Chapter Text
Driving at high speed through the middle of the desert in an armored car isn't that unusual. The midday sun was scorching every living soul beneath those rays of sunlight.
It was hot.
He could barely hear the sound of the wind passing through his ears from the window.
His thoughts were too loud.
A constant buzzing grew louder in his ears. Like the sound of a siren.
His hands tightened around the steering wheel. His breathing slow and rhythmic, trying to keep calm.
In. Out. In. Out.
Even so, he could see the green at the corner of his vision. Like acid corroding his rationality.
The buzzing continued.
His instincts screamed. His new instincts screamed, a new part of himself was agitated.
Pup. Irritated. Tired.
Baby. Check.
Jason wanted to scream. Or cry.
"Fuck Talia, fuck Bruce, fuck the League. Fucking omega instincts. Baby. Be quiet, please."
His anger kept growing.
So did his scent.
Bad for the baby.
Baby is stressed.
CHECK THE PUP!
The car screeched to a stop.
Jason opened the car door. Tripping over the seatbelt.
His boots sank into the sand as he walked forward.
Creating distance.
He let out a loud, hoarse scream. The sound disappeared into the vastness of the desert.
He took a deep breath.
"Fuck..."
His voice broke. Almost into a sob.
He was already regretting his choices, or rather, the lack of them that had led him to be here in the middle of the desert. Being hunted by the League of Assassins.
He didn't have a choice in being born.
He didn't have a choice but to steal as a child to take care of his mother.
He didn't have a choice in dying and being resurrected in the waters of the infernal Lazarus Pit.
He didn't have a choice in his gender presentation.
He didn't have a choice in taking care of a child who had simply been thrown into his arms.
What was Talia thinking when she handed Damian to him?
His thoughts spiraled into a dizzying whirlwind of anger and exhaustion.
But the faint instinctive tug called to him.
He knew what it meant. A small piece of his mind was focused on the distance from the car.
Not safe. Dangerous. On alert.
It wasn't the pup's fault. Children weren't to blame for being brought into the world.
He walked back to the car, exhausted.
He opened the door.
He was greeted by the intense smell of a frustrated little pup.
A small baby, a little over a year old, with a red-faced frown and a scrunched-up face.
"Yeah. Expressing yourself is good for you. But this is getting annoying, brat."
He unfastened the car seat's belt. He placed one hand behind the boy's neck and the other under his butt.
Jason pulled the child against his chest.
The crying didn't stop. Contained and unpleasant.
He took a deep breath. Trying to remember how his mother used to do it all those years ago, when she wasn't high, to calm him down.
No memory came directly.
He thought of Bruce. It hurt.
But he tried to think of the way the man controlled his pheromones.
Love. Safe. Protect. Pup.
He breathed in the milky scent of the baby.
Damian whimpered.
Safe.
"I know everything seems very sudden."
Jason sighed.
His hand massaged the baby's back, his body rocking back and forth.
Damian clutched his shirt, with an irritated and upset frown.
There wasn't much time. He couldn't stay there in the middle of the desert.
"Just a little longer. You'll be okay."
We'll be okay.
Jason thought about how he had ended up there, in this situation.
It all started with blurry images from his memory.
A small, cramped space. There was no door or exit. He couldn't see anything around him; the space was small.
The more time passed, the more he began to panic. His pleas for help went unheard.
He couldn't even form a thought.
Only muscle memory made him act. Punching and punching, making a way out.
Despite the pain in his knuckles, nothing compared to the pain in his chest.
An emptiness. No pack. No mother. No Bruce.
He screamed. Called for his pack leader.
Earth. So much earth.
He dug. Crawled his way out.
He spat out dirt when he finally got out.
His heart was beating rapidly.
His crying echoed through the place during the torrential rain.
Everything after that was confusing.
He remembered walking. Searching for the most familiar place he knew.
Everything became confused after that.
He vaguely remembered someone cursing at him. Fighting for some period of time.
Days or weeks.
Surviving by luck.
Talia told him that.
Which was kind of ironic. Luck.
At some point, he was found by the League and taken away.
Not that he knew where he was or what was happening at the time.
He only remembered being high on strong medication, sedated.
His moans were ones of desperation.
No drugs. He didn't want to become addicted like his mother.
He vaguely remembered attacking the person checking on him. The attack was pretty useless, a bite, which earned him even more restraints on the bed.
He was in a coma for a few weeks. Under Talia's care.
