by Shannyn Leah
She met his thin lips and wrinkled eyes with a friendly smile. She couldn’t be angry at these servants for doing their jobs.
“Ms. Brea, would you care for a beverage?” he asked.
Brea shook her head. “No thank you, Donald. But, if you would like to join me, have a seat and read while you keep an eye on me, I won’t tell Jax,” she whispered, but loud enough to carry across the large room.
Donald turned beat red and declined, scurrying away.
Who would be next?
Brea looked at the aged leather-bound book she’d been reading while playing hide and seek with the staff. She’d been excited earlier, finding a library which contained an intense selection of books, both new and old. But disappointed soon after, when she hadn’t found a single book about gate-keeping or Lexcon.
There was less in the Winters’ library, a Gatekeepers home, than in the school libraries. It made Brea curious as to where such information would be kept...or more likely hidden. An office maybe, or...a dungeon. After hours spent exploring the home, Brea was certain of the exact location of such confidential rooms. She hadn’t even touched the handle of the gigantic double doors on the east wing, when a staff member had immediately escorted her away, explaining the east wing was off limits to her.
Not suspicious at all, and it only amplified her desire to find a way to sneak into that wing. She had her whole life to come up with creative ways to get beyond the doors that held the secrets she longed to discover.
But, Brea was under house arrest and all eyes were focused on her, so, for today, she chose to work at befriending the staff in order to loosen their reins.
As Brea continued to concentrate on the book in her hands, she heard a loud commotion coming from down the hall. After hearing a string of incoherent sentences, Victor appeared in the foyer, his glare falling on her.
Did he find out about the east wing?
Annalieese stood by Victor’s side, attempting to calm him. Even from the distance, Brea could see his face had turned redder than the butler’s had been, and she detected it had something to do with her.
Brea stood, not afraid of this man’s warning looks. These Winters were going to quickly learn that Brea wasn’t easily spooked.
She met her in-laws in the foyer and heard Annalieese say, “The council has been known to visit couples after vows.” Brea detected the concern in her voice.
The council? Visiting? Here?
Even Brea knew that wasn’t good and likely had to do with her and Jax not bonding.
Victor glowered at his wife, then at Brea.
“We all know that’s not true and we all know why they’re coming. When Jax gets back this better be resolved before council shows up on my doorstep,” he roared. “Is that understood Brea?”
It wasn’t really a question, more of an intimidating warning, meant to scare her. But it only infuriated her.
Give council a reason to come. Face-to-face was exactly what she wanted. Their rules were wrong and their order a mess. She didn’t care how far it dated back, they needed an upgrade and she was just the woman to tell them.
“I think you’re mistaking me for the employees on your payroll. I do not bow down to any man.” She lowered the tone of her voice. “Is that understood, Mr. Winters?”
JAX CHOKED BACK THE urge to vomit. The smell burning his nostrils could only be described as worse than driving passed a liquid manure spreader as it soaked the soil beneath it.
Skin wiggled. Burps sounded.
What had he stepped into?
“It’s a diaper,” the nurse barked from the far side of the room. “Take it off and change it. What’s with you today? You’ve done it a thousand times before.”
Jax certainly hadn’t done this, not even once.
He felt sorry for the poor sucker required to perform this duty as his daily routine.
“Are you too distracted after sneaking out with Amy this afternoon?” Jax heard the condemnation in the nurse’s tone, reminding him of his dad.
Jax’s reluctant, unsure fingers pulled one tab off. He couldn’t imagine how this small baby, only days old, smelled so...deadly. He would have rather dealt with a few punches−a dozen punches would be better than this.
“When’s Amy leaving?” he asked casually, trying not to gag.
Fail.
The nurse, again, glanced over her shoulder at him, this time shooting him a warning about his interest in Amy.
I’m a married man...although at this point my wife dislikes me more than you do.
Then the nurse frowned at his uncontrollable choking reflexes.
Jax grabbed the next tab, hoping for an approving smile from her. Instead, she slanted a bewildered look, shook her head and turned back to her duties.
