The Wayward Sons: Back to the Beginning, page 1
The Wayward Sons: Back to the Beginning
A. Winchester
Copyright © 2024 by A. Winchester
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in book reviews.
To all the fucked up ones…
May you find someone just as fucked up as you to join in all your adventures,
to love you as you are,
& to show you that you’re not quite as fucked up as others made you believe.
“Tell me every terrible thing you ever did, and let me love you anyway.”
-Edgar Allen Poe
“Something about you made me feel a little more alive and a far less lost.”
-Unknown
PLAYLIST
The following songs inspired scenes for this stretch of Ryder & Gray's adventure.
Shake It Off — Taylor Swift (Chapter 01)
Dust — Annie Bosko (Chapter 03)
Cowboy — Asher Cataldo (Chapter 04)
Till The Wheels Fall Off — Blackberry Smoke (Chapter 08)
Stuck in the Dark — Peyton Parrish (Chapter 12)
Dandelions — Shady, Moon cover (Chapter 14)
Glory — The Score (Chapter 18)
Carry On My Wayward Son — Kansas (Chapters 19, 20, & 21)
Enchanted — Taylor Swift (Chapter 23)
Chasing Cars—Tommee Profitt, Fleurie (Chapters 28 & 29)
Friday Night — Eric Paslay (Chapter 30)
Lover of Mine — Louyah (Chapter 31)
Let’s Ride — Jessta James (Chapter 35)
CONTENT WARNING
Please be aware that while this is primarily a fun rom-com with an angsty twist, some material may be triggering. This includes: explicit content between a main character and supporting characters (not cheating—it happens before the two main characters meet), profanity, violence, use of weapons, mentions of child abuse, abusive parent with adult child, imprisonment of a main character, mentions of military time & being dishonorably discharged, mentions of addiction and overdose, and struggles with a will to live.
If you feel I have missed something, please feel free to email me at awinchester@awinchesterauthor.com
A NOTE TO THE READER
PLEASE READ this first. It’ll help clear up a tiny little thing so you can thoroughly enjoy Ryder and Gray’s smutty demon-hunting adventures. The Wayward Sons is part of a bigger universe I created called the HunterVerse—inspired by Supernatural and Arrow.
You don’t need to read the original series to understand Ryder and Gray, and the universe is pretty self-explanatory. However, here are the only two pieces you need:
There is no lore behind the demons. You will see familiar types of demons (werewolves, sirens, etc) but their origin will be different. All demons crawl their way out of hell.
Demon hunters have superpowers based on their archangel lineage. Some even have a superhero glow. They go as follows:
Descendants of Uriel—elemental control over any two of the following
Water—blue glowing eyes and hands
Air—white glowing eyes and hands
Fire—red glowing eyes and hands
Earth—green glowing eyes and hands
Energy—silver glowing eyes and hands
Descendants of Selaphiel—telekinesis
Orange glowing eyes and hands
Descendants of Gabriel—super strength
Gold glowing eyes and golden tracks over the whole body
Descendants of Raphael—physical durability
Descendants of Michael—enhanced senses
Descendants of Barachiel—emotional project/control
Black glowing eyes
Descendants of Raguel—foresight
Copper glowing eyes during a premonition, uncontrollable timing
And that’s all you need to know about the universe to enjoy these two hot idiots as they save people from demons… and usually fuck the people they save. Have fun!
Contents
CHAPTER 01
CHAPTER 02
CHAPTER 03
CHAPTER 04
CHAPTER 05
CHAPTER 06
CHAPTER 07
CHAPTER 08
CHAPTER 09
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHAPTER 01
Ibelted out the lyrics to ‘Shake It Off’ like I was the Queen her-fucking-self. It didn’t matter that I had a bunch of men staring at my naked ass while I did it. It also didn’t matter that I was providing my own music to dance to. Yeah, prison showers didn’t have speakers. I was everyone’s fucking entertainment.
The new guys… they didn’t know what the fuck to do with me.
The prison guards let me do my fucking thing.
Everyone else kept their distance, pretending I wasn’t belting out teen pop songs in the middle of the prison shower. They were used to my shit.
And as the one man everyone was afraid of, it was good to be me. I had all the space I could need, no worries about someone getting too goddamn close, and a healthy dose of fear mingling with the steam around me.
I grinned happily. Some weird part of me would fucking miss this shit. Demons just didn’t fucking scare the same way.
When I’d taken the fall at seventeen for my ex—dumb fucking choice—I’d made the snap decision that as a demon hunter in prison, I wouldn’t be at the bottom of the fucking food chain. I was a goddamn weapon locked up with idiots. A few brutal fights and some time in solitary gained me a reputation. For one fucking year, I built that reputation until they knew not to mess with me.
I liked the peace of mind. And I liked napping whenever I fucking could.
