“That is perfect for her. Yes, good thinking. Alright, well I have to go. Andrew you keep me informed. I am warning you if anything should happen to her Alpha Redwood will kill someone. He is convinced she is his mate.”
“I know he warned me before he left himself. I got to say he is one lucky wolf. She is beautiful. I hear her coming now. She is supposed to be coming to get her job schedule.”
“Alright, I will call later and check on her. Watch out for her. I don’t know how the pack feels about a human being at the house.”
They hung up just as Gabi walked into the office. Andrew motioned for her to come in and take the seat in front of the desk. “Here is your schedule. You can see the times and where you are supposed to be. Now let me show you to the kitchen and introduce you to Allison. She will be over you till you learn your way around. She will help you to adjust. We are here to teach you. If you have any questions about anything, feel free to ask.” He stood up and walked her to the office door then out into the hall. She followed him down a hall to the far end of the house.
Once they found the kitchen Gabi saw several people working. Some were cutting up food, while others did the dishes. Everyone was busy moving around like a well-oiled machine.
“Allison this is Miss Gabi Cross. The one I told you would be staying with us. I gave her a list of things she would be helping with. But it is up to you so show her around. I figured you know where everything is better than I do.” Andrew turned and left them.
“Miss Cross welcome to the family. Now why don’t we start with me showing you around. I assume you have been shown to your room. We can start with the first floor. Then we will get to where the cleaning supplies are and how we do things.”
Allison showed her the huge dining room where the entire family was able to sit and eat together, she was told. She could believe it after seeing the huge room and all the long tables.
Then they went through the next room. This room was like a large sitting room. “This room is mostly for the she-wolv… I mean women to use. We gather in here to talk and spend time together. Sometimes we sew while we talk, other times we read or crochet. Just whatever. The men have their own room to gather in. I’ll show you.”
Allison led the way down the other hall on the other side of the living room. She showed Gabi the huge game room. “This is where they spend most of their time. That is when they’re home. You can see why we like our little room off the other end of the house. It’s much quieter down there. When they get together in here, it’s like a bunch of young pups… kids. They’re loud and arguing and crazy. They have their pool tables and card tables and the bar. They have four large flat screens to watch the ball games on. They tend to bet on the games. There again, they get pretty loud fussing at the games like the people playing can hear them. Men can be so silly sometimes.” Allison had almost screwed up twice now. She knew she wasn’t supposed to talk about what they were in front of Gabbi.
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Are we allowed to come in here and play a game if we want?” Gabi liked to play pool.
“Yes, if you like. Sure, why not.” Allison didn’t look too sure about it. Gabi noticed the way Allison looked down at the floor like she wasn’t sure if they were allowed in there or not. Weird Gabi thought.
They headed on down the hall and came to the biggest home library Gabi had ever seen. It was the most beautiful thing she had seen. She would love to clean this room.
“I love this room. Am I allowed to take books out of here up to my room? Or do you prefer I read them here?” Gabi would prefer to take them back to her room where she could be alone.
“Oh no you can take them up to your room. I am sure that won’t be a problem. We have a lot of different kinds of genre. Our Alpha makes sure we have plenty to read. He likes us to read. Plus, he lets us order whatever we want. If there is something you are wanting to read, we have a list over here on this desk. (She led Gabi to the corner) Here on this pad we write down what we want, and he orders it about once a week. I guess eventually that will be your job. You will eventually be in charge of ordering all household items. Like cleaning supplies or groceries. Things like fabric and um books, I guess. Stuff we use here at the house. I will teach you that later or the Alpha will. For now, we are just supposed to teach you how the household is run.”
“Why would I be in charge of ordering things for the house? And who or what is an Alpha? I don’t quite understand your language I guess.” Gabi was confused. But somehow some of the words she was hearing sounded an awful lot like things Jack use to say.
Jack? There she was thinking about him again. She wanted to cry. But why? Why did just one thought of him make her feel so bad? Now she was missing him. Damn him!
“Miss Cross, are you alright?” Allison noticed how Gabi’s mood had changed. One minute she seemed to be paying attention to what she was telling her, the next she was sad and far off.
“I’m sorry, what were you saying?” Gabi didn’t know if Allison had been telling her something she would be expected to do or what.
“I was just saying that you wouldn’t have to worry too much about things till you get used to being here. For now, we need to head back to the kitchen. It’s almost time to serve lunch. We don’t want to be late putting it on the table, the wolves get restless.” Damn it, Allison thought I keep slipping. So far, she doesn’t seem to notice.
Gabi followed Allison back to the kitchen and started helping carry the food into the dining room.
Over the next week Gabi learned to cook for a herd of people. Learned that on Mondays they changed the beds in every room of the house. That it took all day to wash and remake the beds. That they vacuumed the bedrooms and dusted on Tuesdays. All in-between cooking meals. Wednesday, they mended laundry. As they washed clothes for the family. Good thing they had a huge washroom.
