Bonded and Bred Ch. 21-23

Chapter Twenty One

Iris put her hands on the table and forced herself to meet his eyes squarely. "We met with your 'boys' only recently, Bill; and nothing came of it then."

"No it didn't!" he snapped resentfully. "But that was not the fault of my boys; they would have been willing to take it further – if you had only met them half way."

The colour came to her cheeks, and she allowed her eyes to drop from his. He could not be allowed to see her anger – her outrage and offence at the way those – brutes had manhandled her!

He must continue to think her weak and unprotected – until the time was right.

"Oh James!" she thought silently. "I need you now, don't let me down!"

"Well maybe I could have been a little less – reserved," she said slowly. She peeped up at him, and saw the way his shoulders relaxed.

"Yes," he agreed with a nod. "My boys don't need much encouragement – but they do need a little." she saw the indulgent smile that came to his face, and looked up suddenly.

"I am really grateful for your concern, Bill; for both my father's health and for your concerns for our safety... I promise to think of what you have said, and consider fully your wisdom, and my options." She stood up whilst he was digesting her words. "But now I really must get back to my father... goodbye for now, Bill; you should go and get some rest." she just managed to make her tone sound concerning and maternal – Just.

Bill smiled up at her. "You have always been a good girl, Iris; a little too wilful... a little too human at times, but a good girl at the heart of you."

"Daddy raised us well," she whispered tearfully, and this time her emotion was genuine.

He reached out and patted her arm. "You go on back to your father, girl, I will come and find you later."

As Iris walked down the deserted corridor she felt the weight of his parting words; they sounded so much like a threat to her.

She wrapped her arms around her waist in an effort to warm herself, but still the shiver racked her frame.

"Iris – there you are!" it was Aunt Trudy, standing in the doorway of the little waiting room.

She looked small and tired, and slightly batty – as she always did, and Iris thought she had never seen anyone quite so wonderful in her entire life.

"Oh Aunt Trudy!" she whispered as she reached her, and her green eyes filled with tears.

Aunt Trudy reached out to embrace her niece – squeezing her tight in an effort to comfort her, before leading her into the quiet empty little room.

"I've just been in to see your father, and Laurie... she is looking as pale as you child. She told me to come and find you, and that you would tell me what I need to know; she did not want to risk disturbing him, and I did not want to upset her any more than she already seemed to be."

"He is going to be okay!" Iris said first to reassure her aunt. "They just need our help a little; they need our blood to help purge his system."

"So what is wrong with him, and how can I help?"

Iris smiled tearfully. "It's a virus of some sort; it's poisoning his system – his blood, so they want to give him a complete transfusion, using our blood."

"Ah," Trudy sighed in understanding as she sat back, and a look of relief came to her face. "So the two of you are pale because you have been giving blood – and not because you are falling ill too."

"That's right, Aunt Trudy, and we were hoping that you would be willing to donate as well,"

Trudy laughed lightly. "Of course, child; he is my brother after all... my only male relative."

Iris hesitated.

"There is something else, Aunt Trudy... Bill Frawnings is here in the city, he knows about dad being ill and came to hospital – he might still be here for all I know..."

"Oh?" Trudy looked at her sharply. "And what does he want – do you think, why are you so worried about that?"

"Well, he said pretty much what you just said, that we are women without a healthy male protector; that if word got out, well we could be seen as being vulnerable..."

Trudy's eyes narrowed, but she just waited silently for her niece to continue.

"He said that I should think about pledging to 'one of his boys'."

Iris could not stop her lip from curling with disgust at the idea, and her green eyes fixed on her aunt as though begging for her to intercede.

"We could all have a lot to lose," Trudy murmured thoughtfully.

Iris nodded in agreement, especially Aunt Trudy – her company was worth millions, and so many of their kind would almost definitely appear, would be looking to get control of some or all of that wealth, which she had created.

"What should I do, Aunt Trudy?" Iris whispered huskily.

Trudy sighed again as she reached out and patted her niece's hand in reassurance.

"Don't worry about it now, child... we will sort something out, but later once we are more certain of your father's progress."

Iris couldn't help but think that her aunt was not taking the threat seriously enough.

