Across Enemy Lines

Chapter 13

I took Mikanos' hand and led him and Stephania up stairs to an empty room next to my own.

"Stephania, this will be your room. There is a shower just in there. My room is right next door, so if you need anything don't hesitate to ask. When you have cleaned up head on down stairs for breakfast." We left Stephania to shower and headed down the hall to Nicholas's room, where Ramona was fighting to get her son dressed for the day.

"Dr.Wood! I'm gonna eat pancakes!" Nicholas squealed trying to avoid the shirt his mother was attempting to pull over his head.

"Not if you don't get dressed you won't." Ramona glanced up and gave Mikanos a warm smile.

"Hey there. What's your name?"

"Mikanos. Who are you?"

"My name is Ramona and this here is Nicky. Say hi Nicky."

"Hi Nicky!" Nicholas giggled.

"Mikanos is going to be staying here with us for awhile. I thought him and Nicky could bunk together." I told Ramona.

"Why is Mikanos necked?" Nicholas asked, causing a blush to creep into Mikanos' cheeks.

"Oh. Well, he's about to take a bath. Come on Mikanos. Let's get cleaned up." I lead him into the shower.

"I can do it, Chloe. I'm big now." He went to the shower and turned it on, adjusting the temperature before hopping in. I left him and set about gathering clothes for the trio. When I was finished I came back to find Mikanos in wolf form shaking himself in the bathroom.

"Mikanos! No! What are you doing?" I shouted. The little wolf shrunk back into the corner, whimpering.

"Oh, Mikanos, I didn't mean to yell at you. Shift back." The little wolf shifted into a little boy with sun-kissed blond hair,baby blue eyes and golden skin. He looked like a smaller version of Zachariah.

"There was no towel." He whispered.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my little darling. Here, look. They're in the cabinet. Lets get you dressed so we can feed you, ok?" I grabbed a towel and finished drying him off before giving him some underwear, pants and a t-shirt with the flash on it. He smiled fondly at the shirt then gazed up at me. I brushed my hand over his cheek.

"Come on, little man. Let's go get you something to eat, yea?"

"Chloe, can I have pancakes too?" Mikanos shyly asked.

"You may have what ever you want." He fist pumped the air and took off running down the stairs. When we made it to the great hall, Stephania and Zachariah were already waiting. Both, Zachariah and Stephania, had dark brown, almost black hair. Stephania's, however, lay in soft curls down her back. Both had baby blue eyes and golden brown skin.

Mikanos ran over to the two of them smiling widely.

"Zach look at my shirt! It's the Flash!" Zachariah chuckled.

"That's so cool buddy. Here, sit down."

"Chloe saids I get to have pancakes." He grinned. I gave him a wink.

"Alright pack, settle down." The room quieted.

"We have guest that will be staying with us. I expect everyone to treat them kindly and help them to feel welcomed."

"Hey, I'm Joey. I'm Chloe's brother." Joey smiled and shook Zachariah's hand.

"Zachariah. It's nice to meet you." "Jared, my love, will you bless the food." Jared, who sat at the head of the table, nodded silently.

"Goddess, thank you for this wonderful meal. Thank you for my beautiful mate and the little bean growing inside her belly."

"Chloe's growing a bean?" Mikanos gasp.

"Shhhh!" Stephania whispered. Joey and Ramona chuckled at the little boy's outburst.

"And thank you Goddess, for bringing these three lives to us. Goddess ,please, bless our pack in strength and courage during this difficult time. Amen."

I lifted Jared's hand to my lips. As everyone began to dig in.

I watched as our three guest inhaled several plates of food. When the rest of the pack had gotten up, the trio was still eating. Not wanting to leave them alone, Jared and I began discussing plans for the pack.

"Who are you choosing as beta?" I asked him.

"I don't know. It was suppose to be my best friend, Clarence, but I also didn't expect to be getting kicked out of my pack so." Jared ran his hand through his dark hair.

"Why don't you call him?"

"What do you mean?" Jared stared at me blankly.

"Call and ask if he wants to be your beta?"

"Chloe, I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Why not? You just said he was always suppose to be your beta. He might still decide to be if you ask him." Jared stared down at the table for a few minutes before pulling out his phone and hitting the call icon.

"Sure. Why not?" Jared mumbled to himself. The call was connected.

"Jared Black! What's goin' on man? I didn't think I'd ever hear from you again!" A deep jovial voice said on the other end of the line.

"Hey, man. What you up to?"

"Nothin' man. Chillin'. Your dad took the captain spot from me when you left. He's a real d**k, man."

"Why did he take it from you?" I could feel Jared's agitation through the bond.

