Her Grey Men

I inhaled the crisp autumn air in this little sleepy town. I was on council business investigating some disturbances, a lot of weird stuff was going on that needed explaining. Ever since the dragon emperor and the supreme mage brought our kind into the open humans have been asking for our help to solve anything that they thought was supernatural. I laughed as I sniffed the air assuming that this would just be another ghost chase. I heard growling and a shriek down a nearby alleyway and headed that way curious. If someone needed help might as well be me, gotta make our reputation look good for the people. I wasn’t expecting what I saw. A gorgeous leggy woman was standing over an unconscious man protectively with a knife in each hand fending off about six feral vampires. The local coven collapsed leaving a lot of their kind starving and desperate. The council tried to relocate many of them to new covens, but these ones held on wanting to stay in their home land. Vampires were like that, the older they get the harder it is to leave their lairs. They are tied to the land that they are turned on and it can be painful for them to relocate. They were victims of circumstance. I watched for about a second as one ravenous vamp got brave and charged the woman. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her, I was held in place unsure of what was happening to me, I'm never this slow to act. I couldn’t get to the vamp to keep him from attacking her, but I didn’t need to. She swiftly raked a knife across the bloodsuckers throat opening his neck spilling dark blood at her feet and across the legs of the man that she was protecting. She was fast, and capable. What is she? “Hey!” I shouted, getting all of their attention. The hissing and growling from the vampires stopped as they looked at me trying to decide if I was a meal too. “You need help?” The air was thick with blood. I couldn’t smell her, that frustrated me because I was trying to figure out what species she was. She had to be an inhuman like me, but that was all that I could gather from the situation. Then I heard her voice. It was music, soft but firm, and slightly deeper than a regular woman’s full of stress. Well that was a duh. “Yeah get him out of here so I can finish them!” My wolf roared to the surface growling in my head, MATE! What no! No one has had a mate for over twenty years! How? Why now? I began breathing heavier. The urge to swoop in and scoop her up was pushing me over the edge. This woman must be protected. She is MINE. I need her now! I squeezed my eyes shut forcing my wolf back and did as the woman, my mate told me to. She had to be protecting that man for a reason, I would find out why.  I ran forward letting her step away from the man launching her own attack spinning in the air landing a leather boot to the face on the nearest vamp then plunging her knives in the heads of the two that were on either side of him. Finally her hands partially transformed digging into the eyes of a fourth vamp. The last vampire left turned and ran away as fast as he could after seeing his coven brothers wiped out in less than ten seconds. Holly fvck she is fast! Covered in blood she rushed back to me and the man. “Oh goddess Brian!” She began checking the man over. Being so close to him I could tell that he was human, but her smell baffled me. She looked up at me, her eyes flashing menacingly. “Back off wolf, he’s mine.” I held my hands up and stepped back from her and the human. It angered me that she was touching him and had this loving look on her face. “What are you?” I asked, my voice not able to hide my contempt. I watched as she bit her canines into her wrist and pressed it to his mouth. “What the hell are you doing?” I yelled grabbing at her hand.  She growled and shoved me, throwing me into the wall behind me. I heard a sickening c***k before blacking out. What the hell is she?  … I turned over groaning, gripping my head. That sunlight was too bright. Wait. Light? It was just nine PM, what happened? Whose bed am I in? “Morning.” Her voice, her silky voice. My wolf took control “Mate!” I growled out. “Told you we should have left him.” A male voice said from the corner. I looked up seeing the man that my mate called Brian standing against the wall with his arms crossed. I growled again scanning him. Why doesn’t he smell human anymore? “What the hell is going on?” I demanded. The woman shuffled. “I was hoping that you could tell me. You’re from the council so you would know more than us.” How does she know that? That’s when I realized that I was naked under the blankets of the bed that I found myself in.  “Where are my clothes?” I asked. A knock at the door stole our attention. An older woman brought in a stack of fabric, my mate took it from her and handed it to me. “Here, you were covered in blood, figured you would want to be clean while we figure out what is going on.” Then she and the Brian man followed the old woman back out of the room that I was in.  