Chapter 1 - Alpha-Heir finds his mate with best friends' sister

Sophia Carlucci stood in front of her mirror and assessed herself with overly critical eyes. Instead of seeing spiral-type curly coal black shoulder length hair that delicately framed her oval face, she saw a mass of uncontrollable curls she couldn't even get the comb through. She saw long gangly legs instead of toned calves and thighs. Her eyes which were a deep emerald green seemed to her to be too big for her face, reminding her of one of those Precious Moments dolls her grandmother collected and she secretly was scared of. She saw herself as short, being 5'4", instead of delicate and petite. Lastly she looked at her figure and sighed out loud. She didn't notice her curves were finally starting to fill in, she still saw herself as skinny instead of the developing ninth grade cheerleader.

Being the youngest of eight children and having seven older brothers (Vincent, Dominic, Gianni, Marcus, Enzo, Gino and Salvatore), and being the only girl, she was sheltered, spoiled (though lovingly), and was never let out of her brothers way overprotective sight. Every time she turned around, one of her brothers or cousins was within hearing or eye sight. She loved the fact they loved and protected her, but she just wanted a bit of freedom, especially since she was going to be entering high school in two weeks, and she was coming of age to finally start to date. Her and her twin brother, Salvatore's, fifteenth birthday party was tonight and everyone from their school was invited. Her first official grown-up party. 

Grown-up party. Those three words were the bane and excitement of her existence. Since she was turning fifteen, according to Pack rules she was finally allowed to date. There were strict rules and even harsher consequences for violating those rules. She must be accompanied while on her date, the boys must be introduced to her family and be approved, there can be absolutely no physical contact until her sixteenth birthday, including kissing. At the age of sixteen, another set of rules applied, another at seventeen, and the final set of rules when she reached the age of majority at eighteen when she would finally be allowed true and total physical contact and intimacy. Like most female Weres, she bristled that boys were basically allowed to do whatever they wanted at the age of sixteen, but she understood the rules were in place to protect female Weres since they were outnumbered by the males 2 to 1.

Sophia sighed aloud again, thinking of turning fifteen. She would finally be able to shift at the next full moon and couldn't wait, even though she was scared, deeply scared. Terrified, petrified even. She worried she wouldn't be able to shift or be able to shift back. Normal worries for any new shifter, but each new shifter thought those worries were singular to them. Being extremely shy and sheltered all her life, she also worried about stripping in front of the other new shifters, but knew she would be in a circle of concealing fabric held by her brothers and cousins to protect her modesty as any underage female Were was. Her only true excitement was the fact her cousin, Maria would also be going through her first shift.

Maria was her best friend as well as her cousin; they shared clothes and secrets, though with their sheltered lives there weren't a whole lot of secrets to share. There was one secret Sophia had never shared, and probably never would and that was her crush on Anthony, the Alpha's son. Most of the secrets involved normal teenage dreams about their future mates and the many little ones they would have, what kind of man would be their ideal mate, what kind of car they wanted for their sixteenth birthday, what their first kiss would be like and that was usually as far as it would get as they would both dissolve in giggles. Apart from being Weres, they were typical American teenage girls, concerned with clothes, talked incessantly about boys, looked at each other and burst out in giggles that no one else understood, but tolerated lovingly.

Sophia heard her family outside setting up the tent near the pool area in preparation for tonight's festivities. Maria was due any time for final selection of what they both would wear, which was some form of sundress over modest swimsuits. They had both gone shopping earlier in the week with their mothers to pick out several outfits, now it was time to pick the final outfit. Plus accessories to wear with it and of course shoes. Shoes. That was Sophia's biggest downfall, besides pocketbooks. She couldn't get enough of either; luckily she had a large walk-in closet and an indulgent father. According to her Daddy, nothing was good enough or too much for his little girl.

