Claiming Treasure Ch. 01-05

"Greg?"

"I told you we were over, Heather. You need to move on."

It was like watching a car accident, and no one could look away. It was why we sent Greg away after we found out he was in a relationship with a human under our protection; sooner or later, he'd find his mate, and she would be hurt. "Get more security in here now," I sent to my Betas.

"What?" Heather was in shock, tears starting to stream down her face.

"I broke up with you in that letter three months ago. You need to accept I've moved on and found someone else."

She slapped him as a few of my men moved into position. Councilman Baronsky started to stand, and I put my hand on his arm and shook my head. We had to let this play out.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD, YOU KNOCK ME UP AND SEND ME A FUCKING 'DEAR JANE' LETTER?"

The look of shock and rage on the Baronsky Petrovsky family was scary. This revelation changed everything. "You're pregnant?"

"Twins," Heather said.

Thank Luna that Tatiana had gone to the Ladies Room and missed this. "Ron, get her out of here and off Pack lands before she gets herself killed," I said.

Too late. "YOU BITCH," Tatiana yelled as she ran towards them. "HE'S MINE." I watched as she swung a punch towards her stomach. Heather turned, and I heard the crack of her hand as she broke it on her hip bone. Heather spun and kicked a shocked Tatiana in the face, knocking her down. "He was mine first," she said as she stood tall. "But, you can have his lying ass."

Tatiana shifted and went after Heather before my men could get to her. I glimpsed the pistol before the shot rang out, hitting Tatiana, then Greg grabbed her and slammed her onto a table. There was another shot, and people were taking cover. "Cover the exits and get Heather out of here," Rori sent as my Pack members, and I moved to intercept Tatiana's family.

"I'll take her," Carson said. He picked her up and ran out of the room, while my Pack blocked any pursuit. Tables overturned, punches got thrown, and curses hurled about as Packs moved to protect their Alphas. I moved my pregnant mate behind me, where she joined a pregnant Margaret. Our family and guards quickly isolated them from the violence.

Some of the warriors shifted to their wolves, forming a perimeter around their charges. "SHE MUST DIE," Councilman Baronsky yelled.

"LEAVE HER ALONE," Rori yelled back.

Heather was on her way to the tunnels, and a wolf lay bleeding on the floor. "MOVE ASIDE, SHE NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION," I yelled out as I pushed my way to where Tatiana was.

It was like a switch turned on. The people in the room realized there were more important things than posturing. "Julie, get the stretcher out of the pool area," I sent to one of the Omegas near the door. Grabbing one of the cloth napkins, I held it over the hole in the she-wolfs chest.

Chairman Coffey was holding back the Baronsky family, promising them the human would be held accountable. "Alpha Rori, that human is to be apprehended and returned here immediately," he said.

"That human is under my protection, Mr. Chairman."

"Another one? By Luna, how long will we tolerate this flouting of our laws," Alpha Baronsky yelled. "I'll send my men after her."

"You are guests on MY land, Alpha Ivan. I suggest you remember that. I will not allow you free reign of my territory."

Chairman Coffey moved behind me as Greg and Timur helped to lift the unconscious Tatiana onto the stretcher. "You are still under arrest, Alpha Rori and the Council's authority exceeds yours. I have sent my Enforcers to retrieve the human female. You will not interfere, or you will answer for it."

Four people picked up the stretcher as I kept up the pressure on the gunshot wound. I wished I had Possum here, but I did not. I sent Omegas ahead to open up the Clinic and get blood warming. "What's her blood type," I asked her father.

"O negative," he said. "We will donate whatever is needed."

"Later," I said. We moved Tatiana onto the steel table In the operating room. "Vasili, take over for me and don't remove the napkin until I tell you. Ekatarina, in that cabinet, there is a blood transfusion kit on the second shelf. Bring it, and an IV stand over here."

Julie came in with four bags of blood, and I put them on the warmer before I changed into surgical scrubs and a gown. Werewolves didn't have as many problems with infections as humans, but we could still get them. I hung an IV bag while the blood warmed, then checked her respirations. "The bullet is somewhere in her chest, and her left lung collapsed. I need an assistant; do you know anyone with medical training?"

Ekatarina nodded. "I was a medic in the Great Patriotic War," she said.

