Jack vaulted over the rail to follow the stroller into the water. When he surfaced he had a grip on the side of the baby carrier but the weight was dragging him down under the surface. The water was deeper than he’d expected. Frantically he pped the carrier’s release lever and the metal wheeled cart dropped away and sunk. The carrier was surprisingly buoyant and bobbed on the surface. Jack looked over the lip of the carrier fearing the worst but its cover had kept most of the water out. The baby began to wail and sputter from being cold and wet.


    He sighed with relief and swam to the edge of the canal. His next problem was there was no way to get out of the water.


    Suddenly he heard the whoosh of a flying crafting in fast for anding. Soon hands reached down and took the baby carrier. His burst of adrenaline had worn off and he was struggling to tread water, barely keeping his head above the surface. He felt about as buoyant as the metal stroller had been.


    Something mped onto his horns and he felt himself being lifted clear of the water. The sensation was very ufortable but at least he wasn’t drowning. When his feet touched down on the pathway the pressure released and he wobbled. Gee and Bal caught his arms and were looking up at him in concern. A retractable crane was folding itself back into the Altarian Security Ministry vehicle the two had flown here.


    He shivered as the water had been cold. Arge medical support craftnded next to Gee and Bal’s ride. Several police vehiclesnded and set up a perimeter to keep the curious away.


    Jack ran his hands back through his hair and squeezed as much water out of it as he could as he set course for the medical team looking after the mother in the grass. She seemed to be conscious but badly dazed. She was calling out for her child. Jack knelt down beside her and took her hand. Frantic eyes locked onto his and he smiled.


    “Your child is fine. Just a little cranky at getting such a rude awakening,” he said. “You chose an excellent carrier. It protected…” he looked expectantly at the woman.


    “Me,” the woman said.


    “It protected Me very well! Me is a lovely name!” he said with a wide smile and the woman was looking at him with a star struck grin. “I’m so sorry you were injured by those reckless women. They were chasing me, driving irresponsibly and weren’t paying attention to anyone else on the path.”


    “Why are you wet?” the mother asked through the haze of the painkillers she’d been injected with as Jack distracted her. Her arm was broken and Jack knew what came next.


    “I had to go for a little swim when the carrier was knocked into the canal. Not to worry though Me is fine.” He grimaced as the medic reset the bone but the mother was beyond feeling pain by this point. All she did was stare at Jack with a silly grin.


    “Take care…” he looked at her again.


    “Miro.”


    “Take care of yourself Miro.” Jack said as he released the woman’s hand and stood. Miro’s eyes went wide as he towered over her. She bit her lip. The medic smiled at him gratefully.


    Jack turned to move towards the cart which had been flipped back upright. The three upants were now sitting on the ground being watched by the police. On the left sat the driver with a bad gash on her forehead which had been taped closed. On the right was the camera woman with the sted device gently cradled against her chest. Kihani sat in the middle favoring her left arm. He stood in front of them unaware of his trembling. Gee and Bal came over with a nket from the ambnce and pulled it over his shoulders.


    Kihani seeing she had his undivided attention smiled up at him. “Could you answer my questions now?”


    He surged forward knocking loose his nket. Gee and Bal grabbed his arms holding him back but he slowly pulled forward until his face was right in front of the frightened host.


    “Yourpletely irresponsible actions almost cost the life of a mother and her CHILD! A BABY! Now you want me to REWARD you?!? That baby would have DROWNED! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT IT WAS YOUR FAULT?” he growled menacingly.


    The two security agents were struggling to keep his arms back as he wanted to throttle her until that vacant look was reced by something resembling an acknowledgment of guilt. Two police officers joined Gee and Bal in pulling Jack away from the threedies who were all gasping and wide eyed with fright. Once he was moving towards the Security Agency’s vehicle the police let go but the two agents continued to pull.


    “Oh my god! Did you see how fierce he was? That was SO SEXY! I hope you got that on camera! What a treat for our viewers!” Kihani gasped to her camera woman who was nodding frantically as she stared at the man’s muscr back.


    Jack didn’t recall spinning in ce or stalking back towards Kihani. He didn’t hear their screams as they watched him approach. Gee took him down with a stunner from her position on the ground where he’d flung her with his spin. He was unconscious before his face hit the grass at the hooves of the three screaming females.


    Everything hurt. Jack cracked open his eyes and even his eyelidsined. He saw he was in his bedroom on his bed. Then he saw the green and gold eyes peering down at him.


    “He’s awake.”


    “What-” he croaked and immediately regretted talking.


