AN: I'm super thrilled that you all are liking the story. I hope you can continue to like through to the end. FYI, I've never been camping before, and I don't know survival skills, so sorry in advance.
Jared slowly opened his eyes, and sat up. He could see that the sun was barely rising. He looked to his sister, and smiled at the sight of her sleeping so peacefully.
When he first started taking care of her, he was worried that she doesn't cry all the time. He's heard that babies would wake up all through the night crying, but not Genevieve. She hardly ever woke through the night.
He looked down at his chest and could see the flaming star exactly where it was supposed to be. Jared grabbed it and put beneath his shirt. He turned his attention to his mother's journal on his lap. Jared was a little worried about what he was going to find out. After what's happened, he knew he was going to have to open it sooner or later.
Taking a deep breath, he opened it to a random page.
April 16, 1986
Gerald just called to tell me that we're having a guest over. We don't usually have people over. I asked whether whoever the guest was if they were human or vampire. He wouldn't tell me. I hope it's not a human, because Jeff hasn't been around humans for very long. I don't want him to attack.
...
I am so mad! Gerald brought a human child to us. We have never attacked a human before, but Jeff is still learning to control his thirst. I wasn't mad at the child, God only knows that I could never be angry with the boy.
The worst part of this whole thing with the child is what Gerald told me about him. That bastard, Alastair, kidnapped him! I always hated that man, but never in all my years did I think he would do something like this! He's a wolf pup that was taken from his family.
I understand that John and his pack killed his wife, but that doesn't mean he has the right to kidnap a child from his family. I will never know why the others were so easily convinced to try and rid the world of the werewolf community. Gerald told me that if they wanted to do it, they needed test subjects.
When he was brought in, I was shocked at the state the boy was in. He was injured, hungry and he looked so sad. When I looked at him, I couldn't help but think of Jeff and what I would do if he were taken from me. As a mother, I couldn't turn away from a child in as much need as he was in. I couldn't turn back on my motherly instincts, and they were telling me to help this boy.
And so I did. I approached him carefully, and I needed him to know that I wasn't going to hurt him. I told him that I was just going to help him, but when I got too close, he ran to the far corner of the living room and hid behind our recliner. I couldn't blame him, especially after all he's been through.
I got down to his level and I held back my tears. It was difficult, because he was so scared and I didn't want him to hurt himself.
"Sweetheart, I just want to help you. I promise I will not hurt you."
I stayed there for about fifteen minutes saying it over and over, but he didn't even look at me. I could see he was crying, and I so badly wanted to wrap my arms around him and hold him. I wanted to tell him everything would be okay. I just wanted his pain to go away.
Eventually, I decided to leave him alone. I didn't know how long it had been, but I found him asleep in the same spot. I carefully picked him up and took him to our spare room. I took advantage of the time he was sleeping. I changed his clothes into Jeff's, and although they were bigger he looked so much better. I cleaned as many of the wounds as I could. I wanted to check him all over for any injuries, but I didn't want him to wake up and get the wrong idea. I kissed his forehead and I left.
...
Gerald came back home with Jeff, and after sending him to his room I spoke with him. We yelled at each other for quite some time, but in the end I made him search for the boy's family. He has to be sent back to his family. I can only imagine how worried and scared they are.
April 20, 1986
The young boy still hasn't spoken since he's been there. I've taken some time off work, because there was no way I was going to leave him alone. I really wish he would speak so he can tell me his name, but we know nothing except his family name.
...
That fucking bastard came to our home. He knows what Gerald had done, but we don't care. He's not going to take him. I had found out the day before that the other test subjects had died under 'mysterious circumstances'. But Gerald told me the cure had killed them, but for some reason the little boy hasn't.
Gerald told Alastair it was because he was never given the cure. They wanted to test the others because they were older, and so never got the chance to test the boy. He demanded him back, but Gerald, being the man that he is, said no.
My Gerald threatened him that he never come near my little boy. Since Alastair was human, it wouldn't be that hard to kill him. But that asshole wasn't scared, or at least he didn't show it. He only smiled at him saying that he'll only leave him be if he can have him when he's older. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he meant. Before I could kill him myself, Gerald agreed.
Alastair was thrilled with this. Once he left, I didn't speak to my husband for two weeks because of their agreement.
May 3, 1986
I don't know when he's supposed to turn three. I have never had the experience to be present when a wolf pup changed for the first time. When is his birthday?
...
I'm starting to think he's only ever been human, because Gerald just told me that his third birthday was the day before. It's very rare that a human would be born to a pack or coven, but it does happen. Unfortunately, this isn't the case. He told me that the cure worked. This is what they have been trying to do, but so far it hasn't worked.
