5 Packhouse Meeting

SILVER LAKE PACK

“Are you really going to let this happen to me?”

The simple question from seventeen-year-old Wenona cut Wyatt to the core. She had demanded an answer from him the day before the Crystal River Pack was leaving for the Hunt in the nearby Silver Lake pack. He had agreed to go, but refused to participate, stating that he had business with the other Alpha. Quite simply, he wanted nothing to do with the Hunt. Because of this, Wenona knew that Wyatt would understand her fears.

He did understand her fears. He clearly remembered the terror in his older sister’s eyes causing the deep need to protect his sister. The hunt sparked her need to protect her mate and the Beta’s need to mark her. The only thing they could hope for was that once their youngest sister was old enough for the Hunt, it had changed. In the meantime, he made a concoction and told her to drink it with a simple warning.

“This will make you sicker than a dog. Pun intended.”

She downed the drink and regretted it almost immediately. By morning, Wenona was too sick to go with the rest of the delegation. Luna Elizabeth stated that she would stay with their daughter, and Alpha Jonathan declared that his son could handle the Alpha responsibilities by himself.

At twenty years old, Wyatt knew that he had five more years until he could assume the position of Alpha according to the laws implemented by the Council. There would also be a few more years before he would be released from the Navy. But he had been training for this position his entire life. As the only son of Alpha Jonathon and Luna Elizabeth, he knew his responsibilities.

The dreams that he had of becoming a Navy SEAL would never come to fruition. But as a medic embedded with the Marines, he still felt useful and had the opportunity to train with them. He took advantage of this every chance that he got.

Wyatt found himself approaching the Silver Lake packhouse for the meeting that he had with Sirius during the Hunt. The opening ceremonies for the Hunt had already taken place and it was approaching midmorning. The sky was slightly overcast with the first thin bands of the hurricane coming up the eastern seaboard. It was expected to turn out towards sea and be clear by early to mid-afternoon.

The buildings were all traditional colonial style, as were so many in New England. The light rolling hills made the whole area picture perfect. His own pack was west of Philadelphia and had plenty of their own colonial buildings. But here, it appeared that the pack held tightly to tradition and barely grasped for the future.

Wyatt was stopped by the sentry at the door who insisted on checking his ID and a list of appointments. He appreciated the thoroughness and the relaxed uniform of the polo and utility pants over the formal livery that he saw in other parts of the pack. Perhaps the new Alpha was looking towards the future.

Once he was inside the packhouse, the subtle scent that had Demon perking up in the back of his mind surrounded him. Intoxicating. Sweet and spicy with just a little hint of tanginess. It was everywhere. He had to find who it belonged to.

Mate.

Demon practically pranced in the back of Wyatt’s mind with his nose tipped up in the air inhaling the intoxicating flavors.

Ignoring the office to his right, he followed the scent up the stairs in search of his mate. On the third floor, it grew stronger. He started down the wing to his left but quickly turned around as it got weaker. Halfway down the other wing, he found a door that was closed. Opening the door, the scent overpowered him. Demon rolled around and howled in Wyatt’s mind.

That’s our mate. Find her!

Patience.

Stepping inside, he was enveloped in the best scent he had ever smelled. Along with the typically feminine and submissive scents was also a very strong dominant scent of strong, tangy spice. Sugar sweet like cookies mixed with strong aromas of cinnamon, cloves, and a touch of ginger.

Walking through the room, man and beast continued to argue. Demon wanted to go find their mate immediately. Wyatt agreed but kept thinking of how Wenona had begged him to make her sick so she could avoid the hunt. He thought of Whitney screaming for help. He could not be the reason that any woman had that look of fear on her face.

Certainly not the face of his mate.

Wyatt walked around looking at his mate’s stuff. Trophies from cheer and tumbling competitions. Medals for track and field and a few for marathons. Championship trophies for soccer, fastpitch softball and basketball. There were even a few championship rings.

Pictures of teams, friends, and special events covered a poster size corkboard. He scanned the images, wondering which one she was. He stepped into the bathroom and opened the three small drawers. Mascara, lip gloss and lotion were the only pieces of makeup he found. There was a drawer full of hair ties and barrettes. The third drawer was empty.

