“MINE,” shouted Alberto as he
ran towards Maria knocking Vincent, Dominic, Enzo and Gino to the floor so hard
they skidded before hitting and knocking over several tables and chairs . His twin brother Angelo tried to move out of
the way but wasn’t fast enough and pitchers of soda and ice water flew through
the air, raining down over everyone before splashing on the floor. His older brother Marco who was carrying a
tray with ice filled red plastic tumblers was knocked out of the way, the cups
flying through the air, pelting everyone in the face with ice and plastic
cups. His sister Gabby, seeing what was
going on dove out of the way with her tray of rolled flatware and melamine
dinner plates, adding to the confusion and mess.
Seconds later he reached
Maria, picking her up and carrying her twenty feet to the back of the
restaurant pinning her to the wall. He
began sniffing her neck and hair and growled loudly, the sound reverberating
throughout the restaurant.
“OH FUCK,” shouted Joe as he
leapt over the table to get to his daughter.
“OH SHIT,” said Frank
knocking his chair over to rescue his niece.
“ALBERTO, PUT THAT LITTLE
GIRL DOWN,” shouted Carmelo waving his hands as he ran towards his son.
The boys were speechless, but
ran to rescue Maria from Alberto.
Sophia, Rose, Annie and Gabby stood together and watched as the
spectacle unfolded, all four of them had grins on their faces.
“Alberto, let go of her,
you’re crushing her” “Alberto, have you lost your mind?” “Maria, are you ok?
Answer me” “Alberto, get the fuck off my sister” “Let her breathe” “Let her go
Damn it” “Fuck, he’s strong” “Maria, tell him to let you go” “His arms are like steel, I can’t get them to
budge” was heard as the men tried to get Alberto to let go of Maria.
Finally, after several long
tense moments, Alberto lowered Maria to the floor although the men still could
not see her; once everyone stopped shouting they could hear her giggling. “Are you alright Maria?” asked Joe looking as
if he was about ready to kill Alberto.
Frank seeing the look on his face moved closer to him.
“I’m fine Daddy,” she said
giggling. “Alberto, could you please let
my Daddy and family see me so they know I’m fine.”
“I’m sorry Gattina,” said
Alberto as he turned around, pulling Maria into his side so her family could
see her and then he saw the look on Joe’s face.
“I don’t know what came over me, I tried to let go Mr. JC, honestly, but
I just couldn’t, I just felt like if I let go of her I would lose her forever,
I had to keep scenting her, I couldn’t stop myself, I knew I couldn’t let her
go, but I should have, I’m sorry to have worried everybody, I want to hold her
forever and never let her go, I’m really sorry Mr. JC, but I can’t seem to let
her go, she smells so good to me, like spice cake with cream cheese frosting
and I love cream cheese frosting, its my favorite, I can eat a whole can of it,
I can’t get enough of how good she smells, is this what Anthony is going
through, no wonder he is acting like an idiot, I think I’m acting like an idiot
too but I can’t seem to help it.”
“Oh great, another intended
mate who rambles and makes no sense,” said Damian laughing. “You would think at least one of them could
talk with some sense.”
Joe was taking slow deep
breaths to try and calm down, his hands clenching and unclenching, then finally
he looked at Alberto and said, “If you hurt her, I will kill you and they will
never find your body.”
“Hurt her? I could never hurt her Mr. JC. Please let me have her, I promise I’ll be
good. I don’t mean have her, as in have
her, she’s not old enough for me to have her like that, but I still want her,
just you know, can I keep her? I’ll take
good care of her,” said Alberto still rambling and Maria started giggling
again.
“Son, she’s not a pet at the
shelter that you’re adopting,” said Carmelo trying to reason with his son. At his remark everyone started laughing, even
Joe. “Why don’t we get this mess cleaned up then we can sit down, I’ll bring
out some Antipasto and freshly baked bread.
Angelo, put the CLOSED sign over the door until we are done talking.”
Everyone helped to clean up
then took their seats and the wait staff started bringing out platters of
antipasto and appetizers. Maria quietly
told Alberto of the secret crush she had for him; he told her he had been
watching her at cheerleading practice since he noticed how beautiful she looked
at Sophia’s birthday party and Lorenzo, Vin and Dom had caught him a couple of
times.
Carmelo told Joe that Alberto
was already familiar with Pack rules regarding dating as he had gone to the
meeting when his older brother Marco made his declaration with Anna Bellucci
two years ago, but he could probably do with a reminder.
Joe said to Alberto, “You
know this would have been so much easier if you would have made your
declaration at the birthday party, this way we wouldn’t have to have another
meeting about rules for dating a Carlucci, we could have just combined it with
Anthony’s.”
Alberto looked at Joe and
said, “I will do whatever you tell me sir, and I really do want to be able to
keep her.” This made Joe smile at him for the first time.
Joe invited the Moretti’s
over to his house on Sunday after the boys training and told them he would have
Frank and his sons there as well as Carlo and Anthony since they were also
involved in Maria’s protection.
Everyone sat and quietly
talked while they ate, the men mostly preoccupied with eating since they were
famished. Maria’s brothers and cousins
watched Alberto as he hovered over her, making sure she had enough to eat and
drink.
Enzo quietly said to Dom,
“So, is the party off tonight then, since Al can’t go or are we still
going? Do you guys know who is having
it?”
Before any of the boys could
comment, Maria said, “A party? I would love to go, oh please, Alberto can we
go? It would be our first time out
together, oh please? I just bought a
couple of dresses that would be perfect for a party. Is it a birthday party, do we need to buy a
gift? If my brothers and cousins are
going, then we would have enough chaperones.”
Maria looked at Alberto with a pleading puppy dog look on her face and
put her hand on his arm, just like she had been taught.
Alberto looked at Maria with
horror, thinking of bringing his newly found intended mate to what was
basically going to be a sex party. He
didn’t want to refuse the first request she made of him, but there was no way
he would ever bring her to that kind of party.
The thought of it was enough to make him start to hyperventilate, he
felt light-headed like he was going to pass out or throw up. He couldn’t decide which he wanted to do
first.
He looked to Vin and Dom for
help, but all of the Carlucci boys had their heads down staring at their plates
laughing quietly, waiting for Al to answer his intended mate’s request, knowing
the fact he wanted to make her happy, but knowing he could NEVER grant this
request.
“Alberto, you’re going to
take Maria to a party tonight? Oh, I
think that’s nice for your first date, and Maria said the boys were going
already so that’s perfect,” said Annie with a smile on her face.
Joe and Frank looked at their
sons, then at Alberto and thought back to the talk from last night. Joe shouted, “THERE WILL BE NO PARTY TONIGHT.” Frank laughed at the relieved look on
Alberto’s face, while Joe looked like he was going to kill Alberto first then
his sons and nephews.
“Gattina, your father is
right; we are coming over to your house on Sunday night to discuss the
rules. I don’t want to get your father
upset with me by breaking one by mistake,” said Alberto.
“Nice recovery,” said Dominic
as all the boys laughed.
Maria wondered what had gone
wrong, and asked Sophia through the bond, “What
went wrong? I asked him in a pleading voice, gave him the puppy dog eyes and
stroked his arm. Maybe it was because I
didn’t tear up?”
Sophia replied, “Maybe it’s because you didn’t let him scent
you to reassure him, he might be jealous of the other people there. Next time, let him scent you like we were
told, see if that helps.”
“Daddy, would it be okay if
Alberto took me to dance class on Monday?” asked Maria.
Before Joe could respond,
Alberto jumped up, knocked over his chair and said in a jealous tone, “Dance
class, what kind of dance class? What do
you wear to this class? Who is going to
be there? Are there going to be boys
there? It’s bad enough other boys are
going to be looking at you while you’re cheerleading, and I want your
cheerleading skirt longer.”
