BirthStone

by Sydney Addae

  “Yes, Sir.” Despite the correctness of the words, the delivery had a mocking quality. “Is there anything in particular, other than myself, you require I bring with me?”

  Silas wiped his face with his palm and closed his eyes. “Your crystal ball. I would have you tell me where the next attack will come from and how to prevent loss of lives. When I close my eyes I hear explosions and see walls covered in blood. I would have you look into your magic mirror and tell me that my pups are safe and will live to our age or longer, and that I will not bury my mate. If you can bring the answers to the questions and problems that plague me, I would most appreciate it my friend.”

  There was a pause of silence.

  “I wish I could, Sir. Perhaps that would atone for my previous lapse.” This time Silas heard remorse mixed with sympathy. “It seems my ability to sense upcoming events is broken. Lost on the same battlefield that stole my mind. Truly I am sorry for that, Sir.” Jacques released a long sigh. “But I will see you in less than forty-eight hours and offer my assistance in whatever manner you require.”

  The sun seemed brighter as it rose across the mountains at that declaration. “Your help and presence at this time is appreciated.” He disconnected the call and continued to gaze out the window. Jacques had a way of connecting dots and seeing patterns that amazed him. Over the past few weeks Silas had been inundated with lots of information, so much that most of it made little sense. He needed Jacques to process everything so he could go on the offensive and stop the bastards before more of his people died.

  Each day he prayed to the Goddess to spare them from another attack. A few weeks ago he experienced what had to be his personal trek through hell. For five days straight, his enemies had bombarded him with new technology that threatened to wipe out his compound and cripple the wolf nation. Deadly situations had risen daily. Literally, it had come down to a last stand effort to survive.

  That his enemies had breached his facilities still sent a chill of fear through him. All of his Alphas were on alert and putting out fires in their back yards. He shared information with them as it came in, but they were at a disadvantage in catch up mode. The enemy had new technology he and his people were just learning about. He needed a break to change the narrative of this battle.

  A quick glance at the clock and he stood.

  “I’m on my way down, meet me in the tunnels.” He sent Tyrone and Tyrese the message through their links as he left his office.

  Silas strode through lower tunnels made of polished gray concrete walls and reinforced with tons of steel. Quarry stone gleamed beneath bright lights. The steady sound of their footfalls echoed in the hall. Tyrone and Tyrese were already on his heels as he turned the corner to the labs.

  Three weeks had passed since Tyrese had been captured by a faceless enemy who'd injected some type of serum into his body, which had changed his physiology forever. Jasmine had been worried and wanted a full scale examination done immediately after he'd returned from being captured. According to Dr. Matt Chism, the mate of the twins’ father, some of the blood and muscle tissue work had to be studied over a period of time. The results had come in last night, and it was Silas’ promise to get the information first thing this morning that kept his mate in their room.

  Silas had spent hours successfully training Tyrese to control his hybrid beast, with the exception of the run. No one had run in the forest for weeks, but that would need to change. Tyrese’ hybrid beast needed to practice operating in the wild. Once Jacques arrived to take over the office, Silas would make arrangements for them to continue their training in the forest.

  Remembering a conversation he and Jasmine had last night, he stopped in front of the lab door and spoke over his shoulder. “I will discuss the markings if I’m inclined, do not mention them. The human breeders believe the marks have certain significance and I do not want them or anyone else knowing anything. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the young wolves, he trusted them implicitly. But they might encounter their father and things had a way of slipping. He simply wanted to cover his bases. Jasmine urged him to keep the knowledge of the marks a secret. The breeders had sent a suicide bomber into his compound to kill him because of their beliefs. Neither he nor his mate wanted to stoke the fires of their fanaticism. The nurses assisting in the care of his pups were randomly scanned to insure they kept their vow of secrecy about the sudden appearance of marks on all four of his pups. He and Jasmine had sought the wisdom of the Goddess for answers regarding the strange phenomena. To date, they were still waiting for answers regarding the marks and other things.

  He opened the door. Cooler air brushed across his cheeks as he quickly moved into the large ventilated room. Various personnel in the midst of research were bent over equipment and speaking into shoulder-mounted recorders. Pleased with the level of activity, Silas stopped at a long metal table and waited until Dr. Passen and two other men finished their discussion. As soon as they saw him, they stopped, bowed from the waist and left the doctor.

  “Good morning, Sir.” The doctor bowed to Silas and nodded to the twins.

  “Morning. I need to know about the test results of the shot administered to Tyrese. Have you discovered the type of metal used in Asia?”

  “Metals.”

  Silas’ brow rose. “They used more than one?” He gauged the doctor’s excited expression and assumed he had more news regarding what he termed, “Asia, the walking miracle.”

  “Yes, yes, they did.” He pushed his glasses up his nose. “It is amazing how they took something so simple and forged it into her body, making it a part of her.” He widened his gaze and stared at Silas. “It is cutting edge and Asia has been so helpful. Studying her has placed us leap years ahead in research. We should be able to help thousands of our people with this new technology.” He paused, sucked in a breath. “The possibilities are endless. Please, Sir… come, let me show you what we’ve learned.”

