BirthStone (3 page)

Three weeks had passed since Tyrese had been
captured by a faceless enemy who'd injected some type of serum into
his body, which had changed his physiology forever. Jasmine had
been worried and wanted a full scale examination done immediately
after he'd returned from being captured. According to Dr. Matt
Chism, the mate of the twins’ father, some of the blood and muscle
tissue work had to be studied over a period of time. The results
had come in last night, and it was Silas’ promise to get the
information first thing this morning that kept his mate in their
room.

Silas had spent hours successfully training
Tyrese to control his hybrid beast, with the exception of the run.
No one had run in the forest for weeks, but that would need to
change. Tyrese’ hybrid beast needed to practice operating in the
wild. Once Jacques arrived to take over the office, Silas would
make arrangements for them to continue their training in the
forest.

Remembering a conversation he and Jasmine
had last night, he stopped in front of the lab door and spoke over
his shoulder. “I will discuss the markings if I’m inclined, do not
mention them. The human breeders believe the marks have certain
significance and I do not want them or anyone else knowing
anything. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Sir.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the young
wolves, he trusted them implicitly. But they might encounter their
father and things had a way of slipping. He simply wanted to cover
his bases. Jasmine urged him to keep the knowledge of the marks a
secret. The breeders had sent a suicide bomber into his compound to
kill him because of their beliefs. Neither he nor his mate wanted
to stoke the fires of their fanaticism. The nurses assisting in the
care of his pups were randomly scanned to insure they kept their
vow of secrecy about the sudden appearance of marks on all four of
his pups. He and Jasmine had sought the wisdom of the Goddess for
answers regarding the strange phenomena. To date, they were still
waiting for answers regarding the marks and other things.

He opened the door. Cooler air brushed
across his cheeks as he quickly moved into the large ventilated
room. Various personnel in the midst of research were bent over
equipment and speaking into shoulder-mounted recorders. Pleased
with the level of activity, Silas stopped at a long metal table and
waited until Dr. Passen and two other men finished their
discussion. As soon as they saw him, they stopped, bowed from the
waist and left the doctor.

“Good morning, Sir.” The doctor bowed to
Silas and nodded to the twins.

“Morning. I need to know about the test
results of the shot administered to Tyrese. Have you discovered the
type of metal used in Asia?”

“Metals.”

Silas’ brow rose. “They used more than one?”
He gauged the doctor’s excited expression and assumed he had more
news regarding what he termed, “Asia, the walking miracle.”

“Yes, yes, they did.” He pushed his glasses
up his nose. “It is amazing how they took something so simple and
forged it into her body, making it a part of her.” He widened his
gaze and stared at Silas. “It is cutting edge and Asia has been so
helpful. Studying her has placed us leap years ahead in research.
We should be able to help thousands of our people with this new
technology.” He paused, sucked in a breath. “The possibilities are
endless. Please, Sir… come, let me show you what we’ve
learned.”

Silas exhaled. While pleased the doctor was
excited about the future, his interest was more in the present. His
enemies had not let up. There had been random killings and maimings
in nearby communities. Attacks were not limited to West Virginia
where his compound was located; many of his alphas reported an
increase of unprovoked attacks in their states as well.

His adversaries were determined to destroy
him and his family.

Family
. He tried to remember if he
had ever equated his younger years in the pack as having a family.
He barely remembered the bitch who birthed him. She'd died while he
was but a pup. His father had been Alpha of their pack, but he too
had been taken and killed before Silas reached adulthood. Most of
his experience had been with pack; the bitches who'd cared for him
when he was small did not birth him, but that didn’t matter. There
were no accidental pregnancies, or birthings. All wolves had
inherent value and were protected.

His mate had definitely impacted his life. A
year and a half ago, the only meaning that word had for him was in
regards to the wolf nation as a whole, it was not personal. Now,
with a mate, four pups, two stepsons, a godson, and their mates, he
had a family to live for.

“This way.” Dr. Passen stood back and
allowed Silas, Tyrone, and Tyrese to enter the observation room
ahead of him.

