South Mountain Pack Ch. 03

I would like to thank hcsd1719 for his help in editing and offering encouragement. Again, there are no actual sex scenes, since the main characters are underage. All italics indicate communication through the mental bond.

Please remember to vote and comment, I appreciate all comments and feedback. Thank you.

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The women had gathered refreshments and light snacks and settled into Rose's private sitting room. Iced tea with lemon for the girls and Pina Colada's for the older women. There were fresh vegetables with choices of either ranch dressing or a spicy Cajun dip mix and also finger sandwiches that were left over from the birthday party.

Madame Alpha Gina and Annie both remarked to Rose on how nice the sitting room had turned out since Rose had it redecorated as a 40^th birthday present from Frank and her children. The wall above the chair rail was covered in pale mauve wallpaper with small crème and burgundy flowers interwoven throughout the pattern and below the chair rail was shadow-box wainscoting painted burgundy that perfectly matched the wallpaper and the woodwork was painted in the coordinating crème color. Dark green silk drapes covered the windows on the back wall with a gas powered stone fireplace between them. A crème colored leather sofa faced the fireplace and two dark green chairs were placed nearby, flanking the stone fireplace. A large family picture dominated the pride of place area above the mantle showing both Carlucci families and the love and closeness between the two families was evident. The walls were decorated with pictures of her family throughout the years involved in their many athletic pursuits and Pack functions. All in all it was a very feminine room and one that Rose retreated to get away from her extremely masculine husband and their seven sons. The only one who was allowed in the room without an express invitation was Sophia, who also used the room as a getaway.

Madame Alpha Gina turned around and saw the wall to wall bookcases with the door flanked between the shelves and started laughing. "I thought that you got away from your obsessive reading of romance books," she said.

"Oh no, being married to Frank I still need all the romance that I can get. Just don't tell him that I said that." She told her best friends with a laugh. "He tries, really he does and I love him more then anything in the world, but his idea of romance is to rotate the tires in my car or growl if he sees another man look at me, then look at me and grin. I still think he's eighteen sometimes."

"Men," stated Gina with a sigh, "Did I tell you that Carlo almost ran one of the Omega's from the store the other day? I had been out grocery shopping at our store and Trent, Gary and Kendra's son, helped me to the car to load the groceries in the trunk. Apparently Carlo saw him from the office and came running out of the store like a bat out of hell, skidded to a stop and growled loudly at him and made him submit, all the while hollering "MINE", like the poor boy didn't know who I was. I was mortified and called Kendra and apologized, thankfully she understood since her husband still does the same thing to her too."

"Joe about took Vinnie's arm off last month when we went to the Ford dealership to pick out trucks for Paulo and Michael for their 16^th birthday. He apparently made the colossal mistake of opening the door for me and then touching my back to help me over the threshold. Joe started growling, squeezed Vinnie's arm and said "MINE", like Vinnie didn't know that. I mean he's only grown up with us and is both boys Godfather," said Annie with just more then a hint of sarcasm in her voice, "After being together twenty years and having six children together, I think everybody knows, I mean seriously. Plus, it's not like Vinnie doesn't have a wife and four kids himself."

"Rose, did you get a chance to tell Gina what happened at the Hospital job site up at Hagerstown last week?" asked Annie.

"I haven't heard anything about this little tale yet. Carlucci Construction is building that new complex of Doctors offices up there, aren't they?" questioned Gina.

"Yes, we are. Frank and Joe were so proud that they got the job, even though their bid wasn't the lowest. Carlucci Construction has gotten such a good reputation throughout the state that many firms are coming to them first and not even sending out requests for bids from other construction companies," said Annie.

"Anyway, I went to the job site to drop off lunch for Frank, Joe and Annie, it was my turn since it was Annie's week to work in the office. We were standing by the trunk, getting the cooler out of the back and all of a sudden we hear, 'bend over a little further baby, show me what you got, ooh honey give me a little more wiggle, sweetie I think I've died and gone to heaven, and several other things that we can't mention right now.' Well, Annie and I just looked at each other and giggled," said Rose. "Nothing like a little male appreciation to make you feel better about turning forty."

