Broken and Bonded Ch. 19-20

Chapter Nineteen

"Please Matt!" she pleaded, as she hugged him tighter and buried her face into his fur.

For long moments it seemed that he would not respond.

But then the noises coming from the wolves whimpered to silence and the fur beneath her fingers began to thin away and warm flesh and bone wrapped around her, as he collapsed to the ground.

He smiled at her wearily for a moment before standing and turning to what was left of the animals.

"Shift back!" he growled. "Shift back now -- or die where you lie!"

Slowly they changed into human form, but where overconfident, burly men had been before, now they were wasted and withered and even older than they had been.

"You will leave this place, you will never return, and you will never -- ever go anywhere near to Sandra. She is of my pack now, under my protection now, and forever out of your reach... Do you understand?"

They were so broken now that they barely responded other than to nod.

"Leave here, now!"

He pulled Trudy to him, and watched with hard black eyes as the men silently began to trudge away.

The night was cool, especially when they resumed their human form after the warm fur of their alter egos. It was chilly, especially when they were naked to the elements. Trudy's clothing had torn away from her when she had shifted, but Matt's clothes had simply evaporated.

Matt enjoyed the feel of Trudy against him, as she shivered and tried to burrow deeper into his embrace.

He would have loved at that moment to just sweep her up and carry her off somewhere where they could be alone, together.

Unfortunately, he had to keep his senses open and alert to those... vermin.

He was confident that he had beaten them down to submission, and his senses told him that they continued to move away from, Seline's home.

But as long as he could still sense them then he had to stay vigilant.

Until his brother arrived, he had to stay on his guard and not let his infatuation with Trudy distract him; and he realised it was probably the hardest thing he would ever have to do!

The front porch was empty but for the small pile of clothing, and Trudy moved quickly to cover her nakedness from the chill of the night and from Matt's stare, which was growing more and more disturbing by the minute.

She turned away from his smouldering gaze and pulled the dress over her head with relief.

The house was silent when they entered, apparently empty, but heavy with the scent of fear.

"We're back!" Trudy called out lightly. "And everything is okay."

The air around them moved and the kitchen door at the end of the corridor was flung open.

"Trudy - Matt!" Seline called out with relief and suddenly they were surrounded by laughing sobbing and anxious people.

*

It was very late into the night and slowly the girls began to feel safe enough to go to bed and sleep.

Seline, Matt and Trudy retired to Seline's office, and she offered the two of them a drink.

"You both look shattered," she observed. "So, you should both turn in after this?"

Trudy nodded tiredly as she sipped her drink, but Matt shook his head.

"I shall stay awake and alert for trouble -- until my brother arrives, now."

"But you are exhausted Matt!" Seline protested.

Matt smiled in reassurance. "This drink is warming and reviving, and a meal will finish the job.

Seline nodded and stood up. "I will ask Marcie to pull something together for you, before she turns in for the night."

"I could keep you company," Trudy offered hesitantly once they were alone.

He looked at her for a moment and then smiled gently. "You are done in I think, so go and get some sleep, please."

She did not argue with him this time -- which in itself told of her fatigue.

Matt put down his glass as she came to her feet, and he stood as well.

He pulled her gently into his arms and kissed her slowly and deeply, and Trudy responded with all the love that felt for him.

Finally, he ended the kiss and then simply held her against him, stroking lightly down the length of her hair. "When my brother arrives and I am finally free of my responsibility here, then you and I should go somewhere, where we can be alone and talk... really talk."

He felt her nod, and then stepped away from her.

"Go and get some rest now."

Again, instead of arguing at his ordering, she meekly nodded and left the room.

Although she had agreed to sit and talk with him, Trudy lay in bed wondering and worrying over what he might expect her to say.

The memories of their past were still raw with emotion, and Trudy was not sure if she would be able to simply coolly talk about it.

Where to begin? How much to say? What to divulge and what would only cause harm?

She was exhausted and felt drained, but sleep would not come to her, and as the morning sun began to peep through her curtains, she felt no more refreshed than when she had climbed into this bed.

As she showered and dressed, she felt the tweaks and twinges of stiff muscles and aching joints, and her temper grew more and more sour.

