South Mountain Pack Ch. 02

"OH, HELL NO," Joe shouted, startling everyone into silence before everyone erupted in laughter; the boys not even understanding what Joe was talking about, but laughing at the look on his face.

Carlo glanced over at his son, who was still holding the pillow up to his face. He had the most serene smile on his face as he continued to inhale the scent on the pillow. Victor leaned over and tried to take the pillow away which prompted Anthony to growl low in his throat, causing even more laughter.

"Boys, all of these stories were told to you tonight to prove a point. None of us are exempt from the mating pull. You will all do stupid stuff because your only focus will be on your mate, being with her, but more importantly protecting her and keeping her safe. You will zone out while talking to your friends because you catch a glimpse of her, something may remind you of her and you will feel compelled to find out where she is and if she is ok. You'll be overbearing and get on her nerves. None of this can be helped," said Frank adding, "Just know that this has happened to countless helpless males before you and it will continue on with your sons."

"You will get into fights with your best friends because they talked to your mate without you being there. Every time that she glances at another male, you will feel the need to beat the absolute shit out of him to show her your strength and superiority to that other male. If other males smile at her you will once again want to beat the absolute shit out of them to wipe that smile off their face and let them know that she is yours," stated Joe, "All of this is normal, so when you get those feelings, you need to take a deep breath before you actually do anything physical. A low growl will generally make the other male back down."

"You'll find that you will want to push your body to run farther and faster then before, train with more weights to add muscle mass and definition. Also you will push to learn and perfect your fighting techniques, all of this is done subconsciously to prove to your mate that you are worthy of her and will be able to protect her and your young," added Frank, "We will be glad to help with any additional training that you feel that you need. We have always pushed you boys to work harder then the others simply because of whom you are, the son of the Alpha and his top two Betas'."

"One unspoken benefit will be the fact that after training is over for the evening and you are with your mate at her house, remember to mention how sore your shoulders are from all the weight lifting. They will always offer to rub them for you," Joe said with a wink, "Just remember to follow the rules, make sure that her family is close by and if you lift the back of your shirt over your head onto your chest so that she can touch the skin on your back, you haven't violated any rules."

"Another thing is food. Everyone wonders why cooking classes are mandatory starting at the age of fourteen. We found out years ago that after the mating pull started that males became obsessed with making sure that their mate has eaten, especially when they are carrying our young. After several bouts of food poisoning, kitchens catching fire, trips to the pack Doctor for stitches from knife cuts, numerous burns and one finger amputated from a food processer, we figured it would be easier if males actually learned how to cook then to let our females suffer from our ineptitude. The females aren't aware of why we make you take cooking classes, I've heard comments that they think it's done for male bonding. As far as I know no one has said anything to change that opinion and I hope that you all keep the secret also," Alpha Rossi stated with a stern expression on his face.

"Find out what your mate's favorite foods are & then invite her over for dinner and prepare her favorite meal. Talk to your parents and her brothers beforehand and set up two different tables so that you can have an intimate dinner with her, while still following the rules. Prepare a dessert that is really decadent and then feed it to her yourself. She will melt at how thoughtful and romantic you are. When she offers to help clean the dishes, let her help you, this way you can sneak brushes up against her in an innocent fashion. I found the best way is lean into her back with one hand on her waist to reach around her for something. This gives you the opportunity to sniff her neck and whisper something into her ear. I was a pro at this move," Joe said with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, I remember watching that move and remember when Annie turned around and smacked you upside your head," Frank retorted, "and why are you giving Anthony hints on how to seduce my daughter?"

"Not seduce, that's just not right because she's underage," said Joe, "I'm teaching him how to woo, court and romance her."

The boys once again started cracking up with laughter hearing the men banter back and forth. They felt like their fathers were finally realizing that they were turning into men and felt closeness with their fathers that had never been there before.

Anthony quickly asked Sophia's brothers what her favorite meal was and found out that it was Chicken Parmigianino with angel hair pasta. He could do this and wondered how soon he could ask Sophia over for dinner. He quickly went over the weeks schedule in his head and realized that between football and cheerleader practice, pack training schedules and work that his first totally free evening was next Saturday. That was a whole week away. He started panicking; he couldn't wait a week to see her again.

"I CAN'T WAIT A WEEK," he hollered. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at him. Joe had his beer halfway to his mouth, Dominic had his hand in a bag of chips, Paulo had his mouth full of Doritos and Gianni had birthday cake perched on his fork but everybody was just looking at him. He started blushing and stuttered, "My next free evening is next Saturday and I can't wait that long to see her, what am I going to do, who is going to protect her, how am I going to be able to function without knowing where she is and what she is doing? I need help, I can't even get this damn pillow out of my face because it smells like her, how am I going to last a week?"

