((Its been way too long and I apologize...Life has been hard and hectic. But I'm back!))

Chapter 16:

When Mary arrived to the large metal building with concrete floors that she had followed Jacob to, she looked completely at ease. Her conscience was clear and she had no fault about what transpired between her are Jacob...but of course he had just finished 'tattling' on her.

Jacob, Faith, John and Joseph all turned to look at her.

"Did...did you 'tattoo' Jacob?" Joseph asked.

Mary nodded, "Yes, yes I did. Did he tell you about him attacking me with his knife or his wolves?" she asked them.

"She's lying!" Jacob yelled.

John shook his head, "Jacob...we saw your wolves running by here to find you when you must have called them," he told his brother. "I am sorry, everyone...Jacob said he wanted a moment alone with Mary and I took him at face value," he apologized with a sigh.

Mary shook her head and walked over to put her hand on his shoulder, "don't be mad at yourself because you trusted your own flesh and blood," she told him warmly.

"Mary is right John," Joseph said then looked to Jacob. "Jacob, we will, all of us, talk later. Please head to your cabin for the night," he said in a tense but calm tone.

Jacob opened his mouth to speak but he could see on his siblings faces that none of them were wanting to listen. Frowning, he left in a huff.

"I have to ask though, how did you get his wolves to...well, stop for attacking you?" John asked curiously.

Mary shrugged, "I had God on my side," he said looking to Joseph who smiled. She then reached into her bra and pulled out her hidden pouch of jerky. "God and jerky, Wolves are very partial to whomever is offering them food...and not beating them regularly. Plus, the baby in my belly protected me as well," she explained with a smile.

Faith snorted out a small laugh and John smiled with a nod. He took a step closer to her and kissed her cheek. "You must be mother...because you know how to handle the 'child' Jacob can be at times," he chuckled. He bid everyone goodnight and left.

Mary, Faith and Joseph were left in the building. Mary looked around and realized it was some sort of lab...chemistry lab she guessed.

"So, what is this building?" Mary asked, walking around slowly to get a closer look at everything.

"This is where we produce Bliss," Faith said with a smile as this was her wheelhouse of sorts.

"And what is bliss?" Mary asked.

"In layman's terms? A psychotropic drug that our people and new converts use to better connect with God," Joseph told her.

Mary merely nodded, "Okay. I mean...hell, people have used herbs and such for Religious ceremonies for many many MANY years," she mused as she kept exploring the laboratory.

"That's very true," Faith grinned, happy her future sister in law understood what she herself tried to do for the 'flock'. Faith caught the time and smiled to them both, "I hate to do so but I must leave, I have some inventory to go thru before it gets dark," she said but hugged them both before she left.

Joseph watched as Mary looked over a chalkboard for a moment then came over to him. He was sitting on a counter and she moved to stand between his knees, her head resting on the area between his neck and shoulder. The man nearly purred but wrapped his arms around her warmly, his hands rubbing her back as her fingers lightly 'walked' along his chest.

"So...are you using the bliss to create super solider's or just using it in the water supply to make new and 'forced' converts more docile?" she asked out of the blue.

Joseph smirked as he nuzzled his nose into her sweet smelling hair, "My love, do you have a hotline to God him/herself who is telling you these things?" he asked, able to appreciate the things she picked up and her inability to be fooled.

"Your chalkboard gave you away," she said pointing to it.

"Ah, you had a hobby in Chemistry?" he asked.

"Sort of..well, not really. You know all my sins right? I tried a lot of different drugs in my early life. I am also a child of the Internet. I looked up everything that I was ever going to try and its chemical makeup," she said, pulling her head away so she could look at him with a small smile.

Joseph leaned into her face some. "Tell me Mary, what did the chalkboard tell you?" he asked with his lips nearly touching hers.

"The flower you extract bliss from, is from the Datura genus which is a member of the Solanoidae family. Datura is an anticholinergic deliriant...which gives you the sedation, hallucinations and delirium you want," she told him, never moving away from his face. "The chalkboard also told me, the way you extract or synthesize it, you are either tampering with peoples food or drink or are straight up injecting them with it," she mused.

