Claiming Treasure Ch. 55-60

Nancy Clark's POV
Outside Arrowhead Pack Entrance

I had bided my time during the drive, knowing that I'd only have one chance at this. Now that I was standing in the middle of the road, a madman's fingers on the triggers that could blow my head off, I had to wait for the perfect moment.

I could see all the cops around me, but the ones with the pistols and the standard rifles weren't the ones I was looking for. No, I needed the snipers. SWAT, FBI, I didn't care as long as they would take the shot when it was there.

Coffey was playing to the cameras as he waited for his demands to be met by the Arrowhead people. Why he wanted Arrowhead, I didn't know. I tried to keep still and calm, focusing on not getting myself killed while I waited for it all to play out. There was always that chance that he might let me go.

I saw a woman and her husband walking towards us, stopping just off the road. "We're here, Coffey. Let her go."

"Not yet." Coffey turned to me, moving the sawed-off shotgun so it would only blow half my neck off. "Show the world what monsters you truly are, and then I'll release the woman."

"How do I know that will happen? You're just going to give up?"

"If you haven't done it in the next sixty seconds, you'll be wearing her brains. She's innocent, unlike you. Make your choice quickly, Rori. You have fifty seconds."

Her husband moved in front of her. "Some of my people are pregnant, they can't shift. You KNOW that!"

"ALL of you or she dies. Forty seconds."

I looked away from him, towards where I hoped the sniper was watching. I mouthed the words slowly and silently, telling them to be ready to shoot him. I had no idea if they understood, but at this point, it was all I had.

The woman turned to her people. "ARROWHEAD! STRIP AND SHIFT!"

Fifty some people started pulling off clothes and dropping pants on live television. I could see Coffey was watching them and not me. I held up a hand behind my back where he couldn't see it, fingers and thumb spread in a 'five' signal. Four. I heard screams and weird sounds. Three fingers. "WOLVES," someone yelled. Two fingers. A howl. One finger.

"NOW," I yelled as my hand reached up to the shotgun's hammers. It was an antique shotgun, like one my father had used when he taught me to shoot. The double-barreled twelve-gauge had exposed hammers, and my hand grabbed at them. My index finger slid between the hammers and the primers just before he pulled the trigger.

CLICK.

BANG.

I was pulled in his direction, holding on to the shotgun with every ounce of energy I had left. Coffey's dead body fell to the ground, his brains scattered on the road. I fell on top of him as his dead weight pulled at the shotgun he still gripped. I moved my other hand up, pushing the lever that broke the action and ejected the shells.

I'd barely rolled off when the officers reached me. Two men picked me up and carried me away as a third made sure the shotgun was no longer loaded. As I looked back, armed Deputies and Agents had surrounded Coffey's body. The men had me to the ambulance in seconds, sitting me in the back with the doors shielding me from the cameras. "Are you all right, Ma'am?"

"I think so. Get this thing off of me."

One EMT grabbed some shears and started cutting the duct tape that attached the shotgun to my neck, while the other did a quick check of my body for injuries. One of the officers took the firearm and placed it in an evidence bag.

"NANCY!"

"LARRY!" My husband was running through the crowd, and tears ran down my face as he reached me.

"Oh God, baby, are you all right?" I couldn't talk, so I just nodded my head as I buried my face in his chest. The EMTs backed off as he picked me up, sat down, and set me in his lap. "I almost lost you," he said as he held me tight.

"I love you, Larry," I managed to say.

"Ma'am? We need to finish getting this stuff off you," one of the EMTs said as he pointed at my neck. He started to pull it, and it was painful. "Let me get some rubbing alcohol," he said as Larry pulled me away from him.

I was starting to shake. "It's the adrenaline," Larry said as he rocked me gently. "Relax and breathe."

The FBI people approached to talk, but Larry's look chased them away before they could even ask. It took them fifteen minutes to remove all the tape from my neck, and I lost some hair along the way too. I'd finally calmed down enough to think, and that brought up the next subject. "Honey?"

"Yes, love?"

"How did all those people turn into wolves?"

"They're werewolves, baby." My eyes got wide. "Don't worry about it, most of them are good people."

