Levi's P.O.V

I stare at my little brother with pity and building guilt as dad rubs his shoulders supportively.

"Its okay Peter, I'll be right by you the entire time." Dad whispers as he continues consoling a shaking Peter.

He nods slowly but I could hear his heart working over time to keep him from fainting on the spot. He looks up at me with wet eyes that slice it's way through me.

"Peter, if you need more time that's fine." I say honestly but he shakes his head quickly.

"I-I-I w-want to." He manages before swallowing slowly. He nods to himself and offers me a shaky smile.

"Okay, then whenever you're ready." I say as I place a hand of the knob.

Jayson was on the other side in the living room with Caspar. He was wearing his best clothes and was determined to make a great first impression on Peter. Hagen offered to come with, the more familiar faces the better, but Peter said he'd be fine with dad alone.

Jayson should be sitting on the other side perfectly still in wait, but I could tell by the sounds of crashing objects that he was probably doing the opposite.
I catch sight of Peter flinching as his eyes fill with fear making me mentally curse my mate.

"I'll just go check on him first." I say with a smile before slipping my way through the door.

I take quick, large steps towards the living room in search of Jayson and stop dead in my tracks when my eyes catch sight of him wrestling Caspar on the floor. The two were rolling around as if in a WWE match but in the living room of all places.

I clear my throat to catch their attention making their eyes snap my way before the jump away from each other. Caspar stands on all fours as he looks at me innocently while Jayson tries dusting off the black furr from his white shirt, but he was failing miserably.

"What in Goddess name do you think you're doing?!" I whisper shout. "Peter is right outside the door!"

"He tried to eat the platter I prepared!" Jayson protests as he glares down at Caspar who was licking his paw as if his words fell on deaf ears.

Jayson had taken a liking to the Food Network in efforts to transfer his diet to more 'normal' meals. One of the first things he was able to eat were cheeses and he now had an obsession with making cheese platters.

"He tried to eat my grapes!" He wails sounding horrified and betrayed.

He had 13 grapes, I only ate one. You know how I feel about odd numbers - Caspar says calmly through the link as if he saw no wrong with touching one of Jayson's grapes. His recently accessed memories did not change the fact that Jayson loved grapes and would protect them with his life.

"Both of you shut it and behave!" I say making them both silent. "No more fighting, sit down and behave."

But wh-

"He started it-"

"I don't want to hear it!" I snap making them both look down. "Now sit down and behave, I'm bringing him in."

I make my way back the door, releasing a heavy breath before opening it and offering a smile to Peter and dad. They both look at me warily, clearing seeing through my attempt to appear calm and unbothered.

"We're ready." I say with a smile nevertheless.

"Ready?" Dad asks looking to Peter who nods and follows after us as we make our way through the house.

I enter the living room and Jayson immediately stands but I give him a glare which makes him sit back down quickly. Peter hated sudden movements and taller people sometimes made him nervous.

Peter enters with dad and his eyes immediately finds Jayson's. He stares at him for a moment before downcasting his eyes as dad led them to the opposing couch. I sit besides Jayson, who was petting a relaxed Caspar lying on top of him now.

"Hello Peter." Jayson says with a nervous smile that Peter mirrors. "Its nice to meet you."

Peter opens his mouth but shuts it as he tries to swallow, his chest rapidly expanding and contracting. He closes his eyes and forces himself to breathe slowly, we all wait and watch patiently before he opens his eyed and looks at Jayson.

"I-Its nice to m-meet you too." He manages making everyone smile around the room.

It impressed me to no ends that Peter was trying so hard to accept Jayson. He'd finally managed to dig up enough courage to come after texting back and forth for weeks.

He'd said himself that he was ready to come, I didn't pressure him and neither did dad. I couldn't help but feel proud of my little brother.

"T-Thank you for b-being nice t-to Levi." Peter stutters out offering Jayson a smile. "A g-good mate."

"Its my pleasure." He replies looking my way as he grasps my hand, raising it to his lips to press a chaste kiss. "I love him."

I feel my cheeks heat feverishly as I mouth a 'I love you too', forcing myself to return my attention to my family and not mount my man. 

An unbearably awkward silence falls upon the room, the only sound to be heard being Caspar's joyous whines as Jayson scratches him behind his ears.

"Oh!" Jayson says shooting to his feet suddenly. The action sends Caspar flying off him and Peter jumping so high he basically touched the rough.

Of course Jayson doesn't take notice to the commotion he caused as he lifts the cheese platter off the table and offered it.

