Wayward Sons #16

"A Nice Day For a Red Wedding"

Ben returned home, having gone on an overnight trip to check out a lead that could lead to Patrick Wheat's missing twins. While the lead didn't pan out, he still knew he was getting close. Parking the Impala in the driveway, Ben checked the mail before heading into the house.

"Let's see... junk mail, junk mail, hey, a letter from Mikey," Ben said as he opened the door, where a shirtless Adam raised his head from the sofa that was facing the t.v.

"Oh, hey Ben, didn't expect you home so soon," Adam said.

"Okay, I'm assuming that Alfie and Jesse are still getting his stuff from his old place, and since you said you might be bringing your boyfriend over... Oh, dear God, are you two-?"

"Well, I guess this is just a good a time as any to introduce you," Adam said. "I want you to meet Matt."

Matt raised his head from the couch, smiling at Ben bashfully. "Hi."

Ben just stood there, silent for a brief moment before he started chuckling, which then turned into full blown laughter. "Uh, Adam... honey? May I speak to you in the designated baking area?"

"I'll be right back," Adam said, giving Matt a kiss as he pulled on his jeans and followed Ben into the kitchen. "You said you'd be cool with me having Matt over."

"I am, but you never mentioned one little, tiny, insignificant speck of information," Ben said as he put his hands on Adam's shoulders and started shaking him. "Do you see ANY resemblance between this guy and a certain former angel friend of ours? Any at all?"

"Oh, you mean you think that-"

"I don't think, I know that this guy is a dead ringer for Alfie."

"He is not, Matt's hair is combed way differently, and he doesn't talk like a second grader."

"HE LOOKS. JUST. LIKE. ALFIE!"

Adam just sighed as he sat down. "Look, at first, yeah, I thought it too. But the more I started to get to know Matt, I didn't see it anymore. I don't have feelings for Alfie, Ben. Maybe at first, but, after those first few hundred years in Hell, I could never be with Alfie in that way. Climbing out of Hell made us close, but not in that way. I really like Matt, I think I'm falling in love. But I want you and Alfie to be cool with this. You guys are my brothers, your opinions matter."

Ben looked out into the living room at Matt. "Well, his hair does look way different than Alfie's, I'll give him that. You really don't see any resemblance?"

"If I did, you wouldn't be catching us about to fu-"

"OKAY, I believe you!" Ben shouted as he covered his ears. "Just try to keep it in your bedroom, okay? So, if you're really into this guy, have you told him about the deal you made?"

"Not yet," Adam told him. "I'm trying to find a way to break it to him gently. But I still have five months. Hey, what's that?" Adam asked as he saw the letter in Ben's hand.

"Oh, it's from my old Hunting buddy Mikey," Ben said as he read it. "His baby brother Asher's getting married. You up for going to a wedding? Sounds like it's going to be a big Hunter get together."

"Hey, I'd love to meet more Hunters," Adam told him. "But, uh, what about Alfie and Jesse? You think it's a good idea to bring an angel and the Anti-Christ to a Hunter shindig?"

"Ooh, good point," Ben said. "But I think I know the solution. You going to invite Matt?"

"S- seriously?"

"Well, it'll be a good chance to get to know him, and you can break the news of you being ripped apart by Hellhounds and dragged to Hell gently to him."

Well, it's nice to know that I haven't lost all my powers," Jesse said as he set the last box down in the bedroom he was now sharing with Alfie. "I can still teleport as long as I'm within range of you, and I can still manipulate and move small objects. It just seems like I can't do the big scale stuff anymore."

"Perhaps that's for the best," Alfie told him. "You may stay out of trouble this way."

"Oh, please," Jesse said as he grabbed the ballcap off of Alfie's head. "Trouble is just another word for fun. My powers may have been turned down for now, but I'll always find a way to pull a rabbit out of my hat," Jesse reached into the cap and pulled out a gray squirrel before shoving it back in. "Must have picked the wrong hat."

"And now here's something I hope you really like," Adam said as he dug his old tuxedo out of the closet. "Hope it still fits. I mean, I haven't worn it in over 1,000 years after all."

"I'm sure you'll look handsome in it," Matt said as he sat on Adam's bed. "Are you guys sure you want to bring me along? I mean, Adam's told me about Hunters. I'm just not sure I'd fit in."

"He's told you about his half-brothers, I'm sure. Yeah, they're dicks, but there are some good guys out there Hunting," Ben assured him as he hung up the phone. "It's all arranged."

"What's arranged?" Jesse asked as he popped into the room, startling Ben.

