Gunner.
"What are we going to do now?" I asked with a heavy breath,
"Do about what darling?" replied Mum,
"About Zee and her new status, we can't keep her hidden from the pack forever, they deserve to know"
"Of course they deserve to know, but it is Zelena's choice as to when they find out" Mum said soothingly.
"But what about after that? You know that this news won't stay here, it will travel worldwide. When the other packs find out, and they will, they'll come for her and not all of them will be friendly"
"They can try" growled Dad.
"You will help then, help me protect her?"
Mum pulled me into her arms and squeezed me tight.
"You don't even have to question it Gunner, baby" she squeaked.
"Zelena is a Triple Goddess, yes. But more importantly, she is your True Mate, and she belongs here with you, the pack will fight for her if need be" Dad said firmly placing his hand on my shoulder.
"Okay good" I said pulling myself from my mother's arms,
"Dad, I need your help"
"With what?" he asked,
"We need to get Zee's father and take him to the cabin. If he knows anything more about Zelena and her mother, then we are going to find out"
"You're sure?"
"Definitely" I answered with a strong nod.
Dad stood up a little taller, straightening his back and squaring his shoulders. He nodded his head in agreement, with a deep grunt.
"Okay, well I'm going to go and get dinner started, you two can talk business" Mum said softly as she stood up and headed for the door.
"We will take Spartan and Cole with us" Dad announced. Even though I had already assumed as much. They are Beta and future Beta after all.
"What about Smith?" I questioned,
"He will stay and watch over the girls in the house. Mazz and Julian will guard the pack"
"Do we need the extra guards?"
"We don't know anything about this man and how he came to raise the Triple Goddess, but it can't just be an accident".
I hadn't thought of that before. Why was a human raising a Were? And not just any Were, the Triple Goddess. Dad's right, it's not just coincidence, there's more going on here.
"Okay, I agree. When?" I stated,
"As soon as possible, it's like you said, we can't contain this for long and we need all the information we can get"
"Well, tomorrow then, while Zee is training with Artemis. From what I understand he doesn't have a job, so he'll probably be at the house"
"Okay. Call Cole and Smith, tell them to come to the hall".
Dad sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, he was flashing with Spartan, Mazz and Julian. I flashed Cole and Smith,
**Cole, Smith, I need you to come to the house immediately**
**Dad just told me, we're on the way**
**I'm in the forest, I'll be there in a minute, I have to change back**
**Why are you wolfing?**
**I needed to get away from my mum, she's extra clingy today**
**We'll be in the hall**
**Gotcha**
**Okay**
Dad opened his eyes and looked at me, I nodded my head and we both got up and walk to the hall at the back of the house. The hall is where Dad does his pack meetings. There's a big round table with the pack symbol on it and ten chairs around it. On the back wall is an old map of Cape Breton Island with our territory marked out. I took the most recent town map from the shelf and laid it out on the table. Spartan and Cole walked in together and stood either side of my father and me. Cole was eyeing me cautiously.
**What's going on?**
**Just wait for the others, Dad and I will explain**
Mazz and Julian came in, nodded to my father and stood on the other side of the table.
"Okay, let's get going" Dad bellowed,
"Just waiting for Smith" I said quickly.
Dad looked at me and frowned.
"Where is he?" he grumbled,
"He was out running, he won't be long" I told him.
**Smith where are you?**
**I'm outside, I can't change back**
**Don't worry about it, just come in**
**Okay**
Smith walked through the door in his wolf form, Dad and Spartan looked at him and frowned.
"He said he's sorry, he couldn't change back fast enough" I told them.
"Okay, before we start, I need you all to understand that this is a very sensitive matter and needs to be handled discretely and quickly. Gunner, do you want to continue?" Dad said looking at me.
He's never let me lead a meeting before, even if it is just with a couple of us. Was he testing me or is he letting me take the lead because it's involving Zee? I stood up straight and cleared my throat.
"We are making plans to capture a human. We need to take him to the cabin for questioning" I offered the small group,
"What human?" Spartan asked without hesitation,
"Zelena's father" I answered him,
"And why should we care about him, if he is just a human?" he grumbled in response,
"He is, but he may have certain information that we need"
"What kind of information?" Mazz interjected.
I looked around the room at the waiting faces, I don't know how they are going to believe this without proof. It's a far fetch, I know that. Dad nudged me gently and nodded his head for me to go on.
"He may have critical information about Zelena, her mother and their ancestry" I continued,
"Mate, I know she's your True Mate now, and you want to look out for her, but how is this critical?" Cole asked confused.
"Don't we have more important things to do than kidnap humans?" spat Mazz.
Dad growled deeply and everyone in the room went silent and bowed their heads.
