by Jana Leigh
"Okay, so tell us how this, all came about. Because I can clearly see you have not claimed my daughter formally yet. So how in the hell did you take over her little Pack and add more to it?" Vivi asked.
"That's what we're a little unclear about, and we were all kinda hoping you would be able to help. I didn't really understand this myself, so I will let Cherri explain some of it, before I tell you what we learned from our research."
Cherri stepped up and smiled at her mom and said, "Hey ma, how you doing?"
The woman who Calli introduced as Shelly smiled and waved. Calli's mom cleared her throat, and the woman went from waving to the stony look in three seconds flat. They must practice the looks in the mirror because they were fucking good.
Cherri began to explain to the families about the DNA markers. All of them were stunned and then confused, since they were their children, why were they not feeling the same pull as their children?
Vivi smugly knew the answer to that. "Because we're already Alphas of our own family Packs, so there can only be one Alpha."
"Right, but we are curious about your DNA also, so I was wondering if you would all let me test you also?"
Vivi narrowed her eyes at her friend's daughter. It was like she was trying to decide something. Vivi turned to Kade and said, "I need to know about you before I make up my mind."
Kade looked at Calli, and he heard a grumble of agreement from the rest of the parents. Well, shit, here came the inquisitor. Calli stood behind him with a hand on his shoulder in a show of solidarity.
Vivi rolled her eyes, "We aren't gonna make him eat a live chicken like back in the old days; we just want to talk to him." The message was directed to her daughter who proceeded to flip her off.
"I have seen you in action, old woman, make no mistake, don't fuck with my mate," Calli said and growled at her mother.
The look of shock passed over her face, and Calli felt Kade stand up and push her back. Her father stepped up to help because Calli had suddenly gone into Alpha female protective mode. They had all seen it with Vivi when someone hurt her children or a stupid wolf flirted with her mate. But with Calli, it was much worse, no one had ever challenged Vivi like this.
Kade was whispering in her ear, as her eyes remained locked on her mother and her mother's neck. She was ready to rip it out if she so much as talked funny to her mate. The nerve of that woman was incredible. Calli felt the rage flowing over her and knew it wasn't right but couldn't stop it.
Her father tried to help by talking to her calmly. But it was Kade, who finally realized what he needed to do. "Calli," he barked in his very Alpha tone. "Calli, back down," she responded a little to his tone and finally broke eye contact with her mother who was still sitting there in shock. "Damn it, I said back down," Kade yelled and Calli finally snapped out of the rage. Her wolf was responding to her mate, and she understood his tone. The power of her mate flowed around the room, and people were whispering and gasping with surprise. None of them felt a strength of an Alpha this strong in more than a hundred years.
Vivi, calmly stood up and walked to her daughter, Calli growled but obeyed her mate who was holding on tight to her. Her mother came to stand right in front of the pair and in a show if respect, she turned her head and bared her throat to them. Everyone in the room gasped at the show of submission from Vivi, her and Victor's wolves were very strong. They had all seen it when they arrived, but Calli and Kade's power was something different, something more.
The rest of the parents in the room as well as all of their friends and family began to do the same. And one by one, they all stepped up and showed their respect. But Kade and Calli could not sense any of them joining the Pack. It was like a formal party where you showed the guest of honor respect. Calli had seen it before. Except for when the guard Enforcers began to step forward, and Kade groaned. He felt them join the Pack as they bared their throats and accepted him and Calli as their Alphas.
Calli nodded and whispered, "Thank goodness, she purchased the fucking building. We may have to kick people out fast."
Kade chuckled and kissed the tip of her ear and said, "Sound proofing had better be in all the apartments. Whoever moves in below us could have a surprise."
Cali had calmed down enough to resume the meeting that they had. Her mother offered her the chair she had been sitting in, and she was shocked. Vivi came up to her daughter and put her hands on her face and said, "Sit, we will try to figure this out together, but know you are my daughter, and I love you. So even though you are a pain in my ass, I will follow your lead. You have made a wonderful choice in mating with Kade; I think that my grandchildren are going to be amazing. And I can't wait to see them grown."
Tears were streaming down the woman's face, and Calli gripped her mother in a hug. She may be at odds with her most of the time, but it was all in fun. Kade could feel the love poring off his mate for her mother. For the first time in a long time, he allowed himself to think about his parents and all they had done together. He missed them; Calli must have felt his sorrow because she turned to him and hugged him in front of everyone and placed a small, soft kiss on his lips. Then she turned back to her mother, and continued the conversation. Calli had made it known in the room that her mate took precedence over everything. Kade felt his heart beating fast, because of the show she'd just put on. He wanted to claim her. It was coming well before she wanted it too. They were going to talk later about this.
"Ma, don't go changing on me now. I would miss the daily banters we have," Calli said.
"Oh don't worry about that, I will keep you in your place. But sit, this is where you belong," Viv said and then said loudly to her oldest brother. "Charles, please go and grab the family history book."
Charles moaned and groaned but did as she asked. Vivi then turned and looked at the rest of the families and said, "Do you all have yours also?" All of them nodded; Vivi had suspected something and when she called the families, she had asked that they bring what information they had. Kiki's father sent his over, just because he thought they would be impressed with his lineage. Vivi wanted to tell him about his ancestors, but held back, she didn't want to get into a pissing contest for once.
