When Worlds Collide Ch. 06

Rafe ran his wary eyes around the packed community room. The tension within the room was so high, it was almost tangible. He could equally feel their suspiciousness as wary gazes met his and then slid quickly away. Lacey sat at his side, her body practically humming with tension. He reached out and gently stroked her thigh under the table in an effort to settle her.

They were sitting at the head table, the rest of the pack sitting in chairs directly facing them. They were all waiting for Jared and Millie to arrive. Everyone else was in attendance with the exception of Luke, Aaron and Jen. The doctor had been filled in with what the meeting was about when it became apparent that he would need to stay with Aaron, who was insisting on attending. Jen had opted to stay too, in an attempt to keep Aaron in bed where he currently belonged.

Jared and Millie were late and that was making the pack restless. Rafe continued to stroke Lacey's thigh as he eyed the obvious division in the pack. Bill Shepherd was sitting on the left side, choosing to sit in front when he usually opted to sit at the back in meetings. This didn't bode well; neither did the number of people who seemed to be gravitating towards him.

Rafe's brown eyes locked with Mitch Fielding's. The other Were didn't look away, his own brown eyes staring intently at Rafe. By rights, the other man should have lowered his eyes in deference to Rafe's status within the pack. The fact that he did not, but merely grinned insolently at him, spoke volumes.

If a challenge was to come today then it would be from Mitch. Rafe sized him up as a possible opponent. He had no doubts Jared could take Mitch, but it would be stupid not to err on the side of caution and take this opportunity to take his measure while he had the chance.

The two men's gaze was finally broken when Bill leaned to the side to say something to Mitch and the other man looked away. Rafe watched him for a second longer and then turned his eyes back to the room. Loretta met his gaze and raised an inquiring eyebrow as her gaze flickered quickly to Lacey and back to him. She had a slight smile on her face.

Rafe returned her smile with a brief nod, silently communicating the fact Lacey was his mate, and also relieved to see Loretta sitting on the right hand side of the room. The more he examined the dynamics of the room the more he noted that the Weres sitting to the right were all people he knew fairly well. The betas were all on that side, as was Cedar, her sister Willow, their three brothers and their parents. The divide seemed to be almost evenly split, with perhaps a smidgeon more on the right than the left.

Rafe felt his own tension level start to rise. If this meeting turned as ugly as it was looking like it was going to be, then there was a good chance some serious fighting could break out. He hoped Jared had something up his sleeve to stop that because the children were present. If things turned ugly...he didn't even want to think about that. He wondered where the hell his Alpha was. Jared was never late for meetings. He really needed to get his ass here and do it quickly before Bill decided he was going to open the meeting himself.

He had no time for Bill. He didn't care how old the Were was, he was nothing but trouble and didn't deserve any respect just because he was one of the eldest among them. If he was Alpha he would have kicked him out of the pack months ago, but he wasn't and so it wasn't his decision to make.

The door suddenly opened to Rafe's right and Jared walked in with Millie close behind him. Rafe frowned slightly when he spotted Luke reaching to pull Millie back and whisper something in her ear. He saw her tense slightly and immediately wondered what was wrong with Aaron. He didn't have time to ask as Millie slipped into the seat beside Jared, her face composed and giving nothing away as to what Luke had said to her.

Millie was quite literally stunned about what Luke had just told her. She didn't know how to react or whether or not to talk with Jared about it. They were already late with the start of the meeting as it was. Her cobalt eyes slipped to Jared's as he turned to raise an eyebrow at her, sensing her distraction. One look into his eyes and she knew she had to tell him.

"Honey, you need to not react to this at all but it is something that you need to know before the meeting starts," she said mentally. "Luke has just told me I'm pregnant."

Jared stared at her and struggled hard to keep his face devoid of all emotions. His heart started pounding hard and it was an effort not to drop his eyes towards her stomach. "Jesus, Millie," he groaned inside her head. "Baby, I so want to pick you up and take you home and show you just how happy I feel about this news. But I can't right now for obvious reasons but we will discuss it later," his tone was warm, his love shining through their mutual bond as well as his excitement at the news. "You do understand what this means, love? You're going to have to evacuate with the children. Our heirs cannot be risked. They are the future of the pack as well as being our precious babies."

