Chapter 11 - Teaser

I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and to thank my wonderful readers, I am letting you get an advance peek at Chapter 11.  This is the rough draft of the first couple of pages, it will be tweaked many many times before it is submitted.

Thank you again,

PBL


Chapter 11 - That tiara looks fabulous with your outfit

Frank drove to Joe’s house and walked around the garage to the pool house where Joe was waiting, he dropped his duffle inside the door and without saying a word they started running, following a path they had worn down over the last twenty years.  When they were halfway through their ten mile run, Joe said, “I was up most of the night trying to sort things out.  I know Charles has to be a part of it, but I feel like there is someone else involved, so who is it?”

“I could feel your agitation and was thinking the same thing.  Aldo said something we need to clarify…,” Frank was saying as he was interrupted.

“That the feeling was one of revenge and it had been festering for years,” finished Joe as he looked at his brother for confirmation.

Frank stopped running and said, “Exactly.  I was going over who the Pack has had issues with since Carlo became Alpha and I couldn’t come up with anybody.  There were some small things, getting contracts for business deals, but in others they got the contracts.  Personally, we’ve had to fire some employees, but they were human.  The only Pack I could think we’ve had a problem with was Matt and Phil’s, but is that enough to wage war?  I don’t think so.”

“So the question remains, who hates our Pack enough to wage war against us and try to kidnap our females, and more personally come after our daughters?” asked Joe as his eyes started to turn amber again.  “Who would be that fucking stupid?” 

Frank looked at the sky and said quietly, “Let’s finish our run; we need to be at The School House by 6, and we need to stop by The Diner and pick up breakfast for everyone.”  The brothers continued their run, lost in their thoughts.  Twenty minutes later they were in the shower room and they picked up their conversation as if they had never stopped.

“I think the answer lies with the elders.  We need to talk to them after the meeting tonight, even though we are taught Pack history, they know the true stories behind the official story,” said Joe with a frown on his face.

Frank started laughing and said, “Okay Paul Harvey, we’ll talk to the elders.  Now hurry up or we’ll be late.”  They hurried through their shower and got dressed in light silvery-gray polo shirts with a navy blue embroidered Triple C logo on the left breast and their favorite Lands End Chino shorts in navy.  Without speaking they put on construction boots and gray with navy embroidery Triple C baseball hats, as they were putting on their watches Frank looked down and laughed.

“What’s so funny?” asked Joe as he grabbed his dirty clothes and threw them in the hamper as Frank put his into the duffle before zipping it closed.

“I realized how often we dress alike.  We hated when Mom would dress us alike, now we do it all the time,” said Frank as he waited at the door for Joe.

“Blame our mates, they buy most of our clothes, and you can’t count dressing for work since we work together,” said Joe making sure everything was turned off.  “And Annie and Rose picked out the work uniforms, including the color and logos.”

“It’s been two years since we changed the uniforms, and I have to admit it does make us stand out from other construction companies.  Having everyone dressed in gray t’s with a small logo on the left front and a larger logo on the back, navy cargo shorts or pants, the baseball hats, and the silver trucks with the blue Triple C logo.  They did a good job,” said Frank with a smile as they walked to his work truck.   

“You forgot the windbreakers, winter jackets, hoodies and crew-neck sweatshirts,” Joe said as he started laughing.  “To think all of that started because we mentioned we were thinking of getting new t-shirts for the work crew.”

Frank looked at his brother before pulling out of his driveway and said, “I’m not sure who was more surprised when a week later they called a meeting and handed out the new uniforms, you, me or the work crew.”

“One thing for sure, they never do anything little,” said Joe with a smile and leaned forward turning up the volume as ‘Don’t fear the Reaper’, one of their favorite songs came on the classic rock station.  As soon as the song ended the brothers looked at each other and laughed as Joe said, “Every time I hear that song, it reminds me of the night our parents forced us to take Annie and Rose to the movies.  Remember, we’d just gotten our licenses and they said we couldn’t use Dad’s car the following weekend unless we took the girls to the movies while they went to a Pack meeting.”

Frank was laughing so hard he could hardly talk, “And we agreed as long as we could pick the movie.  The girls had no idea what ‘Halloween’ was about and you told them it was a movie about a small town with a really cool Halloween tradition.  I can still see them sitting there, with their mouths hanging open, hands covering their eyes and screaming so loud I thought my eardrums would shatter.”

“And we knew Carlo was in the parking lot waiting on us after the movie, and you told him to hide to scare the girls, they wouldn’t get in the car until we checked the trunk and looked under it to make sure nobody was going to get us, and you told Carlo to sneak under the car, and when you got on your hands and knees to look he pulled you under the car and you screamed ‘Run girls run, he’s got me’, and all they could see was your legs twitching and you kept screaming, then you stopped and Carlo dumped his coke so it looked like a pool of blood coming from under the car,” said Joe laughing so hard he was gasping for breath.

Frank took off his Oakley sunglasses and wiped his eyes as he remembered looking from under the car seeing Rose and Annie’s feet as they ran through the parking lot screaming as loud as they could.  After Joe got him and Carlo out from under the car, the three of them were laughing so hard they had to sit down.  “Remember where we found them?  They were hiding in the women’s bathroom in the Montgomery Wards next to the theater,” said Frank laughing.  “It took us fifteen minutes to calm them down so they would get in the car, and they didn’t talk to us the whole way home.”

“They got us back though,” said Joe with a smile.  “They told their parents and ours we would take them to Longmeadow drive-in the following weekend to see ‘Grease’ since it wasn’t playing in the theaters anymore.  Annie was glaring at me saying ‘Isn’t that right, Giuseppe, since we had such a good time tonight.’  She considers ‘Grease’ our first real date, even though we didn’t talk to them the whole night.” 

“We talked to them,” said Frank with a smile.  “I distinctly remember telling them to shut up several times when they started singing and when Rose said she was hungry; I said ‘Tough luck’ and kept eating my popcorn.  When Annie said she was thirsty and wanted some of your Big Gulp, you told her ‘No’, and drank the whole thing and threw the cup on the seat.”  He glanced at his brother before he continued, “And when Annie said she had to use the restroom, you got the cup off the seat and handed it to her and said, ‘Use this’.”

“Damn, we were dicks, weren’t we?  It’s a wonder the girls accepted us when we made our declarations,” said Joe with a laugh.  “I remember JR came over with his sister and took them to the restroom and I got irritated when he put his hand on Annie’s arm when she tripped.  I didn’t realize it was the start of the mating pull and a little over two years later, I would want to kill any male that put their hands on her.”

They got quiet as they thought of their mates and Frank cleared his throat and said, “By the way, I talked to Sal last night and asked him what is going on with him and Gabby.  He said he has no clue but feels protective of her and kinda likes her.  I told him to respect her and remember he is only fifteen years old.”

“Does he know Gabby’s planning on studying in Italy for two years to get her degree?” asked Joe as they pulled into the side parking lot of The Diner and he began to smile.  For some reason his brother hated to go in reverse, so he always drove around the parking lot so he could pull through, parking hood out and wouldn’t have to reverse out of a spot.

Frank sighed loudly and said, “I didn’t mention it.  Gabby still has two years of high school, then a year of college before she would leave.  If they are mates, and I’m thinking they are, then they are going to have enough trials to get through and I don’t want to start worrying Sal from now.  I’ll be right back; Carlo already called the order in.”  He opened the door and walked around the truck and stopped next to Joe’s window and said, “The question will be, will he love her enough to let her go?  I don’t mean let her go to Italy since that would be her choice.  But will he love her enough to put aside his need to be with her so she can fulfill her lifelong dream?  Sal would be eighteen when Gabby would leave, and I know at that age my need for Rose was overwhelming…I don’t think I could’ve done it.”

Joe watched as his brother walked into The Diner and thought of his own need to be with Annie after he felt the mating pull.  He closed his eyes thinking back to that time; how possessive he was, how she would sit for hours on his lap reading a book while he scented her neck, and he remembered several nights when he slept outside her bedroom window because he couldn’t stand to be apart from her and he knew without a doubt he wouldn’t have been able to let Annie go.

Frank opened the rear door of the truck and placed the box inside before getting behind the wheel of his work truck.  As Frank pulled out of the parking lot, Joe said quietly, “I wouldn’t have been able to let Annie go either.”  He glanced once more at his older brother before turning his head to look at the buildings they were passing without really seeing them.  He cleared his throat before he murmured, “We need to talk to Anthony and Alberto and tell them we were wrong, we shouldn’t have told them the way we did.  They’re our daughter’s mates and we should’ve respected them enough to tell them in private.  If Pop told me he was taking Annie away from me, I would’ve ripped his fucking head off.”

“There for a minute, I thought they were going to, or at least try,” said Frank nodding his head as he thought back to Anthony and Alberto’s reaction.  “I agree with you, we need to apologize.  Do you think we should pull them to the side at The School House or maybe take them out to dinner before the meeting tonight?”

“We’ll talk to Carlo, I’m not sure what he has planned or what time Dante is getting here and he wants us to go with him to pick them up,” said Joe.  “Either way, we’ll apologize this morning and arrange to go out to dinner with them and talk things through a little more.”

Frank got quiet and asked, “Are you having trouble separating little Alberto Moretti who grew up with our sons and the grown Alberto Moretti who is your daughters mate?  When I see Anthony with Sophia, I still see the four year old little boy who cried when Carlo told him he couldn’t train with the older boys.”

“But he proved Carlo wrong didn’t he?  The following week he came to training with Carlo like he usually did and stood up challenging the older boys and when he beat several of them Carlo had to give in and start training him,” said Joe with a smile.  “He was a determined boy and stood up to his father, just like he did yesterday.”

“It surprised me how forceful he was with Carlo, and the power that was coming off of him was almost overwhelming,” Frank said in amazement.  “Have you really looked at Anthony lately?  Damn, the boy is only seventeen, but physically looks years older.  I think he’s even taller then Vincent and Dominic now, he weighs more and his muscle definition is unreal.  The way he picked up Scott and threw him surprised me and Scott weighs like 260.”

“Since we’re talking about him, I want to bring something up,” said Joe as Frank glanced at him.  “I think Anthony, Vincent and Dominic should be moved up to the men’s training classes.  They can only practice on each other and I think by keeping them in the boys training class, we’re holding them back.”

“I was thinking the same thing, but I think we’ll test all the boys next week for new placements.  We’ll have to increase their training anyway and testing them will give us a better look at their strengths and weaknesses.  I have a feeling a few of the boys will surprise us,” Frank said as he rubbed his neck.  “We’ll talk it over with Carlo, he has the final say.  We’re almost there, anything else you want to talk about?”

“Well...yeah…Annie and Rose seemed awfully calm yesterday, almost too calm.  Do you think they’re planning something?” Joe asked turning to look at his brother. 

“I don’t think they’re planning something, I know they’re planning something,” said Frank with a laugh.  “The problem is, we’ll only know about it when they are ready to tell us.  Those two are more sneaky, stubborn and hard-headed then any two women I’ve ever met.”

Joe started laughing as he said, “I guess they have to be since they’ve put up with us for the last twenty-three years, almost twenty-four.”

“Speak for yourself baby brother,” said Frank as he braked to a stop in front of the gates of The School House.  “You may be hard to get along with, but I’m not.”

Chapter 10 - We protect the Pack and family above all else

Carlo threw his head back taking deep breaths as he leaned against his truck, his eyes turned pure amber and his body shook as he tried to control his rage.  He could feel his wolf wanting to surface and it took every ounce of control to stop it, but he could not stop the feral growl that tore out of his throat or his claws from appearing ready to tear into any perceived threat.  Aldo immediately tilted his neck in a submissive pose and forced his body to stay still, even though he was terrified.  He had seen his Alpha mad before, but nothing like this. 

Several minutes passed before Carlo finally felt in control.  He looked at Aldo who was still standing in a submissive pose and nodded at him acknowledging it.  Carlo rolled his neck and flexed his shoulders to relieve the last bit of tension before saying, “We cannot let that happen Aldo.  Let me rephrase that, we will not let that happen.  We lost too much last time for it to ever happen again.”

They stared over the school grounds at the surrounding woods noticing the approach of fall as the leaves were beginning to lose their vibrant green and change color.  Low hanging clouds obscured the top of their beloved South Mountain, and there was a slight chill in the air as they watched a lone Coopers Hawk fly from its perch.  

Carlo said quietly as if afraid to disturb the stillness in the air, “I need to know exactly what you felt and when you felt it.”

Aldo took a deep breath and began, “I had been here earlier making sure everything was ready for the Millers and did a last walk-through for tomorrow.  We checked yesterday morning, but you know I like to do my own final walk-through.  Everything was fine, nothing stood out and I didn’t get any feelings until I got home and was sitting down to lunch.”  He stopped and frowned as if to gather his thoughts and then glanced at the woods once more as if they were a calming presence.

“The pulse was so faint I ignored it, I thought it was just me being wound up with school starting and then my wolf started pacing back and forth growling which made me focus.  I closed my eyes to concentrate and got this sharp sudden burst of emotion and then it was gone and only the faint pulse remained,” Aldo said as he rubbed his arms as if warding off a chill.  “The feeling I got was one of impending death and grief and my wolf was howling in pain.” 

Aldo glanced at Carlo and continued, “I went to my office and put on a relaxation CD and concentrated on the feeling hoping to narrow it down, you know how I sometimes sense when someone in the Pack is ready to die.  But when I concentrated I realized it was different, it was too strong for one death, it was a feeling of many deaths.  I stayed there for over an hour and still couldn’t narrow anything down, the only thing I could feel was the faint pulse.”  Aldo once again got quiet and Carlo didn’t say anything, knowing Aldo would continue when he was ready.

“At The School House, I still only felt the pulse but when the Millers got here it sped up momentarily as if it was feeding off their energy.  During the tour, nothing happened until we got to the sleeping quarters, this time the emotion was much stronger and I could feel it in the air surrounding me, especially around the girl’s bunks,” Aldo said as a shiver ran down his body.  “It was stronger because as they were gathering more supporters they had to change their plans to include all the females, not only the Millers.  Initially they were focused on greed, lust and most of all anger, but now they wanted revenge.  The feeling of revenge was odd too, it was almost like it had been festering for years and it was almost overpowering the other emotions.”  Aldo hesitated before finishing, “Carlo, they know our history and what would cause us the most pain.”

Carlo was quiet as he absorbed what Aldo said.  “Everyone knows our history and the rampage we went on after our females were massacred.  I remember Grandpa telling me the stories of when they passed judgment on the Alpha’s and Beta’s responsible, that was his first duty as the newly elected President of the Alpha Council.”

Carlo closed his eyes as he replayed the scene in his head his Grandpa had projected to him when he was old enough to understand at the age of fifteen.  “They were strung up with silver chains and the fathers of the girls who were killed went up one by one and clawed them saying - This is for my daughter and then said her name and how old she was.  After the last man was finished, Grandpa stepped forward and castrated them, removing not only their balls but their dicks, saying - This is for defiling the daughters of South Mountain Pack.  As they opened their mouths to scream, silver pellets were forced down their throats to burn them from the inside.”

They looked at the trees again as Carlo took a deep breath before continuing, “Our men had been careful to inflict cuts causing the most pain without being fatal and then silver was dripped into their wounds to prevent them from healing.  By the end they were begging for mercy and Grandpa asked how much mercy had been shown our females.  It took them days to die and Grandpa said they didn’t deserve to be returned to Luna and the After Life so they were dismembered and the pieces scattered for the wild animals to feast on so they couldn’t be given a funeral pyre.”

They were silent as they watched the Cooper Hawk turn towards his nest, his prey hanging limply below him.  The low hanging clouds over the mountain had dispersed and the sky was once again a brilliant blue. 

Carlo appeared lost in thought as he said with a grimace, “Not many people know this, but their dicks and balls were put into individual jars and labeled with their names.  They are kept on display in the hallway leading to the Alpha meeting room at Council Headquarters.  It’s a not very subtle reminder of the penalty for rape and violating Council policy.”

Silence descended as the men stared over the grounds of the school at the perfectly manicured lawns, the centuries old growth of shrubbery, the glistening drops of water as they cascaded down the fountain and they rested on The School House which had taught generations of Pack members. 

“Did you know my Grandma felt guilty her entire life for not being there?  Grandpa broke his leg the day before and she snuck over to his house to see him, even though her parents told her not to.  She was leaving his house to go to the party when the alert went out,” said Aldo quietly.  “Grandpa said she was never the same, that her spirit started to die that day, because she couldn’t live with the guilt.”

Aldo hesitated for a moment before continuing, “My Diana is only 13 and not in school yet, but the thought of something happening to her or to any of the youngsters makes me furious.  I say youngsters because you know as well as I do the boys will fight to the death to protect their sisters and intendeds.”

Carlo nodded his head in agreement and thought of his only son and what he would do to protect Sophia and the other females.

Aldo looked at Carlo and stood up to his full height of six feet before saying in a quiet but firm voice, “My family was one of the original fifteen that came from Italy looking for new opportunities and a brighter future for their youngsters.  For over two hundred thirty years we have followed the Rossi family and never wavered in our loyalty to them or to our Pack.  I will do whatever you want or whatever you need me to do Alpha Rossi, you can count on me.”

“Thank you my friend,” said Carlo, his voice raspy with emotion as Aldo reaffirmed his pledge of loyalty.  “The Di Franco family has always been one we could count on and has been an integral part of this Pack since the beginning.” 

The two lifelong friends got quiet again and turned to look at The School House grounds before Carlo said, “Before the meeting tomorrow, I want you to think of other ways to defend The School House.  You have worked here for over twenty years; you know it better then anyone.”     

With that statement Carlo shook hands with Aldo and got into his truck and started the drive to his house lost in his thoughts.

*****

Frank and Joe were quiet for the first several minutes back to Frank’s house.  Frank leaned forward turning down the class rock music and before he could say anything Joe said, “Did you get a weird vibe from Aldo?  I’ve never seen him that talkative.”

“Yeah, I was just going to say the same thing,” said Frank as he rubbed his temples.  “Almost like he was going overboard in trying to reassure the Millers but it felt like he was really trying to reassure himself.”

“Well Carlo stayed behind with him, if there’s anything going on he’ll let us know,” said Joe as Frank nodded.  Both brothers got quiet, grateful for the silence because as soon as they reached Frank’s they knew there would be none.

As they pulled in front of the garage, they could hear the youngsters shouting.  The brothers smiled at each other and ran through the mudroom into the garage.  They tore off their clothes, pulling on basketball shorts and a t-shirt before sprinting back outside.  Running past their mates, they shouted, “Love you,” before letting out howls and jumping on top of the pile of youngsters. 

Annie and Rose started laughing at their mates behavior.  Knowing the stress they were under with work and Pack duties, they knew they needed this down time to de-stress and play with the youngsters.  They looked at each other, smiled and teed up another ball. 

