32

Mark took the pictures and just stared at them with me. It was almost surreal how much my life had changed in less than half a year. Heck, I hadn't even graduated yet, and I figured I needed to get busy so I could finish before they arrived. Since they were growing faster than human babies, the pregnancy would be even more draining on me than normal.

My head was still spinning, making him sound like the Swedish chef in the Muppets- I knew he was talking, but I couldn't understand what he was really saying. He noticed how spaced out I was as just handed me a few pamphlets and a couple bottles of prenatal vitamins. "It will all sink in, eventually. Give me a call if you have any questions."

He left the room as we continued to just look at our babies. They were perfect.

Finally, he put them in his pocket and helped me to my feet. "What do you want to say to people?"

"I don't want to hide this. We will tell everybody at dinner, then tonight we can call your parents. Maybe I can text them the pictures while we talk on the phone?"

He smiled. "They'll be so happy, especially Mom. Now she can buy all the blue stuff in the store." I rolled my eyes. "I'm not kidding, she can't be stopped."

"I'm in so much trouble. I don't even have a nursery yet."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll have plenty of help on that." He squeezed my hand as we walked across to the Pack house. "You're going to be an amazing Mom, Ella. I still hate that you picked him over me, but I can't help but love you and our babies."

I leaned into him a little. "You can't fight the mate bond, Mark." I let him think about that for a moment. "She's not a bad person, you know. I had a lot of time to talk to her after I got her out of the hospital, and over the last few days when she was recovering. I forgave her for what she did, Mark. I don't want you punishing her for it anyway."

"It's just..." He stopped walking and turned to face me. "I saw how broken you were, Ella. How betrayed. I hated them for what they did to you, and I wanted to hurt them for it. Those feelings just don't go away, Ella. It will take time."

"Believe me, I know." I took his other hand in my bad left hand. "Nothing says you have to run off and get mated tonight. Just talk to her. Let her tell you what has happened and how she feels about it. Just don't reject her right away, that wouldn't be good for either of you."

He let out a slow breath. "Does the mate bond work to defuse anger? Even before this talk, I was finding it hard to maintain my righteous outrage at her. Every time I close my eyes I see her face when I walked past her."

"That's the power of the mate, Mark. Your mate can make you feel better than anyone else, but they can also break you more than anyone. When we get in there, can you do something for me?" He nodded. "Just look at her and smile. Let her know you aren't rejecting her, that she still has a chance with you. That's all she wants."

We kept walking into the Pack house and back to the large dining room. When we walked through the doors, all conversations stopped and all eyes turned towards us. I looked around in panic, relaxing when I saw Remi with her hands in a 'what did he say?' position. We walked to the head table and Mark helped me up the stairs to the raised platform. I looked out over the room filled with friends and family and relaxed. "TWIN BOYS, AND THEY ARE ALPHA WOLVES!"

The room erupted into cheers and I was immediately surrounded by people for hugs and congratulations. It took a few minutes for everyone to take their seats again, and immediately the servers were coming out with the food. I smiled to myself when I found Olivia at a table in the back by herself, staring at Mark, and then he smiled at her. Her mood instantly changed. "Go to her, talk it out," I said. "You don't need to stay up here if you don't want to." He said something to Doug then got up and walked to the back of the room. I leaned over to Remi, she was smiling as she watched it and I gave her a quick wink. Conversation was lively, the food was great, but I was worn out and Remi noticed. "Come on, I'll take you to your room and get you settled in."

I took one last look at Mark and Olivia as she helped me up. I smiled, because they were holding hands and their food had hardly been touched, so I knew they were working things out. We walked out among the well-wishers and down the hall to the Alpha wing where the guest rooms were. "I'm glad Mark and Olivia are talking. I was shocked to find out they were mates, but they will be good for each other."

"No jealousy?"

"No, not really. Once I accepted my mate, my feelings for Mark shifted back to what they were before we became involved. He's still a good friend, he'll be a good father, and I want him to be happy."

