The Porch Wolf Ch. 21-30

"They are all good people," I said. "I have no problem with any of them. If they want to join, have them come over now," I told my father-in-law.

"Are you sure?"

"They are vulnerable as lone wolves, and I won't leave them out there to be picked off by Todd or anyone else," I said. "Call them now."

He got up from the table and walked into the living room to make the calls. "It's so nice to see you being yourself again," Donna said as we continued eating. "I was worried we'd lose you too."

"You were going to lose me until I found a reason to get up in the morning again."

"You're still young enough to find love again," she told me.

I just shook my head. "Love is a young man's game," I said. "I had the best woman in the world for twenty-five years. I've finally made my peace with her being gone, and I'm moving on again. I'll watch over my Pack members as they find their mates and raise their families."

"And what will you do?"

"I'll lay there on the porch and keep an eye on the young ones as they play in the yard or the pool. I'll soak up the sun as the younger ones grow and take over," I said.

"You'll be watching your own kids out there too," Liv said. "You're too good a man to stay single, now that you've stopped hiding in a bottle."

I shook my head. "Even if I wanted to find one, it's not going to happen."

Donna just laughed. "You forgot, didn't you." I looked at her funny. "You're going to have to go to the Alpha Summit. You're not mated. Guess who is going to the scratch-and-sniff?" My jaw dropped, and she started laughing at me. "Who knows, maybe there is a she-wolf out there who doesn't mind a slightly-used Alpha with some tread left on his tires."

"Oh, Luna."

"I'd love to see you get another mate. To watch as you catch her scent, the way your wolf just KNOWS she is the one. You look around frantically, needing to find her and have her in your arms. To feel the tingles of a mate when she touches you, and your souls connecting as you come together. Yes, I hope and pray I get to see you happily mated again."

The Summit was on the weekend after Valentine's Day every year, giving me about six weeks to recover from my injuries. My shoulder would take two weeks, the ankle a month. By the time I arrived there, I'd have Todd's pelt on the wall. I looked over at Liv and Brent; Liv was staring at him, he was nuzzling at her neck, and they were having a deep conversation over the bond with each other. Everyone else stopped talking and looked at them, knowing what was happening. Her wolf hadn't told her, but her human side was starting to put all the clues together. They had a LOT to talk about.

"Leo, we're going upstairs. I'm still exhausted from the change," Liv said.

"That's a good idea. In the morning, we'll talk you through changing back." I watched her come up and lick the side of Vicki's face, then she went up the stairs alongside Brent.

I sent a mental message directly to Brent. "She wants you up there?"

"Her wolf and mine are ready to mate, but she hasn't accepted me yet. Her wolf wants me there, so yeah, I'm going to stay with her tonight."

We finished up the dinner, and Vicki clapped when she saw the dessert was chocolate cake and ice cream. I was cleaning up her hands and face when Larry told me the first people were arriving. "Bring them into the living room," I said. "Can someone watch Vicki for a while?"

"I'll take her down to the theater to watch a movie," Donna said. She took her down the stairs just before the first person showed up.

I smiled broadly as Luis Hernandez, and his mate Maria came in the door, their four children among them. Luis had run the drywall and roofing crews for Volkov Construction. "Luis, Maria," I said as I drove over towards them. "Welcome to my home."

"Oh, Leo, what did he DO to you," Maria said as she rushed over to check me out.

"He sent my truck on a ride to the bottom of the ravine," I said. "A few weeks, and I'll be back to normal." I got a big hug from her, and a handshake from Luis. "I recognize Carlos and Juan, they'd be eight and six now, but who are these two?"

"Esmerelda is three, and Ernesta is eighteen months old. Girls, this is Alpha Leo."

The girls came over and looked up at me; I reached out and touched their faces with my hands. "You make beautiful babies, Maria," I said. They exposed their necks to me, and I accepted them into my Pack.

The door opened again, and this time Rufus Washington and his mate Kinesha walked in, carrying a baby. Rufus was an apprentice plumber when I left the company behind. "Rufus," I said with a smile.

"You went to the scooter store already, Leo?" I laughed. "Damn, it's good to see you again."

"You too, Rufus. Kinesha, you look radiant! Who is this one?"

"This is our son Ron," she said as she leaned over. I accepted both of them into the Pack before she handed their five-month-old to me.

"He's almost perfect," I said. Kinesha looked at me, a little wide-eyed. "Too much of Rufus' face, but you know."

She smacked me as she laughed. Paul and Lois Temple came in next; both were in their sixties and were retired schoolteachers and coaches from the Hastings district.

Brian Knight was next, with his new mate in tow. Brian was in the Marines when I was Alpha, and I'd never met his mate, Carla. He leaned down and embraced me, then introduced his mate, a nursing student at Winona State University. "What are you doing now?"

"I left the Marines after two tours in Afghanistan and got a job working security at the nuclear plant," he said. "I needed insurance while Carla was going to school, and Todd didn't have any openings." I welcomed them all to the Pack, and we chatted while waiting for our fifth pair to arrive.

