“Alright, we need something to put to the other packs on how this alpha summit will go.” Helena lay there on the sofa the next afternoon pondering the future, now that her heat was winding down. Chris lay with her, and Brian poked at files he’d brought up that morning to look at and finalize a more solid plan as he described it.
“What do we have? Eight alphas plus their entourage, ranging from four to ten people. That’s a few too many people to put up with. Somewhere between 30 and 80. I doubt they will all fit into the packhouse.” Brian said back as he flipped pages from where he perched on the coffee table.
“Well, not without them bunking down together, that is. Which might not be a bad idea. They would feel sa
Nathan found Asia off in the dark corner. She preferred to hide herself from prying eyes. Being a bitten wolf rather than blood born. Within this pack and many others, considered her a perversion to the species or a different species altogether. Nathan believed it was the height of hypocrisy because most of the wolves of North America were from stock that started with a bitten wolf. It’s half the reason their packs ended up here. They weren’t welcome back then in the European packs. In fact, many of those packs killed bitten wolves outright to maintain the pureblood. Of course, as science grew, an understanding of genetics developed, and shifters sometimes learned fresh blood through mating and the bite helped the species survive. Now only a few packs treated bitten wolves like this. But this was his mate, and it irked him they treated anyone like this.&nb
Finally, Jillian gets to see her friend in a meeting about everything that’s changed. Sadly, it wasn’t a social visit. No, it’s a staff meeting. A meeting that’s looking more like a military command strike meeting than an everyday pack meeting. In fact, pack meetings always were impromptu affairs that people could come and go because gossip could easily fill in the missing pieces. But not now. Now they sat about taking notes and trying to understand how everything was shifting under their feet. Jillian felt like she was on a sinking ship, and it was tilting under her feet as Brian talked about where they were going to put which group. He even showed them a map. It all reminded her of those movies where they are planning a big wedding reception and trying to avoid any wedding guest drama by correct placement of the relatives. But in this case, they were attempting not to have any territor
Helena looked up from the bed and the arms that weighed her down. “Oops! Sorry! You said you wanted to know when the first pack was arriving. I just got word they’ll be here in the next half hour.” Jillian blushed and turned her back on the sight of her friend and her mates sleeping. “Thank you. Next time just call or text, okay? I hate to see you embarrassed.” Helena couldn’t help but smile at her longtime friend and now assistant. “We’ll be down as soon as I can get these guys awake.” She sat up and showed how one arm limply fell back onto her lap. “Oh, gods, and you have to deal with two. Better you than me.” Jillian giggled uncontrollably. “Okay, I’m getting out of here bef
Asia came in with her coat still covering her body, even though the tunnels were far too warm for it. Once they were alone in their quiet corner, she pulled out a small vial of fluid from her inner pocket. “It wasn’t easy, but the guards didn’t find it in the bottom of the herb baskets. With all the sweet drinks he likes, there shouldn’t be a problem getting him to drink enough of it. The fool keeps a bottle in the backseat of his truck and while he was out pumping gas, I was able to get several bottles filled from it. Sherry has one, and so does Tamara. If they find case one bottle, there are two others out there that will be used.” She held it out to Nathan for him to see. “Now, when do we want to do this? I’m not sure how this will go. Will you try to take over or will we run in the confu
Davis watched his mate pace the lobby as they waited for their leaders to make an appearance. The summit would start earlier than expected. Other packs were too eager and almost all communicated that they would arrive earlier than expected. Wally and Josh were scrambling to have everyone ready for the confusion that would soon be upon them as they settled the packs into the areas where they’d stay temporarily. None complained about the simplistic accommodations. In fact, several liked the idea of them possessing a small temporary territory. Davis, though, stood here as the head of security, answering only to the betas and alphas. He’d definitely come up in the world since joining this pack.His mate was a whole different topic. She was flighty at times, desperate for boundaries, and a little fearful of the unknown
Clarence heard the clatter outside of the great hall where he sat drinking after dinner. It must be the group he’d sent to harass the Black Dane Pack. It seemed too early for them to return. This irritated Clarence and he ordered some nobody to bring them into the great hall. He wanted them to answer him and tell him what they’d done. There was far too much failure going on lately, and it was wearing on his nerve. Growling, Clarence threw a bone at the retreating figure because she wasn’t moving fast enough from the room. “I want them in here now, not ten minutes from now. Get moving!” Grumbling, he took another swig of his drink. Damn, this stuff was good. Someone got a little heavier with the sweetener, but it made it better. The drink eased his tension a little and relaxed him a bit. But not enough f