Millie allowed herself a little half smile as she shifted slightly in her seat. "That's why I told you now instead of waiting until the meeting was over. I would have preferred to have told you, and been told the news myself, under much different circumstances. You needed to know to amend what you're going to tell the pack."

He did need to do that. It was originally his intention to tell the pack that Millie would be leading the female warriors after she had blatantly refused to leave his side, which he had expected her to do. Now that she was pregnant, everything was different. If he was challenged he had to win. Not only for the pack's sake and Millie's but also for his unborn children's as well.

Millie would have to evacuate and would need to be protected too, while she was apart from him. Rafe had already discussed with him the possibility of sending Jen away to get Aaron to leave and he had agreed. Add in Millie needing a protector, and his errant beta would have no choice but to leave. He would need some help though, because he would only be at around ninety percent fitness level. His shrewd eyes quickly scanned the room and settled on Cedar. He had planned on asking Aaron's sister to fight because she was one of their more skilled female warriors but it would be more prudent to place Millie and Jen in her capable hands along with her brother.

His eyes then caught Loretta's briefly and he watched the dark haired woman sit a little bit straighter, her entire body language signalling she was at the ready for whatever her Alpha was going to ask of her. She was the natural successor to lead the females, having done so before Millie joined the pack.

The silence in the room stretched on as Jared took his time mulling over his options while he scanned the room slowly. Everyone was waiting for him to open the meeting and all he really wanted to do was go home and celebrate with his woman. He stifled down a sigh and shot Millie a big smile, mentally letting his love and delight at becoming a father wash over her. He felt her own rush of love and support wash over him and he turned back to face the room.

He could see Bill Shepherd about to open his mouth and he impaled him with a steely glance before he stood up and faced the pack. All eyes were on him and he dug deep inside himself, letting his wolf prowl quite close to the surface.

"No doubt you are all aware of the two human women among us and the presence of certain vampires within the compound," he began, his voice strong and decisive. "I will now explain what is happening and I expect each and every one of you to hold your comments until I have completed the explanation." His eyes once more went to Bill and the older man glared at him , but lowered his gaze.

"Two nights ago, Rafe met his mate at Wicked," he smiled at Lacey as she sat close to his beta, her expression tense. "It was quickly apparent that Lacey was in some kind of trouble and Rafe had Aaron escort her home. There were two human men waiting for Lacey at her apartment and while she called Rafe for his help, Aaron went to investigate. I'm sure most of you are aware that Aaron is now recovering in the medical building after two bullets went through one of the humans and struck him in the chest."

He paused to allow the information to sink in and listen to the quiet murmur which went around the room. The fact that Rafe had found his mate was bringing smiles to quite a few faces in both camps. Someone finding their mate was always something to smile about. Aaron's injuries caused some concern because he was extremely well liked within the pack. It would have been amusing under other circumstances to see the pack's confusion. They didn't know whether to smile or frown with the news they'd just heard.

Jared took a deep breath and continued. "Lacey and her friend Jen were brought back to the compound for protection until we could figure out what was going on. It was at this point we discovered who Lacey was in danger from and I called in Caleb and Annie for their advice on the matter. I had a suspicion about the man who was hunting Lacey," he admitted, "and I needed Caleb to confirm that suspicion for me so I could work out how best to protect the pack in general and Lacey in particular . That man is Richard Graves and he is a very ancient and powerful vampire. He is not a vampire like Caleb and Annie. He is cruel and vindictive and he is coming for Lacey and is ready to go through the entire pack to get her."

The room exploded into a riot of sound. Jared knew the pack would react to the news and he couldn't blame them on a personal level; the news was worrying. As Alpha though, he was angry that they were disregarding his words at the start of the meeting. His fist crashed down hard on the table in front of him. "Silence!" he roared loudly and the noise within the room came to an abrupt halt as all eyes turned to look at him in shock.

"Was anyone listening to me at the start of this meeting?" he asked in a deceptively quiet voice, his blue eyes cold and hard as they swung around the room. "Correct me if I'm wrong but did I not say comments would be heard once I had finished explaining the situation?"

