Chapter 7 - Secrets revealed and a training session goes awry

Friday morning was a busy day at Robertson’s Sporting Goods Store; it was full of anxious fathers and their youngsters checking the list Frank had emailed against what they needed to buy:  family size tent, sleeping bags, hiking boots, swimsuit, towel, shorts, t-shirt, sweatshirt, sweatpants, backpack with supplies for the session.  

It was hard to tell who was more anxious and excited, the fathers or the youngsters.  The youngsters were excited because it was an overnight training session and they were going to be away from home, some for the first time.  The men were excited for some male bonding time and had their own mental checklist: alcohol, cigars and money, because when the men got together, Poker topped their agenda, specifically Texas Hold-Em.  They knew while the youngsters were training they would be busy, but when the youngsters went to bed, drinking and socializing would commence without their mates to monitor them and it was time to let off some steam. 

At noon, Alpha and Madame Alpha Rossi rang the doorbell of the Miller household as the sounds of laughter and girls squealing could be heard from inside the home.  The Rossi’s looked at each other and laughed, as the door was opened by Todd who welcomed his new Alpha’s into the home.  Todd brought Holly forward for a formal introduction and she thanked the Alpha’s for the stocked refrigerator and cabinets, saying it was completely unexpected but extremely welcome.  Todd’s mother and father, Nana Ellen and Papa Mike were the next to be formally introduced.  As each adult was welcomed and scented by the Alpha’s they felt the Alpha Bond grow, like tiny gossamer threads linking them to each other.

The house had gotten eerily quiet and the Alpha’s looked up to the second floor landing and saw ten beautiful girls staring down at them.  The first thing the Alpha’s noticed was their eyes, grey eyes so light in color they appeared silver.  They had jet black hair pulled back into ponytails, and it was so dark it appeared to have blue highlights as the sun hit it from the upper foyer window and they were so fair it looked like they hadn’t been in the sunlight for years.  They were all dressed alike, beige shorts with white t-shirts with ‘Miller’ written across the left chest pocket.  The Alpha’s smiled at the girls hoping to ease the anxiety evident in their eyes. 

Todd noticed where the Alpha’s were looking and upon seeing his daughters, he smiled and said, “Millers, step forward.”  The girls came down the stairs and lined up according to age, waiting on their father to introduce them to their new Alpha’s. 

“Alpha Rossi, Madame Alpha Rossi I would like to introduce you to my daughters Brianna, Morgan, Caitlin, Erin, Kelly, Aislin, Fallon, Shannon, Fiona and Maeve,” said Todd with pride in his voice.  As each name was announced, each girl stepped forward with her head bowed and let the Alpha’s scent her, feeling the bond grow. 

Holly asked the Alpha’s to join the family in the living room to get more comfortable and refreshments were brought in and served. 

“Did you find the directory on the counter?  Phillip, who runs the floral shop, put it together when he and his mate Matthew moved here, they wrote everything down they felt was useful and we have expanded on their idea so you can easily navigate your way around.  It contains directions and information to The Manor House, training areas, high school, shopping, restaurants and many more businesses.  There is also a complete list of Pack members including names, position, addresses, and phone numbers.  If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call anyone in the Pack,” said Alpha Carlo. 

“Tomorrow night you will be formally introduced at the Full Moon Ceremony,” said Alpha Carlo.  “Up until that time, I would like for you to remain at your home and get settled, as we would like to make your introduction a surprise.  Todd, in the discussions we had, I don’t believe you mentioned how old your daughters were, just that they were teenagers.”

Holly replied, “Brianna and Morgan are 17, Caitlin and Erin are 16, Kelly and Aislin are 15, Fallon and Shannon are 14, and Fiona and Maeve are 13.  This will be Kelly and Aislin’s first shift.  In our old Pack, the youngsters that hadn’t shifted were excluded from the ceremony and were sequestered, so this will be new to them.”

“We believe all members should be included in the ceremony, no matter how young they are.  There are activities for the youngsters and they do s’mores over the bonfire, have a sing-along, play games or just socialize,” said Madame Gina.

“When it is time for the Pack Run, each family has their own cabin to change and shift if they want privacy and you will temporarily be assigned the guest cabin until one can be built for you.  First time shifters are brought to a clearing to be surrounded by their family while they undergo their change while maintaining privacy,” said Alpha Carlo with a smile to the girls.  

“Girls, on Sunday you will be given a tour of your new school by Principal Richards.  I know not all of you are old enough to attend high school, but I think it best if all of you take the tour.  We have one of the highest rated high schools in the State of MD, and our students consistently test in the upper 10% and we expect all of you to maintain those standards,” continued Alpha Carlo.

“To welcome you, we have bags for each of the girls containing t-shirts, shorts and sweatshirts with the school logo on them.  From Aldo, who is head of school security, there are binders with school rules and emergency procedures.  There are also gifts from local Pack businesses,” said Madame Gina.  “If it’s okay with your parents, you are welcome to look at them now.”  With a nod from Todd, the girls ran out of the room to get the bags from the foyer and came right back opening them and whispering to each other over the contents.

“In the upcoming week, everyone will be assessed by Frank and Joe Carlucci, who are in charge in Pack security, as to your skill levels in defense and combat.  We have training sessions weekly for defense and physical combat and we also have training sessions for First Aid, cooking classes for the men, auto mechanics, survival skills, hunting and tracking and we have recently added defensive driving and Urban Camouflage,” said Alpha Rossi.  “Todd, as a Beta coming from another Pack, if you find we are missing something in our training, please let us know.  We are always looking for new ways to improve the safety of our Pack.” 

“Girls, why don’t you go upstairs and finish unpacking, there are things the adults need to talk about regarding Pack policies,” said Todd.  Each girl grabbed their bag and smiled shyly as they thanked the Alpha’s as they left the room.

“Let’s go into the study, its sound-proof so we can continue this conversation in private,” said Alpha Carlo.  “This will also give me a chance to show you how your security system works.  There is a hidden camera in the vent system in the hall so we will see the girls if they need you.”  He showed the Millers where the access button was to open the security panel and powered the system up, lights started flashing and monitors came to life. 

Alpha Carlo, Todd and Papa Mike walked around the house and made sure all the windows and doors were securely locked and warned the girls not to open them as they were testing the security system.  Todd told the girls they would be in the study if they needed them, but not to need them for a while.  All the girls smiled at their Dad, this was another expression of his that he liked to tell them a lot. 

“I would like to invite the two of you to join us on Tuesdays at The Manor House for the women’s lunch group.  Everyone brings their own lunch and we take turns making dessert.  It gives us a good opportunity to catch up on Pack gossip and to be quite honest, a good opportunity to get away from our mates,” said Madame Gina with a laugh as they waited for the men to rejoin them. 

The men went back to the study and Alpha Carlo showed the Millers how to use the security system.  He gave them a diagram of the house showing the placement of the hidden cameras and audio systems and also where all the alarm buttons were located.  Alpha Carlo said when they were done talking he would show the whole family how to access the safe room which contained dedicated telephone, electrical, plumbing and air systems as well as a backup battery-powered generator.

“Damn, whoever designed these safety features has got to be paranoid and probably psychopathic.  There are safety measures backed by more safety measures.  I’ve never seen anything like this before, have you Dad?” asked Todd.  His father shook his head no and was staring at the hidden panel where the system was located, still trying to figure out how it had been concealed behind the built in bookcase. 

Alpha Carlo started laughing, “You have described my top two Beta’s perfectly.  As I told you before, Frank and Joe are also your neighbors.  I know they are anxious to meet you to get your opinion on the security used in your previous Pack.  Now what was it you wished to discuss?”

Todd looked at his wife and parents and they nodded at Todd who took a deep breath and said, “Alpha Rossi, please forgive me for this, but there is something I need to ask to make sure of for the safety of my family.  My daughters are my life and I will do anything to protect them.  The bonds and commands I had with my previous Alpha have been broken and this is enabling me to speak about this for the first time.”

“Alpha, you told me when I first approached you that your Pack doesn’t participate in a mate rut, correct?  I know a mate rut is normal for most Packs, but not the way our former Pack did theirs,” Todd took another deep breath and grabbed Holly’s hand as he continued, “All of the unmated females were forced to service the unmated males from our Pack and two others as soon as they turned 18 and this would continue until they were claimed by their mates.  The thought of our daughters being raped and forced to participate in this was the reason we wanted to leave our old Pack.  I am sorry I couldn’t tell you everything when I approached you, but I was desperate and bound by the Alpha command.”

Carlo tilted his head back and growled loudly, his fists clenching and unclenching.  Gina immediately grabbed his hand to calm him down and it took several minutes before he got his wolf under control.  Todd looked at him and misinterpreted his response thinking his Alpha was mad at him and tilted his head in a submissive posture but Carlo waved it away and said, “Todd, I am not mad at you.  It makes me furious female Weres are treated this way in your old Pack.”

Carlo sat back and thought about the Miller girls, he couldn’t imagine the desperation Todd and Holly had felt in trying to protect their daughters, and he didn’t even want to think of Frank and Joe’s reaction when they heard this news.  He asked Todd if it was okay if they came over so they could hear this and Todd nodded his head.  He contacted them through the bond and told them to come immediately.  His next thought was the Alpha Council; they had to be made aware of this, but he needed all the information before making the call.

Frank and Joe arrived within minutes, introductions were made and Carlo brought them up to date on what Todd had told him.  Both men acted as Carlo had predicted, low growls were coming from their throats at the thought of their daughters being forced to have sex with numerous men. 

“Let me start off by saying NO ONE is forced to have sexual relations in this Pack and if we find that any male forces a female they are brought before the Tribunal.  We teach our males that female Weres are to be protected, respected and cherished and you will find the males are extremely protective of the females in their family and their intended mates,” said Alpha Carlo. 

“Todd, I have to let the Alpha Council know about this situation, and I will contact them as soon as we leave here.  This goes against every edict the Council has initiated to protect females and their safety will be the Councils first priority.  The second priority will be finding everyone who is guilty and bring them before the Tribunal for judgement,” stated Carlo firmly.  “I cannot believe this has been going on and the Council was unaware of this.”   

“Alpha, we were forbidden from talking about this through the Alpha Command. Also no one attended Council meetings, except the Alpha, his brother and the top Beta. I was only able to attend the last meeting because the top Betas were unable to go and I was asked,” said Todd with his head bowed.  “All communication in and out of the Pack is also monitored, remember I had to talk on a payphone and I was afraid of being discovered.  Very few people are allowed to leave the Pack grounds without security people monitoring their every movement.”

