“Any of the females your team rescue ever true-mated into your pack?”
Marcus shook his head, his shoulders drooped for a bare second before he pulled himself up, “No my man, not one female. I always have hope, the rest of my men have hope, but so far we have never had it happen. But with such a large population of females, and such a critical mission we can’t afford for this to be the one time a female true-mates to one of our males without a heads up before hand.”
Chapter Sixteen
After Dawn changed clothes and went back outside she found out how much of a colossal mistake she had made by trying to turn off the robot who was not a robot. When she went in the house she had heard sobbing from the bedroom so she changed in record time only to learn she and Alice would be going to Trey’s parents after all. They hadn’t unpacked yet so she grabbed all her stuff and ran back outside where a couple of men were waiting to carry her things to Charles’ house. She was fine with new plan after putting up with Stormie’s non-stop talking for so long. Having someone to talk to was important, Dawn had missed having someone to talk to these last ten days. She thought Alice so does not count as someone to share with, at all. But having someone to talk to and walking all over someone who had been a prisoner for a year and not letting them even ask one question was beyond rude in her book. She did not know if Stormie had many friends or if she just stayed cooped up all the time, and she did not care. She was still burning mad about the way she had been treated. When Charles had asked her if she had Alice’s things also she had reluctantly returned to get the other items. She kept a wary eye on the bedroom door the entire time she was gathering everything up and was more than prepared to drop everything and run if the door opened. Stormie seemed to be an important person in this pack and everyone loved her from the little Charles had said when she had gone back outside after changinng so telling her what she really thought of her would win no friends in this pack. Dawn was taking no chances.
Once they reached Charles’ house he had given her a tour and offered her the loan of any of the books in his bookshelf, the use of the television or the computer. Alice had not let her touch the tablet she had since leaving the compound and Dawn had been without any news of the outside world other than whatever their captors wanted them to know for a year. She looked longingly at the computer for a moment before turning to Charles, “I would love to have the use of the computer but, honestly I would love more if you would let me ask you some questions. I desperately need answers and so far no one has been willing to let me ask.”
“Ah, my poor Stormie, I don’t imagine she won a friend in you if she didn’t let you get a word in edgewise. Your voice gives it away a bit also. I saw how you stressed the no one in your comment. I know now letting Stormie get you settled in was not the wisest choice, people either love her or they detest her, not many people fall in the middle. Trey’s mate loves her, best friends in fact. Her sister Trina on the other hand, I think she believes someone should have beaten Stormie into silence years ago. Fortunately, Trina doesn’t live in this pack. So, pick a chair, not that one, that one is mine. Now tell me young lady, what do you most want to know?”
Dawn had watched him anxiously, at first afraid Stormie got her obsessive conversation skills from the man as he did ramble on for a while. But no, after telling her to ask her questions he had fallen silent and didn’t appear to be in any hurry to say anything else. Dawn gave an audible sigh of relief and smiled, really it was more of a grin.
“Tell me about Gammon. Stormie said she grew up in his pack. But I don’t know him and I don’t think I know anyone who knows him so it is difficult to make the decision to place my life and my future in someone’s hands I don’t know. The choice was honestly nerve racking to tell you the truth.”
“Gammon is an honorable Alpha. But he is also one of the most protective men you will ever meet. I can understand your concern so let me give you some background on the situation. Two, three hundred years ago female shifters were plentiful, by that I mean the birthrate was about equal between males and females. But something happened and I don’t know what, or even when things changed. Gradually we started to notice not as many females were born to a pack and as they grew to maturity the males were faced with living their lives without a true-mate, or in many cases with no mate at all. Eventually the situation became so critical males began to fight for the few females we had. Packs went against packs and pack mates against pack mates. Even the pack oaths couldn’t keep peace between males of the same pack. As the situation continued the fighting increased and the birth rate of females decreased. Some packs withdrew and the natural territorial instincts of the wolves became greater. No longer did the packs visit with each other to trade knowledge and supplies and look for mates. More and more we relied on the non-shifters to be trade partners for then we didn’t have to worry about our females being stolen. The packs who could protect their females the best seemed to have more females than the packs without strong Alphas. Finally the council had enough information to realize the two were in some way related. The question then became, how do we protect the females until they reached maturity and could choose their own mates. Even safe packs didn’t have much of a birth-rate when it came to females. Gammon had an enormous territory up in Alaska far from any other packs. He protected his territory to the death. He reached the point where, no matter who you were, if you trespassed and you had no female with you, you died. He is still that way. But the thing that brought him to the attention of others was his willingness to protect a male who could prove he had a true-mate. No matter how pissed off the man made Gammon, he lived. Oh, don’t get me wrong, he didn’t get to live in Gammon’s territory, but Gammon won’t kill a man with a true-mate. A huge territory, a willingness to protect not only females but a male with a true-mate. You see, not everyone dies when they lose their true-mate, so often males will kill another male for the chance the female might live. The elders in the packs, the good packs started rumors that after the birth of a child the female couldn’t have the child of another male. That rumor backfired in the most spectacular way. If you are here I have to assume both your parents are no longer living?”
