South Mountain Pack Ch. 13

There was silence as Gabe ran his hands through his hair and stared off into space before shaking his head and continuing, "He had a 'trophy room', in it were three boxes, each labeled with a name and we believe they were the girls who supposedly ran away from Davis Pack, the names were the same. Every box had personal items, clothes, and DVD's where he recorded what he did to those poor girls. In some of the boxes, there were up to thirty DVD's, each labeled with the date and time. The last DVD showed him killing them." He stopped talking as he saw Frank and Joe look at each other in horror and he heard the growls over the speakerphone. "Those girls were only teenagers... they were innocent children, how could I have failed them? How could I have not known what was going on?"

"That sick fucking bastard," Carlo said the anger radiating through the phone. "Gabe, you didn't fail them. The ones in charge swore an oath to uphold the laws of the Alpha Council and they chose not to, they are the ones who failed. You did the best you could by changing the laws to protect the females, but there's only so much you personally can do."

"He is right Gabe," said Dante in a gentle voice. "You put the laws into place, but you personally cannot enforce them until the injustice is brought to your attention. Once that was done you rectified the situation and have the guilty locked up. You must let go of the guilt and let your Tribunal hand out justice."

Gabe continued to look out the windows and drew several calming breaths before saying, "We still haven't been able to crack the passwords on the computers and I'm afraid of what we are going to find when we do."

"I think we can help with that," said Carlo as Joe nodded his head. "Send a copy of the hard drive to us and we'll have Paulo do it. As a matter of fact, send a copy of all the hard-drives to any computer you find."

Frank looked at Gabe in the rearview mirror and said, "We're seven minutes away from the venue. Is there anything else we need to know?"

Gabe hesitated before saying, "I have a feeling there are more Packs involved than just these three and I think there is more going on." He stopped speaking and looked at Frank and Joe, "I'm not sure who I can trust...that's why I made these." He pulled five flash drives out of his suit pocket and handed them to Joe. "Your Pack is the only one I have complete confidence in, you know the pain of loss and betrayal and I'm giving you these flash drives with the utmost confidence that whatever is found on these you will tell me."

"Gabe, you know no matter what happens we will stand beside you. We'll give you a full rundown on what we find and you can compare it to what they tell you. If information is withheld, then we've found another traitor. We'll give you a sat phone before you leave this evening, also a wireless detector so you can sweep your office and living areas, if you feel there are untrustworthy people around you then you can't be too careful " said Carlo with a firm tone. He hesitated as he said to Frank and Joe, "You're there with him, do you feel we should tell him what is going on?"

"Carlo, I don't think he would ever do anything against females knowing his history. I believe he is one of the few we can absolutely trust," said Joe as Frank agreed.

"Gabe, there are other things going on and I'll let Frank and Joe tell you about them, while we get ready for your arrival," Carlo said before hanging up. Joe proceeded to tell Gabe everything that was going on and Gabe began to growl loudly.

"I fucking knew it, I could feel the betrayal surrounding me," he exclaimed angrily as he punched the seat.

"Gabe, you've got to get yourself under control," said Frank as he braked to pull into the parking lot. "You've got a minute to put on a happy face, there are television cameras everywhere." Gabe nodded and took several calming breaths as they pulled up to the canopy and Joe got out and opened the back door.

Gabe walked to the fourth SUV and helped his mate out holding her hand tightly as she looked at him with questions in her eyes. He smiled and said, "Smile my dear, there are cameras here. I told them everything and they confirmed my suspicions that there is more going on."

She nodded and started to walk towards the doors, "Are you sure we can trust them Gabe? I don't know Carlo or the rest of them as well as you."

He didn't hesitate before he said, "Yes, if anything were to happen to me, the only ones I would trust would be Carlo and his Pack...Dante too. Remember our escape plan and if you have the slightest feeling you or the youngsters are in danger, I want you to put it into effect immediately, don't hesitate."

She nodded as she heard one of the TV reporters say, "...and the guests for The Reception of the Year have started to arrive. The first couple is Gabriel Roberts and his lovely wife Helen; he is the owner of Roberts Investment Firm in New York. Behind him is James Briggs and his wife Amy, they own Briggs Ranch one of the largest cattle ranches in Montana and the third couple is Hank Carter and his wife Michelle who own Carters Distillery in Tennessee ..."