He wasn't even shocked. "How long have you known?"

"Since yesterday. I saw Coffey shift into a wolf behind the Gander store. He was the one who injured my Deputy and Max. Mark is with them now, and he's become a werewolf too."

I spent a few minutes just thinking about it. "I should have known when they walked out there was something different about them," I said.

"What do you mean?"

"Fifty-some people walk out here, spanning from teen to retired, but all of them have great bodies and look like models. How can we compete with that?"

He just laughed. "For starters, don't go to their pool parties."

Chase Nygaard's POV
Arrowhead Pack Entrance

"ARROWHEAD! STRIP AND SHIFT!"

My heart stopped as my mate pulled off her shirt and kicked off her shoes before dropping her jeans to the ground. "Don't do this, baby," I begged as I pulled my clothes off.

"I have to," she said, and then she shifted.

I could hear the gasps and comments as the sound of bones changing rolled like thunder over the road. There was no hiding what we were anymore.

I stared at Coffey, waiting for the time when I could get his neck in my teeth. The woman he was holding yelled 'NOW' and reached for the gun. A moment later, a shot rang out. Coffey's brains splattered on the asphalt. "Shift back and dress," I ordered everyone. "NOT YOU, RORI," I said as I shifted back.

"Chase? I'm so sorry, baby," she said as she lowered herself to the ground. I smelled blood; looking down, I could see it at the top of her hind legs. She was losing the baby. "CLEAR THE WAY TO THE CLINIC," I yelled to everyone over the link as I picked her up in my arms. I slid my feet into my shoes and took off running, buck naked on national television, back up the road towards it.

"FREEZE," one of the lawmen yelled.

"She's losing her baby," Vic said from behind me. "He's a doctor."

"Vic, you're in charge. Do what you can to limit the damage."

"I've got it, Alphas. Doc and Possum will meet you there."

Doors were held open, and I set Rori down on the bed in the surgical suite. Donna already had three bags of blood out on the warmer. I went to the cabinet to pull on scrubs, then to the sink to wash up. Doc Olson took over the initial assessment. He'd been staying at our Pack to help with all our guests.

"Start an IV, then a large-bore line for blood," he told Possum as he pulled over the portable ultrasound.

"How many others are coming," I asked. We had seven pregnant females in our Pack.

"None," Rori told me. "I told the pregnant women to stay behind, and volunteers took their places. I wasn't about to risk them out there."

"YOU RISKED YOURSELF, RORI," I growled.

"I had to be there. Coffey wanted to look in my eyes as I lost my baby. He wanted to watch my pain and suffering before he died. He knew EXACTLY what he was doing to me, Chase."

She was right. Jack wanted the public spectacle. He was out to destroy Rori, and all she had created. He didn't know our Pack members well enough to recognize the swaps, and the numbers looked right. "Thank you," I told her.

I had my gloves and gown on as I went to help Doc. "Fetal activity?"

"Stressed but not critical," he said as he moved the probe around. "The majority of the placenta remains intact. See here?" He pointed at the screen, showing the source of the bleeding. "It's about a twenty percent abruption, caused by the change in the uterus when she shifted forms. We replace the blood she's losing, monitor the fetus, and pray that her healing can fix this before it's too late."

"Will I need to stay this way," Rori asked me.

"Yes, you'll need to stay in wolf form for the rest of your pregnancy," I said.

"Shifting too early and your baby might not survive. Too late, it would complicate delivery," Doc Olson said. "You and Heather are in the same boat. You'll have to deliver a human fetus in wolf form."

"Or we can do a Caesarean section," I said. "I need you to rest and relax as much as you can, love. There's nothing you can do but pray and heal."

"Alpha, Agent Black insists on seeing you," Vic sent me.

"How is it going out there?"

"It's a mess. I've been to six county fairs and three prison rodeos, and I've never seen anything like it. The press is going nuts, most of the cops don't know whether to thank us or shoot us, and the FBI isn't helping much. The hostage is safe, and Coffey is quite dead."