    Strong hands slipped behind him and pulled his head and shoulders up. Other hands tucked pillows behind him. He was set back against the pillows and a straw was pressed between his lips. He sucked up the cool water and his throat felt better.


    “What happened?” he whispered.


    “Show him.” Queen Elissa said as she entered his bedroom with Maximilian and Gwendolyn in her arms. He smiled seeing the happy grin on his son’s face. Max was such a happy child. His daughter was sleeping peacefully.


    Diana lifted a tablet and yed the queued video. Jack watched himself confronting the women, being dragged away then flinging the two agents off his arms like they weighed nothing. He was striding back towards the camera, rage on his face, teeth bared, eyes ring, nostrils ring, looking like he was about to eat someone. Then the sh of the stun gun and his boneless copse amidst screams.


    “Stun gun,” he said.


    “Agent Gee had to set it to maximum to take you down. That’s why you hurt,” the Queen exined.


    “Why are you here?” he said looking at her.


    “That footage was from their live show. All of Kihani’s broadcasts are live. More realism and her fans love it. My office staff watch her show and when they saw her try to interview you I was called. I got to see the ident and you going into the canal. Your genuine concern for the injured woman and her child was wonderful to see but your reaction to that airhead Kihani needs to be addressed. Nobody is ming you but you frightened a lot of people. No one has seen you direct that much rage towards an Altarian and it’s shaken their faith in you.”


    “WHAT?!? THAT’S INSANE! The woman showed NO concern that she put Miro and Me’s life at risk. No remorse at all! SHE’S THE ONE who the Altarian’s should be fearing, not ME!”


    “Agreed and she will be receiving a psych evaluation in her court case. But you Jack, you looked like you were going to eat her. Your fangs were showing and suddenly the popce of Altaria saw… what’s that Earth phrase? Oh yes, we saw that we may have a wolf in our midst. Instinct is a very strong force in Altarians. We listen to it.”


    “I wouldn’t have killed her!” Jack sputtered.


    “Maybe not but your bodynguage certainly suggested you might have.” Elissa insisted.


    Jack frowned but couldn’t deny that he had looked pretty enraged in the video.


    “You were scary sexy!” Diana said with a confused smile.


    He looked at the woman and recalled her record of dating abusive men and suddenly his righteous indignation dried up and blew away. He looked at Elissa in dismay.


    “There’s my Jack,” she said with a smile.


    “Maybe I could make a statement to the press, apologizing for my behavior?” he suggested and she nodded with a smile. She nced at the two females sitting on the edge of his bed.N?velDrama.Org content.


    Diana and SennLann got up from the bed and left the room. Jack watched them go and looked at the Queen with a questioning look. The doorway was suddenly full of people as reporters began to file in with their cameras. He recognized some of the news stations and some of the reporters from the interview he’d given in front of Queen Elissa’s home after the birth of Max. He nced at her and she moved to the side of the bed and ced the two babies in his arms. He grinned widely as he sniffed their sweet scents and nuzzled them. Elissa stood next to the bed and nodded to the press. The cameras began rolling and suddenly Jack was very conscious he was only covered by his nket from the waist down, he was shirtless, and his long hair was unbraided. The upside was he had his babies in his arms. He gave them another kiss then looked up at the gathered members of the press at the end of his bed. It felt kind of surreal but he’d just have to deal with it.


    “If I may, I’d like to start with a brief statement. An apology actually. I was pretty shaken up by the near drowning of baby Me. It was close. A second or so longer and the story might have been far more tragic. When I heard the unconcernedments Kihani made afterwards I’m afraid in my distressed state I behaved very poorly. I’m terribly sorry for my actions and I’m thankful for Security Agents Gee and Bal for their intervention. I still hold Kihani directly responsible for her reckless behavior and the injuries sustained by Miro and Me. I trust she will be held ountable and justice will be served.”


    One of the reporters gestured to ask a question. Queen Elissa nodded to her.


    “You were baring your fangs at Kihani as you approached her. Was it your intent to bite her?” the reporter asked.


    “I’ve never bitten anyone… in anger,” he unconsciously nced at Elissa then blushed furiously. The Queen was a little flustered and looked out the window. The reporters all had wide grins on their faces. A second one had a question.


    “The footage shows you leapt into the canal without pausing. Were you aware of the depth of the water? Are you a good swimmer?”


    “Actually, I didn’t even think about how deep the water was. Thinking about it now I could have really hurt myself if the water had been shallow,” he said with a blink. “I used to be a really good swimmer but now with the extra headgear I don’t float as well so I tired out really quickly. If Bal and Gee hadn’t arrived when they did we might not have had this interview.”