“We have been trying for the last three years to make arrangements in secret for us to leave before our daughters came of age.  We knew with South Mountain Packs reputation you would be strong enough to protect our family, but if you would not have accepted us before Brianna and Morgan turned 18, we would have left in the middle of the night with nowhere to go,” as Todd said this he put his arm around Holly and held her tight.

“Son, you would not have been alone, we would have gone with you anywhere and done anything to protect you, Holly and our granddaughters,” Papa Mike said as he looked at his son.  Todd looked at his father and nodded his head as tears gathered in both of their eyes.

“You told me on our first meeting there were other families that wanted to leave, correct?” asked Carlo. 

“My sister Sage and her family,” said Holly with tears in her eyes as Todd continued to hold his mate.  “My parents stayed behind to help protect them, their oldest daughters are thirteen.  I didn’t want to leave them behind, but Sage and her mate convinced us to leave while we had a chance to save our daughters.  I promised them if they weren’t safe by the time the twins turned seventeen, we would go back and kidnap them if necessary.” 

“Alpha Rossi, there are other families also,” said Papa Miller.  “All of the families with daughters are scared, but it is not just the girls who are being harmed by this either.  If the girls do not come forward to be presented to the unmated males, then their fathers, brothers even grandfathers are brought into the combat circle with their hands tied behind their back and forced to fight until the girls present themselves.  Most of the girls come forward immediately because the males are helpless, and they know from past experience some males have been left crippled and maimed for life and there have even been a few that have died.”

“You know about the girls that ran away; we think they were sold to rogues because their parents spoke out.  This is how they exert control, they threaten the parents with the children, and they keep the children under control by harming the parents,” said Todd as he grimaced.  “Our girls didn’t even sleep in our quarters; all the children were housed in one large room on bunk beds so they had complete control of them.”

“How long has this been going on?” asked Frank who was clenching and unclenching his fists.

“The last five years.  Alpha Davis is getting old and I have a suspicion he is being drugged by his brother Charles.  Charles is a sadistic lazy arrogant bastard and has pretty much taken over, and is letting two of the surrounding Packs worm their way in.  Anyone who tries to protest or leave is sanctioned by Charles’ special security force and whole families have even disappeared.  The story they present is they moved away, but we know better,” said Papa Mike with a helpless look in his eyes. 

“I’m still not sure why they allowed us to move away, unless they thought we were already under your protection Alpha Rossi and you would raise questions if we were not allowed to move or something happened to us.  I know for a fact Charles and his security force are scared of you and particularly Frank and Joe,” said Todd as he looked at the three men. 

“Yeah, we know Charles.  When we attended sabbaticals years ago, Carlo, Frank and I were chosen to spar against him and eight of his Pack members, nine against three.  Frank broke his leg with a sweep, and Carlo broke his arm when he threw him across the room.  I didn’t get a piece of him, but I took down several of his Pack mates,” said Joe with a smirk on his face.  “I’d like to get a piece of him now.”  Carlo and Frank nodded their heads in agreement.

“Until this matter is resolved, we will take extra precautions to ensure your safety and we will go over the increased security requirements with Matt and Phillip tomorrow.  I will make sure the Council is discreet, but word may still leak out and I wouldn’t put it past Charles to send some of his more zealous security people here to observe you and your family,” said Alpha Carlo. 

Todd looked at his wife and parents and they nodded their heads, “This sounds fine to us, anything you feel is appropriate we will do.  After the stress our girls have been forced to live under for the last five years, we just want them to be normal teenage female Weres.  You know what I mean, worry about clothes, boys, makeup, school and whatever it is that makes them giggle so much.  We haven’t heard them giggle much in the last five years and I could have listened to them for hours this morning.  They are good girls, but they’ve had to mature faster then they should have watching their older friends being forced to…”  Todd couldn’t finish as he hung his head down and Holly rubbed his shoulder and grasped his hand tightly.

“Todd, those granddaughters of mine are stronger then you think, and they realize everything you and Holly have done to protect them,” said Nana Miller firmly.  “I can feel the change in them already, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard them laughing and as we sat in the kitchen earlier, it was the most beautiful music I have ever heard.”  All the adults smiled, knowing exactly what she meant. 

“Have you had a chance to check your belongings to see if any listening devices were implanted in them?  Knowing how devious Charles is, I wouldn’t put it past him to do this,” said Frank looking at Joe who nodded in agreement.  “Don’t worry this room is soundproof, so is your basement rec room and the safe room.  The rest of the house being made of concrete, steel and rebar naturally distorts sounds waves.”

“You must be the paranoid one,” said Papa Miller with a laugh as Todd shook his head no and said, “We never thought of anything like that.”

“I’ll give you a wireless detector, I have a spare in my truck,” said Joe.  “Make sure you run it over everything you brought with you and make sure you do your cars.  You should check your house when somebody comes over you are unfamiliar with and also do random checks.” 

“You must be the psychopathic one,” said Todd as he smiled.  “We’ve never seen security measures like this before.  What we have in the house is more then we had in The Lodge, at least as far as I was aware and I was number four Beta.”

“Every family has a wireless detector and Electronic Surveillance is one of the training sessions you will take,” said Frank looking at the Millers.  “The course is designed to detect and disable listening and tracking devices, and also how to plant them.  It is taught by a Pack member who is a former CIA agent.”

“We will talk about the training classes tomorrow evening, right now we have to get ready for tonight’s training session.  We would have had your girls join us if we didn’t think it would cause a disturbance,” said Joe with a laugh.  “Your family is the first we have known that has more then one girl.”

“We will introduce your security detail tomorrow night.  They have already been screened to make sure they understood the temperament of the teenage female Were.  The poor guys had to follow several Pack members daughters for a week of shopping, dance classes, training sessions, bowling, roller skating, swimming, dates and cheerleading practice,” said Frank laughing. 

Frank and Joe looked at their watches and said they really had to go; they only had two hours to finish preparing for tonight’s training.  Both men made sure Todd had their contact information and they reminded him to set the alarm as soon as the Alpha’s left and to remain around the house until tomorrow. 

When they left, Todd looked at his Alpha and said, “Well, those two are quite a pair, aren’t they?”  Alpha Carlo nodded and started laughing and replied, “You don’t know the half of it.  Wait until they get to know you better and you get to really see how their minds work; sometimes they scare the hell out of me and I’ve known them since we were toddlers.”  At this statement everyone started laughing. 

Alpha Carlo looked at the monitors and said, “I think your daughters want you.”  Everyone turned to look at the wall of monitors and saw Brianna standing before the study door, and then one by one she was joined by her sisters who started looking at the study door, then talking quietly to each other.  Alpha Carlo got up and turned on the audio.  “You knock” “No, you knock you’re the oldest” “Daddy said not to disturb him” “This may be important though” “He’ll want to see this”.

Todd opened the door, anxious to see what had his daughters so upset.  Brianna looked at him with fear evident in her eyes and said, “Daddy, we were unpacking your clothes and I found this note.  It was addressed to you so I didn’t read it, but its in Charles’ handwriting.”

Todd took the note and he and Carlo scanned it quickly, both throwing back their heads and growling loudly as Carlo sent a message to Frank and Joe to return immediately.  The note was passed from adult to adult as the girls looked on with terror in their eyes at the reaction the note was getting.  Holly, Madame Gina, Nana and Papa went to the girls to reassure them they were safe, that Alpha Carlo and the Pack would protect them. 

The girls looked at their Alpha who at that moment terrified them until he said quietly, “Don’t worry little ones; I give you my vow everything will be alright.”  One by one they nodded their heads, convinced he would do as promised.

Todd hugged his daughters and after giving them his promise also, he sent them down to the rec room with Nana telling them the adults had to talk.  Realizing he hadn’t swept the room for listening devices as Joe had instructed, he warned them not to talk out loud, but to use their bond to communicate.  The girls looked at him with questions in their eyes, but obeyed him immediately.  

Within minutes the Carlucci brothers were knocking on the door and were ushered immediately into the study by Papa Miller.  “What happened,” said Frank looking around the study, “Are the girls okay?”  Carlo handed the note to Frank and Joe:

Todd,

I know you are no longer compelled to obey the Alpha command to keep quiet about Davis Pack business, but remember Holly’s family is still here.  It will be easy to destroy them one daughter at a time and make them disappear forever; a simple matter of informing the Pack they decided to join you and no one will ever know. 

Don’t think we would stop with Sage and her brood either.  Carlo and his henchmen don’t scare us; we could come in there anytime and pick off your daughters one by one starting with Brianna.  I’ve wanted her for years and I hope you’ll be able to hear her scream for you as I tear her apart.

The choice is up to you.  Run your mouth and kill your family or keep quiet and they will live.  For now.  We have people watching so think before you make a choice you will regret for the rest of your life.

Charles

“That arrogant fucking bastard,” said Joe with a growl as he, Frank and Carlo looked at each other.  “No one threatens somebody in our Pack,” answered Frank with an accompanying growl.  The Millers looked at each other and weren’t sure who to be more scared of; Charles, their Alpha or the Carlucci brothers.

Carlo was already on his cell talking to Alpha Council President Roberts and informing him of what had taken place.  Everyone sat quietly and with their advanced hearing they could hear both sides of the conversation, though with the screaming the President was doing it really wasn’t necessary.  They could hear people running in and out of his office as he shouted for the Security Director and all the information that could be gathered about Davis Pack and he asked Carlo what other Packs were involved.  Carlo quietly asked Todd if he knew the specific names of the Packs.

“The Carlsbad and Grant Packs both from New Mexico,” said Todd.  “They have moved several of their families into Davis Pack over the last several years.  The Lee, Franklin and King Packs in Texas were not involved.  Charles was worried they were too powerful for him to control.”

The Councils onsite security force was mobilized immediately and they heard President Roberts saying he wanted to be wheels up in two hours and their destination was Brownwood, TX, which would take approximately three hours flight time.  The security forces would do an initial recon of Davis Pack this evening and start setting up the base of operations.  He told his SD to put all three of the Alpha’s from the other Texas Packs along with their security forces and medical personnel on alert, and to tell the Alpha’s he would personally call them in a few hours.

