Elaine Rockwell is Alexei's cousin.
She, like Alexei and her uncle, is a rather impressive specimen of a dominant alpha and like her uncle, she too was once considered the saviour of the Rockwells.
The Rockwells rejoiced when she distinguished herself at a young age.
And when she got into law school, they immediately became pensive, watching her every move with bated breath. The heavens forbid that they have yet another black sheep like Xavier. When she graduated and joined the Public Prosecutor's office, they all let out a sigh of relief.
Finally, a person on the right track with the right mind.
In the course of her budding career, Elaine cleaned up one Rockwell mess after another, she could immediately tell where her life was headed and she loathed the thought.
One evening, her father, Xavier's brother, offhandedly said over dinner "You should visit your uncle one of these days."
She got the message.
She heard it loud and clear, because the next day, she was driving down to the Glasshouse.
Maybe her father had put in a good word for her because her uncle, whom she had almost no contact with her whole life, was so kind and friendly. He was surrounded by interesting people but really no different than a normal friendly elderly man. She began to wonder why everyone called him a vicious black-hearted criminal.
That was rubbish, this man... He was too nice.
After the news of her alliance with her uncle spread, the rest of the family backed away almost instantly. Suddenly, everyone was meek and no one was causing her trouble. There were no more Rockwell messes for her to clean up. She couldn't understand his hold over them. He was a man being held in a centre for pheromone addiction, how dangerous could he possibly be? Maybe in his youth, she had heard the stories but surely, it was all just an exaggeration.
She soon understood exactly why everyone thought he was a terrifying person. It involved a certain incident with his sons, a bunch of omegas and a very interesting drug that popped out of nowhere. The case somehow made it to her table but before she could do anything with it, she was summoned. His instructions were simple, hand over the omegas to him, scrap the case and he would give her something better.
Before she could act, he held up his side of the bargain.
What she received were files upon files and a literal truckload of evidence against a certain drug cartel, coincidentally, the manufacturers of the drug used on his son, as well as, the guarantee of a shiny new nameplate.
She didn't have to be told twice.
The case disappeared. Those omegas, although one or two were missing, were handed over. He didn't kill them, at least not at that time but she was certain they wished they were dead. Did she feel bad for them? Not really. No matter how much money was offered, drugging someone, raping them and almost killing them is just, especially if that someone is the president of a budding conglomerate, a guaranteed death sentence. They should have known better.
Following that, she received his help a few times expecting him to make demands, unreasonable or otherwise, but he never did. It made her pensive, so she spoke to her father about it.
"He's just that type of person. He thinks it's entertaining to watch."
"How is watching me rack my brain to figure out what he wants from me entertainment?"
"No." He burst out in laughter "Watching you work is what he finds entertaining, it's like watching a kid with building blocks. He said it's cute."
She didn't know how to feel about that, but he quickly became her favourite relative.
Rush II, she was sure no one hated that thing more than her uncle and his sons. Now, that particular drug in question was making its rounds again. She was meeting with Seth, an officer from drug enforcement, who interestingly enough was connected to Xavier; Caleb, who worked under someone they called Three, Jason and Gavin but only Jason and Caleb were here.
"Lein!"
It was brief, almost instantaneous in fact, the little tightening of his jaw and the tightening of his fingers around the papers in his hand then, he relaxed. The change happened so quickly, it went unnoticed. Well, Elaine didn't notice it, but Caleb, sure as hell, did.
Caleb craned his neck to catch a glimpse of the person who could cause a reaction in a man as impassive as Jason and what do you know? He was staring at their table with blazing eyes, like he wanted to rush over and grab someone by the collar, but he didn't. He just walked past them and went straight to his friends. Jason was completely unfazed.
Caleb thought it was the most interesting thing ever, but he chose to remain quiet.
Soon enough, Seth arrived. It was entirely upon his insistence that the group decided to meet in such a public space.
"Still late as always." Elaine commented as soon as he joined in.
"A few minutes won't kill you." He glanced at the empty table "You should have gotten something to eat, the food here is great."
Both Jason and Elaine threw a dissatisfied look at him.
"I'm going to get some food." Seth rolled his eyes and went to place an order for the whole table. Soon their table was covered in plates of burgers, fries and milkshakes. Caleb and Seth were more than happy to help themselves to the meal.
"How long until Gavin gets here?" Seth asked between bites.
"He won't be joining us today." Jason answered. He tried out a fry, it wasn't bad, so he reached for another.
"Trouble in paradise?" Elaine asked sarcastically "Who could have seen that coming?"
Seth wiped his mouth with a napkin "Since he won't be here, shall we get on with it then?"
