by Golden Angel
The hardness in Brady's eyes softened just a bit and for a moment she thought he would reach out to pat her hand in reassurance, but he didn't. Unfortunately.
"Daniel's fine, Eli's didn't say anything, I just thought you might like some time to yourself."
"Why would I want that?" she asked, trying to keep her lip from trembling as she smiled timorously at him. Considering his behavior earlier - like, seriously, that was just half an hour ago he was kissing her hand and acting like he was totally into her - she was really freaking confused right now. "I like spending time with you. I - I thought you liked spending time with me too."
His eyes softened again, but only for a moment, and then they shuttered, like curtains over windows. "Yeah, but after..." He waved his hand back at Daniel's room. "I didn't think you'd still want me around."
Jesse felt her brow furrow in confusion, she wanted to reach out and touch him, to reassure both him and herself, but she wasn’t getting the vibe that he’d appreciate that right now. "After what? I didn't even say anything to you in there."
Leaning back, Brady crossed his arms over his chest. "You didn't need to."
Okay, now she was starting to get ticked off. This was her second chance at life - a chance she'd never expected - and she wasn't about to play games with it. She glared at him. "Either say what your problem is or… or…"
"You were fucking horrified that your brother's a monster," Brady accused through clenched teeth. "Well, I'm a monster too, sweetheart. Maybe you didn't really get it, because you haven't seen me shift, but I'm a lot worse than-"
Oh, for crying out loud! He thought she didn't want him because of her reaction to Daniel? He thought she thought Daniel was a monster? Okay, she could kind of understand that but it was so far from the truth… and Brady obviously wasn’t a monster, no matter what his beast looked like. He was strong, and brave, and true. He’d sat by her bedside, waiting for her to recover. He’d spent time with her when she was sick and constantly in pain and unable to focus and falling asleep on him. Even if he looked like a beast when he shifted, he was really a teddy bear at heart and she couldn’t bear the idea that he thought she’d be horrified by him.
Being of the opinion that actions speak louder than words - especially in times of high emotion - Jesse didn't bother to argue with him. She just jumped to her feet, leaned over the big fucker, grabbed his face, and kissed the ever-loving-fuck out of him.
Chapter 3
The taste of minty-fresh toothpaste combined with a subtle and inherent sweetness had Brady opening his lips, wanting more. Jesse squealed against his mouth as he grabbed her hips, pulling her securely onto his lap. She barely weighed a thing, and he wrapped his arms around her as if afraid she might float away if he didn't hold her tightly enough.
The kiss intensified and then gentled as she caressed his face, his fingers exploring the scruff he hadn't bothered to shave and then sliding into his hair. Brady groaned as his cock pressed against her ass, and he let his hand fall down over her hip to get a nice handful of her flesh, making Jesse giggle. In his head, the beast stirred, highly interested in the scent and taste of the woman on his lap - way more interested than it had ever been in any of the other women Brady had met and fucked since being rescued.
Nice.
Ha. Fucking understatement, beast.
Like. More.
The demanding urgency from the beast was new, mostly because Brady could feel it wasn't just interested in sex. Nope, it was interested in sex with one specific woman. Lucky for him, she just happened to be sitting on his lap and, apparently, wasn't turned off by him. Although, still, she hadn't actually seen him shift...
The thought made him tense and not in a good way and Jesse immediately pulled back. "Now what?"
"You haven't actually seen me shift. I mean, I think I get what you're trying to show me right now," he said, squeezing her butt and making a memory. Just in case he never got his hands on it again. "But you might change your mind after you see the beast."
Jesse rolled her eyes at him, which made him scowl. "I'm not going to change my mind. Look, you're made the way you're made. Daniel... well, it was a shock to see him that big. How is a squirrel the size of a tiger supposed to climb trees? How am I supposed to teach him to leap from branch to branch when we'd have to go to the freaking Amazon to find branches big enough? And you know he's going to want to be a soldier the second he turns eighteen; before I had hope he wouldn't be accepted, because it's not like he could fight in his animal form, but obviously that's no longer a problem even though he might never be able to climb trees like he's supposed to."