*****

Matt and Phil led the way into Robertson’s Sporting Goods, holding the doors for the Millers.  John (JR) and Carol knew they were on the way and Matt wasn’t surprised to see them waiting.  The Millers had already been introduced to the Robertson’s since JR was part of the girls protection detail, since he worked full time at the store he would help on his days off and in the evenings as needed.

Carol smiled at Holly and said, “I think it would be easier if we broke into groups.  One to try on uniforms and the other to try on shoes, if not you’ll be here all day.”

Holly smiled at her and said, “Oh, that is a good idea.  Brianna, Morgan, Caitlin, Erin, Kelly and Aislin come with me and Nana Ellen, the rest of you go with your Dad to pick out shoes.  Papa Mike, go look at the fishing gear, we’ll call if we need you.  Phil you come with me and Matt you go with Todd.”  Without saying anything, the Millers proceeded to the areas they were directed to by Holly.

Phil started laughing and said, “Holly, you remind me more and more of my twin all the time.  She directed people too; she always said it was more polite to say she directed them then telling them what to do.” 

Holly looked at Phil and smiled, “Sorry guys, but with this group somebody has to tell them what to do, if not we just follow each other.  Matt, you may want to help the girls with their shoe selection, in our old Pack they weren’t given options, they only bought one style of shoe and all the youngsters wore them.  I think when they see the selection they will either go wild or won’t know what to do.  I know Todd won’t know, he’ll buy them what they want instead of what they need.”

The three of them looked at the shoe section and saw the girls and Todd staring at the shoe wall not doing anything.  Matt said, “I’ll make sure they buy the right shoes, I know what the girls wear.”  He hurried over to the shoe wall and selected several styles for the girls to look at and Holly saw them nod their heads and start smiling.

Holly, Nana Ellen and Phil walked to the uniform section and Phil said, “You know, that’s a typical father response and I remember my father doing the same thing to my sister whenever she pouted.  She sure knew how to twist him around her little finger and get whatever she wanted.”

Holly smiled and said, “I haven’t met your sister, have I?  Did she move with you?”

Phil said quietly, “No, I haven’t seen or heard from Madeline since we left.  I tried calling, sent her emails and even wrote her a letter but haven’t received a response.  She was pregnant with her first little one and I don’t even know what she had.  Matt tried contacting his family too, but hasn’t received any replies either.”

Holly got quiet and squeezed his hand saying, “I’m sorry Phil.  Why did you leave your old Pack?  You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“It’s not a secret, everybody knows.  Well, the basic story anyway,” he said quietly.  “When Alpha Moeller and our old Pack found out we were mates, he demoted us to Omega’s and forbade us to see each other any more.  We were constantly watched and would get disciplined when we would look at each other or tried to talk; they thought by beating us it would take away our need to be together.” 

He got quiet and cleared his throat before continuing, “They made us choose who they would beat and Matt always said to beat him since he was bigger and stronger then me.  They forced me to watch by restraining my arms and head, prying my eyes open when I tried to close them.  In my nightmares I can hear myself screaming and begging them to stop, but they never did, they only stopped when he passed out.”

Holly gasped and grabbed Phil’s hand, tears shimmering in her eyes.  Phil looked at Matt and a small smile crossed his face before it was replaced by sadness as he continued talking, “Right before he would pass out, he would look at me and mouth the words, ‘Always together, until the end’.  Every scar he has on his body is because of me…he says it is a testament to how strong our love is and that no matter the obstacles we were meant to be together.”

Phil watched as Carol showed the girls and Nana Ellen uniform pants and continued, “This went on for five years.  Five years they tried to keep us apart, but no matter how hard we tried we couldn’t stay apart.  The need to be together couldn’t be denied even if it was a glimpse of each other or a touch of the others hand when we passed in the hall.  When they found out we still loved each other despite the beatings and punishments, they beat us until we were unconscious.  When we came to they banished us, giving us 24 hours to leave.”

“We were terrified of where we would go and what we would do, and then Matt remembered Alpha Carlo from a Council Meeting.  He was our last hope, our only hope actually,” Phil said taking a deep breath, his voice breaking with emotion.  “One of the Omega’s helped Matt with his phone when she brought in our lunch and Matt called Alpha Carlo at his store and told him what happened.  Without hesitation he welcomed us into the Pack and asked three questions, ‘Are you safe, can you get your belongings out safely and do you need help?’  When Matt told him about the last beating and how bruised and battered we were, Alpha Carlo got quiet and told us to stay in Matt’s room until further notice.”

Phil stopped talking again for several moments and then quietly continued, “Within minutes Alpha Carlo called Alpha Moeller and told him we were now under South Mountain Packs protection.  He was infuriated we found another Pack so quickly and came to the room screaming at us but he was afraid to beat us anymore so he decided on a different punishment, something he thought would hurt us even more.  We watched while they packed Matt’s belongings, labeling the boxes with his name and they brought in boxes labeled with my name from my room.  After they were done he told some of the guards to bring them out front.  We thought he was making it easier for us to leave, since our belongings would be outside, all packed and ready to go.” 

“We sat for three hours and no one would tell us what was going on, then there was a knock on the door, it was Frank and Joe,” said Phil quietly.  “Alpha Moeller refused to let us wear clothes they had provided for us, so the guards stripped us.  This was to be our final humiliation, walking out of the Pack naked.  I was so upset I started crying, it was the final insult and I couldn’t take anymore.”

Phil looked at Matt as he helped the girls pick out shoes and said, “Frank whispered to me not to give them the satisfaction of letting them see how upset I was.  I knew he was right; they had taken enough from us already.  Frank and Joe stripped off their shirts and shorts and then dressed us, since both of my forearms were broken and Matt’s shoulder was dislocated and his right arm was broken.  I was mortified, but Joe whispered to us not to worry, we were now part of South Mountain Pack and they took care of their own.” 

“When we walked outside, that’s when we realized why our belongings had been boxed up and what Alpha Moeller had planned.  There was a bonfire in the courtyard and as soon as they saw us on the porch they threw the boxes they had carefully packed onto it and everyone started screaming at us calling us fags and queers.  Frank whispered, ‘Don’t let them see any reaction, it’s just stuff, and remember what George Carlin said about stuff’.  We looked at each other and started smiling,” said Phil with a grin.     

“I think that infuriated them even more,” Phil got quiet again and looked at the girls going in and out of the changing rooms while Nana Ellen supervised.  “Two Pack members stepped forward to hit Matt and me, but Frank and Joe put us behind them to protect us.  Frank knocked out the first guy with one punch and Joe picked up and threw the other one and the rest of the Pack stepped back.  Frank shouted we were under the protection of Alpha Carlo Rossi, the Carlucci Brothers and South Mountain Pack and anybody who harmed us would face their wrath.” 

“Frank and Joe were larger then life to me, making threats to take on a whole Pack,” Phil said as a grin crossed his face.  “Did I mention Franks boxers were Tweety Bird and Joe’s were SpongeBob?  It was freakin hilarious looking back on it as they faced everyone wearing boxers and construction boots.”

“The threat worked though, the Pack parted like the Red Sea.  Once we got to the gates of The Compound, I saw why they had backed down.  Frank and Joe weren’t alone, there was ten more Pack members waiting and it was an intimidating sight; they were standing there with their arms crossed over their chests and scowls on their faces and they didn’t even crack a smile when they saw Frank and Joe.  We loaded up in the cars they had waiting and drove to the local airport.  Alpha Carlo had sent them in a private plane to get us out of there and as soon as we were in the air, Doc started to take care of our injuries.”

Phil got quiet again, a serious expression crossing his face as he said, “Alpha Carlo acted without the permission of the Alpha Council and authorized his Pack to enter another Packs territory without permission.  Frank and Joe volunteered to come and get us, knowing not only would they would be entering another Packs territory without permission but actually entering The Compound.  Carmelo, Doc, JR, Vinnie, Aldo, Fred, Larry, Barry, Jerry and Joel all put their lives on the line for us.”

Tears streamed down his face as he said, “That’s why we are so loyal to the Pack and especially Alpha Carlo, Frank and Joe.  They believed in us and protected us when our own families turned their backs on us.  They didn’t even know us and took better care of us then people that were supposed to love us unconditionally.  I love my family, but I don’t think I can forget or forgive them for what they did and didn’t do.”

Holly didn’t know what to say so she did what felt natural, she put her arms around him and hugged him as they cried.  Todd and Matt feeling their mates distress looked at them to make sure they were okay. 

Todd asked worriedly, “Hols, are you okay?”  Holly replayed the conversation to Todd and he visibly stiffened, horrified at what Matt and Phil had gone through.  “Take care of him, he needs you,” he sent quietly as he moved Matt away from the girls and explained what was going on.

Matt continued to look at his mate while the girls continued to try on shoes.  He said quietly, “I’m glad he’s finally talking to somebody, he’s always refused to tell anyone what happened.  He keeps so much inside of him sometimes but I know how much he hurts and until he faces the truth it won’t get better.  Even now he is still protecting those he loves, including me and there are still secrets he hasn’t divulged.”

Todd looked at him with understanding in his eyes and said quietly, “I think you need someone to talk to also and I’m here for you.  You can’t always be the strong one, sometimes you have to share the burden before it overwhelms you.”

Matt looked at Todd before glancing away, tears evident in his eyes.  He cleared his throat and said in a raspy voice, “I think I’d like that, I miss having an older brother to talk to.  After my sister died in a car accident, Jimmy and I were inseparable until he found out I was gay.  Afterwards he wouldn’t even look at me and he refused to let his mate Gloria talk to me or my nephew and niece come near me.”

“Even now Phil is trying to protect me,” he continued in a quiet voice.  “He didn’t tell Holly that one of the men who would restrain him was my brother.  My own fucking brother would stand there and watch them beat me and did nothing to protect me or my mate.  How can Phil forgive me for that?  How can I forgive myself?”

Todd sent a message to his Dad, “Dad, can you come and be with the girls, I’m having a conversation with Matt and it’s pretty important.” 

“On my way,” Papa Mike responded without question.

Todd drew a deep breath and said, “Matt, there is nothing to forgive.  Phil knows it wasn’t your fault, the fault lies with your brother.  You didn’t make him restrain Phil, he did that on his own.  You didn’t make him stand there and watch you get beaten, it was his choice to do nothing to protect you or your mate.” 

“When Frank and Joe were escorting us out, I saw my whole family there.  I tried to say goodbye but they glared at me and walked away, like I was a piece of trash they couldn’t wait to be rid of.  I said I love you and they never even turned around to look at me,” Matt rasped out, tears falling down his face. 

Todd pulled Matt into his arms as he whispered, “I’m sorry your family let you down when you needed them, families are meant to love and protect each other and I’m sorry you didn’t have that.”

Leaning back Todd looked Matt in the eye and said, “Those people can never hurt you again, unless you dwell on the past.  You have to focus on the present and your future.  You have a mate who loves you and a Pack who care for you and love you.  They love you because of what you stand for and who you are, not what they want you to be.  In the end that is the most important thing.” 

Matt took a deep breath as they let go of each other and said, “I never thought of it that way.  When we got here, the Alpha’s insisted we stay with them while we healed, even though they had a house ready for us.  When we opened the shop there were so many people helping us we could barely move, not because they had to be there, but because they wanted to.”

Todd smiled at him and said, “Sometimes it takes seeing through a different pair of eyes to realize what is in front of you.  I could tell how much you mean to everyone at the Ceremony and the protection details you are assigned.  Do you think you and Phil would have been put in charge of the women and little ones if they didn’t have absolute faith in you?  They trusted you with the things they love the most.”

Todd looked over and saw Brianna in her full school uniform and smiled before continuing, “I’ve only known you for a day, but seeing the confidence the Big Three have in you, I can say I fully trust you and Phil with the safety of my daughters.  I’ve only entrusted them with family and I’ve always wanted a baby brother to boss around, I guess this means I have two now.”

“Thank you big brother for everything and you were right, I did need to talk to somebody,” Matt said with a smile and then asked, “The Big Three?”

“Yeah, Carlo, Frank and Joe, the biggest three I know of.  And you’re welcome, but as your big brother you will find I am generally right, just don’t tell Holly.”  As the two men started to laugh Todd glanced at his daughters and said, “Now, if you don’t mind, let’s move over to the girls, I don’t want to go bankrupt buying shoes.”

Matt laughed even harder when he saw the boxes piled in front of the girls and said, “I think it’s too late.”

They moved over to the shoe section in time to hear Papa Mike say, “Okay, so we’re in agreement then?  You each get one pair of Topsiders, KEDS, Converse and Timberlands.  Plus, you’ll get two pairs of ballet flats at the mall, since they don’t have those here.”

“Papa Mike, can we substitute shoes?  Since I won’t be in school, I’d rather get some running shoes,” said Shannon.

“Crap, I forgot about other shoes you need.  Alright, here is the updated agreement,” said Papa Mike while the girls got quiet to listen.  “Everyone will get what we agreed on earlier plus running shoes, snow boots and a pair of sandals.  Plus the two pairs of ballet flats at the Mall and one other pair to be named later, okay?” 

The girls nodded their head in agreement going over to their individual piles to make sure they had what Papa Mike said as JR called over more help to bring out more shoes for the girls to try on.

“Why don’t you just hand them a credit card and let them buy anything they want?” asked Todd as his daughters started to smile, used to them arguing. 

“What?  I have things under control,” said Papa Mike with a frown on his face.

“Under control?  They have two feet, they can only wear one pair at a time, why do they need so many?” asked Todd.  “And what the hell is ‘a pair to be named later’?  This isn’t a baseball trade for players from the minors.”

“Because they do, that’s why.  Don’t argue with me, I’m your father and their grandfather and if I say they need ten pairs of shoes, then they get ten pairs of shoes.  Argument over,” stated Papa Mike as he glared at Todd while the girls giggled and Matt tried not to laugh.  JR looked at the ceiling with a big smile on his face.

“Whatever,” Todd said throwing his hands up in the air.  “You explain it to Holly.”

“Oh crap, I forgot about Holly.  Maybe she won’t notice,” said Papa Mike worriedly as he thought of his daughter in laws reaction as everyone started to laugh.

Todd said, “Yeah right, like Hols won’t notice seventy pairs of shoes at the checkout or being brought into the house.”

“What won’t Holly notice?” Holly asked causing Todd, Papa Mike and Matt to jump while the girls giggled. 

“Ugh, nothing Hols.  We were deciding on the shoes they needed and it’s a lot more then we thought.  You know with training, snow and giving them options so they don’t have to wear the same pair to school everyday,” said Todd with a shrug.

“I knew they’d need more then a couple pair.  I’m surprised the piles are so small, I figured the two of you would buy them one of everything,” said Holly with a smile.

Nana Ellen walked over and said, “The uniforms are done and being bagged, Carol suggested we get them five shirts and pants and two cardigans.  With Holly and I being busy getting the store up and running, we won’t have to do laundry as often.”

Papa Mike smiled at his mate and said, “Good thinking, but I still think we should get another washer and dryer. It’ll take forever with one set.”  

The next hour was spent finalizing shoe selections.  The girls after only ever having one style shoe in one color were amazed and delighted to get shoes different from their sisters. 

“At our store, we sell different color shoe laces, so you can individualize them even more.  Sophia and Maria come in all the time to get them to match their outfits,” said Matt with a smile on his face as the girls started talking excitedly.

Todd rolled his eyes, “Thanks, as if standing here for an hour listening to them debate about what color shoes to get isn’t bad enough, now I’m going to have to listen to them decide on shoe laces.  Not to mention the hair ribbons and other assorted crap.”  He turned to Matt and glared at him saying, “I thought you were on my side.”

“Aren’t younger brothers supposed to torment their older brothers?” Matt said with a grin bumping against Todd’s shoulder. 

“I think we’re finally done,” Holly said with a relieved look on her face.  “Let me check everyone’s pile one last time and then we can bring them to the register.” 

JR ran the register as Holly had each girl write their names on their shoe boxes so there wouldn’t be any arguing later.  “Okay, your total after discount, plus tax comes to $6,221.65,” said JR with a smile. 

Todd looked at his daughters and said, “Which one of you is paying?”  Holly whacked him on his arm and his daughters groaned as he got his credit card out. 

After the boxes and bags were loaded into the vehicles, Carol said to Phil, “I’ll see you and Matt on Wednesday, the usual time still okay?”

“Unfortunately, we’ll have to miss meatloaf and mashed potato night.  Darn it, and you were going to make broccoli casserole this week, weren’t you?  I love that,” Phil said with a sigh.  “The girls have training and assessments Wednesday and Frank and Joe want us there to help evaluate them.”

“Once school starts, the girls training class begins at 3:30.  They should be done by 7 and JR gets home at 7:30, so you have plenty of time,” said Carol with a smile.  “I was going to try a new Apple Crisp recipe with a cinnamon honey glaze and serve it with French vanilla ice cream from Fred’s.”

“If you don’t mind holding dinner, then yes we will come over as usual.  We’ll bring the ice cream though,” said Phil with a big smile. 

JR patted Phil on the back saying, “I swear she looks forward to dinner with the two of you more then she does with me.  She’ll hold dinner for you, but what do I get?  Leftovers in the oven.”

Carol put her hands on her hips and said, “Well, they treat me better then you do.  They bring me flowers and after dinner they help with dishes.”   

“Well of course they bring you flowers, they own a damn flower shop,” said JR as everyone started laughing.  “And they help clean the dishes because they are thankful they don’t have to eat their own cooking.”

Seeing the confused looks on the Millers, Carol said, “When it was discovered Phil and Matt couldn’t cook, they got invited by several of the families for dinner and that’s when the trouble started.”  She looked at Phil and Matt who were grinning.  “They would bring flowers and help clean up and the invitations poured in. That’s when the arguments started over where they would go, so now Madame Gina sends out a schedule at the beginning of every month, but Wednesdays are reserved for me and my meatloaf and mashed potatoes, Phil loves them.”

“Not all stereotypes are true about gay men,” said Phil with a smile.  “Neither of us can cook, the first couple of weeks on our own we existed on Pop Tarts, sandwiches and cereal and we still ended up with food poisoning.  In the last two years we’ve blown up four microwaves, destroyed five toasters and set the stove on fire twice.  I’m still not sure how it happened the second time when we weren’t even using it.  We haven’t even tried to use the oven, we’re afraid of it.”  

Todd was laughing so hard he had to put his hands on his knees.  “Tell me you can at least cook on a grill, every man can cook on a grill.  I think it’s ingrained in our DNA or something.”

Matt started blushing and he took a deep breath before saying, “Well, we HAD a grill, it was a housewarming present from the Carlucci’s.  Luckily, it was on the pool deck when it uhmm, kinda blew up.  Madame Gina forbids us to try and cook anymore; I think she’s afraid we’ll burn down the house.”  Everyone was laughing so hard even Matt joined in.

Phil looked at his watch and said, “Ooh, if we want the girls to get their headbands and ribbons we’d better get going.  Carol, remember we’ll pick up the ice cream and we’ll be there as quick as we can on Wednesday.”

The Millers quickly thanked JR and Carol for their help and then piled in their vehicles and followed Matt and Phil to their store which was a few minutes away.

