Broken and Bonded Ch. 07-08

Chapter Seven

The next morning Jonathon 'borrowed' Greg's daughters and their partners for a little drive.

Jonathon sat in the back of the car in between Laurie and Iris, and James drove the vehicle with Michael in the passenger seat.

"If you can just pull in at the verge there!" Jonathon suddenly said, and James obligingly did.

"Now then father... what's all this about?" Michael asked as he helped Laurie, then Jonathon out of the car.

James held Iris's hand as they joined them to stand on the edge of the grass.

"Thank you all for indulging me, but I just wanted you all to get a viewing of our next project."

"Our next project?"

"Yes. You all recognise the Frawning's estate -- of course."

"Yes."

Jonathon looked at James. "This whole place is to be demolished and redesigned and rebuilt, and I want you to be the architect for the project, James."

"Okay?"

"I want the four of you to collaborate on this. It needs to be a main house, as before but I want a row of four... no six homes separate from that.... perhaps over there?" He pointed to a strip of land that looked hard and barren.

"This is all very well, father but what does Bill Frawnings say about it all and who will be funding this project of yours?"

He looked at the four of them seriously. "You have all been inside that house, and you know the state that they are all living with, over there. They are descending into something, and their humanity is slowly being eroded in the process. If we do not step in and make some big changes for them, then I fear that they are doomed."

He lowered his voice, and they all stepped a little closer. "This is not the first time that this has happened with our kind; and along with it comes a loss of the females. We do not know if the females leave due to their behaviour, or if they harm the women as they descend into this way. Or even if it is just that the absence of females, somehow instigates this decline. I fear we know far too little, and the problem is on the increase. Now we need to civilise this lot, and then hopefully they can generate a family pack."

"Is it that serious?" Michael asked.

"I think that it is."

"I can well believe what you say, Mr Richards." James murmured thoughtfully. "But it will take a lot more than a 'nice house', to rehumanise that lot."

"Yes, I am working on that too. But before I go haring off on the second part of my plan -- I need to know that you are all on board and appreciate what is at stake here and what is required." he looked at James. "Can you design a homestead and homes for potential families on that land over there?"

James flicked a hand negligently. "In my sleep," he said confidently.

"Good, and your wife can help you with that -- as she always does, I am certain. Laurie can decorate and furnish these homes once they are complete, and Michael will sort out the finances, although I -- or rather the council, will be liable for the final costs."

"I should like to be a fly on the wall when you tell the council that!" Michael grinned.

"That will be another problem for a different day," Jonathon sighed, but his lips twitched tellingly.

"So, do I have your commitment to this project?" he asked his little group.

They all gave a slightly begrudging nod, and Jonathon smiled happily. "Good, I shall have a plan of the area drawn up just as soon as I get Frawnings and his pack's agreement, and send it down to you in London, James.... you can all confer at your convenience, and I am certain that Greg will be more than happy to put you up if you feel the need to be on site at all."

He looked at them all with a quizzical brow. "Any questions before we go back?" they all glanced at each other and then shook their heads.

"No? Good shall we get on then?"

**

Matt had gone off running again. He seemed to leave earlier and earlier in the morning, only to return later and later in the afternoon.

The day drifted on its way, and James, Iris and Laurie and Michael, left just after lunch.

After their departure the house seemed quieter, almost empty despite the increased household staff.

Greg joined Jonathon outside on the veranda, where they enjoyed a nice hot cup of coffee.

"The doctors, tell me that they are developing a theory, and that they wish to have a meeting with the both of us; Dr Philips, has to go away for a few days, and Dr Grey is chasing up something as well, so they asked if we could make ourselves available to them early next week... say on the Tuesday afternoon?"

Greg nodded. "I can definitely say I will be free and available."

Jonathon chuckled. "It was rather a formal appointment, but I suppose since they are doctors, then that is the way that they are used to working."

"I suppose so. Will you be gone all day tomorrow -- do you think?"

"Yes, the journey to Seline's is not a short one, and once there I expect to have a hard time convincing her to assist me."

