South Mountain Pack Ch. 12

"Uhmm...maybe when you're finally a man," said Rocco with a straight face as the Clan burst out laughing.

"Oh my dear cousin, I could show you things that Dad and Uncle Frank have no idea about, things that would make your hair turn as gray as your brothers," said Damian with a wicked smile.

Ric started to smile as he said, "You scare me Damian, you really do scare me. You remind me of one of those people they profile on that show 'Criminal Minds'. "

"I'll take that as a compliment," Damian said with an evil smile. "How about we go downstairs and play poker while we wait?" At his suggestion everyone smiled and headed downstairs after checking one last time to make sure the house was secure.

*****

Dante had piles of historical books on the table in front of him in the Archive room but he couldn't find what he was looking for, everything South Mountain Pack had dealt with North American Pack life and culture as well as basic Were history. He did find several ancient texts that dealt with the formation and history of Rossi Pack, but they were of no help. Frustrated he ran his hands through his hair and getting his cell phone out he dialed the Archivist at Rossi Pack.

"Nick, I want you to send everyone out of the library and lock the door now," Dante said briskly. "I will wait until this is done before we continue this conversation."

"Yes Alpha," said Nick without hesitation. Dante heard several people in the background muttering their displeasure until Nick told them their Alpha had ordered them to leave. Minutes later Nick was back on the line and said, "The library is cleared Dante, and I took the precaution of moving into my office and swept it for bugs. What do you need me to do?"

"I want you to find all the information you can find out about the lost line of Moray," said Dante quietly.

"The Guardian line of Moray? Are you serious?" asked Nick in an incredulous tone. "They disappeared around seven hundred years ago, and there have been hundreds if not thousands of people looking for them ever since. Their believers fall into two categories, the first - for them to be found to lay claim to their rightful place as rulers of their land and the second - for them to be found so they can be killed so they won't lay their claim as rightful rulers of their land. Dante, anybody remotely linked to the line could be in grave peril."

Dante exhaled loudly and said, "I know what is at stake here and this has to be done in absolute secrecy Nick, no one must know you are doing this not even your mate. Let me know what you find, call me anytime." After he hung up, he went to the kitchen intending to get a beer and return to the Archive room, but after glancing out the back windows and seeing the beautiful mountain engulfed in fall colors he changed his mind. He sat staring out the window, slowly sipping his beer thinking, 'If I am right, they are in even greater danger then we originally feared.'

*****

They were in the staff break room and Rose and Annie sat holding hands as they listened to the repayment discussion which had been going on for at least thirty minutes. Carlo had offered to repay the fuel and other costs for the helicopter and for the time and skill of the surgical team, but everything Carlo offered Savannah shook her head no to.

"I can't believe I'm sitting here discussing this when my baby is getting operated on," Joe said angrily. "Savannah, just tell us what you want, I don't have the patience to sit here and bargain with you right now."

Savannah sat back and stared at Joe and Frank and said, "I want the two of you to come to my Pack and help train us."

Silence ensued after her announcement and Carlo leaned forward and put his forearms on the table and said quietly, "May I ask why?"

"Can we talk freely here?" Savannah asked before looking around the room. Frank got up and before shutting the door looked to Alpha Parr for her permission since her bodyguards were stationed outside, she nodded her head.

"Let me start off by reminding you that we have been sworn allies for over a hundred forty years. When those bastards came for your females, we were the first to come to your aid and fought alongside you when we found where they were being held," Savannah said as she sat up straight. "We continued to fight alongside your Pack until justice was handed down and those bastards executed."

"Your help was invaluable during that dark time," Carlo stated as he stared Savannah in the eye, Alpha to Alpha. "And may I remind you that when your Pack arrived from Georgia during the Reconstruction Period, we sheltered you and helped you establish your territory. Our history together is long and I hope we can continue being allies as well as friends in the future."

"That goes without saying Carlo. The treaty our great-great-great grandfathers signed carries more weight with me, then anything the Alpha Council has established," said Savannah in a steely voice that she used with great skill as one of the best criminal defense attorneys in the state. "I was going to tell you when our schools played their football game next week, which would have allowed me time to gather information, but since I'm here I'll tell you what I do know."

