South Mountain Pack Ch. 12

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Joe interrupted his mate and seeing her glare at him he sighed loudly. "Okay," he said begrudgingly, "We'll build them a little apartment, but not until she is older Annie, much older like a month before her eighteenth birthday. I can't take too much more, she only turned fifteen a month ago and you're picking out curtains. I can't handle this, I'm only thinking as far as getting through tonight without tearing something apart if I see my little girl in pain."

Annie leaned over and patted her mates hand and said, "I know, your poor little brain can only handle so much." Alberto started to choke and Joe leaned forward and whacked him really hard on the back and leaned back with a smile on his face. "Are we done? Rose said to leave the dishes and they'd clean up." She got up and made her way to Maria's room sensing Joe following her.

"She hasn't moved much," Rose said quietly as Joe and Annie walked to Maria's bedside. "Doc was just here and said her vitals looked good."

Annie smoothed the hair back from Maria's forehead as she whispered, "Daddy and I are back sweetheart. We're going to stay here with you all night and so is Alberto and we want you to sleep sweetheart so you can get better."

Moments later Alberto came into the room and Frank and Rose moved out of the way so he could stand on Maria's other side. He leaned in and scented her neck and said quietly, "I said bye to my folks, Dad's gonna deliver some pizzas to Mr. C's house later this evening."

"Speaking of which, we'd better get home," said Rose with a grimace. "The youngsters have been left unsupervised long enough, and I don't consider Ric, Rocco or Luc proper supervision. Damian is probably planning who knows what and the youngsters will go right along with it, especially since Vincent and Dominic aren't there. I already let them know they'll be staying with us tonight, it'll be easier since I have to cook breakfast anyway."

After kissing Maria goodbye, Frank turned to Joe hugging him tightly and said, "Baby brother, let us know if you need anything, no matter what time it is I'll be here for you."

Joe nodded his head, "Thank you big brother, I don't know what I'd do without you. Knowing you're taking care of my boys lets me concentrate on my little girl."

"Do you remember the vow you made to me the day Vincent and Dominic were born? 'I'll protect them like they were my own, until I draw my last breath'," said Frank as he stared into his brothers eyes. "And we renewed that vow every time one of us was blessed with little ones, in eighteen years nothing has changed brother, your family is mine, and my family is yours. We protect them like they were our own." Joe nodded his head and took a deep breath before moving back to Maria's bedside.

Frank was quiet the first couple of minutes on the drive back to their house and Rose feeling his anxiety said quietly, "What's the matter?"

Frank looked at his mate and grabbed her hand, "I'm sorry my love, my mind was going over everything with Maria and the Pack. I should be concentrating on you, its not often we're alone."

Rose giggled and said, "Did you read the newspaper yesterday? Longmeadow drive-in is closing for the season the end of September and I was thinking we could go."

"We went there a lot when we were dating, but I don't remember seeing the movies," said Frank with a smirk. He glanced at his mate and tried to hide his smile as he said, "If I remember correctly, as soon as the previews came on, you would jump me and I spent the rest of the movie fending you off."

"Francesco Carlucci, I can't believe you said that," Rose swatted him on the arm and said in a huff. "One time, one time I pounce on you and you act like I was some deranged nympho trying to steal your virginity."

Frank growled low in his throat, "I loved when you would jump me." He glanced over at his mate and growled again before saying, "I have no idea how I waited all those months to claim you, especially when you would deliberately tease me. You drove my wolf and I crazy with how much you made us want you and twenty-three years later you still make us crazy."

"We were allowed more freedom back then, we could go on double dates and our parents considered that enough protection. If they knew what we were doing, they would never have allowed us out of the house," Rose smiled at she looked at her mate with a twinkle in her eye. She got quiet for a moment before she said, "Sometimes I think we're too restrictive on the girls, and I think in our need to protect them, we're actually hurting them."

Frank looked at her and shrugged his shoulders and said, "It was a different time, things changed after Alpha Roberts daughter was murdered and when his son took over as Alpha Council President he changed the laws. If those laws had been in place to begin with, his sister might be alive, but then again she was killed by the Second in Command's son, who was supposed to protect her." He got quiet for several moments and said, "When it comes to our daughters Rose, a father can't ever be too protective."