Jared felt Millie's hand unobtrusively brush the back of his calf and just that slight touch helped to ease some of his inner fury as he glared at the pack. "This meeting is to inform you of what the situation is and what I intend to do about it. It wasn't called so the pack could have a committee meeting about the situation!" His eyes swung to Bill as he spoke and he met Mitch Fielding's eyes too. Like Rafe, he had immediately taken in the implication of the younger man sitting at Bill's side.

He finally swung his eyes back to the centre of the room when the silence remained. He could see disgruntled faces but they didn't faze him one bit. "Aaron is currently recovering from his wounds. He had found his mate in Jen so we have two new matings within the pack," he said brusquely. "You all know the pack protects itself. We protect our mates! Graves is coming not only for Lacey but for Jen too. It is his intention to kill Jen and take Lacey away with him. I will NOT let that happen. No one walks into my pack and takes away someone's mate. I don't care who they are. I will NOT stand by and let anyone hurt this pack."

His cold blue eyes travelled the room. The faces were confused now. On one level mates were looking at each other with worried glances, unconsciously reaching out to touch each other, but on another level the faces were worried, frightened even, at the prospect that vampires were about to descend on the pack.

"If Aaron and Rafe haven't mated properly with the humans then the situation can be avoided," Bill Shepherd shouted out, unable to hold his peace as Jared knew he would be unable to.

A low growl erupted from Jared's right and Rafe stood up and took half a step towards Bill, his expression so black that Jared blinked at him in surprise for a moment.

"No one touches my mate," Rafe ground out furiously as his Alpha put a restraining hand on his arm. "You want to try, Bill? You think you're strong enough to take what's mine and hand it over to a vampire? How about I take your fucking mate and hand her over to the first vampire who steps up and decides he wants her?"

"Rafe!" Jared barked angrily. He was incensed at Bill and angry with his beta for reacting to the deliberate baiting. He could understand where Rafe was coming from but it was unacceptable that he do this in the middle of a pack meeting. Jared was trying to stop a challenge being called and Rafe wasn't helping matters.

Rafe heard Jared but he was so incensed that Bill was talking about rolling over and submitting to the vampires, that he was willing to hand over Lacey and Jen to Graves without a care in the world. He wanted to rip the other Were limb from limb, his wolf roaring furiously inside of him.

Lacey trembled beside him, her nervous eyes flicking from Rafe to the man in the front who was so willing to give her up to Richard. The tension in the room was thick as everyone seemed to be waiting to see what would happen. She could tell that things weren't good. A fight was going to break out. Jared was very angry and Rafe appeared to be unable to reason at the moment. The man sitting beside Bill was tense as if he was ready to get involved.

The sounds of a little girl's voice whispering close by took her eyes from the angry men and she saw a mother cuddle her child towards her side, an expression of worry on her face as well as fear. These people were afraid. All of them were. It didn't matter that they could turn into wolves, they were afraid for their families. Bill was voicing that fear and it was understandable even if Rafe couldn't think rationally at the moment to see it.

"Rafe," she said softly, reaching up to grab his hand. His head swung around at her touch and for a second he stared blankly at her and she could see the wildness in his eyes. It frightened her slightly but she kept her gaze fixed to his until he seemed to give himself a mental shake and his eyes cleared.

He sat down again, sliding his arm protectively around Lacey's shoulder. He ignored everyone in the room and leaned close to her, inhaling deeply of her scent and whispering in her ear, "No one will take you from me, Lacey. I won't allow it."

She leaned against his shoulder, resting her head against him and letting him have the physical contact he needed. She was so acutely aware that everyone was watching them but she tuned them out. The danger point at the moment was all the male testosterone running rampant. She couldn't do anything to calm Jared and Bill down but she could calm Rafe, so she let him hold her and took comfort in his strength because she was just as frightened as everyone else in the room.

Jared silently thanked Lacey for getting Rafe to calm down. He was still angry with his beta and would have words with him later but for the moment he was more furious with Bill. He turned back to the cause of the disruption and pinned him with an icy glare.