On the back of the door, he found a pair of pajama pants with Cookie Monster and a matching tank top. Wyatt stepped out of the bathroom and did not see the man standing in the doorway to the hall, watching him. Wyatt continued around the room and came across certificates and martial arts belts. There were two belt holders; both had all slots filled all the way from beginner to black. There was a certificate showing that Celeste — now he knew her name — had earned the rank of third-degree black belt in Taekwondo. Next to it was the same rank for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

A bench sat in front of her window with a bottle of bright purple nail polish and sparkly blue toe separators on the windowsill. On the other side of the window were kickboxing and boxing gloves. He was having a hard time connecting the feminine nail polish, cheer pictures and jewelry with the violent activities associated with the boxing gloves, medals and belts. The twin bed sat in the middle and was tightly made with a bright blue comforter. When he peeked at the pillowcase underneath, he again found Cookie Monster grinning back at him.

“She loves Cookie Monster. Always has, ” Sirius said from the door. “I would ask what you’re doing, but the lovesick look in your eyes tells me.”

“Is she in the Hunt?” Wyatt hoped that the other man would say no. The beast inside him growled at the other man. The older wolf huffed at Demon before offering a low warning growl himself.

“If you’re hoping to meet her, I’m afraid you’re out of luck.” Sirius leaned up against the doorframe, studying the man only a few years younger than himself. “Before I tell you anything else about my sister, tell me what you think about the Hunt.”

With Wyatt stating that the woman was a relative of his, Demon backed down. But he still wanted to go find her, claim her, and mate with her. The moon goddess made mates perfect for each other, therefore, the wolf decided she should submit to them without question.

The moon goddess has made her perfect for us. Wyatt thought to himself. She will challenge us and keep us on our toes.

Demon chuckled in the back of Wyatt’s mind. A completely submissive female would bore us both within a short period of time.

Sirius smirked at the other man standing in his sister’s room and knew that he was talking with the beast within him.

“Do you want the ‘its tradition’ bullshit answer?” Wyatt finally asked. “Or do you want my honest opinion?”

“Honest.”

“It’s archaic, sexist, sadistic, and downright cruel. I think it needs to be eliminated.”

Sirius smiled and glanced at the crest on the other man’s polo. “Crystal River. Your pack encourages military service, right?”

“Yes, sir. I am in the Navy as a medic.” he extended a hand. “Wyatt O’Donnell.”

“My ten-thirty.” Sirius chuckled as he accepted the other man’s hand. “Sirius Moore, not more serious. You like Marines?”

Wyatt laughed. “I better. Not only is my best friend, and future Beta, one, but I am embedded with a platoon.”

“Really?” Sirius asked and the other man nodded. “Why?”

“Every Marine is a rifleman.” Wyatt quoted with a small chuckle.

“Every Marine?” Sirius clarified.

With a nod, the younger man expanded his answer. “Yes, every Marine has to qualify on the rifle range, noncombatants do not. Therefore, they don’t have medical personnel because Devil Docs, such as myself, are traditionally considered noncombatants.”

“Great. She can already kick my ass. Now she’s going to be able to shoot it also, ” Sirius mused with a grin.

“She’s very active, ” Wyatt observed, motioning towards the belts and awards.

Let’s get her active under us.

Demon suggested and Wyatt warned him to calm down.

Or what?

Wolf’s bane.

Wyatt warned and Demon retreated to the back of their mind. A shot made from the extract of the Wolf’s bane plant would subdue the beast inside him, knocking it unconscious.

The flower was typically used to make the suppressants that many in the Were community used to control their inner beasts. Witches and alchemists made the suppressants for most packs. The Crystal River pack had a healer that custom made Wyatt’s specifically for Demon. After all, no one wanted him to get a bad suppressant and the future Alpha of the Crystal River pack be killed or seriously maimed.

Sirius smirked as the other man’s eyes cleared indicating that the inner conversation in his link was done. “Extremely active. The longest she would ever willingly sit still was when she would paint her toenails. And that was a struggle.”

“When did she go in?”

“I dropped her off last week.”