It was Greg's turn to laugh. "Yes, I remember very well, how stubborn she could be; and I suspect that time and age had not softened her much."

"Of course, you knew her back then too -- didn't you." Jonathon said in surprise.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, Seline and I go back further that you and her; we knew each other as children. Whilst I was away with you, that time; Seline came to stay with Belle, until Matt could come down. Seline and Trudy have always been great friends too -- as I recall."

"Really? I never realised... Seline never mentioned either of you?"

"Out of sight out of mind?" Greg suggested. "I am pretty sure that she did not mention every friendship she held?"

"Probably - you are right about that." Jonathon sighed. "Any way, we shall leave early in the morning, and not be back before supper time I would think."

"Shall I have the kitchen keep something warm for you both -- or will you eat whilst you are out?"

"Oh, I think a light supper, would be very much appreciated, by both of us by the time we get back."

**

Matt drove the vehicle with a casual ease that told how often he was in a car -- heading off on some council business or other.

"It will be good to see Seline again -- it has been far too long." Jonathon murmured suddenly.

"For you perhaps, but not so much for me -- I think."

"You don't like her?" Jonathon asked in surprise.

Matt cast him a quick glance. "I respect her to the end of the earth and back... I admire her strength and tenacity; but she is a difficult woman to warm to."

"I have only ever thought of her as warm and caring -- look how she takes care of her girls."

"Her girls are her cause; they are everything to her... and you my brother I think she has always had a soft spot for you." Matt gave a low chuckle.

"Perhaps."

Matt gave him another quick all-seeing glance.

"You are thinking of pursuing something with her?"

"Would it make any difference to anyone else, if I did... would it be anyone else's business if I did?" he sounded defensive, and Matt heard it too.

"She will never pack up and uproot, to come to you; and you have commitments elsewhere."

"Bah! We could arrange and condense audiences and petitions into a couple of days in a month, and I could travel down to the estate, and deal with them. All other work can be done anywhere pretty much -- it would just be a case of organising it."

"And the council?"

"We meet once or twice a year, and again I could travel for them."

"You've put some thought into this then?"

"For some time now." Jonathon nodded.

"And you think that Seline feels the same way?"

Jonathon shrugged. "She has always been a little flirtatious with me, always - 'Darling, you owe me a dinner'... or 'dearest, it's been too long since your last visit'."

"She has certainly never spoken to me like that." Matt agreed with a grin.

"You said yourself that you thought she had a soft spot for me, but whether it is just banter and a little harmless fun -- or something more promising... well I plan to find out."

"How long are we staying for again?" Matt asked with a grimace.

Jonathon laughed. "Just for the day," he promised. "But I am famous for my perceptiveness -- ask anyone!"

**

Seline stood waiting for them as Matt stopped the car in front of the main house.

She had not changed at all. She was still the tall willowy creature that Jonathon remembered. Her dark serious brown eyes that lit up when she smiled, and her jet-black hair which hung straight and thick down her back, and that contrasted so sharply with her pale flawless complexion. She was still the beautiful woman of his memory, and he smiled appreciatively as he climbed out of the car.

"Matt! Jon, it's good to see you both!" She smiled at Matt and then beamed across at Jonathon, and her brown eyes softened on him as well.

"Well, that answers that question," Matt murmured under his breath as he closed the car door and followed the other two inside the house.

Seline had her arm draped through Jonathon's and she was talking animatedly to him as she guided the way.

"Sandra and Clara will bring us in some tea presently... but tell me why I am so honoured to have the head council member and his brother -- both under my roof?"

The room was a large airy room with a long sofa where Seline lounged gracefully, and a couple of armchairs which the two men folded themselves into.

"It's nothing ominous Seline, I promise you." Jonathon reassured her quickly, as he sat across from her.

"Well, that is very good to hear, Jon, but then I never thought of you in the role of villain."

She smiled into his eyes, and Matt sat back with a sigh. If his brother could not see how she felt about him then that world fame perception thing was as empty as a demon's soul.

Jonathon held onto her gaze and smiled warmly in return, and after a few moments the colour warmed her complexion and she looked away almost shyly.