"I'm a soldier," Brady pointed out, feeling just a bit defensive of his new profession even though he understood it was different. He understood why she didn't want her brother to be one, but he couldn't help but feel like this was already another point against him.
"Yeah, but..." She poked the muscles on his chest and lowered her voice to a tiny whisper, to make sure even her brother's keen shifter ears wouldn't be able to hear. "I mean, look at you and then look at my brother. He's my only family. I don't know what I would do if something happened to him. I don't want to be all alone. I mean, I still have Aunt Penny, for now, but I don't know if she's going to agree to the procedure or not. And I love her, but… she’s not my little brother. I know bad things can happen to anyone, but the risk is so much higher for dangerous professions." Jesse's brow furrowed as she looked at him. "You're right though, you're taking those risks too-"
Ah fuck, he hadn't meant to make her question whether or not it was a good idea to get involved with him!
Rather than let her think too much about that, Brady pulled her down for another kiss to distract her. Jesse resisted for just a second, probably wanting to talk some more about how maybe this wasn't a good idea, but Brady was determined to make her realize it was a really fucking great idea, and after a moment she melted against him. He kissed her hungrily. Deeply. Cradled her in his lap and rubbed his hands all over her.
"Ewwwwwww, gross, get a room."
Jesse would have jumped to her feet at the sound of her brother's voice, but Brady kept a tight hold on her. Yeah, he wasn't going to act like he was embarrassed about being caught; her brother was just going to have to get used to it. Although when he looked over to see Daniel, the teen was grinning. Widely.
Family approval - check.
Well, family approval from the person who mattered. He doubted Jesse's aunt would approve but Jesse had already shown she was willing to go against that.
"As soon as we possibly can," Brady responded, winking at Daniel. Behind the teenager, Dr. Tran shook her head, but she was smiling with amusement.
"Brady!" Jesse slapped his arm and he almost laughed at her. She didn't really think that pathetic little slap was ever going to stop him or make him feel bad, did she? Her cheeks were bright red, but she didn't pull away from him. The beast in his head rumbled. If she did, he'd just pull her right back down on to his lap.
"Daniel is good to go," Dr. Tran said, smiling at both of them. "It's like the Torch never touched either of you. The modifications to your animals will probably take some getting used to. Daniel says he's starving for a steak, rare. Anything like that happening to you, Jesse?"
She wrinkled her nose, looking repulsed, and then her expression turned to one of dismay. "Ew... I didn't think I would, but as soon as you said it, yeah, that's exactly what my squirrel wants. And that's really disturbing, because my squirrel has never wanted anything but specific nuts before."
Brady grinned, because he knew Jesse was talking about her squirrel's unholy love for cashews, something she'd already told him about. He'd gotten them for her a couple of times, before eating had become too painful for her, even though cashews were a softer nut.
"I can take them to the cafeteria," Brady offered.
Dr. Tran nodded, her smile slipping. "Afterwards, they need to go visit Dr. Montgomery. That was part of the deal."
A growl rumbl
ed through Brady's chest, making Jesse shiver on his lap. He'd been told his growls had an unnatural sound to them. Not just his, his whole family's. He supposed that was what happened when a mad scientist mixed bunnies, bears, and turtles all together. Before Montgomery had gotten a hold of the Bunson family, they'd just been human, although with shifters in their ancestry. Far, far back in their ancestry.
The doctor exchanged a look with him. Her expression was blank, but he could see the rage in her eyes. Rage directed at Montgomery. It hadn't taken Brady long to realize that all of the doctors and soldiers here hated the man, purely for what he'd done. They hated that he lived. Hated that he had the knowledge in his head to save others. Hated that they still needed him in order to save them.
