by JANA
“Trace,” he said and Teagan paused.
“Shit, a cowboy. Now the girls are gonna buy us all cowboy hats.” Reggie laughed and put his hand to his hair and said, “Not over these locks.” The men laughed and went to find their mates. Shane shook his head and laughed.
“Maybe you should be prepared for the women.”
“Nah, I’m used to it.” Trace laughed and Shane shook his head.
“I don’t think anyone could be that prepared for this group.” They walked back toward the conference room and Shane paused and put a hand on his arm. “You know I have to say this. Eagles are matriarchal, you know that. But you are gonna have to realize that the Council is led by the Pack. So just remain open minded.”
“Hey, I realize that. And just so you know, I may have a woman leader, but I do have a dominant side too. I’m not a push over for women just because of my upbringing.” Shane laughed. “Me either, we just haven’t had a chance to talk.”
“Yeah, if our mate is an eagle, she’ll have to get used to that.”
“Agreed,” Shane said and they entered the conference room. Thankfully, the Alphas were still the only people in the room. Trace looked around and saw the large table. He counted the chairs and realized it was set for the whole Council. He felt a little more comfortable. This group had seemed very close and he was not sure of the reception he would receive. Now he knew he would be accepted. They had been waiting for him and his mates.
“Alphas,” Shane said and stood straight.
The two huge men turned to look at them. Trace smiled and saw their wolves in their eyes. Yep, all Alpha wolf, he thought. Their wolves had to be huge. He saw the small woman peek her head out from behind them and smile. She stepped forward, raised her head and sniffed, her grin became larger, and she jumped forward.
“Shane, introduce me,” Cami demanded and Shane looked at Trace and rolled his eyes.
“Trace Pete, this is Cami, our Alpha female. Cami, this is Trace Pete, the newest member of the Council and my mate,” Shane announced and Cami’s eyes darted back and forth between the two men. Trace removed his hat, bowed his head in respect and smiled.
“Two eagles on the Council?” She said and clapped her hands. “Now, can I see your eagle?”
Trace laughed and said, “Inside?”
Cami nodded but her mates stepped forward and both put a hand on her shoulder.
“Now, baby, we can’t have an eagle in the conference room. Besides, give the man a chance to be introduced.”
Cami pouted and nodded. “Fine, later though,” she said and pointed to him. “This is my bossy mate Jaden, and Quin, the Chosen Alpha.”
Trace nodded and held out his hand and shook the Alphas’ hands. “Nice to meet you,” he said in his slow drawl.
Quin smiled and said, “Welcome to the Council. I would have you explain everything to us now, but my lovely mate here bellowed to the rest of the Council that we’re having a meeting and it would be best if you only had to tell it once.” Trace nodded and looked at the Alpha. “Thanks, I wouldn’t mind but if I have to tell it more than once it may be boring, even to me.”
Cami narrowed her eyes and Jaden wrapped his hands around her waist when she tried to step forward. “Cowboy?” she asked.
“Uh, yeah.” Trace said hesitantly, “Born and bred, and Indian too, made for interesting games when I was a kid on the reservation.”
Quin and Jaden groaned and covered their eyes. Cami’s eyes lit up and grinned.
“Damn, your voice is so sexy. Put your hat back on.” Shane laughed and Trace did what she wanted. Cami put her hand to her mouth and looked at her mates. Her eyes glowed as she pictured her mates naked with only cowboy hats on. Damn, they had a meeting; she needed to get to her computer.
Two other people stepped into the room and Cami called out, “Jo, get your ass over here.
Seriously, listen to his voice.”
Trace turned to see the couple pause. The man was large; he made the woman seem like a doll. He held out his hand and said, “Trace Pete.” Jo’s eyes widened and she grabbed her mate’s arm and drug him behind her to shake his hand. “Tey and Jo,” she said with a wondrous tone.
“Sexy, huh?” Cami whispered to her friend.
“Duh,” Jo whispered out of the side of her mouth and then laughed when Tey growled.
Jo reached up, patted her mate’s chest, and said, “But not as sexy as my teddy bear.” She crooned and then winked at Trace.
