Chapter 8
It was hours before Beca reappeared from Aubrey's bedroom.
In that time Jesse had transformed back into his dog form and curled up on the corner of the couch asleep whilst Aubrey had flicked mindlessly through channels not really focus of on anything. Chloe had also returned home to find Jesse, she had squealed excitedly when she caught sight of the puppy quickly asking how Aubrey had changed Beca back only to be surprised when the dog transformed into Jesse.
They were just beginning to eat the dinner that Chloe had cooked, Jesse deciding to forgo cutlery and table manners, when Beca emerged from the room with a determined gleam in her eye. She was dressed in all black and looked ready to leave.
Aubrey leapt up from her chair, having already been eyeing the bedroom door anxiously and stopped Beca's march towards the door.
"Beca, where do you think you're going. It's dark out" Aubrey said worriedly as she tried to make eye contact with the brunette.
"He has my mum" Beca said, a deep growl building at the back of her throat as she attempts to move around the blonde without pushing her.
"Who had you're mum?" Aubrey asks confused as Beca tries to squirm away from her.
"Proffessor Mitchell, I'm going to bite his head off" Beca says seriously whilst wiggling in Aubrey's grip.
"Beca, we'll get your mum. Okay?" Aubrey assures the brunette snapping her fingers in front of the brunettes determined eyes. "But first you need to tell us what you remember" she says and Beca's eyes turn towards the room, only just noticing Chloe and Jesse watching her with concern.
Beca sighs her shoulders dropping as she nods in agreement. She moves over to the couch and sinks down into it as Aubrey moves to sit next to her.
"He had my mum" Beca repeated sadly. "She's trapped, she can't get out" Beca whined a small whimper building at the back of her throat as she buries her face in Aubrey's shoulder.
"Mum was with you?" Jesse asks excitedly his face perking up immensely " I thought she was..." Jesse trailed off sadly as his chest deflated.
Beca nodded "They beat her until she was unconscious but she's still alive" Beca shook her head as if trying to shake away the thoughts.
"Um, excuse me. Can you explain?" Chloe cut in her face portraying the same confusion Aubrey was feeling.
Jesse looked to Beca questioningly and she nodded.
"Okay, it all began twelve years ago..."
A young mother watched fondly as her two pups rolled around in the mud, biting each other's ears playfully as they let out small growls. She shook her head in exasperation as they proceeded to roll down the bank toward the river, happy yelps being let out as the slid down the muddy slope.
She was so enthralled in the sight of her children playing that she didn't notice their tribe leader, a tall, broad shouldered man with dark skin, come up to her until he snorted amusedly.
"Do they never tire of fighting" he laughed as he came to stand next to the proud mother.
She shook her head "They will be great warriors one day" she informed him, receiving a nod in reply. "Hopefully one day we will not need warriors" he added with a somber tone. "One day we will not lose our people they way we lost Jared" he said with a sad sigh.
The mothers shoulders sagged at the name of her husband, her brown eyes darkening with sadness. "You still miss him, Evelyn?" he asked although he already knew the answer.
"Every day" she frowned as she looked down at her hands.
"I loved him like a brother. He was my beta. Do not worry Evelyn, we will avenge him one day" he assured her, rubbing her arm in a comforting manner.
"Thank you, Atticus. For everything, Jesse and Beca would have been lost without you. As would I" she thanked him sincerely and he nodded.
"You are part of my pack, my family. It is my duty" he said as he stood. "It is almost time for the feast in honour of those lost. You should get your pups soon" he told her. Evelyn nodded, although her eyes were distant as they always were when Jared was mentioned.
"Look after yourself, Evelyn" Atticus said as he stood, the dark haired woman nodded and watched as Atticus transformed into his tall, black wolf-like form, bounding off graciously back towards their camp.
Evelyn stared into the jungle canopy for what could have been hours. Her mind reeling at the fresh reminder of her one true mate. By the time she came back down to earth the sky was beginning to darken. Deep blue patched of sky peeked through the gaps in the trees.
She stood and made her way down to the bank in search of her pups. An uneasy feeling fell over her as she failed to spot either of her children.
Shaking off her nervousness she quickly transformed, allowing herself to catch sent of her pups. She ignored the worried niggle in the back of her mind. Beca and Jesse would often find themselves losing track of their surrounding, causing their mother to sniff them out. There was nothing unusual or different about today.
Evelyn followed the scent of her pups down the river bank until she reached a rickety man-made bridge. She made her way towards it when she heard a small whimper from the dense reeds just off the road.
She quickly made her way over to the reeds, searching with her nose she spotted a small tuft of brown fur poking out from behind a rock.
"Jesse, what happened. Where is Beca" she asked, communicating through barks as she checked him over for any injuries.
"They took her, in their big monster" Jesse whimpered as he gestured his head down the road towards the truck parked across the bridge.
Evelyn's eyes widened in fear as she saw the groups of men, each with a rifle. Surrounding a small cage. She growled.
