Page 20 of When Embers Become Ashes

I wake to the sound of the door opening, and a familiar smell of oranges and soap hits my nose as I hear a shocked and pained gasp.

“Glow bug! What the! I can’t believe it! I’ll get you patched up and home to my brothers.” Xander says

“Hey, caterpillar, I’m glad you’re here,” I start to cry as I fall unconscious again, getting the image of two familiar wolves, a bear, and a man with glowing red eyes. “Sister?”

I wake again to Xander talking to someone, but it’s a male voice, not Nurse Chloe. Xander puts his hand on my shoulder.

“Hold still, Glow bug. I’ve nearly finished your stitches. Then I want to get you clean and in some scrubs.” I feel five more tugs near my knee and then hear the water before a warm cloth wipes down my legs,

“Chloe, can you help me sit her up and over?” Xander asks.

“Mickey, throw me those scrubs, please” Usually, I would panic, but Xander trusts this person.

“Yes, of course, I’m on your left, Miss Ashes,” I know the voice and don’t feel threatened. I nod as my throat burns with thirst. I’m slowly and carefully flipped and now standing, holding nurse Chloe’s forearms so I didn’t collapse

“Hold on, Glow bug, I’ll clean your legs, then get some trousers on you. Then you can sit as I do your torso. I’m sure you will feel less vulnerable with pants on than in a hospital gown; Mickey will close his eyes when we switch your top” I nod again before he finishes talking. He’s already helping my legs into some dark green scrubs. As Xander starts to do my torso, the stranger holds up a cup with a straw. I smile and drink while he speaks.

“I’m Giovanni, but most call me Mickey G. You requested me before you passed out on poor Trent. I’m a social worker, but I’ve never met you before.” I finish my second glass of water as Xander drops a t-shirt over my head, threading my arms into the sleeves. He then starts to brush the blood and knots out of my hair, which Chloe tuts at, then takes over, muttering that if he carries on I will end up bald, I smile at Giovanni,

“I was with Jenson Fall when Max told him you would meet them halfway. I took a gamble and guessed you would be a better option than Jameson, who has been my controller all my life. I was also with the Hound family and hid while you were talking to Nonna and Pops.” I say.

His face goes from a kind smile to a slightly green, concerned look. He flashes a glance in Xander’s direction as he finishes my pigtail braids, Chole giving him an impressed look

“Quinny has always been special to my brothers,” Xander states as he gets up to wash his hands. Recognition flashes in Chloe and Gio's eyes at the mention of Trick’s nickname for me.

Chloe excuses herself once she checks that I’m okay with the two men. Gio pulls up a chair and asks me to give a rundown of my history. He didn’t want to go through the system and alert SJ to my whereabouts, so I do.

“I’ve typed up most of what I remember, it’s on the laptop I sent to Jenson, there is a rough timeline on my medical USB” I add and he holds up the USB, to confirm he has it.

Troy brings in some food, and I say a quick thank you to him.

“I’m glad you’re awake I wanted to say I’m sorry and why I left you where I did for so long” I blink at him and look down at my food, but wait for him to continue

“I was undercover at the time, trying to get as much information as I could so we could take that place down, I risked fucking the job up, by sneaking you in food and water but I couldn’t fully leave you alone, they were harsher towards you than anyone else there, well until….” He shakes his head as if arguing with himself about what to say, then sighs and looks at me again

“I told my superior about you and what was going on, so we escalated the plan, to shut the place down, even more so when I was told about the Nightmare they planned to pair you with, I have a couple of questions, off the record but I need to know” I watch him, his singing and dancing has always been so carefree and now he looks so tense and stressed, I give him a nod

“Why was there no information on you at the facility? Nothing not even your past foster placements or social worker was listed, nothing” I give him a smile

“Samual Jameson,” I say and Troy snarls and nods, he doesn’t look any happier

“He had me from birth Troy it's not your fault, he worked hard to keep me out of the system, I heard odd bits over the years but nothing solid, I was to be a tool nothing more and if I got broke and dented along the way till I could be used as a baby machine he didn’t care” he looks me over and gives me a nod

“Have you ever been anywhere good? Or have they all been shit?” he tries to smile but fails

“Yeah, the Nightmare got me to a hospital, the Nurse, he left me with took me in with her husband until she passed away” my voice cracks and I sip some water before continuing

“I was there till I moved to do a year of college; I was on my way to meet up with Xanders younger brother Jenson when Jameson got me again, and here we are. There have been good and bad times over the years, but the good though smaller amounts far outweigh the bad times, and thanks to you I have an eclectic music taste” I chuckle at the last words which has him cracking a full smile

“I’m glad I could add a little light into your world, and I’m glad you are heading to TripleMoon, it’s a good pack I was born there, I think you will like it, the Alpha is relaxed to normal standards” he explains a little more about his family, then groans when he looks at the time

“I need to head out and give the report on what happened, can I have a hug? Or are you not ready for that yet?” I open my arms he feels safe and Xander is here and would let me get hurt, then introduces me to Trent, the lynx shifter who was the first to me during the attack. I thank him for saving my life. He turns a brilliant shade of red as Gio and Xan laugh at his sudden shyness. He mumbles, “Welcome,” before ducking back out the door.

We sit for hours talking. Gio excuses himself to make some calls. Xander says he needs to do some rounds but will get a nurse to drop me off some paper and pencils, giving my twitching fingers a pointed look.

When Gio comes back, I’m sketching. It’s of me sitting on the floor with a book resting on one knee and my sketch pad on the other. I’m looking down at both items. Laid down on either side of me are Dex and Levi. Over my right shoulder, you can see a giant bear on its hind legs. Directly behind me is the man with glowing red eyes. He’s in silhouette other than his eyes. The scene behind is a lake surrounded by redwood and rowan trees, and you can see an outline of a log chalet. A triple crescent moon is in the sky with a phoenix flying across it. Before Gio has a chance to comment on what he sees, Xander walks in with a solemn look, opening something on his tablet,

“We’ve had your DNA results back.” I blink at him, shrug, then look back down at my work,

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