Missing Ch. 81 - End

"Luna Adrienne?"

"I am. Who is this?"

"Monique Robinson. You don't know me, but I need your help. I've got a mantled, and people are after him."

She didn't say anything for a while. "And you think I can help?"

"I heard stories when I was a girl about a strong Luna who stood up to the Council when they tried to take control of their mantled child. I don't have a choice, Luna. I'm on the run and out of money and options." I hoped she could sense my desperation.

"Where are you?"

"The McDonald's in Red Wing. Can you help me?"

"I'll let you know when we've had a chance to meet. Leo and I are at his office; we'll be there in ten minutes."

"Thank you," I said, then she hung up.

I held Tyler on my lap as I waited for them. I felt their wolves before I saw or smelled them; they were powerful Mantled Alphas. They spotted me, their noses twitching as they took in my scent. I kept my eyes down as they approached, looking up only long enough to acknowledge their dominance. "Thank you for coming," I said.

"Oh, what a beautiful child," Luna Adrienne said. Tyler was reaching for her, his wolf recognizing her power. "May I?"

"Tyler, would you like to say hi?" He said 'hi' as the beautiful and powerful Alpha lifted Tyler in her arms, getting the crabby toddler to smile and play with her. "I wasn't aware there was a Mantled Alpha outside the Packs. Who is his father?"

They could sense my rank, so they knew the Mantle didn't come from me. "Timothy Lords."

Leo whistled. "I bet Alpha Theodore wasn't happy."

"He'll kill us both to get the Mantle back for his son."

The Alpha pair looked at each other, communicating privately over the link. Finally, Leo turned back to me. "We cannot give you sanctuary without notifying the Council, Monique. Once the Council gets involved, it all comes out. They will take Tyler and return him to Killington. You're a rogue and have no rights. They can kill you if you try to stop it."

"And when the Council isn't looking, he'll die in a tragic 'accident,' and Theodore wins. Best not to mention his name again. That kind of gossip is bound to get back to him," Adrienne said.

"You can't help me?"

"No, but I know someone who can." She took out her phone and dialed a number. "Clyde? I found two more strays for you. We'll be there around eight tonight." After she hung up, she looked back at me. "I'm sending you to a friend who is very good at giving sanctuary to those who need it. He is an Alpha but not part of the Council. You'll be welcome to stay there as long as you need to."

It sounded perfect. Alpha Theodore was a powerful wolf, and few things were outside his influence. "When can we go?"

"This afternoon. I'm taking the kids up there for their combat lessons anyway. You can follow my car." I already had the bags in the back of my car, as I would pick them up after school and head out of town.

Leo pulled out his phone. "I'll make the arrangements. Do you want the girls to ride with you? They're great with young ones, and you look a little frazzled. Long drive?"

"From Charleston? Yeah, it's been rough."

"Have you eaten?" I said no, so Leo took my order and walked off. He was messaging people on his phone while I told the story of my rape and escape to Luna Adrienne. I was up to my escape when Leo returned with a food tray. "It's full of salt, but I love the fries," he said. "I've been following along, so please continue while you eat."

Luna Adrienne fed Tyler while I ate, then she told me what was next. "It's time to pick the kids up, so you'll follow my Mercedes. Vicki and Amy can help you with Tyler, and Andrei and Luke will ride with me."

I cleaned up Tyler's face, then followed the Alpha pair to the parking lot. "Thank you, Alpha Leo," I told him after he kissed his mate goodbye.

"Good luck, Monique. I think you'll like it up there."

I loaded Tyler back in his car seat, which he HATED by now, and followed Adrienne to the school where she picked up her ten-year-old son Andrei. We continued northwest to Apple Valley, stopping at the end of a row of houses in the guest parking, and Luna Adrienne got out and came to my window. "They'll be pulling up soon. Vicki and Amy are sophomores. Luke is Amy's younger brother; he's in eighth grade."

Soon enough, a Honda Accord pulled in with a teen girl at the wheel. They pulled into the garage, and the driver and a younger boy ran inside. The other two came over and hugged Adrienne. "Vicki, Andrei, this is Monique and Tyler. Sharkbait, you and Amy will be riding up with her."

Sharkbait's eyes got big as she scented us, and mine got big as I smelled her. She was beautiful, with an athletic teen body and blonde hair. "He's got a mantle," she said.

"She's mantled," I said at the same time.

"Yep," Adrienne said. "Sharkbait, grab anything you need for the trip out of the back." A minute later, the other two came running back out. Vicki ended up in front, while Amy was happy to be in the back watching movies with Tyler. The boys loaded into Adrienne's SUV, and we headed out.

"Where are we going?"

"North shore of Lake Superior," Vicki replied. "You'll love it, and you won't have the only toddler running around."

"And you don't get the crap beat out of you with a stick every night," Amy added. "Wait, that sounded bad. We have self-defense training up there in Krav Maga and Kali. We've been training there since we were five."

"Clyde and Bonnie are big on self-defense. They train Betas and above in three Packs, plus everyone in the Superior Pack."

"I've never heard of that one," I replied.

"That's because we don't mention the name outside the Pack and its allies," Vicki replied. "They've been hiding in plain sight since the war on the werecoyotes ended."

