South Mountain Pack Ch. 13

Dante's head snapped up and he stared at Frank, "You think he is an Alpha? More specifically a blood-born Alpha?"

Frank stared back, unafraid to be staring an Alpha in the eye since their relationship went beyond the hierarchy of Pack structure. "Yes, I think he has Alpha blood flowing through him, even his wolf is dark grey with black tips. The Alpha gene has been repressed, probably for centuries but it's there, it's strong..." Frank hesitated before looking around the room, "...and it's waiting to be unleashed."

Carlo's brow was furrowed as he said, "Are you sure? When we did the background check on him, we found nothing unusual. His family had been in Davis Pack since their formation over a hundred fifty years ago by a second son who wanted to travel west." At Dante's questioning look Carlo added, "The original Pack joined forces with another Pack and they're now called Killington Pack. South-Central Vermont, the area is famous for being a ski resort."

"I'm sure of it Carlo, there were moments when he let himself go and the power radiating off him was strong," Frank got up and leaned against the Tuscan Rose stained mantle. "Maybe because it was latent or undeveloped, but it wasn't as strong as yours and it didn't come anywhere near Anthony's power."

The Italians swung their heads to Carlo and his chest puffed with pride as he said, "I believe my son is destined to be one of the most powerful Alpha's that ever lived. He's only seventeen and his power rivals my own, yet he hasn't even come into The Ascension of his Gifts."

"The Prophecy..." Dante whispered in a reverent tone as Ric, Rocco and Luc sat up straight and stared at Carlo.

Carlo looked at Frank then Joe and the three asked in unison, "What prophecy?"

"Americans," Dante said in a dismissive tone as he shook his head. "When you moved here, everyone was so determined to start a new life they forgot the old ways that had been passed down since the beginning of time."

"Excuse the fuck out of me," said Carlo as his anger started to build. "We've abided by the rules set down in 1777, all members of this Pack are taught Rossi Pack history, everyone speaks Italian and we've never forgotten who and what we are."

"I am not talking about those things," Dante waved a dismissive hand at him before leaning forward to rest his forearms on his knees. "I am talking about a Prophecy, specifically the Prophecy of Il Guerriero e la fanciulla."

"The Warrior and the Maiden?" questioned Frank as he turned to stare at Joe and Carlo who shrugged their shoulders.

"Un figlio di una forte Alpha deve essere nato e dalla volontà di Luna che si accoppiano con la figlia di un altrettanto forte famiglia. Il suo accoppiamento darà vita ad una prima Ascensione dando origine alla sua vera potenza come uno dei più potenti per camminare sulla Terra. Egli diventerà il vero leader nel suo genere e il sangue dei due unite porterà avanti una nuova era e la pace finalmente si regola sulla terra," Dante whispered. (A son to a strong Alpha shall be born and by the will of Luna he will mate with a daughter of an equally strong family. His mating will bring forth an early Ascension giving rise to his true power as one of the most powerful to walk the Earth. He will become the true leader of his kind and the blood of the two joined together will usher forth a new age and peace will finally rule over the land.)

Carlo, Frank and Joe stared at Dante waiting for him to continue and after several moments Carlo threw his hands in the air and demanded, "That's it? What makes you think it's about Anthony and Sophia?"

"What were you expecting? It is a prophecy not fucking 'War and Peace'," Dante said with a smile as he leaned back. "But if you think of it, in the entire history of our Packs, this is the first time a Rossi has found a mate with a Carlucci. Plus, they are both young to have found their mates; it has to be Luna's intervention. I have a theory about Maria and Alberto too." Dante sat back and took a long drink of his whiskey before motioning for Frank to refill his glass.

The silence stretched out over several minutes until Joe couldn't take it anymore and said angrily, his eyes flickering between amber and green, "What the fuck Dante? You can't say something like that and then stop talking."

"I was trying a small experiment to see if your temper is still as bad as when we were teenagers...I think it has gotten worse," Dante replied with a laugh. "I believe Maria found her mate early because Sophia did; because the girls are so close her wolf wanted a mate too. Did you notice Maria's scent being stronger after Anthony's declaration for Sophia? It is just a theory, but I think Marias wolf was secreting pheromones to attract her mate."

