Devil Dawg Donnelly

Standard disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to people or actual events is purely coincidental.

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Devil Dawg Donnelly's: Revelations

Chapter Fifteen:

"Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death." Omar N. Bradley

"Are you paying any attention to me or am I just talking to hear myself talk?" Danal Cornelius fumed, doing his best to keep his growing frustration under control while both Max and Carl continued to lay the cement blocks to the foundational support walls of their future residence at the Devil Dawg Compound.

As Carl meticulously cemented the blocks into place, Max turned to face his old friend and mentor to regard him surreptitiously, with just a hint of annoyance flickering across his countenance: "What would you have me do Danal, put them over my knee, send them all to bed without supper?" Adding stoically, but far more realistically: "I'm not even sure if that's even a possibility anymore, they are a lot stronger than they are letting on and both Carl and I agree, that alienating them now would be far more detrimental than good, at least they're still open to discussion, even if we disagree with what they are doing, and I'm not as sure as you are that that is the case."

Carl finished scraping the last of the excess mortar from the block he was working on and interjected observationally: "Wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago we were all saying how others were interpreting the Codex was the biggest problem currently with the Heritage and something needed to change?"

Carl knew exactly how to goad Danal and this was no exception, as Danal's response grew more irate: "Discussion is one thing, to completely disregard entirely is another!"

"Isn't that exactly what you're doing right now?" Carl stated flatly, the heat of the mid-day Georgia sun and the rising humidity wearing down his own patience.

Max interjected before Danal could retort, with what Max was sure was a sardonic rebuttal that would only irritate his mate further: "Why don't we see about having a meeting with the boys later and figure out if they are at least willing to sit down and have a discussion about the changes they've enacted?"

Danal stiffened his back and shook his head: "I've tried repeatedly to get them to understand how their reckless pack expansion is going to set off a chain of events that will more than likely lead to an escalation of aggression and hostility from other alpha's in our own Quorum let alone those in other districts, but they refuse to listen to reason."

Carl chuckled sardonically: "And I bet you were ever so diplomatic and reasonable when you did so, huh?"

Seeing the proverbial writing on the wall, and before Danal could further incite a battle of wits with his mate, Max moved to stand between them, blocking them from each other's view, while holding up a cautionary hand to Danal: "I said I would arrange a meeting for tonight, why don't you and Hadrian come to the Lodge at nineteen hundred hours and we'll discuss all this then, okay?" Max's tone left no doubt that he considered the matter closed.

Danal glowered at him for a moment before responding: "While I'll be there promptly at seven, I'm afraid Hadrian won't be attending."

It was the way Danal had said it that made Carl query: "And why will Hadrian not be in attendance?"

Danal's grimace was both somber and dower as their gazes locked: "Because he left a little while ago. We both thought it best if the council was apprised of what's going on here instead of hearing about it vicariously."

Max shot Danal a heated look, his arms folding over his chest: "And you purposely waited until after the fact to inform me of this decision counselor!"

It was the way Max had said councilor that first truly alerted Carl that things were drawing dangerously close to a full-on confrontation and though he found himself fully agreeing with Max, he had to admit, he had concerns about the boy's brash decision to have Jason exceed the normal, long adhered to protocols, established millenniums ago by a then, newly formed Council of Greges in western Europe, which had only sought to bring an end to the ceaseless infighting between various over reaching alpha's. It was a tenuous peace at best, but one that had worked for well over a thousand years now.

Many had attributed the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman empire as the cause for its collapse, and while that was partially true, and a contributing factor, the Codex painted an entirely different picture, one in which the incessant infighting between packs, each seeking to expand and establish themselves in a bid for power, did so by vicious and brutal trials of combat, that left many of their kind wounded, maimed or dead, just to fill the void in unifying leadership left behind in the wake of the Progenitors absence.

It was with that thought in mind, Carl insinuated himself into their conversation: "Maybe what we really need to do is to summon a Quorum and let Jason and Billy explain their reasons to all the pack alpha's in the District before word of mouth takes that possibility out of our hands and they just start showing up, one by one, demanding answers."

Both Max and Danal turned to face him, each staring at him intently, a look of mutual consternation only thinly veiling the thought-provoking possibilities his query invoked.

"I knew there was a reason I married you and made you my beta..." Max winked back at him, breaking the mounting tension between him and Danal.

Danal, still skeptical, though keenly aware that Carl often had a more nuanced subtlety to his machinations, inquired thoughtfully: " And what do you hope that will achieve, other than the potential hastening of raining absolute chaos down on all of our heads?"

"I would have thought that obvious old man..." Carl smirked insidiously, adding: "Max said it already, the boys are holding out on us, there's more here than meets the eye, and by putting them in the hot seat, I think we stand a good chance to see what kind of hand we've actually been dealt here..."

Smiling devilishly, Danal interjected and with a twinkle in his eyes, finished his train of thought for him: "Confronted by a room full of angry, questioning alphas, they'll either have to put up or shut up and we'll have our answers either way, and we'll be better prepared before representatives from the Council randomly show up and take control of the situation away from us."

"You two are incorrigible" Max chuckled, shaking his head side to side in feigned indignation, though secretly admiring his mate's astute and cogent plan, even if it was off the cuff.

Jason and his son, as well as that little vixen Princess/Timmy, were holding out on them. He was certain of that, and if this is what it would take to get them to realize they weren't alone in this, then this was their best chance at getting that message across to them, plus, it had the additional benefit of highlighting Carl's innate capacity to continuously impress him with how astute he could be; something that never failed to turn him on, as evidenced by the growing boner in his pants.

