Running with Wolves Ch. 07

They put Samantha in the next room, laying her on the new bed with Penny tucked in next to her. The others in his group followed him in, watching the wolves with untrusting, wary eyes. The door was shut behind them and locked.

For a short time, they were left alone. They didn't speak, not knowing whose ears could be listening.

Orion came knocking on their door not long after. He was back to his human skin, dressed in jeans and a tight fitted shirt. He looked stressed.

Dominic immediately laid into him. "You lied to me."

Orion pulled the office chair out, squaring it with Dominic's position on the bed. "There were some unforeseen consequences we were not prepared for, but I have never lied to you, Dominic.

"You swore to me that we would be safe. That my family would be safe. And yet when a man threatens to kill us because we protected ourselves, you people ask me who started it? That doesn't qualify as keeping us safe."

Orion sighed. "What has happened to you is far from right or fare. We have made many mistakes with you and your group, this incident with Lark being one of them. What has happened could have been and should have been avoided. After the introduction, my mate and I will sit down again with all of you and answer all of your questions, but at this moment we need to wait until you are introduced into the pack. I have no right to ask this of you, but please just give us a little more time. Give us that and we will make this right."

Dominic groaned quietly in frustration. "How can you expect us to trust you after this?"

Orion let out a breath, leaning back in his chair. "This is an impossible situation for all of us. Your view of us has been tarnished greatly by the actions on our pack, but I can promise you that once you are officially introduced to the pack, it may not be perfect but it will be much easier. Just give us that, Dominic."

For a moment they all sat in silence. "I am not going to let any more of my people be harmed. If it happens again, we will leave, and if we cannot leave, we will make it so that it takes far more effort to have us here, that I swear to you Orion."

Orion appraised him for a moment, taking in his hard eyes and clenched jaw. "Very well."

*

For a while they all stayed in the new room. After a short time a man by the name of Cole, who Dominic remembered last seeing naked in his home, came and informed them it was time to go. Orion had taken the opportunity to tell them that once they were formally introduced as Destines and protected humans to the pack, they would no longer be in danger.

Samantha had come back to herself during that short time. She wasn't talking, her eyes a bit dim with the weight of everything that had been brought to the surface during the attack. Jarod was by her side the entire walk to the gathering, talking a bit incessantly to try and make her feel better. Dominic believed most of it wasn't registering to her. She simply kept her eyes down and arms securely holding her daughter.

The maze finally straightened out as they got closer to the front of the Den. They actually began seeing faces of new people here and there. Most were walking in the same direction as them, but one grunt from Orion had them taking a different turn. It made Dom feel better but he still wasn't going to give in and believe they were safe any time soon. He wasn't that foolish.

Soon they came to a large set of doors, the hum of a large group of people talking coming from behind them. Orion paused at the doors, Cole grabbing the handles and getting ready to open them. "Take a deep breath, all of you. There will be quite a few people on the other side of these doors, but I want you all to remember, you are safe. I am their Alpha and I will not let them do anything rash. Are you ready?"

Dominic looked to his friends, his family. He reached out and grabbed Samantha's hand, pulling her behind himself but keeping their hands clasped. Garrett moved to his right side and Jarod to his left. Ben took up the rear. They were prepared in case anything should go wrong. Dominic looked to Orion. "Yes."

The door pulled open and the humming stopped. With head held high Dominic followed the two men into the room, not bothering to look around the chamber. How many there were and what expressions they had on their faces didn't matter to him because knowing would not change anything. He needed to stay calm and moving. If he balked, so would the others and that would make them look even more weak. They had enough stacked against them, no need to add more.

What he could tell from his forward stare was that they were in a massive hall. On either side of them were rows of long tables meant for large groups to sit at. At the end of the room was an even larger table set up on a raised section of floor. There was a small section of stairs with ornate stone rails on that transitioned to a sort of short wall to either side. Nothing that would hinder the view but enough to show a clear separation.

