Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2022 16:54:14 +0000 From: Sparky Subject: Marcus and the cub - Chapter 24 Welcome to my story, this one is much more fantasy but is still about love and it's various forms. It is all loving and gentle. If intergenerational themes are not for you, then you may not like this story. This is a work of fiction. If you do like it I would love to hear from you. You can email me at: sparky.story@protonmail.com My wordpress sites are all gone in a purge that hit a few authors, if I am able to find a new host I will build new sites. I am trying to write again but it is still hard at the moment, these chapters I am posting now have all been posted on my old wordpress sites. I hope you are all well! Please help support nifty, they provide us with a wonderful resource and they rely on donations to keep the site running - http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html Sparky Marcus and the cub - Chapter 24 By Sparky Parker was not known as a nervous guy, like his dad he had grown into a strong minded and confident young man, but as he waited with his parents for Taylor, Jared and the cubs to get home he felt more nervous than ever before. So much had changed since he was last here at home and he was unsure of his place in this new home life that had been created in his absence. He was so quiet that even Tess and Shawn could sense their son was nervous. "You'll be fine... just treat the cubs kindly and they'll like you" Tess told Parker thinking he was nervous about meeting his new little brothers. "I will... it's just so much has changed..." Parker replied airing his thoughts a little. "I know it has... but everyone is still the same... well apart from Jared and Taylor getting on well now... I hope you do the same" Tess told her son making it clear what she expected of him. "I will..." Parker replied knowing it was not a request, he knew his mum well enough for that. Shawn just chuckled hearing his eldest son getting his orders from Tess. Even he didn't argue with his wife when she used that tone with him. "They're here..." Tess said softly as she went to the door to welcome them home. She watched Jared's car coming up the drive and stop outside of the house, the cubs bundled out and ran to hug Tess, forgetting that their new eldest brother was here, they had been told earlier he would be. As Jared and Taylor got out the car they both stopped and looked at Parker's car, they both wondered how their eldest brother would be with them now, on both of their minds was how would he react to them both having boyfriends. In a way Jared felt more concerned given Ryan's age. The cubs ran inside as Taylor and Jared reached their mum at the front door, she could see they were as nervous as Parker was. "He's fine with it all so stop worrying" she said hugging them both. They hugged for a moment and then followed the cubs inside, where they found the three stood in the lounge looking at Parker. Parker was staring at them too, both parties not knowing what to say will Shawn watched them to see who would speak first. "Who dat?" Jacob said to Jared as the teen picked him up. "I told you earlier silly... that our eldest brother Parker" Jared told him as he tapped his finger gently on Jacob's nose. "Oh yeah... I forgets..." giggled Jacob. "It's ok you had a busy morning playing" Jared said softly. He carried Jacob over to Parker and sat down next the his eldest brother. He positioned Jacob in his lap to face Parker and then called the other cubs over too. Parker watched Joshua and Jasper coming over to the sofa towards him, he also noticed that Taylor was watching him very closely, his parents had told him Taylor was becoming a Alpha and had his own little pack, but he taken aback by just how focused Taylor was on watching him, it was the same protective look he had seen his dad use many times. Deep inside he knew if he made one wrong move Taylor would be on him like a shot, he had doubted how serious it had been when Tess told him about Taylor attacking Jared, but seeing Taylor's face know made him realise just how much his little brother had changed. "Stop it!" Tess scolded Taylor smacking him on the back of his head. "What?..." whined Taylor indignantly, rubbing his head. "You know what... he is their brother too and is not going the hurt them... are you?" Tess replied looking at Parker intently. "Of course I won't hurt them... their my little brothers" Parker replied trying his best to be nice and smiled warmly at the cubs. "Never stopped you before" mumbled Taylor. Although Taylor had worked things out with Jared he had not yet done so with Parker, he was still harbouring anger at the way his eldest brother had treated him when he was little and like with Jared he needed to air those feelings so he could get over them. Shawn