Chapter Three
“I’m sorry. Would you like to repeat that again?” Jaden said into the phone as the other men watched him. The phone rang a few moments ago, and after speaking to a few of the in-laws, they had a plan. One that would shock the women. They were taking a vacation.
The twenty-three men set about making a schedule for each of them to take a vacation sometime in the following year. It was all working out nicely, since there were twelve couples and twelve months, the men thought proudly of the fact they were planning their individual vacations to places they knew their women had talked about some time or another.
They thought of everything, the children, the Council, and even the Pack. Making sure, they checked the schedule against all the others. Of course, it took a while. A few bottles of Jack Daniels, and cases of beer, they finally had all of them booked.
Now they were relaxing and patting each other on the back for their gifts. The women would be surprised and excited, no way were they going to be able to say this year's Christmas was not an amazing one. Reggie even had the idea to arrange for the ladies to get a new wardrobe for their trips, so shopping sessions for each had been arranged.
Then the phone rang, just when they figured they had things under control. Quin was resting his head on the back of the chair he sat in. “I knew it was too good to be true, all the notifications we put into place, and none of them worked, the girls were probably wasted and in jail.” Lev was holding his phone, ready to call the local police in whatever town they were in and arrange for bail.
“Okay, now just a little slower, and with not so much cussing, I think I have it figured out, but man, you are like not making any sense,” Jaden said.
“Just turn the damn thing on speaker, better to hear it all at once than to wait,” Devon ordered.
Jaden rolled his eyes and set the phone down on the table and pressed the speaker key, “Okay Marshall, we have you on speaker, go ahead and tell us it, but SLOWER!”
They could all hear the cat take a deep impatient breath and blow it out. “The women are locked in a room at the top of the restaurant, with six cases of wine, and the owner, who is a wolf, and my mate. Is that clear enough?”
Levi laughed and said, “Your mate is a man, and locked in with our women? What did you do, scare the poor guy away?”
That was the good thing about shifters and other magical beings, they were not judgmental at all, their mate, was just that, the one that was chosen for them. They did not argue, or disagree with fate; it was what it was.
“NO,” Marshall ground out. “The owner of the restaurant is a female wolf. She walked in the room and everyone like freaked. Shea froze all the humans, and Jo kept saying she could smell her dad. I knew she was my mate, but they wanted to talk to her before she and I talked, which is bullshit, by the way. Quin, and Jaden, Cami needs another lesson in protocol, and not sticking her nose into other people's relationships.”
“What the fuck?” Tey asked and looked at his friends. “She hasn’t talked about Oliver in about six months, unless it is to say she missed him. No more crying. Cami and the others made that photo album for the kids and that was about it. Why would she suddenly think she was scenting him?”
“I have no idea, sir, but that’s what she said. Cami felt something too, because she insisted that Jo needed time to figure this out, like I said, she refused to let me stay with them when they were talking about my mate,” Marshall snapped.
Jaden snorted and slapped his best friend and mate on the back, “Your turn, I did it last time, and she wouldn’t speak to me for a week.”
Quin glared at him, “Have you knocked on the door?”
“Several times, do you really think I would be calling if I didn’t need some help? I can hear them inside, they are singing Christmas carols, and it sounds like, for some reason or another, my mate has joined in. For the first two hours, they were crying and shit, I tried to get in, but apparently, this room is shifter safe. They have wards on it, which my mate is controlling,” Marshall said loudly.
“So what you are telling me is the female members of the Council, are locked in a room, with a strange wolf, and they are drunk and singing,” Dalton announced.
Sevi and Shawn, the twin bears, began laughing and making bets on when the girls were going to come out, and who was the drunkest. Jacob and Shane held the money as the men began throwing it on the table.
Argus held up his hand and said, “Whoever wins gets to have four more days when they get home from their trip to relax.”
Griff laughed and said, “You are on.”
Quin rolled his eyes and then looked at his mate, who was looking a bit more concerned than he would have expected. Their wife was an Alpha through and through, she would never put herself in a situation intentionally, if she did not feel comfortable getting out of it.
“I am going to call her now. Hang on Marshall,” Quinn said and pulled his phone off the desk and sighed. The last time he called his wife when she was having time with her friends he had gotten a strip torn off him for interfering.
Cami snorted and held out the bottle she was drinking from. The rest of the girls finally just stopped with the glasses; it became a pain in the ass to open a bottle every two seconds. Now they all had their own, and everyone was happy. Fredi seemed finally to be ready to tell them what the hell was going on.
Jo leaned forward and said softly, “I know you smell like him. I’m not crazy.”
Fredi paused from raising the bottle to her mouth and nodded slowly, and then looked around the room and sighed. She finished taking a drink and looked Jo in the eye, “Oliver Tand was my father. I’m so sorry to have hidden this from you. I was so angry with our father when he refused to allow me to contact you.”
“Why?” Jo whispered.