Dawn stared in fascination at the man telling her the history of the slow decline of females. She absently nodded her head and waited for him to continue. He in turn nodded his head and picked back up where he had left off.
“If we had not started the rumor then the possibility is strong the mothers would have been taken with the daughters all these years instead of being killed. I, for one, bitterly regret taking part in spreading that particular rumor. We did ourselves no favors when it took hold. We were desperate though. We thought the males would leave the mated pair alone to possible produce more female children, stolen children were frequent and we tried everything we could think of to stop the kidnapping and the killing. Of course, with what we know now the likely hood the female would have reproduced another female after losing one is slim to none. The council reached the conclusion safety mattered and they approached Gammon about using his territory to house the females. They proposed building a boarding school and sending their females to him to care for until they reached maturity. Gammon refused. A few of the High Council persisted though and eventually they won over the man. Funds were offered and refused. Gammon point blank demanded he and he alone would be in charge of every facet of the school. If they were going to trust him to care for so precious a treasure he would do it by his rules and his alone. He would accept no negotiations because he didn’t want anyone to believe they had any right to interfere. The agreement was bitterly contested for years before the High Council, and the packs who were willing to protect their females at any cost to themselves gave in. The rules were pretty straightforward. If you had a female in his school you could come visit. You could not bring anyone with you so if the female had a brother, or ten brothers, she wouldn’t see them. He would accept no infiltration of his pack by outsiders. If you belonged to a pack with an Alph
a he trusted the Alpha would bring you to visit your child and if you were willing to accept the risk you could at any time take the female back home with you. Alpha’s without females in the school were not welcomed and if they did not leave, they were killed. Several packs gained new Alphas those first few years. If you belonged to a pack and you trusted the Alpha, he would take the female for as long as it took your pack to become secure enough to take care of your own females. If you had an Alpha he did not trust, and you did not trust, the Alpha wasn’t to know you had a female at Gammon’s and you were never to tell the Alpha. We had just such an Alpha. We didn’t, couldn’t fully trust him even though we could not point to one single thing and tell you that was the reason. For the first couple of years we had Stormie and managed to keep her hidden from the pack. But the day she managed to open the front door Leah called her father, who is on the High Council. That night we took Trey and Stormie and went on a vacation. We met William and he took us to Gammon’s. We at first petitioned Gammon to join his pack but he refused so we requested he take one of the most precious treasures we would ever have and raise her for us. He allowed Trey to enter his territory the one time, after that we were only Leah and I would be allowed to visit. Trey rarely saw his sister again until he took over as Alpha of this pack. Gammon would protect the females in his care with his life and the lives of all the males in his pack. But not one of those females belongs to his pack unless they find a mate in his pack, and even then the pack oath doesn’t bond the female to his pack until she matures. If a female chooses to stay without a mate in his pack, single in other words, Gammon accepts her pack oath and she becomes part of his pack. We had a female once who chose that path. And by had a female I do mean Trey rescued her from the previous Alpha who thought to keep her captive until she reached maturity and force his son to take her as a mate. Trey fought the Alpha to the death and took over this pack. Stormie stayed at Gammon’s until she reached maturity because frankly Trey was not old enough and no one thought he would hold the pack. Stormie loves the man, and, I don’t know if anyone has told you but Trey ended up mating Gammon’s niece. So this pack is tied to Gammon by mating and by respect. We owe him much. Now, next question?”
“Wow, I have no idea what to ask next. Your answer far surpassed anything I thought I would get as far as information. I am guessing, from what you have said you would have no way of knowing if any females my age live there? I mean, females I could have as friends? You haven’t met Alice yet but you will understand when you meet her why I am concerned about having others my age.”
“Well, at a guess I would say you are between nineteen and maturity and although in the normal course of events I couldn’t tell you who Gammon might have your age now, this pack has one female still at Gammon’s who is approximately your age. All she has living is an uncle and he refused to try and raise a child at his age. Her name is Cara.”
Dawn’s face fell and Charles, who had been watching her closely saw it before she recovered.
“Alright young lady, out with it.”
Drawing back Dawn looked at Charles, “Out with what?”
“Something about my answer made you unhappy. You asked if I knew of any females your age at Gammon’s and when I assured you there was at least one, well, let’s just say that wasn’t the answer you were looking for after all is it?”
“Well, no, but after everything you have told me, you wouldn’t have the answer. You see, I had friends who were kidnapped and then I think they may have been rescued and I hoped they made it to Gammon’s but now I have no way of knowing.”
“You think they were rescued? But you don’t know?”
“I know they made it free of captivity. But I don’t know if they lived, not for certain. I was told they lived, but I haven’t seen them. I hoped, if they lived, they would be at Gammon’s. I think, I mean I heard he may have rescued them.”
“Oh Donna dear, I am so sorry but Gammon doesn’t do rescues. We have packs who specialize in rescuing females and we get them to Gammon, but Gammon doesn’t run any rescue missions himself.”
“Ever?” Dawn whispered.
