Protected by the Pack

by Jade Alters

  Coughing and holding his hand up to his face to try and block the smells, Titan stood in the middle of the room and said, “We'll be back for you...all of you. Nobody gets left behind today.” He walked over to a door against the far wall and waited for Clay, Will and Manny to get in position behind him. As soon as they were, he pulled open the door.

  I was relieved not to hear gunfire, but that didn't mean there weren't traps set up for the men/wolves to fall into. I watched as each one of them slowly and cautiously entered the room and then with one last glance around at the horror show surrounding me, I slid in behind Manny.

  The room we'd gone into was some kind of office. There were papers scattered across desks and the floor and the other door was open, making it look like it had cleared out in a hurry. For the next half an hour or so we went through a succession of rooms.

  There was one that looked like a bedroom, one that was completely empty with shiny wood floors, one that seemed to be fixed up to emulate the great outdoors, and another one filled with cages. I watched as the men's eyes went from cage to cage, searching for their leader, the man who had been inside my head that very morning.

  They didn't seem to see him, but there were more tortured souls here and it almost hurt to leave them because from the sounds of their soft cries, I knew they thought no one was coming back.

  The rooms turned into a long, tubular-shaped hallway. We followed Clay until he came to a set of double doors.

  He turned slightly and looked at the rest of us. I guessed this was the lab, the place where they'd been held...and turned, forever changing their fate. The idea of it might have been heartfelt on Grover's part...but the sickness of the men who dabbled in experiments using living, breathing humans and animals, appalled me.

  Once again Clay waited until the men were all ready and I stood back out of the way. This door was locked so Clay aimed his pistol at it and the metal around the door handle caved in slightly. He waited and when no one shot back, he pushed on the door again and suddenly we were looking into what looked to me like a lab from a science fiction movie.

  There were glassed-in pods and behind the glass in some of them, we could see wolves, chained to beds with silver cuffs. Others were empty and the very last one had been practically demolished.

  Computers had been crushed, papers shredded and it looked like heavy objects had been dragged out the door. They'd definitely left in a hurry, probably as soon as the shooting started at the other end of the building.

  We were still taking it all in when the floor and the walls around us began to vibrate, and then shake, like an earth quake. “Chopper!” Titan yelled.

  The men all ran for the next door where there was a flight of stairs. I tried to keep up with their long strides. They took the stairs two and three at a time, and made it to the top a lot quicker than I did. When I stepped out into the sunlight, I felt a harsh wind and heard a loud noise. I brought my hand up to block the bright sun that was burning my eyes after all that time in the dark...and I saw the chopper as it was lifting off the ground. It was about six feet up and Clay opened fire on it.

  His bullets only bounced off of it however, and ricocheted into the ground. After unloading his rifle, he stood silently with the rest of us and watched as the men responsible for all the suffering got away. I had my eyes on the window of the chopper. I could see a man's profile and although I couldn't see his entire face, I knew who it was.

  The General finally turned when the chopper was about twenty feet up, and he looked directly at me. I searched what I could see of his face for sorrow, or remorse. Sadly, I wasn't surprised when I found none.

  For about five minutes that day, I thought the hardest thing I'd ever have to face, was looking into the eyes of my father. But then, the really hard work began. The five of us released over thirty live people from the cages. Some of them were barely alive and while I helped Will, who I didn't know was a medic until then, tend to them, I began to hear their stories, one by one.

  These were not monsters that the scientists had found wandering in the hills, snatching soldiers and campers and eating babies. These were people who had jobs, and homes and families.

  Somehow the Taliban had come up with a way to track them down and they had begun to round them up by the dozens and sell them to the American scientists at the tower.

  From what I understood, the mission had begun as a legitimate, top-secret study. But at some point, the American government had found out about the mistreatment of the people there and the bizarre DNA studies the head scientist had begun working on, and they shut the mission down. That was when the tunnels came into play.

  The government was under the impression that the remote “tower” in the mountains above Kabul had been vacated for years, when in fact, it had been fully operational all along. People had been changed into things that the others who were left weren't even able to describe. Most of the women had died off, thanks to experiments around childbirth.

  None of the children conceived at the tower lived past their first birthday. The old people died, and the sick and disabled. All total, the men had taken out over a hundred bodies that day, and when they began the task of digging a mass grave for them, they discovered that was but a drop in the bucket as far as mortality went.

  Those who had managed to live were the young men, taken in their prime and after years of abuse and neglect, left with the health, body and appearance of men far into middle age. Some of them were stuck somewhere between wolf and man. Some, were unable to turn at all either one way or the other. All in all, it was the worst day of my life and I felt guilty about that, considering what the rest of them had been through.

  Once the dead were buried and the living were treated as best as they could be with the paltry medical supplies we found, the papers left un-shredded...files and computers and phone books, anything that might help us track down the monsters responsible for what we saw that day, were collected.

