Claiming Treasure Ch. 06-10

I could see the hurt and anger in his eyes. "I will help. Whatever Mykayla needs, I will give her," he vowed.

"Even if she wants nothing to do with you?"

"I will not make that decision easy for her, but it will be her decision."

Perhaps the family was not as bad as Tatiana's lack of control indicated. "It looks like we will have more to discuss than just Greg and Tatiana, Alpha Ivan," I said. "Mykayla would not react well to the punishment, and I see no reason to delay it any further." I looked back to Timur. "As her mate, do you claim the right to execute him for sexual assault on a juvenile?"

"Her parents do not claim it for her?"

"She's an orphan, and a former slave in another Pack," I replied.

His eyes flashed with pain and sorrow again before he nodded. "Of course. I will ensure that he suffers for his actions."

Thirty minutes later, the Chairman had every adult out at the punishment area to witness the execution. Timur shifted and paced in front of the frightened man, his imposing wolf demanding blood. I pronounced the crime and the sentence before he was unshackled and left within the circle of bodies.

The fight was one-sided and brutal; it was a mercy when Timur finally broke his neck, then tore his head from his body. "Let this be a lesson to us all," I said as I looked into the camera that had broadcast the punishment to all Packs. "Females and children are to be protected; they are our future."

Timur shifted back, still shaking with anger. His father gave him a pair of sweatpants, and he put them on before approaching me. "Thank you, Alpha King, for allowing me to take revenge for my mate," he said.

"Shower and change clothes, Timur. Your mate will not want his scent on you when you meet again."

He smiled and nodded before running back to the Pack House, where he was staying in the basement dorm room. His father, Vasili, joined me with Alpha Ivan for the walk back. "It's rare for a wolf to shift so early," Ivan said. "Are you sure of her age?"

"Yes, her birthday is June 4^th," I said. "She's only celebrated twice. She was born into slavery when she was in the Bitterroot Pack. The things she went through, no one should have to endure. Mykayla won't talk about what happened, no matter how much Chase tries to draw it out."

"Fucking animals," Vasili said. "Do you know who the parents were?"

"Mykayla was raised by the other Omegas. Her mother died in childbirth, and her father could have been any male in that cursed Pack," I said. "She was starting to come out of her shell; we were even planning to send her to public school next year. She's very bright, and caught up to her age group quickly."

"Do you think a change in location would help her," Vasili asked.

"She's learned to tolerate the men in this Pack, and moving would not help," I said. "Perhaps her mate will help her adapt."

"We don't need to do anything rash," Alpha Ivan said. "We don't even know if she will tolerate his presence."

"And I don't know if I'll be Alpha soon," I said.

Ivan stopped, motioning me closer. "Our Packs are tied together now. We are isolated, but maintain our faith in Luna's will for us. Luna's blessing is with you, Alpha Rori. You have our support."

"Thank you." All I needed now was about six more Alphas to have a 'Come to Luna' moment, and we'd be all right.

Lunch was a subdued affair, and at one, we entered the trial room again. Carson returned to the stand, answering questions from the Council for half an hour. Finally, Chairman Coffey gaveled the proceedings to a close. "The Council will retire to render a decision on the validity of Heather Rhodes' asylum in the Cascade Pack. Trial adjourned."

We stood as the Council left, then Carson stood and turned to us. I pulled him into a hug, joined by his brothers and his sister. "I guess we wait," he said as we broke up. "Back to the house?"

"I need to check on Mykayla," I said.

"I'm going too," Coral said.

The boys headed back to relax while Coral and I walked across to the clinic building. The guards bowed their heads to us as we walked through to the room where she was staying. Looking in, I could see Mykayla in her wolf form, the dark colors of her wolf standing out on the white sheet. Next to the bed, a massive brown wolf stretched out on the floor, his face on his paws. "Timur?" His tail whapped on the tile.

"She sleeps better with him in the room," Chase said. "I thought wolf form might be less threatening when she wakes."

"Is she all right," Coral asked.

"Physically, she'll be fine. No broken bones, and now that she has shifted, her werewolf healing will help her recover in a few days." He didn't say the rest.

"Mentally?" I was afraid of the answer.

"I have no idea how she will respond when she awakes. She doesn't know how to send, and I couldn't get her to shift back."

Coral and I moved to the other side of the bed, stroking her neck and stomach lightly. "Alpha? They've called the trial back in session," Beta Ron said.

