Unscentable
Chapter 67

Bradley POV

Brad did not expect Aspen to actively step in front of his own mother and put a hand on her to keep her behind him. It was a very Alpha thing to do. Not when Timothy was just striding towards them, though he was coming with a purpose, it seemed. Aspen was clearly taking it as a threat to his mother. Brad had not expected Izzy's wolf Fade to burst out of her either, at just the sight of Alpha Timothy approaching Piper and Brandon, but she had likely responded to her own Alpha's rising to the situation.

That, along with Timothy's dismissive attitude to Aspen being on the surface, like he did not care that the boy's wolf might rip out of him at just?.

Brad knew they were all in agreement to try and keep the boys wolf inside of him, for as long as possible, including Izzy and Fade, on that he supposed. She could well have emerged herself to stop her own Alpha from doing so. Very protective she was. To see that large white wolf, with its fur so thick and long, looked to be a double coat, surprised him completely, and those small ears. He'd never seen anything like them in all his life, though he had studied wolves and those small ears filled with fur themselves were indicative of Tundra Wolves, he thought, but he was not certain he had never met one himself. Those bloody long claws of hers, looked deadly to him, were at least twice as long as any he'd seen before. There was no retracting them, that was for sure. Even in human form, those claws would be that long and menacing to look at.

Likely scare the heck out of any one trying to take her on in a human fight.

Her teeth were not only bared but had drool dripping off of them in long sticky-looking streams, and the very loud growl that was being emitted from her, was pure rogue aggression. He'd heard that with Harper already, knew that sound, seemed so did Timothy. The man had come to a complete stand still as he looked at the wolf now protecting Piper.

Annabella, however, was not afraid at all, seemed really excited and happy, in fact, to lay eyes on Fade. Got up real close after she sent Timothy away, the man actually went, though Brad did register that both of them seemed to know what Fade was, clearly Timothy not about to tangle with Fade. Spoke volumes to Brad.

Annabella showed no fear in her at all, and the two even touched heads like kin would, gave Fade a good scratch behind her little ears, and Fade was suddenly all happy herself and purring away. Now that the threat was gone, she was calm.

Eddie's reaction to Izzy's wolf, that man was very happy, likely Timbers emotions spilling over as well, he could see their eyes flickering as they talked amongst themselves or perhaps Eddie was just trying to stop Timber ripping out of him to claim his Mate. She was a very pretty wolf indeed, though he found it kind of hard to look at her in the late afternoon sun.

She was such a brilliant white that it actually caught glare from the sun hitting her fur.

There was not a single ounce of any other colour to her wolf, even her nose was white. Eddie had not been wrong about the brilliant blue of Fade's eyes either, they were a brilliant Cyan Blue nearly so bright they were glowing.

Brad knew the second Fade nipped Eddie's leg, with that all playful bite and then ran off from the man. His wolf was going to rip right out of him and go hunt and

Mate his Mate in wolf form, likely Mark her as well. There was no stopping it, he waved the man off with a shake of his head. No wolf could resist their Mate being playful or running away, they would likely chase each other for a long while before the Mating if Fade was faster than Timber that was. It was likely due to her size.

Cooper brought Brandon back to Piper and it was his mother that he wanted. He reached right out for her, liked that at 7 he still liked to be carried around, allowed him to bond well with the boy himself. This was the first time he had seen a wolf emerge from its human. Then he'd seen Eddie shift into Timber, as well. He was hoping the boy wasn't frightened. He was mostly quiet, only had a few questions.

At least Aspen had not ripped out of the boy, and he'd also allowed Cooper to take him from the scene away from Piper. That surprised Brad a little, he didn't think Aspen would, seemed he had and receded back as well. A good thing. Might actually have listened to his mother's concerns about not emerging just yet.

Though Cooper had not taken the boy very far, just enough away to be out of the fight zone, that could have started, the man may have a beef with Piper, for something right now, but he was all Beta when he needed to be, and protecting the heir to the Pack was one of his jobs. Had not lacked in his duty, that growl from Aspen had set everyone of his Unit into work mode.

He did note Betsie had been shoved back into the car by Harry. And he was right there by the car's door. She could not shift at this point. He would be protecting her first, and Brad would expect nothing less to be honest.

Damned near laughed himself when he realised that Timothy had to insult himself, by way of apologising to Piper, held it in, was very glad right at that moment that he was not a Whitlock himself. He was also very comfortable standing in the foyer of his pack-house holding onto his Mate and son, all protective.

Though he had not actually done this to protect Piper, it was more for Brandon and Aspen's sake. He wanted those two to know that he would do everything to protect not just him but also his mother, made it very clear to the boy. A firm statement. Neither she nor the boy pulled away from him, not even when he'd pulled them back up against him as his arm had gone round them. He did not need to step between them and Timothy, the man was actually of no threat to them, even though they did not like him or his mannerisms, he was their kin and he was from an allied pack.

Piper seemed to understand and just let him hold the two of them to his body. It's likely she realised he was trying to help calm their son as well as she was, but doing it the Alpha way.

