by Sayde Grace
She cleared her throat to try and speak. The raspy noise drew Jasper’s attention. His head turned to her, his hand released Dr. Thomas, and Jasper was at her side in a split second.
His hands cupped her face, and his eyes held that sweet vulnerable glint. She tried to smile, but the hands cupping her face were too tight. “Jasper.” Her lips barely opened as they were pressed together. He relaxed his grip, but caressed her face.
“Jasper.” She coughed, clearing the rattle from her throat. “How long have I been here, and what is going on?”
He shook his head. Fear ripped through him to her. She turned her head to kiss his palm. A tremble raced through him. “A few hours. I’m so sorry…”
Her hand grabbed his left arm to turn it, looking at the tattoo. “That’s not possible. You didn’t have these before.”
His eyes went wide. He glanced back at Dr. Thomas then down at her. “Babe, only Lunas can see those markings. I’ve always had them. They’re my pack symbol.” Slowly, he pulled the blanket from her shoulders to uncover her body. The mating mark throbbed with anxiousness and maybe a little excitement. She couldn’t distinguish whether they were her emotions, his, or both.
* * * *
Slowly, Jasper turned her left arm, and his eyes almost bugged out of his head. Jasper rubbed his palm across her skin, his breathing heavy and slow. Dr. Thomas inched his way toward Sidda, but Jasper growled and shook his head.
On her upper arm, shining against her tanned skin, was a large full purple moon and, under it, a lone auburn-colored wolf. To the side of it, swirls of red and blue circled around her arm sometimes entangled, mixing to purple. Unlike his or Dr. Thomas’s tattoo, hers held only a lone wolf with smaller ones twined into the swirls.
He stroked the tattoo with his thumb, and she gasped, shaking her head wildly. Her eyes widened. “This isn’t right. I’m human. This is some kind of weird dream. The lust has fried my brain. I need rest. I’ll sleep it off.” She snatched her arm away from Jasper, snuggling down into the blanket.
He caught the gleam of tears in her eyes. He peeked in her head. She thought he’d turned her.
Jasper continued to stroke her arm until she jumped unexpectedly.
Cole stood over her, holding a safety pin. “Felt that?”
She nodded.
“Then you’re not dreaming, and I’d say someone has some serious fucking explaining to do. You wanna go first, Jasper?”
Rage built within Jasper seeing his mate hurt. He grabbed Cole by the collar of his shirt and slung him backwards. “Don’t ever hurt my mate. You may be like a brother to me, but if you ever harm her again, I will harm you ten times worse. If not kill you.” He growled.
Cole jumped from the ground. “Fuck you, man. I’m not one of your damn wolves to boss around. I want to know what the hell is happening!” Cole screamed. His tone held both hurt feelings and anger.
Jasper moved toward him, but Sidda’s hand tightened on his arm. “We all want to know. Now calm down. All of you.” Sidda squeezed again on his arm. He nodded solemnly before sitting down.
Jasper knew she didn’t truly want to know the truth, but she had to. Somehow her DNA had changed to Luna or her doctor had been disguising her Luna traits all along. Now it was time to find out just what in the hell was going on.
Chapter Seven
“Dr. Thomas, I think you should start from the beginning. I’ve seen you since I was a baby. Tell us what is going on.” Sidda waved her hand for him to come closer.
He pulled the white sleeve of his lab coat down. His eyes darted around the room. Jasper stilled, and slowly he turned to look at the middle-aged, grey-haired wolf.
“He’s not middle-aged. Dr. Thomas is probably the oldest wolf in North America. He’s an omega.” Jasper’s voice rasped with anger.
Sidda knew omega wolves lived the longest of all wolves. No one bothered to challenge them because they were seldom a threat. They were calm, obedient, and, in most cases, the healer of the pack.
“Out of my head.” Sidda told Jasper absently, not really caring if he was there. “Dr. Thomas, you seriously need to explain what’s happening. I can only hold him back for so long. After that, I’m pretty sure he’ll snap your neck.”
Dr. Thomas sighed, shaking his head. “You can do whatever you want. You just haven’t realized it yet. I think, however, before we get into this conversation, we wait for your mom.” He picked up her chart from the bed. The papers were printed on red paper instead of white. Luna paperwork.
