In return for being saddled with the school Gammon’s pack were the first to know if their mate rested within the school. I did not understand just how that worked, no one had ever explained it to me, though I had asked. I think, knowing now what I know, I think the pack bachelors must know the minute their mate is consigned to the school. My wolf knew before I met Gabby that our mate was here. Dad said David could tell him the day he came back with Stormie. I would not want the task of guarding the school to fall to my pack, even if we were large enough to handle the task. I knew Gammon got what I had considered to be first dibs on the females, and I admit I had suffered my fair share of anxiousness while Stormie was there. Worried, as the guards of the school, the pack would take advantage of having the girls so close and woo them and claim them before the girls were old enough to understand.
My sister is beautiful. Probably more so than I realize since I can not be the best judge of my own sister. I asked her once how Gammon’s pack had treated her. I was surprised and confused when she told me she had never interacted any of the unmated males the entire time she was there. It makes sense now. The males would not have reacted to her presence at the school since they were not her mate. So many things made sense now that I had a mate. A mate I could not claim yet, but a mate none the less.
Grandfather and I sat and talked for a couple of more hours. Soon it would be time for the pack to meet. Grandfather suggested the pack meeting be moved further back from the cabin and offered to lay on the porch of the cabin and guard my mate. It was a testament to how much I trusted the old man that I barely even snarled at the offer. I did ask him to please not tell my grandmother the snarl slipped out. He had laughed and promised not to say a word.
Since grandfather had brought grandmother with him she had stayed to visit with mom while he came next door to my house to speak with me. The visit was not unusual and would have raised no eyebrows among the other high council or anyone watching the high council. They would have assumed grandfather was here for a family visit, he and grandmother did visit occasionally. Since he was high council he belonged to no pack, the high council was the equivalent of a pack themselves. The only reason I knew the visit was not truly what he was pretending it to be was because I was not the one he called to announce his visit.
Before we left my house to return next door grandfather had one more surprising bit of advice, “take a picture of your mate and request a meeting with Gammon. No other alpha is as dedicated to keeping our females safe as he is and he meets every female brought to the school. He will know if her twin resides within the walls of the school. If she does, you will have one argument in your favor when it comes to getting her to safety if you need to go that route. Just please remember to tread carefully with him. He is quick to dispose of those he feels to be a danger to the females. He has no sense of humor when it comes to their safety. Remember that.”
“Do you really think he will meet with an unmated alpha? I always understood he rarely meets unmated males. And no unmated males are ever allowed within his pack territory. He will only meet them outside of his pack territory. The only times he has ever met with me was when I went to retrieve our females. Even then I had the female’s family with me.”
“I think he will. You have gotten a good reputation for yourself in the short amount of time since you took over this pack. You have had one female born to your pack since you took over and a couple of females brought home from the school. When families take their females from the school Gammon knows it is because the families feel safe in their pack. Those alphas are the ones Gammon will meet with, if an alpha has no females in the school, or the females remain until the day before their twenty-first birthday, well Gammon is wary of those alphas. As well he should be. If an alpha is worried about the safety of his females to the point he leaves them in the school until the last minute that alpha is not strong enough to hold a pack and Gammon knows it. Go ahead and call him and arrange a meeting. I will head back to your mom’s house to visit while you take care of that.
I sat at my desk for a few minutes after he left, just thinking. Did I really want to involve Gammon in my situation? I had seen my mate’s face when she spoke of her twin to Stormie. If there was a chance the twin was at the school, and I could not get my mate to move into town, getting her to the school would be the best thing. I just had no idea how I would broach the situation to Gammon. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath I picked up the phone.
I was tapping my fingers on my desk by the time Gammon answered.
“If you are calling to tell me you have a problem with your pack and you want to return your females to the school I will personally rip your throat out.” Gammon’s gruff, irritated voice echoed across the line.
I was taken aback at his greeting. “You know, most people just say hello.”
“I don’t have time to be civil. What do you want Trey?”
“Well, I don’t want to return my females for one thing. The families seem quite happy and safe and I know they are happy to have their daughters back home.”
“So if you aren’t trying to give me your females back to protect for you, what do you want?”
“I have a situation I would like to consult with you about.”
“Not my problem. If you have a happy safe pack, keep them that way. There, consultation over. Now if you don’t mind I have my own problems to deal with and I don’t have time to deal with the problems of other alphas.”
“It could become a problem for others. I just need two minutes of your time, and I don’t even need to encroach upon your territory.” I was trying to find a way to meet with Gammon without saying anything over the phone. I had no way of knowing who else might be around him to hear.
“Fine, you have two minutes, make them count.”
“Ah, Gammon, it is not a conversation for the phone. I need to show you a picture of something and find out if you have ever seen anything like it before. It is pack sensitive and time sensitive.”
When the silence had stretched out almost too long I heard him sigh.