Damian started banging his
head on the corner of the table and said, “Not again, I can’t take two whiny
intended mates, somebody just kill me now.”
The Carlucci’s were laughing as this was basically the same reaction
Anthony had, it was like a bad case of déjà vu.
“Relax bud; it’s the same
classes Gabby takes, or have you forgotten you’ve seen Maria there a hundred
times. It’s the same group of guys every
week and it never bothered you before,” said Vincent laughing at his friend.
“I know I’ve seen her there,
but now I don’t want anybody else to see her there. That was before, and now it’s all different,
maybe the other guys could look somewhere else,” said Alberto, as he paused a thought came to
him. “We could read, yeah that’s what
we’ll do, I’ll talk it over with Ant and all the guys will read books instead
of watching them…. I’m losing my mind, aren’t I?” The male members of the Clan nodded their
heads as they started laughing.
Maria got up and stepped into
Alberto’s side and let him scent her, just like Sophia had suggested and he
started calming down immediately. She
said, “Anthony brings Sophia to class, and you can bring me and my brothers
when you take Gabby. I’ve been taking dance
classes with Sophia since we were three and it’s something I really enjoy, and
I’d like it if you could share it with me.
Please?”
Alberto looked at his
intended mate and swallowed noisily and said in a raspy voice, “Anything you
want, Gattina, what time should I pick you up?”
The Carlucci boys all looked at each other while rolling their eyes and
laughing at how quickly their friend had caved.
“Don’t even think Dad will
let her near your Harley, if he finds out she was on it, you won’t be prepared
for the level of ballistic he reaches,” said Lorenzo with a serious expression
on his face. Joe glanced down the table
and raised his eyebrow at Alberto and shook his head no.
“I guess I’ll talk to my Dad
about getting a truck then, because I want Maria with me when we go to dance
class, practice and school,” said Alberto.
Carmelo said, “I’ll call
Vinnie at the Ford dealership tomorrow Alberto.”
Damian looked at the two of
them still standing together and said, “I have to be the first one to say
this. Do the two of you realize how
ridiculous you look together? Seriously,
Luna picked the two of you as mates?”
“Dude, look at the two of you
in the mirror over there,” continued Damian.
“Maria is 5’5” and 115 pounds.
And you, well you’re 6’5” or 6’6” and about 330 pounds. Maria has straight black hair she uses head
bands and bow things or whatever they are called, you have a Mohawk dyed
platinum blonde with the ends dyed Kool-Aid red. Maria is a cute perky petite cheerleader who
is scared of butterflies and you are a brawny son of a bitch linebacker who
instills fear in every opponent we face.
Talk about your opposites attracting.”
“Yeah,” continued Vincent,
“Maria is more Vogue, you are more Bikers and Babes Weekly. Maria is more KEDS and ballet slippers;
you’re more, shit-kicker boots. Maria is
dance recitals; you’re biker bars and wet t-shirt contests. She is color coordinated outfits and matching
accessories, you’re ripped jeans and t-shirts with beer slogans and Harley
logos.”
Maria said in a huff to her
brothers and cousins with her eyes narrowed in such a way they knew they would
be in trouble later, “I think we look good together, what do you think
Alberto?”
He looked at her adoringly
and said, “I think we look perfect together, but anything you want me to change
I will.”
Maria leaned into him so he
could scent her again and she whispered to him, “I like you just the way you
are. I think our differences are fine,
now we just need to find out what we have in common and proceed from
there.” He nodded his head in agreement;
at this point he would agree with anything she said, he wanted her to be happy
since he disappointed her about the party.
“Vin, do you think he’ll
smother her when they, uhm, uhm well you know,” Victor said in a voice barely
above a whisper with a worried look on his face for his twin.
“When he had her pinned up
against the wall, we couldn’t even see her, and he’ll probably crush her if he
lies on top of her or maybe break her in half” added Salvatore echoing Victor’s
concern as he also whispered quietly to Vin.
“Girls are tough, especially
Weres, but this isn’t something we should be talking about here, the two of you
will ride home with Dom and I and we’ll have a talk. Okay?” said Vincent whispering just as
quietly as both boys nodded their heads still looking at Maria and Alberto with
concern. “Don’t let Dad or Uncle Joe
hear things like that about the girls, okay?
If you have questions, you come to Dom or me.”
Sophia glanced at the clock
and her eyes opened in terror as she jumped up from her seat knocking over the
chair and let out an ear-piercing scream, making the men jump up from their
chairs ready to face whatever threat was about to descend on them. In a matter of seconds, the women were pushed
against the wall with the men forming a protective perimeter around them. Every male there, except Sal and Victor, had
their claws extended their amber eyes glowing, ready to shift.
They looked around the
restaurant wondering where the threat was coming from and seeing nothing except
the kitchen staff also prepared to fight and one of them had his hand on the
button to lower the steel over the windows.
Frank hollered at Sophia,
“What is it? Where is the threat? I don’t see or smell anything out of the
ordinary. What are you sensing? Is it your wolf? Did she sense something?” The men never let up from their protective
stance; all of them had their noses in the air, sniffing for a hidden threat
and detecting nothing.
“Daddy, do you see what time
it is? Its 5:30 and I have to be at
Anthony’s by 7:30,” she said in a whining tone. “I’ll never have time to get ready.”
“OH, FOR THE LOVE OF LUNA,”
shouted Frank. “Stand down everyone.”
He turned and stared at his
daughter, “Sophia Rosella Carlucci if you EVER scream like that again without a
viable threat, you will wish hell hounds were after you instead of me!!!”
Upon seeing his daughters
pout and her eyes tearing up, he looked at her and said sternly, “Do not start
with the histrionics; I am not in the mood.
You were taught better, more then that, YOU KNOW better than to scream like
that. Now go and apologize.”
“Yes, Daddy,” said Sophia
with her head bowed down. She went to
Mr. Moretti and apologized and by the time she apologized to everyone, it was
almost 6. Frank and Joe told their families
to get in the vehicles and they would be outside in a moment. Maria and Alberto quietly said their goodbyes
and exchanged cell phone numbers so Alberto could call when he got off work,
and he scented her before she got in the truck.
He stood outside and talked to her and her family through the
window. There was absolute silence in
the truck containing Rose, Sophia, Gianni and Marcus.
“Well Frank and Joe, when
your families come in, there’s always excitement but nothing like this,” said
Carmelo with a laugh. “A declaration, a
possible threat, which actually was a good drill for everybody involved, I
think we all had a pretty good response time.
You’ve taught everybody well, though maybe next time we can do it
somewhere other then my restaurant.”
Frank and Joe slapped him on the back and both laughed quietly.
“My apologies again, old
friend. We’d better get going, I feel
it’s going to be a long ride home for one little lady,” said Frank with a
grimace.
The first ten minutes it was
deathly quiet in Frank’s truck. Finally,
he looked in the rearview mirror at Sophia, who had her head bowed down. He said to her, “Well young lady, do you have
anything to say to your mother and me?”
“But Daddy…” was as far as
she got before Frank interrupted her.
“I don’t want to
hear anything coming out of your mouth that starts with ‘but Daddy’,” said
Frank in a near shout as he pounded his palm on the steering wheel. “If
you noticed it was getting late and you wanted to go home to get ready, that’s
all you had to say. NOT scream and act like a child. We were ready
to tear apart anybody who would have come into the restaurant because of you.”
Everyone was
quiet again, Gianni and Marcus shooting glances at each other over Sophia’s
head. They hadn’t seen their father this mad in a long time but they
completely understood his reaction, their wolves were still pacing and
agitated.
