Were in the City Ch. 07

The first days in the basement of the shapeshifters' home were remarkably normal, at least for Jessie. She rested, and made lists of everything she needed to start over. At first pretty much anything she found she needed she found she didn't have. But modern life came to the rescue for someone who was stuck at home -- order everything online and get it shipped to her -- hallelujah!

Jacob and Liam, though ... they were walking on eggshells and fretting about everything. While Jessie was making her new home comfortable and having fun spending money covered by her insurance, the brothers were constantly stressed by all the strangers delivering things to their house. Deliveries could happen at any time from 8am to 8pm seven days a week, and they did. The brothers had work to do, and were gone for hours during the weekdays, which was both a relief from Jessie's scent and a worry if she was doing ok. The stress increased their need to change and run free, but they felt they had to be careful not to reveal how they did that to their tenant -- so, no more stripping in the house and running outside that way, no more coming in through the back doggie door (hey, it was practical, but embarrassing), no more canine nails clicking on the back porch stairs and the wood floors. They began changing in the garden shed by the fence, out of Jessie's sight and hearing (they hoped).

Jessie found she couldn't look at a screen for more than about an hour before her headache returned, so she had to rest more than she wanted to, but that was ok as there was so much of her that needed to heal. The deep wounds on her feet and her back were frustrating as she had to keep them clean and bandaged but had a hard time seeing or reaching them herself. She tried to arrange for a home care nurse to drop by during the day to help but the only available appointments were in the evenings and that was when her landlords were home. She quickly noticed from their body language and short remarks when she spoke with them that Jacob and Liam were not happy with strangers on the property. If they didn't want more of that, then one of them would have to help ... so she asked Liam.

Little did she know how that request gave Liam happy heart palpitations and made Jacob feel sick. What the brothers had so far carefully and deliberately avoided dealing with was pushed front and center.

They were rivals for her attention, her favour.

They were competing for all she was willing and able to give.

Jessie's existence, her close proximity, her choices, could damage or even destroy the bond between the brothers that had strengthened and sustained them since the day they were born. Neither of them could leave her or each other -- how were they going to live with it when? if? she chose one over the other?

What the brothers didn't understand was that Jessie had simply asked Liam because Jacob made her nervous. Jacob was the more dominant, more serious, more intense. Liam was light hearted, laughed more, was less intimidating. They were both attractive, fascinating men and she was very interested in learning all about both of them and how their "coyote thing" worked.

... and of course Liam said yes. There was no way he could refuse her.

For the next couple of weeks, every evening before dinner, Liam went to Jessie's suite for about half an hour. She lay on her stomach on her bed while he changed the bandages on her feet and back, checking the wounds and gently removed stitches or staples as things healed. They would talk about their day while he worked, avoiding any serious or secretive topics. Jessie was determined not to pry into their lives, at least not until they were more comfortable with each other and she was better. Liam wore medical gloves, never touching her directly. He always came back upstairs afterwards with a goofy smile and Jacob had to fight an unpleasant desire to rip that smile off Liam's face.

When Liam's visits were no longer needed, Jessie found she missed him and their conversations. She was feeling stronger so she decided to ask both of them to dinner at her place. She phoned Jacob and made the invitation for 2 days later, Friday night. She could feel him hesitate briefly, heard him ask Liam, and then he said they would be happy to accept. As soon as she hung up she realized she had no idea what shapeshifters liked for dinner, but hoped it was just what ordinary humans ate. She made a great lasagna, with salad and wine -- her go to "guests for dinner" meal.

Friday night things started off rather stiff and formal but as the food and wine warmed them up everyone relaxed. They talked about their work, Jacob talked about how they had found and bought the house less than a year ago, Liam told lots of jokes including how they'd saved her garbage on Halloween night, Jessie talked about growing up in the neighbourhood. When they finished the main course, as Liam was helping her serve coffee and dessert, Jessie figured she might as well start asking some harder questions and said "Why are you Connor and Don when you are really Jacob and Liam?"

