A Mate to Howl For Ch. 04

"We saw the report. I will have a call to the Alpha Council just as soon as we get you to the house." Alpha John walked forward, extending his hand when blood covered David's face. He saw Jerry holding the gun. A second later David fell to the ground with a bullet between his eyes.

William screamed with the other kids as he watched and felt his dad die. He couldn't think. But he did react. He put the truck in gear and headed away from the Davis pack.

~~~

"After that we didn't know who to trust or where to go. Everyone we knew was dead. None of us had ever been to any other packs. So we drove to Tennessee. We stayed there near Natchez Trace for a few years. We hunted for food and stayed near a few campgrounds. We blended in with other kids and tried to keep up with school." William explained.

"Then Marley got hurt." TJ said. She was playing with some kids when she fell from a tree. Her arm was broken and the parents of the kids took her to the ER. And that's when all of us got rounded up." He sighed.

Jacob continued the story. "The hospital needed a name. So we gave them the name of a family we met earlier that year who was camping at the lake. It turned out Carol Sizemore was a nurse at that same hospital. She happened to be there. When she was called to the ER and saw a seven year old girl instead of her seven year old girl she freaked. They called the police who called the Department of Family Services (DFACs) and we knew we had to go."

Michael sighed and continued. "We had to make a choice. Stay there and be found out, or create a diversion and run. Since they had already set Marley's arm in a cast, I shifted. I looked more like a German Shepard then a wolf. I went running through the hospital and knocked down anything I could. Once I got the message all of them walked out the ambulance doors I bolted through an open security door. At the time I was so scared, but now it was kind of funny."

"It was funny watching them lose their shit as a wolf pranced through the ER, but we learned a lesson. After we got our packs and the money and all the food we could carry, we headed down into Alabama. It wasn't easy traveling since we knew the police were looking for us. It took us a month to move as humans rather than wolves. We got rides when we could, and traveled at night. Marley couldn't shift. And at the time we didn't know she could heal fast so we did what the doctor had said and left the cast on for almost a month. . But we finally found a remote cabin near Smith Lake, Alabama. It was in the middle of winter and we figured since it was a summer cabin we would be safe." Miguel said.

"It was a Wednesday morning in March when I smelt her." TJ said. "I had never smelt a cat shifter before so I didn't know what it was. It was six am and I was on the couch reading a history book when she walked to the door. I alerted everyone but she was so fast, I never saw her until she had me pinned to the floor." She looked at his sister with a smile. "She was a huge mountain lion and had her teeth around my neck when Marley came in."

"I was crying and asked her to not hurt my brother. She backed away and shifted once she saw we were all kids. We told her who we were and what happened and apologized for trespassing. She told us she was Cathy Jennings. She was part of a biker club called the Iron Knights. She owned the cabin with her old man but he had died a few months before." Marley sighed.

Hunter walked to Marley and set his hand on her shoulder. "Cathy had come up there to die. She didn't have the will to live after losing him. They weren't mates but twenty years together had taken its toll. But finding us gave her a purpose. She helped us get into school under the names of some kids from the Iron Knights. She also helped us learn to hunt and fight. She taught us about motorcycles and computers. Her club name was oddly enough Kitty and her deceased husband was Doc. He was a Navy medic and taught her enough first aid that she taught us."

William joined the group around Marley. "Two years ago a tornado came through and destroyed the cabin. Thankfully we weren't there. Cathy said it would be months before insurance would pay to rebuild and offered us a home in Florida. But wolves needed to run and Florida didn't have a place for us. But I was eighteen and I was able to get a job so we said goodbye to Kitty and headed east. For the last two years we have been moving with the company. As each of us got to the legal age we started working for Oxford both off and on the books. We try to never leave Marley alone. Today all of us needed to work on this project." He looked at Cullen before lowering his eyes.

"We cannot thank you enough for saving her. She is all we have and must be protected." He leaned over and hugged her. William turned to Dylan and nodded before extending his hand.

Dylan took it. Cullen could not detect any deceit in any of them and sat quietly as he fought back his anger. He knew Alpha Gorge and Madam Alpha Cindy. Gorge was a Warrior back during the Were War and a great leader. He also knew Alpha John Davis and Madam Lindsay. Cullen was beyond mad hearing about the murders and Lindsay's eventual death over losing her mate. He needed to investigate this and there was one simple way.

He was also holding his wolf at bay. He wanted justice for these kids and the horror they lived through without a loving pack. Cullen's wolf wanted to shred Jerry and the Cartel. Jerry would be first on his list.

"I would like to bring all of you into my pack. If you agree, I will protect all of you and help you. I will also get justice for David. Would you like to join?" Cullen asked.

All of them spoke through their link and all at once answered. "Yes, Alpha."

He stood and walked around the desk, setting his hand on Marley and TJ first. "I Cullen Steiner, Alpha of the Good Ole Boys pack, accept you, Marley and TJ Thornton in my pack." He repeated for Hunter, Jacob, Michael and Miguel. When he got to William he shook his hand as he did the oath. Once the pack bond was in place and the kids recovered from the thousand plus links he hugged all of them.

"I know all of you are used to being in one place. I have a four bedroom house with an apartment over the garage I can offer you for now unless you want to stay in the pack house dorms. And I would like all of you to project what you saw when Beta David and Alpha John died." Cullen linked to Kyle to set up an emergency Alpha Council meeting. He would normally have Aaron handle it but he was still with Ivory and that was just as important.

"Alpha, we don't have money to pay for the house. We barely could afford the hotel, and living here we have no means to get to work." William spoke for the family.

"Take the house," he wasn't going to let these kids go without a home. "You can stay until we get your former pack affairs in order. The Council never sold off the holdings for the Paradise Falls Pack. That means you six are the beneficiaries, that is once we complete the investigation. But we need to bring Jerry to justice first." Cullen was still angry, not with the kids, but with the events that made the orphans and rogues.

"I don't understand," William said. "That was twelve years ago. How can we have anything from back then?"

Cullen explained that when the Alpha Council investigated, they found Bill's truck at the campsite. They also never found the missing kids. Bill was a Beta making William the Beta Heir. And as the last leadership of the Paradise Falls Pack they had a claim to the lands and funds. Once the kids were settled, they projected what happened as they remembered. Cullen gave each of them a preloaded Visa card with ten thousand on each and sent them into Albany, Georgia to buy clothes, phones, computers, and anything else they would need as well as food. He arranged for Dylan and Warrior Nate to protect them while they gathered what they needed.

Cullen got on the emergency call and issued a warrant for Alpha Jerry Richards for the murder of Alpha John and Beta David. Warriors were dispatched and as soon as he was arrested he would be tried. Cullen finished up some paperwork and headed to see his mate.