“I would like to
cancel your dinner date tonight, but I won’t out of respect for the
Rossi’s. I know they went to a lot of trouble, so the three of you will
go over as scheduled, but will only stay for 30 minutes after dinner is
over. This is your punishment Sophia. Normally you would have been
allowed to stay later, enough time to talk and watch a movie, but not tonight,”
said Frank with a firm tone in his voice. “You will learn that
thoughtless actions have consequences. Be thankful I do not take away all
visitations with Anthony.”
Sophia sat quietly with her
head bowed, she knew she was wrong, and the worst part was she knew her Father
was right in being mad at her. If she
had done something similar with Anthony and her brothers, they would have
reacted in the same way, to protect her and the women at all costs. She was ashamed at what she had done and
disappointed in herself for causing her Father to get this upset.
The rest of the trip was
completed in silence. When they got
home, Sophia hugged her father as she cried quietly and said, “I’m sorry Daddy,
I never want you to be upset or disappointed with me again.”
He looked at his little girl,
who was almost an exact replica of his Great-Aunt Sophia who had died in the
Were War and said to her with his voice cracking with emotion,
“Disappointed? Little one, I was never
disappointed. I was afraid, terrified
and angry there was a possible threat to my family, especially to you. The thought of something happening to my
family and not being able to protect them terrifies me. You know this is why Alpha Carlo insists
Uncle Joe and I train the Pack the way we do and why the rules are in place for
our protection. You know the history of this Pack and what the last Were War
cost us not only as a Pack but as a family. We will not let what happened last
time, happen ever again.”
He pulled her into his chest
and hugged her tightly, wanting her always to stay safe and protected. “I love you little one, and would lay down my
life to keep you safe, my life would not be worth living without you. Now, I think you have a date to get ready
for,” he said as he kissed her forehead.
She smiled at him through her tears as she ran into the house.
While Sophia was getting
ready, Frank went into his study and pulled out his grandparent’s photo album
and found the picture of his Great-Aunt Sophia.
He remembered the stories his grandparents had told him about her,
especially the story of her changing her name from Sofia
Frank decided to have a talk
with Carlo and Joe, he had a feeling even though the younger generation was
trained as well as they could be, the motivation and purpose of ‘why’ had
disappeared or become diluted over the years.
This year marked the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the
treaty which ended the Were War and the start of peace among the Packs, but
South Mountain Pack had never let its guard down. After all they lost; they could not afford
to be complacent and would never be.
Frank continued to flip through the photo album, seeing Carlucci family
members and even whole Pack families that had been killed and vowed to himself,
Never Again.
Forty-five minutes later,
Sophia was ready to go to Anthony’s for dinner.
The spaghetti strap dress had a sage green background with small swirls
of different shades of beige; with it she wore a cardigan and ballet slippers
of the same shade of sage green. Her
jewelry consisted of platinum earrings and Swarovski bracelets in varying
shades of green and beige.
The short drive to the
Rossi’s was pleasant, as Gianni and Marcus made her laugh with stories of
Anthony from when they were younger.
Anthony was waiting for them and he opened Sophia’s door and scented her
deeply after helping her out. “You look
beautiful Arachide, I missed you today,” said Anthony holding her hand.
“You look nice too, and I
missed you also,” said Sophia as she looked at Anthony; he was dressed in a
pair of khaki’s and a blue polo shirt that made his shoulders look even broader
then normal.
He greeted her brothers with
fist pumps and asked how their day had gone.
Gianni said, “Interesting, you are not going to believe who Maria’s
intended mate is.”
“Somebody made a declaration
for Maria? Who?” said Anthony.
“Nope, you have to wait, and
why are you calling my sister ‘Peanut’?” said Marcus.
“Because when I think of her,
I think of the Peanut Butter cookies she made for me. They were sweet like her and they made me
happy, like she does,” said Anthony smiling at Sophia as she giggled and
blushed happily. “Let’s go inside, we
have appetizers ready and you can fill us in on Maria, I can’t wait to hear
this.”
Anthony and his mom got the
appetizers out of the warming oven and placed them on the breakfast bar. There was Italian bread cut into bite-size
pieces accompanied by a variety of dips including creamy asparagus, artichoke
with sun-dried tomatoes, basil cream cheese with prosciutto, and then mini
meatballs with marinara. There were also
tomatoes filled with mozzarella and topped with crab meat. The boys dug into the food like they were
starving, while Sophia fixed herself a small plate.
The chicken had already been
pounded, seasoned and placed in the refrigerator to marinate earlier, so
Anthony pulled it out getting ready to bread it and he put some oil in the pan
on high to heat it. He checked the large
stockpot and saw the water was ready to be put on a boil for the Angel Hair
pasta when the time came. The gravy was
simmering away on the back burner and he was glad his mom had helped him with
that earlier. He then turned to the
Carlucci’s and said, “Okay, I’ve waited long enough, tell me about Maria and
her intended mate.”
“Somebody made a declaration
for Maria? When? I hadn’t heard anything yet,” said Alpha
Carlo with a grin.
“Well Sir, it only happened a
couple of hours ago,” said Gianni with a grin.
“Go ahead, and take a couple of guesses as to who you think it could
be.”
The next several minutes were
spent with the Rossi’s throwing names out, trying to guess Maria’s
intended. Gianni looked at the stove and
shouted, “FIRE.”
Anthony had forgotten to turn
the heat down, and flames were shooting out over the top of the frying
pan. Anthony grabbed a towel and tried
hitting the flames which only succeeded in setting the towel on fire, which he
then threw in the sink igniting the curtains.
His father grabbed the lid and tried to throw it on the pan, knocking
some of the oil onto the counter and spreading the flames. Madame Gina calmly went to the fire
extinguisher and proceeded to put out the fires. She looked at Sophia and grinned as she
turned the exhaust fan on high.
“Okay, it looks like dinner
will be delayed a little while Anthony and his dad clean up. Tell me who is Maria’s intended, it’s killing
me not to know,” said Madame Gina calmly as if nothing untoward had happened.
“Alberto,” said Sophia while
grinning back at Madame Gina.
“Alberto?????? Carmelo and Rita’s son, Alberto? Really? I would never have guessed him,” said
Madame Gina laughing. “Oh my, they are
complete opposites in personality and looks, but I think they would be good
together.”
“What was your Uncle Joe’s
reaction to all of this? I can’t imagine
he took it well,” said Alpha Carlo as he finished scrubbing down the wall to
get the foam and oil off. Anthony had
already cleaned the pan and was breading the chicken, embarrassed he had set
his mother’s kitchen on fire.
“He told Alberto, ‘If you
hurt her, I will kill you and they will never find your body’ and nobody doubts
he is serious,” said Marcus and everyone started laughing.
Anthony and his father
started heating the oil again slowly this time, Carlo reassuring his son not to
let the small incident bother him and Anthony felt better and got some of his
confidence back. They fried the cutlets
up, covered them with gravy and mozzarella then Anthony went to put them in the
oven, mistakenly putting them in the broiler and turning it on. They rejoined the group at the breakfast bar
and when Anthony saw he had 10 minutes left on the timer, he turned the boiling
water on high and put the pasta in.
Sophia, Gianni and Marcus
told the story from the time they walked into Carmelo’s pizza parlor right up
until Sophia screamed. Everyone laughing
at what happened and Anthony was distracted by scenting Sophia and listening to
her talk when he noticed the pot boiling over; he hurried over, turned the gas
off, and drained the pasta. It came out
in one large congealed lump; he had forgotten to stir it. As he looked to his mother for help, smoke
started slowly coming out from the sides of the oven. His mom calmly went over turned off the
broiler and the gravy on the stove, got a fan out of the hall closet, opened
the back door and sat back down at the breakfast bar.
