Supporting Mate

Chapter 1

Lily MacArthur hit the floor with a huff. She steadily got to her hands and knees; her head bowed to hide glowing yellow eyes.

“Stay down, May!” Talia warned; her Jamaican accent thick.

The packed mess hall was silent.

She growled as she climbed to her feet; her hands balled into fists.

“Don’t!” Talia spoke through clenched teeth.

Lily rolled her shoulders and turned to face the woman. Her eyes immediately reacted to Lily’s; also turning yellow. She tightened her grip on the pole in her hand as the two of them glared at each other.

“You’re going to get hurt!” Talia growled.

Lily blinked and the yellow was replaced by emerald green.

“That would be a first,” Lily sighed.

She deliberately turned her back on Talia; disrespecting her in front of a whole room of people. Everybody got out of her way as she walked towards the door. She got all the way to the stairwell when a wire wrapped around her neck. It was enough to stop her, but she didn’t turn around.

“What do you want?” she whispered.

“You can’t run and hide,” Jesse released the wire. “You’ve got a schedule to keep. We’re supposed to go swimming in ten minutes.”

“That’s eight minutes I can use to run and hide,” Lily pointed out, before she pushed the heavy metal door open.

Jesse didn’t stop her or come after her as she went downstairs. After three staircases, she reached the long hallway, only for the elevator to open. Talia walked out and smashed her pole into Lily’s stomach. She hit the wall and slid to the tiles.

“You feel better?” Lily asked.

“Disrespect me again and you’ll pay dearly!” she hissed. “Now get in the elevator!”

“Jesse ordered me to go swimming with her.”

Talia growled.

Lily got to her feet and rubbed her hand over her mouth as she walked into the elevator. Her hand came away red. She spat into her hand and found more blood.

“What did you do to me?”

“I don’t know,” Talia growled.

She used her keycard to get the elevator to move. Lily silently followed after Talia, but stopped at the door of the medical office when Talia went in.

“Come here!” Talia ordered.

“Are you going to stay?” Lily whispered; her eyes on the floor.

“I have other things to attend to.”

Lily turned to leave, but walked straight into Jesse. She scratched the collar in irritation.

“Stupid tracker.”

“Who got you?”

Talia grabbed the back of Lily’s neck and turned her into the room.

“What do you want?” she growled.

“We had an appointment,” Jesse answered.

“Fine! Stay here until Doc’s finished with her.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

Talia left, so Jesse pushed Lily closer to the old man. Jesse sat down against the wall and watched in silence as Doc approached Lily.

“Please sat down,” he ordered.

“Turn out your pockets!”

He did as she said; putting his phone, pen and pad on the bed beside her.

“No needles,” he offered.

She reluctantly sat down and pulled her shirt off. Her eyes were glued to his every move as he used a stethoscope all around her chest.

“Stick out your tongue.”

She did as she was told. After several tests, he finally backed away.

“You have several broken ribs.”

Jesse hissed and pulled her phone out as Doc reached for bandages.

“Get up. Hands on your head.”

She got to her feet and rest her arms on her head. It was hard not to turn when he disappeared behind her back. After several bandages, he fastened the last of them. She stepped back as he walked to his desk. Lily pulled her shirt on and grabbed the note Doc offered her.

Jesse got up and followed as she walked towards the stairwell, but she grabbed Lily’s hair by the elevator.

“Get in,” she sighed.

Lily followed her into the elevator and they took it up to the top floor. Jesse didn’t follow her off; leaving her to face the Elders on her own. Lily got to the double doors and reluctantly knocked.

“Come in!”

She opened the door and walked straight up to Jefferson; holding the paper to him.

A smile spread across his mouth as he read through the page.

“You do realize you’ve just delivered your own prisoner note?”

“Like it matters…” she whispered.

“You have four days released from all scheduled appointments.”

She sighed, “Can I at least go for one more walk, before you lock me up?”

“Wait outside for an escort,” Jefferson nodded.

She backed out of the office and sat down against the wall opposite the door. They stared each other down until Danika walked up with two older boys. The boys watched her as Danika walked in.

“You called for us, sir?” she asked with the slightest of bows.

“Take May out for a walk through the courtyard, then take her to her room. No more than half an hour.”