Recovering from his death. Everyone was still curious about his return, questioning how it was possible, even without saying it directly.
One thing he remembered perfectly was a woman speaking to him.
"Get up. You're not being useful lying here."
Those were the orders.
The sedative was no longer administered. But his mind continued to slip away.
He only remembered following those commands. She was the only person who spoke a word to him.
"I'm Talia Al Ghul. Don't forget."
That introduction was repeated several times.
Along with the training.
It hurt. It was awful.
He still whimpered like a pup.
But he obeyed. His memories were full of gaps.
And he knew how to obey. Maybe his instincts guided him.
Talia looked for a use for him.
Of course, someone was always nearby, guiding his hands. But once he learned a pattern, it was difficult to forget.
There were days when he couldn't get up to fulfill his duties.
His body hurt. His head did too.
Inactive. Useless.
He wanted to be useful to the woman. His instincts wanted a place in Talia's pack.
Only the Alpha could introduce him to a dynamic.
Bruce didn't want him anymore.
Talia reinforced that several times.
Sitting beside him on the bed while reciting how Bruce didn't want him anymore, that he was no longer useful to Batman.
He believed every word.
For a while, that was his routine.
Until it wasn't.
His last confusing memories.
Someone guiding him to a different place. It didn't smell clean and antiseptic. Nor did it smell like milk and safety for taking care of him.
Something was wrong.
The day he was thrown into the Lazarus Pit.
He remembered feeling betrayed.
After all, being thrown into the water by the person who had cared for him felt like betrayal.
Stupid and disconnected thoughts.
After a fit of rage where everything around him was green.
He remembered passing out. And then waking up with a woman looking down at him.
"Finally awake."
She didn't introduce herself.
But the voice was so familiar that Jason—That was his name—Jason froze.
Suspicious. Analyzing. Measuring the risks.
He made a basic chronological check.
Ethiopia. Sheila. Joker. Crowbar. Explosion.
Enough reason for Jason to freeze and his breathing to become irregular.
He didn't know where he was. He no longer felt any pain in his body. No traces of torture.
He wasn't wearing the Robin uniform.
He hadn't seen the Joker anywhere.
And that woman.
Confused, he watched her.
Knowing that he should analyze the situation first.
"You remain without revenge. Your killer is still alive."
Those were her words.
His killer. Joker.
Just thinking about the clown made his eyes turn green.
The woman presented him with newspaper reports.
JOKER ESCAPES ARKHAM: NEW ATTACK!!!
He crumpled the paper. He would bury that man.
Jason remembered the torture. The humiliation and fear he had felt at the clown's hands.
He checked the other reports.
GOTHAM IN MOURNING: YOUNG BOY TAKEN IN BY BRUCE WAYNE DIES!!!
This one was older. Dated months earlier.
Jason swallowed the bile rising in his throat.
There was a solitary picture of Bruce and Alfred standing in front of the grave.
That hurt.
He knew he didn't have many friends. Or people he trusted.
But Dick wasn't there, nor was Barbara. That stuck in his mind.
His relationship with Dick had never been good, but not going to his funeral? A member of the pack was gone.
And Barbara was like an older sister. Even she hadn't been there.
Somewhere in his mind there was sadness, but the anger, the betrayal, roared louder in his chest.
What truly destroyed him that day was the last report.
The most recent one.
ROBIN AND BATMAN FIGHT CRIME: SIGHTING PHOTOGRAPH!!!
He held his breath.
It didn't add up.
Jason had been dead for six months. There was no way there could be a Robin.
He is here. Robin died.
Jason didn't even notice that he was trembling.
A hand grabbed his shoulder.
He startled.
The woman stared at him with false pity.
"Yes. A new Robin replaced you. Just like you did with the previous one. Batman always replaces his birds."
It wasn't right.
Bruce wouldn't replace his children.
Robin shouldn't exist.
Jason pulled away from her hand.
"Don't.touch.me."
His breathing was irregular.
"I understand that you're confused. Take your time to think about it."
She said softly.
Stepping away.
"Wait. Who are you? Where am I?"
He almost growled.
The woman kept an expressionless face.
"Talia Al Ghul."
Just a name. The answer to both of his previous questions.
Talia. He had heard that name before. Bruce's ex, cult of assassins.
Jason watched her leave, walking out of the room.
He was left alone.
This could be a setup. Manipulation. An illusion.
