Chains by Kristine Allen

“I  Am  Machine”—Three  Days  Grace

“Ireally believe the wolf is more symbolic than actual,” Voodoo said as I walked him to his bike. I digested what he said as he stashed his things in his saddlebag.

“Then why would I think I’d seen wolves as I grew up, and why would I dream of a wolf long before I even knew Jasmine existed?” I asked, frustration lacing my words.

“I don’t have a good answer for that. Unless it was something of a premonition. We don’t have textbooks or rulebooks on how our abilities act, you know.” Voodoo shrugged before he straddled his bike.

“Thanks again for coming over,” I said.

“Anytime, brother, anytime.” He grinned. His grin quickly faded, and the air seemed to crackle with something electric. With a frown, he glanced around, as did I.

“What the fuck is that?” I asked. The air seemed heavy, like before a raging storm, yet there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. My hair stood up all over my body. We scanned the quiet neighborhood, but nothing seemed out of place.

It was a small gated community on the edge of town. Further down the road was the clubhouse and the farm. Several of us joked that eventually the club members would own every house in the development. As it was, Angel and I had houses here. Venom and Voodoo were both looking at houses on the next street over. There was a thick tree line behind the last street because it butted up to CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) land.

“You felt it too?” he asked with a frown.

“Yeah, but I don’t know what the hell it was.”

Nothing changed, and he started his bike. I waved, and after one last glance around, went back inside.

Jasmine had Ehria in her high chair as she tried to get her to eat some pureed shit that looked repulsive. “I don’t blame you, sweetheart. I wouldn’t eat that shit either,” I whispered conspiratorially to my daughter, who smiled with a face covered in some messy goop.

“You are not helping,” Jasmine sternly snapped as she tried not to smile. “What time are Ghost and Sabre coming? I thought they’d be here by now.”

After I shrugged, I held my laughter as I pulled out enough plates for everyone and set them on the counter. We were eating in the kitchen since it was an informal dinner and the boys were coming. It was just family. Inside, I snickered a little.

Informal. Who would’ve thought someone like me would be thinking in terms of formal or informal? My second foster family I got yanked from was so abusive they made us kids eat on the floor like dogs “so we wouldn’t make a mess at the table.” Sometimes over the years, I was simply happy to have a meal. Period. Now I owned a house with an actual dining room.

“Thank you,” she said with a soft smile when I sat next to her where she sat sideways feeding Ehria.

“Want me to take over?” I asked.

“Nah, she’s pretty much done. At this stage, she’s not super interested in baby food, but I wanted to start her on a little bit since her doctor said it was okay.” She stood, placed the small bowl and spoon in the sink, then washed our daughter’s face with a cloth. Once she was done, she handed her a teething ring and sat with me to wait for the boys.

She leaned over and kissed my cheek.

“What was that for?” I asked with a crooked grin.

“For being so sweet. Who would’ve known?” She laughed, and I shook my head with a smirk. The entire scene was so domestic and everything I’d ever wanted as a child but never really had after my mom disappeared.

“Knock, knock!”

“Honey, I’m home!” Ghost and Sabre said as they came in the front door.

“Don’t make me regret giving you two the code,” I grumbled as they burst into the kitchen, all smiles. “Where’s Raptor?”

“Got hung up with something at the clubhouse. He said he’d have to take a rain check.”

I nodded.

“My girl!” Ghost said before swooping Ehria out of her chair. He held her above his head like she was flying, and she giggled.

“Ghost, I wouldn’t do—” was all Jasmine got out before the creamy, gooey shit flew out of my daughter’s mouth and splatted on Ghost’s cheek. His eyes slammed shut, and he froze.

Sabre took her from his hands before either Jasmine or I could move, wiped her chin with a napkin, and held her to his chest. “It’s okay, Uncle Sabre won’t let you get all shook up and lose your lunch.”

Jasmine tossed Ghost the cloth that he caught with one eye open. He wiped his face, then gave Ehria a mock stern look. “Young lady, you’re lucky I have a soft spot for you.”