"Apparently Frank and Joe didn't feel the same as they came flying through the door of the construction trailer office like it was on fire, grabbed us and hauled us into their sides. They growled low in their throats, and said 'MINE'. Turns out the group of guys were an electric crew that had been brought in from a pack from the Eastern Shore. You never saw a group of guys scatter that fast once they had realized who they had been heckling, and what the consequences could be. Frank and Joe can be just a bit intimidating," Annie said with a laugh.

Sophia and Maria, who were sitting on the floor between the sofa and coffee table, were looking at their mothers and Madame Alpha and giggled quietly listening to them talk about the men in their families. Everyone knew how possessive male Weres were, but their fathers and apparently Anthony's father took it way over the top.

Sophia wondered if Anthony was going to be as possessive and decided that she would have to talk to him about it since she had outside interests that she would continue to pursue, such as the dance classes that her and Maria attended, and her volunteer work at the retirement home twice a month. She wanted him to understand that she understood the need to be possessive, but she would continue to have a life of her own, not just as his mate.

Rose looked at her daughter and niece and said quietly, "I bet that you two have a lot of questions and we will answer anything that you ask. First though, we will be telling you a lot of information about the mating pull and what it means. Then we will go into the rules that you must follow no matter what temptation you may be feeling. To follow those temptations could mean banishment from the pack Sophia and Maria, so please listen carefully. We realize that this is a lot to digest right now, that's why we put notebooks in front of you so that you can write the information down and any questions that you have. Remember that we will always be here to answer any questions that you have and to discuss anything that you need to."

"We want to make sure that the both of you realize how proud we are of the young ladies that you have become. We know that with so many older brothers and cousins that it hasn't always been easy, especially since they are so protective of the both of you. But there are reasons for that which you may not be aware of," said Annie.

"One of the reasons why young female Weres are so protected is that in the last fifteen years there have been fewer and fewer females born, not just in our Pack, but nationwide. I'm sure that you've seen the difference in how many males there are in your school versus the number of females. The decision was made by the Alpha Council that all unmated females would be protected at all cost, since they are the futures of the packs. One rule is they are always to be escorted by at least one male member of their household, unless they are with their parent. Another set of rules that were put in place is the rules for dating and we will get into that in more detail later since it is much more involved," added Gina.

"The last mandate is they are to be trained in self-defense, but not necessarily teaching them combat, that was left up to each individual pack. South Mountain Pack follows these mandates and then amped them up, which is no surprise considering that Frank and Joe, as the top two Beta's, are in charge of security for the Pack," said Gina and all five women started laughing knowing how overprotective Frank and Joe were.

"Any questions so far?" asked Rose to Sophia and Maria, "Like we said earlier this is a lot of information to comprehend, and we are just getting started. Feel free to interrupt us, if we say something that you don't understand right away." All three women noted that the girls had written the mandates into their notebooks.

"Okay, then we will get started with the first rule about unmated females always being escorted by one male member of their household if their parents aren't there. Nationwide, in the last several years, the number of underage Weres being mated unwillingly has decreased because of this and the mandatory age of 18 was put into effect to protect underage female Weres from predators, rape and unwanted mating. Well, obviously this is one rule that your father and Uncle Joe have amped up. All unmated female Weres in our Pack are always escorted by at least two males or more depending on where they are going and what they are doing." stated Madame Alpha Gina.

"We don't want to get you worried, but remember to always be on guard, if your wolf tells you that something is wrong, listen to her. Trust your wolf, she will have a better sense of your surroundings then you will and if you feel uneasy at any time, immediately tell your escorts, whether it be Anthony, your brothers, cousins or your parents. Remember that your safety is the most important thing and we would rather overreact then to have something happen to you," continued the Madame Alpha.