She was rescued by the entrance of two young women carrying trays of coffee, and cups and plates and things.

"Ah Sandra -- Clara, put those down on the table, thank you."

They smiled in unison as they obliged and then as they were about to leave, Jonathon who had been eyeing them up, spoke.

"Will you introduce us to your young ladies, Seline?"

Seline looked at him in surprise, and the colour flared in her cheeks as she frowned.

"Of course, please forgive my manners. "Clara, Sandra I should like to introduce you to a very honoured guest, Jonathon Richards chief elder of the council -- and of course you met his brother, Matt before, when he visited.

They glanced at Seline uncertainly and then at each other before both turning to Jonathon and bobbing down in unison.

"Oh no such formalities, my dears," Jon protested. "I have never held to such old-fashioned, out-dated forms of subjugation."

"Jon, these two young ladies are two of my wards -- under my protection," she added warningly, "Clara Fielding and Sandra Carson."

"Hmm the eastern Fielding clan, now demised and ended -- I am so sorry for your loss my dear, and the Carson clan moved away I believe -- but not through choice and not all of them it seems," he smiled at the two young women charmingly. "Please ladies, no formalities here, this is your home turf."

They gave him a stiff little smile and would have departed -- or rather fled, had Jonathon not turned to Seline.

"Please have your ladies join us for the refreshments, I have a proposal that may well affect them, so would hear their thoughts on it all."

"Oh?" Seline smiled at the two girls in reassurance, and they went and sat beside her on the sofa.

The three of them then fixed their gaze on Jonathon and waited for him to speak.

"We have come across a pack which is without any females and has been without females for decades. The consequences of this, is that they have begun to grow more and more insular, and more animalistic in nature, they are descending into something that if we can, we must avoid."

Seline looked at him with suspicion. "That is unfortunate to say the least, but what has it to do with us?"

Jonathon's smile was slightly pleading. "You have to realise, Seline that packs without any females are doomed to die out. And that your home for orphaned and abandoned girls is potentially a match made in heaven."

Seline sat forwards and her eyes flashed. "Never!" she hissed vehemently. "First the council, and now you, coming here after my girls... none of you ever, never will you get them!"

Jonathon stood up and towered over the three women, and his shoulders opened up.

"The council?" He demanded in a dangerously quiet voice, "who from the council? When did the council approach you?"

*******

Chapter Eight

Seline held her stance in defiance of Jonathan's strength. At least she glared up at him for a full minute, before sitting back and smiling at the terrified girls quickly in reassurance.

She turned back to him. "Oh, do sit down Jon, there is no threat here, and there is no one here to be bowed down by your overbearing attitude!"

Matt laughed out loud, and the charged atmosphere dissolved as quickly as it had materialised. Jonathon scowled at his brother irritably, even as he relaxed and sat down wearily, as the brief surge of strength inside him fled.

"I am sorry Seline... ladies, it... you just took me by surprise."

"Forgiven... for your attempt at bullying -- but you are still on dangerous ground for whatever else you have up your sleeve."

Jonathon winced, but then smiled ruefully.

"Ok perhaps I started things off badly. I do not mean to be taking your girls and forcing them into any packs or marriages or anything else like that."

"That is good because you would not get very far with anything even remotely like that!"

"Understood," he nodded.

"So, what are you thinking?"

"Well, I kind of thought... I was wondering if..." he sighed and then ran his fingers through his hair and all the while his brother looked on in open amusement. "Ok this is what I thought... would you accept some of these young men on your property? You can work them hard on those hundred and one jobs that need a strong hand to do them, and then I want you to clean them up and teach them some basic manners, and then I want your young ladies to teach them some social manners."

"Your hot-headed, testosterone fuelled adolescent -- dogs?" She demanded incredulously. "You think they would listen to me -- or any of the girls? You know as well as I do that when they get that deep into it then the last thing that they will listen to is a 'weak female'."

Jonathon sighed, "I plan to take over as pack leader to these young whelps, and I promise you that for the beginning at least, either myself or Matt will be here to keep them in line, one of us will stay here until you are confident that they can be left in your care."