But the emptiness in his chest. In his mind. Where there should have been a faint connection to his pack, there was nothing.
Too real.
Jason curled up on the bed. Looking at the papers.
A spiral formed in his mind.
Bruce replaced him. They no longer had any bonds. Nobody cared about his death. Another Robin existed. Batman hadn't avenged him. Joker was still alive.
Jason was trembling with rage.
His fists clenched.
He couldn't calm down. Not until the room he was in was destroyed.
After taking his anger out, he thought a little more.
Why did Talia keep him around?
What did she want?
He wasn't stupid. He knew something was wrong.
So he had questions. When Talia returned, he remained cautious.
"So. What do you want, Jason?"
He held his breath for a moment.
He didn't hesitate to answer.
"Revenge."
"Against whom?"
"Batman."
The green. Something in his consciousness purred.
"Then I'll help you."
Jason almost laughed.
So that was what Talia wanted. To use him as a thorn against her ex.
Absurd.
But their goals were in common.
"Prepare yourself. You will be trained."
His heart vibrated. Revenge.
That was what he did for the next few months.
Jason went from tutor to tutor around the world.
His body seemed to keep up with the change. He was growing at an absurd rate.
Despite Alfred's best efforts, there was no way to reverse the effects of the destruction in his childhood.
Because of that, even at fifteen, he had not gone through his presentation.
His body hadn't even been preparing for the presentation since childhood. No scent, no hormonal changes.
But like the floodgates of a dam being opened. All of it began to surface.
So much so that Talia was beginning to worry.
For that woman to worry about him, it meant those changes could ruin whatever plan she had for him.
His presentation was inevitable.
Which was very strange. Before, he had been certain that he would never have a classification.
Now, that was so possible that it was making him nervous.
It was a constant warning.
He turned eighteen.
He was back at the League after a long period of training.
He had a slight fever. One of the main reasons for his forced return to the base.
Talia said he was about to present soon.
It really happened, not even two days after his arrival.
He was in his room doing his katas when he felt a slight twinge in his bladder and lower abdomen.
A strong pain traveled through his insides. If before it had only been a small discomfort, this was like a truck running him over.
It was horrible.
Something was wrong.
Presentation heats normally weren't like this. But of course he was different.
It hurt so much that he screamed and moaned.
It was hell for long hours. He passed out at some point.
He probably convulsed at some point.
Luckily. One of Talia's servants came to check on him.
Which saved his body from collapsing.
He was stabilized with the help of a doctor.
Everything was horrible. It hurt like hell.
He couldn't think.
It was the first time in his life that he begged to be sedated. The pain was unbearable.
But even that was denied to him.
Because it was a risk.
He was extremely vulnerable. Now he understood why people were so desperate to have at least one person they trusted nearby when going through their presentation.
Jason was alone. He had Talia's doctors and servants.
But he didn't feel safe.
This wasn't his home. It wasn't Gotham. Much less his pack.
He growled in an unmistakable sound calling for his pack.
But nothing. His bond was broken. No nearby member would recognize his call.
Jason cried for Bruce.
Where was Bruce? It hurts. He promised to protect me.
He felt like a helpless pup.
He wanted protection.
Anyone, please.
After the most intense part passed, he was left alone.
Someone was always checking on him in the room.
He remembered curling up and crying quietly.
Not safe.
Fear.
Those thoughts grew louder and louder.
He needed safety.
That led him to get out of bed, even with his shaky legs, with severe pain and blood coming out in an internal hemorrhage.
With difficulty. He pushed the dresser against the door.
It wasn't enough to keep trained assassins out. He knew that.
But that simple gesture seemed to be enough for the moment. His mind seemed clearer.
He collapsed onto the floor.
He remained between consciousness and unconsciousness. On alert.
At some point, he fell asleep.
He was awakened by movement.
He opened his eyes to see a figure. Standing there, watching.
Alpha. Strong.
A whimper escaped Jason's mouth.
He exposed his neck in submission. Afraid.
The Alpha merely stared at him.
Looking at him as if he were impure.
Jason didn't understand. He could be good for the Alpha.
He was useful. Virile.
His head felt like molasses.
But Talia explained later that he was basically releasing a lot of inviting pheromones.
Whether to attract a potential mate or simply seek protection.
The Alpha was Talia.
She didn't touch him.
She didn't even approach. She simply left the room and returned with some blankets.
"Build a nest."
He didn't understand.
