Her Grey Men

It's Complicated

Dave

I laid in the bed with my mate draped across my chest not really believing what just happened. For the first time in months my wolf was quiet and I was happy. Jennifer was getting heavy so I rolled her off of me onto her side. I figured that her husband would want to sleep with her so I begrudgingly pulled my pants back on and headed out of the bedroom. I found him sitting in their living room with a drink watching some sci-fi show on the TV. 

Brian looked up with a smirk on his face. “Want a drink?”

I felt out of place, and really embarrassed. “Uh, yeah.”

“Whiskey’s in the freezer, cups are in the cabinet next to it.” He said and pointed in the direction of their small kitchenette. 

I poured myself two fingers, added some ice and headed back to the living room and sat on the opposite side of the couch from the fairy. “So what do we do now?” I asked.

Brian shrugged. “Whatever you want to, I suppose.” He took a sip, then said. “You don’t have to be gentle with her by the way.” 

I snorted, and looked over at him. I could feel my face turning red as understanding finally set in. His mate bond with Jenifer let him feel everything that she was experiencing. “Uh, okay.”

“I mean if you aren’t into it, that’s fine with me, something that I have with her for myself, I’m just saying she isn’t made of glass.” He smirked over his cup. He was making a point that I would feel everything that he did with her too. “Where do you want to sleep? You can use the room that you had the other night, or you can stay here.”

I thought for a moment. I knew that I really wanted to sleep with my mate, but I didn’t know where that would leave Brian. “If I wanted to stay here where would you be?”

“On the opposite side. Just because she’s your mate don’t think that you are kicking me out of my bed.” Brian just continued watching the show. I nodded agreeing. My arrival shouldn’t disrupt their lives more than necessary. At about ten PM Brian got up and headed to the bedroom. “Dean is going to want you up early, might want to go to bed now.” he suggested.

“Oh right, yeah.” I followed him to their room stripped to my boxers and crawled into the bed on one side of Jennifer while Brian was on the other. Our mate mumbled in her sleep and snuggled up to me leaving her legs tangled in Brian’s. I inhaled her sweet honey scent and let myself relax into sleep.

…

I was woken to my mate sitting up in the bed. I could hear her muting. “How the frick am I supposed to get up now?”

I wrapped an arm around her pulling her close and said. “You’re not.” 

She laughed and rolled over me landing on her feet out of the bed. “Nice try, you have work today. And I need to integrate you fully into the pack.” 

I winced and threw an arm over my face hiding my eyes from the glaring sunlight that she revealed after opening the curtains. “Guuuhh not now!”

“As cute as my two guys look cuddled up in bed together you both need to get up.” She laughed at us as Brian and I both shot out of the bed looking quite embarrassed. 

Brian eyed me before saying. “We need a bigger bed.”

I nodded. “With a no man zone in the middle.”

Jennifer laughed again. “Nice pun there, ‘no man zon’ just perfect” Brain and I looked at each other not quite getting the joke. “No man zone, because I’m in the middle? I’m not a man. Oh my gosh you are both thick!”

Brian and I chuckled after finally getting it. I grabbed Jennifer hugging her and kissing the top of her head. “Still sleepy, honey, let me wake up and I’ll show you how witty I can be.”

Jennifer looked up at me smiling and gave me a peck on the lips before stepping back when Brian begged. “Oh me next!”

She giggled and kissed him too. “Why is this strangely comfortable?” I wanted to know too. “Oh Dave I have my dad bringing you a set of clothes since you are taller than Bri. I noticed your boss didn’t give you time to get your stuff.”

I shook my head. “No need, watch.” I reached into my jacket and pulled out the council issued headband and bracelets. I put them on and said the command instantly dressing myself in a plaid shirt and blue jeans. Jennifer and Brian’s eyes widened in appreciation. 

“Then why were you wearing normal clothes when we first met?” she asked. 