When her dopey brother finally came back with the large book, all the families placed them on the table. Vivi nodded to everyone and said,
"What's said in this room, remains in this room. We all know what will happen in this leaks out. So, I will go first. Calli, please open the book."
Kade sat next to his mate and watched as she opened the pages of the large book. On the front page was a tree, a family tree; it was fucking huge. Kade had to squint to see some of the names. And it was worn and old; he wondered where she had gotten this.
"My family wrote this book through the generations. When the humans banned old laws, I hid this book as I am sure you all did. I refused to give it up to anyone. This was started in the year 2012 by our first descendants. As I look around, we all have similar binding and books, and so I believe they are all from the same Era," Vivi said.
Brenda spoke up and took her daughter's hand and said, "Recently we compared books, and found out that our families have been close, for all these years for one reason. For this moment."
Vivi nodded, "I already called Ms. Praton, and she will explain more, so I will be giving you the basics of what we know. By the way, Thomas, I have dug up your information as well, so sit down." She ordered and then turned back to Calli.
"Okay, so the top of the tree, you will see two names. All of this was started by a group of people who were destined to be together like you all. They were called the Chosen. They had a mission to come out to the humans. Ms. Praton can fill you in on all that. I want to tell you about your ancestors and explain how a Pack is set up. It needs to be done immediately or there will be chaos in your Pack," Vivi said and looked pointedly at Kade, who nodded. He got the message. "Kade, Ms. Praton has given me permission to tell you who your ancestors were, since it is pertinent in this case.
/> "So, these books will all go with you; they are yours now for a reason. One, they hold information about what was happening in the past. And Two, you all need to make sure you keep these in a safe place. There are people who are going to want to stop this," they all nodded in agreement. "For this reason, the others that just joined and, yes, we could all feel that, you need to contact your parents and find your books as well." The Enforcers nodded to her, and they turned to quickly call their families before Vivi got to her point.
Kade was wondering when that was going to happen. He had watched all of this coming to fruition, but the air of mystery was still there. He hated the uncertainty. And Calli's mother was a bit of a Drama Queen, and she was drawing the explanation out. Though he could see where Calli got her stubbornness from.
Kade shook it off and began listening closer. Calli was frowning at him as it was. He took her hand and kissed it in reassurance.
"If you will all notice at the top of your family tree; you will have the name of the Chosen that you are a direct descendant. Now don't get all excited when you read about all their powers and stuff, you ain't gettin' any. Your job is totally different. Ms. Praton will explain. But as you can see, the reason you are all drawn to each other is because you all have been a part of the Chosen. In later years, they established Outpost Packs that were led by trusted members of their Pack. They also will be a part of your Pack, in one way or another; I have counted thirty six members who should be joining, there could be a few more or less. But that's what I guessed," Vivi said and looked around the room to make sure they were all paying attention. She counted and so far they only had sixteen. So many more to find. But maybe Ms. Praton had an idea what to do.
"I am looking at ours first. Calli, can you tell me the names at the top of our family tree?" Vivi said.
"Uh, it says Josephine and Tey Fare, they had, whoa, five children," Calli said and looked up at her mother. "So these are my ancestors who were part of the Chosen?"
"Yes," her mother said, "their destiny was wrapped in finding all the Chosen and then bringing shifters out to the humans. It worked for years, living in harmony, then something happened, of course I'm not sure what it was because I was born after the fact. But that's beside the point. You need to learn what a Pack is. Now our ancestor was the White Wolf of the Pack. But like I said, you won't receive any powers, you are just destined to help reform the Pack."
Calli looked confused and looked around the room at people with the books. "Who are you guys related to?" Calli demanded.
Kiki was the first one to speak up. "I'm related to Jordan, Larkin and Romy Night. She was a human that could not be changed, and they were, oh, black panther. Hot damn, I have panther blood in me."
Everyone laughed and then Cherri spoke up. "Mine says I'm related to Cloe, Teagan and Darien Gevaudan; Darien was the brother of the Alpha."
Then Rissa said, "Mine is Devon, Casey, and Sid Brody; it looks like Devon was the Beta, whatever that was, of the Pack."
Vivi laughed and said, "It's part of the hierarchy, Alphas, Betas, Omegas, Enforcers, sometimes they will have other positions assigned. Like the medical leader, etc. It all depends on what the Alphas decide."
Sabrina said, "Mine is Blaine, Dalton and Kira Thornegood. They are bears like me, oh, and also Sidhe."
Trina smiled and said, "I have Lacy, Sevi and Shawn True blood. They are bears too, and a witch. So cool."
Thomas shifted uncomfortably, and Vivi looked at him. "Thomas, your ancestors were lions. Their names were Argus, Skye and Jacob Tread. Ms. Praton is getting your book; they were the liaisons between all the magical community."
Thomas nodded, and Kiki hit him on the shoulder and said, "We are the cats of the group." Thomas frowned at him and then took his hand off his arm. Calli laughed. Thomas was just too straight-laced to be anything other than an Enforcer, Kade thought.