"Stop. Doing that!"

"We're making plans for the kids while the adults go to a wedding," Adam told him.

"I am shocked and/or offended," Jesse told him. "I am a legal adult, and maybe I'd like to attend a- what was it again?"

"A wedding?"

"Wedding? Screw that, those are boring, make better plans for us."

One Night Time Road Trip Later

Ben was driving down the interstate as Adam sat next to him, with Matt in the back seat.

"So, how'd you meet this Mikey?" Adam asked.

"I trained with him and his brother for a little while on the farm," Ben told him. "The group of Hunters he belonged to were always passing through, so Patrick would always put them up for the night. Then one night, Mikey, Asher, and Mason showed up, bloody and broken. They got thrashed trying to take down some werewolves a few towns over. Barely made it to us. Asher got the worst of it, he was barely alive. That caused something in Mikey to snap. After we patched him up, he took off in the middle of the night. Came back two days later, covered in werewolf blood. Not a scratch or bitemark on him."

"Guy really cares about his little brother, huh?" Matt asked.

"You have no idea," Ben said as he focused on the road. "I heard at one point, some gay bashers came calling at his Roadhouse, followed Asher and his fiancée there. Once Mikey heard what was going on-"

"He didn't kill them, did he?"

"Oh, no, he did break virtually bone they brought with them, though," Ben said, laughing a little. "Only man I've seen with more rage than you, Adam."

"Rage? Do tell," Matt smirked.

"Nothing to tell," Adam said. "Came out of Hell with a thousand years of pent up rage that I have to work to keep in check. Helps that I have friends a really hot boyfriend to keep me calm."

"I think my boyfriend is pretty damn hot, too," Matt said, rubbing Adam's shoulder from the backseat.

"Ugh, want me to drop you two off at the Motel 6 for a quickie?" Ben sarcastically asked.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the car as Adam's eyes shifted up and down before breaking the silence. "Wou- would you?"

"A FARM!?" Jesse asked as he looked at the land in front of him.

"Alicia and Chad asked if we could watch over things while they went to the wedding," Alfie told him. "They're good people, I'm glad to help them out keeping an eye on Connor."

"Who's Connor, their cow?" Jesse asked. "Oh! Pleasepleaseplease tell me that's it like that little pig on Green Acres with the hyper intelligence?"

"Something like that. He's been chained up so he can't hurt us ever since... the incident," Alfie said as he opened the barn door, revealing Connor laying in a hammock while reading an Animorphs book. "Connor is-"

"A vampire," Jesse smirked. "Even better."

"How did you know?" Alfie asked.

"I can tell most monsters apart from humans," Jesse said. "It was part of Uncle Gabriel's school for Anti-Christs. Shapeshifters, changelings, ghouls, vampires, I pick 'em out of a crowd just by looking at 'em."

"Alfie!" Connor shouted as he hugged the former angel. "I missed you guys. Who's the-," Connor sniffed the air. "Demon?"

"HALF-demon, thank you," Jesse said as he saw the chain around Connor's ankle. "Aw, that's no fun. How are we supposed to party if he's chained up?"

"We're not going to par-" Alfie said as Jesse snapped his finger, turning the chain into tissue paper. "You can't just let him loose."

"Why not?" Jesse asked as he put an arm around his shoulder. "Look, you said it yourself, this dude's been on lockdown since he got vamped. He's not on human blood and he seems harmless. Let's take the boy out for some fun, what's the worst that can happen?"

45 minutes later, the trio had been covered in pig's blood, watching the local high school burning to the ground.

"See?" Jesse asked with his arms around Alfie and Connor's shoulders. "This could have gone way worse."

"Mikey!" Ben shouted as he walked into the Roadhouse and saw his old buddy standing behind the counter.

"Ben!" Mikey shouted as he rushed over to hug him. "Look at you, all grown up. Welcome to the Roadhouse, guys, make yourselves at home."

"Mikey, this is my best friend, Adam, and this is his boyfriend Matt."

"Ben says you're quite the fighter," Mikey said as he shook Adam's hand.

"Only when I'm pushed," Adam said. "Nice place you have here. How'd you afford this?"

"Well, it was a dump when I found it, so I managed to get it cheap because I rebuilt most of it myself. Well, with help from my baby brother and my future brother-in-law."

"Speaking of which, where is the little guy?" Ben asked as he looked around.

"Uh... the little guy is actually 6'5" now," Mikey chuckled a little. "He's out picking up some last minute stuff for the wedding. You guys are actually the first to make it. Let me show you around, get you settled in before the wedding tonight. You guys probably want to catch a few hours rest, though."

