"You're dead. You're dead you son of a bitch. You're dead"

"Wouldn't you like that son"

"I am not your son"

"You are. You can deny it all you want, my boy but you are my son."

"I-I -I will never be your son. Never!"

He blinked and he was somewhere else.

"Dad, why are we here?"

"It's okay Justin. Always remember that I love you"

"I love you too dad" his father turned around and left him on the yacht. He should have followed him. He needed to follow him but he couldn't move. Why couldn't he move? Dammit Justin, move or you'll never see him again. You won't ever see them again.

"Say your goodbyes boy." that voice. Not him. No, no, no. Not him. Justin spun around only to find himself somewhere else. The place was dark and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up in alert.

"Hello. Anyone there?"

"What is your name?"

"Justin. Who are you?"

"What is your name?"

"Just....." he fell to the floor crying. The pain was sharp, crippling. He wanted to go back home. What had that man done to him? He tried to get up but he couldn't. His stomach felt as if it was on fire. He placed his hand there attempting to ease the pain but winced when it only intensified. Where was he and why was this happening to him? "Please stop. It hurts. It hurts so bad" the person didn't stop. But this time he saw the knife gleaming through the dark and dodged it. The person trying to kill him laughed a maniacal laugh, sending shivers through his body. Who was he? What did he want?

"Who are you?"

"I told you my name is Jus......" another pain went through his back. More intense than the last one. Instead of cowering away he got up with difficulty and roared "What do you want?"

"What is your name?"

"JUSTIN. My name is Justin you sick fuck"

"What is your name?"

"Fuck you!" he yelled limping away. It was pitch black and he couldn't see where he was going but staying there with that psycho wasn't an option. Footsteps followed behind him making him try to walk faster. However, with the pain in his stomach and his back he couldn't. The man behind him laughed again a moment before he felt another shot of pain. It was his shoulder this time. He went down and cried out when the action doubled his pain. He felt dizzy and knew he would soon lose consciousness. Then like a bulb lighting in his head he remembered a name. Opening his mouth alone was a chore but he did, whispering it before everything went black.

-----------------------

"How is he?" Pasquale asked the nurse taking care of Jonathan. His boss been out since they brought him in yesterday and he was starting to get worried. He should have woken up already.

"Stable. He keeps mumbling incoherent things but it's normal for patients like him. Please excuse me" she left, probably to attend to another patient. She was pretty and her blue eyes were fascinating. On any other day, he would be hitting on her. But not while Jonathan lay in that bed. He was the only real friend he had and even if Jonathan hadn't said so, Pasquale knew the feeling was mutual. They'd been through a lot together. He refused to acknowledge that this was the end for him. No. He had to pull through. They still had so much to do. He felt his trousers vibrate and he took his phone out, only it wasn't the one ringing. Remembering he had his boss's phone he checked it. Jennifer was calling and she'd already left a few messages. As much as it was tempting to listen to them, he wasn't going to. Jonathan would skin him alive for even looking at the caller ID alone. Guess whoever that Jennifer was, was going to have to wait a little longer because Jonathan wasn't available to call her back.

---------------------

"Hey, how is he?"

"I think you used too much cyanide. He hasn't woken up yet"

"Please I didn't even use a pinch. Jon is being a baby. Maybe punch him. That is guaranteed to wake him up"

"That's not funny. What if he dies?"

"Relax. I've known that clown for a long time and he's not going anywhere."

"He'll kill us if he finds out we're the ones who orchestrated this. Seriously couldn't we come up with a better plan?" she hadn't set out to be a murderer. All she wanted was a way in. If he ended up dying...

