as happy as you are when you’re with him. Right from the very first time, I knew he was the one who would turn your world upside-down. And I was right. So stop being a shit and just do what it takes to keep him. Let yourself be happy Brian.”



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Justin was scheduled to spend time with Gus that afternoon and when he brought him back, Brian was there waiting for him. “Can we talk?”



Justin smiled and pulled Brian into a kiss. “I want to come home.”



“I never wanted you to leave,” Brian countered and then captured Justin’s lips again.



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They were woken in the wee hours of the morning,  some time after their fifth round of make up fucking, by the miserable grunts growls of Gus in cub form. It was obvious almost immediately that something was wrong. Gus’ eyes wouldn’t focus, he was lethargic and too weak to even stand. Even through his fur, Justin could feel that his body temperature was too high.



“We need to get him to a doctor,” Brian said.



Justin looked down at the sick child. “Brian I don’t think he can change back right now. We can’t take him to a doctor.”



“What the fuck do we do then?” Brian asked as he began to pace the room.



“I’ll call Daphne,” Justin said quietly. “She’s a healer.”



Twenty minutes later, Daphne was at their door, still dressed in her pajamas with her jacket thrown on over top. She took one look at Gus in Brian’s arms and smiled. “Give him here.”



Brian wasn’t sure that such a tiny girl would be able to hold Gus, but she proved stronger than she looked. Daphne stroked and petted Gus while she whispered soothing words into his tawny ears. As Brian watched, the shivers that had been running through Gus for the last hour began to subside and he could see some life return to his eyes. This was the reason healers were so valued in a pack.



It didn’t take long before Gus had calmed enough to shift back into his human form. He squirmed out of Daphne’s arms and toddled over to Justin to be held. He still looked slightly feverish and very tired, but he was on the mend.



“He’ll be okay,” Daphne said. “Let him sleep as much as he wants today and make sure he get lots of juice and water. I’d say he’ll be completely well by tomorrow.”



“Thank you,” Brian said with complete sincerity. “Are you… Will they find out you were here?”



Daphne shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t really lie to my mom, though, so probably.”



Brian nodded. “If you need us, if you need help or anything, we’ll be there. Just call.”



Daphne smiled and nodded. “I will. I should probably get back before mom worries too much.”



Justin came over and gave her a hug. “Thank you. I’ve missed you so much, but this isn’t the way I wanted our reunion to be.”



“We’ll have a proper reunion, complete with cheesy teen romance movies, popcorn and gummy bears someday,” Daphne promised. “I’ve got to go.”



Justin watched her disappear into the early morning light. “Sherry’s going to know within an hour. The real question is whether she’ll protect her daughter or bring her before the elders.”