They delved deep into the purpose of their meeting, exchanging information. It wasn't free of charge, but that was an issue they would settle among themselves.
On the other side of the diner, Lein was watching their table closely.
Daisy shuffled closer and followed his gaze "Do you know someone there?" She asked quietly.
"What?"
"You have been looking over there since you sat down. You aren't even paying attention to the discussion."
"Oh... sorry. My bad." He turned his focus to the project but, try as he may, his gaze kept traveling back to Jason.
When his group was done and ready to disperse, the four were still hurdled together. Whatever they were talking about must be very serious.
"Hey, I'm having a little thing at my place..." Raymond draped an arm lazily over Lein's shoulder "...It's like a little end-of semester get-together. You should come. We'll get some drinks-"
Lein shook his hand off with a polite smile "Sorry, I can't make it."
"I haven't even said when it is."
"Doesn't matter. Won't make it." He grabbed his satchel and helmet as he slid out of the booth, bidding goodbye to the rest of the group before briskly walking out.
Two others followed in his lead, each offering words of consolation to Raymond who had suffered yet another rejection from Lein.
"Let's go..." Daisy pulled him out of the booth "…you know he always says no, why do you keep asking?"
Raymond allowed himself to be dragged away as he said, rather loudly "I don't get why he keeps acting like he's too good for everyone."
Daisy pulled him along "I guess he has things to do after school."
"What could he be doing?"
"I heard he works at a café…"
Caleb watched Jason as their conversation trailed off with their exit, sure enough, there was another twitch.
"When you asked me to take a look at the case, I didn't think it would become a whole thing."
Jason chuckled as he led Elaine to her car "I guess we all got a lot more than we bargained for." held open the door for her.
"Maybe we should stop by this place again. It tasted a lot better than I expected."
"I completely agree."
"You should offer some compensation to the kids in my office, everyone has been working overtime."
He leaned against the car "Compensation?" he repeated with a raised brow.
"Well, it takes a lot to build several cases at a time, and of this magnitude? Do you even realise what I'm about to pull off?"
"Your job?"
"My job that is conveniently in like with your preferred outcome. Jason, don't act like this isn't a personal interest of yours."
He shrugged.
"Well, I saw him. You should loop him in…" she got into the driver's seat "…ample time for prep and what not."
"I'm working on it."
After watching her drive off, he turned around and headed to where his own car was parked only to find he had been blocked in by a very familiar looking motorcycle.
Seriously, why was Lein so convinced he wouldn't hurt him?
He rounded the car to the driver's side.
Sensing his arrival, the person crouched next to the car looked up.
The two stared silently at each other for a minute.
Jason broke the silence "Move your bike."
Lein's features melted into a soft smile "Hi."
"I see you still don't take me seriously."
His smile disappeared as he straightened "That's not true."
The two fell into another bout of tension-filled silence.
"Are you two together now?"
"What?" He asked with raised brows.
"You and her. You said she was just someone you worked with."
He pinched the bridge of his nose "What do you want?"
"Can you… can you spare me some time so we can talk?" He felt small under Jason's probing gaze.
"What about?"
His lips quivered, he was barely maintaining his smile. Right, what was he expecting? Jason probably hated him "I'm in school now, I'll be done in a few months. The coffee shop opened, I mostly work there in the afternoons, you should stop by sometime. I make really good coffee."
"Rosalein…"
Shuffled his weight from one foot to another, restlessly "I just want you to-"
His habit of just doing whatever he wanted had not eased one bit "Don't test my patience, move your bike."
It really was hard… not to cry or beg. Even if he did that, he was certain this person would not be moved in any way. It was lamentable but true. He took and deep breath and exhaled slowly from his mouth.
Fuck it.
"About what happened that night, she was-"
"You have said similar words to me before, you can't say those were lies."
"Jay-"
"There is something I don't understand, Rosalein…" he pressed his thumb into the ridges of his car key "…I never particularly chased after you or forced you to return with me. If it was so bad, you shouldn't have come back."
He shifted his weight from one leg to the other "I didn't…" he stopped himself when his voice shook, swallowing to moisten his now dry throat "…I didn't understand what… back then, it was so strange for me. I was confused so I-"
"You chose to humiliate me?"
"I wasn't trying to humiliate you."
Jason let out a long slow exhale from his mouth "You went as far as doing something so dangerous." He added under his breath.
"Jay…" He was met with his cold gaze as he stepped closer. It's not like anything he did now could be worse than what he had already done "…I will do whatever it takes for you to forgive me, I mean it. I won't make excuses, I fucked up and I know I can't undo everything that happened…" he was just a breath away, he could smell him. It was dizzying "…with an apology so I'll work hard until you're willing to give me a chance again, 'kay?"
