BirthRight (3 page)

“Ma?”

Without looking at him, she threw her arm
back and held up her hand.

He remained quiet.

Closing her eyes, she inhaled and exhaled to
slow her heartbeat. She visualized the boys when they were small.
The twins had been a loving handful, but they’d filled her lonely
days and nights. Now they were grown and she was
overreacting
. She pushed down the anger that threatened to
choke her.

Renee was right.

She needed to do something with her life.
Maybe go back to school, take up a hobby, do something so she
wouldn’t overreact. Damn it.

She spun and stared at him. “I can’t believe
you said I overreacted.”

He squirmed beneath the sheet. “Maybe that
was the wrong word, but Ma, I’m okay. See?” He sat straighter.

“How the hell does that prove anything?” She
hadn’t meant to raise her voice, but he was pissing her off and in
a few minutes she really would be overreacting.

The devilish grin he sprouted was
reminiscent from when he was a young boy trying to escape a
punishment. “It doesn’t. I just didn’t know what else to say to
keep you from going off on me.”

She stared at him and started laughing. “You
were close to the line. Don’t do that. I want you to get well, not
make you worse.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said in a meek tone.

“So what happened?” She returned to the side
of the bed just in time to see his face shutter closed.

“Nothing. I was caught in a daydream.” He
didn’t look at her.

“Tyrone Bennett.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“You know the penalty for lying to your
mama, right?”

He released a long, drawn out sigh. “Yes.
But I can’t tell you.”

“Why didn’t you just say that? You think I’d
try to make you tell me everything? You’re grown and entitled to
your secrets. Everybody got secrets. I was concerned that’s
all.”

“I’m sorry. I’m not up to par. Could you get
the nurse in here, I need something for pain.”

Her stomach dropped. “If I left you alone
for a while would you still need the pain meds?” she asked in a
soft voice.

“No.” His voice rose, and then he gave her a
sheepish grin as if afraid to admit he wanted his mama. “I’m glad
you’re here. My side is sore and I want to sleep. I can’t do that
without the pain meds. Have you eaten?”

The change in topics threw her for a loop.
“What?”

“Have you had anything to eat? You or Aunt
Renee?”

She thought back and realized she hadn’t had
anything since early that morning. “I can’t remember and I don’t
know about Renee. I’ll ask her when she comes back.”

A few moments later, Renee and the nurse
strode into the room.

The nurse stuck a needle into his IV and
checked a few things. Jasmine noticed the nurse bend down and talk
quietly with Tyrone. When they were done, the nurse turned, smiled
at her and Renee, and left the room.

Jasmine itched to ask what the nurse said,
but remembered her earlier remarks. “Is everything okay?” She
stepped close to the bed and looked him over with a critical
eye.

“Yeah, she wanted to know how bad the pain
was.” His eyelids drooped.

She gave into the urge to touch him, to
reassure herself he was okay. The back of her hand stroked the side
of his face. He sighed as he fell under the dominion of the
medication.

“He’s asleep?” Renee asked, coming to stand
next to her.

Jasmine nodded, leaned down and placed a
kiss on his forehead. “Hungry?” she asked her sister.

“Yeah. You?”

Jasmine nodded as she backed away from the
bed. “I am. Is there some place here where we can eat?”

“I think I overheard someone talking about a
cafeteria. I’ll ask the nurse, and we can grab a bite before he
wakes up. Have you talked to the doctor about Tyrone’s next step?
It’s good to see him healing, but what happens next?”

Jasmine hadn’t asked that many questions
because the doctor had been so forthcoming about Tyrone’s
condition. Before she could answer, Renee had walked off and was
speaking to the nurse behind the counter.

“Thanks,” Renee said to the nurse as she
waved Jasmine over.

“There’s some place here?” Jasmine asked as
she caught up with her sister.

Renee nodded. “Yeah, a couple of floors
down. Stairs or elevator?”

Jasmine was tempted to take the stairs, but
didn’t feel up to it. “Elevator.” Following the signs, they took
the elevator and walked into the cafeteria. Scents teased her
nostrils, her stomach growled. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was
before,” Jasmine said, heading toward the line for the grill. There
were steaks, burgers, and prime rib on the menu. Her brows rose at
the selection.
No chicken or fish
?

Renee picked up a pre-made salad and waited
for her.

“I’d like a steak, medium rare. There needs
to be some pink in the middle. But I don’t want a big steak.”

The chef never spoke, he simply held up a
raw piece of meat.

“Do you have anything smaller?”

He cut the steak in half and held it up.

Smiling, she nodded. “That’s perfect, thank
you.” Jasmine stepped to the side and grabbed a small salad and
garlic toast while waiting for her steak.

“What do you want to drink?” her sister
asked.

“Water. A bottle, so I can take it back to
the room.”

“Good idea.” Renee grabbed two bottles and
picked up a large brownie.

“A salad and a brownie? How does that work
out for you?” Jasmine teased as she accepted the plate with her
steak from the chef. She slipped a tip in his jar and headed for
the cashier. When they’d walked in the cafeteria earlier, it had
seemed empty, but during the time they’d taken to grab their food,
most of the tables had filled.

“Wanna sit outside?” Renee asked.

A table near the exit opened and Jasmine
headed for it. The idea of swatting flies while trying to cut her
steak held no appeal. “No, here’s one.” They each took a seat and
looked out the large window. It was a beautiful day, maybe after
they ate, she’d take a quick walk to stretch her legs.

“Jazz?”

“Hmmm?” She swallowed the garlic bread and
took a deep breath.

“Have you noticed there’s a football
convention going on here?”

“What?” She looked up at Renee.

“I mean, have you noticed how frigging big
all the men are in this place? Even the women are tall. Plus, there
aren’t any black people working here. We’re in Maryland, how the
hell can there not be any blacks working in a hospital.”

