Urquia

Chapter 34: The BlackClaw pack part 1

*Andrea POV*

It's 6 AM. Cris, Damian, and I are on our way to Nathan's pack. The morning chill seeped through the car. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect.

Mom and Dad took Dee and Sam to the warehouse today. They will receive the recycling items and give food and drinks to the homeless people; maybe Dad will teach them to do something cool, he is a resourceful man.

Nate sent three werewolves as bodyguards, so they'll be alright. We haven't caught any movement from the rogues or vampires or Jose and his men, so today Cris, Dami, and I are visiting the pack. I promised I'd give them a shot, and I will. Nate doesn't know yet, so this will be a nice way to see how they act unprepared.

-"Dami, remember, don't take your knife out unless it's extremely necessary, only if you're under a direct attack. And we are not allowed to kill, just incapacitate, okay? You can use your animal abilities, but only if you see they use them with you as well. We know they shift around the teen years, but we don't know much more, so be careful, okay?" I said seriously. This was the first time he'll be in unknown territory.

Glancing at Dami in the rearview, I saw his seatbelt tightly. my big boy was probably a mix of hyped and nervous, just like me. I bet my parents felt the same when they left us in a new place for the first time.

When I was younger, if my parents helped a supernatural man, woman, or kid, it was usually because they were living in or running from an abusive situation, or fleeing a dangerous war; it really varied by country.

African and Middle Eastern countries had the most savage and fierce shifters we'd encountered. They were all about territories and power—heck, they still used slavery.

South America was more about earning respect. Once you had that, they'd follow you, tending to be more on the peaceful side and deeply connected to nature.

Asia, well, they were more balanced. They had lots of rules, and honor was a really important issue. But sometimes greedy ones would try to subjugate supernatural beings, and that would turn into a bloodbath.

Europe was different. They were the most modern and mixed with humans the most, so they had to be even more careful. Being more human-friendly and "civil" meant we helped less frequently there, so our brothers and sisters largely kept a low profile, mainly working in Eastern Europe.

After a few minutes on a dirt road, we got in front of a gate. Two guards went to our sides. I lowered my window.

-"Hey, my personal assistant! What are you doing here?" It was the same guard as that night.

He looked at me with narrowed eyes. Then he smiled at me.

-"You tricked me well. The other guys keep messing with me ever since. You've got to promise me I'll be in your next class." He said, amused.

-"Only if you bring me my tea or milk and cookies."

-"Deal," he said, smiling at me.

-"Is Alpha Nathan around?" I asked.

-"Umm, yeah, he is at the training field. I'll mind-link him, I have to let him know you are here."

-"No, don't do that. I want to surprise him. You can tell Liza or Monique if you have to," I say, nodding slightly at him.

He looked hesitantly at the other guard, so I quickly added,

-"Don't worry, you won't get into any trouble. We were scheduled to be here tomorrow, but I just can't wait. If you want, you can lead us to the pack's house personally, please?" I say, putting my hands together and trying to sound innocent and hopeful.

He nods to the other man, and he lets us park. We get out of the car.

-"This is my sister Cristina and my son Damian." They both shake his hand, and he introduces himself as Phil.

Phil guides us through a stone street. The residences are beautiful; wood houses perfectly integrated with the trees, like elaborate treehouses. With different heights and sizes, they looked like something from a fairy tale, boasting big windows and stairs. Even with all their nature-friendly designs, it didn't look like they lived a technology-free life, like the Amish. No, it was more balanced. They had streetlights, cars, antennas, and everything—electricity and phone wires, too.

-"Nice place you've got here. You like it?"

-"Yeah, it's great. I became part of the pack almost six years ago when my pack was attacked by rogues. They killed almost everyone. Fifteen of us came here after they'd killed our Alpha. I found my mate here, so it was the best decision of my life." He says, smiling.

-"Does that happen a lot, being attacked by rogues?" Cristina asks.

-"Oh no, not to this pack. Normally, we are peaceful people. Just from time to time, a rogue crosses the territory, and it usually is to cause havoc or try to challenge Alpha, but we have a very strong one. He is the most feared of the region. The rogues usually attack the smaller packs because it's easier, but we have made good allies, and we help each other around here."

-"Have you ever fought vampires?" I ask.

-"Umm, no, vampires usually hang around the big cities so they can feed easily. But if they were in our city, we'd probably kick them out or make a peace treaty." He says, shrugging.

-"What about other shifters? Like bear shifters or mountain lions or pumas?"

-"Well, if they exist, they probably are in the no man's land, and they tend to be solitary shifters. Some people ask for permission to hunt in our lands. They don't seem like shifters or dangerous, so we let them."

-"Have you seen them? Can you guys tell when you have a shifter near?" Cris asks.

-"Nope, never seen one. It's really rare around here, actually. And also because we don't leave the pack's territory. Here we are."

-"Thank you, Phil, you're too kind," I say, smiling at him.

We were at the main door of the pack mansion. It was beautiful. It had at least four floors and a very modern aesthetic. Big windows all over. It had a few stairs with flowers on the sides; in fact, the whole mansion was surrounded by beautiful flowers and small trees.

-"I wonder who cleans all those windows," Cris muttered.

We knock on the door, but no one answered.

-"Mom, I don't see any bell," Damian said.

I knock again. A bit harder.