“Maggie gave these to me when we went to her office. I didn’t have them before.” I explained. “There are a limited amount so we normally have to share them, but she gave me this set as a congratulations on finding you.”

“Wow, that’s impressive.” Brian said, looking me over inspecting my attire. 

I grinned, “Yeah now I don’t have to worry about stripping to shift anymore either.”

“I’m so jelly!” my honey pouted. 

“I’ll let you borrow them some time.” I laughed at her cute expression.

“Well I need to wake up Sammy, and get him fed.” Brian said and headed into their closet to dress. Jennifer headed into the bathroom to get a shower. The fairy came out of the closet dressed and left the bedroom, I followed and took a seat on the sofa while he got Sammy. Once he retrieved his little boy he looked at me sitting on the couch and said. “Dude what are you waiting for, go eat! Dean is already waiting for you.”

“s**t! why didn’t you say that?” I asked, rushing out the door and down the hall. I reached the dining hall and found Dean at one table with whom I am assuming is Jennifer’s mom. “Uh sorry I’m late.” I sheepishly said sitting down with them.

Dean grunted and continued eating his breakfast. “Long night?” he asked, causing me to turn red.

I bowed my head and scooped some food on my plate. The woman chuckled. “Well at least he’s modest. I’m Samantha by the way, but seeing that mark on your neck I’ll expect you to call me mom.” my ears felt like they were on fire. 

“Hey mom, I hope you are being nice to Dave now.” Jennifer and Brian arrived to rescue me and sat with us. 

“Not at all, this one is shy, it’s going to be fun breaking him.” The older woman stated. Now I know where Jennifer got her spirit. I couldn’t help but look at her mom in horror. “Tinker bell there didn’t give me any sort of fun. He just rolled with all the teasing, this one, though, I bet I can make him cry.” What kind of sadist family did I just become a part of? Her sweet smile belied the threats she just made.

“Um, thank you?” I didn’t know what else to say, but the woman and her husband just laughed at that.

Dean stopped laughing long enough to say. “Yup he’ll do fine. Well matched.” After we finished eating Dean had me follow him to the training grounds to meet with the other warriors. 

I wondered aloud as we were walking. “Does Jennifer not have a beta?”

Dean flinched. “She had one, but he went feral and tried to kill Brian, since then she has decided to have captains, that’s who we are meeting now.” 

“Hmm.” That’s even stranger than a female being an alpha, but the way she decided to organize the pack. “I guess it’s working as you all haven’t had any issues.”

“I was against it at first, it didn’t make sense to me, but then I saw how much easier it was for her to manage. Each family unit is required to send one member to be a fighter, and those people are sectioned into one of six squads. The squad captains are in charge of their training, and care. If there are any problems that they can’t handle at their level they then bring it up to Jenny.” Dean finished his explanation right as we got to the rest of the group. Sure enough I saw six groups of about ten people each in their own huddles. 

“Wow that’s exactly how the council does it.” I said. 

“If it works then why not use their model?” Dean said. 

I nodded, “Yeah but the council does it because we have a lot of races to mix and get used to working together.”

“We do too.” the former alph replied. Dean turned to the group. “Alright guys and gals listen up.” the pack gathered around Dean to listen. “Dave here was introduced last night, he’s going to be getting into training with us. I want him to float around the squads, he has just as much to teach us, as we do him. Later we will figure out where he will fit best.” I like that Dean left it ambiguous. 

All pack members present saluted and dispersed again, save for one wolf. “How ya doing, I’m Tony, captain of first squad.” I shook his hand and joined his group after getting a pat on the back from Dean. 

“I like how things are run here, it’s really well organized.” I commented. 

Tony laughed. “Yeah it was rocky at first, but once the lower ranked wolves started accepting that it was like a mini pack they were happy to filter into this style.” I agreed, and waited for their first training segment.

