Liam's POV
Jenkins' Safe House, Province of Quebec
He felt a bit better when he woke up this time. He didn't know what day it was, or where he was, but he could breathe easier. He moved, attempting to sit up using his one unbandaged hand ... there was pain but it was bearable.
Let me help you Liam, don't pull everything apart again please!
He saw Beth rise up from a chair across the room and approach the bed. It didn't take long to get him sitting up and supported by a bunch of pillows behind his back but that simple task took everything he had out of him. He lay back, feeling dizzy. Beth handed him a glass.
Here, drink. I'll get you something to eat. Don't try to get out of bed, don't pull out the IV, don't be stupid ... got it? We'll talk when I get back, just be patient. We are safe here right now, please believe me.
Liam nodded.
Where are Jacob and Jessie?
Beth sighed, looking stern.
When I get back with food. Just stay put.
He drank everything in the glass, put it down and closed his eyes.
Jessie? ... Jacob? ....
Only Beth answered.
They are not here right now Liam but its ok. Just relax. I'll be with you in a few minutes.
He was in a house. The bedroom window was open behind closed curtains and he could hear traffic in the distance ... a busy road, maybe a highway. Beth had gone downstairs, he could hear her moving around in what he assumed was the kitchen, but he heard no one else.
Beth are we alone?
Yes, it's just the two of us. Don't worry, its ok. I'll explain everything while you eat.
As he waited Liam tried to remember what had happened. It was all very confused after he'd been shot in the chest the second time. He'd told Tim to pile a bunch of furniture in front of the broken tunnel door in case anyone else tried to get through and stayed conscious long enough to tell Tim to take him upstairs to Jessie. After that, there were only brief impressions of things ... on the floor with someone pressing on his chest, Jessie crying, lying down in a moving car, Jacob yelling, Beth telling him he was going to be alright, and being afraid, very afraid, of something. There had only been a handful of times in his long life where he'd been very seriously hurt. It appeared this time probably ranked second in his list of critical incidents. He had to be ahead of Jacob in
tout juste
points now.
Beth came upstairs with a big mug of soup and some toast
. Eat this ... slowly. If it agrees with you I'll expand your food choices some more later.
Liam started taking sips and bites.
Tell me where we are, what's going on? Where are the others?
Beth nodded, switching to voice. "I want you to listen and sit still, understand? You are too weak to go anywhere right now, if you try you'll just hurt yourself and I'll have to patch you up. I've done that two times already and I don't want to do it again. Ok?"
"Yes, fine. I'll behave. Now talk!"
"We are in a house in Quebec that Bill Jenkins rented. It's only the two of us, Bill and his wolves have gone back home. He couldn't risk taking you onto his pack land and there was nowhere else for you to go so I said I'd stay with you until you were able to look after yourself and decide what you wanted to do. Bill helped the Were Jacob rescued move on to other places before he left so that's all taken care of."
"Where are Jessie and Jacob?"
"I know where they went. I don't know what's happened to them though. Bill will call if he hears anything. Jessie drove Jack Richard to Timmins Ontario, where he was to meet up with another three Richard family members before they flew out of the country. She didn't tell anyone but Bill what she was going to do. When Jacob found out he went after her. That was five days ago."
Liam looked stricken, "Shit! You've heard nothing? Someone has to find out what's happened, they may need help."
"I know it's hard, I'm very worried for them both too. But there is nothing we can do for them at the moment. You have to heal, regain your strength, the faster the better. Bill called last night to fill me in on what's going on around us here right now. We have to keep our heads down. The Algonquin Pack attacked Helen's group ... the truce is broken. Apparently Helen is being blamed, but we know it wasn't her doing. Our adventures on the Richard estate are all wrapped up in this, Bill's attack is assumed to be Helen's fault. Nobody yet knows Bill and his wolves were there. The Algonquin Alpha and his family are dead, a Beta has taken control and has fought off several challengers already. Bill doesn't know what's happened to Helen, no one is answering when he calls the contact numbers he has."
"Liam, Bill needs to talk to you. He doesn't know what he should do now. There are members of the Council who want to wipe out all the rogues they can find, saying that Helen's aberrations have been tolerated for far too long and that this was the inevitable result. Bill's spoken to the few Alphas he trusts, telling them he knows that Helen is not to blame, but he says there are not enough votes to defeat a motion to destroy Helen's group."
