Keira Kendrik (9 page)

"Hi, Gabe
.  The usual?" April said.

"Hi,
April.  Sure, why not?" Gabe answered with a smile.

April
turned to Jasmine.  "You?”  Her voice had changed and seemed very unwelcoming.

"Um, I think I will have a cheeseburger and fries, with a coke
," Jasmine said.

April
flounced away, giving her a frown as she did.  Jasmine shrugged, and looking at Gabe, he hadn't noticed a thing.  She got up and excused herself so she could go to the bathroom.  She walked into the small two-stall bathroom and quickly used the facilities.  As she was washing her hands, a woman came in to the bathroom to seemingly wash her hands.  She smiled at Jasmine as Jasmine turned to grab some paper towels.

"I know that this will sound odd to you, but do you know what you are doing?"
the woman said.

"I'm sorry?" Jasmine asked her.

"They are abominations.  You have to know that.”  The woman got a look of disgust on her face.

Jasmine was very confused
.  "Who are?  What are you talking about?"

"Those men you are with are animals
.  They need to be put down.”  The woman grabbed Jasmine's arm in a firm grip.  "You need to get out of there or you will be, too.  We will give you this one warning."

"I don't understand
," Jasmine cried out as the woman's grip tightened.

"You know
.  You have been living with them for over a week now.  We are watching.”  The woman sneered at her.  "You disgust me to lay with those animals.  You are just as sick as they are."

Jasmine had had enough, she didn't know what the hell the woman was talking
about, and she wasn't going to listen to her say terrible things about men who had done nothing but help her.  She jerked her arm out of the woman's grasp.

"Get out of my way and stay away from me
," Jasmine stated firmly.  She quickly left the bathroom and walked to the booth where Gabe was waiting for her.

He was smiling at her until he saw her face
.  He jumped up from the booth.  "What happened?  What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry
.  Can we get out of here?”  Jasmine was too upset to eat.

"Of course
.  Just let me have April wrap up the food to go, okay?" he said, rubbing a hand on her back.  She nodded but stayed close to him as he went to the counter.

As Gabe spoke to
April, Jasmine glanced around and didn't see the woman come out of the bathroom or in the diner.  She kept her eye out as Gabe gathered the bags of food and they headed to his truck.  Jasmine remained quiet as they drove back to the ranch.  When they arrived, she slipped out of the truck pleading a headache and slipped upstairs to her room.

'Phoenix, we need to go to Jasmine
.  Something has happened,'
Gabe called out mentally to Phoenix and quickly explained what had happened in town.  He filled him in on Jasmine's behavior after she went to the bathroom and then in the truck as he met him in the hallway.

Phoenix nodded
.  '
Well, let's go find out what the hell happened.  There will be no secrets between us
.'

She had taken off her shoes and just sat down on the bed when there was a knock on her door
.  She called out for whoever it was to come in and Phoenix opened the door.  He and Gabe walked through, closing it behind them.  They walked further into the room where Phoenix sat beside her on the bed while Gabe pulled a chair up in front of her.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?
” Phoenix said as he scanned her body, seeing the marks there made his anger surge.

"Nothing happened
.  I just have a headache," Jasmine said.

Phoenix nodded and said, "You are digging a hole you are not going to be able to get out of, little one
.  I will not tolerate lies between us.  We know something happened.  You have marks on your arm.  We want an explanation."

Jasmine looked at her arm
.  There were marks, red imprints where that woman's hand had been.  She sighed.  "A woman came into the bathroom at the diner and said that you were animals.  That you were abominations who needed to be put down.  Then she said that I disgusted her because I had lived here for over a week and that if I didn't leave, I would be put down, too," she said softly as she began to cry.

Phoenix put an arm around her, pulling her into his embrace
.  He glanced over at Gabe and saw the shock reflected there that he felt.  Someone had threatened them as a people?  Who was this woman?  Phoenix wanted to go call Jackson and get to the bottom of it immediately, but Jasmine was in his arms upset.  He wanted to make sure she was okay.  For the first time since becoming a leader of his people, he was torn in his duties.  He looked again at Gabe who seemed to be going through the same turmoil.

"Gabe, go alert Jackson and then come straight back here
," Phoenix ordered.  "It's time we have a talk with Jasmine."

Gabe nodded
.  He understood what Phoenix was saying and went out into the hall to call Jackson.  He filled Jackson in on what had happened and Jackson informed him they would be back in the morning.  Jackson said he was going to call in their team, the one that had gone on the raid, and they were going to stay at the ranch in the guest cottages.  Gabe agreed and after hanging up, he went back into Jasmine's room.

Phoenix was saying, "I appreciate you telling us about this woman
.  I'm sorry that she said those things to you.  I hope you know you are safe with us and we care about you very much."

Jasmine nodded against his chest and then wiped her face with the tissue Gabe handed her
.  She sat back and looked at both men.  "Why would she say that to me?  What did she mean?"

Phoenix looked into her eyes and said, "First
, I want you to remember we mean you no harm and second, we care about you.”  She nodded.  "We always want to be honest with you."

Gabe sat forward and said, "Please, Jasmine, understand that what we are about to tell you is sacred and we are entrusting you with many people's lives by doing so."

Jasmine nodded and said, "Okay.  I trust you or I wouldn't be here and I want you both to know that I care for you as well."

