Chapter 15

Jesse read the message again and then checked the time. He’d have to go down to the van for this video call. The signal was the strongest down there. He turned and looked at Leah as she carried a box out of the house that had been Papa Low and Nana Pearl’s. She was really struggling with her emotions doing this. An hour wasn’t much notice. He should have remembered to check his phone where he knew he had a signal. Rubbing his jaw, he watched her for a moment longer and then text Devin back. I don’t want to miss it. I have to run down the damn mountain to my laptop though, so stall it for 15 minutes.

Tucking his phone into his pocket, he jogged toward the center house she’d gone in. There was one thing he knew to help when emotions were riding you, a run. Hopefully, she could let Minn out without issue. He didn’t have time to chase her down through the bush. Thera came over and ran beside him. He glanced down at her. There was no way there were going to get out of this yard without her too. Having to explain chasing a shifter and her pet leopard around the bush if he was late, was something he didn’t relish doing.

“Leah.” He poked his head in the door.

“Yes?” She came out of the bedroom.

Jesse stepped inside. “I have to go down to the van,” he didn’t know how to explain it exactly, “there’s a video meeting with the King and several Alpha’s from Canada that I really can’t miss.”

“A video meeting?” She raised both eyebrows and put her hands on her hips.

“Yeah,” he motioned to the door, “on my laptop, the signal is stronger down there.”

“Oh, I see.” Her expression told him she really didn’t.

“I was thinking you could come with me. Thera and Minn could use the run.”

She bit her lip and continued to look at him, but he could tell by the expression on her face that she wasn’t really seeing him at this moment.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing your van, or this laptop. Is it like the tv?”

Jesse smirked, “sort of, but—” He blew out a breath, “we could bring it back up and watch a movie, I have some downloaded for when I’m at my place.” He cleared his throat, “I don’t have the power there yet, so I just watch movies when I take a break.”

Her expression was almost amused, she didn’t understand that either.

“Okay. Um, I can use that run pack you brought up to put my clothes in?” She blushed, “I want to see this with my eyes and not Minn’s.”

“Yeah, go grab it and I’ll show you how to put it on.” He glanced behind him, “will Thera stay with us down there?”

Leah nodded, “Mmhmm, she won’t wander too far.” She went into the bedroom.

He pulled on his jeans and got his phone out of his pack. Bringing up Devin’s number he typed quickly, at the bottom now, give me a few to boot up the laptop and connect. Leah is also with me. Message if it’s a bad idea for her to witness this meeting. Going over he unlocked the van and then went around the back and opened the back doors. He’d sat here for many calls and video calls in the last few years.

Opening the hard case he used for his laptop, he pulled it out and started it. He traveled with two spare batteries for it, the same as his phone. The amount of time he spent on the road, he never knew when he’d need it.

“Is that a laptop?”

He glanced behind him to see Leah standing there. Nodding, he motioned for her to come closer. “It connects with the signal…”

“The signal like your phone?”

He shrugged, “pretty much.”

“So, what is a video call?” She clasped her hands in front of her as she leaned over and looked at the keyboard.

“It’s like a phone call, but we can see everyone.”

She gave him a surprised look. “See them on the screen?”

“Yeah. They’ll be lined up on the screen, when they talk the screen will just be of them…”

A look of shock and delight filled her face. “This is exciting.”

Jesse laughed, “the meeting may be upsetting at some parts, but it’s all about the shifter community.”

Leah sobered and nodded, “is it okay if I just stand off to the side?” She hugged her waist, “I’d like to see others like us.”

“Sure. I’ve already told Devin—the Prince of the Alliance that you’re with me.” He glanced over to where Thera was laying down.

“The prince?” She blew out a short breath, “will the King be there too?”

Jesse nodded, “As far as I know, he will be.”

“Oh, my goodness.”

Leah stood back watching over Jesse’s shoulder as he set up his laptop. She was completely fascinated with it. He was talking quietly with a man on there. It was like a small television, only Jesse could communicate with them. She stepped a little closer so she could see him clearly.

