Broken and Bonded Ch. 17-18

Chapter Seventeen

Trudy could not stop the shiver that ran down her spine.

She had only ever seen Matt as his alter ego once in her life, and to this day she still remembered every tooth and claw, every inch of black fur and the sheer size of him!

Marcie was still standing in the doorway -- waiting to protect the house's inhabitants, should the need arise.

"You chased them off then," she nodded approvingly.

"For now, but not for long I'm afraid." Matt sighed regretfully.

Seline was waiting inside with the girls all gathered around her fearfully.

"You are all safe tonight," Matt reassured them with a tight smile. "You should all get some sleep."

Seline smiled at the girls and then Marcie encouraged them all to go up to their rooms -- leading them along with bright confidant chatter. Once they had all gone, Seline led Matt and Trudy through to her study, closing the door firmly behind them, and indicating they sit down on the small sofas at the far end of her study.

"Tell me," She demanded firmly. "I know that they did not just give up and leave for good -- so what is their plan of action next, do you think?"

"They will return with the full moon, and not as men."

"No," she sighed. "I guessed that it would come to this eventually."

"They do not mean to just come for the one girl though -- they mean to take them all."

"What?" Seline's eyes blazed with a cold fury. "By what right?"

"They claimed the right of the pack, but their plan has evolved further than that -- it would seem." Matt leaned forward suddenly and touched Seline's hand. "I shall stay here in the main house until this is resolved, so if you could make a room available for me, I would appreciate that."

Seline nodded. "We have spare rooms enough; we can sort one out for you."

"Thank you," he hesitated for a moment and both women could clearly see how troubled he was. "They will come back with the moon and in their alternative forms, and when they do, I want you and the girls to stay inside. I want you to stay at the back of the house and away -- well away from any of the windows... I will take care of this once and for all, but I will do it alone." He turned to Trudy pointedly. "And that means you stay inside too."

"Not a chance."

Matt's lips tightened ominously, and Trudy's eyes hardened to blue agates, even as she folded her arms defiantly.

Seline looked between the two of them then rose and sailed across to the door.

"Myself, Marcie, and the girls will stay locked up tight inside the house." she promised as she opened the door. "Trudy however will speak for herself."

She left them sitting in silence for a moment, until Matt stood up and turned on her.

"I need your promise to stay inside on that night as well."

She looked up into his turbulent eyes and then stood as well -- which did absolutely nothing for her due to the difference in their heights.

"I will not."

"You will." he meant to sound stern and dominant but even to his own ears it was more pleading and anguished.

She blinked her vibrant blue eyes, but her lips were in a firm line.

"No, I will be with you until the end now, we will face them together and either chase them off or be beaten down... either way we will do it together."

"I can't protect you and dominate them as well -- it will divert and diminish my aims."

"I don't need your protection!" she snapped in offence.

"I can't have eyes everywhere -- I will need to be focused and sure!"

She smiled suddenly and reached up to stroke his jawline. "And whilst you are doing that -- I will watch your back, and make sure no one tries to side-line you."

"Please," his voice dropped to a husky plea, and Trudy remembered that tone and that plea from other -- happier times.

He swallowed as her eyes darkened with a passion he did not understand, her emotions were like quicksilver as changeable as the weather it seemed. He knew though that if he was to take her in his arms at that moment then she would go willingly -- enthusiastically -- and oh how he longed to do that suddenly.

But he had another issue right now and that doused out his sudden surprising arousal.

"I need you to stay inside." he asked one last time, and as she shook her head and her own eyes cleared, she opened her mouth to refuse.

"I can't bear for you to see me when it happens!" he confessed brokenly. "I will become a monster and I don't want you to see me like that!"

Her lips parted slightly, and her eyes widened in surprise and then she smiled gently and understandingly, and he thought she would finally agree.

She reached up again to stroke his face. "What you will become with the moon, is something amazing -- I would not miss it for anything -- or anyone... I have seen you before in all your glory and I will not be frightened or disgusted -- I will be in awe -- as I was once before!"

