Mate ...s ?!?!
Chapter Forty-Three

[Jaxson’s POV]

I had really fucked up this time. Like enough to make my own mother curse at me. I had only ever heard my mom cuss at someone one time and the end result had almost been tragic. For them. I had thought I had been the one they were rejecting but turns out I was the one doing the rejecting. When I walked into their room I froze. My heart feeling like it stopped at the sight in front of me. I felt my lungs contract and I swear even Lysander passed out on me. Both Jace and Orion were hooked up to machines and had oxygen tubes in their noses. It was like I was looking at the terminally dying. I had done this.

Neither one of them looked the same. Jace had once had a nice tan that had now faded to a pale brown. I had only been gone for five hours and this is how much me needing time to think has hurt them both. Jace’s thick muscles were gone, his skin hanging from his bones. His eyes were closed and almost fully sunken in. But my twin looked as if he had some life to him. Like he just needed to eat to regain his strength and color.

Orion, did not. The monitors told me he was breathing and his heart was beating strongly, but I had a feeling that Rain was the one pumping Orion’s heart for him. Within the short time I had been gone, my little star had gone from a normal sized Omega, to nothing but a pile of breathing organs. Orion was fighting for his life and it was probably Rain doing most of the fighting. My little Omega was on the very cusp of death and it was all my fault. My fault. My flaws had done this.

I went to sit between them both. “I’m so sorry.” I whispered hanging my head. “I never meant for this to happen. I just needed a moment to think. Please, hear me. Please know that I would never reject either of you. Jace, you are my twin brother. We have been together from the time we were born and we will be together until the time we breathe our last breath that will never change. I love you Jace Evan King.” I said hoping it would at least get him to breathe a little easier, as I turned to Orion. “My sweet little star. Orion, you brought so much into my life in such a short time I never want to be without you sweet one. How could you ask me to be without your smile? Or your laughter? I struggled the most, my star, with your coma. When your mother took you from us I was beyond devastated. You were right there in front of us. Right there, we could touch you and yet you were so far from both of us. That broke me. I am usually the strongest one between the three of us, but now it seems that you are. I still need to protect you. I still need to keep what is most precious to me safe. To Jace and I, Orion you are still our Omega. I will always love you Orion Star. I will love the both of you to the best of my ability for the rest of time.” I said, bowing my head, and folding my hands together. I just wanted them to be ok. I wanted them to have heard my words and to come back to me. To forgive my foolishness and give me another chance to prove to them that I love them beyond words. It has never been about me loving them because that was always a given. It was about me being able to protect them both.

I sat there between them talking to them quietly, telling them both how sorry I was and how foolish I had been when I was only thinking of how lost I had felt. I was dozing in a chair a few hours later when a soft groaning was heard from my left. Orion was trying to move from his bed. I leapt from my seat to settle him back onto his bed, making sure he hadn’t torn out any of the leads. “Shhh, it’s all right sweet little star.” I cooed, having perfected the sound after weeks with him going in and out of ‘little’ space. We had been doing very well with him as a little and he had even begun to call us ‘daddy’ and ‘papa’ something both Jace and I absolutely cherished with everything we had.

“Papa Jax?” Orion called hoarsely as he reached out for me with his only free hand.

“That’s right little star, Papa is right here. I’m not ever going anywhere.” I said as I handed him a cup of water with a straw, letting him sip from the straw as I actually held the cup.

“W-what happen??” Orion asked as he reached for me again, pulling me closer to him. He started to tug on his restrained arm, whining when he couldn’t really move it all that well. I calmed him by sitting with him and taking both his little hands in mine.

“It’s hard to explain little star. Let’s wait for Daddy Jace to wake up and I will try to explain.” I said hoping he would let me stall for a little while. His beautiful eyes were soothing my hurt soul but I needed Jace to fix this completely. I needed to explain myself to them. I needed them both to understand that I never intended for them to feel like I was rejecting them.

Orion scrunched his face as he thought about it for a moment, he then smiled and nodded, still trying to get out of the bed. “I don wanna be in here. I wanna go ober der wifs daddy Jace.” he grumbled as I stopped him again from pulling out the lead and IV from his other arm. He was determined though, he wanted them out of his arm.