“If you knew the things I was dealing with right now you would not ask me for anything. Fine, I will give you two minutes. But, you will come directly to my compound. I have a situation right now that requires my attention and I can not leave to meet with you. Be glad I believe you are keeping your pack safe or I would have already ripped your throat out. Don’t think I don’t keep a check on the females after they leave my territory. When can you be here?”
“I can be there about sundown tomorrow if that will work.”
“No, if you want to know the truth, that is terrible timing but I will make it work anyway. If you are wasting my time make sure your beta is prepared to take over the pack for you, cause I will rip your throat out.”
Before I could say anything he hung up and I just stared at my phone for a minute before I replace the receiver on the hook. I would not want to have Gammon’s problems, what ever they were. With one last look at the phone I headed out the door and over to my mom’s. She had invited me to eat with them before the meeting and I was going to enjoy myself visiting before I had to come the alpha on my pack.
***
“How long are you expecting to be gone?” David narrowed his eyes, “And what do you want me to do about your little unicorn while you are gone?”
“I told Gammon I would be there by sundown tomorrow. I called Casey earlier and she said she can fly me up there tomorrow but you know she refuses to fly at night so I will have to wait till day after to come back. So I will be back by sundown day after tomorrow. Unless of course Gammon rips my throat out.”
“Are you expecting Gammon to rip your throat out? I gotta say, not really fond of that idea myself. And again, what do you want me to do about your little unicorn while you are gone? You upset half the pack and just take off with no real instructions for dealing with your unicorn and now you tell me you may not make it back. If it was anyone but Gammon I would offer to go in your stea
d. But he does not meet with betas. Do you know he has called Stormie every year since she came back from his school to check on her?”
“I suspected as much. He confirmed he keeps up with the females when I spoke with him earlier. I did not know he called every year even after one has been mated as long as you and Stormie have been mated. Does that bother you?”
“Not really. If I don’t think about it too hard. I mean, for what ever time the females are at the school they are an unofficial part of his pack. So him calling to check on them is something a good alpha would do. But in a way it is rather insulting. So, your unicorn?”
“Grandfather and grandmother are staying for a few days. Grandmother insist she must meet Gabby before they leave. Apparently they plan on hanging around the cabin for the next couple of days. Just keep up a rotation of guards around the cabin for now. Hopefully I will be able to get a lead on her twin while I am gone. If anyone will know it will be Gammon. But, I don’t expect anything, to tell you the truth. I can not see why one twin would be there and not the other. Stormie was not able to get much information from Gabby about where she has been or how she came to be here. She did get a few pictures of her today, so there is that. Sam gave me all her information from the rental agreement. Work on that and see what you can come up with for me would you? I want to know where she came from, and anything else you can find out. Get Gavin on it, he is the best we have for digging up information. If she has any kind of computer trail, I want it. I am going to swing by the cabin and check on things before I head to the house. I still have to pack an over night bag. I will be leaving a daybreak to meet up with Casey at the airstrip.” I heaved a deep breath before looking at David, “Do you have any idea how hard it is to trust others to watch my mate for me?”
I saw David’s lips quirk up, “Yeah, actually I do. Do you know how hard it is to have someone watching your mate and have her kidnapped out from under your nose?”
I grimaced, “I am sorry. I had no idea we had anyone in our pack who would steal a female, especially knowing that female had been claimed.” I growled, remembering the terror of that night. “One less rogue male we have to worry about and the pack is safer for it. If I had a choice I would not have let Stormie, or any other female go through the horror she went through that night. I can promise you these mountains will run red with blood if I have to kill a rogue a day before I let another of our females feel endangered.”
“I know Trey, I don’t blame you for that night. Hell, I was watching your house from a distance and the sucker still got past me. Stormie finally sleeps soundly at night now. It took awhile before the nightmares stopped. I wanted to kill the guy all over again every time a nightmare woke her from her sleep. She feels safe now and, I think she may be expecting. She smells different, just a subtle smell, but different. Of course, I have not been around other pregnant females before so I can not be sure.”
“That would be amazing news, if true. And if she is pregnant with a female, even better. Joseph has requested a meeting when I return. I think he may have some similar news to share about his mate. Our pack may finally be increasing. Of course, you know this means we will have to double down on our security?”
David snarled, “I know, I have been looking into some other security measures. We need to talk about it when you get back. Speaking of which, you need to go if you are going to get everything done tonight and get a couple of hours sleep.”
Chapter Eleven
Gabriella
The biggest problem about being alone is the thinking. I can not stop myself from thinking, mostly about rabbit holes and wolves. I thought Stormie leaving would be a good thing. I could curl up on my bed and think about everything that had happened today. The only problem is, once I started thinking I could not stop and I was slowly slipping down the rabbit hole. I just want to peek in the hole not slide down it.