The President and SD said tomorrow night was the perfect time for them to plan a raid as the Full Moon Ceremony was taking place as they could recon what was going on at Davis Pack and act immediately.  Even if nothing illegal was going on, the note Charles had written to Todd threatening Holly’s family was enough for them to ensure their safety and the wellbeing of the other families.   

Carlo asked President Roberts if he needed some assistance from the security forces of South Mountain Pack as Frank and Joe both sat up and nodded their heads yes.

“Carlo, I would like nothing better then to get those two insane Beta’s of yours out here to kick some ass, but if Charles has people watching your Pack they would notice if your top two Beta’s suddenly disappeared,” said President Roberts.  “You must continue your training session and the introduction tomorrow night as you had planned when you sent in your briefing.  If there is any deviation it may alert them and put Holly’s family in danger.”  

Reluctantly Carlo, Frank and Joe agreed to stay at home and carry on as normal. President Roberts asked the Millers to keep the line open so he could call with questions regarding the layout of Davis Pack and get more information about the families in danger.  He also said he would keep Todd and Carlo updated, but he had to get off the line to get ready for their flight.

All of the adults, except Carlo were stunned at the speed in which President Roberts reacted.  He alone knew the motivation behind the Presidents reaction which was the kidnapping, rape and murder of his sixteen year old sister by a spurned male; a trusted family friend, HIS best friend and to this day he still felt that betrayal.  This was why the Council had so many policies regarding the protection of underage female Weres; he never wanted another family to go through what his family had, even all these years later he still mourned her loss and blamed himself.

“Okay, Frank and Joe you have a training session to get ready for.  I will show up as I normally would with Anthony.  Gina, you need to finish getting ready for the women and little ones to come to The Manor House,” said Carlo. 

“When we leave, lock the house down and do not leave for any reason.  We will be roaming around in the woods all around Joe’s and Frank’s properties and the edge of yours, so I doubt any of Charles’ men would be around,” said Carlo.  “I also want you to check everything, and I mean everything for any listening devices or hidden cameras, if you find them don’t do anything, but let me know and I will have Frank and Joe disable them.  Is that understood?”  All of the Millers nodded their head in agreement.

“Now we need to find an excuse as to why Frank and Joe came hurrying back,” said Madame Gina.  “I have a cake you can take to the training session this evening,” said Holly.  While they went to gather the cake, Carlo showed Todd how to access the safe room which was located behind the washer and dryer.  Todd couldn’t wait to show his Dad this, but first he would have a little fun and see if he could find it. 

Several minutes later, Todd stood at the front door saying goodbye to his Alpha’s, Frank and Joe.  They stood there laughing and shaking hands as they normally would at the end of a visit.  Frank and Joe good naturedly telling Todd they couldn’t wait to spar with him, Todd looked at the two of them and said, “I better make sure my life and health insurance policies are up to date.”  Frank, Joe and Carlo started laughing with Frank saying, “I think I’m going to like you, you’ll fit right in.”

A little over an hour later, Frank’s backyard was overrun with youngsters and their fathers as they set up their tents and prepared for the training session.  The youngsters had basically the same clothing; hiking boots, camo hats, shirts and shorts or cargo pants, even their backpacks were camo.  The girls had their hair in either ponytails or pigtails, though Frank laughed when he saw the dark green and beige ribbons.

Joe was handing out team assignments; each older family was paired with a younger one and the families with three or less youngsters were put in as needed for balance.  He told each team to get together to start strategizing while they waited to eat. 

Franks brood was paired with Larry Costello’s children; five boys and one girl, Reggie (10), Mick (9), Derek (8), Lou (7), Wade (6) and Jackie (6).  Frank watched as Larry anxiously looked at his children surrounded by his much larger sons and laughed to himself. 

Joe’s youngsters were paired with the Moretti’s, and Barry Costello’s four boys and one girl, Troy (9), Roger (8), Danny (7), Don (6), Toni (6), as well as Harold Poffenberger’s sons, Cal (6), Brady (6).  Barry and Harold both had the same look on their face, as if they were thinking, “These kids could crush mine in a second.”  Toni looked up at Alberto and Angelo and asked, “Are the two of you giants and what’s up with your hair?  You look like roosters.”  Everyone started laughing and Maria bent down and hugged her.

As Frank looked at his kids, they sat down and Sophia put little Jackie in her lap, whispering in her ear as the little girl started smiling.  Vincent was telling each Costello boy where to sit, pairing the older boys with him and Dom and then going down by age.  He looked at the other teams and noticed the same thing happening in each one.  Carlo, Joe and Frank looked at each other and nodded, the old were teaching the young. 

Carlo hollered, “Food” and everyone started lining up with the older children again guiding the young ones and then going back to their circles to continue talking.  When they finished eating, Carlo, Frank and Joe stood up and called for quiet so the rules could be explained.

“Every team has been assigned a number and we will pull two numbers out at a time, one to evade and one to track.  You can use any evasion tactics but you must stay within the boundaries.  After your team has been caught, you will come back here,” said Joe.  “Make sure the young ones refamiliarize with the other teams scent and the evading team will be given a twenty minute head start.  Questions?”  Excited chatter was heard from the children, but no questions.

“Alright then, Alpha Carlo will pick the numbers,” said Frank.  Carlo picked out eight pairs of numbers and wrote them on the chalkboard. As he read off each pairing, each team stood up and moved to the side with the older boys trash talking to each other.  As fate would have it, Anthony’s team was paired against Sophia’s and Vin elected to evade first. 

Anthony’s team consisted of the Whitmer, Benedetto, and the Reeder families.  Joel Whitmer had three boys and one girl, Alec (9), Alex (7), Aaron (6), Abigail (6), and Jerry Whitmer had twin boys, Hayden (7), Hunter (7).  Dean, Reggie and Mary Benedetto as well as Jim, Patrick, Ethan, Bob, Harry and Emily Reeder were all friends of Anthony’s. 

The evading team lined up in a row and the younger members of the tracking team walked down and recommitted their scents to memory.  Anthony made a show of growling every time one of the young boys scented Sophia; making them smile and he looked at Jackie and Abigail and winked at them.  Abigail asked Sophia with a giggle, “Is your mate really jealous of my brothers and cousins?”  “I think he’s jealous because they are so cute,” replied Sophia as she smiled. 

Joe hollered, “Team 1, you have five minutes to get ready and then everyone goes out in two minute intervals.”

Vin pulled his team to the side and everyone put on their backpacks; the older ones making sure the younger ones were securely fastened.  He quietly talked to the young ones while they looked at him with adoration in their eyes and nodded their heads.  Dom got on his knees and quietly talked to Jackie as Sal adjusted the straps on their backpacks interlocking them together so that she was against Dom’s chest, facing backward and her legs were placed through the straps of Dom’s backpack to hold her securely.

“Okay, Team 1 GO,” hollered Joe.  Vin’s team took off running and Frank started laughing as he saw what Vin had done.  As they took off running across the field, they were lined up as follows: Gino, little Wade, Marcus, little Mick, Dominic, Sophia, Vin, little Reggie, Gianni, little Derek, Enzo, little Lou and Salvatore.  He noticed each Carlucci brother had a tight grip on Sophia’s and the young ones backpacks and were basically pulling them along as their much smaller strides barely hit the ground.  The last thing everyone saw was Jackie waving goodbye as they disappeared into the tree line.  Frank wished he could follow to see what his family had planned.

Vin’s team continued running for a mile past the tree line and then came to a stop.  The older kids grabbed cedar branches and rubbed them all over themselves and did the same to the young ones.  Vin told everyone to hold their breath and move upwind as he sprinkled cayenne pepper around the area and he reminded the younger ones not to talk, if they needed something to tap somebody on the shoulder.

“We good?” he asked and everybody nodded, each older one carrying their assigned younger one.  They ran in a single file making sure to follow in the leader’s footsteps with Sophia running between Vin and Dom as they headed towards the stream.

Lorenzo’s team was in the process of being scented by their trackers and Alberto was standing behind Maria talking to her brothers, but he was so intimidating to the younger boys that most didn’t want to get close to her.  Finally Maria got a towel and rubbed it across her neck and gave it to the other team to scent.  “I’m not happy with you Alberto,” Maria whispered quietly.  “But Gattina, I wasn’t doing anything,” Alberto said.  “We will talk about this later, I can’t believe you were scaring young ones.  I mean really, you’re jealous of them?”  This made her brothers laugh hysterically.  “But Gattina, I wasn’t doing anything,” Alberto repeated with a puzzled look on his face, which made her brothers laugh even harder. 

When it was time for them to start, they followed Vin’s example alternating older and younger.  Everybody laughed when they saw the Poffenberger twins and Toni inside one of Alberto’s 4X shirts with their heads poking out, the sleeves of the shirt tied to Angelo’s and Damian’s backpacks, Joe noted with relief the bottom was securely knotted to keep them from falling out.  “Faster, faster,” they heard Toni hollering. 

Finally all the evading teams had taken off, most following a version of Vin’s example, some of the older children simply running with the youngsters in their arms, though they were considerably slower. 

At the twenty minute mark, Anthony’s team took off and one of the seven year old twins stumbled but before he fell, Ethan Reeder picked him up and flung him across his shoulder without breaking stride.  Soon all the young ones were across the older ones shoulders or riding piggyback and they were screaming at them to run faster.  Joel and Jerry were still looking anxious as they stood with George Reeder and John Benedetto.  George looked at the younger men and said, “Don’t worry about your young ones, they’re having the time of their lives, just listen to them laugh.”  Both Whitmer brothers started smiling then.

After the last tracking team left, the men gathered around the command table and the first thing they did was light up cigars.  Most of their mates hated for them to smoke, but they were around other men and it was bonding time.  The second thing they did was start placing bets as to which team was going to take the longest to track with most men putting their money on Vin’s or Lorenzo’s team. 

Carlo said, “Gentlemen may I remind you of one fact?  Anthony is out there tracking his intended mate; do you honestly think anybody will stop him from reaching her?”  

“Yeah, Vincent,” said Frank with a laugh.  “I bet you a steak dinner at Roberto’s that Vincent’s and Lorenzo’s teams have the longest times.”  “You’re on,” said Carlo.

“I don’t remember doing this when we were young.  They have class instruction, but no practical experience yet.  Wouldn’t it have been better to have the fathers go with the teams?” asked Joel.

