BirthRight

by Sydney Addae

  Jasmine eyed their visitor and spoke. “Good. Rese called while you were out.”

  “He did?” A light flared in her son’s eyes.

  Jasmine nodded, so pleased with his response she forgot the stranger. “Yeah. He should be here tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” Tyrone beamed. Then he frowned. “Are you sure? How’d he get off?” His eyes slid to Silas and then returned to her.

  Hesitating, she bit her lip, not wanting to talk family business in front of a stranger.

  “We’ll talk about that later,” Renee said. “Silas, do you know how long they intend to keep my nephew here? Can he be transferred to St. Louis and receive treatment there?”

  “That is certainly something that can be discussed with the doctor in the morning. I’m not exactly sure what type of therapy is planned for Tyrone, so I cannot say.”

  “Thanks.” Renee nodded and turned back to Jasmine, her brow raised.

  “Something smells good.” Tyrone lifted slightly to see over the footboard.

  Jasmine looked back at the tray with quite a few goodies on it. “Your aunt brought back lunch, but none for you until the doctor clears it.”

  His face fell as he slumped back on the bed. “Tomorrow. I need real food to get better.”

  She and Renee laughed.

  Silas smiled. He had a nice smile, Jasmine thought.

  “Mom, Aunt Renee, I wanted both of you to meet Silas Knight. He’s the top man in charge.”

  Silas looked at her and then Renee. “If you need anything or have any concerns, feel free to come to me.”

  “How do we contact you?” Renee asked.

  With an economy of movements, he handed Jasmine a card, nodded at Tyrone, and walked out the room.

  When she could no longer hear his footsteps, Jasmine sat on the edge of the bed and held Tyrone’s hand.

  “Now that’s a man.” Renee blurted.

  Both Tyrone and Jasmine stared wide-eyed at her.

  “What? Because I prefer women don’t mean I can’t appreciate a good-looking man. I do. I just don’t want to do more than look.”

  “Okaaaay,” Jasmine said, turning from her smirking sister and looking down at Tyrone. “Rese is being sent stateside for testing. When you …” She couldn’t say died. “Went under, he fainted in the middle of a tense situation.”

  Tyrone’s eyes widened.

  “It… it caused a problem for his unit.” She swallowed hard, feeling him tense. “So he’s being sent back for testing and to see if he can still serve in the military.” She watched as his eyes closed tight. His head fell to the side away from her. Wary, she sought Renee to get her take on what she’d said.

  Her sister shrugged. “They’ve always been close. I imagine this separation has been hard for each of them. Maybe they have to serve together.”

  Jasmine shook her head. “Rese is Marines.”

  Her sister frowned.

  “Rone is Army.”

  “Oh. I got it. Can’t mix the two.” Renee brushed Rone’s cheek. “It’s going to be okay, your brother will be here tomorrow and the two of you can work it out.” She looked at Jasmine. “With Rese here, chances are they’ll both have to do some psyche stuff.”

  Jasmine nodded, she hadn’t thought about that. But it didn’t matter, there was no place other than right here that she needed to be. Her house was paid for and all her bills were on automatic bill pay. Her car was parked safely in her garage and her mail was being held at the post office. Plus, she had great neighbors who looked out for one another.

  “Probably, but we’ll get it all worked out.”

  Tyrone turned and looked at her for a few moments. He squeezed her hand and lifted up on the bed. “Ma,” he whispered and fell into her arms.

  Rubbing his face and back, she whispered. “It’s going to be okay, Rone. You’ll see. Things have a way of working out. You’ll see.” She kept rocking him gently until his tense muscles relaxed, and he kissed her on the cheek and lay back down. He reached for his aunt. She leaned over him and held him close for a while.

  “Your mama’s right, Rone. Things always work out in the end. We don’t understand everything, but we have one another and we stick together.”

  He nodded. When he looked up at her again, his eyes were uneasy. With the threat of his brother being put out the service, and him as well, he had a right to be troubled. So she let him be. But her gut churned in apprehension.

