South Mountain Pack Ch. 10

"IF THERE IS NO THREAT WHY DID YOU SHIFT? AND DON'T TELL ME ABOUT MY LESSONS AND MY RESPONSIBILITIES, I KNOW MY FUCKING RESPONSIBILITIES. MY ENTIRE FUCKING LIFE ALL I'VE HEARD ABOUT IS MY RESPONSIBILITY TO THE PACK AND I'VE NEVER ONCE LET YOU OR THE PACK DOWN," Anthony roared back as he stood up to his full height. "IN CASE YOU DIDN'T NOTICE, WE MOVED THE GIRLS, MOM, MRS. C AND MRS. JC TO SAFETY WHILE THE THREE OF YOU WERE LOSING YOUR SHIT AND SHIFTING INTO YOUR WOLVES."

The boys glanced at each other nervously; they had never heard Anthony and his father talk to each other like that before. "LOSING MY SHIT? YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON," snapped Carlo as his wolf continued to pace back and forth on the patio flanked by the two chocolate wolves who were throwing their heads back and forth snarling and baring their teeth.

"Well then why don't you tell me so I do know what is going on. I can't protect my mate and the rest of the Pack if you keep things from me," said Anthony belligerently but in a much calmer tone as he crossed his arms over his chest. "The first thing the three of you need to do is calm the fuck down and shift back, then we can have a discussion without the three of you pacing back and forth and snarling."

The boys glanced at each other again, as wide-eyed as Sophia and Maria had been a few minutes earlier, they had never heard anybody tell their Alpha or the Carlucci men to calm the fuck down. The three wolves stopped pacing and walked towards Anthony, who continued to stare at his father and even raised his eyebrow as he waited for them to shift.

"Get us some clothes and tell the women we're shifting back," Frank said to Damian who hurriedly moved into the kitchen to comply. As much as he wanted to stay out there to see what was going on, he wanted to get away just as bad.

"Uhmm, they're shifting back and need some clothes," he muttered to nobody in particular. Rose pointed to the pile of clothes on the breakfast bar as the women turned their backs and Damian muttered, "Thanks."

He went back outside to see his Dad, Uncle Frank and Alpha shift back and stare at Anthony, mimicking his posture by crossing their arms over their chests. Anthony stood his ground and stared back at his Dad and if anything his expression got fiercer. He had to give Anthony credit; if that was him he would be shaking in his shoes. His mind wandered as he thought of other idioms such as quaking in his boots, tossing his cookies and his personal favorite which was shitting in his shorts but he was brought out of his reverie as he realized everyone was staring at him. "What?" he said dumbfounded as he looked around at everyone.

His Dad raised his eyebrow and said sarcastically, "Are you going to give us the clothes or are we going to stand here all night bare assed naked with our dicks flapping in the wind?"

"Yeah, I guess that would help," Damian said as he laughed quietly handing the pile of clothes to his father who passed them to the other men and they quickly slid the cargo shorts on.

"Anthony, there are things going on that you don't know about, things you may not understand," said Carlo as he stared at his son. "What I don't need is for you to challenge my authority; we need to come together to face the challenges ahead."

Anthony took a deep breath and said, "Dad, I'm not challenging your authority, all I want is to know what is going on so I can protect my mate and my Pack. All of the lessons you've taught me won't do a damn bit of good if you keep things from me."

Carlo continued to stare at his son and came to the stark realization that his little boy was finally a man. As he looked at his son it was like he was looking at a mirror image of himself, and he realized that his son was much more mature then he had been at that age. It wasn't only his physical presence; it was in his mental attitude and toughness, his ability to lead and take charge. His son was a born leader and would grow to be one of the strongest Alpha's that Carlo had ever known and even at the age of seventeen the power radiating off of him was stronger then anything Carlo had ever felt before.

With that thought in mind, Carlo looked at the Carlucci boys who had knowingly or unknowingly lined up flanking Anthony on both sides and he had to suppress a smile when he saw that. They had been trained from birth to protect the Alpha, the Pack and their family, just as generations of Carlucci's before them had done. Since the beginning of the original Rossi Pack in Italy, the Carlucci's had always held the positions of Top Beta's and Enforcers and this generation was no different. He changed that thought, this generation was different because there was so many of them, never before in the history of the Pack had there been so many Carlucci's.

