South Mountain Pack Ch. 07

"We will introduce your security detail tomorrow night. They have already been screened to make sure they understood the temperament of the teenage female Were. The poor guys had to follow several Pack members daughters for a week of shopping, dance classes, training sessions, bowling, roller skating, swimming, dates and cheerleading practice," said Frank laughing.

Frank and Joe looked at their watches and said they really had to go; they only had two hours to finish preparing for tonight's training. Both men made sure Todd had their contact information and they reminded him to set the alarm as soon as the Alpha's left and to remain around the house until tomorrow.

When they left, Todd looked at his Alpha and said, "Well, those two are quite a pair, aren't they?" Alpha Carlo nodded and started laughing and replied, "You don't know the half of it. Wait until they get to know you better and you get to really see how their minds work; sometimes they scare the hell out of me and I've known them since we were toddlers." At this statement everyone started laughing.

Alpha Carlo looked at the monitors and said, "I think your daughters want you." Everyone turned to look at the wall of monitors and saw Brianna standing before the study door, and then one by one she was joined by her sisters who started looking at the study door, then talking quietly to each other. Alpha Carlo got up and turned on the audio. "You knock" "No, you knock you're the oldest" "Daddy said not to disturb him" "This may be important though" "He'll want to see this".

Todd opened the door, anxious to see what had his daughters so upset. Brianna looked at him with fear evident in her eyes and said, "Daddy, we were unpacking your clothes and I found this note. It was addressed to you so I didn't read it, but its in Charles' handwriting."

Todd took the note and he and Carlo scanned it quickly, both throwing back their heads and growling loudly as Carlo sent a message to Frank and Joe to return immediately. The note was passed from adult to adult as the girls looked on with terror in their eyes at the reaction the note was getting. Holly, Madame Gina, Nana and Papa went to the girls to reassure them they were safe, that Alpha Carlo and the Pack would protect them.

The girls looked at their Alpha who at that moment terrified them until he said quietly, "Don't worry little ones; I give you my vow everything will be alright." One by one they nodded their heads, convinced he would do as promised.

Todd hugged his daughters and after giving them his promise also, he sent them down to the rec room with Nana telling them the adults had to talk. Realizing he hadn't swept the room for listening devices as Joe had instructed, he warned them not to talk out loud, but to use their bond to communicate. The girls looked at him with questions in their eyes, but obeyed him immediately.

Within minutes the Carlucci brothers were knocking on the door and were ushered immediately into the study by Papa Miller. "What happened," said Frank looking around the study, "Are the girls okay?" Carlo handed the note to Frank and Joe:

Todd,

I know you are no longer compelled to obey the Alpha command to keep quiet about Davis Pack business, but remember Holly's family is still here. It will be easy to destroy them one daughter at a time and make them disappear forever; a simple matter of informing the Pack they decided to join you and no one will ever know.

Don't think we would stop with Sage and her brood either. Carlo and his henchmen don't scare us; we could come in there anytime and pick off your daughters one by one starting with Brianna. I've wanted her for years and I hope you'll be able to hear her scream for you as I tear her apart.

The choice is up to you. Run your mouth and kill your family or keep quiet and they will live. For now. We have people watching so think before you make a choice you will regret for the rest of your life.

Charles

"That arrogant fucking bastard," said Joe with a growl as he, Frank and Carlo looked at each other. "No one threatens somebody in our Pack," answered Frank with an accompanying growl. The Millers looked at each other and weren't sure who to be more scared of; Charles, their Alpha or the Carlucci brothers.

Carlo was already on his cell talking to Alpha Council President Roberts and informing him of what had taken place. Everyone sat quietly and with their advanced hearing they could hear both sides of the conversation, though with the screaming the President was doing it really wasn't necessary. They could hear people running in and out of his office as he shouted for the Security Director and all the information that could be gathered about Davis Pack and he asked Carlo what other Packs were involved. Carlo quietly asked Todd if he knew the specific names of the Packs.

"The Carlsbad and Grant Packs both from New Mexico," said Todd. "They have moved several of their families into Davis Pack over the last several years. The Lee, Franklin and King Packs in Texas were not involved. Charles was worried they were too powerful for him to control."