"Scrub in." I injected a sedative to ensure she would remain out for this, then brought over the portable X-ray. The bullet had lodged in her ribs. I would remove it, but first I had to stop the bleeding from the artery near her shoulder. Ekatarina prepped a surgical tray and adjusted the light as I finished scrubbing in. She put my gloves on, and I was ready. "Vasili, when I tell you, you are going to remove the cloth and go wash up. You may assist if you wish, or go to the waiting room."

"I will help," he said.

"Good. Ekatarina, I'll make an incision to expose the bleeder, be ready with clamps."

"Ready, Doctor." There was some spray as the cloth came off. I made a quick incision and used retractors to open the wound. The artery was torn open on one side; I quickly clamped both ends. "Suction." With the arterial bleed stopped, I could see what else was wrong.

"Ekatarina, hang two units of blood while I repair this," I said. I cut the ends, bringing the clean edges together while I sewed it back whole. It took ten minutes to complete the stitching and restore blood flow. Satisfied, I cleaned the bone fragments out before I sewed the lung up where the bullet had pierced it.

During that time, Ekatarina hung the blood, and Vasili had shaved and prepared Tatiana's chest for the next part of the surgery. She had also established a breathing tube with oxygen, important since Tatiana was down to one working lung. I moved to her lower chest, over the bullet, and made another cut. Ekatarina moved the ribspreader into place and cranked it open. A minute later, the deformed round clanged into the tray. She was lucky it didn't fragment.

I repaired the lung and reinflated it, leaving a drain tube in place. I looked at the clock after I closed up; we had been operating on Tatiana for just over an hour. I tore my gown and gloves off, balling them up and putting them in the garbage. "Love, we just finished. Tatiana will recover, but I will need to monitor her tonight."

"Thank Luna. Carson got away with Heather, and there's nothing the Council can do about it. I can't order another Alpha, and he can't get ahold of him or his Beta."

"I hope he knows what he is doing."

She sent her love and amusement over the bond. "I think his wolf knows what he's doing, even if he doesn't yet."

I closed the connection as Tatiana's parents finished cleaning up. "She will be able to leave in two days, and fully recovered in two weeks," I said.

"Thanks to you," Ekatarina said. "I saw the wound. Without you, she would have bled to death." She gave me a brief hug, then Vasili pulled me into a bear hug.

"It is what I do; I was a Doctor before I was an Alpha," I said. "Frankly, being a doctor is less of a hassle."

I left Ekatarina behind to monitor her daughter while Vasili and I went out to the waiting room. Greg came to his feet as I walked in; he looked like he'd been through hell. He was sitting by himself, the distance from Timur Pretrovsky and the Beloretsk Alphas notable. "She will recover," I said, and they relaxed.

"Can I see her," Greg asked.

"When I move her to a room," I said. I smiled as two Omegas brought a cart loaded with food in; with all the drama, I hadn't eaten. The kitchen had turned out a prime rib dinner with all the fixings, and we all tucked in. Rori told me it took half an hour to pick up the dining room and serve dinner to everyone else.

I finished quickly and brought Greg back to the room. We moved Tatiana to a bed, and I set up the equipment and video so I could monitor her from my office. Greg got on the bed behind her and shifted, his wolf curling around her. I didn't object; a mate kept a patient calm and would speed up her healing. When I went to my office, Vasili came with me. I offered him a chair, then opened a cabinet below the bookshelf and removed two glasses and a bottle of vodka. I poured the two, leaving the bottle out, and handed him one. "To Greg and Tatiana, may this make them better in the end," I toasted.

We tossed the vodka down, and I poured him another. "I have to watch them," I said in apology.

"It is I who should apologize. My Alpha has informed me of the history between Heather and Greg. It appears she never got his letter rejecting her after he found his mate, and your Beta never forwarded her letters to him."

"We will deal with that, but I do not believe it was intentional. Heather was in hiding with the other humans in our Pack and our children, at a location we do not know. We had no way to get in touch with her, and no place to forward Greg's letter." I sat back and looked out the window. "The real question is what we do now."

"They are mates; it is too late to change that," he said.