Sabre put her back in her chair and gave her back her toys and teething ring. She happily chewed on it as she seemed to watch us like a hawk.

Everyone dished up a plate and sat down at the table.

“Damn, this is good,” Ghost said after his first bite.

“Hell yeah, it is,” agreed Sabre.

Jasmine’s cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink. “It’s nothing special, just something my mom used to make.”

“Well, it beats my cooking or prison food any day,” he said without thinking and shoved in another bite. Ghost never talked about his time in prison, though we all knew why he’d gone at eighteen. We also knew that was where he met Shank, then became part of the Royal Bastards after he got out. Other than that, it wasn’t anything he wanted to talk about, and we respected the man’s privacy.

The rest of the meal was eaten in comfortable silence as everyone enjoyed their food. Sabre and Ghost both got up for seconds, and Jasmine stood. She tried to take my plate, but I rested a hand on her forearm. When I experienced nothing but the warmth of her skin and the love that burned in my chest, I was amazed. Each and every time, I was utterly amazed.

“I’ve got it. Leave yours with mine. I’ll take care of it.”

Love shone in her eyes as she leaned down to press a soft kiss to my lips. Instinctually, my mouth parted and invited her in. She gave a light, slow swoop of her tongue against mine before she withdrew and gave a big sigh. “Thank you for being you,” she murmured against my cheek.

“It’s me who’s been blessed,” I said as my hand cupped her hip and I stared into her topaz-colored gaze.

Her lush lips curled into a soft smile. “I think it goes both ways. I’m going to give Ehria her bath.”

I stole one last kiss, then released her.

Ehria got excited when Jasmine reached for her. My heart was full to bursting at the sight. Not that I didn’t still worry, but I’d been so blessed with both of the females in my life. I’d do anything to keep them safe.

“Say goodnight to Daddy, Uncle Ghost, and Uncle Sabre,” Jasmine said as she made Ehria wave at my brothers when they sat back at the table.

They each kissed her cheek. Ghost pointed a finger at her that she promptly curled her fingers around.

“Remember, no more of that puking business,” he sternly said, then yelped when she bit his finger.

“She just cut her first tooth,” Jasmine replied proudly. “Be careful!”

“Goddang, that thing was sharp!” Ghost said with eyes wide as he cradled his finger to his chest.

“Who are you telling?” Jasmine said as she unconsciously covered her nipple.

My lips pulled between my teeth, I tried not to laugh at the motion. I pushed back my chair and stood. Then I plucked my daughter from Jasmine’s hands to give her some love before I handed her back to Jasmine. True to my word, I cleaned up after the meal, then sat at the table with the guys.

Once I heard the bath water running on the other side of the house, I ran a hand through my hair and sighed.

“Everything okay?” Ghost asked as he raised his glass to his mouth.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” asked Sabre in confusion.

“Something weird happened today.”

“Like?” Ghost prompted.

“Like something is up with Ehria. I don’t know what it is yet, and Voodoo was just here but couldn’t get anything off her either.”

“Well, what happened, exactly? Is she okay? Does she need to go to the doctor?” Ghost asked as he and Sabre intently waited for my reply.

“It might be nothing, but her eyes…” I shook my head after I trailed off. “It was odd. They rippled a silver color.”

“Well, maybe her eyes are changing color,” Ghost said with a shrug.

“No. They both have brown eyes. Even if they carried the recessive gene for blue eyes, it would be unlikely that Ehria would have silver eyes or gray eyes—that’s extremely rare. Also, simple eye color wouldn’t ‘ripple,’” Sabre replied, making air quotes.

Ghost cocked his head and frowned. “You think she has some kind of gift other than yours?”

After dragging my palms down my face, I rested my elbows on the table and crossed my arms. “I have no clue.”

“Huh,” Ghost grunted.

“She also, um, it sounded like she growled,” I admitted.