  The people and the things we gathered were taken to a nearby cavern and I watched over them while the men went back to the tower, one last time. I knew they were going to do one more sweep to make sure they hadn't missed anyone or anything. And I also knew that the anyone they would be looking for most of all was their lieutenant colonel. I had tried hard to connect with him again, but I was getting nothing.

  Clay, who had communicated with him telepathically in the past, tried as well, with the same result. Grover had told me that he wouldn't be there when we came. I had assumed he meant that he'd be dead...but now we all had to wonder.

  I was sitting next to a man who was sobbing over the loss of his wife and children when the earth shook underneath me for the second time that day. I knew this time it was no chopper, however. It was the explosion that would bring down the tower of hell and lay it to rest once and for all.

  Once that was done, our sad little convoy started down the mountainside...not a single one of us knew what to do or where to go from there. But what we did know was that even against all the odds, we were survivors and, in my mind, that was at least a good place to start.

  13

  Courtney (One year later)

  I held a beautiful baby boy in my arms. Clay held the little girl, and Manny the other boy. It was beautiful to see what fatherhood did to these two big, strong men.

  They were literally glowing. I was shaking all over, and I was exhausted...but it was a good tired, the best kind. We had three beautiful, perfect, healthy babies, two boys and a girl.

  We named them Chloe, Christopher and Max. I had experienced a lot of firsts over the past year, and a lot of what I thought were my “best days ever,” but this day and this moment, truly took the cake.

  “She looks like you,” Clay said, staring in awe at the baby girl in his arms. When he looked up at me, his mate...his white alpha, the awe was still there.

  “You did so well. I'm so amazed.” Clay had never experienced childbirth with anyone and throughout my pregnancy he had asked a lot of questi
ons and he had wanted to be there for every important event. They all had been. Manny was nodding in agreement with Clay...

  “You were incredible.”

  “Are Will and Titan on their way?” Clay nodded, his eyes and attention back on the baby in his arms.

  The year had been busy and wrought with so many changes. But those changes had all led us to this moment, and if I had to go through it all again, I wouldn't change a thing. The midwife came in then, smiled at the proud papa's and said,

  “The pack are all anxious to see the babies. I told them they would have to wait until the other two alphas have arrived and had their turn.”

  I smiled at her.

  I knew I'd been lucky to find her. The woman was a native of Bali and not the least bit fazed about the fact that we were wolves, or any of our lifestyle choices.

  She'd been nothing but kind, helpful and most importantly to me, non-judgmental. Our pack was 35 strong now, still all men except for me and now Chloe, but we were all thriving and things were only going to get better, I knew that in my heart.

  The first order of business, as soon as the refugees we'd rescued from the tower were healthy, was deciding who would lead us. It was Manny who brought up what I had said to him almost a year before on that mountain, about making their own rules and their own pack. When the others heard my idea, about letting the little team of soldiers lead together, the unanimous consensus was that it was the perfect idea for them.

  The next order of business had been establishing exactly what I wanted to do about a mate. We had discovered through the papers we found in the tower, and phone conversations that I had with my mother that I had been adopted.

  My mother admitted that they hadn't exactly done it legally. The General had brought me home, telling my mother that the parents were Afghani's who had been killed in Kabul. My mother never really believed him, but she lived in denial to keep from having to give up the little girl she wanted so badly. I might never know where I came from exactly, or if “my father” was actually my father, but I did know that I was born to be a wolf, and that status gave me an actual leg up over the four men as far as leading the pack.

  I didn't want to be the leader. I was content with the men leading together, but there was something I did want. Since I was the only female and would be for the foreseeable future, I wanted to be the one who chose my mate...and now as I held my first babies and smiled up at their daddy, I thought back to the day I told them that.

  “Clay, I hope you know how I feel about you. The chemistry between us is incredibly strong. I think you're brave and kind and I couldn't design a better man. I'm falling in love with you.” Clay had been beaming as I spoke, and he looked relieved. I hadn't told him yet that I was expecting and I knew he was worried about who I would choose once the dust had settled and we were talking about moving on as a pack. “But...” that “but” had caused his smile to falter. “I feel a pull toward all of you.” I had looked around then at the other three men present. “A strong pull. I think you all complement each other so well, and I think we're going to have a fabulous life as a family. I'm not sure how you will all feel about this because it's certainly not conventional or traditional...but neither are we. We're making our own pack and our own rules, and I was hoping that one of those rules could be...that I could keep you all.”

  Clay frowned. Titan cocked an eyebrow. Will had a confused smile on his face and Manny was looking at Clay, obviously waiting for his reaction. Clay spoke first. “Are you saying that you want to mate with all of us?”