*****

Frank and Joe continued to play Carlucci golf with the youngsters for thirty minutes and then Frank said, “Let’s take a break, we need to have a talk.  Damian, grab some waters and juices from the kitchen, the patio fridge is filled for tonight’s guests.”

The youngsters immediately moved towards the patio and Damian helped take their gloves and helmets off.  After he was finished he went into the kitchen and brought out armfuls of drinks for everyone.  Alberto, Angelo and Anthony talked quietly while the rest of the Clan sat silently, wondering what was going on. 

Frank, Rose, Joe and Annie sat staring at each other without talking.  When it felt like the tension had reached a breaking point and even Anthony, Alberto and Angelo could feel it, Frank and Joe stood up.

“What we say here today has to be kept quiet.  There are only a few people who know and until a decision is made, I want it to remain in the family,” said Frank who made eye contact with each of the youngsters and saw them nod their head.

“Mr. C, do you want me to leave?” asked Angelo.  “You probably want Ant and Al here because of the girls, but I won’t be offended if you want me to leave.”

Joe smiled at him and said, “Angelo, since your brother is the intended of my daughter that makes you family, but you don’t get a vote.”

“I can live with that,” he replied smiling as he leaned back in his chair.

Frank explained everything that happened with the Davis, Carlsbad and Grant Packs and didn’t leave out any of the details; he wanted them to be aware of everything involved with the Packs.  The youngsters looked horrified and he noticed Sophia and Maria were being held close to their intended’s sides. 

Joe waited several moments before he told them of the proposal from the Alpha Council that he and Frank become Alpha’s of the New Mexico Packs, and Todd become Alpha of Davis Pack.  Silence descended over the patio as the youngsters absorbed the announcement and then they started to talk at once.

“What does that mean exactly?”  “Are you going and leaving us here?”  “Are we all going?”  “What if we don’t want to go?”  “What about our plans for the company?”  “What is the Pack like?”  “What’s their security like?”  “When do you have to make the decision?”  “What do you know about the Packs?”  “Does this mean we would be in two separate Packs? We’ve never been apart before”  “What about my intended?  I won’t leave Brianna”  “I won’t leave Morgan, so what does that mean for me?”

Frank and Joe looked at their daughters who hadn’t said anything, but both were crying.  Anthony stood and pushed Sophia behind him, pinning her between the wall and his back.  He looked at Frank and a feral growl escaped his throat as his eyes turned pure amber, his arms were fully extended with his claws out and the seams of his shirt were straining as he was trying not to shift. 

Alberto grabbed Maria backing up against the wall next to Anthony.  He cradled her in his arms, deeply scenting her neck as he also let out a feral growl.  He looked at Joe and his eyes turned amber and his body started to shake as he fought the shift.

“MINE,” they shouted, enraged at the thought of being separated from their mates. 

“Oh, fuck,” said Frank and Joe quietly.

The Clan stood up quickly, intent on protecting the girls and Anthony and Alberto swung their gazes towards them and growled, this time it was deeper and more forceful.  Frank said, “Boys sit back down; their wolves perceive us as threats to their mates.  Rose and Annie move to the doors, do it slowly and do not make eye contact with them.”  Rose and Annie got up, displaying their necks to Anthony and went to stand at the French doors.    

Frank said, “Their wolves are about to come out, they’re losing control and I don’t want to fight my future son in law.  I think the girls are the only ones who can calm them down.”

“That’s going to be difficult since they are so upset,” answered Joe as he stared at his daughter who continued to cry in Alberto’s arms.  Frank heard Sophia crying too and her arms were encircled around Anthony’s waist.

“Calm down boys, we don’t want to fight you.  Alberto please put Maria down, I know you don’t want to hurt her but your wolf is very close to the surface,” said Joe in a calm voice and he moved his hands up as if surrendering.  “If you shift, she could accidentally get hurt and I know you don’t want that.”

Frank put his hands up and said quietly, “Anthony, I don’t want to fight you son, but my wolf is on edge and I’m barely controlling him.  I need you to calm down and I need to see my daughter, I want to make sure she is okay, I can hear her crying.”  

Alberto growled even louder as he pulled Maria tighter to his chest.  Maria responded by curling up tighter against his chest as she scented his neck and her injured arm moved up and she caressed his cheek with her hand.  At her touch he glanced down at her and said, “I would never hurt my mate.  You’re the one who is hurting her by trying to take her from me, and I will not allow us to be separated.”

Anthony continued to glare at Frank and said in a commanding tone, “You will not take my mate from me.  She is mine and will stay here with me, she is the future Madame Alpha of this Pack and she stays here.”  There was such power behind his voice that everyone shivered and tilted their neck in a submissive posture. 

Joe rolled his neck and tried to calm his wolf down; he was pacing back and forth, his fur standing on end at the threat to his daughter.  “Maria, I need you to tell Alberto you’re okay so he can calm down.  Please sweetheart, listen to me, I don’t know how much longer I can keep my wolf at bay while you are in danger and I do not want to fight with my son in law.”

Alberto looked down at Maria.  “I’m okay Leone, I just don’t want to leave you,” she sobbed into his neck while she continued to caress his cheek.  “Put me down before Daddy fights with you, please.  Daddy just wants to make sure I’m okay.”

Anthony pulled Sophia in front of him so her back was against his chest; his arms encircled her waist as he scented her neck.  His claws had retracted but his eyes were still amber as he glared at Frank and the rest of the males.  Sophia was crying and he whispered to her, “Please stop crying Arachide, you’re breaking my heart.”

“Please Daddy, don’t take me away,” Sophia said as she looked at her Father, tears streaming down her face.  “I don’t want to leave my mate, please Daddy.”

“Come here, little one,” said Frank with a raspy voice, holding his hand out to her.   Anthony released Sophia and she ran to her Father and he picked her up, cradling her in his arms, sinking onto a chair and rocking her.  “Little one, I didn’t mean to get you so upset.  We’re only talking about this, nothing has been decided.  We’ll make the decision as a family, like we always do.  I’m so sorry, please stop crying.”

Alberto slowly lowered Maria to the ground, making sure she was able to stand before letting her go.  Joe held his arms open and she ran to him just like she had when she was a little girl and her brothers and cousins had scared her.  He picked her up and held her tight against his chest, his hand rubbing her back and whispering to her, “I love you so much Sweetheart, I’m so sorry I made you cry, I didn’t mean to.”

Rose and Annie moved to hug their daughters, knowing instinctively that’s what they both needed, a hug from their mothers and a shoulder to cry on.

Several minutes later, they heard movement and Damian said, “I thought you could use this.”  He placed beers in front of the men and a glass of wine in his Mom’s and Aunt Rose’s hands.  He returned to the kitchen and brought out iced tea and tissues for Sophia and Maria and gently kissed their foreheads.  “Don’t get used to me being nice to the two of you, I like it better when I’m torturing and scaring you better.”  

“You’re a big softie Damian, you don’t want anyone to see how nice you really are,” said Sophia as she hiccupped and Maria nodded her head. 

“Of course not, I have a reputation as a bad-ass to uphold,” he said with a smirk. 

Lorenzo said, “A bad-ass?  Seriously?  When the hell have you ever been a bad-ass?”

“Did he say bad-ass or fat-ass?  Cause I would agree if he said fat-ass,” said Gianni as everyone started to smile, relieving the tension. 

“Shut the fu-…fudge up Gianni,” said Damian as he glanced nervously at his mother. 

Marcus laughed loudly and said, “Some bad-ass you are, you can’t even curse in front of your mother.”  The boys started laughing so hard that Sophia and Maria joined in along with their parents; even though Anthony and Alberto were laughing they still kept their eyes fixed on their mates.

“Whatever, I can be a bad-ass and a Momma’s boy at the same time,” said Damian with a smile.  He looked around the patio and said, “Now that I have everybody laughing again, why don’t we finish our conversation.”

Alberto and Anthony moved back to their chairs, both of them crossed their arms over their chests and stared at their intended’s fathers.  Sophia and Maria kissed their parents and rejoined their mates, holding their hands and leaning against their sides.

“We did a little bit of investigating about the Packs and here is what we know so far,” said Frank quietly.  “Neither Pack has a school, so you would have to attend the local public school which is two hours away or be homeschooled.  The youngsters are supposed to attend New Mexico State University and there is a campus in Carlsbad, but in the last twenty years no youngsters from either Pack have gone there.” 

“Both Packs live in Pack houses with a communal kitchen, Grant owns almost 1,500 acres and Carlsbad owns 2,000.  Both grow their own food, Grant has a herd of cows and Carlsbad has a herd of buffalo, and they trade meat with each other and barter for other goods.  Now here is where it gets interesting,” said Joe with a frown.  “Grant has less then $150,000 in the bank and Carlsbad has less then $95,000.  No one in either Pack holds outside jobs and they apparently have no source of income, there are no businesses registered in any of the Pack members names.  From what we could find out, whenever they need money, they sell a piece of land.”

Frank looked at Joe and said, “I find that last part hard to believe, how do they pay property taxes, utilities or buy vehicles?  Remind me to tell Carlo to have President Roberts look into the financials of both Packs, something isn’t right.  They must have another source of income that isn’t documented and it’s probably illegal.”     

“As far as security, we have no clue.  Neither Pack has allowed anybody on their lands in over fifteen years.  We got the majority of information from the required reports submitted to the Alpha Council, and those may be entirely false.  Hopefully, with President Roberts and his advisors there, we will be able to get more information soon,” said Frank as he looked at Joe.  “Joe and I were planning on flying out this week to get a better feel of the Packs.  If things progress further, then all of us will fly out later.  Is there anything we forgot?”

Joe nodded his head as he looked at the youngsters, “The distance between the Packs is too far for our family bond to work.  To make sure we can handle the separation of families, Alpha Carlo wants us to do a trial separation.  Starting at 5 PM on Friday and ending Saturday before the football game, we are to have no contact with each others families.  No movies, bowling, shopping, talking through the bond or on the phone.  Nothing, you are to have no contact with each other.”

“But Daddy, we were supposed to go on a double date this Friday with Maria and Alberto,” said Sophia as she looked at Frank with a pleading look.

“Please Daddy, it’s my first date,” begged Maria.  “We were going to meet Alberto for dinner and go bowling.  It was going to be a perfect first date and now everything is going to be ruined.”

“Oh, fuck,” said Frank and Joe looking at each other not wanting to disappoint their daughters again. 

“If its okay with the girls, we’ll move our date to Saturday night,” said Anthony as he looked at Alberto, Sophia and Maria who nodded their heads as Frank and Joe let out a sigh of relief.  “We can’t disobey an order from my father, and if he wants you to do this, then he has a good reason.” 

“What happens to Dominic and I if you decide to become the Alpha?  I don’t want to leave Brianna and I know he doesn’t want to leave Morgan,” questioned Vincent as he stared at his parents.

“If you choose to follow Brianna and Morgan, your father and I would support that decision.  Both of you are over eighteen and are capable of making decisions that would be best for you and your mate,” said Rose as Frank nodded.  “That does not mean you can start to do whatever you want now, you are still my sons and I will always have a say in what you do, especially since you both still live under my roof.”

“Yes, Momma,” both boys responded with a smile.

“Before the two of you say anything about the girls staying here, remember they are only fifteen.  The final decision of where they will live is up to us, we will not be separated from our daughters while they are so young,” said Annie as she looked at Anthony and Alberto, as Joe, Frank and Rose nodded their heads.

“That’s not fair, Vin and Dom get to do what they want,” said Sophia with a frown on her face.  “Anthony can’t come with us because he is the Alpha-heir and his responsibilities and mine are here.”

“Sophia, they are older then you and are capable of taking care of themselves, you aren’t.  Once you turn eighteen and are an adult, then you can make your own choices, until then your mother and I have the final say,” said Frank firmly as Sophia huffed and turned her head away. 

“Young lady, you’d better get your attitude under control.  We are putting up with it right now because we know you’re upset, but I will not tolerate you disrespecting us like that.  Do I make myself clear?” said Rose as she stared at Sophia.

“Yes, Momma,” said Sophia in a quiet voice.  “I didn’t mean to be disrespectful to you and Daddy and I’m sorry Aunt Annie.”  Rose and Frank nodded their heads and when Rose turned towards Annie, Frank winked at his daughter and Sophia answered with a smile.

“President Roberts gave us two weeks to make a decision.  I want all of you to think about this and we will have more meetings as information becomes available.  As far as Triple C, we will not make a decision about the business until we decide if we are taking the positions or not,” said Joe.  “We don’t want any of our employees worrying about their jobs while we are making this decision.  Any more questions?” 

“Dad, do you want me to see what I can find out about the Packs?” said Paulo quietly.  “Give me the emails for the Alpha’s and I’ll have some info for you in a couple of hours.”

Frank and Joe looked at each other before Joe said, “Yes, but do it tomorrow after practice.  We want you to enjoy the rest of today.”  Paulo nodded his head in agreement, already thinking of what programs to run.

“Let’s go finish our game,” said Frank as he stood up and finished his beer.  “I think we need to forget about this for a little bit and have some fun.”

“And by fun, your father means beat the crap out of each other,” said Rose laughing.

   

*****

Upon reaching his home, Carlo immediately sought out Gina who was waiting for him in the kitchen.  He held her tightly against his broad chest as he scented her and he felt some of his agitation slowly disappear.

“What’s the matter?  And don’t tell me it’s nothing, I could feel your agitation through the mate bond,” she said quietly.

“Come into the office with me, my love.  I have a lot to tell you,” answered Carlo as he held her hand and led her down the hall.

After making sure his mate was comfortable on the black leather sofa, Carlo told her everything that happened at The School House.  He paced back and forth in front of her, his agitation evident in the scowl on his face, his arms waving through the air and the amber tint in his eyes.

When he was finished he looked at Gina and saw tears running down her face and immediately went to her and held her.  “Carlo, we can’t lose any of the females and if anything happened to Sophia, Anthony would never get over it,” cried Gina.

“I know, and we’ll do everything in our power to prevent it.  But we need to prepare and get ready starting now, so I’m going to call a meeting of the men tomorrow evening and we’ll have a Pack meeting on Tuesday,” said Carlo gently.

“Why are you splitting the meetings up?  You should tell everyone at the same time,” said Gina as she looked into Carlo’s eyes.

“I’m doing it this way because I know the men’s reactions will be filled with rage.  Their protective instincts will come out and they’ll be anxious to keep their families safe,” said Carlo as he rolled his shoulders.  “When Aldo told me, it took me almost five minutes to calm myself and my wolf down before I started to think clearly.  What I want and what the Pack needs is for the men to get enraged and then formulate a plan to prevent this from happening.  They won’t be able to do that if they are busy soothing their mates.”

“Carlo, the women are just as protective of their families as the men and we may have some good ideas too,” Gina said firmly as she stroked Carlo’s cheek to calm him.  “I don’t agree with your reasoning to separate the meetings but I can see why you want it that way.  Promise me at the Pack meeting you won’t hold anything back, we need to know everything that is going on, we are stronger then we look.”

“I promise, but you have to understand, we know how strong our mates are but our first thought is to keep you safe.  I could not live without you and the thought of you being hurt is something I cannot tolerate,” Carlo said looking in her deep brown eyes.  “What I need you and the other women to do is to think of ways to help, without putting yourselves in danger.” 

Gina leaned in and kissed Carlo gently and then tilted her neck so he could scent her.  “I know you want to protect me, but I am Madame Alpha of this Pack Carlo and the Pack will look to me for guidance.  I will not be put into a gilded cage; those are my Pack members that are in danger and I will not be kept in the dark.”

Carlo inhaled deeply, her scent of cherry cordials never failed to soothe him or his wolf.  “I promise my love, you know I could never do anything to upset you.”

“I will hold you to that promise,” replied Gina already thinking of items that needed to be done in preparation of the upcoming battle.   

“Now we need to get ready to go to Frank’s, I know we’ll be early but I need to talk to Frank and Joe before I talk to their families and more importantly our son,” said Carlo with a grimace.  “I have to tell my best friends their daughters are going to be one of the main targets.  Frank, Joe, Anthony and Alberto will go ballistic; then we have to deal with Vincent and Dominic who are intendeds with two of the Millers.”

“How do you know Sophia and Maria will be one of the main targets?” questioned Gina.  “Aldo didn’t mention them specifically or did I miss something?”

“Sophia will be at the top of the list because she is the Alpha-Heir’s intended mate and the Second in Command’s daughter.  Maria will be second on that list because she is the Third in Command’s daughter,” answered Carlo as he held his head in his hands.  “Centuries of warfare history have proven they will be the main targets.  Even if Frank takes the new Alpha position in New Mexico, Sophia will still be a target since she is Anthony’s intended.” 

Gina stood up with a firm resolve and said, “Well then, we have to make sure that doesn’t happen. I will NOT let anything happen to my son’s intended or to my best friend’s daughters or the other females in this Pack.  I’ll call my brother tomorrow; at least we know we have his Pack as allies.”  As Gina walked towards the door; she stopped and said, “Carlo, it’s time for you to call in the centuries old marker.  I’ll get everything ready for us to leave while you make the call.” 

Understanding dawned in Carlo’s eye and he pulled Gina into his chest and kissed her gently before saying, “I can always count on you to think clearly my love.  I had forgotten about the marker, but they are honor bound to respond to it.”

Carlo watched as Gina left his study and then moved the sofa and braided area rug.  Two hundred year old oak floor boards stared back at him reminding Carlo of the history of The Manor House and he thought of the generations of Rossi’s who had occupied the home and the generations to come. 

He extended one claw and gently inserted it into a seam and moved it around until he heard the locking mechanism click.  He sat back on his heels as a four foot section separated and he lifted it up exposing the safe underneath.  His hands automatically turned the dial without thought as he remembered the circumstances that lead his Grandpa to show him the safe and making him memorize the combination when he was fifteen.

Memories flooded over him as he thought of that day, the second worst day of his life.  He closed his eyes as the feeling of loss washed over him even though almost twenty seven years had passed since he lost his parents when their plane went down on the way to an emergency Alpha Council meeting.  The lessons his father and his Grandpa had taught him rolled through his mind and he hoped they would guide him through the upcoming battle.  Thoughts of his Grandparents filled him with a sense of calm as he remembered their guidance and support as they took over the Alpha duties until he finished school and was mature enough to take on the responsibility.   

The one constant throughout everything he had been through was Frank and Joe.  Minutes after the Alpha connection had been severed when his parents died; Frank and Joe were at his door, out of breath from their frenzied run to his house, knowing he would need them.  They sat with him, cried with him, made him eat, talked with him about nothing and everything but most importantly they were just there.  They had always been there for him, from the day they were born when he was two months old and Frank was placed on his right side and Joe on his left in his crib.

As he extracted the document he was looking for, his thoughts turned once again to Frank and Joe and a feral growl escaped him as he thought of someone daring to harm his best friend’s daughters and his sons intended.  The growl got louder as he thought of the threat to the other females and he closed his eyes and calmed his wolf down promising him it wouldn’t happen. 

