by Jessica Snow
At breakfast, Melanie glanced around while Keith finished the bacon. "Hey, where's Kimberly?" In the five months she had been Keith's Mate, not once had she woken up without her Sister somewhere in the penthouse.
"She's going to prepare the estate," Keith replied, putting the last few scraps of bacon into the eggs in the frying pan. "We are going up there next week."
"We?" While the hair coloring and some facial prosthetic implants had altered Melanie's appearance enough that she no longer felt afraid to go out into the city, she had been so busy learning about werewolf politics, biology, and how to have a werewolf baby that she had started to feel a touch of cabin fever.
"We," Keith said, plating Melanie's breakfast and handing it to her. "Kim and I both feel that your lessons are going along wonderfully, and you can handle the upcoming meetings. Every three years, all of the Clans in North America meet for what is officially called a Gathering. What it means is a lot of handshaking, hobnobbing, and Clan politics. Most of it can be rather boring, but there are still a lot of important Alphas there, and they'll want to meet you."
Melanie suddenly felt nervous. "But, I haven't even met any other werewolves other than you and Kim," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "I mean, I haven't even met your parents. Are you sure I can handle a giant gathering of Alphas?"
Keith smiled his confident smile, the mere flash of which soothed her feelings like a cooling balm. "Melanie, I haven't introduced you yet because my Mother is out of the country. Since my Father passed and I became Alpha, she's enjoyed her retirement and has become quite the globetrotter. She'll be there, though, rest assured. She sent me a mental message. She wants to meet her daughter in law, and her grandchild."
"I keep forgetting, you've got mental connections with more than me and Kim," Melanie said, tucking into the fluffy eggs. They were just as she liked them, a touch salty, with a hint of oregano. "So how do we get there?"
Keith thought melodramatically for a moment, before capturing her eyes with his again. "I was thinking.... how about we take the corporate helicopter?"
Melanie squealed in excitement, setting her fork clattering down on her plate. It was going to be her first helicopter ride.
Chapter 13
"The time has come again."
"Yes. The Gathering of the North American Clans."
"We've never known where they were going to gather before," the one dark-garbed man said, as he and his colleague walked through the marble-floored hallway. Around them, minions scurried, their busy action masking their fear at being in the presence of the two powerful men. "But Yankowitz's death put us on the right path."
"Yes." The second of the two men, a towering man with a dominating presence, was soft-spoken, his voice oddly out of place on such a huge figure. "Our plan?"
"We track them, and listen," the smaller colleague replied. "I understand your desire for direct action, but you know the enemy. If you cut off the head, no matter how strong these Alphas may be, they will not die. Instead, new heads will emerge, and they will scatter. If we gather, though, wait, and set a trap, we can destroy whole Clans at once, and not just random Alphas."
The larger man tensed at the lack of action, his entire body thrumming with desire to destroy the hated enemy. But, the older man was his superior. He'd obey for now. "One request, sir."
"What is that?"
"The woman who killed my brother..... I want her dead."
The older man smiled, and the chilly visage looked bloodthirsty and maniacal. "Of course, dear boy. By the time of the end of the Gathering, Melanie Richter will be dead."
Chapter 14
"I still can't believe it."
Melanie stood atop the Lockwood Towers, near the helipad, gazing over the city. Running her hand over the slight bump that contained her baby, she thought about all the changes she had been through in the past six months. She had been a cop. Technically, she guessed she still was, although she was also had a warrant out for her arrest, so she wasn't sure what her job status was. Not that it really mattered, as she had gone from a dateless single to the First Mate of the Alpha Male of the Lockwood Clan, Keith Waldwyck. Of all her changes, however, the biggest had to be her baby, which she would never have even considered before all of this.
"What can't you believe?" Keith asked her, his strong hands comfortingly stroking her shoulders. He looked out on the city and kissed his Mate on her temple. "I'm sure you have seen the city from up high before."