Trace then said to Cami, “Shane’s mom sent us with a package for you and Jo, it’s in the truck.”
“Great! But we’ll get it later, it’s a present, so don’t say anything more right now.” A threesome stood at the entrance and Trace stood patiently while Cami performed the introductions again.
“Cami,” Jaden finally stepped forward and said, “Enough, baby, just go call everyone so we can do this at once. Trace is gonna run away from you any second now!”
“Asshole,” Cami said under her breath but walked for the door and yelled, “Ya’ll get your asses in here! We’re having a meeting, now!”
Quin sighed, put two fingers on each side of his nose and whispered, “Gods, give me strength.”
Trace laughed and shook his head. “You’ve been blessed, Alpha, and you know it.” He turned to Shane and said, “You were right.”
Quin and Shane nodded and laughed. Cami glared at Shane and then smiled. “Take your seats.”
The room filled quickly and Trace followed Shane to where three tables had been set up.
Two of them were long and had seats on the outside lengths, facing each other. The last was smaller and was at the head, making three sides of a rectangle, it held three chairs.
His mate paused as if he did not know where to sit. Quin whispered, “Anywhere along here.” And he gestured to the two longer tables then went to sit at the head table with Jaden and Cami.
Shane nodded and they sat at the end of the table where no one had claimed a seat yet.
Shane shifted in his seat and looked around. He regained his air of confidence and put his hand on the table. “Alphas, Council. I introduce you to Trace Pete, the Chosen born in November. Also, I am happy to say that we are mates.” Quin nodded and then said, “Shane, I have to tell you I could not be happier for you and Trace, also I hope you find your mate soon.”
“Yeah, and Shane, just so you know. Kira and Blaine already knew you were a Chosen mate,” Cami said smugly.
Shane frowned and looked at Blaine who turned red, “Sorry, man. Couldn’t tell you until the time was right.”
Shane laughed and said, “So what’s next?”
“Introductions,” Quin said and stepped away from the table. “You have already met us but I will still fill you in. Cami, Jaden, and I are the Alpha triad. We have three children, they are currently upstairs napping, hopefully,” he said and looked at a large man with the reddest hair Trace had ever seen that sat closest to him, the man nodded.
“We mated in April of last year; we were the first to discover that there was something more going on than what we knew. I moved here eleven years ago to expand my father’s Pack and to help the Old Council establish order here in the United States. We were from the Gevaudan Pack. When we arrived, there were only a handful of us and we were called the Denver Pack. It grew and we expanded, not knowing the whole time the people we were trying to organize and stop from running amok here were rogues, who are trying to stop the New Council Prophesy. Before we found out about the prophesy though, we found Jo by accident. She was the missing Chosen One, that when found, renewed hope in the prophesy thought lost at her presumed death. I’ll let Jo explain her story.”
Jo stood and held her mate’s hand. “Hello Trace, and welcome to the New Council. Are you familiar with the Prophesy of the New Council?” at his nod, she continued, “I was born Josephine, daughter to the Alpha of the Old Council. When I was a baby, my mother and I were taken. She tried to defend me and was killed; I was also thought to
be dead. Actually, I was stolen and taken out of Europe and raised here in America.
Fate brought Cami into my life as my best friend growing up, and it was through her that I was restored back to my people. I didn’t even know I was a wolf!” and she got the laugh she was after, trying to lighten the mood which had begun to press down on her.
“I’m a white wolf, which means I can feel the emotions of the pack, I’m connected to all of them. Right now, I can feel you clearly, because you are a new member of the Pack.
You are excited and a little hesitant. Don’t worry; we don’t bite at the first meeting.
Basically, I keep track of the mental health of the Pack. I can let the Alphas know when trouble is brewing or if a pack member needs help. Unlike the other Chosen, I only have one mate. Tey has to expend so much energy to help me deal with the constant bombardment of emotion I’m under, that a third mate wouldn’t get the attention they deserve. So the prophesy decreed that we’d be only two. As you know, you’ll find both your mates and have children within one year of taking your council seat. Tey and I have twins, and I can feel that mine are sleeping, though Cami, I think Hope’s waking up, she’s such an instigator, just like her mom!” And everyone laughed again as she sat back down.
