South Mountain Pack Ch. 06

Dean and Vincent met in the middle of the mat, shook hands and started circling each other. They were evenly matched in height, both being 6'3" and weighed about the same at 220 pounds. Their main difference was in their fighting style; Dean was a brawler while Vincent was more cunning. Dean came in high and Vincent easily sidestepped and brought his knee into Dean's stomach knocking the wind out of him. As Dean lowered his chest to absorb the blow, Vincent brought both interlocked hands down upon the back of his neck knocking Dean to the floor. Vincent then rolled Dean onto his back and forced him to submit. His time was under 45 seconds.

Joel and Gianni were up next, both evenly matched at 6'1" and about 200 pounds. Gianni offered his hand and Joel just nodded at him. Gianni thought to himself, "If that's the way he wants it, fine." Joel came at him with both hands raised, Gianni braced himself, grabbed Joel's right hand, spun him around twisting his arm behind his back. He then used this momentum to flip Joel onto the mat; he then landed a series of blows on Joel's stomach knocking the air out of his lungs. Gianni walked around Joel until he got back on his feet then he did a roundhouse kick and knocked Joel out. His time was under two minutes.

Jeff and Lorenzo shook hands and stood there for several seconds sizing each other up. Both were 6'1", Jeff had the weight advantage at 220 pounds to Lorenzo's 200 pounds. Jeff narrowed his eyes and said to Lorenzo, "I'm gonna kick your ass." Lorenzo looked at him, smirked and said, "In your fucking dreams." Jeff growled and both boys started running at each other, at the last second Lorenzo ducked low and to the left wrapping his right arm around Jeff's midsection throwing him to the mat, he rolled to his feet and waited for Jeff to get back up. As Jeff staggered to his feet, Lorenzo landed a series of blows to his midsection, as Jeff's chest came down, Lorenzo brought his knee up and broke Jeff's nose propelling him back onto the mat. His time was 2 minutes only because he wanted to toy with Jeff.

Ethan and Dominic met and shook hands, both were 6'3" but Ethan outweighed Dominic by 30 pounds. Ethan charged at Dominic trying to overpower him with his weight difference, but Dominic was much faster as he rolled under Ethan's outstretched arms and kicked him in the back of his legs knocking him onto his knees. Dominic then jumped onto Ethan's back pulling on his left arm until the sound of his shoulder dislocating reverberated throughout the room. His time was 25 seconds.

Frank called for a ten minute break to let Dr. Sullivan finish tending to the injured boys. Joel had already regained consciousness and Jeff's nose had been reset before it started to heal. Ethan's arm was popped back into the socket, Dominic helping to hold down his friend as there were no hard feelings between the two of them as they both knew when you were chosen to spar you went all out. Lorenzo and Gianni both went to Joel and Jeff and shook their hands, both knowing whatever grudge Scott had tried to start was now finished, as Joel and Jeff both went into a submissive pose when they shook hands. Dean and Vincent were both quietly laughing as Vincent told Dean about Alberto's declaration of Maria.

Carlo pulled Scott's father, George Hammond to the side and asked if he knew about the situation between Anthony and Scott. Mr. Hammond said he knew Scott was upset over some girl but that was all he knew so Carlo filled him in on what Scott had been doing over the last week since Anthony's declaration for Sophia. Mr. Hammond hung his head in shame and Carlo said the boys would clear the air once and for all, after today the matter would be finished or Scott could face sanctions.

Joe brought all the younger children under the age of 15 into the observation room, where they could see the fight, but not hear what was going on. He had one of the older men pass out snacks instructing the youngsters to have a seat on the bleachers and to watch the match as Anthony was one of the more skilled fighters.

Frank nodded his head to Scott and Anthony. The training room was deathly quiet as the two strode to the middle of the mat. Anthony stood at 6'3" and 230 pounds of pure muscle, while Scott was 6'2" and 260 pounds of muscle with an obvious covering of fat. While Anthony had a well defined 8-pack, there was no muscular definition in Scott's abdomen. Where Anthony had broad well defined shoulders, Scotts were more rounded and without obvious muscle tone.

