The Bachelorette

As the SUV's entered the compound they were ushered off to their appropriate destinations. Leon met up with the men escorting the prisoners into the barracks. He left the women to the capable hands of his mother, Samantha, and Dayna. "Sir, The Halley, Walker, Valdez, and Alexander Alpha's are here with their troops, but the Halley Alpha has seemed to wandered off." Leo Davies reported to him as he exited his car.

"Yes, I know Leo, he was out there with me. You can't get anything past that man, ever. How are things going here?" Leon looked over the transport and could mostly see for himself that the transition was going fairly well. He looked over at the younger Delta and waited for his report.

"Well sir, since you left we have finished erecting the tenth great house for our guests and we only have one more, and since we still have time things are on schedule. Other than that, the booths have been set up according to your specifications and the fire pits have been dug. Also, your mother and Devlin Lucas were looking for you." Leon nodded and waited to see if there was anything else pertinent. "The Alpha's weren't thrilled that you weren't here to greet them, but your father assured them the reason would become clear soon enough."

"Thanks Leo, I know you and your litter have been working on some safeguards for the building, I want them triple enforced if possible, even more so." Leo nodded and went in search of his siblings to give them an update.

"Oh, there you are Alpha, I wanted to inform you that I requested the help of Petra for a few of the women." Devlin Lucas called out to him as he made his way over to Leon.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the medical wing right now?" Leon chuckled as Devlin shook his head. "Got your self kicked out did you?"

"Petra and Dayna ganged up on me and tossed me out more like it. No males allowed. End of story no excuses." Devlin shrugged. "I figured I'd set up a triage over here if any of our men needed it, but it looks like things are taken care of."

"There is something I would like you to look at. Hold on."

'Jack, I want you to have Sam bring those pups to me. I want Devlin to take a look at them please. Better yet, just have Sam take them to her house and I will have Devlin meet them there.'

Leon heard Jack's reply and looked back to Devlin. "Go over to the houses we set up for the women. We found some pups there and I would like you to take a look at them. Something felt off." Devlin nodded and was about to turn around. "Oh, and Devlin, I appreciate your concern for the women but I would like to be told in advance that you are calling in outside help."

"I am sorry my Alpha, but it was your mother that insisted I got ahold of her right away. She said that Samantha had talked to one of the girls in her home and she needed some assistance getting rid of a mating bond. It appears that the male that mated with her was constantly in her head and telling her horrible things. Juliette thought it was very important to take care of it right away before he tried to find out anything about the pack that helped her." Devlin looked sheepishly at his feet and knew better than to raise his eyes.

"I was unaware that the situation was so severe. Samantha's house is the one where the pups will be. Go over and see what information you can find?" Leon watched the Dr retreat and walked over to his Betas. "Erik. Ayden." They nodded as a unit and watched as more men were taken out of the last SUV. He looked over at his men watching the operation, still in battle mode. Erik however seemed more tense than normal. "Everything alright Erik?"

"He's just tense because his mate is avoiding him Alpha." Ayden chuckled and ducked to miss the fist that came at his head.

"Your mate is here Erik?" Leon was taken aback by the news. "Who?"

"The thing is Alpha, I don't know. I've seen her, and she has seen me in an awkward situation..."

"Let me guess, Danni?" Leon looked on amused as Erik's face turned red. "Ah... Continue."

"I ran after her and Danni ran after me.... anyway she put Danni in her place, but I still never got her name. She disappeared on me before I could." Erik hung his head. "I believe she is one of the women we rescued when we found Jack. Other than that I'm not sure on anything."

Leon thought about it for a moment, "Well, what does she look like?" Erik and Ayden were both excellent Betas and had been two of his friends since he could remember. They both deserved to find their mates, just as much as anyone else in his pack.

"She's a redhead Alpha." Ayden added before Erik could even speak.

