Claiming Treasure Ch. 41-45

Still, they were working with the cellular carriers and now had data on when the phone was active and the towers the phone was pinging. Triggers were in place in case the phone popped up again, giving the FBI an immediate notification.

Frank's frantic send brought me out of the trance that reading PenumbraMine's Tarnished Stars had placed me in. "Get the car and meet me out front, we need to get back to Two Harbors immediately," he said. "Jack Coffey has been spotted just outside Duluth by one of the new Arrowhead Pack members."

I gathered my stuff and shoved my phone back in my purse. "What the fuck is Coffey doing there," I asked. "And how did he get across the border?"

"It can't be good. I'm assuming he's there to go after Rori."

I dumped my trash before refilling my Coke and heading out to the elevators. "Have you called for our plane?"

"Just got off the phone, they'll be ready when we get there. The Task Force has to go through channels, we'll be there an hour or two before they arrive."

I reached the parking level and hurried to our rental. "Have you talked to Rori or Chase?"

"I can't do that around humans. Give them a call when you're in the car, then pick me up by the planters at the front entrance."

I got in, started the car, and put the phone on speaker as I called Chase. I kept the mind-link open with Frank so he could listen in. "Son? What's going on?"

"It's a mess, Mom. Local police moved in on Coffey at a sporting goods store, but he got spooked and ran." He paused, and I heard some talking in the background. "Mom, one of the St. Louis County Deputies got hurt behind the building. A big dog attacked his K-9 partner, then bit his arm before escaping over the fence. They can't find him, and they can't find Coffey either."

"Did anyone see him?" I was pulling up on the exit from parking; I handed the attendant the ticket and twenty dollars.

"Coffey just disappeared into thin air."

"Those stores will have cameras everywhere. He shifted among humans?"

I couldn't believe THAT man was THAT stupid. Actually, I could. "The Deputy, was he hurt bad?"

"His right forearm must have been torn up pretty bad, and they had it immobilized and bandaged. The Sheriff hasn't released more details yet." He said this in a way that ensured we knew what it meant, while not saying anything over a phone that would incriminate our kind.

"We're heading to the airport now; the Task Force is heading for Duluth to follow up on his sighting in person. We should land in Two Harbors in three hours or so," I told him.

"That's fine, I can have a driver meet you there."

"Chase, are they going to catch this guy?"

He let out a breath. "He left his wallet and car behind, and no one knows if someone is helping him. He already broke through the initial police lines, and it's too late for roadblocks now. I think he's gone."

Frank spoke up in my head. "Tell Chase we have to save this cop or it's going to go bad for us."

"Chase, our community stands behind law enforcement and the Deputy who got hurt. We need to do everything we can to help him recover."

"Everything?"

"Yes, whatever it takes." I saw Frank coming down the steps. "Let me call you back in a bit," I said as I pulled up in front of the Government Building.

"I'll see what else I can learn. Bye, Mom." I hung up just as Frank got to the door and was pulling away as soon as he got in. "What a shitstorm," I said. "Shifting in a store? With all those cameras recording EVERYTHING? Is he trying to expose us?"

"Colletta, the line between vindictive and stupid isn't all that wide. It doesn't matter why he did it. What matters is that we could have a dead cop, and a shifter caught in the act. It's hard to come up with a worse way for him to blow our cover."

I made a turn and checked my phone; it showed thirty-two minutes to the airport. "We need to clamp down on this, and HARD, before the video ends up on the five-o-clock news. We could have a full-scale panic on our hands."

"Call the Director now," Frank said.

I looked at him, then nodded. A few seconds later, Hugh Patterson answered his private cellphone. "I'm busy, Colletta," he said.

"This is an emergency, and I need you to be alone to talk," I said. "It's about Duluth."

I heard him order some people to leave before he picked the phone back up. "I'm listening."

"Jack Coffey is like me," I said. "When he escaped the local police, he left behind evidence of more than just his attack on the officer and his dog. The surveillance video and the things in his car are explosive."

Frank joined in. "Sir, we need you to push the FBI in as lead agency and keep the locals from learning too much. Tell them there might be bomb parts in the car, impound it and haul it off. Get the surveillance tapes and make sure there aren't any other copies, and push on the locals to keep things quiet."

"If I don't?"

"Full-scale panic," I said. "Something like this that catches everyone by surprise, where the highest levels of Government aren't ready, it could get ugly and quick."

"Mr. Director, seconds count here. I'm begging you, issue the orders, and we'll talk more soon."

I could hear him tapping his fingers on his desk. "Fine. I'll squash what I can, but it's going to get out. Too many people know, and they don't work for me."