“She’s at Parris?”

“Yeah. Don’t think that you can just go there and get her; the more you try to force her, the more she will fight. Our dad was forcing her to do the Hunt but was kind enough to allow her an extra year to get used to the idea.” The venom dripping from that statement was almost palpable. “She had just graduated and since we were hosting this year, he thought it would be okay. But she described it as an extra year to prepare to be raped.”

“That’s one of the reasons I don’t like it. Seems like there are more and more every year.”

“Two of my sisters.” Sirius shook his head sadly. “And they are the daughters of an Alpha. With my older sister, Aria, her husband liked it so much that he continued to rape her, right up until she died.”

“And because it was her mate, no one did anything, ” Wyatt stated.

Sirius nodded in agreement. “She found out that she was pregnant, refused to have a child like him, took a large dose of wolf’s bane and silver. She was…” Sirius sighed. “Let’s just say it was horrible. Aria died only a few weeks before Sky did her hunt. She was also attacked and now lives with us while her mate courts her.”

“I’m so sorry, ” Wyatt said, swallowing his emotions as he thought about his sister calling out for him. “My sister, Wenona, was supposed to be here for her hunt, but she told me that she was scared of being raped. I made up a concoction that made her sick like crazy. My parents stayed with her, and I came with our delegation. I have two females hiding in the cabin being guarded by some of my most trusted warriors.”

“They didn’t want to be in the hunt?”

“No. I told them that they could do the events after. If they met their mate then, what would it matter?”

“I think Celeste will like you, ” Sirius said, straightening up and walking around the bed and past Wyatt into her closet. “Because of that, I’m going to do something that she may not like. At least not right now.”

Wyatt watched as the other man opened a drawer and pulled out a large, plastic, sealable bag. Arching an eyebrow in a silent question, Sirius just grinned and shrugged.

“My mom has a thing about sweaty clothes and makes us carry bags for after workouts. I thought it was a mom thing, I didn’t know it was a ‘my mom’ thing.”

Sirius dug through his sister’s dirty clothes basket. The majority of what he pulled out were exercise clothes which caused him to make a face after giving the cloth a good sniff. Then he picked up a blue shirt that he approved of. Touching it as little as possible, it was folded up and placed inside the bag before he sealed it. “It’s not as good as having her,” Sirius admitted, “but at least you can have her scent. Just don’t let my parents know. In fact, don’t let them know that she’s your mate. Dad is pissed at her. Mom now understands, I think. Pretty sure all of us kids support her.”

“Do you support her?”

“I gave her the blessing of an Alpha, helped her block the pack and family so she couldn’t be tracked, and dropped her off.” He cocked his head, listening to the faint footsteps down the hall. “My dad is coming. Play along.” He mouthed.

Wyatt nodded and then accepted the t-shirt and yoga pants that he was handed.

“That should fit her.” Sirius was saying as his father walked into the room. “If not, let me know and we’ll see if we can find something else.”

“What are you doing in here?” Malachi demanded, anger rolling off him.

“Alpha O’Donnell has a girl with them that didn’t pack anything in case her hunt outfit got messed up.”

“She tripped against a tree and both her shirt and pants were ripped. You don’t think that your daughter will mind, do you?” Wyatt asked politely.

“She left it here. Take what you want.” With that, Malachi turned and left. Even after he was gone, his anger could still be felt. Along with shame and an undercurrent of hurt.

Once he was far enough away from the door, Sirius whispered, “Let me have your phone number and I’ll keep you updated on her.”

Wyatt nodded, took Sirius’s phone, and put his number in it. Since they were from different packs and had no familial connection, they would have to rely on technology and not the mind links to keep in touch.

He then took the extra clothes he was given to Devlin, one of the girls hiding in the cabin. Devlin would appreciate the fact that the other woman’s scent would help mask her own as she also planned on going into the military when she turned eighteen.

If Devlin found her mate today, he may not allow her to live her dream.

The shirt in the sealed bag remained a secret between the two men. From then on, even after it lost the scent of his mate, it went everywhere with Wyatt. Keeping him grounded and staving off the bloodlust that lesser wolves would succumb to without their mates.