Jason held the items. Lost. But under the Alpha's intense gaze, he did his best, making a mess with only three blankets.
She didn't leave.
Jason curled up. He didn't want her to leave.
But he didn't want her nearby either. Not when she smelled of disappointment and dissatisfaction.
Wrong. Not happy. Angry Alpha.
He fell asleep at some point.
Talia didn't release comforting scents or anything. She only woke him to make sure he ate something.
It was horrible.
The worst week of his life.
It didn't take long for him to understand that the woman wanted nothing from him. And that he shouldn't expect anything beyond her practical distance.
Only after the entire fog disappeared did he begin thinking again.
Talia had disappeared.
There were supplies for him to stay in the room.
He did that.
He stayed there. Until he could feel his legs again.
The doctor calmly told him that he had presented as an omega. As if he were talking about the weather.
Jason felt his world fail once again.
There were so many omega stereotypes that he didn't even know what was true and what was a lie.
And sex education was a class he normally didn't pay attention to, especially because he never thought he would present due to his condition.
Let's just say he was lost.
His mother was a beta. So she wasn't an omega example for him to live with, Bruce certainly didn't act like an omega despite being one.
Alfred was a beta, Dick an Alpha, Barbara an Alpha too. In short, he had no guidance on how to be an omega.
He was afraid.
And from the way Talia completely ignored him for almost a month, she didn't like the revelation either.
No training with tutors. No training outside the room. He couldn't even leave the room because everyone stared at him, especially because he didn't know how to control his pheromones.
That made him angry.
He paced back and forth.
Then Talia returned.
Her expression was one of displeasure and resignation.
"Well, you disappointed me. I spent a lot of time and investment on you."
She said calmly.
"I didn't become useless! You were the one ignoring me, fuck!"
Just the mere idea of being looked down on because of his gender made him sick.
He wasn't incapable.
Talia looked at him with a cutting gaze.
Her scent was strong.
Jason faltered for a moment.
He had never reacted like this before. Not even when he was a pup facing a dangerous Alpha.
"You are unstable. You let your emotions get the better of you. Combined with the effects of the Pit, that is a sentence."
She spoke coldly.
She took a step forward.
Her green eyes stared into his.
Jason tried not to show his discomfort.
Something inside him trembled.
Dangerous. Alpha. Angry.
He felt vulnerable. Even with the countless hours of training he had undergone, even knowing how to fight.
"Somehow, my beloved can put that weak side of himself aside. That is the only reason he can be Batman. But you won't be able to."
Her words were like blades.
Jason's throat closed.
Lie. Bruce has something omega about him. He still has heats, he has a tendency to take children in, and other little things.
That's what he tried to convince himself.
"I'm not a helpless omega."
He said quietly.
He had been trained by Batman. He could handle his instincts.
Talia, as if wanting to prove her point, advanced. Without a single blade in her hands.
Just pure Alpha oppression.
Jason could barely fight back. He could handle his instincts.
Talia, as if wanting to prove her point, advanced. Without a single blade in her hands.
Just pure Alpha oppression.
Jason could barely fight back. He froze.
DANGER. ANGRY ALPHA. FEAR. RUN. RUN. FEAR.
The information was passed to his brain. It scared the hell out of him.
He wasn't that far below Talia after all those years of training. Even so, he was losing badly.
He was completely dominated.
A whimper escaped his lips.
Submissive. Begging. Fearful.
He struggled to breathe. Remaining on his knees there on the floor.
Talia stopped in front of him.
"You're afraid of me. Do you know why, Jason?"
He shook his head. Still avoiding looking up.
"You see me as your Alpha. As a potential pack member."
Her words were calm and precise.
That made Jason's stomach churn.
He thought about all the months he had spent there under Talia's care, how lonely he felt, desperate to become strong.
Desperate to be useful.
"You'll be like this, frozen in front of my beloved. Afraid to fight back. And when an enemy appears that you fear... you'll want to run."
It sounded like a harsh truth.
Jason shuddered.
"I won't freeze. I can do this."
He protested.
Even without any aggression, other than frustration.
"Believe whatever you want. You can move forward."
Jason's chest tightened.
Was Talia kicking him out?
No, that wasn't it. He was already prepared to leave that year... that was the plan.
Then why did it feel like he was being discarded?
"Wait."
He whimpered.
Was that it? Was he a useless omega?
Tears threatened to fall from his eyes. He didn't even know when they had started gathering.