managed a little chuckle at Taylor's response, he quite liked Taylor's new defiant and brave nature. Tess was less than impressed given this was the cubs first meeting with Parker, in hindsight it would have been better to keep Taylor back this morning and get this sorted before the cubs came home. Before Tess could say anything else Jared intervened. "You know how sometimes you have a fall out with your brothers?" Jared said to the cubs. They all three nodded their heads. "Well Taylor and Parker are having a fall out too... so their gonna go for a walk and make up before they can have lunch with us" Jared said smiling warmly at the little cubs. Parker and Taylor both starred at Jared in surprise. "See you later boys" Shawn said sternly letting Taylor and Parker know they were to leave. "Ok... I'll see you guys in a bit okay... then we can get to know each other" Parker told the cubs. "Ok" Jacob replied for the cubs safe in Jared's lap. Tess stared harshly at Taylor and Parker as they walked out the room, letting them both know this was to be sorted by the time they got back. In a way she was glad Jared had intervened as she would have been way harder on Taylor. She felt disappointed that Taylor could not control his feelings till after the cubs had left them alone. But again she was also faced with the realisation of how strongly Taylor had been hurt by his older brothers behaviour, much more than she ever knew before Taylor attacked Jared. In the back of her mind she wondered if she should have done more to keep the peace between the boys when they were little. Taylor and Parker walked in silence, Taylor led the way still fuming towards the big log they often used to put their clothes on when they wanted to go for a run in their wolf form, they rarely changed at home to go out in case anyone came to the house without them knowing. The log was far enough away from the house that they would not be overheard. Taylor sat on the log and Parker sat at the other end a few meters away from him. "Look I'm sorry okay" Parker said quietly. "No it's not okay... you were a real shit head to me.." Taylor replied angrily. "Yeah... I know that now... but at the time I didn't see it that way... at the time you just seemed an annoying little brother" Parker said trying to explain. "Well if you hadn't been so bad to me I would not have been so annoying... you treated me like shit while you and Jared were running off playing with each others dicks!" Taylor vented feeling a deep sense of unfairness. Parker turned red a little, when put like that it did seem bad the way they had treated him. "We were afraid you would get us into to trouble with mum and dad" Parker replied. "That's what Jared said too... but that doesn't make it right... you didn't have to be such a dick about it... you didn't have to leave me out of everything" Taylor continued to vent. "Your right... I have no excuse for it... all I can do is apologise" Parker said softly. Taylor didn't know how to respond do stayed quiet. "You forgave Jared... can you forgive me?" Parker asked gently. "You were worse than him..." Taylor said absently. That made Parker feel like shit, he thought back hard, had he really been worse than Jared? As his memories unfolded in his mind he realised that he had been worse, he remembered times that Jared had tried to include Taylor but he had said no fearing that having Taylor with them would cause them problems with their parents. "Look things weren't easy for me either you know... while you were being spoiled by mum and Patrick I was having to deal with dad... trying to meet his expectations and be like him... he pushed me and Jared way harder than he pushed you... you think you were the only one who wanted to just cuddle with mum in front of the fire? We wanted that too... we wanted to be loved like you were loved... and you had Patrick and Toni too" Parker told Taylor defensively airing his own feelings. "So that's my fault?" Taylor replied angrily. "No I guess not... but you could at least try to understand we didn't have it easy either" Parker said defending his position. "So dad bullies you and you bully me..." Taylor said harshly. "He didn't bully us..." Parker sighed frustrated now. Again silence loomed in the air as neither brother knew what to say. