Snow left Titan's office when the gamma arrived. She was curious as to where Simon had got to. Simon was an omega and was very much into being dominated by a thick throbbing cock. At least that was what he said all the time.
As she followed his scent around the back of the stairs she saw a door that was open and a baby barely able to crawl about to tumble down the stairs head first. Quickly she reached out and grabbed the small helpless pup. "Oh sweetling you don't want to fall. Come let's go see who is down here." Snow was very careful to close the door all the way before decending the steep stairs slowly. they were barely wide enough for one person to go down or up, so the two big men about to go up had to step aside as to let her and the baby through safely. "Thank you gentlemen." She said sweetly.
"You can give her to my wife. Don't know why we ever take our eyes off you sweet princess." One of the men stated and then cooed to the tiny pup in her arms.
"Where is she now?" She asked.
"She's working in the kitchen."
"Oh that's no place for a curious little pup such as her." She paused and thought a moment. "If I could take that necklace of rubber beads I can watch her." He laughed and handed over the beads readily. She moved into the brightly lit space once she had the beads securely around her neck. They added a pop of color to her outfit that seemed so relaxed.
"Victoria!" Simon called out as he jumped up from the couch and rushed over to her along with three others. "We were worried about you!" Simon stopped short of wrapping her in a suffocating embrace.
"Victoria, whose baby is that?" One of the other boys asked. She recognized him as a warrior in training, as were the other two.
"You know you can't just steal babies, right? I mean we all get why you don't want to have pigs baby but you can't take someone elses." Cody said and she laughed.
"She belongs to one of the warriors here. He is busy and so is her mother, so I volunteered to watch her for them." She said as she looked around for an open seat.
"Devan." A familiar voice sounded from the couch where Simon had been seconds before.
"Exuse me?" She asked politely.
"You're excused just don't do it again." Hannah said as she reached for the pup. Snow moved away from her towards the couch.
"No. Go get your own." She joked. Snow really did like this girl, even if she had slept with Titan.
She huffed and crossed her arms as she walked away. "The pup's father. His name is Devan. Also he is very busy as he is on the council of elders and is also an active warrior still. You should know his name at least as you will probably be seeing him alot. He might be assigned as your personal body guard." She walked over and sat down next to him. Simon seemed hurt til he opened his arms and patted his lap. That cheered Simon right up.
"Hello baby Mellony." Said a young boy of about seven as he spotted the baby and came over. "Who have you got?"
"This is Render. He's her cousin on her mom's side." The man stated. "It's only relevant because you are watch her right now. And just so you know we are very protective of our pups. Not just anyone can walk up to a baby and pick them up, so be careful in the future."
"So why was her father so okay with me holding her?"
"Because of the emergency council meeting the alpha called last night. He made the announcement. He also told us to let you settle in before we started bombarding you with duties and information." A woman in her mid to late forties ventured as she too approached.
"This is my mother, Cam. She is also on the council." Simon's mate informed her.
"Well I certainly appreciate you taking the time to come and meet me, elder." Snow inclined her head to the woman.
"Actually I came to meet this one." She looked at Simon who gulped and tried to make himself smaller than he already was. Simon was scrawny for a werewolf. But that didn't mean he was weak. She knew that he had desperately been looking for his mate for the last 3 years. He had barely turned 19. He had mousy brown hair and green eyes. She had never seen his wolf.
"Okay so I know Hannah, Cam, Render, Mellony, and of course I know Simon. But I don't know your name." She said as she looked around and pointed to the ones in the room she knew, then turned to him.
"I'm Kole. spelled k o l e. I'm the beta here. My father, Trebin, is also on the council of elders. You met him last night as well."
***
"Thanks for coming in on such short notice, Trenton. I know that your busy but I wanted to talk about what all happened in my room this morning." Titan said as Snow left hid office.
"What about it?"
"Snow said you were making demands. I just want to be clear on what happened and maybe I can put your worries to rest."
"I was asking if Pitch or you hurt her. Hannah said that she was scared. What happened in the woods lastnight, Titan? Ther are six hours that we can't account for."
"I found my mate. And for you to suggest that Pitch or I would ever hurt her is ludicrous!"
"Than tell me what happened in the woods."
"Snow more than submitted to Pitch! I was unable to stop him and Victoria had little more control over Snow!"
"So Pitch marked and mated Snow? And she is the wolf?"
"I know how it sounds but Snow has already accepted Pitch and I." He sighed heavily. "Victoria is another story. She was abused regularly in her old pack and does not trust easily. She's terrified of her own shadow and would apologize for breathing if it meant that she wouldn't be punished."
"How do you know that?" Trenton asked suspiciously.
"I keep forgetting that you weren't here when my father was alpha." Titan shock his head in defeat. "Alright I will tell you some of my story so you understand. My father was abusive to everyone. But saved the worst of it for me and my mother. He often tied me up and would beat my mother before he forced himself on her. After which he would chain her to the bed and beat me half to death." The look of horror on Trenton's face told Titan that he understood the severity of what he had just been told. "I can recognize the signs of abuse because I lived through it. Unfortunately my mother did not."
He didn't have to tell Trenton that his father was a sadist that got off on the beating them. What was worse, the bastard would grab any omega girl he found attractive and would roughly rape her infront of the entire pack as punishment for some made up wrong doing. Trenton did not need to know that, though.
