Were in the City Ch. 18

"Jessie, this envelope has your name written on it."

She looked over at what he was holding, "That is my Dad's daily journal where he recorded his appointments and activities. I just packed it up after he died, I couldn't look at it then."

Jacob gave Jessie the envelope. Her name was written on the outside along with some other handwritten scribblings that made no sense to him or to Liam who was now peering at it too. Jessie, however, was laughing softly as her fingers traced the marks.

Jacob looked at her, "Do you know what that says?"

Jessie nodded, "It's been a long time but yes, I can figure it out. Liam, have you got a mirror in that toolbox of yours?"

Liam nodded, and retrieved what he had. Jessie held the envelope up to the mirror and they all looked at the handwriting in its reflection. The twins could see letters now, but the words were not English.

"What is that?"

Jessie smiled, "Leonardo da Vinci was left-handed and taught himself to write backwards, it was called "mirror writing". My father told me about it when I was a child and I was so fascinated by it that I practiced and practiced, got pretty good at it. My father and I had a game where we wrote notes to each other that way -- we did it for years. At some point my father challenged me to truly write like Leonardo, so I switched hands and learned to do it left-handed, and then as an even bigger challenge he had me learn and write in Italian. Only my father could have written this note."

"What does it say?"

Jessie stared at it for a minute and then said "Jessie, my wonderful daughter. Forgive us both for all that we never told you. Knowing nothing, you would do nothing to be noticed. We wanted to keep you safe, but I'm afraid that no matter how much we tried to prevent it those who want you may find you. What I know I leave in here for you. We both loved you very much, never forget that. Dad. August 2015."

She shook her head, tears in her eyes, "Why would he put something like that in his journal? He died in August 2015."

Sobbing, she clung to Jacob and Liam for a few minutes until she calmed down. "Did he know he was sick? He never said anything to me."

Liam shrugged, "There's no way to know, but he was thinking of you. What is in the envelope?"

The only thing inside was a USB flash drive.

"How long can data last on a flash drive?" Jessie asked.

Jacob shrugged, "Maybe 10 years under ideal conditions I think ... this wasn't intended to last forever Jessie. Probably another precaution by your father to protect you."

Jessie's hands were shaking as she whispered, "I could have lost this. I had no need to look at anything in the storage boxes, they could have sat unopened forever ... this had better work Dad!"

She ran out of the garage and into her basement suite. When the twins caught up with her, she was sitting in front of her laptop staring at a password prompt. "There's only one small file on the drive and it's password protected ... damn it Dad there's not a bloody clue ... I've tried at least a dozen things already and no luck."

Liam sighed, "It would have to be something only you would know ..." He looked at the screen, "What's the icon by the file name, that's not a standard one, it looks like a little fish."

"Yes! I didn't see that." Jessie quickly typed something and the file opened.

"What was the password?" Jacob asked.

Jessie smiled, "The name of the only pet I was ever allowed to have, a goldfish named Tinkerbella."

All three of them gathered around the screen and read the contents of the file:

(August 2015)

Jessie, every word that follows is true, please believe it all.

Werewolves are real. They live all around the world. My ordinary human family has known about them for generations, made friends with some, carefully avoided others. We've been trusted with this knowledge for a long time but it is extremely dangerous to be human and know of their existence. Never speak of this to another ordinary human, not ever.

Your mother was a special kind of werewolf. Her appearance when she changed wasn't an ordinary wolf, but one with mixed features of a wolf and a bird. She had no name for what she was. She was beautiful as a human and in her changed form!

We never thought we could have children together. When you came along it was an extraordinary gift for us both, but I know you suffered because your mother was overly protective and concerned for you. You have never showed any signs of being a werewolf yourself, which worried us both because you should be one -- when a human and a wolf have children, the children are wolves too. As I write this you are in your mid-20s and still no sign you are anything other than human. Maybe you will remain so for the rest of your life, but if you ever do start feeling different you will need help.

