Wolf's Pet Ch. 11

Every member of the pack felt their Alpha's anger and grief. They didn't know what had happened but they all received the command to respond to the compound and meet at the dining hall. Those that worked jobs outside the compound immediately started calling in, explaining why they couldn't attend but giving the time they would arrive.

The dining hall was crowded with almost every pack member, adults and cubs alike. Jeff and his staff were attending to the injured and the families of the fallen in the hospital. There were small groups talking about what they knew, what they'd heard, and what they thought the Alpha was going to say to them. They noticed the missing families, but no one made any guesses about what had happened. They knew it must be bad.

It had been at least a century since a Baxter Alpha had sent a mental command for a meeting of this magnitude. The older pack members knew it meant this was something that would impact all of their lives. Every member entering the hall was greeted by those already in attendance. There were even a few that had been miles away at college that managed to make it back in time.

There were two empty chairs at the head table. The last to arrive would be the Alpha Pair. Cole sat in his usual spot on Carr's right, his eyes never leaving Karen seated in the front row next to Lila. Lila and Nathan couldn't be sitting any closer, their hands never leaving each other. Even if their mating bites weren't on display for all to see there would be no doubt they were newly mated. Gina sat on Karen's other side with Ben holding tightly to her hand. Those straining to see were disappointed not to see any bite marks displayed. But they were Omegas. They had a tendency to be shy and slower to mate than the Betas.

Brett sat on Carr's left, his jaw clenched. Luckily it was his night off from the Police Department. He was grateful he could be here. His pack and his family were his life. He smiled at his wife sitting in the second row. Depending on what decisions Carr had made he might have to move back to the compound. He would not leave his wife vulnerable in their house which was closer to town on the outskirts of pack lands.

He scanned the crowd and spotted the other Betas. None of them looked comfortable with what was going on. Troy was helping Trey into the room. It'd be a while before he'd be one hundred percent, but he was healing fast. Steve looked pretty good. James looked like he wanted out of the room as soon as possible. Brett frowned and wondered what the hell his problem was. It looked like the only thing holding him there was Craig who had a hand on his shoulder and a voice in his ear.

The room was as loud as Cole had ever heard. He couldn't remember this many pack members being here at one time. Not in close to two hundred years. He wished it could have been for a happy occasion. The buzz in the room got louder when they felt Carr's presence. His emotions were raw and affecting every member of the pack. He walked into the room with Lee next to him and glanced around the room, nodding to the elders and his Betas as he met their gazes. He pulled back Lee's chair and waited for her to be seated before he was ready to speak. The room fell silent immediately.

Carr looked around at his pack. HIS PACK. Gary would never take it. Carr would be sure of that, and sure of the safety of his people. "I know you've all heard bits and pieces of what's happened. The pack is in danger from two rogues that escaped from us earlier today. We don't know where they went, but they are not inside the compound. We found their trail to the labyrinths, and they used them to escape to the outside. How they knew about them, I don't know. But there will be multiple layers of heightened security inside and outside the compound from here on out."

Shocked faces watched him from the hall. He could hear little bits of conversations all at once. "How did they find the labyrinths? If they come near my family I'll kill them myself." The last comment he heard made him cringe inwardly. "Why didn't the Alpha kill them when they first took them? They're rogues. Rogues should be killed."

Carr waited for the noise to quiet down and all attention on him again. "We lost two good men, Isaac and Raymond. David and Charles were badly injured, and Jason and David fought valiantly to save their lives." Carr noticed the horrified looks. He could hear the muttering. "For the safety and future of the pack I'm sending mothers and cubs to the old winter quarters in the mountains. The injured will be going with them. Troy, you will be in command." He looked at Troy who nodded his head grimly.

"Of course all pregnant females will be going," and as he finished the sentence he looked at Lee, "as well as all mated females who have recently finished their heats."

She didn't know it was coming. She had expected to stay with him and fight at his side. She tried to control her emotions as she looked at her mate and nodded. She understood why. It was too soon to know if she was pregnant. She understood, but she didn't have to like it.

