Nineteen

“She hasn’t even been asleep for an hour, I don’t want anyone to wake her.” Dr. Latro’s voice was quiet but firm. “Breakfast can wait.”

“‘M awake.” Genevieve muttered into her pillow.

“You’re not, you’re slurring. Go back to sleep.” Remiel kissed her head. She could feel how amused he was by it and smiled burying her face into the pillow. “You can feel me? And that’s my arm, my loving mate.” His delight was heady.

“I can. Th’ kyanite. An’ you’re so warm ‘n’ comptrble,” she sighed contentedly.

“Rob? Can you make her something with the extra?” Alpha Germain’s voice was like warm bath water. Soothing, safe.

“I think I can, my Alpha.” The sound of the box being opened and things being pulled out followed quickly.

“How is she?”

“Comfortable, content, and sleepy.” Remiel pulled her a little closer. “She’d like to sleep longer but she’s hungry.”

Genevieve kissed his arm, forcing herself to wake more fully. “Can I sleep eat? That would be nice.” She lifted her head, “It occurs to me, why don’t I need to pee?” suddenly worried she’d gone in her sleep. 

Remiel started to laugh, squeezing her. 

“I put in a catheter. I’ve had you on IV fluids all night.” Dr. Latro gently disentangled her from Remiel and started shining the light in her eyes again. “You need more rest, you stayed up too long with the bracelet.”

“I know, but it needed to be as close to done as I could get it. There won’t be time today.” The feeling of unpleasantness encroaching and time being short was almost oppressive when she let herself think about it. Remiel’s concern was like a knife now that she could feel it. “Dig down.” She squeezed his hand.

“What does that mean?” Alpha Germain asked with a quiet curiosity that demanded an answer.

“I, um, I think it’s a song, by Muse.” Rob offered before she could summon up an answer.

“Not just the song. But the song is-is important.” It was time to get up. Breakfast would be good but if she didn’t hurry there would be no time.

“I’ll get you anything you want.” Remiel was finding his balance again, but he was still worried.

“Anything fast. They’ll be here soon.” She smiled at him ruefully and he rose from the bed to get something for her.

“No one is coming here without my permission.” Alpha Germain was certain, but he was wrong. 

“Normally, that would be true. This isn’t normal. When they ask, you should take me to the gate. Otherwise things will go wrong. I don’t want them to go wrong.” Genevieve took a deep breath and tried to exhale all of the tension. “You’ll want to keep Remiel here, it’ll be safer for him, and you’ll be able to speak to me. The Page isn’t yet ready. When he is… It will fall on you. No one should be asked to carry such weight. Trust. Please.”

The Alpha looked at her with a faint smile. “Where am I taking Rob?”

“She’ll tell you. Wear the bracelet.” Genevieve smiled, it was going to be a very interesting meeting.

Alpha Germain lifted his left arm showing her the bracelet already in place. “It’s not exactly what I was expecting, but it’s beautiful.”

“With Rob and Remiel’s help, we exceeded my expectations. I couldn’t have done it so well on my own. And it will offer some protection in addition to support.” Genevieve hoped it would be enough, he was a good man, solid. If he could endure, things would finally be right, but it was so much to ask.

He smiled and his eyes lit gold. “I can endure.”

“You can hear her even though she’s not in the pack yet?” Dr. Latro was looking back and forth between the two of them slowly.

“I listen to Remi, and Remi listens to her. She’s a witch, she won’t change and hearing her directly may not be possible.” He glanced at Rob, “Make sure that gets finished, if she can hear Remi it’s better for both of them.”

“Yes, my Alpha.” Rob sounded determined.

Remiel came back with a plate of fruit and a plate of muffins. “This is what was ready, I took them off of the cart they were preparing for the Latro Alphas.” He glanced to the doctor with a wry smile. “They’ll make you more.” Taking the plates had helped to scratch an itch growing every time he’d been ordered away from his injured mate.

“I’d have been willing to share.” From her tone, the female Alpha was aware of it.

