Chapter 10

The Sanchez Pack

Mel was going crazy. There was so much work to do, and as soon as she thought she had a handle on one thing, something else was dropped in her lap. It wasn't Adam's fault. His situation was similar to hers. The work just kept growing. Once they found out the stops on the slavery

ring, maybe things would settle down. It would be nice to complete something she started.

Maria, one of the older ladies, took her to a thrift store in town. It was the easiest way to clothe so many people quickly.

Mel had no idea what sizes she needed, only that they would need many sizes. Women, men, and children were all represented among those needing new clothes.

Shoes would also be a problem. Fortunately, the store had a section of new shoes with seconds or returns. It was a very large store catering to tourists in large cities.

After loading several carts with clothing and shoes, she went to make a deal. The shoes weren't selling well because many people in the area went barefoot, and buying shoes was a luxury, so they rarely did.

The clerk called out the manager, who immediately got to work trying to secure a deal. When they were done, she had their supplies down to half price, promising to return within a week to buy more. Mel had been very pleased, and as a white wolf, she loved a bargain, so this made her day. At least something was going right.

They hurried back to the alpha house, and people gathered around the truck. Maria sorted things out in piles for women, men, and children. Even the children helped with their clothing as quickly as possible to ensure they got something.

Sometimes, the same thing did not look like it could fit because it was too small or far too large. Maria was getting frustrated and finally let out a whistle that stopped everyone in their tracks. She started on her aunt in Spanish, who, as far as Mel could see, said they were crazy and that they needed to pick clothing to fit. Once all the clothing was given out, they made a list to see what sizes fit what person. When they went shopping next time, they would shop by name.

It sounded good to Mel, especially if they took extra people to keep all that information straight. She was sure some would want to go because they could pick their clothing and shoes. Who wouldn't want to go shopping for their own things?

Before they went to the thrift store, they went to one of the discount stores and picked up a large amount of shampoo and other personal needs. Mel usually enjoyed shopping, but this kind of shopping was just plain crazy.

She planned to go online to some wholesale places and put in large orders for certain things to be delivered to the door, and she wouldn't have to go shopping for them.

Maria was a fantastic help, but it wasn't enough. There were so many people needing care and so many things that she had to do that she needed a personal assistant like Ariel had. With that thought, she sent Ariel an email. Her cousin was so busy that dropping everything to take a call was hard. Sometimes, emails were answered quickly, and sometimes, not as much. Ariel must have been working on her emails this time because she responded almost immediately.

Mel,

I will send you someone talented right away. I have a few extra people in various jobs, and I can let one or two come to you. How many do you need, and what position do you wish to put them in ?

Ariel

Mel considered that and decided that a secretary and a personal assistant would get her through for now. She replied to the email to let Ariel know, and then she needed to work on something else. Maybe she should have asked for a healer because they didn't seem to have one.

"Maria, is there no healer for the pack?" Mel asked

"We had one not long ago that mainly took care of the alpha. I'm not sure what happened to him, but he disappeared, and we've not had a healer since." Maria responded.

Mel started a list and put healer at the top. She would add requirements as they became apparent. None of her people seemed to have any education, and she didn't know why a pack would not encourage that. Maybe it was because he intended to sell them all and didn't care if they had a career. Or not. That's not what they would do. Mel would see that anyone who wanted to attend college and get a degree could. In other packs, she knew they encouraged their members to go into law enforcement, politics, medical care, and several other positions that would help the pack and the person. She didn't believe that the needs of this pack would be any different from that of the others.

Adam was all day. At first, it was liberating those held by the slave rings, and after that, it was working on the housing that they desperately needed. The big tent had arrived, and most other people seemed pleased with it even though there wasn't much privacy. There was running water and electricity, which had never been available in the village. Their first home was completed in a month, but several other homes had already been started. As the first beta, Hector had moved into the first home with his family. He, his wife, four children, his parents, and his mother-in-law were all delighted with the house, and there was enough room. They all had a private area.

The next home would usually go to Levi, but since he had no family, he said he would keep his room in the alpha house for now. That moved up to a male called Jose and his extended family, almost as large as hectors, except Jose only had three children. That house was being built rapidly since the foundation had been put in while Hector's house was still under construction, and now it was ready to go. It was amazing how fast things were going now that they had been started. Harry was a force of nature. Only one small row of houses was left to be torn down, which she quickly handled. The materials from them were separated into piles based on usefulness.

She also did a fantastic job moving materials around where needed, saving an enormous amount of labor.

"I've been thinking about starting a destruction company." Harry giggled.

There was no doubt that she was good at it. Mel stood back with the other women and watched as the Harry cyclone tore things apart, quickly separating them into piles. Once she was done, the guys could move in and use those valuable items to build storage sheds. While sometimes building supplies could be used, these were not adequate to use in a new house. But that didn't mean that they would waste them either. It had only been a matter of time before the expected attack came. They made a mistake by waiting until Tyne had an opportunity to train many of their people, including females and children.

