CHAPTER 16: A PACK UNITED: MAX TAKES CHARGE

It's a couple of hours before lunch, so I head downstairs with my mates in tow. On the back patio, I see the pups gathered in groups or playing in the playground behind the house. I approach some of the older ones and ask which packs they belong to. I learn they are from the Cold Mountain Pack, Emerald Lands Pack, and Green Forest Pack.

Once everyone finishes eating, I ask them to gather around. As they stand before me on the back porch, I raise my hands to quiet them.

"Now that you've all had some rest and food in your bellies, it's time to get you all home. If you're from the Cold Mountain Pack, please make your way over to Luna Amelia," I say, pointing to my left.

"If you're from the Emerald Lands Pack, please go and stand next to Beta Marcus," I instruct, pointing to my right as Marcus raises his hand and waves.

"Finally, if you're from the Green Forest Pack, please go to Alpha Dean, back by the playground," I say, pointing to Dean as he raises his hand and starts walking to the back of the group.

"Jason, give the papers to Dean, Amelia, and Marcus," I ask him. He kisses my forehead before walking over to each of them.

I feel a pang of guilt for not having spoken to Dean, Amelia, and Marcus first, but I'm thankful they followed my instructions without question.

"If you don't belong to any of those packs, please come up here to me." Every pup goes to Amelia, Marcus, and Dean. The only ones left in front of me are Michelle and Cammy.

"Good, we have all the packs identified," I say to Cece, who nods her head in agreement.

"Now let's get them home," she replies.

I walk towards Michelle, who is holding Cammy. "Michelle, my mates and I don't feel comfortable sending you back to your pack. If it's okay with you, we'd like you to stay here. We have a foster couple we could introduce you to. If you're both comfortable, you can stay with them for as long as you'd like. Is that something you're okay with, or do you want to go home?" I ask, hoping she'll decide to stay.

"I don't want to go back to that evil place, please don't send us back," Michelle cries.

"You are welcome to stay as long as you'd like. We will find you a family that deserves you," I reassure her, determined not to stop until I do, even if they end up living with us. I turn to the couple who agreed to take them in.

"Michelle, this is Erica and Scott. They haven't been blessed with kids, so they foster children who need a home. If you'd like to sit down and talk with them to see if they're a good fit, you can sit here on the deck. Please let me know how it goes," I say to the three of them as they walk to the chairs.

I stop Michelle for a moment. "If you don't feel like it's a good fit, let me know. There are several other couples who would love to watch over both of you." I have a good feeling about Erica and Scott, though.

Michelle nods her head and follows them to the seating area to talk.

Then I turn to everyone else and say, "After Alpha Dean, Luna Amelia, or Beta Marcus talks to you and gets your name, you can play while I contact your alphas. Hopefully, you will all be home by the end of today or tomorrow." I say with a smile, and all the haunted faces brighten a bit, and I even see some smiles from the children.

"Pups. I know they're in human form right now, but they're still pups," explains Cece.

I know, Cece. I'll get it eventually. It will take time. It's like changing someone's name you've known for 30 years. It will take time to get used to it.

I watch as the pups head to the playground to play. I wait until Dean walks up to me. He grabs my hand and says, "Even though you're not officially Luna, you're acting like you've been one your whole life. I'm so proud to have you as my mate." He smiles and leans down to give me a kiss.

Just then, Amelia and Marcus walk up to me with a list of names.

"Sorry for not asking for your help first, but thank you for going along with it," I apologize.

"Of course, we're a team," says Amelia with a smile.

Then Dean places his hand on my back to lead me inside, and we head back to our office.

Dean opens the door, and I enter. Jason and Zane are inside. "Where is Luke?" I ask, noticing his absence immediately.

"He went to the company, but he'll be back in a few hours," replies Jason, looking up from his work.

I walk over to Jason and give him a kiss before heading to Zane and doing the same.

I then head to my desk and sit down. On it is a list of three phone numbers for each of the pack's alphas. I look up, and all my mates are focused on their work, and I smile.

"Time for me to get these pups home," I say as I pick up the phone.

I contact the first alpha on my list, Alpha Deek, with the Green Forest Pack. They are the closest of the three packs. As a matter of fact, they are to the right of our borders, where the Blood Moon Pack shares our borders to the left. There are no other packs within an hour of us other than those two.

I dial Alpha Deek's phone number, and he answers on the second ring.