"Sounds like we have a plan, gentlemen!" Max proclaimed, pulling Carl into his arms as Danal veered off, back toward the camp, phone in hand, already making the arrangements.

"Do you think we should call it a day and head back to give him a hand?" Carl mused halfheartedly as he melted into Max's sweaty embrace.

Max smiled lecherously into his eyes as his fingers fumbled with the fly of his pants releasing his raging, twelve-inch erection and slapping it against Carl's bare belly, splattering it with the copious amounts of precum leaking from its prodigious tip: "I think you should get on your knees and suck this dick and get it nice and wet before a pummel that beautiful ass or yours into the ground!"

Carl smiled jauntily as he slid down Max's hirsute body, moaning erotically: "I love the way you think Max Donnelly!"

The late morning sunlight broke through the window blinds in rays of bright, defused light that cascaded across the room in strips of luminous radiance, while the smell of musky gym clothes mingled with traces of grilled cheese sandwiches and the tomato soup Baxter Whitmore's mother was preparing for lunch.

It wasn't often they got to eat lunch together during normal weekdays, but Baxter's mom had taken this Friday off so she and her new besties, consisting of Miriam Hollis and Elizabeth Dunne, could go outfit shopping. A decision both his mom and Elizabeth had made after pushing Miriam into a date the following night with none other than Hank Bauers.

Ever since that fateful evening, a couple of weeks ago, when he and Hank were left alone while Max and Carl went to attend Jason Griffen's Heritage ceremony, both Hank and Miriam seemed to really hit it off, and by the end of the evening, it became almost embarrassingly obvious that the two had made some sort of connection, demonstrated by their not so subtle flirtations with each other, something both his own mother and Elizabeth Dunne seemed actively encouraging, by way of constantly steering the duo back together at every turn.

Baxter had never been so red-faced embarrassed as, while Hank had excused himself briefly to go check on the security guards, his own mother had actually told Miriam she should "hit that while the gettin's good." and Elizabeth seconding her recommendation, followed by both women unabashedly extolling his physical attributes, not least of which, they observed sordidly, the sizeable bulge in his trousers.

In all his seventeen plus years, he had never heard his mother talk like that before, and it left him wondering, what else he didn't know about his mother, and almost equally sure, he didn't really want to know the answer to that particular train of thought. Not that he would mind her actively putting herself out there and maybe going on a few dates herself. It had been years since his father's death and he was certain his dad wouldn't have wanted or expected her to spend the rest of her life alone, and with the way things were going with Billy, Baxter was beginning to see the world through a different pair of eyes, not least of which was his mother's future happiness.

Regardless of what happens with Billy, and with his final year of high school set to begin in less than a month, he couldn't help but dwell on the fact, that in a little over a year, he would probably be starting college and his mom would be left here, in their house, alone.

With what had happened to Gavin Hollis's mom and his potential absence in her life for long periods of time, this was becoming a reoccurring concern for him, and one he strongly felt needed addressing, sooner, rather than later.

As if on cue, Baxter heard his mother call out for him, saying lunch was ready, with him then and there making the conscious decision, that now would be as good a time as any, to have a little heart to heart with his mom. But like the best-laid plans, he hadn't counted on Elizabeth Dunne showing upright as they sat down to eat.

"I'm not disturbing your lunch am I?" She asked his mom as she swept into the kitchen, dressed more casually than he had ever seen her before, in soft pink trousers and a cream color short sleeve, loose-fitting blouse with matching handbag and shoes.

The blouse looked a little too large for her frame he thought to himself, that is until his mom asked her if that was one of the new maternity outfits she had talked about earlier, that she had picked up when she and Jason's uncle Merrick had hijacked him from his busy schedule to go back to school clothes shopping earlier the last week.

Jason could hardly refuse, since he was outgrowing all his previous clothes since his Heritage ceremony, something he had noted about Billy as well, and wondered if that was something he was also going to have to contend with, down the road.

He couldn't help but let his thoughts drift back to the night of his Heritage ceremony when he saw Billy for the first time in over a month. He couldn't believe how much he had grown during that time, not just in height, but in muscle mass as well. Side by side, he and Jason were quite the stunning pair, and if he hadn't known better, he would have sworn they were cut from the same cloth.

All their lives, he and Billy had pretty much matured physically at the same rate, with Billy always being a little larger and thicker than himself. But that was over now, Billy had to be at least six foot two by now, maybe even a little taller than that, while he, himself still pretty much topped out at five foot eleven, though Max had assured him that would probably change over the course of the next year or so.

Just another one of those changes sparked by his Heritage genes. Not that he was complaining. It certainly looked good on Billy.

It had been scary at first, terrifying actually. But with Billy sticking close to his side, as much as possible, he felt he was dealing with it fairly well, considering.

"So what do you say Baxter?" he heard Elizabeth Dunne query, nudging him slightly with her elbow as she sat there next to him, eyeing him dubiously.

Baxter didn't have a clue what she was talking about, his thoughts had drifted elsewhere and he hadn't actually been following their conversation.

"About what?" He retorted quizzically, trying to reorient himself while feeling more than a little lost at the moment.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes: "Teenage boys. What is it about this age that makes them so oblivious to what's going on around them?" She seemed to ask, to no one in particular. But his mom responded nonetheless: "It's not what Liz, its whom!" his mom chortled, smiling demurely before winking at him mischievously.