She nodded and left the office; closing the door behind her. Danika’s hand rested on the hilt of the sword hanging from her belt.

“Let’s get this over with,” she ordered.

Lily got up and walked to the elevator, but she had to wait for Danika to use her card. The four of them went down to the ground floor and Danika used her card to open the gate leading into the courtyard.

“Don’t try anything stupid,” Danika warned.

Lily leaned towards her and whispered; though she knew the boys would overhear.

“Nobody thinks you’re as cool as you pretend to be…”

She walked past Danika and heard the boys chuckle, before the three of them walked after her.

Chapter 2

As soon as the door opened, Lily bolted down the hall. Sure enough, the moment the door came into view, she saw Jeffery waiting for her on the bed. His eyes went wide when he saw her and he quickly ran towards her.

They met halfway and she jumped into his arms; her face hidden against his neck. They hadn’t seen each other for two weeks already.

“I love you,” he whispered.

She was too emotionally drained to say anything.

He walked her to the room and the steel door closed behind them; locking. When he laid her down on the bed, she refused to let go of him. He straightened up only long enough to kick off his slippers, before he laid down with her. She loosened her legs and tangled them with his; her hug lowered to his waist and her head against his chest. He silently hugged her head.

Only when she was ready, did he loosen his grip so she could move back up; their faces were inches apart. She took his hand and pressed it under her shirt so he could feel the bandages.

“Guy hurt you?”

She shook her head.

“You smell like him?”

She blushed and turned around so her back was against Jeffery’s chest; putting his scent back on her.

“The Elders wanted me to overcome my fear…” she whispered. “For the past two days he’s been grinding up against me whenever he got the chance… “

Jeffery’s whole body tensed up, but he said nothing; only hugging her tighter.

“Nobody was allowed to do anything about it. If I did anything, I was going to be punished… I finally snapped in the cafeteria and attacked him.”

“And he hurt you?”

“Talia stopped the fight. I disrespected her, so she disciplined me. Guess it was too hard…” she shrugged.

“So, you had to go to Doc?”

She didn’t need to see him to know how angry he was. It was clear in his voice. The protective way he held her. He laid his head on her shoulder. He allowed her to roll onto her back and kissed her nose when she looked at him.

How she wished she could feel it.

She kissed him and they eagerly started making out. A siren switched on and both of them rolled off either side of the bed. Once they were on the floor, the sound stopped.

Lily sat up and glared at the camera in the corner, “Go to hell, you narcissist!”

She hissed and crawled back onto the bed. She looked down at Jeffery stretched out on the floor.

“Come back up here,” she ordered.

He chuckled and stretched out beside her; hugging her.

“How are you holding up?” he whispered.

“We’ve been here for five months…” she whispered. “I want to go home…”

“I know…” he brushed the hair out of her face. “Why don’t you get some rest?”

“I’m afraid you’ll disappear,” she admitted.

“They said four days. I’ll be right here when you wake up,” he assured her. “That’s a promise…”

She rolled onto her side again and he pulled her close to his body. With his body looming over her, she felt safe for the first time in five months.

Even so, she couldn’t fall asleep.

“I hate being here…” she whispered.

“I know. Your family will find us eventually. We just need to keep hoping.”

“Yeah, but I’m tired of hoping.”

“Lils…” he whispered. “You need to get rest. It’s the whole reason they canceled our schedules.”

She rolled around so they were staring at each other again; she kissed him. He kissed her forehead and hugged her head. He rolled onto his back so she could lay her head on his chest. The sound of his heartbeat always worked to calm her down and, soon, she fell asleep.

Chapter3

Lily was yanked off the bed. Jeffery pushed her behind his back as the door unlocked. Several men walked into the room and didn’t hesitate even slightly. They were pulled apart within moments and the men jerked Lily off her feet; carrying down the hallway.

Only when the door closed, did they drop Lily to the floor. She scooted to the corner and hugged her legs.

The door opened and the men got out, but Lily refused to move.

“Get up!”

“I want Jeffery back,” she mumbled.

“May!”

She looked up at Bruce’s hulking figure looming over her.

“I want Jeffery back!”

“It’s only been two days,” he pointed out. “The Elders got somebody to check on your wounds.”

Lily’s heart sank and she scrambled past him. She entered the office without knocking and fell to her knees; tears in her eyes.