“What do we do when we want something?” I ask him, still needing him to use his manners. No matter if he is hurt or worried or healing. Little or Adult. Manners Matter.

“Papa can I please go over there with daddy?” Orion asked, giving me the biggest set of puppy dog eyes that would melt a glacier if given the chance.

I pouted a little, “But if you snuggle with daddy where will papas snuggle be?” I asked him, getting a giggle from him, as he reached up to tug my short hair a little.

“Papa, there will always be snuggles for you and daddy!!!” he exclaimed happily, giggling just as happily as I smiled brightly at him. Orion was truly a priceless treasure. His smile and little giggles could fix anything, I am sure of it.

“But what if I want to snuggle with you and daddy too?” I asked curiously. “You and daddy gave papa a scare you know.” I said seriously, brushing some hair out of his face, kissing his forehead gently.

“Papa left us.” Orion replied softly, his eyes growing very sad, his few words far truer than anything I could ever come up with.

“Papa is so sorry you thought it was that way. Papa could never leave you or daddy.” I said truthfully, bringing his hand up to my face so I could nuzzle against his palm.

“Really?” Orion asked, looking up at me with his innocent eyes and cherub-like face.

How could anyone ever leave or hate that? “How could I ever want to leave either of you my little star?” I asked him with faux hurt as I grasped my chest a little. “The two of you are what make me one person.” I said getting a giggle from Orion.

“Silly Papa! You ARE one person already.” Orion giggled, his little body shaking in laughter almost to the point of coming off the small bed.

I chuckled a little, I could see where he was looking. The literal sense of the words. “That’s not what I meant little star.” I said smiling at him and kissing his head as I tried to move around his bed to hopefully unhook the machines without setting them all off at the same time.

Orion let out a confused squeak, his head tilting to the side as he watched me for a moment. “What do you mean Papa?” he asked me curiously.

I swear sometimes he was too smart for his own good. “I mean that to me, you and Jace are the other pieces of my very soul. The stuff that makes me who I am is not complete without you. The two of you are the missing parts of me.” I said thoughtfully.

“Papa was missing pieces?” Orion asked as he reached out for me again, a little whine coming to the back of his throat.

“I was my star. You and daddy fill those spots.” I said as I poked my head through the wires to smile at him. “You two make papa feel all better.” I added as I followed another wire to yet another machine.

This one was hooked up to Jace and Orion. It confused me a little. The wires were overlapping with the others but I could see that they were not like the others. I called Hayle immediately. I wanted to know what the hell they were putting into my Mates.

Hayle appeared instantly, a worried look on his face as he came into the room. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Orion’s open eyes, but it fell quickly as he looked over to Jace’s still sleeping body.

“Alpha Jax,” he said as he came into the room to check everything. I pulled myself out of the tangle of wires before going to get right in his face.

“There is a wire that does not match the others. Explain.” I stated, still holding a part of the mismatched wiring in my hand.

“That is the feed line for their medications, Alpha.” Hayle replied instantly and I could not smell or hear a lie in his words.

“What type of medication?” I questioned,

“Your mother brought it to us. She said it would slow down the rejection process.” Hayle replied still not daring to move an inch, afraid I was going to rip his head off.

“Do you know what’s in it?” I demanded, harshly.

“No, Alpha.” Hayle answered.

“Go get my parents and then you will stay here. I want some answers.” I said, a commanding Alpha Timbre filling my voice. “Before you leave, you will take Orion off of everything so that he can move around freely.” I added, when I heard a soft whimper behind me. Orion wanted to move and I was going to make sure he could do so. At least with me around him.

Hayle nodded and quickly did as he was told. Orion was free of the wires and machines, and he smiled happily at me when the last wire fell from him. “Thank you, papa!!” he squealed getting me to chuckle a little.

“Anything for you my little star. Now, let’s go get you to the bathroom, then you can go lay with daddy.” I said scooping him into my arms gently and carrying him to the bathroom.

I knew he would have to pee and when he saw himself in the mirror, he would want to do something with his whitish blonde hair. It was just an Orion thing. I’ve got one Mate back, now I need to learn why the other one hasn’t woken up.