Jason sneered "Move your fucking bike before I run it over."
"I know you don't really hate me."
Jason snorted. Frankly, this was not even a little bit surprising. Lein wouldn't be Lein if he weren't doing whatever he felt like with absolute disregard for the feelings of others "It's good to see you haven't changed one bit." He walked passed him to the driver's side "Move your bike."
"Should I change? If I weren't this kind of person, you wouldn't have liked me in the first place."
He couldn't help but wonder, what exactly had possessed him when he decided to get involved with such a person. "Rosalein, I don't want to do something I would regret again."
"I understand how you feel and-"
"Do you? I told you I never wanted to see you again, yet here you are."
"That-"
"-is just you being you." He watched expressionlessly as Lein withered "Why are you doing this?"
"I just wanted to talk to you."
"I don't want to talk to you."
"…I'll wait until you want to." He mumbled, awkwardly trying not to look away. He scratched his temple with a finger "I'll wait." He didn't want to leave. Who knows when he could see Jason again. He reluctantly picked his feet off the ground. He took one last look at Jason before donning his helmet.
Jason watched him drive away.
"I have to say, he is a very impressive person."
He looked to the owner of the words with disdain but said nothing.
Caleb had popped out from his hiding place and into full view "I didn't mean to listen in on your little drama…" he explained, unapologetically "…I just couldn't dare to interfere, especially with all that…" he wiggled his body dramatically "…sizzling tension." He placed a hand on his chest and made of show of catching his breath "Really, if that were anyone else, the bike would have been trashed, and the owner would probably need an ambulance but…" he gasped and smiled at the sky "…I was shaken. Truly, I get why Three was hiding now."
Jason watched his theatrics quietly with a blank expression.
"Back at the restaurant I thought there was going to be a little show, given how he was glaring at you…" he took a defensive stance when Jason moved suddenly "…whoa, whoa... I'm just saying what I saw."
He looked at Caleb with a puzzled expression as he opened the door "What are you doing?"
Caleb cleared his throat as he straightened "Nothing. I'm not doing anything."
"Okay."
"Boss, can I tell the crew about it?"
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" He said impatiently.
"Well, yes but I was hoping to hitch a ride."
Jason eyed him expressionlessly "Sure."
"Can I tell the crew about it?" he asked again when he was seated in the copilot.
"Seatbelt."
"You're such a stick in the mud." Caleb grumbled as he fixed the belt.
Jason was used to it, for some reason, these people kept poking at him like it was a game. It was like they were obsessed with the idea of seeing him lose his cool. He quickly understood the best way to deal with it was to just not react, but that could never work when Lein was concerned. He had a feeling it wasn't over.
Caleb propped an elbow on the counter and rested his chin on his palm, watching every movement with sharp eyes.
Mari leaned over to Hank and whispered "There's another strange person here. Why is he watching Rose like that?"
Hank shrugged.
She rolled her eyes "Go back to your gym of you're not going to be useful."
"Hey, move." Caleb waved Kim away "You're blocking my view."
Kim sighed "No, dude you gotta order something..." Kim was a new hire, Mari had basically tasked with the mission of chasing away possible suitors coming in to hit on her son, in addition to his actual work. The top on the list was a person called Henry, now he had to deal with this fucking weirdo too "...and you can't stay at the counter anymore."
Mari nodded aggressively in the background. She knew she made the right decision with Kim.
Caleb casually pointed to something on the menu "I'll get that."
He picked it up and waved it in his face "You just pointed at like… the whole page."
"Then get me the whole fucking page, my boss likes coffee, he'll drink everything."
"Those are fruit drinks."
"Then get the fucking fruit drinks." He hissed with a strained smile.
"No." He aggressively wiped down the counter pushing his elbow away "I'm not doing that, it's a waste of effort."
"Is this how you treat customers?"
Kim rolled his eyes "Dude, I don't have time for this. You've been on one cup of coffee for like forty minutes, you clearly aren't a serious person."
"I said my boss will be here."
"Then wait for him at a table."
"But the counter has the best view of Rosalein."
Kim glared at him "You finally admit that you are just here to make people feel uncomfortable."
"I'll leave a bad review for this shop online."
"And I'm about to call the police on a stalker."
"What are you? Some kind of princess-guarding dragon?"
"Yes, it's a part of my job description."
The two were at an impasse when someone suddenly reached out from behind to yank Caleb back by his collar.
He smirked "You're choking me."