“Lily!”

Alice ran closer and fell down beside her, but Lily shoved her aside and attacked Jefferson. She only got onto his desk, before two passive Wolves knocked her off. They bit into her wrists and dragged her back.

“You said you wouldn’t go after my family!” she cried.

“You refuse to take Doc’s care, so your mother was the next best thing,” Jefferson answered matter-of-factly.

Lily screamed in anger as she was dragged out of the room by the Wolves; Alice got to her feet and followed. Once they were in the hall, the doors closed and the Wolves let her go; sitting down in front of the door.

“Lily?”

She ignored her anger and got up to hug her mother; hiding her tears. Remembering Jeffery, she grabbed Alice’s hand and rushed towards the stairwell. Once they were alone in the stairwell, Lily calmed down slightly. They had fifteen floors to get down and making Alice run would only tire her out quicker.

“How are you holding up, honey?” Alice whimpered.

“Barely…” she pushed her hand through her hair. “I was alone for two weeks, but they gave Jeffery back to me two days ago.”

“Oh, my baby. Your father has been working non-stop to get you back. Both of you.”

Lily hugged her mother’s arm as they walked. By the time they got to Lily’s hallway, Jeffery was being guarded by the foot of the staircase. She hopped into his arms and watched his look of confusion when he saw Alice.

“Doc M? What are you doing here?”

“They said Lily was hurt and she didn’t want anybody to look at her.”

“He keeps putting me to sleep and stealing my blood…” she mumbled into his shoulder.

“Why don’t you report him?”

“They don’t care,” Jeffery huffed as they walked towards the room. “Golden blood is rare as it is. To have a Wolf with golden blood is invaluable. They take one bag every two weeks.”

“That’s not safe!”

“It’s Lily,” he grunted.

With her strong healing capabilities, she could easily give blood every week, but they didn’t want to push their luck, because she wouldn’t be able to feel if something went wrong.

“I wish I was normal…” she whispered.

“Normal wouldn’t suit you,” Jeffery pointed out.

“Whatever,” she grabbed her mother’s hand and hid her face against Jeffery’s shirt.

Jeffery laid her on the bed and sat on the floor with his back against the bed. Lily started to pull off her shirt, but Alice quickly pushed it back down and looked at the guards in the doorway.

“Can we get some privacy, please?”

“They don’t care,” Lily pointed out.

She pulled her shirt off and sat straight; her hands on her head to give Alice full access. She did a few tests, before giving a nod.

“You’re healing well, but you need to stay relaxed and calm for a few more days.”

“Do I still need to wear those itchy bandages?”

“It’ll be face without them,” she answered.

Lily pulled her shirt back on, before tapping Jeffery’s shoulder.

“It’s done.”

He got up, but didn’t sit down beside Lily. Alice didn’t seem to notice the hesitation as she sat down on the bed and hugged Lily.

“Oh, honey. You’re so pale. What have they been doing to you?”

“Nothing…” Lily whispered. “I’m just tired.”

She wasn’t entirely lying. She hadn’t been allowed to sleep in four days and it was starting to wear her down.

“Doc M? What day is it?” Jeffery asked.

“Why?” Lily hissed. “You have somewhere to be?”

“It’s Friday,” Alice answered.

“Oh, come on,” Lily laid back.

“What’s wrong with Friday?”

“They make us play a concert each Friday.”

“You like music?”

“Not playing ten straight hours without a break.”

Jeffery crossed his arms, “I knew there was a reason they’d call your mother. If your health was at the top of their lists, they wouldn’t have locked you up for two days after your insides were nearly liquified.”

Lily looked at him in amusement, “A little dramatic, don’t you think?”

He kissed the top of her head.

“Get some rest before they come for us,” he ordered.

She grabbed her mother and Jeffery, pulling both of them onto the bed on either side of her. She and Alice hugged each other, while Jeffery loosely wrapped his arms around Lily’s waist.

It was dark as they were led out into the courtyard. The stage had already been set up, but nobody else had arrived yet. Somebody pulled Lily’s hair and she turned around; stepping back against Jeffery when she saw Talia.

“What?”

“Have a nice rest?” she smirked.

“You don’t care,” Lily mumbled.

“Not really,” she answered. “We received some boys you might know for the night. Once they are finished, they will be dropped off at home with your mother.”

