South Mountain Pack Ch. 10

Carlo finished talking and there was silence except for the girls crying. The boys eyes were flicking between amber and black, meaning their wolves were on the verge of coming out and they were barely hanging onto control. It wouldn't be a normal shift either; the black indicated their wolf would be in total control. The boys started fisting their hands trying to hold off the shift, and Vin, Dom, Anthony, Alberto and surprisingly Sal were scenting the girl in their arms to calm their wolves down.

The Millers, Matt and Phil got up to comfort the Miller girls, and as soon as they saw movement Anthony, Alberto, Dom, Vin and Sal moved the girls behind them to protect them. The rest of the boys stood up, growling and baring their claws, backing up until they were right in front of the Miller girls, and the bench the girls had been sitting on went flying over the adults heads. All of the girls were now pressed between the back wall of the kitchen and the boys in front of them.

Carlo said quietly, "Sit back down, their wolves are fighting to get out and they see you as a threat to the girls. They are doing what they are trained to do and unless you want to fight them, you aren't going to get close to your girls." Todd and his family reluctantly sat down but continued to watch the girls closely.

Opening the bond to include his whole family, Todd said, "Is everyone okay?" One by one his girls peeked around the boy in front of them and nodded their heads.

Carlo looked at the youngsters and said to the adults, "The girls are calming down and have stopped crying because they know the boys will protect them. The boys are calming down because the girls are soothing them. Look at what they are doing." The adults looked and Sophia, Maria, Brianna and Morgan had their arms around their intendeds' waist, Gabby and the rest of the Miller girls were stroking their hands up and down the boys arms.

Anthony looked at his Dad and said in a deep raspy voice, "What is the plan?"

Carlo said in a firm voice, "Like I said earlier, we're having a meeting of the men on Monday to start planning, and then we'll have a Pack meeting on Tuesday. We'll start to prepare, order supplies, increase our training and security. We have time, Aldo said it won't happen until twelve to eighteen months and he'll be able to sense the pulse strengthening as the time nears."

"Well, the Italians are coming to help. Cousin Dante is pretty fucking vicious and nobody will expect them to help us," said Anthony as he looked around the yard he spotted the bench and brought it back for the Miller girls to sit on and the boys sat down after taking one last look around.

Joe rolled his neck as he said, "Another advantage we have is no one knows the girls have combat training skills, they are going to think they are helpless and the girls are anything but helpless." He looked at the Millers and said, "Todd, Papa Mike, Holly and Nana Ellen, we have to get you tested for your levels and we need to do it quickly. We also need to get the girls tested and started on their training; they have a lot to learn in a short amount of time."

"We'll work with your daughters to give them extra training sessions," said Frank as he looked around the patio. "Don't worry we won't overwhelm them, but they will learn how to take care of themselves. We also have to teach Brianna, Morgan, Caitlin and Erin how to drive and they need to get their license before the Defensive Driving course. All of the girls will take classes on auto mechanics including how to disable cars, change tires, hotwire them and how to drive a stick-shift."

"Paulo and Annie will come over to your house tomorrow morning after his class and he will hook up your new computer. He builds them himself and it contains the best firewall protection, even better then what is available commercially. It also has the usual bunch of programs on there, like Windows, Adobe and a bunch of other crap that he'll explain to you. He'll show you how to log onto the Packs website; it involves not only a retinal scan but a fingerprint scan. I have to say this, it's pretty fucking ingenious since most people would look for a separate scanner, but he built a scanner into the mouse," said Joe with pride. "I have no idea how the damn thing works, but it has something to do with pressure points and the laser light."

"Alpha Carlo, I'll expand the program I currently have running that alerts us if anybody does a search for anything associated with the Pack to include area maps," said Paulo. "I'll make sure the alert is sent to Dad, Uncle Frank and you via text message, since I'll be in school and won't have access to my phone all the time."

Anthony looked at Frank and said, "I want Sophia's protection increased, even when I'm with her."

"I want Maria's increased too," said Alberto as he pulled her into his side.

Frank nodded his head and said, "We've already thought of that, and are going to discuss that during the dating rules meeting. Before we start that, we'd like to have our family meet on the pool deck, Anthony and Alberto you come too."

