Were in the City Ch. 16

"Alice and I couldn't save them both but we thought we could save one of them since nobody knew there were two. Silvie was crying loudly, the stronger one. Miriam was small and hadn't made a sound. We rigged up a binding and hid Miriam under Alice's skirts -- it was 1861 and women were wearing a voluminous amount of clothing then so it worked."

"Alice left Richard land quickly, claiming she was overcome with grief and couldn't stay. I stayed for Lillian's funeral and to see what Jacques would do with Silvie. Jacques was a monster, and with Lillian gone I was not welcome any longer, but I did my best before I was kicked off his pack land. That damned curse -- I begged him to let Silvie live, especially since she wasn't marked. To everyone's astonishment, Jacques kept her. I'm sure his reasons had nothing to do with my pleading for her life."

"It was almost two weeks after the girls were born before I caught up with Alice. By then, she'd arranged for Miriam to be cared for by a farmer's wife who'd recently given birth. It was clear Miriam and Silvie were identical twins. Since Silvie was still alive, Miriam could never be seen or it would be obvious who she was. She couldn't stay with us. One of Alice's friends was travelling back to England to visit her family and we asked her to take Miriam with her. Seven months after she was born, Miriam was taken away to another life. It was the 1860's - communication was slow and uncertain. Alice's friend never returned and we lost touch. We tried a number of times to find out what had happened to Miriam but we never found her."

Beth looked at Jessie, "Do you know anything about your grandmother's life ... Miriam's life?"

Jessie shook her head, "Only a few guesses and things I can infer. She had at least one child -- my mother -- who was also living in England when she met my father so I think no one came back to North America until then. The photo you saw was taken in 1922 so Miriam lived until then, but she might have died that year -- I can't be certain of that yet. It's still being investigated. Nothing more than that at this point."

Jessie decided to trust Beth with a bit more information. She said "My mother never told me what I was, never told me anything about who she was or her family history. She died ten years ago. I only became aware of my other side a few months ago."

Beth was astonished, "Only a few months ago! Good heavens, that is not normal. How do you know Helen Lavalle? I hope she is looking after you."

Jessie smiled, "I've been very lucky, finding good people to help me when I need it."

The wind was picking up, Jessie saw Beth shiver a little. "You are getting cold, you need to get back in the truck."

Beth nodded, "Yes. I would love to talk more now but at my age you have to have some common sense." She turned and caught Alpha Jenkins eye, gesturing for both men to approach. "Alpha, may I invite Robin to visit me on Jenkins Pack land sometime soon?"

Jenkins sighed, then nodded. "Very well, we will arrange that." He looked at Jessie, "You do anything the least bit problematic, break any rules I set, and the invitation will be rescinded in a second you understand."

Jessie nodded back, "Yes, I understand."

As Beth's great grandson Dean offered his arm to help Beth stand up, the sound of at least two wolves in mortal combat suddenly echoed through the trees behind them. The harsh growls and snapping of vegetation got louder and more desperate until a long howl of victory filled the air. Jessie shivered, worried for the twins, but she didn't feel anything change inside her -- she was certain the bond she had with them both was unbroken, they were still alive.

The four people at the picnic table had frozen in place as they listened to what was going on, but as the final howl sounded Jenkins cursed, said "Zeb is gone", before quickly picking Beth up in his arms and starting to stride towards the truck as Dean followed and Jessie turned to head back to her car. It was too late. Three very large wolves ran out of the trees straight for them.

It was clear the wolves were not members of the Jenkins Pack from the way Dean and William Jenkins reacted instantly, shifting and standing in front of Beth ... but it wasn't clear who the intruders were after until a few seconds later when they overran the three near the truck and came for Jessie. Shit! She heard Beth yell, "Help her!" as she leapt up and over the roof of her car to force her attackers to leap over it or turn to get to her. Still in human form she pulled out the silver knife Jacob had fit behind her back. She got lucky -- one of the wolves decided to jump over the car and she used the knife to tear him apart as he went over her. One down.

Decision time. Shift or stay human? Either way, she wasn't sure she had a chance against two large wolves. Her back against the car, facing them with the knife in her hand she decided to stay as she was. As they moved in, a much smaller wolf flew over her head and landed on top of one of her attackers, kicking and biting ferociously. Jessie knew immediately who it was -- Beth. Her other half surged forward and Jessie shifted. Beth was family, and family must be protected.

Jessie gave her free reign and she didn't disappoint. Talons extended and jaws snapping, she went straight at the wolf still focused on her, twisting as Jacob had drilled her and tearing at both legs on one side. Her opponent staggered and howled, but remained standing and came back around. Jessie tried to dodge again but was hit from behind by the other two fighting close by and jaws clamped down on her back leg dragging her along the ground. She flipped onto her back, exposing her stomach (OMG, Jacob was going to give her hell for that!). As she'd hoped, it was too tempting a target and the wolf let go of her leg to go for the better spot. As he did, she curled her body up bringing both her front legs and her razer-sharp talons straight into both sides of her opponent's face. Howling, blind in both eyes, Jessie tore out his throat. Two down.