Lily held out her hand; easy enough for a handshake as both of them were lefthanded. Talia laughed and shook her hand.

“You have my word, child. Your mother and the boys will remain unharmed and they will be returned home once you’re finished.”

“Thank you.”

“Lily?”

She looked up as four of the Westfield brothers walked closer; John at his rightful place in front.

“Do you know what’s going on here?” he asked. “They abducted us and then just left us to explore.”

“You’re here to do a concert,” Jeffery said.

He pulled Lily closer; more in domination than protection. She belonged to him and he wanted all of them to know it. She didn’t mind it, though, as it made her know he would never leave her.

“Jeffery! Stop it!” Alice demanded.

Lily hadn’t realized he’d started growling.

“Sorry, Doc…” he whispered.

He took a step back; forcing Lily back with him.

“What do you mean a concert?” John asked.

“Do we get paid?” Scott asked.

“Yes,” Talia pushed her hands into her jacket pockets. “You get paid with your lives. May?” she gestured with her head, before leaving.

Jeffery was reluctant to let her go, but his arms dropped after a moment. Lilly immediately knew what Talia was up to when they neared the stage. Usually Lily didn’t approve, but this time it was really for the best. Jeffery on his own was hard enough to control when Lily was in danger. They’d grown up with the boys, which meant now there were five people who would eagerly start a fight if given the chance.

She pulled herself onto the stage and allowed Talia to cuff her ankle.

“Will you keep an eye on my mom, please?”

“She is protected by the Elders,” Talia pointed out calmly as she hung the key around her neck. “No harm will befall her while she’s here.”

“Thank you.”

Roman walked closer as soon as Talia left, but Jeffery appeared behind Lily; immediately scaring the man off.

“Are you okay?” he hugged her.

“I’m fine…”

“Do you want a few more minutes, before everything starts?”

She nodded, so they sat down. Jeffery hugged her tightly as she rested her head against his shoulder.

Chapter 4

They were only about two hours into playing, when Lily blacked out.

When she woke up, she was flat on her back.

“Maurice!” Talia growled. “The Elders told you to find out what’s wrong with her. She’s not scheduled for another harvest!”

Lily couldn’t move any part of her body; no matter how hard she tried.

“Doctor! Come in. She’s awake.”

“Lily?”

Her eyes shot open as Alice appeared above her.

“Mommy? I can’t move.”

“They strapped you to the table,” Alice whispered. “It’s alright baby. Do you remember what happened?”

“No…”

Her breathing became erratic as she fought tears.

“You collapsed in the middle of a song.”

“Can I get up, please?”

“Not until we figure out what’s wrong with you,” Doc answered.

“Can the straps come off? Please, Talia?”

“They can, but I don’t think you want to,” she pointed out. “Release her head and hands,” she nodded.

Alice immediately removed the strap running across Lily’s forehead. She looked up as Alice started on the wrist straps. They’d removed her clothes. The only thing holding her modesty in tact was a strip of cloth over her chest and waist; straps held them in place. Alice released her hands and elbows, but the rest stayed in place.

She grabbed Alice’s hand.

“Where’s Jeff?”

“He and the other boys were put up for the rest of the night,” Talia answered. “It had to be done, because none of them would let us get near you.”

“They promised me Jeff for four days! This doesn’t count.”

“Your days will be adjusted accordingly,” Talia nodded.

“Did you hurt anybody?”

Lily’s heart sank when Talia outright ignored her.

“Mom?” she whimpered.

“It wasn’t anything fatal, baby. Don’t worry about them right now,” she pleaded.

“Them?”

“Guy got to you before anybody else…” Talia spoke from the counter on the opposite side of the room. “Puppy and the red head went after him.”

Lily slapped her mother’s hands away and allowed her body to transform. While her Wolf form was bulky, it’s different structure allowed her to slip out of the restraints with little effort. Doc and Talia ran closer, but stopped when she snapped at them.

She hopped down and straightened up; she was bigger than the other Wolves. Stronger too… which was why nobody stopped her. The tips of her ears were level with Alice’s chest. She carefully bit into Alice’s shirt; who started walking without hesitation. Lily followed her out of the room with her head bowed.