While Brady was grateful Jesse and Daniel were alive and better, he still wanted Montgomery dead. As far as he was concerned, no matter how many lives Montgomery saved, he couldn't be redeemed. The man had no soul. He'd only cared about his goal, not about the individual lives he could save. It was all science and what he wanted. It had started when his mate and kits had died of a disease he couldn't save them from. Brady could understand how that could screw with a person, but he didn't understand how someone could go from mourning their own family to tearing apart another's without caring.
At least he still had his brothers and sisters, even if The Company - the mysterious organization backing Montgomery's work and other labs which Eli's men had been raiding for the past few months - had had their parents killed after kidnapping him and his siblings. Bastards. Montgomery gave them information about The Company in dribbles, and only when Brady, Brock, or Brice talked to him. He'd probably give up a little more information if he ever got to talk to Bethany or Bailey, because they all knew that's what he wanted - especially Bailey - but that would happen over Brady's dead body. Bailey was the baby of the family, the last to have her genetics changed by Montgomery's experiments, and she was the smallest and most vulnerable in both human and animal shapes. Brady hadn't been able to protect them before, but he could now.
Jesse's hand rubbed his chest, where his growl was still vibrating. "It's okay," she whispered to him. "We knew Daniel and I would have to."
There was a kind of curiosity in her eyes, along with reluctance. Brady could understand her being curious about Montgomery, but reluctance was the smarter reaction. Stifling his growls, Brady opened his arms so Jesse could get to her feet.
He'd take them to the cafeteria. Then he'd taken them to see Montgomery. Even if the thought made both him and his beast want to roar.
Looking up at him with a tremulous smile, Jesse held out her hand. "We should probably check in on Aunt Penny at some point too."
Oh joy. Might as well get the bad things over with. Then maybe he could take Jesse and Daniel out for a shift and a run, get them dinner, bribe Brice to distract Daniel... and then Brady could have Jesse all to himself. A real date. Romance. Privacy. Uninterrupted kisses. The things he’d dreamed about doing when he was sitting next to her hospital bed, silently praying for her to be cured.
If she was okay with being separated from her brother this evening. Otherwise he'd wait. But he was definitely going to at least try.
******
Evil shouldn't look this innocuous.
If Jesse hadn't known what Dr. Montgomery had done to Brady and his siblings, she would have never thought this mild-mannered man even capable of such cold-hearted atrocity. He was just so average looking, with dirty blonde hair, average height, kind of skinny... only his eyes gave him away. There was a deadness to them, like he'd forgotten what happiness was. But that was no excuse. Jesse had lost almost her entire family too, and she still couldn't understand ruining another family - killing the parents and experimenting on the children. Even if Daniel was still sick and dying, she didn't think she could say "Yes, do that, it's worth it."
Beside her, Brady was standing stiffly at attention. Daniel was on her other side, and Eli standing beside him.
The doctor sat in a glass cell, where everything could be seen. The only nod to privacy was a small curtained area off in the corner, where she assumed the bathroom facilities were. The room was visible from all four sides, other than that area. There wasn't much room in the cell. Just enough for a bed, and a small table with a chair.
It was impossible for to mistake the doctor for anything but a prisoner, and yet he didn't look totally unhappy. Not that he looked happy either, but Jesse would have been miserable in a tiny room like that with people watching her every movement. Even when he went behind the curtain he wouldn't have complete privacy - shifters would be able to hear everything.
"So I succeeded," Dr. Montgomery said, a thin smile spreading on his face. The glass wall behind him was covered in marker - Jesse assumed the kind he could wipe off - with all sorts of calculations and notes. "Any side effects?"
Jesse scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why does my brother turn into a squirrel the size of a tiger while I stayed squirrel sized?"
The doctor's eyes widened, curiosity tingeing his expression, but there was something else there too. A tiny thread of another emotion that Jesse couldn't read, but which made her skin crawl in response, as if her squirrel was picking up something unsavory that it couldn't quite define. "How intriguing... I could run some tests -"
"No," Eli and Brady said at the exact same time. The doctor actually pouted.