Hearing several cars pull into the long driveway, she glanced out her window and saw her cousins and Aunt Annie and Uncle Joe pulling up. They volunteered, or were coerced into helping her parent's setup for the party. As she watched, Maria and her five brothers (Lorenzo, Damian, Paulo, Michael and Victor) and her Aunt and Uncle got out and were greeted by her overwhelmed mommy and her daddy, Rose and Frank. From this distance it was hard to tell Uncle Joe and her Daddy apart, being identical twins there was only a slight difference in weight, with her Daddy being just a bit brawnier. Both being Betas, they were tall about 6'5" and weighed over 240 lbs of pure muscle and were intimidating to everyone but their children and especially their wives. In both families, the wives ruled the houses and woe betide any who displeased them. Both men had ordered extra-long sofas in the family rooms for the times they were banished from the bedroom for doing things that displeased their wives.

It was a constant source of amusement in both houses that these little women could silence their husbands and children with one look. Standing at just 5'5", they had a way of narrowing their eyes and tilting their head that made their families instantly stop what they were doing and look for a place to hide. Being Italian, both had fiery tempers but also extremely loving natures...as long as you did what they wanted you to. Right now they had both husbands and all twelve sons hauling tables and chairs under the newly erected tent. The women were closely supervising and instructing proper placement of each table. Sophia rushed down to greet her cousins and Aunt and Uncle and to grab Marias hand to go to the most important job – picking out clothes, shoes, earrings, bracelets, necklaces and trying to figure out what to do with their hair.

For the next several hours the men worked and the women supervised setting up an elaborate party environment. Finally, everything was set up and the parents went inside to clean up and get dressed. The boys stripped their shirts off and dove into the pool. It was a teenage girl's fantasy. The boys ranged in height from 5'9" for the youngest at fifteen, to 6'3" for the oldest at eighteen. They were all muscular, toned and bronzed from being outdoors and their natural skin tone. All had black hair, emerald eyes, chiseled jaws and looked like they belonged on the cover of GQ. Being Weres, they were all products of multiples births and thus there were five sets of twins in the pool, and two boys whose twins were still upstairs getting ready, Sophia and Maria.

Collectively, the kids were known as the Carlucci Clan. This was the first year all fourteen of them would be attending South Mountain High, a Pack run school, and the majority of teachers were dreading it, having known them since they were born. Two would be seniors (Vincent and Dominic), four juniors (Gianni, Marcus, Lorenzo and Damian), four sophomores (Enzo, Gino, Paulo and Michael) and four incoming freshmen (Salvatore, Sophia, Victor and Maria). All of the boys were on the Football and Basketball teams, Junior Varsity and Varsity and also both girls were cheerleaders. Luckily all were good students, though the boys could do much better if they applied themselves, but being boys they had other things on their minds.

Before Sophia and Maria were ready, they heard the sounds of cars pulling up and excited chatter and laughter drifting up towards the bedroom windows. Looking out the back window, Sophia could see their friends out by the pool and Maria glanced out the front to see a line of cars pulling in the driveway. Both girls started giggling and jumping up and down in excitement. Putting the finishing touches on, they assessed each other critically. Glancing up and down, they tweaked a pleat here, patted a curl down there, adjusted a bow and declared each other Absolutely Perfect. They were ready. Now if they could calm their nerves down. They sat down, and then quickly stood so they wouldn't wrinkle their dresses and waited for Sophia's parents, Rose and Frank, and Maria's parents, Annie and Joe to come and get them.

Both girls were gorgeous and dressed in clothes that complimented their individual styles and budding figures. Sophia had a mid-thigh length emerald sundress with tiny white daisies with a sweetheart neckline and light cap sleeves, it highlighted her tan and natural coloring and matched her eye color exactly. To accommodate the outdoor environment she had decided on wearing KEDS, but girled them up with white little-girl style anklets with a green trim that matched her dress, unknowingly this emphasized her long toned, tanned legs. Maria was wearing a mid-thigh length mauve halter style sundress with splashes of burgundy throughout that also highlighted her coloring and the dress set off her delicate bone structure. She also chose KEDS, but girled hers up with matching burgundy shoelaces that had sparkly silver threads woven into them.

Finally, it was time to introduce the birthday boy and girl. Sophia was all dressed up and Salvatore had to be pulled out of the pool. They stood on the steps leading down to the pool area, surrounded by their family and waited on their dad to make a speech. Looking down into the crowd you could see the girls practically drooling at the sight of the Carlucci boys and the boys suddenly marveling at the sight of a grown up Sophia and Maria, wondering when that happened.