Gerald told Alastair and the others that the boy is human, so there would be no reason for the cure. He told me it worked, but he didn't want that asshole to know because he didn't want him to come back and take him. I'd like to see him and the others try to take my boy.
May 7, 1986
I have received terrible news today. Gerald can't find his family. He tracked all the way back to where he was taken, and it was completely deserted. They're gone. He can't locate them, because no wolf pack will tell him. They don't trust us anymore than we trust them.
June 24, 1986
Does it make me a terrible person to not want him to go back? I know I should be trying to get him back to his family, but all the time that he's been here, I've grown to love him just as much as I love Jeff. I don't want him to leave us.
I can't let him go. Would it be so bad if he doesn't? He's actually laughed and spoken a few words since he's been here. He won't tell me his name, and I'm starting to think that maybe he's forgotten his name.
I've decided to go with Jared. I didn't ask him if he wants to be called Jared, I just called him that. The most shocking thing is, he's responded to it. He's even called me mom. I feel horrible, and I know one day the truth will come out, but hearing him call me mom and be happy, I can't bring myself to care.
May 2, 1995
Jared turns to twelve today, and he's brought over his friends. They seem like good kids for him. Especially since he's human in a family of vampires. Human friends is what he needs. I could see his jealousy, because he's different from us.
This day started right and happy, but it didn't last. There was a news bulletin. It was from a group calling themselves the Archangels. We don't know what they are, but they had attacked a government facility that was rumored to be doing testing on werewolves. Because there were casualties, the President is telling us that they have declared war on the vampires and any allies they have.
Gerald and I don't think that's the whole story.
Jared closed the journal. He couldn't anymore at least not now. He couldn't believe what he had just read. It couldn't be true. He wasn't a Padalecki. His parents fell in love with him, and due to that he wasn't returned to his birth family. His parents kept him from his family. What the fuck?!
His mother had grown to love him and because of that he was brought up to believe that he was a human born to a family of vampires. He was conditioned to believe that he was Jared Padalecki. He leaned his head back against the headrest. His whole life has been one huge fucking lie.
He was a werewolf, or he was supposed to be, but he was given some damn cure. A cure that killed others that were being tested on. Why did it work on him? What made him special? Whatever it was, he doesn't have anyone anymore. He doesn't even know if his birth family is still alive. For all he knew, they could all be dead.
He was pulled back from his thoughts when he heard his Genevieve crying. He picked her up and began to rock her, or as much as he could while sitting in the car. He was wrong. He did have someone. Jared still has her. He may not know if his family was still alive, but at the very least he has her. Right now, that's good enough. Isn't it?
He's been driving around for about an hour not knowing where to go. Lilith told him to find the Ackles Pack, but where was he supposed to look? He didn't know them, and if they really were apart of the Archangels, it wasn't going to be easy to even know where to start.
Jared looked at his tank, and could see that he wasn't going to be able to just drive around with nowhere to go. If they were going to help him, then he was going to have to know where to go.
Pulling over, Jared started looking through the car for any clues as to where to go. If Chad told him to drive away in his car, then he had to have known that he would need to tell Jared where the Archangels were.
He was getting very pissed off, because he couldn't find anything. What the hell Chad? He sighed. He needed their help, but he really didn't understand why. Why would he need their help? What could they do for him? What could he do for them?
Genevieve was giggling for some reason, and he looked back to see what had caused her sudden happiness. He furrowed his brows when he saw her flapping a piece of ripped paper. He reached back and took it from her. There was nothing on it. Where did it come from? She had to have gotten it somewhere.
He looked around the seat but didn't see any paper. Jared looked closer around and could see something sticking out of her car seat. He pulled at it and it was indeed the rest of the paper.
Looking down at it, he saw three words. He knew it was his father's writing. When did he do this? Jared figured that he must have done it when he put his mother's journal into his room. But why not put it in there? Why here? His father had to have known that there was a chance that Jared wouldn't even take the car seat. But he did know that he had his sister.
He didn't know if what the paper said was a real place, but it was start.
Crowned Hollow Woods
Exiting the library, Jared held the printed out paper of directions to the location that he was given. He didn't even think it was real, but here he was staring at the directions. He really needed to count himself lucky that it was so close. It was about three miles away which was a good thing, because he was almost out of gas.
As he made his way to the woods, he couldn't help but think about what he was going to find. What was going to happen when he found them? What was he supposed to do or say? He was a nobody seeking help from a group with a mission. What was he going to do if they turned him away? What then?
And what about his family? If they were alive, shouldn't he be looking for them? Should he go searching for a group that could be very dangerous and turn him away, instead of searching for his family? But what if they were all dead? What then?
Jared took a deep breath as he stared at the woods before him. He was caring the car seat making sure that his sister would be covered in case bugs tried to bite her. He's learned that the wolf packs that live in the woods tend to live as far in as they could. So, he didn't know how far he would have to go, but now that he was here, he was going to do it.
