"...so I raced across the pack boundary and there were, like, five betas chasing me – but I got across and thankfully Jun was there waiting for me. Then he called Jay and now here I am. That's basically it," Damon finished. His throat was dry after talking for so long, but once he got started with the story he just couldn't stop. Jun's mom was a great listener. He sat there quietly, taking in every word, growing slowly more and more horrified – but still Damon couldn't stop. He left nothing out. Well, except the sex stuff. He did mention that he and Jun had had sex, of course – after telling Jun's mom that he and Jun were in a heat agreement it was a little obvious that they'd done it. But the details, at least, he managed to keep to himself.

Jun's mom – Ian, as he'd told Damon to call him – had an indiscernible expression. Now that Damon was done chattering, worry was starting to set in.

That worry was partially because with every passing second, Ian's eyes started to take on more and more of a demonic glow.

Jun might not even have an ass after today. RIP.

Maybe Damon should have been more concerned with telling someone who was essentially a complete stranger all the details of his and Jun's adventures, but he wasn't. Damon just got the feeling that Ian wasn't going to do anything bad with this information – except wallop his own son so hard his grandchildren would feel it, of course.

After a few moments, Ian heaved in a deep, long-suffering breath, and stood up. "Excuse me for a moment, Damon. I have to talk to my son. He may or may not go home with you today, in which case, I'll have Jay walk you back."

"You're not going to – kill him, are you?" Damon asked hesitantly, only half joking.

Ian didn't answer and just started walking out of the room. Well – shit. Damon chased after him. Whatever Jun had done, he was still Damon's boyfriend, and Damon couldn't let him be murdered by his own mom, comedic as it may be.

"Um," Damon said from behind him, practically jogging to keep up with Ian's long strides, "you know, it's not that bad. Sure, he may have gone to jail but it was for a noble cause and – and you know, the whole not telling me who he was thing doesn't even bother me anymore, so – "

Ian pushed through a door – beyond which was a lounge area where Jun, Jess, and Jun's father were sitting by a fireplace and quietly chatting.

They all looked up when Ian and Damon entered. Jun looked at Damon first, maybe to check that he was okay after the surprise one-on-one with his mom, but upon seeing Damon's apologetic expression, his mouth twitched.

In that moment, Jun knew his fate was sealed.

Ian pointed a finger straight at Jun, who stood up immediately. "You. Come with me. Now."

Jun didn't even try to fight it. Damon watched, grimacing, as Jun lowered his head like a scolded child and meekly followed his mom through another doorway. Then it was just Jess and Jun's dad, watching Jun leave with no small amount of pity. Damon stood awkwardly by the door, unsure of what to do with himself.

Jess, seeing Damon trying to blend in with the wallpaper, waved him over to an empty seat. Damon went, awkward now that he was alone with the two members of Jun's family that he was the least familiar with.

Jess stared at Damon unabashedly, openly scrutinizing every detail about him with bright eyes. She and her brother had the same habit then. Damon shrank into himself a bit. He knew he looked like a hot mess. He had showered that morning, so he at least shouldn't smell, and his hair shouldn't be too crazy. But, because he had only the outfit he'd arrived with, he was wearing one of Jun's button-down shirts, which was noticeably baggy on him, and his own ripped up jeans. Not exactly the outfit he would have chosen to meet his boyfriend's family in.

Damon could tell that Jun's dad was also watching him, even if he was trying to pretend otherwise by rapidly looking at the fireplace whenever Damon glanced his way. Eventually, Jess leaned forward a bit, propping her chin on her fist. "So, did Jun get you kicked out of your old pack? I can beat him up for you when mom's done with him."

Damon's lips twitched. Apparently, she was as blunt as Jun too. "There might not be much of him left to beat up when your mom's done with him. But no, he didn't get me kicked out. I left voluntarily."

"Hm," Jess murmured. "He definitely did something wrong though. I'll get it out of him later. Anyway, how old are you? Oh – and I heard that this Season is your first heat, how's that going? Is it super weird? What about – "

"Jess," Jun's dad interrupted, scowling slightly. Jess pouted and sank back in her seat. "Don't mind her, Damon. Her mouth runs away with her sometimes."

Damon nodded, a little dazed. The one thing she didn't have in common with Jun was Jun's penchant for silence, evidently. Still, she seemed genuinely curious, so Damon swallowed hard and tried to remember what she'd asked.

"Uh. It's fine, I don't mind. I'm twenty-six. And yes, it is my first heat, and it is super weird. But I'm managing."

Reinvigorated by Damon's responses, Jess sat back up, excitedly tugging on one of her own shoulder-length curls. "You're older than Jun, then. How'd he get you to go out with him? He's super boring, isn't he?"

No more boring than me, Damon thought, amused. Jess' rapid-fire questions were actually pretty effective at making Damon relax. She was only about sixteen or seventeen and clearly still very innocent. It was refreshing.

Damon didn't answer right away, so Jess just kept talking. "Omegas have always been all over him, but I never understood why. He's boring and a freak at the same time. I once saw him eat spaghetti with his bare hands and after that I just can't see what everyone else sees in him. He dated this one omega when he was seventeen – I think he was older than Jun just like you, and – "

The sound of a door slamming against the wall cut Jess off – which Damon was actually grateful for. It wasn't like Damon was unaware that Jun had dated before they met, but somehow hearing Jess mention it so candidly made it much more real. It wasn't something Damon had to worry about, he knew that. Jess was talking about something that happened nearly ten years ago. It still made something in Damon's gut twist uncomfortably.

Thankfully, Jay's dramatic entrance distracted Jess from her story. Everyone looked up as Jay walked towards them. He was drenched in rain and – dragging something behind him?

It didn't register that what Jay was dragging in by the collar was actually a human until Jay dropped said human by Damon's feet and said, "I found something that belongs to you."

Damon looked down – and Mark looked back up at him.