Another tall man stood up and Trace wondered what the hell they fed these wolves, he felt like a midget and he was five eleven.
“I’m Devon; I’m the Beta of the New Council and the New Council Pack. You met my mates, Sid and Casey earlier. Casey is also one of the Chosen and we’re the only two Chosen to be mated. Her twin is Reggie, whom you also met, and together they are the financial leaders of the Council. I handle the security and training of all of the Enforcers and Warriors that come to the New Council for training. Casey just had our two beautiful children. She went into labor during the explosion.” He had to stop for a moment. “Thankfully, we were all pulled out in time. Sid and his family manage all of our construction projects; they have a well respected firm in Boston. They’ll build your new home on the compound grounds when you have chosen a location and have architects on staff to help with design. When Casey and Reggie were brought to Denver, they were attacked and Reggie was taken hostage with his mate, Ruby. We were searching for them when we found the Milliken Pack and Cloe.” He pointed to Cloe and sat down.
The pregnant woman stood and smiled. “We met but I’ll do the formalities,” she said and rolled her eyes. “I was the Beta of my father’s Pack here in Milliken. Teagan here was my second, and I had graduated from med school and owned a practice in town.
Quin sent Darien over here to come and see if I was one of the Chosen. I had been planning on leaving town but I recognized Darien as my mate. At the time, we didn’t know Braden was a traitor, so it was easy for him to get information and pass it on to the rogues. Some rogues showed up in town the same day as Darien and I was shot with silver bullets. Teagan gave me an emergency transfusion and we became blood bonded.
Shane,” and she gestured to him, “was a member of my pack and one of my Enforcers, he was able to fly to Denver and get help for us quickly, he really saved the day.” And she gave Shane a smile. “Once I admitted that I was one of the Chosen, the medical advisor, I joined the New Council. I had felt drawn to medicine and had trained others in my town, human doctors, in shifter anatomy so the pack could be kept healthy. At my father’s urging, Quin decided to move the New Council Pack away from Denver to here in Milliken. The rogues new too much about pack headquarters and there are too many places in a city for them to hide. He took over for my father and all of the Milliken Pack members became members of the New Council Pack. Shifters arrive almost daily to join us. In this town, all of the humans are aware of shifters and are members of the pack too.”
“Blaine, one of my best Enforcers,” she said pointing to him, “refused to believe he was one of the Chosen but he announced he knew where Reggie and Ruby were because he had visions.” She started to slowly sit down when she added, “Oh and I’ll be popping out triplets any day now.”
The group laughed and Reggie stood up. “I’m Reggie, we have met also. You know that I’m Casey’s twin. Ruby and I were held by my demented mother for weeks before Levi finally found us. We were rescued and were almost able to stop those idiots, but my mother got in the way and protected them.
As you can see Ruby is pregnant, we are also having twins. She is due in three weeks.
By the way, I have great taste in clothes, so if you need a little help changing the whole cowboy look, let me know. Levi refuses to change out of the whole brooding male thing and wears his tanks and jeans; he thinks he’s a cross between James Dean and Marlon Brando.” And there were chuckles from around the room, Levi reached over and pinched Reggie’s ass. Reggie turned and blew him a kiss and everyone burst into laughter at the byplay. “Sorry for the interruption, he’s an Enforcer with the Pack and if you need anything just give us a buzz. We’re all really grateful to Blaine for finding us and glad he finally admitted that he was one of the Chosen when his abilities were revealed.”
The man whose face had turned redder and redder as the Cloe and Reggie had spoken stood up and looked around the room. “Assholes,” he muttered and then turned to Trace. “As these jokers have pointed out, I’m Blaine and these are my mates, Kira and Dalton. Kira is half bear and half Sidhe, Dalton is Sidhe, we have visions and when we work together the visions are stronger.”
“Dalton’s Sidhe talent is finding things and transportation. Quin hired Dalton to find a bear/Sidhe shifter with special abilities; we didn’t know the shifter we were looking for was Kira. I got a vision of a shifter under rogue attack so Dalton and I went to save her.