Oh, and I’d definitely fucking used my power to make a goddamn impact. Hard to shank a guy who made roots grow out of the fucking shower drain.
Grabbing my towel, I dried off. Yeah, my life was fucking good for what it was. But it was about to get better. My sentence had been cut short by six months. Today, I was out of here.
CHAPTER 02
Petey, you gorgeous fuck,” I greeted my cellmate cheerfully as I strolled through the open gate to our cell. The tall, lanky kid smiled, ready to do whatever I asked. Nine times out of ten, I just kept the kid company. He was soft—in a nerdy kind of way—which made him a great target. Shit, the kid only ended up in jail because he liked marijuana and hated going out to fucking buy it, so he kept a goddamn stockpile on hand. He didn’t deserve to be with most of these dumb fucks. I liked him enough to say fuck that shit and kept him close. Sometimes, I needed shit from him. “Tell me your sister is goin’ to be here.”
“She said she would as long as you keep up your end of the deal,” Peter said. Ah, yes. My end of the deal. Money. Always money. But I had money—a fuck ton of it. I didn’t steal the drugs that landed me in jail, but I’d stolen the money the cops didn’t know about. That shit was well hidden, which made paying off his sister a fucking breeze.
“I got your family covered,” I promised. Twenty-thousand was nothing compared to what I’d fucking hidden in my family’s barn. “No worries there, boy.”
“Then she’ll be there.” He shrugged like it was that fucking simple. Maybe it was. Who fucking knew? I just didn’t want to be stuck in the goddamn prison parking lot waiting for someone who wasn’t showing up.
“Good.” I grinned. I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him off the bed. “Let’s go over this shit one more time, kid. Someone comes at you, what do you go for?”
“The nose,” he replied.
“Good. How?”
“The heel of my hand because it’ll break their nose,” he told me.
“Good fuckin’ boy,” I said. Peter was a walking fucking target, and I liked the kid. No one would do shit while I was here, but once I was gone? Well, that was another story. I felt obligated to make sure the kid could at least kick some fucking ass on the way out. I’d already taught him basic defensive fighting techniques in our downtime, but sometimes the simple shit was all he’d need. “What else?”
“Box the ears. Hard.”
“Good. And don’t be afraid to take ‘em out by the fuckin’ balls, you hear me?”
“Isn’t that underhanded?”
“Do you fuckin’ think they’re goin’ to be playin’ fair?” I demanded. “The minute you start playin’ fuckin’ fair in here is the minute you fuckin’ lose, you hear me?”
“Yeah,” he muttered, swallowing hard.
“What else?”
“And don’t bend over for anyone I wouldn’t want taking me out to dinner.”
“You wouldn’t actually break into the prison,” Peter said as if the idea was far-fetched.
“Boy, I could’ve broken out of this fuckin’ place the day I walked on in,” I told him without an ounce of humor. Yeah, I was that powerful.
But I wasn’t that fucking stupid.
Usually.
CHAPTER 03
Orange wasn’t my fucking color. As I tossed my jumpsuit aside, I promised myself I’d never wear the fucking color again. Not a chance in hell. Fuck, I’d rather go to hell. At least I knew where I stood with the fucking demons. Maybe that was a little dramatic, but fuck, sweatpants never felt so fucking good. Who cared if I looked like a tool in the prison-provided sweatpants, t-shirt, shoes, and sweatshirt? I didn’t take the duffle bag they offered. I didn’t have a single thing I wanted to take with me. I wanted prison as far behind me as fucking possible.
“Renfield, you really went all out with these fuckin’ pants.” I laughed. Renfield rolled his eyes, but I saw the man smile. I liked to think we were buddies after all the random fucking conversations we’d had over the years. “You’re grumpy, my man. What’s wrong? Baby or wife?”
“Both,” he muttered.
“C’mon, buddy.” I leaned against the desk, giving him my most disarming smile just to make him roll his eyes again. “Tell good ol’ Gray what’s goin’ on.”
“Do you hear yourself?”
“I’m great therapy. You know it.”
“I want a fucking refund.”
“Well, we’re here doin’ paperwork.” I shrugged. “Might as well do somethin’ with our time. What’s wrong, my man?”
“Look.” Renfield sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. “I don’t want to say she’s acting bitchy, but she’s kind of acting bitchy, you know? She’s moody and snippy and just… I don’t know. I just can’t do anything right lately. I work, I help with the baby when I can, I do the dishes.”
“Do you make her feel appreciated?” I asked and watched him falter. Yeah, that was it. Raised on a farm by the kitchen ladies had taught me a thing or two or more about what women really wanted. I got in on all the fucking gossip growing up.
“What do you mean?”
“When was the last time you thanked her for all the shit she does?” I replied. “And I don’t mean some passin’ thanks or shit. I mean stopped and fucking thanked her—made her feel appreciated. She had your fuckin’ kid, you know.”