As the three couples went inside Frank and Joe looked to the swarm of reporters and saw Marco and Anna. Marco excused himself and came over, glancing around to make sure nobody was in hearing distance, "We're giving the reporters information about the guests, its nerve wracking as all fuck and I hope we don't mess up."

Frank patted him on the back saying quietly, "You'll be fine, the most important thing to remember is to address everyone as Mr., Mrs., Ms, not Alpha or Madame Alpha and to use 'husband and wife' not mates. If you have any questions, contact Mr. and Mrs. Rossi or Joe and I. You need help with anything before we go?"

"Nah, I got it," said Marco as he drew in a shaky breath. "I'd better get over there and let them know who you are; they already have video of Rose arriving." Marco hurried over and told the reporters who the men were as Ed and Reeder went into the building since they didn't want their pictures taken. The men handed their keys to the Level 1 and 2 Delta's that were providing valet service as the reporters announced their arrival and the cameras continued to roll.

When they got to the hall outside the private conference room, they saw the men from the Alpha Council standing outside and before Frank could ask, Gabe shrugged and said, "They wanted to freshen up before meeting Dante." Five minutes later the women came out of the restroom and the men sighed before escorting their mates in. Carlo, Gina, Anthony and Dante stood inside the door waiting for them and the men from SMP hurried to take their places in the receiving line. Frank noted his mate was there, but hadn't noticed what she was wearing as he was too busy scanning the room making sure everything was okay and everyone was in their proper place.

Carlo stepped forward greeting Gabe with a handshake then a hug and said quietly, "It's good to see you again, my old friend. Let's get the formalities over with then we can begin to relax, I'll introduce you to Dante, my son Anthony, Dante's men and then my men."

"After the week we've had I can't wait to relax preferably with a Whiskey Sour," Gabe said with a frown, Carlo nodded and started the introductions.

Dante knew what was expected of him and responded in broken English with a thick Italian accent, "It was wortha tha trip if only to meeta sucha lovely ladies." He kissed the back of their hands and smiled to himself as he heard their mates growl as they pulled them closer to their sides. "Tha beauty of American women isa something I always looka forwards to when I comea to visit my cousin."

Gabe was staring at Dante and started to laugh and said, "Why are you speaking like that? Last time we talked you didn't have an accent."

"I do what is expected of me," Dante said with a wicked smile. "People assume all Italians speak like that and I didn't want to disappoint your mates."

Helen smiled and said, "Either way, it is a pleasure to meet you Dante. I met your mate years ago when she was modeling at New York Fashion Week and I worked for one of the event planners. She was lovely and gracious to everyone and backstage was never quite the same after she retired."

Knowing his mate's fiery temperament and explosive personality Dante smiled. "She is a handful my Calinda, and my daughter Catarina takes after her," Dante said with pride. "Thankfully my boys, Draco and Drago take after me and have my easy temperament and disposition."

Carlo stared at Dante before putting his hand up to cover his mouth to hide his laughter and cleared his throat before saying, "And here is my son, Anthony. He is currently a junior at South Mountain High School and he plans to attend U of MD to study Business. He recently made his declaration for Sophia, Frank and Rose Carlucci's daughter and both of our families are extremely happy."

"It is a pleasure to meet you again President Roberts and Madame Helen," said Anthony as he bowed his head before shaking their hands. "Alpha Briggs, Madame Alpha Briggs, Alpha Carter and Madame Alpha Carter, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He bowed before shaking their hands and smiling at them. As Alpha-Heir he was a tier below them in Pack hierarchy and showed that by bowing, but as a future Alpha he could look them in the eye without repercussions.

"Carlo, I can't believe how much he has grown since the last time I saw him," said Helen as she stared at Anthony. "Are you sure he's only seventeen?"

"Our boys grow big here at South Mountain, I think he'll end up bigger than I am," replied Carlo with a smile before moving down the line. The introductions to the Italians went quickly since Dante told them to speak in broken English and to pretend they didn't fully understand. He and Carlo had talked about this earlier and thought it would be a good opportunity to have his men eavesdrop on the guests throughout the night. They started the introduction of the members of SMP, "All of you know my Level 5 Beta and Second in Command Frank Carlucci and his mate, Rose."