"I have cheese!" He says joyously.
The innocent eagerness makes me laugh, I try holding it back but it doesn't work and soon I'm dying like my dad is on the other side. I catch Peter's amused giggle as he leans forward to take hold of the beloved platter.

"T-Thank you." He whispers as he surveys  the large arrangement of cheeses with grapes and chutney besides it.

"I recommend the Cranberry one." Jayson says as he points to it for Peter. He takes the liberty of circling the table and kneeling down besides Peter to show him.

Peter stiffens but Jayson doesn't notice, he just keeps talking about the best way to mix the fucking cheese. Eventually Peter relaxes and finds himself caught up in a world of cheese he seems to enjoy.

Dad slips away from Peter unnoticed and joins my side, pulling me in by the shoulder as we watch the two.

"That was a lot better than I anticipated." Dad comments and I nod in agreement.

"You just have to give him a chance to see he's a great guy."

"I know." Dad says pressing a kiss to my forehead. "He's special Levi. Refreshing. Something we need right about now."

"Do you think I can tell dad soon?" I ask anxiously as I pull from his grasp to catch his honest reaction.

He releases a strained sigh as he rubs his temples. His eyes avoid mine, I look to him for explanation but instead, he gently leads me out of earshot of the two cheese fanatics.

My eyes trail my father as he closes the door behind us once we're inside the small office space Jayson and I were yet to utilise. He looked nervous which in turn made me nervous. Because if there was one thing about my father, it is that he's never scared. Or at least he never let me see him even remotely frightened, but now, he looked ready to vomit.

"Dad?" I call tentatively, I felt as if I was prooding a wild bore. "What's wrong?"

"Levi," he starts sounded exhausted and drained. "Your father is no shape or form ready to hear about this. And if I'm being completely transparent with you, I don't think he ever will be." He admits, his eyes finally meeting mine.

I take a moment to digest his words. My mind circling with his words and his previous ones. I shake my head, opening my mouth for words to come out, it takes a moment to deliver them.

"I thought you said he just needed time." I reply, my voice broadcasting my vulnerability and fear. "That he just needed to be 'buttered up'."

Dad nods as I speak but the look of distress does not leave his eyes.

"I know, I know. I believed that was the case, but now..." He lets out a heavy breath as he rubs his temple.

"What changed?" I ask desperate for a further form of explaination that I knew he harboured deep inside. "What happened?"

"Meeting Jayson." He answers. "Ever since he met him that day, he's been on edge. He visits Reon more frequently, he's more snappish, more angry. The rage.... its worst than I've ever seen it."

"Because there's 'a rogue' on his land?" I ask referring to the story Aunt Kattt and Hagen fabricated to protect Jayson.

"Yes and no." He replies sounding frustrated. "Having an unknown wolf, particularly a rogue, in any alpha's land would drive them mad, so it could be expected. But this is your father we're talking about Levi. He hates rogues more than anything else in this world, the thought of them c-changes him."

"Jayson is not a rogue." I defend.

"I know, I know, but it's not only meeting him. He can feel the changes in the house. Damon doesn't leave his room, Peter is a nervous bundle, Hagen is happier than usual and Josey is always snapping at someone. He knows we're hiding something. He's not stupid." He continues with a pained expression. "He knows I'm lying to him. Its making it all worse that I'm not being truthful."

"I don't want to hurt your bond." I say immediately and he nods with a weak smile.

"I know you don't Levi, I know. But we both knew it would." He says with glossy eyes. "He's pulling away from me and I can't stop him."

A heavy atmosphere fills the room as I lean against an old wooden table for support.

Jayson and I were hurting my family, my parents and in turn, my pack. It cut deep to know that our presence was enough to cause so much pain and discomfort. But it hurt most of all to know that by trying to find my own happiness, my parents bond was suffering. 

"We have to tell him." I say firming. I could hear my dads heart rate spike up alongside my own, but there was no other option at this point other than to tell the truth. "We've hidden this long enough, we have to tell him."

"He won't take this well. At all." He warns and I nod.

"If he doesn't, we'll go." I manage, voicing the words I never thought I'd allow myself to.

"No." Dad says firmly, his voice shaky and his expression solemn, as if I'd ripped his heart out myself. "No. No. No."

"Dad yo-"

"I don't want to hear it." He snaps as his eyes glow a light blue, his fists tightly clenched besides him. "I will not have you, my son, go because of Aiden's qualms. You are not going anywhere."

I force myself to nod, knowing arguing the point any further would lead us nowhere. Dad would lay his life down before his saw me chased out of the pack. And though I didn't voice it, I would do the same before I let my parents bond shatter.