"Listen to me Jesse, run back to the village. Don't stop for anything even if you hear me scream. Tell Atticus it is the poachers, by the second water bridge" she instructs carefully in a rushed tone.
She picks Jesse up in her mouth by the scruff of his neck and runs him out of the reeds. "Go, quickly now" she urges as she drops him, she watched for a moment to see if he is running before turning and galloping towards the truck.
She lets out a fierce bark as she bears the truck, her teeth bared in fury.
"Look what we have her boys, another one" the poacher nearest to the cage calls as his friend chuckled. Evelyn hears Beca whimper from inside the cage and growls again. "Shut it, mutt" another poacher says , kicking the cage causing Beca to whine.
Evelyn sees red. She pounces on the man using all of her strength to knock him on his back. With a sharp bark she sinks her teeth into her arm, satisfied when she hears a snap along with his screams.
"Shit" she hears the other two mutter as she turns to face them. Blood covering her face. With a bark she lunges for the poacher closest to the cage and snaps at his leg. He cries out in pain as she snaps his ankle between her jaws, falling to the ground with a thud.
As she rounds on the last of them, him trying to reload his gun with shaking fingers as she bares her teeth, she feed a sharp sting in the back of her neck.
Her movements became sluggish as her eyes dropped. She felt her legs buckle underneath was her as a sharp kick came to her abdomen. She could hear Beca's faint yelps from within the cage as she fell onto her side.
"Thanks frank" the poacher who had kicked her said to somebody behind her.
"It's Mr Mitchell to you, imbecile. Now get the bitch into the truck and sort your friends out quickly." The man said from behind her. She felt a hand grab her face and turn it around.
In front of her was a man of average height with neatly cut brown hair, wearing a crisp suit. "We're going to find out so much from these monsters" he said before letting go of her head as she fell unconscious.
Aubrey and Chloe say in shock, still reeling after hearing what had happened to Beca and Jesse.
"When I got back to the bridge with Atticus they were gone." Jesse said with tears in his eyes. Beca reached out and squeezed his hand in reassurance.
"We searched for years but they were never found" Jesse continued after swallowing harshly. "Atticus raised me until last month he fell sick" Jesse said and Beca gasped.
"He died two weeks ago. But first he told me that I should search for you and he gave me all the information he had on the poachers which led me here" Jesse finished with a clenched jaw. "His final wish was for me to find you and mum" Jesse said sadly.
They lapse into silence, Beca comforting Jesse whilst Aubrey and Chloe look on, unsure of whether to involve themselves in what looks like a private moment.
Beca whispers somethings to Jesse who nods. "Tell me what they did to you?" Jesse asks Beca hesitantly, as though he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.
Beca bites her lip and nods.
"Mitchell knew what we were. That we could transform" Beca begins "He took us her to a private lab that he hired with university money for 'research'" Beca croaked out bitterly.
"He wanted to experiment in me but mum stopped him. She told him that she would do all of the tests in my place. I tried to stop them. I did." Beca says looking to Jesse desperately, he nods in understanding.
"They took me to a different room and left me in a cage. I was so young that I forgot how to change forms" Beca frowns deeply and Aubrey rubs her shoulder trying to lessen the tension she felt there.
"I could hear her howls every so often. They told me that I was a backup for when she died" Beca made a whining noise along with Jesse.
"But then one day Mitchell came into my room and he took me to the back doors of the research facility. He said that my mum had made a deal, she would tell them everything she knew about our kind of I was let go. He kicked me out of the doors and I tried to run back in to see her, but he pushed me out, calling me an ungrateful mutt" Beca rambled becoming more aggravated by the second. Growls sounding from deep in her throat every time she mentioned Professor Mitchell. "I think he must have given me something before I left so I wouldn't remember and come back" she thought out loud.
"That's when Aubrey found me" Beca finished, her voice becoming softer as she smiled in Aubrey's direction gratefully.
"Wow..." Chloe marveled. "That's a lot to take in" she said as Aubrey nodded in agreement.
"And now you see why I have to go get her" Beca said as she moved to get up only to be stopped once again by Aubrey.
"Beca, listen to me." She ordered as the brunette struggled to escape. "I know you want to get your mum right now. But you need to think about this. If he catches you, who knows what he could do to you. Or your mum" Aubrey reasons and sighs in relief as Beca stops moving.
"We're going to get her out of there. But we need a plan okay" she says looking straight into Beca's eyes with a false confidence.
Beca stares back at her warily for a moment before nodding. Aubrey can see the deep trust that Beca is giving her and in that moment she knows that she can't let the brunette down.
Hope you liked it. This story should on have around three more chapters. It was originally supposed to only be four, haha
I want to let you know that chapters may be delayed as i have started my final year of secondary school, which means uni applications are my biggest priority right now.
As always thank you to everyone that has followed/Favorited and reviewed :)