~~

Trinity

~~

When noon began to creep closer and the meeting loomed over us Reece and I settled into the formal conference room on the third floor. The room was down the hall from our office and would be quite large enough to accommodate everyone that would be present.

Today's meeting would have a lot of participants just like the last few. On top of me and Reece there was Noah, Carter, Vincent, David, Shane, Shawn, Dietrich, Rawlynne, Jackson, and Gabriel. A dozen of us all together. And the formal conference room had seating for twenty.

Reece and I were sitting in large, imposing chairs seated next to each other at the head of the table, him on the left and me on the right. I really couldn't help comparing them to thrones in this situation. We definitely looked like we were lording or ruling over our group.

Slowly everyone trickled in until all the expected participants were present. Noah sat near Reece on his left hand side. Vincent sat next to my right side across from Noah. These were the best fitting positions for them as Noah was Reece's Beta and Vincent was the captain of my guard and as close to my right hand man as I had at the time.

The rest of the attendees spread out through the remaining seats. Shane sat across from Shawn who was sitting immediately to Dietrich's left and a couple of spaces down from Vincent. Carter was sitting at the opposite end of Noah, watching the whole table with interest. David was across from him, watching with interest but sitting next to Rawlynne who was across from me and next to Jackson. Gabriel was sitting in the seats in between Noah and Shane on the left side of the table.

I expected Reece to get the meeting started like usual, but there was something I wanted to ask Gabiel before we got started. So, I cleared my throat and started the meeting myself.

"We all know what we are here for, and we all know what the end goal we're hoping to achieve is. We need to discuss strategy for the trip to the Aerie Convento, or the rescue mission so to speak. We want to find the kids safe and sound. But, we are going to be going up against warlocks, which have a significant advantage over us. So it's for that reason that I want to talk to you about this Gabriel."

When I started talking everyone, including Reece, had turned to me in surprise. Reece probably felt like this was another part of his Alpha identity being taken away from him but I had to do what I had to do.

"Yes, My Queen, I will help however I can."

"I want to make everyone stronger. Give them an advantage. Do you think that will be possible?" I saw looks of shock on everyone's faces as they stared at me.

"It most definitely is, My Queen. You can simply grant them all an ability. But furthermore, once you accept the role of queen, which you have, then those that you recognize as being in your personal Goddess Guard will be enhanced."

"Enhanced how?" Vincent asked him with a curious tone.

"Speed, strength, and other things that the Queen might deem every member of her guard should have. The benefit for her here is that she can do things where the outcomes are endless and boundless. Whether it will work or not isn't what the issue is, she simply needs to try first."

"So you're saying that she can do anything?" Carter seemed skeptical.

"Maybe not anything." Gabriel shook his head. "But she will never know what she can do unless she tries. If that makes any sense to you all."

"I understand what it means." Noah told him. "It means that no one is certain what she can do so she needs to do everything to figure it out." Noah, like Carter, didn't seem too happy right now.

"Yes, and no. She is the Goddess Incarnate, the only ones who know what potential she will have is the original Goddess and the new Goddess vessel. However, we from the Sentinelle have been collecting information about the Goddess for millennia, and we will be there to help her come to terms with her powers and abilities."

"That sounds just like a cop-out." Carter was getting angry now, his tension and volume both rising.

"Enough." I snapped at them all. All of them instantly stopped talking and looked at me. "This is not the time for us to be fighting among ourselves." I levelled a glare at not just them but the entire room.

Under my intense gaze I saw most of the people in the room stir in their seats. It seemed like they were uneasy and squirming from the look in my eyes.

"We have something important to do, so I want to get this settled first. Gabriel, how do I accept the Goddess Guard, how do I add to it's ranks."

"Listen to your heart. Talk to your soldiers, and express what it is you want." Gabriel's voice was still calm and serene as always.

"That's all?" Shane sounded incredulous as he scoffed.

"Is that not enough?" Gabriel looked confused. "Why must it be so complicated for it to work?"

