Henry smiled gently at his daughter; heavens, he was so proud of her. "Abby, the only reason we didn't tell you anything was that it was not time to share our secret. Werewolves are able to exist today with relative ease because people like us make sure the strictly human population of this world never find out about them. Our 'group'," he winced slightly as he said the word, "decided a very long time ago that the children born to us are only told about us and the shifters after they had completed their education. Mostly they were informed once they matriculated; but sometimes, after careful consideration and a lot of discussion with a whole lot of people, the young people were only told after they had done what they had wanted to after their school career. If they qualified for some or other sport or educational program, we would delay disclosing our family business to them in order for them to achieve personal goals."
Thinking about what her father just told her Abigail slumped into her seat. Was there always going to this much secrets and drama in her life? The first time Mandy told her about werewolves she could hardly contain her excitement at being part of that world; even if only at the fringes. This morning Quinn tells her that she is his mate and now her parents have yet more secrets they are keeping from her. Frowning again as she struggled to understand, she spoke again. "And then after my graduation you would just drag me into this secret group of yours; without any preparation or knowledge?"
This time Henry could not hide his proud smile and Abigail unwillingly smiled back. "Not entirely unprepared my dear. If you were to join our little 'secret group' today, you could outperform at least half of the current active members. And I am talking about those in the field; not the ones performing office duties or in the various other 'human' jobs to assist us with keeping both our and the shifter communities from becoming public knowledge."
"Really?" Quinn asked as he eyed his mate speculatively. In what way would she be able to outperform the others Henry spoke about?
"Yes daddy; really. I would really like to know in exactly what way that would be possible?"
Henry had the cheek to laugh out loud. "Oh Abby; what do we do during our vacations?"
Abigail frowned. "We go camping."
"Yes." Henry nodded in confirmation. "And what do we do during those camping trips?"
"Lott of stuff." Sitting back Abigail though about all the activities that usually took place during their family camping trips. "We camp." She started off uncertainly.
"That we do." Henry agreed with her. "But we do not take anything with us. Except for knives, some clean clothes and the minimum amount of bedding. We make our own shelter; we catch our own food either by making our own traps or occasionally using a bow. You learnt how to survive out there without anything but a knife. You can do that without clean clothes and bedding if you needed to."
Sitting up straight Quinn interrupted Henry's explanation. "But what if she is stranded out in the woods right now; she would not always know to keep a knife handy." Quinn had hardly finished speaking when he felt the tip of a knife tickling the side of his neck. Abigail had moved so fast and unexpectedly that he had not even processed what had happened by the time she smiled at him wickedly. 'Wow! That is so hot!' he thought when Abigail removed the knife and put it back into a harness she was wearing around her waist under a loose fitting top.
"When I am not wearing pants, I usually wear it around my thigh."
The words so casually spoken caused a whirlwind of emotions in Quinn. How could he ever have thought that his mate was merely human? She was not a shifter, but there was so much more to her than he had ever imagined before. Briefly he wondered how inappropriate it would be to admit to Abigail just how much it turned him on knowing that she sometimes wore a knife on her thigh and he had to fight against the impulse to caress along her thigh.
Blissfully unaware of his emotional turmoil, Abigail continued cross examining her father. "OK; so I can camp, how else have I been trained?"
Her father scoffed. "You have learnt three different kinds of self-defense. You have various medals for gymnastics and you are doing very well in your drama classes at school."
"Drama?!"
Abigail was not the only one whose mouth was hanging open and Henry laughed out loud at the unusual sight of seeing his daughter speechless. "Yes, drama. In this line of work it is potentially dangerous if you are not able to act."
His words were echoed by a very low growl as Quinn's arms caged her protectively against his warm chest. When he was in control of himself once more, he gave Abigail a tight hug before releasing her from the safety of his arms. It ached inside of him to do that, but he knew he had to. He could not allow her to think he thought she needed to be coddled. Thankfully she did not move off of his lap. She let one hand rest lightly on his shoulders as she faced her father.