"I would like to thank everyone for coming today to celebrate the fifteenth birthday of our two youngest children, Sophia and Salvatore. I can tell by looking at the crowd that my children have been blessed with good friends and I hope in the upcoming years that will continue and may all their dreams come true in the future. Salute," Frank said with tears in his eyes as he hugged and kissed his youngest children.

Both Salvatore and Sophia greeted Alpha Carlo Rossi and his wife Madame Alpha Gina. Their son Anthony, who was seventeen, was already there and was best friends with Sophia and Salvatore's older brothers Gianni and Marcus and Maria's older brothers Lorenzo and Damian. Alpha Rossi encouraged the twins to open the present he had brought which was a gift card to the local mall, seeing this Frank thanked him and said his wallet thanked him especially. Everyone laughed knowing how Sophia liked to shop and how Salvatore was addicted to video games.

The next few hours were spent eating, playing volleyball and horseshoes, water polo and gossiping about the opposite sex; who was cute, who was cuter, who was built and loud giggling could be heard from the groups of girls frequently. Sophia noticed she kept sneaking glances at Anthony, hoping he would at least smile at her or even acknowledge her existence.

Everything went well for the next few hours and then an event occurred that would change Sophia's life forever, yet she was unaware of it at the time and would cause her heartache but even more joy in the years to come.

She was walking by the pool glancing at Anthony and a group of boys was throwing a football back and forth, an errant pass caused Anthony to bump into her, knocking her off balance causing them to fall into the pool. He grabbed her to protect her and tucked her slight body in close to his broad chest, he wrapped one arm around her waist and one arm around her head and in the process his nose was pressed deeply against her neck. As they hit the water only one thought was running through his head, “MINE."

As they spluttered to the surface, Anthony still had his arms encircling Sophia making sure she was unhurt. He pulled her towards the shallow end and changed his hold on her, cradling her in his arms tight up against his broad chest and walked her up the stairs before setting her down on her feet. It took all his self control to move his arms away from her and only did it knowing her brothers were descending on them. All seven of them checked to make sure she was unhurt then turned their eyes to look at him, some glaring, some astonished, but most incredulous. Alpha Rossi and Frank hurried over to ensure Sophia was unhurt and to prevent her over protective brothers from getting out of hand. At this point her brothers didn't care that Anthony was the Alphas son and their friend.

"Well, I couldn't make up my mind between this dress and another, so thank you Anthony for giving me the opportunity to change clothes." Sophia said with a giggle and a blush. Unknowingly she had diffused the growing tension with her innocent and friendly remark. Everyone started laughing, even Anthony who hadn't taken his eyes off of her yet. Alpha Rossi and Frank looked at Anthony and then glanced knowingly at each other.

Sophia and Maria hurried up the stairs and into the house to change Sophia's wet clothes. Anthony watched her intently until she entered the house and then stepped back when he saw her bedroom light come on. Even though her curtains were drawn, he still wanted to make sure he knew where she was. Alpha Rossi and Frank stood back and watched him, continuing to glance at each other and smile. Anthony didn't move from his spot until he saw Sophia talking with her mother in the kitchen, getting ready to return to the party. Knowing she would be outside soon and within his sight and smell he relaxed and started talking with his friends, all the while keeping an eye on the kitchen door.

Alpha Rossi, Frank and Joe meanwhile had stepped off to the side for an adult beverage and a talk. All three men had seen the looks and possessiveness Anthony had displayed and wanted to discuss that and other pack business. They were all thrilled Anthony may possibly have found his mate, since in the last fifty years the number of female Weres born to packs had decreased significantly, and to have found his mate at such a young age was almost unheard of. Usually mates found each other when the females turned seventeen, not fifteen as in Sophia's case.

In the modern age of Weres, Pack life had changed significantly in the last fifty years. Most modern Packs didn't live in one house anymore and had turned most Pack lands over to individual families. In the age of the internet, this made things safer since it was less questionable for multiple families to own a couple of hundred acres versus one individual to own thousands of acres. All of the land was still considered Pack since all the families were Pack, they were just more discreet.