"Some of you may think this is overkill. There are only two rogues. What can they do alone? The problem is there are other packs who have had defections, and the thought is they are also followers of Gary. We don't have a clear picture of how many, so I would rather err on the side of caution. And now that we don't have the safety of the labyrinths, the most prudent action in my mind is to send our most vulnerable to a safe place while we deal with this."

The sound of crying females filled the air. There was going to be a battle. Lives would be lost, and mothers and mates would not be here to comfort the dying or tend to the dead. They would hear later, after it was finished. The younger cubs didn't understand, but the older ones wanted to stay and fight for their pack.

He could see hands in the air. He had more to say before he started answering questions. He was about to open his mouth to speak when he heard a loud voice.

"Is the human who is the cause for this going to stay? She's not going with our females and cubs is she? She'll just put them in danger. That rogue wants her, I say just give her to him. Maybe he'll leave us alone." Thomas was shaking as he spoke, but he had to get it off his chest. He may just be an Omega, but his son Raymond had died, and he wasn't going to put the rest of his family in danger because of some human. She hadn't mated with Cole yet. He was young, he'd get over her.

Cole was ready to leap over the table and rip out Thomas' throat. Carr glared at him, and he forced himself to remain seated. Karen looked at him lovingly and just her gaze was enough to calm him. He felt himself relax and smiled at his mate. She would stay with him he knew. Even if he tried to make her leave with the other females, he knew she'd refuse. She wouldn't want to put them in any danger.

"Thomas, I'm sorry for your loss, we all are. But Karen is Cole's mate, human or not. Her safety is as important as any other member of the pack. Whatever decision is made is mine, not yours. The safety of the whole pack is my responsibility, and I will carry out that responsibility without your further input.". He watched the Omega sit slowly down, his neighbors moving a little bit away from him, not wanting the Alpha to think they agreed with his outburst.

Others throughout the room were nodding their heads. Carr was a strong Alpha. They'd trusted him with their lives for the last fifty years. That wasn't going to change now. He had the loyalty of everyone in the room, even Thomas.

"The Betas will report to Cole and Brett for assignments. The Omegas will start packing all provisions that will be needed in the mountains. Direct any questions to the Alpha Bitch. And Troy will take care of coordination for the move to the mountains. NOW, are there any questions?" He saw heads turning, looking around for anyone jumping up to speak. There were none. "Then lets get started, we have a lot to do. I'd like to get the females and cubs on the road by morning." Carr stood up, put his hand out for Lee, and then the two of them walked out of the room. They had almost made it to the staircase before they heard the commotion from James and Craig.

"Are you crazy? She doesn't know what we are. You can't do it!" Craig was pulling on James' arm, trying to stop him from walking out the front door.

James had a set look on his face. "I can't leave her out there with Paul on the loose. I can't believe I let you talk me into sitting in that room instead of getting her now. It could be too late!"

Brett strode over to the two Betas. "Bryant is on duty tonight. I had him stake out her house in case Gary and Paul went there. There's no sign so far. He'll call if he spots anything or anyone."

Before they realized it the Alpha was standing behind them glowering. "Is there something I should know?"

Craig and Brett dropped their heads in submission. James didn't care. He needed to find his mate.

"In my office, now!" Carr was pissed. There was so much to do and his Betas were preoccupied with who knows what. They walked into the office, and Carr slammed the door. "Now, care to tell me what the hell is going on? James, what is more important than being at a pack meeting?"

"I found my mate, this morning. The human female that Paul was living with. She's mine, I won't leave her behind for him to take!" James was trying to control himself but all could see it was a strain. He wished he had something to put his fist through, like Paul's face. Or better yet, sink his teeth into.

Carr let out a loud sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "Great timing James." He looked away for a moment to gather his thoughts and turned around with a forced smile on his face. "Congratulations James, bad timing, but good for you. OK, guess you'd better go get her then. Karen knows her right? Take Cole and Karen with you. Brett, that leaves you alone to prep the Betas. Craig, give him a hand." Carr walked out of the room. Crap, another wrench in the works. Well, they'd just have to deal with it. What was one more mating this week. What was it now, four? Maybe Lee put something in the water. She kept lamenting how many in the pack hadn't been able to find mates.

