The Pack Survives

[9] The Meeting

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EVANS POV

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As we were sitting at breakfast, the pack getting to know the newcomers more, I stared at my mate and felt an overwhelming sense of belonging flood through the bond. I watched as her eyes flitted from one person to the next, observing how they were interacting which one another and even enjoying themselves.

                “It was like we were all destined to meet my love, does it not?” I said to her through the bond.

                “I would say it’s like you read my mind, but you probably did.” She replied with a chuckle. Her laugh was the most enticing sound I have heard in my life and I knew, without hesitation that my goal in life was to create a space where that laugh need no bounds. To hear her voice, reverberate off the walls of my home, and my heart, would be my life’s mission.

                The men, Edmond, Brian, Eric, Clarence, and Gabe were all swapping war stories and those with mates were making jokes at their expenses. The women were growling at them, causing them to fill the room with booming laughter. I had to agree with my mate. This was incredible. This room, that was solely used to feed the pack, had an aura of life in it. The sounds of conversation bouncing off the walls, playfulness was in the air. While I was basking in the moment, I knew we had more to discuss so I moved the group to my office.

                I sat at my desk and pulled my mate into my lap while the rest of the group took to the couches. Edmond and Isabelle took the chairs in front of my desk, though had since angled them out to face the rest of the room as well. “We have much to discuss. I need to know about the hunters. I need to know who is behind them, who is supplying them.” I stated. “Gabe, have you got anything for me?”

                While Celeste was still knocked out from hearing the news about her past, I sent Gabe on a mission to gather information about the Tinicum Pack. Anything or anyone that knew more than we did, I demanded an audience with, or the records to be brought to my office. He linked me last night saying that he had something for me.

                “I have done some research and found someone who has more information than us. I have requested their presence here and they should arrive in the next 10-15 minutes.” Gabe replied.

                “Who is this person?” Brian asked, uncharacteristically shifting on his feet. He was ringing his hands and looked like he wanted to be elsewhere. I drew on my power to ease some of his tension, watching the stress from his shoulders loosen, his jaw no longer clenched. His head snapped up to meet my eyes and a grateful look passed over his face.

                “Alpha we have incoming”- I heard through the mind link.

                Within seconds the lot of us were up out of our seats, but Brian took the lead. He stormed through the door and began down the passageway to the entrance. Before we could round the corner after him, all of us on edge at his reaction, we heard a scuffle and a few growls echoing down the hall. Instinctively, I wrapped my forearm around the front of my mate and noticed the males get in their own protective stances of the females, mates or not. This earned a growl from my sister who has historically preferred to take care of herself.

                Once we entered the foyer, the scene was almost laughable. One guard was on the ground knocked out, alive, but unconscious. The other was slowly backing out the front door with his arms up and eyes down to the ground, submitting to Brian. The dominant aura in the room was suffocating the others, but not me. As Alpha, no other can bring me to submission. None except for my mate.

                Across the room was Brian. He stood with his arms fanned out, claws extended and fangs protruding, but still in human form. His wolf was clearly in control, noticeable by the glowing green eyes. He kept backing up until he was a mere 3 feet from the wall. We finally realized he was shielding something from the guard.

                “Vlad, look at me. What happened?” I spoke to the guard who dropped to his knees. I knew Brian, nor his wolf, could answer to me just yet.

                “I..I… I just got on my shift rotation; I wasn’t here when they called for the visitor. The door opened and I asked for their purpose. The..the guest wouldn’t answer and was trying to proceed with entering the house. I did not put my hands on her…” a loud snarl reverberated off the walls from Brian at the mention of hands. “That is when Beta came around the corner and knocked Tim out and came for me. I submitted and he relented – protecting the visitor.” He stumbled, barely able to contain his fear.

                “Where is the visitor?” I asked.

                I heard the tiniest sound I think I have ever heard in my life. “Here!” It was muffled because a huge body blocked the person it came from. I saw a tiny pair of hands reach up to Brian’s shoulders. The glowing green eyes receded, revealing chocolate brown eyes instead. He turned his body so that he never exposed what he was protecting. They were holding a silent conversation and finally, shoulders squared, Brian turned around.