"Jay!" Mari called out before she could she stop herself. She quickly placed a hand over her mouth but both Hank and Lein had heard her.
Lein's eyes lit up "You're here?" He briskly walked over to the other side of the counter, the orders he was working on completely forgotten.
Mari hurried over to deal with them in his place, with ears wide open so she wouldn't miss a thing.
"Hi." Lein said with a bright smile.
Jason was breathless for a brief moment but quickly recovered "I... Hi."
Lein was a little stunned. He had expected a cold reply and even being completely ignored but… "Sit at a table. I'll come take your order." He hurried back to help Mari.
Caleb's eyes switched between the two, intrigued. "I didn't get such a friendly service though. In fact-" He clammed up when he met Jason's eyes, it was one thing to mess with him but something entirely different to make him angry. "I um... I wasn't causing him any trouble, I swear. I was just getting friendly with..." He quickly read the nametag "...Kim."
"No, you weren't." Kim placed a hand over his nametag to cover it up "You were being a dick and threatened to leave a bad review."
"…fucking snitch."
Jason nodded "Sorry for the trouble." He pulled Caleb, by the collar, to his feet, ready to drag him away.
"Ahh! wait… I can't breathe." He straightened his shirt when he was eventually released "Let's have a seat at that table." He pointed to a table not far from the counter "It has the best view."
"We're leaving."
He sulked "Okay but before we leave, I ordered like a page of drinks and I didn't pay yet."
"Yea, he did do that." Kim chimed in from behind.
Caleb glared at him.
"Then, pay." Jason said impatiently.
"I didn't bring my wallet."
"That's your problem." He turned around and walked away.
"Wait..." Lein, who had been watching the entire exchange from the corner of his eye, handed a cup to Mari and hurried over. "Jay…" without a second thought, he vaulted over the counter in a fluid motion, leaving everyone stunned, and ran after him.
Hank looked at Mari and made a gesture of 'Did you see that?'
She nodded with a proud smile and held up both thumbs "My son is so cool."
"Holy shit!" Caleb gasped, ready to give chase to the departing pair.
"Dude!" Kim reached across the counter and grabbed Caleb's wrist before he could follow behind "You gotta pay for the drinks you ordered."
"Let go." He twisted his wrist in the other's grip "I worked so hard to get him here, I can't miss this."
"Dude, like no… you can't mess around like that."
"Ugh!" He used his free hand to search his pockets frantically and slammed his phone and wallet on the counter, snatched his hand free and ran out.
Kim stared at the newly acquired items "Didn't you just say you forgot your wallet?"
"Why are you leaving?"
He looked so hurt and confused that Jason almost did not want to face him "I just came to get Caleb. He likes to stir shit up. You should just kick him out next time."
"Oh..." He stopped "I guess... You can still... I just wanted to show you that things... I'm different, Jay. I'm not a mess anymore, I..."
"I know. Anyone can see that and I'm happy for you. Really, I am."
His waning enthusiasm regained its life "Then..."
Jason stepped back when Lein came closer "No." He glanced behind the approaching Lein, at Caleb "Get in the car. Don't make me say it again."
"Jay..."
"Let's not do this right now." He glanced at Caleb again, with more impatience this time.
"Will you come again?"
Jason smiled politely at him "You should get back to work."
Lein rubbed his face with both hands as he tried to hide his disappointment. He let out a long sigh "I hope you come back. I really wanted to make you a cup of coffee." He said with a smile before going back in.
"The coffee's good, you know." Caleb commented on the way to the car "You should have stayed for a cup, he was brimming with so much excitement when you showed up."
"Shut up."
"You're regretting it. aren't you?"
"Caleb, don't cause trouble."
"Next time, read my reports immediately I send them to you."
"I told you to shut up."
"Won't you at least say something to about what's going down?" the question earned him a dirty look. Caleb pinched his lips and followed behind quietly.
Caleb returned to Marielle's the next day. This time for his phone and wallet. He definitely hadn't left it behind on purpose so he would have a legitimate reason to return.
Kim politely returned his items.
Caleb was full of suspicion "What's with the attitude change? No need for the cops today?"
"Would you like something to eat with your coffee?" He asked calmly, choosing to ignore his probing.
"Did you do something weird?" He inspected both wallet and phone.
"You still didn't pay for yesterday."
"Didn't you say it was a waste of effort to make all those drinks?"
Kim forced a smile "Would you like a sandwich?"
Caleb leaned over the counter "Are you saying you didn't go through my stuff?"
"Please don't lean over like that..." Mari instructed from behind.
He grinned at her with an apology and receded "You're being creepy."
"I'll add it to your tab then."