She put her arm around my shoulders. "I'm proud of how you are handling everything, Ella. I think you're learning about the difference between an Alpha and a Luna."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Alphas tend to see things in black and white terms; they define a problem and default to a violent solution. They see enemies and friends. Lunas, we see the shadows, the grey areas. We have to; our role is to keep the Pack strong and whole, and that means dealing with those things that drive Alphas crazy. Jealousy, rumors, relationships, personalities. We know we can't solve things by killing, so we have to find the best way to deal with what we find."

We had reached my room and she went to start filling the tub for me as I took off my clothes. She hugged me and placed her hands on my belly. "Doc said you might only go eight months, maybe less. Have you thought about what arrangements you want to make for delivery?"

"Not really. I was going to do it at a hospital near home, but Doc convinced me that with their growth rate as werewolves it isn't a good idea." She helped me as I got into the tub and sad down in the warm water. She took the spray nozzle and started to wet my hair down.

"Well, Ella, you're welcome to come here. Doc could do the delivery, and you'd have us here for you."

I thought about it, it wasn't a bad option. Security wise, it would be the best; I would never be more vulnerable than when I was delivering the babies. "Mark and his parents want to be there for the birth, though."

"Bring them along, they know about us already and they are welcome here." She worked the shampoo in while I cleaned my body.

"It could be weeks, though, unless I have a C-section or he induces."

"True, but we can't let these babies get too big. I know how tough pregnancy was as an Alpha, but with twins and as a human, we can't take any chances. Come down here a few weeks before your due date, I don't mind."

I thought about it for a while. "I should call around to allied Packs and see if there is a Pack Doctor closer than yours, just in case something happens quickly. Can I let you know in a week or so?"

"Of course." She finished rinsing my hair and helped me up and into a towel. I put on panties and one of Craig's T-shirts and she put me to bed. "Goodnight, Ella. I love you."

"I love you too, Aunt Remi." I was asleep before she got to the door.

The knock on the door woke me WAY too early in the morning. "Come in," I yelled, too tired to get up right now.

Moe quietly entered and knelt next to my bed. "There's news, Ella. You needed to know, sorry about waking you up."

I sat up and turned on the bedside table light, looking at the clock I could see it wasn't even six in the morning. "What's so important?"

"It's the St. Cloud pack. I got a call from John, he was going through the intercepted communications file while he was on duty last night. The data was almost a day old by the time he saw it, and when he realized what had happened he called me and woke me up." He looked at me. "Alpha Goodwin took off. He must have seen the writing on the wall; instead of paying the tax bill, he took the money. His son Hunter and his mate April are now the Alphas, and everyone is pissed. The first thing the new Alpha did was look at the financials, and it took about ten minutes to find the scam. The whole Pack knows he embezzled their money and mortgaged their houses."

I thought about it for a bit; I'd met the couple briefly that weekend. I wasn't aware of any threat from him. It was his younger, unmated son Curtis who was part of the original forced mating attempt, and who had died in the attack on me last year. "Where did Marvin run to?"

"I woke up Josh on his vacation and had him do some digging. He went to Argentina."

"Argentina?" I pinched the bridge of my nose. "There aren't any werewolf packs in South America, just cats. They don't like wolves, he'd have no protection. Why would he go there?"

"One thing I've learned in my life is that money can buy you most anything, including protection. I can see why he did it, neither his old pack nor I have assets down there. It's a whole different world." He stood up and started pacing by the bed as I swung my legs over the edge. "We can deal with Marvin later, it's more important to know now how you want to handle things with Alpha Hunter. Right now you hold a mortgage that's going to be defaulted on, and the IRS is going to confiscate everything they can when they can't pay their tax bill. You said you don't want the Pack hurt for what their Alpha did, but what about Hunter?"

I pushed myself up to my feet. "Right now, do nothing except gather information. We'll be home in a week, at that time we'll go over everything. Before I decide, I want to talk with Hunter."

"Of course, Alpha. I'll let everyone know."

"Right now, this is the number one priority for us. I didn't expect this domino to fall this quickly."

He moved to the door. "I had hoped he wouldn't take the coward's way out, leaving his Pack to deal with the leavings. He was a shitty Alpha, Ella. We'll get him." He left and I got dressed. After breakfast Mark and I called his parents and filled them in on the news. They were thrilled, of course, but I shocked her a bit when I told her the babies would be here a lot faster than they were anticipating.