"Carry on son" he said to me, using his firm and authority filled voice,
"Zelena has the mark of the Triple Goddess and has started displaying gravitational powers" I blurted out in one breath.
They all stood silently and stared at me with blank expressions. Then all at once, the room erupted into shouting and laughing.
"Is this a fucking joke?" laughed Julian,
"You summoned me here to talk about fucking fairy tales?" Spartan yelled,
"SILENCE!" Dad screamed, his voice shook the room and filled it with a heavy energy. They all stopped and looked at him sheepishly.
"See for yourself" he said angrily.
Dad closed his eyes, I think he is flashing them pictures of the library. I flashed Cole and Smith, the image of the table floating and the books flying around the room. Spartan looked across at me wide eyed, and Mazz stumbled on his feet, clutching the table for support.
"This can't be" Julian whispered.
"Artemis has confirmed it. Gunner, myself and your Luna have witnessed. She is the chosen daughter of the Goddess and her powers are already very strong" Dad spoke firmly, standing above the pack members.
**I fucking knew she was wicked**
Smith flashed as he jumped in a little circle and shook his wolf head.
"What does this mean for the pack?" Spartan demanded,
"It means the pack has been blessed by the Goddess herself. Not only will your Alpha-Son have a True Mate bond, but your future Luna will hold the powers of the Moon Goddess. This is a gift greater than any other" Dad spoke firmly, as if challenging the other members to question him.
"But Lupus, this news will bring threats from all across the globe, it could be dangerous for the pack, 'she' could be dangerous for the pack" Spartan interjected,
"She is part of the pack!" Dad said raising his voice and turning to Spartan,
"Well maybe she shouldn't be!" Spartan shouted back.
Dad pushed his chest against Spartan and he did the same. They growled at each other not breaking eye contact. Spartan was challenging the decision of the Alpha. I stood beside my father and growled at Spartan, how dare he even subtly suggest that we exile Zee. Cole put his hand on his father's shoulder and tried to pull him back.
"Dad enough" he begged.
Spartan held my father's gaze as he growled but quickly snapped his head away and stopped his challenge.
"I'm sorry my Alpha, you are right, this is a blessing for the pack" Spartan grumbled, standing down and offering his hand to my father. They took each other's hands and quickly pressed their foreheads together, in a show of respect that we call Sevasmo.
**Sorry mate, you know he's hot headed**
**I know Cole**
**We will protect her, I promise**
I looked at Cole and nodded. Even though I know that he isn't exactly fond of Zee, he still has my back. I can trust him to put whatever animosity aside and look out for her. I can always count on him, no matter what.
"So, what's the plan then?" Mazz asked looking directly at me. Everyone in the room was looking at me to lead them now. I swallowed any hesitation and nodded. Alright, let's do this.
"Here's the house" I said and pointed at Zee's old house on the map.
"According to Zelena, he doesn't work, so he should be home. We really don't know anything about this man. He could be just a useless human or he could be a trained fighter, he may even be a Were" Lupus offered,
"The night we found her, he didn't seem exactly surprised to see you change" Cole added,
"No he didn't, so, he could very well be expecting us" I said cautiously,
"I saw no weapons in the basement, but he could be keeping them elsewhere"
"You're telling me we're going in blind" Julian huffed,
"Not all of us, no. Mazz and Julian, you'll stay behind to guard the pack. Only Spartan, Dad, Cole and I will go"
"What about me" Smith asked from the corner, he had finally changed back to his human form.
"You need to stay close to Zee. She trusts you and if her training with Artemis goes wrong, you'll need to calm the situation until I can get back"
"Can do boss man" Smith nodded in agreement.
"We need him alive and conscious for questioning, so attack to disarm only. I don't want to be around this mongrel any longer than we have to be, so let's keep it quick and clean".
I looked around at the table as I spoke, and they were all nodding their heads.
"We meet at the fire pit at first light" I told them,
"Okay"
"Got it"
"Alright" they all mumbled back in agreement.
"Thank you, my brothers. We will see you tomorrow".
The senior pack members nodded and filtered out of the hall. Cole paused and patted my shoulder, then followed after his father.
"Smith, hold up" I commanded once everyone else had left the room,
Smith stood by the table and waited. My father stood in front of me and placed his hands on my shoulders.
"You did well my boy, I'm proud of you" he smiled and tapped my cheek and then left. I turned to face Smith.
"I'm trusting you with this Smith" I said sternly
"I know mate, I won't let you down"
"She has taken a liking to you and she truly does trust you, but she has no control over her powers. This could go south"
"Gunner, I'll look out for her, you have my word"
"Keep in contact at all times"
"Of course, my brother".
I pulled him in for a quick hug and then we left the hall together.
Okay, tomorrow it's on.