Silas took a seat in front of a large
window. A dark sparsely furnished room lay on the other side of the
glass. He thought of Asia and wondered who she was and why the
Goddess wanted her spared. “She still refuses additional
furniture?”

Dr. Passen sighed as though pained. “Yes,
Sir. She cooperates fully with our research but does not want any
additional comforts.”

That bothered Silas. These past two weeks
since her capture, he had grown to admire and respect the young,
feisty bitch. “She is eating well?”

Dr. Passen nodded. “Yes, her appetite and
her body are healthy.”

When Asia first arrived at the compound,
she'd gone through withdrawal from whatever drugs she had been on.
Her high pitched, agonized screams, and contorted body had been
difficult to hear and see. Since the doctors had no idea what drugs
were used, they couldn’t offer any assistance, and she went through
withdrawal cold turkey. It lasted three long days. Afterward, she
had been catatonic for next twenty-four hours. Slowly, she regained
control of her bodily functions and was moved into the room next
door in the lab for research. It had been a rocky road, but now she
seemed better of mind for it.

“Does she know we are here?” Tyrese asked
while staring at the glass.

“She may,” the doctor answered. “With Asia,
you never know exactly how her senses are firing.” The hum from the
curtain lowering slowly over the glass blocked their view of Asia’s
room and muted the doctor’s clicking keyboard noise.

“Let’s start with the shot of serum both
Asia and Tyrese received from those assholes. What are the lasting
effects and will it cause any problems for his health?” Silas asked
as he waved toward Tyrese.

Dr. Passen nodded and dimmed the lights. A
screen appeared on the far wall. He typed a command into the
computer and pages of data filled the screen. “Dr. Chism said he
explained the nature of the serum to you already, so we won’t spend
a lot of time on that. The black case Tyrese submitted for testing
confirmed Dr. Chism’s original assessment that the drugs amplify an
individual’s core. There were a couple of vials of the drug they
used to knock Tyrese out in that case as well. We have the chemical
compounds of both of these now and will begin work on possible
antidotes.”

Pleased with the progress so far, Silas
nodded for him to continue.

“I’m going to start here, at the cellular
level.” He pointed to a picture with a group of cells. “We pulled
some of his older records.” He glanced at them. “This is Tyrese’
blood from before the shot.” The red clusters looked normal to
Silas. Another picture filled the screen for a moment, and then the
doctor finessed the screen so that they were side by side.

“There’s not much difference,” Tyrone said,
voicing Silas’ thoughts.

“No. On a cellular level there was very
little change. But there was some change and that’s all that is
necessary for what happened to cause the hybrid shift. I’ll explain
more in a few moments. Take a look at this.” The next screen showed
a group of cells that were smaller and double the number of the
other cells. “This is Asia’s cells. Notice she has twice the
number.”

“They look different, smaller,” Tyrese
said.

“Yes, her cells have been manipulated to
work with the metal in her body. As she uses her titanium arm or
legs, her human cells requires faster delivery of oxygenated blood.
Whoever worked on her devised a method to change her cells so they
work in perfect harmony with her mechanical parts. It’s brilliant
and eons ahead of its time. I have a team working on her blood and
the titanium so we can understand and possibly duplicate the
technology.”

Silas nodded. “The effects of the shot?”
While he appreciated the doctor’s enthusiasm for new discoveries,
he had a full agenda today and needed to get this discussion back
on track.

Dr. Passen’s face reddened. He wiped his
mouth with his handkerchief before stuffing it back into his lab
coat. “Of course, of course.” He tapped the keyboard again and
another page filled the screen.

“Dr. Chism was lead on Tyrese’s examinations
and here is a copy of the report. These findings were uploaded last
night after he received the final lab reports.” Squinting, he gazed
at the screen a moment.

“The formula set the stage for the hybrid
shift, but would not necessarily work that way in another hybrid?”
Tyrese turned from the screen to gaze at the doctor. “I don’t
understand. Is the hybrid shift permanent or not?”

