Finding Strength (Silver Creek Shifters Book 4)

by Jules Tyler

  Opening the door, she put on a polite smile.

  “How’re you feeling?” Dane asked as he walked up the porch.

  “Oh just tired, singing the newborn blues for a little longer. I’ll be okay, nothing I can’t manage.” Jasmine shrugged as she led him through the house to the kitchen.

  Setting the pan down on the counter, he cast his eyes about the cabin and caught sight of the hallway that led to the office and the nursery. He got everything settled and then nodded to the hallway.

  “Is Tyson’s office back there?”

  He was seriously giving her the creeps, and she just wanted him to go away so she could get the food dished up for the guys.

  “Yeah, but he’s back there working with Jesse on something. I’m not sure they’re up for visitors,” she said, hoping Dane could take a hint.

  “Is it okay if I just poke my head in and say hello? I won’t be more than a minute.”

  Jasmine tried not to roll her eyes at him. “Yeah, sure, that’s fine.”

  She watched him walk down the hall and waited until she saw him poke his head in the office door before giving him her back. Turning to collect some plates and silverware, Jasmine set about putting together their lunch plates. As Jasmine lifted the tin covering from the serving dish, she could see Liz made stroganoff. Nothing like a hearty meal to fill a person up and make them feel like they were pregnant all over again. Jasmine was thankful for the thoughtfulness.

  Glancing at the clock, she realized how long Dane had been back in the office. She thought maybe it was best to get the guys out of the office so they could stretch their legs.

  “Hey, Tyson? Do you guys wanna come out here and eat with me?” Jasmine said at a normal level, knowing he could hear her in the other room with his heightened senses.

  As she waited, she set the plates out on the counter in front of the stools, making sure it was obvious to Dane there was only room for three, and he could go now. Leaning against one of the stools, she folded her arms and patiently waited for the guys to come out of the office. A minute or two ticked by, and Jasmine figured that Dane must be talking their ears off, so she walked back to the office and opened the door.

  Dread filled her entire being at what she saw on the other side of the door. Jesse and Tyson had tranquilizer darts hanging from their chests. Racing into the room, she pulled the darts from each of their chests and checked for a pulse. Begging the Fates to keep them safe, she turned from the room, Jasmine’s heart began to race. This is how her nightmares always started, that feeling of terror for not only herself, but those she loved. Rushing to the babies’ room, Jasmine threw open the door and found the window open with the curtains billowing in the breeze. The bastard had gone out the window.

  Peering into the crib, Jasmine saw that Aidan was still there, but Piper was missing. Nausea filled Jasmine’s gut as her mind whirled. What was she going to do? She needed to get her baby back and she needed to stay calm. She didn’t have the best control over her bear right now--nine months locked away inside of her made her bear uneasy, and she couldn’t call on her. She needed to get her baby, she needed to wake her mate and brother, she needed to act but instead she was frozen in fear.

  “C’mon, Jasmine, c’mon. Find your strength, find it. Your crew and your babies need you,” she chanted to herself again and again, until finally she was able to move to the side of the crib and pull Aidan into her arms.

  Grabbing the baby wrap Alicia’s crew gave them, she worked as fast as she could to secure Aidan to her body, and zipped out of the room and back to the office. Pulling the darts from Tyson and Jesse, she set them on the table and reached for Tyson’s office phone. He never used it, but Jasmine knew he kept a list of numbers under the keyboard in case of emergency. Quickly, she grabbed the list and dialed the only number she knew could help her.

  “Snake River, this is Jasper,” a man’s voice said a tad too cheerfully on the other end of the phone.

  “Jasper, my name is Jasmine Matthews. I’m mated to Alicia’s business associate, Tyson White. I need you to tell her that Tyson’s been compromised, and I need her help,” Jasmine rushed out all at once as the adrenaline began to pour into her system faster with every word.

  “He’s been compromised? Jasmine, I need you to tell me everything you can about what’s going on out there.”