“I’m aware.”
“Her end don’t stop because she popped out a fuckin’ kid,” I told him. Okay, I didn’t know a fucking thing about raising kids. I just knew the shit the kitchen ladies complained about. They were great fucking birth control. I’d cut my fucking balls off before I voluntarily had a kid. “She takes care of the kid, the house, that dog you had to have—it was a dog, right? Was it a fuckin’ cat? Whatever. She does all those fuckin’ things—cooks, cleans, cares for all the shit. And you come home and do what? Help her take care of your own damn baby? Do the fuckin’ dishes? Boy, you’re slackin’ as far she’s concerned.”
“Are you taking relationship advice from this fucking moron again?” Maddox popped his head around the corner to stare at us.
“This fucking moron has had more success getting me laid than you ever did,” Renfield said.
“That’s because I’m charmin’,” I cut in with a grin.
“Is that what they tell you down there?” Maddox demanded.
“Nah, that’s what my right hand tells me,” I retorted. “Sometimes my left if I’m feelin’ frisky.”
Personal prison rule number one: don’t fuck the inmates. Sure, I had balls bluer than cobalt at this fucking point, but I didn’t fucking care.
I turned my back on Maddox. Guy was a dick, but he had to be a dick in here. At least with me, he was less of a fucking dick.
“Look, she just needs to be reminded why you fuckin’ married her in the first place,” I told Renfield. “Make her feel appreciated and wanted. Everythin’ is baby, baby, baby right now. Y’all forget the mama when this shit happens.”
“And what do you know about it?” Maddox asked. I smiled. I had the fucker’s attention, even if he didn’t want to admit it. “You’ve been here since you were seventeen. What do you know about it?”
“I was raised by a damn good woman,” I said. Marta may have been part of the help, but she was the best damn woman I knew—and a better fucking parent than the father I was stuck with.
“You ready to walk out?” Renfield interjected.
“Do you have to fuckin’ ask?” I’d been ready to fucking leave since the day I got here. I grinned at Maddox as I stood. “Bye, Maddox. It’s been real fuckin’ fun drivin’ you crazy. I hope to hell I never see you again.”
“That’s what they all say,” the old man muttered. “And they all come back.”
“I ain’t like them,” I called after him. “I’m special.”
“Yeah, they all say that shit too.”
“What?” I exclaimed. “I am!”
“Just keep your head down and stay on the straight and narrow, Harper,” Renfield told me. I chuckled because my queer ass couldn’t stay straight if I fucking tried. “I think you’ll do just fine.”
Just fine? Who the fuck knew? I had plans—dangerous plans. Dangerous and just fine didn’t go hand-in-fucking-hand.
“Sure, Renfield,” I said. I followed him out, my blood pumping an obscene amount of adrenaline through my veins. No more cages. I was a free fucking man.
The yard erupted in cheers as Renfield walked me to the gate. He shook his head.
“I have no idea why you’re top dog in here,” he commented under his breath. I just fucking grinned to myself. And dipped just a little bit into my power, feeling the earth beneath my feet. The yard shook ever-so-fucking-slightly as I centered my focus on it. The cheering turned into confused and upset conversations.
And me? I just kept on smiling. There was no way in hell they’d forget Grayson Harper. Not by a fucking long shot.
“Not a clue, Renfield.” I shrugged as I feigned confusion. “I guess I’m just that charmin’.”
He snorted. He wouldn’t admit it, but he’d miss me.
A black sedan waited in the appropriate pickup spot, its driver staring at me from behind the windshield. Dark hair, full lips, and a scowl that’d make most men run in the other direction. Peter had failed to mention his sister was both a spitfire and ungodly attractive. My dick damn near instantly agreed.
I gave her a happy little wave, which did nothing but make her grumpy ass grumpier.
“Hey, Harper!” Renfield called after me as I walked toward the sedan. I glanced over my shoulder at him. “What’re you going to do now that you’re out?”
I couldn’t tell him I planned to hit the road. There were demons out there, and I was itching to hunt something.
“Some damn good,” I said instead with a cocky grin.
CHAPTER 04
What was better than being trapped in a car with a woman who fucking hated my existence? Anything. Literally anything. The woman could give the demons a run for their money with the glare she kept shooting in my direction.
But I had issues with her attitude.
One: I was fucking charming. And damn good company. That was fact.
Two: I wasn’t even that bad a guy. Peter could’ve sent her to pick up someone way worse than me.
Three: My dick was on full autopilot at the sight of a hot girl. Not my proudest moment, but it could’ve been worse. Balling up my sweatshirt in my lap took care of that little problem—well, it wasn’t little by a long shot.
“Are we goin’ to sit and glare this whole fuckin’ time?” I demanded. “Or are we—”