I heard whispering behind me. The two females that were in this group were talking about me. They were quiet enough not to distract from the grappling drills but loud enough so they knew that I heard them. “Too bad he has a mark, looks fresh too.” then the second, “Not like that has stopped you before.” Freaking thirsty bitches. I rolled my eyes and continued on with the training. 

I gave my input when asked about their methods, most of them work great and were good for self defence against rogues, but not all attacks are wolves. I pointed out that their methods wouldn’t work for vampires, and they were the problem in this area, at the moment. I helped smooth out the holds and takedowns and in no time the fighters were incorporating the new moves. It was strange but no one took offence when I interrupted or redirected them. They almost acted like they were compelled to do as I instructed. No one questioned me as I pointed out flaws. 

Dean had sent me out here to learn from my new pack, yet by the time lunch rolled around I had complete control of first squad. Tony bowed to me and asked if he was allowed to release the squad for a break. At that point it dawned on me what Dean was actually teaching me. I am a born leader. I sat and had lunch with first squad and chilled with them until the afternoon. During our meal Tony leaned over to say. “Watch out for our females, most have no intention of waiting for their mates. Just don’t ever be alone with them.” I nodded understanding the implication. 

“Thanks for the heads up.” I quietly finished my meal then headed in search of Dean as the training was over for the day. The fighters would be taking care of their jobs for the pack or returning to their homes done for the day. The pack ran a construction company to support the members that weren’t able to integrate into the human workforce, and built most of the infrastructure in the town over the last decade. It was one of Jeniffer’s suggestions, even before she became the alpha. I found out that she is a fair pack leader, and a ruthless business woman. I beamed with pride with every story I heard from her pack members. 

I didn’t know how I was supposed to live up to my mate’s legacy when she had brought so much prosperity to a pack that was on the brink of falling apart. I mentioned as much to Dean when I found him in his office. He assured me that it would all fall into place. I’m still trying to find out what he sees in me. “Well tell me this, what rank are your parents in your birth pack?”

“I really don’t know, my parents died when I was probably Sammy’s age, the Alpha raised me until the pack collapsed when I was fifteen.” I said.

“So what happened after that?” Dean prodded me for more of my history. 

“Well then the council conscripted me. I was in their youth home and went to their highschool. I could have graduated and integrated into anypack in the US but that didn’t sit right with me at the time. So I signed a four year contract to work for them. I moved up the system and became an investigator.” I finished my life story, and Dean had a twinkle in his eye.

He then asked me. “What is the average age of an investigator?” 

“Well most don’t get accepted to the program until they are around twenty six, I made it right at twenty. And now I’m the only wolf grey man, all the rest were mages.” I admitted. 

“So what exactly is a grey man? I take it that it’s a rank, but more?” the older man sat forward with true intrigue on his face.

“I guess you could say that it’s the council’s version of the FBI. We coordinate with local agencies and work directly with the government when investigating matters that we have been called on.” I couldn’t say any more.

“Hmm” the man sat back in his chair thinking more. “I wonder if you have alpha blood. Why would your pack alpha bother raising you himself? And I wonder if that gave you an advantage to gain your position.” I felt like these were statements not questions. I felt like the old alpha was directing me to find the answer myself. It made sense. Why would I be able to achieve all this without a natural boost. Why would an alpha bother working for the council and end up in my position? All other alphas would have been groomed to take over their packs. 

I sat thinking about it. “How would I be able to find out?” I asked. 

“I suggest if you are still in contact with any of your old pack members that you get a hold of them and ask first.” Dean said in a tone that made me feel like an i***t for asking.

I sighed. “Yeah, maybe. I just haven’t had a reason to talk to any of them since I was taken in by the council.”

“Why is that? They not treat you well?” 

I shook my head at Dean’s blunt question. “No not that. I was always just there. Like I was in the way, but something to be pitied. I didn’t like it. I could feel the cold looks, and the disapproving stares. I had everything that I needed, except connection and guidance, someone to say it was going to be okay.” I dug deeper than I wanted to. But Dean was making it easy for me to talk to him.