She thought seriously about grabbing her bag and trying to sneak away, and once the idea was there it took root, and became a plan of action -- a need, and she even began the process of packing.

A knock on her door had her shoving the bag back into her wardrobe.

"Who is it?" she called out lightly.

"Just me, can I come in?" Seline's voice sounded amused.

"Yes of course -- the door isn't locked!"

Seline walked in looking fresh and rested and Trudy felt frumpy beside her.

"Didn't you get any sleep?" Seline asked seeing her tired frown.

"Not much," Trudy sighed.

"Something's bothering you?" Seline murmured sympathetically, then she smiled ruefully, "Or someone -- I should say?"

"Of course, it's someone -- it's him -- it will always be him -- bothering me!"

Seline sighed. "I thought, I hoped that you had both got past all that and moved to a place where you could, at least communicate with each other."

"Yes, we did -- we have, and now he wants us to go off and talk -- really talk was how he put it."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing though?"

"Maybe, but well I get the feeling that the 'we really need to talk', means I really need to talk -- to fill in the blank spaces in his memory -- tell him what we were, what happened to us..."

"Again, wouldn't that be a good thing, it would give you a chance to get it all off your chest -- once and for all?"

"Perhaps, but I am just not sure how much to say, how much to tell him -- where to even begin?"

"No? Well, I am sure it will come to you when the time comes," She smiled encouragingly and then draped her arm through Trudy's. "But for now, let's go and get some breakfast -- before the girls all start to come down."

"What about him?"

"Oh, Marcie gave him an early breakfast and ordered him to go and get some sleep... Even yours truly decided not to argue with Marcie on a mission," Seline laughed.

"I must say you are very cheery this morning?"

Seline gave a little grimace. "Jon said he would be coming today."

"Ah," a simple little word with a wealth of understanding.

The earliness of the hour really did mean the house was silent, apart from a low humming in the kitchen and the murmur of Marcie talking to herself as she moved around her domain.

The fragrant aroma of coffee and fresh toast drifted up to greet them and Trudy sniffed appreciatively.

The stout housekeeper looked over her shoulder at them. "Good morning to you both," she beamed as they strolled in and sat down at the kitchen table.

"Good morning, Marcie, can we do anything to help with breakfast, or anything else?"

"No, thank you, it's all ready and the washing machine is running, so the three of us can enjoy breakfast and plan out the day -- if you would like?"

They had pretty much finished when the first of the girls strolled in, quickly followed by one two and then the rest.

As the conversation noise level increased, Trudy smiled and then quietly left the room, not really in the mood for their bright chatter.

She was at the foot of the stairs, when she heard the distant roar of a car engine, of several cars if her hearing was correct.

"Do you think...?" Seline had come through and Trudy turned to look at her usually confident self-assured friend.

"Why do you sound so nervous?" she gasped in surprise.

Seline pulled a little face. "The brothers grim I think you once called them... you have issues with one, and I have issues with the other, who I believe is pulling up outside our door right now, if I am not mistaken!"

Sure, enough several vehicles were heard coming to a halt just outside, and the two of them walked quickly to the front door to greet their visitors.

As Seline opened the door, Trudy glanced back over her shoulder.

Several young anxious faces peered at her as they huddled together in the kitchen door, looking to see who was outside.

Trudy gave them a quick encouraging grin before turning back to the entrance.

"Seline -- my dear!"

The deep masculine voice oozed strength and power and humour -- and a good deal of sexiness too, and this was obviously not lost on Seline as she simply gasped out, "Jon!" with a strangled catch in her voice.

Trudy sighed silently, her friend was indeed head over heels for Jonathon, and she was making no secret of it anymore.

She stepped out into the early morning sunlight and could not stop her own gasp of surprise.

The last time she had seen Jonathon, he still had been recovering from his illness. He had looked old and drained and tired most of the time, and she remembered him hunching over slightly as though the effort of standing was almost too much.

Now though he looked tall and proud and vibrant -- so alive and strong as though the years had fallen away from him.

"Ms Baumont." he grinned down at her slightly bemused expression.

"T...Trudy if you please," she nodded breathlessly.

"Ah hah," he exclaimed in delight. "Things have progressed here I see!"

She frowned in puzzlement -- now what did he mean by that?