I thought about what we could do. "Allison and Lana still have full access, let them through. Our secret is out, and now we have to deal with it. Talk to the press, answer questions openly, and stress how we are still their friends and neighbors. If they ask, Rori is resting comfortably, and ask for prayers that her baby survives. It's something we can all agree on."

"Will do, boss."

Rori moved her head and looked at me. "We need a buffer, Chase. The crazies are going to start showing up, and we can't have our people in danger."

"What should we do, baby?"

"Start evacuating our guests to the airport out the back entrance. The fewer people in danger, the better." That made sense. "Have Roadkill call the National President. It's time for the Brotherhood to protect us for a change."

Ch. 57

Colletta Grimes' POV
Watergate Hotel, Washington, DC

The President had asked that we remain in town, so we had extended our stay and slept in late this morning. I'd woken before Frank did, the narrow shaft of light from the curtains hitting my eyes on the king-sized bed. I reached over and grabbed my phone; it was after ten, and we had no plans before this afternoon.

I was on my right side, my mate spooning me from behind with his big cock resting between my butt cheeks. I moved Frank's arm off my belly and set it behind me, rolling off the bed before his wandering hand could grab me again. Ever since we started sleeping together, he'd been unable to fall asleep unless he was touching my tits or ass. Now that I was pregnant, his hand had to cover my belly, or he held me so my stomach was against him. It was like his wolf needed the skin contact to calm himself.

My wolf liked it too.

I hurried off into the bathroom, taking care of my morning business before going back into the room. Frank was still asleep, but Little Frank was wide awake. He'd rolled onto his back, his big cock tenting the sheet rather obviously.

I was still feeling the pleasant soreness from last night, but I wasn't going to waste this opportunity. Sliding under the thin sheet, I made my way to him and kissed the tip of his morning woody. It twitched, and he moaned as I grabbed the base and took the head into my mouth. "Colletta," he whispered as I took him into my throat. "Jesus, baby."

He tossed the sheet aside, and I moved around until I was between his legs. I smiled as I swirled my tongue around the broad, spongy head before taking him deep. He was fisting the sheets as I worked him, his cock so hard a cat couldn't scratch it. "Oh my GOD," he said as I did the trick with my tongue licking out at his ball sack while I swallowed around his shaft.

I popped back off. "A hundred and fifty years of experience with blowjobs, and you're the beneficiary," I said. I used every trick I had, and it didn't take long before Frank was holding my head as he unloaded into my waiting mouth. I swallowed quickly, then licked the rest off before I sat up with a smile. "Delicious."

"You're amazing," he said as he pulled me up next to him.

"Ugh, dragon breath," I said as he tried to kiss me.

"I'll be right back," he said as he rolled out of bed. He closed the door to the bathroom as I lay with the light near my head. It was annoying, so I got up and went to the window. Pushing the heavy drapes aside, I left the shear material in place to let in some light. Below me, Washington was a bustling place. The Federal Government had double-digit growth under recent administrations, and the DC area was the fastest-growing and highest-income area as a result.

I was still looking out the window when the door opened behind me. "You're so beautiful," Frank said. "Don't move."

I kept looking out the window as I felt him approaching, my wolf excited about the dominance he was showing. I expected him to grab me, but instead, he lightly touched my shoulders with the tips of his fingers. Pleasurable tingles moved down my back, following his fingers as they traced down my spine. "That feels so good," I whispered.

"Lean forward until your forehead is on the window, and grab the windowsill. I want you to watch those people as I take you," he said as his fingers traced softly along my ass. "None of the men are as lucky as me, and none of the women as loved as you."

The window was cool to my skin, but I did what he said. Goosebumps broke out as his fingers moved down my thighs, and I yelped when I felt his tongue flick my wet lips. "Frank...."

His hands moved around my legs, holding me still as his mouth probed my sex. He took his time, playing me like a fiddle as I squirmed on his talented tongue. A few times I forgot my instructions, and moved my head off the window; he'd spank my ass and tell me to get back into position. It was wild; Frank was eating the hell out of me in the center of a big city, with hundreds of oblivious people passing below.

I came once, and his fingers and tongue pushed me to another much larger orgasm. I screamed my release into the window, sure that people would hear and look up to see me. No one did, though. I moaned in pleasure as Frank stood up and plunged his length into me in one stroke, stretching me so good. "Fuck me, Frank. Please, fuck me hard."