Anthony held out his hand and Scott refused to shake it, he glanced at his father who obviously was embarrassed at his refusal and was berating him through their bond. Scott then reluctantly shook Anthony's hand. Anthony said, "Before we start, I want to know why you challenged me. I thought the issue between us was resolved."

"THE ISSUE? YOU FUCKING MY GIRLFRIEND IS AN ISSUE?" screamed Scott.

"She was never your girlfriend Scott; we asked if she was your girlfriend and she said she didn't know who you were. She was a girl who let not only me fuck her, but Gianni and Lorenzo in the same night and this is the girl you are going to destroy a friendship over?" said Anthony.

"She wanted me and you took her away from me, she wanted ME," shouted Scott as he pounded his hands on his chest. "You took something from me, so I'm going to take something from you."

"Is that why you have been staring at my Sophia even knowing I have declared myself to her? She is my intended MATE Scott, the woman I have pledged myself to love and protect for the rest of my life," said Anthony in a near shout. "What do you hope to achieve in this challenge? Do you think if you win you get Sophia? You will NEVER win against me and you will never have Sophia. She is MINE."

The assembled crowd upon hearing the last two exchanges gasped loudly and whispers were heard that Scott had tried to come between two intended mates.

"I want her; you don't deserve to have her. Just because you are the Alpha's son doesn't mean you should get everything you want," said Scott while clenching his fists at his side.

"I didn't choose her; it was preordained by Luna with the mating pull. You know what the mating pull is, don't you? It is when two halves become whole and they cannot be broken apart except by death," said Anthony. "I have been given nothing, I work hard for everything I get and achieve. I have to prove everyday I am worthy to lead this Pack when my father steps down."

"YOU CAN STOP THIS NOW SCOTT, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO CHALLENGE ME, BACK AWAY FROM SOPHIA. SHE IS NOT YOURS, NOR WILL SHE EVER BE. SHE IS MINE," shouted Anthony giving Scott one last chance before he started to fight him.

"I WILL NEVER SUBMIT TO YOU, AND I WILL HAVE SOPHIA," shouted Scott as he lunged at Anthony. Anthony roared out a growl grabbing Scott in midair by the right arm in an arm bar and flipped him down onto the mat where Scott landed with a thud. Scott rolled to his feet slowly shaking his arm and holding his shoulder while Anthony narrowed his eyes and watched him.

Scott again came running at Anthony who braced himself. Scott threw a reverse punch but Anthony blocked it, grabbing him in a wrist lock while utilizing his momentum he pulled Scott off balance right into a knee strike to his abdomen. Before Scott could catch his breath, Anthony interlocked his hands and hit Scott between his shoulder blades before rolling to the side leaving Scott gasping for breath. Anthony backed off, waiting to see what he would do next. Scott came charging towards him again, this time he picked Scott up, lifting him over his head and threw him several feet away, Scott landing on his back and grimacing in pain while Anthony was barely breathing hard.

Anthony decided to take the offensive this time as soon as Scott was on his feet. He started to circle Scott and when he saw an opening, he delivered a stunning series of blows to his abdomen, back and kidney area, his fists moving so fast they were a blur even for the advanced eyesight of the audience. He moved away leaving Scott grimacing in pain on his knees, his torso and back bright red with dark bruises already forming. Anthony stood there rolling his neck back and forth and flexing his hands, again waiting for Scott to get to his feet as this wasn't about sparring; this was about domination, showing his superior strength and fighting skills not only to Scott but to all the assembled males.

Scott slowly rose to his feet breathing heavily, shaking his head as if to clear the cobwebs and suddenly ran towards Anthony who wasn't fooled by the ploy. He stepped to the side, ducking under Scott's arm and kicked his foot right into Scott's hip, causing his leg to go numb and Scott dropped to the floor. Anthony walked around Scott giving him time to recover and he slowly got back to his feet, favoring his left leg. Anthony came running towards Scott and before he could react Anthony had swept his legs out from under him, bringing his left arm around breaking Scott's nose.

"Will you submit, Scott and stop your unwelcome pursuit of Sophia or are we going to continue?" asked Anthony, standing with his arms crossed over his chest reminding everyone of his father in his looks and posture. Scott rolled to his feet blood dripping from his nose; he extended his claws and shifted into his hybrid form.