"You worry too much. This was the only way and you know that. Now stop complaining and get to work. You know what to do"

"Thank you. Just in case I don't make it out"

"Don't mention it. Anything for you"

----------------------

He was in a forest. For some reason he didn't know, his vision was yellowish. Like how you saw when you had a pair of sunglasses on. He could also smell and hear things that weren't possible to hear any other day. What was happening? Why was he in a forest? A breeze blew his way and he caught a familiar scent. He didn't know who it belonged to but he'd smelled it before. So he started walking towards it. Apparently his sense of direction had also sharpened because the scent got stronger and stronger. In the distance, he saw a woman in a white dress lying on a blanket. Without a doubt, he knew the scent belonged to her. He approached her slowly, careful not to disturb her as she was sleeping peacefully with a soft smile on her face.

Walking to where she was, he sat beside her and just stared at her. She was beautiful even in sleep. Her long hair falling to one side. Suddenly he had the urge to touch her. Lifting his hand to caress her face, he noticed something and froze. It wasn't a hand. It was a... paw? Before he had time to process that, a scream came from beside him, making him jump back. The woman had woken up and she was scared of him. Shock and fear were visible on her face, but the fear was stronger. Hell he could actually smell it. Smell? Yeah. She scrambled back trying to get away from him and he opened his mouth to tell her he wasn't going to hurt her but all that came out was a howl. Why the hell was he howling like a....Wolf. The paw, the howl, the fear on the woman's face, they were all signs that he'd turned into a wolf. How?

He didn't have time for answers. She had gotten up and was running away from him. He had to follow her. Getting up, he realized he was on all fours. How had he not noticed that when he was walking towards her? She was fast but he was faster. Catching up to her, he skidded in front of her, and she jumped back screaming, looking for somewhere else to run to. He wanted to tell her that he wasn't going to harm her but she wouldn't let him, so he pounced on her, knocking her to the ground, then climbed on top of her. She froze, her eyes wide with terror. He studied her and again he had a feeling he knew who she was but he couldn't remember. Without realizing it, he licked her face. She closed her eyes and he took that as encouragement and licked her again. He couldn't smell her fear which meant she wasn't afraid anymore. Chancing it, he lifted his paw to caress her face but he heard a gurgling noise. He looked down at her surprised at the blood. Where did it come from? Had he ripped off her throat? No.....

Jonathan shot up, breathing heavily. He needed air and water. His throat was dry. Looking around wildly, he realized he was in a hospital room. There were machines on either side of him with tubes attached to his arms. On his right there was a small table with a telephone, a pitcher and a glass. He stretched his hand to reach for the glass so he could pour water but the stab of pain going through him froze his movements. Then he remembered everything. The shooting, the crashing. He'd called Pasquale before he lost consciousness. But why was he in the hospital? Shouldn't their doctor have taken care of him? Cyanide. He'd been poisoned through the bullet. Someone had tried to kill him and whoever they were, they weren't messing around. They knew that if the bullet missed his heart, the poison would finish the job.

The door opened and a nurse walked in holding a chart to her chest. A very nice chest, he noted. She skidded to a stop when she saw him sitting up. "Welcome back Mr Blackwell. How are you feeling?" she asked moving beside him to check on the machines.

"Have we met before?" She looked so familiar.

"You helped me the other day. Outside the restaurant?"

"Yes. I remember now. How are you?"

She blushed "You're the patient here Mr Blackwell. Not me. Now how are you feeling? Any dizziness?"

"No. Just thirsty." he said. She moved to the other side and poured him a glass of water. He didn't wait for her to hand it to him. He snatched it and drank the liquid in one swoop. "Thank you" he told her when he was finished.

"You're welcome. I'll go get the doctor to check on you and make sure there are no side effects from the poison" she started moving but he grabbed her wrist stopping her. He didn't miss the flash of fear that passed through her eyes. Why was she scared of him?

"What is your name?" he asked softly.

"Penny.... Penelope but my friends call me Penny"

"Thank you for taking care of me Penny" he emphasised on the nickname hoping to put her at ease. It worked because she smiled before leaving. A few minutes later a man in a lab coat walked in.

"Mr Blackwell it's good to see you awake. Any discomforts?"