He sat down behind his desk and closed his eyes calming himself down before opening the protective oil skin casing revealing a leather document pouch.  He carefully removed the fragile document which was written in Old World Italian and studied it carefully.  The wording had to be correct and formal since he was invoking a centuries old promise and he didn’t want to make any mistakes.  He remembered his Grandpa telling him he had invoked the marker during the Were War and they had honored the marker but refused to accept it, telling his Grandpa to keep it for another time.  He read the document twice, made notes and then picked up the phone and dialed a number from memory.

“Dante Eduardo Rossi, Alfa di Rossi Pack, dominatore del Lazio, in Italia, questo è Carlo Eduardo Rossi, Alfa di South Mountain Pack, dominatore della Western Maryland, Stati Uniti. Sto invocando il marcatore dato a Giacomo Eduardo Rossi di Giuseppe Eduardo Rossi, che porta la data del primo settembre, nel 1777. Onore a voi, il vostro obbligo di questo marcatore?” Carlo asked as he held his breath.   

(“Dante Eduardo Rossi, Alpha of Rossi Pack, Ruler of Lazio, Italy, this is Carlo Eduardo Rossi, Alpha of South Mountain Pack, Ruler of Western Maryland, United States.  I am invoking the marker given to Giacomo Eduardo Rossi by Giuseppe Eduardo Rossi, dated the First of September, 1777.  Will you honor your obligation to this marker?”)

Carlo heard Dante clear his throat before saying, “Sì mio cugino, mi pregio il marcatore senza dubbio.”

(“Yes my cousin, I will honor the marker without question.”)

Carlo quickly explained in English the situation to his cousin who listened without interrupting.

When Carlo finished Dante said in English with a thick Italian accent, “We leavea to comea soon to go to da meeting of da men, to helpa strategy your plans, no?  I bringa fifteen bigga stronga men to as you say get the lands where your lay.”  

Carlo started laughing and said, “What the hell is the matter with you?  You speak better English then I do.”

“Oh cuz, at least let me have a little bit of fun, I like playing the ignorant Italian who don’t speaka da good English,” said Dante laughing.  “I was going to call you this week, my new Gulfstream is ready and since I am overdue for a visit I figured I would swing by.  I notified the European Council last week, but I left the exact dates open.  I will notify them I am leaving tonight as soon as we get off the phone.”

“I’ll notify the Alpha Council of your visit and I’m sure President Roberts will have someone pay an official visit while you’re here,” said Carlo as he leaned back in his leather chair.  “Give me a call when you’re thirty minutes from Hagerstown Regional Airport and we’ll be there to pick you up and naturally you’ll stay with us.  I’d love to chat, but I have to talk to Frank, Joe and more importantly my son.”

“Give them my best and tell them I will be bringing their cousins with me.  I do not think I could keep them away once they find out about the threat to their family and the other females,” said Dante with anger in his voice.  “We will stay for a week or two so we can go over plans, and then we will come back every couple of months so it is not obvious when we arrive when the battle happens.” 

He got quiet before he continued in a firm voice, “Oh and Cuz, the marker is still good.  You do not need to call it in for this, we always protect our own.  Those fuckers will learn they messed with the wrong family, stupidi Bastardi.”  

“Dobbiamo proteggere la confezione e la famiglia sopra ogni cosa,” both men recited the Rossi family creed before hanging up.

(“We protect the Pack and family above all else.”) 

Carlo leaned back in his chair and exhaled loudly.  Having the Rossi Pack on their side greatly tilted the advantage in their favor.  Dante had one of the largest Packs in Europe, numbering almost two thousand and was the Italian Representative to the European Council.  He glanced at the clock on the wall and hurriedly put the document back in the safe, replacing the floor boards, braided rug and sofa before rejoining Gina in the kitchen. 

As he walked into the kitchen he saw her sitting at the table staring out the back windows lost in thought.  He walked up to her quietly and sat next to her pulling her into his side saying quietly, “It’s done, they’ll be here tomorrow.  Dante is bringing fifteen men with him and they’ll be staying with us for a week or two.”

“I’ll get the rooms ready tomorrow,” said Gina as she continued to stare out the window.  “He didn’t accept the marker did he?”

“No, he didn’t.  He said family always protects their own,” said Carlo with a smile.

“I didn’t think he would, and he is right…We protect our own.  Now, let’s get going, everything is ready and is in your truck,” said Gina as she got up.

*****

The Millers followed Matt and Phil into South Mountain Florist and Gifts and their eyes lit up with excitement.  The girls because of the twenty foot wall section of hair bows, ribbons and shoelaces.  Holly and Nana Ellen because of the section of gourmet Maryland and Virginia foods and Todd and Papa Mike because of the section of replica sports stadiums and sports figurines.

“We found the plaid fabric at one of the fabric stores and realized it was the perfect color of the school uniforms,” said Phil as he smiled.  “So we bought all they had and made the padded headbands, barrettes and bows for the girls and ties for the boys to wear when they travel away to games.  We also had a local weaver follow the pattern and in the cooler months we sell scarves and beanies.  As Were’s we really don’t need them to keep warm unless it’s brutally cold, but appearances must be kept.”

“These stadium replicas are fantastic,” said Todd with a grin. 

Matt moved over to talk to Todd and Papa Mike while Phil talked to Holly and Nana Ellen about the gourmet food items.  The girls stood in front of the wall not exactly sure what to do since they had lost their parents and grandparents attention.

“Daddy, are you going to tell us what we can have?” asked Brianna as her sisters continued to look at the wall.

“Oh, sorry sweetie.  Why don’t you start with ten pairs each of the laces.  You can also get two headbands, two barrettes and one of the matching bows and then one of the ribbon things they wear to the football games, okay?” he questioned and the girls nodded their heads as they moved forward to select their shoe laces.

Brianna and Morgan counted off the amounts allowed by their father and brought them to the counter.  They made ten separate piles, one for each of the girls before going to select their shoelaces. 

Todd, Papa Mike and Matt continued to talk about the stadium replicas for several minutes when they heard Maeve shout in excitement, “Daddy, come here quick.”

Todd hurried over, wondering what his youngest daughter had found when she pointed and shouted, “Oh Daddy, can I get these?  I really want them, oh Daddy, please please please can I get them?”

“Sure cupcake, whatever you want,” Todd replied without even looking at what his daughter wanted or was pointing at.

“This is why he shouldn’t be in charge of buying the girls anything,” said Holly with a smile.  “He doesn’t even know what she wants or how much it costs.” 

“And his father is just as bad,” murmured Nana Ellen as they watched Papa Mike scurry over to see what his youngest Granddaughter wanted so badly.

Matt, Todd, Holly and Nana Ellen watched as Maeve picked a pair of shoelaces and hair bow off the wall and started laughing when they saw they were imprinted with the Dallas Cowboys name and star logo. 

“Okay, the agreement has changed,” said Todd with a smile.  “In addition to what we agreed earlier, everyone gets one of the Cowboys shoe laces and hair bows.  You can wear them on game days.”

“Thank you, Daddy,” said Maeve as she jumped up and down excitedly.

“Anything for you cupcake, especially when it has the Cowboys logo on it,” said Todd with a grin as Maeve hugged him.  The adults watched as Brianna and Morgan got ten of each and placed one of each on the individual piles on the counter. 

“Are they always like that?” whispered Phil, nodding towards Brianna and Morgan.

“Yes, they’re very protective of their sisters, especially of Fiona and Maeve,” Holly whispered back.  “When they were born, both suffered from aspiration pneumonia.  Fiona responded well to treatment, but Maeve had a much harder time of it, being the smaller twin.  We almost lost her several times before she finally started to show improvement, the Doctor said if she was human and didn’t have Were healing abilities she would have died.  It severely compromised her system for several years and when she was little she was prone to get bronchitis a lot, but in the last couple of years that has stopped.”

“The girls were very careful when she was little,” added Nana Ellen.  “She would get winded easily and cough if she ran around too much.  Now she is as active as the rest of them, but the older ones still look out for her.”     

“Make sure Doc knows her history anyway,” Phil whispered back.  “Winters here are hard, sometimes the air gets bitterly cold and people who have respiratory problems will sometimes have trouble.  When we moved from South Carolina it was a shock to our systems the first year, now we’re used to it.”

“We’re bringing them in for their school physicals Monday afternoon after school lets out,” said Holly.  “They should’ve had them already, but Doc said as long as they were done Monday there shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Mommy, we’re done,” said Morgan with a smile as the girls walked to the counter with their shoe laces.

Matt moved behind the counter and rang up each pile separately, putting them in individual bags with the girls names on them.  Holly and Nana Ellen put several food items on the counter, Todd walked up with a box containing a replica of Cowboys Stadium and Papa Mike placed five boxes on the counter as Todd looked at him and started laughing.

“What are those?” asked Nana Ellen as she picked one of the boxes up.

“Tom Landry, Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin collectible figurines,” answered Papa Mike grabbing the box and placing it back on the counter. 

“You’re buying dolls?” asked Nana Ellen as the girls started giggling.

“They are not dolls, they are signed limited edition highly collectible figurines, prized among discriminating collectors,” said Papa Mike as he narrowed his eyes.

“You can say whatever you want, but they’re still dolls,” said Nana Ellen as she began to laugh. 

“Collectible sports figurines,” he growled back to her, narrowing his eyes.

“Okay, they’re collectible sports figurines.  But if I catch you on the floor playing with them, I’ll call them dolls,” said Nana Ellen with a smirk.  Papa Mike threw his hands in the air and walked away as everybody started to laugh.

“Your total after the discount comes to $787.54,” said Matt with a smile. 

Todd looked at his daughters and said, “I think that’s enough shopping for today.  I don’t even want to see how much it’s going to cost when we go clothes shopping during the week.”

“Todd, most of that was for your stadium replica and Papa Mike’s figurines,” said Holly with a laugh.  “You can’t blame the girls for that.”  Todd shrugged his shoulders and looked at his daughters and winked as they smiled back at him.

Matt looked at Phil who was getting the arrangement he made earlier in the day for Rose out of the refrigeration unit, it was filled with her favorite flowers; delicate pink and white roses, white carnations and pink Asiatic lilies.

“Fill these out and give them to us when you’re done,” said Matt quietly as he handed some papers to Todd and Papa Mike without being seen by everyone else.  “It lists your mates favorite flowers, her birthday, your mating anniversary, your youngsters birthdays and any other important dates.  We’ll put it on the computer and send you a reminder so you don’t forget.”

Matt looked back to Phil who was talking to Holly, Nana Ellen and the girls showing them the other arrangements kept in the refrigeration unit.  “The men have found it useful to be sent a reminder for birthdays and anniversaries.  Don’t worry; the women don’t know we send them out.”  Todd and Papa Mike smiled and put the papers in the bottom of their bags.

“Holly, you mentioned we needed to stop by your house so you and Nana Ellen could frost the cakes for dinner tonight and since we finished up early we have plenty of time,” said Phil with a smile.  “While the two of you do that, we’ll help carry the boxes and bags inside for the girls.”

The Millers and Phil went out front while Matt closed the register down and locked up the shop.  “This is one of the shops that’s vacant,” said Phil as he pointed to the building next to them.  “Dom’s Deli was here and they moved to their new location down the street when they outgrew the building.  The nice thing is there is a partial kitchen in the back, three empty rooms upstairs, two public restrooms and it has all the security upgrades.  There is parking around back and there is a deck area on the side that can accommodate patio tables.”

Holly and Nana Ellen peeked in the windows and Todd and the girls walked around the building while Papa Mike was busy looking at his collectible figurines. 

Several minutes later they returned and Todd said, “The deck runs the length of the building and seems sturdy and there’s a door leading onto it from the front room so it’s easy access for customers.  I couldn’t see into the kitchen area, there’s paper over the back windows, but the parking lot will hold at least twenty cars, plus you have street parking.  What do you think?  It wouldn’t hurt to take a look.” 

Matt joined them out front as Nana Ellen asked, “Do you know who owns the building?  I’d like to call them and tell them we’d like to see the inside.”

“Well, technically we all own the building,” said Phil with a smile.  “It’s owned by SMI, South Mountain Industries, which is the Pack.  So, you need to talk to Carlo.”

“What do you think Mike?” asked Nana Ellen as she continued to peer in the windows.  “Phil said the upstairs is empty so we could do the baking up there to keep the first floor cool and just have a smaller kitchen on the first floor for final preps.  It’ll be a lot of work to install the kitchen, you’d probably have to rewire the whole building and we’d definitely have to upgrade the plumbing.  We’d probably need to install an elevator too, as well as paint and sand the wood floors but it has a good location and its right next to the boys.”   

“What?  Sounds wonderful, move in condition, make an appointment as soon as you find out who the owner is,” he replied, as everyone started laughing he looked up and hurriedly put the box back into his bag. 

“You haven’t heard a darn thing any of us said, have you?” asked Nana Ellen as she whacked him on the arm.  “If you don’t start paying attention, I’m going to take your little collectible action figurines away until you start to behave.”

“Whatever you think is best, just tell me when I have to be there,” said Papa Mike once again glancing in his bag.

“We’ve lost him again,” whispered Holly as the girls started to giggle.

Papa Mike looked up to see everyone staring at him with smiles on their faces and he said, “Come on, let’s go back to the house, we have unpacking to do.”  With that he turned around and hurried to his vehicle, opening the back and carefully placing his bag inside. 

“Come on girls,” Nana Ellen said to Fiona and Maeve as she moved them quickly to the vehicle.  “He’s liable to leave us here so he can go home and play with his dolls.”  Fiona and Maeve started giggling as they climbed into the vehicle and Papa Mike pulled away leaving everyone else on the sidewalk.

“Does he even know where he’s going?” asked Matt as he started to laugh.

They watched as the SUV braked abruptly and Papa Mike got out and said, “What is everyone waiting on?  We’ve got unpacking to do.”

Aislin said, “He really wants to get home to play with those dolls, doesn’t he?”

*****

As they continued to play Carlucci golf, Anthony stopped and tilted his head sniffing the air, followed by Frank, Joe and Alberto as they stared towards the garage.

“My parents are here,” said Anthony as Frank and Joe nodded their heads.

“We’ll be right back,” said Frank as he and Joe jogged towards the garage to meet Carlo and Gina. 

“How did you hear them or scent them?” asked Vincent as he looked at Anthony and Alberto.  “I didn’t notice anything, just us shouting.”

Anthony shrugged his shoulders and said, “Well, since I’m the Alpha-heir and have Alpha blood, my hearing and sight are better then average which is why I noticed it first, plus my intended is here and I’m always cautious when she is near.  Your fathers noticed because their youngsters are here and Alberto because his intended is here.  If Brianna or Morgan were here, your wolf would’ve been more alert and you’d have noticed it too.” 

Alberto smiled at Vincent and Dominic and said, “It’s something you get used to.  I was always alert when Gabby was around, but when I’m around Maria my wolf is constantly pacing back and forth and pays attention to everything around us.”  Everyone got quiet as they watched Alpha Carlo, Frank and Joe come around the corner of the garage carrying coolers and Madame Gina carried several bags.

“Gattina, that means I know you’re trying to get that ball,” said Alberto with a laugh as Maria stopped in her tracks and smiled at him.  She grabbed the ball and took off running, her cousins in hot pursuit, while Sophia grabbed the other ball out of Anthony’s hand and took off in the opposite direction followed by her cousins.

“They’re a bloodthirsty lot, aren’t they?” remarked Anthony as he watched both girls get tackled and fight with their cousins.  “Damn, she pinched his ass,” he said as he watched Sophia attack Michael, then get up and rip the ball out of his hands and take off running.  He smiled as she did a victory dance after placing the ball in the bucket.

“That’s nothing, Maria kneed Vincent in the balls,” said Alberto as he bent over laughing as Lorenzo swung her in his arms after she scored.  “No wonder Vin told us to watch out for the girls, I never realized how vicious they were, I guess with the brothers and cousins they have, they need to be.”  

Rose and Annie looked at each other and smiled as they aimed their golf balls, seconds later Anthony and Alberto shouted as they were hit in the back as Rose and Annie laughed.  As they bent over to retrieve the balls, they were tackled to the ground as the youngsters battled for the balls.

Carlo, Frank and Joe placed the coolers on the patio and Gina put the bread on the table before they walked over to join Rose and Annie.  The adults stood there and watched the youngsters for several moments before Carlo cleared his throat and looked at Gina who nodded her head.

“We need to talk,” said Carlo as his eyes scanned the tree line and he scented the air for anything unusual.  His wolf was on edge and wanted assurance the youngsters were safe.

“Hold on a second,” said Rose as her and Annie grabbed a handful of balls and threw them at the youngsters and they watched as they scrambled after them.  “That’ll keep them occupied for a while.” 

“There is no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to come out and say it,” Carlo took a deep breath and said, “I found out today there is going to be an attack on the Pack within the next twelve to eighteen months. They’re going to be coming after the females again but we believe their primary targets will be your daughters and the Millers.”  Frank and Joe swung their heads to stare at him, low feral growls escaping their throats, their hands extending into claws and their eyes turned amber as they fought their wolves from taking over.  Rose and Annie were shaking with rage and growls escaped from them as Gina grabbed their hands to calm them down.

Feeling the charge of danger in the air, Anthony and Alberto immediately halted their steps, seconds later the others felt it and Anthony shouted “PROTEGGERE.”  As the boys ran to the girls they threw their helmets on the ground and ripped off their gloves with their extended canines.

Carlo, Frank and Joe turned to look at the youngsters as the boys ran towards the girls.  Sensing the youngsters fear and anxiety to get the girls to safety, their wolves couldn’t be contained any longer.  Ripping sounds could be heard as their clothes shredded around them as they shifted and moments later three large wolves stood there, one solid black and two chocolate.  They were snarling and emitting primal growls as they reacted to the threat to the Pack and their family.

Seeing their fathers shift into their wolves made the boys run even faster and Anthony and Alberto threw their intendeds over their shoulders and moved into the middle of the protective formation as the boys ran to the house.  Since Anthony and Alberto had made their declarations, the protective formation around the girls had been changed.  The front line now consisted of Marcus, Victor and Dom, the left flank was Gianni, Enzo and Gino, the right flank was Lorenzo, Paulo and Michael and the rear flank was Vincent, Sal and Damian.  Knowing Damian shouldn’t run, Angelo threw him over his shoulder and joined Vincent and Sal on the back line.  The Clan continually scanned the surrounding area for a threat, and even though they didn’t see any they weren’t taking any chances. 

Seeing their mothers standing there and not moving towards the house, Anthony said, “Get our mothers.”  Marcus, Victor and Dom lowered their shoulders as they approached the women and threw them over their shoulders without breaking stride.  Seeing the boys take the women towards the house the three large wolves immediately turned and followed them scanning the surrounding area.

As the boys reached the house Anthony asked his father opening the bond to include everyone, “Do they need to go to the safe room?” 

