Claiming Treasure Ch. 41-45

Heather Rhodes' POV
Cascade Pack House, Alpha Office

"Baby, I need you to sit in the corner here and watch," Carson said to me. "I don't know if we can trust them with the secret of your existence, and you'll appear to be a guard."

"Fine, if I have to," I replied. My wolf didn't like getting pushed to the side; she wanted recognition as his equal. "What happens if we can't trust him?"

"Then we fight his claim to take over as Alpha of the Denali Pack and find someone else to take over."

"Alpha, we have arrived," the driver said from out front.

Yesterday, the son of the late Denali Pack Alpha had called requesting our support of his leadership. Carson said he would have to speak to him in person first. We told him to fly to Seattle, and we would bring him to our Pack to discuss it. Interim Alpha Alan Robertson, who was seventeen years old, immediately accepted.

"Bring him up to our office." I didn't know if he would understand the snub we were giving him by doing this. Fellow Alphas were met at the stairs, while lower-ranking wolves were brought to the Alpha's office. When he arrived, he didn't appear to be upset by it. "Alan, welcome to the Cascade Pack," Carson said as he came around the desk to shake his hand.

He shook it back, glancing at the corner where I was watching him intently. Carson didn't introduce me, so he looked back. He met Carson's eyes, but only held them for a few seconds before looking down. "Thank you for seeing me, Alpha. On behalf of the Denali Pack, I apologize for the issues the former Alpha caused you."

"Issues is one way to say it," Carson said as he gestured to the chair. He sat behind the desk and looked at the young man. "Invasion is another."

"My father always had his nose too far up Coffey's ass to see straight," he said. "It will take a long time to heal from the damage he left behind."

"What do you mean?"

"Denali is remote and isolated, and he used that against us. He would talk about the need for the Pack to be tough and independent, but that was a cover. In reality, he was afraid someone would push him aside. Vic Knightly was a good example. He was more respected than my father, even though my father refused to allow him to rise beyond Pack Warrior. My father encouraged him to leave by taking away his Warrior position."

I thought about what an Alpha like that would fear. The biggest competition for an Alpha came from his offspring, and Alan was now reaching adulthood. "How did he react when you shifted?"

"He tried to kill me. When I shifted, my wolf and I both knew that our destiny was to rule and to rule soon. My wolf refused to submit to him, and that enraged him. He choked me out; if the Pack Healer hadn't grabbed me when he turned away, I would have died there on the front lawn. No one would interfere with his family." He looked out the window for a moment, collecting himself. "He'd been beating me since I was ten, to 'toughen me up' as he said. My mother's wolf had been beaten into submission shortly after they were mated. She wouldn't ever do or say anything against him, for fear that he'd kill her the next time."

What a loser. Hitting on a boy who hadn't shifted yet? Abusing his own mate? "How can the bond even allow that?"

"It shouldn't," he said. "Your wolf has to be seriously fucked in the head to do that to your other half." He stood and grabbed two water bottles out of the fridge, handing one to the boy. "What happened then?"

Brian took a drink and continued. "He didn't allow me to train with the other warriors, and he wouldn't train me either. I think Alan knew that if I learned how to fight, I'd use it against him. Instead, he would keep me away from the rest of the Pack. I spent months doing patrols, hunting parties, explorations, anything he could do to keep me out of the way." He smiled a little. "If he thought he was holding me down, he was wrong. I spent months in wolf form in the mountains, strengthening my body and sparring with every warrior in the Pack. I learned quickly and grew strong. I was waiting for one thing before I challenged him for the position," he said with a sigh.

"A mate."

"Yes. I did not find my mate in my Pack, and I was not allowed to travel. My father knew that with my true mate by my side, I'd be even stronger. He was planning to mate me to a Pack member, knowing a choice mate wouldn't be the same."

I liked this boy. "He does not seem to be like his father."

"How would you change things at your Pack?"

"I would return us to the path Luna set us all on. I would encourage true mates. I would repair our facilities and finances, which are in poor shape. I will lead them towards a path that makes us respected not for our power, but our character and faith." He looked over at me. "Luna Heather is proof that the Goddess is doing new things in our world. I wish to be a part of that movement and partake in the blessings that you have."