It wasn't long before Nick and Jenny showed up. Nick was a veterinarian in Red Wing, and Jenny was his assistant. Having them switch Packs was a big deal because many Packs did not have a doctor. By convention, Pack Doctors were untouchable and could travel between Packs with safety. It was also our custom that any injured werewolf could be transported to another Pack's land under a truce agreement. "You've been busy," I teased as Jenny came closer. "How far along are you?"

"Six months, with a boy," she said. I quickly brought them into the Pack, bringing it from five to twenty in less than an hour. I filled them in on everything that was happening. "Liv and Brent are upstairs resting after her first shift, and the rest are downstairs with Vicki. Now that you're all with me, I expect some of the people from Winona will be heading back to their normal duties. I have a few extra bedrooms that will open up when that happens, or you can stay in your homes."

"We can stay here if you have room, Alpha. We were living with my parents," Brian said.

"Jenny can stay here, and I'll come after my normal working hours on weekdays," Nick said.

"Paul and I can be here whenever you need," Lois said.

Rufus and Luis both had their own homes, and with their families, they would stay in place. The men would take shifts working security at the house when they could. "As long as we can protect this building, we'll be fine. Liv and Vicki won't be going anywhere until the funeral, and we'll have police protection for that." The FBI was going to be all over the funeral as it was the likely next place to attempt to capture or kill the two. I wished I could get around better. "Why don't we call everyone from downstairs and meet the others."

Vicki was thrilled to have kids near her age to play with, and my living room with the big fireplace worked out well for an informal party. It was a perfect night, and I couldn't be prouder of my Pack. They had stood up for what was right, even at the cost of their Pack position, and now they were mine.

Two couples from Winona returned home with my thanks, opening one room for Brian and Carla, and another for Paul and Lois. Both couples left to pack up what they would need for a week or so. I waved goodbye to them from the door, then drove back to where Vicki was sleeping on the couch. "I'll watch her, you get some sleep," Donna said.

"Thanks," I said. I managed to take a shower and get in bed on my own with the scooter's help. It was a good night.

Ch. 27

I awoke as soon as I felt the bed move; my wolf told me it was my pup, Vicki, so I relaxed. I waited until she was kneeling next to my side before I brought my arm around and trapped her against my body. "AAHHHH! UNKY LEO!"

"Who thought she would sneak up on her Alpha?" I started tickling her side, causing her to start laughing and wiggling around.

"STOP!" I let her go, and she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Momma sent me to wake you up, it's almost ten," she said.

"Is she still in her wolf?"

"No," Vicki said with a little disappointment. "I wanted to play with her, but Brent told her how to change back."

"You have a few more days before you can shift, if things go well," I told her. "Now go, Uncle Wolfy is more like Grumpy Wolfy when he's woken up." She laughed and slid off the bed, running out the door and closing it. Knowing she was awake, I sent a mental message to my new Pack member. "How are you feeling, Liv?"

"Sore as hell from the shift. Some of the stitches on my ankle tore when I shifted back, and Dr. Cannon had to stop by and stitch it up again. You should see the marks on my chest from the defibrillator, it's like I got branded. I don't recommend being the CPR dummy."

It could have been so much worse. "You scared the hell out of us, Liv. I'm so glad you pulled through."

"Me too. My wolf and I are talking a lot, and Brent won't let me take a step without being there. Is that your doing?" He was hopelessly devoted to her, and eventually, she'd ask why.

"He's your guard, and he almost lost you after the accident. Then you are bitten, and he almost loses you on the bathroom floor. He and his wolf don't want you hurt a third time." It was the best excuse I could give for now, so I changed the subject before she could continue. "You're going to have questions, and you will have a steep learning curve to figure out your new skills. You and Vicki are both going to have to work hard to catch up with your new bodies and senses. Now that you've made the first shift each way, the rest will be quick and painless. You'll need to spend a lot of time as a wolf as you learn."

"Anita said we'd start training after lunch. It will give me a chance to catch up to my daughter."

"We're all thrilled to have you both in our Pack. I'll see you in a bit." I'd shifted over to my scooter and driven into the bathroom while we were talking; ten minutes later, I was dressed and rolling out to the kitchen. A half-dozen people were sitting around the table drinking coffee. "Morning, everyone."

Connie brought me some pancakes and bacon, a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee. I'd miss her cooking when she returned home; she could cook for two or forty without missing a beat. I thanked her and asked the group if anything happened overnight as I took a sip of juice.

"The FBI and Goodhue County Sheriff's department raided Volkov Construction and arrested Todd Miller this morning," Larry said.

I just about choked on my juice. "WHAT?"