                “Alpha, Luna…. This is Brittany… my mate.”

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Celeste’s POV

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Something was drawing me into her. I felt like I knew her but that was impossible. The smell of lavender assaulted my senses and comforted me instantly. I thought it might be coming from her. A hint of sage entwined with the lavender and it brought about an unknown memory… rather a FEELING of a memory.              

                “Welcome Brittany, it’s so very nice to meet you. We will leave you guys alone for a bit and Brian, could you bring her back to the office when you are ready? Well, as ready as you can be?” I asked, smiling gently at her so she did not feel too uncomfortable. She nodded and Brian thanked me taking her hand and guiding her into the living room area that had since been evacuated during the scuffle. He never took his eyes off of her and she looked as though she was an extension of his own body. In the short time I have known him, he can be very playful but he is as ruthless as they come. He takes his job and position seriously and rarely has time to let loose. Glancing over Brittany, I can see that her playful side is the prominent one, she seems feisty, soulful, present. Before she disappeared into the living room, she spared me one last glance and I could have sworn I saw a knowing glint in her eye. I found myself chuckling, but soon headed off to the office with the rest of them.

                We all sat down, my mom and dad in front of us again, the rest scattered effortlessly around the large room.  The room was well decorated, for a dominant alpha, it had some feminine touches too it that I will chalk to up to either his mother or his sister. There was a large bookshelf on the large wall where the door is, stacked with books of all shapes, sizes and colors. Every other shelf, or so, there was a vase, or a trinket or sorts, being used as a book end. A steel wolf in one, a mosaic vase in another. One caught my eye and made my throat burn. It was a sun dial. That stood in it’s own shelf alone. I found myself silently gliding over to it while the rest of the room were talking about hunting down the Hunters.

                “Pretty, isn’t it?” a voice said, shaking my focus and honestly scaring me a bit. With my heightened senses as a Vampire, nothing takes me by surprise or catches me off guard. I turned sharply and saw Erin’s soft eyes staring back at me, a little hint of humor in them.

                “I didn’t mean to scare you I am sorry. I spent a lot of my childhood in this office. Not much have changed. Evan rearranged some things, added his touch to it, but the rest of the room SCREAMS my parents. I am thankful to him for that. It’s like having a piece of them here with us. I spent hours scaling this shelf and investigating all the little secrets it held. I used to pretend that the books and decorations here, like this, were treasures.” She explained, picking up the sun dial. “I was in trouble a lot growing up, trying to keep up with Evan and his friends. I didn’t have a lot of friends myself because I was the Alpha’s daughter, everyone assumed I was stuck up. Not my brother’s friends though. They treated me like equals, even though I most certainly was not! Hence, me getting in trouble!” She said, chuckling at the memory.

                I was mesmerized by the sun dial, feeling a pull to it though I could not quite keep it’s answer in my grasps. The energy from it was familiar. “I feel like I have seen this before, like I have held it, but that must be impossible. Until I met your brother, I have never been to this pack.”

                A voice came from the door of the office. “It seems familiar because it is familiar. You have held that dial in your hands. More even, that dial is what will help release your wolf.” A stunned room turned to look at Brittany standing in the doorway with a deadly lethal looking Brian behind her. “And more, I can help you find the twins.”

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Evan’s POV

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                It was just one surprise after another. First, one of my best friend’s finally found his mate, and a witch at that. That wasn’t so much a surprise, as we have had those mating’s in our history, back to the pure blood line of the Tinicum Coven, I just hadn’t realized how perfect a pairing that would be for his tempered soul. Witches, in my experience, have such a lightness to them. The effect they have on our wolves is settling. Even being in proximity with a witch, who is not your mate, sets you at ease. They have this ability, whether intentional or not, to change the atmosphere with their presence. It’s almost like the Moon Goddess chose witches and wolves to be so close. Brian is so tough; he lives in a very black and white world. Wrong and right. Yes and no. Witches have a more accepting view on the world where they can see many perspectives and always chose the side of the right in the end, even if it doesn’t benefit all.