Henry was astute enough to know she wanted him to continue. "In addition to your formal training, you also have extensive knowledge of the inner and mysterious workings of any kind of computer allowing you to access any kind of ... 'information' you should need." He smiled at her, grinning broadly. "And you are the only one I trust to service my vehicles. That is if you don't steal them and go joy-riding."
Abigail had the grace to blush at that, but she still sent an impish smile to her dad. "At least I know not to take the ones with tracking devices anymore."
"And I am so grateful for that, it cost me an arm and a leg replacing all the ones you disabled."
Marion decided to join the discussion. "Honey; you had a most unusual upbringing during your vacations. The only times we did not do anything during those times was when your father and I had to attend to matters or meetings. We went to a lot of trouble to make sure that you would be able to take care of yourself in nearly any situation. That includes surviving in the wild; getting any information you might need up to being able to hotwire a car if you needed to get away in a hurry. You also know about at least three caches of money we keep in in the area in case of an emergency so that if anything 'happened'; you would have some cash to smooth you along your way."
Thinking about what her parents had just shared with her she had to admit that their family 'recreational' activities were rather unusual. Strange that it had never occurred to her that it was not quite as normal as her other school friend's activities were. "When were you planning on letting me in on this?"
"Normally, this would only be revealed after graduation, but your mother and I had already agreed to let you know during your last school year Abigail. Most of the young adults that decide to actively join us go to an exclusive 'summer camp'. Almost all the kids end up going, or are persuaded to attend so that they are better informed to make a decision. There they have the opportunity to meet with other young adults who have also just been let in on their family's business. Their skills are assessed and additional training is provided in certain areas as needed. The whole infrastructure is explained to them and if there are any of the kids that are not interested in actively participating, they are encouraged to seek jobs in positions that would help in keeping this all secret."
Quinn and Mandy were listening in shocked amazement, but Tyler was growing more and more concerned as the details were shared. Just as Abigail drew a breath to pop out yet another question, he spoke.
"Are we the first shifters to find out about this 'group' of yours?"
Henry and Marion shot each other quick glances. They shared an intense silent conversation that ended with Marion shrugging and Henry wincing. Taking a slow and deep breath, Henry turned his piercing gaze towards the three shifters. "There are only a very few of your kind who know about our existence. And the only reason they know is because we came to their ... rescue ... when we had to take drastic measures to prevent the regular population from finding out about werewolves. Although, I must admit that most of the close calls happened during the first part of what I understand your kind refers to as 'The Rogue War'. The rogues' never cared if their ..." Henry raised his eyebrows in thought; "... activities ... came too close to humans." He gestured to them as he continued his explanation. "It was only after the Grey boys grew up and became involved and then later had a leading role in ending the rogue situation that things quieted down for us."
He faced his daughter and reached out to tug gently at her ear. Abigail scrunched her nose at him and after a shaky breath, nodded at him to continue.
Smiling at her proudly, he leaned back as he continued. "If it weren't for the people we had placed in law enforcement, the medical profession and the legal system, it would have been impossible to squash all the horror stories that took place during that dark time. To the rogues, humans were nothing more than collateral damage and I doubt very much that they even gave us a thought. But at least our group was able to prevent werewolves from becoming public knowledge; and that left the werewolf community as a whole, able to successfully take care of the situation."
"And we also lost a lot of our people too when they happened to get too close to the conflict."
Abigail frowned at her mother after she uncharacteristically interrupter her father. "Mom?"
"That is how Grandpa Malloy died honey. He got too close to the rogues when he and a friend were trying to find out what their next move was going to be. There was a skirmish and he got bit. Not badly, but it was enough to lead the rogues right to him. So he sent his friend out to safety to give the information to their contact while he led the rogue wolves the other way. His friend, in turn, was able to get word out and that pack was warned about the planned attack."
"And when did Grandma tell you the truth mom?"
"Not until I was told about werewolves. Until then I believed he died in a car crash like Grandma said. And as far as the rest of the world is concerned, that is the way it will stay."
"But why? Mom, dad; wouldn't it be a good thing if the shifters knew about you?"
"No, it wouldn't." Tyler sighed the words with a sad smile.