A small teenager opens the door. She looks a bit pale, with shadows under her eyes. Her dull brunette hair is tied up in a ponytail. Her clothes looked old but not bad—some jeans and a black long-sleeve shirt. Her shoes were pretty used up. -"Umm, c-can I help y-you?" She stuttered, shrinking slightly into herself.

-"Umm, yeah, hi, I'm Andrea, but you can call me Andy. This is Cris and Damian," I say, offering my hand for her to shake. She flinched. I looked at Cris.

She looked at my hand and hesitantly grabbed it.

-"I...I'm Ta-Tamara." She shook all of our hands.

-"We are here on a visit. Phil, the guard at the entrance, told us Alpha Nathan was on the training field. We can wait for him here; we don't want to bother him."

-"I can a-ask Luna S-Susanna, but she's s-still in her room-m. They c-come for b-breakfast when the A-alpha finishes t-training."

-"Okay, but if she is still sleeping, don't insist. Just tell Liza or Monique, and tell them it's a surprise," I say when I look at her worried. That's a good sign; she doesn't trust easily.

Her eyes turn clouded for a bit. She shakes her head.

-"L-Luna is s-still sleeping. I'll try with G-Gamma Li—"

-"Tamara, why haven't you start—" Another young woman came to the entrance hall where we were. She was blonde, visibly a better aspect than the teenager. Her clothes, jeans and a black shirt, looked better.

-"Hello, I'm Andy. This is Cris, Damian. We are friends of Alpha Nathan. We came to visit, but we wanted to surprise him." I went to shake her hand. Her eyes twinkled at that, but she didn't question me or announce us.

-"Yes, of course. I'm Mary. Would you like some coffee? Breakfast is not done yet, but we can make you something real quick," She said, ushering us to the huge living room. Tamara lowered her head and followed us.

The living room was beautiful. With a U-shape sofa in the center that would practically fit 10 people at least. A huge TV screen on top of a fireplace. It had two pillar-like structures filled with wood for the fireplace on the sides, a nice dark blue carpet. It looked very Nordic style. Cozy, neat, and bright.

-"This place is beautiful," Cristina says.

-"Oh, can we wait in the kitchen? That way we won't be alone in here..." I smile at her, nodding, excited.

She nods back. -"Okay. I don't see why not," she said, smiling back.

We follow them to the kitchen. It's a huge, full kitchen. Like a restaurant, it has industrial ovens and a grill and a walk-in fridge and a freezer.

-"Wow, this is beautiful. I bet you could use some help with all the hungry people you have to feed after training," I say as they put on their aprons.

-"Normally, we are seven, but one of the omegas is about to have a pup, so we have to start a bit earlier. Tamara here is in charge of today's breakfast. But I guess she overslept again," she said, narrowing her eyes playfully at her. Tamara blushed.

-"Well, it's 7:15, so we'd better help so we can make everything on time." We all took an apron and washed our hands. Mary called the other omegas.

Tamara, who was blushing like a tomato, began giving us orders on what to do with the supervision of Mary. That kitchen lit up fast with bacon sizzling and coffee smells hitting us. The pancakes, smelled amazing. And Tamara? at first she was stuttering, but it almost vanished once she started bossing us around, like a natural.

We made trays of potato hash, bacon, sausages, eggs, pancakes, muffins, banana bread, bagels, and toasts. We made coffee, orange juice, warm milk. We were done by 8:15. The girls and boys who were helping us went to the dining area with the trays of food. The dining area could hold like 50 or 60 people. We learned that in the pack house stayed the unmated members of the pack who didn't have family. Once they found their significant other, they'd build a house with them.

It was basically, like a Kibbutz. Everyone had their job. The Alpha, he's the main guy, the strongest, protects everyone, makes sure they're safe, helps with money. The Beta's his right-hand, pretty much does the same. Then you've got the Gamma, who's in charge of the warriors, and the Delta, who handles the perimeter and the 'epsilons'—those are the trackers. And the Omegas? They basically serve everyone, probably the weakest wolves; but only because they don't fight or train."

-"Who are you?" A beautiful, elegantly dressed woman said when she came to the kitchen. I was finishing washing dishes.

I cleaned my hands on my apron and offered her my hand.

-"I'm Andy. This is my son Damian and my sister Cris. We came here to meet the Pack. Alpha Nathan was expecting us tomorrow, but I had free time today, so I wanted to surprise him." She takes it with a smile.

-"Oh, he will be surprised, that's for sure," she said, chuckling.

She shook Cristina's hand, and when she was in front of Damian, she kneeled to his level and gave him a hand.

-"Luna Susanna, it's nice to meet you," said Damian with a bright smile. -'My little man, charming them already!'

-"You little man has a firm handshake, you are so cute! I bet the girls around here will love meeting you." She said with a smile.

-"Tamara, after breakfast, take him with the kids, show him around a bit, school and playgrounds. When Lilian is awake, take her too."

-"Actually, Luna, if it's alright with you, I would like Tamara to stay with us. Cris doesn't like being surrounded by men, and Tamara will make her feel safer. Can Mary take Dami?" I say, pleading.

She looks at Tamara, then at Cris.

-"Sure, darling, that's no problem. But let's go eat first. These wolves will devour all the food and won't leave a thing for us if we don't hurry," she said, taking Damian's hand and waving the others to follow her.