Charles shook his head. The lone tear that trickled down Dawn’s face did not escape his notice. He watched her as she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “Well, I will ask Gammon to take me in and I will tell him about my friends and if he is half the man you say he is, he will move the world to find my friends.”
Charles nodded. “If your friends can be found, Gammon will do everything in his power to find them.”
Dawn heard a car door slam and moments later the front door opened. A grin crossed her face when she saw Alice, the harsh words of earlier forgotten in her relief. She needed to get Alice alone and tell her what she had learned. Maybe Alice could find a clue to where her friends were with this new information. She was certain she heard the name Gammon that last day in the prison. The men had been terrified of whoever had been there. Maybe she had misunderstood something due to the utter chaos of that day. She wasn’t going to give up hope yet.
Chapter Seventeen
The men were pouring over maps and laying out equipment when Trevor and Marcus walked in the room. Other than a couple of glances no one paid them much attention, until an earsplitting whistle sounded. A couple of the men rubbed the back of their ears and glared at Marcus. When the doors opened again and several of the older pack members and their mates entered the room the team and the other Alphas looked at each other then all eyes turned toward Marcus.
“Alright everyone gather round, on second thought, stay the fuck put, if you can’t hear me you don’t need to be here in the first place. Trevor brought up a point not one of you seemed to even think about. I didn’t think of it either so I can’t hold it against you. How many of you men going on this mission have no mates? Don’t answer that, I already know the answer. Couple of things to think about. First off, anyone remember how Jaden went a bit insane when he thought Trey here had his mate? If you didn’t see it you heard about it. Well, maybe not the ones who just walked in but I know the team knew. And again with Craig, everyone heard how he let himself be taken down because he was so focused on the mate he had never laid eyes on he forgot every bit of training he had. We are estimating the prison has twenty females inside, it may have more and it may have less but regardless of how many are there, this mission is the largest we have ever undertaken. We have to get every female out of there and back here and some of them will not be happy about the move. Actually none of them will be happy because we are not going to have the time o reassure them we are the good guys and even if we had time, why would they believe us. Most of them already believe they are with the good guys. Some will flat out refuse to come with us. We can’t leave them behind, but the oldest ones, the ones within a year or two of maturity, will be given a choice once they reach this territory. I am hoping some of you men find a mate in this group. Which brings me to my next point, what happens if even one of you do find out your mate is locked up inside those walls? Let me tell you what will happen, we got no fucking clue. That’s right, we don’t know if you will stay on mission or blow the whole thing and cost the entire team their lives. We can’t risk it. I won’t risk it. So what I need to know, William, Jules, you others in the back, this question is for you. How close do you have to be to know your mate is around if she isn’t in your territory? A mile? Two miles? How close do I have to get my men before they know if they have a mate within those walls? If you mated couples could come up here and get with Jules and William and try to come up with a reasonable distance, Mathew, Oliver, come on up here. Yeah just, talk it out but look around you and realize I need that distance to be as accurate as possible because each of these men you see around you, well I just put their lives in your hands. Don’t fail me, don’t fail us.” Marcus looked around the room before walking to the table with the maps. He bumped Jamie out of his way as he studied the maps. He rarely went on missions with his men but for the second time in as many weeks he
would be involved in a mission to a greater degree than normal.
Before many minutes had passed Oliver walked over to the table and started studying the map. Soon he was demanding to know the locations they planned on putting the birds down and the approach the birds planned to make while looking over the terrain. After nodding a few times he walked back to the others and discussed his thoughts with them. When he came back he stood beside Marcus and didn’t say a word, out loud. Jaden, who had been watching the entire time saw when the muscle in Marcus’ jaw started jumping. Oliver after shaking his head turned and gathered up the others who had came with him. As the door closed behind him the men started demanding to know what was decided. Marcus shook his head and walked over to Jules and William. He didn’t say a word at first but finally he turned to look at his men and back to William, “We don’t have any other options do we?”
“No, son, not really. If you had a bigger plane maybe, but the way it stands the only plane you have access to is Casey’s and you can’t have Casey fly her plane back and forth over that compound ferrying the men within range.”
“Alright everyone, I have some good news and some bad news. The general agreement is we can get you within range of the mate-bond awareness within a three to five mile radius, the closer the better but even then we won’t be risk free. That’s the good news. The bad news, if any of you do feel your mate in that compound, the unanimous agreement seems to be you will immediately attempt to abandon the helicopter to rescue your mate. The very fact the females are being held captive will work more strongly on the wolf’s protective instinct. Your pack members who just left, and these two gentlemen here all agree we will have another Craig incident on our hands but unlike Craig whose inability to think beyond saving his mate only cost him, a screw-up here could cost the entire team plus still lose us the females. I would hate to chain the males down to buy us time, and I don’t know if the wolf will understand the helicopter being too high to jump. I don’t know how far we would need to get before we could force the male out of the helicopter and onto Casey’s plane, assuming she is still willing to fly any of you back. If any of you have a suggestion now is the time to bring it forward.”
Dawn Page 9