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves in the trees around them as more and more minutes of silence passed by. After a while the sound of little paws running towards them broke them both from their thoughts and their silence. Joshua ran up to Taylor in his wolf form and rubbed against Taylor's legs, Taylor reached down and rubbed behind Joshua's ear making the little cub whine with pleasure. "Lunch is ready" the cub said between whines. "Okay... we'll be back soon" Taylor replied as he leaned down and kissed Joshua's head lovingly. "Can I walk back with you?" Joshua asked looking up at Taylor. "Sure.." Taylor replied smiling, he figured there was not much point in staying out any longer with Parker. "Can we have a run first?" Joshua asked excitedly. "Sure we can" Taylor smiled thinking it would be good to clear his head. "I'll take your clothes back if you want.." Parker said softly. Taylor looked at Parker and could see his eldest brother was upset, he started to wonder if he had been too hard on him, the regret was clear on Parker's face. He had forgiven Jared and things were now so much better, so maybe it was time to forgive Parker and see how much better that made things too. He had now at least been able to get his feelings off his chest, he could see his eldest brother had taken in what he had said. So what else could he hope for? Was there anything Parker could say or do to fix the past? Taylor stripped off his clothes and handed them to Parker, his mind made up. "I guess I forgive you...okay" he said so quietly only a wolf could hear it. But it was enough to put a smile on Parker's face, seeing how Taylor was with Joshua made Parker feel much worse, seeing the love and tenderness he showed their new little brother brought home how badly he had treated Taylor. Like Jared he hoped he would be able to have a second chance and do better with the new cubs and also do better with Taylor. "Thank you..." Parker said softly. Taylor gave Parker a very quick hug before laying down and changing into his wolf form while a very excited Joshua danced around and yapped loudly. Parker smiled as he watched the two little wolves running off into the woods together. With Taylor's clothes in his hands he walked back to the house with a feeling of hope filling his heart. Hope that from now on things would be better for all of them. When Parker got home he told Tess they had talked it out so things should be fine now, he also told her Taylor and Joshua had gone for a run. "Well I guess we can start without them..." Tess said placing soup and bread on the table. Parker helped set the table, but there was something on his mind. "Mum..." Parker asked quietly, making sure the TV in the lounge was masking their voices. "Yes honey" Tess said coming closer sensing Parker didn't want the others to hear. "The cubs... whose pack are they in...?" Parker asked with some trepidation. "That's a good question... but not one I can answer right know... so for know just roll with things till they sort themselves out" Tess replied having the same questions as Parker did herself. "Okay... kinda weird seeing the pipsqueak being an alpha" Parker chuckled. "Well being an alpha is not just about physical strength.... Taylor is strong in other ways... just look how they all follow him" Tess told her son. "I guess... but you do need to be able to protect your pack" Parker added. "And he will... you worry about starting your own pack... and giving me lots of grand-kids!" teased Tess before calling the others to come get lunch. 'My own pack...' thought Parker, he hadn't thought about that much, but now his little brother was starting his own pack, maybe I should start building my own pack he thought to himself. 'got to find a good wife first' he teased himself. Taylor and Joshua ran and ran till they reached a clearing in the forest, Taylor stopped and looked out at the vista before him. He had lived here his whole life but the wonder of the mountains never diminished, the view changed day by day, sometimes in small ways and sometimes in huge ways. Taylor was reminded looking out that winter was here and soon there would be snow, the tips of the higher mountains were already white. His thoughts were broken as Joshua nuzzled into the side of him. "Did you make up?" Joshua asked hoping they did. "Yeah... we did..." Taylor replied calmly, while gently licking Joshua's ears. "Good" Joshua replied happily. "I'm sorry you saw that... Parker is a good guy" Taylor told Joshua, he regretted what he had done in the lounge in front of the cubs, that had not been fair on them and could have affected the way they thought about Parker. "It's ok... I fight with my brothers too" Joshua replied rolling onto his back as Taylor continued to lick his face. "I just don't want you to think bad of him or me" Taylor said softly. "I don't... I think your the best" Joshua gushed unashamedly. "I think your the best too!" Taylor chuckled. Taylor meant it too, he already knew he loved Joshua and his brothers, he already knew he wanted them for his pack. His feelings and emotions were running wild, he had these big brother feelings that were new to him, he had Alpha feelings too. His feelings of love were different than those he had for Marcus, but were just as strong. It was in some ways confusing for Taylor to try and understand everything he was feeling, he