Baxter could feel his cheeks flush red with embarrassment, knowing full well who she was talking about, and still not comfortable talking about it with his mom, let alone with an almost complete stranger present.

Thankfully, Elizabeth steered the conversation back to their previous discussion; looking Baxter right in the eye, repeating the question she had asked before they both made a small sidetrack to torment him a little about his love life.

"I was just asking..." She began again, holding his gaze stoically: "If you don't think it was high time your mother dusted the cobwebs off and agrees to go out with Merrick Griffen?"

Baxter just stared back at her for a moment, not being sure he had heard her correctly, while simultaneously being elated at the prospect. Like himself, Merrick Griffen was a beta, and not just any beta, one from a very prestigious, elder family lineage and the brother to his own father's alpha, and not bad looking to boot.

"Stop Liz..." his mom bristled dismissively: "He hasn't even asked, yet."

It was the way she said yet that had Baxter convinced: "Geez, it's the twentieth-century mom, what's wrong with you asking him out?" he queried.

Baxter knew his mom, and he also knew exactly what buttons to push. Most people may think she was just some stereotypical, milk toast librarian, but more fool them. His mom was actually one shrewd, intelligent, and determined lady.

"I don't know..." his mom said wistfully, obviously running just such a scenario around inside her head, weighing her options and otherwise just mulling it over.

"What's to know?" Elizabeth practically demanded, hauling her purse up from her lap to sit it on the table as she opened it and began fumbling around inside, until she produced her cell phone, and began scrolling through it.

In less than five seconds and before his mom could protest further, Elizabeth Dunne hit dial and held the phone up to her ear, all while smiling wickedly back at his now exacerbated mother.

Baxter couldn't help but beam ear to ear as the person on the other end of that call answered within the first two rings.

"Hi Merrick, it's Liz.." she began ingratiatingly, before getting down to brass tacks: "I know you and your father are at the compound for the weekend for that big pow-wow Max has called for this evening, but I was just wondering what the rest of your weekend schedule was looking like?"

As they conversed for a few moments, with Elizabeth mostly listening and making a few studious scowls in between uh-huh's, her expression suddenly shifted, as she held Baxter's mom, stern but questioning gaze, a look that did a complete one-eighty, when Elizabeth stated quite succinctly into her phone: "So, you are free tomorrow night?"

Instantly, his mother began waving frantically, shaking her head, mouthing no, over and over again as the color practically drained from her face.

"Good!" Elizabeth concluded gruffly, amusement twinkling in her eyes as she grinned sardonically: "You have a date tomorrow with a certain someone we discussed last weekend..."

Baxter's mom's jaw dropped as her eyes practically bulged out of her head, staring daggers at Liz Dunne's head.

"Yes..." Elizabeth said jubilantly, barely containing a chuckle or two: "You can pick her up at about seven PM and don't be late, you get only one chance to make a good first impression so don't screw it up!"

As Elizabeth hung up, still smiling smugly, Baxter's mother Anna glowered back at her, bristling: "Why did you say that to him, he's going to think I'm some sort of self-centered psycho?"

Elizabeth waved her off dismissively: "My dear, all men think that anyway, partly because its true, but mostly because its all part of what they perceive as some sort of feminine mystique."

"You make it sound like some crazy kind of game" Baxter stated gruffly, not really sure what to make of it all.

Elizabeth reached over and patted his hand reassuringly: "That's exactly what it is, we decide what man we want, then we get their attention and then we coax them into pursuing us, and when they have us right where we want them, we spring the trap and the hunter becomes the prey, all while we make them believe they caught us. Men are such simple creatures really."

"My mom's right, that sounds psycho." Baxter concluded brusquely.

Elizabeth cocked her eye at him, her brow arching, a faint smile drawing the corner of her lips: "Is it anymore psycho than letting some handsome, eligible alpha chase you through the woods before you let him catch you, right before you submit to him?"

Baxter's face blushed red again before stammering: "It wasn't exactly like that."

Elizabeth chuckled and winked at him: "Keep telling yourself that dear boy and maybe you'll convince yourself its true."

Outwardly, Baxter frowned at her conclusion, but internally, both he and his beast pondered her words before being forced to conclude, that maybe there was some truth to it after all.

Okay, this was getting monotonous, Princess thought to himself, as neither he or Jason had successfully landed a direct hit against a much faster Billy Donnelly, yet again.

They had been sparring for nearly an hour, using the time right after the others had called it quits for the day, and made their way back toward their new campsite for a quick dip in the lake, followed by their evening meal.

This wasn't the first time they had done this. In fact, it was becoming a bit of a trend for them, this being the only time they had alone where they could fully open up and test their true physical potentials without the others taking note.

Ever since they had convinced Jason to not only build a full pack but take on any newcomers as part of it, word of mouth had spread quickly and within a week, Jason had already added five more members to his numbers from the stragglers who just wandered in, each with a similar story of having heard there was a strong young Alpha in the area building his pack and all were welcome to present themselves for his consideration.

Of course, that brought a whole new set of problems, not least of which was Danal and of course Max, Billy's father.

They weren't naive, they knew they were going to catch flack for it, but their hope was to add enough to their numbers before they had to face down not only those two but the Quorum and eventually the council themselves, the latter being their biggest concern.