Jasmine hadn’t noticed the shape, size, or
color of anyone. Her sole focus had been on Tyrone. Truthfully, she
didn’t care if the people were zebras, Tyrone was getting better
and that’s all that mattered to her. But Renee was different. She
was an anthropology professor back in St. Louis. Noticing people
were her stock and trade.

“No. I hadn’t noticed. I’m just glad Rone is
getting better. Have you heard from Rese?”

Her sister cut her eyes at her. “No, I
would’ve told you. And I’m glad they’re taking good care of Rone,
too. I owe them more than I can say. It’s just weird being in a
place so…so sterile. There’s no diversity. Everyone’s the same. Big
men, tall women. All pale.” Renee shivered. “It’s just
strange.”

Jasmine looked out the window. Her eyes
locked with a pair of turbulent bluish-green eyes. A chill snaked
down her spine chased by a flash of heat. Her heartbeat stuttered
and then picked up in speed. Warmth radiated through her and
settled in her belly. A tingling started between her thighs. The
alien feelings surprised her.

“See, they’re big.” Her sister tugged at her
attention.

With reluctance, Jasmine pulled away from
the fascinating eyes. “Huh?” A curl of warmth fluttered lower,
tempting, and teasing.

“That guy you were looking at, did you see
how big he was?”

She hadn’t noticed anything but his eyes.
“No, not really.”

Renee sat back in her chair and stared at
her. “That conversation we had back at the house a few days ago,
you thinking about it?”

Jasmine fought through the fog clouding her
mind. “No. Give me a minute to remember.”

Renee chuckled. “Okay. What time do you want
to head back to the room?” “I’m not sure, Rone was in pain and the
medicine helps him sleep.” She was done eating and slid back from
the table. “Wanna take the scenic route back upstairs?”

Renee nodded as she joined Jasmine at the
waste bin to dump their trash. Renee linked her arm in Jasmine’s
and headed toward the glass door leading to the gardens.

For the first time, Jasmine took note of the
people in the room. The men were huge. It could’ve been a
linebacker convention. She was glad when they walked out into the
sun, but she was haunted by the clarity of those turquoise
eyes.

Chapter 3

Silas watched the only humans in the
building walk arm in arm through the gardens. With half an ear he
listened to another Alpha discuss plans for his pack. The Alpha was
building a school on their land and was trying to find a way to
keep it limited to just pack.

“Make it private,” one Alpha suggested.

“We did that and still had outsiders apply
for enrollment,” another Alpha said. “We found ourselves in a
discrimination lawsuit and settled out of court. The laws are
changing and it’s harder and harder to be exclusive.”

“But we have to allow some interaction among
humans. The problem is once that happens, friendships develop and
all kinds of other things.”

The Alphas mumbled their agreement.

Silas understood their dilemma. As their
Patron, or lead Alpha, he required each of them to stay current
with the time period. Pups were to be provided the best education,
which spawned superior companies. Each pack had to invest in real
estate, and own their land. The members of the pack were to be
trained in either a trade or continue to college. Bottom line - all
had to utilize their skills for the advancement of the pack.

Unfortunately, there was a downside. The
packs under his leadership were vast, wealthy and powerful. Their
schools had the best academic programs, which provided the top test
scores in their respective states. Humans wanted their children to
attend those schools, but to date were not allowed.

“Why not say the schools are for the
descendants of…your original Alpha, that would stop the lawsuits,”
Silas said into the silence.

“Yeah, that should work,” Alpha Lyle, one of
the attorneys present, said. “If the schools were built for a den,
and it was specified for that purpose, it might work. However, you
may not be able to participate in state competitions.”

“How many schools do we have in this
country?” Silas asked.

“Over three hundred that comes to mind,”
Lyle said.

“Then plan our own academic competitions.
Start at the state level, then regional, and then national. This
way the barometer of academic excellence has greater meaning. Let’s
face it, the public schools offer no competition and the private
schools are not that much better. But to pit a shifter school
against another for scientific or mathematical excellence, that is
a real contest. And I would participate in the judging on the
national level,” Silas said, knowing his involvement would settle
the matter.

“That would be great. We can have all those
who win your scholarships attend as well. That way they can extend
their thanks as a collective voice,” another Alpha said.

Pleased, Silas nodded as they discussed the
change in the educational trajectory of their packs. Their energy
and excitement was a tangible thing.(too vague) For the most part,
Silas acted as moderator, giving input when ideas became stalled.
Each Alpha was responsible for his pack, and Silas was responsible
for the Alphas who wore his insignia and carried his last name.
Once the room quieted, Silas waited for the men to bring up what he
felt was an obvious, urgent issue. Instead, they began discussing
dinner destinations and frivolous pursuits for later that evening.
Withholding a sigh, he reminded himself that these men only
concerned themselves with their individual packs. He bore the
weight of broader issues affecting all wolves and had to bring them
to the table.

“I wonder why no one has mentioned the
humans on the grounds of this hospital,” Silas said, looking around
the room. The shocked expressions on the faces of the men who were
collectively responsible for thousands of lives were comical. He’d
bet they still didn’t see or understand his concern.

“What have I missed, La Patron?” Jadyen, the
Alpha for Maryland asked. The other Alphas sat forward with intense
looks, thoroughly prepared to remove any threat.

He looked at them and then spoke, sad that
they still had not seen the challenge. “The mother of the shifter
is human.” He watched, waiting for them to get it. Some did, most
did not. “The young wolf-shifter was not in our system and is an
adult wolf who has changed on numerous occasions. In fact, he has a
great relationship with his wolf. He has a twin, who is also a
wolf. However, his mother is not, and she does not know her son is
wolf.”