Were in the City Ch. 18

Helen's POV

The day after the first meeting with Beth at Rubble Beach

"Julie, you haven't heard from Jacob or Liam today have you?"

Julie shook her head at Helen, "I take you haven't either?"

"No, and it's almost 1pm their time. They promised to call and tell me how Jessie's meeting with Beth Parker went. I got impatient about an hour ago and called Jacob but it just went to voicemail."

Julie frowned, "You'd think they'd want to report whatever Beth had to say, it sounded like she had something important to share with Jessie ... do you want me to check in with William Jenkins?"

Helen sighed, "I'd hate for the twins to think we were baby-sitting them, but if you can find an excuse to call the Jenkins Pack and have yesterday's meeting come up in conversation ... I'm sure everything is fine but it isn't like them to take so long to call."

Julie nodded, "Will do boss ... and don't forget we've got the weekly community dinner tonight so only two more hours at your desk today right?"

Helen smiled, "Yes, I remember, don't worry!"

A little more than two hours later Helen was sitting sipping the few drops of wine she was allowed each week, listening to a multitude of happy, noisy conversations flying around her. As much as she enjoyed these get-togethers, this night all she could think about was that she'd heard nothing yet from the twins ... and that just didn't happen when something important had been planned. Even worse, when Julie had called Jenkins she was told he was unavailable and would call her back when he had a chance ... and he hadn't called back.

As coffee and dessert were being served, her phone chirped, signaling a text message had arrived. Julie frowned at her as she reached to check it, "Boss, you know the rule -- no business during dinner!"

"Yes, I know. I'm just taking a quick peek. It's my rule so I'm allowed to bend it every once in a while."

Helen looked at the message. It was only one word in all caps: BRUTUS.

She smiled at Julie, "All done. Nothing important."

She made it through another hour of socializing before she announced she was tired and was going to bed. Julie looked happy, "Finally, a night when you take it easy for once. Rest well, see you in the morning."

Helen rolled herself out of the dining hall, headed for the elevator to her suite. As she rounded the corner out of view, she turned and headed out through a side door, down a ramp and out into the gardens. She went all the way out to the end of the path where there were some large flat rocks, still radiating heat after dark.

She reached down under one rock and pushed a button, booting up a hidden device. Rummaging through the pack on her wheelchair, she pulled out another phone and powered it up, switching from cell service to wi-fi. Only one other person knew that there was a special encrypted network at the rocks, with a very narrow signal for enhanced security. Helen phoned Jacob.

When he answered, she jumped right into it. "I got your emergency text ... where's the leak?"

Jacob let out a frustrated sigh, "I don't know. Our meeting did not go as planned. Three Algonquin wolves attacked, going for Jessie. Two are dead, one is badly hurt and now is Jenkins' prisoner. He claims they were told that the woman driver involved in the incident with Tony and Andrew Richard would be at a meeting at 3pm at Rubble Beach. They were to capture or kill her."

"And you believe the leak is with us?"

"Yes my friend, I believe it is. I'm sorry. I can't see why someone in the Jenkins Pack would betray the confidence of their Alpha to inform a pack all the way across the country. You, however, have got people who could be bought or coerced, everyone there is in close proximity to the Algonquin Pack and the Richard family. You've got to act on the assumption that someone you know has betrayed you."

Helen groaned softly, "Here we go again ... I hate this shit! How much detail did those wolves have?"

"Interestingly, not that much. The time and place, and that the "woman driver" would be there, but apparently no names and nothing about me or Liam. Either the leak didn't say very much, or if our enemies are being very careful, they shared very little of what they know with the three they sent after Jessie in case they were caught. You know Liam and I are much higher value targets. If any Richard knew about our presence there, those three wolves would have been after us ... but they were sent for the driver."

Helen sighed, "Is Jessie ok? Anyone hurt?"

"Jessie's got a significant leg wound but it will heal. Jenkins lost one of his pack to an Algonquin wolf and Beth Parker was hurt but I think she'll be ok. You should have seen Beth's wolf Helen, she jumped on top of one of the attackers and wouldn't let go, even after being rolled on a few times!"

"Why would she do that?!" Helen exclaimed, "She couldn't possibly have been a match for one of those warriors."