"Go on," said Carlo as he sat back and crossed his arms across his broad chest with Frank and Joe unconsciously mimicking his posture as they studied the female Alpha sitting before them. Even though they had known her all their lives and had become good friends at U of MD, when she was a freshman and they were seniors, they could see the difference in her since she became Alpha. She was more commanding in her demeanor and exuded a quiet confidence but the look in her eyes definitely said, 'Don't fuck with me'.

"I received a call from Charles Davis last week," upon her announcement, Carlo, Frank and Joe sat up straight. "I thought it strange for him to be calling me, I've never said more then 'hello' to the man, but nevertheless I took the call...and I'm glad I did." Savannah took a long sip of her soda and waited for Carlo, Frank or Joe to say something, but they sat quietly.

"He said a new family was coming into your Pack and asked if I could keep an eye on them because one of the girls was his son's mate. I thought that was extremely strange for a couple of reasons," Savannah took another sip of her soda before continuing. "As far as I knew, Charles had no youngsters and was unmated; no male would let his mate move to another Pack; and finally, why ask me? Why not ask you for updates and if the female was his sons mate, wouldn't they be in contact with each other?"

Carlo hesitated, choosing his words carefully before he spoke, "As far as we know, none of the females are mates of anybody from Davis Pack. In fact the two oldest, have found their mates with Vincent and Dominic, Frank's oldest boys."

"Congratulations to you and your boys," said Savannah with a smile before turning serious again. "Our conversation lasted less then five minutes, but it was what he said at the end that got my attention. He said if I wasn't willing to do this 'favor' for him, then he would find somebody among his 'followers' who wasn't averse to doing what was needed. I didn't like the implied threat so I told him our Packs weren't closely tied to each other and if I called or came over it would be suspicious. I did tell him if I heard anything unusual, I would call him and I left it at that."

Carlo, Frank and Joe sat back in their chairs and after several minutes Frank said, "You still haven't told us why you want us to train your Pack."

"After I received the email from President Roberts about the raids and thinking back to the conversation I had with Charles, I called a Pack meeting. We discussed what was going on and by unanimous vote agreed to honor the treaty and come to your aid if needed," Savannah stated as she looked at Carlo. "As far as why we need your help, it's simple...we've gotten complacent over the years and our training has suffered, going to the gym and being in shape isn't the same as being trained to fight. If Charles has 'followers' and they are coming here intending to do your Pack harm, we want to be able to fight with the same skill you have and not be a hindrance."

"Thank you for your renewed support and you know we would do the same, old friend," said Carlo quietly. "Do you know if Charles contacted any other Alpha's, we haven't heard from anybody else?"

"I don't know, Carlo," Savannah stated as she shrugged her shoulders. "He didn't say and I didn't ask. Looking back on it now, I probably should have, but all I wanted to do was get off the phone, I didn't like his attitude at all."

Carlo looked at Frank and Joe and they nodded their heads, "We will accept the terms of repayment, obviously Joe will be busy with Maria, but Frank, Carmelo and Vinnie should be able to start the assessments. Let me call you later in the week once we get a schedule worked out." Before Savannah could reply, there was a knock on the door and Frank got up and opened it. "Alpha Parr, let me introduce you to Alberto, Angelo and Gabriella Moretti, Carmelo and Rita's youngsters, Victor who is Joe's youngest son and Sal who is Frank's youngest son."

Savannah shook their hands and said, "Alberto, I'd like to apologize for my cousins remarks. It's obvious looking at the two of you that you care for your mate."

"Thank you, Alpha Parr," said Alberto as he glanced at Alpha Parr, but not making eye contact, before glancing at his Alpha. "Do you know how much longer it's going to be? Have you heard anything?"

"Nothing yet," said Carlo, motioning for them to sit down. "Doc, how are things going? Any idea of how much longer it's going to be?"

"Dr. Parr said maybe another hour and a half," replied Doc. "She's doing well, we've fixed the dislocation and are getting ready to set the titanium plates, the prep work is almost completed. I set up the digital recorder so I could record the operation and Dr. Parr will come back to take the plates off when its time."

Carlo relayed the information and their talk centered on football and general Pack gossip for the next two hours. Gabby leaned forward and said, "I hope I'm not being rude Alpha Parr, but I love the name Savannah."