knew he should talk to his mum or maybe Patrick about it all, maybe they could help him make sense of it all. "We better get back" Taylor sighed not really wanting to leave, he was enjoying his time alone with Joshua. "Kay!" the little cub replied jumping onto his paws. "Last one back is a stinky egg!" Joshua shouted as he tore off back home. Taylor and Joshua raced each other home, they were neck and neck till Taylor tripped over on the lawn, he did it on purpose to let Joshua win. Tess saw them from the kitchen window and knew what Taylor had done. She was still a little annoyed at Taylor but seeing him let Joshua beat him made her proud him him too. Both her and Shawn were impressed by how good Taylor was taking care of the cubs, especially Joshua. She decided to let Taylor's outburst in the lounge go, it would do no good to make a fuss about it now. Joshua came flying through the open back door and slid across the wooden kitchen floor, everyone still at the table watched him skidding and crashing into the cupboard. The little cub scrambled to his paws. "I won... I won... your the stinky egg!" he celebrated as Taylor walked in through the door too. "Yeah yeah... I'll beat you next time!" Taylor replied playfully. "I'm the fastest!" Joshua giggled as he danced around the kitchen bouncing on all four paws. "Go get dressed and have lunch" Tess said warmly, smiling at their antics. "Kay!" Joshua giggled and ran off up stairs. "Sorry we're late" Taylor said softly testing the waters with his mum. "It's fine now... just go get changed" Tess replied gently stroking Taylor's head. Taylor ran off to get changed sure his mum was not still mad at him and much happier. Jared and Parker stared surprised, if they had crashed into the kitchen as cubs Tess would have scolded them, they wondered if their mum was relaxing like their dad seemed to be. Upstairs Taylor helped Joshua change back to human form and helped him get dressed, they had a few cuddles during this, they both enjoyed the feeling of each others body touching theirs. They walked hand in hand back downstairs and to the table. It was hard for the others to miss just how close these two had become. Jasper and Jacob asked about Joshua's run while they finished eating and then Jared took them upstairs to help them get some warmer clothes on, it was getting much colder now and they all needed to wrap up warm. Jared asked Parker to help him and the two older brothers took the cubs to their room. Jared picked out warmer clothes and handed some to Parker. "You help jasper" he said to Parker as he started to help Jacob. Parker watched as Jared sat Jacob on the bed and sat next to him. He lifted Jacob's little bare feet into his lap and started to put thick warm winter socks on his littlest brother. Watching how Jared did this gently and lovingly was a far cry from how he and Jared had been with Taylor, further adding to the guilt Parker now felt. Jasper sat beside Parker on the bed and put his feet in Parker's lap expectantly, Parker smiled as Jasper wiggled his little toes at him. As he gathered the first sock in his hand Parker realised that this would be the first time he had put a sock on another person, his effort was clumsy but he got Jasper's feet covered in warm thick socks. Jared put an extra t-shirt on Jacob and then a jumper too, Parker followed suit with Jasper and started to like the feeling of looking after Jasper. When he was done Jasper got onto his knees and hugged Parker surprising the eldest brother. "Thanks Parker" Jasper said lovingly. "Your welcome" Parker replied as he wrapped his arms around the cub and hugged him. Jared smiled as he hugged Jacob and then stood up carrying the youngest cub with him. "We better get going... you can bring Jasper" Jared said implying that Parker should carry Jasper. Parker did so and the two eldest brother carried the two youngest back downstairs where Taylor and Joshua had just finished eating. Tess was happy to see Jasper in Parker's arms, it was a sign they accepted each other. She was even happier to see Taylor not react to it negatively. They all started to get their boots on while Shawn questioned whether he really needed to go shopping with them, Tess assured him he did so Shawn got his boots on too. Jared's truck could 6 people, 3 in the front on the bench seat and 3 in the back seats. It had been Shawn's truck in the past and had been given to Jared when he passed his drivers test. Really it was an excuse for Shawn to buy himself a new truck, which they all knew. The cubs stayed with their brothers and climbed into Jared's truck, the three youngest were strapped into the back while the eldest with Taylor in the middle sat in the front. It was the first time Parker and Taylor had been close to each other since getting back from their talk on the log. Jared