Everything Is Different Now
Chapter 28
August 18, 2013
JPOV
"Yes, I understand. Did anyone else get hurt? Well, that's good news anyway. Okay, are they
still in the room? Are THEY injured at all that you can tell? Okay. And you've secured the
area? The hall is closed off? Good. Yeah, I'll be there as soon as I can. Yes, I'll be bringing the
Alpha with me, of course. Don't worry. Just, try to hang on and keep the situation
contained."
I walked into Laura's office just as she was ending that phone call. She was sitting in her big
leather desk chair, her head leaned back, one hand on her forehead and a distressed
expression on her lovely face. She hung up just as I stopped in front of her desk. The look on
her face when she turned to me was chilling.
"Honey, what is it? What's wrong?"
"That was the facility in Portland where I found you. There's been... an incident."
My blood flow became like molasses as it grew icy with the memories that flooded back into
me from those years of torture, pain and loneliness.
"An incident? What kind of incident? What's happened Laura?"
"Well, apparently, there is a shifter on the staff at that institution now. He's only been there
for a couple of months. It seems there was a pair of patients, one male, one female, they are
brother and sister, and he thought perhaps they were shifters but they didn't know it
themselves."
She heaved a deep breath as if the next words she had to say were going to be difficult to get
out. I tensed up even further as she met my horrified gaze. She reached out and took my
hand, squeezing it firmly as if to reassure, to buck me up.
"The nurse and orderly who tortured you developed suspicions about the pair and decided to
check out their healing capabilities the same way they did yours."
My back stiffened and my skin began to crawl with hazy memories of scalpel slices that were
repeated as rapidly as they healed. Laura had shared the revelations she'd received from my
Wolf about the brutal treatment I'd received that had forced Him to shut me down and take
over to save my sanity. I leaned over, placing my palms on the edge of her desktop and took
deep, cleansing breaths, trying to prevent my knees from giving out on me. My loving mate
came around the desk and wrapped her arms around me, lending me all the strength she had.
Then, she continued with her tale, knocking my world on its ear.
"The shifter who's on staff there now thinks that perhaps the twins didn't know anything about
their heritage or nature. They are from Thailand and speak little English. The nurse and
orderly locked themselves in a room with them and attempted to strap them down. Hang on
babe, I've got you. The attack prompted the brother and sister to phase, apparently for the
first time... and the nurse and orderly are dead. Jacob, do you think you can come with me
or do I need to take Phillip?"
"NO! I'm okay. I'm okay. I need to go. They are my shifters even if we've never met and they
didn't know what they were until today. I'll go with you. What's the situation there now?"
"Well, that's why the shifter who works there called me. The brother and sister have phased
back, are utterly terrified, understandably, and are still locked in the room with the nurse and
orderly. The staff member can see through the small window in the door to the room. He says
they are naked, covered in blood and bits of tissue and huddled together in a corner on the
floor and completely unresponsive. The room is littered with body parts and is awash with
blood. He said of course he could break down the door easily enough, but he's afraid he'll
frighten the twins beyond control so instead he's guarding the door and it appears nobody
else in the facility, so far, knows what has happened. He says he has help on the way that can
help him clean up after we've left with the pair."
"Does he know what type of animal they are?"
"What? Oh yes, it appears they may both be tigers. He says he got a glimpse of orange and
black stripes when he first looked through the window to investigate the noise."
"It sounds like we've been awfully lucky that this has been so tightly contained. Nobody
knows what happened but this guy who called you?"
"So far, yes."
"Okay, honey. Let's get moving. You call the car and the airport and I'll get Phillip and
Barney up to speed. Thank you for handling this with me Laura."
"Jacob, the call came for me hon. But he thinks both of us will be needed to talk this pair off
the ledge. We're in this together."
"God, I love you."
"Love you too."