Mandy frowned at Tyler. "Why on earth not!"
Shaking his head he smiled at her wryly. "There are some of the shifters who would miss-use that knowledge. As it is, one of the key responsibilities of the alpha's are to prevent their pack members from slipping up and letting the cat out of the bag. If this 'group' became public knowledge in the shifter communities, it would make them careless and sloppy. No; Henry is right. The less of our kind that know about them, the better."
Marion was quick to interrupt any further comment. "I do not agree with you completely."
"Marion." Henry's voice was a soft warning.
"Henry, you know how I feel about this." She pointed her finger towards Tyler. "His grandfather had a brilliant idea and it saved the lives of the children in his pack and a whole lot more. Why can't our people get the same training?"
"Marion, we do not get to make the rules."
"Times change Henry." Her lips formed a thin line as she frowned at her husband. "Rules should change as well to keep up. The wolves have changed for heaven's sake, why can't we?"
Tyler could see from the weary look in Henry's eyes that this was an old argument and he decided to intervene before they started all over again. "To which grandfather are you referring to?"
"Timothy; your mom's dad. He was one of the first alphas to train the pre-shift teens to fight wolves. Something we should have been doing as well." She gave her husband a meaningful stare as if daring him to contradict her.
"Dear, you know that I agree with you; ... in theory. It is an excellent idea and I know it could have saved plenty of lives; but there is no way that our guys can do that without wolves. And we don't have wolves. And as even Tyler agreed, it would not be good if the shifters knew about us."
While Marion and Henry carried on with their argument; Tyler had a discussion with the two other wolves with him. [Marion does have a point.]
[She does, and she makes a very good case. Mandy, could you do something for me please?] Quinn's eyes left Abigail just long enough to see Mandy nod slightly at him. [Please teach Abby how to fight against a wolf. It would really mean so much to me to know that she is capable of keeping herself safe.]
[Of course I will do that. It is something I should have considered before now.]
[Maybe, we could teach more of them.] Tyler's voice was thoughtful when he shared his idea. [There are three of us now that know about them. We won't be able to teach a lot of them; but perhaps Henry could send a few of the guys our way.]
[As Henry said, it sounds good. In theory. But we have to be realistic Ty.] As always, Mandy tried to keep him grounded.
Tyler gave the small hand is his a soft squeeze. [I am hoping that if we are prepared to 'help'; that maybe they would be more willing to share what information they have. They might have the missing pieces of the puzzle.]
Quinn agreed readily, but Mandy frowned. [Shouldn't the council make that kind of decision?]
[The council has not been forthcoming at all!] Quinn snorted, drawing the attention of the humans.
"Do you find something funny young man?" Henry asked.
"No sir."
Abigail chuckled at him when he sat up straighter, but almost instantly jumped off of his lap when he tickled her ribs. Before she could give Quinn an earful, the telephone on her father's desk rang.
Henry answered the phone. "Mathews." He listened for a moment and then said that they were on their way. Putting the telephone down, he held his hand for his wife. She took it and they started walking out as Henry spoke to Abigail. "We are keeping the others waiting for us. We most likely will not be home before very late this evening; can you sleep over at Mandy's?"
"Yes." Both girls answered at the same time and smiled at each other. When Mandy saw the pleased look in Quinn's eyes, she giggled and then rolled her eyes when he glared at her playfully.
"Henry, if you are going to a meeting, is there any way that you could discuss a proposal?"
Henry indicated with his head that Tyler should walk out with them. "If I can put together a small group of about ten wolves, could you send us some of your guys to train with us?"
"Isn't that a bit presumptuous of you? What would your council have to say about it?"
"The council appears to have other priorities at this point in time. And I would prefer that they did not find out; that is if any one of you happens to have a contact there."
With a grunt Henry stood still. He turned and very carefully studied the face of the young man in front of him. For a very long time he stood there weighing his options. "I think," he said with a slow sigh, "that it might be something that I could discreetly mention to some of our members who keep an open mind. I will make some inquiries and let you know. I hope I do not have to ask the three of you to keep this morning's discussion to yourselves?"