  Silas exhaled. While pleased the doctor was excited about the future, his interest was more in the present. His enemies had not let up. There had been random killings and maimings in nearby communities. Attacks were not limited to West Virginia where his compound was located; many of his alphas reported an increase of unprovoked attacks in their states as well.

  His adversaries were determined to destroy him and his family.

  Family. He tried to remember if he had ever equated his younger years in the pack as having a family. He barely remembered the bitch who birthed him. She'd died while he was but a pup. His father had been Alpha of their pack, but he too had been taken and killed before Silas reached adulthood. Most of his experience had been with pack; the bitches who'd cared for him when he was small did not birth him, but that didn’t matter. There were no accidental pregnancies, or birthings. All wolves had inherent value and were protected.

  His mate had definitely impacted his life. A year and a half ago, the only meaning that word had for him was in regards to the wolf nation as a whole, it was not personal. Now, with a mate, four pups, two stepsons, a godson, and their mates, he had a family to live for.

  “This way.” Dr. Passen stood back and allowed Silas, Tyrone, and Tyrese to enter the observation room ahead of him.

  Silas took a seat in front of a large window. A dark sparsely furnished room lay on the other side of the glass. He thought of Asia and wondered who she was and why the Goddess wanted her spared. “She still refuses additional furniture?”

  Dr. Passen sighed as though pained. “Yes, Sir. She cooperates fully with our research but does not want any additional comforts.”

  That bothered Silas. These past two weeks since her capture, he had grown to admire and respect the young, feisty bitch. “She is eating well?”

  Dr. Passen nodded. “Yes, her appetite and her body are healthy.”

  When Asia first arrived at the compound, she'd gone through withdrawal from whatever drugs she had been on. Her high pitched, ago
nized screams, and contorted body had been difficult to hear and see. Since the doctors had no idea what drugs were used, they couldn’t offer any assistance, and she went through withdrawal cold turkey. It lasted three long days. Afterward, she had been catatonic for next twenty-four hours. Slowly, she regained control of her bodily functions and was moved into the room next door in the lab for research. It had been a rocky road, but now she seemed better of mind for it.

  “Does she know we are here?” Tyrese asked while staring at the glass.

  “She may,” the doctor answered. “With Asia, you never know exactly how her senses are firing.” The hum from the curtain lowering slowly over the glass blocked their view of Asia’s room and muted the doctor’s clicking keyboard noise.

  “Let’s start with the shot of serum both Asia and Tyrese received from those assholes. What are the lasting effects and will it cause any problems for his health?” Silas asked as he waved toward Tyrese.

  Dr. Passen nodded and dimmed the lights. A screen appeared on the far wall. He typed a command into the computer and pages of data filled the screen. “Dr. Chism said he explained the nature of the serum to you already, so we won’t spend a lot of time on that. The black case Tyrese submitted for testing confirmed Dr. Chism’s original assessment that the drugs amplify an individual’s core. There were a couple of vials of the drug they used to knock Tyrese out in that case as well. We have the chemical compounds of both of these now and will begin work on possible antidotes.”

  Pleased with the progress so far, Silas nodded for him to continue.

  “I’m going to start here, at the cellular level.” He pointed to a picture with a group of cells. “We pulled some of his older records.” He glanced at them. “This is Tyrese’ blood from before the shot.” The red clusters looked normal to Silas. Another picture filled the screen for a moment, and then the doctor finessed the screen so that they were side by side.

  “There’s not much difference,” Tyrone said, voicing Silas’ thoughts.

  “No. On a cellular level there was very little change. But there was some change and that’s all that is necessary for what happened to cause the hybrid shift. I’ll explain more in a few moments. Take a look at this.” The next screen showed a group of cells that were smaller and double the number of the other cells. “This is Asia’s cells. Notice she has twice the number.”

  “They look different, smaller,” Tyrese said.

  “Yes, her cells have been manipulated to work with the metal in her body. As she uses her titanium arm or legs, her human cells requires faster delivery of oxygenated blood. Whoever worked on her devised a method to change her cells so they work in perfect harmony with her mechanical parts. It’s brilliant and eons ahead of its time. I have a team working on her blood and the titanium so we can understand and possibly duplicate the technology.”

  Silas nodded. “The effects of the shot?” While he appreciated the doctor’s enthusiasm for new discoveries, he had a full agenda today and needed to get this discussion back on track.

  Dr. Passen’s face reddened. He wiped his mouth with his handkerchief before stuffing it back into his lab coat. “Of course, of course.” He tapped the keyboard again and another page filled the screen.

  “Dr. Chism was lead on Tyrese’s examinations and here is a copy of the report. These findings were uploaded last night after he received the final lab reports.” Squinting, he gazed at the screen a moment.

  “The formula set the stage for the hybrid shift, but would not necessarily work that way in another hybrid?” Tyrese turned from the screen to gaze at the doctor. “I don’t understand. Is the hybrid shift permanent or not?”

  “Yes, it’s permanent.” The doctor’s gaze flicked at Tyrese before returning to the document. “But if I gave your brother the same shot, chances are it would not react the same way on him.”