The Councils onsite security force was mobilized immediately and they heard President Roberts saying he wanted to be wheels up in two hours and their destination was Brownwood, TX, which would take approximately three hours flight time. The security forces would do an initial recon of Davis Pack this evening and start setting up the base of operations. He told his SD to put all three of the Alpha's from the other Texas Packs along with their security forces and medical personnel on alert, and to tell the Alpha's he would personally call them in a few hours.

The President and SD said tomorrow night was the perfect time for them to plan a raid as the Full Moon Ceremony was taking place as they could recon what was going on at Davis Pack and act immediately. Even if nothing illegal was going on, the note Charles had written to Todd threatening Holly's family was enough for them to ensure their safety and the wellbeing of the other families.

Carlo asked President Roberts if he needed some assistance from the security forces of South Mountain Pack as Frank and Joe both sat up and nodded their heads yes.

"Carlo, I would like nothing better then to get those two insane Beta's of yours out here to kick some ass, but if Charles has people watching your Pack they would notice if your top two Beta's suddenly disappeared," said President Roberts. "You must continue your training session and the introduction tomorrow night as you had planned when you sent in your briefing. If there is any deviation it may alert them and put Holly's family in danger."

Reluctantly Carlo, Frank and Joe agreed to stay at home and carry on as normal. President Roberts asked the Millers to keep the line open so he could call with questions regarding the layout of Davis Pack and get more information about the families in danger. He also said he would keep Todd and Carlo updated, but he had to get off the line to get ready for their flight.

All of the adults, except Carlo were stunned at the speed in which President Roberts reacted. He alone knew the motivation behind the Presidents reaction which was the kidnapping, rape and murder of his sixteen year old sister by a spurned male; a trusted family friend, HIS best friend and to this day he still felt that betrayal. This was why the Council had so many policies regarding the protection of underage female Weres; he never wanted another family to go through what his family had, even all these years later he still mourned her loss and blamed himself.

"Okay, Frank and Joe you have a training session to get ready for. I will show up as I normally would with Anthony. Gina, you need to finish getting ready for the women and little ones to come to The Manor House," said Carlo.

"When we leave, lock the house down and do not leave for any reason. We will be roaming around in the woods all around Joe's and Frank's properties and the edge of yours, so I doubt any of Charles' men would be around," said Carlo. "I also want you to check everything, and I mean everything for any listening devices or hidden cameras, if you find them don't do anything, but let me know and I will have Frank and Joe disable them. Is that understood?" All of the Millers nodded their head in agreement.

"Now we need to find an excuse as to why Frank and Joe came hurrying back," said Madame Gina. "I have a cake you can take to the training session this evening," said Holly. While they went to gather the cake, Carlo showed Todd how to access the safe room which was located behind the washer and dryer. Todd couldn't wait to show his Dad this, but first he would have a little fun and see if he could find it.

Several minutes later, Todd stood at the front door saying goodbye to his Alpha's, Frank and Joe. They stood there laughing and shaking hands as they normally would at the end of a visit. Frank and Joe good naturedly telling Todd they couldn't wait to spar with him, Todd looked at the two of them and said, "I better make sure my life and health insurance policies are up to date." Frank, Joe and Carlo started laughing with Frank saying, "I think I'm going to like you, you'll fit right in."

A little over an hour later, Frank's backyard was overrun with youngsters and their fathers as they set up their tents and prepared for the training session. The youngsters had basically the same clothing; hiking boots, camo hats, shirts and shorts or cargo pants, even their backpacks were camo. The girls had their hair in either ponytails or pigtails, though Frank laughed when he saw the dark green and beige ribbons.

Joe was handing out team assignments; each older family was paired with a younger one and the families with three or less youngsters were put in as needed for balance. He told each team to get together to start strategizing while they waited to eat.

Franks brood was paired with Larry Costello's children; five boys and one girl, Reggie (10), Mick (9), Derek (8), Lou (7), Wade (6) and Jackie (6). Frank watched as Larry anxiously looked at his children surrounded by his much larger sons and laughed to himself.