His jaw dropped open, and his eyes dilated.

"When? How?"

A thousand and one emotions flittered across her face until it settled to only one. A deep resolution filled with sadness.

"You must remember for yourself for it to have any meaning... otherwise they are just words -- empty words."

Seline's words drifted through his mind; they were so much the same that he knew they must have talked about it together -- about him together. He could clearly see the two of them talking together about him and a wavery hazy image flew behind his eyes, a bright golden day with the sun beating down on the golden hair and the jet-black hair, as they sat on the grass talking quietly and giggling together. The two young women looked across suddenly with bright teasing, assessing eyes and all those years later, Matt felt the same squirming embarrassment that he had felt back then.

He grinned suddenly and a hint of mischief twinkled in his eyes making him look younger, as he tapped into long lost emotions.

"Well, this will not happen for a few nights yet," his voice dropped to a seductive whisper. "So, we could make use of some of that time with getting... better acquainted?"

He stepped closer and his hand lifted as if to touch her.

Trudy knew that look all too well, had longed for it for so long, but not like this, not now, not here!

"No! Oh no you don't!" she spun suddenly and fled from the room.

Matt started to go after her but then reigned himself in and rubbed at the back of his head.

What the hell had just happened? He wondered in bemusement, as the emotions and feelings and memories slid back into his subconscious safely locked away again.

It was as though someone else had stepped into his awareness -- someone who knew Trudy well and felt he had the right -- to touch her, to hold her, and to kiss her? And even though he knew that that someone else was himself, it still felt like a stranger, someone apart from him.

Trudy flew up to her room without meeting anyone else -- thankfully.

She closed her bedroom door and for the first time ever, in this house -- she slid the bolt across the top and turned the key in the lock for good measure.

Once she was sure that no one would come thumping on her door, she turned to pace her room restlessly.

All in all, she had very little sleep that night, as a sense of anticipation began to grow in her gut.

*

The breakfast table the next morning was a more subdued affair, as the girls all seemed to lose their cheerful sparkle, and the air was heavy with apprehension and outright fear.

Matt sat silently across from Trudy eating the excellent breakfast with thorough carelessness -- it seemed.

Finally, as the silence stretched for too long, he suddenly looked up and after meeting her eyes for a second, he looked around the table.

"I don't want any of you to be afraid," he said quietly. "But I do want you all to stay inside until after the full moon, now."

"But...."

"No. Just because they said they would wait until the moon was full -- that does not mean they won't try something before -- if they catch anyone outside on their own -- I feel sure they will be watching the house for the next few days."

Seline nodded solemnly. "I think the risk is just not worth it, but we will need supplies; tomorrow is routinely our shopping day."

"Who usually goes?"

"Myself, and one of the girls -- or Marcie if I can't make it."

Matt gave a crooked little smile. "I don't think anyone will want to mess with Marcie... so what about if she and Trudy go today -- go this morning?"

"We can do that." Trudy nodded in agreement.

"But I am more than capable too." Seline protested.

"Yes, but I think that you are a prime target for these guys. You have been the one dealing with them so far, so they know that you are in charge here, if they get you outside where you are vulnerable, then half their battle is done."

"Very well," Seline nodded in resignation.

The girls began to leave the table taking away the plates and leaving the three adults to finish their discussion.

Once they were alone Matt sat back and sighed. "I would go myself, but I need to stay here until this is over now... Marcie has proven that she can handle herself -- with a hockey stick or a bat or her bare hands if needed, I should think." he laughed a little whimsically and then looked across at Trudy, and his expression became hard and serious again. "At the first hint of trouble I want you to shift, since you are the only other one who can do so without the full moon's influence, then it will give you an edge with them."

She nodded. "I know in human form that I am no match of any of those men; but I have that advantage and I won't hesitate to use it."

Decision made, Trudy and Marcie prepared themselves for the trip into town, while Seline drew up a list -- or two.

"Enough for perhaps a fortnight -- by then the moon will be well on the wane," Matt advised. "I don't want anyone going out needlessly until my brother arrives now, however this thing plays out."