"I have a tab? Since when? Why?"
Kim looked at him "I have a feeling you'll be coming here a lot." He said in surrender "Might as well get used to it."
"Kim, go help Lein sort out the beans in the back." Mari came from behind "What's your name?" She asked sweetly.
"Caleb, ma'am."
"That's a nice name." She placed a plate of sandwich before him "This is for you, You shouldn't have coffee on an empty stomach. It's on the house." She said with a disarming smile.
"You're so much nicer than Kim!" He exclaimed, happily accepting her favour.
"Kim is a good worker."
"He was so mean to me yesterday."
"Don't blame him, we have strange people come in here occasionally."
The two began to chat and Mari learned a few things. Things like Caleb being an alpha, he worked for Jason even though she wasn't sure what his 'work' was, she would have found out more if Henry hadn't showed up. Her mood soured immediately.
"You don't like him?" Caleb asked when he noticed the change in her expression.
She clicked her tongue "Why does he keep coming here?" She muttered under her breath, feeling annoyed as she watched him struggle to converse with her son.
"Is he hitting on Rosie?"
"It's so annoying to watch."
Caleb followed her gaze. It wasn't as annoying as he had anticipated. Sure, watching someone trying to talk to their crush and fail miserably was cringeworthy but surely, not as unpleasant as Mari made it out to be.
She rolled her eyes "No one gets it."
The two continued to chat until Caleb had to leave.
Kim was right, Caleb returned the next day. And the day after that, although he wasn't alone that time. He sometimes extended an invite to Seth and Elaine.
When Lein saw the trio, he became somewhat hopeful. Every time the doorbell chimed, he glanced at the door only to be disappointed each time. Jason never made an appearance, but Gavin did.
"Lein, bro... Even I, would get upset if you react like that. What's with the sour look?"
Lein laughed nervously "I was expecting someone else?"
He glanced at the table where they were gathered "I don't think he'll show up. I heard he's leaving the country again."
"What? Again?" He wasn't in the country? He's leaving again? If it's like this, he would never see Jason.
Gavin beckoned him closer with a finger "Lein, things are going to get… complicated for a bit." He whispered when Lein leaned in.
"What are you talking about?" he whispered back.
"I can't go into details, but you might be put in an uncomfortable position, just… shit's about to hit the fan. That's what all the meetings are about."
He looked at the table and back at Gavin "Okay. Whatever it is, I'm here if you need to talk."
Gavin nodded "Back at you… Jay has a lot on his plate right now. I heard they're working hard to get a professor on board, but the woman is a total diva."
"Oh…"
"Yea but he'll be back soon." Gavin nodded "So don't be too sad, okay?"
"I'm not sad."
"You should look in a mirror." He fumbled with his back pocket "Gotta show you something..." He said as he fished out his phone "... it's a girl. An alpha." He explained as he proudly displayed the 4D ultrasound video on his phone "Isn't she beautiful?"
Lein played the video again, watching in astonishment.
"I can't believe there's only a few weeks left..." He mumbled watching with near palpable excitement.
Lein watched Gavin closely, the man who seemed just about to fall apart the last time they met was now full of life. "Hey..." He started cautiously "...about Curtis..."
"My mom said he might change his mind after she comes..." He looked up with eyes full of questions "...do you... do you think so?"
Lein didn't know what to say. He couldn't understand Curtis or what he went through, but he understood Gavin. He knew very well the desperate feeling of needing some form of tangible hope to hold on to, he also understood even more, the despair that accompanied dashed expectations. He didn't wish that upon Gavin "What if he doesn't?"
He held on to the phone tightly with both hands "He has to, this is our kid." Even though, he said that, his words held no conviction, rather they sounded like an urgent plea "I think I'll die..." He grumbled before taking a deep breath to collect his emotions "Bro, when my kid comes you have to celebrate with me."
Lein replaced his cup "Definitely. Think of a name yet?"
"Curtina?"
Lein broke into a bout of unreserved laughter "You have to be shitting me."
Gavin grinned "I got you, didn't I?"
"What have you two been whispering to each other?" Caleb had come up to the pair, looking unamused "You two are getting really cozy over here, huh?"
"Yea." Gavin answered nonchalantly "Right, bro? We're kindred spirits, aren't we?" He held out a fist above the counter.
Lein bumped his first against it "That, we are."
"I thought we were here to work."
"I sorted out the actors. I gave the list. I've done my part. Elaine and Seth can prosecute away."
Caleb was not satisfied.
Gavin glanced at the pair seated a few feet away "I don't need Elaine's sarcastic remarks right now." He said with a bitter smile "I have enough on my mind right now."