"We've got a decision," I told the others. "Come on."

"Link me in. I don't want to disturb her rest," Chase asked.

I kept the bond open as we sat back in our seats and waited for the Council to come in. "What's after this," I asked Sawyer.

"Back to your trial. The world Alphas have all seen the proceedings from January. Each side will summarize their position, and then we will have the opportunity to ask questions. When done, the Alphas will go back into the jury room."

We didn't have time to talk more because the door opened. Chairman Coffey and the Council sat, and he gaveled the proceedings to order. "The Council's decision is as follows. The asylum request for the unborn children of Heather Rhodes and Greg Barks is valid."

"Yes," I sent to Chase.

"Wait for it," he said.

"However, the Council will not approve any additional requests for Trusted Agent status. We will allow time for her to give birth and wean the babies, but that is it. One year from today, the asylum status will expire, and Carson Nygaard must turn her over to the Council."

Carson started to stand, but Sawyer and the Enforcer behind him were ready. They held him down as Chairman Coffey continued. "If Alpha Nygaard fails to comply with the order, or if he allows Heather Rhodes to escape or reveal our existence, he shall be removed from office as Alpha of the Cascade Pack and executed. The trial of Alphas Rori King and Chase Nygaard will resume in thirty minutes."

And with a bang of the gavel, my brother's mate had been condemned to die.

Ch. 8

Heather Rhodes' POV

Trailhead in the Cascade Range

"We have to go," I told my aunt and her husband after letting them go. I'd kept their hands high, above my broken ribs, but they still ached.

"Back to the airport? I can't believe this shit," Mongo said.

"No, back to the Pack House. We need to get over the ridge while it is still light, or it is much more dangerous."

The big man looked over. "And how exactly are we getting over the ridge?"

She pointed at the biggest of the three wolves, a huge male. "Four-paw drive. Mongo, you get Frank, Three T, you take Beta Carl on the right, and I'll be on Colletta."

"Really?" Three Tequila walked over to Carl, who dropped to the ground so she could climb on. She shrieked as he stood up, but I showed her how to sit so she would not hamper his breathing.

"What about Tom?"

"I'm going to head back to the main road. One of the Pack members will pick up your luggage from me, and then I'll head northeast to throw anyone off the trail. The Enforcers won't see or smell you if they are still watching the Pack entrance."

Frank dropped to the gravel and let out a groan as he stood up with Mongo on top of him. "Poor guy, having to carry your fat ass up the mountain," Tom teased.

"Can't we ride a snowmobile?" Mongo didn't look comfortable on the big wolf.

"Too steep for that," I said. I waved to Tom as he got back in the vehicle, then coached Mongo on riding a wolf.

We went single file back up the trail. "What happened with Carson," Three T asked me.

"I got a reprieve," I said. "Carson and his Pack will let me stay here with the Pack and have my babies, but their protection is only good for a year. After that, Carson has to turn me over to them, so I can be killed to protect their secret."

"Then why are we staying here? Jesus, Heather, let's go back to the airport and get the fuck out of Dodge," Mongo said. "We'll go with you. The Brotherhood will keep you safe!"

"I can't do that," I said. "If I leave, the Council will kill Carson. It's messed up, but he saved my life and brought me here, knowing it might cost him everything. I can't leave him behind." I wiped away a tear, thinking back to how he defended me this morning. "I can't do that to him or his family. They all risked a lot to protect me."

"So, you're just going to let them kill you when the year is over?"

"We'll think of something," I said. Frank chuffed in response, and we didn't talk much more as we hit the steep and dangerous part of the trail. "Keep low and balanced," I told them as we pushed up above the treeline. I let out a sigh of relief as we reached the top; the sun was almost to the horizon, with Mount Ranier just to its right. The wolves kept moving slowly, as making their way down was even more dangerous. Frank almost went down when his front left paw slid on a patch of ice, making me hold on to Colletta's fur even tighter.

The sun was down as we reached the treeline. "Oh, HELL yeah," Mongo said as he saw the three snowmobiles waiting in a clearing. We all got off, then the three wolves shifted and pulled on the clothes stacked on the seats. The three of us looked out over the valley, ignoring them until they had dressed. "Can you handle one," Carl asked Mongo as he watched him walk around the new Arctic Cat.