The Carlucci's, plus Anthony and Alberto walked to the pool and Frank looked at them and said, "What Alpha Carlo told us changes everything about us going to the New Mexico Packs. It is an excellent opportunity for us, but I for one don't want to leave my Pack when they are facing this crisis. I know if we left, we could come back for the battle, but I feel they'll need us before then."

"Our family has been a part of the Rossi Pack and South Mountain Pack since its inception, our ties to the Pack and to Alpha Carlo run deep, deeper then any of you may know," said Joe as he looked at the youngsters. "Knowing our Pack needs us, I don't want to leave, but if you feel this is something that is best for our family, then we'll take the positions of Alpha and come back for the battle. The choice is up to us as a family, not any individual person. I want each of you to say 'Go' or 'Stay' but take a couple of minutes to..."

"Stay" "Stay" "Stay" "Stay" "Stay" "Stay" "Stay" "Stay" "Stay" "Stay" "Stay" "Stay" "Stay" "Stay" was heard before Joe even finished talking.

Frank looked at Rose and Joe looked at Annie and both said, "Stay."

Frank smiled as he said, "I'm sure Alpha Carlo will be happy to hear we are staying. Todd turned down the position offered to him, but his daughters don't know about the offer, he'll tell them when he is ready."

"While we are here, is there anything we need to discuss?" asked Joe.

"Is that why Brianna and Morgan weren't asked to join us?" questioned Vincent.

"Yes, I wasn't sure if someone would mention the offer made to Todd," said Frank. "They've been through a lot in the last week and I didn't want to add to it. If there aren't any other questions, let's rejoin everyone."

As they were walking back to the patio Frank said, "Carlo, the family voted and we are staying."

As they sat back down Carlo looked at the Carlucci's and nodded his head saying, "Thank you, my friends. I know it would've been an excellent opportunity for your family, but I cannot imagine this Pack without you, the Rossi's and Carlucci's have always stood together."

"Like Lewis and Clark, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday?" asked Fiona, who loved watching old Westerns on TV.

"More like Lucy and Ethel, Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy," said Damian as everyone started laughing.

Carlo looked at him and smiled saying, "I have the perfect job for you, I'm going to appoint you as the Master of Ceremonies for this years Winter Festival. Your Aunt Rose is right, there's something about you that everyone feels comfortable with and I think you'll be a great addition to the show."

Damian looked delighted and said, "Oh, Hells yeah I'll do it."

Joe groaned at the thought of Damian with a microphone in his hand and said, "You have to remember to keep it 'G' rated since the entire Pack will be there, including the little ones."

Frank looked at Carlo and said, "Are you sure we should have it? Maybe we should limit the amount of exposure for the girls."

"I thought of doing that, but then I realized if we changed our routine our enemies would know," said Carlo as he rubbed his neck.

"Basically 'business as usual'," said Phil with a smile. "I like that idea Alpha Carlo. We'll increase security without it being obvious, continue to gather information and possibly catch some of their advance scouts which will give us a better understanding of who is doing this and why."

"Exactly, anything that'll give us the upper hand and allow us to gain more information," said Carlo as he nodded his head. "Now I think it's time to start the dating rules meeting. It shouldn't take long; Todd said they already discussed things with the girls, now we just need to go over specifics."

Carlo looked at Brianna and Morgan as he went over the basic rules. When he was finished with those he asked if they had any questions and both shook their heads. He smiled at them and told them these were the rules that applied to them: At seventeen they were allowed to kiss and cuddle more; they could sit in their mates lap, sit between their mates legs and lean up against his chest while his arms encircled her waist and when they were kissing they were permitted to caress their mates back, shoulders and arms. Brianna was listening intently while Morgan had her head buried in Dominic's neck and was blushing furiously.

After Carlo was finished explaining, Brianna looked at Vin and smiled shyly while Morgan didn't move and Dom quietly laughed. He whispered quietly in her ear, "Those are the rules, but everything we do will be at our own pace, and I'll never pressure you to do more then you are ready for, okay?" She looked into his deep emerald eyes and let out a sigh and nodded her head as he smiled at her.

