by Erin R Flynn
It was Alena and Eva’s turn to laugh, even Zeno chuckling. He explained why. “It is tradition when an Alpha—or even a linage Alpha as is in our pack—takes a mate that they do it with the support of the pack with the intention of conceiving the next line of pack.”
My breath hitched as that sunk in. “Are you saying your wedding ended with everyone in the pack watching you consummate your mating?”
“And all the guests,” Alena added, mirth in her tone. “It is…”
“A challenge in a way,” Eva offered. “To the male’s endurance and worth of such a female.”
“In other words, it is not one time,” Zeno stated bluntly. “It was many and all night to show I was worthy of Alena and getting the Dorcas name.”
“Wow, and I’m still embarrassed I did it once at the shifter lagoon. That’s, wow, sorry, Dad.”
I saw him shrug in the review mirror. “I would do that and much more to win her, and I have. Besides, I did very well from the praise she gave me and the murmurings in the pack.”
“So both of you are fine performing naked, got it,” I chuckled, always getting new layers to the paranormal world each time I met them.
“Yes, we will be fine,” Alena confirmed. “Now, I wish to know what else you have worked on with Queen Laila, as Mother has not met her, and we’ve never had such an alliance with fae, especially not their nobles or royals.”
That was how we spent the rest of the ride, with me rambling about the elf family and the seafood and the greenhouses and how that was going amazingly. Then the fairy nectar bottling and the fabric plant that might be coming to make the fairy material only they could.
They appeared incredibly interested in that, and I found myself a bit confused, as it seemed to go past Alena and Laila dealing together to get the FBI training facility open. Or handling the art acquisition deals off what I’d gotten from the vampire councilman.
“What are you up to?” I asked, thinking of Alena specifically.
“Let me back up before that,” she answered, her tone thoughtful. “Fairies, elves, and a few others go under fae. So Laila might be the fairy queen, as she is a fairy and the ruling bloodline has always been fairy, but she’s really queen of all fae.”
“And fae are pains in the fucking ass,” Hestia blurted. “Elves are mean, petty brats, brownies are thieves and—”
“In the past,” Alena corrected. “Yes, fairies are known as great warriors, but those are sons and daughters of the noble bloodlines. But other fae that aren’t fairies are looked on as second class citizens.”
“Laila and Dain told me that. It’s something she wants to change.”
“Which is odd and something we’ve never seen, and I am almost a thousand years old,” Eva explained. “Fae tend to look down on shifters, and given the population in Greece, you can imagine that doesn’t go well. The only ones who have ever come to our lands are, yes, pains in the ass. So your mother telling me of this new queen who wishes to change much and not play the normal games—”
“She does at court, but apparently that’s pretty much expected of her,” I corrected, getting where they were going. “It’s also why she never met Alena at court but aboveground. That’s new, and you guys are curious. I get it.”
“You give this fae the protection of the pack?” Alena checked.
“Yeah, they have official status of protected by us and the panthers since they’re also working with Simone and her businesses, plus the club. There’s always someone around too. I’ve got some wolves that are going to take turns staying at the farm that I bought and the elf family will buy from me. Do you want that in Greece?”
“We would discuss it and would like to see these greenhouses, the nectar plant, as well,” Alena confirmed. “But we also looked into fairy material. It’s silk, but it’s also cotton and wool. They have some way of blending all three together as long as all three come from fae. Which makes more sense now that we know elves are good with animals as fairies are plants.”
“You’re saying how they get super awesome and nutritious veggies and fruits out of the greenhouse is what they do for cotton? Instead of seafood, the elves who raise sheep and silk worms get this other kind that they spin together into yarn to make the fabric?”
Alena sighed. “That is our understanding, but I doubt any of them would confirm, as it’s something to exploit if a pack kept some elves, as even that silk would be amazing.”
I growled. “That’s why she asked for me to invite certain Alphas. Dammit! Why can’t people just tell me what’s going on and stop maneuvering me? That’s how I always end up holding the bag of shit!”