drove following his dad down to Patrick's house, where the others were waiting for them, then they all drove in a convoy to town. "Your really good with them" Parker said quietly to Taylor. "Thanks" Taylor replied not sure what to say. "I mean it... I wish I had been that good with you" Parker continued as he tentatively put his arm around Taylor's shoulders. "I know you do..." Taylor replied not used to this level of affection from Parker. Jared added his arm around Taylor's shoulder as well and smiled at his brothers while keeping his eyes on the road. "This is a fresh start for all of us... so lets make the most of it... okay?" Jared said gently. "Does that mean I have to get a boyfriend too?" Parker joked trying to lighten the mood. He watched Taylor and Jared carefully and was relieved to see them both start to smile and then Jared laughed. "Not unless you want to... but I think mum wants grand-kids from you" Jared teased back. "Yeah so she keeps telling me" sighed Parker shaking his head. "So your ok with me and Jared having boyfriends?" Taylor asked seeking confirmation. "Yeah... of course I am... I'm no stranger to dicks you know" Parker chuckled. "You sure liked mine" teased Jared. "And Dan's too!" added Taylor giggling a little. "You know about him too?" Parker asked surprised. "Yeah... so does mum and dad" Taylor replied grinning. "They never said anything about that earlier... are there no secrets?" Parker sighed playfully. "Not with mum around" Jared chuckled. "Does Dan know they know?" Parker asked. "Yeah... he couldn't look mum in the eyes after I told him" Jared laughed. "Well anyway... I am okay with whatever you two do... just need to find myself a good women before mum finds one for me" Parker joked. "You okay in the back?" Jared asked looking in his rear view mirror as the cubs had been quiet for a while. "Yes... we just listening" giggled Joshua. "Who's Dan?" asked Jasper curious. "He's the school bus driver..." Taylor replied. "And my best friend growing up" Parker added. "Will we have to go to school?" Joshua asked. "I guess... did you go to school before?" Taylor asked. "No... we did school at home" Joshua replied. "Well I think you'll be going to school... we can ask mum about it later okay?" Taylor said smiling at Joshua. "Welcome to town!" Jared said changing the subject deliberately, he sensed that Joshua was not happy about going to school. The cubs stared out the windows and looked at the big buildings that surrounded them. They had seen towns and the city of Vancouver before, but had not spent any time in them. Taylor pointed out different places till they parked up at the Alpine Village Shopping centre. Before Jared had even turned off the engine Marcus and Ryan were opening the back doors of his truck to help the cubs get out. "No making out with Ryan in town!" Taylor teased Jared waggling his finger at him. "Same to you Duffus!" Jared replied with mock indignation before tickling Taylor. Parker found himself with Taylor in his lap as his younger brother tried to escape Jared's tickles. It felt kinda strange but nice as well, he instinctively cuddled Taylor to his chest and turned away from Jared. "No kissing Parker either!" Jared teased his brothers. Taylor poked his head around Parker and stuck his tongue out at Jared. They all chuckled and got out to join the others. The mums seemed to know where they had to go so the boys and men just followed. Jared was holding hands with Ryan and Jacob, Taylor held Marcus and Joshua's hands, Parker held Jasper's hand as they walked down the open mall towards the first shop. "They seem to be getting along" Patrick said the Shawn as they walked side by side. "They are now... but Taylor had words with Parker when he first saw him" Shawn chuckled. "As bad as with Jared?" Patrick asked. "No... just words... but they went off and talked it out" Shawn replied. "Well it seems it worked... I'm glad they figured it out... has my little boy got some competition?" Patrick joked. "Nah... it's an Alpha thing between Taylor and Joshua" Shawn replied as both men smiled at the boys. "But aren't you the alpha?" Patrick asked tentatively surprised by Shawn's response. "I'm the daddy... but I am pretty sure Taylor is their Alpha" Shawn replied smiling at Taylor. "And your cool with that?" Patrick asked. "Sure... I really just want to be their dad... I just want to enjoy them and have fun with them... like you and Marcus" Shawn replied playfully nudging his friend. "You really have changed" chuckled Patrick nudging Shawn back. "Some would say your a bad influence on me" chuckled Shawn. "I say do what makes you happy... do what makes them happy" Patrick replied looking at the boys. "I agree" smiled Shawn as they arrived at the first shop. Chapter 25 soon! Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it. Sparky