He left the women to organise themselves and walked into Seline's study and closed the door behind him.

"Jon? It's me..." he sat at Seline's desk talking to his brother on his mobile, laying out the situation and what his plans were.

Their drive to the nearest town and shopping centre, was achieved nervously but without incident.

Trudy drove the battered old van and as competent and confident as she was, she was painfully aware of the vehicle that followed them.

"They won't try anything now that we are in town, they wouldn't dare risk attracting attention." Marcie said with a hint of regret as the shopping centre came into view.

"No, and if they don't realise what we are doing, we might get back without them interfering with us as well," Trudy agreed as she slowed down then parked the car near the main entrance.

"You think they won't guess when we come out with several loads of bags and boxes?"

"We are a big house with a lot of people inside, this could just be our normal shopping," Trudy shrugged. "I doubt these -- Neanderthals would know the difference between a light lunch shopping and a battening down the hatches and stocking up for a siege supply."

"No, you are probably right about that," Marcie sounded as doubtful as Trudy felt as she eyed up the car in her rear-view mirror.

They had parked dead opposite to her, and the two young men climbed out of the vehicle and leaned against it nonchalantly.

The two women looked at each other for a moment and then Trudy sighed. "Well, this shopping isn't going to do itself so let's deal with each problem if and when we come to it."

They walked casually over to the trolley bays and each of them pulled out one of the large low loader ones so that they could maximise their shopping.

The men waited for them to enter the store and then followed at a cautious distance.

"Oh, bugger this," Trudy snapped suddenly as she turned around to wait for them.

They entered and saw her immediately and their faces were priceless as they looked at her then each other and then over their shoulders.

"Look you two, if you are coming along for the ride, why don't you make yourselves useful and grab a couple more trolleys. We surely do have a lot to buy today and if we can do it in one swoop then so much the better."

They were so programmed to obey a firm command when given that it never even occurred to them to argue with Trudy, and so a couple of hours later the four of them trudged out with four loaded trolleys.

As Trudy and Marcie transferred the contents of each into the back of the truck one of the young men obediently took the trolley back.

They looked so pleased with themselves when Trudy smiled up at them approvingly. "That was very kind of you both, your help today was so very much appreciated."

They stood smirking as she climbed behind the steering wheel and even waved as Trudy and Marcie drove away.

"Young pups," Marcie finally grunted after several minutes of silence and Trudy chuckled in agreement.

"Yes, but you can't fault their eagerness to please."

Their vehicle appeared in her rear-view mirror, but Trudy just grinned across at Marcie who shrugged back.

They knew that the two young men would not interfere with them now and so it was a much more relaxed journey back.

"Any trouble?" Matt asked Trudy as Marcie and a couple of the older girls began carrying the supplies into the house.

"Oh, we were followed to the supermarket, and they escorted us around, but in the end, they were more useful than trouble," she smirked up at him and her blue eyes sparkled with humour.

Matt shook his head and his hand crept up to the back and the buried scar, it seemed now that all he had to do was look into her eyes and his mind was swept away to a deep and dark past.

Trudy reached up and grasped his hand to gently pull it back down. "Don't fight it," she whispered huskily.

He allowed her to keep hold of his hand as he stared deep into her vibrant blue eyes. The sun lit up the brightness of her long blond hair and for a moment he could clearly see the girl she had been, as she returned his gaze smoulder for smoulder.

"Matt?" Seline intruded on the moment looking apologetic and agitated. "Jonathon is on the phone, needing to talk to you."

**

When he came out of Seline's study, his face was set into hard angles.

"What?" Trudy demanded standing up from the chair she had been perching on as she had watched the closed door and waited for Matt to come out again.

He took her arm and began to walk her towards the back of the house.

"We'll go out the back way... I doubt any of those cretin's would have thought of watching the woods out there."

"What?" She demanded again as she tried to pull to a halt.

Seline met up with them in the kitchen, as Matt continued to guide Trudy along.

