BirthRight (2 page)

“Thank you, Sir,” the doctor said, walking
behind him and pointing to the room with the wounded man.

Cameron had received a private room. This
soldier shared his space with other injured comrades. The stench of
suffering and pain assailed Silas’ nostrils, leaving a distinct
metallic taste on his tongue. He would need to smell the shifter to
determine his make-up. With little effort he blocked out the other
scents. As he stood near the door, the doctor spoke to the women
and gestured to the male on the bed.

The doctor nodded and walked toward him.
Together they left the room.

“He is wolf, with a hint of another shifter.
It’s too small to determine the nature. What is his condition?”

“He has fractures in his legs and arms, took
a hit to his head and back. They’d pronounced him dead in Germany.
He revived, and was sent here. He has had surgery on his arms and
legs. They are trying to determine the next step for his head.”

Silas shook his head. The possibility of
discovery was too great. He wondered how much the human part of the
young wolf had kept his dual nature from discovery so far. “Take
him with you,” he said.

The doctor nodded and walked off.

“Excuse me Sir, excuse me.” A small hand
touched his arm before his guards could reach them. He stopped and
looked at the brazen human woman. His brow lifted until she removed
her hand. Things were getting more and more interesting.

She stood around five seven, weighed around
one hundred forty-five pounds, with large breasts and wide, round
hips. Her dark brown eyes and full lips were prominent features in
her oval-shaped face. Her creamy complexion was flawless. Long,
thick, black hair was tied back from her face, the locks falling
down her back.

She was pretty in a willowy kind of way;
unfortunately she had no interest in men.

“I watched you talk to the doctor who’s
dealing with my nephew. Now the doctor wants to move him to another
hospital. Why now? Why should my sister agree to this? Who are
you?”

Silas couldn’t remember anyone ever speaking
to him in such an accusatory manner. His first remark would have
been cutting. However, he remembered his recent pain at his
godson’s condition and decided to be civil. At least his version of
civil.

He looked down at the woman and spoke in a
clipped tone. “According to the doctor, he has a similar condition
to my nephew who’s being transferred for special treatment. Who I
am is not important. And it’s up to the military to decide what’s
in that soldier’s best interest, not his mother. Don’t forget, they
own him.” He turned and walked off.

“Smug bastard,” the woman whispered.

He waved his hand and kept moving.

Chapter 2

Jasmine Bennett walked down the hallway to
her son, Tyrone’s, room in the new facility. It was bigger,
cleaner, and less crowded. When they’d arrived a couple of days
ago, the sheer beauty of the facility had impressed her. The
manicured lawn and what appeared to be acres of trees surrounded
the red-bricked building with tall glass windows. Overall, the
outside of the hospital offered a feeling of hominess. That
impression lessened once you stepped inside. Modern equipment,
doctors, nurses, and general hospital personnel filled the halls
and rooms.

“Did you get any rest?” Renee, her older
sister, asked, falling in step with her.

“About as much as you,” she teased her
sister. Neither had rested much since following the ambulance to
this location. The nurse’d offered them beds and a place to clean
up, which they’d both utilized. Now, they were left to wait as
Tyrone underwent a series of tests.

“That much huh? Worried?” Renee asked as
they turned a corner.

“Yeah, I know the doctor said he had some
brain damage, but Rone didn’t seem too out of it to me yesterday.
What did you think?” Jasmine asked as they entered his empty
room.

“He’ll be fine.” Looking around Renee paused
as she waved away Jasmine’s next comment, moved closer and
whispered. “I haven’t forgotten our conversation from before the
call about Rone came. I still can’t believe you said the last time
you had sex was five years ago.” She shook her head.

Jasmine sighed. She hadn’t meant to say
anything when the conversation had come up that day. For the most
part she didn’t lie in general, and never to her sister. A big part
of her had simply wanted to know if her experiences were normal.
“Yeah.”

“Davian had only been dead for three years.
What, no sex before that? Was he deployed?” Disbelief, coupled with
confusion layered Renee’s words.

“Part of the time. But, even when he was
home, it didn’t seem to be a big deal with him. You know he didn’t
want any more kids, said the boys were enough. We had sex, ummm —
maybe once every few months, if that.” Her voice dropped to a
whisper.

The you’ve-got-to - be- kidding me
expression on her sister’s face confirmed what she had thought.

Abnormal
. Her sex life had not been
the norm.

Damn
. That hurt.

Before Renee could say more, two huge
orderlies wheeled Tyrone into the room. Both women stood and
watched them transfer Tyrone from gurney to bed. The nurses checked
the equipment and left with slight smiles.

“Rone, how you feeling sweetie?” Jasmine
asked while gently touching his swollen face. She ached seeing him
like this and cursed the military that kept taking from her. Her
baby was too young to fight.

He moistened his tongue. Renee picked up his
cup and placed an ice chip on his lips.

“Ummmm, thanks Aunty.” His voice was just
above a whisper.

“You’re welcome. Now answer your mom. How
are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been blown up.” He grimaced and
chuckled.

Jasmine’s hand flew to her chest as water
filled her eyes. “Baby boy, I’m so sorry you’re going through this.
What —”

“Ma,” he interrupted. “That was… horrible
bedside humor on my part.” His voice sounded surprisingly stronger.
“Actually, I am feeling somewhat better. They have been treating me
with some meds that seem to be working. The nerve endings in my
fingers and toes are healing.” He moved the digits as proof. “All
in all, it appears I will be around for a little while longer.”

Jasmine broke down.

Loud gushing sobs tore from her throat, her
body shook as the fear of losing her son overcame her.

A nurse rushed into the room, checked the
equipment, the patient, and then turned to Jasmine.