"I guess it doesn't, but it just seems too simple." Shane laughed.

"So, I just need to talk to them? About what?" I asked but before he could answer I held up my hand and added more. "I know, I know, listen to my heart."

I stood up and looked at everyone in the room. I felt so many emotions welling up inside of me threatening to spill over. I decided to tell them all what I was thinking.

"Reece." He looked into my eyes as I stared at him with love in my heart, eyes, and smile. "You are my first and only love. You have protected me even when I didn't know you were there to do it. You shield me from as much as you can whether I want it or not. You are, and will always be the only man I want in my life. You are my other half. You are the fire to my ice. You are my king." I saw the love and gratitude spread across his face, but he didn't say anything.

Next I looked at Noah, my cousin by birth but oldest brother was the role he was always meant to have.

"Noah, we were born to different mothers, you are my cousin but the role you were always meant for was that of my big brother. You're very protective of me and you have been like the rock that supports me for most of my life." I smiled at his emotion filled face.

The next guard in the line was Shane with his lightning quick wit and reflexes.

"Shane, you're quick with humor as well as your actions. Nothing and no one is beyond your limits, that's both brave and reckless. But that electricity in your eyes is something worth preserving and using. You're strong, never forget that."

"Carter." I smiled at my closest confidant and coconspirator from my childhood. "You are my brother, there was never any doubt. We were as thick as thieves when we were kids. Whenever I did something you were always there with me. You helped me, guided me, and protected me. Without you I never would have been able to be a part of the world, to blend in with those around me."

"David, you were one of the first guards that I trusted. You're sweet, strong, and I know how revered you are for how fast your wolf is. You're an amazing person, you helped to bring me out of my self imposed prison. The one I had around my mind when I first took the position of the Luna. You were always there and quick to cheer me up with a smile and a laugh." I was going in a circle around the room. Talking to all my guards and those closest to me.

"Shawn, you are sweet and soft spoken. I would say sensitive but that's not the right word for it. You are affected by the world around you, but I don't think you realize the effect you have on the people and things around you. It's like being around you can move people."

"Vincent, you have no idea how thankful I am for you. You are not just my guard, you were the first friend that I made after coming to this house. You are so kind hearted yet stronger than so many others. There isn't anything you wouldn't do to help those you care about and I am honored to be one of them. You, with your boundless determination, deep compassion, and endless heart, you always seem to center us and get to the heart of the matter when we need it most."

"Dietrich." I started with those I haven't known for as long now. "I don't know you as well as my guards, but you are an important person to me now. As a friend, an honorary pack member, and the mate of someone I hold dear. What I admire most about you is that you seem to know things before anyone else and with that it's like you can read people's minds and in turn manipulate them into getting the outcome that you want."

"Rawlynne, Jackson, I am sorry that I do not know the two of you more. The time that you have been here with us, we've not spent as much of it together like I have with me as the others, but I do hold you dear. You know of us and are willing to help us. You accept us. And to top it all off, you're an information source for us. I don't mean that is a bad way, but with your connections there is a lot we might not have known about if not for the two of you. You've revealed things and enlightened us to a vast amount of hidden information. I sincerely hope that we can continue this friendship, with or without the inside help."

"Gabriel, I do not know you much at all, but what I have been able to see from you is an immense loyalty. You have a way of bringing people together and gathering information. It's like you can make almost anyone your ally."

This was what I wanted to tell them all. These words with my emotions open for them to see. I wanted them all to be strong enough to survive the trip and the battle that would most likely follow. And no matter what other abilities they might get, I wanted them to be stronger and faster like Gabriel said. I would also like them to be able to communicate among themselves and smell the warlocks, for now that was the most important thing for me to worry about.

No sooner had I thought those words then a blinding light filled the room. I understood what it was this time and was not frightened by it. The pulling and tugging on my psyche was not painful, but it was still awkward. It was like I was a rubber band being pulled in a dozen differections at the same time.

Just as I felt like the rubber band had reached its limits and would surely snap and break, the tugging stopped. The light faded, and it was followed by words that were different than last time.

