Aztec Treasure Ch. 21-30

Vic continued with the damage. "Brent banged his knee up diving for cover, and Laura's cheek got cut by a rock fragment. We'll all be fine. It was a textbook ambush."

"And Meghan?"

"Her shoulder is a little sore from firing that shotgun so many times, but she kicked ass. She took out five of them with those deer slugs. The rental cars looked like Swiss cheese when she stopped shooting."

I'd endangered my host's mate and three others just by existing. "I'm sorry I brought trouble to your Pack, Beta Vic."

"Just Vic; while you are here, you're family. I'm happy to have you in my home and my Pack, Maria. I think you can be happy here, and you'll make the Pack stronger by your presence."

"Thank you."

"Now get dressed and come down for breakfast before it gets cold," Spider Monkey said. They closed the door behind them, and I changed quickly. I put on a T-shirt, shorts, and sweats, and then changed Maritza's diaper and grabbed a terrycloth romper for after breakfast.

I scented we weren't alone as I came down the stairs. I recognized Lance and Chase by their scents, and Frank introduced me to his Colletta. I smiled at everyone as I put Maritza into a high chair and put some Cheerios on the tray for her.

"Good morning, Maria," Lance said. "How did you sleep?"

"It was good, thank you," I replied with a smile. I took a pancake and started cutting it up for Maritza, topping it with syrup before putting the food on her tray. Maritza LOVES pancakes, but they make a mess. I quickly filled my plate as Spider Monkey set a glass of juice in front of me. "Frank, I didn't see you at the party last night. When did you get in?"

Frank looked at Chase, and I could see something pass between them. I guessed what it was. "Vic told me Meghan's car attacked yesterday, and they were after me."

"Yes," Frank replied. "Three attempts on your life is unacceptable. I have made it clear to the FBI and the Kettering Administration that you are now under Pack protection, thus included in the Treaty."

"And I'll be meeting with the President tomorrow, with the rogue CIA being a major topic," Colletta added. "The President told me she didn't direct the abduction attempts, and I believe her."

Lance finished up and put his plate and glass in the sink, walking out of the room without a word or look. Chase waited until he was gone before he spoke up. "Maria, with the threats and your unfamiliarity with the Pack, I want to assign a warrior to escort you."

My eyes got wide. "A bodyguard? Why would I need one on Pack lands? You said I'd be safe here."

"Think of it more as a guide to help you integrate into the Pack who happens to be armed just in case," Frank said. "It isn't uncommon. Colletta has a security detail everywhere she goes, and our daughter's protected 24/7 by dedicated warriors."

"Why would Cheryl need security as a one-year-old?" I'd met Chase's twins last night, and I could see them being good friends with Maritza in the Pack daycare.

Chase gave a quick talk about Rori's blessing as a direct first-born female descendent of the first Werewolf female and what it meant for her and Cheryl. I knew werewolves lived a lot longer than humans, but I had no idea how tough it was for them to get pregnant. It was no wonder their daughter had around-the-clock protection. "What do you think about Lance as a bodyguard for you?"

"He's a good guy from what I've seen. He was nice to me when he brought me in."

Chase nodded. "He volunteered for the duty, but Rori and I have concerns because he isn't mated. We've had recent unpleasant experiences with bodyguards becoming too close to their charge. We made our expectations clear to Lance, but we need you to understand as well. Lance has a fated mate out there that isn't you, and he could find her at any time. When they find each other, no one before her will matter. You can't let him get close to you, or you'll both get hurt."

"If you want him as your bodyguard in the first place," Spider Monkey said. "We can find someone else if you don't get along."

"No, don't get anyone else. I trust Lance to do his job," I said. Lance walked back with a smile on his face a moment later, thanks to that freaky Pack link thing the werewolves have. It was so much better than the vocalizations and posturing we used in our cat form to communicate. He got a washcloth and started cleaning up Maritza for me while I finished eating. It wouldn't be easy because she had syrup in her hair. "What is on the agenda for today?"

"Doc Olson is coming over from our friends at the Oxbow Lake Pack to give the two of you arrival physicals," Chase said. "Possum will meet you after lunch at the Pack clinic to start the workup."

"Possum?"

Spider Monkey laughed. "That's her road name in the Steel Ladies. Her old man is Roadkill, and what kind of roadkill is good to eat?"