Alice opened the stairwell door and the two of them walked in without anybody coming after them. Lily led Alice down to the first basement floor where the holding cells were.

The guards grabbed their guns and, while Alice stopped, Lily wasn’t in the mood. With her head bowed, she posed no threat. They knew they couldn’t attack her unprovoked. She walked into the room and found each boy in their own cell.

“Lily!” Jeffery cried.

She passed the other boys to come stand in front of Jeffery’s cell. Her tail started wagging as he grabbed the fur of her cheeks. He kissed her wet nose, before placing his head against hers.

“I’m sorry for not protecting you quick enough…”

She pulled away; remembering why she’d come in the first place. His shirt was red. She pushed her head through the bars and sniffed it, so he pulled it up; revealing bandages.

“It didn’t hit anything vital,” he answered.

When she tried to step back, Jeffery chuckled. Her head was stuck. He maneuvered her head for a moment, before she slipped out.

She walked towards Scott’s cell, but turned around and returned to Jeffery. Showing interest in another male would only anger Jeffery. What she did, showed she was only concerned if he was alright.

“I’m fine,” Scott growled.

“Who is that man anyway?” John asked in the cell beside Jeffery.

“JT,” Jeffery answered as he sat down against the bars. “She calls him ‘Guy’. It’s the man who scars her so much,” he mindlessly pet her head.

She stretched out against the bars.

Alice walked in with a set of jingly keys.

“The Elders said you guys can come out, but you have to go to the holding center, because they don’t trust a group of boys,” she said. “I don’t know where that is…”

Lily transformed and all five boys turned their backs to her. She took the keys and unlocked each cell, before returning to her Wolf form.

She walked close to Jeffery’s leg as he led the way towards to holding center. When they got there, they guards were already waiting.

“Come on, Doc.”

He led them over to the corner with the couch. Alice sat down and Jeffery took the opposite side of the couch. Lily hopped up and stretched out over them; her stomach resting on Jeffery’s legs, while her head was in her mother’s lap. She closed her eyes against the sharp lights, but exhaustion knocked her unconscious.

Chapter 5

Lily woke up to the taste of chocolate in her mouth and people around her laughing. She laid upright and yelped when Jeffery shoved her. He immediately landed on top of her and kissed her on the head.

“I’m sorry, but you were killing my legs…”

She huffed and he kissed her again.

“I didn’t say you were heavy, but stretched out like this, you’re taller than I am…”

She rolled onto her side; knocking him off. He scrambled around the side and loomed over her head.

“Are you still angry with me?”

She remembered the taste in her mouth and licked around her snout. He chuckled and took the chocolate bar from Alice; holding it to Lily. She straightened up and growled, but he didn’t believe her at all; breaking off a square and offering it to her.

He didn’t even flinch when her mouth ended up around his whole hand.

“You want to let go?”

Lily licked his hand; knowing full well he hated it.

He shivered and quickly jerked his hand free. The door opened before he could say anything. As soon as Lily saw Doc, she rushed around Jeffery and shoved herself between the couch and the wall.

“You need to get her to cooperate,” Talia ordered.

“Or what?” Alice whispered; fear in her tone.

“They’re going to force her…” Jeffery answered.

He slapped her butt to get her attention, but she simply crawled deeper.

“Lils! Come on?”

She growled.

“Why don’t we just move the couch?” Carl Westfield asked.

“Luke. Help him,” John ordered.

Carl and Lucas picked up the couch and moved it out of the way. Lily whined; her ears pressed against her head as she looked at the group watching her. She got up and sat down behind her mother.

“Doc is the best with Wolf biology,” Talia pointed out. “Your mother is a human doctor.”

Lily transformed and hugged her mother.

“I don’t want him,” she whispered. “I’ll take you and Mom…”

Talia sighed and rubbed her hand through her hair.

“I have other things to do, May!”

“Then take him with you,” Lily said.

Talia sighed and pulled out two guns; one a dart gun and one real. She threatened Jeffery, while pointing the dart gun at Alice’s body.

“Your choice.”

As soon as Lily stepped away from her mother, the dart hit her shoulder. Jeffery hugged her and held her tightly.

“I’ll be right there when you wake up…” he told her.

She fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.

Chapter 6

Lily woke up in Jeffery’s arms. His heartbeat right beside her ear. He sat with his back against the wall, while she was stretched out on the bed between his legs.

