134 Mr. Sharp

The Sharp family lived in a small house on the outskirts of the Wintertown. As usual, Mr. Sharp, the local doctor and his spouse with two children after dinner were already preparing to watch a movie. The typical dispute of what it should be, a comedy or a horror film, was distracted by a knock at the door.

Mr. Sharp hurried into the hallway, trying to dodge the argument that was already annoying. On the threshold appeared two familiar men.

" Patrick? What happened?" - Asked Mr. Sharp with concern seeing the butler from the Winterborn house. - "Did someone get sick?"

"No. Don't worry, Doc. we are not here because of this." - the man answered, smiling shyly. - "It's just that ... "

Uninvited guest hesitated a bit, choosing words.

" Did you happen to see Brian?" - He finally asked, looking the doctor in the eye, as if trying to read his thoughts. Doc tensed up a bit, something was wrong, but he still could not understand why he was suddenly hit by a feeling of anxiety.

"No. Why?" -Sharp replied cautiously, carefully examining his night visitors. - "What's the matter?"

"The thing is ... how to say it ... Brian had another episode, you see." - Patrick finally answered, turning for confirmation to his companion. The second man, the guard from the estate, nodded in agreement.

"Episode?" - Sharp asked in surprise. He was the doctors of the Winterborn pack for a long time and was well aware of some of the peculiarities of the young master. While Brian really could suddenly fall into a rage some time ago, or shut himself up in his house for a long time, not wanting to see anyone. Once he even disappeared for almost three months. But with the appearance of Risa in his life, there were no more attacks like this.

"Yes," -the butler continued, seeing the surprise on the doctor's face. - "They seriously quarreled with his father, and Brian lost his temper. He began to destroy everything around and then ran away, taking with him Mrs. Risa. We are very worried, as we recently learned that the young mistress is pregnant."

Sharp opened his mouth in surprise.

" Wow! This is such good news! But I do not quite understand why you are worried. Brian will never hurt his Mate."

" Yes of course!" - Patrick assured him and hesitated again. - "But you see, for some reason, the news about the children didn't please Brian at all. He became so ambitious, and when his father decided to convince him to retire for a bit from the company and spend more time with his Mate during this important period, Brian lost his temper. He accused the master of unwillingness to share power and even threatened to start an uprising among the pack. It was terrible."

" Oh My!" - the doctor was horrified. - "I hope this is just a small outburst of emotions and he quickly calms down. But why, are you looking for him here? "

" All because he turned and disappeared into the woods, leaving his car and all things at the estate. The nearest town is far enough, and for a young lady, such a trip on the back of a wolf is unlikely to serve well. You, as a doctor, must understand this." - explained the butler, carefully looking around. - "We very much hope that Brian will come to his senses and come back. Therefore, Doc, if you see him, be sure to let me know. Mrs. Veronica also is worried sick about them."

"Of course of course!" - Sharp assured him quickly. - "I'll definitely call you. Sorry, for not being of a help."

Patrick studied the doctor's face for another second, then nodded and said goodbye, taking off with his companion. Doc stood a little longer on the porch watching the backs of the two men retreating.

As soon as their silhouettes disappeared from view around the corner, he hastily turned around and went inside.

"Everything is alright, dear?!" - Anxiously asked his wife, entering the corridor.

"I don't know yet." - Doc answered solemnly, coming up to her and hugging his Mate by the shoulders. - "But something tells me that it will be a very long night."

***

The old clock tower looked as always abandoned and a bit intimidating. It was almost four in the morning when Mr. Sharp reached this building. His wife packed two large bags that now hung on both sides, making the man look more like a loaded donkey.

An old wooden door gave way with a creak. Inside it was dark, quiet and very dusty. It seemed that there was no one there for a long time, but Doc confidently crossed a small hall and headed up the spiral staircase. Here he was brought not by the scent, but by the strange feeling that appeared during the visit of the butler and that guard.