I quickly pulled my clothes back on finding my wallet, badge, phone, and gun missing. I decided that following the woman out of the room would be my best bet. After I opened the door I was greeted by the old woman that brought me my clothes. “This way boy. She doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” I grunted and followed the woman down the halls. I studied the decorations and pictures hanging on the walls. This looked like a pack house like what I grew up in. then one picture caught my attention. It was my mate in a wedding dress with the Brian. It hurt. My chest felt like it was being crushed by a tank.  Why would the goddess finally decide to give people mates now, and why was I given a taken woman? I was led to a room with a large desk. It must be the Alpha’s office, or whatever these people were. It didn’t smell like wolf, but Brian doesn’t smell human anymore either. I couldn’t make out anything that was going on. I was told to sit in a chair in front of the desk.  Right after my butt met leather my mate and her Brian walked in. She sat in the chair at the desk and the man stood behind her. Is she the Alpha? I sat waiting for her to speak. They both looked uncomfortable. This was the last thing that I wanted. I mean I wanted a mate, but I didn’t want her to already be taken.  She took a deep breath. “Okay Mr. Moss, we probably need to put this out in the open.” I nodded, Brian clenched his jaw. I could tell he didn’t like what was happening. I couldn’t blame him. She’s his wife, why would he feel good about her having a given mate when he had been with her for years. “My name is Jenifer Agate, this is my husband Brian, the fact that you are my mate isn’t going to change that.” I swallowed, waiting for her to reject me. “But given the circumstances we have decided to find out why I was given a second mate.” Wait. What? “Uhhh” I was dumbfounded, why isn’t she just rejecting me? Brian spoke up. “We are the first mates to happen in this pack in twenty years, and when my wife was given a second it confused me. So we want to go back to the council with you so we can talk to the mages.” I nodded slowly. “Okay.” I still had more questions. But at least she wasn’t rejecting me. I had to fight a growl back as Brian placed his hand on her shoulder. He grimaced and removed it before saying. “Look I know this is harder for you than us. So for now, tell us about yourself.” He said. I clasped my hands in my lap and stared at my feet. “I take it since you know my name you went through my things, so what do you want to know that my information didn’t give you?” Jenifer asked. “What pack did you come from? What do you do for the council? Why are you in our town?” I nodded, pretty basic stuff. What was I expecting? “I was born in Pine Bluff Wyoming, the pack at the time was Sand Creek, but the numbers dwindled without mates, no one wanted to choose a mate, so we were incorporated into other larger packs and the high council. I’m an investigator, and was looking into a request from the mayor here. She said that there were some disturbances in the area.” Jenifer frowned. “The mayor didn’t tell us anything about calling the council. She normally comes to us first.” “Well part of the reason I was sent was the request didn’t have the normal pack endorsement, so I was investigating you too.” I admitted. I probably should have kept that to myself, but it’s almost impossible to keep anything from a mate. Damn bond, tethering me when I least need it. My mate’s eyes flashed swirling in colors glaring at me. “Fine, here.” She handed me all my belongings. “Call the council and send as many investigators as you wish, we have nothing to hide here.” “When you are finished with your call, we will be going with you to the council.” Brian added. I ground my teeth. Who the hell does he think he is ordering me around? “Fine.” I said and pulled my phone out to make the call. Jenifer and Brian left me alone in the office to talk with my superior. Maggi the supreme mage’s daughter answered my call. “Hey boss, something came up I need to come back.” “Oh okay, do I need to send someone else?” she asked. “Probably, but I have to bring a couple people with me.” I answered. “Why?”  I sighed, shoving my hand through my hair. “I found my mate, but it’s complicated.” “Okay Dave, I’ll open the ways, have whoever you are bringing ready in an hour.” She quickly ordered.  I ended the call and stood up leaving Jenifer’s office. The old woman was waiting for me at the door again. “Mr. Moss the Alpha has breakfast for you. Follow me.”  I nodded and followed the woman back down the hall to the main part of the pack house. I began picking up other scents, there were several species of inhuman here. This must be a mixed pack or clan, whatever. I stepped into the large dining room, it was set up just like my pack back at home, several tables and a buffet table like a school cafeteria with several wolves enjoying breakfast. Some glanced at me as I walked in but put their heads back down and went back to their meals. I found the table that Jenifer and Brian were sitting at and saw that my mate was feeding a small child. He looked like her, he was around two years old and had her grey eyes and Brian’s brown hair. My chest hurt. My mate should have my children.  