“Explain where your mind is and what you’re ranting,” Eva ordered. I had a moment to want to smack her, as she was next to me in the passenger’s seat. I was going to, but I got a minute to be peeved.
“The Des Moines Alpha is in town for the previews, as it’s his wolf we have the deal with that host costumes that do well will be done at her clothing line. Now ask me what there’s also a lot of in Iowa.”
“I’d guess sheep or cotton, as worms grow indoors for farming,” Alena muttered.
“Do worms eat mulberries or the trees?”
“I believe the leaves,” Eva answered, chuckling. “Did the very smart queen mention something about starting a mulberry farm? What did she offer you?”
“Jam for the pack, wine for Simone’s bistro, for pies at her places too, dehydrated helps Nina’s teas. Lots of things, as they’re not as easily found around here.” I sat with this for a moment. “I was going to suggest to her a tea greenhouse and she work with Nina. Apparently it doesn’t take a lot of magic to make batches of it, but a lot of ingredients that can get expensive, especially the good ones like the new passion fruit cleansing tea I adore.”
“Interesting. Are you sure you did not study business for many years, Daughter?”
I smiled at her compliment. “No, but as I told Nina, my job is basically problem solver and facilitating too much information into what’s useful. I don’t know business, but I’m damn good at bringing together the right pieces to make things work.”
“I have heard there are many witches in the Middle East that are looking for sanctuary,” Hestia chipped in. “Might be something wise to think of to aid in our commerce and yours, as there is an increase in growth of companies that are quietly pushing out their paranormal employees.”
“Yeah, here too,” I sighed. “Getting exposed pretty much means job loss and figuring out what the fuck comes next. I didn’t know how many of the pack were without jobs or taking the crappiest ones because they couldn’t afford to demand bosses not be dicks. So I’m all for what Laila seems to be thinking, but I’d wish she’d just tell me straight out so I wasn’t nervous having strange Alphas here. Des Moines is fine. He’s nice.
“But I don’t know these Southern ones and just agreed because it’s always good to try and make friends, but that can also make problems.” I realized they were missing a piece I knew. “Southern states produce most of the country’s cotton, so we’ve got Tulsa, Oklahoma coming, Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee. There was one more, but they couldn’t make it. Atlanta, Georgia I think. But she also chose wisely because those states need income.”
“She is very clever, but a bit damaged as you said from her time under her uncle,” Alena muttered.
“Speaking of damaged, I’m going to have to kill someone after I get out of the SUV,” I snarled as I laid eyes on Jason when I pulled into the underground parking we’d put in at the club. There was next to none in the area, and since there was construction anyways, we’d gotten the city to give us the right permits and help for that since parking downtown was a joke and more always helped.
I threw the shifter into park and got out after I turned off the vehicle, rocking my SUV I slammed the door closed so hard.
“This is pushing it, Jas,” I hissed, storming over to him, not caring there were others with him. “I told you I’d introduce you
and sit in on the meeting, but they just landed and it’s not even seven in the—”
“Sera, the hunters are here,” he interrupted, saying the only thing that could halt his beating.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Now isn’t the time for games, Jas. If you’re pulling some fucking shit, I will—”
“I’m not,” he swore and turned a tablet to face me. “These two men were stopped at the Canadian border last night under false aliases that were caught. They’re on just about every watch list internationally for ties with the group we’ve been hunting—that we picked up the chatter about your hunters and Zach Brown.”
“Then why aren’t you happy if you caught them?” I whispered, scared for the answer.
“Because there was a dozen in the group that landed in Canada. We caught two at the border and stepped up security, but what if they weren’t the first two here but the last when they obviously split up?”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I cursed as I pulled out my phone. I paused. “How did you know to come here? I didn’t even know. Are you surveilling me, Jas?”
