Chapter 31
Struggling to figure out where to start, Dylon took a few moments to respond.
His story had so many twists and turns, it would take him all night to tell it, even if he left out the parts he wasn’t ready to share.
Finally, beginning with his most recent past, he said, “I was an enforcer for Josiah, but he thought I had betrayed him, so he had Rudy and his goons beat me up and they left me for dead in a ditch. Mystia brought me here, where Colton saved me, and I met Cody, who was my mate.”
Glenn’s jaw dropped first, after which he shook his head in disbelief. “No fucking way! Did Jackson know you were trying to kill him and his brothers when you were Josiah’s enforcer?”
“Yeah…he did.”
“And he still had Colton save you?”
“He did.”
“Holy fucking shit!” Glenn muttered.
“I know,” Dylon replied. “That’s why he has my absolute loyalty. Never once has Jackson made me feel less than a full member of his pack. And he never holds my past actions against me. It takes a special Alpha to put the happiness of his brother ahead of seeking revenge against an enemy.”
“I’ve never met one,” Glenn said.
“You have…you just didn’t know it. Jackson’s a rare Alpha…a role model for every other wanna-be Alpha.”
“I’m beginning to see that.”
Dylon looked at Glenn for a moment before he said, “I have to say, the way you subdued that enforcer tonight impressed me greatly…would you be willing to teach me that trick?”
“Sure…but we need someone for you to practice on…and Colton should be there.”
“Why him?” asked Dylon.
“Because it can kill a person if it’s done wrong,” Glenn said, smirking.
Raising an eyebrow, Dylon asked, “You know this from personal experience?”
“Yeah, well, the old wolf who taught me also killed the prisoners who’d been convicted of some really bad shit in his pack, so I became his apprentice executioner for a while.”
“Shit,” Dylon muttered. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any prisoners that fit that bill, and there’s no way Jackson would allow any of his pack members to be a practice dummy—not when it could kill them.”
“Hmm,” Glenn hummed to himself, thinking about the problem.
Then he grinned. “I know someone who has a bunch of prisoners who are facing death for their attacks on Smokey and his men. Right now, Ghost has them locked up at his place in LA, waiting for Smokey and me to interrogate them. If you wanted to join us, they would be perfect dummies for you to practice on cause it wouldn’t matter if you killed them. ”
“That would work…when do you plan on heading down there?”
“Not sure yet. Smokey doesn’t want to go until Theo’s cub is born, and it’s the same for me with Alex.”
Chuckling, Dylon said, “I don’t blame either of you. But no biggie, it can wait until later. In the meantime, maybe you can help me with another issue.”
“Sure…what is it?”
“I’ve been thinking about teaching everyone some advanced fighting techniques.”
“Why? Their gifts are far better than any of that.”
“True…” Dylon said slowly, “but they’re also a weakness because it makes them feel invincible…
or close to it. What if someone is in a situation where their gift won’t help them?
I know they can shift, but the fighting taught to us as pups leaves a lot to be desired when facing enemies whose first instinct is to kill. ”
Glenn hesitated for a moment to consider the problem before saying, “What might be better is teaching fighting strategy. There’s a hierarchy among shifters when it comes to fighting with other shifters…
for instance, ghost bears have the advantage over a wolf, but a grizzly can easily beat a ghost bear, and so on, all the way up to a dragon.
But what most shifters don’t know is that with the right strategy, a wolf can beat a dragon. ”
“Why haven’t I heard about this?”
“It was taught a very long time ago, but as the paranormal world supposedly became more civilized, there wasn’t a need for it anymore, so it faded from use. However, the agency resurrected it, and they teach it to all their agents.”
“Including you?”
“Yup…Smokey and Ghost as well.”
“Are you forbidden from teaching it to someone else?” asked Dylon.
“Nope,” Glenn said, popping the ‘p’.
Grinning, Dylon asked, “Would you pass on this knowledge to our pack members and some of the Blackwood Pack enforcers…if Jackson approves?”
“As long as he says it’s okay.” Then, standing, he looked down at Dylon, “Look, my mates can tell you I’m a grumpy old tiger who has control issues, but they’re slowly forcing me to abandon that crap.
It’s fucking hard to give up decades of that behavior, but I’m trying.
So, all I can say is don’t take it personally. It’s not you…”
“It’s you, right?” Dylon smiled, getting up and stretching.
“Right.”
“I’ll try to remember that…and I’ll promise to do better on my part,” Dylon said, holding out his hand.