Fredi grimaced and said, “My full name is Federica Sophia Jenelle Tand. I was named after the two women our father loved and lost. When he lost your mother, Oliver was devastated obviously; he turned to the one person who would understand. I’m sure you will not recognize her name; Jenelle Pinot was your mother’s best friend. They mourned together, became close, unfortunately having an affair that led to my mother’s death. Her husband was a jealous evil brute, they had two children already, and Oliver knew when my mother became pregnant, that her husband would be outraged. Therefore, she went into hiding until I was born, and then I was whisked away to live with a couple who hid me for years. Jenelle was married to a human man, and since they were not true mates, their children were not born shifters. However, later they were bitten by two different magical people, one wolf, and one Vampire.”
Jo frowned and thought about everything they knew from their past. “Okay, so my father had an affair with my mother’s best friend, and when it was discovered, your mother was killed. Who the hell is the beast that killed her?”
“This is so confusing. You were taken and raised by Frank and Tina, the reason you were kidnapped was because of what the Seer said, and the Prophesy, correct?” Fredi asked.
Everyone in the room nodded. “Frank and Roarke claimed to be siblings, when they were not. They were both wolves, so it was easy to pass off. Roarke had a sister, Tina, who was the wild child. She was turned to a Vampire, and a wolf, Frank, bit Roarke. The only reason they were turned was, so they could get revenge. Their father raised them to think Oliver killed our mother, but he did in a fit of rage the day she returned to tell him she was leaving. My mother and father were not true mates either. However, I am still a wolf. Oliver went to the Seer to have her explain, and she couldn’t, all she could see was that if I was joined with her other children, the Council Prophesy would be challenged. Roarke and Tina’s father discovered all of this when he killed his wife. So he encouraged his children to hang out with shifters to find information, they discovered that I was alive, and when they held the Seer captive, she told them if Roarke could be reunited with me, our blood would be the key. To what I have no clue, but Oliver told me I was supposed to hide in plain si
ght until you discovered me. When I saw the reservations today I knew this was the time.”
“Fuck a duck, seems like such an inappropriate phrase right now. However, it seems to fit, don’t you think?” Cami said and held up her bottle of wine.
The women all toasted and Jo felt an overwhelming sense of belonging once again. She had a family. She was not alone.
“So, you are a wolf, there is no doubt, Kira, what is her aura?” Shea asked curiously.
“It is not the golden of the Chosen; however, it is silverfish. I have only seen this aura when Dante and his mates were here,” Kira said and shrugged.
“What does your wolf look like?” Jo asked.
Fredi shrugged, and said, “I have no clue. So far, I have not been able to shift. I would guess it is because I am not a full wolf. I can feel her, but it’s like she is hiding in me. This is the strongest I have ever felt her, when I walked into this room with Jo and that man in here, it was as if I walked into my home. I could hear my wolf howl inside of me.” Fredi laughed and felt the tears gathered in her eyes. “Our father showed me pictures of you, and your mate, he is so handsome. I wanted to be there for you when Oliver died. However, unfortunately being on the outside means the news wasn’t delivered to me until it was too late. I regret not being able to be at his wake.”
Of course, this reduced the entire room into tears, and they began to hug each other. Fredi may be Jo’s sister, but she was a kindred spirit according to Kira and Lacy. The real fun began when they tried to figure out how in the hell they were going to keep Fredi safe, now that they knew about her. Their husbands would of course need to know, but later, it was more important for them to get to know her.
So later, when the men talked about how they finally were able to enter the room, all of the women refused to acknowledge or deny what they found. Quin finally gave them permission to break the ward, after Cami ignored the call several times.
The shocking part wasn’t the three women who were making up a Christmas song in the corner, singing loudly and clapping when they’d go down the verse. Nor was it the other two, who were sitting there comparing their tattoos with their clothes partially off. Not even the four laying on the floor laughing hysterically at the woman who was pouring drinks into their mouth. It even could have been their Alpha female. She was standing there screaming at two wolves that were running around the room chasing each other, while she held onto their clothes for obvious purposes. However, it wasn’t.
The shocking part was the two wolves that were chasing each other were both pure white, and the Enforcers couldn’t tell which one was the Chosen, Jo.
“Holy Shit!” one of the Enforcers muttered as he watched the mayhem. Shea sat up and looked at them, her eyes sparkling. “Fuck, hit the panic button!”
All of the Enforcers scrambled for the phones with the tracking device on them and as the entire group of guards hit it, they heard Cami laughing again and saw her pointing at them. It was the last thing any of them remembered until they woke up in the Pack compound in the Enforcers’ Cottage.
Marshall sat up and screamed loudly, “I am gonna fucking quit this job!!”
Chapter Four
“I swear,” Shea said holding up her hand to her mates as they stood over her glaring. “I mean it, when we go out again, I promise I will not use the Fae powers, you can have someone put a ward on me!”
“You got that right,” Lev ground out and then handed his mate a glass of juice. When she arrived back to the compound last night, they had struggled to get her to the room they were now occupying until the end of the year. Quin was pissed last night, and pronounced their mates under lock and key until the Enforcers calmed down.
“I had these nice little handcuffs made for all of you,” Griff grinned and held out the gold looking wristbands. They looked nothing like handcuffs. Shea sipped her water and looked closely and the cuffs, they had magic on them, she could see it glistening from the metal.