Standing on the rostrum was Sol, looking calm and formidable even in the simple exercise clothing. Hale stood to her left, followed by Misty and another girl Dominic had never seen before. She looked like the smaller female version of Orion with a bob cut that curled slightly. To Sol's left were the man and woman from the Omega Wing that he had noticed but ignored. The man was tall, broad chested and slightly older looking. He had a square jaw and large calm eyes that seemed to catch every movement in the room. His hair was a very dirty blond, with the same hazel eyes as everyone else. The woman, his wife presumably, was also tall and tough looking, with light brown hair that framed a strong feminine jaw and high cheek bones, though her face was a bit softer than her husbands. Next to them were the two men that were so interested in Samantha. They looked to take almost entirely after their father, but unlike the others, they were the only ones that had any kind of emotion on their faces. One was staring at Samantha with worry, the other was glaring at Dominic and his hand holding hers.

They approached the dais quickly. Orion easily climbed the five steps to his wife and stood by her side, slightly behind her, while his son stood by Misty. He then indicated for the rest of them to stand on the steps in a staggered pattern. Dominic in front with Samantha on his left and Ben on his right, the others behind them and up two steps. It was then Dominic turned around and looked at all the faces staring at them.

There were hundreds of them, maybe even up to a thousand. They were all similar yet different, except for their eyes. They all had golden hazel eyes and the effect was unsettling.

Most had looks of curiosity, and there was even a little wonder from the younger ones. The older and bigger the person the less curious and more suspicious they began to look. There was one table that had almost exclusively angry looking individuals, but that probably had to do with the fact that it was the table Lark was sitting at. The song 'High School Never Ends' began playing in Dominic's head.

Samantha began shaking, so Dominic clutched her hand tighter. It took everything in him to stay completely calm, his face blank and eyes hard. They would not see his fear.

"As you have most likely guessed," Sol began to speak, "these are the humans you have all been hearing about. We were interrupted before we could explain the reason for them being brought with us. I will tell you all the reasons now.

"Yesterday, during the Gathering of Alphas in the Neutral Hall, our daughter Misty found her Destined Mate." there was a hum in the room. "She discovered him to be a human living in the city." The hum grew louder.

"Due to some unfortunate events that occurred, the Destined, Dominic, was injured by our own. We took him to the Mayfield Estate to be cared for. During the celebration of our new found peace with the Pine Glen Pack, the human Destined escaped, and led us on a chase to catch around the eastern edge of our territory.

"When we found him again, he had joined with a group of humans we later discovered he had come to call family. It took us some time, but we managed to convince them all to come with us willingly back to the Den. It was while we were in the process of gathering them to come back with us, that three more of our pack members, Augustine, Storm, and Thunder, also found their Destined Mates, each from this group of humans." The humming became much louder after that. Many sounded shocked, others disbelieving. One even shouted "Impossible!". The voices grew louder and louder until Sol unleashed a sharp growl, silencing everyone. "I understand this is difficult to believe. A Sistema such as this has not been discovered in many, many centuries. However, that is what we have here. Wolves, go to your Destines."

Dominic froze. A blond from the crowd stood and began approaching them. She was lovely, and familiar. She was the one that had bumped into him in front of the thrift store.

She quickly scaled the few steps to them and placed herself next to Ben. He didn't look upset, but he didn't look happy about it either. From behind them came the twin brothers. The one who had been glaring actually stepped between Dominic and Samantha, breaking their held hands. He gave the man a glare before being distracted by the tug in his chest coming back to life. He looked to his left to see Misty standing next to him, dressed the same as when he had last seen her, with her too big T-shirt and hair a cloud of loose curls dancing wildly around her head and her hazel eyes darted quickly to him and then away. She didn't look at him directly, but she seemed as if she wanted to say something to him. Like she was fighting with herself not to turn to him and spit something out that would end up embarrassing her.

The talking came back full force, this time Dominic was able to catch some snippets of conversation.