“No, make sure the house is safe before they go inside,” Carlo responded and then the three wolves started pacing back and forth on the patio as they continued to growl and snarl throwing their heads back as they continued to sniff the air. 

Damian went into the kitchen, checking the alarm was still on for the rest of the house and sniffing the air to make sure no one else was present before he quickly checked the rest of the house.  As soon as he gave the all clear, the women were lowered to the ground and went into the house, Rose, Annie and Gina shaking with suppressed rage as Sophia and Maria stared at each other wide-eyed since they had no idea what was going on. 

Sophia’s voice trembled as she said, “Momma, what’s going on?  Do we need to go to the safe room?”  She glanced out on the patio and saw the three wolves pacing back and forth as the boys were ripping the tape from around their cleats, so they would be ready to shift if needed.

Rose sighed as she said, “There is no threat right now little ones but after the men calm down we need to have another talk.  Go downstairs and get some clothes for them out of the laundry room while we get them something to drink.  I think they’re going to need something stronger then beer.” 

“After you’re done getting the clothes for the men, go upstairs and get ready for dinner,” said Annie with a smile, both girls nodded their heads and went to do as instructed.

Knowing their intendeds were safe in the house, Anthony and Alberto concentrated on what was going on outside.  Anthony was taking deep breaths to calm down but his voice was still filled with anger as he said, “Dad, what’s going on?  Where is the threat?  Are you sure they don’t need to be in the safe room?  I’m not taking any chances with my mate, if there is any danger I want her in the safe room.”

Carlo snarled and threw his head back as he roared, “IF THERE WAS DANGER, DO YOU THINK I WOULD RISK MY MATE OR ANY MEMBER OF MY PACK? RIGHT NOW THERE IS NO THREAT AND WE ARE SAFE, BUT YOU MUST KEEP YOUR FOCUS ON WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND YOU AT ALL TIMES.  REMEMBER YOUR LESSONS ANTHONY, AS THE ALPHA-HEIR YOU MUST THINK OF THE WHOLE PACK, NOT JUST YOUR MATE.”

“IF THERE IS NO THREAT WHY DID YOU SHIFT? AND DON’T TELL ME ABOUT MY LESSONS AND MY RESPONSIBILITIES, I KNOW MY FUCKING RESPONSIBILITIES.  MY ENTIRE FUCKING LIFE ALL I’VE HEARD ABOUT IS MY RESPONSIBILITY TO THE PACK AND I’VE NEVER ONCE LET YOU OR THE PACK DOWN,” Anthony roared back as he stood up to his full height.  “IN CASE YOU DIDN’T NOTICE, WE MOVED THE GIRLS, MOM, MRS. C AND MRS. JC TO SAFETY WHILE THE THREE OF YOU WERE LOSING YOUR SHIT AND SHIFTING INTO YOUR WOLVES.”

The boys glanced at each other nervously; they had never heard Anthony and his father talk to each other like that before.  “LOSING MY SHIT?  YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON,” snapped Carlo as his wolf continued to pace back and forth on the patio flanked by the two chocolate wolves who were throwing their heads back and forth snarling and baring their teeth. 

“Well then why don’t you tell me so I do know what is going on.  I can’t protect my mate and the rest of the Pack if you keep things from me,” said Anthony belligerently but in a much calmer tone as he crossed his arms over his chest.  “The first thing the three of you need to do is calm the fuck down and shift back, then we can have a discussion without the three of you pacing back and forth and snarling.”

The boys glanced at each other again, as wide-eyed as Sophia and Maria had been a few minutes earlier, they had never heard anybody tell their Alpha or the Carlucci men to calm the fuck down.  The three wolves stopped pacing and walked towards Anthony, who continued to stare at his father and even raised his eyebrow as he waited for them to shift.

“Get us some clothes and tell the women we’re shifting back,” Frank said to Damian who hurriedly moved into the kitchen to comply.  As much as he wanted to stay out there to see what was going on, he wanted to get away just as bad.

“Uhmm, they’re shifting back and need some clothes,” he muttered to nobody in particular.  Rose pointed to the pile of clothes on the breakfast bar as the women turned their backs and Damian muttered, “Thanks.”

He went back outside to see his Dad, Uncle Frank and Alpha shift back and stare at Anthony, mimicking his posture by crossing their arms over their chests.  Anthony stood his ground and stared back at his Dad and if anything his expression got fiercer.  He had to give Anthony credit; if that was him he would be shaking in his shoes.  His mind wandered as he thought of other idioms such as quaking in his boots, tossing his cookies and his personal favorite which was shitting in his shorts but he was brought out of his reverie as he realized everyone was staring at him.  “What?” he said dumbfounded as he looked around at everyone. 

His Dad raised his eyebrow and said sarcastically, “Are you going to give us the clothes or are we going to stand here all night bare assed naked with our dicks flapping in the wind?” 

“Yeah, I guess that would help,” Damian said as he laughed quietly handing the pile of clothes to his father who passed them to the other men and they quickly slid the cargo shorts on. 

“Anthony, there are things going on that you don’t know about, things you may not understand,” said Carlo as he stared at his son.  “What I don’t need is for you to challenge my authority; we need to come together to face the challenges ahead.”

Anthony took a deep breath and said, “Dad, I’m not challenging your authority, all I want is to know what is going on so I can protect my mate and my Pack.  All of the lessons you’ve taught me won’t do a damn bit of good if you keep things from me.”

Carlo continued to stare at his son and came to the stark realization that his little boy was finally a man.  As he looked at his son it was like he was looking at a mirror image of himself, and he realized that his son was much more mature then he had been at that age.  It wasn’t only his physical presence; it was in his mental attitude and toughness, his ability to lead and take charge.  His son was a born leader and would grow to be one of the strongest Alpha’s that Carlo had ever known and even at the age of seventeen the power radiating off of him was stronger then anything Carlo had ever felt before.   

With that thought in mind, Carlo looked at the Carlucci boys who had knowingly or unknowingly lined up flanking Anthony on both sides and he had to suppress a smile when he saw that.  They had been trained from birth to protect the Alpha, the Pack and their family, just as generations of Carlucci’s before them had done.  Since the beginning of the original Rossi Pack in Italy, the Carlucci’s had always held the positions of Top Beta’s and Enforcers and this generation was no different.  He changed that thought, this generation was different because there was so many of them, never before in the history of the Pack had there been so many Carlucci’s. 

“I don’t know if I should praise them or be mad at them that they are facing off against us like they are,” said Frank as he rolled his shoulders trying to release some of the tension, echoing Carlo’s thoughts.

“I know what you mean,” said Joe looking at his sons and nephews.  “On one hand I’m so proud of them and on the other I want to take them to the training facility and show them who is stronger.”

“They have the strength of numbers,” said Carlo looking at his son who continued to stare back at him.  “Maybe that was Luna’s plan all along, She knew the time would come when we would face a great challenge and would need them.”

The men got quiet for several moments thinking over Carlo’s statement and then Joe said, “Everyone should go and get changed.  Our company should be here shortly and I don’t think it would be polite for us to be barely-dressed when they arrive.”

“Well, it would make dinner conversation much livelier then going over the stupid ass dating rules again,” said Damian with a laugh.  “It would be easier if I got them tattooed on my ass and had everybody read them.”

“Well, your ass is certainly fat enough to have them printed on there,” said Lorenzo with a straight face before the males burst out laughing dissolving the tension.  

Damian said in a whining voice but with a wicked smile on his face and a glint in his eyes, “Mommy, Aunt Rose, they’re picking on me again.” 

“Boys, leave him be,” said Rose trying not to laugh as the women walked onto the patio and handed Carlo, Frank and Joe large tumblers of whiskey. 

“He can’t help it if he has a fat ass; it’s genetic, look at his father and his uncle,” said Annie as she burst out laughing along with the other women.

“Oh, you are going to pay for that later,” said Joe narrowing his eyes as he looked at his mate as everyone continued to laugh.     

“Promises, Promises Giuseppe, remember you have to catch me first,” Annie said quietly as her eyes wandered from his coal black hair down over his chiseled face to his toned chest and back up to look in his deep emerald eyes. 

Joe felt the familiar tightness in his body as he looked at his mate.  They had been together over twenty three years and she still took his breath away when she looked at him like that.  He growled quietly as he said, “My wolf is still on edge as it is, so don’t start something we can’t finish Annie.  You keep looking at me like that and I swear you’d better start running.”

“HELLO, innocent children are standing right here,” said Damian with a shudder.  “Please stop before you traumatize us further, I don’t know how much more I can take today.  I…I…can feel the blackness overtaking me, my nerves are overset and I can feel an attack of the vapors coming on, somebody please get my smelling salts.”  He dramatically placed his arm over his forehead and swooned to the ground. 

Frank looked down at his nephew lying sprawled across the patio and asked, “Been reading your Aunt Rose’s romance novels again?”

Damian opened one eye and smiled up at him, “Yeah, I like the historical bodice rippers the best, the ones involving the Highland Chieftains and of course the Regency Romances.  They’re actually quite good; Amanda Quick, Julie Garwood, Julia Quinn, and Johanna Lindsey are among my favorites, the Bridgerton and the Malory family series are awesome.”

“The shit that comes out of your mouth never fails to amaze me,” said Joe as he shook his head.  “I often wonder what goes through that mind of yours.”

“You really don’t want to know Dad, sometimes I scare myself with what goes through there,” said Damian as everyone laughed.  He got up and sat in one of the chairs, stretching his long legs out in front of him and linking his hands behind his head.  He looked at his Alpha and said, “Now that everyone is calmed down, are you going to tell us what is going on?  You never answered Ant’s question earlier.”

Carlo took a deep breath before saying, “The men will meet on Monday and they’ll tell their mates and youngsters before the Pack meeting on Tuesday.  The parents will make the determination if their youngsters attend the meeting on Tuesday.  I’ll send out the message to the men this evening.”

The Carlucci’s looked at their parents and Frank, Rose, Joe and Annie looked at each other before Frank said, “We’ll listen to everything Alpha Carlo says and then we’ll sit together as a family and discuss it.  Vin and Dom, you’ll attend the meeting on Monday, since you’re eighteen, as for the rest of you, we’ll talk it over and decide later.”  They nodded their heads in agreement.

Carlo looked at his son and said, “We’ll sit down and talk later.” 

“Fine, but I want to know everything.  I don’t want you to hold anything back from me, I need to be prepared as much as if not more then everybody else,” said Anthony as Carlo nodded his head.

Alberto and Angelo looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.  Their parents should be here soon and they would talk it over with them later.

“Alright guys, before we get changed we need to put all the equipment away and clean up our mess on the patio,” said Vin as he stood up.  The boys ran out to do as Vin said, while Damian started picking up the shirts and cleats off the patio while Frank, Joe and Carlo put on the polo shirts that Damian had brought out.

Carlo motioned for the adults to have a seat and said, “I’d like to wait until the other adults are here before I tell you the details.  I’m still trying to process everything in my head and this will give me a couple more minutes to think things through.”  The Carlucci’s nodded their head and sat in silence letting their Alpha think. 

Minutes later the boys came back onto the patio dressed in board shorts with matching t-shirts, arguing over who was a better lawyer, Arnie Becker, Jack McCoy or Matlock.  Maria and Sophia followed closely behind them dressed in Capri leggings and huge baggy t-shirts that came to mid-thigh which were obviously stolen from their older brothers.  Sophia’s t-shirt said “It’s all shits and giggles until somebody giggles and shits” and Maria’s said “I’m Just a F*cking Ray of Sunshine”.

Conversation stopped when they stepped onto the patio as everyone stared at them in astonishment.  “What?” said Sophia nervously as she was putting her hair in a ponytail.  Maria stopped in the middle of braiding her hair and looked around with a sheepish smile on her face.

“Do you think your outfits are appropriate for company?” said Rose quietly.

“I know you have better shirts to wear then that,” said Annie just as quietly.  “I see the credit card bills from your shopping excursions.”

“Well, we thought…aah…well…,” said Maria who looked to Sophia for help.

“We’ll be right back,” said Sophia backing her way into the kitchen and heading upstairs with Maria right behind her.

As soon as the girls were out of hearing range, everyone burst out laughing.  “That was totally unexpected,” said Frank as he continued to laugh.  “I’m not used to seeing my little girl dressed like that.”

Rose smiled as she said, “She’s growing up Frank and our little girl isn’t so little anymore.  I remember how I acted when I was her age.”

Joe rolled his eyes as he looked at Rose, “Damn, the two of you were irritating at that age, like two annoying little gnats always buzzing around.  Wanting to know where we were, what we were doing and wanting to follow us.  You drove us nuts, and not in a good way either.”  Carlo choked on his whiskey at Joe’s response as Frank looked at his mate and grinned before he started laughing at the look on her face.

Annie looked at her mate giving him a glare before she said, “And you thought you were going to be chasing me later.  Fat chance of that happening.”

Before anything else could be said, Anthony, Carlo, Alberto, Frank and Joe tilted their heads back sniffing the air.  “The Moretti’s are here,” said Carlo.

Vin looked at the Clan and said, “We’ve got to start paying more attention to what’s going on around us.  That’s two times we’ve been behind everybody in noticing somebody arriving, I don’t want it to happen a third time.”  The Clan nodded their heads and sat up straighter knowing Vin was right.   

Sal noticed Damian staring at him and asked, “What’s the matter now?”

Damian rolled his eyes and said, “Go and see if they need any help carrying things.  Be a gentleman; remember what we talked about earlier.”

Sal continued to stare at him in confusion as Damian shook his head in disgust and said, “Okay fine, I’ll go and see if Gabby needs any help then.”

Sal started to blush as he said, “Oh right…you stay here Damian, with your hurt leg and all.  I’ll go help them.”  He hurried around the side of the garage as Damian looked at the other boys and smiled.

“Do I want to know what that was about?” asked Frank as he looked at Damian.

“No,” said Damian as he looked at his Uncle Frank and smiled. 

The Moretti’s came around the corner, Carmelo carrying a case of beer, Rita carrying a bag with dips, Gabby carrying a small fabric bag and Sal carrying two large round trays with bags of chips on top.  Gabby was smiling widely as she walked next to Sal who was blushing furiously.  She grabbed his elbow to guide him towards the food table and his sharp intake of breath was heard by those on the patio. 

Angelo and Alberto were clenching their fists but not saying anything and the rest of the boys were trying to hide their smiles as they watched Sal follow Gabby’s instructions of where to place the trays.  When everything was placed to her satisfaction they walked back to the patio and Gabby sat down and Sal sat on the ground near her even though there were seats open on the other end of the patio.

Anthony glanced at the adults and noticed they were busy greeting each other near the pool and opened the link to the boys as he said to Sal, “Offer her something to drink, be polite and attentive to her.”

Sal cleared his throat before saying, “Can I get you a drink Gabby?” 

Gabby smiled and said, “That would be wonderful Salvatore, what do you have?”

“Uhmm, I have no idea,” Sal said sheepishly, delighted that he was talking to Gabby without stuttering but feeling like a fool that he couldn’t think of what drinks they had.  He smiled as Gabby laughed at his answer.

“You idiot, offer to go look.  Don’t sit there with your thumb up your ass,” said Vin. 

“I’ll be right back, let me see what we have,” said Sal, as he stood up he drew in a shaky breath as Gabby grabbed his arm again.

“That’s okay, I’ll go with you so you don’t have to make two trips,” she said with a smile.  “Oh, and I have your hoodie here too, thank you for letting me wear it.”

“TELL HER TO KEEP THE HOODIE,” shouted all the boys except for Alberto and Angelo who kept quiet. 

“Tell her she can wear it to games, she’ll like that,” said Marcus.

“Uhmm, why don’t you keep it, you can use it during the season and wear it to games and stuff,” Sal said as he held his breath, unsure if she would want to keep it.

Gabby gave him a big smile and ran her hand through her hair, flipping it over her shoulder as she asked, “You don’t mind me wearing it? It has your name on the back and people might think we’re dating.”

The blood rushed to Sal’s head and sweat was beading on his forehead as he said, “That’s ugh…I mean ugh…yeah…uhmm… only if you uhmm…well…I ugh…”

“Take a breath and try to get your one brain cell working,” said Gianni in an encouraging tone.

Sal took a deep breath and blurted out, “You’re pretty and you smell nice.”

“So much for you having at least one working brain cell,” said Damian as he rolled his eyes, hiding his laughter by coughing.

“Thank you, Salvatore,” said Gabby smiling, “But you didn’t answer the question.”

“Tell her you don’t mind, but it’s up to her,” said Lorenzo with a smile.

“I mind a lot, and it’s not up to you,” Sal hurriedly said in a near shout as Gabby’s eyes opened wide and she took a step back. 

“This is getting painful listening to you, you blockhead.  Repeat this word for word – I don’t mind as long as it’s okay with you,” said Dominic shaking his head.

Sal took a deep breath and closed his eyes before saying, “I meant to say, I don’t mind as long as it’s okay with you.”

Gabby tilted her head to the side and said, “Well, I’ll make sure to wear it to all the games and other stuff like you said.  I kinda like wearing it.”

“Son of a bitch, she is flirting with him,” said Angelo in an incredulous tone as he watched his baby sister.

“Don’t forget to tell her how nice she looks.  Say something nice about her eyes or her hair,” said Enzo as he stared at them but pretended not to. 

“Uhmm, your shirt is the exact color of your eyes and matches perfectly,” said Sal as he looked anywhere but at Gabby.

“Salvatore, thank you for saying that but my shirt is pink with white hearts.  Last time I checked my eyes were brown,” Gabby said as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and then she started to giggle.

“For fucks sake, does she look like an albino Sal?  Get a grip,” said Paulo as the boys turned their heads away so Gabby wouldn’t see them trying not to laugh.

“Tell her you meant to say the color brings out the sparkle in her eyes,” said Damian helpfully.

Sal sighed loudly again and said, “I meant to say the color brings out the sparkle in your eyes.”  Gabby smiled at him and his heart started to pound in his chest again.

“Focus and think before you say anything, now go inside and get her the drink,” said Gino making a shooing motion with his hands.

“Uhmm, let’s go and get that drink.  I think we have water, juice, sodas and of course sweet tea,” said Sal as he led her into the kitchen.    

Rose and Annie were telling the Moretti’s and Rossi’s the youngsters had been informed of the offer from the Alpha Council.  They were discussing the conversation and the boy’s reactions when they noticed Sal and Gabby going into the kitchen.  What got their attention was as soon as they entered the kitchen; the boys turned around and were staring at them with smiles on their faces, even Angelo and Alberto.

“What’s going on now?” asked Frank with a frown.  “I swear it feels like I have no idea anymore what is going on with my youngsters.”

Carlo was staring at Sal as he got Gabby her drink and said, “It looks like Sal has realized Gabby is a girl and the boys are helping him through the awkward phase.”

Carmelo frowned as he watched them in the kitchen, they weren’t talking just smiling at each other and then Sophia and Maria walked in and joined them, “My baby is only seventeen…”

Before he could continue, Rita said with a smile, “The same age I was when you made your declaration for me.  She is old enough to date Carm, let her be.”

