Seven mates for seven brothers

50- Seconds?

To Cassy’s utter horror there was not enough food to feed even a handful of people.  Containing her outrage she decided that retail therapy would be the best way to reduce her frustration.  Being this upset was bad for the babies.  So; she confiscated the car keys to five cars and handed one each to her ‘sisters’.  Then she asked Grace to help them by coming along to do some shopping for their dinner and breakfast.  There was no way that everything would be sorted out before tomorrow.  Perhaps; she thought, I should get enough for two days.  What they don’t use, can always go back home.

The girls left the pack ground in a convoy and left the men to sort things out with Tess acting as liaison to the pack.  At least the pack members all seemed to trust her judgment.

Cassy decided that it was too late to do any cooking before she had cleaned out the pack kitchen.  It looked even worse than the Grey’s did before she got stuck in it.  Tess had promised to get a few of the ladies stuck in to clean the most basic stuff that they might need.

On the way into town Cassy got a rather extensive run down on most of the pack members after coaxing it from Grace.  Cassy heard a lot about what was said, and she heard a lot more in how it was said.  But before she spilt her guts, it took everything possible assurance Cassy could give her that the pack members would all be taken care off.

“What is going to happen to them now?”  Grace asked quietly and politely.

Cassy got the feeling that she was not likely to trust anybody right off.  “Honestly.  That is a bit difficult to say.  I suppose it depends on what the council decides is best.  I do not think that they have anybody to take over here in the first place; and in the second place, it is not a very good idea for all these people to stay on here in this area.  This place is far too isolated for that.  Most likely the council will break up the pack and place everybody in packs were there is a relatively strong leadership and a healthy pack of both sexes and all ages so that they can easier adapt to the proper lifestyle of our kind.”

“Will they be breaking up families?”  Grace asked scowling, the frown on her face making her nose wiggle a bit.

Cassy had to swallow her giggle before she could reply by asking her own question.  “Are there many families?”

“No.”  She sighed heavily, like an old person and again Cassy had to bite back her laughter.  How could this young girl feel so heavily burdened with the welfare of this pack?  She was just a child!  “There are not that many families.  A lot of mated couples, but hardly any of them have any children.”  She sighed again.  “Thank goodness for that!”

Yes; Cassy thought.  Thank goodness for that.  The children were normally the first casualties of a mismanaged pack.  In too many ways to count.  Then Cassy frowned.  Why would the mated couples not have children?  Did they not want kids?  She asked Grace.

“I don’t know.  Tess said that sometimes mated couples have more trouble having kids than unmated people.”

Cassy’s mind was blown away.  The only time when a mated couple had difficulty having kids; was when the mating was forced; like in the old days.  Is seems as if Mother Nature did not like it when shifters mated with the wrong person.

In a few quick words she shared her information with Alex.  He grunted his thanks and promised to pass that piece of information along to the council.

The more Cassy asked, the more Grace’s tongue seemed to loosen and by the time they arrived at the nearest town; if you could even call it that; Cassy had heard more than enough to know that this pack should be split up as much as possible for their own good.