Were in the City Ch. 19

"You mean someone has leaked information from Helen's group to the Richards?"

Jessie shook her head, "No, I mean they've known for years ... many, many years already. Mark and Stephen Richard are about your age, so they've got a lot of time left if they are careful. They are playing a long game. As you say, it's hard to control an Alpha. You'd need some pretty strong leverage, or twist their way of thinking to align with your needs. The easiest way would be to manipulate a child you knew was carrying the mantle."

"I think they've tried that twice already. Somehow, they found my grandmother Miriam, probably because she looked like Silvie. Someone who had seen Silvie as an adult reported Miriam's resemblance, and with the names of her two children, you can bet the Richards put two-and-two together. In 1922, on board the SS Egypt, wolves kill one of Miriam's children, then kill Miriam and her husband so they can guarantee that the surviving child has the mantle. But the collision with the other ship occurs and somehow my mother gets away from them."

"Mom knows wolves are looking for her, she hides, never approaching anyone who knew her for fear of being discovered. Maybe she's found, which is why her first husband is killed protecting her ... I don't know about that yet. Maybe the Richards don't find her for a long time but somehow they do and then they wait, watching for her to have children."

"I'm born. They watch. A while ago I told you when I was 12 my Mom pulled me out of school for two years. I don't think it was just her worry about puberty and me turning into a gryphon in public. Its fuzzy, I was young, but a man tried at least twice to get me into a van on my way home from school. I remember telling my Mom about the second attempt and suddenly I'm not going back to school and my parents are whispering and doing all sorts of odd things. We didn't move or run, so my parents didn't discover it was a wolf who tried to get to me, but now I think he was."

"My father wrote on the envelop in his journal ... no matter how much we tried to prevent it those who want you may find you ... why would he say it that way unless he and my mother knew someone was looking?"

Jessie sighed, "Here's where I might be going down the rabbit hole a bit far, but maybe my mother's death was no accident. I was 21 when she was hit by a car, I was showing no sign of being Were yet. If the Richards were watching, they had to have been concerned about me. I was getting too old to manipulate but maybe forcing the mantle to me would at least make me show my Were nature, so they killed my mother."

Jacob groaned, "Jessie, the way you tell this it sounds like it's all true but really, can it be this way? If the Richards are still watching you, then they know about us, and they want us very badly. Why has no one attempted to get to us yet? And why would they send wolves to kill or capture you, the driver, five days ago?"

Jessie nodded, "Good questions. I don't think the Richards know it was me who was the driver. I don't think they are having me watched every minute, I don't think they know everything about me and my abilities, but they know where I am and who I am with."

"I'm sure they are frustrated with waiting, after all it's been almost 100 years since the SS Egypt attempt. That's a long time even for werewolves. They've tried to capture a child twice, no go. Who knows how long it might be until I have a child ... too long to wait. I'm with their enemies - I bet they are apoplectic about that - and looking like someone who might come at them, not hide. They want control and they'll never have it if I go public. They have to stop me before that happens, and they can't kill me or the mantle will be lost."

"I think they are going to try to capture all three of us, and use the threat of your torture or deaths against me. Leverage will have to do if they don't have a child to turn to their way of thinking. Once they have me, they could see to it that I have a child as quickly as possible (not going to think about how, not going there), one they can control from birth. Once I have a child, I'm afraid all three of us would be killed, they wouldn't need any of us any longer."

"We are not safe, not at all, if I'm right."

Liam asked, "Why didn't they attempt that with your mother before you were born, or with you years ago?"

Jessie nodded, "I think they were as confused as Helen about my Mom, she wasn't acting like an Alpha, and then I wasn't showing any sign of being Were until a few months ago. There wasn't any point in trying to make a child with one of us if the mantle was lost. They'd have to be sure we had the mantle first."

Jacob was shaking his head, "This is crazy. Is there any way to prove any of this? And if it's true, what do we do? Go public immediately - make sure everybody knows you exist? Stay alert and fight them off when they come for us? What's the best move?"

Liam groaned, "I'm going to regret saying this, but there's a third option and it might actually be the best one even though it's completely insane. What if we let them take us when they come for us?"

Jacob looked like he was going to have a stroke, "In what way is that the best option?! You want to put us in their hands! No fucking way!!"

Liam sighed, "Give me a minute to make my case before you beat me to within an inch of my life for suggesting it ... if Jessie goes public now she won't be ready to survive the first challenge, we'd be fighting off plenty of attempts on our lives, we wouldn't have enough support from other Alphas to get her claim accepted ... it might prevent a kidnapping in the short term but long term it would fail to accomplish what we want."

"If we fight them off when they come for us, then they'd just keep trying harder - we won't be able to fight off a large number of attackers so we run, hide, have a lot more trouble trying to get the idea of going public off the ground ... it's a mess and it will take years longer to make any progress if we survive."

