Urquia

Chapter 30: The meeting part 2

*Author POV*

-"Leonard Matthews," Andy said, extending her hand to him. When he didn't move, she followed his gaze. She saw Cris's hot flush spread across her cheeks, and with a smirk, she cleared her throat.

The sound made him come back to earth, and notice Andy's hand in front of him. He shook it. But when he was about to speak, she turned.

-"Tom, Liza," she said, nodding, then moving to the next couple, -"Brian and Monique Ramirez." She shook their hands too.

They were speechless.

-"How did you—" Andy interrupted Nate.

-"Not here. I'll explain everything. Just give me a chance, okay?" She looked one way and the other, then at his eyes, pleading with him to collaborate.

He noticed she spoke with an emotionless voice, with authority, serious. He nodded, though his Alpha instinct kicked in for just a second; nobody interrupted him in front of his pack. A low growl vibrated in his chest, a primal surge of his Alpha demanding respect, he will have to punish her, make her beg for forgiveness, on his bed, probably using a ruler.

-"Oh, give me a sec. My kids know you were coming, but you giants might frighten them a bit." She said with a genuine smile.

They saw the change in her behavior and relaxed instantly. The girls giggled, and Cris nodded, smiling. She entered the house, and they waited at the entrance.

-"Niños, como les dije, los que van a pasar tienen que estar en nuestra reunión de hoy. Parecen intimidantes pero les aseguro que no les harán nada. Igualmente recuerden nuestro protocolo." (Kids, like I told you, those who are coming in have to be in today's meeting. They look intimidating, but I assure you they won't do anything. Even so, remember our protocol.)

-"Si, mami," (Yes, mommy) they said in unison.

At the entrance, they were all looking impressed. They all knew Spanish; Nate had made sure of it, so they understood her words. They were shocked by the level of security Andy had. It was like she was a military of some sort.

Their curiosity and admiration could be felt through the mind link.

-'She's gonna be a great Luna!' Liza said, and they all felt that way.

Cris said, -"Follow me," and they went down the stairs to the basement.

The basement was like a studio apartment, all in an open concept.

Then she opened a secret door that was under the stairs. They went through a small, bright passage that went down.

-'This is scary,' said Monique, excited.

-'I feel we're being led to a secret base,' Liza giggled.

-'They have lots of secrets, don't they?' Said Leo.

-"Where are we going?" Nathan said.

-"To Umbrella Corp," Cris joked as she opened a door. The girls giggled, but the men didn't get it.

The room was surprisingly big, feeling entirely normal and airy, as if it were on any upper floor of a house, completely defying their expectations for an underground space. It was cleverly arranged to be both inviting and supremely functional. They had to bend to avoid hitting their heads with the doorframe, but the room was tall enough for them.

It had a central table with enough chairs for them and her family. On the left wall of the room were four computers on one side of the wall with four big screens. The other wall, across from it on the right, had a huge screen rolled up. The wall next to the door had a crib in the corner and a playground area. It was neat and cozy. The wall in front of the small door had two doors, and in between, a false window with a paradise beach screen.

They all took in the room. Never in their minds would they think this was underground.

Cris said politely, -"Please, take a seat here." She gestured to the chair on the window side, across from the door.

-"You're making zombies in here?" Liza said, and Cris grinned at her. The men just watched her puzzled.

-"We do have a virus T, but nope, our business is life itself."

-"We are so going to Comic-Con together!" Liza said, excited.

-"Have you been to Comiket? We'll take you there next time if you'd like," Cris said, and the girls squealed.

-"Why do you talk like that? Is that like a code or something?" Tom asked curiously, but they all wanted to know.

-"Sort of. They'll be down in a minute," She said with a sad, small smile that didn't go unnoticed. Her face became dead serious as she started to put her safe laptop on one end of the table, her computers at her back. She switched the projector on and pulled the screen down the wall across her. Nate sat in the middle and just watched her moving from one side to the other.

