Glenn hesitated for a moment to consider the problem before saying, “What might be better is teaching fighting strategy. There’s a hierarchy among shifters when it comes to fighting with other shifters…for instance, ghost bears have the advantage over a wolf, but a grizzly can easily beat a ghost bear, and so on, all the way up to a dragon. But what most shifters don’t know is that with the right strategy, a wolf can beat a dragon.”
“Why haven’t I heard about this?”
“It was taught a very long time ago, but as the paranormal world supposedly became more civilized, there wasn’t a need for it anymore, so it faded from use. However, the agency resurrected it, and they teach it to all their agents.”
“Including you?”
“Yup…Smokey and Ghost as well.”
“Are you forbidden from teaching it to someone else?” asked Dylon.
“Nope,” Glenn said, popping the ‘p’.
Grinning, Dylon asked, “Would you pass on this knowledge to our pack members and some of the Blackwood Pack enforcers…if Jackson approves?”
“As long as he says it’s okay.” Then, standing, he looked down at Dylon, “Look, my mates can tell you I’m a grumpy old tiger who has control issues, but they’re slowly forcing me to abandon that crap. It’s fucking hard to give up decades of that behavior, but I’m trying. So, all I can say is don’t take it personally. It’s not you…”
“It’s you, right?” Dylon smiled, getting up and stretching.
“Right.”
“I’ll try to remember that…and I’ll promise to do better on my part,” Dylon said, holding out his hand.
Glenn grasped Dylon’s hand, shook it, and then said, “My mates are waiting for me…so if there’s anything else, can we handle it tomorrow?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Dylon replied. “And thanks for helping tonight.”
Nodding, Glenn headed out of the room, looking forward to what was waiting for him upstairs in their bedroom.
~/~/~/~/~
Exhausted, Wesley could barely sit upright on the hospital bed while Oliver and Mac checked him over. All he wanted was to crawl under the blankets and get some rest to help his body recover from years of abuse. Glancing over at his wife, who was sleeping peacefully in the other bed across the room, he shivered at the thought of almost losing her earlier that night.If Oliver hadn’t arrived with Colton and Mac, Wesley knew, without a doubt, his wife would’ve been gone in the morning. He owed them a lot. Deep in thought, he took a moment to realize someone was talking to him. “What did you say?” Wes asked, looking at Ollie first before shifting his gaze to the doctor.
“Can you shift now?” asked Mac. “It’ll help speed up your body’s healing.”
Shaking his head, Wesley said, “Sorry, Doc…I can’t.”
“What about your bear? Can you feel him?”
“I do…always have, even since the first injection. When we were prisoners, my bear would let me draw on his strength at times, but other than that…”
Ollie asked, “Uncle, by chance, do you know what was in those shots you got?”
“No, sorry. I asked the enforcer who gave us the injections, but he wouldn’t tell me.”
Glancing at Mac, Ollie asked, “Do you have any idea what it was?”
“No…I’ll talk to Ian tomorrow morning and see if he knows. In the meantime, I want you to take a sample of his blood. We may have to send it to a lab to see if they can tell us if Ian doesn’t know.”
“On it.”
“Wesley, did they ever miss a day?”
“No…we each got a shot every morning.”
“Did you feel your bear’s presence more at any time between shots, or was it the same all the time?”
Thinking for a moment, Wesley said, “Maybe in the evening? But I’m not sure…it might have been because I was pretty tired by that time and needed to use my bear to help me finish my work for the day.”