“Don’t move,” he warned.

He wormed out from under her, before carefully picking her up.

“Where’s Mom?” she whispered.

“She went for a walk. She’s the one who said to keep you still as possible.”

He eased her onto her feet, before slowly straightening her out. She stared at herself in the mirror. No wonder her mother had asked is she was alright. Dark rings, from a lack of sleep, sat under Lily’s eyes. She had a big bruise on both cheeks from getting punched and she had a cut on her forehead she couldn’t remember getting.

They’d removed the collar. Replaced by bandages. She guessed the collar had done its job and punctured small circles all around her neck.

Jeffery lift her shirt only enough to show the bandages.

“They told your mother what happened…” he looked confused for a moment. “Point is you’ll be fine, but you have to – absolutely have to – stay as still as possible.”

“Okay…” she whispered.

“Okay?” he glared at her. “Did they replace your brain?”

She smirked, “I feel like I’ve been sleeping for a week, but I’m still tired…”

“Then let’s get you back to bed, shall we?”

He was busy tucking her in, when Alice and John walked into the room; deep in conversation.

“Damn it…” John hissed. “I’ll give you money if they give our wallets back.”

“Hello, baby… Careful not to move too much.”

“Jeffery told me,” Lily nodded. “So, whatever happened is okay now?”

“One of your ribs punctured a kidney,” Alice answered. “Talia, John, the Doctor and I did surgery to fix it up. You’ll be fine.”

“So, Talia did hurt her?” Jeffery asked. “Where is she?”

“She ran away,” Lily answered.

“How did you know that?” John gave her a questioning look.

“She always runs when she feels guilty.”

“She disappears for about a week at a time…” Jeffery added.

“At least I’ll have a week to catch up on sleep,” Lily offered.

“What does that mean?” Alice asked suspiciously.

“Talia’s the only one who keeps them from outright torturing Lily,” Jeffery answered. “They just lock her up by herself to make everything better for everybody. It’s partially her fault, though,” he pointed out.

“How is it her fault?” John asked.

“Other than the Elders, Lily only has enough common sense to be afraid of Talia. She picks fights with everybody else. Every chance she gets.”

“Everybody else are idiots,” Lily grumbled. “They always think they’re better than me.”

“Lily!” Alice hissed. ‘They’re world class assassins! You’re fifteen! They are better than you.”

“Then why do I beat them in fair fights?”

“Stop challenging your mother,” Jeffery growled.

She stuck out her tongue, “Take me to the toilet.”

He scooped her up and walked her to the toilet; sitting her down, before he left. She relieved herself and pulled her pants back up.

“I’m done.”

He carried her to the sink, before taking her back to bed; leaving enough room for him behind her. There was a knock on the door and Alice immediately started crying.

John sighed, “Well… Sorry girl. We’ll see you again when we bust you out. My brothers are waiting, but I promise we’ll take good care of your mom.”

“Thank you…”

Lily had already made peace with it while they were playing music. Alice cried as she laid down beside Lily.

“I don’t want to go,” she cried.

“I know,” Lily moved closer to her. “But it’s safer for you be with Daddy.”

“They’re going to hurt you again when we’re gone, aren’t they?” Alice whimpered.

“I’ll stay in here until Talia comes back,” Lily shook her head. “They won’t do anything with me until then… Being hurt means I won’t be starved again, at least.”

“They starve you?” Alice asked.

“Oh… Sorry. You weren’t supposed to know about that…”

“How long does it last?”

“Only a few days at a time…”

“Seventeen days,” Jeffery answered.

“Lily!”

“That was three years ago!” Lily snapped. “The last time was nine days…”

“Lily!”

“Mom? It’s okay. I’ll be fine until Daddy comes.”

The knock at the door came again.

“Mommy? Please don’t make them come get you. They’ll hurt you. Daddy will get me back and then I’ll see you again.”

Alice whimpered and gave her a kiss on the forehead along with a big hug.

“I love you baby.”

“Love you too Mom.”

Alice got to her feet and hugged Jeffery as well. He froze for a moment, before hugging her back. While he didn’t like hugging females, he knew she needed it.

They watched as she walked out and the door closed behind her. Jeffery laid down beside her and she rolled into his chest; hiding her tears.