I sat across from them. “Uh someone will be here in an hour to pick us up. Expect to stay for a few days.” I said. Brian nodded. “I’ll get our things ready.” He kissed the little boy’s head and left the table to pack their bags.  The little boy started squirming and pushing his food away. Jenifer grabbed a cloth, wiped him down and let him out of his booster seat. “Go find aunty.” She instructed before he ran off. Her eyes clouded sending a mind link to whoever needed to grab the little boy. He made it to the door before a teenager grabbed him and carried him off to the nursery. Almost all pack houses had nurseries for the young pups of parents that worked. Putting a wolf child in a preschool could be dangerous for human children. They were more aggressive, and stronger, injuries were a possibility. Wolves didn’t like stifling their children in the early years. Once they were old enough for primary school most of that would work itself out though. “My boss is going to open a portal thingy, for us, so we should probably use your office to leave.” I said.  Jenifer nodded. “Well you might as well eat, I'm sure your wolf needs to be replenished after healing your skull fracture.” “Yeah. probably.” I muttered. “So are you the alpha? Or is Brian?” I asked before scooping eggs and toast onto my plate.  “Oh I am. Brian’s a fairy, so it wouldn’t make sense for him to be alpha.” she answered, sipping her coffee.  I raised my eyebrows. A female alpha was very rare to begin with, but for a wolf to be mated outside of our species was even weirder, but it was becoming more common with chosen mates. What was stranger was that her mate was given, and he wasn’t a wolf. “Wow, that’s unusual.” She smiled, gods and planets that was dazzling. “Yeah, I guess we are.” I munched my toast before asking. “So why does he smell like a human? And why did you feed him like a vampire?” She shrugged before saying. “I take it you don’t know much about fairies?” I shook my head, can’t say that I do, I only worked with one on occasion, but for the most part the fairy kingdom kept to themselves after the Dreamstalker incident. She continued explaining. “Well when a fairy is gravely injured their mate’s blood can heal them. Fairies can only have children with their mate, and they have had to figure out how to hide their scent because other inhumans have been known to hunt them down.”  “Ah, I knew the hunting part, but I didn’t know that they could mask like that.” I finished my breakfast then followed her back to her office, where Brian was waiting with two backpacks, and an older man that looked like my mate. He was staring daggers into me. He must be  Jenifer’s father, the old Alpha. My mate instructed him to keep things running while she was gone and gave him a hug. “Don’t let mom spoil Sammy. I know how he has you both wrapped around his finger.” “You can’t tell a grandpa stuff like that Jenny Bean!” he gruffly said smiling at her. He then turned to Brian. “Take care of her tinker bell.”  Brian laughed I guess used to the mild insult. “No problem shaggy dog.” the old alpha left the office for us to wait in uncomfortable silence for a few moments before the door opened to reveal my boss standing in her office at the council headquarters in Pennsylvania.  “Oh she’s so pretty! Goddess blessed you well!” Maggi squealed with a wide smile on her face. The mage rushed to my mate hugging her. “Oh my goose welcome Dave refused to go choose a mate, I thought he was going to be a bachelor forever!” I heard Brian clear his throat drawing her attention. Maggi stepped back looking at him, then shot me a questioning look. I frowned and answered. “I told you it was complicated.” Maggi switched into serious mode instantly. “Right, come on then. Your replacement is already in town.” I nodded following her into her lavish office. Jenifer and Brian were right behind me. “Have a seat, let’s figure this out.” Maggi instructed us.  I sat in the chair across from her desk. Why am I so nervous, I feel like I’m about to get a lecture from the principal. “So uh this is Jenifer and Brian Agate, she’s the alpha of the Cape Fear Pack. And already has a mate.” Maggi’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. “Oh no no no no!” My boss stood up and ran out of the room yelling “Mother!” s**t she’s getting the supreme mage involved.  I groaned and rubbed my face. “Why does the goddess have to dump this in my lap?”  