You must be very careful how you live and who you trust. You know your mother was afraid of many things and never ventured very far from home. I know you were often very frustrated and confused by her actions. Jessie, her life before us was very hard and she had experienced terrible things -- that she functioned at all and loved us both was a miracle really.

You remember her nightmares don't you? Your mother was never able to talk much about it, but I know she saw and felt her whole family die -- both her parents and her twin sister were killed one night. They were travelling on a ship when it happened. Your mother should have died that night as well, she was badly hurt by those who killed her family, but she survived. She lived alone and terrified for years after that, half-starved and desperate all the time. Her first husband gave her a safer life but only for a little while - he was killed protecting her just a few years after they met.

Your mother's family was special, and you may be too, no matter whether you stay simply human or one day find your other werewolf part. I don't know all the details, your mother refused to tell me, but the extra fingers and toes you were born with are apparently a sign of something important, something that could get you killed if some werewolves knew who you were. That is why your mother insisted they be removed when you were a baby. All record of that surgery has been deleted, we made sure of that. Tell no one about it. Your grandmother had the same thing, as did your mother's sister.

Here is all I know about your mother's family. They all lived in England:

Cecile Durant (not your mother's real name, she changed it -- her birth name was Lillian Carter)

May Carter (Your grandmother -- Full first name was Miriam, I don't know her maiden name)

Ethan Carter (Your grandfather)

Elizabeth Carter (Your mother's twin sister)

Ben Forester (Your mother's first husband)

One more thing you need to know. Your mother was older than she looked, quite a bit older. Werewolves can live longer lives than ordinary humans. I don't know if you will live longer than normal but if you seem to be aging very slowly then you'll know you have something of a werewolf in you even if you never do change into one.

I said above that if you do start to feel differently, if you do change, you will need help. Don't attempt to contact any werewolves unless you need to. Stay hidden forever if you can, it is safer that way. But if you do need to, here are the names of two wolves you could contact for help: Kyle and Dora Andrews (Shortlac, Ontario). Tell them my name and that you are my daughter - that should get you a response from them. Tell them nothing about your mother or her family. Keep that hidden from everyone.

I love you.

"My mother's real name was Lillian. Wow ... we've got the names of her family! Surely we can find more about them now. This is wonderful ... and horrible too. I thought maybe someone had died in the SS Egypt accident in 1922 but it sounds like they were all killed by other wolves. Why would that happen?"

Jacob shook his head, "No way to know yet, but wolves need a reason. Strangers can bump into each other off pack land and deal with it without that level of violence."

Liam looked at Jessie, "If you had read that letter say two years ago, what do you think you would have done?"

Jessie shook her head, "Honestly, I don't know. Probably a lot of the same things I did after I saw you shift that first night in my front yard ... or maybe just wondered about my father's sanity. I know so much of what he writes about now, it's good to see what he knew and that he was worried about me. And it's such a short letter damn it! There was so much more he could have said, but didn't. Do you know who those two wolves he named are?"

"No, but Shortlac is in the Hundred Lakes Pack territory. Helen should be able to find out who Kyle and Dora Andrews are."

Liam sighed, "We know something else now -- Miriam Richard knew who her family were even if they didn't know about her or where she was. She named her children after her mother and her aunt Beth."

Jessie looked at the twins, "Is it safe to tell Helen any of this new information? Maybe we should wait."

Jacob nodded, "Let's wait. We've still got a lot to do here and we don't know where we'll be in a few days. Let's focus on what we have to do now ... Jessie, how is your leg doing right now?"

"It's sore but manageable, let's keep going with our tasks for the day."

By dinner time anything important was stored elsewhere, including all her mother's jewellery which was now in a safety deposit box at a bank. Her other half had hated having her treasure locked far away, Jessie had kept reassuring her that it would alright and they'd get it back soon.

Jessie had kept one thing in the safe in the garage -- the medallion she'd taken from Tony Richard. She had a feeling it might come in handy for the meeting in two days.

***************

West Coast POV

Day 4 of 5 -- Planning Day

Jessie had been pacing, thinking and writing notes, doing research all night. Unable to sleep, having found some new information that might be important, she needed to talk to someone. At 5 am, she phoned Helen, hoping she'd have time to listen and comment.