  I nodded. “For selfish reasons, of course, because I love you all. But I'm also thinking of this pack. Until we find females...like us, or willing to be like us, I'm going to be the only one making babies. We have to think about the future of our pack now, and always. One of the things Grover told me before he stopped talking to me was that a werewolf without a mate by the time he's thirty, begins to die. I don't want any of you to die. We're all very close to that age...this would save us all. It would fortify our pack, and we would really and truly be a family, which is what I want more than anything else. If any of you objects, there won't be any hard feelings. I'll understand if you think you might meet your true mate someday...”

  “We have,” Titan said, “At least I have. I've felt it since that first day. You're my mate, I was only taking a step back because I thought you wanted Clay.”

  “Me too,” Will said, quietly. “I never thought you'd want me.”

  I smiled. “Since that first day I've had these feelings for all of you, that I didn't understand. I've only just started sorting through them. But what I can tell you is that the thought of having to choose one of you over the others...it's akin to telling me I have to choose one of my own limbs and lob the others off.”

  “I know you're my mate too,” Manny said, keeping one eye on Clay as he spoke. “But...Titan is right, we all thought you chose Clay, and one mate is the way wolves do things...”

  “It's the way they've always done things,” I said, “But remember, we've made our own pack and our own rules.”

  He looked at Clay again and said, “I think this comes down to you, Clay. Yes, we all take a part in leading this pack, but you've always been our unspoken leader. I respect you unlike I've ever respected another man. I think Courtney is my mate and I don't believe I'll ever meet anyone that I want more. But you're my brother...I have to defer to you.”

  Clay was looking at me and I could see a dozen emotions in his face. We all waited and at last he said, “I can't live without you, Courtney...” turning toward the men he said, “But I can't live without any of you, either. I say, let's make our own rules. Who's to say that there's only one true mate in the world for each person? Maybe Courtney is allowed more because of who she is, or maybe...maybe it's just time to think outside the box. It's what we do best anyways, right?”

  I had hugged Clay tightly and then each one of the men, and they had hugged each other. I wasn't fooling myself that it was going to be all sunshine and roses, but I just knew in my heart somehow that was the way it was supposed to be. That was also the day I told Clay about the baby growing inside of me. It had turned out to be three babies, and my “mates” had all been equally thrilled.

  The next order of business had been deciding where our pack would settle. The men knew we would need money wherever we ended up. We weren't equipped, yet, to fully live on the land. The pack stayed in Afghanistan until the four men were able to get their orders to discharge from the army...and then as a family, we flew to Bali.

  Manny had a good friend there, one that ran a security company and one who was thrilled to have four ex-Army Green Berets on his staff. My mother had been devastated when I first told her about my father, the experiments...and finding out that I was a shifter. It was a huge adjustment for her and I was willing to give my mother the time she needed to adjust and accept it.

  It was when my mother discovered she was going to be a grandmother that she started coming around and two months before the babies arrived, my mother sent me a letter and a check...a large check. The letter said that she'd gone through the financial accounts that my father managed their entire marriage, and she found several very large accounts that he had opened in my name.

  He'd obviously done that to be able to hide the money from the IRS and his wife. But now that he was gone, on the run, or whatever...the money was mine. It was enough money for us to buy a beautiful piece of land in Bali, right on the beach where we could build homes for our pack, and raise our children. If anyone had told me a year ago that this would be where I'd end up, I would have called the men in the white coats to take them away. But I loved my life now and I couldn't wait to live more of it.

  The search for the men who had committed the unspeakable atrocities at the tower continued. The men, my mates...and their boss treated it like one of their open cases. Some days I almost hoped that they'd never find my father. I couldn't imagine having to look at him, knowing what he intended for me.<
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  Other days, I couldn't wait. I couldn't wait to tell him that his manipulation of me had ended with my being happier than I ever imagined I could be. No woman could be luckier and sometimes I almost wanted to thank the General for trying to ruin my life and failing so miserably.

  “Where are they?” Will burst into the room, smiling as usual. Titan was right behind him looking like a kid on Christmas. Manny reluctantly gave up the baby he was holding, giving Will instructions on how to hold him as he did. Clay wasn't relinquishing Chloe yet, he even growled when Titan tried to take her. I laughed and said,

  “Here Titan, you can hold Max.” I watched as the huge man nervously took the tiny infant out of my arms and held him like he was made of glass. My heart swelled so much when I looked at the four of them, I thought it might just burst. My four, strong, loyal, loving mates.

  “This one looks just like me,” Will said.

  Manny snorted.

  “Right, because you have dark skin.” He rolled his eyes and said, “Check out that dark hair and pigmentation white boy. That one is all me.” I laughed again and shook my head.

  The babies were all of theirs and another decision I made along with my four mates was that no one would ever know which man had fathered any of them. I could see now as I watched them all, eyes shining and chests puffed out, that it had been the right choice.

  While the daddies got acquainted with their babes, I closed my eyes and my mind drifted back to the first time I'd made love to each of them. They were all so different...and once again I reminded myself that I was the luckiest woman in the world.