Joe and Frank stared at each other and Joe said, "Now that you mention it, when we went into Carmelo's that day, her scent was strong." Joe was quiet for several moments before saying, "So this is all Anthony's fault?" The men looked at each other and burst out laughing. The next several hours were spent formulating more plans to increase the security of the Pack and discussing the best way to contact the allies of SMP to confirm their allegiance.

*****

Rose and Annie walked into the family room and put their hands over their mouth to cover their laughter. Sophia and Maria were still cuddled in the recliner, Joe was on one sofa and Frank the other but it was the sight of the Carlucci boys that made them laugh. Sal and Victor were propped up in front of the girls recliner and the rest of the boys were on the floor, so it looked like wall to wall Carlucci's.

"What time is it Mom?" Vin asked with his eyes closed. "And don't think you sneaked up on us either, we heard you coming."

Rose said quietly, "Its 4:30, I'm surprised your father isn't up."

"I've been up for fifteen minutes, but how was I supposed to get across the room with your sons sprawled all over the floor?" Frank asked as he sat up putting his feet on Gianni's back. "Speaking of which, why the hell are you all here?"

"Our sisters are here," Lorenzo answered from his position near the coffee table.

Joe sat up and said with a scowl, "You don't think we could've protected them?"

Dom sat up from his position near the wall as he looked at his father and uncle and started to smile, "The seven of you went through ten bottles of whiskey, five bottles of rum and six bottles of tequila. The others are passed out in the study and when you came in here you started to snore the second you laid down."

"Well, when you put it that way..." Frank said as Joe looked at him and the two brothers started to laugh before grabbing their heads. "We may have had a bit too much to drink, even with our Were metabolism we may have overdone it."

"Ya think? You should see your study, it looks like a scene from 'Animal House'; there's bottles and food everywhere ..." Damian said as his head popped up from the side of the sofa. "And what the hell did you do to Ric? He's duct-taped to the closet door." Frank and Joe looked at each other and started to laugh so hard they grabbed their sides and tears were running down their faces.

Feeling the glare of their mates, Frank and Joe stopped laughing and Frank said, "What? It was Dante's idea to duct tape the first one to pass out to the door..." Frank looked at his brother and sighed before saying, "I guess we'd better go see what's going on in the study." The boys quickly moved out of their way and tried to hide their smiles from their mothers.

Rose scowled and said, "I'll start the coffee for you bunch of degenerates."

Annie followed her to the kitchen and said quietly, "Don't give them a hard time Rose. They're under tremendous pressure and needed to blow off some steam, so who cares if they had a little too much to drink, they stayed in the house, and they even put the guards down." She got quiet and watched the boys and Sophia go upstairs to change. "They needed this Rose, probably more then we realize."

"I know Annie, but I..." Rose sighed and finished making the coffee. "Damnit, I'm upset because I wasn't included...that we weren't included. It's just like ...Fuck it, I don't know what I mean."

"It reminded you of when we were teenagers, didn't it? When they would go out drinking and partying with their friends, ignoring us and treating us like we were a pain in their ass, right?" asked Annie with a shrewd glance. "Let's be real honest here for a minute, WE WERE A HUGE PAIN IN THE ASS, always popping up where they were and forcing them to pay attention to us. We both wanted them to notice us so bad; we didn't care what we did to them or how we did it." Annie stopped for a moment and Rose glanced at her before she continued, "But let me ask you a question, since Frank made his declaration for you, has he ever treated you like that again?" She didn't wait for her sister to answer but walked over to the fridge and looked at the breakfast menu.

Frank and Joe walked into the study and stopped cold at the sight before them. Carlo was on one sofa, one hand in a bag of Doritos and the other holding an empty bottle of Patron against his stomach. Dante was on the other sofa with an empty bottle of Jack Daniels nestled in his right arm like he was cradling a baby while his left held an empty tub of ice cream. Luc was upside down in one of the club chairs with his feet on the seat cushion and his torso on the ground, next to him was an empty bottle of Captain Morgan and a half eaten sandwich. Rocco was in the other club chair with both legs over the left arm, his torso on the seat and his head hanging over the edge, an empty bottle of Patron was on the seat next to him and a bag of M & M's was scattered on the floor around him. The coffee table was littered with empty bottles, half eaten sandwiches, empty tubs of ice cream and potato chip bags. But what got their attention was Ric, duct-taped to the double doors of the closet; he was sound asleep and had an upside down bag of Doritos on his head as a hat.