Karen looked at James in the back seat in the rear view mirror. He looked nervous enough to jump out of the moving vehicle. She was running scenarios through her head trying to think of every possible contingency. Sarah could call the cops, but James is a cop. She could scream and run away, ute he could certainly catch her, better him than Paul. She could faint. She could say "Sure I believe in Werewolves." She doubted that one. They were all silent during the drive. The SUV pulled up behind the unmarked police car.

Bryant walked over to Cole's open window. "She's up and around, alone. Nothing suspicious. I haven't gotten a whiff of the rogues. She's all yours." He smiled at James in the backseat, walked back to his car and drove away. He was done with his shift and wanted to get back to the compound.

James was ready to jump out of the car and bring her back to the compound by force if needed. Karen turned around in her seat and looked at him. "Um James, maybe I should go alone to talk with her." She hoped he'd understand.

"She's my mate, I'll bring her home."

Cole hit the door locks. "James, don't be stupid. Let Karen talk to her first. What are you going to do? Throw her over your shoulder and carry her out kicking and screaming? Do you want her to be as afraid of you as she is Paul?"

James sat in the back seat, silent. He looked at Cole, then at Karen. "Fine, you're both right. I'll wait."

Karen smiled warmly at the big man. "I'll see you both in a little bit." She got out of the car and walked up to the door. She stopped before knocking and took a moment to gather herself together. She took a big breath, let it out slowly, and knocked on the door.

Sarah answered the door and was shocked to see Karen standing there. She certainly wasn't expecting to see her so soon after their surprise meeting this morning. "Hi Karen, to what do I owe this surprise?" She opened the door and invited her inside.

"Sarah, I need to talk to you about something. I didn't tell you the whole truth this morning because at the time, Paul was being held by Cole's people. But he escaped, so now it's imperative that I tell you everything, before it's too late." Karen figured she needed to be blunt and just put it out there.

"Cole's people? What are you talking about? Paul was being held but he got away? Tell me everything." Sarah glared at Karen, waiting for the answers to questions she wasn't even sure of yet. She had a feeling they were gonna be doozies though.

"Here goes. Please don't think I'm crazy. It's going to sound fantastic, but every bit is true." Sarah nodded at her to continue. "Cole and his people are not human. They're a type of shape shifter." Sarah raised an eyebrow incredulously. "Paul and Gary are the same, but from a different group. They're Werewolves." She stopped for a second waiting for Sarah to make some comment or scream or something.

"Go on. I'm listening." Sarah was leaning forward, not wanting to miss a single word. But she was also watching Karen's face to see if she could tell if she was telling the truth, or at least thought she was telling the truth. Sarah's instincts were usually pretty good.

Karen couldn't believe she was taking it this well. "Apparently Gary wanted to a start a new group, or pack as they call it. He picked out the women that Paul, Nathan, and Ben moved in with. He expected the four of them to make us their mates, and make us into Werewolves too." Karen was a little off put by how calmly Sarah was talking all of this. "I met Cole and there was an immediate attraction. Gary didn't like that and was going to force things. That's when he attacked me. What saved me was that Cole had sent some of the members of his pack to keep an eye on me. They stopped Gary just before he was able to rape me. If he had bitten me while we were having sex I would have become his mate and never been able to be with Cole. That's what Paul expects from you."

Sarah was stunned. This wasn't quite what she had expected to hear. Oh let's face it, she hadn't known what to expect, but this wasn't it. She could tell Karen believe everything she was saying. "Go on, tell me more."

"Gary and Paul are insane Sarah. They killed two of Cole's people earlier today. They're running around loose, and I'm sure Paul will come for you. We need to keep you safe. The only place you'll be safe is with the pack. Ben and Nathan both joined Cole's pack. They happened to find their mates among Cole's pack. And I am Cole's mate. We were meant for each other. And soon we'll make it official. I'm kind of nervous about becoming a Werewolf, but I've never felt so at home." Karen waited for a reaction. But Sarah just stared at her.

"Then I guess I'd better pack some clothes. This certainly explains the weird dreams I've been having." Sarah got up and went to the closet to grab a suitcase.