Jacob laughed softly, "No she wasn't, but that doesn't matter to a wolf when family is threatened does it?"

"Family? She knew who Jessie's grandmother was then?"

"Oh yes, she did. Helen, you need to secure the photo of Jessie's grandmother immediately. Don't share it with anyone, remove access to it for anyone who now has it. I really hope that image hasn't been leaked. Share nothing about Jessie with anyone other than your inner command circle from now on, and don't even tell them anything more than what is absolutely necessary. Lock down everything you can concerning Jessie. She must be protected at all costs."

Helen sounded worried, "What's wrong Jacob? Who was Jessie's grandmother?"

Jacob let out a long breath, "It is quite the story, but I'll start with conclusion ... I know who's alpha mantle Jessie carries. Helen, Jessie Taylor is the Richard Family heir!"

"How the hell is that possible?!" Helen whispered, even though there was no one near her. "If that's true ... it could change everything!"

"Oh it's true my friend. Jessie is the great-granddaughter of Jacques Richard. Her grandmother was Silvie's twin sister Miriam. Beth and Alice Parker managed to smuggle Miriam away after Lillian gave birth, they could only save one of the girls. Miriam was sent to England before she was a year old."

Helen gasped, "So when Jacques Richard died in 1889 ... the Richard alpha mantle didn't disappear like everyone has always assumed when neither Mark or Stephen got it ... it went to the sister no one knew existed, Miriam Richard. She would have been, let's see, almost 28 years old when that happened."

Jacob sighed, "Yes, and we have no idea what Miriam did at that point. Beth and Alice lost track of Miriam, they never knew what happened to her. They thought she might have died young. All we know is she had at least one child -- Jessie's mother -- and maybe died in the 1920's? That's it."

Helen was fascinated, and puzzled too, "How did Jessie get the alpha mantle? Everything she's told us about her mother tells me that Cecile Taylor was not an Alpha, not even close."

Helen suddenly heard laughter and saw two people, arm in arm, walking down the path towards her. "Jacob I have to cut this call off now, witnesses are close by. I'll call again soon."

Jacob quickly said, "Helen, look at Jessie's picture of Miriam carefully, look at where she is holding her hat. Try not to have a heart attack when you figure out the important clue that is visible there ... call me after you've seen it."

Helen gave an awkward little laugh, "Ok ... sounds ominous ... talk soon."

She hung up and slid the phone under her shirt, sitting quietly as the couple approached. The three of them talked for a little while, sharing comments about the dinner, the weather and the stars. Helen wanted to scream. Finally the two decided to wander off to find a more private spot and Helen said good night. She waited for a few minutes, then pulled out her phone and pulled up the photo of Miriam Richard, zooming in to look at the hat in her hand. Ok ... so what Jacob? ... it's just a hat. Helen zoomed in and out a couple of times trying to see what she was supposed to notice. Really Jacob? .... this is silly ... it's just a hat.

Helen suddenly saw it. "OH MY GOD!!!"

Her hands shaking, she called Jacob back. He answered on the first ring. "You still breathing?"

"Fucking hell Jacob! Miriam was a marked Richard daughter."

"Yes ... and here's the kicker ... you sitting down?"

"Don't be an idiot Jacob ... what else?"

"Jessie is marked too ... or was ... her mother insisted that her extra fingers and toes be removed when she was a baby. She's still got some extra bits in her hands and feet but the visible signs of polydactyly are gone."

Helen nodded, thinking out loud, "Her mother was hiding her ... her mother knew what that meant. I wonder if Cecile was marked too?"

Jacob, listening, replied, "Jessie doesn't think so. I asked her about that. There are abilities that go along with the extra digits ... Beth said that Miriam had the same thing as a baby that Jessie has now -- the connection to other Were when touching skin-to-skin. I'm guessing Miriam probably had the ability to compel that Jessie has too. Jessie never felt the skin-to-skin connection with her mother."

Helen sighed, "This is crazy. You know me Jacob ... I don't believe in fairy tales or mythical curses ... but Jessie Taylor and her family defy logic. How can identical twin sisters be different -- one marked and one not? How can an alpha mantle be passed on through a parent who is not an Alpha? In all this vast world why is it that you and Liam find and connect to the Richard heir after more than a century of conflict with that family? How does a gryphon actually exist? How did everything she is stay dormant in Jessie for 31 years, then suddenly awake? How can any Were permanently alter the thoughts and actions of another? My practical, ordered world view is being turned on its head!"