"I smell Carlucci's," said Dante with his eyes closed. "Did you ever notice they smell alike, Carlo? It is a mix of self-righteousness and smugness."

"Don't forget the hints of bull-shit and over-inflated ego," Carlo added with a smile, opening his eyes to see Frank and Joe give him the middle finger as Dante started to laugh. They heard moaning and Carlo said, "What's that?"

"That was Ric, he's still duct-taped to the door," said Frank with a smile, Carlo and Dante looked at each other and started laughing so hard they fell off the sofa and laughter could be heard across the room from Rocco and Luc. Twenty minutes later, all seven of them walked into the kitchen, looking remarkably cheerful and alert in basketball shorts and t-shirts.

Seeing his mate at the counter cutting apples, Frank walked over and slipped his arms around her waist and felt her tense up before she relaxed against his chest. "I'm sorry for getting a little drunk last night my love. Joe and I came upstairs to get you and Annie to join us after we finished our meeting, but you were both sleeping; we decided you needed your rest more."

"I thought I was dreaming that you came upstairs and covered me up," Rose said with a smile.

"You know I'd rather be with you than anybody else, but it was nice to spend some time with the guys," Frank said as he nuzzled her neck inhaling her scent. "To be honest we spent most of the night talking about our mates, telling Luc how wonderful it will be once he finds his. That's one of the reasons Dante brought him, he hasn't found his mate in Rossi Pack and Dante thought he might find her here or maybe one of our neighboring Packs."

"Maybe he should stay with us for a while then. He could visit each of the Packs when we go for football games," Rose said as Frank groaned.

As the youngsters came into the kitchen dressed in basketball shorts and t-shirts, Damian asked with a smirk, "Hey Poppa Joe, you mind if we tag along?"

Joe glared at him and said, "Should you be running in the woods with the uneven terrain? More importantly do you think you can keep up?"

"I don't think I'll have a problem keeping up with a man old enough to almost be a grandfather," said Damian with a wicked smile as Joe continued to glare at him. "Face it Old Man, you're on the decline of your prime and I'm approaching mine." Muffled laughter could be heard before they couldn't hold it in anymore and loud laughter erupted in the kitchen.

Maria knew even without seeing him that her father was about to lose his famous temper and said, "Daddy, could you bring me some juice and one of my pills?" Joe hurried to do as his daughter requested.

"Here you go Sweetheart," he said with a smile as he placed her juice on the end table and put the pill in her hand. "Let me get you something to snack on." He hurried back into the kitchen and got her some fruit and crackers, kissing her on the forehead as he gave them to her. "You need anything else before we go?"

"Daddy, could you move the recliner against the other wall? That way I can still watch TV, but I can see into the kitchen too," Maria asked with a pleading look on her face. Before he could ask, Frank was in the room and they lifted the recliner and moved it to where Maria wanted it, adjusting it to her satisfaction.

"Everyone ready? It's bad enough I'm awake at this hour, let's get going before I change my mind and go back to sleep," Carlo said as he opened the back door and sniffed the air. "My son and the Moretti's are approaching." They went to the pool house waiting for the rest of the group and after they dropped off their gym bags inside the door, Frank and Joe led the way into the woods.

After a mile Carmelo said, "Marco sends his regrets for not joining us, he and Anna are swamped with preparations for the receptions, and I'm going to leave right after the run. Gina wants us to make pizza-bites, fried zucchini, baked ziti, mini-meatballs and mozzarella salad. I've called in some of the staff from two other locations, as well as people to serve tonight. It's going to be a long day." Carlo nodded his head, he had spoken to Gina already and she told him to stay away from the house and not to come home until the afternoon.

They had gone six miles at Frank and Joe's regular speed and Sophia gasped, "Aletta I'm getting tired, my legs feel like rubber."

He turned to look at her, she was breathing heavily and her face was flushed, "Push yourself to go one more mile and then I'll carry you." She nodded as she took deep breaths and pushed herself to keep up. At the seven mile mark, Anthony, Gianni and Marcus stopped and Anthony crouched down for her to climb on his back and as soon as she was secure, they started to run faster to catch up. "You did an amazing job Arachide, I know you could've run the whole ten miles but this pace is really fast. If you keep at it you'll soon be able to run the whole thing without a problem."