“But he’s…but she’s…and they’re…,” Carmelo continued to sputter as he waved his hands in the air.

“Exactly.  They look happy so don’t ruin this for her.  Do I make myself clear?” Rita asked as she put her hands on her hips and stared at her mate.

“Yes dear,” said Carmelo with his head down like a chastised child as Frank, Joe and Carlo started to laugh.  Carmelo glared at the men and said, “Don’t act like the three of you aren’t scared of your mates.”

Frank smiled and said, “We’re terrified of them, but we put up a brave front and at least try and pretend we are in charge of our homes.”  Rose and Annie rolled their eyes as the men continued to laugh.  They watched as Sal and the three girls walked out of the kitchen onto the patio and they noticed Sophia and Maria had changed into oversized U of MD t-shirts with their black Capri leggings.

“Hey, is that my t-shirt?” asked Vin and Dom at the same time with matching scowls on their faces.

Sophia and Maria smiled and Sophia said “Nope, Daddy and Uncle Joe bought them for us a month ago when we went to College Park to make sure the apartments were ready.  Remember, everyone said they were too busy to go help?  We got this t-shirt, one with long sleeves, boxers, shorts, hoodies, a hat and sweatpants.”

The Carlucci boys looked at each other and Lorenzo said, “The two of you got all of that and we didn’t get anything?”

“Nope,” said Maria with a smirk, she nudged Sophia knowing their fathers were looking at them and could hear them.  “We helped Daddy and Uncle Frank and they bought us a couple of things and took us out to lunch and dinner.  I’m actually glad none of you came with us, it was nice to spend time with Daddy and Uncle Frank without all of you around.” 

“Especially when they are buying you shit,” said Lorenzo with a smile. 

Sophia said with a big smile on her face, “Daddy and Uncle Joe didn’t have to buy us anything.  We love to spend time with them and wish we could do it more often.”

“Kiss ass,” said Vincent quietly as he smiled at his baby sister. 

“Anything that makes Daddy happy,” she answered him back and nodded her head towards her father who was standing there with a big smile on his face which was matched by the one on her Uncle’s face.

“Like I said before, kiss ass,” said Vin as he started to laugh, before anything else could be said the men tilted their heads back and sniffed the air. 

“The Millers, Matt and Phil are here,” said Dominic as he and Vincent stood up and ran around the corner of the garage.    

Anthony started laughing as he said, “They didn’t notice anybody else arrive, but they sure noticed when their intendeds got here.”

The Millers were getting out of their vehicles still talking excitedly about their discovery when Vin and Dom came running around the corner.  Brianna moved into Vincent’s arms as he scented her neck but when he leaned in to kiss her, she shook her head no and whispered, “They’ll see.”  She ducked her head shyly into his neck as he laughed.   

Morgan smiled at Dom as he held her hand and whispered to her, “Is it okay if I scent you and hold you?”  Morgan took a deep breath before shyly nodding her head and stood completely still as if she was afraid to move.  Seeing her reaction, he whispered, “Are you okay?  Remember what I said before, if you are uncomfortable with anything or want me to stop at anytime all you have to do is tell me and I will stop immediately.  I will never hurt you Zenzero.”   

“I’m okay,” she said shakily.  “Momma and Nana Ellen said you are going to want to do this after we’ve been apart, but they didn’t say why.  They also said you are going to be very possessive of me and want to mark me, but I don’t know what marking means either.  Are you going to do that now and is it going to hurt?”

Dominic took her chin in his hand so she could look into his eyes as he said, “My wolf and I want to make sure you are okay and the best way to do that is to scent you.  I can tell if you’ve been scared, anxious, happy, basically whatever emotions you have will show in your scent.  When I hold you, my scent passes onto you and yours onto me, this way others know we are intended mates, that is how I mark you for now until we mate.”  At the relieved look on Morgan’s face Dominic started smiling as he said, “Now is it okay if I scent you?” 

She nodded happily as he leaned down and scented her neck deeply and then she pushed him away saying, “My turn.”  Dominic smiled at her as he tilted his neck, letting her take control once again.  He needed to talk to her parents and find out exactly why she was so scared and then work to reassure her again and again if needed that he wouldn’t hurt her.

“Okay lovebirds, let’s get a move on,” said Todd as he started unloading the back of the SUV.  Brianna and Morgan blushed as Vin and Dom laughed and moved to help their future father in law.

Vin and Dom led the way around the garage carrying cases of beer while Todd, Holly and Papa Mike carried cardboard boxes, Matt carried a basket with bottles of wine and Phil carried a flower arrangement.  They proceeded to the patio and put everything down and the adults exchanged greetings.

The girls started laughing and talking excitedly as Sophia, Gabby and Maria ran to greet them.  They were clasping hands and jumping up and down, all talking at once and the only thing that could be understood was uniforms, headbands and shoes. 

The boys stood there shrugging their shoulders looking uncomfortable since they weren’t used to being ignored.  Damian got a wicked smile on his face and said in a high falsetto, “Gianni, did you get the matching headband or the matching ribbon?”

Gianni started laughing and answered in a matching falsetto, “Oh Damian, I got the matching ribbon.  Do you think I should have gotten the headband too?”

“My headband has glitter and rhinestones and all kinds of sparkly stuff,” said Marcus in a falsetto voice that sounded similar to Minnie Mouse.

“My shoelaces light up in the dark and throw sparklers fifty feet in the air,” said Lorenzo in a high pitch squeal.  The Carlucci boys started jumping up and down squealing in delight as they clapped their hands as Anthony, Alberto and Angelo started laughing hysterically as they saw the reactions of the girls.   

“I’m going to count to five before we come over there and whip your ass,” said Sophia with a deadly glare as she put her hands on her hips.  The boys took one look at her and started running as Sophia, Maria and Gabby chased after them.  

Damian held his hands up and said, “Sorry girls, I can’t run and you can’t touch me because I’m recovering.  I’ll be on one of those loungers by the pool.”  The Miller girls looked at each other and then with a shout joined in the chase, running past the adults who were staring at them.

“I have something to say, Alpha Carlo,” said Todd with a serious expression on his face.  “I respectfully decline the offered Alpha position.  As parents we want what is best for our children, and as much as I would like the challenge of being an Alpha, I must put my family first.  Any changes I would implement would take months or years and my daughters cannot afford to wait that long.”  He hesitated and started smiling as he watched his daughters running around the yard like they were playing tag at recess and laughing hysterically, “Moving here was the best thing for them, our old Pack has nothing but bad memories and this is a fresh start and a new life for them.  I cannot and I will not put them through any more hardships.”

Carlo took a deep breath and said, “Let me tell you what is going on before I formally accept your response, because you may change your mind.”  At Todd’s look of confusion he continued, “I want everyone to remain calm while we talk, I don’t want to get the youngsters upset.” At their nods, he told them everything Aldo had said to him, his conversation with Gina and finished with the conversation he had with his cousin Dante.  The Millers took it better then Carlo thought they would, Holly was leaning silently against Todd’s chest and Nana Ellen was holding tightly to Papa Mike’s hand.  Rita had a furious expression on her face that was matched by the one on her mate.  The Carlucci’s had blank expressions on their faces, from Carlo’s earlier announcement they had been expecting the worst and they got it.

Frank looked at his mate, his brother and sister in law and said, “Can we leave our Pack behind knowing what they are facing in the future?  If we leave, they’ll have two more Packs as allies, but with the number of males taken into custody is that really going to be a help?  And since their Packs were involved in what was occurring, how loyal are they going to be to us?” 

Carlo looked at Frank, Rose, Joe and Annie and said, “I’m not going to tell you if you should take the positions or not, that is up to you and what you think is best for your families.  I know if you do take the positions, I can always count on you, but don’t let this affect your decision, you need to look to the future and what this position would mean to generations of your family.”

Joe rolled his neck before saying, “We’ll tell our youngsters everything tonight and we’ll make the decision as a family.”

“Regardless of what your decision is, I’d like you to meet with me and Aldo tomorrow morning at 6 instead of 7.  We need to go over security at The School House and order what supplies we need.  Carmelo that includes you too,” said Carlo as Frank, Joe and Carmelo nodded.  “I’ve already told Anthony I’ll tell him everything tonight and he’ll be at the meeting.” 

“Angelo and Alberto will be told everything and will be at the meeting,” said Carmelo as Rita nodded.

Todd looked at his family and sighed loudly before saying, “It seems the reason the Pack is being targeted is because of us.  We don’t want to be responsible for starting a war and bringing harm to the Pack so we think it would be best if we leave, but we’re not going back to Davis Pack.  We can deal with this on our own.”

“Todd, you seem like a reasonable man, but that is the biggest crock of shit I’ve heard,” said Carlo as he crossed his arms over his chest.  “No matter where you go you’ll be noticed and they’ll find you.” 

“Since two of my sons are mates of your daughters, they’ll be involved.  That means my family will be involved,” said Frank as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Since my brothers family will be involved, that means my family will be involved,” said Joe as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Since my sons mate is a Carlucci, that means my family will be involved,” said Carmelo as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Since you are now our brother, we would be involved,” said Matt as he crossed his arms over his chest and Phil nodded his head in agreement and crossed his arms too. 

“Brother?” said Frank with a smile.  “That must’ve been one hell of a shopping trip.”

“Todd adopted us as his brothers and Mom and Dad made it official,” said Matt with a smile.  “And the girls call us Uncle Matt and Uncle Phil.  The best part is we have a family bond now, I’m not sure how but we do.”

Gina hugged Phil as she whispered in his ear, “I’m so happy for you, I know as much as we tried we couldn’t be a substitute for your family and you both deserve this.” 

“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” said Carlo with a perplexed look on his face.  “I know mates develop a bond after they finish the mating process, but I’ve never heard of one spontaneously happening.”

Frank, Joe and Carlo looked at each other as Carlo said, “Maybe this is also part of Luna’s plan, She knew they would need each other, Matt and Phil to heal and the Millers to protect their daughters.  I have no other explanation for it, but it’ll help tremendously in their protection since they can communicate without using cell phones.  No one will be expecting them to be able to do that.”

“I’ve never seen Matt and Phil so happy,” said Joe.  “It’s almost as if they finally feel like they belong.”  Frank and Carlo looked at Matt and Phil and there was something different about them, a light in their eyes that wasn’t there before and it seemed as if their postures were a little bit straighter almost as if they had finally found their self worth and confidence.

Carlo looked at the Millers and said, “There was a reason why you developed a family bond, even though you aren’t related by blood.  It’s the ties that bind this Pack together, ties of loyalty, friendship, family but most of all love.  Once you joined this Pack, we took an oath to protect you no matter what.”

“Dobbiamo proteggere la confezione e la famiglia sopra ogni cosa, that means we protect the Pack and family above all else.  It was the Rossi family creed in Italy and when the original fifteen emigrated here, they adopted it as the Pack creed,” said Carlo with a firm voice. 

“We protect our own.  It’s not just something we say, it’s something we live by,” said Matt as he looked at Todd.  “When Frank and Joe came to get us, that’s what they told us and it’s true.  If you are ever in trouble or need something, all you have to do is reach out and someone will be there to help and more then likely they will bring backup, lots and lots of backup.  In this Pack, you are never alone.”

Excited shouts from the youngsters drew their attention and Todd looked at his daughters before saying, “You’re right, if we left we would never stand a chance if we fought them and my daughters…well, I don’t even want to think of what would happen to them.  We’ll stay and fight this together as a Pack, but Carlo, I don’t want my girls to know right now.  They are finally happy and feel safe and I want them to stay that way as long as possible.”

Carlo nodded his head and said, “At the meeting tomorrow night, I’ll make sure nobody tells your daughters.  I understand your reasoning and I’ll do everything in my power to follow your wishes, but you do need to tell them.  The more you try to hide it from them, the more hurt or betrayed they may feel in the end.”

Todd rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Holly before he said, “We’ll sit down and talk with them at the next Full Moon, this way they have a month of school, football games and other activities to enjoy.  This will also give us a chance to make plans, if we’re going to tell them, I want to have as many details as possible so they know what to expect.”  He looked at Frank and said, “I imagine after your boys find out, they are going to be even more protective then normal, so we’ll need to take that into account when we go over the dating rules.”

Frank nodded his head and said, “I’m sure Anthony and Alberto will feel the same way and we’ll talk about increasing the protection around our daughters.”

“Maybe we should have a talk with our youngsters before the dating rules meeting.  The boys are going to wonder why the rules for the Miller girls will be stricter then they were for Sophia and Maria,” said Joe as he looked at Frank.

“This is getting too complicated,” said Rose with a determined look on her face.  “Todd, I understand your reasoning, but they need to know now.  The longer you put it off, the worse it’s going to be and you don’t want them to feel as if you are keeping something this important from them.  Have you thought about how they’ll feel if they accidentally overhear somebody talking about it?  Knowing their family knew and didn’t tell them or more importantly that their father knew, someone they look to for support and protection?”

“What do you all think?  Should we tell them now or wait a month?” asked Todd as he looked at his family.  The five of them looked at each other and it was obvious they were communicating through the bond, but had excluded Todd. 

A minute later Matt spoke up and said, “All of us agree they should be told now.  Like Rose said, if they find out you withheld this from them, they may wonder what else you aren’t telling them.  As a family we need to be upfront and open with each other and we can’t do that by keeping secrets from each other.”

Seeing the look on Matt’s face, Phil took a deep breath before he looked at his new family and said, “I have something I need to tell you, but now isn’t the right time.  Matt’s right, I need to be honest and I need to talk about this to heal.”

Todd said quietly, “Anytime you need to talk, we’ll be there to listen and help.” 

Seeing the concern on their faces, Phil started to tear up again and he said, “I don’t know why I’m so emotional right now.”

The Millers sensing their Uncle’s distress stopped running and stared at the adults and before anyone could stop her Maeve ran towards him saying, “Uncle Phil, what’s the matter?”  As she reached him, she threw her arms around his waist and hugged him.  The rest of the youngsters followed her and the Miller girls stared at their Uncle with concern while the others stared at their parents in confusion.

Todd said, “Don’t worry, he’s okay.  It’s just been a really emotional day for him, well for all of us really.”  He looked at his Alpha and nodded his head before saying, “We need to have a little talk before we start the dating rules meeting.” 

Carlo looked at the youngsters and said, “We’ve learned some disturbing news today and we feel everyone needs to be made aware of it.  Get something to drink and snack on and we’ll meet you on the patio in a couple of minutes.”  The youngsters immediately turned around and he watched as Sophia and Maria led the youngsters into the kitchen and got drinks for everyone.

He looked at the adults and said, “I’m not going to hold anything back, they deserve to know everything, but the most important thing they need to know is we’ll always protect them.”  The adults nodded their heads, aware of the need to tell them but wanting to keep them carefree and happy at the same time. 

As they walked over to the patio, Todd looked at Frank and said, “They never stop protecting them, do they?”

Frank smiled and said, “No, they don’t.  It’s how they were brought up, to always think of protecting the girls.”  Holly looked at the youngsters assembled on the patio and smiled seeing the girls seated on a bench closest to the patio doors while the boys were seated in chairs fanned out around them.  Sophia, Maria, Brianna and Morgan were seated off to one side against the wall with their intendeds next to them, on the other side Gabby was sitting with Sal and Angelo.  There was undeniable tension in the air as they sat and waited for the adults.

On the adults table were several bottles of wine, glasses, a corkscrew, the decanter of whiskey and more tumblers for the men.  They had also set out a small snack tray with cheese and crackers.

“Thank you boys for setting this up for us,” said Rose with a smile.

“How did you know it was the boys?” said Maria as she frowned at Damian.

“Because as ill-behaved, obnoxious, arrogant and condescending as they are, they still have good manners,” said Annie as she smiled.

“Was that supposed to be a compliment?  Because it sure didn’t sound like one,” said Damian as the boys started to laugh.  “I would have said, charming, personable, and eager to please with devastating good looks.”  Gagging noises could be heard from the girls as the boys and adults laughed dissipating the tension.

Carlo looked at the youngsters and said, “We debated on how much information we were going to tell you and finally decided to tell you everything.  We felt if we held anything back it wouldn’t be in your best interest and we want you to know that no matter what, we will always protect you and keep you safe.”  The boys sat up straighter while the girls stared at their Alpha.  “I want all of you to keep as calm as possible and let me finish before asking any questions.”  Carlo took a deep breath and then told the youngsters everything and didn’t hold one thing back. 

Frank and Joe looked at the youngsters and monitored their reactions, ready to step in if needed if they got too upset.  The Miller girls reached out one by one and held each others hands, Anthony and Alberto pulled their intendeds into their sides and held them as close as they could, and Vin and Dom pulled Brianna and Morgan onto their laps and held them as they cried.  Frank watched as Gabby reached out and grabbed Sal’s hand holding it tight, as Sal turned to look at her, he let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulder bringing her into his side to hold her.  It was a sweet gesture but combined with what he saw earlier he wondered if he needed to have a talk with his youngest son.

Carlo finished talking and there was silence except for the girls crying.  The boys eyes were flicking between amber and black, meaning their wolves were on the verge of coming out and they were barely hanging onto control.  It wouldn’t be a normal shift either; the black indicated their wolf would be in total control.  The boys started fisting their hands trying to hold off the shift, and Vin, Dom, Anthony, Alberto and surprisingly Sal were scenting the girl in their arms to calm their wolves down. 

The Millers, Matt and Phil got up to comfort the Miller girls, and as soon as they saw movement Anthony, Alberto, Dom, Vin and Sal moved the girls behind them to protect them.  The rest of the boys stood up, growling and baring their claws, backing up until they were right in front of the Miller girls, and the bench the girls had been sitting on went flying over the adults heads.  All of the girls were now pressed between the back wall of the kitchen and the boys in front of them. 

Carlo said quietly, “Sit back down, their wolves are fighting to get out and they see you as a threat to the girls.  They are doing what they are trained to do and unless you want to fight them, you aren’t going to get close to your girls.”  Todd and his family reluctantly sat down but continued to watch the girls closely.

Opening the bond to include his whole family, Todd said, “Is everyone okay?”  One by one his girls peeked around the boy in front of them and nodded their heads.

Carlo looked at the youngsters and said to the adults, “The girls are calming down and have stopped crying because they know the boys will protect them.  The boys are calming down because the girls are soothing them.  Look at what they are doing.”  The adults looked and Sophia, Maria, Brianna and Morgan had their arms around their intendeds’ waist, Gabby and the rest of the Miller girls were stroking their hands up and down the boys arms.    

Anthony looked at his Dad and said in a deep raspy voice, “What is the plan?”

Carlo said in a firm voice, “Like I said earlier, we’re having a meeting of the men on Monday to start planning, and then we’ll have a Pack meeting on Tuesday.  We’ll start to prepare, order supplies, increase our training and security.  We have time, Aldo said it won’t happen until twelve to eighteen months and he’ll be able to sense the pulse strengthening as the time nears.”

