Keira Kendrik (2 page)

Jasmine sat in the corner of the new room she had been placed in
.  She had been stunned to be taken, with a bag over her head, to another location a few days after she had been originally taken.  It was getting hard to tell time anymore because she was placed in rooms with no windows and time just ticked away.  When she had been shoved into the new room, her hands had been tied.  Someone had cut her bindings from her hands then she had heard the door to the room slam shut and the locks slide into place.

She quickly pulled the cloth bag off her head and
was shocked at the sight before her.  There were four young girls in the room, all in various states.  Some were dirty with torn clothes while others didn't look so worn.  They were all huddled together in a corner, not one looked to be over sixteen.  Jasmine looked around the new room and saw there were a few blankets laid down to make pallets around the room.  There was another doorway and when she looked in, she was thrilled to see an actual toilet and sink.  There was no door or shower or even a towel bar to use as a weapon and that disappointed her.

She came back out of the bathroom and walked slowly over to the group of girls
.  "Hi, I'm Jasmine.”  None of the girls spoke, so she continued, "I know we are all scared but does anyone know where we are?"

One girl that looked older than the other
's answered her. "I'm Tiffany.”  She pointed to the others and said, "That's Shannon, Monica, and Tracey.  We don't know where we are, we were brought in the same as you."

Jasmine nodded
.  "Okay.  Are any of you hurt in any way?” 

She remembered from her childhood in foster care that it
was one of the first questions asked by her social worker when they met.  She had been left on the front steps of a church as a baby and even though social services had tried, her parents were never found.  She was named Jasmine because of the sprig of Jasmine, the flower, found tucked into her blanket.  Her last name was the name of the street where the church was located.  She wondered for a long time why they had left her on the church steps that night.  She had been wrapped in a blanket that had a funny symbol on it.  She still had it, boxed away in her apartment.  Throughout her childhood she had imagined all kinds of scenarios to explain why they had done what they did.  As she had moved into her teens, the wondering stopped.  She faced the fact that they were never coming back and she had to move on.

All the girls shook their heads to answer her question
.  Then she smiled at them and said, "Okay.  Let's just all try to stay calm.”  She sat with her back to the wall and leaned her head back.  She closed her eyes and tried to rest while she could.  Surprisingly she actually felt like she could catch a nap now that there were others with her.  It didn't matter that they were young girls, it was just good to have someone else to be on the lookout for their captors.

J
erked out of sleep by Tiffany grabbing her arm and then gesturing toward the door, Jasmine tensed and pushed herself to her feet, knowing someone was coming through it.  A man she had never seen came in and held the door for a second man.  The second man was dressed to the nines in a very nice suit, complete with a tie.  He was carrying a cane and had a hat on as well.  He was older, graying hair, mustache and had on sunglasses.  He walked toward the younger girls and Jasmine stepped in front of them.

He raised an eyebrow at her but leaned around her to look at the girls
.  "Yes, these will do nicely," he said in a cultured voice.  He turned and looked at her.  "This one will bring a lot of attention.”  That comment caused a cold chill to go through Jasmine.  He turned to go out when she spoke.

"Who are you
?  What are you going to do with us?" she demanded.

He turned and backhanded h
er so fast, pain exploded across her face.  She fell to the ground as the girls cried out.  "You do not speak.  Ever," he told her.

She looked up at him as she wiped the blood from her chin
.  "What do you want?”  His cane slammed into her side.  She gasped as the pain hit her.

"We will have to work on training you
," he said coldly then turned again and left the room.  The other man pulled the door shut and they all heard the lock slide into place.

Tiffany scrambled over to Jasmine
.  "Are you okay?"

Jasmine smiled at the young girl
.  "I'm okay, honey."

"You really made him mad
.  You can't do that,” Tiffany told her.

"I'm learning that
," Jasmine said, trying to lighten the mood.  She glanced around and each of the girls were now gathered around her with concern in their eyes.  "It's okay, guys, I'm really okay.  I'll just be a little sore today that's all."

One of the other girls spoke up, she thought
her name was Tracey.  "What's gonna happen to us?"

"How old are you, Tracey, right?" Jasmine asked.