"...a human? She can't be happy about that."

"I bet she tried to kill him, and that's how he got hurt..."

"You watch, she is going to go nuts...

"...how's she going to handle not taking over the pack..."

"There is no way she will actually mate with him."

All eyes were trained on him and Misty, so he knew the conversations were about them. He would have to ask about it later.

Sol's voice echoed over their heads. "We welcome these three Destines into our Den, as well as their two pack members. Treat them with the respect and consideration you would give any other wolf."

The room erupted into shouting, howls, and applause. Almost everyone seemed to be happy with the situation, but Dominic could see a few pockets of individuals that weren't nearly as enthusiastic. Obviously there were still reasons they needed to watch their backs.

As the noise settled down, Orion spoke up. "You are now free to move about the Den once more. However, stay clear of the top floor of the Omega Wing for the time being. You are excused."

Slowly, the room emptied. Some left quickly, others, mostly the little ones, lingered to stare at Dominic and his people. They waited until everyone had left except those on the dais and stairs.

"I believe it is time for those answers you have been waiting for." Sol began walking down the steps, not even looking back to make sure they were all following.

*

The Alpha's Wing was definitely nicer than the other annex. It wasn't designed like the Omega Wing. It felt more like an old Victorian mansion than a dorm, with its dimly lit rooms and fireplaces, filled with plush tufted furniture and ornate decorations. There were paintings and artifacts all over the place, covering the walls and shelves of glass door cabinets. Most everything looked old or expensive or both. However, it was the amount of books that astounded Dominic.

There were thousands of them, all over the place. There were a multitude of cracked leather bound books, old hard covers, New York Times Best Sellers, first edition classics, a few ranch romance novels, and those were just in the common areas.

Passing through the hallways, he could see into each room they went by. Most were set up for leisure, while bedrooms were interspersed throughout. The most impressive of all the rooms he saw was one room that took up at least three of the others that was dedicated to being a library. It had two floors with a landing all the way around and spiral stair cases on each end. There were chairs and tables with lamps all over for people to sit and read, while a massive fireplace on the opposite wall of the doors kept the room warm and lit.

They passed the library to enter an adjoining room. It was filled with even more books on floor to ceiling bookshelves, most of them old and leather bound. There were two chairs in front of a large, beautiful cedar wood desk in the center, covered in papers and a laptop. Behind the elaborate desk chair was a fireplace already lit and warming the room with heat and soft light.

There was a couch and pair of chairs to the side, which is where Misty's three siblings went to sit, along with the two others that hadn't been introduced. Augustine, Misty, and the twins stayed standing close to Dominic and his people. Sol took up her seat at the desk, Orion standing next to her.

It was the first time Sol had showed any sort of fatigue. Her breath came out in a deep sigh and her eyes closed. Orion placed his hand on her shoulder in comfort. "Before we begin, let me introduce you properly to the Seconds in command of our pack. This is Thorn," The man from the hall nodded, "and his mate Cascade," the woman did the same, "as well as their sons, Storm and Thunder, who are Samantha's Destined wolves."

There was a mutual nod of greeting from everyone before they began to settle into comfortable positions around the room.

"Now that that is out of the way, I would like to start off by saying, I am very, very sorry, Dominic, for all that has happened to you and your friends." Sol placed her elbows on the desk and steepled her fingers. "Much has changed for you in the past two days and I can sympathize with the feelings you may have towards us. You must have many questions and concerns. Now that you are officially recognized within the Den, we can begin to answer your questions."

Dominic went to sit in front of the desk, guiding Samantha to sit in the other chair. The twin brothers didn't seem to like it much when he touched her, but he didn't care. Ben gave Augustine a sideways look before coming to stand by his friends, followed closely by Garrett and Jarod.

Once they were all situated, the questions that had been forming all day in Dominic's mind started to flow out. "The first thing I want to know, is are we safe here?"