“Well, the Italians are coming to help.  Cousin Dante is pretty fucking vicious and nobody will expect them to help us,” said Anthony as he looked around the yard he spotted the bench and brought it back for the Miller girls to sit on and the boys sat down after taking one last look around.

Joe rolled his neck as he said, “Another advantage we have is no one knows the girls have combat training skills, they are going to think they are helpless and the girls are anything but helpless.”  He looked at the Millers and said, “Todd, Papa Mike, Holly and Nana Ellen, we have to get you tested for your levels and we need to do it quickly.  We also need to get the girls tested and started on their training; they have a lot to learn in a short amount of time.”

“We’ll work with your daughters to give them extra training sessions,” said Frank as he looked around the patio.  “Don’t worry we won’t overwhelm them, but they will learn how to take care of themselves.  We also have to teach Brianna, Morgan, Caitlin and Erin how to drive and they need to get their license before the Defensive Driving course.  All of the girls will take classes on auto mechanics including how to disable cars, change tires, hotwire them and how to drive a stick-shift.”

“Paulo and Annie will come over to your house tomorrow morning after his class and he will hook up your new computer.  He builds them himself and it contains the best firewall protection, even better then what is available commercially.  It also has the usual bunch of programs on there, like Windows, Adobe and a bunch of other crap that he’ll explain to you.  He’ll show you how to log onto the Packs website; it involves not only a retinal scan but a fingerprint scan.  I have to say this, it’s pretty fucking ingenious since most people would look for a separate scanner, but he built a scanner into the mouse,” said Joe with pride.  “I have no idea how the damn thing works, but it has something to do with pressure points and the laser light.”

“Alpha Carlo, I’ll expand the program I currently have running that alerts us if anybody does a search for anything associated with the Pack to include area maps,” said Paulo.  “I’ll make sure the alert is sent to Dad, Uncle Frank and you via text message, since I’ll be in school and won’t have access to my phone all the time.” 

Anthony looked at Frank and said, “I want Sophia’s protection increased, even when I’m with her.”

“I want Maria’s increased too,” said Alberto as he pulled her into his side.

Frank nodded his head and said, “We’ve already thought of that, and are going to discuss that during the dating rules meeting.  Before we start that, we’d like to have our family meet on the pool deck, Anthony and Alberto you come too.”

The Carlucci’s, plus Anthony and Alberto walked to the pool and Frank looked at them and said, “What Alpha Carlo told us changes everything about us going to the New Mexico Packs.  It is an excellent opportunity for us, but I for one don’t want to leave my Pack when they are facing this crisis.  I know if we left, we could come back for the battle, but I feel they’ll need us before then.”

“Our family has been a part of the Rossi Pack and South Mountain Pack since its inception, our ties to the Pack and to Alpha Carlo run deep, deeper then any of you may know,” said Joe as he looked at the youngsters.  “Knowing our Pack needs us, I don’t want to leave, but if you feel this is something that is best for our family, then we’ll take the positions of Alpha and come back for the battle.  The choice is up to us as a family, not any individual person.  I want each of you to say ‘Go’ or ‘Stay’ but take a couple of minutes to...”

“Stay” “Stay” “Stay” “Stay” “Stay” “Stay” “Stay” “Stay” “Stay” “Stay” “Stay” “Stay” “Stay” “Stay” was heard before Joe even finished talking.

Frank looked at Rose and Joe looked at Annie and both said, “Stay.”

Frank smiled as he said, “I’m sure Alpha Carlo will be happy to hear we are staying.  Todd turned down the position offered to him, but his daughters don’t know about the offer, he’ll tell them when he is ready.”  

“While we are here, is there anything we need to discuss?” asked Joe. 

“Is that why Brianna and Morgan weren’t asked to join us?” questioned Vincent.

“Yes, I wasn’t sure if someone would mention the offer made to Todd,” said Frank.  “They’ve been through a lot in the last week and I didn’t want to add to it.  If there aren’t any other questions, let’s rejoin everyone.” 

As they were walking back to the patio Frank said, “Carlo, the family voted and we are staying.”

As they sat back down Carlo looked at the Carlucci’s and nodded his head saying, “Thank you, my friends.  I know it would’ve been an excellent opportunity for your family, but I cannot imagine this Pack without you, the Rossi’s and Carlucci’s have always stood together.”

“Like Lewis and Clark, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday?” asked Fiona, who loved watching old Westerns on TV.

“More like Lucy and Ethel, Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy,” said Damian as everyone started laughing.

Carlo looked at him and smiled saying, “I have the perfect job for you, I’m going to appoint you as the Master of Ceremonies for this years Winter Festival.  Your Aunt Rose is right, there’s something about you that everyone feels comfortable with and I think you’ll be a great addition to the show.”

Damian looked delighted and said, “Oh, Hells yeah I’ll do it.”

Joe groaned at the thought of Damian with a microphone in his hand and said, “You have to remember to keep it ‘G’ rated since the entire Pack will be there, including the little ones.”

Frank looked at Carlo and said, “Are you sure we should have it?  Maybe we should limit the amount of exposure for the girls.”

“I thought of doing that, but then I realized if we changed our routine our enemies would know,” said Carlo as he rubbed his neck. 

“Basically ‘business as usual’,” said Phil with a smile.  “I like that idea Alpha Carlo.  We’ll increase security without it being obvious, continue to gather information and possibly catch some of their advance scouts which will give us a better understanding of who is doing this and why.”

“Exactly, anything that’ll give us the upper hand and allow us to gain more information,” said Carlo as he nodded his head.  “Now I think it’s time to start the dating rules meeting.  It shouldn’t take long; Todd said they already discussed things with the girls, now we just need to go over specifics.”

Carlo looked at Brianna and Morgan as he went over the basic rules.  When he was finished with those he asked if they had any questions and both shook their heads.  He smiled at them and told them these were the rules that applied to them:  At seventeen they were allowed to kiss and cuddle more; they could sit in their mates lap, sit between their mates legs and lean up against his chest while his arms encircled her waist and when they were kissing they were permitted to caress their mates back, shoulders and arms.  Brianna was listening intently while Morgan had her head buried in Dominic’s neck and was blushing furiously.

After Carlo was finished explaining, Brianna looked at Vin and smiled shyly while Morgan didn’t move and Dom quietly laughed.  He whispered quietly in her ear, “Those are the rules, but everything we do will be at our own pace, and I’ll never pressure you to do more then you are ready for, okay?”  She looked into his deep emerald eyes and let out a sigh and nodded her head as he smiled at her.

After much discussion it was agreed that when one of the Miller girls left the house, they would always have Matt, Phil, Todd or Papa Mike with them, plus two other escorts.  If they left as a family, they would have at least five male escorts, plus Vin and Dom.  Since they lived between Frank’s and Joe’s home, it made things easier for driving to school.  Anthony would pick up Sophia, Sal, Enzo and Gino.  Alberto (who would have Gabby and Angelo already in the SUV) would pick up Maria, Victor, Lorenzo and Damian.  Gianni and Marcus would drive Vin and Dom, and Paulo would drive Michael.  Everyone would meet at the Millers where Todd and Papa Mike would drive Vin, Brianna, Caitlin and Erin, while Matt and Phil drove Dom, Morgan, Kelly and Aislin.  Anthony would lead the caravan on the ten minute drive to The School House followed by Gianni, Todd, Matt, Paulo and Alberto.

Maeve started giggling and said, “It’ll be like a parade.”

Carlo smiled at her and said, “I know, but it will be the safest way to transport everyone and that is the most important thing, to ensure the safety of the females.  We will do anything to protect you.”

Joe said, “We need to get pictures of everyone so we can have fake ID’s made.  They will be hidden in false panels of your vehicles once you buy them from Vinnie, along with cash in case you have to go on the run until you can get to a safe house.”

Frank said, “Labor Day is coming up and the youngsters are off school.  We will leave Saturday morning and show you your safe house and the Pack safe house hidden in the Allegany Mountains.  We’ll make a weekend of it, since the boys have their football game Friday night.”

“The safe room is already stocked with food and other supplies, but any personal items you’ll need, you should bring with you,” said Carlo.  “We generally go up for the Labor Day weekend, so it won’t seem strange for us to go there.  We’ll stay at our cabin as we usually do, Matt and Phil you will come with us too.” 

Sophia and Maria started to laugh at the disgruntled look on the boys faces and Gabby laughed as she said, “You all have to sleep on the floor now.”

At the looks on the Millers faces Carlo explained, “The cabin has seven bedrooms, the boys usually slept in the bonus room over the garage that has bunk beds.  That’s where the girls will sleep now, so the boys will sleep on the living room floor.”

“Is there anything else we need to discuss?  If not I’d like to run a couple of drills since all of the youngsters are here,” said Frank.  “We’ll have to work out how to protect the girls until they are trained and then adjust it later on as their skill level changes.  We need to pair them up and see which boys are the most capable of carrying the girls in their human and wolf form.”

“Yeah, I have something to discuss,” said Damian belligerently as everybody looked at him.  “When are we going to eat?  I’m starving.”

Rose and Annie started to laugh and Rita said, “I guess with all the discussions, we forgot the most important thing the boys care about…food.”

Rose got up and said, “I’ll need some help to…” before she could finish the boys had raced into the kitchen and came out carrying bowls of food and placed them on the food table and were standing there with plates in hand at the grill waiting on Frank and Joe to start slicing the brisket and putting the pulled pork on their plates.

Annie looked at the girls and said, “Never ever come between them and food.  They will knock you over to get something to eat.”

The boys returned to the patio with plates piled high, grunting as they shoveled food in their faces as the Miller girls stared at them in astonishment.  Sophia, Maria and Gabby who were used to it ignored them as Gabby said, “Come on, let’s get something to eat before they eat everything in sight.”

The girls and the adults got their food and came back to the tables and were talking quietly when Vincent stood up and said, “Is everybody done eating?  We’re still hungry, so if you want more you’d better get it now.”

The women rolled their eyes at each other as the men got up to get seconds.  Minutes later the girls watched the boys descend on the table.  They started to giggle as the boys were lifting the bowls and scraping the little bit of food left in them onto their plates as they cleared every scrap of food off the table.

Frank looked at Todd and said, “Now do you see what we meant when we said it would be cheaper to pay them by the hour then to feed them?”

“Did you get the rest of the food out of the second fridge?” said Rose with a smile.

“There’s more?” said Dom as the boys threw their plates on the table and ran into the mudroom to get into the garage.  They came out minutes later with more potato salad, macaroni salad, pasta salad, deviled eggs, and plates of hamburgers and hotdogs that were ready to be put on the grill.

Vin lifted up the lid to the grill and threw on the hamburgers and hot dogs while the boys made a serious dent in the food they brought out from the garage.  When Vin announced the hamburgers and hot dogs were done, each boy went and got three hamburgers and four hot dogs before sitting back down.

“If I ate that much, I would blow up,” said Erin as she stared at Lorenzo’s plate.

“Well, you’re not a growing boy,” mumbled Lorenzo as he shoved half a hamburger into his mouth.

“Obviously not Sherlock, what was your first clue?” said Erin sarcastically as she looked at him with her eyebrow raised.

Lorenzo leaned back and looked at her before saying, “Well, you’re short, you’ve got scrawny arms and legs, you’re hair is braided with flowers in it, and your voice squeaks when you talk…do I need to go on, or is that enough?”  He smirked before shoving the rest of the hamburger in his mouth.

Erin glared at him as she said quietly, “I hope you choke on that hamburger.”

Lorenzo glared back and swallowed his food, “Sorry to disappoint you Sweetheart, it’ll take a helluva lot more then that to get rid of me.”  At the look on her face, he shoved half a hot dog into his mouth and smirked before chewing and swallowing.

“You’re a pig,” she whispered quietly as she tried not to stare as he shoved the rest of the hot dog in his mouth, chewing loudly before he swallowed.

“No I’m not Sweetheart; I’m a werewolf, a very hungry werewolf who is going through a growth spurt.  Unlike you, I haven’t finished growing yet and I’m going to need this food to give me the energy to haul your ass around when we run drills,” he rolled his neck as he shoved another half a hamburger in his mouth.

“Who said you are going to carry me?” she said as she glared at him.

“It’s only logical, if you think about it.  Or do I have to do your thinking for you too?” he asked as he raised his eyebrow at her.

“You’re not very nice,” she responded as she continued to stare at him.

“I know, it’s one of my better qualities,” he retorted as he bent his head to eat, determined to ignore her.

The rest of the youngsters watched the exchange between the two of them, hiding their laughter and smiles.  “What the hell was that about?” asked Anthony opening the bond to the boys as he continued to eat.

“I have no idea, ask her,” said Lorenzo as he continued to ignore Erin.  “She started it with her smug ass attitude.  I mean she’s cute and all, but damn her attitude sucks.” 

“You think she’s cute?” asked Alberto smiling as he listened to his intended discuss ‘NCIS’ with the rest of the girls.   He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Do you want anything else to eat?”  Maria smiled and pointed to the hamburger on his plate, as he gave it to her he whispered in her ear, “I’d give you anything Gattina, just to see you smile at me.”

“Well yeah, look at her.  She’s beautiful but once she opens her mouth and starts to talk, all I hear is blah, nag, blah, nag, blah.  I’m not sure why, but she gets under my skin,” Lorenzo looked around and put his head down as he saw Erin still looking at him.  “My wolf is agitated too, he doesn’t like the fact she was making fun of us.” 

Anthony, Alberto, Vin and Dom started smiling and Vin said, “She gets under your skin, huh?  What does she smell like?”

“Like strawberry shortcake and its making me hungry for dessert,” Lorenzo said as he shoved another hot dog into his mouth.  “You know how much I like strawberries, especially with shortcake and whipped cream.  Damn, now I want some.  See what I mean? She irritates me, she’s made me want strawberry shortcake and I don’t have any to eat.”

Frank stood up and said, “If you boys are done shoveling food in your mouths, we’d like to start running some drills.  Youngsters, clean up your mess while we get things set up.”  The youngsters nodded their heads and soon the patio was cleaned up and they went to the field to join the men. 

The women turned their chairs to watch and Gina said quietly but in a firm determined voice, “Carlo doesn’t want us to get involved in the fight because he doesn’t want any of us hurt.  He wants us to think of ways to help prepare and then stay in a safe room while the battle takes place.”  She looked around the table at the other mothers and said, “I don’t know about any of you, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit around while my mate, my son and my Pack are in danger.  I think the other Packs or whoever is responsible for this will be counting on facing only the men and I believe we can and will make a difference.”

Rita nodded her head saying, “I agree.  We are smart, courageous, determined women, and nobody will be expecting us to join the fight.  Count me in.”

Holly and Nana Ellen looked at each other and Nana Ellen said, “We’re in too, but somebody will have to teach us to fight.  Whatever we need to do, we will do.”

Annie and Rose looked at each other as Annie said, “You know we’re always ready to kick some ass, especially if we get to irritate our mates.  Count us in.”

Rose looked at Holly and Nana Ellen and said, “We’ll teach you how to fight, by the time we’re done with you, your mate will be amazed with how good you are.”

Gina smiled at the women and said, “We’ll start planning on Tuesday at our women’s lunch meeting then the next week we’ll start training.  The men are going to get our help whether they want it or not.”  The women nodded then turned back to pay attention to what was happening on the field.

“The first thing you’re going to do is run the length of the field, we need to get your times for comparison,” said Frank as Joe lined the youngsters up.

Anthony finished first for the boys and Gabby finished first for the girls.  As Carmelo called their times, Carlo wrote them down and then Frank and Joe went over them.  “Here is how we’re pairing you:  Anthony/Sophia, Alberto/Maria, Vincent/Brianna, Dominic/Morgan, Angelo/Gabby, Lorenzo/Erin, Gianni/Aislin, Marcus/Kelly, Paulo/Shannon, Michael/Fallon, Gino/Fiona, Enzo/Maeve, Damian will be paired up with Caitlin when he can run.  Victor, you will be point man and Sal, you will watch their six.  Everybody get their partner and line up for a shoulder carry.”     

Lorenzo stood and stared at Erin, until with a huff she walked over to him and said angrily, “Don’t say a thing.”  He started laughing quietly and before she had a chance to say anything he threw her over his shoulder and bounced her one time to position her.  “Was that bounce necessary?” she hissed as she squirmed around to get comfortable.  He didn’t answer her so she poked him in the back and asked again. 

“Oh, am I allowed to talk now?” he responded as he bounced her again, not because he had to, but because he wanted to. 

“Stop that,” she hissed as she poked him in the back again.

“Stop poking me and I’ll stop bouncing you,” he said with a snarl even though he was smiling, she didn’t respond but did stop poking him. 

The boys walked to the line and waited for Matt to holler ‘Go’; as soon as he did they took off.  Carmelo called out the times as Carlo wrote them down and showed them to Frank and Joe.  “The boys times haven’t changed much, they only slowed down a step or two, even with carrying the girls,” said Frank with a smile.  “And they’re still faster then the girls.”

“We’re going to try Piggyback style, this will allow them to use their arms as they run,” said Frank.  Each boy squatted down and placed the girls on the ground and waited for them to climb on their backs.  Joe told the girls the best way to hook their arms, one over their shoulder and one under and then holding their hands so the boys wouldn’t choke.  When Joe told them to wrap their legs around the boys above their hips and hook their ankles together, the girls started giggling at Maria and Gabby who couldn’t get their legs around Alberto and Angelo. 

“Gattina, put your legs around me as much as you can and hold tight, I won’t let you fall or leave you behind,” said Alberto as he tried to reassure his intended.

“Gabs, you’d better hold on tight because I won’t hesitate to leave your ass behind,” said Angelo, as everyone started to laugh Gabby head-butted her older brother which made everyone laugh even harder.

The boys stepped up to the line and Matt shouted ‘Go’, Carmelo and Carlo repeated their routine and Frank and Joe waited for the results.  “Their times are the same as the first run,” said Joe as he smiled.  “That’s the way they should run if they can, having both of their arms free gives them the extra speed needed.” 

Damian looked at Caitlin and bumped her with his shoulder, almost knocking her over and laughed as she glared at him.  “Don’t worry if the time comes, I’ll be able to haul your ass to safety,” he said as he looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

She continued to glare at him and said, “Maybe when the time comes, I’ll have to haul your ass somewhere.”  She stepped back and looked him up and down before saying, “If I could lift your ass that is.” 

“Ooh, feisty, I like that,” he said as he bumped her with his shoulder again as she tried not to smile.

Frank called Todd and Papa Mike over and asked, “Have the girls ever gone for a run on your back when you’ve been in wolf form?” 

“When they were really little, but that was mainly to get them used to our wolves,” said Todd as he shrugged.  “As they got older and things in the Pack changed, we had very limited access to them and when we could manage it, I did try to teach them how to fight, but that was very limited.” 

“Boys, go in the pool house and shift into your wolves, girls over here,” Joe said.  “The boys are going to take you on a walk around the yard.  As you feel comfortable, they’ll increase their speed until at the end of this drill they are running flat out.”  The Miller girls looked at each other with a mix of fear and excitement on their faces.