The man looked right at her and smiled. “Hello, Leah?”

Eyes wide, she looked at Jesse when he glanced over his shoulder.

“He can see you.” He said softly. He turned back to the screen. “Devin, this is Leah.”

“Hello.” She said, feeling her cheeks heat. She hadn’t realized he’d be able to see her. “I’m sorry to interrupt.”

The man shrugged, “You’re not interrupting. Jesse and I are in a private room right now, we’ll join the others when everyone is there.”

“A room?” She looked around them.

Jesse leaned against the door of the van. “It’s what they call them, they’re not real rooms.”

“Oh, I see.”

A beautiful blonde woman looked over Devin’s shoulder. “Hello, Leah, I’m Rayne, Devin’s mate.” She smiled at her.

Leah moved a little closer to Jesse. “Hello.” She offered a smile.

“I’m so happy Jesse found you. I can’t wait to meet you in person.” Rayne smiled at her.

“The others will be ready in a minute, Jesse,” Devin told them.

“Okay, I’ll go back to the lobby and wait.” Jesse reached over and did something with the keys on the machine. He turned and looked at her. “Are you okay with this?”

Leah sucked in a breath and nodded. “It’s not scary with them not really here.”

He grinned, “Good. If you hear anything that upsets you or that you’re not comfortable with, just walk away, okay?”

She studied his pale eyes and could see how concerned he was for her. “Yes. Thank you.” She motioned to the machine, “for letting me see this.”

He smiled at her again, “I’m happy to show you anything you’re interested in.”

She glanced away, feeling Evanna closer now. “Evanna’s close.” She whispered.

“Are you okay?” He straightened and placed his hand lightly on her arm.

Leah looked down at his hand, it didn’t bother her at all. That was surprising. “I’m fine, she’s just interested too I think.”

“Oh, okay.” He cleared his throat. “How’s Minn doing?”

She didn’t understand why it pleased her as much as it did that he was asking about Minn, or that he understood about Evanna. She checked inside briefly. “She seems content.” Putting her hand on her throat, she shook her head slowly, “it’s so unusual, but I will take it.”

Jesse searched her face, “maybe she’ll enjoy leaving the mountain.”

Leah bit her lip and thought about that. “I don’t know about that, but Evanna told me that you would take it slow.”

Nodding, Jesse glanced briefly at the screen before looking back to her, “as slow as you need. If I have to stop every hour, we will.”

“Thank you.” Her heartbeat increased, but not in a panicked way, it was—she wasn’t sure, but thought maybe it was excitement. The screen changed, and she started to back up. “I’ll stay out of the way.”

“No need. You’re just as important to this meeting as I am.” He touched the small of her back encouraging her to stay beside him. Leaning over, he adjusted the angle of the screen.

“If you’re sure.” She hugged her waist, feeling nervous. She didn’t know why, but she leaned closer to him, there was something that calmed her when she was near him.

Jesse glanced down at her and smiled. “No need to be nervous. You already spoke to the Prince and Princess.”

Her eyes felt like they bulged out of her head. “I didn’t know.”

Jesse chuckled, “there’s no bowing with video meetings.”

“Okay.” She nodded and swallowed the nervous lump in her throat. Her nerves were forgotten as the screen changed into several boxes. She leaned closer, she was in one of the boxes with Jesse. She smiled and then watched him smile and look at her. It was the strangest, but a most interesting thing.

“Hello everyone.” The screen changed to a man’s face in it. It was a kind, but stern face.

There was a chorus of hello’s, Jesse was one of them. Leah didn’t feel right about speaking, so she just stood there. There were so many people. She’d seen people on screens before, but these were real people. These were shifters like she was. She sensed Evanna telling her to pay attention.

“This is the first time we’ve had this many on a call. To make things simpler, the first time we speak, we’ll introduce ourselves, where we’re located, and our clan type.”