"Well, they probably do, I slept in the car when we stopped at that Motel 6," Ben told him with a defeated sigh.

It wasn't long before more Hunters started showing up, including Chad and Alicia. Ben and Mikey met them outside, just as Mason and Asher returned from town with the supplies. Soon a dozen people had gathered for the wedding.

"Ben!" Asher shouted as he hugged his old friend. "I heard you're running around with a new group now."

"Yeah, but I only brought Adam. The other guys we hang out with aren't really... social situation type people." Ben said.

"PARTY!" Jesse shouted, swinging his shirt around over his head as the people around him stared.

"He does know this is a Burger King, right?" Connor asked.

"Well, to his credit, we did get two Whoppers for the price of one," Alfie said.

There were over a dozen Hunters in attendance for the wedding as everyone was gathered outside in the field behind the Roadhouse. It was close to sunset as the guests waited for the ceremony to start.

"I'm really honored you chose me to be your best man," Ben said as he adjusted his tie in the mirror. "I mean, we haven't seen each other in a while."

"Yeah, well, I don't have many non-Hunter friends, and you were always cool to me," Mason said as he put on his dress shoes. "I'm super nervous. I mean, I love Asher, I have since I taught him to shank that wendigo. What if I mess this up? What I suck at marriage?"

"Hey, you're going to do great," Ben said as he sat down next to Mason. "You and Asher make a great team. You've got each other's backs, and that's what counts. Now you'll be kicking monster ass as... who's taking who's last name here?"

"I hadn't even thought of that," Mason said, his hands shaking. "Oh my God, what if Asher wants to adopt children some day? What if I suck at being a father?"

"Just focus on tonight," Ben told him. "Focus on the man you want to spend the rest of your life with."

"I guess this is it," Asher said as he fixed his hair. "I'm going to be a married college student in twenty minutes. I wish Mom was here to see this."

"So do I," Mikey said as he hugged his baby brother. "But I feel like she's watching over us. It feels kind of weird, though. I've always watched out for you, and now... that's going to be another man's job from here on out. You don't need me anymore."

"I will always need my big brother," Asher promised him. "You've seen me through everything since the time that shtriga made me sick. You saved my life."

"Those Hunters saved your life, I just watched them kill that thing," Mikey told him. "I just wish I could have killed the monster that killed Mom. Come on, little brother, let's get you hitched."

"Everything alright, Adam?" Matt asked as the two sat in the front row with Chad. Everyone was sitting outside, where the sun was about to start setting within a few minutes.

"Yeah... no," Adam said, shaking his head. "Matt, there's something really important we need to discuss."

"You're not going to propose, are you?" Matt laughed.

"No," Adam sighed. "I don't how to tell you this, but-"

The wedding music started as Mikey led his brother up the aisle, followed by Ben and Mason. The four reached the altar, where Alicia was waiting, having been certified as an ordained minister online. Once everyone was in place, she started reading the vows as Asher and Mason held hands and exchanged vows, and finally the rings.

"Does anyone have any objections to this reunion? Speak now or forever hold your peace."

"I object!" came a voice from the back.

"Oh, hell no," Mikey said as he reached for his gun. "Who are you?"

"Oh, we've never met," the young man said as he stepped forward. He was in his early twenties and dressed in black. "But I believe you knew my parents and the rest of my family. After all, you're the one who slaughtered them."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mikey asked.

"Four years ago, you singlehandedly slaughtered my entire pack," the young man said as the sun finally set. "You were relentless and showed no mercy."

"The werewolves that were feeding off of a small town?" Mikey remembered. "Your pack was killing innocent people. They killed Mason's parents and the rest of our group. You almost killed my baby brother."

"We were surviving the only way we knew how!" the young man said. "Until you came along!"

"Adam?" Matt whispered.

"Relax, there are a dozen Hunters here," Adam said as he reached for his gun. "Even if we don't have silver bullets, we can pump him full of enough lead to keep him down until we can some."

"But it's okay because I've got a new pack now," the young man laughed. "A bigger one; a stronger one. And now we're over two dozen strong."

The sound of several wolves howling was heard in the distance as Ben looked up at the full moon that was coming out.

"And we're here for vengeance," the young man said as he started transforming, while two dozen werewolves started surrounding the ceremony. As the young man continued to transform, the final words out of his mouth were a combination of human sounds and snarls.

"Leave no one alive."

Next: Wolves at the Gate!