They were fairly certain they could win over the Quorum and was why they had so readily agreed to meet with them that night when Max had suggested it a few days earlier. They knew Max had done so at the behest of Danal, they also knew they were now working within a limited time frame, having come to that conclusion when they noticed the absence of Hadrian Mumsford.

Truth be told, they were actually very pleased with themselves, that things so far, were going just as they expected and had planned for.

Princess couldn't help but smile to himself at that thought, despite his and Jason's current predicament with Billy.

The three of them, along with Gavin, Atticus and Brock had gone over and rehashed again and again what they had discussed with the others, after Gavin's transformation.

The one thing that stuck out more than any other, the one they felt was the most prescient to their concerns was what Aphrodite had cautioned Gavin about concerning Billy possibly facing some danger that could bring about his demise if they weren't ready. What was really frustrating and vexing Princess, was that it all hinged on him finding this other half of Gemini, especially when he didn't even know what the first half was that he supposedly already had.

Princess was leaning more toward it being something obvious, knowing how literal Aphrodite's prognostications had been thus far. It was Gavin who kept pointing out, that the actual definition of Gemini meant twin or duplicate, or two of the same thing. But both Danal and Hadrian had cautioned that it could be two equal but opposing halves, suggesting that Aphrodite just meant that Princess had recently gained his own Alpha status but has as yet reached his full potential and was why Aphrodite had pointed out to Gavin that he needed to accomplish this if he was going to be able to be equal to some task or opponent they had yet faced.

This was why they were now taking extra time to train, both he and Jason. If there was something or someone out there who could best or threaten Billy, then they needed to be ready to face it, which was extra frustrating since neither Jason nor his own best efforts, considerable as they were becoming, were any sort of match for what Billy was capable of.

Which begged the question, how was he or Jason supposed to protect Billy from something that could bring his downfall if they couldn't even best Billy with their combined efforts?

Princess knew instinctively, that he was missing some key component here, and if he didn't figure it out soon, they could be caught left holding the proverbial bag at the wrong time.

Anyway, apparently he wasn't the only one who had had enough for the evening as Jason suggested they head back to camp so they could get ready for that evenings deliberations with those who showed up for the scheduled Quorum, which Princess was actually looking forward to, since a certain, handsome alpha, had texted and informed him that he planned to attend and hoped they would be able to spend some time together both before and after the meeting.

"Uh-oh.." Jason mused, jabbing Billy in the side playfully: "He's got that far away look in his eyes again."

Jason rolled his eyes upward and pursed his lips suggestively.

Billy chortled, throwing his arm around Jason's shoulder in a show of mutual camaraderie: "Do you mean that special look he gets when he thinks about a certain someone who's been texting him telling him how much he's looking forward to seeing him tonight?"

"One in the same" Jason taunted as they both winked at him suggestively.

"Paul and I are just friends" Princess asserted, but adding quickly, with an impishly devious, crooked smile: "Though I do have to confess, I wouldn't mind a few rounds of hide the salami with someone a little more seasoned than the two of you."

Both Billy and Jason clutched dramatically at the center of their chest, feigning pain: "Do you hear that Jason, how will we ever live with ourselves knowing that Princess would rather spend time with someone he barely knows over us?"

Jason pressed his forehead against Billy's shoulder, sobbing mockingly: "What ever did we do to deserve such heinous treatment, Billy?"

Princess/Timmy turned from the giggling duo, shouting over his shoulder haughtily as he headed back toward camp: "I don't have the time or the crayons to explain it to either of you."

It was just good-natured ribbing and banter and Princess knew it, but he had to admit, he was looking forward to seeing Paul Lakatos again despite the circumstances of their initial meeting and his subsequent behavior leading up to Princess having to make an example out of Paul's former and now his Gamma, Dalton Becker.

An hour later found Princess rejoining the others, after bathing, eating and otherwise refreshing himself, standing outside the Lodge with Jason and Billy, greeting various guests to the compound, along side Max and Carl.

It was at times like this, that he truly appreciated the heightened senses he acquired during his own transmogrification when he came into contact with the same cursed silver that metamorphosed those of the Heritage.

It never failed to amuse or delight him, how much those of the Heritage were sexually affected by his proximity.

Brock had helped clarify those particular phenomena, by telling him and Gavin recently that those of the Heritage found the scent of people like them alluring. He also explained that at first, he had thought that meant any man who was gay, but Atticus had informed him it only pertained to those descendant from Aeneas's line and that not all gay men shared that lineage.

It was also at this time he had made the same connection, having previously noted the difference in scent between himself, Gavin and Brock from those of the Heritage. That scent of freshly dug earth combined with the sweet fragrance of honey.

So, as he stood there greeting the various alpha's and their entourages, it became a secret source of entertainment, how much his natural musk heightened their libido's; demonstrated usually by one or more of them prolonging the simple physical contact they made just by shaking hands, which was usually followed by some gushing appraisal of his personal appearance and more times than not, a remark about the wonderful aroma of his cologne, something he never used.

During this time, Princess found himself growing ever more expectant of Paul's arrival and slightly remorseful when Max and the others decided that enough people had arrived and that they should proceed inside and take their places as the appointed hour of their meeting drew nearer, and to Princess's dismay, there was still no sign of Paul, at least as yet.