                Not all witches are like that though. Some are dark. Some are skewed in their perspectives and choose to use their magic for evil. I had a feeling we would be encountering that sooner rather than later, though it had been centuries since a dark witch had made any moves let alone alliances for any shared goal.  Unlike us wolves who thrive on family and bonds, dark witches thrive in solitude. So the fact that we know someone is covering the hunter’s tracks is infuriating.

                Worst of all, they want my mate.

                The second shocking thing is finding out that we are on the verge of hunting the hunters.

“How poetic.” My wolf thought.

“Give me some credit, I am under a tad bit of stress, thank you very much.” I spit back at him.

                 I look over at Celeste who is staring at our new guest, not sizing her up- no- she is not intentionally defensive like some she-wolves and vampires. She has a look on her face like she is trying to uncover something, seeing something that the rest of us are not. Her eyebrows are furrowed, nostrils slightly flared and her plump bottom lip is pushed out ever so slightly. I smile inside and think back to last night when I had that lip pinned between my teeth, in the throws of passion, drawing the slightest bit of blood. Suddenly her head jerked over to my direction and the look of confusion was replaced with one of annoyance.

                I sauntered over to her and wrapped my hands around her waist, placing my forehead on hers. She tilted her head to the side and I thought she was going to kiss me when she placed her lips on my ear and said “So quick to forget that I now can hear your thoughts, when your emotions are out of control, mate?”

                s**t. “I am sorry love. I couldn’t help it. I am entranced by you.” I replied, my voice deep and my wolf’s growl breaking through causing my chest to vibrate.

                “While I love a good re-run, now is not the time.” She said pointedly. I instantly felt bad, like I wasn’t taking this seriously enough. Truth was, I was taking this seriously, but one look at her and I come apart. An male wolf would put his mate before anything, that is why many packs don’t allow women to fight and train because it would be a distraction for their male mates. Here, however, we found that if a male is fighting side by side with his mate, the power flowing through their bond strengthens them. Celeste is my strength, but I still can not control myself when I see her.

                Her face softened and I realized she heard everything I just thought. I felt ashamed again that I, Alpha Evan, was being weak in front of my mate. Letting her see my vulnerability. I felt like she would look down on me and fear that she was mated with a weak excuse for an Alpha and worse…”

                “Stop that right now.” She cut off my train of thought. She cupped her hands around my face and held my stare. “You are anything but weak. You are my strength as well as my weakness. That is what mates are to each other. I would be more ashamed if you didn’t share your vulnerability with me. If you withheld that side of you from me, that is what would make me sad. But never, ever, would I be ashamed of you or think you weak. You are resilient. If it wasn’t for you, I would have crumbled by now, learning all of this about myself and  not having someone to shoulder some of the stress that comes with it, I would be dust in the wind.”

                My breathing hitched. I knew that what she said was true, and I was just having a pity party. Now more than ever I wanted to be the version of myself that she sees. I vowed to myself to be that man, that mate, that Alpha for her and my pack.

                “You already are.” She whispered, gently placing a kiss on my lips. That was all the resolve I needed. I turned to face the rest of the room with her hand in mine. My Alpha aura commanding attention and the wolves bowing their head instinctively.

                “Brittany, again, welcome to our pack and thank you for being to Brian what he has needed for so long. We are stronger, better, for our mates. Now please, tell us everything you know.”

                Brittany glanced at Brian who gave her a nod of encouragement and she took a deep breath in steeling herself for facing a group of wolves and vampires. I had to hand it to her, if she was nervous on the inside, it did not reflect on the outside. Her face was stern, determined. She stepped forward towards my desk and turned to face the rest of the room, so everyone was in her line of sight. I liked that, it left no opening for danger to sneak up on her. She would prove to be invaluable in the fight to come.

                “Everything magical in this world leaves a footprint, a residue of sorts. Wolves, the magic within you is felt in the air and in the earth where you run. Us witches, when a spell is cast, it can be traced down to a lineage. It is of color, specific to a family or to those who taught the witch in their craft. Vampires, however, are entirely different. They have many skills, all individualistic and some of a blood rite. I feel I will not do that explanation justice though, as I am not well versed in all things Vampire. Sorry…” she shot a forlorn look at Celeste almost as if she did feel sorrow for not knowing enough about Vampires. A burden that was not hers to bear. Intriguing.