"If it's got an engine, I can handle it," he said. "This the Alpha One Mountain Cat? I saw one of these in a magazine."

"It is. Kind of hard not to buy a snowmobile with 'Alpha' in the name, but it was the best model for out here. Carson splurged last year and bought a bunch of new gear for us. We've got a dozen of them."

"Sweet." He set Three T in front of him, then got on and started it up; Frank got on the middle one with Colletta, and I got on with Carl. We set off down the trail, moving at an even pace down to the valley towards where the Pack House and homes were. When we had it in sight, Carl waved them up. "Take a fast run across the clearing; you'll love it," he said. "Heather's ribs can't take the bumps."

The two snowmobiles powered ahead, reaching high speeds as we traveled behind. They were already parked in the machinery shed when we arrived. "I have GOT to get me one of these," Mongo said as he helped me off.

"I thought you didn't want anything to do with snow and cold," Three Tequila teased.

"Well, if we have to visit our family and friends, it's not so bad," he said. Carl led us into the big building through a side door that passed by the dining hall. I had gotten a tour, but I still didn't know my way around. Some people were sitting at a table eating sandwiches, while on the other side, an expansive recreation room had hockey playing on the televisions over the bar, with video games going on to the side. "Do you want to eat now, or would you want to change and freshen up first?"

"I'm kind of tired," Three Tequila said. "I need to talk to my niece."

I knew this was coming; Mongo couldn't be happy to find out what had happened. It was going to be a long, uncomfortable conversation for me.

"Fine, I'll have the kitchen send up some sandwiches and snacks to your room. Your clothes beat you here." We went to the top floor. "Let McKenna know if you need anything," he said as he pointed to the woman seated at the reception desk by the Pack offices. She bowed her head to the Beta, and we continued down the opposite hallway to the guest room.

"Thank you, Beta Carl," I said to him as he opened the door to their room, which was similar to mine. "I'll be next door when you're ready."

"Fifteen minutes," Three Tequila said. "We're just going to shower and change quickly."

I went to my room, finally able to raise my arms high enough to remove my shirt tonight. My ribs still hurt, but the painkillers and ice therapy had helped. I changed into lounge pants, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and lined moccasins, all purchased for me by Allison in town today. I'd fled Arrowhead with nothing, and everything I had in Las Vegas was gone. I didn't even have my bank books or emergency cash that I'd left in the car outside the Arrowhead Pack House.

Now, it didn't matter. Everyone in the Werewolf world knew who I was and where I was hiding. Stepping out into the hallway, I got to their door at the same time the food did. "Thank you, Allison," I said to the young Omega as she left the room.

"It's going to be a long talk, isn't it," she said. The cheery 22-year old and I had hit it off after meeting earlier in the morning when she came to clean my room. We had talked about hot men and music as I helped her with what I could handle physically, which wasn't much. She had good taste in clothes, too.

"I've got to come clean on a lot of things I'd rather not talk about," I said quietly.

"I'll come back in an hour with what you need," she said. I gave her a quick hug, then knocked on the door.

I remember how awkward and uncomfortable I'd been when my Mom sat me down to have the 'birds and the bees' talk, not knowing that between school and the Internet, I already had the idea. I'd kept my sex life hidden from the Club and my parents, but I couldn't hide what my belly was doing. When they told me to come in, Mongo was sitting at a table by the window across from Three Tequila with their sandwiches. I poured myself a glass of milk and stood between them. "I'm sorry," I said.

"Baby, we all make mistakes, and love makes you do things," Three Tequila said as she pulled me into her lap. "We're not mad at you; we just want you to be happy."

"I'm mad at Greg," Mongo said.

"He already got a beat-down over it," I said. "And do you think anything you do to him will be worse or more embarrassing than his current situation? His mate knows what he did, hell, every werewolf in the world does. 'Don't be a Greg' is the Werewolf version of 'Don't be a Todd.' He'll never live it down."

"Good," Mongo said. "I see him, and I will beat his ass just because he hurt you."

I rolled my eyes. "None of that will help me. I'm here now, I'm fourteen weeks pregnant with twins, and I'm scared," I said. "I've got an expiration date, for God's sake! They want to take my babies away and kill me!"

Three T held me, and Mongo got down on his knees and wrapped his arms around us both as the emotional dam burst. I don't know how long I cried, but when I heard the knock on the door, T's shirt was soaked, and my eyes and face were red. Allison came in with four containers of ice cream. "Looks like I'm just in time," she said.