We let our family members know what was going on and left straightaway for the airport. The
Prince's jet was fueled and waiting for us on the tarmac. I hadn't been happy about the
prospect of using my mate's deceased first husband's aircraft and it felt awkward, strange, but
just now, time was short and we were both needed in Portland, so I was thankful for it. We
didn't even pack any clothing knowing we would collect our charges and get back to Boulder
with them as quickly as possible. The trip was brief but seemed to take hours and hours. I
pulled Laura into my lap once the jet had leveled out. I needed to hold her close to me. I
needed to feel her warmth, her heartbeat, her soft breathing. Finally, I was able to put her
back in a seat of her own. She caressed my cheek, without uttering a word, kissed me and put
my mind at ease. She sat beside me holding my hand while I put my head back on the
headrest and connected with my family in Washington.
"Hey somebody, who's on patrol tonight?"
"Hey Jake! What's doing bubba?"
"Hey Quil. I'm headed to Portland, Oregon and had a few minutes of quiet time, thought I'd
check in with my other homefront."
"Oregon?! Hell, Jake, I'da thought you'd never want to go back to that state!"
"Well, you got that right bud but this isn't a pleasure trip. We've got wind of a couple of
brand new shifters trapped in the same institution where I was kept all those years."
"Damn, Jake! Somebody needs to shut that place down don't they?"
"Well, before today I would've agreed with you, but we've just learned that the nurse and
orderly who tortured me have been killed by this couple of shifter patients."
"Holy hell!"
"Yeah, really. I guess justice has been served after all huh?"
"Looks that way. What the hell happened?"
"Seems they're a brother and sister, twins newly arrived at the facility, nobody knew they
were shifters. The youngsters may not have even known themselves. Nurse Fric and
Wannabe Dr. Frac had the idea the kids might be like me and thought they'd have a little fun
with them and a scalpel and some leather straps."
"Fuck, Jake! The world's a better place without those two in it."
"I have to agree with you on that one Quil. Anyway, there's a shifter on staff there now and
he's come up on the locked room with what's left of the nurse and orderly from hell scattered
all over the walls and the poor twins are naked and huddled up together in a corner, afraid
to even move."
"Jake, if you need any help just let us know. Damn!"
"Thanks Quil, I'll keep that in mind. Don't forget your standing invitation to come to
Colorado. Anyway, the facility called Laura and we're both flying to Portland. Gonna see if
we can get through to the kids and bring them back with us."
"Well, be careful Jake. And good luck."
"Thanks buddy."
We arrived in less than 2 hours thanks to the jet and ready and waiting transports. When we
were ready to walk up the steps to the front door of the facility, I suddenly had trouble making
my feet continue moving. My head was spinning and my heart was pounding hard inside my
ribcage. Laura turned back to where I had frozen on the sidewalk and came back down to the
bottom step to face me. She placed her hands on either side of my face and forced me to meet
her eye to eye.
"Jacob, it was a long time ago, another lifetime. I'm here now. Your tormentors are gone.
They're gone. The ones left behind are your children and they need you. Take my hand and
come with me. We have to save them. My brave Alpha, YOU are the one who runs INTO the
burning building when everyone else is running out. You are the one who is ready to sacrifice
yourself to save those you love. Your heart is strong, your mind is strong. Take my hand. We
can do this together."
I stared into her sparkling pools of ocean blue for a few more seconds, thanking the gods that
she had found me in this horrible pit. I kissed her softly, murmured a quiet 'thank you honey'
and secured my grip on her hand in mine. We entered the gates of hell side by side.
The lobby and front common room seemed quiet and normal. No one was the wiser it would
appear and the front desk was deserted at the moment. Laura headed down one of the
corridors off the lobby and soon we had come up to a young man standing guard in front of a
door. He was a big boy, well over six feet, and built like a defensive tackle, but his face was
young, peach fuzz and all, and right now as pale as a wisp of smoke. Laura approached him,
placing a gentle hand on his arm. The touch seemed to awaken him for until that moment his
eyes had been fixed on me, just a touch of fear in them. He looked at her with a puzzled
expression which morphed into extreme relief and gratitude.
"You're Dr. Frederick aren't you?"
"Yes, I am. What's your name?"