                “So, with that, Celeste would you or your family explain to the rest of us the special traits granted to a vampire?” she asked hesitantly looking between Celeste, Norah, Clarence, and Celeste’s parents.

                “Yes, of course.” Celeste answered. Her grip tightened on my hand and I squeezed it back encouragingly. She let go and began pacing, becoming nervous. She was wringing her hands over and over, taking deep breaths to get started. I didn’t want to press her, or make her upset, but I was becoming worried. I went to step forward, to go to her and offer support, but I felt a strong hand on my shoulder and saw Edmond looking at me. A slight shake of his head telling me to stay put. I did, and she began.

                “There are 3 levels of gifts, or traits, whichever you prefer to call it. The first is based on race. The Vampire race has been gifted with the ability of inhumane strength, yes, but also to the power of persuasion. Popular culture calls it Glamouring. Call it what you will, it can be used for pure evil and is how most Vampires lure their prey out especially when in cities, clubs, restaurants, and the like. It, to me… is an invasion and distasteful to use it on people but in a life or death situation, can be absolutely necessary. If the person is threatening to expose us or other creatures, yes. If they are about to hurt someone innocent, or themselves… paramount. It works best, without fail, on humans or half humans. On other creatures… not so much.” She looked at me and I gave an encouraging nod. Her eyes glimmered for a second and a smile crept onto her face.

                “I can see how that would worry you guys, fearing that we,” she motioned between herself and the other Vampires. “would use it on you, but let me show you something. Evan come here.” I stood, hesitant on whether I wanted to take part in ‘Persuasion’, but I would do anything to aid my mate. I stepped confidently to her and she took my hand effortlessly, as if the very act was done a million times in our life. The tingles erupting between our skin momentarily giving her pause, but I gave her a boost of my power to allow her to overcome her nerves.

                “Right, um, ok Evan……. Punch Gabe.” She said with a liquid allure to her voice. Suddenly, I felt fuzzy and warm. I thought back to what she told me to do and, well, I couldn’t think of anything better to do with my time. I began taking intent steps towards Gabe, who was backing up quickly, eyes shooting between me and Celeste, fear radiating through the room, when suddenly I stopped. What was I doing? Why was I trying to hurt him? My feet faltered and I spun around, my eyes searching for my mate who looked at me with pride. Pure, unaltered pride. I shook my head and heard the group taking in sharp breaths, I heard Emily speaking with Gabe, the rest talking among themselves but one voice stopped them. The voice of their Luna.

                Seemingly regaining some confidence, she spoke. “See? Evan is a magical creature at his core, as are all wolves, so his resistance is stronger. And I am sorry, Gabe. I feared that if I told him to kiss me, that would be a no-brainer and he would no doubt do that willingly without persuasion from me.” I shook my head in agreeance and I felt a smile spread across my face. My teeth peeking out through my lips and I heard my mate’s growl. Her pride was transpiring into arousal. s**t this was going to be a long meeting. Gabe accepted my apologies and Celeste’s and she continued on.

                “The second is based off a blood line. Some blood lines are so weak, watered down, that they hold no additional powers besides the last I will be explaining. Our family is of pure blood, so we have the power to hear thoughts through touch. If the person’s feelings are out of control, or are angered, scared, or even thrilled, all we’d have to do is touch their hand or shoulder…”

                “Or feet? Eric said with a ferocious smile earning an elbow jab to the ribs from Nic. Those two and their bickering. It never ended. Celeste was catching on and let out a chuckle. “Yes, any touch. Though if I just shook your hand now, I wouldn’t hear it. Again, it would have to be an out of control or powerful emotion or I must be seeking it. This gift is also one to help control or herd Vampire’s prey. I personally do my best to block this off, but I can’t always do that as it depends on the person’s emotional control. To me, this is the one that is the worst violation of privacy, but absolutely necessary if trying to determine if someone is being truthful or will betray a pack or coven. You can sift through emotions and pull together a memory. It’s exhausting.”