The laundry room had six washers and dryers. Otherwise they would never get it all done. Even though they had signed days to do laundry they actually did laundry every day. Mondays Sheets and blankets. Tuesdays white’s, shirts and such. Wednesdays jeans. Thursdays Dress clothes to get ready for the weekends. In case anyone was going out. Friday’s towels and such.
It seemed to never end. Just like the dishes. Someone always had to be standing at the sink doing dishes. When there are sixty something people in the house there are always dirty dishes. ALWAYS!
Gabi learned that she and Allison weren’t the only females thank goodness who cleaned. She would never have gotten it all done. Even if it had been her and Allison, they couldn’t have handled it all. It took nine of them to keep the place clean. And even more to keep cooking and the kitchen clean.
Someone was always carrying dirty clothes to the laundry room and someone else was carrying clean clothes out of the laundry room. It seemed the work was never done.
When she finally got a day off, Gabi wanted to go outside. She hadn’t had a chance to until today. Gabi got a book and a glass of iced tea, then headed out the back door. She planned to find a nice shade tree and relax outside. It was a pretty day out. Winter hadn’t set in yet. It was late fall.
Alpha Redwood and his pack had been on the trail of the bomber for over a week. He knew who had planted the bomb and was close to catching up with him. He had called in to check on Gabi more than once. He didn’t like being so far away from his mate.
“How is she doing? Does she seem to be fitting in? Does she like it out at the house? Is she getting along with everyone?” Alpha Miles Redwood was having a hard time keeping his mind on the hunt.
“She is fitting in just fine. She seems to like it here alright. As for the pack, they have gotten used to her. At first some of them had their doubts about her. But there is something about her that makes everyone like her. She is special.” Andrew wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know.
“I am glad to hear she is doing well. We should be heading back soon. I plan to mark her and mate with her as soon as I get back. I am going nuts being s
o far from her. Keep up the good work. I hope to see you all soon.” Miles hung up. He wanted to find the bomber and get back home.
Irwin called every day to make sure Gabi was ok. He hated, he hadn’t been able to go to the house and check on her in person. Since the car bomb, things had been crazy at the casino.
Lawyers for the people who had been injured had been coming in right and left. The police were still investigating. They had come back and forth going over video from all floors hoping to catch something. Someone out of place. Anything that might give them a clue.
The Sheriff was no closer to figuring out who had planted the car bomb at the casino than he was the day it went off. It was frustrating. The Mayor was demanding results mostly because his father in law was a big man on the city council. The townspeople were scared. Tourism had slowed due to the TV coverage of the bombing. No one wanted to take a chance of it being terrorist related.
Chapter 19
Gabi had been missing for weeks now. Jack and his pack had come close to finding her. They had picked up her scent and followed it. Then lost it. Then he had seen the car bombing on TV. He had seen his mate being arrested for the car bombing. He had gone to the courthouse, but she had already been sentenced and moved. No one there would tell him anything.
“Why the hell not? It should be public knowledge. What her sentence was and where she was taken too. I demand you tell me.” Jack was getting angrier by the minute. The jackass at the counter was refusing to tell him anything.
He pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and laid it on the counter. The woman looked around to see if anyone was watching, then slipped the money in her pocket. She slid a file over to him so he could see it.
He read the information he needed to know where Gabi had been taken. He read the name of the man who was in charge of her sentence. Mr. Miles Redwood, Redwood Farms. He smiled and pushed the file back to the woman then walked off.
Once in his truck he called the hotel room to let his pack know he had located Gabi. “I have the information we needed. I know who has Gabi. Now all I need is to locate his farm. Elliot, get the computer out and look up a Miles Redwood. I want to know everything you can find on him. I’ll be back to the room in ten minutes.”
He hung up in a lot better mood than he had been in days. He knew where his mate was, and he was going to get her back. He rushed back to the hotel room.
Elliot had pulled up the information on Miles Redwood and was shocked to find out who and what he was. He knew the name had sounded familiar.
Jack walked into the hotel room and sat down at the little table where Elliot sat with the computer. “You’re not going to like this. Miles Redwood is one of our kind. Not only that, but he owns a lot of things. One being a casino here in this town. I don’t find any farm listed under his name. But I would guess that is where his pack lives, so I don’t expect to find it that easy.”
“She is with another pack of wolves! My mate is with wolves! Damn it, we have to get her back. NOW! What casino? I will pay him a visit. He will return what is mine or pay the price.” Jack paced the floor while his pack tried to talk him out of going into another pack’s territory.
“Sir, you think that wise to walk into another pack’s territory? To go in with so few of us here. To attack them on their land is a death sentence. What if she isn’t in the casino?”
“I don’t think she is at the casino. I want to go to the casino and find out where she is. I believe she is at their farm. I will find that farm and get her back. I am not leaving my mate in another pack’s territory. I am not going home without my mate.” Jack would kill to get her back or die trying. She was his mate!
Irwin got word that another pack of wolves had entered the casino. It wasn’t all that unusual for a few wolves to stop in and have a little fun. As a rule, when they did happen in the casino, they kept an eye on them. One never knew when the out of town pack would be up to no good. And so soon after the car bombing who knew what these wolves were up to.