He walks in. Despite knowing that wolf packs live far in the woods, he had no idea how to track them. He didn't know what to look for. If this was a coven, maybe.
Jared didn't know how long he was walking, but he knew that it must have been a long time, because the sun was no longer up. His flashlight was still going which he considered a win. He was tired, and he really wanted to sleep. He looked down at Genevieve, and saw that she was sleeping. He smiled. He was so happy that he had brought enough baby food for her, because he didn't know how long they would be out here.
As he was walking, he yelled at himself for being so stupid. He's in way over his head. He wants to do this and find them, but he had no idea what he was doing. Jared lost count on how many times he tripped over branches. If he wasn't so far in, he would go back and find another way to find what he was looking for.
It was around one in the morning when he couldn't go on. He had to stop. He's never been camping, but he's seen plenty of movies where people had to make shelter in the woods. After setting his daughter down carefully, he went to work remembering everything he's learned.
About a half an hour later, he was done. He took a step back and looked at his shelter. He was so glad no one was here to look at it, because it was terrible. He didn't have much experience with this, and he didn't bring that much stuff to begin with. He had a thin blanket, a small amount of rope and some broken sticks that he found laying around.
With his limited amount of knowledge concerning this, it was... good? That was until a huge gust of wind came and knocked it over. He cursed. He gave up after that. He had on a sweater and a hat. He was just going to have to make due.
After burying himself and Genevieve in between a couple of trees, he made sure they wouldn't be seen by wild animals. He wrapped his daughter in the blanket and his gun ready to defend themselves if it was needed.
It was around the time he got them settled that she began to cry. He moaned. He was so tired and just wanted to sleep. He changed and fed her, but she still wouldn't stop crying.
"Come on, baby. Please, stop crying," he begged tiredly. With how tired he was he was on the verge of crying himself.
Jared didn't know what else he could do for her. He was exhausted, but he couldn't go to sleep until she did. Finally, he stood up and began rocking her. She was still crying, but it got softer. He smiled. He then changed the rocking to some form of dancing.
He wanted to laugh and scream out in joy when the crying stopped and she fell asleep. He sighed in relief. He made his way back to his spot that he made for them both. He closed his eyes, and quickly fell asleep.
Jared's eyes shoot open when he hears several twigs and sticks breaking. That would only happen if there was someone out there. Someone very close by. Someone that could be an enemy. He quickly but carefully rose to his feet with his gun drawn. Jared turned on the flashlight and left it next to his daughter that way he could find her, not that he was going to leave her. He was a human, or a cured werewolf, who couldn't see anything in the darkness even with the light from the flashlight.
"I know someone's out there; show yourself!"
He got no response. It could be an animal that was out there, or maybe it was that bastard. He growled just thinking about that fucking asshole.
"Alastair! I hope that's not you otherwise I'm going to fucking kill you."
He was about to go back to his spot thinking that whoever was out there was gone. Seeing five figures come his way, he knew how wrong he was. Jared stopped frozen in fear. The moonlight was right above them, and when the figures stepped out of the shadows, he could see they were wolves. He felt his heart skip a beat. This was not good. They're growling viciously at him, and he brings up his gun. He doesn't want to waste his bullets, but if he has to to keep his daughter safe, then so be it.
"Okay, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. Please, don't kill us." Jared said backing away.
At the moment, Genevieve started to cry again. That's when one of the wolves changed its form. It wasn't just a wolf that they had come across... it was a werewolf. He had dark hair, and appeared dangerous. Jared can handle a werewolf. It seemed a lot better than some wild animal. Once the one man changed, so did the others. He lowered his gun.
"What are you doing here?" The first werewolf asked eyeing the gun. Jared could hear a southern accent. "We don't allow fucking vampires on our territory!"
Jared tilt his head in confusion. He looked between all of the werewolves. "We're not vampires. We're human."
The dark haired wolf scoffed. "Well you both reek of vampires, so that's very hard to believe. Leave now, or you both die!"
Jared looked down at Genevieve sitting quietly in her car seat. He didn't want her to get hurt, but he had a feeling that if he left now they were going to get hurt anyway or even worse. He didn't want to go back and risk getting caught by Alastair and whoever he was working for. He looked back up at the man before him.
He shook his head. "I'm not leaving. We're not going back. I was told that the Archangels are in these woods. Chad and Lilith sent me here and I'm not leaving until I find them." He didn't know why he mentioned the Archangels, but he felt like he had to.
The werewolf didn't speak. Instead he looked to his right at another wolf at the far end. They communicated in some way, and whatever the wolf was told the other agreed. "Come with us. Now." He took a step toward Jared which in turn made him step back.
Jared narrowed his eyes. "Where?"