He reached over me, pulling the drapes aside so our nudity was exposed to anyone who might be looking. His hands dropped to my shoulders and held them as he pulled me off the window and back onto him. "Hold on to the window, baby," he said.

I'd asked for hard, and he delivered. His hips pounded into my ass, his long cock plunging my depths as I came again and again on it. The room filled with the sounds of our sex; the slap of skin, the squelch of my wet pussy getting plundered, and the moans and cries out my mouth. I was having trouble staying upright as the pleasure was so intense. "Cum for me, Frank. Fill me up. I'm so close."

He moved even faster, and I was building for the highest crest yet. He moved his hands down from my shoulders to my tits, his fingers grabbing and pinching my nipples hard, and that set me off. "FRANK," I said as I clamped down on him like a vise.

"MY COLLETTA," he said as his balls started to empty themselves deep inside me. I felt my legs collapse, and I couldn't see straight. I barely knew what was happening as he pulled me to his chest, his cock still buried deep inside me. When I gathered myself, I was back in bed as he held me close. His softening member slid out, followed by a gush of fluids that soaked my legs and the sheets. "I've got you, baby."

"I didn't know it could be this good," I said as I turned back to kiss him. "You're amazing."

"And you're not bad for an antique," he said.

I smacked his arm as he laughed. "Well, you're not bad for a boy-toy." We rested for a few more minutes, then he went and filled the jacuzzi tub while I peeled myself from the sheets. I smiled as I thought about how my life had changed; I'd loved my first mate, but he was not the man that Frank was. My hand drifted over my stomach as I walked into the bathroom, thinking about the life growing inside me.

An hour and another round of lovemaking later, we finally dressed and came downstairs for brunch at the hotel restaurant. The place was full of the power elite of Washington, DC; power suits and designer dresses filled the place. Surrounded by dozens of high-powered lobbyists, lawyers, and business leaders, I wasn't intimidated. I knew we were more than them. They thought they had power and authority, but none would ever have the power of an Alpha.

I thought our plans were going rather well; the President and her advisors were beginning to understand that our differences did not represent a threat. The hostility from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the CIA were receding as the reports from the people imbedded in our Packs came in. Some of them were visiting Packs today, and we had a scheduled meeting with the National Security Council again tonight.

We had FBI in Arrowhead, Department of Defense in Monongahela, Secret Service in Cascade, CIA in Adirondack, and Homeland Security in Donner. I'd been getting text messages from the Alphas, updating me on progress, and things were going well. I looked across my brunch plate, heavy on bacon and pancakes, at my mate. We used the mind link in case we were under surveillance. "Do you think total transparency was the right call?"

"I don't think we had a choice, love. They would have found us all anyway. The information the Sons of Tezcatlipoca Task Force uncovered on Rori before it shut down was pretty complete. It wouldn't have taken much longer to identify us all."

We couldn't compete with the Government when it came to intelligence gathering and use of force. If they decided to wipe us out, they could. If they stoked a panic, we'd have nowhere to turn. "What do you think it would take to reach an agreement with them?"

He picked at his omelet. "There's two, no three, kind of people in the room. The first are those who are curious but will want to live in peace with us. The second is those that fear us and what we can do, and will never accept us being free. The third is those who will see an opportunity for power, and seek to use what we have to serve their own ends."

"Like the Director of National Intelligence," I replied. "Werewolves would be the ultimate spies."

"The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs wants to turn us into an elite Special Forces unit under his command. He's read the reports and knows who among us is currently serving. Word is they are being pulled from their units, going Luna knows where." I showed some panic. "I don't think they will be hurt; the wolves are too valuable to them. I think the military wants to see what they can do when they aren't held back by the humans in their units."

"Our people didn't join the military for that," I said. "And I get the feeling the Chairman doesn't see us as fully human, so I doubt he'd care as much about casualties."

"Segregating us from humans will make it harder for us to be accepted," Frank replied. "It's going to be hard to convince humans to trust us when the military's first reaction is to pull them and put them in a cage."