Page 79 of Forever Mine

"You knew about this?" I challenged him.

"Not until about an hour ago. Kyle picked me up and we came straight here. Patrick agreed to go get you while we talked some things out." He ran his hand through his hair and looked stressed. "There's a lot to catch you up on."

"I still don't like you dragging her into this," Jacob said.

"But they know her, and they won't suspect anything strange with Janie coming to visit you, even at the office," one of the strangers said.

"Maddie, this is Dave and Martin, my friends," Patrick said, with enough emphasis for me to understand these were his human contacts from the Verndari.

"Hello," I said. "What are we talking about?"

"Take a seat," Kyle told me, speaking for the first time. I looked over to Liam, who smiled and nodded, letting me know I should do what Kyle said. I sat in the chair Liam had abandoned and he stationed himself behind me, close enough for his presence to relieve some of the anxiety starting to build.

"There're some things you need to know about Jacob Winthrop," Kyle said.

I glanced at Jacob, who cringed.

"Let me explain it to her," he practically begged. "She's my daughter.”

Despite it all, they still looked at me the same, like a mother and a father. I loved them, despite what they were a part of. I knew they were good people and I didn't think anything could change that perception, until Jacob began to speak.

"Janie, baby, I've done some things I'm not proud of. I have my reasons. I never wanted to hurt anyone."

"Jacob, what's going on here?" The calm in my voice shocked even me.

"You know some things about the Verndari?"

I nodded, but didn't speak.

"Well, for many generations we've watched and protected the shifters, silent guardians over your people. We've done everything in our power to ensure the humans stayed unaware. The duty of the Verndari was passed down from parent to child from the beginning of time, as far as we believe. But about a decade ago, a new leader rose up in the Verndari. He was young and modern, and his father was dying of cancer. Modern medicine wasn't helping, and he was determined to seek any aid possible if it meant saving him. That was the first trial run on the shifters.”

"They rounded up a few rogues at first, shifters known to cause problems anyway. It started out with good intentions. They were taking out human threats, and were only running tests on them, then rehabilitating and releasing them back into the world. That was the plan, at least, but he gained popularity quickly and a small group of rebel Verndari began experimenting on shifters, looking for cures to human ailments with no regard to the shifter." Annie continued his story.

Martin took over next. "I remember when Jacob and I were brought into the loop. We were both horrified at what we found there. We agreed to stay, and implemented humane procedures for the experiments. This man"—I noticed none of them were giving up his name—"he was changing the minds of the youngest of our society, in secret. I reported back to our council, but was given orders to observe and report. For almost a decade I've been observing and reporting, and I'm done. What they're doing, it's not right." He looked at Jacob. "What you're doing isn't right either, and you know it."

"Jacob went in to protect the shifters, to make sure the lines of ethics were not crossed, and he stays, giving each of them the best life possible in there," Annie defended her husband.

"But they have crossed that line. What they’re doing is unethical. They've started locking them in cages, like wild beasts. They aren't animals, and you know it," Martin said.

"It’s true," Jacob confessed, "and they are getting bolder about their tactics, no longer taking just the troublesome shifters. They go after any lone shifter they can find. Wolves are harder because you are such a dominant pack animal."

"We had gotten word of the Bulgati brothers and were told to pick them up. The boys and I stood down when Elise showed up, then you. Patrick; we didn't know the two of you would be there, but if our superiors had known they'd have had us grab the two of you, too," Martin told Patrick.

"So the Bulgati brothers, you have them?" Patrick asked.

"Yes," Martin confirmed.

"Are they dead?"

"Not yet."

"Good, because I want to be the one that kills them," Patrick told them with such vengeance it frightened me.

"Raina?" Kyle asked.

"Raina was travelling with three other women. They were laying low, under the radar and made for an easy target. She's still alive," Dave assured Kyle.

"And how do we get her out of there?"

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