He liked that she didn't just accept the man's apology, showed him she wasn't just stubborn with him, but with all wolves at this point. Made him feel a tiny bit better. Though not much.

Neither he nor Benson liked hearing Annabella state that they were now also bound by the Whitlock laws as he'd laid claim to Piper, for all to hear. That woman knew this information from the moment that he had told her Benson had Marked her. So had Timothy, for that matter, neither had said anything on the matter, kept it to themselves.

Annabella hadn't even brought it up in his office this morning, when talking to Piper earlier and she could have. Had mentioned those laws, but not that he was bound by them now. That woman had held off on telling him, on purpose, wanted him to see Timothy humiliate himself. Before announcing it to him, likely just so he could see, what it looked like, a deterrent in all likelihood, and she found it highly amusing to toss it out at him.

So did Piper, for that matter, and her completely amused look as she turned her eyes up to meet his, said it all. She would use the laws on him at will, told her right then to 'stop it' was more than a little surprised to see her actually admit she would use them on him to humiliate him.

Surprised both he and Benson to see her eyes flicker a bit, seems Harper was in agreement with Piper, for she just laughed and walked away, was still smiling to herself as the elevator doors closed on her and Brandon.

Feit a hand on his shoulder after the elevator closed, he turned and found Harry smiling at him. "She's more than amused Alpha." all Gamma, not Delta, he realised, with Eddie of with Izzy he was pulling double duty it seemed "She might just stay due to getting to use them laws on you."

Brad frowned at the man. "That is not what I want."

"Any reason to stay at the moment, is a good reason. Eddie's right, she'll come around when she's ready. I've not felt that much amusement, where your concerned, come off of her since we met her."

"I hope so," Brad referred to her coming around, "I need to go and speak with Timothy about his behavior and not approaching them like that again... Lets unpack first, it'll give him time to calm down, looked like she ticked him off pretty good. Then I'll go hunt that man down."

There was quite a bit of shopping and he had some of the omega's take it upstairs, though he heard that Piper wouldn't let any of them unpack it and put it away for her, would do it herself, it seemed. Likely used to doing everything herself, no omega's out there helping a rogue.

Alpha Timothy sat in Bradley's office in the chair on the other side of his desk. Usually he would sit casually on the couch when talking with allied Alpha's, tried to keep it casual, but he wanted Timothy to understand this was formal, not casual, and it had not been missed on the man that Brad had been waiting in his Alpha chair for his arrival.

Timothy sat and stared right at him with a raised eyebrow, when Brad told him he would not step up to Brandon like that again, he was all Alpha when he stated it. Brad knew the man was not going to like it, but this was not his pack and he needed to pull himself into line or Brad was actually going to do it for him. He was going to have this man follow rules and protocol here inside his pack. Had been quite lenient with him due to how big his pack was and how many warriors he always brought with him, when aiding them, though now with the knowledge that Piper was his kin and her type of wolf, it was likely this was the reason.

Timothy turned the talk very quickly to his own liking, "I've yet to discuss Brandon's conception with Piper. I need to do that before Il leave. I will also wait till Annabella is ready to come home. She should not be out on her own. That pendant around her wolf's neck, does tend to give our bloodline away to those who know about it."

"Is that something I should be concerned about?" Brad frowned.

"Always. Though I and my father before me, deal very harshly with any and all who attempt to kidnap a Whitlock female for their own sick twist needs or wants. Death awaits them, and all around them that have gained the knowledge of what they are." "To keep them safe." Brad sighed "How often do Whitlock women get snatched?" He needed to know, was likely going to have to put a detail on Piper, if she was going to insist on working out in the human world.

Which he knew she was.

"Not that often anymore, only twice now during my reign, and not only attacked but slaughtered them all, on both occasions, as a full warning to others."

"The women?" Brad had to ask.

Timothy shook his head. "One survived, is still plagued with nightmares and traumatised years later, she is now under the direct protection of the Elders. The other" he sighed, "did not survive it unfortunately, we got to her too late." "So Piper?"

"As long as that pendant stays out of sight, outside of this pack, and she doesn't wear it openly, I noticed, under her clothing, likely takes some sort of comfort from it being her, I suppose. Should be fine. No shifting into her wolf outside this pack is recommended unless it is absolutely necessary. That's my advice."

"Hmm." Timothy didn't know that she couldn't shift at this point in time, and might never be able to, so that currently was not a problem he had to worry about, perhaps later in their life. One less thing to have to worry about for now. "Annabella might be the person to talk to Piper about Brandon's conception." Brad brought the conversation back to its original topic. "I doubt she will talk to you about that."

"That's fine, Annabella won't lie to me about it. Likely try to get to you before I even do, if she is unhappy with the answer she gets."

Brad raised an eyebrow at the man.

Timothy smiled right at him. "Oh, don't take her hippy dippy, all happy demeanour, like she's harmless. Annabella is half Arctic Wolf, likely why she recognized Piper's friend right away. Annabella thought she was the last of her kind." "What?"

"Mm, don't piss her off, she's got a good set of claws on her that one, she is also our most revered Elder, likely not just related to Piper but that wolf as well. Annabella is a handful to say the least...when she chooses to be. The pups love her though." "So related to Izzy, that is Fades human counterpart."