Joe looked at him and slowly smiled as he answered, “It’s not the actual tracking and evading they are learning, though they are putting those skills to use.  The older ones are learning leadership skills and how to strategize.  The younger ones are learning to trust and depend on others outside of their families, they are taught they will be protected by the Pack, but this reinforces it.  All of them are learning how to work together towards a goal, how to give and follow instructions and building the bonds between their teams and also all the youngsters present tonight.”  

George Reeder said, “We knew how twisted, devious and sneaky Frank and Joe are and I think this proves it, teaching the youngsters without really doing anything.”  The men started laughing at the innocent looks on Frank and Joe’s faces. 

“Only they would figure out how to get a couple of hundred youngsters in the woods and have them be absolutely quiet,” added Carmelo as the men continued to laugh. 

Anthony’s team tracked Vin’s team to where the cayenne pepper was spread on the ground but they scented it too late.  They were sneezing, eyes watering and noses running as they moved as far away as they could safely get with their vision impaired and bent over trying not to rub their eyes as they set the young ones on the ground.

“Water, we need to find water,” said Anthony but with their senses compromised none of the kids could smell it.  He felt tapping on his shoulder and little Abigail held a bottle of water and also a little pack of Kleenex.  As he rinsed his eyes he noticed the Whitmer kids offering the same things to the others.  As his eyes started to clear but still burned badly, he noticed what else was in her hand, Visine.  

“We have allergies and momma packed us a bag in case we got the sneezies,” she whispered remembering his instructions not to talk.  He then noticed her red watery eyes and runny nose and was mad at himself for not taking care of her first. 

“Young ones,” was all Anthony said, and within moments all the Whitmer kids had their eyes rinsed and were assisted in blowing their noses.  Mary Benedetto made sure to rinse her hands thoroughly before putting Visine in the young ones eyes and then proceeded to the older kids.  “Okay, everyone stay here, Dean and I will find out where the trail went, but I bet they went towards water,” said Anthony.

Lorenzo’s team had done the same trick with the cayenne pepper. The tracking team led by Jeff Martin, his sparring partner from Sunday, had the same results and they wiped at their eyes with their hands which only made the irritation worse until they stumbled upon a stream. 

Vin’s team entered the creek several miles away and rested for several minutes.  Enzo took little Derek downstream about a quarter mile to make deep footprints on the bank heading into the woods and rubbed Vin and Dom’s shirts on the trees nearby.  Sophia and Jackie turned their backs while the older boys stripped then shifted, and Sal and Sophia packed their clothes in their backpacks.  “Your brothers are pretty,” whispered Jackie as she looked at the large chocolate wolves staring at her.  

Sal and Sophia strapped the young ones securely to the wolves interlocking the backpacks and used the bungee cords from their backpacks for extra security.  The two youngest doubled up on Gianni, little Wade promising to make sure Jackie was safe as she rolled her eyes.  Sal and Sophia climbed on Vin and Dom since they couldn’t shift and they were off again.

Lorenzo’s team once again mirrored Vin’s team in putting out a false trail by the creek and the older kids shifted and ran in the opposite direction, Michael carrying the Poffenberger twins, Lorenzo carrying Toni and Maria, Angelo carrying Victor, Alberto carrying two younger boys and Damian and Paulo carrying one boy each with Gabby between her brothers. 

The men had settled in, eaten more food and Carlo was getting periodic updates from Todd.  Their talk centered on the upcoming football season, how the kids were progressing in the session, kids leaving to go to U of MD, their mates and wondering how they were doing and if they were driving Matt and Phillip crazy. 

The women had decided to stay at The Manor House and everyone brought a covered dish or dessert and agreed it was wonderful to have a night without the men.  After dinner, they waited for Matt, Phillip and their security team to finish doing a sweep of the area before going out back. 

It looked like a Little Tikes showroom had exploded and landed there.  There were play sets, playhouses, sandboxes and under a covered pavilion were play kitchen sets and numerous child size tables and chairs and two chests provided them with even more toys.  It was a child’s fantasy land come true and they played until they couldn’t play anymore.  As the little ones fell asleep, they were brought into the house and placed in the rec room with a guard at the door.

Matt and Phillip were unable to relax, their eyes continually scanning the yard as their team continued to check in as they patrolled.  They took their duties very seriously, to them this showed a level of trust they never experienced in their former Pack and they were momentarily speechless when asked to be in charge of this security detail by Alpha Carlo, Frank and Joe, three men they respected more then anything.  They knew they were going overboard with their security, but deep down they would feel like failures if a little one went home with a bruise let alone if something serious happened. 

After an hour and a half, five teams had been tracked down and both the evading and tracking teams started returning, the young ones getting piggy-back rides.  They were a mess; clothes torn, covered in dirt and mud, twigs and leaves in their hair, bruises and cuts covering their bodies but they were all laughing.  Joe told everybody to wash off with the hose, go see Dr. Sullivan to get their cuts looked at and then jump in the pool, get some more to eat or take a nap if needed.  Excited conversations could be heard as the youngsters replayed their adventure to their fathers.  The fathers looked at Frank, Joe and Carlo understanding perfectly what Joe had been saying earlier.      

After two hours, Vin’s team stopped near where they sprinkled the cayenne pepper.  The young ones were unhooked, Sophia and Jackie turned while the boys shifted and put on shorts.  “Everybody ok?” whispered Vin, looking at the young ones.  

Jackie whispered, “I’m ok, but my behind hurts.”  Everyone put their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing out loud.  

“We’ll take five,” said Vin as everybody opened their backpacks to get energy bars, snacks and drinks. 

Anthony’s team was having very little luck, as soon as they thought they were gaining ground the trail would end and they had to backtrack.  When they found the trail again, Vin had them literally running in circles each loop getting smaller, after the third circle Anthony noticed a pattern as each loop had one less set of prints and the depth had changed.  Anthony called a halt and whispered, “They are veering off somewhere a couple at a time, and we have to find it.” 

They sat the young ones on a boulder near the outer circle as the older ones started looking for tracks and a scent.  Ethan saw Alex and Alec waving at him and he went over thinking someone was hurt.  Abigail whispered, “I had to make a tinkle and my brothers took me there,” pointing to a boulder twenty feet away.  

Alec whispered, “We smelled Vin on the tree and came right back to tell you.”  Ethan waved the older ones over and explained what the Whitmer’s found. 

Anthony immediately scented Sophia on the tree and inhaled deeply closing his eyes.  He realized the Carlucci’s had jumped onto the boulder then used the overhanging branch to climb over to the tree leaving no scent or tracks on the ground.  “Good job, we’ll eat and take five” he whispered to the young ones, giving each a fist pump.  

The older kids got energy bars out of their backpacks prepared to share with the young ones but to their amazement, they got sandwiches, cookies, carrots, pretzels and Sunny D out and placed them on the boulder.  “Momma made extras,” whispered Alec as he gave a sandwich to Abigail, Mary, Emily and his younger cousins and brothers before offering them to the older boys.

“We’ve got to see what else they have in those backpacks,” whispered Harry Reeder.  Anthony asked if they could look and the young ones immediately handed them over.  Every one of the backpacks had a small first-aid kit, clothes, bungee cords and zip-locks in varying sizes. 

A small bottle of dishwashing liquid, flashlight with extra batteries, pine scented air freshener, baking soda, glue, a small tool set, duct tape, a 50’ coiled length of rope, a 6’ length of garden hose, thermal blankets, magnifying glass, mirror, a small whisk broom, a pack of baby wipes, 25’ measuring tape, binoculars, carabiners, a compass, glow sticks, a bulb syringe, a topographic map of the area, a roll of heavy duty trash bags and cayenne pepper, garlic and cinnamon spices were pulled out of the bags. 

“I’m the oldest, I have the stuff the little ones shouldn’t, ” whispered nine year old Alec, as scissors, 5-in-1 tool, small hand-held garden spade, flares, Swiss Army Knife, a box cutter, 2-pk of lighters all in their original packaging were pulled out of his backpack. 

“Who packed these bags, M and Q’s love child?” whispered Harry, as the older kids laughed quietly.  

Alex whispered, “I don’t know who Emma is, Daddy and Uncle Jerry did.”  

The older kids started laughing harder and Anthony looked at them and they immediately stopped laughing, as he said, “Ok, let’s repack the bags.”  Each young one grabbed the specific items from their bags; Alex explaining their Daddies made them memorize who had what items so they could get to them quickly.

The third to last team, which was headed up by Scott was caught purely by chance.  Scott’s team had backtracked, but the tracking team had failed to notice the false trail, so they ran right into Joel Mendez’s team who were sitting and taking a break.  After being pursued for more than two hours, Scott couldn’t believe his bad luck; he really wanted to prove that he was capable of leading a team and proving his skills.  Instead of getting mad, he accepted his defeat with grace and was determined to prove himself in the tracking session.  When they returned to Frank’s yard, his team relaxed but spent their time working on a plan. 

The Clan had spent the last week strategizing their battle plan; determined one of their families would win.  It didn’t really matter which one, as they considered themselves one complete unit, they were good alone but together they were better.  It was the way they were raised by their parents; as soon as they were born they were all placed into a crib together, little sets of hands reaching out for each other.  It didn’t matter if they grabbed their cousin’s hands or their brothers or sisters, the bond had been established at birth and Vincent and Dominic watched over them every step of the way.  This was why they always had the edge over everyone; they thought as one, felt as one and moved as one.   

Lorenzo was in his element; his team was running smoothly and had just finished a break.  Alberto noticed Maria putting a Ziploc bag containing dirty shirts and shorts into her pack and asked, “What’s that?”  

Maria whispered, “We didn’t tell anyone because we didn’t know who we would be teamed with.  These are extra clothes from the other part of the Clan, to confuse the scents.  We’ll exchange clothes when we meet up with them.”

The older kids shifted back to wolves, Damian carrying Toni and Maria took the lead with Alberto and Angelo at the tail end; they had twenty minutes to get to their meeting spot and still had to make sure they weren’t tracked in the mean time.

Vin’s team finished their break and the boys shifted back to wolves, the young ones were strapped on and they took off running.  He was taking his team in a wide arc moving them further away before closing in to the prearranged spot to meet up with Lorenzo’s team.  He wished he knew how many teams were left.

Anthony’s team picked the trail from the spot the young ones had found.  They had shifted to their wolves and took off in pursuit but this time they didn’t run flat out, they were going a little slower determined not to get fooled again with false trails.

