Chapter 72

Alex's POV

We walked out the front door and out to watch as our families were hard at work, building back from the remains of La Bruja's damages, and building our new home bigger and sturdier. Nicki and Jade were working with my Beta to build a library due east of the center of town, Jacke made a note that 'Preserving the knowledge and history of the past, helps us to build a better and brighter future' before we continued onward towards the front of the town. They built a large gate for people to come in and out of, with a walkway and a driveway for trucks and cars, and as we passed by many of my packmates waved hello.

"Hey guys, good to see you back in action!" I said as we passed by, Jacke waved as we made our way to the garage. We got in his truck with me at the wheel, and head off towards his warehouse, where he had said the remaining members of his family from the Necropolis were waiting. We drove through town and parked outside the warehouse before heading inside to see everyone that had survived the fight.

"It's good to see you all alive and well, free to fight another day," Jacke said as he took a seat on the bleachers, "Before we left to go fight La Bruja in the Necropolis, I said I had a unique 'Bonus' to whoever survived that fight. I meant every word, and today, I'm going to give you all that you will need to get that bonus."

I took a seat next to him as he took the briefcase he had in the truck from behind him, and opened it, inside was a rolled-up parchment and a knife. One of his family members stood forward, to which Jacke handed him the parchment and the knife.

"Before he died, an old friend of mine gave me this briefcase and said that I would know what to do with it when the time came. I think he was right, and the time is now," He said as the man unraveled the parchment to reveal a map of the world, "That map was his life's work, and he said that 'Whoever you give this map to, might as well need an army to gather all of the pieces'. That's where you all come in, you proved yourselves strong and capable in the face of adversity, and so I pass this along to you."

"What's the map for, Jacke?" The big guy said as he stared at it with wonder and overwhelming curiosity.

"Apparently, he had found a way to the lost city of Atlantis, and to bring it back to fruition. Treasures of cities long forgotten, Knowledge of the ages, Secrets kept for centuries. He died old and slightly bitter that he'd never be able to see it for himself, but passed the torch to me so his work would not be forgotten, and now, I pass it on to you all. Work together, as you did in Necropolis, and you'll gather all seven pieces. When you've gathered them all, return here, and we'll see what we can make of it all."

"Oh come now, you don't expect us to believe this, do you?!"

"I don't care if you believe me, and if you don't want your bonus, don't take it; But you all earned this, and you'll get it so long as you remember where you came from," Jacke said before sitting back down next to me, his family staring at him in disbelief, "This is the real deal, I've heard of it for about as long as I've walked this earth, but never thought I'd be able to find it. Now I know, that this legend isn't a legend at all, it's very real. You all have the keys to paradise at your fingertips now, it's up to you what you do with it."

They looked at each other with curiosity as to how they would do this, seeing as it was their journey, not Jacke's, and then looked back to Jacke for guidance on how to proceed.

"The only other piece of advice I can give you would be to split up into 7 groups, each trusted with finding one piece. Don't quit until you find your assigned piece, and then come back here to put them together, and we'll tackle whatever's next together," He said before standing up with me as we left the building back out to the truck.

"Were you serious back there? The Lost City of Atlantis isn't real, right?"

"Oh no, it's very real, but it's literally called the 'Lost' City of Atlantis for a reason. They don't have any reason to fear death, and now have all the resources I have to provide to go and find it, it's just a matter of whether or not they do. If they don't then maybe they didn't deserve the bonus," He said before stepping on the gas and heading back home, "Besides, if I know my people at all, this is exactly what they wanted. An adventure to be talked about for ages, just as our story won't be long forgotten. Of course, it isn't anywhere near the end, there's still so much to do, but at least now I have the time to put all my focus back where it belongs: You and Home."

"I love you, Pup," I said as we made our way back home, talking about different things we could add to our little town, to make it better for everyone. I was thinking of some kind of large garden, to plant things like Cilantro, Onions, Lettuce, and others so we wouldn't have to rely on the grocer as much. He added that it would be nice to have some kind of large freezer for storing meats, cheeses, and stuff of that nature. It made me happy that he was this capable of compromise, and that he wasn't very selfish when it came to family.

We pulled up and parked the truck in the garage before walking back in as my Beta caught up with us, and asked when Jacke was going to address the pack as a whole. He answered he was thinking of doing it later today, or even tomorrow depending on how things turned out. I pointed out to my beta that it wasn't his decision to make, and noted that Jacke had at least a general idea of when he'd do it. We continued walking up to the packhouse, waving to Jade and Nicki who was sitting on the roof of the building they were sharing, before heading to reach the packhouse to see most of my family members were waiting for us.

"Well, looks like we were expected, huh?" Jacke said in a state of shock, that he wasn't much of a socialite, even if he was really good at rallying people together.

"Apparently."