"Go back to Gotham. Continue with your revenge. That's what you want, isn't it?"
She said apathetically.
Jason lowered his head slightly.
"Yes..."
He would get his revenge.
Everyone would pay.
Even so. His gaze returned to Talia's back.
With anger and resentment.
He waited for her to leave before finishing the preparations for his departure.
His head was incredibly quiet.
The emptiness in his chest seemed bigger.
Weapons. Ammunition. Daggers. Equipment.
He checked them a few more times.
And again. Maybe he was stalling.
He knew it.
Jason stopped in front of the blankets in his small nest on the floor.
Nest. Safe. Comfortable.
He shook his head. Irritated by how familiar it felt, he had spent more time with his bed than with the nest... even so.
Gripping the strap of his backpack. He turned around.
He left with heavy footsteps. He didn't need a damn nest.
He wasn't a clingy omega.
The worst part was having to face Talia in her quarters. Either way, he went.
He needed to get his passport and other documents from her.
Since the woman hadn't sent them through any servant, she still wanted him to come to her.
He ignored the guards and knocked on the door.
There was no immediate answer. So that was basically permission to enter.
Jason hoped he looked less pathetic. He hadn't looked in a mirror in years.
He preferred not to look at every change in his face.
The door opened.
He looked around.
It smelled like Talia. He always came here after a mission or after returning from training, to give a report.
Talia was sitting in a chair. Holding a blanket.
He wrinkled his nose.
Milk scent.
Pup.
The thought confused him quite a bit. It made no sense to have a pup around here.
He tilted his head. Looking at Talia.
Was that it? Was she going to humiliate him a little more before kicking him out?
What was the point of the delay?
A faint whimper pulled him from his thoughts.
Talia stood up.
That made Jason tense.
Whether he wanted to admit it or not, their earlier fight had affected him.
Ignoring his discomfort, she approached.
Her face was calm.
"I see you're ready. Good. Be discreet when you leave."
He simply nodded.
"Arms forward."
He frowned at the random command. But he did it.
"What is this?"
He asked, irritated and confused.
She didn't answer, placing the blanket in his arms. Adjusting his position.
He sniffed. Smelling the scent of milk.
His brain seemed to understand something, because he easily found a comfortable position for whatever this was.
"You will be leaving the League. My father will be angry."
She said.
Jason thought about that.
Ra's had never liked him. Especially after he used the Lazarus Pit. The old Alpha was possessive of what he considered his.
And he harbored a hatred for Bruce.
So he hated Jason.
"I don't understand. It makes more sense for the old man to be happy because he finally got rid of me now that I'm no longer your project."
He said what he was thinking.
Talia was already walking around the room.
She picked up some documents and a second backpack.
He frowned.
He almost dropped what he was holding when a tiny hand emerged from the green blanket, pushing the fabric away from its face.
A baby was revealed. Grumpy.
Green eyes. Thick eyebrows. Brown skin.
Jason's brain short-circuited.
He let out a whimper. Confused and uncertain.
There was a BABY in TALIA'S room. He looked like her.
Pup.
Oh my God.
"Who's the other parent?"
He asked. Even though he didn't want to know.
Political heir? Maybe.
One-night stand? No.
Talia was obsessed with Bruce.
Bruce.
Jason felt like he was going to throw up at any moment, or drop the boy onto the bed and run away.
Easier. He would give him back to Talia.
Simple.
Not his problem.
The woman seemed indifferent.
She placed the backpack over his shoulder.
Fine. She just wanted him to hold the baby for a little while because she was busy.
Jason bounced the boy in his arms to keep himself occupied. So he wouldn't focus on his nervousness.
"Go. You'll have some time as a head start. After that, I won't be able to keep my father away."
She crossed her arms.
Jason stood still.
Waiting.
The two of them stared at each other.
He gently tried to hand the boy over. Talia didn't even uncross her arms.
"I don't want him. Take him back. He stinks."
Talia's lip curled slightly in displeasure at his comment.
"You will take him to Gotham. A last-minute change. But there is at least something good about you being an omega. You will protect Damian. And you'll also have something to regulate yourself with."
She explained calmly.
Jason was fucking pissed.
"Have you completely lost your mind?"
Her intense stare made it clear that she wasn't tolerating his comments.
Fuck it.
"No. I'm not taking care of your offspring. I don't even know how to take care of a child. I'm not going to learn."
He almost shouted.
She raised a hand to make him quiet.
