Crossing Paths With The White Wolf

Gonzalo PoV

Adrien shook me awake about 30 minutes away from the packgrounds. I can't believe I slept for almost 20 hours. I didn't even see how many shifters were rescued or if anyone else got hurt. You lost a lot of blood. That takes time to heal - Dario said and I could tell he was tired and a little annoyed that I wasn't appreciative of his work.

I know buddy. I'm sorry. That would have taken me a couple of weeks to heal by myself. - I said soothingly and he wagged his tail before he curled up and went to sleep in the back of my mind. I looked ahead and noticed that Helios was awake. 'How did everyone make out? How many shifters did we find?' I asked him. I would need to do an intake of everything for our report to the council. 'Mostly minor injuries. How are you feeling?' He asked.

I looked down at my chest, it was still a bit uncomfortable but it looked healed. 'I'm OK. It's a little sore but I feel better. Our Luna is a miracle worker. I said.

'According to Adrien, you're pretty amazing yourself, he teased.

'I got the feeling that he isn't around decent people very often. He seemed very surprised I would help him. I told him.

'That's a shame. He's a nice fella.' I only grunted in agreement.

'We get everything we need?'

'Yeah, Evergreen will download everything onto the server for us to go through. He answered.

'And the rescued shifters?'

'12. 13 but one was killed by accidentally killed by a guard that snuck in and was aiming for Liam. We also found a morgue with 2 vampires and a couple of shifters. We're hoping to find a reason for their deaths. We took pictures and a couple of tissue samples. They didn't look right.

'You think they were getting close?' I asked him. We knew one of the research goals was to make humans and other species become shifters.

'It did look that way. Once we go through the files we'll know more and we can plan accordingly. We may need to speed up the raids. I could sense the worry in his voice.

'We'll figure it out. I reassured him.

There was silence at the other end of the mind link and I could tell that Helios was hesitating. 'Celeste texted. Kassia is awake.' He said tentatively.

'That's good. We can see what kind of training and skills she has and plan our next attack. We have one last lab here in the states and we can decide what to do with her after.' I did my best to keep my voice steady.

'I can send her away, Gonzalo. You shouldn't have to deal with her after everything she did to you.' Helios' gentle voice made me cringe at how low I'd fallen. Just months ago, I was the one giving him gentle pep talks.

'I'm fine Helios. Yes it sucked seeing her again, but this is business. I don't like every person we've ever done business with. I was fine with Queen Karissa and she's technically the one that ordered my death.

He sighed, 'If you change your mind, just say the word.

'Noted Alpha.'

'If we're going into Alpha/Beta mode, make sure you don't almost die again please. You know how much I hate paperwork. Losing my Beta would be a huge inconvenience.' He laughed in my head.

I rolled my eyes at him and smiled at myself. 'My apologies. I will do my best not to die and inconvenience you.

'Good. Life would definitely suck without you. You're the only family I had for almost 2000 years!

'You and Sebastian are getting soft with age. I have no intention of going anywhere!

We pulled into the packhouse and Helios stood up. "Get some much deserved rest. Crescent Moon, thank you once again for your assistance. Guardian Moon, I need 5 volunteers to help get the rescued shifters situated and two to help Evergreen get all the computers over to the server rooms in the packhouse. The rest of you, get some rest. No training in the morning. If you have any injuries that don't heal by tomorrow afternoon, please see Luna Natalia.

I walked off the bus to see a few women waiting for their mates to get off the bus. I got a small feeling of longing before I turned and headed to the last bus. I was on the top step when I heard her soft voice, "How can I help?"

"Snow white! Ugh, I missed you. I can't believe you had to do that last mission on your own. It took forever. I have so much to tell you. Help us get the rescued shifters into the basement. They've got a neat set up to help with the trauma." Adrien is talking a mile a minute and I continue upward to grab the first person Natalia is indicating was unconscious and needs to be restrained to a bed before he wakes up. I lifted him in my arms and pushed past the other warriors coming up to help.

"Why don't you two help get the computers to the server rooms? Adrien, you can show her where they are. We will meet closer to dawn to discuss your situation, and get proper introductions out of the way, Kassia. My apologies but we're exhausted," Helios was talking as I made my way down the stairs and towards the packhouse.