South Mountain Pack was way ahead of a lot of Packs in their diversity, all Pack families had outside interests and jobs, and they didn't discriminate on the color of your skin or sexual orientation. Even though they were living separate the Pack was a tight knit community, everyone relying on their Pack mates for companionship and having grown up together most were true friends instead of just Pack mates. There were still mandatory Pack meetings, held on the full moon of every month and everyone attended. Generally, there were games for the children, socializing for the adults, a huge covered dish banquet and then a Pack run in the evening while there was a bonfire lit for those who didn't participate in the run.

Even though there had not been any wars or skirmishes for years, Alpha Rossi still insisted everyone learn combat skills. From the age of six, boys and girls were taught self defense and progressed to higher combat offensive skill levels as their training progressed. Both boys and girls were encouraged to participate in local sports since this increased their endurance and encouraged a caring and team mentality that would benefit both themselves and their Pack. Make no mistake, the girls may look delicate, but if it came down to it, they could kick your ass and then giggle about it. The boys along with their combat training were taught to respect the girls and to protect them. Since the number of female Weres born into the Packs had decreased significantly they made sure the females were treated with every courtesy and respect. This was one of the reasons why Alpha Rossi wanted to speak with Frank and Joe, two of his most trusted Beta's and his best friends since they were toddlers.

He had attended a national Alpha Council, which the two hundred Alpha's across the United States attended yearly and instituted new policy and procedures as well as handled any Pack disputes. There were four Alphas' per state as mandated by the Council over fifty years ago, this had eliminated all the territory wars and peace was finally restored. South Mountain Pack controlled Frederick, Washington, Allegany and Garrett counties in Maryland.

The men talked about general issues that involved the training schedules, the next full moon celebration,  new births and Alpha Carlo asked them if they had any questions or concerns from any Pack members since he had been gone for two weeks at the Council meeting. Both responded that nothing new had come up, but everyone was anxious for the Pack meeting to hear from the Alpha about new issues from Council.

"The first issue I wanted to bring up is an important one. We will be having a new family, the Millers, come into the Pack, they are moving here from West Texas. The father is an environmental engineer and recently got transferred back to the DC area. He scouted out the other Packs, but feels our Pack would be a better fit, plus they are more used to a rural area. The family will be here to help celebrate the next full moon to pick out a house or land and to start getting issues resolved before their move," said Alpha Rossi. Frank and Joe looked at each other knowing there had to be more to the story then this.

"The father, Todd, is a Beta, so you two will be working closely with him. The mother, Holly, is planning on opening a Coffee shop here in town with homemade pastries and bread," Alpha Rossi stated. Everyone was quiet for several moments then Carlo added, "Oh yeah, did I mention he has ten daughters?"

"Ten daughters? How is that even possible? Who protects them? In every family we are aware of, they have boys, lots of boys and then as soon as a daughter is born, the births stop. Our two families are perfect examples of that," Joe said.

"Which brings up the second issue I wanted to discuss, I heard from Alphas in Southern Virginia, West Texas, Ohio and Nevada that they are having a problem with their birth differentials also, except they have the exact opposite problem," Alpha Rossi stated. "It seems in the last fifteen years the number of female Weres born outnumbers the males by at least a 4 to 1 ratio if not higher, they are worried about the continuation and survival of their packs with not enough males."

Frank and Joe almost dropped their drinks with the news. They couldn't believe this had been going on for fifteen years with no one else being aware of it. The decreasing number of female Weres being born had been brought up for the last ten years at the annual Council and no one had mentioned the overabundance of females in their own packs.

"Which brings us back to the Millers, another reason they chose our Pack is our overabundance of males. Todd was getting a weird vibe from surrounding Packs, nothing overt or concrete, but he is beginning to become concerned for the safety of his family. In their Pack, in the last fifteen years there have been two hundred female Weres born and only forty male. No Pack can survive with those differentials. Todd said in the last four years three girls had run away, but no one in the pack believed that. A note was found in each girl's bedroom, in their handwriting but according to Todd it just didn't feel right."

"Each disappearance was investigated by not only the Pack but by the Council as well. There has been no trace of the girls anywhere. Todd is worried something similar would happen to his family so he actually applied for the transfer to DC, it wasn't required of his job as he has let it be known. That gentlemen, is a fact that is between the three of us and is to go no further. His family is not the only one that is considering relocating. I have let it be known through unofficial channels that any family willing to relocate would be welcome."