"And a mother will do everything within her power to protect her youngsters," Rose responded quietly as Frank pulled in front of the garage. He watched her closely as she crossed the driveway to enter the mudroom. As much as he wanted to know what was going on, he knew she would tell him when she was ready.

*****

Thirty minutes after he arrived at the Millers, Paulo finished installing the computers in Todd and Papa Mike's office. Vin and Dom were in the kitchen talking to the Millers about Maria and spending time with their intendeds and he could hear their laughter from down the hallway. Sitting back in the leather chair, he rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath before calling everyone in so he could get their retinal scans added to the database. As soon as they came in the office, he showed them how to use the retinal scanner, which was by a series of right and left clicks of the mouse and within minutes they were done with the scans. "Give me a sec, I'm almost done," he said as his fingers flew over the keyboard opening and closing screens faster then anyone could see or understand what was going on.

"Okay, now for the website, after you do the scan, you need to log on with the password set up for your name," said Paulo as he laid a piece of paper on the desk. "Once you log in, you'll need to change the password so only you know it." The Millers nodded their heads as Paulo continued to explain, "Make the passwords something easy for you to remember but something that isn't obvious. We generally use our twins/mates favorite food, color, school subject or something like that. If you mess up and enter the wrong password, you have one chance to re-enter the right password, if you try again you'll be locked out and only I or Alpha Carlo can get you back in. Understand?" The Millers nodded their heads and within twenty minutes the family had logged in and changed their passwords as Paulo instructed.

"Now here is where the security takes place and I need you to listen carefully," said Paulo as the Millers stared at him. "If somebody forces you to log onto the website put '01' after your password, as an example if your password is 'Cheese', you would put 'Cheese01'. This sends an alert to Alpha Carlo, Uncle Frank, Dad and me that you're logging on under duress, and you won't be able to log on the first attempt, so when you re-enter it the second time, simply use 'Cheese'. The site that'll come up is fake, but it'll allow us time to take counter measures."

A smile spread across Todd's face as he said, "Is there anything you guys don't think about when it comes to security?"

Paulo shrugged his shoulders and said, "Dad and Uncle Frank try to keep up as much as possible, and I handle all the electronics, speaking of which...I have laptops for each girl and new cell phones for the whole family." Vin nodded his head and he and Dom went to the truck and brought in two boxes and Dom handed the laptops to the correct girl as Vin handed out the cell phones according to the names on the boxes. "They'll need laptops for school and they've already been loaded with the programs they'll need. The cell phones have been programmed with all the emergency numbers, a number for every family in the Pack, and of course your home phone and each others numbers. I set up a Wi-fi so you can access the internet from anywhere in the house, it's set on a scrambler so nobody can access it."

As the Millers looked at their new cell phones Paulo said quietly, "Mr. M, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to have your old phones after you transfer what numbers aren't already programmed. I want to see if there are any tracking devices in there."

"Dad and I were the only ones that had phones," answered Todd. "I have some work contacts in there, it shouldn't take me but a minute and the same goes for Dad." Papa Mike hurriedly got his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through and wrote down several numbers and handed it to Paulo and Todd did the same.

"Now here is something new and I'd like to try it out," said Paulo excitedly. "I added a feature to the phones, if you hit 'star000pound' it'll link into your security system and lock down your house. After we try it out and makes sure it works, I'll link an alarm so Alpha Carlo, Uncle Frank, Dad and I'll get an alert that your security system was emergency activated. So it's only to be used in an emergency situation, okay?" The Millers nodded their heads and Paulo smiled, "Try it."

Maeve raised her hand and asked quietly, "Daddy, can I do it? I've never used a cell phone before."

"Sure cupcake," answered Todd with a smile. Maeve smiled widely and hit the appropriate buttons and they watched the security monitors as the house was quietly locked down.

Holly looked up and asked Paulo, "When would we need something like this?"

"If somebody got into your house and you couldn't activate the system the normal way, if you didn't have time to activate the system while you're running to the safe room. There could be any number of reasons," Paulo said as he shrugged his shoulders. "The most important thing to always remember is to get to safety first."