  In the span of a few minutes, Jasmine was able to bring the man up to speed and they were able to get everything into motion.

  “We’ll get Alicia on the tapes right now. I’m calling in the dragon,” Jasper said. “Jasmine?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do not go after this guy, do you understand me? He has more training than you realize, and you could end up getting yourself killed if you intervene. Let us handle this, got it?”

  “I can’t make that promise,” Jasmine said as she hung up the phone.

  Careful not to jostle Aidan too much, Jasmine went out to the living room and pulled on her tennis shoes. Her movements were all passing in a blur, making her feel like she was having an out of body experience, but she pressed on. Getting into the golf cart, she held Aidan’s sleeping head close to her chest and she urged the cart as fast as she could to the lodge. Pulling up out front, she turned the vehicle off and started working on getting Aidan unwrapped from her.

  Cradling him in her arms, she marched into the lodge and found Brady, Stella, Landon, and Kaylene all sitting on the leather couches and relaxing. Landon noticed her first.

  “Jasmine, your eyes are glowing. You need to put Aidan down. Give him to Kaylene. What’s wrong?” Landon said as calmly as he could, probably sensing the tension that was rolling off of her as quick as a hurricane wind.

  “He has Piper. I’m going after him.” Jasmine could feel the fire blaze in her eyes as Kaylene pulled Aidan from her arms.

  “Who has Piper? We’ll help you,” Landon said as he and Brady stood to go with her.

  “Dane has her. No you guys aren’t going with me either. I’ve already called SRPC and told them what’s going on. Jasper’s calling in the dragon, whatever that means. You two have young on the way. You aren’t putting your lives on the line for me. I need someone to go help Jesse and Tyson come to. They’ve been tranqed.”

  “No, you aren’t going up against him alone,” Brady argued back.

  “I don’t think you heard me,” Jasmine growled, sounding more bear and less human at this point. “I’m going alone. Go take care of Jesse and Tyson.”

  Jasmine ran as fast as she could from the lodge, and as soon as she was through the doors, she felt her bear tilt the scales in its favor. Brown and white fur exploded mid-run from her body, and without losing pace, she continued to run. Her feet were pounding into the ground hard enough she was sure she was making the earth shake. She could hear the screams of the campers as she passed them, but she pressed on instead of stopping to pay them any worry.

  Thundering down the road, Jasmine felt her bear being pulled deeper into the woods, away from town. While she wasn’t sure why Dane would bring Piper away from the only way out of these mountains, she followed her gut instinct and pushed her body to move faster into the woods. The further she went, the more she could smell Piper’s scent, and then she could hear her baby’s scream. Urging herself forward, she darted around trees and boulders. They couldn’t be far ahead of her now.

  As Jasmine neared a clearing of trees, she could see a helicopter had been landed on the other side. Outside of it, Dane was fighting to get a car seat situated in the co-pilot seat. Keeping to the shadows, Jasmine quickly picked her way around the edge of the clearing. If Dane hadn’t sensed she was here yet, she had the element of surprise and could use it to her benefit.

  Coming around the side of the clearing, Jasmine situated herself behind a tree and watched as Dane struggled with the car seat that held her crying baby.

  “Hush, young one. This will all be over soon. Just shut up so I can focus,” Dane ground out.

  Jasmine waited until h
e finally had the car seat secured and he stepped off of the edge of the helicopter before she lunged for him. A roar ripped through the air as she leaped onto his back and knocked him to the ground. Snarling her warning at him to stay down, Jasmine dug her claws into his back, daring him to try to move. She would rip him limb from limb.

  “N-n-no. Y-y-you don’t understand. I’m not going to hurt her,” Dane began to explain as a prehistoric bellow filled the air.

  Looking to the sky, Jasmine could see a blue and white dragon drifting in for a landing. So this was what Jasper meant by calling in the dragon. Jasmine heard rumors about SRPC’s trouble because of a dragon but she hadn’t known they truly had one up there.