Before either Frank or Joe could say anything, Alpha Rossi nodded his head towards his son and said, "Turn around gentlemen, I think the show is about to start. We'll finish this conversation later."

They turned around unconsciously taking positions on both sides of the Alpha standing shoulder to shoulder, just as they had since they were toddlers. As they watched, Sophia made her way down the terrace steps and Anthony watched her every step of the way. He continued to talk to his friends, but his eyes were trained on Sophia, and he also glanced around the crowd to see who else was eyeing his girl.

"MINE," was the thought that kept going around his head. He saw several other boys looking at her and stared at them until they sensed him and they lowered their eyes. He couldn't stake his claim on her due to her age, but he could make sure no one else came close to her. "Three years, I must wait to claim her, but make no mistake about it, she is MINE," he assured his wolf. He then realized she had just turned fifteen and he could start dating her and instantly felt better.

All three men sent requests to their mates through the mate bond to join them. Almost as one, Madame Alpha Gina, Annie and Rose turned towards their spouses and had a questioning look on their faces, while the men just smiled back. Rose looked at her two best friends and said, "This better be good, I wonder what they've gotten into this time, and I wonder what we can get out of it, and it better be more than a new hat." At that comment all three women broke out into giggles that brought a smile to their loving spouses faces, though they had no clue what the women were laughing about.

Sophia dragged Maria along and made a point to talk to every boy and thank them for coming to the birthday party, knowing Salvatore wouldn't think of doing it. Most boys were excited to be able to talk to the two beautiful girls, but minutes after the conversation started, they noticed Anthony standing in the background with his arms folded across his broad chest and they made sure to finish the conversations quickly. Anthony was trying to be subtle about his claim on Sophia, but he needed to let those assholes know she was his. He would proclaim it loudly once he had talked to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Carlucci, Sophia and her brothers, then he saw his so-called friend Scott touch Sophia's hand. He could not control the growl that escaped from his tightly clenched throat and his hands balled into fists. Somebody was touching his girl, putting his scent on her, holding her hand when only he should be holding her hand.

"Oh, this is getting good," said Frank, while Joe and Alpha Rossi laughed. All three of them remembered how it felt when the mating pull first hit, they were all on alert in case trouble broke out, but knew it was best if they stayed on the sidelines.

Madame Gina, Annie and Rose had moved in front of their respective spouses as requested. Each man had an identical stance with feet shoulder width apart and their arms in front of their wives hugging them close to their broad chests. Annie asked Joe what was going on and he told her to keep an eye on Anthony and Sophia, that they thought he had felt the mating pull.

"What the hell is your problem?" Scott shouted at Anthony. "I was telling Sophia and Maria how beautiful they looked and thanked Sophia for inviting me to her party."

"Well, first of all, back off my girl, second SHE didn't invite you to the party, Sal did, third back off my girl, and fourth get your hands off my girl," Anthony growled back to Scott.

Sophia stared at Anthony with eyes as big as saucers, as did her brothers and everybody else. All Sophia could do was stare at Anthony and see him finally as the man that he was instead of her brothers childhood friend and the boy she had a secret crush on for years. He stood 6'3" and weighed about 230 lbs, with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes she could get lost in for days. He had broad shoulders that were lightly tanned, long arms that were heavily muscled and large hands that had to be twice as large as hers. As Sophia's eyes wandered over his chest she thought, "Oh my." As her eyes wandered further down his body, she noticed how his board shorts hung low off his lean hips and accented the 8 pack that was rippling from tension and his legs were long, lean and muscular. "OH MY," she thought and suddenly got hot all over like she was running a fever.

Anthony looked at Scott and noticed he still had a hold of Sophia's hand, he took a step forward still growling and said, "I'm giving you one second to let go of my girls hand before I rip your arm from your body."

Scott was about to argue with Anthony until he noticed Sophia's older brothers and cousins suddenly flanking Anthony with the younger siblings and cousins lining up behind him, in the standard fighting formation they had been taught. They may not like the idea of their sister and cousin being claimed, but nobody could deny the mating pull, and since it had become known to Anthony, he would do everything in his power to protect and cherish their beloved sister and cousin.