He knew she was Leo's mate the moment he froze. Just like he did when he saw his mate. He was happy for him too. He had waited less than him, but he knew what he felt. Leo sat on his right, and his eyes never left her. Tom sat at Nathan's left with his mate, and Ramirez on Leo's right with his mate.

They were all curious, nervous, and actually excited. They didn't have a clue what the heck was going on. Nate couldn't wait any longer.

-"Cris, right?" He asked. She looked up from her computer, but not at him, at the screen.

-"Yes... I know you have many questions, guys, but don't worry, she'll answer you."

Then she looked at him for a bit, thinking, and she sighed.

-"Nate, you have to let her do this at her own pace, okay? She's now on James Bond mode, and you should let her. You have no idea what she's been through." She said apologetically.

-"Who's James Bond?" Leo joked, but she looked at him so shocked she couldn't even close her mouth. When she was going to answer that stupid question, the door opened, and Andy came through.

After her came Emmanuel and Urimare with drinks and the pastries Nate brought. Then Damian came, holding baby Sam like he was his precious treasure, and Dee next to him.

Nate and the guys stood up, so when the kids came in, they saw all these giants in a row.

-'s**t,' Shadow said. He didn't want to come off as intimidating, not to them.

While they were standing, the girls were helping them set the table. Dami and Dee were assessing them at the door. Nate noticed that, and he even gulped like he was being examined. They were really cute.

They studied their body language, and only when they shook hands with grandpa and grandma, introducing themselves, did they approve.

When they all sat, the kids entered the room. Dami put baby Sam in his crib delicately and sat at the table on Cris' right. Dee stayed with the baby. The door, one of their escape routes, was behind them. On Dami's right sat Emmanuel and Urimare. Andy was standing at the other end of the table. She wasn't showing any emotions. Not even her body language showed any clue. But Cris knew.

-"Wait!"

As soon as her eyes met, Cris nodded and went directly to the kitchen, which was the door on the left. She took the vodka out and two glasses. She came back and served Andy and herself a shot.

-"Now I'm ready," Cris said. She sat back and started typing on her laptop.

-'Are they going to tell us everything in front of the kids?' Liza asked Monique through the mind link.

-'Don't know, but have you seen those cuties? I want to smoosh their cheeks!' Monique answered.

-"First of all, thank you for coming. I didn't want you guys to get involved in this mess, but as soon as Alpha Nathan sent you two to follow me, well... you kind of got yourselves into this." She pursed her lips, looking at them.

-"Now, I know you must be asking yourselves a bunch of questions. Hear me out, and I promise you I'll answer them all." They all nodded.

Andy started. -"As you know, I was married for six years and got separated four years ago... all those years were... how should I put it... hell." Nate noticed the pale faces of the kids, then turned to see Andy. She knew what he was thinking.

-"They've lived it, so they know everything. We don't keep secrets from them." He nods, and she continues.

-"Jose Garcia," A photo of him appeared on the screen. Andrea couldn't even see his image.

-"He was involved with shady people: Russian mob, Italian mafia, you name it;"

-"He drank, took drugs, gambled,"

-"He used to beat and abuse me right from the start of our marriage."

She forced her heartbeat into a steady rhythm, a practiced calm imposed over the burning rage that always threatened to erupt when she spoke his name. Her gaze flickered across the faces of the people on her right, quick, clinical assessments of their pupils, the tension in their jaws, the subtle clench of their hands—searching for any sign of judgment or disbelief, finding instead that she was surprised to see they looked angry, a surge of raw indignation that unexpectedly warmed her heart.She looked to her left.

Dami and Dee know this; they are strong and can take it. Mom and Dad too; they've heard this from many abused women, so they could take it too, even if it was her, right?

-"One day I took the kids with Cris, and we left him in Spain. We covered our tracks as usual. We went to Germany to start over," she continues.

-"Then he found us 15 months ago."

She saw Dami looking down at his hands, trying to still the faint tremor that spoke of a deep, unsettling fear. Dee, while holding her cool, had eyes that held a similar, deep-seated apprehension.

-"He held us hostage for a week, and Cris got us free." They all turned to Cris. She winks at Andy and looks down again at her laptop.