"Thank you Gabriella, there's a lot of history associated with my name," she replied with a thoughtful expression on her face. "My parents named me Savannah knowing by the law of Primogeniture I would be Alpha. It serves to remind me every day of how far my family has come...from slaves on a sugar cane plantation in Georgia to one of the only Packs with a female Alpha in the country."

Doc walked into the room and said quietly, "She's in recovery, the surgery went well and you should be able to see her in thirty minutes. We'll keep her overnight and reassess things tomorrow."

"Joe and I'll stay here with her," said Annie quickly as Joe nodded his head.

"If it's okay with you Mr. C, I'd like to stay too," said Alberto quickly. Joe stared at him with narrowed eyes for several moments before nodding his head reluctantly.

Frank quickly relayed the information to the youngsters and he could feel their relief through the bond. "Annie, Joe and Alberto are going to stay here with her. Sophia, I'm not sure what's in her 'go bag' but she'll need a big baggy t-shirt and some of those legging things, also bring whatever you think she needs to stay overnight."

"Okay Daddy, she'll probably sleep better with something of Alberto's, I'll see what she has," she replied thinking if she was in the hospital, sleeping in Anthony's shirt would definitely make her feel better.

Twenty minutes later, the members of Parr Ridge Pack were ready to leave. Dr. Parr was giving last minute instructions to Doc and said he would call tomorrow to check on her progress. Savannah nodded to Carlo and her bodyguards led the way out back to the helicopter, within minutes they were airborne and on their way home.

Five minutes later, Doc came out and said, "Joe, Annie and Alberto, she's starting to wake up and is asking for her family..." Before he could continue Joe and Alberto were racing down the hall to the recovery room, when they reached the door both tried to get through it at the same time, after pushing and shoving they fell through the door and landed on the floor. Annie calmly entered the room, stepping on both of their backs as she walked to Maria's bedside.

"As I was saying, she's starting to wake up, she's groggy and we'll keep her sedated all night to help with pain management," said Doc from the doorway as he waited for Joe and Alberto to get up. "Dr. Parr says her arm should fully healed in a couple of weeks, and he'll be back to remove the titanium plates."

"Hi, Sweetheart," said Annie softly as she kissed her forehead.

"Momma," Maria whispered groggily before falling asleep again.

Joe and Alberto rushed to her bedside and asked in unison, "Did she ask for me?"

"You know there ARE other people in her life besides the two of you," Annie stated as she rolled her eyes. "And to answer your question, she asked for me."

"Are you sure she didn't ask for me?" Joe asked with a frown.

"Unless you changed your name to Momma, then no, she didn't ask for you," said Annie before muttering with a satisfied grin on her face, "You conceited ass."

Hearing laughter from the doorway, she turned and saw her family enter the room. "How's she doing," asked Lorenzo quietly.

"Doc says she's doing fine," Annie whispered as she turned to smile at her family.

Damian came to the other side of the bed and leaned down kissing his baby sister on the forehead. Annie saw the guilt in his eyes and said quietly, "Damian, it's not your fault, you did everything you could to protect her and Toni. It was an accident, plain and simple and I don't want to see you upset about this."

"I know it was an accident Mommy," Damian whispered in full momma's-boy mode. "But I still feel guilty...not enough to stop teasing her and making her life miserable or make me be nice to her, but I still feel guilty."

Annie smiled at him and said, "I wouldn't expect you to stop the teasing or be nice, that just wouldn't be you." She leaned forward and ran her hands through his hair and said, "And I love you the way you are."

"Good, I think I'm perfect the way I am too," said Damian quietly with a smile.

Joe shook his head as he said, "Your mother never said you were perfect, she said she loved you the way you are."

"It was implied Dad," Damian said as he laughed. "Anyway, we brought Maria's pillow, blankie, Alberto's sweatshirt and some clothes. There's dinner for you, Mom, Alberto, Doc and whoever else is staying tonight in the break room. We made venison stew, homemade biscuits and vanilla cake with strawberries."

"We? I don't remember you doing anything, and the biscuits aren't homemade, we popped a can," said Vin with a laugh. "Though considering you could be the twin for the Pillsbury Doughboy Boy, especially with that fat ass, I guess they could be considered homemade." Hearing everyone in the room start to laugh, Maria stirred restlessly on the bed before settling down again.

