"Sorin will watch the girls and keep them safe. I have complete confidence in him," Vasile placated. "If after the conference with the Alphas you still feel the need to go corral them then you have my blessing, and my sympathy."

Decebel relented and took a seat in one of the chairs next to the couch. Just as he sat down the screen lit up and there were four men each in their own little square looking back at them. Decebel was quite surprised to see Dillon Jacobs, Jacque's father, among them.

"Did you know he would be in on this?" Decebel whispered to Fane.

Fane shook his head. "I'm as clueless as you."

Vasile walked from around his desk and stood behind the couch. He was Alpha and he would not sit in the presence of another Alpha, even if over a computer screen.

"Dillon, how are you doing?" Vasile asked Jacque's father.

"I'm doing well, Vasile. Thank you for asking." Dillon looked at Fane. "Fane, how are you and your new mate?"

"We are doing very good," Fane told him. Neither Fane, Vasile, or Dillon mentioned that Fane's new mate was Dillon's daughter. If the other Alphas did not know, it wasn't something they could potentially use against Dillon's or Vasile's pack. Though it was a sad way to live, packs could be very volatile between one another. Wolves were cunning and always looking for a way to have the upper hand.

"I would like to introduce the members of my pack that are present," Vasile told the Alphas.

Pointing to each wolf as he spoke, he announced, "This is Decebel, my Beta." Decebel gave a single nod in acknowledgment of the other Alphas. Not disrespectful, but neither was he conceding their dominance over him. Truth be known, Decebel could be Alpha of his own pack – he was more than dominant enough. But events in his life and his loyalty to Vasile had shaped his choices, leading him to where he was now.

"This is Fane, my son and heir," Vasile continued. "And this is Skender. He is among my top four wolves."

When Vasile finished his introductions then each man on the screen introduced himself. There was Dragomir from Hungary, Thad from Serbia, Victor from Bulgaria, and Dillon from the United States.

Introductions complete, Vasile and his wolves waited for one of the four Alphas to explain why they had called a conference.

"I realize it is not common practice for us to meet this way, Vasile, but the other Alphas and I are concerned about the continuation of our species," Dragomir explained. "You see, it has been over a decade since any of my wolves have found a mate. It has been half a decade since any children have been born. We are becoming a dying species."

For a moment, no one spoke. Then Vasile took a step forward, arms crossed, and looked at each Alpha briefly before he spoke. "You have obviously come up with some sort ofplan if you have called this meeting. What is this plan to help our species survive?"

This time it was Thad who spoke up. "After discussing it with Dragomir I decided to do some digging into our pack archives and see if there was any documentation that might help." Thad's words began to pick up speed as he shared what he had discovered.

"There were many practices done by older packs that have simply faded from knowledge. One such practice was called The Gathering," Thad picked up what looked like very old parchment and began to read, "I am Damon, Alpha of the Bulgaria pack. This is the account of the four packs, Hungary, Serbia, Romania, and my own, Bulgaria, all of which have agreed to a truce. The Alphas of these four packs have met this night and decided to implement a new tradition. It shall be written into our pack records as a tradition to be followed every four years. The decree is as follows: All pure blooded, unmated pack members of age must attend The Gathering. The Alpha, four dominant mated pairs, and his mate shall accompany these pack members. The unmated females may bring ladies to help prepare themselves for The Gathering. The Gathering shall take place in the Transylvania Alps on an estate that has been purchased by three pack Alphas as a gift to our species to use for this event. The purpose of The Gathering is to help bring unmated wolves from other packs together and hopefully find true mates among them. It is in our nature to be territorial and uncooperative with other packs, but if we do not set aside these habits and put the greater good of the species first, we will one day cease to exist. This world will go on as if Grey werewolves had never been. If an Alpha and his unmated pack members are invited to join in The Gathering and they refuse, it will be treated as an act against the species and that Alpha shall be subject to a challenge. If he is defeated, his pack members will be split among the other packs. We must be vigilant if we are to survive. We must recognize that the very things that often make us strong and keep us safe have the potential to annihilate our kind."

When Thad finished reading, each of the wolves could only stare, dumbfounded. Of the many things this meeting could have been about, this had not even registered on their list of possibilities. Vasile himself had never heard of such a decree in his long life. He could appreciate the fact that it was definitely a way for the unmated to find their other half, but it was also a risk to put that many unmated males together. For that reason alone he understood the importance of having dominate mated couples there.

"Are you telling us that you want to implement this decree now, in this day and age?" Vasile asked incredulously, but continued before another could answer. "Gentlemen, we do not live in a time where females are told what to do. We live in the twenty first century with liberated women."