It's been just over a week since Tall Boy was found in the woods. The pack has exhausted every connection they have within the surrounding area, but it seems to be an isolated attack on the Southside pack alone. The only lead they have is that Tall Boy's attacker seems to be connected to the handful of disappearances that have occurred over the past couple of weeks. Only one body has surfaced, found behind Pop's diner of all places. The poor girl, had been propped against the back door, completely lifeless as if her very soul had been drained right out of her. She sustained not a single injury, and her autopsy came back with nothing of any help. As a whole, the pack has concluded that they can only be dealing with a highly skilled witch that has delved into some seriously dark magic. The only problem being, there are no witches in Riverdale.
"You got a minute," FP questions with a tap of his knuckles against Jughead's bedroom door.
"Uh, yea," he nods, tying up his boots. "I was just headed to see Betty. What's up?"
"When we brought Tall Boy in," he starts, "You said something. Wondered if it could be a witch."
"And," he questions, "What about it?"
"See, thing is, I can't seem to find a reason why you would draw that conclusion." FP steps into his room, his arms folding across his chest. "I know for a fact you've never encountered a witch. Hell, in my fifty years, I've never even come across one. You got something you want to fill me in on boy?"
"I-"
"What exactly was it," he cuts in, "Just about any vampire or wolf could have done what they did to Tall Boy. It doesn't take a witch to gouge somebody's eyes out and carve a few words into their skin."
Jughead sighs, "The smell."
"What?" FP raises a brow.
"He said he followed a smell," he reiterates.
"So what," FP argues.
"He said it was sweet. Witches smell sweet," he says under his breath.
"And you would know that because," he trails off.
"I just do," he shrugs. "Can I go now?"
FP scowls, "You've got one more chance to tell me exactly why you know that."
Jughead sighs, tongue in cheek as he glares at his father, his Alpha. He knows better than to go against his father. Even if he tries to avoid answering again, FP will just force it out of him anyways.
"I know a witch," he admits. "Two actually."
"You know- Two? In Riverdale," he questions in disbelief.
Jughead nods, feeling small under his father's disapproving gaze.
"So let me get this straight," he clips, "You know two witches, two potential assailants and you said nothing? Were you ever even going to tell me?"
Jughead shakes his head, lowering his eyes to the floor. FP only nods in response, breathing out a heavy sigh through his nose.
"Who are they," he questions as his fingers scratch at his beard.
Jughead lifts his gaze, his hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck. "They didn't do it. Promise me you won't go after them."
"Jug-"
"Promise me, dad," he demands.
"Fine," he nods, his jaw set heavy with disapproval, "I won't go after them, but if I find out they had anything to do with this-"
"They didn't," Jughead grits through his teeth.
FP sighs, "Who are they Jughead."
Jughead hesitates, his lips pressing into a hard line as he searches his father's eyes for any signs of dishonesty.
"Betty," he mumbles.
"And the other is Alice, isn't it?" FP shakes his head. "How did I miss that? And how the hell did you find out? She tell you before or after you bonded?"
"She didn't," he admits. "It was Cheryl actually."
"Blossom," he wonders with shock. "You're mated with a witch and you're hanging around with that succubus?"
Jughead sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose before sending Betty a quick text that he's going to be late.
Nearly an hour later, FP sits in a state of shock as he tries to wrap his head around everything he's just been told. His son has known a witch his entire life. He himself, has known Alice just as long and never even suspected she was anything more than a regular old human. What's worse is one of his own has bonded with a Blossom. Of all the horrible creatures that lurk in the small town of Riverdale, who could have ever guessed that it would be a Blossom to infiltrate his pack.
"Get on to see your girl." FP waives him off, "You kept her waiting long enough."
"Dad-"
FP holds up his hand, "Between us. All of it."
Jughead nods, appreciative for his father's understanding. Who knows what hell would break loose if the pack caught wind of not one, but two witches to blame for the marring of one of their own. With one last glance over his shoulder, Jughead steps out the door and heads straight for Betty's house.
The moment he arrives, Betty drags him up the stairs, shoving him to his back on her bed to climb on top of him.
"Mom's shopping," she whispers against his ear before taking his lips in a needy kiss.
All concern for the conversation he'd meant to have with her flies out the window as she rolls her hips against him. His wolf hums with satisfaction as his Luna takes what she needs. It's a matter of seconds before their both stripped bare, their clothes strewn about on the floor at her bedside.
"Wait," Jughead breathes as he pulls back from her lips.
Betty rolls onto the bed as he gets up, digging in his pants pockets and holding up a square foil package in triumph.
"Grabbed it from Pea," he grins before rejoining her on the bed.
Betty rolls her eyes, a smirk on her lips as she knocks him down once more. They kiss until their lips are raw and Betty can't take the teasing of his length slicked against her any longer. Her pleading whines clue him in quickly and the heavy scent of her arousal has his body abuzz with sheer desire. It's his turn to knock her to her back, taking a dominant stance over her as he kisses the mark on her neck. He's found it's become more of a sweet spot as of late, so much so that a single graze of his fingertips against it floods his senses with her immediate arousal.
