Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Amelie

"Don't be nervous." Gideon places his hand on my knee to stop it from bouncing.

I look up into his beautiful green eyes, full of confidence and strength. "I'm not nervous. I just want this whole mess to be done with. I'm anxious for the end."

He gives me a sympathetic smile, "Me too."

"Alpha, Luna, everyone is signed in. Are you ready to begin?" Marcus readies his laptop. Gideon gives him a nod, and the wall of monitors in front of us lights up. He quickly takes his place behind us next to Jordan and our ranked pack members.

Gideon adjusts the microphone sitting on his desk in front of him. "Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining this virtual meeting. As many of you know, we are up agist a threat from our own kind. They have been working in the shadows gaining bits of power here and there, pulling Alphas to their side. Their worst offenses are kidnapping, murder, and extortion. They have been lurking in the shadows for far too long. That ends now!"

The speakers crackle with all the noise of cheers and howls; we have all 50 satellite Druit Guard Delta Force and all 23 of the Ashwood's extended family packs and Logan and mom on a video conference. I didn't realize how intimidating it would be. Did we have to make a wall of monitors all staring back at us?

"What's the plan, Gideon?" Dad's question quiets the crowd. He is the head of the Alpha Council, after all his authority is unmatched.

"In two weeks on the next full moon, we will raid all 33 locations. Ten of these locations are on pack lands, so we will need the highest-ranking Alphas to assist. Alpha John Ashwood, Alpha Logan Bye, Alpha Flynn Koray, Alpha Darrin Atlas, Alpha Conor Amaris, Alpha Liam Nikini, Alpha Rafe Aruna, Alpha Malik Esmeray, Alpha Noah Ayla will each take a pack. Beta Frank Noland, it would be my honor if you would accompany me to the Blue Crescent Pack." Everyone knows about Lacy. There won't be anyone who would protest to him accompanying Gideon.

A sad smile graces Frank Noland's face, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"As you all know, we will need to make sure we have two ranking members in each party as the kidnapped wolves could be used against us." Out of the corner of my eye, I spy Bailey wipe a stray tear. She's recovered well physically, but the emotional scars may never heal.

"Do we know the state of the kidnap victims?" Alpha Lynton has a high number of possible kidnap victims. We have run an analysis on the missing person reports, and we think over the last ten years, the Phoenix Canyon Pack had around 150 alone. Alpha Lynton is beyond upset. It was easy to overlook as people and wolves get lost in the Arizona desert every year.

"They are in poor condition, and we should make every effort not to engage if they are used. Your ranked aura and commands will make them stand down."

Gideon turns to me and takes my hand. No one can see since we are behind his desk, but the reassurance is nice. It's my turn, I guess. "We will also need the help of your Lunas and ranked females. My team will run point here and will need the extra eyes to watch for trouble." My heart feels like it's going to beat out of my chest.

Gideon squeezes my hand letting me know I did great. "I have teams heading to the rendezvous points. They will have a few extras to help aid in the midnight raid. One will be our new masking spray. We have tailored it to the region you will be in. You will also find cameras on harnesses. The harness is designed to adjust when you shift. Once the cameras are turned on, they start live streaming to a secure site. This will allow our ranked females to keep up on the action and deploy a backup team if necessary."

"What about our own warriors?" Logan, always ready for a fight and to give his warriors a chance too.

"After the meeting, you will receive a file, and in it, you will find the details. Don't worry, Alpha Logan, your warriors, will get the chance to get their hands dirty." I try to hide the smirk taking over my face, but Logan sees it and gives the camera a wink and a toothy grin. He's gruff but has his way of showing he cares.

"If no one has any more questions, we will end this meeting and set up a time to go over details in a few days." Gideon gives a slight head bow as a sign of respect of all the Alphas time. With that, the meeting ended. The screens went black, and our ranked members made their way to the door.

Dad stays on the line a little longer. "Hey, kiddo, how are you feeling?"

"I'm hanging in there. Your grandsons don't like to let me sleep much." I giggle, rubbing my growing belly.

"Well, soon enough, you will be able to rest. Then it's your mate's turn to take care of the babies, right Gideon?" Dad smiles at him.