"Do you believe your Pack would support you, despite your age and heritage? The Council will treat this the same as a challenge since I have the lawful right to the Alpha position."

"I know they will. As you said, my father attacked and failed, and we all saw it happen. If you want Denali, it is yours, and I would serve as your Beta. If you do not, I am here to ask for the position."

"I agree with you, Heather. The prisoners said the same, they would gladly accept him as Alpha."

"What would we do with a Pack in Alaska, Carson? Better to have an ally than a long-distance responsibility that will drain our energy and finances."

"You are right." He stood up and went around the desk as Alan stood too. "You have our support to become Alpha of Denali," he told him as he embraced him. "I will inform the Council of our decision."

"Thank you, Alpha," he said with a smile, then looked at me. "And thank you, Luna, for being the change we need as a people."

"What are we going to do with his warriors?"

"We can't do anything about the dead." All of them were buried now, except one man who'd been decapitated by the cable on the road in the rental car. We left him with a staged accident scene and fire. Another car had been brought back to the rental company on a flatbed after crashing into a tree. The other vehicles they brought, they had been rented for a week. We had them parked out of sight. "I'll send back the others with him in the rentals."

I got up and stood by the door while I waited for them to catch up. When we went outside, I ran into the woods and relieved myself before following them to the cells. It made me feel good to see how his people reacted to seeing him, and their joy when they found out he was going to be Alpha.

An hour later, as they drove off, I rubbed my head against Carson's leg. "I feel hopeful now," I told him. "I just hope Carl and Angelina can handle Banff."

"Me too, baby. If it doesn't work, we may have to liquidate the Pack and disperse the members. They could be the biggest problem since Coral had to straighten out Bitterroot."

"How bad was that?"

He just laughed. "Come on. I need to show you a video called 'The Battle of the Coral Sees.' You'll get a new appreciation for your sister-in-law."

"You haven't even asked me to marry you! If you liked it, wouldn't you put a ring on it?"

He knelt in front of me, picking up my paw as I sat down. This was it, I thought to myself. I had the man I love on bended knee, about to make a romantic marriage proposal! I looked at him with my head tilted and my tongue hanging out the side of my mouth while my tail whapped the grass behind me. Yeah, that's just like I dreamed it would happen as a little girl. "Rings don't survive the shift, but we can tattoo the skin if you want," he said. "I will give you a ring, just as I will give you everything you desire. I love you, Heather, and I do want to marry you as a human just as I mated you as a wolf. You are mine, I am yours, forever."

"I love you, Carson."

Ch. 42

Alpha Rori King's POV
Arrowhead Pack House

"I thought you should know," she said.

"Thank you for telling me, Loralei. I'm sure the FBI is being thorough." I hung up the phone, silently fuming about what was going on. In the four days since the attack, the FBI was no closer to finding the identities of the missing men. They had learned the names of several of the men, and agents had served warrants on several homes in the Monogahela Pack. So far, Ron and Teri had been able to hold their new Pack together and keep the investigation from spreading further into their isolated mountain valley. "It's just a matter of time," I said to Chase as he worked on our finances.

"They aren't going away quietly," he agreed. "All those bodies and the television coverage, I didn't expect they would. What that hell were they thinking would happen when they come in, guns blazing, on the shores of a human-populated lake?"

"I don't think they were thinking. It's a mess, though." I looked out the window at the lake, which was finally ice-free. "That's the third call I've gotten this morning, warning me the FBI was poking around in my affairs. They were asking Loralei if there were any signs we were involved in drug trafficking or gang activity. Thank Luna that we have good relationships with our neighbors." Loralei owned the property next to our back entrance, which now had two burned-out homes torn down next to her. Her family had owned the property for decades, and she wasn't selling. The FBI talking to her again for background made sense, even though she wasn't home during the attack. I didn't like them pushing her about our activities.

"At least she likes us, and knows the bikers are good people from when she came over for the picnic," he said. With the biker parties and the multiple attacks, we had to reach out more. Saving our neighbors from the kidnapping helped, as did the beach parties we occasionally had where we invited them. "I'll talk to my Mom, see if they can shut them down from above like they did with the Task Force."