Joe's youngsters were paired with the Moretti's, and Barry Costello's four boys and one girl, Troy (9), Roger (8), Danny (7), Don (6), Toni (6), as well as Harold Poffenberger's sons, Cal (6), Brady (6). Barry and Harold both had the same look on their face, as if they were thinking, "These kids could crush mine in a second." Toni looked up at Alberto and Angelo and asked, "Are the two of you giants and what's up with your hair? You look like roosters." Everyone started laughing and Maria bent down and hugged her.

As Frank looked at his kids, they sat down and Sophia put little Jackie in her lap, whispering in her ear as the little girl started smiling. Vincent was telling each Costello boy where to sit, pairing the older boys with him and Dom and then going down by age. He looked at the other teams and noticed the same thing happening in each one. Carlo, Joe and Frank looked at each other and nodded, the old were teaching the young.

Carlo hollered, "Food" and everyone started lining up with the older children again guiding the young ones and then going back to their circles to continue talking. When they finished eating, Carlo, Frank and Joe stood up and called for quiet so the rules could be explained.

"Every team has been assigned a number and we will pull two numbers out at a time, one to evade and one to track. You can use any evasion tactics but you must stay within the boundaries. After your team has been caught, you will come back here," said Joe. "Make sure the young ones refamiliarize with the other teams scent and the evading team will be given a twenty minute head start. Questions?" Excited chatter was heard from the children, but no questions.

"Alright then, Alpha Carlo will pick the numbers," said Frank. Carlo picked out eight pairs of numbers and wrote them on the chalkboard. As he read off each pairing, each team stood up and moved to the side with the older boys trash talking to each other. As fate would have it, Anthony's team was paired against Sophia's and Vin elected to evade first.

Anthony's team consisted of the Whitmer, Benedetto, and the Reeder families. Joel Whitmer had three boys and one girl, Alec (9), Alex (7), Aaron (6), Abigail (6), and Jerry Whitmer had twin boys, Hayden (7), Hunter (7). Dean, Reggie and Mary Benedetto as well as Jim, Patrick, Ethan, Bob, Harry and Emily Reeder were all friends of Anthony's.

The evading team lined up in a row and the younger members of the tracking team walked down and recommitted their scents to memory. Anthony made a show of growling every time one of the young boys scented Sophia; making them smile and he looked at Jackie and Abigail and winked at them. Abigail asked Sophia with a giggle, "Is your mate really jealous of my brothers and cousins?" "I think he's jealous because they are so cute," replied Sophia as she smiled.

Joe hollered, "Team 1, you have five minutes to get ready and then everyone goes out in two minute intervals."

Vin pulled his team to the side and everyone put on their backpacks; the older ones making sure the younger ones were securely fastened. He quietly talked to the young ones while they looked at him with adoration in their eyes and nodded their heads. Dom got on his knees and quietly talked to Jackie as Sal adjusted the straps on their backpacks interlocking them together so that she was against Dom's chest, facing backward and her legs were placed through the straps of Dom's backpack to hold her securely.

"Okay, Team 1 GO," hollered Joe. Vin's team took off running and Frank started laughing as he saw what Vin had done. As they took off running across the field, they were lined up as follows: Gino, little Wade, Marcus, little Mick, Dominic, Sophia, Vin, little Reggie, Gianni, little Derek, Enzo, little Lou and Salvatore. He noticed each Carlucci brother had a tight grip on Sophia's and the young ones backpacks and were basically pulling them along as their much smaller strides barely hit the ground. The last thing everyone saw was Jackie waving goodbye as they disappeared into the tree line. Frank wished he could follow to see what his family had planned.

Vin's team continued running for a mile past the tree line and then came to a stop. The older kids grabbed cedar branches and rubbed them all over themselves and did the same to the young ones. Vin told everyone to hold their breath and move upwind as he sprinkled cayenne pepper around the area and he reminded the younger ones not to talk, if they needed something to tap somebody on the shoulder.

"We good?" he asked and everybody nodded, each older one carrying their assigned younger one. They ran in a single file making sure to follow in the leader's footsteps with Sophia running between Vin and Dom as they headed towards the stream.