We got to her in the nick of time and Dalton was so upset that he instantly transported the entire male portion of the council right then.” Dalton groaned at the retelling and there were more chuckles around the room.
“Well it wasn’t that funny at the time; he was so tired from bringing them in that we were all stranded. While we were gone, the Rogues enlisted black witches to cast a spell around the compound. That is how we found Lacy. She is mated to my adoptive brothers, Shawn and Sevi,” he said and pointed them out. “But that’s another long story and I can tell you some other time over a couple of long necks.
Also, I am announcing to everyone in the room that the time has finally come for my mates to claim me. The spirits have shown me the time and place.” He turned back to Trace. “I had been given a vision a while back that showed death and loss if I was claimed before the proper time. Tomorrow, after the challenge, I have been shown is the time, so all you buttheads stay away from my bedroom. I have some serious catching up to do in the baby making department.” Kira blushed and the Council began clapping with Casey calling out, ‘Finally’.
A smaller woman stood up and smiled at Trace, he was starting to feel a little overwhelmed. “As Blaine said, I’m Lacy and I’m a white witch. Though my parents knew, I didn’t find out I was one of the Chosen until Sevi and Shawn showed up at my magic shop asking for help in breaking the spell around the compound.
“As you can see, Shawn and Sevi are twins.” Trace’s mind boggled at the size of the two men, they made Devon look like a kid, the next words Lacy spoke explained, “They’re Grizzly shifters; we discovered that we were mates and when my parents met them, they came out with the fact that I was one of the Chosen.
That seems to be a theme here; I guess most of us had secrets in our families. With the help of my parents we reversed the spell and captured the witches, putting a kink in the Rogues’ plans.” She paused for a moment to think.
“My special ability is that I can see true mates, and can tell when couples are having problems or shouldn’t be together. Basically a matchmaker and couples counselor rolled into one.” That drew some chuckles. “Shawn and Sevi gained some of my magical abilities and when shifted have healing powers. We were working on getting settled into the Council when Sid over there dropped a bomb shell on the Council. He ha
d an adoptive human sister that was one of the Chosen. Her name is Jordan; she’s not here because she was seriously wounded in the bombing.”
“But she is actually here and ready to meet our new member.” A voice called out from the doorway. Trace turned and was surprised to see that she had casts on three of four limbs and was in a wheelchair, pushed by two men who walked gracefully in a way that had to mean cat, they were very GQ in a librarian sort of way. He told his eagle to settle down around the felines.
Quin went to their aid and cleared the unneeded chairs away from the table so her mates could roll her up. He watched as the Alpha bent and touched the woman’s head and whispered something in her ear. Jordan nodded and then smiled at him. He heard her say, “stop worrying, I’m fine.”
One of the men behind her sighed and said, “She refused to stay upstairs when she heard Cami. Stubborn female.”
“Hush you,” the woman said and her eyes landed on Trace. “I’m Jordan. As you can see, the only human member on the New Council or I would already be up with my super shifter healing powers. I’m sure you’ve already realized that most of these guys are wolves, but these handsome devils are Romy and Larkin. They’re my mates and sexy cat shifters.” Trace didn’t bother to tell her that he’d already figured out that part.
The two men raised an eyebrow each in what looked like a practiced move then smiled as one sniffed the air. “Eagle,” the larger of the two said and they both laughed.
Shane smiled and said, “You guys need me to get the ball of string?” The two men frowned and then growled. Jordan held up her hand and said, “Good kitties, play nice with the birds. Sorry, they are kinda dorks sometimes.” Trace nodded and said, “It’s genetic, I don’t hold grudges.” The two men threw their heads back and laughed. “Larkin, we are gonna have fun with the cowboy.”
Trace smiled and nodded. He was glad he’d put it out there that he wasn’t going to take any shit from the shifters. It was a basic negotiating skill, to deal from strength. Birds sometimes get a raw deal with their beliefs and of course their size. But Trace learned long ago to only show his talons when needed. He was glad that Shane had also said something.