"And there lies the problem. Greg is a new member of our Pack, and his lack of maturity and discipline was part of whey we sent him to Beta Camp. His relationship with the human needed to stop, and we thought time apart would do that. We did not know he would find his mate in your daughter."

"It creates a difficult situation for her if the human lives," he said. "Of course, that is beyond our control now that the Council is involved."

I didn't need to say that Greg and Tatiana staying in our Pack would be awkward. Heather was our charge, and she had friends in this Pack who wouldn't respond well to what Tatiana did. "What were Tatiana's plans before she found her mate?"

"She is in college, in her second year, and wants to be a doctor," he said. "Part of why we are here was to speak to you about continuing her medical training."

"A full-time doctor would be helpful as our Pack grows," I said. "Perhaps a compromise is in order?"

"What are you thinking?"

"We send the pair back to Russia until she completes her University. That will allow both to mature, and for her to learn English, and Greg to learn Russian. Once she graduates, she takes exams for medical school here. The University of Minnesota-Duluth has a medical school that is within driving distance of us." He nodded, thinking it over. "She is young and possessive of her mate. One hotheaded mistake should not derail her dreams."

"True. Greg is not so young, and should have known better."

"Yes, but you will have several years to help him mature in your Pack."

"I would have to speak to my mate and my Alphas. You would not insist on a punishment?"

"Not for the attack; the humiliation of the attack and the injuries she suffered are enough of a punishment. She would need to apologize publicly for her behavior, and to Heather if she returns. I think it would be best if we settled the offense between our Packs privately, and informed the Council of the resolution."

"She shifted in front of a human," he said.

"Yes. That is beyond our control now; I'm sure charges are coming."

He nodded. "Your trial has caused us to rethink many laws we took for granted. I will speak to my Alpha; changes in the law will help my daughter as well as your Pack. We have to do something; our Packs are slowly dying out. Twins would be a help, even if Tatiana refuses to raise them as her own."

"She has to be alive to bear them before they can be that blessing, Vasili. We need your support with the Council against those who want her killed immediately." He nodded. "And you must convince your daughter. If she does not show remorse, she will never be allowed back in Arrowhead."

"Trust me, Alpha Chase, we will be speaking with my daughter. If you will excuse me, I need to tend to my mate." He stood and extended my hand. "Thank you again, Alpha."

Ch. 3

Colletta Nygaard's POV

Yakima Airport

I sat with my mate Frank at the airfield coffee shop, drinking a hot chocolate as we waited for Carson to return. When things went to shit at Arrowhead, we were in Duluth shopping. Carson asked us to take his jet and return to Yakima to stay with Heather. We had landed an hour ago, and the aircraft was refueled and ready for the return trip.

"His wolf has claimed Heather," Frank asked me for the fifth time since we left.

"Rori believes so, and Carson's behavior would bear that out. He defied the Council to run her out of there. Now, Carson continues to defy them by keeping her. He wouldn't do it out of obligation," I replied. "It's about time."

"I don't understand."

"It's not something you would; you are a new wolf, mated from your first shift. You haven't had to deal with the rejected or the widowed yet."

"You said Carson was unmated," he replied as he sipped his coffee.

"He is, but not by choice." The heartache of that time came back full force; Carson never spoke a word of it, but a Mother could see the pain and loss in his eyes. "His wolf could not hide the pain from me, and only one thing could have crushed him like that. Rejection by his true mate."

"Why? Why would someone reject their mate?"

"I pieced the story together after Carson returned home two days after he left for Katahdin Pack. They were hosting Beta Camp, which is a Council-run boot camp for future Pack leaders. Beta Camp happens every third year and serves to train and prepare them for the job. The social purpose is just as important. It allows them to make friends with leaders in other Packs as it brings together dominant wolves from around the world. It often results in one or more matings." He nodded as I took a drink, my cocoa cooled enough to drink now. "I had received a call from Paxton Blackledge, the Katahdin Alpha, informing me he had kicked Carson out of camp for fighting. I was a little shocked; fights happen among dominant wolves as they jockey for position at camp. The only reason to not allow the boys to fight it out is if it would be to the death. As often is the case, it was over a mate, and it was the Alpha's son who Carson was going after."

"His true mate was with the boy when Carson found her," Frank guessed.