Jeff Martin’s team had just about given up in their pursuit of Lorenzo’s team.  It seemed like they had been over the same area numerous times, losing the trail several times before it appeared out of nowhere, it was as if they just fell out of the sky. His team was taking a much needed break to rest and discuss strategy.

Damian was running around the ruins of an old farm house that had been destroyed in the Battle of South Mountain during the Civil War.  When the family decided not to rebuild and moved out west in 1862, this was one of the many homesteads South Mountain Pack had purchased.  He led the team around the ruins of the barn when he, Toni and Maria disappeared with their screams echoing behind them.

Lorenzo and the others immediately halted and he shifted back moving carefully to where they disappeared noting the deep hole, he hollered for his brother and sister and also tried the bond, after getting no response, he immediately tilted his head back and let out a distress howl.  Victor hurriedly unhooked the young ones so everyone could shift and dress.  Angelo, Paulo and Michael were fighting to keep Alberto from the edge of the hole, as his only thought was to get to Maria.  Gabby moved the young ones away so they couldn’t see what was going on, but they were worried about their sister.

Vin and his team immediately stopped upon feeling Damian and Maria’s pain and when they heard Lorenzo’s howl, Vin answered immediately.  Sal told the young ones to hold on tight, they would be moving as fast as the boys could run.  The young ones nodded, understanding immediately something bad had happened and leaned forward wrapping their hands tightly into the fur of the wolves shoulders.

The men were laughing and Frank and Joe were filled with pride realizing the two Carlucci teams were the last ones left.  Both felt Damian and Maria’s pain and they took off running shifting midstride, Larry and Barry Costello right next to them as they felt Toni’s distress.  They were halfway across the field before hearing the distress call and Joe responded immediately, he opened his bond to Maria, feeling only her pain and when he tried Damian he didn’t feel anything. 

Carlo looked at George Hammond, Scott’s father, and told him, “Get everybody inside and lock it down.”  Frank and Joe heard the others behind them and recognized the rest of the fathers whose children were still out there plus Dr. Sullivan. 

Annie and Rose were sitting with the women laughing at the antics of the little ones.  Sensing Maria and Damian’s pain, they grabbed each others hand and felt their mates urgency to get to the children, seconds later they heard Lorenzo’s distress call. 

Anthony’s team immediately shifted direction upon hearing Lorenzo’s howl, and he felt relief when he heard Vin’s response.  He sent his response and it was followed within seconds by Jeff Martin’s. 

Matt and Phillip upon hearing the call ordered everyone into the house, they had been made aware of the situation with the Millers and weren’t sure if this was a diversion.  The women grabbed the little ones rushing inside and Matt ordered the house to be locked down.  As an extra precaution, the women went into the basement and the little ones were moved from the rec room into the safe room with six men guarding them.  The door to the basement was alarmed and Matt, Phillip and the rest of the team watched the monitors and patrolled the house.  When everything was secure, he contacted his Alpha.

“Alpha Carlo, we heard the distress call.  Everyone is secure and we have locked the house down.  Is there anything else we need to do sir?” said Matt.  

“Thank you and make sure the women and little ones stay safe at all costs.  Let me know if you need more security and I will send more men.  We are on our way to Lorenzo now and I will update as soon as we know anything,” replied Carlo.

“Todd, we had a distress call from one of our teams, we are on our way there now.  Make sure your house is locked down, I will notify you of what is going on” said Alpha Carlo.  

“Yes sir, we locked it down as soon as you left,” responded Todd.

The men at Frank’s house were getting messages through the bond from their mates that they were safe.  They were waiting for their Alpha to tell them what he needed, until then they made sure the house was secure and the youngsters were safe.

Vin’s team was the first to reach Lorenzo’s.  Everyone unlocked the young ones as quickly as possible and Sophia brought them over to Gabby while the boys shifted and put on clothes.  There had still been no response from Damian, Toni or Maria and Alberto was pacing back and forth barely keeping his wolf at bay he was so filled with distress.  Vin got a flashlight, but even with that and his advanced sight all he could see was shadows.

Anthony’s and Jeff’s team showed up moments later.  They shifted and dressed as Lorenzo filled them in on what had happened, as Anthony was going to comfort Sophia he remembered the contents of the Whitmer’s packs and asked who had the glow sticks.  They were in his hands in seconds and he broke two of them and threw them down the hole, making sure not to step to the edge, but to be on his belly as he looked over, Lorenzo, Vin and Dominic scooted to the edge also.

In the eerie green light, they could see them about 25 feet down.  Damian had tried to protect Maria and Toni as he was on the bottom with his right arm around Maria’s head and Toni was cradled against his chest with his left arm, his hands interlocked and holding them in place.  “Do you all see what I see?” asked Anthony quietly and they nodded their heads. 

 

“Dad, we can see Damian, Maria and Toni at the bottom of what looks like a dry well at the original Reeder homestead, they’re about 25 feet down.  Maria’s left arm is broken and so is Damian’s right leg, we can’t see any injuries on Toni but she is crying.  Maria is moaning but Damian isn’t doing anything, he is breathing though it’s shallow,” said Anthony to his Dad, Frank and Joe. 

“Okay son, we should be there in about fifteen minutes and we have Doc with us,” replied Carlo as he opened the bond to include all the men who were with him. 

Dr. Sullivan contacted his mate at the clinic and explained what happened.  He told her they needed backboards brought to the Alpha’s house since it was closest to where the youngsters were, and to get the operating room ready in case they needed it.  She said everything would be there in 10 minutes and they would have the operating rooms on standby. 

Carlo contacted George and told him to send men to his house to pick up the supplies and bring them to the Reeder homestead and for him to let Matt know what was going on.

“Anthony, is there any way you can get to them?  I need you to do the assessment until we can get there,” said Doc.  

“Yes sir, there’s not much room down there, it’s only about 5 foot in diameter so one of the girls would be better since they are smaller then us,” said Anthony.

Anthony told everyone what Dr. Sullivan wanted, Sophia said she would go since she had completed her third level First Aid course and everyone agreed.  Before Anthony could ask, the Whitmer kids handed him rope, carabiners, a flashlight, three thermal blankets and a first aid kit as everyone else stared in amazement.  “You’ve got to see what else they have in those backpacks,” Ethan said to the other older ones.  “You won’t believe it.”

“Okay Doc, Sophia is going to assess them, and I’ll let you know their condition as soon as possible,” said Anthony.  Vin and Dom were securely roping Sophia as Gabby emptied a backpack and loaded it with the needed supplies.  “We’ll need the garden hose too,” said Anthony and it was in his hands in seconds.

“I’ll be waiting, we’re a little over eleven minutes out,” said Doc.  The men were running at full speed, Frank, Joe and both Costello fathers already contacting their mates to let them know what was going on. 

Anthony and the Carlucci’s slowly lowered Sophia from one side while Angelo and Alberto laid on the opposite side each holding one end of the garden hose pulling the rope towards the center since they were worried about the sides collapsing.  A full minute passed before they heard Sophia say, “I’ve reached bottom.  Give me a second to unhook myself and get the flashlight and everything out.”

She went to Toni first, who was crying softly.  “Hi sweetheart, it’s Sophia, where are you hurt?” asked Sophia in a soothing voice.  

“My foot hurts,” she said, “Damian held me but when we hit bottom, he landed on my foot.”  

“Okay, can you move it, or does it just hurt?” asked Sophia as she quickly ran her hands over Toni.  

“I can move it, I’m not hurt anywhere else, Damian protected me real good,” Toni said.
Sophia got the flashlight and shone it in her eyes, noting her pupils were equal and reactive; she hollered her assessment to Anthony. 

She moved to Maria next, noting her broken left arm and being careful not to bump it, “Maria, can you open your eyes for me?”  

Maria slowly opened her eyes and said, “Is Toni okay?  How is Damian?  My arm hurts and I want Alberto.”  

Hearing what Maria said, Alberto’s wolf began to pace back and forth and growl, their mate needed them and they couldn’t get to her.  Alberto hollered down, “I’m here Gattina, waiting for you but we need to make sure you aren’t hurt worse.”

Sophia shone the light in her eyes and saw her pupils were equal and reactive.  “I’m okay; except for my arm and my hip. My arm broke when I pushed us away from the wall, that’s when Damian broke his leg, I heard it break. Check him out please, Sophia, he saved us both, he held us the whole way down.”   

Anthony hollered, “I already told Doc, they should be here in about seven minutes.”

Sophia looked at Damian, startled that he was watching them; she first checked his eyes, which were both equal and reactive.  He said, “My legs broke, my shoulder hurts, and I’ll have a bruise on my ass, I mean behind from landing on Toni’s shoe, other then that I’m good.  You might want to ugh, cover me up, I’m kinda naked here.  I shifted as soon as we started falling to protect them.”  

Anthony hollered down, “I told Doc, they’ll be here in five minutes.”

Sophia covered Damian with one of the thermal blankets, and then used a shirt to make a sling for Maria’s arm.  Maria moaned loudly again when Sophia pulled the ends tight, and they could hear Alberto growling again.

“ALBERTO STOP GROWLING.  I’M STILL UPSET WITH YOU, DON’T THINK I FORGOT JUST BECAUSE I FELL IN A GINORMOUS HOLE, YOU BIG OAF,” hollered Maria.  “BUT I’LL LET YOU PAMPER ME UNTIL I’M BETTER.” 

“Always Gattina, anything you want I will do,” said Alberto and every boy there rolled their eyes, even the young ones.

The older boys glanced at Alberto and made whipping motions to him, while Angelo whispered, “Bro, she has you whipped so bad, you’d better watch it or she’ll have you taking dance classes next.”  The boys started cracking up laughing at the look of terror on Alberto’s face.

“I heard that Angelo,” said Maria as she winked at Sophia and Toni, while Damian was trying not to laugh.

They heard what sounded like thunder as the men came screeching to a halt and shifted immediately.  “Oh dear Luna, they’re naked,” screeched Gabby as the older girls turned around quickly, pulling all the giggling little girls with them.  The men quickly put on the shorts thrown at them from the older boys backpacks. 

“I need to get down there,” said Doc.  Vin and Dom quickly secured the rope to him and the men stepped forward to lower him down, Angelo and Alberto still providing the fulcrum to keep him away from the sides.  The girls watched him descend and moved to the side to allow him room.  Doc bent to check out Damian first, but he said, “No Doc, check the girls to make sure they’re ok.  I’m not going anywhere.”