"Not a soul will hear of it."
"Not even your parents?" Henry asked, just to be sure.
"No. And if you do agree to my suggestion, unless they happen to be a part of it, they will not know about it at all."
"Thank you Tyler." He first shot Quinn a look and then his daughter. "Be back by lunch time tomorrow. We have the spare key so be sure to lock up before you leave."
"Yes Daddy, I will. Drive safely."
Having their morning plans disrupted, the four decided to rather go to the pack grounds for the rest of the late morning and afternoon. They would then go ice skating for the evening. So while the girls got their picnic lunch all sorted out, the two guys left them to finish that and went to the pack house to find out if the new dart guns were doing their job, and to find out how the other packs responded to the new method of controlling rabid wolves.
There were one or two packs that were less than happy about the dart guns, but overall, most of the packs thought it was an improvement. There was after all only one Tyler, while the dart guns could be given to the more central packs who would be able to respond to more than one crisis at a time.
Tyler got Quinn to handle most of the communications while he debated on letting his dad in on the discussion that took place earlier with Abigail's parents. He hated keeping secrets from his parents, and technically they were still his alpha pair; but he eventually decided that Henry and Marion would have to give their permission first. He could tell that Henry had already told him more than he should have and knew that he could not break the trust Henry had shown him. And until he could find some reason for including his parents with the small group to help train the people Henry would send his way he should keep this new knowledge to himself.
To Quinn's dismay Abigail was amazing on the ice and certainly did not need to hold on to his hand to stay on her feet. Luckily for him Mandy was just as good and Tyler was just as ... not as good as he was. After Mandy and Abby showed off a bit, they slowed down so that they could keep the guys company. They did not need to hold back for long though. Within about two hours both the guys were speeding alongside the girls; just as fast if not as gracefully. Just before midnight Tyler dropped Mandy and Abby off and he and Quinn went to the pack house. Because they were both still pumped, they decided to relax in the sauna for a while.
Tyler was rather surprised to find a scowling Sean there.
"And that long face?" Quinn asked as he plopped himself down.
The worry, anxiety and slight accusation in his eyes were clear as Sean shot Tyler a glance before shrugging too casually. "Dad has asked Tricia and me to move back into the pack house. Apparently it will be easier that way once I actually start taking over from him. This is way too soon; he isn't that old yet!"
"No, actually he isn't." Tyler took the time to take out some bottled water and threw one each to the others before taking a seat. "You have to remember that technically, he has been alpha for nearly forty years. That is much longer than what normally happens. And I think he is happy with how you and Tricia are coping with everything and how the pack feels about the two of you. I think the only reason he has not handed you the reigns yet is your indecision about a beta."
"And that is exactly where the problem lies. I have tried, really tried to make it work with Allan and Paul. But neither of them seems to fit me."
"Hmm." Tyler frowned. He had luckily never had to worry about finding a suitable beta and under other circumstances this conversation might have amused him; but he could see that Sean was honestly worried. He turned to Quinn. Quinn would take over from Dennis one day.
Quinn shrugged. "I haven't found myself a beta either. That is why my dad isn't giving me too much grief about neglecting the pack with me helping Tyler. He is hoping that I might find someone who is compatible with me in another pack. It isn't unheard of, you know; finding a beta that would better suit you from outside the home pack. Granted, there will be some disappointment with the guys that were hoping to fill that position; but funny enough, my dad recons that there will be hardly any resistance from the rest of the pack."
Sean smiled as he took in what Quinn was saying. "Because the pack is more secure when the alpha has the best support he can get." He nodded eagerly at Tyler and Quinn. "Now I just have to persuade dad to give me more time to go out and find myself a beta."
"Humph!" Tyler snorted. "Good luck with that. You will have a better chance of going along with dad's plan. But ask him to send you out to any meetings with other packs to give you a chance to meet with some of their guys."
The frown on Sean's face did not form properly before he was smiling again. "I think dad is still up; I am going to run this by him quickly." And in his hurry, he slid and nearly fell, leaving two laughing werewolves behind.