"Yes. The two had mated six months earlier; I remembered getting the announcement." The emotions were coming forward again, and Frank reached out to hold my hand as I gathered myself. "Anastasia and Steven had two years together. She was shot and killed by a poacher, and he killed himself to be with her. Paxton's mate has not become pregnant since, and his Pack has no heir."

"What happened when Carson came home?"

"He wouldn't talk about it, and he withdrew from everyone. He would take long runs around our territory, sometimes remaining for weeks in his wolf form. He wouldn't respond to our mental calls, and if we got close, he would run. It was six months before he came back to us, but he was no longer the fun-loving son I had raised. He was cold and distant, hiding behind his work and his training. He didn't want our sympathy, and we weren't going to force him into confessing his pain. I just loved him and prayed to Luna that he would find a female who could spark his wolf's interest again."

"And now he's found a female."

"Yes, and she's a human, pregnant with another wolf's children. That boy doesn't do anything the easy way," I said with a shake of my head.

"Chase didn't take the easy way either, from what I've learned."

"No, but together they have grown into an effective Alpha pair. He was never the dominant one, Coral was. It was wise for Luna to pair Chase with a strong Alpha Female and Coral with a less dominant male."

"And Ashley? Why did Sawyer have to wait so long?"

I smiled at the thought of the pair; my oldest was finally happy and expecting a child. "I don't know. I've prayed for her since my boy was born; I think Ashley is the reincarnation of the fated mate he never found. I don't have all the answers where the Goddess is involved. I can't explain how I found you, but I'm not arguing."

"Me?"

"Yes. Fate placing you in my life on that plane, then all that happened since then. You shouldn't have a wolf, much less a wolf to match mine in dominance. When you show up in Council, others will challenge you. That is why we've worked you so hard to learn how to use your wolf."

"It hasn't been much of retirement, not when I'm getting my ass kicked daily."

I snorted at that; I had been riding him hard in more ways than one. His training as a human helped in that form, but we had to teach him how to fight in his wolf. We'd spent a lot of time at Arrowhead in the woods, as he learned from me, my sons, and Beta Ron. He picked it up quickly and could hold his own against Alphas and experienced Betas now, or multiple wolves of lower rank. His wolf was my match in every way, and anyone who challenged him would regret it. "But you like when I kiss your owies better," I teased.

"Minx," he teased back. I heard a vehicle approaching, and headlights shone into the coffee shop as it parked. "I'll get our bags," he said as I went to the door.

"Carson," I said as I opened my arms for my middle boy. He embraced me tightly, then stepped back as I kept my hands on his arms.

"Thanks for doing this, Mom."

"It's no problem at all. Rori doesn't want Frank anywhere near the Alphas, and I have to agree." He looked worried. "How is Heather handling what happened?"

"Better than I expected, but who knows what she will think in the morning," he said. "I told her what I could in the time I had. She's resting now. Doc gave her some painkillers to help her sleep."

"Is she staying in your room?"

His jaw dropped. "NO, Mom! She's... it's not like that. Her whole world just crashed around her, and she is a friend I'm helping out."

I just nodded. "So, Heather is staying in the dorms with the other unmated women."

He looked surprised, then realized what I was doing. "Fine. I put her in the guest room across from mine. You can have your old room back; I've left it alone."

He'd refused to take over the Alpha's Quarters since he took the spot. "No, I'll use Coral's old room. You are the Alpha, and the Alpha's Room is for you and your Luna."

I embraced him again as Frank came back and shook his hand. "Your plane is ready to go," Frank told him. "You're doing a good thing by granting her asylum. Don't let anyone take her from you."

"I won't," he said before he walked out to where the jet was waiting for him.

Frank opened the door of the SUV for me, and we waited until the jet was out of sight before we left. We drove for about an hour until we passed through the Pack border, and the driver pulled to the side. "What's going on," Frank asked me as I opened the door.

"Strip and shift," I told him as he got out onto the snow-covered shoulder of the road.

I'd been training him long enough that he didn't argue. He piled his clothes in the back seat, then shifted into his wolf. "This is a test for you and our patrols. There are twenty wolves out there waiting for you, and a case of steaks goes to the wolf or wolves who take you down."

"And if I make it through to the Pack House?"

"Then I'll be waiting for you outside. If you want me, you'll have to chase me down and take me."