Sitting back on his heels, he leaves Betty to squirm in anticipation as he rolls on the condom. No sooner than it's secured does he thrust himself inside her, earning a yelp of surprise that gives way to a sigh of relief. His lips find her mark once more, kissing and sucking at it as he fucks into her at a relentless pace. His fangs extend, a deep growl vibrating in his chest as he breaks the surface of her skin. Betty cries out, holding nothing back as she meets his pace with the rock of her hips. The thrill of being alone in her house, her loud cries of his name, the taste of her blood, her sweet aroma and the distinctly pungent smell of their mingled arousal has Jughead absolutely reeling. It's all becomes too much and he falls apart far sooner than he would have liked, filling the condom and collapsing on top of her.
Betty kisses his head, smiling contentedly as he uses the last of his strength to get off of her. The moment he pulls out, he sees it-
"Uh, Betts," he says, the worry in his tone prompting her to sit up.
"It broke," she questions as he tugs off the condom.
He holds it up closer to his face, inspecting it, "I think it melted."
"Melted," she questions. "How the hell does that happen?"
"I have no idea," he shrugs, his eyes widened and his brow riddled with confusion.
"Guess we're fucked either way then huh," she shrugs.
"Guess so," he nods.
Betty doesn't seem overly worried, but he'd assumed as much. It had been his suggestion to be smarter about sex, but maybe it's just something to do with mating that has her so unconcerned with the possibility of being impregnated. As he gets up to hide the condom in the bottom of her waste bin, he files away the apparent melting abilities of his semen for a highly uncomfortable conversation to have with his father.
After getting dressed, Jughead fills Betty in to the fact that FP had pulled the Alpha card on him and forced it out of him that she and Alice are witches. He's surprised by how well she takes it, assuming she was going to be angry with him.
"I'm sure he would have found out eventually," she shrugs, "We are sort of in this for the long haul."
Jughead grins, dropping a kiss to her forehead from his place at her headboard.
After cuddling for a long while on her bed, dozing off for a half hour or so, the two of them head next door to see Archie. Neither of them have seen much of him outside of the occasional run in at school since their initial falling out. The dust has cleared and everyone has made up, but there's a new sense of awkwardness among the trio. Their whole dynamic has changed and Archie is the one receiving the most backlash.
The three teens, go to Pop's. Pop's had been a usual for either Archie and Betty, or Archie and Jughead, but very rarely did all three of them visit at the same time. Today, they sit together as three, but the rift between them feels deeper than ever. They keep conversation casual, chatting over burgers about classes and the latest movies coming out, but by the end of it, they all feel a sense of loss. Jughead and Archie will always be brothers, their bond extending far beyond friendship, but things will never be the same with Betty.
When they arrive back at Betty's, Archie gives a quick wave and a tight lipped smile that feels oddly like a more permanent goodbye. Betty feels horrible for being the cause of strain on Jughead's relationship with Archie and she hopes that one day things will be better. Jughead walks Betty to her door, kissing her deeply, then heads for home.
Later that evening, FP comes home from the Wyrm looking a little worse for wear. When Jughead questions him, he learns that they caught wind of a witch in the area and if it's who he thinks it is, they very well may be screwed.
Back in his father's reign, the original Forsythe Jones, there had been a turf war between the Serpent pack and a pack that calls themselves the Ghoulies. They were a pack made up of rogue wolves, led by a hotheaded wolf named Malachai and his mate Penny, who just so happened to be a witch. FP was only three years old at the time, but it's common knowledge that Malachai was killed by Forsythe himself. The rogues that made up his pack dispersed quickly and no one ever heard from his mate again. If FP is right, their dealing with one seriously pissed off witch with a severed Alpha bond and nothing but time on her hands to perfect her craft. If the body left behind Pop's is any indication, she is more than likely drawing her power from living beings and magic like⦠well it's not exactly used to make rainbows and butterflies.
Once the heavy conversation is out of the way, FP cracks open a beer, asking Jughead how his day was. He tells him about Archie, relaying that he's pretty sure they won't be a part of one another's lives much longer. FP offers condolences, but assures him Archie will come around. The boy just needs time.
"There was something I wanted to ask you," Jughead says nervously.
"Shoot," FP nods, taking the last swig of his beer.
"Uhm," he clears his throat, "So, me and Betty. We uh, had sex."
FP raises a brow.
"I mean we've been doing that, obviously, but uh-"
"Get on with it boy," FP chuckles.
"It melted," he says under his breath.
"What was that," FP questions, leaning forward on his knees.
"The condom," he sighs. "We didn't use on before and this time we did and, it, it melted."
FP laughs, a hearty belly laugh that Jughead hasn't heard in a long time.
"You're an Alpha, boy," he chuckles. "There's no birth control in the human world that can save her from your swimmers. You either pull and pray or abstain entirely."
"Seriously," he groans.
FP only nods, chuckling to himself and shaking his head as he gets up for another beer.