Jacob sighed. "It's complicated and a long story, too long to tell here and now. Let's just say that there are people, very unpleasant people, looking for us and we don't want them to find us so we are hiding out far away from them. As long as we are careful they won't find us and everything will be fine."

"Do they know what you are?" Jessie asked.

"Yes, they are shapeshifters too, so they are as careful as we are not to reveal themselves. We'll be fine here, and you are safe here, we won't let anything bad happen to you."

Jessie shook her head, "Yeah, I thought my home was safe and my life was simple ... look how that's all turning out. Just promise me something, please. If anything happens that I need to know about to stay safe, you will tell me, yes?"

Liam and Jacob both nodded. "Yes."

Jessie took a deep breath and looking nervous asked "Can I see you change? Can you tell me about what happens to you?"

Jacob and Liam had known eventually Jessie would ask. They'd talked about what they'd tell her, and what they wouldn't discuss, so they were ready for this.

Jacob explained. "We were born this way, able to shift between two forms -- human and coywolf -- just as our parents were. When we want to change, we think about changing, and it just happens. When we are in our coywolf form we still think as we do when we are human and we can talk mind to mind with each other when we are both like that."

"What's a coywolf?" asked Jessie, "you are not coyotes?"

"Somewhere in our ancestry a wolf and a coyote became mates and had children. We are bigger than pure coyotes, slightly smaller sometimes than pure wolves, and we look only a little different than coyotes. Most of our ancestors after that first cross mating were also coywolves because pure wolves mostly don't want to mate with our kind and we rarely find a mate that is a pure wolf" said Liam.

"Can I see you change?" asked Jessie. Liam laughed, "You've already seen me do it".

"I know, but I don't remember it very well as I was pretty freaked out. It was dark and you were rather far away" Jessie explained. "Can I see it up close?"

Liam looked at Jacob, who nodded. "Ok, but just look, don't touch. I'll do it here. Let me just turn around and take my clothes off first -- they get shredded if I change with them on."

Jessie watched Liam strip. From behind he sure looked good, but he had a lot of scars, something she hadn't seen last time. Suddenly his body started to fold up on itself then lengthen horizontally as a coyote shape emerged and then solidified. It had Liam's eyes but otherwise looked like a large wild creature. For the first time, in a calm close setting, she could see every marking, every hair -- he was beautiful.

Jessie reached out to run her hand along his side. Jacob called out "No, don't ..." just as her hand came in contact with Liam's fur. "Wow," said Jessie, "this feels so real. I can feel guard hairs, soft under-fur, muscles. This is amazing!"

"Did you think it was an illusion Jessie? It's not. We are as much coywolf as we are human" Jacob said sharply. She was running both her hands all over Liam's body, cooing and petting him for heaven's sake! Jacob could tell Liam was loving it. A burning wave of jealousy flashed through him and Jacob snapped out "Stop treating him like he's a cute doggie! We hunt, we fight, we kill ... we can be your worst nightmare ... we have taken many lives ... our souls are black and you should run from us!"

Jacob grabbed Liam's clothes and walked quickly to the door. "Liam, lets go." Liam looked at Jessie, whining softly, then trotted out the door before Jacob slammed it shut behind them.

It took Jacob 2 days to apologize. Jessie had thought a lot about what he'd said in the meantime. She knew so very little about them but what she'd seen ... well, they seemed to be good men dealing with complicated lives. Rather than making her afraid, Jacob's words made her sad. There was a great deal of pain beneath his surface. His apology was sincere but brief, no discussion just "I'm sorry for what happened. Please don't feel uncomfortable here. I will behave better in future." She saw worry in his eyes and realized she had begun to care about him, about both of them.

Jessie got the cast off her leg as predicted 6 weeks after the explosion. She still had occasional headaches and dizziness from the concussion, but only when she let herself get too tired. She was very, very happy to be able to get out and walk the neighbourhood again, building up the strength in her leg and loosening the stiffness in her body. She went back to work a few days later.