“No, I couldn’t get through on your phone and called Hagan who had spoken with Theon about the change. We were closer to here anyways, so we came right away.” He held out his hand in surrender but kept nervously glancing behind me. “Alpha Dorcus, Madam Dorcus, it’s a pleasure.”
“Don’t just leave off Zeno and the others,” I snapped, turning so I could see everyone. “Mom, Dad, Eva, Hestia, and Phobie, this is Lt. Commander Jason Roberson, United States Navy and his people.”
“You have tried many times to meet with us, come to Greece,” Alena growled. “If you have used my daughter or—”
“I know him from college, Mom,” I filled in. “I’ve known Jason since I was sixteen and entered college early. He’s like Laila, smart, but doesn’t always show his full hand and likes to poke to get his way instead of just asking. I was going to get him a meeting with you because the hunters after Zach Brown are the same group he’s hunting.”
“You saw this proof?” she checked.
“Enough to know it’s real, the rest is above my clearance, but it’s Brian’s and no one pulls a fast one on him.”
“Yes, this is true of your Brian. Fine, let us meet and get these details. I would suggest moving the boys first and foremost. Somewhere secure…” She shot me a look as we walked to the elevator, and I knew I wasn’t going to like it.
I figured it out when I hit the button for the first floor, cursing over and over again. We’d been smart on the elevator. The storage and dungeon was on the lower level and the parking under that, but the elevator didn’t go down to that level or past the first floor. So we had two elevators. One to get to parking or the lobby, and the one on the other side of the building that went throughout the floors guarded for access.
“You want me to stash them at Timequake because the security is good and there’s a lot of visiting power there and no one who knows I’m pissed at Vlad would guess that.”
“Yes, it’s the smartest play given we have no idea the size or depth of the threat. For now, bring the boys here as we are,” she ordered, and I got on the phone, swallowing the need to cry as I led them off the elevator and into the kitchen.
“We talked to Jason and we’re packing bags,” Hagan said by way of greeting. “What are your orders? Come there?”
“For now,” I answered, glad they were on top of everything. I gave them the idea Alena said and almost laughed when he started cursing too.
“I’ll talk to Noah and let him call Vlad with the invite to get intel from us at the club. I would suggest Alena propose the idea, as he’s terrified of her and he’ll use this against you.”
“Yes, he is right,” Alena agreed, able to hear the conversation easily.
“I would like to talk with Vlad anyways,” Eva added and then shot me a hurt look. “You introduced me as Eva when I welcomed you into the family. Why did you not call me Grandmother?”
“I’ve never had one before,” I confessed. “I didn’t call Alena Mom right away either, nor Zeno Dad. Plus, they said I should if I wanted too. I didn’t want to be presumptuous.”
“Be presumptuous, my granddaughter, as we are family and I am very excited to meet my great-grandsons, adopted or not, as I’ve never met bunnies before.”
“Thank you.” Another thought hit me, and I hurried to call Laila. She wasn’t scheduled to land until after noon, so that was a few hours from her needing to leave, and she might not want to come with this threat.
“Nonsense,” she chuckled, basically waving off the concern. “I will however bring more warriors, as one can never have too much security.”
“We wouldn’t turn it away. Do I warn the other Alphas coming to town?”
“Yes, it is only fair, though I was excited to make more friends,” she answered with a sigh.
“Lots of cotton farms in the South,” I hinted.
“I was not trying to hide that from you, my friend, but you have been frazzled. Dain was going to explain it if you had a free moment, but he tells me you have not. Tasar also has a new list of my people wishing to find sanctuary.”
“They might find it in Greece,” I informed.
“That would be new.”
“You are a new queen and well-liked by my family. We can discuss when you’re here. First, the boys.”
“Of course. I will pray that you hunt well those who hunt the ones you love.”
12
The first Alpha had no problem with the threat, almost sounding giddy that we could hunt them, as I was law enforcement and the threat was to the children of the Alpha, not some vague kill all shifters shit. I tapped my phone against my chin as something resounded on that. I rushed over to Jason and grabbed his arm, interrupting his conversation.