We'd swept the office and Pack House for bugs, but we were watching surveillance teams near the entrance, and we believed the FBI was listening to our phones. If they had targeted us, they'd be going after our finances and backgrounds next. "The deal we made with the Feds didn't include any future acts. If the Justice Department keeps poking around, we're all in trouble." Frank had made things clear when he briefed the Council; none of us would be able to withstand scrutiny for long.

"Not from here," I said.

"I'll use a burner once we get to town. I have to go visit our lawyer, and we need to pick up our meat order from the new supplier in Duluth." We went through a lot of meat and seafood. We had used a butcher shop in Two Harbors that delivered to the Pack House, but the owner backed out after the attack. He 'didn't want to get involved with anyone shady,' he said. The longer the FBI treated us like criminals, the more people would assume we were criminals. "I love you, Rori."

"I love you too, baby. Stay safe." I kissed him goodbye and went back to work.

An hour later, I got an urgent send from Lance, one of our front gate guards. "Alpha, we have a female rogue here requesting sanctuary and medical care for another rogue. The second is in her wolf form and is in bad shape."

"Define bad."

"Hit by a car, unconscious, blood on the nose."

Shit. "Leave the other guard until I get you relived. Lance, you take them to the clinic and stay with them," I said. Picking up the phone, I called Possum, who had our babies over at her house for the morning. "I need you at the clinic immediately," I said.

"The nannies are here for the toddlers, I'm on my way," she answered. As an Emergency Room nurse, she was the best option with Chase gone. My next call was to Oxbow Lake, where I asked them to get Doctor Olson here as soon as possible. I walked out the door just as Lance carried the wolf in behind Possum, who opened the door for them. I walked across the street while I called Chase. "We've got a problem at the Clinic, how far out are you?"

"We're loading the order now; maybe forty-five minutes?"

"Hurry home." I hung up as I entered the Clinic, walking past a beat-up Honda Accord sedan. I could smell the blood and the scents of their wolves; rogues had a wild edge to their smell. A woman was pacing back and forth in the waiting room while my guard watched from the door. She didn't strike me as a threat; she looked to be in her fifties, which made her an old wolf. She was tall, almost six feet, and thinner than was healthy. She was poorly dressed, and her eyes spoke of a hard life.

She almost fell to the carpet when she felt my dominance in the room. She did step back and kneel to me with her neck bared in submission. "Alpha, I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to do. Please don't kill me."

My heart broke for the old wolf, who was shaking in fear. "It's all right," I said as I got down in front of her and pulled her to me in a hug. "No one will hurt you here. You have my word."

She broke down in my arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "She expected to die," I asked the guard.

"For most Packs, a rogue arriving without invitation is killed first and questioned later," he said. "Your offer to take in rogues hasn't been out long, and it's not like we have them on a mailing list. She was willing to risk death to bring the young wolf to us."

"Thank you for bringing her here. I am Alpha Rori King, welcome to the Arrowhead Pack. That's Lance, one of the warriors here."

"Mabel Johnson," she said.

"Who is the wolf you brought in? Your daughter?"

She shook her head as she tried to catch her breath; I helped her to the couch, where I held her hand as she recovered. "I don't know who she is," she said. "I found her by the road while I was out hunting. I couldn't leave her to die."

"Where?"

"Near Ely. I've lived there for the past twenty years."

She was looking back at the treatment area, and since Possum couldn't link with me, she couldn't tell me how the young wolf was doing. "Lance, go help Possum and give me an update. This wolf is not a danger to me."

He hesitated for a second; a pregnant female was vulnerable, and a rogue could be unpredictable. "Yes, Alpha. I'll get the Security Center to send over another to replace me."

I rolled my eyes, but he was right. "Have them send over new clothes for a tall, thin woman and some food." Her clothes were bloodstained and ruined. Lance walked out of the room as I looked at Mabel. "Mabel, were you part of a Pack at one time?"

She nodded. "Bitterroot."