The attack came in the middle of the workday, and Mel did not realize what was happening at first. Her wolf had to tell her they were under attack and action needed to be taken. Two unknown males came in, and the females and children piled on them. Another followed them, and Mel jumped, morphing in the middle of her jump, her jaw clamping onto his throat. Even though she was not a heavy wolf, it was a surprise that it knocked him to the ground, and with her jaws around his throat, he knew better than to move. He tapped out, and she let him up but watched him suspiciously.

The women and children had managed to take out the other two and have them restrained and moved to another room as prisoners. While everyone felt like celebrating, the fight was not over yet. Mel hurried outside to see what was happening. It was not the smartest thing to do, but she hadn't always done the smartest things. No one seemed to be headed their way, thinking that three wolves could take down women, children, and the alpha's mate. That would leave others to concentrate on taking down the rest of the pack.

They had not realized the pack had received excellent instruction on protecting themselves. They also didn't know that Tyne and Moe were there, and she was scaring the hell out of him with her hillbilly cry. Harry was having fun knocking down large groups of enemy wolves, floating them around in the air, and acting like she would drop them. It was apparent they were terrified, and they didn't know what to do. Finally, she dropped him to the ground, magically restrained and unable to do anything.

The alpha was the only one they couldn't do anything with because he was leading from behind and protected by his people. When it became clear that he was on the losing end, he turned and ran as fast as he could. Now, those left behind would have to protect themselves. It would not be easy since their families had been left back on their pack lands. As long as the former alpha had the families of the wolves he had sent in, they could not swear allegiance or do anything except be prisoners for fear that their families would pay.

Mel had seen over half the fight, and she wanted that alpha in their custody so bad she could taste it. Action would have to be taken, and it needed to be swift before the dam wolf could hide or find some other type of protection. According to Maria, this had been one pack in the past and needed to be one again. Yeah, she knew it wasn't the best time with everything else going on, but life threw things at you, and it wasn't always the best time that it did it. They needed a war council, and she had a feeling that she had a good idea about how to get to that alpha. Right now, while they had Harry, Tyne, and Moe, it was the best time to go after him. She knew Moe would back her up.

"We need to go after that coward," Moe yelled.

"Amen, sister," Mel agreed.

Tyne looked at Adam to see what he wanted to do.

"Anyone have a plan?" Adam asked.

"I do, but we'll need Harry," Mel suggested.

"I'm in. Just tell me what to do," Harry agreed.

"Cast a locator spell, and we'll take him down and bring him back," Mel directed.

"Everyone ready?" Harry asked. "What do we use for the spell?"

"What about one of the pack members we captured?" Mel asked.

A screaming male was dragged to Harry, who lightly touched him and set a spell, and they were gone, leaving him behind, which probably made him very happy. They appeared inside a building where the alpha was taking a drink and smoking a cigar. Maybe he thought that would relax him, and he could figure out another plan, but it didn't look like things would work out for him. Adam began to beat the hell out of him until he was finally worn down and lying in a pile on the floor. At that point, Adam restrained him. According to the rules of engagement, even without an alpha challenge, Adam was now the leader of this new pack.

Mel knew they didn't need this, but the members of this pack did. It wasn't as large as their original pack, but it was large enough to create a great deal of work. It was better to have this out of the way.

"My question is, did this guy have anything to do with the slave trade?" Mel asked.

"I can find out. I'll just cast a truth spell as soon as he is conscious again, that is," Harry observed with a giggle.

This was going to be even more work. Mel would wait until she saw what happened before she tried to hire more people. These two packs would have to be blended, but that didn't mean there couldn't be two separate communities and one pack. She walked outside, and Harry followed her. They looked at the community, and it wasn't much better than the one they had just begun to work on.

"Good thing you're a workaholic," Harry observed

"I'm also newly mated, so give me a break," Mel mentioned.

"I'll still come a day a week until you get this taken care of or I run out of things I can do personally," Harry declared.

"We get to the point where there's nothing you can do. There won't be that much left. I don't know what we would do without you, Harry," Mel admitted.

"The alpha's conscious again," Adam observed,

Harry waved her hand. Adam looked at Tyne and nodded. He was glad to have him do the questioning for now.

"Do you know anything about the slave ring?" The guy looked like he was really in pain. He tried not to answer but finally said yes.

"Tell us what you know," Moe demanded.

"I was selling a few females and, occasionally, a child every month. We needed the money to run our pack," the alpha admitted.

"Doesn't look like the money went very far," Harry observed.

"Only in his house and probably for things he wanted," Mel declared.

"Now we have even more to do," Adam said.