"Uhmm, Ant we all have to report to football and cheerleader practice at the same time every morning. On Monday, we have to go over school policies since it is the first day of practice. Gianni and I will pick you up and we'll have Sophia with us since you won't have your truck yet. As we usually do, we all take lunch breaks at the same time so you will see her then. I'm sure that mom and dad won't mind you coming over for dinner after practice and its still warm enough that we'll go swimming like we've always done," Marcus said to try and calm down his best friend.

"The next two weeks you'll have your truck and you can pick us up since we report at the same time in the mornings, since the cheerleaders let out an hour before us, you'll still have lunch with her. Sophia generally helps mom around the house in the afternoons, but we have several pack training sessions in the evening which means that Sophia will be there too. You were here a lot before the pull started, and I'm sure that your parents and ours won't mind if it keeps up," Gianni said with concern in his voice also trying to calm Anthony down.

"As for who is going to protect Sophia, we all will just as we always have. We protected her before you felt the pull and we will continue to protect her until we draw our last breath," Vincent said firmly as the oldest of the Carlucci Clan, as he looked at his sisters intended, "Just because she is your mate, that doesn't mean that we will cease to protect our sister and cousin. Like I just said Anthony, until we draw our last breath. It is the way of the Pack, but more importantly, it is the way of the Carlucci's, we protect our own. Never forget Anthony, she may be your mate, but she will always be a Carlucci."

"Remember that she was our sister and cousin for fifteen years before she became your intended. I am glad that you are Sophia's mate, I couldn't think of a better man for my cousin, but make no mistake about it, if you hurt her I will personally tear you limb from limb without a second thought," added Lorenzo.

Anthony looked at Sophia's brothers and cousins and said quietly, "I want to apologize if it sounded like she would be unprotected if I wasn't personally here. I know that she is safe with all of you to protect her. Like you, I would give my life to protect her and I promise you here and now that I will do everything in my power to make sure that she is always happy."

Frank looked at Anthony, a boy that he had known since his birth and realized that he had finally become a man. Damn, I'm getting old he thought. "I'm glad to hear that Anthony, and I am officially welcoming you into our crazy family."

He got up and hugged Anthony first, then embraced Carlo. As the older men watched each younger man get up and embraced Anthony and welcomed him into the Carlucci fold.

"One thing you didn't think of Ant, since you are now part of our family we will always have your back. We protected you before since you were the Alpha heir and our friend as we were taught, but you are now our future brother-in-law and cousin-in-law which means that we have to make sure that you stay extra safe. No bumps, bruises or anything. None of us wants to have to answer to Sophia if you get hurt. She scares us," Enzo said with a terrorized look on his face.

"Sophia? How could that little thing scare you? I'm never even seen her in a bad mood, let alone doing something to scare the bunch of you," answered Anthony with a bewildered look on his face.

Everyone of the Carlucci's looked at each other and laughed.

"She was mad at us because we refused to let her and Maria go into the theater by themselves, we said that we would go in and not sit with her, but that wasn't good enough. The whole time that they were in the movies, they were whispering back and forth not even paying attention. When we were driving home, she started crying and rubbing her stomach and acted embarrassed. We were trying to figure out what was wrong with her and she admitted that she had started her period and needed some pads and tampons, so I pulled into the store, your store in fact," Dominic stated, "Vin, Sal, Marcus and I got out and waited for her to get out of the car. She started crying again and said that she was in too much pain to walk."

"She said that there was no way that she could walk to get what she needed so we would need to get them for her. The four of us just stared at her and told her that there was no way in hell that we were getting her that feminine stuff. She started crying harder and said that she would tell Dad that we wouldn't help her. We argued and it was decided that Vin and Dom would go in and get what she needed. Since they were the oldest," added Sal.

Vincent picked up the story, "Dom and I had her write down on a piece of paper what kind of pads and tampons she needed and went into the store. We went in and stood there in front of the feminine hygiene products trying to decipher her handwriting. She had written it almost illegible on purpose we found out later. It took us like 10 minutes to figure out what she wanted. Meanwhile tons of people that we knew were walking by snickering at us. I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. Then we finally figured out what she wanted and went to the checkout. Unknown even to Sophia, the whole damn cheerleading squad was in the checkout line getting snacks for their evening practice, and there we stood holding pads and tampons." At this point everybody had tears running down their face from laughing so hard.

Dominic could barely even talk he was laughing so hard, but he continued the story, "We looked at each other and our faces were bright red with embarrassment, I literally felt like laying down on the floor and praying that somehow I could die. The cheerleaders stood to the side and let us cut ahead and kept giggling at us. How can you be macho from that point on knowing that cheerleaders saw you with a box of Stayfree panty liners in your hand?" At that comment hysterical laughter broke out in the basement.

"At least you had panty liners, I had a box of Playtex Gentle Glide tampons in my hand," Vincent said, "There's still some girls on the cheerleading squad I can't look in the eye." The men were gasping for air at this point.

"When we got back home, Sophia was instantly fine, like nothing had happened and she wasn't in pain anymore. Turns out that she hadn't started her period, she just wanted to embarrass us by making us buy her pads and tampons. The four of us chased her until she hid behind Dad then ran into her room and hid from us the rest of the evening," Dominic said as he concluded the story. There wasn't any more talk for several minutes as all the men tried to regain their breath from laughing so hard.