"I can't wait. Sleepless days and night all over again." Gideon puts his arm around my shoulder.

"Dad, where's James? I want to wish him happy birthday early since it's tomorrow." My brother turns 18 tomorrow, and I'm going to miss his party.

"I'll tell him to call you. He's helping Celeste with party planning." He shakes his head. Dad always avoids getting roped into party prep.

"Please do. I am so excited for him. I wonder if he will find his mate tomorrow!"

"I doubt it. I have a feeling it's going to be a few years."

"Well, whoever she is, I hope she's a good Luna."

"I'm sure she will be. The goddess will make sure of it." Dad pauses and lets out a sigh. "I have to go save your brother from party prep. Love you, kiddo. Talk to you soon."

"By Dad. Love you too." The screen dad was on goes black.

"Well, that was nice." I start to stand up, but I am struggling. Gideon takes my arm and helps me out of my chair. I'm ready not to be pregnant anymore. I can't even get out of a chair on my own. "Thank you"

"You're so cute when you are stubborn." He kissed the top of my head.

"If I had the energy, I would be mad at you." Gideon doubles over in laughter.

He wipes a tear from his eye from laughing so hard. I cross my arms over my chest and just glare at him. "Are you done?"

He shoots me a mega-wat smile. I can't stay mad at him. He's too damn handsome. "Come on, let's go get the girls from pre-school and have a family dinner tonight. I'll even be your sue chief."

How can a girl say no to that? "Well played, Alpha. Well, played." I take his arm, and we make our way to the pre-school. We decided to keep the pre-school class in the packhouse for better protection. The pups are so young the parents felt better knowing they were near the Alpha. One day as the pack grows, we will move it. For now, it works.

When we get to the pre-school class, all the kids gather around Gideon and bombard him with a million questions one after the other. He doesn't even have time to answer. "Alpha, why does my sister still poop in diapers?" "Alpha, why are we werewolves?" "Alpha, why can't my mom eat cheese without getting sick?" He usually's fantastic with kids, but this many and their questions have him flustered. Now it's my turn to laugh.

"Girls, are you ready to go? Mommy is making dinner tonight." He knew they would save him.

I calm my laughter. "Well played, Alpha. Well played."

We make our way back to our wing of the packhouse, and the girls are chatting away, telling us about school and what they learned. Then they stop dead in their tracks. They look at each other for about a minute, and then Rose looks up at me. "Grandma is coming."

"Did you see grandma coming to visit?" They nod their heads.

"OK, when is she coming?"

"Today." Daisy takes her sister's hand.

"OK, well, we better make enough for her for dinner tonight. Which grandma is coming, Grandma Celeste or Grandma Anne?" We continue walking.

"Not mommy's mommies. This grandma is daddy's grandma." What did Daisy just say?

"It's daddy's grandma?" They nod. Gideon and I look at each other, both clueless about who it could be.

I bond-link him, "I didn't think you have any living relatives."

"I don't, as far as I know."

"Who is it then?" He shrugs in response. He's perplexed.

He bends down and picks up both girls, one in each arm. "you said she is daddy's grandma. So she's really old?"

"Yeah, she's old but looks the same as mommy's mommies." Rose lays her head on Gideon's shoulder. This was the hard part about toddlers who had sight. We must decipher what they saw. We are completely stumped.

We continue to our wing and make our way to the kitchen. When we enter the kitchen, we find a hooded person sitting at one of the counter seats. Gideon puts the girls down so quickly they stumble a bit.

He jumps in front of us, "Who are you, and what do you want?"

Before the hooded figure can answer, the twins worm their way around his legs and run to the mystery person. I try and grab them, but they are too quick.

"Girls, get back here!" They don't listen.

"Grandma! You came!" Daisy is tugging on the person's cloak.

The hooded figure turns, and I can tell they are female. She pats the heads of the twins and fully turns to face us. Her hood is still coving most of her face, but I see long strands of white hair coming from under the cloak. She then starts to take off her hood, and I'm dumbfounded! Those eyes! I look at them every day in Gideon and the twins, those deep green eyes that seem to hide a forest within them. There is no mistaking those eyes.

"Hello, my boy. Come hug your grandmother."