By the time we left Eli's office, the barbeque was in full swing. We could hear everyone in the back yard as soon as we opened the office door and the wolves with me broke into grins at the happy racket. Jackson held me tightly to his side with an arm around my waist as we walked out the slider door behind Eli and Ben, Kaden following behind us. Pack members were everywhere, scattered around the yard. They were all chatting, laughing and having a good time. The little ones were playing on the edge of the woods, weaving in and out of the trees encroaching on the back yard.

People nodded respectively as we passed and a few stopped to chat for a bit. Mostly they wanted to talk with Jackson, but they'd always greet me politely and a few chatted with me for a bit as well. It didn't take long at all for Mason to find us.

"Celia!" he yelled happily when he caught sight of Jackson and me in the crowd. He ran over, pulling me away from Jackson for a tight hug. He ignored the unhappy growl that rumbled from Jackson as I was pulled from his arms. I smiled at Jackson over his shoulder, but it didn't seem to comfort him any.

"Hey, Mase," I responded, hugging him back. "My cousin's still available," I hinted at him, a teasing smile on my face.

Mason gave me a disapproving stare and said, "I already told you that I can find my own dates." He looked pointedly at Jackson and then back at me.

I shrugged, smiling innocently. "Just throwing it out there."

Jackson laughed and tugged me back to his side, his arm clamping down tightly on my hip, lest Mason try to take me again. "Quit trying to hook Mason up with your cousins," he told me, still chuckling slightly. "He'll find his own girl."

I shrugged. Sometimes, boys could be really clueless. I swear I have no idea how no one has ever noticed that Mason is gay. He'd probably be a lot happier if everyone knew. He could be himself and if anyone messed with him for it, they'd have me to deal with. I'd have another talk with him soon. I'd just have to find a way to get him alone.

"Now, you two better behave today," Jackson ordered, looking between the two of us distrustfully. "I swear to god, if you start another food fight at this party, I will spank the both of you."

I couldn't help teasing a bit as I raised my eyebrows and gave Jackson a flirty look. He didn't hesitate to respond with a scorching look of his own and I glanced at Mason, wiggling my eyebrows at him. He just rolled his eyes at me.

"I would never start a food fight," I told Jackson sweetly, batting my eyelashing and abandoning the flirtation as quickly as I'd started it. "Mason started it last time, I was just trying to finish it."

"Oh, no!" Mason quickly refuted. "That food fight was not my fault!"

I nodded my head vigorously, glaring at him. "It was too! I didn't throw a single piece of food at you until you threw some at me!"

"Alright, alright, that's enough you two!" Jackson scolded. "I swear you both act like children when you're around each other." He sighed, shaking his head.

I pouted. "I am not a child," I told him petulantly.

He smiled and kissed me sweetly. "Then stop acting like it," he told me, with a teasing smile, his eyes never leaving mine. I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed, leaning down to kiss me again.

Mason rolled his eyes and started walking away from us. "Get a room!" he called over his shoulder as he went, making the pack members around us turn to stare. I blushed, scooting even closer to Jackson while he smiled proudly at everyone around us.

When I got over my embarrassment, we walked around some more. We were sociable, stopping to talk to each group of people we came across. I was really enjoying getting to know the pack better, and could almost forget the reason this pack meeting was called. They were all so welcoming and friendly, just as they had been the first time I'd met them.

Jackson was nice enough to introduce me to everyone again, knowing that I hadn't been able to remember everyone's names. I wasn't even close. There were a lot of them and I had only been at one other gathering with everyone there. I made sure to memorize more names today, as many as I could.

In most of the groups that we stopped at, the women and I would chat and get to know each other while the men all talked about training and food, or whatever it is men talk about together. It was really fun and I was happy to be settling in with Jackson's pack members.