Fury whipped inside her. “No, explain now, or I will be the one snapping your neck.”
Dr. Thomas sucked in a sharp breath. Lemon filled the air. The scent was so thick she almost gagged. “Why does it smell like lemons now? It’s fine in little whiffs, but this is overwhelming.” She coughed the overpowering scent out.
“You smell lemons?” Jasper stroked the top of her hand with his thumb.
“Yeah, can’t you?” she asked, confused.
“Yes, I do. Doctor?” Jasper’s gaze pinned Dr. Thomas.
“Yes, all right.” He sat down on a stool near the bed.
Cole stood beside the bed. His knees were touching it he was so close. He ran a hand through his messy hair. Jasper must have noticed as he moved closer to her, leaving a space at the end of the bed for Cole.
“Sit down, Cole. You’re as much her brother as you are mine.” Jasper hesitated. “Sorry about earlier, man. It’s just…”
“I know.” Cole sank to the bed, turning his attention back to the doc.
Dr. Thomas inhaled deeply and, on the exhale, started his story. “Twenty-three years ago, Angela showed up at my home in Atlanta with Siddalee. Angela and I had dated some. She knew I was a werewolf doctor, so when she found Siddalee, she brought her to me. Siddalee wasn’t crying, didn’t appear sick and, for all my senses, seemed to be a perfectly healthy human baby.”
A creak at the door stopped him. A nurse poked her head inside. Dr. Thomas held up a hand to her, and she left.
“As I was saying, she was fine. But Angela revealed she’d found the baby in a dumpster outside a lab.”
Sidda’s mind went blank. Her mother wasn’t her mother? She had been put in a dumpster? Holy shit on a stick. She was a thrown away mutt?
“Sidda, don’t.” Jasper pulled her tight against him.
Even in Jasper’s strong safe arms, she felt no comfort. Her life was unraveling around her.
Dr. Thomas continued on, unaware or uncaring about her mental breakdown. “Angela had heard two men talking. One had hoped for more success, after all, he was the father and the mother was one of the strongest Blue Moons. The other asked what to do with the infant. According to Angela, one man wrapped the baby up in plastic and set it inside the dumpster, and then the other man, who she claims never to have seen, said they’d try again. Next time with the Blue Moon Alpha She-Wolf.”
Sidda’s body vibrated when Jasper growled. His body stiffened, and anger flooded her. The mark throbbed with it, and her blood boiled. An anger she never knew existed burst within her. Jasper’s hand released hers, and the world settled back. He moved off the bed, away from her. The farther he moved away the more the anger within her receded.
She looked over at him. His head bowed slightly, and his eyes had turned orange. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to pass…”
“It’s fine. That means our bond is strong, right?”
He nodded and settled back beside her. This time when his hand picked hers up, only a faint hum of anger pulsed into her.
“The Blue Moon She-Wolf would have been your mom?” She raised her eyebrows at him. He nodded again, anger rising.
“This happened long before your pack was attacked.” Dr. Thomas stared at Jasper. “But it means that the other man had already captured at least one or more Blue Moons.”
“Son of a bitch.” Jasper shook his head. “Velham. My pack had thought he was behind several blues going missing. They never could prove it, but they always sensed a Red
Moon wolf in the area right before a female would disappear.”
Dr. Thomas nodded. “When Angela brought Siddalee to me, I examined her. She showed no signs of wolf temperament. Nothing out of the realm of human. But the more I tested her, the more unhappy she became. Soon her eyes turned to orange, and her screams turned to growls. The rage she exhibited was unlike anything I’d ever seen in an infant, yet she had complete control over it. As soon as I stopped touching her, she stopped screaming and her eyes turned back to green.”
Sidda stared in disbelief. There was no way she could really be a Luna. Every blood test she’d taken for school, DMV, college, every test showed human blood cells. Her genetic testing had always shown she was a human. Hell, even her driver’s license said “human” under the species.
Dr. Thomas sighed. “I ran bloodwork on her, comparing her DNA against the DNA profiles of all the packs on record. Siddalee, you are a mixture of Packs.”