Nobody talked much about that time at Killington while I was growing up. The girls had grown up around the key figures in the war, and they told the story as we drove north out of the cities. "Some of the people you'll be joining are survivors of that war. Others are rogue wolves looking for a better life or others needing protection."

"How many people are in this Pack?"

"Thirty-seven, last I heard."

My eyes bugged out. "That's huge! How do they stay off the Council's radar?"

"Location and cooperation," Vicki replied. "The closest Alphas know Superior Pack is there, but they are allies. They understand that a Pack like this is needed. The Council isn't able to protect everyone yet."

"It's not all training, though. The scuba diving and fishing up here are great, though the lake is so cold you need a dry suit year-round. There are tons of well-preserved wrecks along the shore. Hundreds of miles of snowmobile trails in the winter, and motorcycling all summer."

"Some people even surf the lake, but I don't like coming out of the water with my hair in icicles," Amy added. "I'd rather hunt for agates on the shore and then hit the hot tub to warm up. What's your story?"

That took almost an hour to answer. The girls listened carefully and asked intelligent questions, showing the type of Pack leaders they would become. We stopped once south of Duluth and exited Highway 61 for a private road dipping down towards the lake. Adrienne stopped her car at a gate and entered a code to lift it. "Stay on her butt," Vicki said as they pulled forward.

I had the window down, breathing in the smells of the lake and the supernatural beings living here. "How is this possible?"

"The first Pack members managed to buy out all the properties on this road before the housing market went nuts," Vicki replied. "Most houses have additions, and the cabins got rebuilt into full-size homes. There are seven houses along this road, all Pack and all overlooking the lake."

"How do you keep them safe?"

"Everyone has new identities and last names, thanks to some of Clyde's contacts from his Council Fixer days. You'll get a new one, too. Nobody who lives here is traceable."

Adrienne pulled in front of a garage door next to a big white home, and Vicki had me park along the grass. The girls hopped out, running towards the front door, where a small group greeted them. "Sorry about that," Adrienne apologized as she got out. "They need to learn their manners. Let's grab Tyler and say hi."

"Should I get my things?"

"Leave them for now," she told me. Tyler didn't wake up, so I carried him. "Alpha Clyde, Luna Bonnie, may I introduce Monique Robinson and her son Tyler."

"Welcome to Superior Pack," Clyde said with a welcoming smile. Clyde and Bonnie had the grey hairs of a senior citizen but the strength and athleticism of a forty-year-old. Bonnie's eyes were on my son while her arms wrapped around a girl and a boy who looked to be in their early teens. "This is Wiley and Angela, our children."

They didn't smell like wolves. "Come on inside. I figured it would be easier for the rest of the Pack to meet you in the living room."

Their house was grand, but my head soon spun from meeting the Pack. I'd grown up as a lowly Omega in a traditional Pack, heavy on ranks and the privileges thereof. I'd only see the Alpha if I was in trouble, yet Clyde was mixing and laughing with everyone. The whole Pack was that way! It was like a big family gathering, not a military-style organization with me at the bottom.

The scents had me off-balance as well. Adrienne wasn't kidding when she bragged that this Pack was good at taking in strays. The Alpha kids were werecoyotes, and five more were in the Pack, one mated to their Beta female wolf. The Betas had two boys and two girls, all hybrids of their two species.

The Pack included several other exotics species. Werecougars? Over there on the couch! Four adults and two children fled the northern California mountains after attacks by werewolves. That group of three women and one man in the kitchen? They looked like gymnasts, none taller than five feet or over a hundred pounds. They were Werelynx, a cat species teetering on the verge of extinction before Clyde brought them here. My instincts screamed at me to flee, but everyone was so welcoming and loving that I didn't.

I looked over at Tyler, who was sleeping on Sally's lap as she sat on the leather chair in the corner. She was stroking his hair, her wolf already bonding with my son. Bonnie came over to stand by me. "I planned to give you a choice on where to live, but I'd suggest you stay in George and Sally's house. They run the Pack daycare, and there are three other couples with young kids staying with her. Tyler will have lots of playmates there."

"She seems nice," I said.

"They are wonderful," my new Luna replied. I'd joined the Pack a few minutes earlier, ending my rogue ways. "When I mated their son, I knew they would be disappointed because I couldn't give them grandchildren. Now their retirement home is filled with children, and they love it. Teenagers aren't that cute, you know," she giggled. The teens were downstairs in Clyde's man-cave playing the latest Call of Duty videogame.

"It's all so different," I said as I looked around.

"We like it that way. Someday, the rest of Werewolf society will move to our way of thinking."

"Not Killington."

"No, but your son will be an Alpha someday. Vicki will be too. Do you think they will model the same leaders that drove you into hiding? Or will they be caring and inclusive?"

That was obvious. "Can it be that simple? Can one or two Alphas change the whole Council?"

Bonnie laughed at that. "I almost feel sorry for the Council. They'll never know what hit them."

I didn't care about that. All I ever wanted was for my son to be safe until he could grow up and claim his Alpha position. As I looked around the room, I could feel the love and acceptance for us. They could protect their family, and I would serve this Pack to the best of my ability.

I was home.