It wasn't until they had made their way in and taken their seats and Max stood with Jason and Billy to offer last minute advise, when Princes caught sight, from his peripheral vision, of the ruggedly handsome Paul Lakatos making his way through the Lodges main doors. Though it wasn't surprising that Paul wasn't unaccompanied, it did rather startle Princess, that lumbering protectively behind him, was the familiar shape of his Gamma, Dalton Becker.

There was no mistaking the six-foot-seven, blond haired, amber-brown eyed, muscular giant, but what he found perplexing was accounting for his presence. He had just talked to Dalton the day before, something they did a couple of times a week while he awaited the approval of his transfer to the Devil Dawg Compound, something Max had assured him was still in the works and confirmed by Brock, who processed most of the Compounds day to day administrative duties, and Dalton never mentioned anything about accompanying Paul to the Compound for the night.

Likewise, Paul's text had mentioned nothing of him bringing Dalton or even indicating in any way, since their last encounter, that he still maintained any kind of contact with him after losing him to Princess at Jason's confirmation meeting, when he had erroneously doubted Princess's Alpha status and Princess had challenged him when he did the same to Billy.

Princess/Timmy couldn't help but think fondly back on that day, and the subsequent enjoyment and pleasure he had derived from his acquisition of Paul's only accompanying gamma, Dalton Becker.

Even now, just seeing him there, strutting proudly behind Paul Lakatos across the room to take up Paul's usual spot to the far right, made his loins quiver in anticipation of this meetings conclusion, when they could reunite, if time and opportunity permitted. Why else would Paul bring him, if not to broker some sense of trust and reconciliation between them? The idea of which, only broadened the smile that subsumed Princess's face.

If this truly was some sort of gesture on Paul's part, it was definitely having the desired effect on Princess, who beamed even brighter, when Paul's searching eyes finally made contact with his.

Their gazes locked and Princess nearly swooned when his handsome face lit up and he grinned and winked at him auspiciously.

Princess basked in the glow of that smile until he caught a glimpse of Dalton behind him, glowering nothing but pure vehemence back at him, his eyes two burning orbs of rapacious, unmasked enmity.

The look sent shivers down Princess's spine at first, accompanied apparently by a surprised look of shock on his face, causing a somewhat confused Paul to turn his head behind him to confront the cause.

A few short stern words from Paul caused Dalton to lower his baleful gaze to stare at the floor. But the moment lingered in Princess's thoughts, even after Max called the meeting to order.

It took him a few moments, but Princess knew he had to focus on the matter at hand, there would be time enough, after the meeting, for him to deal with his Gamma and if need be, put him in his place.

There was no cause for such a reaction and no matter how fondly he had thought about his Gamma, as an Alpha, he could never allow his affectations to cloud his judgment. Something he was quickly learning through his interactions with those of the Heritage and most of all the life lessons he had learned from dealing with his family. He had spent his life, thus far, trying to win the respect and love of his parents, to only be met with cold disdain and a callous disregard for his feelings, he would not tolerate such behavior from one of his Pack.

The meeting proceeded around him and Princess pushed the incident to the side, for the moment, focusing his full attention on the matters at hand and the growing unease and tension he felt slowly mounting in the room.

As was the case in his first encounter with the Quorum of district alphas, it was clear that nearly half the room or more, led once again rebelliously by Benjamin Frakes, the very same alpha who had previously challenged Jason's claim as Alpha Regent of the southern district, stood in opposition to his current Pack status.

"Let the boy stand and face us, let him account for his actions Max Donnelly, it's clear to all of us who is now running things around here and apparently that isn't you, as we were led to believe it would be." demanded the large, burly man, whose thick coppery beard hung nearly halfway down his rather bulbous belly, to the resounding, grumbling jeers all around the room, as he stood there, chest puffed out like some proud prancing peacock, putting on a show meant solely to impress and sway any onlookers and garner their shifting loyalties to his cause.

Princes just sat back, folding his arms over his chest and crossing his legs one over the other while he smiled smugly, knowing full well they had expected this reaction and had discussed their own response should it go the way they suspected it would.

Danal had been the key. Hadrian's absence was their confirmation, but what none of them realized, they had their own expert strategist. In fact, they had two, Gavin and Brock.

Atticus, Barin and the others had also played their parts, filling them in on which alphas would probably be the most vocal against them and who might lean more toward being reasonable.

Benjamin Frakes was tops on their list of dissenters. Atticus had encountered him before, when his grandfather had sought Frakes permission, as alpha of their region of Kentucky, to stand as sire to Atticus's Heritage ceremony, since Atticus's parents had died in a car accident and his own father, his grandfather's son, was unable to do so.

Benjamin Frakes had refused, stating that fate had decided Atticus's future when it deprived him of his sire and he saw no reason to challenge its decision.

Luckily, Atticus's grandfather was old friends with Danal and had brought Atticus here and implored him to exert his authority as Green Father of the Southern District and conduct Atticus ceremony without Benjamin Frakes approval.

Danal had consulted Max and he had only one condition for allowing it to go forward and that condition was that Atticus would agree to join the Marine Corp. directly afterward. Something that had proven fortuitous, since Atticus's grandfather died shortly there after while Atticus was still in boot camp.

It was that singular event that had set the course for Atticus's life. It had pushed him to work as hard as he did to get where he was today, and it was alphas like Benjamin, who held so much sway within the Heritage, who callously used it only to secure his own purchase of territory and power, with little or no regard for those his selfish, thoughtless actions affected and deprived of the one thing they all desired most, a Pack to belong too.