"But don't you see Aunt Trudy, that might be too late, they seek to take advantage of daddy's illness, they won't wait to see how he fares, they will act and soon!"

"Hush now, child;" Aunty Trudy soothed her as Iris seemed on the brink of hysteria. "We are not totally without allies, people who might be prepared to step up in our defence."

"That is not the same as family or bonded though, Trudy."

Aunt Trudy smiled as she patted her niece's hand gently. "And does that not bring us right to your nice Mr Atherton?"

The colour came briefly to her cheeks, and her eyes fell away from her aunts.

"We have become close," Iris nodded hesitantly, and her aunt barked out a laugh.

"You are more than close, my girl, and you are being insulting to me to imagine that you could hide that from me."

The colour deepened for a moment and then faded as Iris sighed. "you are right of course, we have become intimate, and he said that... well, we are bonded – I love him, I love him so very much, Aunt Trudy; but it is so soon – we have only know each other for a few weeks, I do not know if he is ready to make our relationship public, I certainly do not want to force him into making a commitment..."

"But we have already made our commitment." the husky male voice was so familiar to Iris that she did not have to turn around to see him. She could already picture him, in casual clothing, and with hair ruffled, and stubble on his face. He would be tired, since he would not have had much sleep either.

She turned and smiled at her own accuracy.

"James!"

He stepped into the room, and Iris flew into his arms, needing the warmth and security that only he could give her now.

"I couldn't sleep," he murmured huskily. "So as soon as I got your message I came straight over here," he hesitated for a moment. "I saw Bill Frawnings leaving?"

"He came to see how my father was doing – or so he said," Iris mumbled into his shirt front.

"And made a couple of veiled threats as well," Trudy snapped.

James released Iris but he took her hand as they sat together across from Aunt Trudy.

"Tell me," he ordered quietly.

Trudy's eyes widened at the note of authority in his voice, and her pupils dilated, then snapped back.

"It was Iris who he spoke to," she said brusquely as she shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms almost in a defensive gesture.

He looked at her, and gently squeezed her hand.

"Tell me," he requested huskily.

She allowed his strength and security to wash over and through her, and then calmly she told him of her meeting with Bill.

"And so you think that he aims to... coerce you into a relationship with one of them," he glanced again at Trudy. "For what purpose, I mean you are a beautiful, desirable woman, Iris but..."

"There are plenty of desirable women out there," Iris finished his sentence and agreed with him. "And besides that, neither myself nor Laurie were to any of their liking."

He frowned. "How do you know that?"

She sighed as she told him of the meeting with Bill and 'his boys'.

"It was awful," she whispered. "To be mauled and pawed like that, and poor Laurie!"

"And your father allowed that?" James said in disbelief.

"Not for long, as soon as he realised what they were about, he put a stop to the meeting... Bill was not best pleased about that either."

"So Bill Frawnings is trying to force an alliance... for what purpose do you think?"

Iris and Trudy exchanged a look, and they both nodded in agreement.

"We think that they are after power," Trudy said. "From my brother's estate; and from my company."

James looked at Trudy in shock. "In this day and age! They really think that they could pull that old superior male bullshit!"

Trudy laughed bitterly. "You are a fool, James if you suppose that our kind have changed at all, in these past thousand years; they are after all driven by animal instinct and that will always bow down to physical strength first."

James sat back with a sigh as he thought about his kind, of how – brutish, they were most of the time, even his father at times – especially at the time of the full moon, and he himself if he was honest enough with himself; he realised that he liked how he towered over Iris, how protective that made him feel... how strong and in control; and he knew that there were times when he could be downright domineering, but not ever did he feel superior to another, be them male or female, be them human or shifter.

"I think that the sooner we make our union public, the better for us all," he said softly.

He saw Trudy heave a little sigh of relief, but she still regarded him in a guarded almost suspicious way.

"I don't want you to do it – just to protect me," Iris mumbled.

James turned to look into her eyes, and he smiled gently. "I heard you tell your aunt that you loved me, and I am as much in love with you, as you are with me, we are bonded you and I. You have opened up my world, and freed my spirit..."