A collective gasp was heard as the use of claws and shifting was not permitted in sparring. George came to his feet, shouting at his son to stop, but Scott was beyond all reasoning at this point. He wanted to hurt Anthony as much as he had been hurt. Alpha Carlo also got to his feet, shouting at Scott to stop, using the Alpha tone. Scott dropped to his knees and held his head as he obeyed the command and also realized how far he had let jealousy take him.

Anthony waved both fathers back, this needed to be stopped today and he had to be the one to stop it. Through the bond with his father he said,"Dad, release Scott from your command, I know what I'm doing."Carlo stared at his only son intently, then nodded his head and released Scott from his command.

Anthony stepped forward and said to Scott, "Think carefully of what your next move is going to be. You have already broken the rules of sparring by shifting and baring your claws, you have violated the sanctity of the mating pull by pursuing my intended mate. I don't want to hurt you my friend, but if you pursue this, you leave me no choice." Anthony extended his hand to the boy he had called friend since childhood; Scott looked up at him with tears in his eyes and grabbed it. Anthony hauled him to his feet and they stood staring at each other for several seconds before embracing and moving apart.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean any of those things I said about you or Sophia," said Scott as he slowly turned and walked away from Anthony. "The evening we met Amy at the basketball game, she came after me. With all those guys there, she came up to ME, and that usually doesn't happen and I let her get under my skin and almost ruin our friendship, I'm sorry Anthony."

"Scott, I told you that night at the bowling alley, if I had known you wanted her, I would have told her to get lost. I value our friendship way more than getting a piece of tail. You've got to let it go, she tried playing both of us and ending up losing," said Anthony with his hands on his hips. "What I need to know now is, can we move forward from this? Are you going to stop your pursuit of Sophia?"

"Yeah, I was only looking at Sophia because I knew it would piss you off," said Scott with a laugh. "Since you felt the mating pull, you have been acting like a raging lunatic and not just with me. When it wasn't directed at me, it was actually fun to watch."

"Well, you certainly didn't help things. So, we good now? Anything else we need to clear up?" asked Anthony with a smile on his face. "We're good," said Scott coming up to Anthony and shaking his hand. Anthony told him to have a seat on the bleachers since there was one more thing he needed to do.

Joe motioned for the youngsters to rejoin them in the main training room; the room was filled with quiet conversation for several moments wondering what Anthony was going to do next.

"Alberto, come up here with me please," said Anthony. Alberto came running up to Anthony bumping fists when he reached him. "As everyone knows by now I have made my declaration for Sophia and Alberto has made a declaration for Maria. Does anybody else have a problem?"

All the male members of the Clan, plus Angelo came out to the center of the mat, Frank's family standing beside Anthony and Joe's family standing beside Alberto to show their support and approval of the declarations. None of the assembled males in the audience said a word, just glanced around wondering who would be stupid enough to go against Anthony or Alberto, let alone the Carlucci's and Angelo.

Alpha Carlo, Frank and Joe strode out to the center of the mat, smiling at the boys and told everybody to have a seat. Once the boys had settled back down onto the bleachers everyone waited for Alpha Carlo to speak.

"I have heard the rumors wondering what is going on at the old Damiani home, about the increased security for the school and the protection detail we are putting together," said the Alpha to the assembled crowd and also projecting out to the entire Pack through the bond. "I will not go into details at this moment, but I will let you know we will be welcoming a new family into the Pack this weekend at the Full Moon Ceremony. Attendance to this event will be mandatory for all; I don't think anybody wants to miss this introduction." As he said this, he looked at Frank and Joe and all three of them smiled. Everyone wondered who it could possibly be to cause the increase in security and speculation would run rampant the following week.

"I want to remind everyone to check their training schedules; we have added several new courses. Ed Giovanni, who works for the FBI, recommended we add a defensive driving course, this is mandatory for everybody age 16 and up, adults included. The course will be broken down into two sections, classroom and practical. The classroom section will show how to detect if you are being followed, what to note about the vehicle or vehicles following you and what steps to follow. The practical will be hands on experience in evasion and escape," Carlo said.