We'd made our way through most of the pack when I noticed Kaden talking to a small group of girls, a serious and intense look on all their faces. I pointed them out to Jackson and he nodded. "Those are probably the girls he had in mind for the mission to Drabek's pack. Those are some of our best female fighters, so they should definitely be able to protect themselves if anything happens. Plus, all of them took drama classes in high school."

My eyes widened as I took in the three girls. When you payed attention, you could see the lean muscles in their bodies that gave away the strength they carried, while they were still small enough to be graceful.

"Do you see the willowy blonde one?" Jackson asked, subtly pointing her out. I nodded. "She was actually in a Broadway play a couple of years ago. She hasn't done anymore; she doesn't like being away from the pack long enough for rehearsals and shows.

"Wow, that's really amazing," I said in awe. You had to have some serious skill and talent to make it into a Broadway show. "What's her name?"

"Lisa," Jackson replied, watching the group intently. "I would actually prefer her to go, and I'm sure she's the one Kaden had in mind. She's the best female fighter we have and I know that she can pull off the role. She's got that blonde bimbo stereotype going for her that would make it easy. She's not a bimbo at all," he added, looking down at me quickly. "She's smart as a whip and saving herself for her mate, but she knows how to make the look work to her advantage."

I nodded in understanding as I looked her over again. "I think that'd be the best option as well. She's definitely got the look and she's gorgeous enough that that could distract Bane as well. It also makes me feel better that she's the best female fighter in your pack," I added. "I know it was my idea, but I still don't want anyone getting hurt because of me."

Jackson turned to me, his face dropping as he put his hands on my shoulders. "She's going to be fine, Cecilia," he assured me. "She's the best option and I have no doubts that she could pull it off if she's willing to go. But, I do need you to know that people are going to get hurt in this battle. Some might even die. There's one thing I need you to accept before going into this. None of it will be your fault."

He squeezed my shoulders to emphasize his point, but I couldn't agree with him. They wouldn't be dealing with any of this if it weren't for me. When I opened my mouth the protest, Jackson covered it with his hand.

"None of this is your fault," he repeated. "I want you to say it."

"Jackson," I whined.

"Say it," he repeated, his voice hard. "I want to hear you tell me that none of this is your fault. Bane is unbalanced and if it wasn't you, he would have set his sights on another girl. He's hated us for years, eventually he would have found an excuse to attack us. None of this is your fault. None of this will be your fault. The fault rests solely with Bane Drabek and I want to hear you say it so that I know you understand."

Tears filled my eyes at the sincerity and genuine emotion in his eyes as he begged me to believe what he was telling me. I refused to let any of the tears fall as I nodded. "None of this is my fault," I whispered to him.

"Say it again," he ordered. "I want to hear some confidence behind it." I sighed, but said it again, a little louder. "We'll work on it," he told me, kissing me on the forehead.

"Jackson, I know if I asked the coven would help. Would you even consider-"

"No," Jackson replied, cutting off the end of my sentence, his tone final. "That's not going to happen, Cecilia.

"Jackson, just think about it," I pleaded. "You know they can help and I know that they-"

"No, Cecilia," Jackson said, his voice harder. "I know how you feel about them, but no. I don't care if they're willing, I don't want them fighting with us. The pack will not go for that. It's not a good idea and it's not happening."

I gave up, looking down at the ground. At least I had tried. I would do anything I could to protect Jackson and this pack. I would do what Xavier asked me to. Whether Jackson liked it or not, I would make sure that the coven was at the battle for back up.

Jackson sighed and pulled me against him, my head resting against his chest. "I just wanted some extra protection for you guys," I whispered.

"I know," Jackson said on another sigh, kissing the top of my head. "I know you do, Ceci, and it's sweet of you, but we can handle this. We don't need or want the coven's help with this."

I nodded against his chest and we dropped the subject as he held me for a few minutes in silence. "Why don't we go see how it's going over there?" Jackson suggested, motioning towards Kaden and the warriors he was speaking with.