"Oh," I said as I blushed.

"Roadkill is our Facilities Beta, so he's responsible for everything mechanical. Possum is a registered nurse, and both are human," Chase said. "I'm in training as a psychologist, but I'm the only doctor at Arrowhead until Doc Olson shows up. If you don't mind, I'd like to sit in on your appointment. I don't have any experience with jaguar physiology, and it's a chance to get a baseline."

"That would be fine," I told him. "It's been years since I saw a doctor."

Lance spoke up next. "I should give you a tour of the Pack grounds and talk through the security rules with you. We can leave Maritza in the Pack daycare if you're comfortable with that."

"We're the only Pack in the country that needs a daycare," Chase said with a smile. "The other Alphas are quite jealous of our baby boom."

"That sounds good," I said. "Maybe after Maritza's afternoon nap, we can hit the pool?"

"Sure," Chase said. "We'll join you if we get our work done. Speaking of which, I better get going."

"Thank you for breakfast," I told Spider Monkey. "We should be going too." Lance handed me my cleaned-up and fully-dressed daughter, then led me down the stairs to the basement tunnels. I'd been amazed by them when we used them last night, but I understood why. Living right on the lake among humans, it was not just an escape route but a way to get around without being seen by humans.

We went up the hill to the Pack House's basement, taking the elevator up to the daycare. It was off the hallway leading from the dining area to the pool room. Maritza took off for her new friends and didn't look back; after months of being alone with me, the toys and children were a treat. "It's like I'm not here anymore," I said as I watched her sit with the others.

"It's new for her," one of the nannies said. "We've got her; go have fun. I'll link Lance if we need you."

So we did. I'd seen a little of the Pack House last night, but it was bigger than I thought. Three dining wings, with one in use, the pool and locker rooms, offices, and kitchen were on the main floor. Downstairs were bunk rooms and guest quarters, a large gymnasium, weapons training areas, and utilities. A class of women was taking pistol combat class when we went past the firearms simulator. "After Chase saw this at Carson's pack, we had to have one. Realistic pistols with lasers and a hundred-and-eighty degree video projectors."

"It looks like fun," I said. As a Club Princess in an outlaw biker gang, I'd been shooting since I was five.

"Once you settle in, Beta Vic will evaluate your fighting skills and slot you into classes. Everyone does it, even the Omegas. Every adult has a job in defense of the Pack. It's made all the difference in defending against attack."

"The Jaguar attacks?"

"Yes, but the worst was when two other Packs attacked. It was a slaughter; none even got close to our people."

"Can you defend us? I've watched the news; you've been attacked how many times in the past year?"

"Five times, Maria. We lost a few in one of the jaguar attacks, plus the wolves we lost defending the Orlando clubhouse. We aren't a big pack, so we have to take our preparedness seriously. On the bright side, we have great parties, and there are plenty of fun machines to ride."

"I can't wait to ride," I told him. "It has been MONTHS."

"We can take ATVs out when I show you the Pack Border today. A motorcycle run will need a lot more people to keep you safe, but I'll ask the Alpha to schedule one."

That sounded good. The more I saw, the more impressed I was. I spent way too much time in the garage, hanging out with Roadkill and his mechanics as he got the motorcycles, ATVs, and boats ready for the summer season. We made it to lunch a few minutes late. Maritza ate with the nannies so I could enjoy my meal. Lance laughed at me when I cut my grilled cheese into tiny bites out of habit.

"Come on, we need to get to the clinic," he told me when we finished. We walked across to the clinic in the sunshine since the hills and buildings shielded us from view. "You can go right out that doggie door to the woods," he told me. "There are cubbyholes for clothing just inside."

"I want to let my cat out," I said as I looked at the pines and rocks. I knew the Pack owned hundreds of acres back there, and we'd be riding the trails later on.

"Shifting is at night only due to the threat from the anti-werewolf groups, and only in groups of five or more," he replied. "I'll take you out after dark if I can get some volunteers for a run."

I laughed. "You guys can run all you want, Maritza and I like to climb and leap. Ambush predators, remember?"

Possum welcomed me to the clinic, and Lance waited in the lobby as she took me back. Seeing the doctor was going to be interesting.