“Okay, we’ll give it about
ten minutes to clear out some of the smoke, then we’ll put the appetizers away
and head on out and get some Chinese food,” she said with a smile on her face.
Anthony stood dejectedly by
the sink; he couldn’t believe what a mess he made of his first dinner for
Sophia. Madame Gina noticed him standing
there, and looked at Sophia and motioned with her head towards him. Sophia got the hint and walked over to him,
and whispered, “The appetizers were really good, and we had Italian for lunch
at Carmelo’s, so Chinese food sounds good to me. Anthony, look at me, I don’t really care what
we eat as long as we are together.”
“Really, you don’t mind going
out for dinner? I’m sorry I made such a
mess of things; it came out perfect when I practiced this week. I can’t seem to concentrate on anything when
you are close to me; all I want to do is hold you and scent you. Dad says it’ll get better with time and I
won’t feel this overwhelming need to have you planted against my side, but I
hope it never goes away,” Anthony whispered into her ear. Sophia looked deeply into Anthony’s eyes and
tilted her head so he could scent her neck.
He growled low in his throat and scented her deeply, both of his hands
buried in her hair, as Sophia pressed as close to him as she could.
Carlo looked at Gianni and
Marcus and said in a quiet tone, “It’s going to be a long three years for
them. We need to increase the physical
training for Anthony to help get some of the suppressed tension out, if not
he’s going to go insane.” Both boys
nodded their heads in agreement.
Madame Gina opened the
broiler and got the blackened chicken out and put it down the disposal. Everyone started carrying the plates and the
little bit of food that was left to the sink.
Anthony turned with the dish of marinara sauce and ran right into
Sophia, dumping the contents down the front of her dress and cardigan.
Everybody stopped what they
were doing and stood there not saying a word.
“Damn it,” hollered Anthony, “I’m so sorry Sophia, I can’t do anything
right.”
Sophia looked at him and
burst out laughing, “Well, I won’t ever forget this night. Gianni can you please go to the truck and
bring in my ‘go bag’ for me and I’ll be ready in just a few minutes. Alpha Carlo, could you please let my Daddy
know about the change in plans.” Madame
Gina brought Sophia into the spare bedroom to help her change and they looked
at each other giggling quietly.
“Not a word, not one word,”
said Anthony as he looked at Gianni, Marcus and his Dad. The four men stood there staring at one
another for several moments, before Gianni started laughing followed shortly by
the other three men.
“At least you didn’t give her
food poisoning,” said Marcus laughing hysterically.
Carlo used the bond to
contact Frank, “We had a change in plans,
after the oil fire, burning the chicken to a crisp, congealing the pasta and
Anthony dumping food down the front of Sophia’s dress we have decided to take
your children for Chinese food. Sophia
wanted me to let you know of the change in plans; she is changing her clothes
right now.”
Frank replied laughing, “Sounds like a night to remember. Have fun at dinner and tell the kids to come
straight home after. I’d like to talk to
you soon about the Full Moon Ceremony, but we’ll do that tomorrow.”
Sophia and Madame Gina came
back into the kitchen, Sophia had changed into jeans and a pale mauve twinset
and Anthony thought she looked adorable.
Alpha Carlo said, “Sophia, I
spoke with your father, he said to have a good time at dinner, but to go
straight home after.”
Sophia smiled at him and
said, “Thank you Alpha Carlo.”
They took two vehicles, the
kids in one and the Alpha’s in the other and met at the local Chinese
restaurant that was owned by a Pack member. The Chang’s had moved and joined the pack
twenty years previously when their oldest son was accepted to the U of MD on a
full engineering scholarship. They had
come out to visit their son and met his new friends from South Mountain Pack
who extended an invite to join them for a Pack Dinner. They were impressed with the friendliness
from all the Pack members they met, loved the mountainous region and decided to
join the Pack and never regretted it for one moment.
When they entered the
restaurant it was crowded due to it being a Saturday night, but a table was
quickly made available for the Rossi party.
Mr. and Mrs. Chang came over and congratulated Anthony and Sophia on
their declaration which they both thanked them for. They ordered their food and proceeded to have
a nice dinner and to Anthony’s relief nothing bad happened.
After dinner when they were
getting ready to leave, both sets of chaperones waited in the vehicles for
Anthony and Sophia to say goodbye. They
could still be seen, but they had the illusion of being alone. Anthony was scenting Sophia deeply as he
again apologized for the dinner fiasco and she giggled. They were content not to say anything; just
being close to each other was enough for them.
Gianni rapped on the window and pointed at his watch, causing Sophia to
say, “I have to go Anthony, will I see you tomorrow?”
“I have to work in the
morning and we have training in the afternoon.
I’m not sure what time it’s going to end since it’s a special training
session. Then we have the meeting at
your Uncle Joe’s about Alberto’s declaration.
Will you be there?” asked Anthony, as he slowly released her from his
grip. Sophia said yes, she would be at
the meeting for the women. He opened the
door and helped her into the truck and said goodnight to her brothers.
“Next time Sophia comes for
dinner, we’ll make lasagna beforehand, this way dinner will be prepared before
she comes over, okay Anthony?” said his mother.
“I’m sorry about making a
mess out of the kitchen and catching the curtains on fire, when we practiced
earlier in the week, it went perfectly,” said Anthony with a sigh.
“Things happen son, the first
time I made dinner for your mother; she ended up with food poisoning. Cheer up, you may have ruined your intendeds
clothes, but at least you didn’t almost kill her,” said Carlo as everyone
started laughing.
When Sophia and the boys
reached their house, Frank and Rose were waiting in the kitchen to hear the
details of how the dinner date went. All
three youngsters gave them a play by play of what happened and everybody was
laughing. After they were finished
telling the story, they went downstairs to play video games and Sophia kicked
both boys’ asses.
Frank and Rose went back into
his study, and resumed the position they had been in before hearing Marcus’s
truck pull up. Frank reclined against
the arm of the sofa, his left leg on the couch and his right foot on the floor
with Rose’s back against his chest. She quietly read one of her erotic romance
novels to him, the ones Sophia didn’t have access to. His arms encircled her waist as he scented
her neck and hair, thanking Luna for bringing this woman into his life. “Mark that page, after we make sure the boys
get home safe, we’ll go out in the woods and try that. Make sure to bring your hat,” whispered Frank
as Rose giggled like a schoolgirl.
The next day was a quiet one,
both Carlucci families had gathered at Frank’s house after grocery shopping to
have a cookout before the boys training session. Sophia and Maria sat quietly off to the side
and talked about their intended mates; the boys played football and horsed
around in the pool splashing their sisters until the girls finally joined
them. The adults quietly sat in the
shade, listening to Frank as he voiced his thoughts about the upcoming meeting
with Carlo regarding the Were War and having a ceremony to honor those the Pack
had lost. Everyone agreed it was a good
idea.
“Each family could come
forward and recite the names of their family members that were lost. For the whole families killed, Carlo could
read their names,” said Annie.
“We could light a candle on
the Altar for each name read, this way the youngsters will realize just how
many members we lost. Seeing is more
memorable than just hearing,” added Rose.
“Carlo could give a history
of the Were War and Frank and I can give security updates the Pack has
instituted to ensure it would never happen to us again, from the training,
security updates of each home and business, to preparing ‘Go bags’ and safe houses. The idea is not to cause anxiety but to
reassure them of the safety of the Pack,” said Joe.
Frank and Joe looked at their
children and the thought of them being in danger put their wolves on alert
immediately, they started pacing back and forth and growled loudly, their fur
standing on end. Their wives put their
hands on their arms to calm them down, but the danger scent hung in the
air. The Clan stopped playing in the pool
immediately, glancing around the yard scenting the air finding nothing but the
scent put out by their fathers.