  Taking advantage of Jasmine’s distraction, Dane rolled underneath her, and it knocked her off balance enough that he slipped out from her paws. Jasmine turned her attention back to Dane as he stumbled and crawled away from her, his eyes locked in horror with hers as he saw his life flash before him.

  “Jasmine! NO! He isn’t worth it!” A familiar voice called from where the dragon landed.

  Jasmine stalked forward, driving Dane toward the outcropping of rocks that would keep him cornered until she could get the answers she deserved. Standing up on her hind legs, she let out a roar then slammed back down onto all fours. She had him right where she wanted him.

  Another wail from Piper forced Jasmine back into the present, making her more aware of her surroundings. To her right, she could feel someone walking up next to her, their hand gingerly touching down on the fur on her flank to make her aware of their presence. Piper whimpered in the arms of whoever was holding her.

  “Jasmine, shift back. McKinzy can keep him cornered,” the voice said softly.

  Backing away from Dane, she watched as a tall, raven haired woman trained a gun on him. Given that she was completely naked, Jasmine assumed this must be the dragon. Satisfied the woman could handle things so she could comfort her child, she forced her bear back and felt her bones shift and crack as they moved back into her human form. Turning, she found a very concerned Alicia cradling Piper in her arms.

  “Are you back in the driver’s seat or do you need a minute?” Alicia asked as she looked between Piper and Jasmine, trying to decide what to do next.

  Jasmine cleared her throat and reassured her, “Yes, I’m good. Can I have my daughter, please?”

  “Far be it from me to keep a mama bear from her young. I just wanted to make sure you were back in control. For a minute there, I wasn’t sure,” Alicia said as she handed Piper to Jasmine.

  Tucking Piper into her arms, Jasmine looked over her tiny body, trying to ensure that all ten fingers and toes were in their rightful places. Feeling certain her little one was safe and sound in her arms, Jasmine moved back towards the outcropping and stood next to McKinzy. Alicia was standing just behind them.

  “Ask him anything you want. He’s not going anywhere,” McKinzy said sternly, keeping her attention focused on Dane.

  Jasmine turned her own attention to Dane. Feeling her expression harden, she demanded, “Why?”

  “You’re going to need to be more specific there,” Dane quipped.

  McKinzy pulled the trigger and shot Dane in the leg. “Try again. Being a sarcastic asshole isn’t going to get you anywhere. If I’m not satisfied with your answer, you get another hole put in you. How many are you willing to take?”

  Dane screamed out in pain and clutched at his leg. Damn, the warden had a dark side. Jasmine was glad she was on her side, because it would suck to be in Dane’s position. It worked in her favor though, so she asked again, “Why me?”

  “You’re a rare shifter. Rich people are always looking to buy shifter babies on the black market, and the rarer the animal attached to the child, the more money you get. You were as rare as they came. Chimera and Gemini twin? That was the perfect combination to get my hands on enough cash to last me a lifetime.”

  “Did you –“ Jasmine hesitated. “Did you rape me to get me pregnant?”

  Dane shook his head before he explained, “No. I had my animal stripped from me by the task for a long time ago. There was no way that what I was trying to do would work if I didn’t combine your DNA with another shifter’s. I was able to get a donor. That’s why you don’t remember the majority of what had happened that night. I gave you a sedative, took you to a clinic where my buyer paid for an insemination, then dropped you back at home. It was more work than I typically have to go to for a job, but I figured it was worth it if I was guaranteed a major pay day.”

  Jasmine looked upon the man with disgust. She couldn’t understand how someone could only care about something as trivial as money and have no remorse for how they affected others.

  “You only took Piper, why?” Alicia demanded.

  “The buyer wanted a chimera baby. The girl resembled features closest to her mother’s so the chances of her animal being a chimera bear as well were stronger. We had no use for the boy so I left him as a parting gift.” Dane ground out as he struggled to make a tourniquet with his shirt.

  “They’re babies! How could you do that to a child?” Jasmine growled.

