Tuesday, February 23rd, 2190 It has been nearly four months since we settled down, and there have been quite a few Alphas that came to visit us, asking questions about how big our Pack is. After the first Alpha showed up, we had a Pack meeting to figure out a way to handle this; I know they want to know if they could overtake this Pack without many loss of lives. One of the Omegas suggested we could spread rumors about the hidden territory with different amounts of Pack-members living there; I was surprised to hear that idea coming from an Omega, and I had to admit that she had a very good idea. I fine-tuned it with my Beta, and soon we started spreading the rumors; all rumors had a consistency in common. We decided to spread rumors on how far away the hidden territory was and the amount of Pack-members living there, just to keep everyone guessing. We even decided to never tell the Council the truth as to where the entrance is or how many Pack-members are living there. So far no one has taken a shot at attacking us, and they would have failed if they had tried to; our Pack is larger and stronger than most will think. Council-members are allowed to enter our main territory and write down from memory what they have seen and witnessed, not that it will do anyone any good going over those notes. They barely see half of the Pack, and most of the members they do see are the ones that chose to live here. Alpha Ferdy, Hidden Mountain Pack. I place the letter in front of Lakota and skim through the rest of the letters. There are two more letters, but they don't reveal anything on why they determined that they needed to reject their Mates if they weren't Wolves. I had really hoped to get an answer to that question from these letters, and I know we have to wait until we are ready to go through the Archive. Once Lakota is ready with reading all the letters, she releases a deep sigh as she leans back in her chair. "At least some answers, but not the ones I was hoping for," she mumbles as she closes her eyes. I watch her as she places her hands behind her head, and I ask her if she is okay. I watch her closely as she turns her head towards me. "I am fine, Lance. Just wish we had gotten a few more answers today, but I have found at least one more rule to write down for our Pack-rules. No one is allowed to reject their Mate because of what they are; the only reasons to reject your Mate is abuse or sleeping around. I know I wouldn't want a Mate that has slept with half the males or females in their Pack or is known to have loose hands, and I will be damned if I let one of my Pack-members fall victim to that," she growls, and I believe she has a valid point; this rule would protect both parties involved. Her turquoise eyes show a determination I have seen before; it was when we all believed that there was no hidden territory, and in the end it turned out she was right. She will keep our Pack-members safe at all costs, and she will do whatever she has to do to protect the location of our hidden territory. Lakota In the past three months we have focused on the hidden territory, and after rebuilding the Pack-house we started on rebuilding the cottages surrounding the clearing. Mylana chose to move into the cottage closest to the Pack-house. She wants to live a peaceful life with her Mate and Pups; she has become Lynn and Josh's tutor, and she loves it. This morning she asked me if she could talk to me and Lance about something, and I told her we would make time for her after lunch, but she didn't want to tell me what it was about when I asked her. Lance and I discussed what it could be, but we soon realized we would have to wait until we had our meeting with her.Lance follows me and Mylana after lunch to my office, and instead of sitting down behind my desk I sit down on a couch, gesturing at Mylana to take a seat on the other couch. Lance sits down next to me, and both of us wait for Mylana to start speaking. "Alpha, there is something I have kept hidden from you. Peter has known since we met, and he convinced me it is time I explain something about myself. He says it will help our Pack in the future, and I know that he is right, but I also know what can happen if the wrong Wolf or Lycan finds out. In my family's bloodline, every first-born female in a generation is blessed with a gift: the gift of truth. We can tell if someone is telling the truth or has good intentions if we spend some time with them; sometimes we can tell within seconds, and sometimes it takes a little longer to figure it out. It all depends on the Wolf or Lycan we are dealing with; it comes faster when someone is truthful in their actions, and in most cases if their actions are deceitful it takes longer. It also takes longer if someone has had a traumatic past and doesn't trust easily," Mylana says. I understand why Peter told her she should talk to us; this would save us a lot of time to find out if we can accept someone into our Pack, and it would make it easier to find the ones that want to find our hidden territory. "Mylana, if you don't want to answer my question I will understand, but I need to ask. Why didn't you realize what would happen if you accepted the Gamma as your Mate?" I ask her; it was the first thing that popped into my mind when she talked about her gift. "I understand your question; Peter asked me the same question after I told him, and I will give you the same answer. Our gift doesn't start working fully until we are marked, whether that is a chosen or fated Mate. Until that day we have a strong gut feeling, one that is almost always correct, and I will teach my Daughter to always trust it," she answers me. She tells us that he never knew about her gift, and she always made sure that she didn't say too much that could give it away. "The reason I am telling you this is for one reason: I want to help you to determine who should be accepted into the Pack. I also might have an idea on how someone can warn others of danger without outsiders catching on. What if we use some sort of code? This can be something we come up with ourselves, or we can choose an existing code," she says, and I smile as I think about her suggestion. "Thank you, Mylana. That might actually work; I will discuss this with Cian before discussing it with the Pack. If you have any other ideas, just let me know," I say. After she closes the door behind her, I turn towards Lance and I can see the wheels turning in his head. Mylana knew from the start she could trust me. "She knew from the start it was safe for her to come with us; not that I am holding it against her, but it would have been nice to have known it from the start," Lance mumbles. "Aww, poor puppy," I say as I pet his head after I get up and walk to my desk before he can react. He softly growls at me for calling him that; Lotus likes the way we can tease him and the way Lance and Bolt react to it. I smile as he slowly gets up from the couch and starts walking towards me. I can tell Bolt is near the surface, and both of them have their eyes locked on me as he comes closer. Lotus is giggling in my head as they growl again, and I ask Lance, "Challenging me, Beta?" He doesn't say a word, and I know he will try to get even with me for calling him a puppy. He lunges towards me to push me out of my seat and starts tickling my sides the moment we hit the floor. It doesn't take long before I am out of breath, but Lance isn't stopping, and I know he won't until I apologize for calling them a puppy. I try a few more times to get out of his hold, but I eventually give up and I apologize for calling them a puppy. He falls down next to me to let me catch my breath, and I enjoy the silence as we both stare at the ceiling. "Let's talk to Cian about using a code, like Mylana suggested. We might be able to finish our Pack-rules and start taking in new members," I say as I sit up. "Cian, can you join me and Lance in my office?" I ask him through the mind-link. It doesn't take him long to show up, and in seconds we are discussing what kind of code we could use. After an hour, I ask Quinn, Darrius, and Matt to join us, and I explain what we had been discussing. "Developing a new code can take a long time," Quinn states, and she knows I don't want to waste too much time. I know Council-member Armas has at least six Wolves and a Lycan that need a place to lay low for a while, and four of the Wolves have chosen to stay out of the public eye; they have been hurt too badly to be willing to run into their tormentors.