Before she could ask though he looked back at Seline. "My brother? Is he still here, where is he?"

"Matt is resting," Seline told him. "He was awake and alert all night watching out for trouble, and so once the daylight came it was decided that it was safe enough for him to catch some sleep."

Jonathon frowned and for a moment it was as if a shadow had passed across the sun, dropping the temperature by several degrees, and both women shivered apprehensively.

Then his brow smoothed, and his smile returned, and the sun and the warmth radiated them both.

"You seem to have quite an escort with you," Trudy observed with a quizzical lift of her brow, as she looked at the four other cars.

"Yes," He sighed a little sigh. "My staff has grown some since I have left my own home."

"Are they all expecting to be staying here?" Seline asked incredulously. "I thought it was just going to be you or Matt -- and those young men... or are they lurking in those cars as well?"

He smiled at her consolingly. "No, they will not arrive for a couple more days, to give us time to plan and prepare.

He made a show of looking around him.

"The main house is of course for you and the girls, the cabins are to be used by the men, when they arrive, and there was a mention of another house that may suit my needs?"

"Yes, just over there, but it is not huge -- only three bedrooms..."

"Excellent, Myself and my assistant -- Paul can use that..." He was looking around him as he spoke. "Yes," he said suddenly and pointed to a stretch of land towards the back of the second house. "There. We can put down several Modular buildings there -- cater them to our needs... living, office, laboratory..."

"Laboratory!" Are you planning on doing experiments on those men! I can tell you now, Jon -- Not on my land you won't!" Seline told him heatedly.

Her soft brown eyes were glaring at him and with her flawless skin and glossy black hair, she was a sight to behold.

And Jonathon eyed her appreciatively for a moment before reaching out and taking on a hurt expression.

"Do you think so little of me, Seline? That I would do something like that?"

She blushed and shrugged uncomfortably, but her expression was still guarded.

"When I said 'laboratory, it was a poor choice of words - I meant more of a lab -- clinic... I have brought my three medical staff with me you see, to also keep an eye on those young hot heads, give them a medical when they arrive and probably delouse them all as well."

"Were they that bad?" Seline gasped in surprise, but it was Trudy who answered.

"Worse -- if you can believe it." she grunted.

Seline sighed. "Oh well if it saves us the trouble." she shrugged.

"So, you would have no objection to us putting these temporary buildings in place?"

"No, Jon... Leave the forest lands alone, but any open land, you just do what you must."

He grasped her hands in his and smiled down into her eyes. "Thank you my dearest."

As their eyes locked together, and the minutes began to drag out. Trudy began to shuffle her feet feeling like an intruder on their moment of reunion and meeting of minds.

The people from the other cars were standing around near their vehicles, obviously not quite sure what they were so supposed to do either, and Trudy recognised the medical trio, and Jonathon's assistant -- Paul, who were all standing together talking.

She walked across to them and smiled in greeting.

"Good morning -- you must have all started out very early?"

Paul returned her smile politely but left it to the others to answer her.

"Yes," Dr Grey said. "After Mr Richards and Mr Beaumont had weathered the process of the shift, they went out running for a few hours, and when they returned and shifted back, Mr Richards seemed most invigorated, he then was eager to begin the journey here, we none of us had time for refreshments, although I think that we all managed to grab a nap or two in the cars?" he gave a little chuckle.

"And my brother?" Trudy asked. "Has he been 'invigorated' as well, in the same way that Jonathon Richards seems to have been?"

Dr Phillips nodded with a pleased smile. "They are both as new men after the process, it was such a relief and a real pleasure to see them both come into their prime again."

"Paul!" Jonathon called out, "Come and walk with me for a while, we need to organise those modular buildings and get them delivered as soon as possible."

He did not even sound hopeful about the delivery, just expectant that it would happen.

Paul nodded and followed Jonathon, towards the other house, and the land nearby.

Seline watched the two of them conferring for a moment, and then turned to the others.

"Tea? Coffee? Breakfast perhaps?" she offered brightly.

******

Chapter Twenty

The girls had all discretely bolted when the others came inside, and Seline let Trudy take their guests through to her drawing room whilst she went to the kitchen to confer with Marcie.