Joe and Frank noticed the youngest two sons were missing and looked for them. They both felt proud to notice that without being told they had flanked Maria and moved her out of the way to protect her since everyone else's focus was on the drama unfolding between Scott and Anthony. Alpha Rossi also noticed the missing boys and seeing where they had positioned themselves said to Frank and Joe, “We have taught the younger generation well, they have done their family and Pack proud today."

"Sorry Sophia, hopefully we'll get a chance to finish our conversation some other time," said Scott before looking Anthony in the eye and smirking at him. He gave her hand a tight squeeze before letting it go.

"Babe, could you please come over here with me and your family please," pleaded Anthony to Sophia, with a soft gentle voice as he extended his hand out to her. He kept his eyes trained on Sophia's wide-eyed expression and smiled encouragingly at her. He knew he didn't have to watch Scott or his two cronies, Sophia's two oldest brothers, Vincent and Dominic would have them under observation. His only clear thought was to get his girl away from this interloper, he needed to protect her, he needed her near him, and he must get her away from Scott.

Sophia glanced at Vincent and Dominic and upon receiving nods from them; she placed her small hand into Anthony's hand. He pulled her immediately into his side, scented her neck and hair and then gently told her to move behind him. She was instantly surrounded on all sides by Enzo, Gino, Paulo and Michael.

Sophia was still trying to process everything that happened, but the prevailing thought running through her mind was, “I'm Anthony's mate, I can't believe he's MINE." She knew she had been feeling an attraction towards Anthony, but had always thought it was a teenage girl's fantasy, not a mating pull.

"I think its time to have a talk with our boys after the party lets out," Joe stated to no one in particular. "I'm sure they have a lot of questions, and once the girls are situated, we'll go into Frank's man cave and have a three father to thirteen son talk."

All of the parents agreed and Rose told them the parents would soon be arriving to pick up their kids as the party was scheduled to end at 10 and it was already 9:45. The women instructed their men to go over and calm the boys down, which they went and hurriedly did. The women went over to the steps and announced the time to the rest of the party-goers and said they should get their clothes, towels and everything else together to be ready for their parents.

The men went and stood between the two groups of boys and stared at Scott and his two cronies. It took Scott and his friends less then two seconds to lower their eyes and show their necks in submission to their Alpha.

"I think you should gather up all your things, your father should be here soon to pick you up," stated Frank with a nice quiet even tone of voice. "I also want to thank all three of you for coming by for the birthday party and for providing us older folks with some entertainment," he continued with a hint of a smile on his face and in his voice.

"Anytime, Mr. C," stated Scott. He was thankful Mr. C wasn't mad at him, since during the summers he worked for Mr. C and Mr. JC at Carlucci Construction Company or Triple C as it was also known.

Scott looked at Anthony and the rest of the Carlucci Clan and stated, "I guess I'll see everybody on Monday at football practice." He then nodded at his Alpha, Mr. C, and Mr. JC.

"Dickwad," the three fathers heard Anthony muttering under his breath. Knowing they couldn't let Anthony see them smiling, they kept their faces forward and used their mental bond to silently laugh as Alpha Rossi said, “That's my boy," This caused Frank and Joe's shoulders to silently shake in laughter.

Taking deep breathes to calm themselves down; they turned around as one unit, as though they had practiced this move like a synchronized swimming team. They stood facing their children in identical postures. Feet shoulder width apart, head and shoulders thrown back with arms folded across their chests. Alpha Rossi said through his mental bond to Frank and Joe with a chuckle, “Just stare at them, we'll see who breaks first."

"My money is on Vincent and Dominic," stated Frank.

“I bet you both that it's Lorenzo or Damian," Joe said.

“I bet you both a steak dinner at Roberto's it is Anthony," stated Alpha Rossi.

Each father had chosen the oldest son or set of sons. They could see by looking at their sons they were communicating through their family bond, but they had put a block up so their fathers couldn't hear them. Anthony could hear them because being the Alpha heir he could communicate with the whole Pack. All three fathers continued to stare down their youngsters, and the youngsters were staring right back, not backing down at all. The only movement came when Anthony crossed his arms across his chest, then the rest of the Carlucci Clan followed his lead.