"Hi Helen. I'm sorry to bother you but I need some help. Do you have time for some questions?"

"Ok, go ahead, I've got time."

"Thanks. I've been doing some research online. Am I right that what was once the Richard Pack land is a trust, it's not owned directly by the Richard family?"

"Yes. Mark and Stephen Richard are trustees, along with one other person - the Algonquin Pack Alpha. They control the land and all activities that occur on it but they don't own it. It's all legal technicalities really, as they draw a lot of income from that trust every year -- they treat the land like they own it. The Algonquin Pack considers it all part of their territory."

"But it's not. If the trustees decided to do something different they could."

"Yes, I suppose so. But if they did, I don't think that Mark, Stephen or the other Richard men would remain members of the Algonquin Pack."

"Helen, the trust's legal documents are not public so do you know what the rules are for trustees?"

Helen laughed softly, "Very good Jessie, you are zeroing in on the weak spot that might turn everything on its head."

"Pack Land trusts hide what they are from the ordinary human legal system by referring to documents filed with a shell corporation that conceals the Alpha Council. The first clause in the Richard Land Trust only says that the person who carries the Richard alpha mantle is the senior trustee and appoints the other two members -- the assumption is that the Alpha would be ruling the Richard Pack but it doesn't explicitly say that!"

"The second clause says that if no Richard Family Alpha exists, then the trustees must include at least one member of the Richard family and an Alpha recognized by the Alpha Council who gets to appoint the third member."

"The second clause was invoked when Jacques Richard died and the alpha mantle didn't transfer to one of his sons. Through a lot of deal making, Mark and Stephen Richard became two of the trustees and still control all the Richard family assets. Almost all their wealth is still inside that Trust -- take that away from them, you'd destroy them financially."

Jessie said, "So all I have to do is prove I carry the Richard alpha mantle and I can take it all from them? With Beth's testimony, some more family research, and a genetic test to prove I'm related I could prove who I am couldn't I?"

Helen sighed, "You might be able to take it ... but then you'd have to fight to keep it. It may be 2020 but werewolves still fight to establish rank and power. The Richard men would all challenge you if they felt they could win -- you would likely have to fight one of them, the strongest, to prove you could defend your Alpha status and then you could refuse all their other challenges. The Algonquin Alpha would probably challenge you, saying the land has essentially been his for about 130 years and you don't have a pack to use it. You would have to accept at least 2 challenges and they would both be to the death."

"If you survived all that, then there are still the assassination attempts you'd have to guard against -- if the Richards can't win the honest way they'd do whatever they could to get rid of you, it's who they are."

Jessie exclaimed, "Really?! So they would attempt to do something to an Alpha that they've condemned Jacob and Liam for doing - taking an Alpha's life outside a proper challenge? Jacob killed my great-grandfather to save Liam and in legitimate revenge for the death of his mate, not because he was pissed off at having to give control of something valuable to its rightful owner. Let them try that and I'll get them condemned for it, or I'll figure out some way to compel them not too -- I still have that option."

Helen had to ask, "Jessie, how do you see all this helping Jacob and Liam? That's what you want to do isn't it?"

"It weakens all the Richard men, takes away a lot of their influence and gives me some on the Council for one thing. Maybe I get more Alphas to vote to remove the kill order? And if I have to compel all the Richard men not to kill me, then I tell them not to kill Jacob and Liam too!"

Helen sighed, "Well, it's certainly a lot to think about. It would take some very careful planning."

Jessie and Helen talked for little while longer before Helen had to go to a meeting. Jessie managed to get a couple of hours sleep before Liam woke her up for breakfast and the three of them started planning the meeting with Jenkins.

The biggest concern Jacob and Liam had was how much Jessie wanted to reveal of her situation, who she was, what she wanted to do. If Jenkins' answer at the end of the meeting was "no" then there was no way to keep it all secret any longer, as he would be unlikely to agree to not to reveal it to others. They were gambling everything, there was no safety net if she did it the way she wanted to. Jessie felt she had to be honest and detailed about it, or she wouldn't be able to convince him.