Nathan watched Clarence berate yet another wolf. He loved to degrade women like this in front of everyone. As Nathan listened, he could hear Clarence losing focus of what he was yelling at the poor woman. His words were slow and ragged. They wandered from one topic to another, and it just made him more angry. Finally, he stood up to strike the woman, but collapsed back into the chair. That’s when Nathan realized Clarence could no longer control his legs. The man became confused and aggravated. He dropped his cup and spilled its contents over the ground. Clarence frowned at the puddle of alcohol on the floor. With his words slurring together, he demanded another drink. Like he’d forgotten his legs had stopped working. Clarence frowned at the w
Davis entered the office to find his mate sitting in her underwear, working. He’d be the first to admit that it was sexy as anything he could think of to see her straddling the chair as she typed on her keyboard. But this was work hours, and he thought she’d learned that work hours were for work. Not teasing or flirting. He would not let her sit around like that and have anyone walk in and see her like this. “What are you doing?” Damon demanded as he came to stand over her. He could see the deep cleft where her bra pressed her breasts together. Her thighs pointed away from him, but he could see her soft ivory flesh was open and inviting. Damon couldn’t help but lick his lips when his eyes fell on the firm globe of her bare butt. The urge to make them glow a healthy pink was extremely tempting to him.
Life settled down for them after that, and a routine formed. Their pack understood their unique relationship. It helped when Alfred could come up with some documentation he’d found while doing his own study on their unique bond. It and Bethany fascinated the man became a friend to Helena and Jillian. Nathan and Asia eventually settled on a date to be formally accepted by their pack and to acknowledge their mating. It was something their pack needed to. Life for them soon became full of creating and building. Several of the lone wolves filtered in and requested a place within Nathan’s pack. Davis helped greatly with that because he could identify these lone wolves and vet their stories. By winter, there were enough homes to keep the Blue Mountain Pack safe from the elements. Money appeared out of the rambling and incomplete financial status. Helena didn’t look too closely, but she suspected several packs contributed funds and investments so that they could start agai
Asia now understood how much she didn’t know about wolf shifters and their society. The mating ceremony wasn’t elaborate, but there were meanings behind everything. Luck and good fortune were part of the reason everything was being done. Prosperity and abundance. She was told so many stories and traditions that her head spun from all of them. It was so different from what she’d learned in her time underground with them. The other women were afraid to speak of these things while Clarence was alive. Afterward, there were other things to think about. Now they were looking forward to the Alpha Acceptance Ceremony and their Mating Recognition Ceremony. It was so busy that most nights everyone went to bed exhausted to start again the next day. They could get the new packhouse built and several outbuildings so that they could winter with a roof over all their heads. They planned a school for the new year for all the packs in the area to send their pups, too. So the
The pack came alive with the discovery of the celebration. These were things they lived for. Births, matings, and all the little cornerstones of member lives. They were a close knit family and community. This was something they could sink their proverbial teeth into. Presents weren’t necessary, but someone would always find something to bring.They planned a nighttime ceremony as tradition dictated and that gave most of the day to prepare the simple things for the ceremony.Dusk was falling and Helena cornered Jillian in her apartment to get ready. Davis took an hour and greeted those attending. Jillian fluttered about in a distracted and nervous state. Helena couldn’t figure out what would calm her down. But she started out with some logic.“First off. Here’s the dress. Let’s get you dressed. Honestly, you’d think Davis wasn’t yours already. At least, your instincts were smart enough to catch him. Everything is already recorded and technically, this is just to get your sister to leav
The work lunch was going well, but as the meeting came to an end, Chris noticed Jillian again adjusting the collar of her top. With a frown, he watched her for a little longer. “Is that a bite on your neck, Jillian?” Her response was to put her hand over the mark and blush. “It is! Well, I guess congratulations are in order for both of you. When are you planning to have your mating recognition ceremony?” “We’ll see. We’ve not set a date yet. There’s no hurry after all this stuff happening.” Jillian tried to take the pressure off of the subject, because she hoped they would drop it. “We’re going to have one as soon as it’s possible. No time to waste pretending things might change.” Davis interrupted Jillian’s uncomfortably nervous rambling to state the opposite of his mate’s words. “Davis! What are you talking about? We can’t do that. It’s too soon after all the deaths.” Jillian looked askance at Davis, unable to believe he’d said none of this to her