"I don't know if I should praise them or be mad at them that they are facing off against us like they are," said Frank as he rolled his shoulders trying to release some of the tension, echoing Carlo's thoughts.

"I know what you mean," said Joe looking at his sons and nephews. "On one hand I'm so proud of them and on the other I want to take them to the training facility and show them who is stronger."

"They have the strength of numbers," said Carlo looking at his son who continued to stare back at him. "Maybe that was Luna's plan all along, She knew the time would come when we would face a great challenge and would need them."

The men got quiet for several moments thinking over Carlo's statement and then Joe said, "Everyone should go and get changed. Our company should be here shortly and I don't think it would be polite for us to be barely-dressed when they arrive."

"Well, it would make dinner conversation much livelier then going over the stupid ass dating rules again," said Damian with a laugh. "It would be easier if I got them tattooed on my ass and had everybody read them."

"Well, your ass is certainly fat enough to have them printed on there," said Lorenzo with a straight face before the males burst out laughing dissolving the tension.

Damian said in a whining voice but with a wicked smile on his face and a glint in his eyes, "Mommy, Aunt Rose, they're picking on me again."

"Boys, leave him be," said Rose trying not to laugh as the women walked onto the patio and handed Carlo, Frank and Joe large tumblers of whiskey.

"He can't help it if he has a fat ass; it's genetic, look at his father and his uncle," said Annie as she burst out laughing along with the other women.

"Oh, you are going to pay for that later," said Joe narrowing his eyes as he looked at his mate as everyone continued to laugh.

"Promises, Promises Giuseppe, remember you have to catch me first," Annie said quietly as her eyes wandered from his coal black hair down over his chiseled face to his toned chest and back up to look in his deep emerald eyes.

Joe felt the familiar tightness in his body as he looked at his mate. They had been together over twenty three years and she still took his breath away when she looked at him like that. He growled quietly as he said, "My wolf is still on edge as it is, so don't start something we can't finish Annie. You keep looking at me like that and I swear you'd better start running."

"HELLO, innocent children are standing right here," said Damian with a shudder. "Please stop before you traumatize us further, I don't know how much more I can take today. I...I...can feel the blackness overtaking me, my nerves are overset and I can feel an attack of the vapors coming on, somebody please get my smelling salts." He dramatically placed his arm over his forehead and swooned to the ground.

Frank looked down at his nephew lying sprawled across the patio and asked, "Been reading your Aunt Rose's romance novels again?"

Damian opened one eye and smiled up at him, "Yeah, I like the historical bodice rippers the best, the ones involving the Highland Chieftains and of course the Regency Romances. They're actually quite good; Amanda Quick, Julie Garwood, Julia Quinn, and Johanna Lindsey are among my favorites, the Bridgerton and the Malory family series are awesome."

"The shit that comes out of your mouth never fails to amaze me," said Joe as he shook his head. "I often wonder what goes through that mind of yours."

"You really don't want to know Dad, sometimes I scare myself with what goes through there," said Damian as everyone laughed. He got up and sat in one of the chairs, stretching his long legs out in front of him and linking his hands behind his head. He looked at his Alpha and said, "Now that everyone is calmed down, are you going to tell us what is going on? You never answered Ant's question earlier."

Carlo took a deep breath before saying, "The men will meet on Monday and they'll tell their mates and youngsters before the Pack meeting on Tuesday. The parents will make the determination if their youngsters attend the meeting on Tuesday. I'll send out the message to the men this evening."

The Carlucci's looked at their parents and Frank, Rose, Joe and Annie looked at each other before Frank said, "We'll listen to everything Alpha Carlo says and then we'll sit together as a family and discuss it. Vin and Dom, you'll attend the meeting on Monday, since you're eighteen, as for the rest of you, we'll talk it over and decide later." They nodded their heads in agreement.

Carlo looked at his son and said, "We'll sit down and talk later."

"Fine, but I want to know everything. I don't want you to hold anything back from me, I need to be prepared as much as if not more then everybody else," said Anthony as Carlo nodded his head.

Alberto and Angelo looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Their parents should be here soon and they would talk it over with them later.

"Alright guys, before we get changed we need to put all the equipment away and clean up our mess on the patio," said Vin as he stood up. The boys ran out to do as Vin said, while Damian started picking up the shirts and cleats off the patio while Frank, Joe and Carlo put on the polo shirts that Damian had brought out.