  They’d always been able to fix problems by meeting them head on. As a single parent for the most part, she’d had to think outside the box and many times, create a whole new box. But this was the government and her influence was non-existent. Her husband had spent almost twenty years serving Uncle Sam, but she had never met any of his unit or any of his friends. He’d kept her separate from his career. They’d never lived on base. From the very first, he’d always rented a house far away from town and base.

  She pulled herself from the dark muddle of her past. “That’s right, Sis.”

  Chapter 5

  Silas moved down the hall, deep in thought. There was something about Jasmine Bennett that attracted his wolf. Not only did that surprise him, it pissed him off as well. The attraction wasn’t just superficial, not that she wasn’t an attractive woman, she was quite beautiful. Smooth, creamy fair skin, a nice firm body, and an even nicer smile. She was a little taller than her sister’s five foot, seven inches. But her breasts and hips were larger. He closed his eyes to stop dissecting her. She was a sexy statuesque package with curves in all the right places. Her body and face would attract any human, but shouldn’t necessarily pull a wolf, especially his.

  And that was the problem.

  His wolf had stirred and sniffed, curious of her unique smell. Tyrone had picked up the energy and asked him what was going on through their link. Silas had no idea and waited to see what his wolf was going to do. While they were in the room, his wolf seemed content to watch, but the fact that a human had stirred his wolf for the first time in centuries was something of concern.

  Jayden met him at the door of the conference room. All the Alphas had waited to hear his report. He sat and looked at the earnest expressions in the room.

  “We have a problem.”

  Silence greeted his announcement.

  “My beast stirred and observed the woman. That has never happened before with a human female. I understand Tyrone’s concern. She will definitely draw the attention of unmated males.”

  “How has she survived this long?” one of the Alphas asked.

  Lyle opened a file. “Her husband always made sure they lived in neutral areas where there weren’t any packs. She was a housewife, didn’t go out much unless it was for her sons. The home she lives in now is in an area without a pack. She travels to St. Louis once a year and stays with her sister who is a lesbian living with her lover Mandy Ashford. I doubt they go places where an unmated male would catch her scent.”

  “Talk about the protection of the Goddess,” another Alpha said.

  “My thoughts exactly,” Silas said, looking at the alphas. “We have to be very careful with her. No harm can fall her way.”

  “What about the sister?”

  Silas thought back. “My wolf ignored her. I don’t know if that means she does not attract wolves or that my wolf was only interested in the more dominant of the two. Tyrone’s mother is strong.”

  “Strong?”

  “Very strong willed, like an alpha bitch,” Silas said, paying her the highest compliment.

  The men nodded.

  “What next? We know Tyrone didn’t lie, and he has asked for protection of his mother and aunt, which was granted. Do we search for the father to get answers? Or put out feelers to see if this has happened before? Or just assume she’s the one gift from our Goddess?” Jayden asked.

  “I want this contained,” Silas answered immediately. “No one talks about it or asks questions. We can’t afford to put any humans at risk. We have a fully functioning wolf, born and rais
ed by a human. Can you imagine the fallout? A lot of wolves would begin looking at humans again to breed.” He shook his head. “I want this muzzled. But keep your ears and eyes opened. I agree with Tyrone, the father and his mate are probably in another state or country, living together. We’ll keep him dead as long as an emergency doesn’t arise.”

  Jayden held up a file. “I have the information on his father’s former pack. You were right, they tossed him out once he stood by the girl he impregnated. He refused to say she was lying. The pack is in Oklahoma. Should we contact them?”

  Silas thought for a few minutes. “Not right now, but it’s good knowing the history of the twins. And by the way, Tyrese will be here tomorrow. Seems when Tyrone died, he pulled his brother down with him. Unfortunately, it was right in the middle some type of ops. He’s being sent here for evaluation.”

  “His military career is over,” one of the Alphas muttered.