"Said he didn't trust nobody that was close to you. It's bullshit if you ask me. The guy's got issues. I'm just glad firin' me was all he did. He kicked Marcus out of the pack."

"What did Marcus do?"

"Told him he was a jackass for disownin' his own son. Everybody else thinks so too, but Marcus' dumbass is the only one stupid enough to say anything."

"Man, I'm sorry he did y'all like that."

"Hey, don't sweat it. So, what you callin' for?"

"I have a proposition for you." Jared smiled at me.

"Oh, do ya now? Hell, I'm listening?" The voice laughed.

"I need a beta."

"For what?"

"My pack."

"And what pack is that, cause last I heard you ain't got no pack."

"The Blood Moon pack." The line went silent.

"How did you come by the Blood Moon pack? You better not have did no shady s**t Jared. I don't f**k with that."

"Chill out! Damn. Why you think I did some shady s**t?"

"Because you always hated the Blood Moon pack."

"I hated it because my dad did. They didn't do anything to me. My mate is Alpha Joseph's daughter."

"Wow… ha ha… that explains alot. Well, let me call Marcus' dumbass. He's staying at his grand-mama's house in Canton. I can't leave him behind. He's a rogue now… You know the alpha ain't gonna be too pleased about this? But I got your back, always man. We will be there direct. Send me the address."

"Thanks brother. I'll see you." Jared hung up and texted Clarence the address.

"See, that wasn't so hard?" I smiled at him.

"Yea. We'll see." Jared sighed.

"We need to get a plan together for training. This pack has only trained one day a week since I was born." I said nibbling at a piece of bacon.

"You need to drink more water, Chloe. The baby needs it." Jared said getting up. I rolled my eyes at him. The newcomers had finally stopped eating and looked like they were about to fall asleep.

"Why don't you three go take a nap? Hm? We will come get you for lunch." Stephania and Mikanos wondered up stairs but Zachariah sat at the table.

"You're not tired?" I asked.

"I was listening to you and Alpha Jared talk. I use to train the junior warriors in our pack. Maybe I can help." I smiled brightly at him.

"Well, tell me, how did you train?" Jared walked back in and sat down with a glass and a pitcher of water with lemons in it. I smiled up at him before pouring myself a glass.

"Well, I always started the training session with a ten mile run, half in human form half in wolf form. Then we would do sit ups and push ups, a hundred each. Next we would pair up and spar. In the Silver Moon pack, we started martial arts at the age of three. Mostly karate and tae-kwon do. As we got older, we would be placed in more advanced classes: Brazilian ju-jit su, kun khmer, lethwei, Kung fu and other mixed martial arts. We trained seven days a week for a minimum of six hours a day. Usually longer though." Zachariah said thoughtfully. Jared's jaw dropped. We looked at each other and silently agreed, we had just hit the jack pot.

"So, what your telling me is I could probably get my ass kicked by little Mikanos?" Jared said.

"What? You all don't train in martial arts?" Zachariah was stupefied.

"No, Zach. No one in the south trains like that. I know for a fact they don't because I visited other packs in the south with my father. Most train five days a week and do basic combat skills." Jared said.

'Jared, we need to utilize him. He could be the key to making us the strongest pack in the south.' I mind-linked Jared.

'Princess, I think it's imperative that we make him a member of this pack.'

'And Stephania and Mikanos.'

"Hey, Zach? How would you like to be my gamma?"

"W-w-what? M-m-me?" Zachariah stuttered.

"Yes. You. You are more than qualified. I was gonna have Marcus be my gamma but he's an i***t. You're smart and obviously resourceful if you kept those kids alive."

Zachariah smiled proudly.

"I would be honored, Alpha Jared… but what about my brother and sister?" Concern filled his baby blue eyes.

"We want you all to stay. So, I was thinking about having houses built around the pack land. They would be close to the pack house for safety reasons. If you would like, you and the kids could have the first house." I said.

"Damn, Chloe, that's a good idea. Don't know why I didn't think of that. Anyway, what do you say?" Jared stared excitedly at Zachariah.

"Yes, sir. We would love to stay!" We all laughed merrily.

"How do we join the pack?" Zachariah asked.

'You just did.' I linked.

"Wow. How did-"

"The moment you accepted our offer, the link was created." Jared explained. Zachariah made an "oh" face.

"Now, let's discuss your responsibilities within the pack. So, you'll be in charge of-"

'Alpha, your father is at the gate and he has two men with him. One's a really big black guy and the other is a short little white feller.' Devin linked.

"God dammit." Jared rubbed his hands down his face.