"Come with us and you'll find out. You're obviously not leaving, and we can't allow you to wander on our territory on your own."
Jared gathered his things putting his gun in his waistband. He carefully picked up Genevieve and walked alongside them. Did they know where the Archangels were? Were they apart of the Archangels?
If he had kept going for another fifteen minutes, he would've come across a camp site. There was a huge clearing, and there were tents and tables scattered around. There were hundreds of people talking to each other, eating; just enjoying themselves. He could see young wolves running around and playing with each other.
Was this how his family was before he was taken?
"Where are we going?" he asked to any of the wolves that were escorting him. Neither of the two wolves who were in their human form answered him. He rolled his eyes.
As he was walking passed dozens of people, they all looked his way. He felt uncomfortable with their eyes set on him. He knew he smelled like a vampire, but couldn't they tell he was a human?
Jared was stopped in front of a large tent. It was bigger than the others, and he could see it was in the dead center. Whoever was in there must be really important, or at the very least the leader. The wolf with the southern accent guided him inside. It was empty.
Inside looked extremely cozy and it was warm. At the back was a bed with a light on a nightstand. To his left was a table littered with maps and blueprints. He walked in even more, and could see a small picture. He picked it up and could see a young boy being held by a beautiful blonde woman.
He looked closer at the boy and could see he had beautiful green eyes. Those eyes felt familiar. He's seen those eyes. Jared's dreamed about those eyes.
"Don't you know not to touch stuff that doesn't belong to you?" asked a deep voice behind him.
Jared gasped and turned around. Right before were two men. One with black hair and bright blue eyes. He had a very serious and scary vibe, but he was also very good looking.
The other was an even more sexy and beautiful man. He had spiky dark brown hair. He had these piercing green eyes. The way he was standing with his arms crossed just screamed 'Alpha'. Not just any alpha, but the Alpha. He backed away and whimpered just looking at him.
"Who are you vampire?" the Alpha asked.
He kept looking between the men. "I'm... uh... not a vampire. My name is Jared."
The Alpha growled. He walked up to him, and Jared backed away terrified of him. It was strange, he was strong and knew how to handle himself in a fight, but one look at this man and he felt like a scared child.
He backed away so much that he hit the bed. The Alpha didn't touch him, but he leaned into him so much that he sniffed him. Jared felt odd and tilt his head to display his neck. He didn't know why he did it, just that it felt like it was the most natural thing in the world. The Alpha backed away and just stared at him. Jared wondered why he didn't try and sniff Genevieve.
"You're not a vampire, but you do have the stench of one."
"I'm human."
The Alpha shook his head. "No, you're not. Vampires, humans, and werewolves all have their own different scent. Beneath your vampire scent there's something else."
Jared knew what he was talking about, but it didn't make sense. He knew he was born a werewolf, but he was given a cure. He's supposed to smell like a vampire and human. Maybe it was something else, because the scents of both species were mixed.
He was born a werewolf, but he didn't feel the need to explain this to them. Jared didn't know them, so therefore he didn't trust them. This was his business, no one else's. Besides, what did it matter? He wasn't a werewolf anymore, so what was the point of saying he was when he wasn't?
"I told you who I was, so who are you?" demanded Jared. He was fighting back the urge to submit to the Alpha. He was his own man, and he wasn't going to submit to anyone. He wasn't some submissive bitch who bowed down to any alpha.
The Alpha didn't answer, but only looked to Blue Eyes.
Jared growled. "Are you the Archangels?" Nothing. "Answer me! If you're not, then tell me so I can leave."
The Alpha looked back at him with a raised eyebrow clearly surprised at his outburst. He smirked. "What if we are? What does it matter to you?"
Jared shook his head, "No. I'm not answering anymore of your questions, until you answer mine. Who are you? And are you the Archangels?"
The Alpha's smirk never left his face. "You say you're human, so I see no reason to see you as a threat. Yes, we're the Archangels."
Jared rolled his eyes at the insult. He's been seen as no threat all his life. He's come to prefer that, because his enemy tended to lose when they came face to face. he enjoyed seeing his enemies eat their own words. So now here he was. Okay, he's found the Archangels. At least he hoped he did. Now what? What help did he need from them?
"Who are you?" Jared was so tired and just wanted to sleep, but he needed to know he was in a safe environment.
The Alpha's smirk fell from his face at the question. He just looked serious and a little sad. Jared figured that the Alpha has done it so much that he was good at hiding it, that maybe he didn't think anyone could see it, but he did.
He turned his back on him. Jared didn't think he was going to get an answer, but just before the Alpha left Jared heard him speak.
"Jensen."
AN: They finally meet! Like it? Next chapter, you'll read both Jared and Jensen's POVs. Until next time. -Kauri510