6
Melva looked at the pink shirt on her son with distain, knowing he wore it to insult her.
Bad enough he chose a male mate, Jack bloody Harness no less, but not he stands in HER den with a bag dripping blood on the carpet.
"Sweetheart, must you be so vulgar" she sighed.
"Someone is attacking other aliens, I am taking it as a vulgar act and will respond appropriately" Ianto said as he upended the bag and the heads rolled out.
As they all looked down Ianto did wonder if the one with his face ripped off was a bit of overkill but as he looked up at his mother he as rewarded with a look of not horror but recognition.
"That …" she pointed at one, "Is that not Herdon?"
"Yes your Grace" her advisor simpered. "I believe it is."
"You and your flamboyant gestures" Mycroft growled at his brother as he stepped forward and then looked down with a sigh.
"Dirk?" he turned to speak to his mother's advisor and found a space.
"Where is Dirk?" he asked another who shrugged, then shot off to find him when Mycroft snarled.
"Whoever is responsible, they have been trying to suggest it was another pack, even leaving blatant clues that screamed over handling" Jack said with his usual swagger, "Come on Melva love, Ford was almost blown to kingdom come by a car bomb. You can't say this was just a wee prod and a poke."
"There you are" Melva said as a weedy man entered that Jack recognized from their last meeting, "Dirk. Is this not your brother's pup?"
Dirk stepped over and looked dispassionately at the heads and screwed his nose up.
"No Mum" he said calmly, "Never seen them before."
Jack couldn't help but feel he was lying but the Wolf Queen simply nodded and waved him away.
"We will help you in any way we can" she offered, "We can offer extra soldiers for your compound."
"No, those at the compound police themselves" Ianto huffed.
"So you don't even live there?" Mycroft sighed, "Brother you know as Alpha you …"
"As Alpha, I am speaking to the another Alpha" Ford snarled as he let the 'Ianto' mask drop before his mother for the first time, "Not her lap dog!"
"Ouch" Jack said softly, smiling as he watched Mycroft colour with embarrassment.
"I assure you, this is nothing to do with me" she said, then she stepped forward and scented the air as her eyes widened.
Jack stopped smiling as Ford physically responded by stepping back as if she were diseased.
"So. You showered first, used a floral soap and even an aftershave to hide it" she said with sorrow, "You did not want me to know?"
"It is not your business" he said sullenly and Jack frowned as he looked at the childish frown on his mate.
"So, an Alpha who does not live with his pack, lays with another man and now … what. You are in heat?" Mycroft sneered, then yelped as his mother swung to snarl at him.
"Do not speak to your brother with that tone" she snarled, Show respect for the one who guaranteed our future here on this rock!"
"But .."
"Silence! It is his choice who he bonds with, who he lays with or even breeds with" she roared, "We must rejoice that at least one of my children has decided to seed a Dam so that our blood will continue!"
"Mother …"
"I said silence!" her voice was quiet yet as deadly as Ford's in that tone and Mycroft looked at his shoes. "He is not in heat, but I smell someone in pup on him!"
"Three sons, not a single grandpup." She said sadly, "And now … not only a gradpup but one from his own seed. Such a gift and almost torn from me before I could even rejoice. And he hides it from me."
Jack finally looked at Ford who was staring back at him as though waiting for something.
"It is not my pup in the woman's belly, her mate had died and I have taken her in as I did the last one" Ianto's clipped tones made Jack frown as Ford hid.
Then Jack saw the fear.
He feared?
What?