Leon thought about the women that he had brought back from the house where he had found Jack. He didn't remember a redhead but at the time they had all been filthy and in need of proper clothes. He did recall that his mother and father were talking about a redhead. His mother had seemed to think that she might somehow be related to her lost sister... "Valerie Smith?"

Erik's head whipped up at the sound of his Alpha's voice and let the name roll through his mind. Valerie sounded right but somehow Smith.... it just didn't fit. "Perhaps. She never indicated to me what her name was."

"We will find out tomorrow after the women have had some rest. See that these creatures are locked up in the bunker I want a few men to stand watch tonight. At least two men a wing and at least four on each floor. Set up shifts of no more than six hours so everyone gets some sleep." Leon stretched out the muscles in his back and looked at the men.

"Right away. These can be any males Alpha?" Ayden looked over at the medical wing and then back to his Alpha.

"Lets stick to night time we have any males here and during the day we keep to the mated ones on the outside? You can position anyone you want on the inside." Ayden nodded and went in search of Samuel to give him the news. "We are going to have a gathering tomorrow with everyone from our pack, without the women. I need to explain a few things better and map out the next month. Everyone needs to know why we are having the council brought down on our land and go over some security measures that need to be in place."

Erik watched his Alpha run a hand through his hair "Then we are going to have to talk to the women. I know they are not going to like seeing me nor are they going to want to join in the fun but they need to hear from us. Lets rest for the evening and I want all the Betas, Gammas, and Deltas in my office bright and early."

"Yes Alpha." Erik nodded and headed off to find his brother and delegate his Alpha's orders. Leon watched him leave and looked back over the last few SUV's waiting to unload. Once this was done he was going to go to bed. He earned it.

Sam sat on the couch with the cubs at her feet. Valerie and Halea had returned and were watching from the entryway. Sam heard the knock on the door and watched out of the corner of her eye as Halea went to answer it. An older man walked in and stopped in the doorway beside Valerie to watch the cubs play.

"My name is Devlin Lucas. I am the head pack doctor." He cleared his throat and looked over at the pups. "Leon asked if I could examine the pups to make sure there was nothing wrong with them. May I?" He motioned into the room and Sam nodded. She shifted her body off of the couch and down onto the floor so that Devlin could sit on the couch and she could watch him. Halea grumbled something and headed into the kitchen area. Sam shook her head at her and watched Val roll her eyes then quickly refocused on Devlin.

Devlin picked up the pup closest to him as he sat down and opened his medical bag pulling out his stethoscope. He listened for a few moments and pulled out a small pad and pencil to record his data. He pulled out a measuring tape and took some measurements and was astounded at what he saw. "These are turned pups." Sam glanced up at the astonishment in his voice. "When Leon asked me to come over and look at some pups, I believed that they either were older or actual wolf pups. These are neither, these are small human children that have been bitten and turned into wolves too young. They have reverted to the wolf state for comfort and protection. Astonishing." Quickly he relayed the information to Leon and began to search for anything to tell this pup apart from the rest.

There was another knock on the door and this time it was a lot harder than Devlin's. Val went to answer it and three men walked into the house. Sam recognised Leon but she didn't recognise the other two. "Good Evening Ladies, this is one of my Betas Ayden Dawson," He motioned to the man on the right, "and this is is one of my Gammas Charles Comeaux, my uncle." Sam nodded and looked at Val who seemed really tense, but then the name clicked. Ayden was one of the twins that Juliette thought might be Val's mate.

"What are you saying Devlin? These pups are human children?" Charles entered the room and knelt down near the foot of the couch watching the pups. Sam could barely believe that the big man was being so gentle with the pups. A few had attacked him and he was playfully flipping them over and mock wrestling.

"Yes Charles, you can tell by the size. When our pups change for the first time they are all generally larger than this, and their bone structure is that of a wolf in it's late adolescence to early adulthood. These pups however, are that of a wolf cub, but slightly larger. My assumption is that they have been bitten and transformed into the wolf to protect themselves. It's obvious from the condition of the women that I have seen, that the living conditions there were poor. The wolf saw this and thought that it would have a better chance than a human child and asserted itself early." Devlin shook his head. "Until I can clearly identify these pups by some physical features we may have to get some morphing collars. That way if they decide to shift back they wouldn't be a hinderance."