We spent another day at the Pack, relaxing and visiting, before we loaded up the RV and headed for Yellowstone. It was late in the season, and only the main roads were open and then only if the weather holds. We had good luck, it was a nice stretch and we were able to drive all the way to the visitor's center at the Geyser Basin. The hills were steep, but the views were incredible. None of us played games, we just stared out the windows at them. I could tell their wolves were busting to get out and play. I know mine would have been.

I couldn't handle a lot of walking, and Doc knew that, so he put a wheelchair into the luggage area before we left. It came in handy when I got tired; Mark and Olivia were more than happy to push me around. We spent most of the afternoon there, seeing Old Faithful blow several times along with one other geyser, plus we saw all the mineral springs.

There was a parking lot near a trailhead that was used mostly for snowmobiles. We parked there for the night, and we were the only ones this early in the season. As soon as the sun set and we verified no one was around (and no cameras), everyone but Mark and I shifted. We watched as they ran off into the trees, running free as a small Pack.

"Come on," I said, "We may as well get some sleep. They won't be back until dawn, and you and I are driving in the morning."

"I got this bed, then." He started to convert the dining room table to a bed, pulling the bedding out from a cabinet underneath. I moved back to the master bedroom and soon was asleep.

The howls just before dawn woke me up. The doggy door opened and a parade of wet, snowy wolves pushed into the nice clean living room. "ONE SHAKE AND I'LL HIT YOU WITH A ROLLED UP NEWSPAPER," I threatened. "All except two head back outside and wait. You two," I pointed to Moe and Theresa, "you shift and shower." The rest headed back out to wait in the woods until they were called. It took an hour, but we got everyone in. Olivia was last in the master bath, and I didn't even notice that Mark had gone back with her until we started hearing the noises.

"Oh Luna," I said as everyone pretended not to notice that the RV was bouncing slightly. "They're..."

"I'd say they've worked out their problems," Theresa said. Luckily, Natalie had practically passed out on the couch as soon as she had finished her shower, so we didn't have to explain it to a kid. "Now leave them alone, we need to get back on the road."

"You know what they say, right?" I looked at Melanie, who was cooking eggs and sausages in the kitchen, along with everyone else. "When the rig is a rockin', don't come a knockin'."

"I'll help you with breakfast then." I really didn't want to think or hear about what my ex-lover and baby daddy was doing with my mate's sister on MY bed right now.

I already knew how good it was.

Ch 31

We got on the road about nine, and were headed south towards Jackson Hole when my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, but I did recognize the voice. "Hello, love."

"CRAIG! How are you? Is everything all right?" I had bolted upright when I recognized his voice, causing Natalie to wake up since her head was resting on my legs. I patted her hair and she snuggled back in to sleep.

"No, there's an attack coming on your homes. My father, he found out that you have Olivia, and he's pissed. He had spies in your town, they know you and most of the wolves with you are gone. They are going after Mark's parents."

"Hang on." I put the phone on speaker and repeated out loud to everyone what he just told us. Moe was already dialing his sons to warn them. "What else?"

"He sent three men this morning to meet up with the two he already has out there. The plan is to kidnap the two humans, and trade them for Olivia." I looked over at Olivia, she was shaking as she sat in the front seat next to Mark who was driving. He was holding her hand as he tried to calm her. "They plan to hit the house just after dark."

"What are you doing, then?"

"I'm one of the three men, Ella." Oh, fuck. "We stopped for gas, I brought a burner and I only have a few more seconds before I raise suspicions. I can't stop it, Ella, but you can. Just try not to kill me when you do."

I looked at Moe, he nodded. "Be careful, Craig."

"I will. I love you, Ella." He hung up before I could respond.

"Turn us around when you can, Mark. We need to head back."

Moe was already busy talking to Matthew back home, and I called Doug and Remi and filled them in. It wasn't long before we had a plan. He was sending a couple warriors in a private plane to West Yellowstone, which was the closest airport to where we were. Moe, Michael and Luke would fly back with them, while Linda, Katy, Theresa, Nadine and Melanie would stay with Natalie, Mark and I as we drove back in the RV. Since we were going out the west end of the park, he was having another warrior drive the Green's SUV back along with all the luggage we had left at the Pack when we left for our short trip.