"So when do we tell him?" I ask, my mind set with the task I had to accomplish.

"After you and Damon fix whatever happened between you." He states causing me to tense. "We need the family behind you for this and that includes Damon."

I knew he was right but I shook my head dismissively. I didn't want to talk to Damon until he could come to a point where he accepted Jayson as my mate. A point where he respected my decision to be with him, no matter how much he disagreed or disapproved of it.

Until then, I couldn't be around my little brother, no matter how much I missed him.

"I can't." I admit. "He hurt me dad and I can't go trying to fix his mistakes like I usually do. Not this time."

He studies me for a long moment befoee nodding with a sigh. I knew he hated to see us fight but he also knew that I usually was the one to mend any broken bridges.

"So when you're ready, we tell him." He says nodding to himself. "Have Kat on standby."

"Is that really necessary?" I ask skeptically. Yeah dad didn't like rogues, especially my mate and understandably so, but he wouldn't attack him, not once he heard our story. Would he?

Dad seem to read my thoughts and made his way towards me. Pulling me into a hug, his arms wrap around my shoulders as mine do around his waist. He sways us the way he did when I was young and had a nightmare, except I was smaller and he was able to lift me with ease. Now, not so much.

"I don't know where his head is at Levi." He whispers honestly, his voice sounding vulnerable and fearsome. "You're father has suffered a lot
He's been played a bad hand in life, grown in darkness and can't seem to get out of it. No matter how hard he tries to, the same demons keep dragging him back down. It's my hope, my prayer, that he finds it within himself to beat this once and for all through you. He deserves better."

He did. Goddess knew he truely did. Years later he was still living with the effects of what happened to him, as was I, but dad never learnt to accept it the way I did. I accepted that what happened to me was a piece of me now and I learnt to make do with the fact that I was different.

Dad still clung to the feeble belief that he was normal and it was what was killing him to this day. 

"No more tears. Everything is going to be fine Levi." Dad promises, pulling, back to look at me. He wipes my cheeks with my thumbs before leading me to the door. "Everything will be just fine. Now, let's go check on your brother and mate."

A smile immediately spread across my lips at the sight of Petee and Jayson huddled around a bunny that wasn't there when we left. They were on cloud nine with equal enthusiasm which made my chest swell.

Everything would be okay...

-------------

"I promised Peter I'd take him to all the bunny colonies I know in the woods." Jayson rambles as we clear the spaces my family previously were. "I didn't tell him that I know where they are because they were my favorite daytime snack, I don't think he'll ever speak to me again if he found out."

I wash the dishes slowly as my eyes stay fixed to the running water. My mind clouded with polluted thoughts and several possible endings to our story, none seeming very favorable.

Larg hands slide pass me to take off the water before relieving my hands of a small plate. Strong arms wrap around me allowing my mind to clear and my lungs to suck in some much needed air as I allow myself to lean against my mate. Slow, meaningful kisses trail my neck and shoulders as Jayson calms me with his prescence and love.

"What's wrong?" He whispers besides my ear. I shut my eyes and fall further into him.

"A part of me thought I could avoid it foever." I admit. "Believed that we would somehow live here in the corner forever without anyone knowing, anyone who didn't need to know. I built a fantasy and lived in it."

"I don't understand."
I turn in his grasp to face him, placing my hands on his broad chest as I looked up at him.

"You were right. We can't hide forever. It's time we told my father everything." I say, gauging his reaction carefully. I expect surprise or shock, instead I get neither.

"Someone is going to come out of this hurt." He says and I nod. "I won't let it be you."

I can't help but laugh at this. Hid protectiveness was truely heartwarming in all situations.

"You can protect me from the physical pain, but there's nothing you or I could do to stop the emotional." I confess making his eyebrows furrow together.

"You don't deserve to feel either." He says caressing my cheek, I lean into it with ease as I breathe in his scent. "You deserve happiness, support and love."

"You give me all those things and more." I say quickly to calm his mind. "But Jayson, no matter how he reacts, we have to go."

"I know." He says pulling me into his chest. He presses a kiss to my head and holds me tight.

"Even if it's a good reaction." I argue.

"I know."

"N-No matter what."

"I know." Jayson whispers as he tightens his hold on me.

"I c-can't stay here forever."

"I know."

"I don't w-want to go." I sob into his shirt.

"I know."

------------------

Damn, this couple just can't catch a break. We'll see how Aiden reacts.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed. Leave thoughts in the comments, I love reading them.

I'm actually scared to write the next chapter.

Until next time,
Byeeeeeee humanssss