"George Reeder, who works for Homeland Security, recommended a course on Urban Camouflage, basically how to blend into your surroundings in case of emergency and you are on the run. This will be all classroom experience and will involve how to dress and act like those around you, so we don't stick out like tourists. For this exercise, everyone will be required to bring their 'Go-bags'. If you have any questions, contact Frank or Joe," Carlo said as he then broke the bond with the rest of the Pack.

"Boys, everyone did a great job and the next practice will be an overnight training session starting Friday at 4 PM, where we will go out into the woods to practice tracking, evading a pursuit and sending out false trails," said Joe. A cheer went up from the boys upon learning of the overnight training session, as hard as Frank and Joe pushed them during training they always tried to make it fun too.

"All boys and girls from ages 6 to 21 will attend, fathers also. We will have a cookout to start the evening, and then start with tracking and evading and progress from there as the night goes on," said Frank. "We will be practicing in the woods behind the Alphas home, mine, Joe's, the Belluci's and the old Damiani spread. This area encompasses almost 2000 acres and should provide enough terrain and streams to provide good training."

"Command central will be Frank's house, since he has the biggest pool," said Carlo with a laugh. "If you feel uncomfortable leaving the little ones and your mates unprotected overnight, they will be welcomed at either my home or at Joe's. Phillip and Matt will be in charge of providing security for them. I am sure our mates will be glad to get away from us for a while." All the older men laughed at this, knowing their mates would welcome the chance to get away from them.

"Frank will send an email with the supplies you need, but camping gear is definitely on the top of the list. I will need to know if your mates and little ones are going to be staying so Annie and Madame Gina can make the proper arrangements," said Joe with a smile.

"We should be finished with our training session at dawn on Saturday morning and will have breakfast with the women and little ones. This leaves plenty of time to get some sleep before the Ceremony, which will start at 5 PM. We have a wide variety of activities lined up for the youngsters and a special ceremony honoring the signing of the treaty ending The Were War. Any questions? If not then everyone is free to go," said Carlo. No one had any questions; everyone was talking excitedly at the news of the new family arriving and the new training courses as they left.

Frank, Joe, Carlo and Carmelo looked at their sons still standing around talking. Joe said, "Okay guys, everybody load up, don't bother taking showers, you can just jump in the pool to clean up, we have food ready and our women are waiting on us." With thoughts of Sophia and Maria, Anthony and Alberto raced out of the training room everyone else laughing at their eagerness to see their intended mates.

There was baked ziti, lasagna, stuffed peppers, chicken Alfredo, antipasto, meatballs, hot and sweet Italian sausages, roast beef, Virginia ham, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, au gratin potatoes along with freshly baked bread. Anthony and Alberto made sure to scent their intended mates as soon as they entered Joe's house, then the boys descended on the food like a horde of locusts acting like it had been days instead of hours since they had eaten. When they were finished loading up their plates, the only food left was crusts of bread.

The adults shook their heads and laughed, while Sophia and Maria stood there with their mouths open, they couldn't believe the boys were eating that much food. Their mothers knew better though and just smiled and turned around to get more platters. Rita, Carmelo's mate said, "And you men wonder why our food bills are so high."

After everyone had eaten, it was decided since Maria had been informed of the rules for dating only the week before and Alberto already knew them, they would hold both talks together out on the patio.

"Do either of you have any questions before we start," asked Joe with a smile towards his daughter. Both Maria and Alberto shook their heads no, as Alberto leaned in to scent his intended making Maria giggle and blush.

"Anthony and Alberto, the first thing we have to determine is do you both feel comfortable having your intended in the others company if you are not there," said Carlo. "You both are good friends and the girls are cousins, but we need to know if your wolves feel comfortable knowing your intended is in the presence of an unmated male. The only way we know is to try and see what your wolves do."

Carlo instructed Alberto and Anthony to move to opposite sides of the pool and for Maria to go to Anthony and Sophia to go to Alberto. A low growl was heard from both boys, but no other sounds and movements so Carlo asked what their wolves were doing.

"My wolf is sitting there alert, he doesn't like Al being near our mate but he knows he will protect her," said Anthony. Alberto said his wolf felt the same. Carlo then instructed Angelo to go and stand next to Sophia and asked Anthony what his wolf was doing. Anthony again growled low and said, "He really doesn't like Angelo, sorry about that Ang, but he is putting up with him because he knows he will protect Sophia also."