He frowned suddenly, and his eyes darkened to black. It was as if he grew, before her very eyes; his shoulders seemed to expand, and the room was suddenly too small to contain them all... to contain him, as he radiated power, and energy and barely suppressed aggression, and Iris felt herself cowering beneath this raw power.

"And if Bill Frawnings and his clan think that they can come along and threaten my most beloved, then war it shall be!"

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Chapter Twenty Two

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Laurie looked bone tired when she came out of their father's room.

Aunt Trudy had gone in to take over from her, and whilst the nurse was hooking her up, and disconnecting Laurie, Iris took the opportunity to take a quick look at her father.

"He seems to have more colour now," she said hopefully to the nurse.

The nurse smiled at her, and nodded. "His breathing is much better too, and his heart and pulse rate."

"So you think it might be working?" Laurie whispered.

"Well it is still very early in his treatment, but all of my recordings of his stats, have seen a steady increase." She smiled at the three women. "You are all being very strong for him, and I believe that it will pay dividends in the end."

Iris helped Laurie down to the canteen, where she gently pushed her into a chair, before going to fetch her some hot food and a drink.

"They are still on breakfasts at the moment," she told her sister as she pushed a steaming mug in front of her. "They are just cooking some fresh bacon, and it will be with you in a bit. Drink your tea while you are waiting."

Laurie smiled tiredly and obediently picked up the mug to sip at the hot sweet drink.

"Urg!" she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Too much sugar!"

"I know, but you need the energy, and quickly," Iris soothed and encouraged.

As she sat watching her sister eating and drinking, she wondered idly where James had gone. She was still quite shaken by that glimpse of him earlier, that peek into another side of him that she had never even guessed at before.

Not for the first time, Iris began to wonder how ignorant she and her sister were about their own people.

James had sat with her and Trudy for a while, but he seemed preoccupied, and as the sun began to shine through the windows he stood up and turned to Iris.

"I have a couple of things I need to see too," he told her apologetically. "I should only be gone for a couple of hours... but I will be back."

She smiled as she stood up too. "I'll walk with you to the exit."

The nurse came bundling in then. "Your sister is done for," she said briskly. "She needs some good cooked food, and a cup of hot, sweet tea."

"Is she all right?" Iris demanded in alarm.

The nurse smiled. "Yes, she has been a real soldier going on for longer than she should have really, she just needs to replenish what's she's given, whilst someone else takes over."

"That would be me," Trudy said calmly. "Iris, you take care of Laurie."

James bent to kiss her cheek. "I will come and find you when I get back," he promised huskily and then he was gone.

The nurse spared his parting figure a quick appreciative glance. "He's a strong one, will be a powerful pack leader – if he isn't one already," she murmured softly, almost to herself. "He must be one from the original lineage."

Iris opened her mouth to ask what she meant, but Trudy gave her hand a quick squeeze. "We will talk later – you and I – but do not betray your ignorance of our kind, especially not to strangers." she warned in a soft voice.

It was a conversation that in the end they never had.

The morning drifted on with the three women taking it in turns to sit by her father's bed, and give him some of their blood.

It was as the nurse had promised though, and it began to pay real dividends, as her father's breathing became less laboured, and the drawn deathly pallor began to ease, and just before dinner time, Iris's father suddenly opened his eyes and looked at his pale daughter.

"Iris?" he mumbled in a dry rasping voice.

"Dad!" she shot to her feet and pressed the button that she knew would bring the nurse. "Oh dad, we have been so worried about you!"

"What happened?" he demanded in confusion.

"Ah, so you are awake, Mr Beaumont," the nurse came bustling in and immediately pick up his hand and put her fingers to his wrist to check his pulse.

"Where am I?" he demanded in a dry irritable voice.

The nurse smiled down at him, and then picked up a beaker that was beside his bed. "Here, drink some of this water... it will help, I promise."

She put the straw to his lips, and although he scowled he obediently sucked up some of the cold refreshing liquid.

Whilst he was drinking, Iris was aware of the nurse studying her father and gauging his reactions and responses.

After he had sat drinking for a while, he put his head back tiredly.