She shrugged. “A mutt, that suits. I wasn’t any better as human so why the hell would it be different as a Luna?” She turned, hiding the tears building.
Dr. Thomas sucked in a breath like he’d been slapped. “Not a mutt. You are a mixture of the two greatest, strongest Packs known. The problem is they’re rival Packs, and your conception is abominable. No child should have to grow up knowing they were brought into the world through force, or to be used as a weapon, or to be suffocated. And that is exactly what would have happened if Angela hadn’t brought you to me.” He stood.
Sidda’s mind reeled. The two oldest Packs. Think. What did Jasper say about his pack and the other? Red Moons and Blue Moons were the oldest, and they were enemies. The Red Moons wanted to gain the power of the Blue Moons. She was a freakin’ experiment!
Damn, but Sidda hated what she was hearing so far. “So, Dane Velham ordered a pack member to capture and rape a Blue Moon female to see if they could produce what?” She struggled to keep from screaming in rage. Jasper’s head rolled back, resting on the headboard of the hospital bed. He sighed, hoping to push away the anger roaring in his head. He didn’t want to trigger Sidda’s change. Not now at least. “It would produce a Red Moon with the power to calm her wolves and stop the moon shift. And to have a psychic gift. He would have taken Betas with clairvoyant gifts or mind readers. They are the most useful in a pack. If successful, the product of the conception would be able to read minds or see the future, control the wolves’ moon shift, and be stronger than any female Alpha, nearly stronger than any male Alpha.”
Disbelief flashed across her face. “No, that’s not it. There is a mistake. I can’t do any of those things.”
“Yes, you can.” Cole spoke for the first time since sitting down. “I’ve seen it. I always thought it was amazing how you could calm someone down or build their anger with just a look. When you fight, you’re damn near ruthless, but you never start it. You control your emotions so well, that if I hadn’t known you my entire life, I’d think you were a cold-hearted bitch.”
Leave it to Cole to say something important yet sound like a complete jackass. Jasper opened his mouth, but Sidda beat him to it.
“Wow, thanks.” She glared at Cole.
“No, don’t get mad. It’s a compliment. I’ve always wanted a fraction of your control.” Cole grinned.
Jasper ran a hand through his hair before turning his attention back to the doctor. “So you let Angela keep her instead of sending her to the Blue Moons? Why?” Jasper’s voice was low, hinting of the rage building in him.
“Would your pack have wanted her? Or would they have executed her for the way she was brought into the world and the threat she would have been seen as?”
Jasper stared at Dr. Thomas. He wanted to say no, that they would have taken Sidda as she was, forgetting all about how she came into the world, yet he couldn’t. Sidda stiffened in his grip from his silent reaction. The doc happened to be right. Jasper’s pack would have killed her. He grasped her hand, knowing instinctively she would need comforting. His heart hurt as hers broke. Her sorrow and insecurity drifted to him through their bond.
“Babe, don’t ever think for one minute I’d let something happen to you.” He kissed her forehead. She nodded absently against him.
Dr. Thomas cleared his throat, getting their attention. “She’s been taking genetic suppressants since she was a year old. They hide her scent, her inner wolf, and keep the appearance as human. All her blood work has been handled by me. That’s why she has always tested human. I tried to contact her about missing the shot but wasn’t able to reach her. I’d planned on coming up, but news of your arrival filtered through so I waited. Angela had told me of the affection the two of you shared. I knew it was only a matter of time before you marked each other. I imagine that, without the suppressant, her wolf surged through during the Marking.”
“Afterward. We were getting ready to head to Atlanta to see you. She started feeling sick so we left. During the walk to the truck, she started throwing up. Then her hands turned to paws. I didn’t know what to do so I touched her mark, hoping it’d make her calm down. Instead she passed out completely.”
“No other signs of her wolf before that? I’d think it’d be a slower transition.” Dr. Thomas’s eyebrows furrowed together in a tight frown.
“It started a few weeks ago. Right after I missed my shot,” Sidda whispered. “I’d hear a little voice every once in a while. Especially when I was mad or thinking about Jasper. But the thing is nothing really pissed me off like when he mentioned other female wolves.”