Doc quickly checked Toni and found her foot was slightly bruised, the thick sole of the hiking boots preventing any damage.  Maria’s forearm was broken, but the pulse in her wrist was steady, her fingernails had good blood return and other then some bruises she was fine. 

“I’m going to send Toni and Sophia up first.  Toni is fine, just bruised,” said Doc.  Sophia held Toni to her chest and Doc secured them tightly to the rope.  With slow, steady pulls they were raised and Toni was quickly pulled into her fathers arms with her brothers and cousins rushing forward to hug her and make sure she was okay.

“Carlo, I need something to wrap Maria’s arm more securely.  Sophia did a great job with the sling, but it will move too much when she gets pulled up,” Doc said.  

Before Carlo could even respond, Anthony handed him the duct tape saying, “Don’t even ask, I’ll explain later.”

Doc discovered even with taping Maria’s arm it was too painful for her to be pulled up, so Lorenzo was lowered to carry his sister and the men took extra care not to jostle them as they pulled them up.  As soon as they were clear, Lorenzo handed Maria to Alberto with a nod of his head.  Alberto carried her over to a boulder and sat down, deeply scenting her neck, his wolf still agitated at seeing his mate whimpering in pain.  Joe kneeled in front of them, his hand gently caressing her cheek as he reassured himself that his little girl was going to be fine.

Doc was still assessing Damian since he had taken all the impact from the fall.  He noticed some blood and was worried he had been punctured by the rotten wood from the well cover.  Until the leg splint arrived, he didn’t want to roll him over afraid it would do more damage to the leg and Damian kept insisting he was fine, but Doc thought he was in mild shock. 

Gabby, Emily and Mary had moved all the young ones away and Gabby was telling them stories of her adventures in Italy, she described the museums, fountains and sights she had seen in such vivid detail the young ones were mesmerized.

George and the men soon arrived, the supplies unloaded and lowered down to Doc who realized he would need help.  Vincent was lowered down and he talked quietly to Damian as he held his leg while Doc straightened it, noticing Damian’s silence he realized he passed out from the pain.  After several excruciating minutes Doc was satisfied and the brace was applied and also a pair of shorts.  Together, they rolled him onto his side and saw the piece of wood imbedded in his right shoulder with Doc saying he would deal with that at the clinic.  Doc got the backboard ready as Vincent gently held Damian, both men realizing there was no way to strap him in with the angle of the backboard and Vincent gently lowered him back on the ground.

“Dad, we can’t get him on the backboard, there just isn’t enough room,” said Vincent, “Damian has passed out and he has a piece of wood embedded in his shoulder so he can’t be roped.  Do you think you could lift both of us?  Between the two of us we’re at least 430 or 440 pounds.”

“George brought more rope and the weight won’t be a problem.  Do you think you can hold him that long?” said Frank.

“I can do it, it’s my responsibility,” replied Vincent, in his eyes as the head of the Clan he ultimately was responsible for everyone.

Frank threw down the ropes and Doc and Vincent tied them securely, then Vincent bent down and gently lifted Damian, being careful not to touch his right shoulder and keeping the brace straight.  The men slowly pulled on the ropes and several minutes later, they were clear.  As Vincent laid him on the backboard Joe rushed forward to check on him, gently pushing the hair back from his forehead.  Doc and the rest of the supplies were brought up and he came over to Damian to make sure his leg had not been jostled.

“We need to get Damian and Maria to the clinic so I can x-ray and set the bones properly before they start healing,” said Doc.  “We’ll strap them to the boards to keep them from moving.  I want Toni there too, so I can give her a more thorough check.”

As they were strapping Damian onto the backboard he regained consciousness.  “I’m sorry Dad, I tried my best to make sure the girls were okay, I’m sorry they were hurt,” Damian said looking up at his father.  

“You did a wonderful job keeping them from serious injury that was a helluva fall,” said Joe as he squeezed Damian’s hand.  “I’m very proud of you son, and so thankful you weren’t hurt worse.” 

Barry Costello came over, still holding his daughter tightly to his chest and said to Damian, “I can’t thank you enough for saving my daughter, she told me how you held her and protected her.  My family will forever be in your debt.”  He extended his hand to Damian and shook it, then he shook Joe’s hand and said, “Thank you.”  Barry went to turn away and stopped as Toni whispered something in his ear and he laughed and said to Damian, “Toni wants me to apologize to you.  She says she is sorry for hurting your behind.”  Damian started to laugh too and winked at Toni causing her to blush and duck her head into her fathers neck. 

 

Nine year old Troy Costello waited for his father to move away, then he came over and said to Damian, “I also wanted to say thank you for saving my sister.”  

Damian looked at him with the most serious expression anyone had ever seen on his face and said, “It’s what we do, we are Pack, and we take care of each other, no matter what.”  

Troy looked at him, nodded his head and reached out to shake his hand and whispered back, “No matter what.” 

Troy went back to where the Whitmer, Costello and Poffenberger young ones were sitting.  They huddled together while he whispered to them, none of the adults able to hear what he was saying, they noticed all the young ones nodding their heads and then one by one they put a small hand out, one on top of each other and whispered, “No matter what.” 

Angelo whispered quietly, “I think we witnessed a bond that will never be broken.”  

“You mean like Voldemort and Snape in Harry Potter?” excitedly asked Jeff Martins ten year old cousin, Danny as he jumped around.  The older kids looked at him with questions in their eyes but a hint of a smile on their faces.

“That was an Unbreakable Vow, stupid,” said his twin, Danielle with her hands on her hips.  “And it was between Snape and Narcissa.  As if you would remember, you were too busy shoving popcorn and licorice in your mouth.” 

“Oh yeah, well at least I wasn’t too scared to watch.  You hid behind Jeff’s back at the theatre and you cried, so there you scaredy cat,” said Danny as he grabbed his sisters pigtails.  

“Jeff, did you see what he did?” Danielle whined to her oldest cousin.  

“Jeff, make him stop,” said Danny imitating his sisters voice as the older kids started laughing.

“You guys see what I put up with?  At least all of you are around the same age; I’m eight years older then the wonder twins.  They drive me nuts,” said Jeff. 

Just then Doc hollered Damian and Maria were both ready for transport.  It had been decided the men would carry Damian to avoid any extra movement and Maria insisted Alberto and her brothers and cousins carry her. 

25 minutes later they reached The Manor House, and Annie, Rose and Diane Costello, Toni’s mother, were anxiously waiting.  Everyone was quickly loaded into the transport van for the short ride to the clinic, as Doc was worried their bones may have shifted.  Alberto accompanied Joe and Annie to the clinic in their SUV and everyone else headed back to Frank’s house, the Costello kids joining their Uncle Larry and the Clan since Barry and Diane were going to the clinic also.

When they arrived at Frank’s house, everyone was outside and the men had the youngsters playing football, volleyball, horseshoes, playing in the pool and doing anything to keep them occupied.  As soon as everyone noticed they were back, they wanted to know what happened and the next half hour was spent retelling the story. 

Anthony walked over to where the men were standing and talking.  “Dad, Mr. C, you have to see the backpacks the Whitmer kids have.  I’ve never seen anything like it; we would never have been able to get down the well without their supplies.  I think it would benefit everyone to incorporate those supplies into our gear.”

Before their Alpha could ask, Joel and Jerry summoned their children and told them to bring their backpacks.  They came running and the table was quickly cleared so the backpacks could be emptied and displayed for the men to see.  As each item was put on the table the men looked at each other amazed at what they were seeing.

“Where did you get these ideas from?” asked Frank.  “You have things in here we never even thought of including.”

“Ugh, well, we are huge fans of Survivorman with Les Stroud.  We started watching it years ago and started making a list of things he used and then added some of our own ideas when the training session was announced,” said Joel and Jerry nodded.

Carlo and Frank looked at both of them with narrowed eyes as Carlo said, “You are both fifth level Delta’s which means this promotion elevates you to first level Beta status.  You will be working directly with Frank and Joe from now on dealing with upper level Pack security.”  Both Joel and Jerry quickly nodded their heads and thanked their Alpha then looked at Frank who was smiling at them.

Frank said, “Meet Joe and I an hour before the men’s training session on Monday evening.  There’s a lot we have to go over with your increase in responsibilities.  Bring everything in the packs, including a list of the items and your reason for including them.  Congratulations, you both earned it.”  He shook their hands and the other men gathered around to offer their congratulations.  Both Joel and Jerry wasted no time in telling their mates of their promotion and felt their pride.

Frank and Carlo told the youngsters to gather round, everyone rushed to comply and without being told, the teams reassembled and were quietly whispering to each other.  Frank and Carlo went team by team and asked them what had worked and what didn’t and wrote it down on the chalkboard.  The next hour was spent with the men giving advice to improve things that worked and explaining why things didn’t work.  They had just finished up when the Carlucci’s and Costello’s returned.

Damian had a walking cast on his right lower leg, a bandage over his shoulder and was using a cane and Maria’s left forearm was in a cast and since she had a deep bruise on her left hip, Alberto was carrying her.  X-rays had confirmed Toni had no broken bones and was slightly bruised; she was content to be held in her father’s arms.  The men brought chaise loungers near the bonfire and when Toni saw Damian and Maria resting on them, she insisted she be put on one too. 

“Well it looks like the rest of our plans for tonight have been shot to hell,” said Joe as he walked up to Frank and Carlo.  “What are we going to do with all of these youngsters for the next couple of hours?”

“They seem to be entertaining themselves pretty well,” said Frank as he looked around his yard.  There were youngsters everywhere he looked and he noticed they were still with their teams playing games.  The older ones were encouraging the young ones and were tempering their own competitive nature not to overrun them on the playing field and sounds of laughter could be heard everywhere.  “Well, I think we accomplished some of our goals today, even more then we expected in fact…”

Before he could say more, Carlo’s phone rang and Frank and Joe quickly looked at him and motioned the surrounding men to move away.  He quickly pulled the phone out of his pocket and said, “Rossi here.”  The three men moved further away and Carlo put the phone on speaker so they could hear. 

“Carlo, Roberts here, I wanted to give a current update.  We arrived a little over two hours ago.  All three of the Alpha’s we were discussing have arrived with their top level Beta’s and their men are expected tomorrow afternoon.  We have sent three recon teams into the area in question and reports are starting to filter in.  The families in question have been observed and do not appear to be in any present danger, but we will monitor the situation and step in immediately if any change occurs.  We are preparing the plan as we discussed earlier, time and date have not changed.  We want everyone who is on the invitation list to be apprehended.”