I let out a low growl at that; I'd heard enough stories out of that hellhole and had a bunch of Omegas in my Pack who had survived it. She started to cry at my reaction, and even let out a little urine in her fright. "No, not you, but I know many who suffered there." I pulled her into my arms again and held her while she caught her breath. "Does anyone know a Mabel Johnson from their time in Bitterroot?"

I got immediate yes answers from the older Bitterroot Omegas, with my housekeeper, Sally, among them. "She died a long time ago, Alpha, back in the early fifties. Why would her name come up?"

"Because she's crying in my arms right now in the clinic waiting room," I replied.

"OH MY LUNA I'll be right there," she said, quickly joined by a few of the others. They must have run to the Clinic since a half-dozen of my Pack came through the door less than a minute later, all screaming and crying as they gathered around a shocked and crying Mabel.

"Alpha told us you died," Sally said when they finally settled down. I took a chair, letting her friends join her on the couch.

"He tried," she said. "I tried to escape, breaking the bond and running for the border. His border guard caught me. Alpha and his men raped me, beat me to within an inch of my life, then dumped me off Pack lands. It took days before I healed enough to get away from there."

"What happened then?"

"I stole some clothes and hitchhiked to Phoenix. I took a new name and worked at anything I could do. Waitress, cook, home health care, housekeeping, anything I could find. When I had been in one place too long, and my lack of aging might raise questions, I'd move to another town and take another name."

"You've been rogue all this time?"

She nodded. "I've stayed at least a hundred miles from any Pack since that day."

"How did you avoid going feral," one of her friends asked. "That's a long time to be alone."

"My wolf took what happened to me hard," she said. "Even as an Omega in the Pack, you belonged to something. The way Alpha and the others turned on me, it changed her. She didn't want to see another Alpha again." Her face dropped as she realized what she said and looked at me; she quickly bared her neck. "I'm so sorry, Alpha, I didn't mean you. My wolf likes you."

"It's all right, Mabel. My wolf didn't like Alphas either. There are still a few out there she doesn't like," I said as the girls laughed.

Doc Olson walked through the door, barely glancing at me before he went down the hall to the treatment room. Two more women followed him, one with clothes, the other with a tray of food. The girls set their things on the table, and I introduced the girls before they returned to the Pack House. "Sally, I'm sure Mabel would appreciate a shower and change of clothes before we eat," I said. "Can you take her back and help her with that?"

"Of course," she said. She helped Mabel up before grabbing the clothes and walking her down the hall. "I'm so happy you're here, it's so different..."

The door closed and I looked at the other girls. "She's getting sanctuary, and if she wants, she will join our Pack," I told the relieved girls still in the room. "I'd never turn one like her away."

"It's going to be a big adjustment, she's spent longer as a lone wolf than as a Pack wolf," Violet said.

"And I need you guys to help her settle. Find her a room in the Omega quarters; better yet, see if she wants to stay with Mabel or one of you for a while. Introduce her around and tell her how this Pack functions. She'll find it easier to accept from you than from Chase or me."

"Of course, Alpha," she said.

"We'll take good care of our friend. She was good to us in Bitterroot," another added.

"I'd expect no less." I got up and went back to the treatment room, telling Lance to return to his duties. The wolf was still out, a blood bag was hanging along with an IV, and Doc was shaving her side. "How is she doing," I asked.

"Lacerated kidney, three broken ribs, broken left leg," he said as he swabbed her with Betadine. "She's bleeding internally. I have to operate."

"Chase will be here in about twenty minutes. He'll come straight here."

"I can't wait for him," he said as he opened a surgical tray. "Another thirty minutes and it would have been too late."

"How old do you think she is?"

"Young. Not long from the first shift," Doc said. "Gown up or get out, Alpha."

"I'll be in my office," I said. "Thanks for coming, Doc." I walked back out, leaving the girls to wait for Mabel. I needed to talk to the Pack, and lunch was starting soon.

Ch. 43

Rori King's POV
Arrowhead Pack Alpha Office

Sally promised to take care of Mabel, the twins were down for their naps, and Chase was almost home and would go right to surgery, so I went to eat. The Pack House was busier than usual as we'd taken in dozens of new Pack members recently. The Pack greeted me warmly as I walked in, and I stopped at a few tables to see how everyone was doing.