Nevertheless all the children exited the pool with a single command from
Vincent. Dominic carried Sophia and
Lorenzo carried Maria as they ran to their fathers.
Frank and Joe stood up
growling as their children approached, scenting the fear and concern radiating
off them. The boys were in a defensive
barrier around Dominic and Lorenzo who carried their sisters, Sal and Victor
out front, while Gianni, Enzo and Gino were on the left flank, Damian, Paulo
and Michael on the right flank and Marcus and Vincent bringing up the
rear.
“What is it Dad, we didn’t
scent or notice anything,” said Vincent, as the rest of the boys continued to
surround Sophia and Maria.
“I’m sorry everyone, Uncle
Joe and I were angry about something and our wolves perceived it as a threat to
the family. We weren’t even aware we had
put the danger scent in the air,” said Frank as he looked at his family and
apologized.
“I want to apologize too,”
said Joe then turned to Frank. “I’m not
quite sure why our wolves got so agitated, but I know mine went from
contentment to danger in seconds, as close as our two wolves are connected,
they may have fed off of each others anger.”
Frank looked at him and nodded in agreement.
“It may also have to do with
our daughters finding their mates and them being overly protective because of
it or perhaps the incident at Carmelo’s,” added Frank. “Our wolves may have still been on edge and
responded to our agitation even more quickly then normal, though what we were
thinking of shouldn’t have made our wolves respond as they did.”
“Regardless of the reason, we
apologize again for upsetting everyone, though I am proud of how quickly
everyone responded to the danger scent,” said Joe as he looked at each of the
children. “Vincent, what command did you give to get everyone out of the pool
so quickly?”
“PROTEGGERE,” replied
Vincent. “We didn’t notice anything
other then the danger scent from the two of you, but it was strong. Was there anything we did wrong or could have
done better?” Everyone looked at Frank
and Joe for an assessment on how they reacted.
“Everything was done exactly
as you were taught,” said Frank with a note of pride in his voice. “Reaction time was excellent; the defensive
barrier around the girls was scanning the surrounding area, not just focused on
what was in front of you. Do any of you
have any questions or concerns?”
The Clan looked at each other
and shrugged their shoulders, then Damian spoke up, “When are we going to eat,
I’m starved.” Everyone started laughing
and they sat down and ate, everyone laughing and talking at once, though the
men were careful not to let the women know the true reason behind the special
training session.
Three hours later, the boys
aged 6 to 21 along with their fathers, were assembled in the training
hall. Joe led the boys in their warm-ups
then broke them down into groups according to skill levels. Frank and Carlo stood quietly to the side and
talked about Frank’s idea for the Ceremony and Carlo agreed readily. Training proceeded as normal for the next two
hours: learning offensive and defensive moves and countermoves.
Frank told everyone to take a
15 minute break and then sparring would commence. The boys cheered as this was their favorite
part of training, as they could step up and test their skills against each
other in individual challenges. The
Clan, Anthony and Alberto noticed Scott huddled with his two buddies, Joel and
Jeff and knew Scott would call out Anthony, which was even better as far as
they were concerned. This way it would
look like Scott was against Anthony’s declaration of Sophia and had a personal
vendetta against him.
Anthony said to his father,
Frank, Joe and the boys, “I think Scott
will challenge me tonight. He is over
there with Joel and Jeff whispering and he keeps looking at me. I can’t wait to kick his ass.”
Carlo replied, “Let him make the challenge and ask why he
is challenging you. Even if you have to
make him angry, try and get him to admit that his staring at Sophia is against
acceptable behavior.”
Frank brought the chalkboard
in and told the boys to write down their list of sparring challenges and Joe
would pick five matches. The boys aged
16 and younger sat down since they knew only the more experienced older boys
would be fighting. All of the Clan,
Anthony, Alberto and Angelo stood to the side, shoulder to shoulder with their
arms crossed not talking just staring at everyone.
In the end, only five matches
were on the board: Dean Benedetto against Vincent, Joel Mendez against Gianni,
Jeff Martin against Lorenzo, Ethan Reeder against Dominic and Scott against
Anthony. When the names were posted, the
training room was silent and then talk broke out excitedly.
Dean and Vincent met in the
middle of the mat, shook hands and started circling each other. They were evenly matched in height, both
being 6’3” and weighed about the same at 220 pounds. Their main difference was in their fighting
style; Dean was a brawler while Vincent was more cunning. Dean came in high and Vincent easily
sidestepped and brought his knee into Dean’s stomach knocking the wind out of
him. As Dean lowered his chest to absorb
the blow, Vincent brought both interlocked hands down upon the back of his neck
knocking Dean to the floor. Vincent then
rolled Dean onto his back and forced him to submit. His time was under 45 seconds.
Joel and Gianni were up next,
both evenly matched at 6’1” and about 200 pounds. Gianni offered his hand and
Joel just nodded at him. Gianni thought
to himself, “If that’s the way he wants it, fine.” Joel came at him with both hands raised,
Gianni braced himself, grabbed Joel’s right hand, spun him around twisting his
arm behind his back. He then used this
momentum to flip Joel onto the mat; he then landed a series of blows on Joel’s
stomach knocking the air out of his lungs.
Gianni walked around Joel until he got back on his feet then he did a
roundhouse kick and knocked Joel out.
His time was under two minutes.
Jeff and Lorenzo shook hands
and stood there for several seconds sizing each other up. Both were 6’1”, Jeff had the weight advantage
at 220 pounds to Lorenzo’s 200 pounds.
Jeff narrowed his eyes and said to Lorenzo, “I’m gonna kick your
ass.” Lorenzo looked at him, smirked and
said, “In your fucking dreams.” Jeff
growled and both boys started running at each other, at the last second Lorenzo
ducked low and to the left wrapping his right arm around Jeff’s midsection
throwing him to the mat, he rolled to his feet and waited for Jeff to get back
up. As Jeff staggered to his feet,
Lorenzo landed a series of blows to his midsection, as Jeff’s chest came down,
Lorenzo brought his knee up and broke Jeff’s nose propelling him back onto the
mat. His time was 2 minutes only because
he wanted to toy with Jeff.
Ethan and Dominic met and
shook hands, both were 6’3” but Ethan outweighed Dominic by 30 pounds. Ethan charged at Dominic trying to overpower
him with his weight difference, but Dominic was much faster as he rolled under
Ethan’s outstretched arms and kicked him in the back of his legs knocking him
onto his knees. Dominic then jumped onto
Ethan’s back pulling on his left arm until the sound of his shoulder
dislocating reverberated throughout the room.
His time was 25 seconds.
Frank called for a ten minute
break to let Dr. Sullivan finish tending to the injured boys. Joel had already regained consciousness and
Jeff’s nose had been reset before it started to heal. Ethan’s arm was popped back into the socket,
Dominic helping to hold down his friend as there were no hard feelings between
the two of them as they both knew when you were chosen to spar you went all
out. Lorenzo and Gianni went to Joel and
Jeff and shook their hands, both knowing whatever grudge Scott had tried to
start was now finished, as Joel and Jeff both went into a submissive pose when
they shook hands. Dean and Vincent were
quietly laughing as Vincent told Dean about Alberto’s declaration of Maria.
Carlo pulled Scott’s father,
George Hammond to the side and asked if he knew about the situation between
Anthony and Scott. Mr. Hammond said he
knew Scott was upset over some girl but that was all he knew so Carlo filled
him in on what Scott had been doing over the last week since Anthony’s
declaration for Sophia. Mr. Hammond hung
his head in shame and Carlo said the boys would clear the air once and for all,
after today the matter would be finished or Scott could face sanctions.
