Caught Between a Mate and Love

Chapter 3: Family Meetings

Zack's POV

I paced the kitchen, my family all seated at the dining table. Sarah twiddled with her phone, while Lee and Xavier kept on a steady beat against our old table, as if that would help my thinking process. A chair shifted behind me, causing me to sharply turn around and face them.

"Look, Zack, she's safe where she is," Xavier said, momentarily stopping the music. I hated when my brother was right. It made me wrong.

"I can protect her better without her ass of a father getting in the way," I retorted, feeling my fingers itch a little. A bit of sparks were flying from them, so I rubbed my hand on my shirt as if that would stop it.

"You can't tell her," Sarah stood up, slamming her phone on the table. "Look, she's our friend, but she's not worth the extra risk. Go play with her, but don't get her into trouble. You know how packs treat mixing blood. She won't live to see her twenty-third birthday."

She angrily walked away, leaving her cell and an angry scorch mark on the table next to the last one she made. I sighed. She was right, but I was determined she was wrong. There were alliances between our kind before, why shouldn't it happen again?

Rita's POV

Dad was called in for a leadership meeting a week after our fight, which meant we would have a family meeting after to discuss our business with the pack. We had family meetings after every pack meeting, even when they were only called in for the annual check ups on pack money. It's not like I made any more money for the Alpha working at the stupid diner.

"Where's Tony?" my father called from the living room, in his scary arm chair. I walked into the room and sat across from him on the floor. I figured when Tony came home, Hannah could have my usual spot on the couch.

"He and Hannah went out," I shrugged. "Ony Mama is here. And me. Your blessed child. Your most faithful child. So faithful she chose to stay home and work for the family diner after high school!"

He chuckled lightly and sat back in his chair, crossing his leg over the other. We were on good terms since he thought I didn't see Zack every day any more. Maybe not every day. Almost every day. A lot.

"We'll not mention her phase of dating mortals, eh?" Mom came in saying, making both me and my father growl. "Too soon? Too soon."

She nodded to herself and went back to her kitchen, for God knows what. Probably to make snacks since apparently dinner wasn't enough of a feast to starve on. I could hear her humming in the kitchen, which made me chuckle. She was a horrible singer but continued to sing her old songs from Sicily that her grandmother taught her, a tradition whilst cooking.

"How are we supposed to have a family meeting when all my sons are gone?" My father sighed and closed his eyes, trying to mentally find them with his familial channel. I concentrated on making channel open but only open enough to talk; if I faltered, they would know all my secrets and I would be dead, yet I couldn't leave a closed link to Dad, or he would second guess me.

On our way home, I could see Joey and Marco were at the Rossini house, playing with their friends. The Rossini's, our Alphas, had the biggest family in town, with a count of eight children, all different ages. I was friends with their third oldest son, fourth oldest child, Michael. Honestly I don't know how he remembered all his sibling's names, I could barely remember people's orders at work.

We're leaving now, Tony was at Hannah's work, talking to her coworker, but they weren't busy. She worked in an electronics store, a little ways down from Comix, which I didn't think about the other day, and which almost caused my mind to wander. I snapped off the channel before anything else could be seen on my end and opened my eyes to see my mother placing dessert on the glass coffee table. Canolis. I wondered if she tried to stereotype our family or if she was just in love with Italian foods, I mean honestly what could be next? Andreas Bocelli coming over to eat. Lord knows she'd make it happen if it meant she could learn more Italian opera and make canolis while doing it.

Both my younger brothers ran into the front hallway, almost falling into each other and breaking the end table under the key chains.

"Boys!" My mother clapped her hands together, filled with powdered suger from the desserts. I stood up to lean against the doorway and laughed. They were adorable pups. They stood up and straightened themselves out before taking places on the ground next to where I sat, in front of Dad. Not long after Tony came in with Hannah, dragging her around as usual. Poor girl. He sat her on my spot on the sofa and made Mom sit down before taking his own seat at the other end. I sighed and sat in front of Hannah, gently patting her leg as a welcome.

"It's so good to have us all on one track for once," Dad started, clapping his hands together and sitting up straight. "I've been called in by Alpha Rossini and it seems we have been chosen to shelter our allies, when they arrive."

"But only Deltas-oh," Tony sat back in his realization. For almost a hundred years we were just any other family, but recently we moved up to become Sigmas, sixth in command. We bounced right past Omegas to take Hannah Coppola's family's spot as Deltas. I looked behind at her, but she was smiling and then realization dawned on me.

"You're an only child," I said, more of a statement than a question."Tony's getting married."

God now I really was the black sheep. Tony moved us up two places by mating with the daughter of the Deltas, and he didn't even have to try! It came easily to him as did everything else!

I could hear my mother giggling and congratulating them in the background, but I zoned out. The farther up we moved, the worse I could bring our fall and the worse my punishment would be. I could die before the war even began because I loved Zack.

"Yes, yes, we will discuss that later, we must move on," my father was smiling from his position. Of course he was, Tony moved him closer to the Alpha, just like before. "As I said, Alpha Theodore shall be joining us, so we must act presentable! Past that, the McClellans may come our way in the future, and I feel we all must prepare. It's a sneaky war they play, only killing in the shadows, but it's been seen they also fight in day light. Either way, we need a plan."

"Joseph," My mother started whine but he held his hand up for silence. The boys and I looked up at her, and I could see that look in her eyes. She didn't want the cubs to have anything to do with this immediate danger, they were hardly old enough to change into cubs during the full moon let alone during any time of the day.

"Marco and Joey can still play a part in protecting our house," He nodded at them. "Eleven and nine are old enough to learn how to board windows, or use a weapon."

"Dad!" I shouted. How could he even say that? Sure I was risking my own life, but risk your child sons? He didn't shout at me but held his hand up again. I growled and leaned back on Hannah's legs, hoping the dim lighting in the room made me look scarier.

"We must all understand that, yes, this is only a possibilty for the boys, but should the time come, we must all rise to the occassion," He began. "One boy from the D'Costa clan saved his mother by being smart, and now they are part of the survivors. Because of Hannah's position, we must protect her first. Tony's child could be a point of power that this pack needs, which is why I would prefer to hurry this marraige process up and enforce Tony's room with enchantments by the witch that Alpha Rossini is recruiting for our use. Moving on, Antonio, Rita, you two must run guard shifts for Alpha Rossini when he asks. As Deltas we have responsibilities we didn't have before. Now, we respond to Alpha Rossini, Beta Totoro, and Gamma Rinaldo, whenever they call by channel or by phone. So keep your channels open."

It seemed like every stone he could throw at me, he did. Most likely I had to run around at least a few hours a week to guard the pac; keep my channel open, which required extreme concentration the only time I did it today; and help on Tony's wedding? What time would I have to be with Zack at all, even when I was with him they might be able to see him through my channel. War made life difficult.