Ch. 29

Maria Meztli's POV

Arrowhead Pack Clinic

Possum took me back to the exam room and started my physical workup. Vital signs, weight, height, urine sample, blood sample, and medical history were all taken down on paper. "No computer?"

"We don't want werewolf data shared, so no," she told me. I liked her from the moment I met her; she reminded me of the old ladies in my Club. She didn't take shit from anyone. A young woman came in to take the samples. "We don't have the equipment to do the analyses, so we run them to a lab in Duluth under Doc Olson's account. We're using a fake name on the samples, so don't worry."

"It won't matter. Mom told me that our DNA is the same as human DNA." We used human doctors and clinics while I was growing up, though I rarely got sick.

"Now for the embarrassing part. Are you sexually active?"

I laughed. "My father would kill any man who touched me. Hell, I couldn't even get a date because the Club sons and daughters put the fear of God into the boys at my school. I'm not just a virgin; I've never even had a boyfriend."

"Are your cycles regular?"

"They haven't started yet," I told her. "What do you know about werejaguar mating and physiology?"

"Nothing," Possum replied. "I'd assumed you had monthly cycles like humans."

We were interrupted by a knock on the door. Chase entered with an older man with grey hair. "Maria, this is Doctor Olson from the Oxbow Lake Pack," he said. "He's been a Pack Doctor for almost two centuries now."

"Nice to meet you," he said as he shook my hand. Possum handed Doc the notes from the workup, and he took a moment to review them before he patted the exam table.

I got up onto the paper-covered table. Doc went through the physical checks and pronounced me healthy. "Any issues or complaints?"

They had no way of knowing, so I had to tell them what my mother had taught me about coming of age as a jaguar female. "I have to tell you about jaguar reproductive practices."

"Do you want me to leave," Chase asked.

"No, because this affects you as well. Lance told me a little about how werewolves do it, but jaguars are a lot different. When the Goddess passed down our animal portion, she didn't give us the lifespan that you enjoy. Werejaguars have the same life expectancy as humans, though violence often takes us before then. We don't heal any faster or have better immunities than humans. If you didn't see us change, you wouldn't know we had a cat."

"How does that affect your sexual maturity," Doc asked.

"I went through puberty at thirteen, with the growth and physical changes matching those of a human, but I never had a menstrual cycle. Like you, our cycles are a mix of human and cat. How much have you read on wild jaguars?"

"I looked at a little when we first started encountering your kind," Chase said. "Jaguars are solitary, with males and females establishing a territory. They only come together for reproduction. The female goes into estrus or heat some time after reaching the age of eighteen. Her cat calls for males to find her when she is ready. The males fight each other and the female over the right to mount her. The heat can happen at any time of year when food is plentiful but is more likely in spring. The male induces ovulation during the mating process, which involves multiple times mounting over a day or two. Once the coupling is over, the male leaves the territory, and the female births and raises the cubs alone."

He was well informed. "The female werejaguar doesn't reach sexual maturity until eighteen. From then on, she will go into heat once or twice a year. The estrus scent strongly attracts the male werecats, and their cat side takes over. If we are among multiple males, they will fight to the death for the chance to impregnate the female. The female fights too, wanting the most dominant male, and sometimes gets hurt in the process."

"That sounds dangerous," Doc said.

"It is, and I'll have to deal with it at some point. That is why our normal practice is to marry off the females when they turn eighteen. By placing her in a monogamous relationship with a male, they keep each other safe. The husband recognizes the heat coming on and takes her away before the pheromones her estrus produces cause problems. They drive werecats nuts, but they affect humans to a lesser extent."

"So, it would be highly disruptive to have a female in heat in the clubhouse."

"That's an understatement," I said with a laugh. "The humans would be sexually attracted without knowing why, while the werejaguar males would fight to the death over the female."

"Did your parents plan for your coming of age?"

I nodded. "My parents had arranged for me to be married to Jose Correria in New Orleans on my eighteenth birthday."

Chase looked at me with his eyes filled with anger. "Jose? That little..."

Jose was the young man who had attacked the Orlando Steel Brotherhood chapter and started the war. Someone killed him, probably Arrowhead Pack, and his body never turned up. "Yes. I'd met him a few times when we visited Los Angeles. He was a second cousin, and we were both children of Club Presidents. Politically it helped, and our parents hoped our offspring would be strong cats. Is this going to be a problem between us?"