"Alright, that's enough everyone," said Doc quietly as he injected some medicine into her IV line. "I want Maria to rest as much as possible to start healing. Sorry."

Frank stepped forward and said quietly, "Why don't the three of you go eat while it's warm, Rose and I'll stay with her and I'll let you know if she wakes up." One by one her family came up and kissed Maria on the forehead before they left. Annie waited until they were gone before she put Maria's pillow under her head, wrapped her in her blankie and curled Alberto's sweatshirt into a ball and placed it near Maria's face so she could scent it.

"I'll be right back," she whispered to Frank and Rose who nodded their heads as they kept their eyes on their niece. As she walked into the break room, it looked like Joe and Alberto were having a race to see who could shovel the most food in their mouths in the shortest amount of time. "Slow down guys, she's asleep and her Aunt and Uncle are in there watching over her."

Joe got up and got her a bowl of stew and some utensils before sitting back down. "I know, but what if she wakes up and we're not there."

"Doc gave her some more medicine, and she should sleep straight through until morning," Annie said between mouthfuls. "This stew is really good; I can't believe the youngsters made it."

"I heard that Aunt Annie, I can't believe you doubted our culinary skills," said Marcus with a smile as he entered the room. "Wait until you try the vanilla cake, we used a box mix but added vanilla pudding mix and some ricotta, then we soaked the strawberries in simple syrup with a hint of crushed mint. Delizioso."

"Why are you still here? Everybody else left but the Moretti's," asked Joe as he reached for another biscuit as Alberto got both of them some more stew.

Marcus glanced at Alberto who had started to smile and not wanting to throw Sal under the bus, he decided to try Damian's tactic, "Since Alpha Carlo cancelled the meeting this evening, Paulo went over to the Millers with Vin and Dom to deliver their new computers and update something in the security system."

"That was a good idea, Paulo and Annie were supposed to do it this morning, but helped at The School House instead," said Joe before raising his eyes to stare at his nephew with narrowed eyes. "And you stayed to tell us this?"

"Uhmm, no. I ugh, was waiting, yeah I was waiting to see if you liked the stew," said Marcus as he flushed. "I think I'll go now." He turned around and hurried out of the room to the sounds of his uncles laughter.

Annie started to laugh and said, "Joe that was mean of you, you know Gabby is still here and Sal wanted to stay with her."

"I know, but he doesn't know that I know, so I finally have something on my sneaky sons and nephews," Joe answered with a smile before looking at Alberto. "And if you know what's good for you, you won't say anything."

"I have no idea what you're talking about Mr. JC, I just want to eat and get back to my intended," said Alberto as he reached for another biscuit.

"You know since you're my daughters intended, it's about time you called me Joe, Dad, or Pop," said Joe with a frown as Annie started to smile.

Alberto replied with a twinkle in his eyes, "How bout Poppa Joe? It'll be a good name for the little ones to call you."

Joe choked on his stew and Annie whacked him on the back much harder then needed as she smiled. "Don't let him give you a hard time Alberto, I got pregnant the first heat after he graduated," said Annie with a smile. "If it was up to him, we would have had little ones the first heat after mating."

"You can calm down Poppa Joe; I know Maria wants to go to college so when we have little ones it will be up to her," Alberto stated as he continued to eat while staring at Joe. When he saw Joe start to calm down he finished, "But when she says it's time, whether she's eighteen, twenty-one or twenty-five you can bet you'll be a grandfather before you even know it." Joe's face turned red again and he opened and closed his mouth several times without saying anything.

"Well, I can't wait to become a grandmother, it can't happen soon enough for me," said Annie happily as Joe turned to stare at her like he had never seen her before. "Of course after she comes of age, you'll move into the house like all youngsters do for the first couple of years. We'll have the wedding as soon as you graduate from college, having it before then would raise too many eyebrows in the human world." She nodded her head agreeing with herself and then said excitedly, "Ooh, Joe on weekends you can start work on converting the attic into a little apartment for them, I can see it now...a kitchenette, a living room, a couple of bedrooms all decorated in warm soft earth tones. Oh...and the nursery...the nursery we could decorate it in the Berenstain Bears, I've always liked them. Oh, I'm so excited, I can't wait, and we've got a lot of planning to do...I've got to call Rita and we can get started picking..."