"I'm Danny...uh, Daniel Greentree...uh, Ma'am."
My mate gave him one of her disarming smiles and you could see the tension draining from his
shoulders.
"Nice to meet you Danny. I'd like you to meet Jacob Black. He lived here once upon a time.
He's my very good friend and your Alpha now."
The young man seemed to shrink in on himself just a little. He looked up at me and I was sure
I saw just a tiny quiver of his lower lip. I stuck out my hand and gave him my best used-car
salesman smile.
"I'm proud to know you Danny. Thank you for handling this situation so smoothly and for
calling us so quickly."
He looked down at my outstretched hand for a moment, perplexed, then grasped it firmly. He
returned his gaze back to my face and a broad smile erupted on his own lips.
"It's an honor to meet you Sir. My Gramps told me about you. He's the one who helped me
contact you Dr. Frederick. Thank you for coming so fast."
"We're glad we could get here fast son. And you should call me Jacob and call the lady here
Laura. No need for 'Sir' or 'Ma'am' okay?"
"Oh, yes Sir. I mean, Jacob. I'm so relieved you're here. This has been a bit of a cluster and
kinda nerve-wrackin' I gotta tell ya."
"That's probably an understatement Danny. I think you've handled the whole situation in
amazing fashion. Well, we'll go on in now. Stay by the door out here, okay?"
"Oh yes, Ma'am, um, thank you Laura. I'll wait right here."
Danny stepped aside and Laura and I walked through the door into the room and he closed
and locked it behind us. The carnage was unbelievable. The room was spray-painted with
blood and body parts littered the floor. I recognized the scents of the nurse and orderly who
had tortured me so long ago. My wolf rose up and howled in celebration and triumph at the
realization that they had been ripped to pieces. And these were humans not vampires. It
wasn't just ripping apart pieces of marble. It was tearing of skin and muscle and tissue and
sinew and bone. The amount of blood splashed around the room was incredible. And there in
the far corner, huddled together trying to make small targets of themselves, naked and
covered in the remnants of their destructive, defensive stand, were two children. They may
have been 15, tops; one boy, one girl and they seemed small for their perceived ages. Maybe
they were much younger than I guessed. Their arms were wrapped around one another and
their heads were tucked into the cocoon they were trying to create.
Laura and I approached them slowly, cautiously. We both knelt down when we reached them
but didn't make any attempt to touch them. We just stayed there beside them, trying to
radiate as much comfort as we could. After a minute or two, the boy lifted his head, turning it
just a touch and opening one eye to look at Laura. She smiled at him. He pressed his head
close to his sister's and said something in a language I didn't recognize. The girl looked up and
tentatively met my gaze. The two of them shuddered and began to loosen their grip on each
other. Laura spoke to them, astonishing me, in the same language that the brother had spoken
to his sister.
"We are here to help you. We will not harm you. We would like to take you to a safe place.
Will you let us do that?"
The kids began to separate and sit up, looking from Laura to me and then back at my mate.
Laura held out her hands and amazingly, they each took one. With a glance up at me, Laura
stood, and we all came to our feet with her. The children looked at each other for a moment,
exchanging an unspoken message, before turning to the two of us. The boy stepped forward
and embraced my girl even as the sister launched herself into my arms. I looked at my mate,
seeing the smile of relief overtake her features. She nodded her head toward a bathroom in
the corner and I nodded my agreement. I lifted them up, one in each arm, and walked them
into the room and straight into the large shower stall. Their bodies remained limp but they
each wrapped arms around my shoulders and held on tight.
Laura reached down and turned on the water, quickly adjusting the temperature to something
tolerable for everyone. We stood there fully clothed and washed the blood and bits off of our
newest family members. The siblings stood and gazed at each of us wordlessly. I think they
may have still been in shock, but at least they were allowing us to care for them.
When everyone was clean, we gathered bath towels and blankets and wrapped the children to
keep them warm and most importantly, concealed. We told the children, "don't look at the
room, don't look down, just focus on the open door and Danny." We wrapped ourselves as
well and made our way out into the corridor.