Chase let out a breath. "Not if you can promise me you knew nothing of what he was doing with the Ryder family or the Brotherhood."

"I was a Club princess, but they never allowed anyone without a Patch into Church. I had no idea what he was doing, just like I had no idea what my father did. All I had were rumors and news articles that Mom told me to ignore." Chase nodded for me to continue.

"My father and the other US Presidents were betrayed and killed by the Cartel, and the Feds took out the rest. With so many of the Club leadership gone, the remaining jaguar families were sent down to Mexico to regroup with the Club. We suddenly had far more females than males, and that was a problem. I knew I would become a sister wife to Maritza's mother when I came of age. I survived because I was watching her while moving my bags to his car."

Doc nodded as he worked through the information. "Because your kind needs to repopulate your species."

"Yes." I got up and paced for a bit, thinking over how to say the next part Mom had taught me. "Mom told me what I needed to know. For female werejaguars, heat is a literal bitch. It lasts between one and three days and turns you into a sex-starved madwoman. When my Mom went into heat, she and Dad would mate almost continuously for more than a day. Mom said he would remain erect and inside her almost the whole time to boost the chance of conception and keep other males from mating her. With a male's presence, the heat ends early and with little pain. Even so, conception is rare, much more difficult than with humans."

"Why is that," Doc asked.

"Heat isn't ovulation, just the preparation for it. The barbed end of the male penis in cat form is what stimulates the release of the egg. That's why a male werejaguar is needed to get a female werejaguar pregnant. Our females can't get pregnant in human form."

"Can a human get a werejaguar female pregnant?"

I shook my head, no. "You seriously think a human is going to stay mounted to a sex-starved werejaguar for a full day? Or get an egg released? Not going to happen, though a few died trying."

Possum laughed. "Roadkill tried that on our honeymoon and didn't make it past four hours."

"Exactly. Now for the bad part. The heat drives the female to seek out the male, and not finding one can be painful. The fever spikes, your body aches, and no amount of self-stimulation provide relief for the need for sex. The heat can persist for three agonizing days. Females have died in estrus, either from the fever or stumbling around in their delirium. With no male to service the female, the only safe alternative is sedation for the heat duration while keeping the female isolated. Now, I don't know how my heats will affect your wolves when they eventually come, but..."

That had Doc's attention. "Better safe than sorry."

"Yes," I said. "Even after all that fun, most heats don't take. It's not easy to have a big family. I don't want my people to die out, but I don't see a way to prevent it. Maritza and I are the last two females. Julio is the only male I know of, and he's gone."

"And Julio is not important for his DNA, but because a male cat is needed to trigger ovulation," Chase replied. "This sucks."

"I don't have a way around it, Alpha. Our Goddess created us to reproduce with our kind."

Chase was thinking and linking, so Possum asked another question. "Can you change humans into werepanthers?"

"Like you, our bite in panther form is fatal to humans."

"And you don't have mates, so there is no bond to use to pull the human through the shift," Doc finished. "I wouldn't want to be the first volunteer. We don't have a stock of panther blood."

"Our jaguar nature is passed from mother to child via supernatural blessing, not with blood," I replied. "The Sons tried artificial insemination once; the offspring were fully human. And our bite is deadly because the Goddess gave that to us to slay our enemies, not change them."

"Wonderful," Chase said. "You've given us a lot to think about."

"I'd like to examine your cat form," Doc said.

I shifted into my cat, stretching out before walking over to Chase and putting my head by his leg. He was the Alpha and the one I had to submit to while I was here. He scratched my ears, then he and Doc started examining me from snout to tail. When they finished, there was another knock on the door. "Come in," Doc said.

The door pushed open, and Rori came trotting in, her tail high and wagging as she came over to sniff me. I rolled onto my back and remained still as she scented me, finally coming around to lick my face. Maritza had shifted into her cub form as soon as she saw my cat, and she ran in and started climbing on me. Doc and Chase did an exam on her before he asked me to shift back so we could talk. When I changed, Maritza followed. "Fascinating," Doc said. "See how the neck muscles have adapted to the larger head of the werejaguar form?"