"Except for the throbbing on my shoulder, I feel fine. How long have I been out?"

"Two days. You're free to go home if you promise to get a lot of rest. As I'm sure you know, Cyanide is the kind of poison that works to make your body unable to use life sustaining oxygen. You'll need to use an oxygen tank once in a while until you fully recover."

"Okay thank you doctor"

"Take care of yourself Mr Blackwell"

"One more thing" Jonathan stopped him. "Nurse Penny is coming home with me"

The doctor raised his eyebrows but said nothing else. Jonathan figured it wasn't up to him to decide for her. For some reason the nurse made him want to know her more. He remembered it was because of her and Jennifer that he had been so distracted. Oh hell. Jennifer. How many messages and calls had she graced his phone with? He didn't even want to think of it. He could imagine her slapping him when she saw him again even though she should be the one to apologize. Hopefully his phone was still intact or he'd receive hell from her. It dawned on him then. That as much as he liked her, he couldn't act on his feelings. The dream he'd had was as clear as day. Being with her would only bring her harm. Not to mention she was forbidden. Whatever feelings he had for her, he wasn't ever going to act on them. She was sweet and kind and dragging her to his world would only get her killed. No, he had to stop this nonsense. Laying back on the pillow, he closed his eyes......

Strawberries with a hint of vanilla. That is all he could smell. Sucking in air, he opened his eyes and was met with Caribbean blue eyes. A man could get lost staring into them. "Penny"

"I.... I... Was just changing... Your bandages."

"Are you scared of me Penny?"

"No" she said it too fast.

"I like your eyes. I've never seen anything like it"

"I.... Thank you" she tried to move away but he grabbed her arm, forcing her to look back at him

"I want to kiss you. Can I kiss you?"

She swallowed, her gaze darting from his eyes to his mouth and back. "N..no." she finally said, pulling away. He let her, because he didn't want to scare her. They were in a hospital and he wasn't back to his normal self. But later when they were in the confines of his own home, he could do whatever he wanted with her. It didn't escape him that he was interested in her. Truly interested. And in the past, he would have run away from her but now he was running towards her. Did the bullet damage his brain or had Jennifer opened the gateways?

"There you are. How are you feeling boss man?" Pasquale walked in asking. He had a big smile plastered on his face.

"Where is my phone?"

"You're fine alright. I guess it's back to business then" he said rocking back on his heels. Jonathan raised his eyebrow and waited until the man got the message and scrambled to hand him his phone. As he'd suspected, he had a ton of messages and missed calls from Jennifer.

"For your sake, I hope you didn't listen to any of them," he told Pasquale without looking up.

"I'm not stupid Jonathan. But I only answered Wes's call to tell him you were unavailable."

"What did he want?"

"I don't know because I didn't let him speak."

Jonathan nodded. He couldn't care less what that imbecile wanted. He was done with all this bullshit, playing games that would have cost him his life. He was going to take Wes down, everything else be damned. Then he was going to act on whatever interest he had in Penny so he wouldn't have to think about Jennifer. He liked her. More than he should have and trying to make her like him back had been a mistake. She already had a husband who loved her. Who she loved back. She wasn't his. "Well hello there beautiful" Pasquale said from beside him, making him look up. Penny had walked back in, having left before Pasquale arrived and that nurse's uniform was way too sexy on her. He wanted to be the one to peel it off and see if she looked better without it. "So can I....."

"Don't even think about it" Jonathan bit out making Pasquale shut his mouth. He could punch him just for looking at her. "Bring the car around. We're leaving"

"The car is parked at the entrance waiting for you" he said but the glare Jonathan shot his way made him start moving. "Right.... I.... I'll just..... go wipe the windows or something" he left in a hurry while Penny giggled. He liked that sound. Very much. That bullet really did wonders for you man. He told himself. Since when did he allow himself to admit he liked a woman's giggle?

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