Winter had turned to spring while Jessie was recovering and now she felt as renewed and energized as the world around her. Her new next door neighbours began to come out of hibernation and start spring yard cleanup -- she introduced herself and got to know them. The days were getting longer, she walked in daylight after work renewing her connections with everyone in the neighbourhood. She made friends with the yappy little dog across the road that she'd heard for weeks -- it made lots of noise when the brothers came and went and she wondered if it could sense or smell something about them it didn't like. She surveyed the Elliott's yard, noting how it looked a bit neglected and eying a decent, sunny area in the back where she could make a vegetable bed. She was itching to get her hands into the soil again, she loved gardening and growing things.

She asked Jacob and Liam if she could do some garden work for them, and if she could transform the area in the back into a kitchen garden. It was interesting to see their reaction. They could build all sorts of things but they were not into growing things. They just wanted the yard wild and sheltered, but as long as she asked before trimming or cutting things too much they were willing to take a chance to let her do what she wanted. She looked in the garden shed at the back for tools but it was pretty poorly stocked. She did see a pile of clothes and realized what they'd been doing there -- no wonder she only heard quiet footsteps going in and out of the back door every night as they went to "run in the woods".

She did see something in the backyard that worried her though -- a wildlife track, a path that wild creatures followed constantly that created a line along the ground that humans could see. Jessie had seen things like this in her former yard for years, as the squirrels were creatures of habit and would wear tracks in her grass that were very visible all year long. This track was coyote sized and ran up to the fence on the golf course side and continued into the Elliott's back yard. Anyone looking would know this was a "coyote crossing". She'd fix it with some paving stones on the yard side and some well-spread grass and wildflower seed on the other side -- and she told the brothers to stop being so predictable in how they approached the house. You would think they'd know better!

Jacob and Liam were not sure how to react to Jessie's spring fever. She had all sorts of ideas and kept asking them about things they'd never considered or wanted -- an outdoor table and chairs, a barbeque, flower beds, a garden bench, a rain barrel and a garden watering plan. She even asked them not to eat the two feral cats she'd seen wandering through their yard. Having her around made everything more complicated but they began to realize it also made their lives richer and more interesting. They started to have dinner together on a regular basis, every few nights, until finally it just became every night of the week.

Jessie had gotten used to the sounds of the brothers' movements at night, barely taking note sleepily as they came and went through the back door. Sometimes she heard something huffing outside her slightly-open bedroom window for a few minutes but it always moved on. So when she heard someone outside speaking French at 2:30am it was unusual and woke her up. She managed to figure out what was being said even though it had been a long time since her high-school French classes.

She recognized Jacob's voice pleading "Silvie ... please ... come away with me ... I will protect you ... I can provide for you ... Silvie ... please ..." He sounded desperate.

Jessie got up and looked out her window to see Jacob walking naked in the backyard talking to no one. Concerned, she put on shoes and went out her door towards him.

"Jacob, are you alright?"

At the sound of her voice he turned towards her, his face looking worried. "Silvie ... please come with me, come now! We can get away if we go now."

Jessie realized he was sleepwalking, he was not aware of where he was. She couldn't remember if it was safe to wake up someone who was sleepwalking, so she decided she'd just ask him to come back into the house and see if she could get Liam to help.

"Jacob, viens avec moi" [come with me]. She reached out her hand to take his. As she made contact she felt an overwhelming flush of heat and then euphoria; she became hyper-aware of Jacob's breathing, his heartbeat. Her whole body stiffened and she fell, taking both of them to the ground. She heard him calling her name "Jessie ..." before she blacked out.

When she opened her eyes, Jessie saw both Jacob and Liam looking anxiously down at her. She was lying on her bed covered with a blanket, with cold cloths on her forehead and the back of her neck.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"I'm sorry," Jacob said quietly, "we were being so careful not to touch you. It's my fault -- I can't control my sleepwalking, we should have warned you to stay away from me if you saw me doing it."

Jessie could see they were both wearing medical gloves. "You can't touch me? Why not?"