"Dreams? You've been having dreams?" Karen was dumbstruck. She was having dreams too? "What kind of dreams?"

Sarah blushed. "Well, some of them have just been about wolves running around in a meadow. But the last few days they've been about one black wolf in particular." She blushed even more now. "I guess that's why I'm not really that surprised to hear about Werewolves. In one of the dreams I was a black wolf too."

A black wolf? Paul was gray. Karen had noticed most of the wolves in the pack were black, a few blond, and just Carr and Cole were the Chocolate brown. Could she be dreaming about James? Karen turned when she heard voices outside the door.

"We can't wait around all day. I'm not going to lose her to that rogue. Let me in there Cole."

Karen stood up and glanced out the window, seeing Cole blocking the door. "Sarah I'm going to let Cole know you're coming. We'll wait outside." Karen joined the men on the porch. "She's packing. She doesn't know about you James. Try to keep it under control."

The drive back to the compound was uncomfortable for James. He wanted to claim his mate. He didn't understand how Cole could wait a week and still not take his mate. He would never wait a week. He watched and listened to Sarah having an animated conversation with Karen. He couldn't concentrate enough to even be able to tell what they were talking about. All he could think about was sinking his cock into her pussy and biting down on her neck to claim her as his. Her scent was thick in the car, and his erection was throbbing. He focused on her and the scent of almonds and eucalyptus.

As they drove into the compound they could see the flurry of activity. There were SUV's, trucks, and trailers scattered about being loaded. Cole held the car door for Karen, James did the same for Sarah. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. She had thought Cole was good looking, but this one was drop dead gorgeous. He seemed to be watching her closely. But that was impossible. He looked younger than Cole and she was Karen's age. No way would he be interested in her. Bet he would be in a few dreams in the near future. She could feel her panties getting wet. She sure hoped these Werewolves didn't have a good sense of smell.

James tried not to be obvious when he scented the air and smelled her arousal. He smiled at her as he helped her out of the SUV. She was his, she just didn't know it yet. He grabbed her suitcase and brought it inside. He wanted so badly to take her to stay in his quarters, but he knew he shouldn't push things.

"James, maybe you should show Sarah around." Cole thought that would give them a chance to get to know each other a bit. He knew James would keep control. He didn't think James thought so, but he knew his friend better than he knew himself.

Karen surprised Cole by reaching for his hand. He looked at her small hand in his and squeezed it firmly. She smiled and pulled him towards the staircase that led to Cole's room. What did she have on her mind. Well he couldn't wait to find out. Pretty soon there wouldn't be any time to talk so they better talk about whatever it is now.

They walked into the room, and he barely turned around before Karen flung herself into his arms. "What are you doing?" He held her gently, trying not to hurt her still healing wounds. She was hugging him tight around the waist.

"Are you sure we are meant to be mates Cole?" She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about? Of course we are. I've never wanted anyone as much as I want you. I've never had the scent of a female bored into my brain. Lavender and licorice, your scent and no one else's. If you weren't meant to be my mate, I wouldn't smell that. Now what is really on your mind?"

"I'm older than you Cole. I'm sure you want", she hesitated for a second before ending the sentence, "cubs. I'm too old to get pregnant Cole. I'm 52 years old. Even if I could still get pregnant it wouldn't be safe for a baby." She waited for Cole to agree with her. She was afraid he was going to agree with her. She waited. He was silent and staring at her. And then he burst out laughing.

"Is that what this is about? You think you're too old for me? He pulled her closer and held her tight, forgetting for the moment about her injuries. "Karen, I told you Werewolves live long lives. We live hundreds of years. I'm close to 200 years old pet, so if anything, you may be too young for me. And if you couldn't have cubs, my wolf wouldn't have wanted to mate with you. A wolf always takes a breeding mate. It's only older ones that have lost a first mate that have ever chosen someone too old to breed. My wolf knows. You will be able to have cubs pet. Don't worry about that. Now, do you think I'm too old for you?" He looked down into her face, reaching down to wipe away her tears. He bent down and licked one from her cheek.