Phoenix smiled at her
.  "It's nice to hear, little one.  What the woman said to you is true to a point.  We are called Otherkin.  We are a people who have been blessed with the ability to change into any animal form."

Jasmine sat there for a moment, letting what Phoenix said sink in. "You aren't kidding
, are you?  You really do this."

Phoenix nodded
.  "No, I'm not kidding and yes, we can."

Jasmine shook her head and said, "Show me.
”  She needed to see this for herself and then she would deal with it.

Gabe stood up from the chair and moved it back further
.  Then there was a flash of light and there was a cute little Basset Hound puppy on the floor, looking up at Jasmine with soulful eyes.  She sat there stunned.  Gabe was now a puppy. 
Was she going nuts
? 
How the hell did he do that
?

"It's okay
,” Phoenix told her.  "You can pet him.  He is still Gabe inside there.  He can understand you."

As Jasmine slowly slid off the bed, the puppy rolled over on his back, wiggling his tail
.  She reached out slowly and began to rub the puppy's belly.  The puppy moaned his delight at having his belly rubbed and she laughed out loud.  She looked up at Phoenix and saw a flash of relief in his eyes.  It was then that she realized how much she meant to him.  She stood and faced Phoenix.

"He can understand me, right?"
she asked and when Phoenix nodded, she said, "Okay, Gabriel.  Change back."

The puppy stood up on its legs and there was another flash of light
.  Gabe stood before her as a man, looking at her with those soulful eyes she had come to care so much about.  She looked between the two men.

"Is everyone that I have met while here Otherkin?"
she asked.  Phoenix nodded.  "How many Otherkin are there?  I mean, are you spread out all over the world?"

Phoenix smiled
.  "No.  Otherkin are mostly here.  Our parents have a winery a couple of hours north of here and we have land in Texas."

Jasmine nodded
.  "I see.”  She sat back down on the bed beside him to think.

Gabe cleared his throat and she looked up at him
.  "There is a little more to the story."

"More?
” she asked.

Phoenix took her hand
.  "Otherkin mate for life.  We know we have met our life mate when we smell her scent.  We knew the moment we entered your apartment and drew in your scent, you were our life mate."

Jasmine's jaw dropped
.  "Me?" she squeaked.  Both men nodded.  "What does this mean?  I'm supposed to be your wife.  Both of you?"

"We are the leaders of our people
.  It is common for there to be two men with one woman.  We grew up with two dads and it was great.  We always had someone to go to.  It was a very loving family," Gabe explained.

Jasmine remained silent for a few moments
.  She looked at both men and saw that they were waiting patiently for her to digest the information.  She thought about what they had said so far and she knew she would need time to process it all.

"Would you mind if I asked for some time alone
?  I just need to think for a while, it's a lot to take in all at once," she said.  She saw the flash of hurt in Gabe's eyes and the look of loss on Phoenix's face before they masked their thoughts.

They both stood as Phoenix said, "Of course
.  Take as much time as you need.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to come find one or both of us."

Jasmine nodded and watched as the men left her room
.  She moved the chair to the window and looked out over the land.  She was so overwhelmed with everything that had happened. 
What was she going to do
?  As she thought about the men, she realized they were important to her.  More than that, she realized in that moment she was in love with them.  Where did that leave her?  She was so tired from crying and the stress of the day that she decided to lay down on her bed.  When she did, she drifted off to sleep with thoughts of the men in her head.

****

She woke to a light knock on her door and she called out for whoever it was to enter as she sat up.  Lucy poked her head around the door.

"Is it okay to come in?" Lucy asked.

"Of course," Jasmine said.

She came in with a tray
.  "I brought you the lunch you didn't get to eat today.”  She hesitated for a moment and said, "How are you doing, honey?"

Lucy had become like a mother to her and Jasmine felt her eyes tearing up
.  "Thank you, I appreciate that.  I'm fine."

She set the tray down on the end of the bed and
asked, "Are you sure?  They told me you know about us now."

Jasmine nodded
.  "Yes, I'm okay.  Thank you for the food.  I am a bit hungry."

"Okay
.  If you need me, just call.  I'm here for you," Lucy said.

Jasmine hugged her
.  "I really appreciate that."

Lucy left and Jasmine picked at her food for a while
.  She noticed a box sitting on the tray with a small card.  She opened the card first.

I thought these might bring us closer.  These are who we like to be when we are our other.

Love, Phoenix and Gabriel

She smiled that Gabe had signed it with the name she loved to call him.  She was curious as she opened the box and gasped when she saw what was inside.  It was the eagle and jaguar figurines she had admired at the general store.  She held them in her hands and studied them. 
This was their favorite forms
?  She knew somehow deep down that Gabe liked to be the eagle and Phoenix was definitely the jaguar.  She sat there for a while just looking at the figures and thinking about the men.

She placed the figures lovingly on her bedside table and it was then that she noticed the clock
.  She had slept a long time.  It was late in the evening.  She took her tray back down to the kitchen and found everyone must have gone to bed.  She snuck back upstairs and then paused at the top.

She was in love with these two incredible men who
had shown in so many ways they loved her, too.  Jasmine had known somewhere deep inside these men were different and it didn't make a difference to her.  She knew in that moment she wanted to show them how much she cared, show them her commitment.  She also realized that by doing what she was planning in her head it would be a forever kind of commitment and she was ready to do that.  She smiled and went to her room first with a plan in mind.