After much discussion it was agreed that when one of the Miller girls left the house, they would always have Matt, Phil, Todd or Papa Mike with them, plus two other escorts. If they left as a family, they would have at least five male escorts, plus Vin and Dom. Since they lived between Frank's and Joe's home, it made things easier for driving to school. Anthony would pick up Sophia, Sal, Enzo and Gino. Alberto (who would have Gabby and Angelo already in the SUV) would pick up Maria, Victor, Lorenzo and Damian. Gianni and Marcus would drive Vin and Dom, and Paulo would drive Michael. Everyone would meet at the Millers where Todd and Papa Mike would drive Vin, Brianna, Caitlin and Erin, while Matt and Phil drove Dom, Morgan, Kelly and Aislin. Anthony would lead the caravan on the ten minute drive to The School House followed by Gianni, Todd, Matt, Paulo and Alberto.

Maeve started giggling and said, "It'll be like a parade."

Carlo smiled at her and said, "I know, but it will be the safest way to transport everyone and that is the most important thing, to ensure the safety of the females. We will do anything to protect you."

Joe said, "We need to get pictures of everyone so we can have fake ID's made. They will be hidden in false panels of your vehicles once you buy them from Vinnie, along with cash in case you have to go on the run until you can get to a safe house."

Frank said, "Labor Day is coming up and the youngsters are off school. We will leave Saturday morning and show you your safe house and the Pack safe house hidden in the Allegany Mountains. We'll make a weekend of it, since the boys have their football game Friday night."

"The safe room is already stocked with food and other supplies, but any personal items you'll need, you should bring with you," said Carlo. "We generally go up for the Labor Day weekend, so it won't seem strange for us to go there. We'll stay at our cabin as we usually do, Matt and Phil you will come with us too."

Sophia and Maria started to laugh at the disgruntled look on the boys faces and Gabby laughed as she said, "You all have to sleep on the floor now."

At the looks on the Millers faces Carlo explained, "The cabin has seven bedrooms, the boys usually slept in the bonus room over the garage that has bunk beds. That's where the girls will sleep now, so the boys will sleep on the living room floor."

"Is there anything else we need to discuss? If not I'd like to run a couple of drills since all of the youngsters are here," said Frank. "We'll have to work out how to protect the girls until they are trained and then adjust it later on as their skill level changes. We need to pair them up and see which boys are the most capable of carrying the girls in their human and wolf form."

"Yeah, I have something to discuss," said Damian belligerently as everybody looked at him. "When are we going to eat? I'm starving."

Rose and Annie started to laugh and Rita said, "I guess with all the discussions, we forgot the most important thing the boys care about...food."

Rose got up and said, "I'll need some help to..." before she could finish the boys had raced into the kitchen and came out carrying bowls of food and placed them on the food table and were standing there with plates in hand at the grill waiting on Frank and Joe to start slicing the brisket and putting the pulled pork on their plates.

Annie looked at the girls and said, "Never ever come between them and food. They will knock you over to get something to eat."

The boys returned to the patio with plates piled high, grunting as they shoveled food in their faces as the Miller girls stared at them in astonishment. Sophia, Maria and Gabby who were used to it ignored them as Gabby said, "Come on, let's get something to eat before they eat everything in sight."

The girls and the adults got their food and came back to the tables and were talking quietly when Vincent stood up and said, "Is everybody done eating? We're still hungry, so if you want more you'd better get it now."

The women rolled their eyes at each other as the men got up to get seconds. Minutes later the girls watched the boys descend on the table. They started to giggle as the boys were lifting the bowls and scraping the little bit of food left in them onto their plates as they cleared every scrap of food off the table.

Frank looked at Todd and said, "Now do you see what we meant when we said it would be cheaper to pay them by the hour then to feed them?"

"Did you get the rest of the food out of the second fridge?" said Rose with a smile.

"There's more?" said Dom as the boys threw their plates on the table and ran into the mudroom to get into the garage. They came out minutes later with more potato salad, macaroni salad, pasta salad, deviled eggs, and plates of hamburgers and hotdogs that were ready to be put on the grill.

Vin lifted up the lid to the grill and threw on the hamburgers and hot dogs while the boys made a serious dent in the food they brought out from the garage. When Vin announced the hamburgers and hot dogs were done, each boy went and got three hamburgers and four hot dogs before sitting back down.