"Of course, Alpha," she said. I passed by and caught a whiff of something floral and sweet. I walked too fast past her to tell just exactly what the mouth-watering scent was. I could feel her eyes burning in the back of my head and my skin broke out in goosebumps, but I refused to look back.

"Come oonnn, Snow White. I need deets about what they sent you to do without me," Adrien whined behind me.

I went down to the basement. We had split it into two sections. The sleeping quarters and a medical quarter. It was small but so far it was working. We had discussed building another building for it, but we were still in the planning stages. With almost 20 shifters from those last two raids down here now, I made a note to talk to Helios to see if we could speed it up. I didn't want things to start getting crowded.

By the time I finished strapping the first shifter in, a few others began to trickle in carrying or assisting shifters, so I remained in the basement for the next hour making sure that everyone was settled correctly and reassuring the shifters that were getting agitated. Thankfully, I'd picked up a few techniques over the last few months and was able to help calm everyone. Despite sleeping for 20hrs, I was exhausted by the time everyone was settled in. 'Need me for anything? Going to get to bed.' I mind linked Helios.

'No, but I need you in the meeting with Kassia at 4:30 am. No one knows this better than you,' he said, and I resisted the urge to groan.

'I'll set an alarm. Any chance Mama Isabel left anything for us. I need to help Dario bring the blood count back up.

'There's pozole. I'm eating some now,' he said sheepishly.

'You better have left me some,' Pozole was his favorite.

'I did, but Theo's looking at the pot and he's almost done with his bowl.' He said, and I hauled my a*s up the basement stairs.

"Get away from that pot." I yelled, making him scream and jump. We laughed and I took the opportunity to serve myself a bowl while he waited grumpily. My smile dropped off slightly as I noticed Kassia by the front door, a computer in her arms and a weird look on her face. I turned away from her and continued to look at my friends who were all tucking into the soup. Instead of heading up to my room where I was sure to feel like s**t, I sat down on the counter with the rest of them and tucked into my soup, asking about what happened after I passed out and chatting amicably. Once I got upstairs, with a belly full of food, I managed to fall asleep without any trouble, remembering to set up the alarm for what was sure to be a long day.

I woke up a few hours later to the alarm. It took me a few minutes to remember everything that happened yesterday. I looked up at the ceiling, wondering if you could call in sick to work as a Beta.

She won't break you. You got this. - Dario said.

My alarm turned on again after a few minutes as the snooze timer came back up. I sat up in bed and turned off the alarm. There were a few messages from Adrien. I opened them up and read them, frowning then laughing. Adrien: Hey, where are you? I want you to meet Snow White.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

Adrien: Theo said you're sleeping. Text me when you're awake.

Adrien: Are you OK? You slept a long time on the bus. Should you be sleeping this long? Maybe I should go check on you.

Adrien: Theo said I don't need to barge into your room, so text me when you're awake. I'm worried.

Adrien: OK, screw Theo. If you don't text me before Dawn, I'll be barging into the room to make sure you're alive.

I shot off a quick text to him.

Me: Calm down buddy. I was just tired. I'll see ya tonight, go to bed.

He responded right away.

Adrien: Ugh, good. You had me worried all night. Training tonight?

Me: You bet. I'm all healed.

Adrien: *strong arm emoji*

I got up and showered. I hated myself for actually thinking about what I would wear to see her. I had about 20 minutes before the meeting, so I headed downstairs to find something for breakfast. I grabbed a muffin and coffee and headed out to the bench outside. It was still night, but you could see it was beginning to lighten. I ate in silence, just watching the wind sway the trees.

'You ready?' Helios' voice interrupted my thoughts.

'Be right there.' I refilled my coffee and walked towards the meeting room. I lingered outside getting my thoughts in order. Only one thing is at the forefront of my mind. She will not break me again.

I opened the door to the conference room and walked in. Her scent hit me in the face. She was sitting the closest to the door. I recognized her sweet scent from being a vampire and could also distinguish the smell of cajeta and lavender. It was exquisite, just like her. I held my breath as I walked past her to the other end of the table where the rest of the gang was already sitting.

'You can start, I'll fill in where needed,' I mind linked Helios. I needed some time before I could address her.