It's why Princess sat there now, enthusiastically enjoying the show, knowing full well the outcome once they played their hand.

Right on cue, Jason stood up, brushing Max's hand away as he sought to hinder any further escalation, even as half the room boisterously continued to egg Benjamin Frakes on, fueling his already overinflated opinion of himself, enough so, that he defiantly stood his ground as the new Alpha Regent slowly, deliberately crossed the room until he stood a mere two feet in front of him.

Princess/Timmy looked over to Billy, seated the row down from him, who smiled slightly back with a knowing nod of his head.

Princess noted peripherally and with some degree of satisfaction, that everyone in the room's eyes was glued on Jason, everyone save one.

Danal Cornelius stared vigorously at Billy Donnelly, the intensity of his scrutiny playing out across his usually unreadable, dispassionate face. It was clear what he was expecting to play out, what his actions had planned for, what his machinations had set in motion, just as assuredly as he drew each expectant breath in anticipation of his plan's triumphant culmination.

Princess/Timmy smiled bemusedly as he thought to himself: "Not tonight old man, this is not the show you were expecting, that will be reserved for another time and will be one of our choosing, not yours or Max's."

He didn't need to see when the moment happened, the loud thump, followed by the deepest, slavering growl he was sure had ever been uttered between these walls, told him all he needed to know.

Still, Princess rose, to peer disdainfully over the shoulders of those in front of him who had risen expectant of a challenge they were sure would be issued by their young Alpha, only to all fall deathly silent, in wide-eyed shock and awe at the large black wolf that now stood snarling, teeth bared and growling, with his large front paws on Benjamin Frakes heaving chest and his large spittle dripping fangs near his throat.

The absolute look of terror on Benjamin's face, was well worth the price of admission as far as Princess was concerned, as he and Billy both pushed their way through the silent throng and made their way to Jason's side, where Princes knelt beside the horrified, trembling and shaking Frakes and said coyly: "I'd submit if I were you, he doesn't look like he's in a playful mood tonight, that, and I don't think he's that fond of you."

The black wolf growled again snapping his large jaws suggestively close to Benjamin's exposed throat, its blazing azure eyes spiking in glowing brilliance.

Nearly babbling incoherently with fear, Benjamin sputtered his acquiescence, begging Jason's wolf to spare him repeatedly until the large black wolf stepped off his chest.

But the show didn't end there. Jason's large wolf turned to the group behind him, to the throng of men that had mostly supported Frakes previous stance mere seconds ago, but who now shuddered and took a collective step back as the black wolf snarled at them, baring his fangs ominously in their direction.

The only real surprise of the evening for Princess and Billy came via Paul Lakatos, who pushed his way forward until he stood only a few feet away from the large black wolf.

With bated breath they all watched in trepidation as Paul fell to one knee and bowed his head before proclaiming: "Alpha Jason, noble Regent of the Southern Devil Dawgs, I here by pledge myself, my Pack and my territories to you!" Paul looked up, to gaze into the wolf's glowing eyes and fearlessly pledged: "May you never find our service wanting Alpha Regent."

Paul's actions seemed to spurn the others into action as one by one all the other alpha's followed suit until all that was left was Max and Danal, the latter glowering studiously, behind the rim of his bushy eyebrows, his sight glued directly to Jason's wolf.

Max just shrugged dismissively, before sitting down, stating casually: "I have nothing left to offer other than what I've already given."

That left Danal, who now pulled thoughtfully at his short beard, eyeing Jason cautiously: "It seems we've got our work cut out for us Alpha if we're going to be prepared for what most assuredly will come."

It wasn't exactly how they had imagined it, but Danal's acceptance, faltering as it may have seemed, was proof enough, for the moment, of his intended cooperation.

The rest of the evening passed fairly quickly, especially after Jason shifted back to his human form, as all the alpha's clamored around him, vying for his attention, grilling him excitedly for his future intentions for their district and what part they would each play in it.

Their plan was a simple one for the moment, to fortify the compound and to increase their ranks by issuing a call to all those formerly displaced by the Heritage and offer them the one thing all those of the Heritage sought, a place within their Packs, with all able fighters to train here at the compound and prepare for what the future might throw at them.

Princess's favorite moment of the evening happened slightly after dark when the moon first peaked above the distant hillsides and all those of the Heritage stripped down and joined Jason outside and upon him shifting once again, joined the black wolf Alpha on a glorious run through the woods of the Devil Dawg Compound.

Saturday morning found Gavin Hollis and Princess sitting side by side at the new bivouac, with Gavin absentmindedly poking the campfire coals with a stick, trying haphazardly to urge enough heat from the still smoldering embers, to produce enough heat to boil the water in the large metal pot they all used to make coffee.

"Sorry, I'm not being very good company at the moment" Gavin apologized, fighting back yet another yawn, before concluding: "I'm not really a morning person and I'm barely human until I get at least one cup of coffee in me, to get the ol' engine churning."

Princess just smiled nonchalantly back at him, mindful of the fact that he himself wasn't really being much of a conversationalist himself that morning, his thoughts still subsumed with the events of the previous evening, or more precisely, a certain Paul Lakatos, as well as his Gamma Dalton Becker.

He had hoped to connect with both of them before the end of the night, but Jason's choice to lead them all in an evening jaunt deep into the woods of the compound, had dashed those hopes and after waiting patiently here at the camp, well after midnight, he had finally abandoned that idea and turned in.