                She let out a breath and I could tell this was upsetting to her. She was such a good person, so wholeheartedly good, that having the ability to invade someone’s privacy was hurting her. I adored her. These were traits of a powerful Luna. Needing to do what is necessary to protect the pack, even if it makes her uncomfortable.

                Leave it to my sister to break uncomfortable silence. “Oh oh! Try me try me!” she yelled, running to Celeste with her hand’s outstretched. Celeste looked back to me, again, for approval. I sent her a message through our mind link, “Baby, you don’t need my approval, though I don’t know if I can save you from what goes on in that head of hers.” She laughed out loud, making some of them look around for the unheard joke. She took a deep breath in and said, “If it’s too dirty, I am making Evan repeat it. I am too pure and faint of heart for that.”

                This made her father and Norah laugh out loud. It was a perfect moment to ease the tension in the air. She regained her composure and settled her hands above and below my sister’s hand. Erin’s eyes glazed over, and Celeste’s back stiffened at the new feelings and information assaulting her mind. I could feel her tension.

                Seconds passed but it felt like hours. Everyone leaning in, not even realizing we were subconsciously taking steps closer and closer to the pair, the holding of breath’s, the silence deafening. Finally, my mate took a half step back and released one hand. Erin’s eyes cleared and her blue eyes returned. Her and Celeste stared at each other small sad smiles on their faces. Erin took Celeste’s other hand and said quietly, “And that, that is who your mate is. He is perfect, stupid and stubborn, but he is absolutely pure, and the best part of my life. And now you get to have that, too.”

                Celeste wasted no time in wrapping my sister in a tight embrace, the two sniffling and giggling at the images, memories and feelings that my sister showed her. I looked around and saw the rest of my pack smiling, Emily even tearing up a bit. I could feel the confusion spreading across my face and mind linked Brian.

                “What did I miss?” I whispered, still entranced by the gestures unfolding before me.

                He never answered, he replayed the images that Erin had projected to Celeste. Apparently, Erin had blocked me out, but allowed those in the room to remain. My breath was ripped out of my chest in one fell swoop.

Her first memory, me standing next to her crib. It was dark and she was crying. She suffered from night terrors and I would spend all night with her as a baby. I eventually dragged my pillow and blanket in the room and held her hand all night. Finally my parents kicked me back to my room, but we grew stronger with our pack bond and it allowed me to project to her the feeling of me being there, holding her hand.

She was 7. She was playing with some friends and they convinced her to hide and they would all seek her out. She hid, and hid, and hid. Hours she waited beneath a tree until she realized they were never coming. I felt her in my mind and ran to her, feet pounding, Brian and Eric on my tail. We walked her back to the main campus and found the kids. They were severely punished for their harassment, as it had been relentless up until that point. She thought they finally wanted to be friends. We made their lives a living hell until years later they submitted. To her, we saved her that day.

12 years old. She liked a boy. There was another girl in class named Kate who liked him too. She spread rumors about Erin that she was stuck up for being the Alpha’s daughter and that she had actually liked girls. The boy avoided Erin and never spoke to her again. We took the girl up in the middle of lunch and made her admit to all the lies she spread about Erin and about everyone else in the school. She apologized to them all, all the one's she had bullied. She then went on to admit that she herself was bullied and my friends and I made sure to include her more training, help her find her own way. In Erin's eyes, I changed the life of someone that day that was hurting others.She is now a guidance counselor at the pack school. She was proud of me. 

Our parents. We were in the woods. She was so distracted with her surroundings that she didn't know what was happening until I was yanking her and dragging her away. My dad, sparing her one last glance sends her a mind link 'trust him, Erin he will protect you always. Never give up. I love you." That was the last he spoke to her before he was slaughtered. She remembers the way my body staggered at the loss of the Alpha and Luna, our parents, the fear of them being behind us, the fear of them getting to us and killing us too. She felt the strength take over, knowing that I would lay my life down for her at such a young age. The days and weeks after their death when she tried, and failed, to be strong. Especially when she didn't know how I was, or where I was, she was scared. She saw me coming back to take the throne as Alpha an saw the way I turned the pack around. There it was again, pride. 

    "See , brother. I showed her all the best moments of my life. Where you were, and remain, my hero. I love you."