"My earlier edict did not mean the pack will remain silent with the exception of Bill Shepherd," Jared said in a deadly voice. "If you open your mouth once more before I throw the floor open to comments, then I will banish you immediately from the Hanlon Pack and you can go try your luck that some other pack will be stupid enough to take you in, Shepherd!"

His words were greeted by a chorus of startled gasps from around the room. Jared's grandfather had been the last Hanlon Alpha to ever banish someone from the pack. No one had been banished in centuries and to hear their Alpha calmly announce that he was willing to do so was a complete shock.

Nervous eyes glanced warily at the Alpha and Rafe detected an almost imperceptible shift in the room, as if some of the people previously supporting Bill were trying to bend their bodies more towards the right of the room. He carefully kept his expression neutral even as he felt a little bubble of hope start to well up inside of him.

Jared seemed to be fairing well so far. Yes, the situation was dire and the pack were frightened but in front of them was standing a strong, decisive Alpha, who was stamping his authority in a way he had never previously done before. Not because he lacked the authority to do so, but because there had never been the need to do so before now.

Jared moved his steely gaze away from Bill's stunned face and met Mitch Fielding's eyes square on. The perfect opportunity to challenge him was now, and it was obvious that Mitch had been chosen by the opposition to be the challenger. The two men eyed each other intently for a fraction of a second and then Mitch lowered his eyes in submission, inclining his head to his Alpha.

Jared didn't let the huge sigh of relief free when Mitch chose not to challenge. He wasn't relieved because he wouldn't need to fight the other Were, he was relieved because he really didn't have time to put up with factions within the pack and pack politics taking up time which was desperately needed elsewhere.

"Make no mistake," he said firmly turning his eyes back to the centre of the room. "The definition of mating is when a Were first recognises his or her mate. It is not conditional on the actual mating taking place. That rule holds for each and every member of the pack. As it is, Rafe and Aaron are having to put off actually fully mating because of the direness of the situation. I'm sure every mated Were here can only begin to imagine just how difficult that will be for them."

He allowed the little murmurs to go around the room. He was ruthlessly playing on the mated members of the pack because they were the ones who could truly relate to having the fear of someone coming to take their mate from them. And it looked like it was working. The consensus in the room seemed to be swinging more in his favour. He allowed himself a moment to feel pride in his people. Once they took the time to see all the variables in play they usually came together as a pack.

"Plans are already in place to evacuate the children and anyone who is too old to fight," Jared said in a less strident tone. "Millie will be leaving with the children as we have just learned that she is pregnant."

Rafe swung his eyes to his sister, a wide grin crossing his face even as he registered the congratulatory voices calling out. The group seemed unable to contain themselves at getting a little good news despite the upcoming war about to happen. He leaned forward to stroke her hand gently. "Well done, you," he murmured quietly, just for her. "I'm so happy for you, Mills. For you and Jared both."

Millie gave him a quick smile, squeezing his big hand before they once more turned their attention back to the meeting.

"Aaron will not be recovered enough to stay at the compound so I am sending him along with Millie to help protect the children," Jared was saying once the noise died down. "Naturally his mate will go with him. Cedar, I would like you to go too to help protect the vulnerable ones. Select two others to go with you."

"Yes, Alpha," Cedar nodded, her blonde curls shaking slightly with the movement.

"Loretta, that puts you in charge of the female warriors," Jared continued. "Liaise with Rafe on your planned strategy. He will be able to fill you in more with what plan of action we've devised so far."

"What about the vampires, boss?" Loretta asked, her face calm and composed. "Will Caleb and Annie help us?"

The rest of the pack seemed to hold their breath as they waited for the Alpha to speak. "Caleb and Annie will stand at our side," he answered. "Rafe, and by default, Lacey, are family to them; as is Millie. They have agreed to stand with their family. Demetri Bozic has agreed to stand with Caleb which means we get him on our side too. Not a lot of you know him but he is pretty formidable among his kind. He is talking about bringing a few friends with him. So, it's not as bad as it initially sounds. We will have some support from our friendly vampires, for want of a better term."