Seline sat back with her own sigh. "I am far too busy for this!"

The girls glanced at each other and then Clara sat forward. "We could help... we would be willing to help."

"Will you help me too Seline?" Jonathon asked as he latched on to this unexpected ally.

"I don't want people to think that my home is some sort of a 'tame your men or seek a mate', place. My girls are important to me, and I must protect them first and foremost."

"I will ensure that your home is kept exactly as you would have it... will you help me, Seline?"

"The council -- they have sent formal letters to me, demanding that I place my girls on some sort of eligibility register. They say that I must start to prepare the girls for bonding and a life in a strange pack."

"The old fools!" Jonathon snapped vehemently, and some of the frostiness from Seline began to thaw as she saw his disagreement with the council's demands. She smiled a little at him for the first time in what seemed like ages. "I will talk to the council; I will intercede on your behalf -- I will place your home and you and all your girls under my personal protection if necessary... but will you help me now?"

Seline turned to the two young women.

"You would be okay with these men coming here?" she asked them.

They both blushed a little and then Clara looked Seline in the eyes. "Yes, we should like to help them."

"And if any of the girls and the men strike up a friendship, will you Seline, give them a chance to explore that and see if it can grow into something more?"

"Damn it, Jon, this is not 'find a bride farm'!" Seline insisted hotly, but it was Clara again who touched her arm and smiled gently.

"You gave me a shelter when I needed one, you gave me a home and love and people to care for. I love this place -- I love everyone in this place... but I want more, Seline... I want the chance of a mate and family of my own -- and if I am lucky enough to find it at some time, then it will be all because of you -- and I will never forget that -- I will never truly leave here, even if I go somewhere else -- but I cannot stay here for ever."

Jonathon smiled warmly at Clara. "Know that any match you make with any of these young men -- you will have my full blessing, protection and support... but if you do find that you prefer one over the others, then do not let the man in question know what your end goal is. Make him work to get you -- make him win you."

She nodded and smiled a little smile. "Thank you for that advice, I shall do exactly as you suggest, and I will make sure that all of my sisters do the same thing. These boys -- young pups will come here, and we will work them hard to start with -- get some of that aggressive energy out of their systems and then hopefully we can begin to dig down into their souls and find the young men hidden beneath."

Jonathon smiled warmly at her and nodded in approval at her apparent understanding of what was needed. Then he turned to Seline again. "So, Seline... will you help?"

"Oh well... it looks like I have been outvoted anyhow!" she snapped irritably.

"Will you help?"

She looked at the intentness of his eyes and then she sighed again. "Yes, I will help you -- Jon!"

He stood up and drew her to her feet and simply held her hands as he looked deep into her eyes. "Thank you, my dearest."

The girls shuffled awkwardly on the sofa and even Matt began to feel a little like an intruder, as the two of them stood there gazing into each other's eyes.

Finally, Matt decided that he'd had enough and discretely nodded to the girls, and the three of them drifted silently out of the room.

Matt decided to go outside for some fresh air and to stretch his legs before starting the drive back. He was confident that as soon as Jonathon and Seline had concluded their discussion, then his brother would wish to start back.

Whistling softly to himself, he strolled across the grass towards the lodge that he had stayed in last time, he was here.

There were several of them all lined up in a neat row, and he thought that they would be more than adequate for the Frawnings boys. Each unit had a small living room with a kitchenette, and up the narrow stairways was a bedroom with an en-suite bathroom.

The girl's rooms were all in the main house, and he was confident that Seline would make sure that the males and any of the older girls would not meet unless it was in the light of day -- with others present.

He did not relish the idea of spending more time in one of those lodges nor being worked to death on Seline's property, but like his brother -- he could see the need for this involvement.

He walked beyond the lodges to the hard-baked ground behind and started making plans in his mind.

Beyond the ground was the beginning of a forest, and he studied it long and hard. This would be a place for the full moon, for the girls to release their inner egos, and learn what it meant to be a shifter.

If the Frawnings men were to spend any real time here then they would need to rethink that and provide a place for the men to shift and roam, whilst keeping the girls safe.