"I see." Trento lapsed in to pensive silence. "I suppose that a very large, angry man coming in and demanding answers of her would be terrifying."
"We just need to show her that you are not a threat." He paused a moment wondering if he should tell thorsbane the worst of it. "I spoke to a former pack mate of hers. She was abused in every possible way." He was almost choking on his rage when he realized why her clothes would smell so much like another man's arousal. "However I was able to convince her to take a shower after you left, so there is that." It may have been small but it was a step in the right direction. "I need you to keep all we discussed here silent. If anyone asks..."
"This conversation never took place. Do you know who you want to guard her for now?"
"You and Devan Hendrecks." Titan almost dismissed his gamma when he remembered something. "I don't want her to be overwhelmed by the pack or even duties. We are easing her into things. Add to the fact that she needs to be properly trained for her position, I am assigning Cam and Hannah as her personal assistants."
"I get Cam but why Hannah?"
"If you tell anyone I will kill you." Titan said darkly. "There was a time, before she met Dracus, that I thought of making her the Luna. So I trained her myself."
"Why didn't you?"
"Pitch. He got worse and his unpredictable fits of rage would have been a major issue. I was unwilling to put her at risk." He said sadly, remembering the time in his life when he thought he could be happy. "I honestly bounced between trying to get her to hate me and not wanting to let go. But she met Dracus three years ago and I knew letting go was for the best."
"Does he know your history with her?"
"Yes. I told him, though I don't think that Hannah knows that he knows."
"I better go find...Did you say Victoria?"
"Yes but Snow is in charge at the moment. Why?"
"You know I still have friends on the council of elder alphas, right?"
"Yes I was aware of it. Why do you ask?"
"Is she Victoria Grimborn?"
"Yes."
"Erle Storm put forth a request for a Luna ceremony to occur today. He was going to make Victoria Grimborn his luna."
"How-"
"A friend from the alpha council contacted me and asked if I thought it was a good idea." He stopped as if weighing his next words. "Texas Storm fell out of favor 50 years ago and have not been to a gathering of the packs for the last 13 years. if you mark Victoria before the council members arrive you won't have to fight to prove the legitimacy of your claim."
"Victoria won't let me and if I force her it will discredit any claim I have."
"That's the political way of say you won't force her. But you said Pitch marked snow. Do you think that she would be willing to submit in human form?"
"I-" A knock on the door cut him off. "Enter!" He snapped in annoyance.
"Alpha, you wanted to see us?" Hendrecks said timidly as he poked his head in.
"Yes. I need you to go stand guard over the Luna. If her former alpha tries to get near her, kill him, Huesan." Huesan Hendrecks inclined his head in respect of the order. "Hendricks we need to talk. At this time you will act in the capacity of advisor." Titan waited to hear the door click shut before he continued.
"We have a problem and I need some council on how exactly to handle the situation."
"She is only babysitting Mellony and she volunteered to do it. I didn't see the harm in it."
"What? Snow is babysitting for you? Well I guess it could be worse." He shrugged. "But no. That's not what I meant. Though I am happy that Snow is making the adjustment. Even if Victoria may take some more time. First let me open this discussion by saying it does NOT leave this room. Is that understood?" Hendrecks nodded in acknowledgment. "Erle Storm has put in a request with the council of elders to have a Luna ceremony for Victoria Grimborn."
"Does he have a claim to her?"
"Not that I know of. But the council may not see it that way. Texas Storm may have fallen out of favor but it doesn't mean the council will immediately dismiss their request out of hand. I am 28 and we all know that unless we can prove that Victoria has accepted me as her mate they will question the legitimacy of my claim."
"As they should. However Pitch left his mark on her wolf, Snow, was it? Whatever her name is she will bear his mark if she has accepted him."
"The problem exists because Snow has accepted me and Pitch but due to certain circumstances that I will not mention now, Victoria has not and may need more time. The Gamma says that I should mark her human form before the council of alphas gets here to officiate the ceremony between Victoria Grimborn and Erle Storm. What do you think I should do?"
"Be honest and open with Victoria. Explain that do to certain events that have been put into motion you need to mark her right away. She will see reason And submit."
"The problem with that course of action is that Victoria has been abused and fear is the very death of reason." Thorsbane interjected.
"That makes things difficult. It doesn't matter if you mark Snow in human form. It won't work. Not unless Victoria has already submitted to you." Hendrecks said thoughtfully as he stared at a spot on Titan's desk. "Perhaps if you just mark her and nothing else, Than explain that it is so she can have the time she needs to come to terms with everything she may be willing to accept you."
"Erle will not let her go willing and he has the backing of his father. Is there anyway to discredit his claim on her?"
"The only one I know of is the same one that would have saved your mother's life." Hendrecks said calmly. "He already has what they will see as a more legitimate claim to her. However if you can prove that he is a threat to her it will nalify the bond if there is one between them." Shocked silence followed his statement.
"Can you prove that Erle himself is a threat to her?" Thorsbane demanded.
'Huesan! Are you with the luna?'
'Yes alpha. Is something wrong? We are in the rec room.'
'Are ther four young men from Texas Storm there as well?'
'Yes. Are they a threat to Luna Victoria?'
'No but do not let them leave! I am sending Hadrick and Caldwin to collect them.' "I just might." He growled with a conspiratory grin.