“Let everyone know to keep an eye on them. How many of them do you know for sure are wolves? Have you been able to get close enough to detect them, scent them?” Irwin knew unless he could get close to them and pick up their scent, he couldn’t be for sure they were werewolves. However, there were signs of a werewolf usually that stood out. Like for instance size. Werewolves even in their human form were bigger than most human’s. They tended to be broader shouldered. They had a way about them when they walked. One that said I’m dangerous stay out of my way. Little things that if you were a wolf you would pick up on.
Irwin pulled up all the cameras and started looking for them. Sure enough, he was able to see at least six of them. They had spread out as if they were looking for something or someone. He headed downstairs to greet them. He might as well get it over with. Might as well find out what they wanted. He notified Brett and Ricky to be ready to go down with him. They were on the second floor tonight. They would meet him on the elevator.
The minute the wolves stepped off the elevator, Jack saw them. He knew then they had to be in charge. He made his way over to them. He knew that at some point Gabi had been there because her scent was all around. Faded but still there.
Irwin stepped up to the wolves and motioned for them to follow him. He led them down a hall into a room so they could talk without being overheard by humans.
“I’m Beta Irwin of the Redwood pack, state your business here.” Irwin watched and studied the wolves in front of him. Brett and Ricky had his back in case they tried anything.
“I’m Alpha Jack Blackwood of the Blackwood pack. I am here looking for my mate. I have reason to believe you know where she is. I recently saw her on TV being arrested here.”
“Who would you be talking about?” Surely, he wasn’t talking about Gabi. No way. He couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible she was his father’s mate.
“My mate is Gabi Cross. I understand she is paying off a debt to one Miles Redwood. I will be glad to pay anything she owes. Where can I pick her up at?” Jack wasn’t playing any games. This young pup had better tell him where to find her or get out of his way.
“Alpha Blackwood there must be some mistake Miss Cross is my father’s mate. Alpha Redwood. Alpha Miles Redwood is my father and Gabi’s mate. I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but I assure you she is not your mate. Now I think it is time for you to leave.”
Irwin was getting angry. He was ready to shift and show this Alpha who he was dealing with. He knew he couldn’t take him alone. Even though he had Brett and Ricky to back him up the Alpha had four others with him to back him up. It wouldn’t be a fair fight.
“I see we are going to have a problem here. Gabi is my mate and I am not going home without her. Now either you tell me where to find her or call your Alpha and let me speak with him.”
“I can call him, but rest assured it won’t do you any good he has already laid claim to her. She is his mate.” Irwin backed away from the Alpha and pulled out his cell then dialed his father’s cell.
“Alpha Redwood this is Beta Redwood. We have a problem that requires your attention.”
“Irwin what is going on?” Miles didn’t have time for games. He had his target in sight. The pack had finally surrounded the bomber.
“There is an Alpha Blackwood here at the casino claiming that Miss Gabi Cross is his mate. He is demanding that we tell him where she is.”
Miles was growling and trying not to shift. He told his son not to dare tell anyone where to find Gabi. “Don’t give him any indication where she is. Let him know I will be in the casino tomorrow evening. If he wishes to meet with me, he can come back then at seven. I should be in then. I won’t be but he doesn’t need to know that. Irwin I am on my way back, but I will be going straight to the house. I plan to mark her as soon as I get back. She is my mate. Mine Damn it! I will kill anyone who gets near her.” Miles made sure he could be heard howling and growling over the line.
“My Alpha said to tell you he will be g
lad to meet with you tomorrow evening at seven here if you wish to speak with him. Now if you don’t leave, I will have to call more of my pack to escort you out.” Irwin was close to the desk so he could push one button and have help almost instantly. Security guards were just outside in the hall.
“You can tell your Alpha I am not going without my mate. I will be here tomorrow evening to meet with him.” Jack turned and walked out.
Once outside the casino Jack turned to his pack and ask if they had heard what he did. “Did you all catch that conversation? The young pup thinks I didn’t hear what his Alpha had to say. Thinks I will fall for his crap. He plans to have me come here, yet he will be going to mark my mate at the farm. We must find the farm and get there before he does. I take it he is out of town for the moment.”
“How will we find their farm?” Watson asks
Jack smiled, then followed a young wolf out around the building. The young wolf hadn’t noticed them apparently. They grabbed the wolf and hauled him off. Once they had him out in the middle of nowhere, they forced him to tell them where to find the den.
After nearly beating the young pup to death, he gave them the information they needed to find Gabi. Or at least they hoped he had given them the right directions.
Jack told the pack to go back to the hotel they would pack all their belongings and head to the farm. They wouldn’t be going back to the hotel once they got Gabi. They would head straight home with Gabi in tow.
Once they had gathered all their things, they followed the pup’s directions and headed out into the middle of nowhere. Once they got close to where they were going, they parked and watched to see if they were indeed in the right place. So far, they hadn’t seen any signs of wolves.
Jack had a couple of his wolves get out and shift, then run and see if they could find any trace of a wolf pack.
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