Jessie tried to stand up but her back leg hurt terribly and it didn't work right. She hadn't practiced moving on three legs (note to self for future training!) so she could only crouch for a moment to figure out where the third wolf and Beth were. It was an amazing sight. Beth was still on his back, claws dug in and jaws clamped on the back of his neck. She was bleeding and roughed up, looking like her opponent had rolled a few times trying to knock her off. Two other wolves, Dean and William Jenkins, were on either side, rushing in and slashing as they could, trying to bring the last one down while not endangering Beth any more than necessary.

As Jessie shook her head, trying to decide if she could help or would just get in the way, four more wolves ran into the mix -- and two of them were Jacob and Liam. The lone attacker kept fighting for a little while longer, but finally broken and bleeding from many wounds he sank to the ground and gave up, exposing his neck in surrender. Jenkins shifted back to human form and helped Beth pull her claws free before she too shifted back. She was a mess. Dean ran back with his medical kit and a blanket to wrap her up.

Jessie shifted and sat on the ground, her hands putting pressure on the nasty wound on her upper leg. Jacob and Liam pushed themselves up against her as she whispered, "It took you long enough to get here -- what the hell happened?" Jacob huffed and growled unhappily. "Ok, I'll ask all about it later. Don't shift. I'll be ok. We don't want you seen."

The last attacker had shifted and Jessie recognized him. When Jenkins asked him who he was, and he didn't answer, Jessie spoke up. "His first name is Gordon and he's an Algonquin wolf. I'll bet the other two are Algonquin as well, one of the dead ones has to be Ron Lalonde and the other would be someone named Mike."

Jenkins looked at her, "You know them? I can guess why they want to kill you but I'm not sure how they put it together."

Jessie stared at Gordon, who was looking scared and miserable. He was the one who would have regretted killing her at the gas station, the only one of the three with even the smallest amount of compassion left in him. "We've met, very briefly, not by choice. I'm not sure why or how they are here -- they were supposed to be taking Tony Richard home."

Gordon groaned and spoke up, "You are the driver. You were identified. You had to pay for your part in what happened to Tony and Stephen."

Jacob and Liam growled. Jessie heard Beth gasp. "You were involved with what happened to Tony Richard?" Jessie shrugged. Now was not the time to discuss it, especially in front of Gordon. She was curious though, "How did you know I would be here today?"

Gordon said nothing, but Jessie was worried. She didn't know how much had been discovered about her ... and were the twins still safe and hidden or not?

She looked at Jenkins. "Can I get something to put pressure on this wound and then can you help me up, I need to check something."

Jenkins nodded. Dean had finished dealing with Beth's wounds so he brought over a bandage and wrapped Jessie's leg, looking nervously at the two large coywolves sitting on either side of her. She gave him a little smile, "These are my friends, they won't bite you if you don't hurt me."

Dean helped her stand and handed her another blanket. Jessie was grateful for that. The wind was chilly but it was also a bit strange to dealing with all this while everyone in human form was naked. She limped slowly over to Gordon and knelt down, grabbing his arm. "Tell me how you knew I would be here today?"

Gordon sighed, "Ron got a call this morning. He said he was told a woman, the driver who took Tony's girl up here, was going to be meeting with Jenkins at the beach at 3pm."

Jessie kept hold of his arm, looking into his eyes. "Who called Ron?"

Gordon shook his head, "I don't know, he didn't say."

"Did Ron mention anyone other than the woman driver? Were you to look for, find, anyone else?"

Gordon shook his head, "No, we were to get to you, take you with us if we could, kill you if we couldn't." He sighed, "It would have gone a lot better if one of the wolves watching in the trees hadn't spotted Ron. Once Ron got all riled up he just went for you, witnesses be damned."

It sounded like nobody had mentioned Jacob and Liam, just her -- Jessie felt some relief. "Why were you three still here and not back east with Tony Richard?"

"We got to the plane but only Tony got on. Ron got a call and someone told him we had to stay, that we were going to help find out more about what happened to Tony and Stephen. We've been in a hotel downtown waiting until this morning."

Everyone else had been listening to the conversation. Jenkins spoke up, "Where's the car you came in? Where are your clothes?"

Gordon said nothing. Jessie said firmly, "Answer him."

"All our stuff is in our car. Its a few miles north of here on the west side of the highway."

"Keys?"

"Buried by the left front wheel."

Jenkins turned to one of his pack, still in wolf form, and gave him a mental command. The wolf took off headed north into the trees. "He will retrieve the car. We'll see if anything is there that will help us figure this out."

Jessie let go of Gordon's arm and sighed, feeling frustrated and angry. She wobbled to her feet, walked over and looked at Jenkins. "Only a few people knew we were meeting here today at 3pm. Someone you trust, or someone Helen trusts, has betrayed you."