“So am I.” Genevieve tried not to laugh. “I’m told I eat like a bird, it’s too much food for me. I’ll take a muffin with me, though.” She took a slice of melon from the fruit plate.

“You’re not going anywhere.” Dr. Latro and Remiel spoke at once together before it became a jumble.

“Strict bedrest. As far as I’m concerned that IV and catheter can stay in another day or two. You need to rest.” Dr. Latro was trying to talk over Remiel.

“Genevieve, you are not leaving the den. No one is taking you away from here. You are safe here.”

“Enough!” Alpha Germain silenced them both. “Genevieve, will you be in danger if you leave?”

“Not immediately. I’ll be safe enough in custody. It’s when they release me…” The melon was good but she wasn’t hungry anymore.

“You need to eat. Remi, see what you can get into her. I have some uninvited guests to see to.”

“You can’t be thinking of-” Dr. Latro stepped toward Alpha Germain almost aggressively.

Alpha Germain growled low and his lip curled. “This is my den, Alpha Latro. You are a guest.”

Genevieve shivered. “There’s no time. I’m sorry. Unhook me. I need to dress.”

“No. You can’t leave.” Remiel’s pain at the thought made her breath catch.

“Will you be safe until they release you?” Alpha Germain asked brusquely. 

“Yes sir.”

“We’ll be there when they do. Unhook her and help her get dressed. Get food into her. Rob, finish that, I want it on her when she goes. Remi, you’re going to stay here and keep us all apprised of where she is and how she is. I want to know when and where she’s going to be released the moment she knows.” The Alpha turned on his heel and stalked out.

“Vivi, it’s not very-very…” Rob offered over a simple wire wrapped bead bracelet, hastily made but still pretty.

“It’s lovely. It’s better than my second piece was.” Genevieve held it while he got the smudge stick and Dr. Latro took out her IV. She waited until the catheter was out to wash it in the smoke and give it the intent to keep her connected to her mate. It was painful right now, but it would get better. Trying to focus on that would help him as much as it would help her.

“I’m sorry, I can’t…” Remiel put the clothes on the bed and started to step away. It sent a sharp pang through her as if he were rejecting her. “Never.” His response was hoarse. “I love you, Genevieve, I can’t stand this.”

“My angel, I need you to dig down. That’s all I can give you.” She met his goldenly glowing eye. “That and all of my heart.”

The faint smile that graced his lips was like a shaft of sunlight from the clouds. “I will come and get you.” He climbed onto the bed and pulled her close. “You should eat.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Birds eat more than you do.” Dr. Latro was approaching the bed with the muffins. “You should be having protein but anything that I can get into you will do. You can pick one or I will.” Her stern look did not brook disobedience. 

“Yes, Dr. Latro.” One of the smaller cranberry muffins would do.

“Somehow, I guessed she was going to pick the smallest one.” The doctor was unamused.

“I’ll eat it as I go. I need to dress.”

“Eat it now, I’ll help you dress. I need my mate to keep up her strength.” Remiel kissed his mark and it was all she could do not to wrap herself around him.

“I love you, Remiel. Dig down.” Her eyes were burning, and she had to try hard to force the muffin down as Remiel helped her with her socks, underwear and jeans. The shirt was her Sibulla shirt and she put it on without complaint. It seemed in some way fitting for today.

Ethan appeared in the doorway looking grim. “I’m supposed to bring Genevieve. The agents at the gate aren’t very patient.”

“I’m as ready as I’m going to be.” She ran her hand over the bracelet and then clutched the necklace around her neck nervously. Rob handed over her ratty corduroy jacket to put on. 

Remiel picked her up, giving her the opportunity to bury her face in his chest and hold onto him for a moment. “I will come to get you.” Handing her over to Ethan was agony and she had to squeeze her eyes closed and focus on keeping her breathing even not to make it worse for both of them by bursting into tears.

A fat muffin was forced into her hand. “Try to eat that too.” Dr. Latro didn’t sound half as sharp as she had earlier. “And get as much rest as you can.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Genevieve felt a shiver of certainty pass over her. “My God is an Oath, my God is Abundance, if you do a hard kindness for another, the reward you reap will bring you more joy than you can imagine.”