"Danny, we will rely on you to handle the rest of this mess. Okay?"
The young man practically snapped to attention and motioned behind him to a group of tall
boys, muscular and competent-looking.
"These guys live here locally. They will help me clean everything up, and nobody has been in
this section of the building for a while. And just for the record, I think the nurse and orderly
both put in for vacation yesterday. Thank you for helping me Alpha. And thank you Dr.
Frederick. You guys are life savers. "
"You're welcome Danny. It's what we do. It's our job. Thank you for handling things so well.
We'll see you later, okay?"
"Oh yeah, I hope so Alpha! Bye for now!"
My mate and I bundled the brother and sister out to the waiting car. The trip back to the
airfield was quick and quiet. The car pulled right onto the tarmac and up to the small jet, its
engines already humming. Laura thanked the driver and we led our charges up the steps and
into the cabin. We coaxed them to the back and helped them get settled on a couple of
couches, plumping pillows for them after we'd wrapped them in fresh, dry blankets. We had
warm clothing for each of them that we hoped we could get them into before getting off the
plane in Boulder. Laura addressed them as soon as the door was sealed and we heard the craft
powering up. She knelt in front of them and again held out her hands. Once again, the
children each grasped her offering with what I could only call reverence. She was amazing. In
their mother tongue she spoke in her most soothing and velvety voice. It always calmed me
down and was working like a charm right here.
"Please don't be afraid. You're safe now. I hope you'll allow us to look after you. We're
going to our home in Colorado. You can live there, together, as long as you like. You'll
always be safe there. We can talk about what happened this morning some other time
unless you want to tell us now. There's fresh, warm and dry clothing here for you. Would
you like some help getting dressed?"
It was such a mundane, pedestrian suggestion; the two kids simply obeyed her. I helped the
boy and my mate assisted the girl. They were both totally unashamed of their nakedness and
silently allowed us to dress them in the sweatpants and sweatshirts, socks and sneakers we'd
brought. The clothing was a tad too big, but not problematic. When they were comfortable
and supplied with bottles of water we sat in the first row of seats at the opposite end of the
cabin and locked eyes as we both exhaled a deep sigh of relief.
"Honey, you are a miracle worker. I know I've said that before, but damn!"
"Aw Jacob, I bet you say that to all your mates."
"As a matter of fact, I do. That would be you, and the list ends there. You know what this
makes me think?"
"What?"
"You are going to make an absolutely amazing mother. I can't wait until we can start a family.
You want a family I hope, we've never actually talked about kids."
"I'd love to have a family with you Jacob, but..."
"What's wrong, baby?"
"We've been having sex for a few weeks now."
"Yeah, and it was spectacular."
"We've never used any protection."
"Yeah, bareback...mmm...so good...the way you feel...wait...no...I'm sorry, I made
the assumption that you were on the pill or something, because you didn't stop me."
"No Jacob, I'm not on any birth control regimen."
"Oh, I see."
"Do you? This may mean that I can't have children. We have to consider that possibility
Jacob. I'm sorry. I want so badly to give you a family."
"And you will honey. I swear. We'll find out what the trouble may be and we'll get it fixed. It
may be me ya know?"
"Hah! I doubt that! You're the Alpha. I'd say it's highly unlikely that you can't produce as
many offspring as you'd like. I'd say it's me that's the most likely problem."
"Oh baby, don't worry. If that's the case, we'll figure out something else. Laura, you are my
life. If we can't conceive in the traditional way, we'll try all the others. We'll have our family, I
promise you."
"Maybe we're not meant to have any other family besides all of your children around the
world."
"That's nonsense. There's a simple reason why it hasn't happened yet. We'll figure it out and
work around it. I promise. Love me?"
"You know I do."
"Trust me?"
"Yes, of course."
"Okay then. We'll take care of all this other stuff and then we'll find out whose plumbing isn't in
tip top shape."
"Damn, Jacob! Only you would call it 'plumbing' and make a joke of it. Thank you."
"Anytime girl, anytime."