Dr. Thomas hid his smile behind his hand. He pretended to be rubbing his chin, but they all saw the lift of his lips. “Well, a dominant she-wolf wouldn’t stand for her mate speaking of other females. No doubt that is what triggered her coming to.”
Sidda tightened her grip on Jasper’s hand when he glared at the doctor. “I wasn’t speaking of other wolves. I was telling her…”
“It doesn’t matter.” She squeezed his hand a little tighter. “What happens now? Where do we go from here?”
Dr. Thomas looked away. His expression was torn. After a few seconds, he turned back to her. “That’s up to you and your mate. You have the option of burying your wolf again. I can give you the shot, but it’ll take a much higher dosage, and I’m not entirely comfortable with doing that. Or you can let Mr. Gandillion show you about being a wolf.” He nodded toward Jasper. It struck her then that Jasper must really be the rightful Luna Alpha, since a wolf like Dr. Thomas addressed him so formally.
“What about my father and mother? Do you know who they are?” She sat up, pulling away from Jasper to watch Dr. Thomas’s face.
His eyes shadowed with regret. Her heart stilled. This could not be good. “Dane Velham is your father.”
Beside her, Jasper’s body went completely still, and his breathing nearly stopped, making Sidda even more anxious.
“There’s no fucking way that bastard is her father.” Jasper gritted his teeth.
The Doc merely nodded. “I had his DNA profile on record. He’s her father. I don’t know who the mother is except for the fact that she was a Blue Moon Beta. Her DNA strand only carries a few genetic points of direct Alpha, so she’s not directly related to you. Those genetic markers can show how closely related you are, like DNA matching for paternity.”
Sidda shook her head. “Wait, what does that mean?” She’d deal with Dane Velham as her father later. Right now she wanted to make sure Jasper wasn’t her brother. She couldn’t bear to give him up, and if he was her brother, they’d just have to kill her.
“Your genetics hold a certain gene that passes to all Blue Moons, but your DNA is removed from Mr. Gandillion. Therefore, you’re merely pack mates, not brother and sister or even cousins.”
She sighed in relief. Thank god for small miracles.
“Enough, time to go home.” Jasper’s body was still stiff as she watched him gather her things from the small hospital room.
“Mr. Gandillion, I think it best she stays here for o
bservation.”
Jasper growled deep and threatening. “She is going to our home. I will be the only one observing her. You’ve had twenty-three fucking years. No more. We’re going home.” He turned to Cole. “Get the truck, call her mother again, and have her at the pack headquarters. I’m taking Sidda back to my family’s home. Our home.”
“The hell you are. I am not going to your family’s house. Where the hell is it even at, who’s there, and why would I want to go somewhere I won’t be welcomed?” She looked past him to Cole. “Get the truck all right, but we’re going to my mom’s.”
She gasped when Jasper snarled. His lips pulled back, his teeth turning to longer points. “Do not fight me on this. You are mine, you will go to our home, and you will be respected as my mate. Once the pack sees you, they will know you are their Alpha female.”
Sidda stared at him. “Jasper, do not make me fight you on it. I don’t want to go, and I won’t.”
He spun around on her so fast she didn’t even have a chance to flinch. “I can and will make you go. If I have to make you sleep the entire way there and chain your sweet ass to my bed once we get there, I will.” He grabbed her wrists to drag her to him. “The house should be ready. Before I came here, I called and had a cleaning crew go make the house presentable.”
“No. I won’t g—”
“Damn it, Sidda.” He sighed and then lifted his hand to her mark. She gasped before her world went black again.
Chapter Eight
Jasper moved through the large house to check on Sidda. He’d left her in their bed sleeping. He cracked the door open to see her sprawled across the bed with the covers kicked to the ground. He smiled at her beautiful body lying nearly bare before him.
He sighed when his footsteps didn’t waken her. She’d be more than pissed when she woke up, but he hoped she’d take out that frustration with some “mad” sex. He caressed her silken cheek and kissed her lips softly before leaving her to rest. Soon she wouldn’t be the sleeping angel she currently seemed to be. Soon she’d be a fiery, pissed-off wolf.