"Welcome to the Goddess Guard, use your new abilities to serve your Queen well."

When the room was quiet, and everything had settled, eleven awed looks were staring back at me.

"Were we granted special abilities?" Vincent, like always, got straight to the heart of the matter.

"I don't know. But I do know that you've all been made part of the Goddess Guard."

"How would we know if we were granted an ability?" Shane asked me, excitement on his face.

"Well, you would have a mark like this." I pulled aside the thin, long sleeved, black cloth cover I was wearing over my tank top, it was like either a very thin and short robe or a jacket without buttons and zippers.

When they saw the crescent moon and paw print they were in awe. I heard several gasps and a few excited exclamations. Jackson was the loudest with his.

"This whole wolf world is fucking cool as hell."

"Jack!" Rawlynne was at a loss for words after he spoke.

"What? She didn't have that mark two days ago, did she? That means it appeared there by magic. And she is saying that the guards will have them too."

"Still, watch your language."

"It's fine, Otsana." Reece finally broke his silence. "None of us have virgin ears. And he's right, this is all fucking cool." Reece smiled at me. "And she didn't even have that mark yesterday. It appeared sometime in the last several hours."

"Do you have one?" Jackson asked him excitedly.

"No." He shook his head. "I would have seen it this morning."

"You did not have one this morning, my King, but that was a different time." Gabriel told him as he held the collar of his button up shirt to the side, revealing a mark just like the one I showed, only he had an addition to it.

On top of the moon and paw print, Gabriel had a circle with two capital letter G's

in an elegant and beautiful handwriting. The circle was silver and the G's were gold.

"That looks different from hers." Shawn noted.

"Of course, she is the Goddess Incarnate, she cannot be a member of the Goddess Guard. I think we have been marked as accepted into the guard. And the mark that matches the Queen's means that those who bear it will indeed have an added ability."

"What kind of ability?" Dietrich said as he looked at his own chest which had the same two marks as Gabriel's.

"That is probably something we will come to understand over time. Or, perhaps the Queen will be able to see that as well." Gabriel looked extremely happy to have been marked.

"I only have one of them." Reece complained. "I am not in the guard."

"You are the King, you bear the protector symbol already. You will be our commander as well as our king." Gabriel's words brought a smile to Reece's pouting face.

"Who all has a mark?" I asked them.

After everyone in the room checked they all raised their hands and said, almost in unison. "I do." I hadn't expected this. Even Rawlynne and Jackson were marked with both marks. Meaning they have been made members of my guard and given abilities.

"Can you tell what abilities they are?" Reece asked me, excited to learn more about the powers he possessed.

"I can try." I answered him.

I looked around the room, trying to detect their abilities. Reece, it seemed, had shields, barriers that would protect him or those he wanted to protect. Noah, my rock I had called him, could manipulate earth. He couldn't move it too much, but he could reform it and crumble it, perhaps it would grow with him as he came to understand it all. Shane had an electricity manipulation that varied between low and high voltages. Carter, the spy for our pack, could camouflage almost like a chameleon. Jackson and Rawlynne would be able to find hidden information easier. David was now going to be nearly supersonic in his speed. Dietrich, as I said he could almost control people to his outcome, was now able to perform that ability for real. Shawn, the man who affected those near him with his personality, could now truly affect things around his with telekinesis. And lastly, Vincent, he seemed to be able to see the world for what it truly was, enemies would never again be able to hide the truth of their hearts from him.

When they all heard their powers they seemed to be awed, excited, and reverent. Just what did I do?

With the stuff about the abilities over, we discussed what was likely to happen for the mission. And I told Reece I was bringing Juniper so that she could help the kids, mentally and emotionally, after they were rescued. He agreed, and said that we should bring Griffin as well. Having a healer on hand was a great idea also.

When I told Juniper why she was coming, Paul and Cedar both insisted on coming along as well. So, now our traveling party was up to sixteen. We would not fail to rescue the kids this time. I would see to it.