Chapter 9: Ignite Me
Jack went straight to the bathroom after the call with his sister, immediately dropping in front of the toilet and retching into it at just the thought of Tom following after him all the way to America.
He finished spitting the rest of his breakfast into the bowl, wiping his mouth with a trembling hand as Jack tried to reason things out. Sure, his sister told him that Tom had bought a plane ticket to arrive at the LAX airport, but there was no way that Tom would be able to find Jack in the several million large city, even with their weak bond still in place. Right?
"There's no way,"Jack muttered in a low, fearful tone. "There's no way… Our bond isn't strong enough for him to find me..."
Another function of the bond, along with the ability to sense a mate's emotions and mood, gave mates a general idea of where their partner was at any given time. Even through his weak bond with Tom, Jack could pick up slight hints of anger from his mate. The fact that Jack could sense his mate's emotions, even with this distance, hit him like a punch to the gut. The tug of Jack's bond, while still minimal compared to what a complete bond would allow, was just the tiniest bit stronger than the night before.
Tom was getting closer.
There was the sound of the door opening behind him, someone walking in and trying to talk to him, but the noise was all muffled and distorted. Jack was too panicked to process or do anything but hug his knees tightly to his chest and curl up on the bathroom floor. Whoever it was that entered the room knelt beside him, wrapping a firm arm around his shaking shoulders. He wasn't sure when he started crying, but Jack quickly became aware of his jeans dampening at the knees where his face was buried in them. All he could hear was the hammering beat of his heart, deafeningly loud in his ears.
It seemed like an eternity before the sound began to return to normal. Jack gradually became aware of his low, ragged breathing and occasional choked sob, and a soft humming from the person wrapping their arms around him. He picked up calming pheromones, deep earthy scents of lavender and herb that reminded Jack of growing up in the cabin with his family. The smell was so relaxing that Jack practically melted at how strong the Alpha scents were. Mark.
Mark continued to embrace him, grounding him to the present, and Jack turned to the Alpha with a tired smile.
"I guess I ruined the makeup, after all."
Mark, with an expression of pure empathy and worry, smiled back. "You can always do it again."
Instead of the aftermath of his panic attack being awkward, Jack felt nothing, if not a bit safe with Mark in the room. Mark stood, holding his arms out to lift a stiff Jack to his feet. Jack grimaced when he saw his reflection in the mirror. Snot dripped from his nose, eyeliner smeared and leaving darkened tracks down his cheeks with the drying tears.
"Like I said, you can always do it again," Mark chuckled in an effort to lighten the mood.
Jack snorted, grabbing more tissue to wipe at his face. When the mess had been successfully cleared off, Mark waiting patiently in the meantime, the two headed out of the bathroom. They ended up in the guest bedroom, the one Jack was currently occupying. Jack crawled onto the bed, pulling the covers up and over him, Mark joining him after a moment. He gnawed at his fingernail, feeling the anxiety build once more in his gut for the, no doubt, uncomfortable conversation he was about to have with Mark.
"So," Mark began, clearing his throat as his voice cracked slightly. "What did your sister say?"
Jack sighed, bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them once more. It was a comforting position for an Omega, making them smaller and less threatening. It was safe. "It was about Tom."
"Tom?" Mark echoed back, and Jack turned to him in confusion before it clicked. Mark had never even heard his name before. And Jack would have liked to keep it that way, but the situation was too risky for him at the moment for Jack to keep things from his friend.
"He's… my Alpha," Jack said, reluctant to even call his rapist that.
Mark stiffened. "What about him?"
"Well, I didn't exactly get his permission to come here," Jack muttered.
"And?" Mark prompted when Jack remained silent.
Jack tightened his grip on his legs. "And now he's coming to find me." His voice was barely above a whisper, but the way Mark reached out and wrapped a supportive arm around him told Jack that the Alpha had heard him just fine.
"Does he know where to go?" Mark's deep, serious tone gave Jack a start. He was using his Alpha voice, low and rough yet authoritative at the same time.
"I– I don't know," Jack admitted with a whimper. "Allison said that my flight information was pulled up on my desktop, a–and the tab left open was his own ticket info. That's, that's all I know."
Mark let out a low rumble of a growl on his exhale, and Jack flinched just hearing it. He'd heard Mark growl before, all in jest and during play, of course, yet this noise was completely different. Mark was in full protective Alpha mode, furious on Jack's behalf. Which was really heartwarming if Jack thought about it, since Alphas usually only acted that way if their mate was threatened. Mate. There was that word again. With it brought Jack nothing but grief, wishing he could have had someone better for his mate. Someone like Mark.
"Seán?"
"Huh?" Jack questioned, snapping out of his thoughts.
Mark tightened his embrace on the smaller Omega. "I said, it's going to be okay."
"How do you know?" Jack wailed suddenly, tears pricking at his eyes again. "I fought with Tom right before I left. I tore his fockin' ear off, Mark. He's not going to come find me and take me back to Ireland to be his Omega bitch. He's going to fockin' kill me!"
"I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you," Mark growled, dark chocolate eyes staring straight into Jack's terrified blue orbs. "Even if he does come to LA, he won't be able to find you. Your bond with him is too weak for that."
"But you don't know for sure!" Jack cried, voice pitched upwards. "He could still find me!"
"Even if he does manage to find you, I won't let him hurt you," Mark promised.
"How?" Jack let out a shrill chuckle, volume bordering on hysterics. "We can't go to the police for this. Are ya goin' to fockin' fight him too?"
"Yes," Mark answered without missing a beat. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe."
Jack quieted down at that. While he was sure Mark cared about him, this was some next level shit. Two Alphas fighting over him? That was something straight out of a soap opera. And unlike the television shows, real life Alpha fights were dangerous. Mark could get killed if things went wrong.
"Why?" Jack asked, bringing a hand up to scrub at the fresh tears. "Why would you want to go through so much for someone like me?"
Mark's answer was immediate and stole the breath right out of Jack's lungs.
"Because I love you, that's why."
Jack didn't reply.
Instead he tugged Mark closer to himself, mashing his lips against the Alpha's.