Frank looked at the girls and smiled as he said, “Once you get comfortable your job will be to help them monitor their surroundings, basically an extra pair of eyes and ears to detect if anybody is hunting you.  You won’t always be able to verbalize directions so you’ll learn to give directional instructions using pressure on their forechest and squeezing your knees on their chest.”

Their attention shifted as the boys came out of the pool house in wolf form.  Each boy went to their partner and sat down as Frank started to talk, “Girls climb on.  Millers watch how Sophia, Maria and Gabby hold onto the fur on the forechest and see how they are gripping their ankles behind the ribs.  This allows the boys lungs to expand fully and with the girls in a ‘tuck’ position they won’t get hit by branches.  Matt, please go shift, so Caitlin gets some practice.”  Matt ran to the pool house and came out moments later in his dark grey wolf with beige speckling and ran up to Caitlin.

The boys stood up and let the girls get their balance before they slowly started to walk as the men made adjustments so they felt more comfortable.  “Sal and Victor, I want the two of you to run around and get more comfortable with your wolf,” said Frank as they started to chase each other around the yard. 

The sound of several sneezes echoed across the yard followed by a thud as Erin fell to the ground.  “YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE,” she shouted as she got up and shoved Lorenzo.  He didn’t budge and instead turned his face towards her and tilted his head staring at her intently.  When he didn’t respond, she shoved him again. 

“Dad, tell her I didn’t do it on purpose, the flowers in her hair are making me sneeze,” said Lorenzo as he threw his head back and sneezed again. 

“Erin, please stop shoving my son.  The flowers in your hair are making him sneeze, so please take them out,” said Joe quietly but in a firm voice as the other boys stopped walking and turned around to look.  “I know you can shift into your wolf so you know a wolf’s nose is more sensitive then a human one.” 

Carlo looked at Erin and the other girls and said, “I’m only going to say this one time, the boys may tease and pick on the girls a lot, but they would never do anything to cause physical harm.  They’re brought up and trained to protect you and keep you safe even at the cost of their own life if needed.”

Erin put her head down, tears silently falling down her face as she listened to her Alpha reprimand her.  She didn’t know what was the matter with her; she kept trying to get Lorenzo to notice her but when she opened her mouth to say something it came out wrong and she lost her temper.  Seeing his daughter cry, Todd moved towards her but Carlo stopped him and pointed towards Erin.  While she was lost in her thoughts, she felt something wet brush against her.  Looking down, she saw Lorenzo’s muzzle brushing against her hand and heard him whimpering.  She leaned down whispering in his ear, “I’m sorry, I thought you did it on purpose because you were mad at me with the horrible way I talked to you earlier.”

Lorenzo inhaled deeply trying to smell her strawberry shortcake scent and instead got a nose full of the lily of the valley that was in her braid.  He tried to back up but she was holding the fur on his shoulders and the most he could move was a step back which put her face six inches away from his.  “Dad, tell her to let…I’ve got to…” he started to say and then he couldn’t hold back anymore.  He sneezed right in her face, twice in quick succession.  She looked at him her eyes wide and before she could say anything he sneezed again.

She was gasping and her eyes looked humongous as she brought her hand up and wiped it across her face.  When she saw the mucous she screamed “EWWWWW,” and took off running as she continued to scream, “MOMMMAAA.” 

As Todd watched his daughter run across the field he said, “We should have timed her now, she’s definitely faster then she was earlier.  Maybe that’s what she needed to motivate her…a face full of snot.”  Everyone started laughing and the Miller girls quickly removed the flowers from their braids and threw them on the ground.

Joe looked at his son and shrugged before saying, “Well, I did tell her to take the flowers out.”  The men started roaring with laughter, and the boys were chortling and throwing their heads up and down.

Lorenzo watched as Holly cleaned Erin’s face and said, “Dad, I’m going to make sure she’s okay.”  Without waiting for an answer he headed towards the pool house.

The boys started walking and increased their pace as Gabby gave the Millers advice on how to hold their hands to get a better grip and keep their balance.

Erin watched as Lorenzo walked out of the pool house clad in only board shorts which hung low off his lean hips.  She was holding the clean t-shirt Miss Annie had given her while she waited for her Mom to finish cleaning her face.  Lorenzo stared at her for a couple of seconds and said, “I’m sorry I sneezed on you, but when you were talking to me, the flowers were up my nose.  I tried holding it in and telling Dad for you to move, and then I tried to move and you were holding my shoulders and…”

“I’m fine, I’m more embarrassed by the way I reacted,” said Erin as she blushed.

Lorenzo leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Yeah, that was a total girl’s reaction and yes, I have noticed you are a girl.”  He walked away without looking at her and when he was halfway to the pool house he shouted, “Hurry up, we’ve got more practicing to do, and don’t forget to take the damn flowers out of your hair.” 

Erin gasped as she realized the flowers were still in her hair.  The quiet laughter of the women on the patio made her turn around and she blushed again.  “Go ahead Erin; don’t forget to change your shirt first.  The bathroom is down the hallway, first door on the right,” said Annie with a smile.  Erin went running into the house and came out minutes later and ran to the field where Lorenzo was waiting.

“You’re bad, Annie,” said Rita laughing as she noticed what Erin was wearing.  The baseball t-shirt had the school logo on the front and ‘Gianni C’ on the back, with a ‘9’ underneath.

“Why did you give her Gianni’s shirt?” asked Holly with a look of confusion.

“I want to see Lorenzo’s reaction to her wearing Gianni’s shirt.  You know how possessive the males are, and it’s pretty obvious Erin has been trying to get Lorenzo to notice her,” said Annie with a laugh.  “He doesn’t quite understand what is going on yet, so I figured the shirt would be a little push in the right direction.”

Rose started to laugh and said, “Is it at least clean?”

“Yeah, I got it out of the laundry room, but it still smells like him,” said Annie as she started laughing so hard tears were coming out of her eyes.  “Oh, he noticed.”

The women turned to the field as Erin ran up to Lorenzo who was deeply scenting the air.  He walked around her and seeing whose t-shirt she had on, he turned towards Gianni and growled loudly.  He lay down so Erin could climb on his back and as he walked around he said to Gianni, “Why is she wearing your shirt?  I don’t like it.”

“Hold on there, Rainbow Dash,” Gianni answered.  “I didn’t give her my shirt, I’ve been out here the whole fucking time, so don’t blame me.”

“Calm yourself down, Princess Sparkle,” said Damian with a laugh.  “If you don’t like it, you could always sneeze all over her again, you may have missed a spot.”

“Stop with the names,” grumbled Lorenzo.  “Wait until later and then I’ll show you how fucking funny the two of you are.” 

“We want you to start guiding by pressure.  Talk to them and tell them how much you want them to turn.  Start off with light pressure and then progress, remember the harder the pressure the harder the turn,” shouted Frank.  They watched them run around the field changing directions at random and Todd, Papa Mike and Phil would flinch when the girls would fall off.  The boys would immediately stop and nudge their hands to make sure they were okay and they would be off again. 

“Alright, that’s enough of that for now, in the next couple of weeks we’ll practice more and start doing more drills.  We’re going to practice some protective formations for now,” said Frank as Joe had them line up in different formations to see which worked best.  “This is only for practice right now since Damian can’t run, we’ll figure out the final formations later.”

“I know everyone is wondering why the girls aren’t in wolf form.  There are several reasons, the Millers don’t know how to fight so the most important thing is to get them to safety; not all of them can shift yet and they need to learn to depend on each other.  In the upcoming weeks, the drills will get harder and we will incorporate your wolf form into the drills,” said Carlo as he looked at the youngsters who nodded.  

“I think we’re done for now,” said Joe.  “That’s a lot for one practice, boys go shift back, and girls go do whatever you were going to do.”  The boys ran back to the pool house and shifted coming out in their board shorts and dove into the pool.  The girls got drinks out of the patio fridge and then went to the pool deck, pulling up several chaise loungers so they could sit together and talk. 

The men got beers out of the fridge and sat down with the women on the patio.  They talked about the upcoming weekend at the Rossi’s cabin and when Holly asked about what foods they should bring Carlo told her not to worry about it since there was a Rossi’s grocery located nearby. 

Nana Ellen asked when they would serve dessert and Frank smiled and said, “The boys will let you know.”

Carlo looked at Matt and Phil and said, “I want to hear the story about how your bond grew, but we’ll talk about it at the cabin.”  Phil smiled and nodded his head as Holly grabbed his hand and squeezed it.  Talk centered on school, football and everything else but the crisis facing them, they seem determined to keep their last night before the Pack found out as normal as possible.

Talk among the girls soon turned to the start of school the following day and Maria said, “Gabby, you didn’t tell them the good news.”

The noise from the pool got quiet as the boys anxiously waited, since they knew what was coming.  They glanced at Vin and Dom and could barely keep their smiles hidden as they waited for the upcoming explosion.

Gabby looked at the Millers and said with a big smile on her face, “The cheerleading squad would like you to join us.  I meant to tell you earlier but we got sidetracked.”

Excited squeals could be heard from the Millers while Vin said, “OH FUCK NO.”  Dom echoed him by saying, “NO FUCKING WAY.”  The rest of the boys were trying not to laugh at the disgruntled look on Vin and Dom’s faces and Anthony and Alberto had big grins on their faces as they looked at each other.

Morgan looked at Dominic and said quietly, “Why don’t you want me to do it?  Is this part of that possessive thing Momma was talking about?  Or do you think I’m not pretty enough to be a cheerleader?”

“Oh fuck,” he said quietly as he got out of the pool.  He looked at her and sighed loudly saying, “Let’s go to the other side of the pool so we can talk in private, okay?”  She nodded her head and followed him.

Brianna looked at Vin as he got out of the pool and said, “I don’t care what you say, I’m gonna do it.”  She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

Vin stared at her and said, “Do you realize how many guys are going to be staring at you?  And you’re going to be in a little skirt and top showing your pom-poms off to them?  I don’t want other guys around you or staring at you.”

Brianna glared at him and said, “Everything you said sounded like your problem, not mine.  I’m sure the skirts aren’t that little and I’m sure my pom-poms will be covered just fine.”  The boys couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing at the look on Vin’s face.

Brianna continued in a firm voice, “I AM doing this; you can either suck it up and take it like a man or continue to whine like a little boy.”  The boys were laughing hysterically at Vin who was standing there with his mouth hanging open.

“Fine, but I don’t like this at all, and the first guy who comes up to you and asks you out or makes a pass at you, I’ll knock his ass out,” he said angrily.  “And I want you to wear my hoodie or my jacket to the games.”

Brianna looked at Sophia, Maria and Gabby with a questioning look on her face.  Sophia in her eagerness to help her brother said, “I’m going to wear Anthony’s hoodie and jacket to the games.”

Maria chimed in saying, “I’m wearing Alberto’s even though it looks like a dress.”

Gabby looked at Sal before she said, “I’m wearing Sal’s hoodie even though we’re not dating yet.”  Sal’s face flushed as he realized she put ‘yet’ on the end of her sentence, as if she thought they would be dating eventually.

“Fine, I’ll wear your hoodie or jacket, but you better not get in any fights.  I can’t prevent anybody from asking me out, but you have to realize I don’t want to go out with anybody else,” Brianna said as she glared at Vin.  “You’re my mate why would I want to go out with anybody else?”

“I’ve got no idea,” Vin shouted as he waved his hands in the air.  “I don’t even know what the hell we’re arguing about anymore.”  The boys continued to laugh at the look of frustration on Vin’s face and Anthony and Alberto smiled at each other both thinking that maybe Vin would give them a little slack now. 

Dom and Morgan sat facing each other on the lounger and he looked deep into her gray eyes and said, “The first thing I want to say is I think you’re beautiful and you take my breath away when I look at you.  The second is, yes I’m very possessive of you and I don’t want other guys looking at you.  You’re mine, and I’m yours.”  He took a deep breath and said, “If this is something you want, then I’ll support you, I’ll do anything to make you happy Zenzero, that’s all that matters to me.”

Morgan smiled at him and leaned in so he could scent her neck as she said, “I’d like to try cheerleading.  I think it would be fun but I’m not sure I’d be good at it, I’m not as outgoing as the other girls.”

“You’d be a wonderful cheerleader, even if you stood there and did nothing.  I have confidence in you and I think once you get over the initial shyness you’ll enjoy yourself,” Dom said as he smiled to himself wondering how things turned around so he was trying to convince her to be a cheerleader.

“I liked it when I was holding you earlier,” she said shyly as she leaned in to scent him.  “It made me feel safe and protected, even with the news Alpha Carlo told us, I knew you wouldn’t let anybody hurt me.”

“Never, I will never let anybody hurt you,” he said quietly as he pulled her closer and rested her head on his shoulder. 

*****

A slip of paper was included on his dinner tray, hidden within the folds of his paper napkin.  Charles looked around the large holding area and felt hundreds of eyes on him and he nodded his head before turning his back so the security cameras wouldn’t see him as he started reading the note:

‘The second payment has been sent and delivery will be within eighteen months as per our agreement.  We now want both Carlucci’s as well as the rest of the girls and are prepared to offer an additional 20 million dollars American for their delivery.’ 

Written underneath the original message:

‘Master, we are working on a plan to free you and our fellow loyal followers, but we must wait for the right time.  I have verified the payment has been received and await your word on how to proceed on the other matter.’

Charles smiled and rolled his shoulders as he looked at his followers.  He needed to send a message but the silver and lead construction of the cells prevented the use of the bond and he knew the cells were monitored, “Plans change all the time men, but payment has come to those of us who wait to be free.”

*****

The adults looked across the backyard as Gabby, Sophia and Maria were teaching the Miller girls basic cheerleading moves and the boys were in the field near them playing football with Damian as the ref.  Carlo rubbed the back of his neck and said quietly, “I’m getting ready to send out the message to the men over eighteen, do we need to talk about anything before I send it out?”

Frank and Joe looked at each other and Frank said, “I think we covered everything earlier.  My only comment would be to keep it short.”

Carlo nodded his head and opened the bond to include only those he wanted to get the message, “Attention, we will have a mandatory meeting of all men over the age of eighteen at the training room tomorrow evening at 6:15 PM.  If you are concerned about your mates or little ones, please bring them to The Manor House.  The girls dance class will proceed as usual so make arrangements if needed.” 

“I just thought of something,” Joe said with a frown.  “If the men are going to the meeting, that’ll leave the females alone at The Apartment House.”

“I’ll call the head of security and tell them to have the females stay in the safe room until the men come back,” said Carlo as Frank, Joe and Carmelo nodded their heads.  At the questioning looks on Todd and Papa Mike’s face he said, “I don’t want to use the Council’s security detail.  The less people that know the better so I don’t want anybody outside this Pack and Dante’s to know yet.”

“You don’t want me to call my brother tomorrow?” asked Gina with a frown.  “I know his Pack isn’t close, but they’re our ally and more importantly, family.”

“I’ll call your brother on Tuesday, after we talk to the men,” said Carlo as he smiled at his mate.  “We’ll have a better idea of plans and I’ll ask him to make an unofficial visit in a month or so, in fact we’ll invite your family for the Halloween Party.”

Gina smiled and said, “Oh, that’ll be great…” before she could continue the youngsters came over asking when dessert would be served.  Holly and Nana Ellen quickly got up and took the desserts out of the boxes to reveal vanilla cupcakes with vanilla bean frosting, chocolate chip cookies, M & M cookies, sugar cookies, cranberry orange scones, a raspberry sheet cake with raspberry frosting, two red velvet double layer cakes with cream cheese frosting and a lemon blueberry poundcake. 

Within ten minutes there wasn’t a scrap of dessert left, the boys were even arguing over who got to lick the plates.  Annie looked at Holly and said, “If that’s the type of baked goods you’re going to have in your store, we’ll end up fat.  I’ve never tasted anything as good as that raspberry cake before.”

Holly and Nana Ellen looked at each other and smiled as Nana Ellen leaned towards her and whispered, “The secret is Amaretto, we put a little in the cake and icing.”

“Carlo, we’re interested in the building next to Matt and Phil for the bakery,” said Holly with a smile.  “We’d like to see it when it’s convenient for you.”

“That would be a perfect location, and with Matt and Phil next door that’ll give you a better sense of protection,” said Carlo, before he could continue Frank’s phone rang.

Frank picked his phone up and said, “Frank Carlucci…Hi Jerry…no, that won’t be a problem… Anthony, Vin and Dom will attend the meeting but the rest of the boys will be at dance class…tell your brother, Harold and the Costello’s to drop the girls off here and the boys will take them... okay…see you tomorrow at work.”

Before Frank finished talking, Joe’s phone rang, “Joe Carlucci…Hi Harold…yeah, Jerry just called…no, it won’t be a problem…Frank said to drop the girls off here and the boys will take care of them…I’ll tell him…okay, see you tomorrow at 6.”

“The Costello’s, Whitmer’s and Poffenberger’s need you to watch their daughters at dance class while we have the meeting,” said Frank looking at the boys.  “They’re going to drop them off here and depending on how long the meeting lasts will either pick them up here or at the studio.  They know Vincent, Dominic and Anthony are going to be at the meeting but I assured Jerry the rest of you would watch them.”

Vin looked at his brothers and cousins and said, “Make sure you take good care of them, remember not to get rough when you’re picking them up.”

“What the hell Vin?  Do you think I’ve never picked up a little one or a young one before?” asked Gianni as he frowned at Vin.

“I remember when you picked up Sophia and then dropped her on her head.  You’d better not do that with Hope,” Vin replied with a scowl.

“I WAS FIVE FUCKING YEARS OLD VIN,” shouted Gianni.  “I think it’s time you let that go, besides you’re the one who stepped on Sal and made him cry.”

“It’s not like I did it on purpose,” retorted Vin.  “You dropped Sophia because Damian grabbed your toy and you dropped her to hit him.”

“In my defense, I’d like to say the toy was mine to begin with and you’re wrong Vin,” said Damian taking a deep breath before he continued.  “Gianni dropped Sophia because Victor bit him on the calf because he thought he stole his Hostess Cupcake when Enzo actually did, Marcus stole Sal’s Twinkies and he threw a fit and smashed my Twinkie and knocked over Gino’s milk which caused Dom to trip and fall and land on Maria, smashing her Twinkie and knocking the table over which spilt Lorenzo’s, Paulo’s and Michael’s milk and Sal threw himself on the floor when he had his temper tantrum and THAT’S when you stepped on Sal.  I remember it perfectly…I really wanted that Twinkie.”

Everyone laughed as the Carlucci youngsters glared at each other and Joe shook his head and said with a smile, “Now that we’re done going down memory lane of how badly all of you misbehaved at snack time, I have a message for Lorenzo.”

“A message for me?  From who?” asked Lorenzo as he looked at his Dad.

“From Brooke, when Harold told her she was coming here, she got excited and wanted you to know she got new dance shoes,” said Joe with a smile.

At that announcement Lorenzo started groaning and banging his head on the patio table as everyone else started laughing.