Joe brought the younger
children under the age of 15 into the observation room, where they could see
the fight, but not hear what was going on.
He had one of the older men pass out snacks instructing the youngsters
to have a seat on the bleachers and to watch the match as Anthony was one of
the more skilled fighters.
Frank nodded his head to Scott
and Anthony. The training room was
deathly quiet as the two strode to the middle of the mat. Anthony stood at 6’3” and 230 pounds of pure
muscle, while Scott was 6’2” and 260 pounds of muscle with an obvious covering
of fat. While Anthony had a well defined
8-pack, there was no muscular definition in Scott’s abdomen. Where Anthony had broad well defined
shoulders, Scotts were more rounded and without obvious muscle tone.
Anthony held out his hand and
Scott refused to shake it, he glanced at his father who obviously was
embarrassed at his refusal and was berating him through their bond. Scott then reluctantly shook Anthony’s
hand. Anthony said, “Before we start, I
want to know why you challenged me. I
thought the issue between us was resolved.”
“THE ISSUE? YOU FUCKING MY
GIRLFRIEND IS AN ISSUE?” screamed Scott.
“She was never your
girlfriend Scott; we asked if she was your girlfriend and she said she didn’t
know who you were. She was a girl who
let not only me fuck her, but Gianni and Lorenzo in the same night and this is
the girl you are going to destroy a friendship over?” said Anthony.
“She wanted me and you took
her away from me, she wanted ME,” shouted Scott as he pounded his hands on his
chest. “You took something from me, so
I’m going to take something from you.”
“Is that why you have been
staring at my Sophia even knowing I have declared myself to her? She is my intended MATE Scott, the woman I
have pledged myself to love and protect for the rest of my life,” said Anthony
in a near shout. “What do you hope to
achieve in this challenge? Do you think
if you win you get Sophia? You will
NEVER win against me and you will never have Sophia. She is MINE.”
The assembled crowd upon
hearing the last two exchanges gasped loudly and whispers were heard that Scott
had tried to come between two intended mates.
“I want her; you don’t
deserve her. Just because you are the
Alpha’s son doesn’t mean you should get everything you want,” said Scott
clenching his fists at his side.
“I didn’t choose her; it was
preordained by Luna with the mating pull.
You know what the mating pull is, don’t you? It is when two halves become whole and they
cannot be broken apart except by death,” said Anthony. “I have been given nothing, I work hard for everything
I get and achieve. I have to prove
everyday I am worthy to lead this Pack when my father steps down.”
“YOU CAN STOP THIS NOW SCOTT,
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO CHALLENGE ME, BACK AWAY FROM SOPHIA. SHE IS NOT YOURS, NOR WILL SHE EVER BE. SHE IS MINE,” shouted Anthony giving Scott
one last chance before he started to fight him.
“I WILL NEVER SUBMIT TO YOU,
AND I WILL HAVE SOPHIA,” shouted Scott as he lunged at Anthony. Anthony roared out a growl grabbing Scott in
midair by the right arm in an arm bar and flipped him down onto the mat where
Scott landed with a thud. Scott rolled
to his feet slowly shaking his arm and holding his shoulder while Anthony
narrowed his eyes and watched him.
Scott again came running at
Anthony who braced himself. Scott threw
a reverse punch but Anthony blocked it, grabbing him in a wrist lock while
utilizing his momentum he pulled Scott off balance right into a knee strike to
his abdomen. Before Scott could catch
his breath, Anthony interlocked his hands and hit Scott between his shoulder
blades before rolling to the side leaving Scott gasping for breath. Anthony backed off, waiting to see what he
would do next. Scott came charging
towards him again, this time he picked Scott up, lifting him over his head and
threw him several feet away, Scott landing on his back grimacing in pain while
Anthony was barely breathing hard.
Anthony decided to take the
offensive this time as soon as Scott was on his feet. He started to circle Scott and when he saw an
opening, he delivered a stunning series of blows to his abdomen, back and
kidney area, his fists moving so fast they were a blur even for the advanced
eyesight of the audience. He moved away
leaving Scott grimacing in pain on his knees, his torso and back bright red
with dark bruises already forming.
Anthony stood there rolling his neck back and forth and flexing his
hands waiting for Scott to get to his feet as this wasn’t about sparring; this
was about domination, showing his superior strength and fighting skills not
only to Scott but to all the assembled males.
Scott slowly rose to his feet
breathing heavily, shaking his head as if to clear the cobwebs and suddenly ran
towards Anthony who wasn’t fooled by the ploy.
He stepped to the side, ducking under Scott’s arm and kicked his foot
right into Scott’s hip, causing his leg to go numb and Scott dropped to the
floor. Anthony walked around Scott
giving him time to recover and he slowly got back to his feet, favoring his
left leg. Anthony ran towards Scott and
before he could react Anthony had swept his legs out from under him, bringing
his left arm around breaking Scott’s nose.
“Will you submit Scott and
stop your unwelcome pursuit of Sophia or are we going to continue?” asked
Anthony, standing with his arms crossed over his chest reminding everyone of
his father in his looks and posture.
Scott rolled to his feet blood dripping from his nose; he extended his
claws and shifted into his hybrid form.
A collective gasp was heard
as the use of claws and shifting was not permitted in sparring. George came to his feet shouting at his son
to stop, but Scott was beyond all reasoning at this point. He wanted to hurt Anthony as much as he had
been hurt. Alpha Carlo also got to his
feet, shouting at Scott to stop, using the Alpha tone. Scott dropped to his knees and held his head
as he obeyed the command and also realized how far he had let jealousy take
him.
Anthony waved both fathers
back, this needed to be stopped today and he had to be the one to stop it. Through the bond with his father he said, “Dad, release Scott from your command, I
know what I’m doing.” Carlo stared
at his only son intently, then nodded his head and released Scott from his
command.
Anthony stepped forward and
said to Scott, “Think carefully of what your next move is going to be. You’ve already broken the rules of sparring
by shifting and baring your claws, you’ve violated the sanctity of the mating
pull by pursuing my intended mate. I
don’t want to hurt you my friend, but if you pursue this, you leave me no
choice.” Anthony extended his hand to
the boy he had called friend since childhood; Scott looked up at him with tears
in his eyes and grabbed it. Anthony hauled
him to his feet and they stood staring at each other for several seconds before
embracing and moving apart.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any
of those things I said about you or Sophia,” said Scott as he slowly turned and
walked away from Anthony. “The evening
we met Amy at the basketball game, she came after me. With all those guys there, she came up to ME,
and that usually doesn’t happen and I let her get under my skin and almost ruin
our friendship, I’m sorry Anthony.”
“Scott, I told you that night
at the bowling alley, if I had known you wanted her, I would have told her to get
lost. I value our friendship way more
than getting a piece of tail. You’ve got
to let it go, she tried playing both of us and ending up losing,” said Anthony
with his hands on his hips. “What I need
to know now is, can we move forward from this?
Are you going to stop your pursuit of Sophia?”
“Yeah, I was only looking at
Sophia because I knew it would piss you off,” said Scott with a laugh. “Since you felt the mating pull, you’ve been
acting like a raging lunatic and not just with me. When it wasn’t directed at me, it was
actually fun to watch.”
“Well, you certainly didn’t
help things. So, we good now? Anything else we need to clear up?” asked
Anthony with a smile on his face.
“We’re good,” said Scott
coming up to Anthony and shaking his hand.
Anthony told him to have a seat on the bleachers since there was one
more thing he needed to do.
Joe motioned for the
youngsters to rejoin them in the main training room; the room was filled with
quiet conversation for several moments wondering what Anthony was going to do
next.