"As you have been taught, if your escorts give you the command 'PROTEGGERE', go immediately with them without question, no matter what you are doing. You have been taught that 'PROTEGGERE' is a command that is only used in an emergency and using that command means that they feel a threat and want to remove you from the situation," said Rose with a firm voice, "Sophia, I want to stress this to you, I don't care if you are in the middle of an argument with Anthony, if he or anybody else gives you that command, then you go. No questions, no pouting and no trying to pull away from him."

Sophia and Maria both made a note in their notebooks -- if 'PROTEGGERE' is commanded, must immediately follow all instructions as taught, no matter what is going on. Dire consequences if our fathers find out we disobeyed.

"Maria, since you and Sophia are usually together and she will be spending more time in Anthony's company, he will become your primary protector as well as Sophia's. The Clan will follow his lead pertaining to the safety of both of you when you are together. If he isn't around, I'm sure that your brothers and cousins will revert back to what they have always done in the past with you and Sophia, but we'll check with your father and Uncle Frank just to make sure," added Annie.

The girls made another note -- Anthony primary protector with Clan following. Revert to normal if he isn't here.

"If anything, Anthony will be even more overprotective then your brothers and cousins, since he will be protecting his mate. I'll ask you in advance to not get upset with my son if he starts acting like an ass, but knowing my son, I know that's a hopeless cause. Look at what he did to poor Scott tonight, he hadn't even publicly stated his intentions, let alone talked with us, Frank or Rose or more importantly Sophia. Which reminds me, Sophia did he say anything to you about the mating pull that we didn't notice? I never saw him talk to you tonight, except to wish you Happy Birthday. Did I miss something?" asked Gina.

Sophia and Maria wrote -- Anthony will probably act like an overprotective ass, but Madam Gina said not to worry he can't help it.

"No, Madame Gina, he never spoke to me before the incident with Scott. When he said Happy Birthday, he was looking and talking to Sal, not me. He never even said anything when he knocked me into the pool," said Sophia with a blush and a giggle as she remembered how it felt to be held by Anthony. "I saw him following us with a frown on his face and his arms crossed over his chest as we walked around thanking everybody for coming to the party, but honestly, I had no clue what he was doing and why, I figured that our brothers were busy and had asked him to follow us, and that is why he was frowning."

"That's what I thought. That boy has no concept of patience or decorum; he is just like his father sometimes. The least that he could have done was wait to declare himself after talking to his own parents, let alone yours and especially you Sophia. I'm surprised that you aren't upset that he declared himself without talking to you first," said Madame Alpha.

"Well, I can't say that I'm not a little upset. I had always pictured it being a little more romantic like giving me a bouquet of daisies and taking me out to a nice restaurant, like Roberto's," said Sophia with another giggle and even deeper blush. "But him telling Scott to let go of 'his girl' several times was kinda cute, and then saying he was gonna rip 'his arm out of his body' was definitely exciting."

"And hot, really hot. Scorching hot," said Maria and leaned into Sophia's side as the girls fanned themselves with their hands and giggled uncontrollably.

"Do you know how Anthony's father declared himself to me?" asked Gina.

Both girls looked at their Madame Alpha and said no.

Annie and Rose both looked at each other, then at Gina and started laughing hysterically. "I think Anthony is taking after his father more and more, thank goodness he didn't knock her to the ground," said Annie.

"Or finish up like Carlo did, Frank, Joe and the boys would have killed him," said Rose laughing so hard she was crying.

Sophia and Maria looked at each other in bewilderment while the three older women continued to look at each other and laugh.

"Carlo, Frank and Joe had been away all summer for a mandatory sabbatical and missed my 17^th birthday party, on the day of their return Rose, Annie and I were walking down Main Street and heard the sounds of an accident. We looked up and saw Carlo's truck get rear-ended, and then he hit two parked cars and went up over the curb. Next thing we know, he's flying out of the truck and barreling towards us. He knocks me down, sniffs my neck and starts screaming 'MINE' over and over again. I was screaming for him to get off of me, people were pulling at him and he was uhmm uhmm," she looked at Annie and Rose for help and getting none, "rubbing suggestively against the side of my leg and the sidewalk."