"Now, tell me," he ordered weakly and the colour that he had briefly had, was slowly fading to leave a grey complexion behind.

The nurse looked across at Iris, who simply shrugged.

"You have been very ill, Mr Beaumont," the nurse told him calmly. "A virus that was poisoning your system... you would have died had your cleaning lady not found you when she did."

"But you have managed to cure it?" he asked through half closed eyes, and Iris was aware that he was almost unconscious again.

"Yes, Mr Beaumont, you shall be quite well again now... and probably sooner than you should."

He gave a little grunt and then his breathing deepened, indicating that he was asleep again.

The nurse looked at Iris's pale worried face, and then smiled in reassurance. "He will be okay, his system is almost totally purged now, and all we need is a little more from each of you, to just strengthen his red cell count."

"I don't mind staying for that," Iris said stubbornly. "Poor Laurie is frail at the best of times, and Aunt Trudy..."

"Your sister is stronger than you give her credit for, and out of the two of you she is the one who is bouncing back faster."

That was true, as pale and drained as she had looked earlier, all it took was a cooked meal and a hot sweet tea, and she was back to her old self, even though she was still fretful of their father's health.

"She has had a good long rest, and is ready – more than ready to take over from you again."

"But a little longer could only be good for her."

"It honestly would not make any difference since she is back to full strength... but you, Iris; you are putting your health, and possibly your life at risk by prolonging this."

"But..."

"Do as the nurse suggests, daughter of mine," her father suddenly said from the bed.

He had not opened his eyes, he didn't even open them whilst he was talking, but even in his weakened state, his authority was absolute... well almost absolute.

"Yes, dad," she sighed in supplication.

"Good," the nurse said with a nod. "Right, I shall just go and fetch your sister and then we can swap you over."

"I love you, daughter," her father murmured gruffly, and Iris reached out to stroke his hand.

"I love you too, daddy," she whispered tearfully.

*

The day drifted on its course and there was no sign of James.

Iris and her aunt were sitting back in the waiting area, and neither of them seemed to want to talk much.

It had been a draining day – with the hanging around, or being hooked up to give blood, and Iris rubbed absently at the vein in her arm, where the drip had been fixed.

"Don't mess with it, child," Trudy advised, and Iris grinned across at her.

"You remind me of when I was younger; you were always saying things like that to me!"

Trudy chuckled. "And you almost never listened."

"No, much to my regret afterwards... But you were always there to pick up the pieces, Trudy; and I don't think that I ever said thank you to you."

Trudy reached out to pat her hand. "No, I don't think that you did either, but it wasn't necessary anyway, because that is what family does for each other – being strong when another is feeling weak."

"Do you ever feel weak?" Iris asked curiously, as she thought of the steely woman and all that she had accomplished in her life. Iris could never imagine Aunt Trudy ever being vulnerable.

"More times than I can remember, Iris," she sighed now.

"So who was strong for you when you were feeling weak?"

"Who else... your father of course."

"Of course!" Iris said a little tearfully. She wasn't sure why, whether it was the stress and worry for her father, or whether it was her weakened state from the blood that she had been giving, but Iris was aware that she feeling very emotional today, more emotional than she could ever remember feeling in her life before.

Aunt Trudy sat back again with a sigh. "He will be okay... thank god."

Iris knew that her aunt loved her father almost as much as she and Laurie did, but their affection at the moment was being overshadowed by the fear of what could happen without his protection.

She thought about Bill Frawnings and his veiled threats, and almost as though her thinking had summoned him, he suddenly came striding into the waiting room accompanied by one of his sons.

"Ah there you are, Iris," he said in a forced jovial voice, as he completely ignored Trudy. "I brought my lad, Mark with me; I remembered that the two of you got on quite well as youngsters, so thought..."

"Thought what?" Trudy asked as she stood up and moved in front of her niece in a protective manner.

Bill scowled at her. "This is between Iris and me!" he snapped aggressively.

"No, not if you are talking pack business – that would have to involve Iris's father as well, and since he is not able to be here right now, then I will act in my brother's stead, as guardian of the family."

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at the two men, and Iris saw her aunt tapping her foot impatiently.