Sabre’s brow cocked as he shot me a disbelieving stare. “Come again?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you know about your mother’s family?” Sabre asked as he stared at me intently.

“Not much. I never knew any of them. As a kid, she told me her family was dead. We moved around a lot until she left me in the woods, so I never saw any family.”

“Wait. She left you in the woods? How did I not know this?” Ghost asked, then sat there with his mouth hanging open.

I shrugged. “You never asked.”

“Where did she leave you in the woods?” Sabre asked, ignoring Ghost. He watched me strangely as he waited for the answer.

“Northeastern Iowa. I moved to Des Moines when I aged out of the system. We moved around a lot though. I was young, but I can remember living in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The night she left me in the woods, we were on a camping adventure. Well, that’s what she called it. We had been living in southern Minnesota, but we crossed into Iowa to camp. Then she left. She told me to walk toward the sun in the morning. I did because I thought she’d be waiting for me. Obviously, she wasn’t.” My gaze dropped. It was a little embarrassing to admit that my mother ditched me like an unwanted puppy.

“That necklace you wear. Did she give it to you?” Sabre had worked out with me in the past and had remarked on it, but I’d merely said thanks because he was a prospect at the time. He didn’t need to know my private details.

“Yes,” I warily replied.

“Have you ever been able to get anything off it?”

“You think I didn’t try the minute I realized what was happening to me?”

“How old were you when you realized you had your gift?”

“I guess I had it all my life, just not noticeable until I was in my teens. Why the twenty questions?” I asked, getting a little frustrated.

“I have a theory. I’ve seen something like that before when I lived up in Michigan. But how the hell that could happen with you and Jasmine is weird. Let me look into something, and I’ll get back to you.” Sabre chewed on his lip as he looked lost in thought.

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense. At least tell me what you’re thinking?”

He looked to Ghost with an uncomfortable expression.

“Why you lookin’ at me?” Ghost asked. “I have no clue what you’re thinking.”

Sabre sighed. “Okay, you know that I’m from New York?”

“Yeah,” I said, and Ghost nodded.

“Well, I called that home, but I moved around a lot too.” He got a strange expression, then shook it off. “When I was in Michigan, I ran into a group of people in the Upper Peninsula. They were a pretty closed-off community. One of the members was in front of me at a gas station. He remarked on my eye color when he turned to leave, but quickly ended the conversation after maybe a minute.”

“Why?” I asked, not understanding what he was getting at.

“He, uh, seemed to sniff me, and his eyes rippled with a silver, but it was gone before I got a good look at it. He went out to the pumps and got into a truck with several other men. The gas station attendant told me to stay away from them because they were bad news. I was only in town for a few weeks on a job site, so I didn’t care what they were as long as they left me alone. On one of the last days, I had gone hiking.” He inhaled deeply before letting it out in a rush.

“And?” Ghost prompted.

“And I came across a naked kid caught in a trap.”

“A what?” I demanded.

“Look, I know. There was this crying coming from in the trees and I went to see what it was. This kid was stuck in a trap and was trying to pry it off his leg. He looked terrified when I went to help and didn’t say a word as I tried to release it. When I finally got it open, he backed away from me. I tried to calm him, because I wanted to take him to town for help. Though it was a rubber-jaw coil-spring trap, I was pretty sure it had broken his leg, but he fucking growled at me when I reached for him.”

“Damn, that is weird,” Ghost said.

“No. The weird part was when the kid’s eyes shimmered silver, then he turned into a fucking wolf cub and limped away whimpering. Before I could follow, a huge black wolf broke through the trees, snarled at me, grabbed the kid/cub by the scruff of his neck, and ran off into the woods. I didn’t stick around after that. I went back to my hotel and packed my shit. I collected my paycheck through then and left.” He raked a hand through his dark hair.

“Wait. Are you trying to tell me you think my daughter is a fucking shifter?”

“What?” Jasmine said, and all three of our heads swiveled to look at my stricken woman.

“Aw, shit,” Sabre muttered.