The girl nodded confirming that she was indeed Tracey. She was adorable with her brown hair in a bob with big brown eyes. It was clear she was a twin to the other child there, they looked identical.  "I'm twelve."

Then another girl spoke
.  "I'm Monica and I'm fourteen." Monica had black hair that hung down her back to her waist with green eyes like Jasmine had.

Jasmine looked over at the last girl who hadn't spoken and said, "That makes you Sha
nnon."

Shannon
nodded.  "I'm twelve, too.”  She pointed to Tracey.  "We're twins."

Jasmine smiled.
"I can see that."

Tiffany touched Jasmine's arm
.  "I'm almost sixteen.  Monica is my sister." When Jasmine looked between the two, she could see a resemblance. Tiffany had black hair but it fell to her shoulders and was lighter than Monica's. Tiffany also had blue eyes that seemed so expressive.

"How did you all get here?
” Jasmine asked.

Tiffany answered again for the group, she was obviously the elected leader
.  "Monica and I were hanging out at the park by our house.  A man came up and told us he lost his little puppy.  He had a leash and was very upset.  I told him we would go look and he went another way.”  She took a deep breath.  "Then two men grabbed us with guns and threw us in the back of a van.  The same thing happened to the twins, they told me."

Jasmine took a deep breath
.  "Okay.  Well, don't worry.  We will figure something out.  When they come in, just stay behind me no matter what they do or say, okay?"

The girls all nodded in agreement
.  Jasmine slowly slid her body back until her back hit the wall again.  Her face was numb for the most part, but her side burned.  She had to bite her cheek on the inside just to stop herself from tearing up.  She had to remain strong for these girls.  She knew the man who had just hit her was evil and his plans for them were really bad.  Her mind was whirling with the possibilities.  She didn't want to say it out loud but the outcome of their current situation was dismal.

Phoenix and Gabe arrived at the ranch just after sunset
.  They had already been packed with their bags in Gabe's truck.  As they pulled through the main gate, Phoenix sat back in the passenger seat and looked around him.  There was land as far as the eye could see with the main ranch house ahead and a massive barn behind it to the right.  There was also a caretaker’s cottage behind it and to the left.  The main ranch house stood three stories tall.  The first floor held a large living room, dining room, kitchen, two offices, and a library.  The second floor held the master bedroom and four guest rooms.  All had their own bathrooms, the master had a custom designed master bath that Phoenix and Gabe had done themselves.  The third floor was designed to be for their children.  It had a large playroom and four smaller bedrooms, two on each side with a bathroom in between.

Their mother had decorated the main rooms many years ago and they had left that furniture alone
.  The men had redecorated the master bedroom, leaving it unoccupied for when they met the woman who would one day share it with them.  They had also taken two of the guest rooms and had them decorated to their liking years ago with their own personal tastes. 

Phoenix could see Marty Thompson, their foreman, and his wife, Lucy, standing out on the front porch
.  He knew the security system he had installed last year beeped the main house to let them know they had passed through the main gate. Marty and Lucy were both in their sixties and still going strong. Marty still stood tall at six foot two, he was lean in his body from all the ranch work he still did. Lucy's black hair that she kept in a bun was just now beginning to have a touch of gray. Lucy's plump figure attested to the fact that she loved her own cooking. Phoenix's stomach growled as he thought about her cooking and how wonderful it was.

They pulled up in front and got out, stretching their muscles as they went up to greet the Thompsons
.  Lucy, of course, had to hug both of them as they shook Marty's hand.

"How are things?" Phoenix asked Marty.

"Good.  Good.  'Ole Firecracker gave birth yesterday to a real nice foal.  You need to take a look," Marty told them.

"Not before you come eat
.  I know you boys were too eager to get back out here and you haven't eaten dinner yet.  Come on, I have your favorites waiting,” Lucy ordered.

They all laughed and followed Lucy into the kitchen
.  They had an informal smaller table there where Phoenix and Gabe preferred to eat when they were home.  They all sat down. The Thompsons were like their second family and were never treated as employees.  They enjoyed fresh pot roast and gravy, roasted vegetables from the garden Lucy kept in the back of the main house and creamy mashed potatoes.  Not to mention the homemade rolls Lucy fed them.  It was a delicious dinner and the brothers made sure Lucy knew what a great cook they knew her to be.