I heard Brian laughing then my mate touched my shoulder sending sparks under my skin, she quickly withdrew realizing what she had just done. “Sorry.” she muttered then said. “But technically all three of us are in this.” Shortly my boss and the supreme mage and her freaking husband came back into Maggi’s office. I heard Hannah Black demanding “What do you mean she already has a mate? The Night Gods don’t give people two freaking mates!” Maggi quickly yelled back. “Then I guess you better ask those assholes because she has two freaking god given mates!” Hannah growled at her daughter. “How do you know the first one is a god given match then?” Demitri Black, Maggi’s father, turned to Brian with his eyes flashing through a spectrum of colors. “He’s one of Minerva’s children.” Brian bristled and shifted uncomfortably. “You have kids yet?” Jenifer nodded confirming. This alpha looked nervous. “She has two god given mates.” Demitri shook his head and sat in Maggi’s seat at her desk across from us. Hannah was covering her mouth with her hand shaking her head in bewilderment. “We have to talk to Frankie and Drake. Why would they do this?” I held my hand up like I was in class before asking. “Uh who are Frankie and Drake, and why would they know more than you supreme mage?” Demitri, Maggi, and Hannah shared a nervous glance between themselves. “We can’t tell you...yet.” Jenifer looked at me questioning what was going on, but I was just as much at a loss as her. Brian cleared his throat then spoke. “How do you know I am one of Minerva’s?” Demitri studied the man for a moment before answering. “I knew you parents. I worked with them quite a bit before…” Brian nodded. I read the histories, the queen of the fairies and her husband were killed by a dark god nearly five years before I was born. But that would mean that Brian is related to royalty. “You don’t smell like a dragon though, did you not take after Soloman?”  “Wait what?” I asked, thinking that I couldn’t have possibly heard that correctly.  Brian was shaking his head. “About twelve of my siblings are purely fairy.” “Hang on, twelve of your siblings? Meaning that there are more?” Shocked was an understatement. What is going on and who am I working for?  Jenifer and Brian grinned at me, before my mate’s husband answered me. “My parents were immortal, what do you think mates do?” I rubbed my face. “I need a drink, I don’t have clearance to know any of this stuff. This can’t be real, I’m just dreaming right?” Demitri and Hannah laughed at me. Then the supreme mage instructed my boss. “Take all three of them to see Drake and Frankie. They will be able to tell them what’s going on.”  Maggi nodded. “Come on we have to go.” Jenifer, Brian and myself stood up and followed my boss through the door. It was always disorientating when using ‘the ways’ as the mages call it, but it was convenient. They could open a door and transport us anywhere in the world. As we stepped through the portal the smell of some very powerful wolves hit me. It affected Jenifer too, I could see her flinch in reaction.  “Where are we?” I asked taking in the hallway that we stepped into. This had to be a pack house, I could hear so much activity going on.  “One of my pack houses.” Maggi answered. I knew that Maggi was a child of a wolf, her mother was a wolf before she bonded with her dad, it was really weird, most of the time that kind of bond kills the animal side of a shifter. I don’t know how Hannah’s wolf survived or how she became the supreme mage, but the wolf part passed Maggi and she was a pure mage.  Brian and Jenifer looked at me again questioningly. I shook my head in response, it wasn’t my place to answer that. All I knew was this was Black river pack land. I had never been here myself, and had no idea the power of the wolves that were members but the aura in this building was making my wolf cower. We shouldn’t be here. We continued down the hall until we got to an office door where Maggi knocked, and waited patiently to be admitted. An absolutely stunning she wolf answered the door. If I hadn’t already found my mate I might have been convinced to choose one at that moment. She had hazel eyes and dark blond hair, a perfect figure and was almost as tall as me. Her lips were full and pouty and held in a smirk as she looked at me. “Naughty little wolf thinking such dirty thoughts.” Wait what? I’m not in her pack. How can she hear my thoughts? I swallowed realizing that I am vastly out of my league. Jenifer growled at me. s**t the mate bond. Of course she would be jealous even if she wasn’t ready to accept the bond yet. Maggi interrupted us and introduced us. “Uh Dave, Brian, and Jenifer, this is Minerva Masters, my cousin. Mini, Dave is one of my investigators. And we have a problem.” Before we could walk into her office Brian asked. “Minerva? Did your parents know the fairy queen?”  