"You'll get the results of our tests and that's it," Eli said, his tone firm. Even though he kind of looked like he should be in Hollywood as a leading man, he had a definite aura of danger about him. He was like a chameleon - warmly charming when he wanted to be, and terrifyingly intimidating when he chose. "That was the deal. If there are unexpected side effects, you'll hear about them in those reports."
"Maybe you don't need my help anymore," Dr. Montgomery snapped, his eyes flicking to Daniel and Jesse again. Jesse shifted closer to her brother, even though it wasn't like the doctor could get to them through his cell. Beside her, Brady shifted towards her and a little forward, a protective stance that made her want to snuggle up to him and yet made her squirrel snarl - her usually placid little animal apparently didn't think it needed a protector. Another unanticipated side effect of the doctor's cure - her squirrel was definitely acting more like predator than prey. Picking up on Jesse's agitation, it wanted to go for the doctor's throat with its new teeth, which she found a bit unnerving. "I don't have to keep helping you."
"Please," Brady said, his voice a dark, silky rumble of violent anticipation; his shoulders rolled back, muscles stretching in an impressive display Jesse's libido appreciated. The doctor visibly recoiled. "Please stop helping."
"You know the deal," Eli said, his voice hard and unforgiving. "You help us, you get to live. If we run to the end of your usefulness, but you've done all you can, you get to live out the rest of your days knowing you've completed what you set out to accomplish, and you'll do it from inside that cell. If you stop helping us by your own choice... well then you've broken our deal and Brady here gets to decide your fate."
Violence and a thirst for vengeance were practically emanating off of Brady, but the doctor didn't seem at all perturbed anymore. He just shrugged, sniffed, and turned his head away, obviously unhappy he wasn't getting what he wanted, but indifferent to the threat.
"We're done here," Brady said with a growl, turning his back on the doctor. The man stared at the calculations on his wall, seemingly ignoring them now.
"But-" Daniel started to say. Jesse grabbed his arm and pulled. Her brother was far too curious about the doctor for her peace of mind.
"Come on," she told him. "We need to go see Aunt Penny." Daniel made a face. "I know, but she's family."
"She's just going to yell at us."
To be perfectly honest, Jesse actually hoped the woman would be capable of it still. The more the Torch burned through her, the less she'd be able to focus on things like yelling at them. Before they'd gotten sick and were offered a cure she
didn't approve of, Penny had been a good aunt and done her best to take care of them after their parents died. Plus, coming to grips with the small changes her own squirrel was going through and worrying over what changes Daniel's squirrel was going through (since he seemed to have more than her) gave Jesse some sympathy for where Penny was coming from. They hadn't known - and still didn't really know - all the effects of messing around with their genomes and DNA.
But she didn't regret being alive.
When Brady's hand slid around hers, his fingers warm and comforting, as they walked down the hall, Jesse could only think that she really, really, really didn't regret being alive.
Even if her formerly placid squirrel was becoming a bit bloody-minded.
******
"You did it, didn't you?" Aunt Penny didn't even sound angry, just tired and resigned. She was a pale wraith of her former self, her brow furrowed with pain, her mouth tightened by it. She looked awful. Jesse hated to think that she'd looked like that herself just a few days ago.
"We did," Jesse said, reaching out to pat Aunt Penny's hand before she remembered how agonizing contact would be and pulling back. She glanced back at Daniel, who was hovering at the foot of the bed. Brady had opted to stand by the door, like some kind of centurion. For the first time, Jesse wondered if he was ever going to go back to his training or if maybe he'd completed his training and was assigned to guard her and Daniel... or if he was just enjoying hanging around them. Whatever the reason, she wasn't going to complain. "Neither of us feel any pain at all anymore. It's a good thing, Aunt Penny."
Her aunt raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Oh? Does this mean you weren't changed by it at all? You're still exactly who you were?"