“You’re bringing them here, right? The two you caught?”
“Yeah, they got a transport and left right after they figured out who they were. They tried to cross through Superior National Forest in Minnesota so…” He glanced at his watch and nodded. “They should be here anytime now. They’ve met all their check ins just fine.”
“Jas, don’t bring them to Brian’s office. Bring them here,” I insisted. “Fuck, I have a damn dungeon.” He opened his mouth to complain. “The threat is confirmed as against the boys, right?” He slowly nodded and then smiled. “They’re children of the Alpha. The adoption’s official. You’re actually supposed to hand them over to me anyways.”
He lost his smile. “There’s a lot of information we want out of them, Sera.”
“I can get it,” I assured him and hurried to call my councilwoman friend. I apologized for the early hour with the time difference to where she was, having woken Laila too. She wasn’t as thrilled to get involved.
“There is no way I ever let Naval Intelligence here, Sera.”
“No, right, I didn’t mean they’d come there. You guys can video conference, right? I’ll question them here about the immediate threat and about what Jason needs while your transport gets here. But I saw your other interrogations. You have some incredibly skilled people to do that, and we can, whereas the Navy can’t. Not effectively.”
“We will cooperate as you suggest, but only if they swear this isn’t some trick to put a tracker on these criminals or something stupid that would make us unfriendly and never do this sort of thing again.”
I repeated the answer to Jason, and he bobbed his head, his mouth hanging open. “Yeah, if they don’t cut us out, all we want is the intel because these are bad, bad guys, and that’s saying a lot for terrorists, as even other terrorists won’t play with them.”
I called the other Alphas while Jason and Theon made calls. It was almost funny to watch Zeno make and get coffee for everyone, Alena and Eva listening in on everything we all said as if watching a crazy tennis match. Right after I finished, all of them still coming, Hagan, Reagan, Noah, and Dain showed up with the boys.
And with boxes and boxes of Deerfield’s ba
kery goods.
“I’ve been flipping out, and you guys stopped for donuts?” I demanded of Reagan after pulling him off to the side.
“They were flipping out, so we made a very quick stop to show them we weren’t worried,” he answered, his eyes telling me the situation was bad. “They’re scared we will stop loving them for always being trouble, or your new house will get shot up like the last one. I heard Leo telling Tommy that you wouldn’t ship them to Greece and Alena’s just here for a visit.”
“Those little twits,” I whispered, and nodded he’d done the right thing. Then I walked right over to Tommy, knowing the others were listening. “We are a family. The pack is a family, kid. It might not be a birth or normal family or even a normal pack, but it’s a damn good family. No one is getting booted out because if these bastards weren’t after you, they could come after me being here alone as what I am.
“Or the fairies tomorrow. Crazies are crazy, Tommy. It’s not your fault they’re focused on rabbits this time. So stop thinking you’re trouble because everyone in our family loves you guys. Jared makes sure there are always the cookies Nina likes with her tea because she’s family and stops over. You play that game with Alok you don’t like but he does because he’s family and sometimes you play what’s not your favorite to make family happy.”
“Okay,” he cried and hugged me tightly. I hugged him back, waving for the others to come over, Hagan, Reagan, Noah, and Dain hugging them grouped around me. “Can’t breathe.”
“Time to eat because I’m starved and we’ve got guests who will love Deerfield’s.” They got their introductions to Eva, and I smiled when she greeted them like family, not Alpha to baby bunnies. They seemed to amuse her, or maybe she didn’t really get a chance to hang out with young infected shifters given where she was from.
I had just enough time to eat a very large slice of coffee cake before the next groups arrived. Vlad with Remus and Jake was one. Then Brian, Harris, Cooper, and a few others came with our caught criminals. It was such an odd coincidence that I was thrown and wondering how to start and where, but Eva had an answer it seemed, getting to her feet and moving by Vlad.