He reached up to stroke her face, "you are correct. I thought you said you didn't mind the use of drugs as sacraments?"

"Yes...as long as the person is aware they are using said drug Joseph," she said then stepped back, shaking her head. "Come on Joseph, all of the Government intrigue you bring upon yourself. Its one thing to be a well-armed 'cult', but you add things like drug use, kidnapping, forced conversions? That's on you," she sighed, sounding and looking like a disappointed mother. "Hell, if you wanted to sell it on the streets and make money, I wouldn't care about that because at least people were choosing to take the drug...but drugging them? Really?" she said crossing her arms over her chest.

Joseph hung his head down some, "I feel as I have done nothing correctly."

Sighing, Mary stepped back closer to him, her hands holding the sides of his face which made him lift his head once again.

"Your heart is in the right place and you have a fierce want, albeit a loving want, to make sure everyone is saved. But...you've gone overboard. You NEED to realize...not everyone will be saved. "Matthew 10:14, And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town," she told him quoting the bible.

Joseph couldn't help the fact that his chest puff out in some pride as she quoted scripture but also told him that there was good in him, honest good. His arms went around her and he hugged her close to his body, surprising Mary as the affection came on suddenly.

She slipped her arms around him and held him close to her as she felt his 'energy' change some and before too long, she felt his warm tears on her neck. Mary frowned a bit and nuzzled his ear softly with her nose.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"I just feel like...all my prophesying was done with the wrong intentions and the souls my family and followers may be damned due to me," he admitted. Joseph was easily seen as a leader and Father of his Flock but had no one, until now, to truly talk to about his inner most problems/troubles with.

Mary sighed a bit, as much as there was a part of her that was still planning on leaving when everyone least expected it, another part of her was starting to understand and therefore 'feel' what Joseph wanted to do. She was going 'native' and she knew it, but like Faith kept telling her, Mary did truly have a caring-loving nature.

"No, God see's intentions. Hell, if he didn't, he wouldn't be giving me all 'this' with all my cursing and fighting," she said with a slight chuckle. "Its your methods that need to just change...funny thing is? The same goes for me," she told him. "Just tell Faith she can keep making Bliss, hell...sell some of it for cash, but stop drugging people," she said. "Religious sacraments are totally a thing," she added.

When Joseph pulled his head back, he was smiling some and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "You are going to legitimize us or fight everyone huh?" he asked with a smirk.

"True...tho, I do fight pretty well and Im kinda mad everyone has blocked me from throwing punches," she laughed.

Joseph took her hand into his and the two headed out of the building and towards her cabin, taking in the lovely evening it had become over the last hour. "So I will work on my prophesying skills and you work on your anger and ability to go with the flow?" he asked raising an eyebrow as they walked thru the grass high with different types of wild flowers and such.

"I will try, I promise," Mary told him.

Smiling from ear to ear, Joseph motioned for her to sit in the grass with him on a small grassy hill covered by white flowers and dandelions. He moved behind her so she could lay back against him as he remained sitting up. His hands moving along the flowers to make their 'spores/seeds' fly away as the moonlight and starlight illuminated the area.

"Mmmm its so pretty here," Mary mewed with a soft yawn then looked up to Joseph. She snorted out a laugh and her hand came up to poke at his nose. "What is in your nostrils?" she asked with a smile.

His hand petted her hair while he smiled down to her. "Its allergy season so I block them when Im outside," he told her then leaned over to kiss her forehead. "Plus with all the Bliss Flowers around us, I wanted to stay immune to its effects and you breathing it it is the only way our child would not be harmed," he said as if it was nothing. "The flowers spread their seeds like the dandelions so tho to a lesser extent."

Mary's eyes blinked slowly, the flowers effects already taking ahold but his words did register. "What? Joseph...what?" she asked softly. "You...drugged me, again..." she gasped, trying to sit up with tears in her eyes and hurt in her voice.

Frowning, he held her down so she would be safe while his brothers and sister came up behind him. Her reaction actually hurting his heart.

"I'm sorry My Mary..." he whispered.