“Don’t forget who you work for. Amy might be a pleasure to have around, but she is off-limits for you. If you want to start something with Janet, fall in love, have children, you go right ahead, but not Amy.”
Not Amy? Why not Amy?
“Janet may be a little bubblier than Amy, which is surprising, but it’s nice to have girls who smile instead of cry all day. Obviously, they’re both saddened at the predicament they’ve gotten themselves into, but it’s more common than they are led to believe.”
Jax finally opened the diaper and realized it had gotten worse. He heaved, again...and again.
How? How did this baby make such a mess?
Jax was having a difficult time concentrating as the nurse continued.
“Both women are due with their little bundle of joy any day now...”
He had to turn his head away for a breath of untainted air before continuing his mission. It was, by far, the worst mission of his life and he’d once been on the Titanic to make sure the ship went down after a Rogue tried to save it. He’d endured a severe case of sea sickness the entire time. It was nothing compared to this.
“Unfortunately...” The tone of the nurse’s voice dropped to sadness, at the exact time Jax’s stomach threatened to cause havoc. “...they won’t get to see their babies.” The nurse took a few moments to reflect on the girls’ loss. When she finally spoke to Jax, her condemnation toward him returned, too. “Amy is spoken for...all Gatekeepers are, but you are free to chase Janet all you like.”
Jax froze, and his stomach plummeted for a distinctly different reason.
Gatekeepers? How did this woman know about Gatekeepers?
“Between you and me though, do you want to get involved with a Second who’s about to have an Unborn?”
Unborn? How did this woman know about Unborns? And...Unborns were actually...born?
The diaper was not even remotely close to the problem Jax now faced.
What the hell was going on?
Holding his breath, Jax pulled the diaper off, cleaned the dirty little bottom and put a new one on...the wrong way, but he didn’t care. There were more pressing issues he needed to uncover.
Jax was about to leave the baby and establish exactly what was going on, when he noticed a mark on the baby’s upper side, right below its underarm.
A birthmark?
Before Jax moved its tiny body for a better look, he knew what he’d seen. There, branded on the side of the baby’s side was a distinct birthmark...a Second’s birthmark.
This was an Unborn? An Unborn with a Second’s birthmark? Why did an Unborn have a birthmark if they never survived? And why were there living Unborns if Unborns didn’t live?
Jax walked over to the nurse and grabbed her wrist, flipping her hand over, where married and bonded Seconds tattooed an “S” to their wrist. It was like wearing a wedding ring on the left finger to let the opposite sex know they were taken. “You’re a Second?” he said, finding the mark on her.
The nurse flipped his wrist over. “You’re a Second, too, so quit thinking you’ve got a chance with Amy and get back to work.”
Jax came to the conclusion that he was in an abortion clinic for Unborns born as Seconds. Jax needed to find Declan and Gabrielle...fast.
AN HOUR LATER, JAX finally snuck into the other part of the house. It had taken some pushing and sneaking, with no help from the nurse, as apparently he wasn’t allowed anywhere near the built-on part of the home. No one was allowed back there, except the Gatekeepers who were giving birth to...Unborns.
In a bedroom on the second story, Jax found Declan and Gabrielle sitting on chairs, facing the back window.
Jax glanced down the halls before he slipped inside the room and shut the door. He didn’t want to bring attention to Declan and Gabrielle.
It was a small room, with basic retro bedroom furniture. His brother and sister appeared relaxed, better than Jax expected. He’d anticipated finding Gabrielle distraught and Declan running around unsure how to calm her. Now he brought them bad news that he was sure would upset them both.
“This is not a regular abandon your baby type house,” Jax said. The smiles his siblings had been wearing dropped.
Gabrielle’s frown deepened. “That’s mean Jax, even for you.”
Jax sat on the edge of the bed, stretching his elbows onto his knees, leaning toward them. “This Amy you’re inside, is a Gatekeeper,” he whispered. Who knew if there were ears on the other side of the door.
Declan and Gabrielle sobered.