Todd nodded his head and said, "How much do I owe you for all of this?"

"The computer equipment and phones were paid for by SMI, you're responsible for the phone plan, and I signed you up for Verizon, it's got the best coverage," said Paulo with a smile. "Oh and last thing, if people try and retrace any emails or websites you were on to get your IP address, I'll get an alert and it'll send them on a trip around the world."

"Daddy, can we go in the family room with our laptops?" asked Fiona as her sisters glanced at their Dad waiting on his answer.

Todd nodded his head and said, "Yes, but I think you should thank Paulo first." The girls giggled and a chorus of "Thank you's" rang out as Paulo started to blush. "How much more do you have to do?" asked Todd as he watched his daughters, Vin and Dom run out of the room.

"Since the emergency activation works, I need to upload the link to the system, and I need to install a computer in the family room for Mrs. M and Nana Ellen," said Paulo as his fingers were flying over the keyboard. "So about twenty thirty minutes I should be done." He looked up and seeing the girls, Vin and Dom had left the room he said quietly, "I installed a tracker on each laptop so you can monitor what websites they're going to and their activity online. Only you have control of it, and I'll show you how to access it." Todd moved over to the desk and Paulo showed him where the program was located and in real time he could see what the girls were doing. "The program allows you to see who they're sending emails to and who they receive them from, but it doesn't allow you to see the contents."

"How did you learn how to do all of this," asked Holly as she sat on the sofa.

"I've been playing with computers since I was a toddler. It's something natural for me; I read programs like other people read books. I like to take machines apart, figure out how they work and figure out a way to make them work better," said Paulo with a shrug. "Okay, the link to the alarm for the security system is up and running, now onto the computer in the family room." He picked up the box near the desk and followed Papa Mike into the family room and started putting the system together. Fifteen minutes later, he was done and helping the younger Miller girls with their new laptops while Vin and Dom concentrated on their intended mates.

"Boys would you like something to eat?" asked Nana Ellen with a smile. "We have leftover pork loin, mashed potatoes, and green beans. For dessert we have blueberry lemon pound cake and ice cream." Twenty minutes later, the leftovers were gone and the boys were finishing the rest of the pound cake.

Todd was laughing as he said, "Your Dads were right, you boys eat a huge amount of food. The grocery bills to feed all of you must be huge."

"Mr. M, we've already eaten dinner, that was a snack," answered Dom with a smile. "I have no idea about the grocery bill, but we do go deer hunting every year. Even mom, Aunt Annie, Sophia and Maria bag deer, so we eat a lot of venison."

"A snack? That was about five pounds of meat and about five pounds of mashed potatoes," said Todd with a laugh. "If the two of you are going to be eating dinner with us we'd better cook more food."

Vin laughed and said, "Whatever you normally cook for your family, double it."

"Daddy, can we play a game before the boys have to leave?" asked Brianna as she smiled at Vin.

Todd glanced at the clock before saying, "Sure, clear the table first." The girls, Vin, Dom and Paulo cleared the table while Maeve got a deck of Uno cards out of the closet. For the next hour they played and the adults smiled while they watched TV in the family room as they listened to the youngsters laugh and holler at each other.

Papa Mike glanced at the clock and said, "I figured Matt and Phil would stop by tonight, have you heard from them?"

"I did, they're having a date night. Since the meeting was cancelled, Matt wanted to surprise Phil and take him out to dinner and a movie," said Nana Ellen with a laugh.

Todd started to laugh and said, "Holly and I could've gone out with them, we could use a date night too." Holly smiled at her mate and glanced in the kitchen to check on the youngsters who had suddenly gotten quiet.

"Uncle Matt didn't want you to know Daddy," said Maeve with a giggle. "He said he didn't need a chaperone to block his action." Everyone burst out laughing and Maeve started to blush as she said, "Well, that's what he said...whatever that means."

"It means they're gonna kiss," whispered Fiona as she started to blush which caused everybody to laugh again.

The adults turned their attention back to the TV and Vin said quietly, "Erin, as your brother in law, I gotta ask, what's going on with you and Lorenzo?"

Erin froze and Brianna said, "You can't tell him Lorenzo is your mate, remember the boys don't know we can tell who our mates are before they do."