"And Kade, you are a direct descendant of the Alphas of the Pack. Quin, Cami, and Jaden Gevaudan. Apparently, the Alpha female was a force to be reckoned with. And you are related to Cherri, so you do have family. By the way, your parents didn't know, or I'm sure they would have set you up with them," Vivi said softly.
Kade nodded and looked at Cherri, who was grinning and her mother who had tears in her eyes. He had a family. Nice. He was the Alpha of the Pack; Calli was his mate. He looked around the room and thought that Cherri and Rissa were Beta's and when they found their mates, they had to be Betas too; it would only make sense. He would bet his left hand that Kiki was the omega. Thomas was the lead Enforcer. He wasn't sure about the rest, but they did have the top people in their places, so at least they were forming it correctly.
Vivi stood up, "So, that's all I know right now, so let's eat and talk about shit that's not so freaking heavy. Like Kade, how many children are you expecting to have? I mean, I was wondering if we needed to add on so we can babysit."
"Uh..." he stuttered and Calli started laughing.
"Get used to it, she's gonna be all over our shit from now until she dies, part of the package. Can you handle that?" Calli said and looked at him.
Kade laughed and said, "No problems, I think your mom loves me. I had something up my sleeve just in case I had a problem. Hang on."
Kade heard Calli's mother exclaim loudly. "Oh my goodness," and then scream for them to come downstairs. Calli looked at him questioningly but followed. When they arrived in the living room where her mother was standing, there was a huge bouquet of flowers, and her mother was holding a card.
"A whole day at the spa for me and the girls. Oh Kade, that's so nice of you, how did you know that we needed a spa day?" Vivi said and wrapped her arms around him.
Calli stuck her finger down her throat and Kade laughed before pulling back. "You have to work so hard around here; I figured you deserved a little spoiling."
"So sweet," her mother said and pinched his cheek.
"Shit, you're the man," Calli said and held up her hand, and he slapped it before pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply.
"Nothing is going to stop us from claiming each to her," he whispered and then pulled back and drug her behind him to go and get food and socialize.
Chapter 13
They had barely recovered from the day before when they were bombarded with information. They all went right to their rooms with their information and let it all sink in. Kade and Calli had talked about her book, and Kade was anxious to find what his actually said. The whole group sounded like a combination of powerful, yet understanding leaders.
The Chosen and their children had changed the course of history, yet something had gone wrong. From what they could piece together, it had happened almost three hundred years after they had come out to the humans.
No one was sure why the humans decided to turn against them, but there had to be a catalyst; they just needed to find out what it was. Kade and Calli talked about what a difference the world would be like if the shifters were not expected to register and basically live in one place. He wondered whatever happened to all the land that his ancestors had owned. He was going to look into it.
But first they had a problem to solve, one that was now on the front burner again. The hit men who were assigned to kill the girls, for some reason. According to reports, they had sent one for each of them, and they had no clue where any of them were. Kiki also had someone searching for her. That was the one that they were focusing on right now. And Calli was a little pissed because of the morning interruption. He knew he was going to have to make it up to her, and he was planning to in the most delicious way.
"He was at the cafe downtown the last we could pick him up. He was asking about your schedule for coming in, Kiki," Kade said.
"Yep, stopped by there every day to get me a cup of coffee and one of those little sugar pastries that are bad for you," Kiki said and then looked up. "I miss those little things, can we make a pit stop when we go out later?"
Thomas groaned and said, "No, we have a specific route we have t
o follow, and it doesn't include stopping downtown for coffee. We have to go to the grocers to set up your account for orders, and then we're meeting everyone for shopping."
They had to go shopping today, Sabrina, Trina, Thomas and Kiki all needed some of the essentials. They couldn't waste time with going back to their places, and soon they would have the stuff just shipped here when the tenants moved from the building making room.
Right now, they were discussing the hit men, and then Kade was going to address the hierarchy of the Pack. They were going to have to make sure that they were all on the same page.
"We are meeting at the sky mall at three, right?" Kade said and looked around. Everyone nodded; he hated shopping, but since he only had black work clothes, he felt like maybe he should shop a little for something more casual to wear. He wanted to be able to take his mate out on a date when all this shit was done, besides, they had a lingerie store there he was totally going to take his mate to and shop for her.
Rissa spoke up. "This is the last vid we have of the guy," she said and played the man stepping into the coffee shop and talking to the waitress. He asked politely where Kiki had been, saying they had a standing coffee date, but she had not shown up for days, and he was worried. The waitress had told him they had been worried too, since they heard about all the stuff from the club. The guy had played dumb and asked what she was talking about. It was a fifteen-minute conversation that really didn't do much for them, but it did give them a picture of the hit man, because he had looked right at the camera when he was leaving.
"Do you know him?" Thomas said rather harshly. All of them looked at him quickly. Something had been bothering the man since he came in on the mission. Kade was planning on pulling him aside and talking to him, but they didn't have time. He was wondering if he had a problem with guarding Kiki. But for now, he had to suck it up, they couldn't change Enforcers right now. Kade was having a hard time trying to piece together how the other ones who pledged to them fit in.