"Alpha Deek, may I ask who is speaking?" He says with a bit of a Scottish accent, laced with intimidation.

"Hello Alpha Deek, we have never met, but I am Max, mate to the Alphas of the Dark Wing Pack," I say in a strong, respectful voice.

"Dark Wing Pack, you say. Well, congratulations, it's about time they found their mate. They stayed in my pack for some time, and they are great men, as I'm sure you know. I have the utmost respect for them and even more for you for putting up with them," he says with a laugh. Gone is the intimidating tone.

I chuckle and say, "You have no idea. I actually called you to tell you that we found your missing pups-"

Deek cuts me off, "What? Why are we just now informed that they have been found?" He sounds upset, and rightfully so.

I reply, "Alpha Deek, I understand you're upset, but we brought them to our pack early yesterday morning, and our top priority was to get them fed, sleep, and to see Doc. Just a few minutes ago, I met with the children to find out where home is."

There's a release of a deep breath before Deek says, "I apologize, that was no way to treat a friend, especially one who found our pups. I'm sure you know how stressful this has been for all of us. Thank you so much. When can we come get them?" I never thought he would admit the stress he feels, but at the same time, I'm sure my mates felt the same way.

"As soon as you are available. They have eaten breakfast and are playing at the playground. Most of them didn't sleep much because they were having nightmares. Hopefully, they will get the healing they need when they return home." I can't help the sadness in my tone. These kids have suffered enough, and there's only so much we can do to help them get through it. I will have my hands full with the pups in our own pack.

"We will be there in a little over an hour. Again, thank you so much, Luna Max," Deek says before hanging up. I'm a little shocked at being called Luna Max. That was the first time.

I call the other two alphas, and the conversation goes the same way with them, although they are not as nice as Deek was. Alpha Carl is the alpha of the Cold Mountain Pack, who will be here in 6 hours, and Alpha Aaron is the alpha of the Emerald Lands Pack, who will be here in 8 hours.

By the time I'm done with the phone calls, it's lunchtime, and my stomach is growling. My mates hear it and start to chuckle.

"Let's take a lunch break. Wouldn't want our mate to get too hungry," says Dean while getting up and heading over to my desk.

He spins my chair towards him and offers his hand. I take it and let him lift me and guide me to the door. I stop and turn towards Zane and Jason.

"Are you going to stay up here or come down and join us?" I ask.

If they decide to stay up here, I'll bring them each a plate.

That must have been through the link because they both smiled at the same time. Then Jason answers, "We can join you today."

"Unfortunately, it will still be here when we get back either way," replies Zane with a sigh, and I giggle.

The kitchen staff has set out a buffet. I grab one plate and fill it up while the guys fill up two plates each. I'm sure one is for me. We make our way to the patio furniture, where we eat in semi-privacy while we watch the pack eat on the benches in the yard.

Once we're settled in our seats, I ask if I can hear some stories of them before they became Alpha.

They tell me stories about their lives shortly after they became brothers, about all the trouble and stupid stuff they did. It's nice getting to know them a little bit better.

They allow me to ask any question, and they answer them. We don't get into the deeper stuff from our past. I want to save that for when Luke is here and for a more intimate setting, so we won't get interrupted.

Once we're done talking and eating, Jason asks, "Well, mi alma, are you ready for the grand tour?"

"Sure, I can't wait to see the pack and meet our pack." I'm so excited to see the layout up close and ask why it's laid out the way it is.

I walk over to him and take his hand, and pull him back to our room. When we get inside, his eyes light up.

"Simmer down there, wolf, I'm just here to load up. Which reminds me, I need to call John and tell him I'm out once I finish my mark."

Turning from him, I quickly add knives into the built-in holsters in my clothes. I'll need to have holsters added to the new clothing. I turn to look at Jason, and he raises an eyebrow.

"What? You never know when you're going to need one. I would have done it earlier, but I was a little distracted. I'm ready. Where are we going to start?" I ask. I'm excited.

The grounds looked great from the roof. I can't wait to see them from the ground.

Smiling and shaking his head, he says, "Let's start with the pack house, since we're already here." He raises his hand for me to take, and I grab it, entwining our fingers. He pulls me to him and presses his lips onto mine in a passionate kiss before pulling away with a smirk.

Fucker knew what he was doing. Now I'm ready for another round.

"You and me both, girl," Cece says, laughing.

Payback's a bitch, I scheme my payback.

"Thank the Goddess, she gave me you. I like how you think," Cece says proudly.