The doctor’s eyes flickered golden for a moment. “Stay alive.”

Genevieve felt the smile cross her face as if it belonged to a stranger. “Artemis and Apollo. In the fall.” She could hear Dr. Latro asking Remiel about it as Ethan carried her out. Rob followed them silently, his worry was palpable. Remiel at least had something to distract him for a moment.

She needed to find her feet. Balance and steadiness was something that she was going to need to cling to. The short drive to the gate passed in what felt like a blink. The gate was lined with grim looking wolves on one side, unarmed and standing with deliberate casualness. The other was two men in FBI jackets surrounded by men who looked like unmarked SWAT. An SUV and armored vehicles waited.

“Let me walk, Ethan.” Genevieve whispered as he opened the door. “I need to act like I’m fine.” Something every prey animal knew instinctively. Pretend to be fine until there’s no more pretending. At the moment, prey was exactly what she felt like.

Carrying her muffin, she squeezed Ethan’s arm with her free hand as he offered it, walking her first to Alpha Germain. “Ms. Geary, call us when you need us to come get you.” He gave her a tight, grim smile.

“I will, Mr. Germain. Don’t put it off.” She desperately wanted to hug him, but the way he looked, he might change his mind about letting her go if she did. So she turned toward the gate and let go of Ethan’s arm. Keeping her gait even and unhurried she looked at the men in FBI jackets with an annoyed frown. 

The moment she was through the gate and they came toward her, she tried to imitate Dr. Latro’s tone, “Why exactly are you disturbing my breakfast and pissing off my friends?” The feeling of tension behind her relaxed just slightly.

“We’ll explain everything in the car.” The paler of the two opened the door and she shook her head as she climbed into the SUV.

The one with olive skin climbed into the driver's seat and the pale one took the seat next to her. “Some introductions would be a good place to start. We’re Special Agents Reid and Avila.”

She didn’t bother introducing herself, waiting quietly.

“That looks like an IV site?”

“I was having trouble staying hydrated. An overnight drip was just to help with that.”

“We’re taking you to the hospital first to have you checked over. Is there anything you want to… talk about?” He was trying to be careful, but Genevieve didn’t have much patience for it.

“Yeah, what the f**k is all of this about? FBI and armed who the f**k ever? Seriously, I haven’t even had coffee yet.” She held up her muffin with a frown.

Reid laughed and nodded. “Coffee we can do on the way. We want to make sure you were at the compound willingly. The information we were given on that cult said if we gave a show of force it would expedite things.”

“That’s not a cult, and I was there willingly. They’re good people.”

He nodded slowly. “Ok. How did you get there?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Figuring out a way to explain that… She rubbed the bracelet and felt the connection to Remiel rematerialize. They’d said she had a medical emergency. Hallucinations, and then collapsing so they brought her to their doctor. 

“Try me.” He tried to reach out to touch her arm and she gave him a dirty look.

“I’m not good with strangers touching me.” Taking a breath she shook her head, the truth was close enough to the story they told. “It felt like I was being attacked. There was a voice whispering at me. I tried to use salt and smoke to make it stop. I couldn’t wake up my friend Sage. Ethan tried to help me and he carried me when…”

“When you collapsed. That’s pretty close to the story they told. They should have taken you to the hospital, it could be complications from the concussion.” He stared at the IV site. “But you did receive medical attention, that’s something.”

“Even if it was a cult, people join those everyday and the FBI doesn’t show up at the door.” Genevieve gave him her most piercing look and he laughed.

“Very true. There are some… justifying circumstances. A kidnapping victim for instance would get different treatment.”

“I wasn’t kidnapped.”

“Not this time. Have you heard the name Sybil Mesny?”

“Yeah, there was some super weird page that had my name and that one along with some old videos from the band I was in.” She looked down at her shirt and then back up at the agent. “It didn’t make any sense but it was too creepy for me to be willing to call the number and ask what it was about.”