Carlo motioned for the adults to have a seat and said, "I'd like to wait until the other adults are here before I tell you the details. I'm still trying to process everything in my head and this will give me a couple more minutes to think things through." The Carlucci's nodded their head and sat in silence letting their Alpha think.

Minutes later the boys came back onto the patio dressed in board shorts with matching t-shirts, arguing over who was a better lawyer, Arnie Becker, Jack McCoy or Matlock. Maria and Sophia followed closely behind them dressed in Capri leggings and huge baggy t-shirts that came to mid-thigh which were obviously stolen from their older brothers. Sophia's t-shirt said "It's all shits and giggles until somebody giggles and shits" and Maria's said "I'm Just a F*cking Ray of Sunshine".

Conversation stopped when they stepped onto the patio as everyone stared at them in astonishment. "What?" said Sophia nervously as she was putting her hair in a ponytail. Maria stopped in the middle of braiding her hair and looked around with a sheepish smile on her face.

"Do you think your outfits are appropriate for company?" said Rose quietly.

"I know you have better shirts to wear then that," said Annie just as quietly. "I see the credit card bills from your shopping excursions."

"Well, we thought...aah...well...," said Maria who looked to Sophia for help.

"We'll be right back," said Sophia backing her way into the kitchen and heading upstairs with Maria right behind her.

As soon as the girls were out of hearing range, everyone burst out laughing. "That was totally unexpected," said Frank as he continued to laugh. "I'm not used to seeing my little girl dressed like that."

Rose smiled as she said, "She's growing up Frank and our little girl isn't so little anymore. I remember how I acted when I was her age."

Joe rolled his eyes as he looked at Rose, "Damn, the two of you were irritating at that age, like two annoying little gnats always buzzing around. Wanting to know where we were, what we were doing and wanting to follow us. You drove us nuts, and not in a good way either." Carlo choked on his whiskey at Joe's response as Frank looked at his mate and grinned before he started laughing at the look on her face.

Annie looked at her mate giving him a glare before she said, "And you thought you were going to be chasing me later. Fat chance of that happening."

Before anything else could be said, Anthony, Carlo, Alberto, Frank and Joe tilted their heads back sniffing the air. "The Moretti's are here," said Carlo.

Vin looked at the Clan and said, "We've got to start paying more attention to what's going on around us. That's two times we've been behind everybody in noticing somebody arriving, I don't want it to happen a third time." The Clan nodded their heads and sat up straighter knowing Vin was right.

Sal noticed Damian staring at him and asked, "What's the matter now?"

Damian rolled his eyes and said, "Go and see if they need any help carrying things. Be a gentleman; remember what we talked about earlier."

Sal continued to stare at him in confusion as Damian shook his head in disgust and said, "Okay fine, I'll go and see if Gabby needs any help then."

Sal started to blush as he said, "Oh right...you stay here Damian, with your hurt leg and all. I'll go help them." He hurried around the side of the garage as Damian looked at the other boys and smiled.

"Do I want to know what that was about?" asked Frank as he looked at Damian.

"No," said Damian as he looked at his Uncle Frank and smiled.

The Moretti's came around the corner, Carmelo carrying a case of beer, Rita carrying a bag with dips, Gabby carrying a small fabric bag and Sal carrying two large round trays with bags of chips on top. Gabby was smiling widely as she walked next to Sal who was blushing furiously. She grabbed his elbow to guide him towards the food table and his sharp intake of breath was heard by those on the patio.

Angelo and Alberto were clenching their fists but not saying anything and the rest of the boys were trying to hide their smiles as they watched Sal follow Gabby's instructions of where to place the trays. When everything was placed to her satisfaction they walked back to the patio and Gabby sat down and Sal sat on the ground near her even though there were seats open on the other end of the patio.

Anthony glanced at the adults and noticed they were busy greeting each other near the pool and opened the link to the boys as he said to Sal, "Offer her something to drink, be polite and attentive to her."

Sal cleared his throat before saying, "Can I get you a drink Gabby?"

Gabby smiled and said, "That would be wonderful Salvatore, what do you have?"

"Uhmm, I have no idea," Sal said sheepishly, delighted that he was talking to Gabby without stuttering but feeling like a fool that he couldn't think of what drinks they had. He smiled as Gabby laughed at his answer.