"Because something strange happens when we do" said Liam, "we feel an incredibly strong connection, a bond of some kind, when we touch. We felt it when we rescued you from your house that night -- it was very strong and you were unconscious. We didn't know what would happen, how you would feel, if you touched us when you were awake so we've been making sure it didn't happen. It seems it was really overwhelming for you, you were out for about 10 minutes just now".

"Can I have a drink of water?" Jessie asked, trying to sit up. Jacob went to get it while Liam helped her up.

"Wait a minute" she said, "Liam, I touched you when you were a coyote and nothing happened ..."

"Yeah, we are not sure why. Either it doesn't happen unless we are all in human form, or you were just touching coyote fur, not skin, so the contact wasn't there. We'd have to experiment to know and I'm not sure it's a good idea given how strong your reaction was this time."

Jacob returned with her water and Jessie gulped it down. It tasted nice, and cool. She felt hot, and tingly, like she was full of static charge ready to zap the first thing she touched. She smelled something wonderful, a combination of ... evergreen? ... and ... vanilla? Something yummy. When Jacob leaned down to take the empty glass she inhaled and realized the scent was him. Liam reached over to adjust her blanket and she inhaled again -- he smelled great too, similar but slightly different than Jacob. Wow, so good!

She was feeling ... hungry? No, more like ... starving? What did she need? She needed ... something ... badly ... she flushed deep red as she realized she was getting really, really horny! OMG!

Jessie had only had two sexual experiences in her life so far -- well, two with other people ... she did know how to pleasure herself, and did so, but not that often. Her first time she'd been 19 and it had happened much more from curiosity than passion. She had found one of the guys in her Business class interesting enough and they went out a few times, eventually going "all the way" in the back seat of his car (what a cliché!) She got her introduction to the mechanics of it but that was all. That whole awkward episode might have been forgotten had Jessie's mom not gone completely off the deep end when she got home that night. It was one of the worst fights she and her mom ever had. They ended up not speaking to each other for weeks after. How her mom knew what she'd done Jessie never knew, but she saw how disappointed and upset her mom was and it permanently changed their relationship.

Jessie's second experience happened a few months before her father passed. She'd been seeing someone who worked at the College, mostly lunches and a few dinners, nothing intense at all. One evening she'd felt a bit lonely and agreed to spend the night at his place. It certainly seemed he got something out of it (he'd pestered her for weeks after until she'd firmly and carefully made it clear they were done) but she had felt very little and wondered just what the fuss was all about. No one had ever lit any kind of fire in her.

Now something was blazing, pecking at her insides and making her squirm.

Jessie didn't know if she wanted to tell the brothers how she was feeling since she found herself considering them both like delicious meals she wanted to devour. So she simply said "I'm really tired, but I'm ok, so please just leave now and let me get back to sleep, ok?" It took a bit more time to convince them but she was finally left alone -- but she couldn't relax, she just kept thinking about how strong and healthy Jacob and Liam were, how vigorous they would be when ... she suddenly realized her hands had wandered and she was energetically frigging herself. She was soon moaning and then screaming into a pillow as she came. It felt sooooooooo good, it should have taken the edge off, but damn it, it didn't. She just ended up tossing and turning until her alarm went off for work in the morning.

Jessie made it through the workday even though it was almost impossible to concentrate or sit down. She even caught herself unconsciously rubbing her mound against the carts as she shelved books in the library. Her whole body still felt like it was full of electrical charge. That evening she almost begged off having dinner together ("I have a headache" ... oh the irony!) but her caution fought with her desire until she gave in and went upstairs. She and the brothers had just started dinner when Jacob's phone rang. One of their clients had a water leak and wanted to know if he could come over immediately and take a look. Jacob said he would and told Liam and Jessie to finish dinner. "I'll reheat mine when I get back" he said as he headed out the door.

Jessie and Liam made small talk as they ate, then Jessie helped clean up after. Liam was using every ounce of self-control he had -- her scent was incredibly strong, and he knew Jacob had raced from the house earlier, relieved to be away from it for a little while. They would both have to run for hours later to calm themselves down. After Jessie had pointed out the trails they were starting to create from repeated patterns of use, they'd starting running the streets at night. They were taking more chances but they had to run.