She starts typing, and photos of people start popping on the wall screen.

-"We caught this pervert following us as soon as we arrived in the States. We interrogated him and took him down. We thought it was over, but..." She turned to the screen.

They all see people popping on the screen, all looking like gangsters. Nate recognized three of the leaders. They had question marks below. But he didn't say a word.

Andy read his microexpressions clearly; he'd recognized some of them, and suspicion started to fill her.

-"You know them," she said directly, not actually asking, more of stating.

-"Yes, I do. I went to Russia a few years ago, and we had a few problems with him and his men. We settled a...peace treaty. I'll give you the names of at least five I've recognized," he said truthfully. Looking at him, she believed him; his microexpressions were telling her he was sincere. She nodded and continued.

-"We've kept an eye on these people and even worked with Interpol and local authorities." She took a breath and released it.

-"Almost a month ago, I noticed you two were following me." She looked at Tom and Ramirez's shocked faces. She smiled.

Leo, more relaxed, said, -'I knew it,' through the mind link. Nate rolled his eyes internally.

-"We've kept an eye on you too and waited for you to make a move. But then, a week later, we noticed two other men following us. They were sloppy, not like you, so we knew you weren't together."

Nate was trying to hold the grin that was forming in his mouth. He was hypnotized by her voice and her demeanor; she was so authoritative, controlled, and serene.

-'His eyes are softening,' she thought with curiosity. Emmanuel was assessing them too. Full Robocop mode on. Urimare was quiet, reserved, very still; she was a natural princess warrior and also a sniper, so she knows how to blend in a space and not be even noticed. She was judging them, sizing them with her intuition.

-"When I went to the club and saw you guys and your Alpha together, I thought HE came for me again," she said, pointing at her ex's photo.

She nodded at Cris, and all their photos were on the screen. They all gasped and looked at Cris, then at Andy and back at Cris.

-"We identified you guys and discovered you were werewolves. We looked for a connection between you and them and didn't find anything, so we let you follow us until we interrogated you."

-"When did you interrogate us?" Tom asked. He'd never been near her, he was sure.

-"You didn't tell them," Andy said, narrowing her eyes at Nate.

-"I thought you'd want to do that yourself," he muffled a grin. She mentally rolled her eyes and sent a prayer. -'Oh boy.'

-"WE kidnapped you," She said bluntly.

The glass Monique was holding broke, and Liza stood up so quick her chair fell, and the table shook a bit. Dami had taken his knife out, as well as Dee. Everyone was quiet. The two werewolves were pale, but the women were mad. Really mad.

After a full minute of awkward silence.

-"My tremendous intuitive sense of the female creature informs me that you are troubled," Cris said, imitating Jack Sparrow.

Andy bit both her lips, trying hard not to laugh, so she put her hands up. Nathan was still grinning, unfazed. Leo broke the silence, laughing his butt off. He almost fell from the chair. Tears forming in his eyes.

-"Kids... put the knives down," Andy said quietly. Still looking at Liza, she was fighting her wolf.

That was when all the wolves turned their heads to Dami and Dee. They all blinked at the same time. Two little skinny kids with knives bigger than their hands was a bit disturbing.

Liza sat down quickly, her eyes wide open.

-"Sorry, kids, I didn't mean to scare you," looking at Damian apologetically.

-"You didn't," Damian said with a confidence that stunned them all.

-"Look, I'm sorry, but we had to make sure you weren't the bad guys. I am not risking my family's safety. Period. Whether you like it or not, it happened. You have to know, I'll do whatever it takes to keep them safe." Andy said with her no-bullshit tone.

The four of them clenched their jaws. Andy sighed, looking just at the girls.

-"We didn't hurt them. They were sedated and induced into a trance. That was all. We sent Nathan the tapes if you want to make sure. From the moment they were taken to the moment they were found." All of them looked at Nathan.

-'She's telling the truth.'

The girls were skeptical but visibly relaxed. The men were still a bit dumbstruck.

Leo was dying to see the tapes.