"You idiot, offer to go look. Don't sit there with your thumb up your ass," said Vin.

"I'll be right back, let me see what we have," said Sal, as he stood up he drew in a shaky breath as Gabby grabbed his arm again.

"That's okay, I'll go with you so you don't have to make two trips," she said with a smile. "Oh, and I have your hoodie here too, thank you for letting me wear it."

"TELL HER TO KEEP THE HOODIE," shouted all the boys except for Alberto and Angelo who kept quiet.

"Tell her she can wear it to games, she'll like that," said Marcus.

"Uhmm, why don't you keep it, you can use it during the season and wear it to games and stuff," Sal said as he held his breath, unsure if she would want to keep it.

Gabby gave him a big smile and ran her hand through her hair, flipping it over her shoulder as she asked, "You don't mind me wearing it? It has your name on the back and people might think we're dating."

The blood rushed to Sal's head and sweat was beading on his forehead as he said, "That's ugh...I mean ugh...yeah...uhmm... only if you uhmm...well...I ugh..."

"Take a breath and try to get your one brain cell working," said Gianni in an encouraging tone.

Sal took a deep breath and blurted out, "You're pretty and you smell nice."

"So much for you having at least one working brain cell," said Damian as he rolled his eyes, hiding his laughter by coughing.

"Thank you, Salvatore," said Gabby smiling, "But you didn't answer the question."

"Tell her you don't mind, but it's up to her," said Lorenzo with a smile.

"I mind a lot, and it's not up to you," Sal hurriedly said in a near shout as Gabby's eyes opened wide and she took a step back.

"This is getting painful listening to you, you blockhead. Repeat this word for word – I don't mind as long as it's okay with you," said Dominic shaking his head.

Sal took a deep breath and closed his eyes before saying, "I meant to say, I don't mind as long as it's okay with you."

Gabby tilted her head to the side and said, "Well, I'll make sure to wear it to all the games and other stuff like you said. I kinda like wearing it."

"Son of a bitch, she is flirting with him," said Angelo in an incredulous tone as he watched his baby sister.

"Don't forget to tell her how nice she looks. Say something nice about her eyes or her hair," said Enzo as he stared at them but pretended not to.

"Uhmm, your shirt is the exact color of your eyes and matches perfectly," said Sal as he looked anywhere but at Gabby.

"Salvatore, thank you for saying that but my shirt is pink with white hearts. Last time I checked my eyes were brown," Gabby said as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and then she started to giggle.

"For fucks sake, does she look like an albino Sal? Get a grip," said Paulo as the boys turned their heads away so Gabby wouldn't see them trying not to laugh.

"Tell her you meant to say the color brings out the sparkle in her eyes," said Damian helpfully.

Sal sighed loudly again and said, "I meant to say the color brings out the sparkle in your eyes." Gabby smiled at him and his heart started to pound in his chest again.

"Focus and think before you say anything, now go inside and get her the drink," said Gino making a shooing motion with his hands.

"Uhmm, let's go and get that drink. I think we have water, juice, sodas and of course sweet tea," said Sal as he led her into the kitchen.

Rose and Annie were telling the Moretti's and Rossi's the youngsters had been informed of the offer from the Alpha Council. They were discussing the conversation and the boy's reactions when they noticed Sal and Gabby going into the kitchen. What got their attention was as soon as they entered the kitchen; the boys turned around and were staring at them with smiles on their faces, even Angelo and Alberto.

"What's going on now?" asked Frank with a frown. "I swear it feels like I have no idea anymore what is going on with my youngsters."

Carlo was staring at Sal as he got Gabby her drink and said, "It looks like Sal has realized Gabby is a girl and the boys are helping him through the awkward phase."

Carmelo frowned as he watched them in the kitchen, they weren't talking just smiling at each other and then Sophia and Maria walked in and joined them, "My baby is only seventeen..."

Before he could continue, Rita said with a smile, "The same age I was when you made your declaration for me. She is old enough to date Carm, let her be."

"But he's...but she's...and they're...," Carmelo continued to sputter as he waved his hands in the air.

"Exactly. They look happy so don't ruin this for her. Do I make myself clear?" Rita asked as she put her hands on her hips and stared at her mate.