  “Pity Uncle Sam can’t see the value of having two connected twins working for them.” Silas smirked.

  The alphas smiled as they nodded.

  “I see them as a tremendous asset to our nation, but we’ll see how the evals turn out.” He looked around the room. “Who’s on watch tonight?”

  One of the alpha’s spoke up. “I’ve got two men in the hall and two stationed outside to follow them if they leave.”

  Silas nodded. “Good.” He waited until everyone had left, and walked back toward Tyrone’s room. The closer he got, the more his wolf strained and whined for contact. There was no answer, or response. His wolf should have been upset, but he didn’t sense that. When he reached the hallway, he nodded to the guards. Initially, he’d had no intention of entering the young wolf’s room, but found himself striding forward. He sent a silent greeting to the man on the bed, informed him about the guards, and wished him a good night.

  “Thank you, Sir,” the wolf said through their bond.

  Silas nodded and glanced around the room. He’d heard the woman’s sounds of sleep when he reached the door, yet he needed to see her for himself. His wolf quieted until he left the room.

  With each step, his wolf whined and became agitated. Silas stopped and looked back toward the room. His wolf eased up some, but it was obvious that he wanted to return. Deep in thought, he and his security detail left for Jayden’s pack lands to spend the night.

  ****

  “Welcome, La Patron,” Jayden and his mate, Maureen, greeted him as he entered their home.

  He nodded, kissed her cheeks and clapped Jayden on the shoulder. “It has been a long time Maureen, but you are still as lovely today as you were thirty years ago when you married this scamp.”

  She blushed to the roots of her dark brown hair. Green eyes and a pert upturned nose graced strong, high cheek bones in an oval-shaped face. “Thank you, La Patron.” She bowed in submission.

  “We have prepared your rooms,” Jayden said, stepping back and waving to the staircase. “Your things have been placed there already.”

  “Good,” Silas said as he followed the couple through the long hall. “Where are your pups?” he asked, not scenting the children.

  Maureen glanced back at him. “They are at a sleep-over birthday party next door but will be back in the morning. You get a night’s rest without them climbing all over you.” She smiled.

  Since the couple knew how much he enjoyed playing with the pups, he nodded. “I will see them before returning to the hospital tomorrow. I have a surprise for them.” Whereas he rarely gave gifts to his hosts, he always brought a gift for their children. It was important for the pups to know him as someone who looked out for them and not some mysterious old man who ruled from afar.

  “They will enjoy that. Thank you for honoring our home with your presence and let me know if there is anything you need.” Maureen dipped her head and walked off, leaving Silas and her mate in the suite of rooms set aside for him.

  “On the surface this seems like a small thing,” Silas said. He pinched the bridge of his nose before moving to the desk in the corner of the room. “But I sense this is a lot more.” He sat at the desk and booted up the laptop that had been unpacked from his briefcase.

  “If you think there’s more, then there is. I trust your instincts. ” Jayden said with confidence as he stood near the desk.

  Silas wished he was as confident as the Alpha sounded. A niggle of worry slid through him at the anomaly. A human who gave birth to his kind presented all types of challenges. The need to get a handle on the complication buffeted him.

  “I’m going to check a few things.” He typed in a variety of passcodes until he reached an encrypted site. Very few beings knew the site existed, its access was guarded through a series of wards.

  After running numerous searches, he came up empty. Frustrated, he blew out a breath and raked his hand through his hair. “Damn.”

  Jayden watched, but remained silent.

  “So far nothing,” Silas said, leaning back in his chair. There had been no predictions, no forewarning, no myths or legends that mentioned humans being able to procreate with wolves.

  Jayden nodded.

  “We will continue the search for information. An unmated bitch with the ability to breed and no connection to pack is not a good thing.”

  Jayden nodded slowly. “I agree. Add to that she has no idea what’s going on, and that could be a door for human authorities to enter.”