Fifteen minutes later they came to the end of their run and Carlo quietly said, "Dante, I'm going to have everyone sprint across the field and I want you to watch Anthony. He's been carrying Sophia the last three miles, but I want you to see his speed." Dante nodded and when they got to the edge of the field Carlo said loudly, "Sprint to the pool house." They took off running and Carlo beat Anthony by a step followed closely by Dante, Frank, Joe, Carmelo, Vin and Dom. Ric and Rocco finished the same time as Gianni, Marcus, Lorenzo and Damian, while Luc finished a step ahead of the rest of the Carlucci's and Alberto and Angelo.

Anthony crouched down and Sophia slid off his back, he turned around making sure her legs could support her and she shyly said, "Thank you Aletta."

He whispered to her, "I'll always be there for you, Arachide." Sophia's face flushed even more and she started to giggle before she turned around and walked gingerly to the house while Anthony watched her the whole time.

"We're going to change it up a little; we've got thirty minutes until the boys have to get ready for school. Let's go into the barn," said Frank with a smile. They began working on free weights and a little over an hour later they were in the kitchen; the boys dressed in their uniforms and the men in clean shorts and t-shirts. Alberto went to the family room and greeted his intended who was waking up from her nap and he gently picked her up bringing her into the kitchen so she could have breakfast.

Seeing individual bowls of brown sugar, chopped apples, peaches, blueberries, strawberries, walnuts, raisins and the pitcher of milk on the counter, Frank started ladling out the oatmeal from the 15 quart stockpot on the stove to the youngsters who helped themselves to the toppings before sitting down at the table. Alberto quietly asked Maria what she wanted and brought her bowl to her before going back and getting his. Rose got the eggs, bacon and biscuits out of the warming oven and placed them on the breakfast bar.

"We've got to pick up Gabs, are you okay here, or do you want me to bring you back to the recliner?" Alberto asked Maria as he poured her juice before leaning down and scenting her neck.

"I'll stay here, Lorenzo'll help me back after I eat his bacon," she said with a smile as Lorenzo started to growl at her as she picked a piece of bacon off his plate.

Angelo looked at Sal and quietly asked, "Would you like to come with us?" Sal smiled widely and got up quickly leading Alberto and Angelo down the hall to the mudroom so he could get his backpack.

Fifteen minutes later Vin looked at the clock and said, "Five minutes till we got to go." The youngsters nodded their heads hurrying to clear their plates before getting up and putting them in the sink then heading into the mudroom. Almost at once, they came running back out and ran over to Maria giving her kisses on the top of her head and saying "See ya" before running to the mudroom again.

"Momma, could you help me get cleaned up, I feel grungy," Maria asked quietly. Annie and Rose helped her upstairs; thirty minutes later they were back and helped her into the recliner where she promptly fell asleep. As they turned to the kitchen they stopped in their tracks, Frank was loading the dishwasher and Joe was washing the pots and pans while the other men were clearing the table.

"Sit down and eat your breakfast," said Frank with a scowl. "I made your oatmeal how you like it, and Joe fixed Annie's. There's a plate in the warming oven for both of you and Joe started a load of laundry already."

"We'll be at The School House first and after we're going to inspect the cells," said Joe. "We'll be back to change before we head to the airport to pick up President Roberts and we'll need both SUV's since he has seven people with him."

"You'll have to take my truck to the reception with Ric, Rocco and Luc," said Frank as he poured Rose some juice. "While you were upstairs, Joel called and they'll bring the little ones over at 5:30, and the Millers will be here about the same time. Papa Mike and Nana Ellen are going to the Council Reception, but will come here right after. Barry, Larry and Harold will drop off their little ones at 6:30 and will drive Annie to the main reception then. Veronica wants you to call her so she knows what to bring over for supper." Rose nodded and continued to eat her oatmeal.

Carlo glanced at his watch and said, "We've got to go." He put his mug in the sink and the rest of the men followed and were out the door moments later. When they arrived at The School House, Ed Giovanni and George Reeder were on the roof with Aldo and Jeff and they went up to see what they were doing.

"Gentlemen," Ed said in his best FBI voice. "I know the use of guns isn't something we would normally use in a battle, but I think in this circumstance we should. The rooftop would make a perfect snipers nest, we have a perfect 360 degree view of the grounds and I think we should take advantage of it."