He had secretly hoped that at least Dalton would join him in his tent after the run, but upon rising that morning and noting otherwise, he had made his way to the campfire, where he found Gavin, lethargically stabbing at the smoking coals, trying to reignite their former heat without actually spending the energy to gather some more wood and stoking the flames anew.

Having grown impatient, Princess watched as Gavin loaded the pots hopper with coffee grounds and thrust it back inside, even though the water was nowhere near hot enough to make the effort worthwhile.

He was about to offer to gather more wood, when Brock made his way out of the tent he shared with Atticus and lumbered his way over to them, before plopping down on Princess's left side.

"Rough night?" Gavin asked, noting the stiffness of his movements; his nose actually telling him the potential reason why.

Princess smiled coyly and batted his eyes at Gavin, while tapping the side of his nose with his index finger: "I think we both know what aches Mr. Gryzinsky."

Brock just shook his head dismissively: "I get it..." he grumbled: "You both have super-duper senses just like them now."

"No need to be snarky dude" Gavin retorted: "At least you got some last night, that's more than either of us can say at the moment."

"Arlis still not biting huh?" Brock mused, trying to take the heat off of himself for the moment, while nudging Princess conspiratorially with his elbow.

Princess shot him a cautionary look but then realized there was no real point pretending. They were the only three of their kind here amongst all these Heritage men and if they couldn't discuss their problems with each other, openly, then who could they talk too?

"Gavin made the mistake of telling Arlis that he fooled around with Billy a little bit." Princess said, matter of fact, but without a hint of judgement in his voice.

Gavin's gaze stayed locked on the tip of the prodding stick he held tightly in his hand: "I was taught that honesty is the best policy and at the time Arlis said he understood and that it was okay, but..."

"No need to explain bro... people can be so judgemental and possessive at times, they ain't no different." Brock concluded.

Princess just sighed and rolled his eyes, a mild annoyance in the timbre of his tone as he interjected: "Do you two actually not get it?"

Both Brock and Gavin turned to glower at him questioningly before he added: "I get that Brock might not be able to sense it, but you don't have that excuse Gavin..." Princess paused for a second, looking questioningly back and forth at both of them, before explaining further: "He's not jealous of Billy, at least not in the way you think!"

"Then whats wrong, I thought the way we smell and all was supposed be a turn on to these guys?" Gavin queried, genuinely at a loss, thinking his revelation had killed any possibility he might have ever had of being with the one person he could ever imagine being with.

Princes chuckled slightly, shaking his head and reaching over to grip Gavin's shoulder in a show of support: "Gavin, its not you, it's him..."

The confused look on Gavin's face said it all and Princess decided to put him out of his misery.

"Gavin, he's a virgin, how do you not get this?" Princess mused, locking gazes with Gavin's: "In his eyes, you've been with an Alpha and not with just any Alpha but THE Alpha. Did you ever stop to think about how that would make him feel? He's not passing judgment on what you've done..."

Gavin's eyes lit up, full of realization and hastily concluded Princess's words for him: "He's worried about how he could possibly measure up to that and is why he's throwing himself so gung ho into working harder than anyone else on the team."

Gavin smacked himself on the forehead: "I'm such a friggin' dunderhead, it so simple, a child could've seen it."

"One did." Brock taunted, beaming sardonically from ear to ear at Princess, who just leaned back, smiling impishly: "Ya know Brock, I sometimes envy the people who've never met you."

They were all having a good chuckle after that, with Gavin's mood noticeably growing lighter, when Princess caught, out of the corner of his eye, the familiar shape of his Gamma, Dalton Becker, standing roughly about forty feet away from them, downhill from where the new camp was, leaning against a tree, right on the edge of a small grassy clearing that separated the wooded area they were in from the compounds parking lot.

Even from that distance, they could all make out the stern expression on his face as he stared right at them, or more precisely, Princess.

'What's his problem?" Brock queried, with more than a hint of stoicism in his voice.

"I don't know" Princess conjectured, standing up: "But I'm about to find out!"

As Princess drew nearer the gamma, the overpowering scent of anger suffused the breeze blowing mildly in his direction. Everyone of his senses cautioned him as he boldly strode forward, closing the gap between them.

Princess watched, as he approached the giant blond, as he moved away from the tree he was leaning against, his hulking frame growing taut as his fist clenched repeatedly by his side, his stance one of pure aggression.

Behind the gamma, and still, some distance away, having just exited the Lodge, Princess noted Paul Lakatos heading in their general direction, just as Princess moved to stand directly in front of Dalton, fully intending to get to the bottom of his insubordinate behavior.

Without so much as a word, the gamma's eyes flashed a brilliant amber as his right hand, shifting, with near razor sharp talons extended, swept toward his midriff in what could only have been an attempt to disembowel him.

If it hadn't been for Princess's years of honing his body to respond reflexively, instead of now having four-slice marks through his favorite white, sleeveless sweatshirt, he'd be clutching four gaping wounds across his abdomen.

Momentarily startled by the gamma's hostile actions, Princess was caught unawares of the swinging roundhouse kick of his thoroughly enraged opponent, which caught him soundly against his chest hurling him backward, through the air, to land unceremoniously skidding across the grass. leaving him fully exposed in the small clearing.

Though he was aware of the shouts sounding out from the camp and from behind him, Princess ignored them as his full attention zeroed in on the now fully shifted, raging gamma charging toward him. Timing it just perfectly and leaping last minute into the air, he soared heels first into the muscular giants solar plexus, effectively knocking the air out of him just as his knees shot up to catch the beast right beneath his gaping maw.