Glenn grasped Dylon’s hand, shook it, and then said, “My mates are waiting for me…so if there’s anything else, can we handle it tomorrow?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Dylon replied. “And thanks for helping tonight.”
Nodding, Glenn headed out of the room, looking forward to what was waiting for him upstairs in their bedroom.
~/~/~/~/~
Exhausted, Wesley could barely sit upright on the hospital bed while Oliver and Mac checked him over.
All he wanted was to crawl under the blankets and get some rest to help his body recover from years of abuse.
Glancing over at his wife, who was sleeping peacefully in the other bed across the room, he shivered at the thought of almost losing her earlier that night.
If Oliver hadn’t arrived with Colton and Mac, Wesley knew, without a doubt, his wife would’ve been gone in the morning.
He owed them a lot. Deep in thought, he took a moment to realize someone was talking to him.
“What did you say?” Wes asked, looking at Ollie first before shifting his gaze to the doctor.
“Can you shift now?” asked Mac. “It’ll help speed up your body’s healing.”
Shaking his head, Wesley said, “Sorry, Doc…I can’t.”
“What about your bear? Can you feel him?”
“I do…always have, even since the first injection. When we were prisoners, my bear would let me draw on his strength at times, but other than that…”
Ollie asked, “Uncle, by chance, do you know what was in those shots you got?”
“No, sorry. I asked the enforcer who gave us the injections, but he wouldn’t tell me.”
Glancing at Mac, Ollie asked, “Do you have any idea what it was?”
“No…I’ll talk to Ian tomorrow morning and see if he knows. In the meantime, I want you to take a sample of his blood. We may have to send it to a lab to see if they can tell us if Ian doesn’t know.”
“On it.”
“Wesley, did they ever miss a day?”
“No…we each got a shot every morning.”
“Did you feel your bear’s presence more at any time between shots, or was it the same all the time?”
Thinking for a moment, Wesley said, “Maybe in the evening? But I’m not sure…it might have been because I was pretty tired by that time and needed to use my bear to help me finish my work for the day.”
Nodding, Mac made a note on Wesley’s chart, then asked, “What about Heather…could she feel her bear also?”
Before Wesley could answer, the door to his hospital room opened and he felt a wave of power flood the room.
Jumping from his bed, he ran over to his wife to shield her from the overwhelming power that had enveloped the room.
Staring at the man standing in the doorway, he growled, “Touch her and you’re dead. ”
“Whoa!” Jackson said softly, holding up his hands. “I’m not gonna hurt either of you.”
Dumbfounded, Ollie stared at his uncle, unsure of what caused his reaction to Jackson.
“Oliver, you want to introduce me to your uncle?” asked Jackson.
When Ollie didn’t react, Mac walked over to Wesley and, stopping in front of him, carefully kept his distance to avoid touching him.
“I promise you, Heather is safe,” he murmured to the Ghost Bear.
“This here,” he said, pointing to Jackson, “is the Alpha of the Blackwood Pack and the one who ordered your rescue. I’m his cousin, and I swear, he means no harm.
” Then, glancing over his shoulder at his mate, he added, “Right, Oliver?”
Finally snapping out of his shock, Ollie glanced at Jackson before turning back to his uncle. “That’s right,” he said, joining Mac. “I asked for his help in rescuing you and Aunt Heather…he also rescued Theo and Norman and took them into his pack.”
“Theodore’s here? I want to see him!” cried Wesley, demanding proof that his son was still alive.
“He’s not…” Ollie began.
“Wesley,” Jackson said, keeping his voice low, “Theo and Norm aren’t here, but they are safe…and as soon as Mac clears you medically…and you answer my questions, you can talk to him by phone.”
“What questions?” Wesley asked cautiously.
Jackson looked at Mac. “Have you cleared him?”
“Yes, as much as I can right now. However, tomorrow, I need to speak to Ian about the shots that prevented shifting, which they both received…but other than that, I think Wesley…well, both of them…need regular meals and sleep.”
Nodding, Jackson pulled a chair over to Wesley’s bed and sat down. “What do you remember about the day before you found yourself locked up?”
“Not much…why?”
“Does Heather remember anything?”
Shaking his head, Wesley said, “No…we’ve tried many times to remember what happened, but neither of us can.”
Jackson looked at Mac. “Any idea why that would happen?”
Shrugging, Mac said, “It might be a side-effect of the drug the Alpha used to subdue them.”