“Thanks for the update, are you sure we can’t be of assistance?” asked Carlo.

“Not at this time, but be prepared to travel when the Tribunal is called.  They will be given a trial as mandated by Council before they are sentenced.  I’ll try to keep you updated as events unfold and remember to keep the line open,” said President Roberts right before the line clicked dead.  

Carlo looked at his only level five Beta’s and said, “Damn, I wish we were there.” 

The three of them stood there looking at the youngsters laughing and screaming, playing games and chasing each other around the yard and felt a contentment they hadn’t felt in a long time.  They motioned to the other fathers and soon everyone joined their children playing games they hadn’t played in years, though they found out they totally sucked at Duck Duck Goose.  It turned out the bonding between teams wasn’t the only one that was nurtured that evening. 

Hours later after tons of hot dogs and hamburgers had been eaten, marshmallows had been roasted the young ones finally fell asleep, their fathers putting them in the tents and the only ones left were the teens and fathers.  Talk centered on training, football, and the girls dance recital which would be held during the Winter Festival. 

The Winter Festival was always a highlight for the Pack, and it was held the evening before the Full Moon in December.  It was a true Pack effort, the fathers and mothers made the scenery and costumes.  The brothers helped with lighting, sound and other issues even helping with some of the dance routines, though they refused to be put in any type of costume. 

“Alberto, since you and Maria are now intendeds, does that mean you will be part of her routine in the recital?” asked Carmelo with a smile on his face. 

“No way, never going to happen, not in this lifetime,” Alberto replied and he missed the look on Maria’s face as she raised her eyebrow at him.

“Good, I really don’t want to see you in a leotard and tutu,” said Joe as everyone started laughing, except for Maria who narrowed her eyes at Alberto.

“How about you Anthony?” asked Carlo with a smile.

Anthony quickly glanced at Sophia before answering, “My answer would be no, unless my intended asked me, then I would do it for her even if it embarrassed me.  But I will use my powers of persuasion and try and say no costume.”

Alberto looked at Anthony, then Maria and said, “I meant to say what Ant just said.”

Everyone started laughing again as Maria looked at him and smiled.  Ant looked at him saying, “Good recovery bro.”  Alberto returned his look with an eye roll.

The next two hours were spent laughing and talking, finally Frank said, “Okay youngsters time to head for the tents, it’s almost midnight.”  There was some grumbling, but they all complied. 

Lorenzo and Vin stood at the tent opening monitoring their sisters while they said goodnight to their intendeds.  Anthony and Sophia stood on one side while he deeply scented her neck, holding her tight against his side.  Alberto held Maria in his arms on the other side since she still had trouble standing and was also deeply scenting her.  They heard discreet coughing and then Lorenzo stepped out and stood in front of Alberto with his arms out ready to carry Maria inside the tent. 

“You’re worse then Daddy,” said Maria in a whisper.  They heard another cough and Vin stepped out and said to Sophia, “Time’s up, tell Sweetie Pie you’ll see him in the morning.”  “Sweetie Pie?  I’ve never called him that,” said Sophia indignantly as she swatted at her eldest brothers arm and chased him inside the tent as he laughed. 

As Anthony passed tents filled with the sounds of siblings teasing each other he realized how lonely he felt, his thoughts turning to his sister and he wondered how different his life would have been if she had lived.  His entire life he had been included in activities with the Clan but he always felt this emptiness inside, a feeling there was something missing and he realized that since he had made his declaration for Sophia it was still there but not as pronounced.  Still lost in his thoughts he got ready for bed and ten minutes later was almost asleep.

“Move your ass outta the way,” said Lorenzo. 

“Damn you take up a lot of room,” said Gianni. 

“Watch out for my leg dickhead,” said Damian.

“Could the three of you be any louder?  This is a stealth mission,” said Marcus.

As his four best friends made themselves comfortable Anthony started laughing and said, “Stealth mission?  The four of you are making enough noise to wake the dead.”

“We figured we’d come over and keep you company,” said Lorenzo as he started laughing.  “It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Sophia and Maria are whispering back and forth how wonderful you and Alberto are.”

“Oh, he’s so big and strong,” said Damian in a falsetto voice.  “Did you see how he looked without his shirt, all those ripping muscles, I’m the luckiest girl in the world.” 

“Who said that?” asked Anthony as he started smiling.

“Does it really matter dude?  They say the same thing and then agree with each other, this mating thing is driving us nuts.  I’m so sick and tired of hearing how wonderful the two of you are, how big and strong you both are, how cute the two of you are.  I could go on and on but I’ll stop before I make myself sick,” said Gianni as he started to gag, stopping when Lorenzo hit him in the arm.

“Oh, and the topper of them all was from Sophia,” said Damian, and then continued in the falsetto voice, “Did you see his ass in those jeans he had on the other day, especially when he bent over?”

“Sophia likes how my ass looks?  What else did she say about it, I mean me,” said Ant as he blushed, but he really wanted to know what she said as he tried to remember what jeans he had on.

“Enough about your ass, as if ANY of us want to think of your ass no matter what its doing or covered in,” said Marcus shaking his head.  The boys looked at each other and started cracking up laughing.

The boys continued talking for a while, gradually falling asleep and Anthony was the last one awake.  He went back to his earlier thoughts and realized he was as close to these four boys as if they were his brothers.  They had never differentiated between him and their brothers and cousins when they were growing up, always including him.  He felt that empty feeling inside him get a little smaller with that thought.

At 1 AM, the men did a recon of the tents making sure the youngsters were asleep. 

Finally, they could get down to playing poker.  The game would start tonight and finish sometime over the weekend.  Carlo notified the men that wanted to play and within minutes they were there. 

A $500 buy in was required and the total pot for the 105 men entered was $52,500 for the winner take all tournament.  There were fifteen tables with seven men apiece and random draw determined your table and the dealers were rotated throughout the tables.  They used the ‘knockout’ rule and as players were eliminated the remaining players were shuffled to new tables, and after three hours, they were down to 10 tables.  At 4 AM, they decided to take a 10 minute break to get up and stretch, get more food to eat and do something they excelled at, which was gossip. 

“We need to teach Matt and Phillip how to play poker,” said Frank.  “I know they have a security detail tonight, but I think they would like it once they understand the rules.  Matt did say they have been watching some of the tournaments on TV.”

“Frank, don’t forget we need to have our two new Beta’s buy the first round at The Pub after the men’s training on Monday evening,” said Joe as he lifted his beer at the Whitmer brothers.  They both nodded their heads, still euphoric after their promotion. 

“So Carlo, when are you taking Frank out for his steak dinner?  He did win the bet, the last two teams out there were Vincent’s and Lorenzo’s,” said Carmelo.

“I think it was a draw as far as the bet goes,” said George Reeder, whose children were on Anthony’s team.  “The teams never got to switch.  I think with those backpacks the Whitmer’s had, Anthony’s team would have come out on top.”

The debate raged on for several minutes with the men finally agreeing it was a draw, but did say Vin or Lorenzo would have probably won, since Anthony wasn’t nearly as devious as they were.  Frank and Joe didn’t know if it was a compliment or an insult to their children.

Just as dawn was approaching, the men dealt their last hand before the kids woke up.  They were down to seven tables and this hand would probably reduce the number to six, depending on the bet amounts. 

Frank had a shit hand, a pair of Deuces, the lowest paired hand you could have; George Reeder had a King/Ace and was almost beside himself with excitement; Harold Poffenberger had a Six/Jack; George Hammond had a Seven/Nine, Doc had an Eight/Jack. 

The flop, which was three cards turned over, revealed a Deuce, a King, and a Nine. Doc bet $200, which everybody matched, and George Reeder raised another $200, which everybody also matched.

The turn, which was the fourth card revealed was a Seven.  The bet was $300, everybody matched until Frank raised $150.  Nobody hesitated and matched the bet.

The river card was a Jack.  The betting was fierce, calling and raising until finally only Frank and Doc had any money left, everyone else had gone all in.

All of the other men had finished and came over to watch the guys present their cards.  Harold turned over pair of Jacks, six high with a smile on his face, until Doc flipped over a pair of Jacks, eight high which beat him.  George Hammond was next showing two pairs, Sevens/Nines, followed by George Reeder with his pair of Kings.  The last one left was Frank and he slowly flipped his three Deuces over.  The total pot was over $8000 and knocked Harold, George Hammond, and George Reeder out of the tournament and Doc only had $200 left.  

“Well Gentlemen, when I got that pair of Deuces, I didn’t think I was gonna stay in, but I’m glad I did,” said Frank with a smile. 

“You’re a lucky bastard Frank,” said George Reeder still shaking his head.

“I stayed up all night to get knocked out by Deuces,” said Harold as he laughed, “I should have gone to sleep with my boys and saved myself the aggravation.”

“Fuckin Deuces,” said George Hammond.  “I can’t believe I lost to Deuces.”

“Yeah, but Frank had three of ‘em,” said Carlo as he laughed.  “Go ahead and turn your chips in for the accounting, Vinnie is waiting and we’ll play more tonight.  The youngsters should be waking up soon and we need to clean up.”

Within ten minutes the signs of their all night card playing were gone, the kegerator being wheeled back into Frank’s cave was the last bit of evidence to disappear.  

“Mitchell, when is your crew getting here with the food?  I’m starving,” said Frank. 

“Turn around Frank; they just pulled up, now we just need to set it up.  They have scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, bacon, Virginia ham, pancakes, waffles, French toast, biscuits, sausage gravy, fruit salad, oatmeal and juices and coffee.  You weren’t specific in what you wanted, you just said breakfast food,” said Mitchell Burns.  “We should have everything setup in twenty or thirty minutes.”

  

“I just heard from Matt, the women should be here in thirty minutes,” said Carlo.

“Just in time to get the youngsters up and ready to start eating,” said Frank then he hollered “food will be ready in twenty minutes, everybody up and get ready NOW.” 

Within twenty minutes the youngsters were up and ready to eat as Mitchell’s crew finished setting up the buffet.  They had reverted back to their teams, the young ones automatically going to the older ones, but it was slightly different.  Teams had banded together, Frank noted both Carlucci teams as well as Anthony’s team together with the young ones included. 