"The dining room, there are a few of them, so the seating in there would be better, it will mean preparing more food -- a lot more food, but you are used to cooking for numbers?" Seline murmured hopefully.

"That's right miss Seline... I will get a couple of the girls to carry it through, we can put the food onto the hotplates on the sideboard, and then they can help themselves to what they want, as they want it."

"Excellent." Seline approved gratefully.

Seline joined Jonathon and the medical staff and several other people, in the dining room, even though she was happy to just sip a cup of coffee, since she had already had breakfast. Paul -- Jonathon's assistant was nowhere to be seen, and Trudy decided that she needed some fresh air and slipped out the main door, to stroll around the grounds.

The situation was resolving itself, and any danger to Seline and the girls was now past too.

Trudy was talking herself into the idea that leaving this morning was really the best thing for all.

As she came to the edge of the grass, she saw Paul, talking on his mobile phone.

She walked closer and then listened curiously to his end of the conversation.

"You have the modules? They will be used for... two as clinic -- labs... yes, let me see, five as living -- sleeping quarters... I believe you do smaller liveable modules as well, yes, we will have three of those... yes, two for office space... yes, two for food preparation and a general eating -- meeting space... yes... yes we will require the equipment and furnishings as well, and all with plumbing facilities and power facilities, we have the points this end to pipe it all in and hook it all up... yes. Now then, these things need to be installed and running by end of day tomorrow at the latest... you can do that? Excellent, Mr Richards will be so pleased, yes, the delivery address... that's right... by one thirty tomorrow -- very good we shall expect your trucks by then."

"That was very efficiently done," she grinned.

He smiled politely as he slipped his phone into his pocket.

"Mr Richards, had already ordered a large quantity of those modules, they were being held for the time they would be needed."

"Still... to have them delivered so quickly -- that was a neat trick."

"Mr Richards, needed this sorted in a hurry, and when he needs things done in a hurry, I often find that his name alone tends to motivate people."

She laughed. "I like the way you get things done, Paul... if you ever decide to leave Jonathon Richards' employment, please come and see me -- I can think of several positions you could fill in my company."

"Thank you, Ms Beaumont -- that's very kind of you to say."

He was just so polite and none-emotional.

"But you won't take me up on my offer, will you?"

Paul shook his head. "I can see no reason ever that would see me leave Mr Richards' employment... he values all of his staff, he treats us with respect and courtesy at all times, the prestige of being on his staff is extremely rewarding and he pays us very well... but more than that -- my loyalty to Mr Richards is on a more personal level, he is responsible for the saving of my pack -- my family -- we owe him a great deal."

"Ahh," she sighed in resignation. "I can see that you won't change your mind, so I won't push it further. Any way I just thought that I would mention that breakfast is ready in the dining room to the left when you walk in through the main door."

"Thank you, Ms Beaumont, but there are several other things to get organised before I can even think of that... perhaps a snack or something a little later."

She tut tutted a couple of times and then took his arm. "Breakfast," she insisted. "And then you can settle at the separate house if you need privacy and space to sort things, it's all switched on and pretty much ready for use in there."

He looked across at the house. "Now that is a very good idea." he murmured thoughtfully.

He looked to go in that direction, and she gripped his arm more firmly.

"Come to the house long enough for Marcie to make you up a basket, then you can do what you need to and enjoy sustenance as well."

He grinned -- the first real smile that he had given her. "That is a plan indeed Ms Beaumont -- thank you."

As they walked quickly towards the house, Trudy shot him a glance.

"Paul... that was a large number of modules you were ordering, just how many people will be here, and just how many of them are males?"

Paul shrugged. "Almost all of Mr Richards' staff are male... certainly most of the ones who came down with us -- with the exception of course of the medical team."

"How many -- other than you and the medical three -- how many will be here as well."

"Well now let me see -- Gavin, Phillip, Steven and Robert the drivers -- I think two will go back though, perhaps three and just leave the vehicles, Shaun and Colin, Mr Richards' personal staff, cooking, clothing and cleaning his home, room or other personal spaces -- as needed.... and others who will come and go." He looked down at her. "If your concern is for the young ladies in this residence please do not worry, Mr Richards' staff are all very professional and mostly older and married with children of their own."