"It's a pleasure to have you here this evening," said Frank as both he and Rose bowed their heads. When they put their heads back up, their eyes didn't go any higher than the throat of the Alpha's before them.

President Roberts and his wife smiled and he said, "I know I've said this before, but I have no idea how you and that brother of yours got so lucky with your mates."

Rose laughed softly as she said, "I remind him of that all the time President Roberts."

Frank glanced at his mate and did a double take when he saw what she had on, his eyes widening when he saw the low neckline and how form fitting the dress was. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU HAVE ON? DID THEY RUN OUT OF FABRIC WHEN THEY MADE IT? TELL ME YOU HAVE A JACKET OR SOMETHING THAT GOES WITH IT," he thundered and in his agitated state he sent it to Carlo, Gina, Anthony and the rest of his family. Carlo covered his mouth with his hand as he tried to hide his laughter, Anthony was smirking, Gina was quietly laughing and Joe was looking at the floor trying to hide his expression. At the Carlucci home, The Clan looked at each other and started to laugh as Damian said, "I knew he was going to lose it, and we missed it."

Rose didn't let any reaction show to Frank's shouting but couldn't contain the grin when Gina said, "Don't worry about him you look beautiful, you should have seen Carlo's reaction when he saw my dress."

"You look beautiful too," said Rose as she looked at Gina's dress. The plum colored satin dress had matching rhinestones along the top of the low cut criss-cross bodice, a fitted waist and a feathered skirt that ended three inches above her knee.

"I notice Annie isn't here, I hope everything is well with your family," said President Roberts with concern in his voice after Carlo did the formal introductions.

Joe sighed before saying, "Maria fell the other day and fractured both bones in her forearm and had to have surgery. Annie is with her but will be at the reception later. The boys are doing fine and are staying home with her."

Amy Briggs looked at Joe, her eyes narrowed and her voice oddly calculating and cold, "I understand your daughter had a declaration made too. Both she and her cousin are fifteen; don't you think they're a little young?"

"Yes Madame Alpha Briggs, Alberto Moretti, Carmelo's son made the declaration," said Joe as he bowed his head. "Both Maria and Sophia and their intendeds are very responsible and are following the dating rules carefully." Anthony narrowed his eyes and Gina put her hand on his forearm to calm him down, he took a deep breath wondering what this was about. Amy nodded and looked Joe over head to toe before turning to Frank and doing the same. Rose glanced at the Madame Alpha before lowering her gaze, not liking the predatory gleam in the other women's eyes. Amy gave her a dismissive look and the Alpha's nodded their heads and moved to the next person in line, which was Carmelo. Joe said to Frank and Carlo, "What the hell was that? And of all people, why would she care?"

"I don't know, it is odd for them to be that young and to have declarations made, but Anthony being an Alpha-Heir probably sped up the process for him and what Dante said about Maria's wolf wanting her mate made sense," said Frank as he glanced at the Alpha's. "But none of us knows the Briggs well and if I remember right, he campaigned hard to get on the Council Advisory Board. Maybe we should have Paulo look into their background."

"Carlo, I want Paulo to look at those flash drives as soon as possible, I'm going to have him come and get them after the first reception instead of giving them to him tonight" said Joe as he sent the message to his son about the flash drives and about doing a background check on the Briggs.

"I'm going to have Aldo try and sense what is going on. I agree with both of you that conversation was odd, but if it was a fishing expedition for information, it was pretty blatant and obvious...almost too obvious. But something definitely doesn't feel right" said Carlo as he continued to smile. Frank and Joe stared at Aldo who closed his eyes and they saw his mate grab his hand as she helped to center his thoughts. "I'm going to tell everyone not to let anybody know the older Miller girls have found their mates. The more I think of it, the more I think it will put them in danger. If whoever is after them realizes they have found their mates, they may try and come after them knowing they will turn eighteen in June and could possibly mate."