  “Exactly. They’re babies. They won’t remember who their parents are. Fewer questions asked, less they have to worry about them.”

  “Who’s your buyer?” McKinzy ground out, cocking back the hammer on her gun.

  “I don’t know who the buyers are. I only know who the seller is, but I’m not telling you bitches anything unless I’m getting something out of this.”

  “How about your life? Isn’t that good enough?” Alicia shouted from behind them.

  “I’ve never been one to actually eat a man but I’m sure your life is worth more to you alive rather than in the stomach of a dragon,” McKinzy said coolly to him.

  Jasmine watched as Dane took a deep gulp of air. He looked like he was really considering letting McKinzy eat him. It was kind of amusing in an ironic justice sort of way. She was just so damn sick of living in fear of him and now she didn’t have to. Either way, he wouldn’t be a threat to Piper or Aidan again.

  “Do what you want with him, McKinzy. I’m done with this and with him. Piper is safe, and this is over. I just want to go home and pretend he never existed.”

  Alicia came forward and tugged Jasmine backwards. “McKinzy can take it from here. Let’s get you home.”

  Epilogue

  Tyson and Jasmine sat together, staring at the twins lying asleep in their crib. The worst was finally behind them. It had taken six months for Dane to be sentenced to life at SRPC, where McKinzy and Alicia could keep watch over him. He made a deal with McKinzy to tell a lawyer everything. After that, it was a whirlwind of mess, but they finally got everything sorted out. The sellers on the black market who were dealing with the trafficking of shifter children were brought down, and forced to pay restitution to the families who came forward about situations similar to Jasmine’s. They were also given mandated time in prison and were required to release all paperwork they had that linked to people who had paid for these children.

  They were both feeling the satisfaction of being able to make a difference, and Jasmine was healing from the trauma of everything that happened. For lack of a better phrase, things were finally feeling normal around here.

  “You know, he looks like you in a lot of ways,” Jasmine remarked, looking up at Tyson from her spot in his lap.

  Tyson laughed, stroking a loose strand of her hair and tucking it behind her ear. “He does not.”

  “No, he really does. He has your hair, chin, and a little of your smile.”

  “You’re just saying that.”

  “Tyson, when have I ever just said anything? Never, that’s when. I genuinely think the Fates intervened with him. He’s already a daddy’s boy anyway, so why can’t he look like you?” Jasmine asked.

  At mention of Aidan being a daddy’s boy, both babies burst out crying. Leaping to their feet, Jasmine and Tyson moved to the crib and each grabbed a twin. Cradling each of
them in their arms, they exchanged a look. The twins were still wailing and carrying on, but they were both shaking and were hot to the touch. This carried on for a few moments, and the parents worked together to comfort the babies the best they could. Nothing was working though.

  Crack!

  Jasmine and Tyson’s eyes went round.

  Snap!

  Tyson held Aidan close to his chest and ran for the back door, Jasmine not far behind with Piper. The babies were still crying as Jasmine and Tyson stripped their clothes off as quickly as they could and set them in the grass. A few more loud cracking sounds filled the air and together, they watched as their tiny little ones shifted at the same time.

  Something was rather unbelievable about the shift, though. Where Piper sat there was an almost exact miniature version of Jasmine’s bear, minus the gold and silver eyes. But where Aidan sat, there was a little, fuzzy gray wolf pup, looking an awful lot like Tyson.

  “No. Fucking. Way.” Tyson murmured, looking like he was trying to process what he was seeing in front of him. “How is that even possible?”

  Jasmine smiled at him and took his hand in hers as she led them to their children. “The Fates had a hand in it. Now do you believe me?”

  “I’ll never doubt you again.”

  The End

  Acknowledgments

  Where do I begin? There are so many people that I need to thank!

  First and foremost, I have to acknowledge my family. You never complain when I spend long hours at my desk instead of coming to bed or watching a movie with you. You’re the rock in the storm that is my life, and I appreciate you more than you will ever realize.