Each step creaked threateningly in silence, and the bags didn't allow him to clutch at the crossbar. Doc moved very carefully, glancing around, looking for at least some sign in the dark. He made it the last turn of the stairs. Sharp climbed up and peered around the small room just under the roof of the tower. At first glance, there was no one there. Only a bunch of random trash and boxes.

Doc exhaled. It seems his intuition this time has deceived him. He had already begun to turn around with frustration, thinking about how he would go back across the city with these stupid bags. As soon as he moved downward, a muffled grunt sounded from behind him. Two yellow eyes glittered and a clawed hand, or rather a paw, clutched at his shoulder, jerking the man backward.

Doc only managed to scream before flying back first into a pile of dusty boxes. He tried to get up, but the next moment the big shadow hung over him, the claw clutched at his throat, making him freeze in place. The attacker tilted closer, and the muzzle of the beast with glowing eyes appeared out of the darkness.

Doc started and immediately stopped resisting.

"God, Brian, you scared me shitless! I almost pissed his pants!" - The man shouted indignantly throwing the beast's paw away. The creature narrowed its eyes, carefully watching the guest and stepped back. Doc was finally able to get rid of the straps of the bags and stood up. His eyes with interest stared at the beast opposite. Unlike most shifters, whose wolf form, looked more like an ordinary animal only more massive and powerful, Brian's form was now completely different. He was standing on two, and the rest looked neither human nor wolf anymore.

"Are you showing off now or trying to point out that you do not trust me this way?" - Asked Doc without fear approaching the shifter. The beast bared its fangs and snarled at him. The man frowned in response but didn't pause in his steps.

"Do you seriously think that I will believe all these rumors that you had a fit of rage because you learned about Risa's pregnancy and weren't happy about it?"Required Doc, his voice was a little offended. The man fearlessly turned his back to the beast lifting one of his bags.

"It's just so stupid! How long do they think I know you? You and Lana had chosen the names of your future children when you were still snotty kids. I was your doctor and was the first to have you in my hands after your birth. They could at least try to come up with something more believable."-Grumbled Sharp, pulling a pile of things out of his bag and carrying it to Brian. The beast still stared at the man cautiously but stopped snarling.

" Is that true? And what names did they choose?" - A female voice was heard from the darkness, and a girl came out into the light. Her clothes were all dirty and messy, but her eyes shone with curiosity and energy as always.

"Brian chose the name Vinnie, or Vincent, for the boy, and Minnie or Miriam for the girl. And Lana really liked the names, Nicky and Vicki." - Doc replied, smiling happily at the girl, and not paying attention to Brian's displeased growl.

"Wow! Not bad. Sounds nice. And I was cracking my head on how to call them all this time." - Happily exclaimed Risa, pressing both palms to her still flat tummy. Brian had already managed to turn into a human form and was pulling on the pants, which Doc had supplied him when the meaning of his girlfriend's words reached him.

"Them?" - He croaked, freezing in the middle of the movement, having managed to shove just one foot in the pant leg.-"What do you mean - them?"

"Oh! I didn't tell you?" - Rhys asked, beaming. - "Well, such a commotion with all this kidnapping and escape. Just flew out of my head. "

" Risa!" - He growled, seeing that the girl is trying to pull his legs.

"I'm not gonna tell you now!" - She puffed out her cheeks and stuck her tongue at him.

"Risa, stop teasing Brian. You know how sensitive he is. And you, Brian, stop fooling around, put on your pants already and let me congratulate both of you! Now you can use both of those names at once, lucky bastard!"

It seems that Brian finally realized what were they talking about. The guy's face turned pale, and his gaze went utterly blank.

"Twins!" - He breathed out, a silly smile froze on his lips, and a terrible panic appeared in his eyes. He swayed and plopped down on the floor, without pulling his pants on in the end.

" It seems we broke him." - whispered Risa, coming up to Mr. Sharp.

" Don't worry. He needs to strengthen the nervous system fast. Call it a stress therapy. He will need it to be as hard as a stone soon enough!" -Replied Mr. Sharpe with a grin.