"It's not that, it's you, it's the baby, it's.... Jesus, what a six months."
Keith turned her around gently, concern written across his face and deep in his amber eyes. "Do you have any regrets? Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?"
Mel wrapped her arms around his massive shoulders, pulling her Mate down for a hug. "Just keep being you," she demanded, "and perhaps offer me more helicopter rides."
Keith's grin at her facetious request was soon turned to a squint as he looked at the eastern horizon. "Speaking of helicopters, here comes ours now."
Mel peered as hard as she could in the direction Keith was pointing, but could see nothing. "It must be those wolf senses of yours, but I can't see anything."
"Give it a minute."
Melanie waited patiently before she could just see a black dot appear against the bright blue of the afternoon sky. Shivering in the late winter cold, she started to feel excitement as the black dot formed curves, and eventually definition. As soon as she could make it out, a grin spread across her face and she slapped her mate on the arm. "You prankster!" she laughed, as the Bell 222 hovered and sank down on its tricycle landing gear. "You do realize that going around in a copy of Airwolf is not the way to be at all discreet?"
Keith's returning laugh, even as he squinted against the rotor wash, rumbled through her chest. Once the rotors stopped, she could make out what he was saying. "It's actually one of our older helicopters," he said, as he led her towards the side door. "My father bought it after he saw how much I loved the television show as a child. He even paid for it to be specially modified to exactly replicate the interior and exterior models on the show. Of course, since so much of it is fictional, sadly this chopper cannot go supersonic or anything like that, but still, it's fun to pretend, and she is still the fastest helicopter in the Lockwood fleet."
Looking through the cockpit glass, Mel was hardly surprised when she saw the familiar knockout figure of her Sister, Kimberly. As Keith's twin sister and Alpha Female, the woman was sometimes a complete enigma to Mel. Tender, intelligent, but every time she turned around, Kimberly was showing her a new skill. Computer hacker, expert hunter, fashionista, yoga expert, and now.... helicopter pilot.
Sliding through the cockpit door and finding the rearmost seat, Mel had to laugh as apparently Keith's father had even had the helmets from the show copied down to the last detail for his son. Sliding hers on, she was impressed by the reduction in sound. "So, does this thing have internal communications?"
"Of course," Kimberly's voice came back in her ear. "Now, since you're sitting in the co-pilot's seat, I'd ask you politely not to push any buttons over there."
"Why? Keith, you told me your father bought a mock-up, not the real thing."
Keith's chagrined voice from the rearmost seat made her laugh almost as much as his sister's slapping of his shoulder. "Uhhh, yeah.... about that. Well, I said it couldn't do everything that the TV show helicopter could. Emphasis on everything. Father was a stickler for realism, though."
"I see. Should I give a call to my former friends at the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Bureau about this thing?"
"I can categorically state there is no alcohol or tobacco on this helicopter," Kimberly said from her seat as she revved the throttle, and the helicopter lifted into the air.
Melanie spent the next hour being thrilled as Kimberly deftly maneuvered the nimble chopper up the northern river valley, dropping down near the river level once they were clear of the major city scenery and moved into the
highlands that led upstate. The hunched, ancient stones of the highlands rose around them, thick with forests that were older than the United States itself. Melanie couldn't think of a better setting for a werewolf den. As they flew, a question came to her. "Hey, Keith."
"Yes, love?"
"Why is it that Kimberly is flying instead of you? You're the one who loved the show so much, right?"
"Because every time Keith flies, most of the passengers get motion sickness," Kim answered for him. "And I don't want to spend two hours cleaning your breakfast out of the upholstery."
"Hey, that only happened twice," Keith mocked.
"Yeah..... after that nobody but me was willing to fly with you," his sister replied, causing all of them to laugh. "Well, we're almost at the end of the ride anyway. Mel, if you take a look up ahead to your left, you'll see your new home."