Nathan all but dragged himself back to the camp. He’d not fought all that much. It’d just been a long night. Too long if you asked him. But he represented the Blue Mountain Pack until the end. The witches would not all him to sit in and watch the trial. But he knew that witch and golem were now no longer a threat to the Blue Mountain. Now what would he do since the pack chose him to be their leader? Did he dare think of himself as the perfect candidate? He’d done a right fine job of being a roadblock to the current leadership there. Would he bring that blindness to this pack? Or could he be confident that he’d learned his lesson? If only he could see into the future and everything it held. Asia would see him as the stuff Alpha’s were made of. But he knew she’d read far too many romance novels involving werewolves, and they were far from correct in most things about wolf shifters. The camp was moving today, which meant he wouldn’t get much sleep, nor would the few peo
Jillian watched Davis make sure that her sister and mother, with her mother’s latest side piece, were settled in their cabin. Gods, the guy wasn’t much older than her sister. He’d be better suited to her sister. What did these men see in her mother? She had two adult daughters. She didn’t care if her mother found someone. Actually, Jillian would love her mother to find someone she had something in common with. This guy wouldn’t be able to keep up with her in a conversation and she wouldn’t be able to keep up with him in pretty much any physical activity. Jillian could see this becoming another crash and burn. She bet he’d not met his fated mate and when he did, he’d have a devil of a time removing her clinging mother from him. Or Jillian would have to deal with the high drama. At least, right now, Davis showed no interest in her sister’s advances. He’d spoken to her once already, and her sister acted like he must be mistaken. Now Jillian wasn’t sure if she m
“If we are going to return to some form of normal, we need to finish preparing the Alpha apartments for us. You know. Get all our ducks in a row.” Chris mentioned as they ate breakfast in their apartment. This was the first day of the rest of their lives together in his estimation, and he was becoming impatient at how must mess it left and the sheer number of strings that weren’t tied down. This wasn’t something he wanted to have happened again. “As long as those ducks don’t turn into raccoons or squirrels, I’ll be happy. I thought we setup for them to be renovated by now?” Helena pushed her plate away from her. How this would play out, she didn’t know, but she had to get it going or she’d get bogged down in her grief. “We did, but half of the work crew was called up to hunt. Which put the schedule back and I’ve not been given a revised schedule.” Brian added, and he clearly felt horrible about that. They didn’t need so many people to hunt down the golem or
Alfred walked from the room they used for their courts and formal audiences. It wasn’t used much these days, but it was never pleasant. The council agreed to punish Veronica with imprisonment and being stripped of her abilities. Not a simple thing to do. She’d never live a normal life if she finished her imprisonment. Veronica would have to stay hidden from the mortal world because of the knowledge she could spread. Basically, she’d just trade one prison for another and the identity she knew once would always be a faint memory. In the old day, they’d have just killed her, and Alfred believed that was a far more merciful thing to do. None of this gives her hope and then lets someone else deal with the fallout. Though he could wash his hands of her. She’d go with the elders of the council back to their homeland, which was secreted away. That’s where the sentence would occur. Their coven didn’t have the resources or place to keep her during her punishment. This was the end of th
Veronica didn’t know how long she’d been there. The light turned off and on several times. She could have been there for hours or days. She didn’t know. Finally, someone gave her food. Once she ate, it didn’t take long for a small group of people to come along and haul her out of the prison, she found herself in. She was prepared to celebrate her freedom until she found herself locked in a chair in another dark room. Veronica could hear the movement of people in robes on the edges of the large empty room. She wasn’t sure what to expect from these people. Veronica schooled herself not to give into the fear. She couldn’t quite achieve that, so she sat there attempting not to admit to anything incriminating or to give up on her very life. Finally, the lights came up enough within the room, that left little to the imagination of what they used this room for. It was a courtroom, and she was on trial. They dared to force their views and rules on her. That, alone burst her