The women, little ones and their security detail showed up about fifteen minutes later and the men hurried over and greeted their mates, anxious to scent them after the separation.  The first thing they did afterwards was walk over to Matt, Phillip and the security detail and thank them for ensuring their mates safety.  Matt, Phillip and the security detail puffed up with pride knowing they had done their Pack proud.

Carlo, Frank and Joe came over and received a full report from Matt and Phillip, when they finished Carlo said, “Well done, your response time in getting the women and children to safety was exceptional.  You are both level one Beta’s, and as of right now, you are being promoted to level two.  Congratulations, you both earned it.” 

Matt and Phillip were ecstatic over this promotion, without thinking they hugged and kissed each other before realizing what they had done.  When they looked at the men surrounding them, no one looked shocked and the men lined up to offer their congratulations by shaking their hands and slapping them on their backs. 

“I love you my mate.  Being banished from our old Pack was the best thing that could have happened to us.  It was beyond every hope and dream for us to be together and we knew we would never advance beyond Omega status.  Look at us now, Level two Beta’s and responsible for the safety and welfare of our fellow Pack members, but the most important thing is we are together.  Always together, until the end,” said Matthew as he held his mates hand as they went to get breakfast.

Phillip replied, “I love you too my mate, I can’t imagine you not being by my side every day for the rest of our lives.  Always together, until the end.” 

“So what did you all do last night?” Frank asked Rose as they sat together with Joe, Annie, Carlo and Gina eating breakfast.

“Watched movies, drank wine, ate a lot of food, drank more wine, played some cards, drank more wine, ate more food, drank more wine, plotted your demise, drank more wine, had a manicure and drank more wine,” said Rose as she looked at Gina and Annie and smiled.

“Wait, wait, wait a minute…plotted my demise?  Me personally or men in general?” asked Frank as he looked at his mate.

“Men in general, but you, Joe and Carlo were at the top of our list.  Could you pass the salt please,” said Rose with a mischievous smile.

“What did I do now?  I was with our children all night, protecting them from further harm, and ensuring the future of the Pack.  You can’t be mad at us because Damian and Maria got hurt, can you?  The wooden cover on the dry well rotted out, it’s not like we did it on purpose,” said Frank.  “So what did we do?”

“We feel the women are not utilized to their full capabilities in our businesses.  You do know we can do more then cook, clean and bear your children, right?” said Annie as she looked at her mate, Frank and Carlo.

“Wait just a minute.  You and Rose are FULL partners at Triple C.  The two of you run the office, order supplies, arrange deliveries, schedule the jobs, pay the invoices, do payroll, what more do you want to do?” demanded Joe as he scowled.

“That’s my point, Rose and I do all the office work and what do the two of you do?” said Annie looking at her husband.

“What do you mean, what do we do?  We are out building and supervising the workers every fucking day.  We are getting proposals put together to bid on new projects, meeting with prospective clients, dealing with subcontractors, making sure deadlines are met and dealing with a thousand other things every day,” said Joe his indignation evident on his face. 

“Exactly our point.  All four of us work hard for our business, but do we really need to work that hard anymore?  We could use more help in the office and you and Frank could use more help on site.  There are lots of young women in the Pack that could use part-time work, who are more then capable of helping us.  They could switch work weeks like we have done for the last twenty years while we built our business and raised our families,” said Rose as she looked at Frank and Joe.  “It’s not just our business that has gotten so big we need help either.”

“She’s right Carlo, I stopped helping you years ago at the store because the demands of being Madame Alpha were expanding and I just didn’t have the time to do everything.  I could use a secretary to help me with Pack business, and I think you could use an assistant,” said Gina with a determined look.  “Things aren’t like they used to be twenty years ago, the demands on our time are just increasing year by year and we have to delegate some of those jobs to others.”  

“So how is this our fault?  If you needed help in the office, all you had to do was ask, have we ever denied the two of you anything?  We upgraded the computers this year like you asked even though we didn’t think we needed it, we redecorated the offices last year and put in a reception area, conference room and everything else you asked for, even the kitchen area.  Again, how is this our fault?” asked Frank, his expression mirroring his brothers.

“We’re not saying it’s your fault, but the three of you lead by example.  If we hire more women, then other businesses will follow your example.  Our company could use at least four women working part-time, at the minimum.  The Whitmer and Costello families could use the extra income and we have the work to give them,” said Rose as she looked at Frank.

“Alright, so we hire them.  Who is going to help Joe and I on site?  Also Carlo’s assistant, who is that going to be?  Just tell us what you want us to do so we can go ahead and do it,” said Frank throwing his hands in the air.  “You know you always get your way, from the time we were teenagers, I haven’t been able to say no to you.”

“Okay, here is what we should do.  We hire the Whitmer’s and Costello’s for our office, Carlo and Gina hire Marco and Anna Moretti for their assistants.  Both have college degrees and should have no problems with their new jobs, plus they want to buy a house,” said Rose with a smile.

“As far as supervisors for Triple C, promote from within.  Both Joel and Jerry have been working for you since high school.  You rely on them now as foremen, so promote them to site supervisors,” replied Annie.  “They know more about our company then anybody, except us.”

“Okay, we’ll do everything you want, as usual.  But how is this planning our demise?  I don’t get that part,” said Frank.

“Well, here is the clincher,” said Rose with a smile at Annie and Gina.  “After this is put into place, we want to go on vacation.  A real vacation, not just a weekend at the beach and we know it’s going to kill you to go away and leave others in charge.”

“All six of us at once?” said Carlo intrigued with the idea.  “I think we should be able to work something out.  It’ll be like we are teenagers dating again, but with much better benefits.”  Gina smiled at him then hit him on the arm as she blushed.

“Who is going to watch our kids?  Or did you figure that out too?” asked Joe.

“Yes we have,” said Annie with a smile.  “Matt and Phillip would be perfect for the job.  We move Gianni, Marcus, Lorenzo and Damian into The Manor House with Anthony and Matt could stay there.  Phillip could stay here with the rest of the Clan.  We talked it over with them, and they agreed.  Any more questions?”

“Yeah, where are we taking our mates on vacation?  Do we at least get to voice an opinion or have you already decided?” asked Frank as he started to laugh.

“Well, we talked that over too,” said Rose as she laughed.  “We will give you a choice of places we’ve always talked about going and the three of you can decide.”

“I only have one stipulation,” said Carlo, “It can’t be more then a couple of hours away in case something happens since all of us are going.  So overseas travel, cruises, and places not easily accessible to an airport are out.”

“We already took that into consideration,” said Gina.  “Here are your choices, New York, Philadelphia and Savannah.”

The three men looked at each other and said almost in unison, “New York.”

“Good, we figured you would pick New York.  We started making a list of places to go, like restaurants, museums, Broadway shows, and the usual touristy stuff too.  Oh, and we figured you would want to see a Yankees game, so while the three of you do that, we’ll do some shopping,” said Rose as she glanced at Annie and Gina.

“We figured the $50,000 one of you is going to win this weekend would cover the cost of the rooms, restaurants, admission fees and tickets for all of us,” said Annie with a smirk on her face.

The three men looked at each other and said in unison, “What $50,000?”

“You all are so busted,” said Gina as the three women laughed.  “Did you think we weren’t aware of your ‘Super Secret’ poker games for the last fifteen years?”

“None of you men can keep a secret to save yourselves, especially when you’re bragging about winning a tournament, plus you gossip worse then any woman in this Pack,” said Rose as all the women continued laughing.

“We also know some of your ‘men’s training’ sessions are just excuses to play poker and smoke cigars.  We can smell the smoke on you when you get home, even when you take showers,” said Annie.

“Well shit, what else do you know?” asked Carlo.  “Not that there’s anything else we keep from you.”  His eyes slid over to Frank and Joe as he said this and even he had to laugh at the innocent look on their faces.

“We’re not telling what else we know,” said Gina as the women kept laughing.

“Well, I guess the three of you will be sleeping all day since you were up all night.  Protecting our children, I believe is the excuse you gave,” said Rose with a smile.

“Yeah, I know I’m pretty well beat,” said Frank.  “How about the three of you, did you all get any sleep?”

“We were up all night too,” said Annie with a smile at her mate.  “The boys are planning on taking the girls shopping this morning and then going to lunch and then bowling.  That means we’ll have the house to ourselves for a while.”  Joe looked at his mate and a low growl escaped his throat.

“Don’t get too excited, the mall doesn’t open until 10.  We still have two hours until they leave,” Annie said as she smiled back at her mate.

“How soon can we get everybody out of here?” Frank asked Carlo.  Carlo was busy staring at his mate intently as he asked her, “Is Anthony going too?”  Gina nodded her head and Carlo started growling too.

Rose started laughing and said, “Frank, people are still eating breakfast, you can’t kick them out.  Besides, now would be a perfect time to talk to the Costello and Whitmer families.”

Frank reluctantly agreed and called both families over.  They discussed the new job offers and they were readily accepted.  Joel and Jerry couldn’t believe they had received two promotions in the space of several hours. 

The male members of the Clan, plus Anthony and Alberto walked over and Vin said to the men, “So, how did the Poker game go last night?”

“How do you know we were playing cards?” said Frank.

“Come on Dad, we’ve known for years.  You won the tournament ten years ago and we got the pools put in.  When Uncle Joe won the tournament two years ago, mom and Aunt Annie got new SUV’s.  We may be young, but we’re not stupid,” said Vin.

“Plus the bragging the men do is a dead giveaway,” said Anthony as he laughed.

“Mr. Whitmer’s and Mr. Costello’s, we know you were up all night, and so were the women, so would it be okay if we took the young ones with us today?  We’re going to the mall, out to lunch and then bowling.  We’ll have them back around four,” said Dominic.  “We asked Mr. Poffenberger and he agreed to let us take his young ones.”

Both the Whitmer’s and the Costello’s readily agreed, they couldn’t remember the last time they had the house to themselves without any young ones and couldn’t wait to get their mates alone.  They agreed on a time for the young ones to be dropped off at the Carlucci’s and hurriedly left to get them ready.   

Several hours later, after shopping and lunch at Carmelo’s, the youngsters were at the bowling alley and having a great time.  Mr. Balducci was amazed at how well the young ones listened to the older ones and he laughed when he saw how they started mimicking their actions.  Then he thought about a whole new generation of Carlucci Clones and he groaned, he didn’t think the Pack was ready for that. 

Promptly at 4 PM, the young ones were dropped off at their homes and they started getting ready for the Full Moon Ceremony.