Jenkins nodded, "I know ... this is a big problem."

Jessie looked down at Beth, who was still sitting outside listening to everything. "Thank you for coming to my aid, but you shouldn't have! ... How bad are you hurt? ... And shouldn't you at least be in the truck by now, warming up?"

Beth laughed gently, wincing as she did so. "And miss all this intrigue ... no way! Besides, I'm still high on all the adrenalin, still warm as toast and not feeling much yet."

Dean snorted, "You'll be feeling a hell of a lot shortly Gran. I'll be surprised if you can move at all for the next few weeks. What you did was incredibly foolish. You could have been killed."

Beth smiled, "Yes, but I would have died as a wolf should, doing something important for her pack. I've been slowly wasting away and I hate that. Today I have made a difference again."

What she said triggered an idea in Jessie's head. She looked at Jenkins, "What are you going to do with Gordon?"

He shook his head, "I don't know. He attacked us, and on neutral ground, so he should pay for that but I don't want any more trouble with the Algonquin Pack if I can help it."

Jessie made her proposal, "How about we use him to see if he can find out who betrayed this meeting? You give him back, but he'll work for us. I think I can motivate him to do what I ask if you'll let me."

Jenkins looked at her intently for a few moments, "Like you did when you told Tony Richard what to do?" Jessie nodded. "Damn, you are strange. But let me see this thing you do ..."

Jessie walked back to Gordon while everyone else watched, knelt down and grabbed his arm. "Gordon, do you love your mate?"

Gordon suddenly looked frantic, "Don't hurt her!"

Jessie shook her head, "I won't ... Would you do something for us? In return, we'll do what we can to get you and your mate away from the Algonquin pack, to somewhere safe, somewhere she'd rather be. You want to keep her safe don't you?"

He nodded, "Yes, she needs to be safe."

"Ok, good. I want you to go home, tell them what Ron did -- he was reckless and moved too soon. He and Mike were killed, you barely survived. You said nothing to anyone. Alpha Jenkins will arrange for you to go home, he wants no more trouble here. The woman you were looking for was here but you can't describe her -- she was covered up and her wolf isn't in any way distinctive." Jessie heard someone snort behind her at that ... something else she'd have to sort out later.

"You will go home and you will carefully and safely find out how someone knew the woman driver was here at a meeting this afternoon. When you know this information, you will contact Alpha Jenkins and tell him what you know. We'll then help you leave the Algonquin Pack and go somewhere safe with your mate. Tell me you will do this for us."

Gordon nodded, "I will do it."

"Good, now I want you to rest. Go to sleep for a while."

Gordon closed his eyes and Jessie pulled herself slowly to her feet. Her leg was really starting to hurt now.

She looked over at the rest of them and they were all staring back at her, humans and wolves. She could tell they were all concerned. She smiled, "Don't worry, he will do as I asked."

Jenkins shook his head, muttering to himself, "This just gets more complicated by the second." He took a deep breath, "Alright, let's get going. I want Beth home as soon as possible, and this Gordon fellow off my hands as quickly as I can. Randy, go ahead and shift, then you and Dean put him in the back of the truck please. Beth, into the truck now." He reached down to pick her up and Beth shook her head.

"Can I have two minutes with Robin and then we'll go?"

Jenkins nodded, and gestured to Jacob and Liam, pulling them away to speak to them even though they had not shifted. Jessie wondered what that was about.

Beth looked at Jessie, "I know everyone here is thinking it but nobody has said anything ... What are you? We all saw you shift. You are not a wolf!"

Jessie sighed, "I'm only part wolf, maybe from my grandmother Miriam? I don't know who my grandfather was, or how it all came to be that I am what I am, but Helen calls me a gryphon."

Beth was fascinated, "Damn, you get more interesting by the minute. What you did with Gordon, it's like you were compelling him, yes? Even though you are not bonded to him?" Jessie nodded. Beth looked at her, suddenly very serious. "You know that's not normal, yes?" Jessie nodded again. Beth reached out her arm, "Take my hand".

Jessie hesitated, not sure if she should. Beth said again, "Take my hand". Jessie reached out and they clasped hands. Skin to skin, Jessie could feel Beth's age, knew she was stoically dealing the increasing pain she was feeling from her wounds, and that she was both elated and terribly frightened (huh?!) at meeting her great grand-niece. Beth's whole body was shaking but she continued to hold on.

Beth looked at Jessie and whispered, "It is the same, the very same. You ARE Miriam's granddaughter. Every time we held Miriam, from the second she was born, we felt this same connection when we touched her skin to skin. You must know something now, but tell no one else ... yes, we chose to save Miriam that day because she was easier to hide but there was a much more important reason. We knew Miriam had no chance at all to live ... because she was a marked Richard daughter."

"It seems what we started so long ago is still in motion. If that damned curse has any truth to it at all, you are the one who carries its power now."