“Yes, it’s permanent.” The doctor’s gaze
flicked at Tyrese before returning to the document. “But if I gave
your brother the same shot, chances are it would not react the same
way on him.”

“Why not?” Silas asked, glancing at the
frowning twins. He suspected Tyrone would take the shot if it would
give him the same ability as his brother. Although neither ever
said, he believed they needed to be equal in every way and Tyrese
having this ability that Tyrone did not threw things off kilter for
them.

“Tyrone is mated,” Dr. Passen said with a
touch of amazement in his voice that they asked something all
wolves knew. “Anything that happens to him should be filtered
through that bond.” His frown deepened. “At least that’s the way it
is with full bloods. If his mate did not receive the shot at the
same time with the same intent, the shot would not affect him other
than to amplify whatever is already there. Still, I’m not sure how
much that would work because of the mating bond and with half
breeds, I’m not sure how this will play out.”

Silas hadn’t thought of the mating bond and
from the look of the twins’ faces, they had not given it much
consideration either. “So the hybrid shift is permanent. Will there
be any other side effects?” he asked to move the discussion
along.

“Yes. The formula enhances whatever is
there, so if Rese enjoyed fighting before, he will want to fight
more often, perhaps have a quicker temper. If he was peace-loving
before, he will be even more so.”

Silas nodded in understanding while glancing
at Tyrese to see how he took the news. His face was expressionless,
as usual.

“You may want to warn your partners of the
increase in your sexual appetite,” Dr. Passen said, his face
serious.

“Will do,” Tyrese said in a dry tone.

Pleased with the report on Tyrese, Silas
passed the information, minus the sexual advice, along to Jasmine
who was in the nursery with their pups.

“
I’m so relieved, thanks baby. Let me
know when you finish your meeting.”

“
Okay.”

“I’d like to take the shot,” Tyrone said,
meeting Silas’ gaze with determination blazing in his eyes.

“You cannot take the shot and do the
challenge. It might give you an unfair advantage or disadvantage,”
Silas said, knowing Tyrone had no interest in fighting Cameron,
Silas’ godson and Tyrone’s brother-in-law. Nevertheless, until
Silas voiced his decision on who would fight in the challenge,
Tyrone was still a contender.

“I understand.” Tyrone gazed at Silas a
moment longer and then faced the doctor. “I’d like to take that
shot.”

Dr. Passen cheeks reddened further as his
gaze slid from Tyrone to Silas and back to Tyrone again. “Is that
permitted, Sir?” he asked Silas.

Silas glanced at the somber-faced twins; it
was obvious they had discussed this. But what if something went
wrong, Jasmine would be furious with him. He shook off that
thought. These men fought valiantly by his side every day, he had
once accused her of babying them and was about to fall into the
same rut himself.

“Yes, as long as you understand the risks
and take full responsibility for your actions.” He stared at Tyrone
to make sure he understood the reference to his mama.

Tyrone’s color heightened but he did not
release Silas’ gaze. Amazing how such a small woman could impact
grown men in this way. In light of her recent bout of depression,
no one wanted to give Jasmine cause for additional stress or
discomfort. “I understand.”

Silas nodded. “Set it up and give him the
shot. Tyrese, I want you with him when he takes it. If I remember
correctly, it burns like fire.” His gaze slid to Tyrone, who had
been merged with his twin when the shot had been administered and
had informed Silas of the painful experience. Now he would undergo
a similar occurrence, except this time it would be with consent

“Will do, Sir.” The doctor sounded skeptical
but he scribbled a note on a piece of paper. “As far as the weapons
we discovered…” He looked at Silas for permission to continue.

Silas waved him on. He had placed tremendous
pressure on the doctor and the researchers to devise a method of
detecting suicide bombers who were locked and loaded with the
internal bombs. Two people had entered the compound without
detection. It had been a surprise when he discovered such devices
existed, even more so when he discovered the sophisticated objects
were attuned to him. With his mate and pups nearby, he would make
sure every entry into his compound utilized this extra security
measure in addition to scans.