"You will take him out of the League. What you do with your revenge doesn't matter to me."
"Why don't you just give the brat to your 'beloved' yourself?"
He looked suspiciously at her.
There was no doubt that he was Bruce's son.
Talia was basically asking him to take care of the child they had together. No. Not happening.
"My father wants Damian as his heir. I was waiting for this."
Jason listened. He could feel there was a but coming in this story.
"I created Damian with Bruce's DNA. I was willing to create the perfect heir for my father. However, my father seems eager for my son to grow up."
This whole business of creating a child was bizarre. It wasn't like sleeping with Bruce and waiting for a pregnancy.
She seemed serious.
Jason adjusted the blanket in his lap.
"He intends to artificially age Damian. He also wants him as a vessel."
She had a distant look in her eyes.
Jason had never seen Talia like this.
It wasn't possible for this woman to have a heart. He thought about it for a moment.
The Alpha could certainly have a child with anyone else. Even so, she chose the person she once loved and still loved to create a life, despite it being completely wrong.
Talia wasn't blind. She probably knew that Damian was destined for a rigid life full of suffering in the League.
Up until that point, she had been confident.
But Ra's had other plans. So dark that even Talia didn't agree with them.
After all, she knew her son would be used.
Jason held the boy a little more firmly.
He couldn't imagine living like that. He'd rather fend for himself on the streets.
At least he would have a choice.
"Mah..."
The baby whimpered in his arms.
"No, Damian. Obey your Akhi. He's your older brother."
Jason absolutely did not want to think about that.
Talia looked at him.
"Go. Gotham is safe."
He looked at the boy again.
He could see Bruce in him. He could see Talia.
"Damn it. I'll leave him at the mansion's doorstep."
He threatened.
Talia simply gestured for him to go already.
Jason didn't look back. Damian didn't complain either, only watched.
They left the League's base during the night shift. It was quieter that way.
Talia's men covered for them. Other League members knew he was leaving.
Being expelled is different from being disowned. Right?
Talia's men took them to a certain point. Then they left.
Jason was left with the car.
There was a car seat. Great.
He put the boy in it and started driving. Following the route he had planned.
The boy didn't cry during the first few hours of the drive.
Maybe because it was nighttime. The boy was tired and soon fell asleep.
Jason wasn't sleepy. Even though he was emotionally exhausted.
He avoided thinking too much while focusing on creating distance from the League.
He could handle this.
That's what he thought.
Then the boy woke up. He stared at Jason through the mirror.
They didn't exchange a word.
Weird brat.
The boy's frown grew deeper as the hours passed. His face turning red.
"Kid, are you okay?"
He asked, somewhat worried.
How was he supposed to talk to a child?
Damian ignored him.
Jason sighed.
Why is he so stubborn? He looks like Bruce.
He's been thinking about Bruce too much lately. It soured his scent.
Jason continued driving.
Until he started to smell sour milk.
He looked in the mirror. Thanking whatever higher power there was that only his eyes were visible.
The scene behind him wasn't good.
Damian looked like a bell pepper. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
Jason stopped the car.
He was going to check on the boy.
"Hey. You don't need to cry. I know it's hard being away from your mother..."
He started speaking. Remembering what to do when he saw a child crying.
Back when he was Robin, he dealt with children.
Thinking about his time as Robin irritated him slightly.
"Not Mah."
The boy didn't seem red with anger.
"Coco."
Jason froze for a moment.
Right. He could do this.
He moved on autopilot. It was just another ordinary task.
He got out of the car, went around, and searched through Damian's backpack, which he still hadn't checked to see what was inside.
But he found diapers and wet wipes. There was a bunch of other baby stuff too.
He went back to Damian and unfastened the seatbelt.
The boy seemed curled up.
Damn. He was embarrassed.
Alright. Even I would be embarrassed if a stranger came to change me.
The little prince must be used to the same servants all the time.
"Hey, it'll be quick. There's no reason to be embarrassed. I'm your Akhi, right?"
The boy nodded cautiously. The blush didn't fade.
Jason simply sighed. He couldn't deal with children.
At least not this intimately.
It didn't matter.
He did what he had to do.
Changing a diaper wasn't difficult. His movements were almost mechanical.
He discarded the diaper in a bag.
Done.
He returned to the steering wheel.
Damian wouldn't look at him at all.
Jason huffed. He had better things to do than worry about the brat's sense of dignity.