"You're right, sir," I said. "Frank is heading to Duluth, and I'll catch a flight to Washington. I think it's time we laid all our cards on the table. I need to meet with the President."

"Call me back," he said before he hung up.

"FUCK!" I banged my hand on the steering wheel, hating that we didn't have a choice. "I guess you are heading back alone," I said.

"It sucks, but I think you're doing the right thing," Frank said as he held my hand. "Time for you to show everyone why you should be the next Council Chairman."

"I never asked for the job, Frank."

"Luna has a way of putting the right person in the right place at the right time. You're that person, Colletta. I'm convinced of it."

"I still feel like I showed up late to the meeting, and the others all assigned me the shit job." I thought of something. "SHIT! Patterson will want me to shift to prove what I am, and I can't shift when I'm pregnant!"

"You're not in this alone, love. Call Martin at the Adirondack Pack, have him meet you in Washington with Nehemiah Pensky. If the Doctor is going to be on the Council with you, he might as well go with you. Those two can shift while you explain things."

He was right; one of the things I loved about him was how calm he stayed in a crisis. "You're right."

"I'll just sit back and enjoy that feeling, my love," he teased. I made the call.

Alpha Alan Robertson's POV
Denali Pack House, Alaska

"Alpha, we just received a notification of an emergency Alpha videoconference. It's starting as soon as everyone is present," my secretary said.

I looked up from the ledgers I'd been working with our Pack Accountant to understand. My father had kept a lot of things hidden, including money, and it was going to take months to uncover it all. "Thank you."

I called for my mother and my Beta to join me in the office as I logged on to the system. The laptop camera would only show me, but the audio would show on the wall monitor so the others could follow along. Beta Scott was first to arrive; he had gone rogue and was making his way towards Arrowhead when my father died at the Cascade Pack. He agreed to return after hearing I was taking over. We had spent a lot of time together on patrols, and I trusted him with my life. "Alpha," he said. "Any idea what is going on?"

"I guess we'll find out soon," I said as I entered my ID and password into the system. I kept the microphone muted, seeing there were still eight or so Alphas not connected yet.

Scott stood as the door opened, and my mother walked in. She was looking better now, her wolf recovering slowly from the shock of losing her mate. She was eighty-seven years old but looked like she was in her early thirties, with long black hair cascading in gentle curls below her shoulders. "Luna Kathryn," he said with a nod of his head. Since I was not mated, she remained the Pack's Luna.

I stood and pulled a chair over next to me. "Hello, Mom," I said as I kissed her cheek. I could feel her shiver as I helped her sit, and my wolf reached out to comfort hers. She was looking around, a little nervous; she dreaded a summons to here when my father lived.

I needed to remodel this room soon to take away those bad memories for her. My father only brought her here for punishment or as a figurehead in discussions with other Alphas. Either way, something she did was wrong, so he'd beat her for it. "I need you to watch and give me any advice you have," I said.

"If you think I can," she said quietly. "I was never allowed to speak unless asked directly about something in meetings."

"You didn't sit through them without learning things, and I need your experience to help me appear like a stronger Alpha than I am," I said. "As the youngest and newest, other Alphas might try and put me in my place. You know them, and you can help me push back."

I held her hand as we watched the others appear. Mom had been Luna here for almost seven decades, ever since my father saw her in Banff and brought her home. She had lost the natural dominance of her Beta blood under my father's fists, but she remained a capable administrator and beloved Luna. I needed her by my side to stabilize the Pack and help me through my growing pains as Alpha. "Nothing you say or do will get you hurt again, Mom."

The final Alpha appeared, and Alpha Rori started things out. "We have a major problem on our hands, Alphas. Jack Coffey was spotted at a store near Duluth, Minnesota earlier this morning." There were wide eyes at this news, as they soon figured out Rori was probably his target. "As you know, he has international warrants out for him for his hiring of an assassin to kill my Grandfather and my mate-sister. The police failed to arrest him."

"We'll send extra warriors, anyone you need," Alpha Steven March said. "Coffey has to be stopped. I'm assuming he's coming after you?"

"We don't know why he's in town, but it doesn't matter now. Coffey undressed and shifted to his wolf behind the store, then he attacked and bit a cop before running away. All of this was in broad daylight. The cop might have seen him, and for sure, he's going to show up on surveillance cameras doing it. Probably more than one, and maybe a dash camera. Our secret might be out within the hour if someone releases the recordings to the media," she said.