Liam nodded, "Get him on the phone for me, I'll do what I can to help. How close are we to Helen's property?"
Beth shrugged, "Maybe six hours by car, but there's no safe way in there, its surrounded." She pulled a phone out of her pocket, intending to select Jenkins' contact info but Liam stopped her.
"Give it to me. I have to check something first."
He tapped in a number and selected speaker mode. It was a voice mail system. Liam played the two messages he found there:
Den under attack. Do not approach. Defend as necessary, please do not attack. Switch to contact option four.
Two birds, one gone, one sings in a new cage. Mother is in the shower. Defend as necessary, please do not attack. Switch to contact option four.
Beth sighed, "I get the first message ... I hope you understand the reference to option four ... but what's the second one?"
"Helen found her leak ... two people it seems ... one's dead, the other is alive and talking. That might help if she has to prove the Algonquin wolves attacked her not the other way around. The second message was left two days ago. At that time Helen was still alive and 'shower' tells me where. Ok, now let's talk to Jenkins."
***************************
Jessie's POV
In the wild, west of Timmins Ontario
Catching squirrels was hard work. The pesky critters moved like lightening, were hard to sneak up on, and when they got away from you up a tree they started yelling at you, warning every other squirrel in the area. You had to eat at least six to stave off hunger pangs, and Jessie was hunting for two since Jacob was working with just three good legs at the moment. He could spot prey and drive it to her, but wasn't maneuverable enough to reliably catch the small creatures they were subsisting upon. He wasn't helpless, two nights ago he'd caught two rabbits - but really, in 2020, why couldn't they just order lots of pizza to go! She fantasized about finding a phone, ordering food, and getting an Uber-Eats driver to deliver it to a convenient highway mile marker.
She was a city girl and the wild life was getting old fast, however much her other half loved the sights, smells, and the freedom. She'd been in gryphon form continuously now for four days, longer than ever before. It had rained for most of the day yesterday and she'd found out just how much fun (not!) it was to be a soggy bird-wolf. Turns out wet feathers were not as insular as wet fur. Once they'd stopped moving for the day Jacob had had to curl around her to warm her up. Being special had its drawbacks. Jessie was very glad it was summer -- winter in the wild would be much more complicated.
They had a destination in mind and were getting close.
After she and Jacob had hugged, kissed and groped the heck out of each other when she woke up in the SUV they'd had to decide which direction to travel. Getting their hands on a phone was top priority. Once they knew what was happening elsewhere and where Liam was they could decide what to do next. Jessie was all for heading directly to the nearest town, but Jacob wanted to move at least a few days away from the car before taking any chance of being seen. Touching him, she could tell he was hiding something from her. When she confronted him he told her what he had done at the airport.
To say she was mad about it would be putting it mildly. Jacob had made himself a massive target for the remaining Richards, declaring himself still alive and the sole reason for Peter's death, Jack's disappearance, and whatever had happened to the plane (which she suspected wasn't going to be good for those on board unless they'd landed before dawn). Of course Jacob had done it to protect her from their vengeance, to hide her special abilities as long as possible ... and there was also the need to declare his own retribution for past Richard actions ... but now Mark and Stephen Richard would use everything they had to hunt him down. Overall, it made things worse for her family damn it!
But what was done was done. Move on, figure out the next step. As they'd tried to decide, Jessie remembered what her father had said in his letter. There were two wolves in ShortLac who might help her. Using the navigation device in the car she saw that place was only about 150 miles west, and nobody other than Liam would have any reason to think they'd go there. Jacob agreed it was unpredictable and far enough from the car, so off they went (after trashing the nav device so no one would know what they'd been looking at!)
They were close to the Hundred Lakes Pack land now, and had to be very careful. They couldn't cross the boundary without permission. Moving back to the highway, they followed it, passing a sign that said ShortLac was 5 miles ahead. A side road a mile later had wolf scent markings all around it and they stopped.
This is the boundary. Go down that road. There should be a gate, a sentry station. Call for me if anything feels wrong or goes wrong. Ok?
Jessie nodded.