~~~

Once Alpha Cullen released the kids, temporary Madam Alpha Carla met with the group. She sent the boys ahead with Nate to look over the proffered home, and kept Marley and Dylan with her. Carla would never dare to separate mates, and there was no mistaking they were mates. But she also realized that two hours earlier Marley had been attacked. Carla being in charge of the females of the pack needed to know she was okay. If Dylan had been any later Marley might not be there now.

"Marley, come walk with me." Carla moved her hand, directing the pair towards the stairs. "My office is this way. I understand you took a hard hit."

Marley was nervous and her scent alerted Carla as well as Dylan. She let out a sigh and looked at her feet as she walked. "It wasn't as hard as when I hit him. He grabbed me by my hair and tossed me after I beat him with a baseball bat." She explained. She was trying to be brave. Truthfully she had been terrified when the man broke in.

There was a deep growl vibrating in Dylan's chest. He wanted blood and fur in his teeth. No one would ever hurt his mate again. He had balled his fists to keep his wolf from coming forward.

"Calm yourself or I will send you away." Carla directed to Dylan and he seemed to instantly calm. She gave him a stern look before noting the solemn look in Marley's eyes. "It's going to be okay Marley. You are safe with us. I promise you, no one in this pack will ever hurt you."

"Forgive me, Madam Alpha Carla, I don't know any of you, and this is all too much to believe. A couple of hours ago I was doing my chemistry homework and now I'm in a pack and have a home and a mate, who I don't even know his last name." She gripped her hands and fumbled with them as she walked into the office. Dylan sat down and Marley sat in his lap without thinking.

"I'm Dylan Greg Miller. I'm eighty-seven years old, I live on the Beta floor and I work in pack security. I started as a warrior and worked my way up. I handle weapons training, and I think you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen. And I can't wait to meet your wolf." Dylan said in a rapid fire voice.

"Marleanna (pronounced Mar Le Anna) Sophia Thornton, but I have always been called Marley" she touched his cheek. "It's nice to meet you, and my wolf wants to run with yours." She admitted. Not growing up is an established pack, she had no education in how packs worked or mating. She did know she liked and trusted him.

Carla sat there and watched the two of them. "Congratulations on finding each other. I was told Alpha Cullen spoke to you about the rules. No female can complete the mating until she is eighteen years old. But this pack has an added rule. We request that you finish school and have the opportunity to go to college or trade school."

"I am enrolled in an online school as is TJ. We will be graduating in May. Cathy made sure we had the documents to stay in school and William wouldn't let any of us drop out. I wanted to go to nursing school, or take the paramedic course. I will never be able to afford medical school, but I really wanted to be a doctor." Marley said, leaning back on Dylan's chest.

"I agree, finishing school is important, and I'm sure we can help you with the classes you will need for pre med if that is what you wish. UGA (University of Georgia) has a satellite campus here."

"I would never ask you to give up on school or change what you want to do." Dylan added. "I will always support and protect you." He leaned in scenting her neck, assuring her he wanted her to be independent of him. She was already a warrior in his mind. He had seen the bloodied face of her attacker.

"As I said this is all too surreal. And fast, so very fast." Marley took his hand in hers feeling the bond between them grow.

"Then we will take this slower." Dylan said. "I will never rush you to decide your path. I only ask that you allow me to be part of your journey. We have all the time in the world to get to know each other. And I will wait until the end of time for you." He raised her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckle.

Marley felt her cheeks heating as the flush moved over her body. He was the most handsome and wonderfully romantic person. Her smile told him she had accepted him.

The sound of Carla clearing her throat brought their attention to her. "Then it is settled. Marley, you will continue your studies and graduate this spring. And later this week you will join me for a few hours so we can see the requirements you need to get into pre med with UGA. I will also get you in training classes. All pack members are required to train in hand to hand combat, firearms, and group tactics. Dylan will oversee your firearms training assessment. Aaron and I will assess you in other areas. Also everyone works within the pack to better it. Since you want to be a doctor, I think assigning you to the clinic will be a good fit." She tapped her fingertips together. "If you don't have any questions right now, I think Dylan should escort you to your new house and your family."

Marley was still in a haze. She hadn't felt this protected or cared for in years. She almost broke down and cried, but that would come later. "Thank you," she whispered. A moment later Dylan was walking hand in hand with her from the pack house and down the dirt road towards her new home.