The woman smirked before answering. “Yeah you can say that.” she turned heading to a large table in her office. “Have a seat. I feel you have something interesting to be bringing a fairy, and a couple of wolves here to see me.” Maggi nodded half laughing. “Yeah you can say that one, but I think your parents might have to help out with this one.” We joined the women at the table. Minerva stiffened. “Why do you want to open that can of worms?” Maggi folded her hands on the table in front of her before starting. “Alpha Agate here has two mates.” She then pointed at both of us. Minerva sat back studying us for a few moments with her face absolutely blank. I felt uncomfortable under her scrutiny. “Fine I’ll go ask them, wait here, I’ll have refreshments brought.” We were left alone for a few minutes before an omega brought in some coffee and snacks. No one bothered touching the food, but Maggi poured us each a coffee. Shortly Minerva returned with two people that were scary attractive. The woman had white hair that reflected light in dazzling ways, the man was tall and broad with his beard and hair he looked like some Viking lord. They had a slight resemblance to the she wolf, but not enough to look like a sibling. I guess if they were older they would look like her parents.  They all three gave me this scrutinizing glare like they could hear my thoughts. Does everyone in this pack have that ability? “No just us.” the woman answered, the man smirked. I felt extremely intimidated. They had this overbearing aura that just kept me in my seat. I felt like I was in the presence of gods. “Ding ding ding! We have a winner!” The woman declared. Huh? The woman almost glided to the other side of the table and sat down while the man just comfortably stood behind her. Minerva addressed her parents. “She has two mates. What the hell sort of game are you two playing?” The woman flinched while the man studied us. His deep voice captured our attention. “We didn’t do that, we didn’t give her any mate at all.” I didn’t realize that I was speaking before the words fell out of my mouth. “I don’t understand what’s going on.” My statement was disregarded as the white haired woman told Jenifer. “You have to make the decision if you want a second mate, but whatever gods are in play on this matter you need to be aware that your choices are going to make a huge difference. Neither one is a bad match, and you are a very strong person, you just have to see if this is acceptable for you.” Maggi then asked. “Are we to expect more situations like this?” The Viking shrugged. “I dunno, it wouldn’t surprise me. Besides, some humans practice this type of relationship already. I suspect this is someone wanting to see what happens or what children come from this coupling.” Maggi nodded chewing her bottom lip. “Like Eidi did.” Minerva’s mother nodded sitting back. “Yeah something like that. My suspicion is someone is bored since Drake and I haven’t made any matches until now.” My mate sat forward asking. “What are you?” Her husband stiffened, I think he had some suspicion.  The Viking and the white haired woman smiled at her gently. “If we told you that we would be upsetting the balance. For now, you need to decide if you have what it takes to deal with this situation.”  The man held his hand out to his wife, she took it as she stood, and they left the office leaving us to stew in contemplation. I shook my head not liking the position that I was left in. This was Jenifer’s decision, I had very little say in it. But the possibility of losing my mate right after finding her hurt me horribly. I felt lost. I had no right to this person, no right to barge in and upset her life. She already had a loving mate, a family, a home. What reason would she have to accept me. Hopelessness was filling my chest pushing breath from my body. I couldn’t sit in this office for much longer. “Um, Alpha Minerva, do you mind if I go outside for a moment?” I asked the supermodel she wolf. She giggled a bit. “I’m not the Alpha, just a lieutenant for this branch.” Again shock and awe filled me. What were these Black River wolves? She winked at Jenifer. “If you don’t want him I’ll take him.” Pretty sure my jaw hit the table as my mate growled.  I looked at Jenifer, she looked quite embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I did that.” Minerva smiled and stood up. “Come on Dave I’ll show you out. If you need to run we have an enclosed gazebo that you can leave your clothes in.” I nodded and followed her through the house to the back.  “Thank you.” I quietly said. “Oh it’s no problem. If my parents need to be called it has to be something extreme.” We left the building to an expansive field bordered by a dense pine forest. “I’m only half joking though, if she doesn’t want you I will be happy to snap you up.” “Uhh, I’m really flattered, but I’ve been waiting and praying for a given mate.” I replied turning red. “I can ask.” she chuckled and walked back to the house. “Oh when you are done, just head to the living room.” she shot over her shoulder before disappearing into the door.  I sat in the gazebo taking deep breaths. This was too wild for me. Not a single woman gave me a second look, and now as soon as I have a mate a woman that looks like the goddess of love is hitting on me? After finding my head and calming down I decided to take Minerva up on that run. I undressed and folded my clothes, stashing them in a cubby under the benches of the gazebo, then I let my wolf out under the condition that we stay away from our mate. Soon we were running through the woods feeling exhilarated.