“I can see where it would be strange.” He hesitated. “We’re going to be confirming with DNA but Mr. Mesny is certain. His twin sister, Sybil, was abducted as an infant by his mother and even though his mother’s remains were found, his sister’s weren’t. He and his father looked for years. Because it was a child abduction case the FBI was involved, is still involved. We’re going to need to ask a lot of questions and stir up some possibly painful memories.”

Genevieve’s head was swimming. “Twin?” Swallowing and leaning back against the seat, she tried to steady herself. “That can’t be right. And I’m certain my mom was my mom, that woman wouldn’t have kept me around unless she had to.”

“From the files we’ve seen you grew up in an abusive home and went into foster care when you were almost fourteen?”

“Abusive… neglectful. If it wasn’t for the Boyds there’s no telling how I’d have ended up. Brandon’s parents helped me get my head on straight. Well, as straight as someone like me can get it.”

“Mr. Boyd and Mr. Ward both said you’ve had a lot of problems with men and fallen into abusive relationships. They seemed to think a cult might appeal to you.” Reid’s tone was almost soothing.

“God, I need coffee.” She rubbed at her bracelet.

The driver inquired over his shoulder, “How do you want it? Flavored? Iced?”

“Black and hot. Coffee shouldn’t be cold.” Genevieve eyed the muffin in her hand trying to guess what flavor it was supposed to be. Remiel answered her, banana spice. They’d gone a little heavy with the spice, she might be able to taste it.

“I think you made a friend.”

“Hm?” She looked up from her muffin contemplation.

“I said, Avila is very vocal about how coffee should be served, I think you made a friend.” Reid looked at her with just a hint of concern.

“Ah. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed and not nearly awake enough for this. Sorry if I’m not paying attention.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s a lot to take in, and without the DNA it may not even be you he’s looking for.”

“Why’d you bring a SWAT team? That seems like overkill for… pretty much everything.” Genevieve looked at Avila as he barked a laugh.

“Now you’ve really made a friend.” Reid rubbed his face. “They’re not with us, not exactly. Mr. Mesny hired them to make sure you were released without difficulty and to make sure that nothing happens to you, not in transit and not in custody.”

“There’s something not quite right about this guy.” Avila glanced back briefly. “I got the impression they’re more to make sure you don’t run away than to make sure you’re safe.”

“And if, after you’ve done whatever you need to do for your FBI whatever, I want to go back where you got me from? Am I allowed to do that or are you going to hand me over to f*****g Blackwater or whoever these people are?” 

“One thing at a time. If you’re not who he’s looking for you’re not going to have to worry. And if you are you might meet him and give him a chance to explain himself before you make a decision.” Reid was using his soothing voice again.

“Why do I hear, ‘Let the rich guy pay you to be the sister he’s looking for when you say that?’” Genevieve eyed him distrustfully.

“Isn’t that basically what Mr. Germain did?” Reid widened his eyes slightly.

“No. He spent a lot on me, but it wasn’t to make me beholden. He’s done nothing but be kind and generous.”

“And asked nothing in return?” Reid was gently prying.

“I offered to pay him back doing stained glass. He was getting tools for me.”

“You’d be working for free until he was paid back?”

“No, it was being worked out.” She gave him a half smile. “I like doing stained glass. He probably could have offered to just give me room and board and let me do my glass; I’d have been thrilled. But he’s not like that. I’m more like a pet project or a charity case.”

“A hell of a guy.” Reid’s sceptical smile made her want to smack it off of his face. 

“He is.”

“Mr. Mesny might be a hell of a guy too.”

“Hey Avila, in the few minutes you were in front of the gate, you got to see Mr. Germain. Which one seems more likely to take on a charity case, Germain or Mesny?”

His head twisted back for a quick glance and she saw his grin, “Germain. You don’t get people to listen to you like that without being a hell of a leader. And a charity case that happens to be a girl one of your boys has an eye on, that’s believable.”

“Fair enough.” She smiled, shaking her head. “And your opinion of Mesny?”

“We’re going to let you make your own.” Reid interjected quickly.