"Relatively speaking, yes. There will be things you will need to learn in order to keep out of trouble but there will be no more attacks like what you faced today and yesterday. Though that should not have happened in the first place.

"The situation with Lark was a bit of a perfect storm. You are humans, brought into the Den with no previous warning, and when we arrived we were not able to immediately address you to the pack. You walking around would have qualified as an invasion to our territory. Pearl should have been with you to keep you confined, however had I known it was she that was chosen I would have picked a different guard for you. She is a good wolf, but recently mated, and it just so happens it was to the wolf who happened to be watching the security cameras for your section. They became, distracted, when she went to retrieve some items from the kitchen.

"Then there is the fact that it was Lark who found you wandering about. Had it been any of the other wolves patrolling the Den that had discovered you I can almost guarantee they would not have reacted as he did. Most would have recognized the signs and simply taken you back to your rooms, but he is angling for a higher position within the pack. Wolves like that are full of testosterone and aggression anyway, but Lark has a tendency to be even more so. Fighting back against him in your position gave him what he believed to be the right to kill you, in order to defend the pack, though I suspect it had more to do with protect his status as a Beta. From this point forward, now that we have established your positions, nothing like that will ever be tolerated again. As long as none of you accept or invoke a challenge, no one will have the right to attack you."

"What's going to happen to Lark?" Ben asked.

"We have given him a reprimand and a warning about his temper, along with mandatory training sessions so that he may learn to think before he acts. We have also postponed his challenges to attempt to gain a higher rank until he has completed all of this to our satisfaction."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." The words were a snarl on Ben's lips. "He tries to kill us, almost succeeding with your own kid, because he's a little pissy, and all he gets is a slap on the wrist and his precious promotion held off for, what, a couple weeks? You people are unbelievable."

"It will take him at least a month to complete the training as it will be far more difficult than it sounds." Sol leaned back completely in her seat. Even she didn't sound convinced by her words. "You must understand; in all technicalities he has done nothing wrong. It was his motives that were unjust but none of his actions were anything we could label as 'punishable'. We cannot prove he was doing anything out of malice, though it is my belief he was acting on his embarrassment at being defeated by humans and an Unturned, and his ego got the best of him. I wish I could do more but there is no justifiable punishment I could give him other than what I already have."

Ben made a disgusted sound and flung his arms in an agitated manner, before walking away entirely and going to stand by the far wall.

Orion watched the man walk off in frustration, an understanding look in his eyes, and continued with the meeting. "Is there anything else that you wanted answered as of right now."

Dominic also had his eyes on Ben, but knew it would just be a few minutes and he would be back under control. There was nothing they could do about any of that now and for the time being they were protected, so they might as well just keep their heads down and do as they were told, which brought up his next question. "We want to know more about why we are here. You have told me what a Destined is, that we are some kind of other half to a pair your, what ever it is you believe in, has predetermined, but you also called us a Sistema? What is it exactly that you are expecting from us during our time here?"

"For the time being, nothing. You have created too much bias against us for the matings to occur, and it would become worse if we moved forward with any mating rituals with you now, so for the time being we will leave you in the Omega Wing until we can make room for all of you here in the Alpha's Wing." Sol paused at a knock on the door. Without any verbal queue, a man opened the door and came walking in, guiding another trolley. This one filled with coffees, teas, and an assortment of snacks to munch on. "Thank you, Jasper. You can leave that there. I had the kitchen bring this up in case you were hungry. Go ahead and help yourselves."

Dominic's eye brows scrunched together in worry and confusion. "What is the point to all of this, Sol? Why are you putting so much effort into convincing us to stay here? And what do you mean by bias and mating rituals?" Garrett handed him a small plate of cream puffs and a scone, along with a cup of hot chocolate. Dominic had begun to feel himself fade and Garrett must have noticed. The sugar would help him till he could crash in a bed.

"Perhaps we should go into more detail about what being a Destine entails, as well as what a Sistema is. It will most likely answer many of your questions.