I nodded in agreement and Jackson squeezed my hand before leading the way to the small group standing at the edge of the party. Jackson introduced me to the girls when we joined the small circle. Sandra was a brown haired girl with a pixy cut and sharp facial features. Lexi looked to be Native American with her long black hair and dark complexion and she was very beautiful. Lisa was last, willowy with long blonde hair and a friendly persona with an underlying edge of danger than even I recognized.

I greeted them all politely and they were just as friendly as the rest of the pack. Maybe I could make a few more friends. They were around my age and from the little we talked before getting down to business, they seemed pretty down-to-earth.

"Is anything figured out yet?" Jackson asked Kaden, bringing our attention back to the task at hand.

Kaden nodded. "Lisa volunteered to go," he responded. "She'll be well-suited for the task."

Jackson nodded in agreement and gave Lisa a warm smile. "Thank you, Lisa. I know you can take care of yourself and I don't think anything is going to go wrong, but if it does, you contact us through the pack link."

She nodded soberly. "I will, Jackson, don't worry."

"I'm sure Eli will tell you all of this too, but he's a seriously twisted man and you're going to have to pretend to be infatuated with me and furious as all hell that I found my mate. It's going to be the only way to get him to trust you."

Lisa grinned confidently. "Don't worry, Jackson, I can do this. I might as well put those acting skills I worked on to good use. I haven't gotten to play top bitch in a while."

I laughed at her remark and thanked her again. "I really appreciate you doing this, Lisa," I told her. "Please be careful."

"I'm happy to do it," Lisa replied, smiling back. "You're pack now and we all protect each other."

We stayed and chatted with Lisa and the girls for a little while. Jackson mostly watched and listened, keeping me glued tightly to his side while I enjoyed talking with the girls for a while. Kaden had wandered off, probably to find Eli, but I was happy to chat with the girls until it was time for the announcement.

I leaned against Jackson's side and waited for Eli to let us know when it was time. It didn't take him long. Kaden had probably found Eli quickly and they were ready to let the pack know what was going on. Or at least the basics of it. We were going to be the only ones that knew the entire plan. It was to keep Lisa as safe as possible when she went in as a double agent.

I said a quick goodbye to Sandra, Lexi and Lisa before letting Jackson tug me onto the porch to stand beside Eli and Alice. Kaden was on their other side and the pack immediately hushed when Eli lifted his hands. When everyone was paying attention, he began to speak.

"Everyone here knows about the problems we've been having with Bane and his obsession with your new beta female, Cecilia," he began and the pack nodded in agreement. "We've come up with a plan, mostly thanks to Cecilia herself, as a lot of it was her suggestion. We are going to be expecting an attack from Drabek next weekend, but we will up patrols until he attacks just so that we're not taken off guard."

"How do we know that he's going to attack this weekend?" asked a tall man in the front of the crowd. "Did the information come from a reliable source?"

Eli smiled. "The source is as reliable as it gets. We've got a plan, most of which will remain secret until after the battle. It's a very sensitive and dangerous plan and we can't risk it being compromised. If it's successful, we will tell you everything after Drabek is neutralized."

I was surprised when everyone nodded in acceptance to Eli's statement. I expected the pack to be offended that Eli wouldn't tell them the plan, like he didn't trust them, but they all understood the reason for the secrecy, trusting completely in their leaders. Eli and Jackson were lucky to lead them.

Just that quickly, the pack was satisfied with the information they had been given and the barbecue commenced, everyone moving for the table of food that had been replenished with side dishes and dinner.

I grabbed a hot dog with some chips and a large slice of pie, heading to a picnic table while Jackson finished making his much larger plate. He joined me barely a minute later and intercepted my reach for my fork.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" I asked him in a dangerous voice, watching as he cut a piece of my pie.

He grinned and held the fork up to my face. "Feeding you," he replied cheekily. I felt like melting into a puddle of goo as I opened my mouth, letting him slide the pie into my mouth, before I'd even touched a bite of my dinner. A man after my own heart.

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