Jacob laughed quietly, "I know ... Jessie called it mind-bending and it is. She told us Beth thinks that by saving Miriam the Parker sisters finally allowed the Richard curse to begin to work its power and it's still at work moving towards its predicted conclusion. Free-will and unforeseen circumstances have gotten in its way over time, initial moves and people didn't pan out, but something is still shifting us all like chess pieces in a complicated game, trying to get us all to go where we need to get to."

Helen exclaimed, "Well thank heavens we still have free-will if that's the case. We still get to choose what we do! You and I and many others have fought our whole lives to be able to choose for ourselves -- I'd HATE to think it was all an illusion."

Jacob sighed, "I've been thinking a lot in the last few hours, and even though I'm not willing to concede that a real curse is working its magic, I do know what Jessie is becoming. Her intelligence and special abilities will make her a powerful Alpha if she lives long enough to gain the experience she needs, and she is laser-focused on protecting Liam and I which will eventually put her in direct conflict with the remaining Richard family members. She could even disrupt the status-quo in the Alpha Council and allow all the wolves who are stuck under authoritarian Alphas to one day be able to choose where and how they live for themselves. We know not all Alphas are bad, the pack system can work well ... we've seen good examples ... but there are not enough of them."

Helen groaned, "So you are hoping that Jessie is like a better version of Daererys Stormborn in Game of Thrones ... you are hoping she can "break the wheel" and create a new era for werewolves and the pack system?"

Jacob laughed, "Interesting metaphor Helen, but no, I'm not thinking that way exactly ... there's no need to tear everything apart, only break the stranglehold some have on others, give everyone a chance to live and cooperate and respect each other -- including those of us who live outside the pack system that they call rogues."

Helen sighed, "It is what we've tried to do for many years Jacob, that dream hasn't changed. If Jessie is to play a part in that, then that is all to the good, but I won't put any expectations on her yet. It's too soon and she has to find her own way in the world she now finds herself part of. Teach her, protect her, support her -- and we'll see where it takes her."

"Now, I have to go set a trap for my leak and hope I can snuff that out in a hurry. I will protect information about Jessie from now on, but I do want to continue the research we are doing to see what we can find out about her family. I'll work out ways to protect that too. What are you three doing now?"

"Letting Jessie heal, then more Were lessons of every kind. Maybe a bit of mindful meditation in the living room. Beth Parker only knows Miriam's granddaughter Robin exists, but not where, and has agreed to keep it quiet. That should keep us safe enough for now."

Jacob let out a long sigh, "One more thing, and I'm afraid you won't like it, sorry ... Jessie did her compelling thing on the surviving Algonquin wolf. He's being sent back to his pack with the command to figure out how they got the information about the meeting. Once he knows, he'll tell Alpha Jenkins and Jessie promised to get him and his mate out of the Algonquin Pack."

Helen groaned, "Damn it! I want you to carefully explain what that means and tell her she is NOT to do that again please. If he can figure out the leak before I do it will be useful, but it will be difficult to free him and his mate. I will find a way for Jessie to pay me back, believe me!"

"Oh, I know you will my friend! ... we'll talk again soon. Good-bye for now."

Helen sat by the rocks for a while longer thinking about everything she'd heard, and what she hadn't heard. She and Jacob knew each other very well. Jessie had been attacked and hurt -- there had to have been significant complications in the twins' response to that yet he'd said nothing about it ... and his comment about meditation -- it was a code word for its opposite. Some dangerous action he couldn't talk about was happening a continent away. She could make educated guesses but in the end she could only wait it out. She had lots of experience doing that.

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West Coast POV

Day 2 of 5 - The morning after Jacob's call with Helen

Jessie woke up gasping, caught in the final moments of a nightmare. She shuddered, determined not to take any more strong medicine for pain. It messed with her mind and she'd had enough of that. She looked around, seeing no one else in the room, and got up, limping on her own to the bathroom. She badly needed a shower, so she wrapped some cling wrap around her wound to keep it dry (the twins kept a big box of the stuff under the sink -- what did that say about how often they needed it?!) and stepped under a wonderful waterfall of hot water.