The heads in the boxes on the screen all nodded.

“Most of you are here because you represent an area and have been working to help the Alliance with tracking and checking in on clans. Zain, why don’t you run the numbers for us.”

“Sir,” another face appeared, he bowed his head, making Leah wonder if that had been the King speaking. “I’ve got the numbers so far from the other clan coordinators, this includes yours, Jesse.”

Jesse nodded, even though he didn’t say anything.

Zain looked down at something and continued. “I’m still waiting for word from Foster and Deva, but so far it’s not great.” He cleared his throat, “we have twenty-five clans at this point that are no longer.” He looked back at the screen, his blue eyes conveying a deep sadness. “We’re still looking into more.”

“Shep,” a woman with grey hair and dark eyes appeared on the screen, “sorry, I’m Effie, Alpha to the Harpy Eagle clan in BC.” She nodded her head once, “Shep, I could send some of mine to help with check-ins, as you know we can cover a great distance not having to travel on the roads.” Her expression was very serious.

The man appeared again, Leah looked closely, he did have kind eyes, maybe he was the prince her grandparents had met. “I appreciate the offer, Effie, but I’m trying to keep clans close together. It’s easier to keep everyone safe that way. I will keep you in mind if we need some of yours to fly out to more remote areas.”

Leah was astonished, there were shifters that flew? She looked to the box the Effie woman was in to see her nod.

“Ed, here, tiger clan in Ontario,” The man was older, but not old-old, Leah decided, “have the one hundred and seventy-two remaining clans been confirmed then?”

Zain’s face came back on the screen. “I would say about seventy percent have been so far, those we can just call up were easy to check, the others either our clan coordinators are checking or from other clans that are closer are.”

Ed came back on the screen and nodded. “Let us know if you need any done in our area.”

“Thanks, Ed.” Devin’s face came on the screen, “for the most part those around us have been.”

It went back to the boxes again. Leah tried to count how many people there were, but each time one of them spoke, the screen would change, and she’d have to start over.

A woman with hair that was close to orange came on the screen, “Maxine, wolverine clan, Northwest Territories,” She gave a brief nod, “we still have a lot of ground to cover up here and haven’t been able to reach the clans in Nunavut.”

“Zain, is any of ours on the way there to help?” Devin’s voice came over the speaker, but he didn’t change the screen.

“Checking,” Zain answered. His face came on the screen, “we do not have anyone that far North. It could take a few weeks before we can get anyone there.”

“Lois, are you able to assist and send someone up to check on a few?” Shep spoke clearly.

An older woman with white hair and brown eyes came on the screen. “Uh, Lois, Polar Clan, Northern Manitoba,” She paused and gave a brief smile, “I can send two of mine up to take a look, send me the locations.”

“Thank you, Lois.” Shep said calmly, “In light of that, perhaps Liz, Maxine, and Effie could assist in the area above them.” Shep looked away from the screen, “I’m told there’s six in the Yukon and Northwest Territories that no one can get in touch with. Zain will have locations for you.”

“Happy to.” Leah recognized Effie’s voice again, even though she didn’t put her face on the screen.

A woman with black and white streaked hair came on the screen, “Liz, from the crowned eagle clan in BC, I have a few trackers that would gladly help out, Shep.”

Leah looked to see Shep nod when the screen went back to boxes.

“I can send a small team, Shep, send me the details.” Maxine disappeared from the big screen before Leah could blink.

A handsome man with black hair and dark green eyes appeared on the screen. “Lloyd, jag clan, Ontario, many of mine are at Shae’s clan helping there right now.”

Shep didn’t put his face on the big screen, “That’s fine, Lloyd, we already have your nephew’s time monopolized for the Alliance.”

The man in the box beside Devin grinned wide. Leah wondered if that was the nephew. This was so fascinating; she forgot her face was on the screen too until she looked along the bottom and saw her there with Jesse.