“What is on them?” Shea asked suspiciously. Gosh, they were taking shit too seriously.
“Just a spell, that will let us know where you are,” and held out his hand for the glass.
“Are you serious?” She said incredulously.
“Of course, the Enforcers are banning you right now. We have to keep you and the little ones safe. As it is, you are going to have to stay in the confines of the compound until the New Year,” Griff said seriously.
Shea rolled her eyes, “I am waving the bullshit flag on that one, they totally over-exaggerated. We had a serious situation going on, did you hear about Jo?”
“Don’t try to distract us, you are grounded!” Lev roared and they heard the babies through the intercom beginning to laugh.
“Really? Now you have involved the children,” Shea scoffed and threw off the covers and stood up, grabbing her head and waiting for the dizziness to pass. She hated that. Shea was going to have to talk to Lacy about making a hangover spell for them.
The twins laughed again and she muttered as she stomped down the hallway. The twins were in their room, Malia and Tamera were both grinning at her from their playpen. Since they were born, she knew they were going to be special, and they had not disappointed. With the other children showing the same increased abilities, Shea wasn’t surprised when their girls developed quicker.
Her mates had been busy. Lev was the Chief of Police in Milliken, Griff made jewelry, and Shea finally had her office set up. She was going to be the face of the Magical Community. They, of course, were waiting to ‘come out’ to the humans, but first they had to get the Rogues under control. It would be useless to reveal themselves if the Rogues were going to create a battle, and that was what would happen. Roarke sent word when the New Council and Chosen united, that if they revealed themselves to the humans, they would raise their army and kill leaders of the human world, one by one, until they controlled everything, or until the humans grew so angry with the magical community, they would ban them.
The Rogues didn’t want to be revealed, and the threat really made no sense, but until they got Roarke under control, they had to be patient. He was planning something, and better to play their war in secret than in front of the humans. It would not make them accept the idea of shifters and vampires easily.
Therefore, for now, Shea planned, gathered her lists, and spoke to the humans who did know they existed. That was her job, and she was constantly on the phone.
“Hey, you have to put these on,” Griff argued as her mates followed her, she rolled her eyes where they couldn’t see, and for a brief moment wanted to snap her fingers again. However, her mates had proven what would happen if she used her powers against them. Oh, what a fun night that had been. Of course, she thought that was when the babies were conceived.
“Fine, if you want to chain me in front of the children, go ahead,” Shea sighed and held out her hands with a sad look on her face.
Lev leaned against the door jam and snorted, “Not gonna work, baby doll.”
Shea stomped her foot and glared. “Fine.”
Griff grinned, snapped the cuffs around her wrist, and winked at the babies, as they made small chuckling noises. Shea was sighing loudly, and shifting from foot to foot. When her mate was done, she rolled her eyes and held up her arms.
“Happy now?” she asked.
“Now that you mention it,” Lev said and walked to where his two mates were standing and pulled them each in for a kiss. The babies began to clap and the men chuckled, as each grabbed a daughter and held them high.
“Let’s get them breakfast then,” Shea said. “I hope Cook is ready for all of us. Lev, when are your father and the rest of the family coming?”
“They’ll be here by the end of the day for the lockdown. Cabins have been assigned.”
Shea nodded and went to the door and laughed when she opened the door and heard the yelling from all of her friends coming down the hallway. Shea turned and grinned at her mates.
Bama was walking around their room wa
ving her hands and swearing in Spanish. Trace and Shane stood watching her laughing. She was pissed off about her cuffs. The men were smart and did it when she was asleep.
Had she been awake, there would have been a battle. As it was, she was pissed and ready to kill them. “You are chaining a Princess, in my country you would have your heads cut off.”
“Please!” Shane said and rolled his eyes. “I have talked to your mom, so who do you think told us to do it when you were sleeping. Getting wasted and helping torture the Enforcers is no longer appropriate.”
Bama halted her rant and narrowed her eyes at her mates. They both laughed, over the last year they had become accustom to her dramatic rants. They always contained Spanish, and cussing. That was why their children were in the playroom with the other children, currently under watch.
When Shane and Trace woke up on the couches this morning and their necks had kinks in them that, of course, made it easy to justify their cuffing Bama before she woke. They also knew what her reaction was going to be, so they fed the children and took them to the playroom.
“Where are my babies?” she yelled at them. “Samuel and Andrew need their breakfast.”
Trace stood slowly and then put his hands on his hips. “They are in the playroom. I think we are perfectly capable of getting them ready for the day. Besides, we have some things we need to talk about and get straight.”
Though the last year had been amazing, they still needed to put their foot down with Bama every once in a while. She was very dominate, and although they respected her place in her country, and she was a Harpy Eagle, she was their mate and she was going to behave if they had to spank her. Well, that would be fun, but still it would get the point across.
“Oh really?” Bama challenged and Shane stood up next to his friend and grinned.
Trace grinned and said, “Yea, really. We have been so busy setting up the Old Council meetings that I think we have neglected our mate’s discipline. Don’t you, Shane?” Trace was in charge of setting up the Old Council board, which would serve as an advisory board for the New Council, there was still so much they needed to learn from each other.