When we finally got the calls done, I told everyone to try and get some sleep since most of them had been out running all night. Moe and Theresa took the master bedroom while Nadine took my place on the couch with Natalie. I moved up to the passenger seat as Olivia curled up with Melanie on one of the big recliners. Michael and Linda took the bed where the dining table was, and Luke and Katy took the other recliner. I looked back from the incredible vistas that suddenly held no interest to me, the mountains were in the way of where I wanted to be now. It was quiet.

"It's going to be all right, Mark." I put my hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed. I had started to get some motion back in my left thumb with my exercises and physical therapy. It wasn't much, but it was enough to grip something as small as a wooden spoon. "They won't be in danger, Moe won't let it happen."

He nodded, his hands turning white on the steering wheel as he thought about it. "They've done NOTHING, Ella. My Mom, she still can't go down the hall to my room. Dad, he tries to be strong, but I've seen him at night. He wakes up and goes down to the kitchen, and he breaks down when he thinks no one is watching. He killed a man, watched his guts get splattered on the wall. They watched me almost bleed to death." He let out a slow breath. "We have to end this, Ella."

"I know." I wiped a tear away and looked out the window again. "I never meant for you to be involved in this, Mark. I never thought I'd place others in danger." I banged my good hand on the door. "Fucking soccer, it ruined my life." He looked over at me, I tried to hold it back but I let out a laugh, and then he couldn't stop himself either.

"Another reason to hate that game. As if I needed one." He smiled at me, then looked back to the road. It wasn't a fast drive, luckily it wasn't peak tourist season, but the mountain roads and curves were a challenge with the big RV. The sounds of snoring filled the back, as the werewolves recovered from a long night of running.

We finally reached West Yellowstone just after lunch, and the men who were heading back early loaded up into the chartered plane that was waiting. Another warrior had brought down the Green's SUV, so Theresa, Linda and Katy transferred to their own vehicle after we had a big lunch. We all got back on the road as fast as we could, because the attack was only hours away. Nadine was driving with Mark riding shotgun, so I was in back playing Uno with Natalie and Melanie.

We were just past Miles City when I got the call from Moe. "It's over, Ella. We've got them all in custody, no casualties on our end."

"And Craig?"

"He's asleep now, we hit them all with tranquilizer darts as they approached the house, except the two drivers. We took them out as soon as they were linked that the attack had failed. Tom and Shelley are fine, they never even knew something was going on." He paused for a moment. "Have you decided what to do with them yet, Alpha?"

I thought for a moment. "Are they in wolf or human form right now?"

"Both. The drivers are in human form, the three kidnappers including Craig are in wolf form. It doesn't matter what form they are in, they will be out for hours."

They were normal Pack members, I thought, not the ones giving orders. On the other hand, they were going to terrorize and perhaps hurt innocent humans. They needed to be punished. "If we kill them, it will start an open war."

"Probably. It's different than the attack on you at the Johnson Pack, you aren't as strong and they weren't after you or us."

"Lock them up together, let them talk to each other all they want. Put Craig down there with them. When they wake up, drag him off because he is the most dominant wolf in the group. We will return them mostly unharmed, but they need to believe that Craig was loyal to the end."

"It shall be done. Have a safe drive, Alpha Grey." He cut the phone, probably to call his mate and fill her in.

"The bad men are caught now, Miss Ella?" Natalie was watching me, her wolf hearing meant she had heard the whole conversation. I nodded. "They need a good spanking."

"I'm not sure a spanking will work on an adult werewolf, Natalie. It would be embarrassing though." She did give me an idea, though. An evil, twisted, sadistic idea. An idea that would allow us to return them unharmed, yet make the point that they shouldn't EVER fuck with me or those around me. I called Moe back, we needed to make some arrangements.

We parked the vehicles in front of my house just before midnight. Marge and Mabel helped Melanie bring in the luggage, while Nadine took Natalie for bath and bed. I dropped my bag in the hall and went down to the basement where the men were waiting for me. We had a storage room that was converted into a cell, it had solid concrete walls and a steel door, no windows. They had rigged wireless cameras with infrared so we could watch what was going on.