Everything went smoothly.
Until he noticed Damian sulking again.
"What is it now?"
He asked.
The boy didn't answer.
"We left my sword."
His arms were crossed.
Was that it? The boy was upset about an object he had left behind.
"I can get you another one when we arrive."
His eyes didn't turn toward the boy again.
But the faint sour scent of a pup made the back of his neck itch, wanting to observe whatever was irritating the boy.
No, no. He was raised by Talia. He even knew Arabic and a little English, he just didn't speak very well.
He could handle this.
Jason's fingers tapped against the steering wheel.
"Okay, what's wrong now?"
Jason felt his own scent turn sour.
Damian was frustrating.
He reached that conclusion pretty quickly.
He was at an age when he was supposed to be communicative, but he was simply doing the opposite.
He basically had to guess.
During the trip. He soon realized that the boy was also quite whiny, spoiled, and annoying.
This only added to the stress he was already feeling. Forming a rain cloud in his mind.
It hadn't even been three days.
Maybe he'd go insane.
After his little outburst.
He was now driving in a very unsafe manner with the boy in his lap.
Because apparently, he didn't like the car seat.
Jason felt calmer with Damian there, in his lap.
Fine. He'd find a way to get the boy to Gotham.
Then he could continue with his revenge.
The sun was setting over Nanda Parbat.
Everything was always so quiet with me.
The calm before the storm.
She leaned over the small unfinished nest in the small room where her beloved's former pupil had once been.
Her son had left with him. But Talia couldn't stop her thoughts from returning to Jason.
Extending an arm, she picked up one of the blankets, slowly folding it with care.
Despite being impulsive, he had always had fire, not just fury. Something behind his eyes that made her think of her beloved.
Perhaps that similarity was what bothered her so much.
Spending too much time near the boy bothered her. She didn't want to form any bond.
Any weakness her father could use to control her was unpleasant.
She didn't like being submissive. All Alphas felt that way at some point in their lives.
Whether during the early stages of development or even in adulthood.
Jason turning out to be an omega only complicated things further.
Her father knew about Jason's existence, and he also wanted to see the results of the project Talia had invested so much in.
It was natural for them to continue orbiting around anything connected to the Bat.
Because her beloved's time in the League had been significant. When her father found something interesting, it was difficult for him to simply let it go.
She got that from him.
But Jason wasn't Bruce.
They might both be warrior omegas, but they were completely different.
Talia could only see Jason as a lost boy. Unlike Bruce, who had lost himself in childhood, ready to find someone to blame for every suffering in the world, Jason didn't look for someone to blame. He saw the harsh reality, and he didn't hesitate to confront and question everything he saw.
He was far too special to be kept there in the League. Not chained down.
Jason was free. But when faced with a wall, he didn't try to climb it. He tried to punch the wall until he opened a path.
That determination had made her miscalculate his secondary gender presentation.
A miscalculation. She admitted that it had made her quite irritated.
If she had known... The training could have been different. She could have guided Jason differently.
She had ended up creating an unstable weapon, a danger of falling apart at any moment.
She didn't have time. One way or another, she needed to get him out of there before the deadline.
That was what she did.
Her fingers moved over the third blanket, finishing the fold.
Giving Damian to Jason had been a last-minute decision.
She had planned to play a long game with her father and maneuver around the situation with her son until she could send him somewhere safe.
There were few people she truly trusted enough to entrust her son to and conduct an operation.
It had to be her. But it was impossible to leave her father's field of vision.
At first, she hadn't thought about giving Damian away. But Jason's presentation opened a new opportunity.
Omegas had their weaknesses and limitations. One of them was an unconditional love for the pups of their pack.
It was instinctive.
And Damian was the child of both of them, Jason's former pack leader, and herself, an Alpha who had taken him in.
So his loyalty toward the pup was greater than the hatred he felt for Bruce and her.
Her son would be safe.
She knew that.
The least she could do was protect them both from a distance.
Fine.
She had never expected to form bonds. An Alpha protected their pack.
Even if they distanced themselves along the way.
Talia picked up the blankets.
"Do you want me to discard the items from the room?"
One of her shadows asked.
She thought for a moment.
"No."
She left the room. Calm footsteps carrying her toward her own quarters.
Alphas normally didn't nest. But they also liked to keep the scents of those they protected nearby.
She stored the blankets in her closet.
A simple gesture. One that only she and her shadows knew about.
She would watch from afar.