His sister spoke first. “What are you talking about? That’s impossible. Why haven’t I figured that out yet?” she asked. “If she’s a Gatekeeper, I should be able to relate to her signs...shouldn’t I?”
Declan rubbed her hand. “Maybe all the pregnancy hormones are muddling your thoughts,” he suggested.
“Why is a Gatekeeper here?” Gabrielle lowered her voice to a whisper. “And how is she pregnant and almost at full term? She looked about sixteen years old. She wouldn’t have bonded yet...”
Jax didn’t have all the answers, but he knew the one he was about to give them would open their eyes to more than they’d ever thought was possible. He felt the need to ease them into the truth about Unborns, but felt they lacked the time to sugar-coat the situation. Time was not generally on their side.
“This house is for Seconds and Gatekeepers to give birth to Unborns,” Jax said, watching as bewilderment stole the features of Declan and Gabrielle. “Amy is pregnant with an Unborn,” Jax clarified, and even as he said it, it sounded wrong. It went against everything they’d been taught. “I saw the nursery downstairs and there’s more.” He paused, finding it more difficult to get the words out then he’d been prepared for. Taking a deep breath, he continued, “The staff here are all Seconds. The Unborns have birthmarks on their sides...Second’s birthmarks.”
Declan abruptly stood up, skidding the upholstered chair on the floor. Jax could see his brother’s brain mentally going through his memorized library. Jax would rather hit himself over the head with a book than to actually read one, but even he knew there was nothing in the history of Gatekeepers about Unborns actually being born.
“Jax, you have to be mistaken. Unborns aren’t born,” Gabrielle said, slowly. “That’s why they call them ‘Unborns’.” Gabrielle rubbed her stomach. It must be a motherly instinct, because when she caught herself doing it, she retracted her hands and gripped the arms of the chair instead.
“I don’t know what’s going on. But there’s a whole nursery of Unborns with birthmarks,” Jax said.
“We don’t have time to understand,” Declan said. “We have to find the Rogue and get out of here.”
Chapter Seven
TWENTY-TWO HOURS, rip time, later, Gabrielle forced her two brothers to listen and endure the pain of Amy’s labor. Hours passed. Her screams tore through the hallways, where Jax remained hidden in the shadows. A doctor popped in and out of her room, leaving a nurse fulltime. Jax tried to focus on who came and went, but found it hard to concentrate on finding the doctor-killer when his sister’s cries of agony deafened his hearing.
When her time in the real world came to give birth, Jax decided he’d take a vacation during the week she was due. Maybe he could travel with his wife and they would, by then, be at a point where they would enjoy each other’s company.
And just like that, Jax’s thoughts shifted to Brea. It amazed him how after only knowing her for a few days, and barely having had a conversation with her, she invaded his thoughts so fully. It amazed him more that most of his thoughts about her had nothing to do with his soul yearning to bond with hers.
Jax could differentiate the two: his soul and his growing feelings for Brea. While the strings to his soul impatiently tugged at him, he found his concern for Brea, and how she adapted to her new life, overtaking his thoughts. They were husband and wife now. He hoped one day she would trust him enough to love him equally, even if their statuses had once been different.
Another scream tore through the halls and Jax cringed until it subsided. For such a strong woman, Gabrielle wasn’t playing the part.
Across the hall from his sister’s room, Jax caught sight of a light flickering under the opposite door. Was it a Gatekeeper’s light? The Rogue? The situation made more sense now. Why hadn’t he thought of it before?
Gabrielle’s shriek reminded him of one of his distractions. Jax shook his head to rid it of all the extra situations in his life until he returned home. He had a mission needing his full concentration here.
Jax felt certain this Rogue was the future Amy or the father of the baby, returning in an attempt to protect the baby from its destiny...death. His conclusion came with the numbing feeling that the babies he’d seen in the nursery didn’t make it past a few days old.
Were Unborn houses still a thing in the twenty-first century? Did his parents know about Unborn houses? Did council know? He had a sinking feeling council did know. This rip had brought about a batch of deception he wasn’t accustomed to or aware how to rectify.