“Alberto, come up here with
me please,” said Anthony. Alberto came
running up to Anthony bumping fists when he reached him. “As everyone knows by now I have made my
declaration for Sophia and Alberto has made a declaration for Maria. Does anybody else have a problem?”
The male members of the Clan,
plus Angelo came out to the center of the mat, Frank’s family standing beside
Anthony and Joe’s family standing beside Alberto to show their support and
approval of the declarations. None of
the assembled males in the audience said a word, just glanced around wondering
who would be stupid enough to go against Anthony or Alberto, let alone the
Carlucci’s and Angelo.
Alpha Carlo, Frank and Joe
strode out to the center of the mat, smiling at the boys and told everybody to
have a seat. Once the boys had settled
back down onto the bleachers everyone waited for Alpha Carlo to speak.
“I have heard the rumors
wondering what is going on at the old Damiani home, about the increased
security for the school and the protection detail we are putting together,”
said the Alpha to the assembled crowd and also projecting out to the entire
Pack through the bond. “I will not go
into details at this moment, but I will let you know we will be welcoming a new
family into the Pack this weekend at the Full Moon Ceremony. Attendance to this event will be mandatory
for all; I don’t think anybody wants to miss this introduction.” As he said this, he looked at Frank and Joe
and all three of them smiled. Everyone
wondered who it could possibly be to cause the increase in security and
speculation would run rampant the following week.
“I want to remind everyone to
check their training schedules; we have added several new courses. Ed Giovanni, who works for the FBI,
recommended we add a defensive driving course, this is mandatory for everybody
age sixteen and up, adults included. The
course will be broken down into two sections, classroom and practical. The class section will show how to detect if
you are being followed, what to note about the vehicle or vehicles following
you and what steps to follow. The
practical will be hands on experience in evasion and escape,” Carlo said.
“George Reeder, who works for
Homeland Security, recommended a course on Urban Camouflage, basically how to
blend into your surroundings in case of emergency and you are on the run. This will be all classroom experience and
will involve how to dress and act like those around you, so we don’t stick out
like tourists. For this exercise,
everyone will be required to bring their ‘Go-bags’. If you have any questions, contact Frank or
Joe,” Carlo said as he then broke the bond with the rest of the Pack.
“Boys, everyone did a great
job and the next practice will be an overnight training session starting Friday
at 4 PM, where we will go out into the woods to practice tracking, evading a
pursuit and sending out false trails,” said Joe. A cheer went up from the boys upon learning
of the overnight training session, as hard as Frank and Joe pushed them during
training they always tried to make it fun too.
“All boys and girls from ages
six to twenty one will attend, fathers also.
We’ll have a cookout to start the evening, and start with tracking and
evading and progress from there as the night goes on,” said Frank. “We’ll be practicing in the woods behind the
Alphas home, mine, Joe’s, the Belluci’s and the old Damiani spread. This area encompasses almost 2,000 acres and
should provide enough terrain and streams to provide good training.”
“Command central will be
Frank’s house, since he has the biggest pool,” said Carlo with a laugh. “If you feel uncomfortable leaving the little
ones and your mates unprotected overnight, they’ll be welcomed at either my
home or at Joe’s. Phillip and Matt will
be in charge of providing security for them.
I’m sure our mates will be glad to get away from us for a while.” All the older men laughed at this, knowing
their mates would welcome the chance to get away from them.
“Frank will send an email
with the supplies you need, but camping gear is definitely on the top of the
list. I’ll need to know if your mates
and little ones are going to be staying so Annie and Madame Gina can make the
proper arrangements,” said Joe with a smile.
“We should be finished with
our training session at dawn on Saturday morning and the women and little ones
will join us for breakfast. This leaves
plenty of time to get some sleep before the Ceremony, which will start at 5
PM. We have a wide variety of activities
lined up for the youngsters and a special ceremony honoring the signing of the
treaty ending The Were War. Any
questions? If not then everyone is free
to go,” said Carlo. No one had any
questions; everyone was talking excitedly at the news of the new family
arriving and the new training courses as they left.
Frank, Joe, Carlo and Carmelo
looked at their sons still standing around talking. Joe said, “Okay guys, everybody load up,
don’t bother taking showers, you can jump in the pool to clean up, we have food
ready and our women are waiting on us.”
With thoughts of Sophia and Maria, Anthony and Alberto raced out of the
training room everyone else laughing at their eagerness to see their intended
mates.
There was baked ziti,
lasagna, stuffed peppers, chicken Alfredo, antipasto, meatballs, hot and sweet
Italian sausages, roast beef, Virginia ham, mashed potatoes, macaroni and
cheese, au gratin potatoes along with freshly baked bread. Anthony and Alberto made sure to scent their
intended mates as soon as they entered Joe’s house, then the boys descended on
the food like a horde of locusts acting like it had been days instead of hours
since they had eaten. When they were
finished loading up their plates, the only food left was crusts of bread.
The adults shook their heads
and laughed, while Sophia and Maria stood there with their mouths open, they
couldn’t believe the boys were eating that much food. Their mothers knew better though and smiled
and turned around to get more platters.
Rita, Carmelo’s mate said, “And you men wonder why our food bills are so
high.”
After everyone had eaten, it
was decided since Maria had been informed of the rules for dating only the week
before and since Alberto already knew them, they would hold both talks together
out on the patio.
“Do either of you have any
questions before we start?” asked Joe with a smile towards his daughter. Both Maria and Alberto shook their heads no,
as Alberto leaned in to scent his intended making Maria giggle and blush.
“Anthony and Alberto, the
first thing we have to determine is do you both feel comfortable having your
intended in the others company if you aren’t there,” said Carlo. “You both are good friends and the girls are
cousins, but we need to know if your wolves feel comfortable knowing your
intended is in the presence of an unmated male.
The only way we know is to try and see what your wolves do.”
Carlo instructed Alberto and
Anthony to move to opposite sides of the pool and for Maria to go to Anthony
and Sophia to go to Alberto. A low growl
was heard from both boys, but no other sounds and movements so Carlo asked what
their wolves were doing.
“My wolf is sitting there
alert, he doesn’t like Al being near our mate but he knows he’ll protect her,”
said Anthony. Alberto said his wolf felt
the same. Carlo instructed Angelo to go
and stand next to Sophia and asked Anthony what his wolf was doing. Anthony again growled low and said, “He
really doesn’t like Angelo, sorry about that Ang, but he is putting up with him
because he knows he will protect Sophia also.”
“Wonderful, that will make
things so much easier for everyone,” said Carlo.
“Anthony will remain primary
for Sophia, and Alberto will of course be primary for Maria, with Anthony
secondary if he is present. If neither of
them is present, then the Clan will revert back to their normal protection,”
said Joe glancing at all the boys as they nodded in agreement. “As before, if the parents are there, they
will always be primaries with everyone following their lead, any questions?”
“No sir,” everyone said.
“Alberto you’ll be allowed to
drive Maria to practice and school, schedule permitting, always with two of her
brothers or cousins in the car. Either
Annie or Rose will still pick Sophia and Maria up after school. You’ll have ‘Go-bags’ for both girls in your
truck as well as two for her brothers.
We’ll make sure all identifications, phones and cash are ready for you
when you get your truck on Monday,” said Joe.
“I want to make something perfectly clear; Maria will never be allowed
on your Harley. You’ll be permitted to
drive it to our house if you are coming over to spend time with Maria, but that
is it. Is that clear?”