Lorenzo's team was in the process of being scented by their trackers and Alberto was standing behind Maria talking to her brothers, but he was so intimidating to the younger boys that most didn't want to get close to her. Finally Maria got a towel and rubbed it across her neck and gave it to the other team to scent. "I'm not happy with you Alberto," Maria whispered quietly. "But Gattina, I wasn't doing anything," Alberto said. "We will talk about this later, I can't believe you were scaring young ones. I mean really, you're jealous of them?" This made her brothers laugh hysterically. "But Gattina, I wasn't doing anything," Alberto repeated with a puzzled look on his face, which made her brothers laugh even harder.

When it was time for them to start, they followed Vin's example alternating older and younger. Everybody laughed when they saw the Poffenberger twins and Toni inside one of Alberto's 4X shirts with their heads poking out, the sleeves of the shirt tied to Angelo's and Damian's backpacks, Joe noted with relief the bottom was securely knotted to keep them from falling out. "Faster, faster," they heard Toni hollering.

Finally all the evading teams had taken off, most following a version of Vin's example, some of the older children simply running with the youngsters in their arms, though they were considerably slower.

At the twenty minute mark, Anthony's team took off and one of the seven year old twins stumbled but before he fell, Ethan Reeder picked him up and flung him across his shoulder without breaking stride. Soon all the young ones were across the older ones shoulders or riding piggyback and they were screaming at them to run faster. Joel and Jerry were still looking anxious as they stood with George Reeder and John Benedetto. George looked at the younger men and said, "Don't worry about your young ones, they're having the time of their lives, just listen to them laugh." Both Whitmer brothers started smiling then.

After the last tracking team left, the men gathered around the command table and the first thing they did was light up cigars. Most of their mates hated for them to smoke, but they were around other men and it was bonding time. The second thing they did was start placing bets as to which team was going to take the longest to track with most men putting their money on Vin's or Lorenzo's team.

Carlo said, "Gentlemen may I remind you of one fact? Anthony is out there tracking his intended mate; do you honestly think anybody will stop him from reaching her?"

"Yeah, Vincent," said Frank with a laugh. "I bet you a steak dinner at Roberto's that Vincent's and Lorenzo's teams have the longest times." "You're on," said Carlo.

"I don't remember doing this when we were young. They have class instruction, but no practical experience yet. Wouldn't it have been better to have the fathers go with the teams?" asked Joel.

Joe looked at him and slowly smiled as he answered, "It's not the actual tracking and evading they are learning, though they are putting those skills to use. The older ones are learning leadership skills and how to strategize. The younger ones are learning to trust and depend on others outside of their families, they are taught they will be protected by the Pack, but this reinforces it. All of them are learning how to work together towards a goal, how to give and follow instructions and building the bonds between their teams and also all the youngsters present tonight."

George Reeder said, "We knew how twisted, devious and sneaky Frank and Joe are and I think this proves it, teaching the youngsters without really doing anything." The men started laughing at the innocent looks on Frank and Joe's faces.

"Only they would figure out how to get a couple of hundred youngsters in the woods and have them be absolutely quiet," added Carmelo as the men continued to laugh.

Anthony's team tracked Vin's team to where the cayenne pepper was spread on the ground but they scented it too late. They were sneezing, eyes watering and noses running as they moved as far away as they could safely get with their vision impaired and bent over trying not to rub their eyes as they set the young ones on the ground.

"Water, we need to find water," said Anthony but with their senses compromised none of the kids could smell it. He felt tapping on his shoulder and little Abigail held a bottle of water and also a little pack of Kleenex. As he rinsed his eyes he noticed the Whitmer kids offering the same things to the others. As his eyes started to clear but still burned badly, he noticed what else was in her hand, Visine. "We have allergies and momma packed us a bag in case we got the sneezies," she whispered remembering his instructions not to talk. He then noticed her red watery eyes and runny nose and was mad at himself for not taking care of her first.

"Young ones," was all Anthony said, and within moments all the Whitmer kids had their eyes rinsed and were assisted in blowing their noses. Mary Benedetto made sure to rinse her hands thoroughly before putting Visine in the young ones eyes and then proceeded to the older kids. "Okay, everyone stay here, Dean and I will find out where the trail went, but I bet they went towards water," said Anthony.