As she scrubbed her hair for the third time (yup, it had been that bad) she heard the door open and Jacob's voice as he wrapped his arms around her. "What are you doing in here on your own? Do you know how many accidents happen in the shower? ... and you are still under the influence of the meds ..."

"I couldn't wait, and I am being careful. The water feels so good, I ache everywhere and its helping."

Jacob proceeded to scrub her down all over, that definitely helped too, though it added a different kind of ache on top of everything else .... sigh ... and their skin-to-skin contact told her Jacob was very aware of how she was feeling just as she knew where his mind and body were going. As drying towels dropped to the ground, and mouths & hands started working harder, she whispered in his ear, "whatever you do, don't put me back on that grotty bed, I just got cleaned up."

Jacob laughed, picked her up and carried her down the hall to Liam's bedroom, dropping her carefully on his brother's bed. "Better?"

"Very much so, thank you." She reached up, stroking his face and said "Now come here and let's see what we can do before the meds wear off completely."

She only pulled a couple of stitches. Jacob repaired them and re-bandaged her leg, leaving her to sleep after. When Liam got home from a supply run he found her still in his bed, stretching carefully as she slowly woke up.

"Well hello there Goldilocks!"

"Hum?"

"You know ... the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears ... someone's been sleeping in my bed ..."

"Ah yes, got it."

Liam laughed, sitting down beside her and running a hand down her warm, bare skin under the covers. "I think your version of the story today is a bit more X-rated ... you and my brother have been doing something other than sleeping in my bed haven't you?"

Jessie surprised herself by blushing, "Sorry ... but Jacob's bedsheets needed changing and we had to find another spot kind-of quickly ..." Liam's hand hadn't stopped moving and those extra aches were back again. She moaned softly and whispered "Goldilocks wants her big bad wolf ..." Liam laughed harder, "I think that makes you a horny Little Red Riding Hood ... or maybe a horny member of the Three Little Pigs ... " Jessie grinned, saying "Liam, shut up and kiss me" before pulled his head down between her legs.

She only pulled three stitches. Liam repaired them and re-bandaged her leg, leaving her to sleep after.

The twins spent rest of the day shutting down their business - temporarily they hoped. When Jessie finally got out of bed she sat propped up on the couch with her leg elevated, making notes on ideas for how she was going to convince Alpha Jenkins to agree not to report them to the Alpha Council.

They all ate dinner together. The first half of the conversation was a review of Jessie's performance in battle at the beach -- she listened carefully to what the twins would have done differently and became embarrassingly giddy when they praised some of what she had done. The second half of the dinner conversation was an intense debate among all of them as to whether repairing two stitches or three was a win or a loss in the twins' infernal, eternal competition. Jessie finally told the twins they had both won, and why (and why if they didn't stop the discussion now she'd arrange for them both to lose for a long time!), feeling embarrassingly hot and bothered by all the details they brought up to prove their arguments!

Liam made Jessie go to her own bed early, insisting that she rest. "You need to be ready to travel in just a few more days. I don't want you to shift until the end of the day before the meeting -- I'll check your fitness in both forms then."

She left her notes for them to read through, knowing there would be lots of feedback. They agreed that they'd spend the majority of day 4 sorting out what she would say.

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West Coast POV

Day 3 of 5 -- Packing Day

In the morning they began packing up and securing everything they wanted to keep safe if they had to run. Liam revealed that the twins already had a storage locker rented using another identity and the three of them began moving boxes into the back of the truck to take them there.

Jessie took one last look at her mother's things - everything other than the jewellery box - before they were taken away, touching each object to keep them in her memory, perhaps never to see them again. Liam looked over as she handled her mother's watch and laughed, "That is one huge watch face for a woman to wear, what was she thinking?"

Jessie smiled, "My father gave her this as a joke after she lost track of time in the garden one day and was late getting to something important. She wore it every day afterwards. I think that's why he kept it after she passed - a good memory."

As Jacob carried two of the boxes containing her father's things to the truck the top box shifted a little and crashed into the side of the truck spilling some of its contents onto the floor of the garage. Jacob reached to pick up a leather-covered binder and an envelope slipped out of it.