"So, if Jessie is right and they don't really know that much about her and her abilities, then we let them take us. It may be the only way she ever gets a chance to get close enough to Mark and Stephen, maybe even their sons, to touch them and compel them. We tell Helen what we are going to do, maybe even Alpha Jenkins, so others will know where we are and maybe there are ways they can help. Yes it's a huge risk, but it could be the way to change things swiftly and cleanly."

Liam growled, "And if we find we are trapped, then we do as much damage as we can before they kill us. We don't go down quietly!"

Jessie looked at the two of them, "Wow, that's both incredibly scary and possibly brilliant. Let's talk more about that. But first, how do we confirm if this alternative reality is the right one or not? How could we be being watched without any of us noticing?"

Jacob sighed, "When we get home we do a detailed sweep of everything inside and outside for an electronic surveillance, we talk about nothing important anywhere near home or in vehicles, we switch phones constantly, we have Helen check out everyone in the neighbourhood again and we watch every place, every person for anything unusual. We start with that and see what shows up. We don't let our guard down, not ever."

Jessie reached out and the three of them hugged each other. "Let's go home now. We have a lot to do."

They all shifted and ran at a steady pace back to the car. Jacob crawled around under the car to look for anything out of the ordinary and Liam did the same throughout the car's interior. Jessie checked through the contents of everything they had brought with them but found nothing to worry about.

Jessie asked, "Do we have a phone we think is safe to use right now?"

Liam nodded, "I switched to a new one this morning."

"Then I think if we can get a cell signal we call Helen right now and give her some kind of quick update. We've got to establish a regular check-in from now on so if we miss it she'll know we are in trouble."

Liam nodded again, powered up his phone and punched in a number while Jacob trashed the other two phones they had. When someone answered, Liam said "Have H call back" and hung up. They ate some snacks and drank some water while they waited.

When Helen called back, Liam told her there was a possibility that they were being watched and they needed a full security check ASAP. He also told her they would phone every day at 9am and 8pm. If they missed a check-in, Helen was to assume they'd been kidnapped and to try to find them. The Richards were to be the first suspects.

When Helen heard that last bit she got angry, "Liam, what the hell is going on?!"

Jessie reached for the phone, "Helen, I'm sorry we can't explain everything right now. We need to keep this short, but I have a horrible suspicion that the Richards know about me and my mother's family, that they've known for years. They can't let who I am become public so if they think I'm actively working on that, they'll try to shut me down. They won't kill me - I think they want control of the Alpha with the mantle. If they manage to get to us, if we disappear, do anything you can to help us, please. If you can, talk to Beth, she can fill you in on what else is going on, ok?"

"I understand. I want the rest of the explanation as soon as possible though, don't keep me waiting. I expect your first check-in at 8pm tonight."

Jessie hung up and looked at the twins, "She's going to think I'm nuts isn't she?"

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None of them saw it coming. A truck that had moved over to pass them suddenly swerved into the side of the car and began pushing them off the road into the ditch. Liam did his best to avoid the crash but in the end it made no difference. As the car tumbled and the airbags went off Jessie knew she'd been right and all the other choices they'd had were now off the table. She struggled after the car stopped moving, hanging upside down and trying get out of her seatbelt. "Liam! ... Jacob! ... you ok?!" She heard one of them groan and then a thump as he dropped free of his seat.

Jacob spoke, "Jessie, can you get out? Run, now!"

"No! If they don't have me, then they'll kill you. It's the three of us, or none of us." She heard another groan, Liam was moving.

She heard the sound of doors slamming and several pairs of feet walking quickly on gravel. "They are coming for us. Listen to me both of you ... Will you accept me as your Alpha? I promise never to compel you, to always let you choose your own path, to let you go if you ever ask it of me. I will always love you. Accept me, and we'll have a way to talk to each other. We'll need it now."

Jessie heard Liam take a deep breath and say "Yes, I will." She felt something push into her mind and an awareness of Liam's presence there became an incredible warmth that spread through the rest of her body. "Jacob, say it ... do it ... trust her. Hurry!"

She finally heard Jacob's voice, "Yes, I will." Another push in her mind and the connection to Jacob was made. The warmth in her body gave her strength.

We have to make a good show of this. I'm going to get out and freak out. Get out of the car as quick as you can. If we can all escape, we do it, but if not we stay together.

Her seatbelt finally came free and she dragged herself out of the broken window. Sobbing, she cried out "Jacob?! ... Liam?! ... Help! Help! Please help! My family is hurt!"

She heard a soft sound and a sharp sting in her leg. She looked down to see a small syringe sticking through her pants. Shit. They were very prepared.

We are not getting away, sorry. They've got tranquilizer guns.

Her legs felt like they were encased in cement. She crumpled to the ground trying to stay awake. She heard someone call her name. She knew both her treasures had made it all the way to her before everything faded away.