The force of the blow hurled the gamma's head back as Princess fingers dug into the golden fur around his thorax, using it as a hand hold to swing upward, allowing his momentum and weight to swing the gamma off balance, resulting in him landing with a resounding thud, right on his back.

Eyes blazing a brilliant azure, Princess/Timmy landed squarely on his chest, the impact of which once again drove the breath from the gamma's lungs as he dropped knees splayed, pinning the beast's arms.

Princess thrust the steely tips of his fingers around his expansive neck, locking them with a vice like grip that bereft his sizeable opponent from drawing a single breath.

"SUBMIT!" Princess commanded, fully expecting his Gamma to comply or face the consequences.

Princess couldn't imagine what had overcome Dalton to behave in this manner, but he was equally determined to get to the bottom of it and reclaim what was by right, his.

He was vaguely aware of the rapidly approaching footsteps from directly behind him, certain that it was Paul rushing to his defense, but for the second time that day, he was caught unprepared as two powerful arms locked around his rib-cage and with the same force and strength he usually only encountered while sparring with Jason and Billy, was hurled off to the side, and sent rolling across the grass.

Princess regained control and sprung up, his eyes blazing once again, as he glowered back at Paul Lakatos, who hovered protectively between him and the now shifting and gasping Dalton.

Brushing the dirt and grass from his clothing, Princess confronted the alpha: "I am so going to kick every square inch of your ass, if you don't explain right now, why you are coming between me and my gamma!?"

Paul held his left hand up defensively, his voice calm and soothing: "I mean no disrespect Princess, but he is not your gamma, he is mine, and while his actions merit punishment, that punishment is mine to dispense, not yours."

Princess continued to glower at Paul as the blue fire intensified behind his eyes, even as every perception he possessed cautioned him that something wasn't quite what it seemed.

As Princess considered the course of his next actions, Atticus and Barin came running to a halt beside him, followed shortly by Brock and Gavin.

"What the fucks going on here?" Atticus demanded, looking from Paul to Princess and back again, concern for Princess clearly showing in his actions as well as rising anger for the alpha standing defensively in front of the brooding gamma, still gasping for breath.

"This is none of your concern beta, this is between Princess and I" Paul stated, in his usual matter-of-fact tone, that most perceived to be haughty and dismissive.

Atticus was having none of it.

"You are in my Alpha's territory, everything within it is definitely my concern Lakatos." Atticus shot back, adding quickly: "Princess is a guest and a close friend of my Alpha, and from what I have seen, you and this gamma were attacking him, unprovoked I might add."

Atticus's tone left no doubt whose side he was on, but Paul remained resolute, but clearly no longer physically aggressive.

Paul nodded his head: "Princess I formally apologize for both mine and my gammas actions. I should not have laid hands on you, I only did so out of fear for my gamma's safety."

The fire in Princess/Timmy's eyes faded as he took a step toward Paul: "That's just it, I don't get why he attacked me in the first place?"

Princess had more to say, not least of which was to inquire why Paul was asserting that Dalton was his gamma once again when that was clearly not the case.

What kind of game was Paul playing at? Princess thought to himself, knowing full well, that while he may not be completely versed in Heritage etiquette, he was fairly certain things didn't operate that way.

Once again, the hulking gamma's eyes blazed amber as he tried to shove his way past Paul, his face a contorted mask of anger, his lips twisted into a snarl as he practically growled: "You violated my brother, you corrupted him, took him away from his Pack, from his family!"

His vehemence didn't hit him as soundly as his words, as a sudden, creeping realization struck Princess harder than any of the gamma's previous physical blows. This carbon copy of Dalton was his brother, not just his brother, his twin.

Princess was left stunned by the revelation, speechless even. How could he have missed it, Dalton had told him he had a brother, had even told him he also was part of Paul Lakatos's pack, but he never dreamed he meant an identical twin.

Princess was still trying to process it all when he felt the tug of Gavin Hollis's hand against his arm as he leaned in and nearly whispered: "Dude, this is the other half of Gemini, this is what Aphrodite was referring too."

Indeed, Princess agreed, recalling the goddesses dire warning about himself and the White Wolf falling and the entire planet being plunged into darkness if he didn't reunite and join with Gemini.

There were a lot of other things Aphrodite had said as well, but the one that now prevailed in his mind, as he stood there staring at the ruggedly handsome, sandy-haired Paul Lakatos, as he commanded his bristling gamma to stand down, that Aphrodite had told Gavin that he would have to secure the unwilling second half of Gemini by winning over his equally reticent future mate.

Princess sighed and rolled his eyes skyward, wondering how in the hell he was ever going to accomplish that and was about to have Atticus gather Jason and Billy together for a quick con fab when the phone in his pocket rang, nearly startling him out of a years growth.

Princess fished it out of his pocket, surprised that it still remained intact after the previous events and sighed again as his fathers name flashed on the chiming phone.

Princess turned from the group and stepped away as he answered hesitantly and waited for the familiar, droning voice of his paternal parent to respond.

"Timothy..." began the cold sterile disembodied voice on the other end.

"Yes dad, whats up, I'm right in the middle of something." he responded haltingly, hoping to make this as quick and painless as possible.

"You need to come home, we've just got the news, your grandmother Ericson has passed away."