"If I ate that much, I would blow up," said Erin as she stared at Lorenzo's plate.

"Well, you're not a growing boy," mumbled Lorenzo as he shoved half a hamburger into his mouth.

"Obviously not Sherlock, what was your first clue?" said Erin sarcastically as she looked at him with her eyebrow raised.

Lorenzo leaned back and looked at her before saying, "Well, you're short, you've got scrawny arms and legs, you're hair is braided with flowers in it, and your voice squeaks when you talk...do I need to go on, or is that enough?" He smirked before shoving the rest of the hamburger in his mouth.

Erin glared at him as she said quietly, "I hope you choke on that hamburger."

Lorenzo glared back and swallowed his food, "Sorry to disappoint you Sweetheart, it'll take a helluva lot more then that to get rid of me." At the look on her face, he shoved half a hot dog into his mouth and smirked before chewing and swallowing.

"You're a pig," she whispered quietly as she tried not to stare as he shoved the rest of the hot dog in his mouth, chewing loudly before he swallowed.

"No I'm not Sweetheart; I'm a werewolf, a very hungry werewolf who is going through a growth spurt. Unlike you, I haven't finished growing yet and I'm going to need this food to give me the energy to haul your ass around when we run drills," he rolled his neck as he shoved another half a hamburger in his mouth.

"Who said you are going to carry me?" she said as she glared at him.

"It's only logical, if you think about it. Or do I have to do your thinking for you too?" he asked as he raised his eyebrow at her.

"You're not very nice," she responded as she continued to stare at him.

"I know, it's one of my better qualities," he retorted as he bent his head to eat, determined to ignore her.

The rest of the youngsters watched the exchange between the two of them, hiding their laughter and smiles. "What the hell was that about?" asked Anthony opening the bond to the boys as he continued to eat.

"I have no idea, ask her," said Lorenzo as he continued to ignore Erin. "She started it with her smug ass attitude. I mean she's cute and all, but damn her attitude sucks."

"You think she's cute?" asked Alberto smiling as he listened to his intended discuss 'NCIS' with the rest of the girls. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Do you want anything else to eat?" Maria smiled and pointed to the hamburger on his plate, as he gave it to her he whispered in her ear, "I'd give you anything Gattina, just to see you smile at me."

"Well yeah, look at her. She's beautiful but once she opens her mouth and starts to talk, all I hear is blah, nag, blah, nag, blah. I'm not sure why, but she gets under my skin," Lorenzo looked around and put his head down as he saw Erin still looking at him. "My wolf is agitated too, he doesn't like the fact she was making fun of us."

Anthony, Alberto, Vin and Dom started smiling and Vin said, "She gets under your skin, huh? What does she smell like?"

"Like strawberry shortcake and its making me hungry for dessert," Lorenzo said as he shoved another hot dog into his mouth. "You know how much I like strawberries, especially with shortcake and whipped cream. Damn, now I want some. See what I mean? She irritates me, she's made me want strawberry shortcake and I don't have any to eat."

Frank stood up and said, "If you boys are done shoveling food in your mouths, we'd like to start running some drills. Youngsters, clean up your mess while we get things set up." The youngsters nodded their heads and soon the patio was cleaned up and they went to the field to join the men.

The women turned their chairs to watch and Gina said quietly but in a firm determined voice, "Carlo doesn't want us to get involved in the fight because he doesn't want any of us hurt. He wants us to think of ways to help prepare and then stay in a safe room while the battle takes place." She looked around the table at the other mothers and said, "I don't know about any of you, but I'll be damned if I'm going to sit around while my mate, my son and my Pack are in danger. I think the other Packs or whoever is responsible for this will be counting on facing only the men and I believe we can and will make a difference."

Rita nodded her head saying, "I agree. We are smart, courageous, determined women, and nobody will be expecting us to join the fight. Count me in."

Holly and Nana Ellen looked at each other and Nana Ellen said, "We're in too, but somebody will have to teach us to fight. Whatever we need to do, we will do."

Annie and Rose looked at each other as Annie said, "You know we're always ready to kick some ass, especially if we get to irritate our mates. Count us in."

Rose looked at Holly and Nana Ellen and said, "We'll teach you how to fight, by the time we're done with you, your mate will be amazed with how good you are."