“Yes sir. Dad and I already went and picked out a Ford
Expedition today. We’ll usually have Angelo
with us and we’re both kinda big, so the Expedition fit us better then a truck
and it allows seating for 7. We usually
have Gabby with us and in case we have Sophia it allows extra room,” said
Alberto. “I followed Anthony’s advice
Maria, and got a black one with grey interior so you could put some of your
stuff in there.” Maria smiled at him and
squeezed his hand.
“Don’t forget to keep your
grades up, you’ve already been accepted to U of MD on an academic scholarship,
but remember to study since you’ll need a good job to take care of your
intended,” said Carlo with a stern expression on his face.
“Alberto, your mother and I
will prepare bags for Maria and the boys for your safe room. You’ll also need one for our safe room, since
you are so much bigger then our boys, I don’t think their clothes would fit
you,” said Annie with a smile.
“As far as our house rules,
you’ll be allowed over at any time. You
won’t be permitted upstairs, only on the main floor and in the basement. Just make sure you follow the rules and we
won’t have any problems. I really do
like you Alberto and I don’t want to have to kill you,” said Joe with a smile.
“Does this mean I get to keep
her?” answered Alberto with a smile.
Everyone started laughing at his answer.
“Only if you’re good,” said
Joe throwing Alberto’s words back at him.
“Welcome to our family.” He stood
and embraced Alberto, Carmelo, Rita, and Angelo and the rest of the Carlucci’s
did the same. Joe went and got beers for
the men and brought out wine for the women as the boys went running down to the
pool area.
Annie asked Carmelo’s wife,
Rita, “How did Gabriella like Italy
“She absolutely loved it, I’m afraid having both sets of grandparents doting on her made her even more spoiled then she was. She wasn’t even upset we missed her seventeenth birthday, she said she was too busy touring the museums inRome
“She absolutely loved it, I’m afraid having both sets of grandparents doting on her made her even more spoiled then she was. She wasn’t even upset we missed her seventeenth birthday, she said she was too busy touring the museums in
Maria and Sophia followed the
boys at a slower pace, whispering to each other about what had happened at the
declaration meeting. Both were giggling
quietly and unknown to them being observed by their intended mates. Alberto and Anthony were quietly talking with
Anthony telling him some of his mistakes regarding his jealousy so Alberto
could hopefully avoid them.
“You know the other day at
lunch during practice, when you looked at Maria and winked at her, I felt like
coming over there and ripping your head off.
I couldn’t understand what was going on, I thought I was losing my
mind,” said Alberto. “I noticed I kept
staring at her and Lorenzo, Vin and Dom were looking at me wondering what was
going on, but I had no idea she was my intended.”
Anthony replied, “I wondered
why you were glaring at me, I thought you wanted my cookies.” They started cracking up laughing at this,
and then got deathly quiet as Sophia and Maria took off their cover-ups to sit
down on the chaise lounges, they had modest one piece bathing suits on but both
boys thought they were the most beautiful girls they had ever seen. As they stood there in stunned silence, they
were suddenly propelled into the pool by Vin, Dom, Lorenzo and Damian.
“You two looked like you
needed to cool down a little,” said Dom with a laugh after the boys surfaced.
“You two okay now? You both looked a bit heated there staring at
our sisters, which is majorly creepy for us to see. Bad enough we have to sit there while you
scent them, but staring at them like a bunch of pervs is sick,” said Damian
with a laugh.
“Thanks guys,” said Alberto
as he blushed while Anthony looked up at the sky trying to think of something
other then Sophia and failing miserably.
He decided to give in to his need to be with her and got out of the pool
and joined her on the chaise lounge, bringing her into his side and scenting
her. Alberto followed his lead and they
sat quietly, content to hold their intended mates and watch the boys throw a
football around in the pool.
Monday evening Anthony,
Sophia, Sal and Gianni were at dance class waiting for Maria and Gabby. Twenty minutes after class started they
rushed in apologizing to the teacher.
Angelo, Lorenzo and Damian walked into the observation room shaking
their heads and laughing, while Alberto had a scowl on his face. “What happened, why are you late?” asked
Gianni.
“We sat outside for 30
minutes while Al argued with Maria over her outfit. He thought the top was too low and the tights
were too tight, and he wanted the pink skirt to be longer, like down to her
calves and he wanted her to wear his sweatshirt on top of her leotard. She told him to take a hike and get over it
explaining this is the outfit she has worn for years and she wasn’t changing it
for him. He told her he didn’t like her
cheerleading outfit either, which led into a whole new discussion about her
clothes. It wasn’t pretty, but it was
funny,” said Damian as the boys started laughing.
“I listened to everything you
told me Ant about letting jealousy get to me, but did I follow any of your
advice? Not one word of it. I’ve been turned into a pussy-whipped jealous
raging moron by my mate. When she walked
out of her house, I had to let Angelo drive because I would have driven us
right into a tree. Meanwhile she’s sitting there half-naked talking to Gabby
about dance class. Going out in public
like that, showing people her goodies, only I get to see them, and I can’t even
see them yet,” ranted Alberto as he paced back and forth waving his arms in the
air. “I wanted to get the blanket out of
the back and cover her up.”
“Her goodies? What the hell kinda word is that? I don’t even want to think of my sister
having goodies Al or you seeing them or not seeing them. Plus, she is not half-naked, she has on
tights, a leotard and a pink skirt.
Basically she is covered from her neck to her feet,” said Damian as the
boys were laughing hysterically.
“So how did it end?” said
Anthony, looking at Al who was still scowling and pacing.
“Well, Al basically agreed
Maria could do what she wanted, when she wanted, with who she wanted, where she
wanted and dress how she wanted. I’ve
never seen somebody that big grovel so much or whine so much either. His whining is worse then yours Ant,” said
Lorenzo as he punched Anthony in the shoulder.
“I didn’t completely cave,
she agreed to wear a Carmelo’s Pizza Parlor t-shirt sometimes, my extra jersey
on Fridays before games and my school jacket during the Varsity games over her
cheerleading outfit,” said Al. The rest
of the boys rolled their eyes knowing that he caved.
“Why don’t you get a
sweatshirt made that says ‘Property of Alberto Moretti’ on it and make her wear
that?” said Angelo laughing at his twin.
“Don’t tempt me” said Alberto
as he finally sat down and started to laugh along with the boys.
The rest of the week at
practice was filled with laughter as the Moretti’s joined the Clan during the
lunch breaks, both Alberto and Anthony feeling the bond growing deeper with
their intended mates. Sophia and Maria
blossomed with all the attention their intendeds showed them, slowly changing
from shy giggling schoolgirls to more confident giggling young ladies.
Late Thursday evening the
Millers arrived, three carloads of 10 noisy girls, 2 parents and one set of
grandparents. No one from the Pack was
there to greet them since Todd had forgotten to let Alpha Rossi know they would
be a day early, but the key was under the doormat. The girls started running around exploring
the house and calling out bedrooms, to which Todd replied he would assign them,
since Nana and Papa Miller would be staying with them and possibly Holly’s
parents.
Upon hearing their groans, he
said, “The ten of you have slept in one room on bunk beds your entire lives,
doubling up in one bedroom shouldn’t be a hardship. So stop complaining right now or I’ll give
you something to complain about.” The
girls rolled their eyes upon hearing his usual saying, but they said almost in
unison, “Yes Daddy.”
Holly and Nana Miller were
pleasantly surprised to see the refrigerator stocked with food, including
several casseroles that could be heated up.
Todd and Papa Miller were even more pleased when they saw the case of
beer as they popped one open. The girls
came back into the kitchen and Holly and Nana told them to set the table with
the plastic dishes and forks that were on the counter and they would have
dinner ready soon.
After they finished eating,
Todd and Papa Miller made sure the house was secure as everyone was ready to
get a good nights sleep and to start the next day with their new Pack.
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