Who is Magpie?

Ezekiel’s blood ran cold. “Are you sure?”

Jessamine nodded. “I am sure enough that sleeping there tonight will be hard.. Stop, don’t say it, I know, but chances are still 30/70 that it’s not transmitting. Unless someone on the security staff is in on it, most transmitting cameras would loop back into your own wireless system and be detected. Chances are slightly better that it uses a memory card and would need to be retrieved.”

“So why would we sleep in there like that?” Ezekiel asked, outrage at the thoughts that came with someone on his staff spying on him and his mate.

Bronx sighed. “Someone watching would see something was wrong if you never returned to your beds and could take off, and if its got a memory card it will need to be retrieved, and they can’t think anything is amiss.”

Jessamine stood fully washed just outside of the shower to dry while the water remained on. “Exactly. It’s too late tonight, if it is transmitting, to set a trap when we find it and they run, and if it’s just recording it won’t matter. You can smell their scent when you walk in the room. One of you go get me a change of clothes and memorize it,” she instructed, wrapping the towel around her body and letting her wet hair cling around her shoulders. “Do not look for the camera.”

Jessamine emerged shortly after, towel wrapped around her and she moved to the chair in front of the doctor, aided by Ezekiel. Her ankle had swollen so terribly that she didn’t think the doctor would be able to find the bones. Knowing it was broken, and discovering how broken were very different experiences, and almost immediately she regretted not just risking the strong sedative in the medical bay.

The doctor injected her with enough numbing solution to make an elephant trip over themselves, but Jessamine could still feel far more of what he was doing than she would have liked to.

While the more mild sedative took hold Bronx returned with a large T-shirt nightgown. Bandages were applied over her other injuries with a heavy salve, and Bronx handed her the flashlight after she had gotten dressed. She passed it along to Ezekiel to address the worst of the ones over her face, and though Doctor Pon was curious he never asked what it was.

Ezekiel’s browsed pushed together, matching the expression Bronx wore, while watching the Doctor use special tools to move her bones into place through small incisions. Jessamine winced, her eyes scrunching closed, and she clutched a throw pillow so roughly that the stuffing burst free. Bronx gave her his hand to squeeze and she bit her lip to get through the next placement.

Ezekiel held her other hand, and as her lips began to bleed, both top and bottom as she had switched halfway through, he gave her the thick flesh on the palm of his thumb to bite into. She had moved to sit in his lap, between his legs, with his arms wrapped around her and hands occupied in this way. One of Ezekiel’s legs ran along the couch behind Bronx, who had volunteered his lap for the procedure so he could hold her leg down.

After everything was set she was sweating profusely, nails leaving small crescent shaped cuts in the men’s hands and Ezekiel’s other hand bleeding slightly from her teeth. As she slowly unclenched her jaw she licked the blood from Ezekiel’s hand apologetically.

“I’m fine,” he assured. “You did fantastic.”

She smiled, bringing her lips up to his, and heard the sounds of Doctor Pon packing up. After doing something so delicate and adding the supports in an unusual location, his hands had begun to stiffen and Tidas had moved in to bandage and brace the ankle. Jessamine looked up at Bronx who held his fingers at odd angles.

“You’ve quite the grip Jessamine,” he muttered with a smirk

Her hands flew to her face. “You’re kidding! Oh my goddess I am so sorry….”

“He’s double jointed,” Tidas muttered, pausing in wrapping the ankle, to cuff Bronx upside the head. “Really son, messing with her after what she’s just endured. I’ve had more sedatives to remove a tooth.”

Jessamine coughed to conceal her laugh. “I didn’t get them before, and now… well two days in a row someone’s aimed at harming me, so I don’t want the handicap.”

There were nods of regrettable understanding before Doctor Pon stood up. “Two months is my recommendation, but I know you won’t listen.” He turned to his Alpha. “Two weeks of no weight on it; crutches, cane, carry her, I don’t care but she needs to stay off it. After one month she can try some light exercises, if she insists on training at all.”

Ezekiel turned to look at Jessamine. “I’ll never put her down.”

Doctor Pon stood, moving toward the doors. “Her wolf will do a lot to heal those bones correctly, but big pieces will heal together better than a lot of little ones. Absolutely no shifting until I’ve cleared you. Fuck it up anymore and you’ll give yourself a permanent limp.”

“Thank you Doctor Pon.” Jessamine spoke in what she hoped sounded like sincerity. “I never thought I would truly thank a doctor for anything, but you have treated my wounds more in these weeks than any doctor my whole life. I owe you a great gratitude.”

“Doctor Pon smiled and sighed a breath of finality. “Jessamine, it was truly my pleasure.”

After he left both doors were again closed and locked. Only then did Jessamine slump a little more and let go of an exhausted breath, as she turned more toward Willow and Talia to fulfil her promise. “Someone bugged our room,” she said, all at once like she had held onto the thought for too long.

Tidas and Talia exclaimed in shock, but Willow nodded. “That makes more sense, I would have screamed if I was in your shoes too.”

“It’s not what I wanted to do, but I’d have made myself a cripple doing what I wanted to,” Jessamine admitted, mind racing and body spent.

“And why you wanted me to check how Talia reacted to someone entering. With her on bed rest, she’s been in this room more often then not, so it would be clean.” Willow smiled, feeling an amount of pride toward the girl who never stopped impressing her.