There was no time to mull over fact or fiction, especially when so many elements were absent. Jax needed to focus on fixing this time rip, and consider the possibilities later. Even so, Jax struggled against the dreadful awareness that he was about to destroy a parent’s hope. But they couldn’t change the past. Those were the rules. It made Jax wonder what choice the parents had? If it was his child, he knew, without a doubt, he would do whatever it took to protect his family, and that included Brea. Anything.
Later. Right now you have a job to do.
A job he wasn’t keen on doing. For the first time, in his stretch of time traveling, Jax wanted real answers before proceeding with his actions. But he knew time was of the essence when traveling a time-rip−no time for debate. He needed to get the events of life back on track, so the original time-rip could play out. If he didn’t, the original rip would be lost and time would be changed.
Not happening under his watch.
Jax inched out of the shadows and slowly pushed the door open. No light passed by the pulled blinds. Luckily, Jax’s eyes had adjusted in the dark hallway, making it easier to scan the room for movement.
Nothing.
He crept deeper inside, in a fighting crouch stance, while scanning the walls for a door. Had the Rogue been coming or going? The Rogue couldn’t leave without a door to make a gateway. Although, up until tonight, Jax hadn’t thought Unborns were born, maybe time rips were possible without a door.
Jax’s head swam in a sea of possibilities, giving his assailant an opportunity to tackle him from behind. They both went flying onto the bed. Landing on his stomach with the Rogue on top, Jax found an extra burst of energy to fling them both over the mattress and onto the floor. This time, Jax landed on the guy with accurate precision, trapping the guy’s neck with his hand.
“Who are you? What are you planning?” Jax demanded. They were questions he didn’t normally ask. Ordinarily, he didn’t care. No matter how you diagnosed the situation, the Rogue was in the wrong. But, after today, Jax’s concepts had changed. He needed to have his questions answered before delivering this Rogue to council.
“You should have stayed behind your door, Winters,” the devious man
snarled.
Winters? How did he know Jax’s name?
With incredible strength, the man shoved his hands against Jax’s chest, sending Jax flying across the room.
Crap.
Jax’s whole body hit the wall, hard. Pain shot through him as he fell to the floor, and landed on his backside...like an amateur.
Embarrassing.
Some unknown, masked man just took him down. Jax didn’t like to be taken down and it was a rare person who could do so. Jax spent hours each day in training making sure he never found himself in this predicament. Yet, here he lay, groaning in pain like a school boy.
Somewhere past the buzzing in his head, Jax heard Declan run in for his go at the guy.
“Two Winters. Twice the fun,” the man snarled. “I have work to do and no time to play, boys.”
Declan went flying.
Jax crawled to his knees. He heard babies crying as the shuffle across the hall grew louder. Voices pierced through the door.
They were too close to this killer getting near the doctor.
“There’s my calling,” the Rogue boasted at the sound of the baby’s cry.
Jax felt a burst of adrenaline.
He grabbed the man away from the door and tossed him back into the room to Declan, who pinned him against a wall.
With the door open, Jax’s eyes fell on his sister. She sat slumped back against the headboard, her hair and skin drenched in sweat, breathing heavily. Her closed eyes made it impossible to communicate with her. Jax’s first instinct was to cross the room and confirm everything had gone accordingly and make sure she was alright. Five minutes ago, she sure hadn’t sounded alright.
Forced to tear his eyes away from her, Jax confirmed the newly born twins wrapped in blankets. He watched as the nurse passed the doctor one baby, while taking the other herself. Once in the hall, the doctor and nurse separated.
Jax stepped back into the shadows of the room to watch.
The nurse headed in the direction of the main house and nursery, while the doctor turned in the opposite direction. Jax caught sight of a radiant glow shining through the blanket, in the general location of the baby’s neck...where a Gatekeeper would have their birthmark. Glowing was new. The doctor disappeared up another set of stairs so quickly, that if it had been any other day, Jax might have thought he was seeing things. Today, he knew better.