The following week saw the second house finished, but people descended on them. These volunteers had come down to support the rebuilding of the pack. Ariel used her newsletter to inform everyone about Adam's and Mel's packs and their needs. People with various skills and building supplies came to help them assemble the two packs into one and rebuild them as one pack. Adam said he had never seen anything like it. Only two houses had been finished when they started, but by the end of the first week, five houses had been built on the secondary location and three more on the first, giving them a total of ten houses.

What could happen when people came together and worked hard to accomplish it was terrific. Ariel was an amazing organizer, and Mel hoped she would someday be like her. Another week saw ten more houses built, but things would slow down now as people began to leave and supplies ran low and had to be reordered. The pack was getting organized, and a hierarchy was beginning to take shape. She was the alpha bitch, and Maria was her second. Her PA and secretary were not wolves and, therefore, were not subject to hierarchy unless they chose to be.

Her assistants were getting a lot of work done; one of the pack ladies was training to be a cook, and one had taken over the cleaning services. There were already designs for the new pack house, which would be at the edge of town on the side the other pack was at. They would also have a smaller packhouse there for various purposes. It would be built first since it would have to house part of the pack while homes were being built. Some singles would stay in that pack house, and a couple would be in charge. Things had moved along enough that Mel was beginning to feel hope that everything would come together. Most of those who had come from the slave ring and had no other home decided they would stay here. That was a good sign because it showed everyone the potential was obvious.

Mel had worked with several people to get them into college, most of which were online degrees. The problem was that no college was nearby, and the pack needed to build 1 just outside the protective shield. It needed to be outside so that it could get students from a broader area as well as instructors from anywhere. That would be a massive project and had to go on the back burner for now. A small hospital would also be built, but that would also have to wait until housing was not a problem. Both of those projects should bring in enough money to pay for themselves.

They were eating lunch, and Adam was giving her the eye. Once the meal was done, they would retire to their room and take an unexpected respite. Their life together was crazy, but she had never wanted or loved anyone the way she wanted and loved him. They finished their meal, rose, and headed back to their bedroom. The room was their getaway from all the problems and headaches of their new positions. Being part of an alpha pair was more work than she could ever imagine, and she was still trying to assist Jelly with the business as much as possible.

This room had been nice, but they had added personal touches that made it even more luxurious. At first, Mel felt guilty. She discussed it with Joey, who told her to take something for herself because she deserved it, and so did he. The bathroom was where they had added a hot tub. The room had been large enough, so they suspected the former alpha had planned to add it but had never gotten around to it. The colors were earth towns and soothing, as were the ones in the bedroom. In the bathroom, the colors were hues of brown: sand, tan, and beige, with greens used to highlight specific areas. The bedroom was the opposite, with several greens and a darker brown used to highlight specific areas.

Thank goodness they had been able to get a new bed quickly. The old one had been put outside to be claimed by anyone who wanted it. It wasn't out there very long before it disappeared. Usually, Mel didn't believe in wasting anything, but as far as her mattresses went, and in this case, the very ostentatious bed, she needed something new that was theirs and only theirs.

"I never thought we would get out of there," Adam admitted.

"Sometimes you just have to leave and hope people figure it out," Mel replied.

Her alpha pulled her into his arms and gave her a hot kiss. She could feel his need pressed up against her, and she was ready for it. They both began to pull their clothing off, kissing in between, and they had been loving each other long enough now that they had a good idea of what to do. Not that something new didn't come up occasionally. They had even tried some kinky things, most of which she had not liked, even though Adam seemed up for anything, pun intended. Her mate had little experience due to a shortage of females in the pack, so he wanted to try everything at least once, and she didn't mind doing that for him.

They ended up on the bed, and both of them were naked and ready. Neither of them could wait. Adam fell on top of Mel the first time, catching his weight on his arms. He slid into her mound, and she slid her legs around him, pushing her toes into the soft part of his ass.

"Gods, you feel so incredible. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me." Adam whispered in her ear.

He began to pound into her harder and deeper, and she could feel his need, and it matched hers. They were both eaten up by it. They would not slow the pace until both of them found their release. She'd never known it could be like this between a male and a female. It made her regret the time she had wasted and unsure whether they should be together. The passion grew stronger, and she felt the need tighten just before she exploded, and her channel squeezed her mate tight. Adam thrust into her desperately just before he joined her in an unbelievable climax.

His body rolled off her, and he lay next to her, barely able to catch his breath. She watched him as she struggled to breathe as well. Incredible, and what was even better than this was that she would have him from now on. Mel could admit that she loved him and always wanted him. Now that she had calmed from their previous lovemaking, she was ready to go again and wondered if he was. She rolled to her side, where she was looking at him, and started taking her finger and running it down his body lightly. His cock was showing definite interest since it was jerking and getting harder again. Adam rolled to face her. It seemed he was ready, too.