Nodding, Jackson returned his attention to Wesley. “When you found yourselves as prisoners, did you ask the Alpha why he had done that to you?”
“He accused us of selling Theo,” Wesley said softly, “but we didn’t believe him.”
“Why not, if you couldn’t remember what happened that night?”
Wesley looked up at Jackson, his eyes blazing as he growled, “Because we love him. Theodore was…is our life, and we would never do anything like that to him. I don’t care how much evidence the Alpha claimed to have.”
“Did your alpha present his evidence at your trial?”
“Trial?” Wesley scoffed. “There wasn’t any because the Alpha claimed he had ironclad proof and therefore, it was a waste of time to hold one.”
“Did your lawyer agree?”
Frowning, Wesley asked, “Why would you ask that? I just told you there wasn’t a trial.”
“I know,” Jackson said. “But the law states you have the right to consult an attorney once you are accused of a crime.”
“Our Alpha makes his own laws,” Wesley growled.
Nodding, Jackson asked, “Other than being chained in a cell, was there any other physical punishment your Alpha inflicted on you and your wife?”
“Other than working my wife nearly to death? No.”
“Mac mentioned the shots you got…when was the last time you could shift?”
“Don’t know exactly, but it was before we were locked up…maybe a couple of weeks.”
Looking at Mac, Jackson asked, “Is that normal…not to remember?”
“Usually not…but then the years of shots might have affected Wesley’s memory.”
“Is there anything that can be done to recover his memories?” asked Jackson.
“Maybe…it depends on what was given to him and Heather. That’s one thing I’ll talk to Ian about tomorrow.”
“What happens if that doesn’t produce any useful information?”
“Then, hopefully, the blood sample I’m sending off to the lab will give us the answer,” Mac said.
“Why are you concerned about my memories?” Wesley asked. “It’s not like knowing what happened that night would change the outcome. We were prisoners for a crime we didn’t commit.”
Ignoring the question, Jackson asked, “Did Theo steal anything from your house?”
“What are you implying?” Wesley asked angrily.
“Uncle, please…Jackson is only trying to help,” Ollie said.
“How? By calling my son a thief?”
“Maybe you should tell him what his Alpha did first,” suggested Mac.
“What does the Alpha have to do with Theo?”
“Your Alpha had an arrest warrant issued for Theo, claiming he stole items from you and your wife,” Jackson explained.
“Impossible! Theo would never do that,” Wesley said, now clearly agitated. “I don’t know what game you’re trying to play, but I won’t be a party to smearing my son’s name.”
Jackson studied Wesley for several moments before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Holding it out, he said, “Ollie, would you give this to your uncle?”
Nodding, Ollie walked over to Jackson, taking the paper from him. Opening it up, he looked at it for a moment before passing it to his uncle. “It’s true, Uncle. I was there when the bounty hunter your Alpha hired tried to kidnap Theo.”
Wesley searched his nephew’s face before looking down at the document Ollie gave him.
He scanned it quickly, and then, unable to believe what it said, he read it more slowly.
When he finished it, he stared at it as his mind tried to make sense of the words on it.
Finally, raising his gaze, he looked first at his nephew and then, turning to Jackson, whispered, “It’s a lie. Why is the Alpha doing this to us?”
“I don’t know, but I intend to find out,” Jackson said. “And I intend to fight it. And in order to do that, I need your help.”
“You…you have it!” Wesley sputtered. Then, looking down at the arrest warrant again, he read it through, hoping to find a mistake, but when he saw the date of his and his wife’s supposed complaint, he realized the problem.
“Unless we can remember what happened that day…Theo will be convicted of stealing,” he said, looking up at Jackson.
“Your Alpha can try, but he’ll have to go through me first.” Jackson growled.
“But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, we have to see if there’s a way to recover your and Heather’s memories of that day because if we can, then my lawyer will use your testimony to get the arrest warrants voided. ”
“And if not, then what?”
“It’s late,” Jackson said, getting up, “and it’s been a long day for you and your wife. Get some sleep—tomorrow we can talk more. In the meantime, I’ll send a text to Theo letting him know you and Heather are here in my care.”
“Can I speak to him tonight?” Wesley asked.
“Sorry, but there’s more you and your wife should know about what happened to Theo before that can happen…so get some sleep and I promise you can speak to him tomorrow.” After Wesley nodded, Jackson left the hospital room and headed upstairs to get the slumber his body craved.