"So you all are telling me that I have to carry panty liners and tampons in my truck from now on?" Anthony asked with a laugh. This brought even more laughter and quick agreement.

"Since you brought up carrying supplies in your car, we're going to get serious for a couple of minutes, so listen up closely," Frank said. All of the boys immediately sat up and looked intently at him, "Anthony when you are with Sophia or both of the girls as they are usually inseparable, you will be the primary protector as is your right. All twelve boys will follow your lead. When your parents, Uncle Joe, Aunt Annie, her mom or I are around, we will be primaries, with you as our secondary. There will be no arguments or questions if we give an order, are we understood?"

"Yes sir," all thirteen boys replied.

Joe added, "If Anthony is not with the girls, then we go back to our normal routines. Vin and Dom primaries for Sophia and Lorenzo and Damian primaries for Maria. All of the brothers and cousins will follow your leads as we have always done. Nothing will change as far as their safety goes. Questions?"

"No sir," all thirteen boys replied.

Through the Alpha bond, Carlo said to Frank and Joe, "Don't mention phones, cash or identification, see who notices."

"Anthony you will also be responsible to make sure that Sophia has adequate supplies in your safe room since she will be spending time at your house. I'm sure your mom and Rose will make sure that she has everything needed, but it will be your job to check it weekly, as you do with your own supplies. We don't have to worry about the boys since you all are basically the same size, just put some more of your clothes in there to be sure. Carlo, I recommend doubling the amount of food you have in there if at least two of the Carlucci's will be in there for any length of time, our boys are big eaters," Frank said.

Carlo added to Frank and the room in general, "Don't forget 'Go-bags' for Anthony's truck. We'll need one for Sophia and Maria and adequate clothing for at least two of the boys. Are we forgetting anything?"

"Phones," Stated Vin, "Sal and I can go to the store and pick up some disposable cells for the 'Go-bags' for Anthony's truck. Paulo, our electronics expert, will make sure that they are pre-programmed with the list of emergency numbers so they are ready to go."

"Identifications," stated Anthony, "I already have one, so we will just need new ones for Sophia and Maria. Also include Gianni, Marcus, Lorenzo and Damian since those are the four that I spend the most time with."

All of the boys were silent and the men could tell that once again they were communicating with their mental bonds. It was obvious that they were running down a mental checklist of what they had been taught.

Finally, Lorenzo looked up with a smile on his face and said, "Cash. We need to make sure that we have enough cash on hand to support at least five of us in case of emergency."

"Which safe house do I bring Sophia and Maria to if we are away from home and an emergency comes up? Ours or the Carlucci's?" Anthony asked his father.

"Whichever one you can get to the safest and the fastest," Carlo replied, "We already have communication set up between all three houses since they are my top Beta's. As soon as you get to either house, you know the policies to follow to let us know that you are safe. Just follow your training."

"Boys, I cannot tell you how proud I am of you as your Alpha. You have taken everything that you were taught and applied it methodically and figured out what was needed. I can tell that the younger generation will carry on the fine traditions of South Mountain Pack and lead us well into the future," Alpha Rossi stated with pride in his voice.

The boys all smiled at each other knowing that they had made their Alpha and their fathers proud. High-fives and fist bumps were exchanged in typical teenage fashion.

"Don't worry about the cash; I will increase the amount hidden in Anthony's vehicle to $50k, all in used untraceable bills of course. I will have Vinnie at the Ford dealership take care of that issue after hours like he usually does for the pack," Alpha Rossi said.

"We will have the bags, phones and identifications ready for you on Monday when you come over for dinner Anthony. You do want to come over for dinner, don't you Anthony?" Frank asked with a smile on his face.

"YES SIR," Anthony shouted at him, and then slumped back in his chair and pulled the pillow back in front of his nose. He was wondering how much longer he was going to be down here and if he would be allowed to say goodnight to Sophia.

With a glance at the wall, Frank realized that it was now after 1 AM. He asked the young men if they had any more questions as they should wrap things up since the women were probably waiting on them. Nobody had any questions, but several requested that they talk again as they had enjoyed the newfound male bonding. Everyone agreed that they would make this a regular event.

Carlo asked his son through their mental bond as they ascended the stairs, "Son, do you feel better now? I think that we covered most of your questions and concerns. Remember that if you have any questions I will always be here for you. I am so proud of you, not only as your Alpha, but more importantly as your father. Do you have any questions?"

Anthony replied, "I want to thank you Dad for everything that you have done to help me to accept this so easily. I'm sorry that I freaked out earlier, I was just overwhelmed. My only question is where is my mate?"

While the men had been busy having their "Man talk" downstairs, the women were busy upstairs as well. They had a lot of information to impart on the newly mated Sophia and to prepare Maria for what lay ahead.