This time, it would be slow and sweet, and they came together in a kiss that said how in love they were. His hands ran over her and kept her ass, squeezing it. Her breasts slid against his chest, and her nipples got hard. Having time together like this was good since they were practically newlyweds. She moved her foot and slid her toes up his leg. Adam felt so good, and he was making her feel so good. He pushed her over and slid to her. He gently kissed her neck, then began to work his way down to her breasts, where he divided his time on sucking each of her nipples until they were hard. She felt need begin to take hold of her as he continued to work his way down. Mel gasped as she felt his breath on her pussy before he spread her lips and licked at her clit.

One of his fingers slid into her channel, and he began to work it in and out. He added another finger even as he continued to lick circles around her clit. Mel knew that she wouldn't hold out much longer before she exploded. He drove another finger into her channel as he continued to lick. That didn't do it, but when he drove in the third finger, she exploded, and her hands in his hair held him there. She would have backed, but his arms held her down until he slid up her body and drove into her hard and fast. Slow was great, but sometimes it was overrated. She rose to meet him as he pounded into her. Nothing had ever felt so good. Her orgasm had barely been over when it began to build again.

They were both covered in sweat and totally wrapped around each other. It was like the mating of two beasts, and then they suddenly exploded. Mel felt Adam's teeth sinking into her mating mark, so she sank hers into his mating mark. That renewed their orgasms, and it just seemed to go on and on as pleasure poured over both of them. This time, when it calmed, they both fell asleep. She thought they must have slept all night, but it seemed only a few hours. Mel first felt that she needed to shower because she was covered in dried sweat, among other things.

"Where are you going?" Adam questioned as his arm reached out to grab her.

"I need a shower in the world's worst way," Mel replied.

"Hm. A shower sounds wonderful." He got up and led her to the bathroom.

Apparently, her mate was not through with her yet. Shower sex was one of his favorites, and they were in the shower for nearly an hour. Now that they were done, it was time to dry and get dressed. There was a great deal of work waiting for them. His talented construction was put to good use. When he left, he went straight to a tent where he was building furniture for the complete houses. By building it himself, he saved money and was able to make the furniture they needed right away. Hard at work, he wasn't paying any attention to people who entered the tent because most of them came in to see what the furniture looked like and left.

This was not the case because the two betas that had been replaced were the ones who had entered the tent. One of them had a gun, and he was pointing it at him. "We will now have the time to talk to you, and you will listen because you have no choice," the beta said.

"What is your name? You never told me, either of you," Adam asked.

"Name is Ephrain, and this is Gabriel. We know that you are Adam. We were not involved in your fight with the other alpha. The only reason we came back was to let those poor people go before they died. You beat us to that, except for one place where we could release those inside. We realize that you do not trust us. All we want is to be able to leave and take our families with us."

"Why do you wish to go?" Adam asked.

"We did not handle things well, and neither of us think you will ever trust us. It is best to cut the bonds that tie us to this pack and go elsewhere," Gabriel explained.

"If that is all you wish, why are you holding a gun that is pointed toward me?" Adam asked.

"We wanted you to listen. Many of the pack did not like us because we were betas, but we had no choice. We needed to do what we were told so our families could survive," Ephrain said.

"If you truly wish to leave, feel free to do so. If you wish to stay, I can find a place for you," Adam admitted.

"Why would you do this for us?" Gabriel asked.

"I made a mistake not long ago, but I was helped, and I am better. A second chance is a wonderful thing. I believe I have done everything I could with the chance I got. A third chance is rarely given, so it is good that I made the best of what I was given," Adam explained.

Hector rushed into the tent. "What is going on here?"

"We were just discussing where I might put them. Neither of you ever said what skills you have?" Adam observed.

"I can frame a house. That's what I did when I was younger," Gabriel informed.

"I lay floors and carpeting. Or at least I did. I'm sure I could again," Ephrain answered.

The gun had disappeared, probably into someone's pocket. That was fine. "Did either of you ever supervise a team to do that kind of work?" Adam asked.

"I did," Gabriel said.

"There is a job for either of you or both of you if you wish in the other area where we are building houses." Adam felt that, for now, they needed to be separated from this pack. "Show them where to stay and set up Gabriel with a group he can supervise,"

"I can do that," Levi agreed, and they headed away.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Hector asked.

"No, but everyone deserves a second chance. They could have killed me, but instead, they only wished to talk. They wanted what every man wants, to get their family and find a way to make a living. Who am I to deny them that?" Adam asked. "Nevertheless, I think it is best if they work in the other area until those in this pack can accept them again. If they can prove they deserve them, there are plenty of leadership positions."

"I believe you may be right about that, and I will keep an eye on them," Hector said.