“Hard on a kid. But you do need to talk to them. Find out who your parents really were.” He was right. 

We sat in silence for a while. I needed to recover those old hurts. I think the old man knew that. It was nice to be in the presence of someone that didn’t look at me differently. Hell he could have thought the worst of me, showing up turning his daughter's life on it’s nose. Instead he joked and accepted it. He’s mentoring me in his way. It was a paternal bond that I needed. “Thanks.” I pulled out my phone to contact my boss so I could get some numbers. I just sent her a text so she could forward it to me. My emotions were still too thick to talk to her over the phone. 

Dean left the office so I could take care of this part of business on my own. The conversation with Maggie was short, and got me just what I needed. She asked if she needed to open the ways for me, but I said ‘no thank you’ My first step would be to just make the phone calls. I sat in the office alone until my mate showed up to take me to dinner. She looked at me seeing the hurt that was simmering under the surface, but didn’t say anything. As her mate she knew that I would talk about it in my own time. 

Tomorrow I will start making phone calls. Tonight I would put my head back together. We walked to the dining room finding it mostly empty. Just one table of warriors sitting finishing their meals and the family that was welcoming me. Tonight Sammy got curious and wanted to try to talk my ear off. He’s quite an energetic little dude. He had lots of stories to tell about his day and had a new set of ears to burn with me.

It was strangely calming to sit and listen to Sammy. I could see the future possibility of having my own children. I guess they would look a lot like him too. They would be half siblings after all. This was the first time that I thought about having children of my own. Maybe it’s because I’m looking at my mate’s child that I am dreaming of it. I knew that I only wanted to have children with my mate, and since no one had a given mate in the last twenty years I guess I gave up hope of having my own family. I wasn’t even sure how having a family would feel, but these people here, accepting me, were making it feel very real. 

…

The next morning I skipped out on training to make those phone calls. The other line rang three times. “Hello?” This was my third phone call and I was scared that this person would just hang up on me after saying my name like the other two. 

“Uh yes is this Stacy Coal?” I asked. I chose to call the former Beta’s wife next because Betas were generally in charge of personnel.

“Yeah, who is this?” the woman asked.

“Oh sorry um I don’t know if you would remember me, but I was a member of the Sand Clay pack. My name is David Moss.” I had to read an index card to keep from stumbling over my introduction. 

“Oh gods! David! Uh, how are you?” she seemed surprised. I guess that is obvious, she couldn’t have been expecting me. 

“Um well I’m okay. I know you were probably never expecting to hear from me again. But I just have a few questions about our old home...and my parents.” Yeah I had to read the next line of my script too.  

There was silence on the line for a few moments. “Look, Davey, there are some things we would rather not bring back up. I can’t help you.” click. What the hell?

I held the phone away from my face. Did that just happen? I called for answers and all I got was more questions. I looked at Brian who offered to sit with me while I took care of this. “What the hell were my parents?” 

“Want to call your boss now?” he asked. 

I placed the phone on the desk. “Yeah, I think I need to.” I took a breath then dialed Maggie’s number. 

“What’s up Dave?” she asked.

“I need more help.” I groaned.

I could hear her shuffle papers through the line. “Okay, what for? Those numbers not help?”

“No everyone I called hung up on me as soon as I said my name. Why is everyone in my birth pack treating me like I have the plague?” I was exacerbated. 

“What exactly are you trying to find out? I thought things were settled with your mate.” she asked.

“I want to find out who my parents were, because Dean thinks that I’m an alpha. And having that information would make it easier for the pack to transition.” I sighed. 

Maggie was quiet for a moment. “Well, we can go back to your old home and see? I’m sure that a few wolves would have stayed there after the pack dissolved.”

“Okay let’s do that. Can we go in a few weeks? I want to see if Jenny or Brian want to go with first.” I decided.

“No problem, I’ll call before I open the ways.” She ended the call after that. 

I looked at Brian. “Wanna go on a quest?”