“Sure,” he said, handing it over.
Robbie looked at Fran. “Cuz, I need you to talk to Jacob, we need him to shift. Hopefully, the fact you are mates will get through to him and he’ll listen to you.”
“He’s not listened to me yet, but I’ll give it a go.” He looked down at Jacob. “Jacob, mate, you need to shift. We need to see how badly you’re hurt and help you.”
Nothing happened.
“Come on, Jacob, shift now,” Fran said a bit more forcibly.
Nothing happened.
Fran hated what he was about to do. “Oh, for goodness sake, you stubborn, stupid idiot, shift,” Fran practically shouted at him.
Suddenly the air shimmered and Jacob shifted back into his unconscious human self.
“Well, that worked,” Robbie said, grinning.
Fran shook his head. “I hated acting like that. From what I can piece together, that is how his father spoke to him.”
Robbie froze. “Do you think his father was abusive towards him?”
“Physically, emotionally and verbally,” Fran replied softly.
“Crap,” Robbie muttered.
Just then they heard running footsteps and Finn came rushing towards them, clothes in hand.
He handed them out. “We need to hurry. Someone in one of the other lodges complained about an animal fight. Apparently, the police are on the way. Fran, help me get Jacob dressed.”
Robbie and Frank dressed quickly and then went to help them.
“We need to be gentle. Shifting helped heal some of his injuries but his stomach and arm are still bleeding,” Robbie said, helping them gently dress Jacob.
“Berni is sending some men to come and collect these three. I’ll stay here until they turn up. Pretty sure the one that hurt Jacob will lose his eye, the other two will be fine.”
“Noted. Thanks, Uncle Frank. Can you collect Jacob’s stuff up and bring it all to the castle? You should be able to drive his car back.”
“I can do that,” Frank said.
“Robbie, I want to come with you and Jacob,” Fran said.
Robbie nodded. “Good. I’ll need you to watch over him as I drive. Sweetheart, can you collect everything from our lodge, check us all out, and drive Fran’s car back?”
Finn nodded and looked at Fran. “Do you mind?”
Fran shook his head. “No, my keys are on the table.”
As they were talking, they finally got Jacob dressed. “I’ll need to carry him. It’s not ideal, but we have no choice.”
“I grabbed this towel, will that help?” Finn said, handing it over.
Robbie smiled at him. “Thanks, sweetheart,” Robbie said, rolling it up and pushing it down on the still-bleeding gash on his stomach, before carefully picking Jacob up.
“I’ve not heard any sirens yet, so hopefully you should get back to the lodge before they arrive,” Frank said.
“Fingers crossed. See you at home,” Robbie replied before carrying Jacob away, Fran and Finn at his side.
They reached the lodge without meeting anyone, and no police seemed to have arrived. Fran opened the Land Rover door for Robbie to lay Jacob down on the back seat. Fran jumped in and got settled, resting Jacob’s head on his lap.