Renee stroked her back as tears rolled down
her face unchecked. The dam had broken with Tyrone’s words. He
looked better, but he had been on death’s door just a few days
before.

“She’ll be okay,” Renee said, her voice
cracking. “She’s just grateful he’s recovering.”

The nurse nodded, looked askance at them,
and left the room.

“Mom…mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry
you. I know you hate Rese and I joined the military after what
happened to daddy. I can see this is too much for you.” He paused
as if to gain strength. “Aunty, why don’t you take her for a ride,
maybe she needs to get away from here for a little while.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Jasmine countered,
steel in her voice as she wiped her face with the back of her hand.
“Yes, I hate the danger you and Tyrese are under in your line of
work. As a mother, a part of my job description is to worry over my
children. Your father loved what he did, and that made him who he
was. I don’t begrudge him that. But never think for one second that
because I disagree with your choices, I love you any less. It hurts
me to see you in pain. You and your brother are my heart. That will
never change, Rone. Never.”

He nodded. A slight smile on his face.
“Okay. The doctor should be here soon. I want to know his
diagnosis. And you haven’t called me baby boy since I was seven,
thanks.” He winked at her.

Her heart lifted as the small gesture. He
was trying hard to convince her he was okay. She couldn’t accept
it, not after seeing him all bandaged up a couple of days ago.
Granted, he looked much better now, but he
had
almost died.
Had in fact died and then revived. She was too grateful to take his
recovery for granted.

Doctor Fields walked into the room looking
over some papers attached to a clipboard. “Someone wants answers I
hear, let me see what we have.” He paused, flipping the pages and
reading. “Well, there’s some good news and some not so good news
here. First you, young man, are responding to the medications I
have prescribed and are progressing admirably. There is no apparent
damage to your brain. Your back needs more work to insure there is
no skeletal or nerve damage. If all goes well, we will start your
treatment and therapy in three days. By then your legs and arms
should be functioning enough to determine the extent of the damage
to your back.” He lifted kind eyes to Jasmine and then Tyrone.

“How long will all of this take, Doc?”
Tyrone asked.

“It all depends on your arms and legs. If
everything is the way I think, then about six to eight weeks. Maybe
less.”

“How is he healing so fast? What are you
treating him with?” Renee, the skeptic, asked.

Jasmine hadn’t thought about it before, but
one of the doctors at the VA had said Rone would be down for
months. They had only been here for a couple of days and Tyrone
showed remarkable signs of improvement.

“You aren’t giving him experimental drugs
are you?” Jasmine asked, voicing a new fear.

The doctor walked over to the IV, and
glanced at the writing before answering them. “No Ma’am, this
hospital specializes in severe trauma cases, we have fewer patients
and place all our energies on them getting better. Your son is in
good hands.” His soft-spoken words offered the comfort she
desperately needed.

“Thank you,” she murmured as he left the
room.

“I’m glad you’re doing better,” Renee said
while bending down to kiss his forehead.

“I’m glad you came, Aunty. It’s good seeing
you. Tell Mandy hi for me when you talk to her.”

“You bet, speaking of which, I need to call
her to check and see how the business is going. I’ll be right
back.” She left the room, cell phone in hand.

“Mom, how long are you going to be here?” He
looked out into the hall and then back at her.

“Until you’re much better.” She eyed him
with determination. “Much better, so don’t count on me leaving
anytime soon.”

He grinned.

His boyish smile wrenched at her heart. She
longed to take him in her arms, hold tight and rock him like she’d
done when he was little.

His smile fell away as he looked into the
hall. She noticed and turned to look in the hall. It was empty.
Frowning, she turned back to him.

The contemplative look on his face concerned
her. “What is it?” She didn’t mean to sound worried, it was just
hard to sit back, helpless.

Shaking his head, he smiled. But this one
didn’t meet his eyes. “Nothing, just thinking about some things.
Have you heard from Rese?”

Recognizing the change of subject, she let
it pass and answered. “Not yet. I left him a message and so did
your Aunt. Hopefully I’ll hear from him sometime today.” A chill
skittered down her back and she pulled her sweater closer. “Are you
cold?”

“No, Ma’am. I’m kind of warm.” He picked up
the remote.

Sitting back in the surprisingly large,
comfortable chair, she picked up her purse and pulled out her
electronic reader. The earphones came out next. She didn’t bother
hiding her grin when he zeroed in on some drama television program.
Slipping the ear buds into her ears, she turned on her reader and
tuned out the noise in the room.

Engrossed in the story, she felt a chill
down her arms. She glanced at Tyrone. He’d straightened on the bed
and appeared to be at attention even though he lay on the bed. She
frowned. Pulling out the ear buds, she started to ask him a
question. That’s when she heard someone’s footsteps leaving the
room.

Confused, she looked at him again. He stared
at the door without blinking. Alarmed, she ran to the bed and shook
him. It took a few shakes and yells before he blinked.

“Ma. It’s okay. Don’t cry. I’m okay.” His
voice lowered into a crooning sound. She had no idea she was
crying. “I’m fine, just a little tired.”

“But…but, you didn’t respond. It was
like…like you didn’t hear me.” She sucked in a breath, hoping her
trembling would stop. Her heartbeat wouldn’t slow down and she
tried not to become hysterical. But she’d never before seen him in
a trance or whatever it was he’d been in He placed his hand over
hers, looked her in the eyes and spoke. “Mom, you’re overreacting.
I’m fine. It was nothing.”

She jerked back as though he slapped her.
“Are you…are you kidding?” She snatched her hand from his. “You
must be joking. How the hell…” She stood up and walked off to the
wall.
This boy just told me I was overreacting
.
He’s lost
his mind. Calm down.
Where was Renee?