I was hugging my pillow and crying. I had been hugging my pillow and crying for what seemed like hours now. I have no idea what I have gotten myself into but the smells will not leave me alone. The memories of the past are bombarding me. I have never felt so alone in my life as I feel right now. But at the same time I have never felt more like I am home than the day I left my home so many years ago. And even then this feeling of home and that feeling are not the same.
There is a wolf in town. A wolf that smells just like the men who have been chasing me. A wolf that smells a bit like uncle Josh. I shivered when I thought about that wolf. He was so big, but I did not feel the fear I should have felt. Why wasn’t I scared? Or rather, why wasn’t I scared of the wolf. Why does he smell like the men chasing me? Until I moved here I had never smelled anyone or anything that smelled like the men chasing me. And until I moved here I had never smelled anyone who smelled like Uncle Josh, except the men chasing me.
Stormie kept saying the town was the wolf’s pack, but the town was full of humans and humans can not be part of a wolf pack, can they? I feel myself slipping into the rabbit hole and I grab desperately for sanity. It is not possible is it?
Stormie said her brother does not allow strangers in the town. Stormie’s mother said the wolf does not allow strangers in the town. Her mother also said she raised the wolf since he was a pup. So I guess he would know who belonged in the town and who did not belong. I guess the brother, Trey, I have to remind myself, would probably have grown up with the wolf and maybe he used the wolf to run people out of town. Yeah, that make sense, but, the smell, my mind protests, remember the smell.
Oh my god, the guy at the register, smelled a bit like uncle Josh also. How could I have forgotten about him. And what was it Stormie’s mother said, “Never run from a wolf. They will chase you until they catch you.” Or something like that. Those guys that smell like the wolf, have never quit chasing me. What does that mean? It isn’t possible, is it? I must be wrong. I need to look at this rabbit hole a different way.
“He will not leave, he can’t. He is bound to this pack.” Stormie’s words come drifting into my mind. What pack was she talking about? She said the wolf can’t leave, will not, can not, bound to the pack. Trey runs strangers off, the wolf runs strangers off, but neither of them ran me off, and I was clearly a stranger. Trey even cleared the store for me, before he had ever met me. If fact, I still have not met the brother. The brother who would die for anyone in town. That is an unusual way to phrase something. People are not willing to die for anyone who lives in their town are they? Is that normal behavior? And everyone obeys him. I have seen enough news shows to know, not everyone will agree with the town leader. I would think Stormie and her mom were being biased but, he forbid anyone to shop while I was there, and the entire community obeyed. Who does that? And the wolf guarded the entrance to both stores while we were in there. But maybe that was because, why was that?
There is not one person in this town my son would not die to protect. Not one person in this town has anything but love for my son. He is a special person and protective of those who he has the caring of, which in this case is the whole town. They are his to protect and in return they obey him. Stormie’s mom’s words drift through my mind again. That is not normal. Even I know that is not normal. So Trey would die to protect the whole town and the whole town is his to protect. Ok, well now my mind was starting to repeat too much of the same information. I needed to find a way to blank my mind and try to look at this situation logically. Because if I could not find a logical explanation my mind was going to insist on going down the rabbit hole and I know werewolves do not exist. They are fairy tales, aren’t they?
I gave a small scream of frustration and fear. This is not working. I do not understand why my mind wants to go down a rabbit hole. There is a logical explanation for everything. Logical and, and, my mind is just pulling a blank when I try to find logic in what I have been through today. And it is not like I can ask Stormie why her pet wolf smells like the men chasing me and my uncle Josh. And I can not forget that Stormie’s mom smells very much like Nanny. I start hyp
erventilating.
Why were Trina and I never allowed to leave our property? Why were we never allowed to go to town, any town? Why were we never allowed to meet other people. Why did the men I met the very first day I did sneak away from home start smelling of me and slobbering on me like a dog would? Why did they talk about me smelling too young? How would they know how old I was from my smell? And why did they want to lock me up until I turned twenty-one? What happens when I turn twenty-one that is so special? This is not the first time I have asked myself these questions. But it is the first time I have asked myself these questions after meeting and smelling a wolf. I whimper. I don’t think I can get any closer to the wall than I am now.
I lift my head from my pillow. I am curled around it but there is nothing wrong with my hearing. I heard a whimper and this time, it was not mine. I have all the lights in the cabin turned off but that is not really a problem. I have excellent night vision and excellent hearing. I push my head back into my pillow. I never thought about my vision before. Thoughts from the past begin to intrude. I remember once in an alley, before I was old enough to get a car and a place to live, some strange guy approached me. I remember running, dodging things, and hearing him swearing because he could not see the debris to dodge it. I did not have any problems seeing. Other thoughts of similar situations begin to drift through my mind.
Gabby (Safe Haven Wolves Book 1) Page 8