"Thank you," I said as I took my favorite flavor, mint chocolate chip. Mongo took the Rocky Road, and Three Tequila the cookies and cream. "Sit with us, Allison. I'd rather not repeat this story more than I have to."

She sat on the floor next to the bed with her container of vanilla, and I launched into my story. I didn't stop, and they didn't ask questions. Everything I went through since leaving Orlando came out over the next hour. When I finished with the events of today's trial, we were all a mess. "Allison, can you take the things back down to the kitchen," I asked my friend.

"Of course," she said. After giving me a big hug, she gathered it all up and took it to the cart waiting outside.

"I couldn't say this next part with Allison here; she's Pack, and I don't want it getting back to Carson," I said.

"What is it, baby?"

"He says he loves me, but that can't be the case," I said. "I watched the trial, and I've talked to enough werewolves now to know. Every wolf wants his mate, and I can't be the mate for one," I said as I laid back on the bed. "Greg proved to me that love isn't enough."

"Greg was an asshole," Mongo said as he clenched his fists. "He was older, and he should have known better."

"Greg is twenty-five. Do you know how old Carson is?"

"I don't know, thirty?"

"Eighty-seven." Their jaws dropped. "They live a lot longer and age far slower than we do after their wolves emerge when they are about seventeen."

"Wow," Mongo said. "And he's the middle boy."

"It doesn't matter. Everything is different for werewolves; they are superior to us in every way but fertility. The only reason the Council granted my stay of execution is to birth werewolf babies." I rolled over and put my head on Three T's leg. "I figured it out while I was watching the trial. Carson took me out of Arrowhead, maybe because we are friends, maybe to protect his little brother, maybe because he didn't agree with what they were doing. Once I was gone, he realized how much trouble he had gotten in. None of those reasons would allow him to stay in power. Telling the Council that his wolf claimed me as his mate was the only way to get away with taking me from them. He doesn't love me; he can't. I barely know him." I wiped a tear away. "I'd be dead right now without him. I won't run, because I don't want him hurt. I'll have my babies, I'll hold them in my arms, and I'll let him turn me over to them."

"NO!" Mongo jumped up, pacing by the bed. "There has to be a way out of this. I can't lose you, baby."

"I'm tired of running, Mongo. Too many people want me dead, and I don't want more people to die because of me. I'm a danger to everyone around me, especially to my babies."

"It's not your fault!" Three T's face was shocked by my words.

"No one I love is safe as long as I am alive. If I have to die to save my babies, I will."

Ch. 9

Three Tequila's POV

Cascade Pack House, Alpha Wing

My heart was aching as I brought Heather back to her room. Her situation was bad, but her confession was worse. She convinced herself that she would have to die, and she was making peace with it. I gave her a careful hug before returning to our room.

Mongo was pacing in front of the window, clenching and relaxing his fists as he tried to calm down. "It's not going to happen, I won't allow it," he said as I walked to him.

"We need to know what happened at the trial," I said. "Whatever went on, it scared the shit out of Heather. She was already hurt and vulnerable, and now she's given up. We have to see why."

He nodded and walked out into the hallway, returning a few minutes later with McKenna. She plugged a memory stick into the LCD television above our dresser and handed Mongo the remote. "Our Alpha's trial is about three hours long, but there are some interruptions."

"Like what?"

"An execution. The rest is a continuation of Alpha Rori and Chase's trial. That won't make much sense unless you watch their first trial. I can get it for you if you want."

I looked at the clock; it was almost eleven, meaning it was two in the morning Florida time. "We're going to need coffee as well," I said.

"I'll bring you a pot," she said as she left.

"We could always nap first and get up early to watch it," Mongo said as he pulled me into his lap on the bed.

"Could you sleep?" I looked at him; he was just as upset as I was.

"No."

"Me either. It's like my head is going a million miles an hour, and my emotions are out of control. I haven't felt this way since... since..." Tears rolled down my face as I remembered.

"The miscarriage."

"Yes." It was less than a week after we'd announced our pregnancy when the cramping started, and two hours later, our baby was gone. My doctor told me it wasn't my fault, that pregnancy at my age carried higher risks, but I was a mess. She said there was no way to tell why it had happened, or if it would happen again. It was likely my last chance for a child of my own. One day I was a Mom, the next I was not.