Frank and Joe watched as the Alpha's approached the Millers. During the rest of the Level 4 introductions Amy kept glancing towards Todd as if she couldn't wait to talk to him. "And here are our newest Level 4 Beta's, Todd Miller and his mate Holly, and his father Mike and his mate Ellen," said Carlo as they bowed their heads.

President Roberts said in a firm voice as he shook Todd's hand, "On behalf of the Alpha Council, I would like to thank you for bringing the situation at your previous Pack to our attention. It took a level of courage most of us like to think we have, but most don't."

"Thank you President Roberts, my only concern is for those girls who were brutalized beforehand. I wish I was able to speak up before, but I hope you understand we were under Alpha Command and could not," said Todd as he bowed his head.

Amy narrowed her eyes as they raked over Todd from head to toe and she said, "I understand you have ten daughters, have any of them found their mates?"

Even though he had been expecting the question, the bluntness stunned Todd and his eyes flew up to stare into her green ones as he stammered, "No...No, Madame Alpha, none have found their mates yet."

She seemed lost for a second as she stared back at him before she shook her head and her mate said in a sincere tone, "Hopefully they will find good loving mates after everything they have gone through." The Millers nodded their heads and the Alpha's moved down the line, but Amy turned back and gave Todd and his father an assessing glance before turning back to her mate.

The introductions for the Level 3's went well and they noticed Amy only asked questions concerning girls who were under eighteen, and by the looks on the other Alpha's faces they hadn't noticed anything unusual. The Level 2 introductions started with Aldo and as he shook their hands he felt nothing strange until he felt Amy's clammy hand and the feelings almost overwhelmed him. She looked him up and down as she said, "And your daughter is how old?"

"She is thirteen, Madame Alpha," he said with his head bowed but glanced up to look into her eyes before lowering his quickly. Amy nodded and the Alpha Council continued down the line. "She's definitely hiding something... something she doesn't want her husband to know... and she feels pressure, enormous pressure... I feel greed, fear and anger but the anger is directed at herself not us."

"The information on the flash drives can wait; I think we need to do the background check on the Briggs' first. She's here and we need to know her story and why she is so interested in the girls," Joe said and Frank and Carlo agreed and he opened the bond to include the boys. "Paulo, I know you were supposed to come get the flash drives, but we need you to start the background check on the Briggs'. She's asking some really odd questions and something doesn't feel right. Aldo said she's hiding something from her husband and he feels greed, fear and anger at herself. I don't know what it means, but dig as deep as you can."

"Dad, I started it as soon as you mentioned it," said Paulo as he sat in his Uncle Frank's office. "Their finances are totally fucked. Up until a year ago, their ranch carried a small mortgage, enough to use for tax purposes and they had a Triple A credit line. Eleven months ago, she took out a $2 mil line of credit in her name only, using the ranch as collateral. She fell behind on payments but on Monday she made a $300,000 payment bringing it current, but the balance with interest comes to over $2.1 mil. Here's the thing Dad, the original line of credit was written by one of the Native American casinos in Montana, but a line of credit that big would have to be approved by a bank. I found which bank processed it but the note was bought by a Cayman Islands bank on Wednesday. It's one we looked into but decided against because of their poor security and their questionable business practices. It's not unusual for banks to buy loans, but with everything going on, it looks suspicious. Right now I'm running a program accessing their phone records and doing a cross search of the numbers they've called or who have called them."

Frank, Joe and Carlo were quiet as they processed the information. They were nearing the end of the receiving line and the Whitmer's were the last to be introduced. "Congratulations on your promotions, I understand you work with Frank and Joe at Triple C," said President Roberts as he shook their hands. He turned his head towards Frank and Joe and started to smile, "That must be difficult for you having to put up with them at work too."

Joel and Jerry smiled and Joel said, "We've worked for them since we were sixteen President Roberts. It's the only job we've ever had and one we enjoy very much plus our wives work in the office with Mrs. C and Mrs. JC."

"And how old are your daughters?" Amy asked as her mate stared at her with a questioning look.

"My daughter is four and Joel's is six," said Jerry without giving any other details. Amy nodded as if confirming information she knew and she walked straight to the bar with her mate following close behind. Once the official receiving line was done, everyone began mingling and Carlo, Frank, Joe and Carmelo closely observed everything that was going on.