  Outside of Tyrone’s mother, Silas wasn’t that concerned about the humans right now. He was curious of the underlying reason for a human breeder in their midst. He’d lived too long to believe in coincidences. “What if I hadn’t been contacted about Cameron?” He stared at Jayden trying to make sense when there was none. “Why weren’t the twins flagged when they joined the military? Are they that good at hiding?”

  “Only Alphas and you are that good,” Jayden said.

  “Exactly,” Silas said, tapping the desk. “They’ve no training to employ that skill, yet they have lived twenty years avoiding detection.”

  “I’m sure it was only because of the severe injuries that they were discovered at all,” Jayden said.

  “We need to see what capabilities these wolves have. Secure lodgings for the twins and their mother on your grounds. They will need to be our guests for a while longer. I want security on them at all times. There are still too many unanswered questions and we need more time to uncover the mystery.” Plus, he suspected their connection was unique and wanted to observe them further.

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Silas stood and stretched, ready to be alone with his thoughts. “I’m going to make arrangements to send Cameron to my home; Jacques will take care of him as well as the Alpha trainees a little longer while I work on this problem. Get some sleep; we’ll start fresh in the morning.”

  Jayden nodded and walked toward the door. “Rest well.”

  “You as well.” Silas watched the door close behind one of his favorite Alphas. Jayden had been abused as a pup and cast aside by his pack because he had been born missing a finger on his left hand. It was obvious to Silas the man had the heart of a warrior, but his paw caused him some problems at times. Not that it stopped others from following his leadership, by the time Silas met Jayden, the pack leader’d had over twenty wolves following him. Silas had been impressed with the man’s integrity and desire to insure his pack received the best he could give them. When Silas offered him the opportunity to train as one of his Alphas, the man’s first concern was for his pack, as it should have been. The beta had been installed as the temporary leader while Jayden went through the months of training required to be a La Patron Alpha.

  Silas had never repented of his decision. Before preparing for bed, he rebooted the laptop, there was one other site he wanted to check. While waiting for it to come online, he stripped off his shirt and laid it across the brocade covered chair.

  He glanced at the mirror across the room and grimaced. It had been a long day and he looked like a wet mutt. No doubt Jacques
, his personal servant, would be horrified to see the five o’clock shadow on his angular jaw. He rubbed the scratchy surface as he realized the blinking cursor awaited his next instruction. He typed in the website, pleased with the number of hits that showed up.

  He chose the first and read the contents, even going so far as to verify the footnotes. Two and a half hours later, concern had turned to dread. As he continued reading, the dread magnified into fear. The ancient strategy slapped him in the face, infuriating him.

  The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a farmer scattered good seed in a field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and scattered weed seeds in the field and then left.26 When the plants came up and began to ripen, the farmer’s servants could see the weeds. 27 The servants came and asked, “Sir, didn’t you scatter good seed in your field? Where did these weeds come from?”28 “An enemy did this,” he replied. His servants then asked, “Do you want us to go out and pull up the weeds?” 29 “No!” he answered. “You might also pull up the wheat. 30 Leave the weeds alone until harvest time. Then I’ll tell my workers to gather the weeds and tie them up and burn them. But I’ll have them store the wheat in my barn.”

  Furious with the possibility that an enemy had set a nefarious plan in motion to infiltrate and weaken the wolves with barely detectable half breeds he opened the window and leapt to the ground. The moment he touched the soil, his paws dug into the cool earth.

  The need to reconnect with nature thrummed through him. He ran through the complex and out into the forest surrounding the compound, the dark blue-black coat of his wolf almost invisible in the night.

  Anxious, his wolf recognized the inherent threat to his pack and wanted to attack. The man in him realized the need to allow his wolf the freedom to run, but cautioned the cunning beast of the need to plan as well as protect. They’d get in front of the threat before things spiraled out of control.

  After a long, exhilarating run, Silas returned to the house. Jayden had left the back door opened. Still in wolf form, he padded up the stairs to his room. Once in the room, he shifted and closed the door behind him. A shower was his next order of business.