If possible all three fathers' chests puffed even further with pride, but they couldn't let their sons know this, at least not right now. They knew their children were becoming men and this moment was a defining point in that process. They had stood together as a unit to protect one of their own and each father knew that no matter what happened from then on, they would always be faithful and loyal to one another. As fathers they could not be prouder, but right now they had to bring them down a peg or two and let them know who was still the boss or bosses of them.

As the two groups continued to stare at each other, a hesitant voice spoke softly. "Anthony...," Sophia said breathlessly. In all the commotion and posturing, both groups had forgotten she was still completely surrounded by Enzo, Gino, Paulo and Michael. All four boys had her cocooned behind their backs and they were standing shoulder to shoulder completely encapsulating her. She couldn't see anything over their broad backs and had no idea what was going on.

Frank and her brothers felt a short, sharp stab to their hearts as they heard her call for Anthony for the first time instead of one of them. All three fathers instantly zeroed in on Anthony's face to see his reaction to this soft plea.

Anthony instantly dropped his Alpha-like posturing and turned around and softly said, "I'm here Babe, everything is ok. Enzo, could you please move so my Sophia can come to me." He then held his hand out to Sophia and allowed her time to regroup and come to him when she was ready.

As Enzo moved out of her way, Sophia was finally able to see what was going on. Her eyes moved instantly to Anthony's face and he was smiling at her, so she instantly relaxed. She had been afraid she had done something wrong to make him upset and seeing him smile let her know that everything was alright. She reached for his hand and he gently pulled her into his side scenting her neck and hair.

"MINE," Anthony said loudly as he continued to bury his nose into her neck and hair. One arm was buried in her curly hair and the other was holding her tightly to his side as if he was afraid she was going to disappear. 

"Ugh Son, I think you made that perfectly clear earlier, but thanks for the confirmation," Alpha Rossi said with a huge laugh. He was joined in his laughter by Frank, Joe and the rest of the Clan.

Anthony chose to ignore them and just concentrate on the woman he was holding, just breathing in and out slowly, and inhaling her essence. Warm sugar cookies with drizzled honey on top. That's how she smelled to him and he couldn't get enough. He felt like he could drown in that scent and die a happy man.

Sophia also had her nose buried in Anthony's neck. Beneath his Drakkar aftershave she could detect his natural scent of the forest after a spring rain. It was the most intoxicating thing she had ever smelled and it made her dizzy.

"I hate to break up this budding young love right now, but Sophia it's time for you to go into the house with Maria, Madame Gina, Aunt Annie and your mom," stated Frank with a firm no nonsense voice. "The rest of us have some things to discuss right now."

"Yes Daddy," said Sophia as she started to move out of Anthony's embrace.

"I'll be by tomorrow to see you if it's ok with your mom and dad, maybe we can all go to Fred's and get some ice cream," said Anthony softly into her ear. Sophia nodded and moved towards her mother to follow her father's instructions.

Anthony took a couple of steps to the side to watch her and make sure she made it safely into the house. He thought to himself, “I'm going to go crazy for the next 3 years trying to make sure she is safe, how am I going to do that when I'm not with her all the time. Damn, she's less then a hundred feet away from me and my heart is racing because I can't see her. How am I going to do this?"

Frank, Joe and Alpha Rossi looked at the misery on Anthony's face and tried not to laugh, remembering how they felt when they first scented their mates and were unable to be with them constantly. Even though they felt empathy and compassion, the three older men looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Well boys, that was an interesting night, we're going to head on into the cave and have a discussion that is obviously long overdue," said Frank. "Grab something to drink and eat before the caterers clear the remaining food, if you need to use the john, now is the time to do it."

At the mention of food, the boys made a beeline to demolish what was left of the pulled pork, hamburgers, hotdogs and whatever they could get their hands on. They were still growing boys after all. Anthony stood still staring at the back of the house, until Gianni and Marcus each grabbed an arm and dragged him into the tent to grab some food.

Two very different groups would gather in the Carlucci house that evening. The men would gather in the basement after making sure the house was secure and the women would gather in Rose's sitting room, which was her sanctuary from her husband and children.