Melanie's breath caught in her throat as she saw the grounds before her. Looking like it was carved out of the ancient granite itself, a Gothic style manor castle sprung out of the hillside, complete with four towers at the corners. On the river side of the estate, the grounds dropped off into an almost fifty-foot sheer cliff to the river below. The immense grounds surrounded the castle on three sides, with well-manicured gardens, pools, what Melanie thought might have been a stable, and all of the trappings of a country manor. On the side opposite the river, there was a long tree-lined driveway, which led to the main gate and the road about a mile in the distance. "My god, it looks like it came out of a Scottish fairy tale," she said, "How did your family do it?"
"The castle has been in the family for five generations, stretching back almost all the way to the founding of the United States," Keith replied. "During the Colonial days, this entire area was granted to my family via Royal Decree. During the Revolution, my great great grandfather was smart enough, or lucky enough, to side with the Colonials, and so the land remained ours. Since then, it's been the home base for Clan Lockwood. We've struggled at times making tax payments, and at one point the estate wasn't exactly in the best of repair, but it's always remained in our hands."
Kimberly swung the Bell helicopter around the manor once, giving Mel a three hundred and sixty-degree view, before setting down on the south lawn. Once the rotors stopped, the trio got out, only to be greeted by a statuesque woman, who looked to be about sixty years old. Mel could quickly see the resemblance, and knew she had met her Mate's mother. "How should I greet her?" Mel asked Keith quietly as they approached.
"Be yourself," Keith laughed. She saw his mother laughing too, and realized that she had heard the entire thing through her psychic connection with her son.
"Failing that, you can give an old werewolf a hug," the woman replied coming within normal conversation range. "The time for formal trappings and titles is days away still. For now, please just call me Valeria, or Val if you like."
"It's a pleasure, Valeria. Please, just call me Mel."
The older woman chuckled. "I'll try, but please excuse me if I might slip in some sweethearts and darlings, and of course, the ever popular 'dears' in there. I'm an old lady, and I've never been good with names."
"You're hardly old, mother," Kimberly said, giving her mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You barely look a day past your one hundredth."
"One... hundred?" Melanie stuttered. She knew that as a born werewolf, the Waldwycks aged slower than normal humans, but one hundred? She didn't even think she'd be around at one hundred.
"Yes, you will," Keith replied to her unspoken thought. "As we are Mated, you share in my life force. From the point we joined, your aging slowed to about that of a werewolf's. You can look forward to at least another eighty or ninety years of active life, at which point you'll look about sixty."
"Wow. Just think, there are millions of people around the world who would pay an arm and a leg for that."
"Enough with the talk of getting old," Valeria said, chuckling. "It's time I got to meet my daughter in blood."
For the rest of the day, Melanie was pleased to explore the grounds with Valeria, while Keith and Kimberly were taken up with preparations for the Gathering. "I'll be honest with you, I was somewhat glad when I didn't have to do this anymore," Valeria confided in her. "When my husband decided to retire and pass on the Alpha status to Keith, I was so relieved."
"I am sure. But I am still unsure what my role in the future will be, Valeria."
They passed the stable, which Mel could see contained various motor vehicles. There was a four-wheel ATV, two dirt bikes, a lawn tractor, and a small truck that looked like it was meant for off-road work. It made sense to keep vehicles in a stable, she thought, considering that horses were probably a poor choice to keep around a pack of werewolves. "I'm sure Keith, Kimberly and yourself will figure it out. Oh, back in my time, you would have been expected to take over the role from Kimberly totally, and she be Mated off to another Clan in the hopes of strengthening political ties. However, my children are not of my generation, thankfully. Unless you wish to press the issue, I am quite sure that Kimberly would like to stay within our Clan, and if possible her status as Alpha Female."
"That’s my wish as well," Mel stated, as the pair reached the riverside cliff, and gazed out at the sunset. "She is a very talented woman, and you must be proud of her. I could never replace all of her skills. I think I’ll be happy being First Mate, and perhaps helping both of them as best I can."
