Warning: profanity

***

Damon was upset. But not that upset.

Like hell, bitch, Damon thought.

Somehow – maybe it was something in that smarmy tone of voice – but Damon was immediately snapped out of his spiraling. He took a deep breath for the first time in too long, and he suddenly felt all his distress melting into something much, much more productive and wanted:

Hate for this fucking man.

Who would have thought it? Malachi was actually good for something. Once Damon was faced with this new threat, and was able to focus himself on that, he suddenly realized how completely pathetic that whole meltdown just then was.

...What was he doing? Sure, he was close to nesting again, but certainly it couldn't have made him lose all his marbles, right? When he thought about it...maybe his reaction hadn't been totally fair to Jun.

That's right. Jun. Damon panicked, scrambling out of his room to run downstairs.

Malachi was here. Jun was here. Mark was here.

If Jun actually cared about Damon as much as it seemed based on how desperate he was to explain himself – Malachi was about to be obliterated.

Not on the lawn!

His parents would kill him if someone saw Jun and Mark beating up the pack leader's son on the front lawn!

Sure, Malachi was an alpha, and not a weak one at that. But against Mark, who knew very well what Malachi had done to Damon, and Jun, an alpha who also knew what Malachi had done – he was outnumbered and outpowered. No amount of smarmy comebacks in the world could save him from getting his ass beat.

Damon would be quite pleased to see Malachi beaten black and blue – but could you choose a better place to do it, guys? And maybe figure out a plan to threaten him so he doesn't go tattling to mommy and daddy?

Now that Damon's brain was back online, he could see quite clearly what would happen if he didn't intervene. The problem was that both Mark and Jun were 'hit now ask questions later' kinds of guys. Damon wasn't nearly fast enough.

By the time he got downstairs, he only had time to see Jun's fist smashing into Malachi's right cheek while Mark ran up and kicked him straight between the legs. Malachi went down – but strangely, as he went, Damon thought he saw a hint of a smirk. Damon knew anyone else wouldn't be smirking after having their balls smashed.

He immediately went cold. Of course – Malachi knew what would happen if he approached Mark – Damon's best friend – and Jun – Damon's courtship partner - and started acting greasy. He knew this was going to happen – planned on it, even.

There were strict rules against fighting in the pack. Unless you were in wolf form – and thus had less control over your instincts – or unless the fighting was to fend off an aggressor – you could be fined quite a bit for it if the fight was mutual. If you severely injured someone, you could be tossed in the pack jail for a while, and if it was bad enough, the pack could vote to have you thrown out as someone disrupting the harmony of the community. Exiled.

But this was the pack leader's son they were about to rough up. And though Malachi's words had been taunting – he hadn't physically attacked anyone. Any random passerby looking on – because Damon's house was right along a popular walkway – would think that Malachi had been attacked unprovoked.

And that's what Malachi wanted. Because he could absolutely use that to have both Mark and Jun jailed or even exiled. And if either one happened to Jun, his courting claim was automatically forfeit, leaving Damon unprotected from Malachi's advances.

Damon still had his free will of course. He could refuse Malachi until the cows came home, even without Jun protecting him. But if Malachi was this determined, he would likely chase away any other suitor that came by, and then publicly state his courting claim on Damon – which Damon could do nothing about. A courting claim didn't mean they would be mated, of course, but it would mean that Damon would be legally obligated not to date anyone else in those six months. Eventually, pack pressure would force Damon to accept Malachi.

So, even though it made a special place in Damon's heart warm to see Malachi bruised up on the ground, he couldn't let it continue. Damon quickly jumped in front of Jun and Mark.

"Damon, move," Mark said, trying to gently nudge Damon out of the way. Jun said nothing, something like flames within his eyes as he stared down at Malachi. That look was...scary. Malachi's smirk was wavering under it. Damon thought, if that look were aimed at him, he probably would have peed his pants.

Jun didn't pussyfoot around it like Mark. He grabbed Damon by the waist, lifted him up, and deposited him safely away. He gently patted Damon's head. Then the beta and the alpha converged again on Malachi.

Damon wanted to scream in frustration. What was he, a cat?

Before they could lay another hand on Malachi, Damon called out, "Don't! He wants you to hurt him!"

Mark immediately paused. Having lived in the Ganymede pack his whole life, and thus being familiar with the laws, he immediately understood what Damon was talking about. It clicked, he went white as a sheet, and he hurriedly went to restrain Jun, who clearly didn't understand the consequences. How could he? This was the kind of situation that only cropped up once or twice a year, max. And it had undoubtedly never occurred to Jun personally, so of course, he didn't know what could happen.

Jun easily evaded Mark, moving to land a solid kick on Malachi's middle from where he lay on the ground. Damon lunged forward and grabbed Jun by his shirt, wrapping his hands in the fabric. Jun paused, but Damon could see he was about to turn around and gently toss Damon out of the way again. So he held on tighter and – perhaps what he said next was a bit manipulative – but it killed two birds with one stone. It would get Jun not to murder Malachi, and it would give Jun the time he needed to do what he'd been trying to do for the better part of the day – explain.

"Jun," Damon said, making himself sound stern. "You have two options. Beat him or come inside and give me a reason to keep dating you."

Jun's foot lowered to the ground immediately, and he whipped around, eyes big. "Two – option two!" Having chosen, Jun threw one last fierce glare down at Malachi before grabbing Damon's hand and practically sprinting towards the house. As they were going, Damon caught a glimpse of Mark looking baffled out of the corner of his eye and told himself that he would call Mark later to thank him for being Damon's friend.

Damon refused to glance back at Malachi, but he knew that despite his efforts to stop all that, it was too late. Malachi already had, at the very least, a black eye and bruised dick. Evidence enough to tattle to his parents. Damon would figure out what to do about that...

After he handled his alpha, of course.