"Da she is exhausted, I don't know how she has even functioned the way she has thus far. Any of the new wolves would sleep for days after experiencing a change for the first time" Samuel said. Bran was worried about her, and found he didn't regret the choice to bring an unmated male near her. He knew if Jessica ever suspected that he wanted to hide her away from anyone she would be furious, her annoyance earlier proved that. He liked, though, that she would respect his feelings on subjects even if her choices were unhindered by them, he smelt her remorse when she thought she was over reacting.
"Can she be left alone tonight?" Bran asked. He was sprawled out on the larger of the two couches, watching her sleep, while his son made a decision. "Medically she should be fine in a few days; however I would prefer she not be alone for a while yet. I don't understand exactly what the connection she made with you is. I don't know how it will affect her, especially if she was able to feel the change with you." Samuel said with mild reproach in his tone. Bran let it go, because to Samuel this was his patient, and he, like any wolf, he was protective over what he perceived as his privilege to care for. For Samuel all of his patients fit that bill.
"I don't think it was hypothermia she was suffering from. A human body is not designed to take the stress of a change let alone a human mind unprotected by our ability to heal. From what you described she is suffering from the effects of shock, and perhaps the whip lash of our magic. Combined with her gifts, only time will tell what has been done, if anything." Samuel was quiet for a while after that, listening to her breath, and each precious heartbeat. Undoubtedly he was thinking about the information Bran had given him about her, and making carful calculations about his next course of action. Bran sat there staring into the fire, as he had done so many times before, pondering all the things required of an Alpha, and a man whose heart was scarred and hardened from nearly three centuries of mourning.
"Tell me again Da, exactly what she does" Samuel said suddenly. He had leaned back into his seat eyes closed and listening.
"It's nearly the same connection as I had with your grandmother. Except, with her a feeling of peace becomes her, and there seems to be no ability or affinity to control her subject. She is undoubtedly an empath, but she is able to focus her gift, and even shield herself to a degree. I have also never known of a human empath that can send emotions to another as well as receive them, although I don't know if she realizes she is sending them. She knew I was not human nearly from the moment we were on the highway from the airport." Bran trailed off, having triggered a thought process of his own.
"Her grandfather believed that his family line had descended from the fae. He thought that her gift was born of that influence. She however does not, logically being that her connection with them was thousands of generations past." Bran said. "I find that I agree with her assessment", he said the last with an almost surprised yet proud tone. Samuel snorted when he heard it.
"It's a full moon in two days, what will you do with her then." Samuel said changing the subject to one equally as important. Bran would have to stake his claim then, or live peaceably with any claims from the males in town. The thought of that brought his wolf thundering to the fore for a moment, demanding Samuels's attention as a wolf lower in the hierarchy. It was presentation of power, nothing a human would be able to hear or see, at least not something they would be able to identify. To both of their surprise, his Jessica startled awake, having sat up blinking at the two of them. She looked at them both, trying to sort out the current situation, when suddenly she gave Bran a reproachful look.
"What's going on here?" She said to Bran confused, "Are you alright?" She moved to get up from the couch and sat back down immediately apparently dizzy. Samuel was up from his seat, penlight in hand, already in Doctor Mode.
"Stop, Samuel, stop, I'm fine. I just stood up too fast. It happens; I just need a little more water I think." She said as she batted at his hands.
"Be still Jessica," he ordered, a true order, as if she was indeed a submissive in his care. She stopped, blinked at him for a moment, and stated "no, thank you. Move away from me." Her words while quiet were deadly serious. She looked him in the face, and Samuel saw it in her eyes. She had no intention of being touched by him for a moment longer, and he did as she requested and backed away. Not because he had to, her words did not move him that way, but because he recognized the demand for what it was, the manifestation of panic, which can be as dangerous as an enraged wolf given the right circumstances.
She was very angry, but beneath that she was scared. Bran watched her chest move up and down faster and faster, her heart beginning to race. She looked over to the fire, and peered into it. Closing her eyes, she muttered a little prayer and slowly regained her calm. A human wouldn't have heard the words, "Lord grant me peace" but Bran did.
"Samuel," she said quietly, "Forgive me. I was rude. I think I need to rest." With that she stood up, steady this time, walked over to Bran and kissed his forehead. She patted Samuels shoulder as she passed by him still crouched there in the middle of the room. Before turning down the hallway she looked back at them both with the assurance they could stay as long as they liked and to please make themselves at home. Neither of them missed it however, despite her calm, she was terrified.
"Who did that to her, Da." Samuel said finally. Bran didn't know, and said as much. He promised himself then and there he would destroy whoever it was when he found out. He remembered her reaction to her parent's photos that was a good place to start the hunt.
"I hope you kill whoever it was. What will we do with her tonight? Should I call Anna or Sage?" Samuel said, and stopped speaking. He waited for Bran to make the decision. Bran needed the distraction, because an Omega terrified drew out the deadly aspects of his personality. His Omega terrified only made it worse.
"Go home for tonight, I will stay. If I need you I will call. Will you be at the service tomorrow morning?" Bran asked.
"Yes Da, he was my friend too." Samuel said with a sad smile in his voice. "Perhaps try and explain to her what is happening, and she may be more willing to let me examine her tomorrow. It was a mistake to keep her in the dark." With the last he was out the door.
Bran sat there with the fire a while longer. He found himself reluctant to face her, and could not place why. She had taken so much in stride over the last two days, and did so with startling resiliency. Perhaps the doubt was not in her, but in him. For the first time sense Leah had walked away, he forced himself to think of Blue Jay woman. Not just of the pain of her absence, but of the woman.
It was a cool clear day out, and Bran was running wolf through the woods. The peace and isolation brought comfort to him in ways that civilization could not, for all that he loved to watch the humans; Bran was a bard after all. The unmistakable sound of pain broke the calming silence of his sanctuary, peaking the wolfs interest. He followed the noise and growing scent of blood for a few miles before he found her. In the moment his eyes meet hers, the earth did not move for any reason than her. He could not bear her death, and so saved her.
Bran easily gave her his whole heart, and still could not allow himself to be angry about it. She was his match, his mate, his. Her death broke him, and until now, he had wanted to believe there was no healing for it, for to heal this wound was to let go of her. He was not willing to give up what he had left. He took Leah to mate, because his need to protect his wolves was more than his desire to follow his Blue Jay woman into the next life. He managed it too; with Leah there was just enough control that the beast did not escape him. When Leah left them, his wolf mourned the loss of their mate. Bran, the man, could only feel relief. He was saddened at what he had allowed between them, but could not bring himself to regret it. Now there was Jessica. He didn't love her like he loved Blue Jay Woman, but she was his. How had that happened? He sat there for a moment longer looking into the fire, when the problem of how he would approach his Jessica was solved for him.