Valeria glowed at the compliment to her daughter and patted Melanie on her upper arm gently. "Well then, a word of advice. While the Gathering itself is supposed to be a friendly event, like all lycanthrope Clan events, there is a fair amount of political bickering, backstabbing, and alliance making going on. Be very wary about what you say to those not of Clan Lockwood, but also don’t be afraid to appear strong. Your presence will cause scandal, that is for certain. The other Clans have been made aware of your presence, and for you, this will be the equivalent of a débutante event, except you will be the only deb at the ball."
"Thank you for your wisdom, Valeria. I’ll do my best to make my Mate proud."
"Of that, I have no doubt, Melanie. Don’t be afraid, however, for I get to be right by your side. If you have any questions, I will help you."
Chapter 15
For the next two days, Clan groups arrived at the Lockwood Estate. While none were as numerous as Clan Lockwood, who had over a quarter of its members there to act as hosts, Melanie soon found herself swimming in a sea of werewolves. Each Clan was entitled by Gathering rules to bring the Alpha Male and Female, their children, and up to one bodyguard for each member. As some families had three or sometimes four children, this mean finding quarters for up to a dozen different werewolves for each Clan. Thankfully, the estate manor had seven different guest bedrooms, in addition to the quarters that served Clan Lockwood, as well as servant's quarters, guest houses, and the like. While some of the lower ranked members of Clan Lockwood would have to sleep in hastily built bunks down in the wine cellar, there was room for all.
Even more disconcerting for Melanie was the almost impossible levels of handsomeness and beauty surrounding her. Every Alpha male was tall and muscular, with broad, sweeping chests and commanding presences, while the Alpha females were rivaled only by the goddesses themselves in terms of beauty. Even the minor assistants were attractive. While Melanie was certainly attractive herself, it made her self-conscious.
"Don't worry," she felt Keith think to her, causing her to smile. Even while he was busy with final preparations on the far side of the Estate, he still was able to give some attention to her thoughts, and they often had communicated by their link.
"I'm here, Sister," Kimberly also replied. "While these Alphas may have a commanding presence, I know that none match your inner strength and will."
"You are too kind, Sister," Mel thought back. "Still, I am getting tired of having to literally look up to everyone here."
"We could get you some platform boots. Maybe some stilts?" Keith joked back, causing
her to laugh under her breath.
Valeria, who was walking with her, noticed the chuckle. "Did they say something funny?"
"Of course. Your son is quite the joker for a man who seems so serious the times I've seen him working."
"He gets that from his Father," Valeria replied wistfully. "Oh, I wish you could have met him. He was an Alpha among Alphas."
"Would he have approved of me, do you think, Lady Valeria?" Melanie asked, invoking her title for the first time. Tomorrow night was the first night of the Gathering, and she wanted to make sure to keep to protocols. Although she wasn't sure what her title actually was, she decided to err on the side of caution.
"Two things, dear. First, as First Mate, you are subsidiary to no one. You owe no one a title, but if you wish, my title at these formal events would be Dame Valeria. Those outside our Clan can be referred to as Sir or Madam and the Clan name. Get used to it, you're going to be one of two Madam Lockwoods tomorrow, although some may refer to Kimberly as Mistress Lockwood as she has no Mate."
"Secondly, my husband would have found you very endearing. While some clans may be xenophobic towards normal humans, considering my own mother was a first generation wolf, Clan Lockwood can be seen as... progressive."
"Your mother was born human? So you are...."
"Second generation. In some of the European and Asian clans, I would never have ascended past Clan member, perhaps to Mate a third or fourth tier member if I was lucky or had shown great skill. Ah, but Bardulf was different. We were in love almost from the first time we met. I guess what I'm saying is, you are as equal to any werewolf that will be here tomorrow night. Do not let any of them make you feel otherwise."
"Thank you, Valeria. I am glad to see your son is as wise as your husband was."