“Cecil, lynx clan, Quebec, Shep, let us know if you need anyone to check in the Eastern provinces, we have delivery flights in that direction weekly.” All Leah noticed was how his pale amber eyes were very cat-like.

“I’ll have Zain get in touch with you after this call, Cecil. Thank you.” Shep told him.

“Benny, Lion Clan, lower BC, if you need anyone to cross the border, Shep, we’re practically sitting on it.”

“We’ve had a few down that way and the clans were gone, Benny, but there’s a few more to check in Northern Washington, so we’ll coordinate with you once we have those reports,” Shep said softly. “As I said I don’t want to separate clans right now, but we also need to know if there are more out there needing help.” He cleared his throat and then nodded to someone Leah couldn’t see, “we’ve found a few from a couple of clans, so the urgency is there that we look faster.” His face disappeared from the big screen. “Jesse located the last member of a leopard clan in Michigan. We’re happy to have you, Leah.”

Leah jolted and grasped Jesse’s hand without warning.

Jesse reached over and tapped a key on the laptop and then their faces were on the screen. “We’re packing up here and should be on the road in the next day or so.” He said, giving her hand a quick squeeze.

Leah nodded.

Then he made their faces disappear.

“Welcome, Leah, we’re happy you’re well.”

She heard a few more people welcome her but was too busy focusing on keeping her breathing even. Thera got up and moved over closer.

Jesse leaned closer to the screen, with one hand he typed something and hit another button.

Devin’s face came on the screen. “If there’s nothing else, for now, we need to have a brief meeting with a few of the members here.”

There was a short pause where no one spoke.

“Thank you everyone for doing this, we’re going to start doing general meetings this way more often.” Shep’s tone left no room for anyone to wonder if they were dismissed or not.

Leah blinked and found she and Jesse were on another screen, the other boxes were gone. Then a box appeared with Devin, and Rayne was with him.

“Dad and the others will be here in a moment if you want to grab a quick drink or something,” Devin said.

“I’m just going to mute us for a second, Devin.” Jesse hit another key, then tugged on her hand to pull her away from the screen. He stopped and turned, placing a finger under her chin, and tilted her head up. “Are you okay? You don’t have to be in this next part.”

His tone was so soft and coaxing. “I just—” Leah blew out a breath and looked down, she saw she was still squeezing his hand. “I’m sorry.” She released it.

Jesse stepped closer and took both her hands gently in his. “It’s fine. Are you okay?”

“It was all so fascinating and then everyone was looking at me…” She put her hand on her chest and took a deep breath. “How am I ever going to be able to be around people?” There was so much else that worried her about leaving the mountain, but now this was foremost in her mind.

“We’ll take it slow.” He nodded, his pale eyes reflecting concern and something softer. “You don’t have to meet anyone until you’re ready.”

Leah could feel Minn stirring, she blew out a breath, determined to stay here. Closing her eyes, she concentrated, trying to feel Evanna. “A little help,” she said under her breath. Evanna’s presence was much closer now. Close enough she felt the urge to get the hair off her neck.

“Leah?” Jesse’s voice was so soft now, barely a whisper. “Just take a few breaths and focus on the scents around you. Ground yourself with the soil you’re standing on.”

She could feel his hands sliding softly down her arms and back up slowly. It was surprisingly soothing. She took a deep breath like he’d said and took the scents into her body. The trees, the soil, she could smell nearby critters and—she opened her eyes and looked at Jesse. She could smell him, and she didn’t know why, but she felt an immediate sense of calm, Minn settled too.

“Okay?” He leaned down, his face was so close to hers now, that she could feel his breath brushing over her cheek.

“I’ve got it.” she was breathless, but not panicked. Nodding, she gave him a small smile. “We’re good.”

The smile he gave her made her feel like she’d done the most spectacular thing. Her cheeks heated. “Okay, we should get back.” He cocked his head to the side; a questioning look on his face “Yes. I’d like to join you and meet your friends.”