  “Why not?” Silas asked, glancing at the frowning twins. He suspected Tyrone would take the shot if it would give him the same ability as his brother. Although neither ever said, he believed they needed to be equal in every way and Tyrese having this ability that Tyrone did not threw things off kilter for them.

  “Tyrone is mated,” Dr. Passen said with a touch of amazement in his voice that they asked something all wolves knew. “Anything that happens to him should be filtered through that bond.” His frown deepened. “At least that’s the way it is with full bloods. If his mate did not receive the shot at the same time with the same intent, the shot would not affect him other than to amplify whatever is already there. Still, I’m not sure how much that would work because of the mating bond and with half breeds, I’m not sure how this will play out.”

  Silas hadn’t thought of the mating bond and from the look of the twins’ faces, they had not given it much consideration either. “So the hybrid shift is permanent. Will there be any other side effects?” he asked to move the discussion along.

  “Yes. The formula enhances whatever is there, so if Rese enjoyed fighting before, he will want to fight more often, perhaps have a quicker temper. If he was peace-loving before, he will be even more so.”

  Silas nodded in understanding while glancing at Tyrese to see how he took the news. His face was expressionless, as usual.

  “You may want to warn your partners of the increase in your sexual appetite,” Dr. Passen said, his face serious.

  “Will do,” Tyrese said in a dry tone.

  Pleased with the report on Tyrese, Silas passed the information, minus the sexual advice, along to Jasmine who was in the nursery with their pups.

  “I’m so relieved, thanks baby. Let me know when you finish your meeting.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’d like to take the shot,” Tyrone said, meeting Silas’ gaze with determination blazing in his eyes.

  “You cannot take the shot and do the challenge. It might give you an unfair advantage or disadvantage,” Silas said, knowing Tyrone had no interest in fighting Cameron, Silas’ godson and Tyrone’s brother-in-law. Nevertheless, until Silas voiced his decision on who would fight in the challenge, Tyrone was still a contender.

  “I understand.” Tyrone gazed at Silas a moment longer and then faced the doctor. “I’d like to take that shot.”

  Dr. Passen cheeks reddened further as his gaze slid from Tyrone to Silas and back to Tyrone again. “Is that permitted, Sir?” he asked Silas.

  Silas glanced at the somber-faced twins; it was obvious they had discussed this. But what if something went wrong, Jasmine would be furious with him. He shook off that thought. These men fought valiantly by his side every day, he had once accused her of babying them and was about to fall into the same rut himself.

  “Yes, as long as you understand the risks and take full responsibility for your actions.” He stared at Tyrone to make sure he understood the reference to his mama.

  Tyrone’s color heightened but he did not release Silas’ gaze. Amazing how such a small woman could impact grown men in this way. In light of her recent bout of depression, no one wanted to give Jasmine cause for additional stress or discomfort. “I understand.”

  Silas nodded. “Set it up and give him the shot. Tyrese, I want you with him when he takes it. If I remember correctly, it burns like fire.” His gaze slid to Tyrone, who had been merged with his twin when the shot had been administered and had informed Silas of the painful experience. Now he would undergo a similar occurrence, except this time it would be with consent

  “Will do, Sir.” The doctor sounded skeptical but he scribbled a note on a piece of paper. “As far as the weapons we discovered…” He looked at Silas for permission to continue.

  Silas waved him on. He had placed tremendous pressure on the doctor and the researchers to devise a method of detecting suicide bombers who were locked and loaded with the internal bombs. Two people had entered the compound without detection. It had been a surprise when he discovered such devices existed, even more so when he discovered the sophisticated objects were attuned to him. With his mate and pups
nearby, he would make sure every entry into his compound utilized this extra security measure in addition to scans.

  This was something he wanted to know more about. The speed and commitment in which the researchers and factories worked to get the equipment perfected filled him with pride.

  “You are aware we are now able to detect the bombs even when they are disguised in human tissue.”

  Silas sat back in his chair. “Yes.”

  “Two weeks ago we sent the diagram of the detection device to the companies you specified to manufacture the equipment parts. The first shipment of the assembled devices arrived last night. I wanted to give you a brief demonstration.”

  Silas released a sigh of relief at the news. Every wolf-owned company was at his disposal to manufacture parts and additional security features so that all Alphas would have access to these devices for public and private events. It had been a major undertaking to neutralize the threat so quickly, but they had come together as a national pack and completed the project in record time.

  “Yes, I would love to see it.”

  The doctor pressed the intercom. “We’re ready for the demonstration.” The picture on the screen changed to one of the exterior security checkpoints. “Let’s start.”

  A woman dressed in a lab coat and jeans walked into the security device, a moment later it beeped and the gate opened, allowing her access. The next woman who walked through wore a lab coat as well and a short dress. When she walked in, the side of the device blinked red on the outside. A gate closed behind her and she was trapped between the two gates. The lights flashed on the side of the device for several minutes.

  “What’s going on?” Tyrese asked, leaning forward in his seat.

  Dr. Passen beamed. “We took it a step further and incorporated a series of rays that lock onto the bomb to shrink it so small it can pass safely through the individual’s system as waste. I had my best team working on it and we’re super excited to see it in action.”