"Seems that way, how far off that relation is, only Annabella's Wolf and Fade would know that, likely not discuss it either, just between them. I heard she wants to run Izzy's linage, where is the woman from?"

"Maine. I'll have Cooper here," He waved at his Beta who was leaning on the wall listening to the conversation but had yet to interject a single remark.

"Send that file over to you, it might help you track her blood line."

"I'd appreciate that, you might not want Brandon in the room when Annabella questions Piper. I'm very direct in my line of questioning about my Whitlock females and I imagine so will Annabella."

"Alright." Brad nodded, there was nothing he could do about that. He knew this was coming, had been warned himself by Timothy, though the fact that she and Brandon weren't afraid of him should go in his favor, or at least he was hoping so. "After dinner, do you?" "Yes, I'm sure that will be fine." Timothy nodded. "Remember Bradley, I will and so will Annabella, take her word over yours."

"I am aware of that." Brad nodded.

Though he still had no idea what Piper's thoughts on that night were, they'd not discussed it, they could well be anything, she had rejected him right after that.

Sighed internally, he could very well find himself in a duel to the death before the night was over.

"Just so you know, Bradley. There will be no Proxy, your father can not step up for you, even though you had no idea about the contract."

"I wouldn't ask him to, Timothy, as ticked off with him as I was...still am, I suppose, I will stand and be accountable to whatever my Mate states."

"Good. Hopefully, and I do mean this Alpha Bradley, this will all come to naught." The man stood and walked out of Brad's office.

He heard Cooper sigh heavily from his place by the wall, "What do you think she will say?"

"I don't honestly know. I've not mentioned it to her at all. Not told her about that clause, I didn't want to, to be honest, and I have no idea how she feels about that night... I only know she rejected me after it." It did concern him.

"Brad, that could be for any number of reasons. You know as well as I do, she was going to leave anyway, the cameras up on the Alpha floor showed she had a bag packed and was ready to leave."

He did know that, also knew she'd not been expecting him to come home that night either, he'd been supposed to be off to an Alpha meeting in an Allied pack for a few days. "I wonder how often she slept in my bed over the years?" He voiced allowed. Saw Cooper look right at him and then shrug a moment later "Could have been all the time or never, that might have been the very first time she did that."

Brad didn't know, he was curious, he now realized she could have gone anywhere and done anything inside this pack. With no scent, no-one would have ever been able to track her movements. Hmm, make fora good spy investigating enemy packs, he thought absently. Though not anymore, she smelled like him now.

He sighed and got up to make his way to her room.

He had to tell her about the meeting that was needed between her and Annabella. At least she seemed to like the woman now. Knocked on the door, Brandon answered it with a smile up at him. "Hi dad."

He really did love hearing that come from his boy, smiled right down at him "Hi son." loved saying that too.

Hoped he would get to do it for a very long time to come and not just for the rest of the day. If that duel happened and he lost.

Realised the boy was already changed into some of his new clothes, as was Piper, he noted when his eyes moved to her, they were both wearing jeans and fluffy socks, no shoes on, and both of them were wearing long sleeved light weight kitted tops. Her knitted sweater fit her like a glove, showed off all her curves to him, smiled at her, she did look good in Maroon, "Piper I need to have a word." She was looking at him.

"Out in the hall if possible," he asked, didn't need Brandon freaking out or even hearing this conversation.

It was likely to set Aspen off "It's very important, Please." he added, when she didn't get up right away.

Saw her sigh and finally get up. "Just a few minutes, Brandon," he assured the boy, who simply nodded, didn't seem all that concerned by his request.

Closed the door after she walked out, found her eyes on him questioningly "Annabella needs to talk to you, regarding that contract between our pack and hers, the one I mentioned briefly that surrounded you and your mother. I'm not going to get into it with you." He shook his head and halted her questions. "Best you just answer her questions honestly and I don't want.." he stood and thought about that for a moment "to influence your answers, or to make you hesitate on anything, or...think you need to not answer honestly."

"What is it about?" She was frowning up at him now.

He much preferred her smiling at him, and she had done that today. Right at him, though fully amused by her own thoughts, it had been right at him.

"Best you go in with no idea. So she can gauge your reaction." he sighed "Just be honest with her, regardless of the questions."

"Am I in trouble?"

"No." he shook his head "It'll be after dinner. I won't go far either. You can use my office...or your office if you like."

"My office?"

"Yes, the Luna's office." he told her it would be hers if nothing came of the questioning.

"Oh, I don't mind, I guess." She shrugged.

"I'll organise it. Brandon will have to stay with someone while you talk to Annabella. Timothy wanted to do this questioning himself. I vetoed that."

Piper just nodded up at him, seemed confused but Curious at the same time.

"I'd like us to all have a family dinner beforehand, please. In one of the private dining rooms.

Watched her narrow her eyes right on him, he didn't really want to push her into it, but depending on the outcome of her conversation with Annabella, this could well be the only chance fora family dinner he could have with her. And he wanted to have that just in case the worst happened. "Please," Brad asked again, and saw her nod her head finally.