In the end, they agreed she would start by saying as little as she could and only reveal more as needed, stopping if it didn't look like it was going to work.

Liam made Jessie shift and test her leg, it was a bit stiff but she could move, run or fight if needed. She was exhausted though, and the twins could see it. After a dinner where she hardly ate anything, it took both men snuggled up close, one on either side of her, before she finally relaxed and fell into a deep sleep.

***************

West Coast POV

Day 5 -- Meeting Day

This time when they arrived at Rubble Beach, at exactly 10am, the Jenkins' truck was already there waiting. Jacob parked their car as Jessie had done last time, ready for a quick exit if necessary, and the three of them waited for Jenkins and his two companions to exit the truck. Jessie was delighted to see Beth and her great-grandson Dean. Jacob was worried that Jenkins had placed other wolves in the trees, but Jessie was willing to trust Jenkins would do as he had promised he would do.

The day was sunny and the air was warm with only a slight breeze. Jessie saw Beth point to a tight circle of logs set up on the sand a dozen yards from the water. Jenkins shrugged and then nodded, looking over at their car. Everyone walked to the logs and sat down.

After a short amount of small talk where Jessie asked how Beth was feeling, and Beth asked how Jessie's leg was healing, Alpha Jenkins got down to the business at hand.

"Ok, tell me ... why shouldn't I report you three to the Alpha Council?"

Jessie asked, "Can I ask a few questions first, so that I can understand what you know or don't know about some relevant information that my reasons are based on?"

Jenkins nodded, "Fine ... ask away."

"Do you know why the Council issued the "kill or capture" order for Jacob and Liam?"

"They murdered Alpha Jacques Richard, burned down the entire Richard settlement and destroyed the Richard Pack."

"I'm not sure how they could be held responsible for destroying an entire Pack, but let's leave that for now. Why did they murder Richard and burn down the settlement?"

"Jacob was tossed off Richard land for disrespecting Pack law and he came back with his brother to take revenge or steal or who knows what ... they are rogues, always have been."

Jessie heard the twins both take deep breaths, but the three of them had talked a lot about remaining calm and cool no matter what was said today so they stayed in control.

Jessie was curious, "Is that what everybody thinks about the de Vries brothers? Nobody has another story about what happened?" She looked at Beth and Dean who were both nodding.

Jenkins nodded too, "Yes. I was not a member of the Council when all this happened. I've only been Alpha of this pack for about 34 years but this is what I've heard. I know there have been at least two petitions to the Council to revisit their sentence but both times the petitions have been refused without any discussion."

"Beth, you were alive when this happened, you heard nothing different?"

Beth shook her head, "No. Communication was different then. It was chaos after Jacques died and the pack members scattered. There were conflicts breaking out everywhere as power shifted throughout all the packs in the region, the "why" of things just got lost in the mess I think."

Jessie said "Jacob and Liam have told me that Helen Lavalle tried to get the true story out to the wider Were world but attempts to do so just end up with people getting hurt or killed for trying to undermine the Richard Family version of things so she stopped."

Liam spoke up, "It wasn't worth endangering anyone."

Jessie looked at Jenkins, "The true story is that Jacob de Vries was the true mate of Silvie Richard, Jacques Richard's daughter. When they tried to leave pack land together, Jacques hunted them down, killed Silvie and Jacob managed to escape though he was seriously hurt. To lure Jacob back to Richard land, Liam was taken there as a prisoner. Jacob was young and not strong enough then to challenge an Alpha and win. He did what he had to do to save his brother and to take revenge on the wolf who killed his mate -- he did it with a gun, yes, but he did it for reasons that I think wolves understand."

"Beth and Helen can confirm for you that Jacques Richard was a terrible man. His pack, including his family, hated and feared him. Jacob and Liam started a fire in one building as a distraction. The rest of the settlement was burned by the pack as they became free of an abusive, detested Alpha."