Eudora's Baby

Jasmin knocked softly on the office door, and opened it when she heard the Luna softly call, “Come in.”  The Alpha, Jericho, was hunched over the desk, frowning darkly at a pile of paperwork.  The Luna was at the window, repotting a Christmas cactus.  She was still incredibly young, not even 19 yet, but there was something very old about her soul, something incredibly deep and ancient in her chocolate-brown eyes.  Jasmin thought you could tell just by looking at her that she was powerful and magical.  And strangely besotted with houseplants.  Since Jericho had taken over the Alpha position from his father, and Eudora had been officially named Luna of the Oakridge Pack, she had filled every available window with green, growing things.  Her full lips curved up in greeting when she saw Jasmin. Jasmin stood straight, at attention, like a soldier, which she was.  “Alpha.  Luna.” She spoke with unusual formality, for the pack leaders were not only her superiors, but also her dear friends.  “I’ve come to make a request.” Jericho, alerted by her unusually serious tone, set down his papers and gave the tall red-head his full attention.  “What is it Jaz?” “I heard you are going north, to Luna’s pack.  I want to come with you.” Luna Eudora was also an Alpha in her own right, to her own pack.  But she had never known them, since her mother had fled with her when she was just a baby.  She had sent the pack’s beta, Caleb, back to govern in her stead, while she settled into her new role of Luna and Mrs. Jericho Carrole.  Initially they weren’t going to go back until after the baby was born, but Caleb was pleading with them to come as soon as possible.  The former false Alpha had left a mess behind him.  A mess that was too big for the Beta to sort out alone. Jericho folded his hands calmly over the desk.  “We already talked about this.  You are needed here, Jaz.    I’m leaving James in charge, and he is young, and inexperienced.  There could still be… fall out… from what happened last month.”  He was making reference to the uncle who had tried to kill Eudora, and the assassin who had kidnapped her.  He had a bad feeling that something was brewing, his instincts were pinging.  He didn’t like it.  He didn’t like the idea of taking Eudora into an unknown pack, an unknown situation.  He wouldn’t have liked it any day, but especially now that she was pregnant with his pup. “Your mum and dad will be back from their cruise next week.  Your dad will be there to guide James if anything goes wrong.  And if things blow up, I can be on a plane and back here within two hours.”  Jasmin had spent a lot of time crafting her arguments.  “And the Luna needs me.  I am her bodyguard, and now that she is in a family-way, she needs a female friend.” Jericho glanced over at his wife, and smiled.  There was a barely noticeable baby bump under her t-shirt.  Her lush curves rather disguised her blooming pregnancy.  Every time he looked at her, he felt a fresh wave of gratitude.  She was so beautiful, so gentle, so perfect in every way.  She had saved him from a bloody, meaningless life.  She looked so innocent, playing with her plants, it was hard to believe that she could fry a man to death, if she were so provoked.  She really didn’t need a body gaurd any more, and everyone knew it.   “Well, Dori?” Hmm?” Luna Eudora patted the soil around the newly up-potted succulent.  “What do you think?” Eudora’s lips twitched.  “You are my body guard, and you are my best friend, Jasmin.  But that’s not the real reason you want to go, is it?” Jasmin groaned and gave up  all the pretense of formality.  She threw herself into one of the leather wing-backed chairs, her long, lean body slumping down.  She ran her fingers through her wild hair.  She was trying to grow out the short-spikey style and now had a riot of curls that were being held back by a black bandana.  “I just thought, if I had the opportunity to travel more, see other places… I might find my mate.” “I didn’t know you were yearning for your mate,” Jericho said with a concerned frown.  It had taken him 10 long years to find his fated mate, his Luna, Eudora.  The loneliness and emptiness had made him a hopeless and dangerous man.  He knew too well the pain of being mate-less.  He also knew that for Jasmin, it was even more difficult, due to her s****l orientation.  Finding another lesbian werewolf in the rural south was like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. “Please, Rico.” Jasmin appealed to her friend, dropping the formalities of “alpha”.  “Give me a chance…”  Jericho sighed.  “Well my love,” he deferred to his young wife.  “What do you think?  Do you need a bodyguard for this trip?” Eudora smiled, and stroked the leaf of the tall palm next to her.  All three of them knew that Eudora did not need a body guard any more.  She was more than capable of defending herself.  She put a hand over the slight swell in her abdomen.  “I think it’s a good idea.” Jericho nodded.  Although he was worried for his own pack, maybe it was for the best to have another close ally when they traveled north.  Eudora was powerful, but she was not invincible. “Then I can go?” Jasmin shot to her feet, and pumped her hand in the air.  There was no guarantee that she would find a mate in the Black Crow pack, but the possibilities of finding someone while staying home were nil.  She wasn’t getting any younger, and she was feeling rather envious of her friends.  Jericho and Eudora were so tied up in each other, so in love, so complete together.  She wanted that for herself.  She wanted a soul mate who would know her inside and out and love her just the same. “You can go.  Pack light, be prepared by tomorrow, we’ll leave for the airport at 10am.” --------- In a hospital room in Atlanta, Dominic Brown stroked his wife’s hand.  The lights were turned down dim, and only the vital monitors illuminated the expensive, private room. The latest round of chemo had been rough on Penny Brown.  Her skin was translucent now, and as delicate as crepe paper over her emaciated body.  “Hang on, baby,” he whispered.  He pulled out his phone and checked his messages for the hundredth time.  That rat bastard Duprey had double crossed him.  Taken the money and run. But Dominic was not a man to be trifled with.  He already had his man on it… within hours he had hacked into Duprey’s off shore accounts and taken back the money, with interest.  Dominic had thought that would provoke some response from the seedy hitman, but still he kept silent. He pulled up the email, and watched the video again and again.  He had studied the young woman’s face and features until he had memorized every last detail.  He had zoomed in to watch pixel by pixel as her hand covered the bite on Duprey’s, and the flesh knitted and healed in an instant.  He didn’t know what the woman was, what was the secret of her power, but if it could save Penny… he would move heaven and earth to get it. He had his best men tracking down Duprey’s last known whereabouts.  His home in El Paso was abandoned.  It didn’t appear that anyone had been there in months.  He’d taken some contracts in New York, which he had completed, but they were really sloppy jobs.  Carl Duprey fancied himself a hitman, but he really didn’t have the brains for it.  He’d tried to trace the phone, but got nothing, and all the calls went straight to voicemail.  His tech guys did the their magic, and triangulated the last known location to some place in Tennessee.  “Its not even a town, its just… woods.”  The IT had offered a satellite photo with a shrug. Dominic called in his private investigator.  Marion Winters was a small, blond pixie of a woman, but she was very good at her job.  “Check all the surrounding towns in a hundred mile radius.” “Uh… okay boss, but what exactly are we looking for?  Carl Duprey?” Dominic pulled out a glossy photo, a still shot he had cropped from the video Duprey sent.  “This woman.  Find her, I don’t care what it takes, and bring her to me, alive and unharmed.” Dominic leaned down and kissed his wife’s cheek, smoothing her thin hair back from her forehead.  Strands came lose and stuck to his hand.  He swallowed back a sob and pressed his forehead against hers.  “Help is coming, Penny.  Don’t give up.  I will save you.  I swear to God, I will save you.”