After dinner, Marty took them out to the barn to meet the newest member of the ranch
.  Firecracker was an aptly named horse as she refused to let anyone sit on her to ride but she had fallen in love with Thunder, Marty's horse.  As he switched on some of the lights in the barn, both brothers went over to say hello to their respective horses.  Gabe grabbed a couple of carrots and handed one to Phoenix as they entered the barn.  He now walked up to his horse, Diablo, who was a solid black quarter horse.  His name came from when it took Gabe weeks before he broke him and every time he was thrown, Gabe would say the horse was the devil incarnate.

Phoenix walked up to his quarter horse
that was a warm chocolate brown.  His name was Adnan, which meant pleasure in Arabic.  Phoenix had a close understanding with Adnan.  When he was riding him, it was as if they were one being.  He couldn't wait until morning when they would go streaking across the pasture.  For the time being, he enjoyed giving Adnan the carrot Gabe had brought for him.  He gave him a few pats on the neck and then turned to follow Marty and Gabe to the new foal.

They rounded the corner where there were two birthing stalls in the back and they got their first look at the new member
.  Firecracker was a paint horse that was cream in color, where the sire, Thunder, was also a paint but brown all over with a white strip going down his forehead.  The foal had been born looking like her mother, a light cream, but had a white forehead like her father.  She was beautiful.  The men spoke about work on the ranch and what hands were assigned where.  They had ten ranch hands that worked with Marty with the day-to-day operations.

Marty soon announced he was heading off to bed and said good night to the brothers
.  Then Phoenix and Gabe headed toward the back of the property.  Since the last time Phoenix left, this was what he had waited for.  The ranch was the one place they could be themselves.  Surrounded by their people.  They were the Otherkin.  A mystical people who were able to shift into any creature they desired.

Phoenix and Gabe both leaped into the air and before they hit the ground, there was a flash
.  When they did land, Phoenix had shifted into a black jaguar and Gabe had shifted into a spotted leopard.  These were the shapes they loved the most because it allowed them to run.  They streaked into the woods on the vast ranch, on occasion running into another member of their people in one shape or another.  Phoenix and Gabe were what was called the Alphas of their people, their princes.  Their father had been prince until he stepped aside when the brothers became of an age to take over his duties.  Whenever the princes were within a hundred yard range of one of their people, they knew and were able to communicate with them mentally.  It was a gift of the princes.  When they found their life mate, they would be able to communicate with her mentally as well once they were mated.

They continued on their run for several miles and then turned to head back
.  When they were about halfway back, Gabe shifted into an eagle and flew overhead.  He was known to do that to scan the area in case of a threat.  There had never been one.  Their people were undetected by anyone, human or shifter kind.  That is what kept them safe, they protected each other to ensure the survival of their people.  They were a very close-knit group of people, living and working together.

At C
hampion, Inc., all the employees were members of Otherkin.  Their skills were unique in allowing them to go and do what so many were not able to do.  It was the main reason they were so successful at what they did.  It also helps them to be able to help others by using their abilities.  Phoenix and Gabe had invested wisely for their people and no one would ever want for anything.  They had also invested by purchasing all of the properties surrounding the original ranch and had built homes for everyone.  They had created their own town called Promise.

Promise had everything all other towns had
; they had a beauty shop, grocery store, hardware store, feed store and a variety of others.  All owned and run by Otherkin.  There was even a small hotel in Promise.  All monies were shared between the people and they all worked to see that each business was successful.  Phoenix and Gabe were really proud of what they had built.  They thought of each member as family and treated them as such.

They arrived back at the back of the main house and changed into their human form
.  Phoenix felt exhilarated from the run, he loved to feel free but knew he needed to talk to Gabe about Jasmine Dupree some more.  They had discussed her on the drive down and had begun making a plan.  They needed to call Jackson Carlton, one of their seconds who was an excellent hacker and their number one computer genius.  He might be able to find out some information the police had missed.  Phoenix headed inside the house while he pulled his cell phone out to call Jackson.