That set off a bunch of talking and shouting among the Alphas, which Rori let go for a bit before she smacked her hand on her desk and growled. "There's nothing we as Alphas can do about this. Frank Grimes and Colletta Nygaard are working to minimize the damage with the human government and law enforcement. If they request anything from you, see that they get it immediately," she said.

"What does this mean for us," Alpha Martin Nemmers asked.

"For Europe and Russia, not much right away," Rori said. "Colletta is going to be talking to American officials first, and she's flying to Washington now. She'll probably have to do the same with the Canadian government, given Coffey's ties to Canadian Packs. She will be requesting assistance in keeping this under wraps, and managing the fallout if it cannot be kept quiet."

"Will they help us?"

"We won't know. Colletta's going to have to see how they react to finding out there are monsters in their midst. We're hopeful they will help if only to keep a full-scale panic from occurring." I could see how nervous Rori was about this.

"How much time do we have," Sawyer asked.

Rori shrugged. "Minutes, hours, probably not more than a day or two. If this video is released, it will go viral in minutes. I don't know if we'll be able to get people to discount it."

"People know you can fake things," I said. "We could work that angle, call it a publicity stunt."

"With a Ten Most Wanted fugitive at the center, an injured cop and an injured police dog? If it was one low-quality camera, maybe. If multiple cameras AND people saw it? Not a chance in hell," Rori replied. "I recommend every Pack prepare as if a mob of angry humans with pitchforks is going to show up on their driveway soon. Keep the vulnerable close, up patrols, close up any physical barriers," she said.

It was a sensible precaution. Denali was so isolated that it wouldn't change much for us.

"There's one more thing," Rori said. "When Jack escaped, he bit a Deputy Sheriff on the arm. He's at the hospital now getting stitched up."

"Oh fuck," Coral said. "You can't hide that."

"Yeah. The first werewolf to reveal himself to humans didn't just pay people to bomb airplanes, but he will kill a cop," Sawyer said.

"There's only one way to stop it, and it's a long shot," Rori said. "We've been able to successfully change two humans into werewolves IF we had their mate to claim them and pull their wolf out. We need to find the man's mate, if she exists, and quickly."

"Werewolves don't have human mates," Alpha Ulf Svenson said.

"We didn't think so, but Luna disagreed twice so far, and she's the Goddess, not us," Rori said. "She has not given humans to us as fated mates, at least we don't think she has. Colletta was a widow, while Alpha Carson's true mate had rejected him and later died." She put up a photo of a Deputy Sheriff with his police dog, taken from the Sheriff's webpage. "This is Deputy Mark Brighton and his dog Max. According to his social media accounts, he's thirty-two years old, divorced, no kids, and likes canoeing in the Boundary Waters and fishing. He'll be dead by tomorrow night if we do nothing, and his death will fall on our kind. Our only chance to save his life is to try what we did with Frank and Heather. We have to find if Luna has assigned him a mate. If she has, they need to find each other in time for us to explain everything and get him to agree to the change before he dies."

"That's impossible! There are HUNDREDS of potential mates around the world! What are the chances this random human among the billions is a second chance mate for any of our females?" Alpha Joel Sigurdsson looked around. "It's a needle in a haystack!"

"There's only one way to find out for sure," Alpha Ivan Baronsky said. "Every Alpha needs to immediately send any wolves who have lost their fated mates to Arrowhead."

Rori nodded. "Yes, but not just the widows and rejected. Two isn't a representative sample," she said. "I want every unmated she-wolf above the age of eighteen at Arrowhead by tomorrow morning at the latest. Fly them to Minneapolis-St. Paul or Duluth, and we'll pick them up." She thought for a moment. "If you wish, send unmated males with them as escorts; at worst, we get a chance for them to find their mates. We will accommodate them all with Oxbow Lake's help, and I will guarantee their safety."

Sawyer leaned forward and spoke first. "Rori, are you sure it's wise to have everyone descending on Arrowhead when you're the likely target of Jack Coffey AND maybe humans? Has the FBI even taken away the crime scene tape?"

"Yesterday. Oh, I have another idea to help with security," Rori said with a smile. "It's going to be one hell of a party."

The call ended shortly after, and Beta Scott had already called for all unmated Pack members above the age of eighteen to meet in the Pack House. "Start making reservations," I told him. "Prioritize the women first. Mom, you go pack."

She looked at me, and her jaw dropped. "Why? I'm still recovering from the loss of my mate!"

"You're unmated," I said. "Go. Watch over the others, and make friends." She was shaking her head. "It's not an option, Mom. I committed to sending everyone, and I meant it."

"Fine, but just to watch over my girls," she said. She walked out of the office to go pack.

I looked out the window at the mountains. Change was coming, and right quick.