"Uhmm, I don't know Vin," said Erin as she blushed. "I think he's kinda cute but he's really irritating sometimes."

"I'll give you some advice," Dom said as he stared at her. "My cousin is the most stubborn person I know and if he gets something in his mind it's almost impossible to change it. Right now he says he doesn't like you..." Seeing her eyes start to tear up, he leaned forward and held her hand and said, "I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt you and I hate being blunt like that, but it's the truth. The best advice I can give you is to ignore him. Don't talk to him or pay attention to him, unless it's necessary like when we do training or something."

Erin felt her heart break a little as she whispered with a catch in her voice, "He really said he didn't like me?" Feeling her twins pain, Caitlin put her arms around her and hugged her, not knowing what to say.

Vin took a deep breath and nodded his head, "I'm sorry, but yeah he did. Give him some time like Dom said to get over whatever is bothering him."

"Now let me add this, when Sophia and Maria told him you and Caitlin were going on a date with Patrick and Bob, he got so mad he bent his fork in half and wanted to know which one of those bastards was taking you out, his words not mine," said Dom with a shrug. "I think he likes you, but he's too stubborn to admit it."

"And you think I should ignore him?" asked Erin with a puzzled look on her face.

"Yeah, we do," said Vin with a smile. "When you have to talk to him, be polite. I'm not saying you have to be super nice to him, just don't antagonize him and when you're ignoring him, don't do it in a bitchy way. It'll drive him crazy."

Paulo started to smile and added, "What Vin and Dom didn't tell you was Lorenzo is also one of the bossiest people we know and he likes to tell people what to do and gets mad when they don't listen. If you watch him and Damian together it's really comical because Damian deliberately gets him upset and then will say or do something to make Lorenzo laugh. They function by being dysfunctional." He looked at the clock and said, "Guys, we got to get going, I've got work to do for Alpha Carlo." Vin and Dom nodded their heads and the three boys went into the family room and said goodbye to the Miller parents and grandparents.

"I'll walk you out," said Todd as he looked at Brianna and Morgan who both blushed as they glanced at their intendeds. When they got onto the porch, Todd looked at Paulo and winked as he said, "I got a question to ask you about the truck." Paulo looked at him questioningly until Todd motioned with his head towards the two couples who were standing quietly near the porch steps.

As Paulo and Todd walked to the truck, Vin and Dom moved their intendeds to the top step and the boys took a step down so they were almost eye to eye. Vin leaned in scenting Brianna's neck and she started to giggle before running her hands through his hair. Dom stared into Morgan's eye and whispered, "Zenzero, I'm going to lean against the railing and I want you to scent me and do what you feel comfortable with, like running your hands through my hair or rubbing my arms. I won't touch you until you tell me to, okay?" Morgan's eyes were wide as she nodded before leaning in and starting to scent his neck slowly like he had taught her. When she started to rub her hands up and down his arms, Dom could barely hold back his moan and his urge to wrap her in his arms; instead he gripped the wood railing so tight he could hear the wood creaking.

"What did you want to know Mr. M?" asked Paulo as they reached Vin's truck.

Todd started to laugh and said, "It was an excuse to give them a little alone time. I can still see them, but at least they have some privacy."

Paulo glanced towards the porch and started to laugh as he said, "You might want to tell the rest of the girls then."

When Todd looked to where Paulo was pointing he started to laugh and said loudly, "You guys have an audience." As Vin, Brianna, Dom and Morgan turned to the dining room windows they saw the rest of the Miller girls smiling at them. When Vin and Dom started to laugh, Maeve and Fiona made kissy faces before Holly came to the window and made them leave.

"Daddddyyyy," Brianna and Morgan cried out which made Todd laugh louder.

"It's okay, we have to leave," said Dom quietly. "Is it okay if I scent you before we leave?"

Morgan answered in a voice so quiet Dom barely heard her, "But I wasn't done yet, I wanted to scent you some more, it makes me feel all good inside."

Hearing what his intended said, Dom started to groan and tilted his head so she could scent him. Knowing she had an audience Morgan was hesitant but inhaled deeply several times before moving back and whispering, "Okay, it's your turn."