"Morphing collars? I don't like the sound of that." Sam frowned and looked up at Leon for clarification.

"It's not as bad as it sounds. In our history some mated pairs buy each other matching collars for mating gifts. In order for those collars not to break when we shift they are enhanced with some magic and some kind of enchantment to make them morph with the wearer. They will never get too big, nor will they be too tight. In this case we can get some of varying colors to tell each of the pup apart until we can get them to become comfortable enough to shift back. Once we learn their names the collars won't be necessary any more." Leon explained and Sam slowly nodded in understanding.

"Couldn't you command them to shift back as their new Alpha?" Charles added as he stood and turned to Leon.

"There is no telling if they have formed an Alpha bond with me. We have never had a case like this, I do not know what to expect and I don't want to push anyone or be a bully. The children will come to know that they are safe and loved here and that is what will bring them out of their shells. Not force, they have seen enough of that in their young age." Leon knelt down next to the pups and let them sniff him. "No one here will harm you little ones, you are safe. That is a promise." He looked up at Sam and smiled. "I know I should not ask it of you, but can they stay here with you? I don't want to make them uncomfortable and I am sure that the company of women is much preferred over the men here."

"Aye, the men can be a very rowdy bunch, not harmful but loud." Charles added at the last and leaned back against the doorjamb. "I know it is probably not needed but I will make sure to keep an eye on the house tonight as I am making my rounds. Just to be sure that they stay inside." Leon nodded and Charles exited the house.

"Why is there a need to watch the house?"

"It's nothing against you or the pups," Ayden answered instead of Leon. "During the raid we did not find the ones responsible for the whole plot. We found the puppets but not the puppeteers. We have doubled patrols around the land in general just to make sure no one followed us back and to protect everyone incase someone or something did. At this point in time, nothing can be ruled out and seeing as how we are having a large gathering we are a much more appealing target then we were just rescuing the women from their clutches."

Leon nodded at his Beta and stood. "Ayden go see if you can rouse Wendy, she would be the one to make the collars." Ayden nodded and exited the house. "Since at least Sam and Val know who you are Charles, I'd like for you to be the one outside their door tonight. Once the collars are on, we can lax security at night slightly. I will have another wolf take your spot on rounds." Charles nodded and went out into the night air.

"You ladies did an excellent job tonight helping us. I know that without your group the ladies would not have wanted to come out of that building and into our cars. Tomorrow there is going to be a meeting for all of you ladies where I formally introduce myself to the new arrivals and let them in on all the commotion going around at the present time. Even though you and the other ladies here have gone through the speech with me before, all females are supposed to be in attendance."

"I will make sure to inform everyone about the meeting. What time?" Sam stood and streched out her back.

"The final time hasn't been determined as of this moment. I have a meeting with my Beta's early and then with the Alpha's that have been gathering since early this morning. After that, I'm hoping to take some time and eat and take a breath before speaking with you ladies." He smiled and leaned against one of the walls. "I know that Halea had requested a punching bag and some other boxing equipment. The bag was installed while we were out and the other equipment she was looking for is in the gym on the far side of the complex. Seeing as how she was oh so vocal about having some of the equipment within arms reach, was there anything else that you ladies needed?"

"I was unaware that Halea requested that, but it doesn't surprise me. She was very good at boxing before all this started. It was her outlet, that and photography. She has a hard time interacting with people without a buffer. She holds her emotions in check around people, she is very secretive about them. The only time you will see her emotions is in her art or when she is boxing."

"Well, be sure to let her know that the bag is downstairs and if there is anything else you ladies need my betas can help if i'm not around." Sam nodded and stood.

"I guess then I shall see you tomorrow?" She smiled and motioned for the pups to follow her as she led them upstairs. She knew that Leon could find his own way out.