Sophia and Maria were both looking at their Madame Alpha with wide-eyes, and had their hands in front of their faces trying to hide the giggles that were pouring out of their mouths. Annie and Rose had their heads down and continued to laugh hysterically.

"After he was uhmm uhmm, finished," Gina said with her hands in air quotes around the word finished, "he got up and had to face my father and brothers. Daddy asked if he had anything to say, Carlo said that 'he thought I may be his mate' and Daddy said that if that display meant anything, that I better be his mate. So you see Sophia, at least Anthony behaved himself at least a little, but it appears that behaving inappropriately seems to be a Rossi trait."

"Your father and your Uncle Joe weren't any better Sophia. When you get older we'll tell you about some of their adventures, but to be honest with you, you may never be old enough," said Rose with a chuckle, as Annie and Gina looked on knowingly.

"Now, about the mating pull, as we have been telling you, once a male Were finds his mate, his first instinct will be to protect her, whether she feels this is needed or not. They will growl and want to fight men who just happen to glance at you or inadvertently touch you. This is normal, not always wanted, but normal. They can't help but act like Neanderthals sometimes," Madame Gina said. "The best advice that I can give you is to go on with your life just like you have always done. Keep in mind that if you look at or talk too long to another male, especially one that isn't a family member and is unmated, that your intended mate will feel this overwhelming need to re-mark you as his. So be prepared to be hauled up against him, and have him sniff your neck and hair."

Both girls wrote -- men are Neanderthals, put up with his growling and posturing.

"This sniffing will not only calm them down by reassuring them that you are fine, but it will transfer his scent onto you and yours onto him, ensuring him that you are his. They will scent you like this every time that you are away from them for any length of time, or they think that somebody has gotten too close to you," finished Rose.

Both girls dutifully wrote -- let him sniff us to calm him down, even if it annoys us, he needs this for reassurance.

"I personally found with Joe that it was easier and reassured him more when I would go up to him after we had been separated, I think it fed his massive ego. For me, it was just easier then being hauled up against him like a sack of potatoes," said Annie.

Sophia and Marie giggled at that remark, as they had both seen their mothers doing the exact thing and the look of possession on their fathers faces. Sophia made sure to write that little fact down in her notebook -- walk up to Anthony to reassure him, and do it often, she looked at Maria's notebook and saw that she wrote -- walk up to ______ to reassure him, and do it often. Both girls looked at each other and grinned.

"Another thing that you will notice is that your mate will want to feed you all the time. The men take mandatory cooking classes, but the majority of them still can't cook worth anything, unless it's out on the grill, or they order Chinese food or pizza, they are really good at that. The best thing to do if they invite you over to dinner is to eat beforehand, this way if the food isn't good at least you will be full. Actually, Anthony is a pretty good cook, but eat before you come over anyway," said Gina.

"The men don't realize that we know the real reason for the cooking classes, which is so they don't hurt or kill us. Weres heal fast, but even food poisoning takes a while to get over," Rose said with a laugh. "Somehow though, I think it makes them nervous to cook for their mates, especially their intended mates. Almost as if it's a job interview or something, like they have to get the Ziti cooked just right, or we would leave them. I just know that when I was dating Frank, I ate so much overcooked or undercooked pasta it was pitiful, and I would just look at him and smile and he would look so proud of himself that I couldn't tell him how awful it was. His cooking has gotten much better over the years though, and he does an exceptional job at heating leftovers and is even better at ordering take-out."

"Joe is really good at heating soup. You would think that after having a chef teaching him how to cook for twenty years he could at least cook something edible, the only thing I am able to stomach is when he cooks on the grill," added Annie.

Sophia and Maria both wrote in their notebooks -- eat before going to their house for dinner, compliment him and don't let him know how bad it really is.