"We are going out into the woods for a stroll, whilst the sun is still high in the sky. Make sure no one comes out that way... Have Marcie and some of the older girls sit out on the front veranda, give those watching something to -- watch." He ordered tersely, without even bothering to stop.

He pulled Trudy out the back door and down the slope to the woods beyond.

Trudy had been struggling all the way but now she dug her feet in and pulled back as hard as she could with a snapped, "MATT!"

She was no match for him and his strength, but he did finally stop, and looked down at her with dark brooding eyes.

"Jon... my brother will not get here until at least after the full moon... he thinks that my plan is sound, but has concerns that I have not made the shift in years..." He dug his hands deep into his pockets and looked down at the ground for a moment.

Then he looked into her eyes. "You, said that you had seen me before... that you were not horrified by what you saw..."

Trudy felt a rush of pure emotion at the misery and uncertainty she saw in his face, but her racing heart was more about excitement about what she thought he was going to say next.

"You were -- are wonderful to my eyes... awesome to any other eyes -- but you were not -- are not, and never could be horrifying."

He stared hard into her face trying to find anything that might show her hidden fear of him, but all he saw was tenderness, sincerity and love.

How could he not of seen that love that radiated from her, that love that was for him and only for him?

He stroked down the surge of his own emotions and stepped back determinedly.

"Then will you watch out for me now -- whilst I make the shift, will you keep me grounded to my humanity and make sure I don't totally lose myself to my alter ego?"

She smiled up at him. "I will watch over you now and always."

*****

Chapter Eighteen

Several hours later and the sun was beginning to drop, as the two of them silently made their way back to the house.

"How did it feel?" she finally asked as her voice throbbed with suppressed emotions, the image of him burned forever in her mind -- the image of Matt in all his glory.

Matt sighed and shook his head in the fading light. "I'd forgotten the pull of the power, that feeling of strength and energy."

"Have you never felt the call of the moon -- in all these years did you never once feel the temptation?" Trudy asked curiously.

"It's one of the reasons that I run so much -- it takes the edge off my energies and dims the influence of the moon."

"But still..."

"What?" he asked as he drew to a halt. "What did you see; what did I do?"

She reached up and touched his cheek. "I saw what I always see with you. The man the morals the strength... but tonight I saw you free -- free in a way that I only ever saw once before."

He caught her hand on his cheek and kissed her palm, breathing in the scent and warmth of her, trying to drag back those long-forgotten memories -- trying to remember the raw anguish his wolf had felt when first released after all these years.

"I so wish that we could be, what we were then!" he muttered hoarsely.

"As do I!" Trudy whispered tearfully.

**

They parted ways in the hallway, Matt went up to the room that Seline had had prepared for him, and Trudy to see Seline in her study.

His room was one of the few that had its own bathroom, and Matt made good use of the shower as he allowed the hot running water to wash away the grime, and to ease his tight aching muscles.

He had not brought many clothes with him, just the weekender bag that he kept packed in his boot, for just this sort of unexpected occurrence.

He did not have much with him but the clothes that he had were of good quality, and the muted formal colours suited his usual personality and the image that he was forced to portray.

At the bottom of his bag though was a pair of faded, worn jeans, and a cream-coloured cotton shirt.

In a rare fit of impatience with his lot in life, he pulled the casual clothes out and quickly dressed.

*

Trudy was just coming out of Seline's study as Matt strode down the stairs and she stopped and simply gaped.

The cream shirt really set off his dark masculinity, but the casual denim gave him an all-new kind of raw sex appeal, and the most endearing part of it was that he was totally oblivious of this fact.

At first, he did not see the way the older girls responded to this new sensual Matt, how they all went weak at the knees at the sight of him.

It was with secret amusement that Trudy watched their gut reaction and total slavish adoration for him that they were quickly developing.

Even Marcie and Seline both went wide eyed, and slack lipped at he stalked his way through the house checking windows and doors.

It seemed that wherever he went four of the girls suddenly needed to be in that room too.

"There they are locked good and tight," he declared with smug satisfaction as he stepped down from the ladder. "Those top windows seem small but some of those guys were slight enough to attempt one or two of them."