Once the pups were in her room she wasn't sure what to do with them. She went into the hall and grabbed some blankets and pillows. She made them a small nest at the side of her bed. She knew that they would more than likely curl up with her in the night, but she wanted them to have their own space just incase. They immediately took advantage of the blankets and jumped into find their own spots. Sam got up and paced over to her window. She could see Charles out by the front of the house pacing. A yip startled her and she whipped around to see the pups pawing at the door. "Oh!" She ran to the door and flung it open, the pups fell over themselves trying to get down the stairs. She led them to the back door and opened it, then the screen. She pushed the stopper into the screen and watched as the pups found their spots to relieve themselves. Charles head poked around the side of the house and she smiled at him.

He kept an eye on the pups as they finished their business and jumped around Sam's feet. She smiled and waved to him as she counted the pups and led them back inside. Once they were back, safely in her room, they curled themselves into each other on the blankets. She could tell when the dogpile finally fell asleep, it took them awhile though. She had changed into some comfy clothes and laid on the edge of her bed staring out at the stars. When the whimpering and soft noises started to come from the pups she laughed and relaxed.

She didn't think she would be able to sleep with all the tension flooding her body, but she did. Tonight she dreamt, she saw people she knew from her old life. She saw things that could never be, but she felt secure with herself now to know that eventually she could have found this life. She may not like it, but she knew now that her wolf had always been a part of her. It wasn't a manifestation in her life, but she felt that she was the instinct that led her through her life. This time the memories and the faces didn't make her hurt like they normally did, they made her smile. She hoped that Jake had found his way through life, and that he found happiness wherever he could.

Her dreams brought her to her present, she saw the ones that she became closer to. The ladies in her life that she now thought of as sisters, and in a way they were. They were sisters of circumstance. She saw the pups that she had rescued and as she moved closer to them she saw the wolf, the one that kept growling when she found them. Throughout the dream no one seemed to notice her, but this wolf did. He was staring straight at her, his head was tilted to the side and his ears cocked in her direction, in the wolfish version of confusion.

She looked him over and tried to figure out who this wolf was. Her wolf sensed that she knew him and wanted to go to him, but Sam was a little hesitant to embrace a random wolf. She circled him, giving him plenty of room, and he watched her slow movements. When she got downwind of him, his head snapped up and his ears lurched forward. She caught the movement and stared at him, her gaze fixated on his eyes. The intensity increased threefold, and he took his first step towards her. Instinctively she took a step back. He growled a warning, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She could feel butterfly wings against the side of her stomach, she knew that she was ill equipped as a human to handle the wolf, but she didn't know if she trust her wolf not to stand up to him.

She stood her ground and squared her shoulders, this pup was not going to push her around. He chuffed at her actions but she paid no heed. She flared out her senses behind her and heard the slow gurgle of water. She slyly looked over her shoulder and saw the pond and stream not four feet away. She positioned herself solidly and feigned running to the right. The wolf took the bait and he rushed at the spot he figured he would go, but instead of hitting her, he fell into the pond. Sam couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the wolf in the pond. As his head broke the water, bits of vegetation from the bottom clung to his fur and snout. He chuffed and rolled his eyes, the situation so comical that Sam fell to her knees laughing, throwing in a snort or two of pure delight.

He used her laughter to his advantage and lept from the water and pinned her with his wet body to the ground. Sam froze, unsure of what exactly to do. Other than pinning her to the ground, he was not being overly aggressive. A cold, wet, nose touched the side of her neck. She jerked away with a gasp out of instinct. He let out a low rumble as he breathed deeply the scent at the juncture of her neck. She felt his raspy tongue slither across her skin. Gooseflesh spread across her body and she sighed in response. The wolf lifted his head back and looked down at her face. She watched as his face started to shimmer between that of a wolf and that of a man. His human features never became crystal clear but she heard a word rumble from his chest. "Mine."