Connie turned up the volume on the small television in the kitchen. As soon as the commercial ended, it was the lead story. "Acting on an anonymous tip, the FBI served a search warrant on the Volkov Construction Company and its majority owner, Todd Miller of Welch, Minnesota. Sources close to the investigation confirmed one of the trucks owned by the company was believed to have been involved in the hit-and-run attack that hospitalized retired hero Leo Volkov, mother Olivia Andersen, and four-year-old Vicki Andersen. The source stated that paint scrapes on the truck 'appeared to be a match' to the paint job on the pickup truck driven by former owner Leo Volkov. That truck, containing Mr. Volkov and three passengers, was knocked off the road into a ravine." The video showed my pickup in the ditch as the wreckers winched it back up to the roadway the next morning. "The attack on New Year's Eve was only days after Leo Volkov foiled a kidnapping attempt on the Andersens. One person was murdered during that failed kidnapping attempt, and the Stillwater couple responsible died at the scene. The FBI will not confirm if the two attacks are related. In other news..." Connie turned the volume off again.

"Oh, Shit," I said. "The FBI sure moved fast."

"Unky Leo said a bad word," Vicki said with a giggle.

"Oh, Chum buckets!" That made her laugh. "How did this happen?"

"Inside job, most likely," Larry said. "You talked to the families you brought in last night. Even if other Pack members don't want to leave, they might not like their Alpha going after a preschooler and a human. If they knew Todd was the driver, it would be easy. Call in the tip, saying where the vehicle is, and who was driving. If they find evidence on the plow or the dump truck that matches Leo's truck, and his fingerprints are on the dump truck, they've got him for four counts of attempted murder."

"Why would anyone in the Pack do that?"

"Money," Paul Temple said. "Volkov Construction isn't doing well; Todd hasn't been able to maintain the business since you left, and others are eating at his contracts. He's having trouble making payroll, and he's been taking out loans against the company."

"Meanwhile," Lois said, "You're sitting here with millions of dollars in the bank from your buyout that I bet you haven't touched. Taking your friends for ransom is plausible; the accident could have been another attempt, but your friends arrived too soon. It also could be that you refused to pay him."

"You and Todd argued in public at Wiederholt's less than two hours before the attack," Larry said. "What you said wasn't overheard, but we weren't the only ones to tell the investigators that you two had a contentious meeting. Anyone could see how much you cared for Liv and Olivia after Christmas."

"It's all plausible," I said. "I'm sure the FBI is going to ask me again about the meeting at Wiederholt's. It's a little sketchy on the kidnapping, but if the Feds take Todd down on the hit and run, I'm all right with that. It was so public that human justice will raise fewer questions than ripping his throat out in the challenge circle." Liv looked up, a little shocked. "Werewolves tend to settle things privately and permanently. I told Todd to stay out of it, and that if he hurt you, I would not stop until I had destroyed him." It was a little more than that, but it helped her relax. "Can we expect more contact from the Welch Pack today now that their Alpha is in jail?"

Carla nodded. "Leo, the Alpha order prevents Welch Pack members from talking to you. It doesn't apply to their friends unless he's updated it since he found out you've started your own Pack. I think I'll make some phone calls and see how things are going."

We had some time before lunch, and Vicki wanted to learn more about Oceanic White-Tips. I pulled up some Youtube videos and streamed them to the big TV in the living room. Liv was impressed by the big-finned sharks, and we all had a good laugh when they talked about how they were the "sea dogs" of the Shark world. They would circle things they were curious about, moving away and then back in when they saw an opening, like a wolf going after deer. They were also known to follow ships and boats around like a dog might follow its master. When I showed Liv some cellphone video I'd taken of her after her first shift, she agreed the markings were pretty close. "Momma is pretty," Vicki said.

"You both are," I said. I couldn't be prouder of the two; Liv had made a smooth transition, and Vicki was a born leader. We had loose meat sandwiches for lunch, then the two of them left with Anita for training. Liv shifted in the garage, while Vicki had to be in her snowmobile suit since she couldn't go wolf with her concussion symptoms.

I went to my office and started answering phone messages and emails I'd received. No one was ready to call the Welch Pack over, but it was on the edge of collapse. I had another six families who wanted to join. I had recognized some of the scents of the wolves that came after Liv, and I didn't expect them to come to me.

The thing no one knew about was what would happen to Volkov Construction. Carlos and Rufus had been running their own crews for years as subcontractors, and could easily survive the company folding. The others, who worked directly for the company, didn't know if the company would go under.

When the answer came, it was not from the person I expected. It was just after dark when a Ford Escape showed up at the gates, and the man inside asked to meet with me privately. "Bring him straight to my office, and no one says or does anything to him," I said. I called Anita over the link, as she was training the girls right now. "Keep Liv and Vicki away from the house until I give you the all-clear. Take them back in the woods, so they don't see him." I called for Larry and Mike to join me at the meeting. I wanted Larry for his years of experience, and I needed Mike as he was my Beta and closest advisor on Pack matters. I had no idea why he would show up here, given what he had done to my Pack members.

I heard the door opening, and less than a minute later, Ivan walked through the office door. He was followed by Larry and Mike. "My brother," I said as I lifted my right arm towards him. "I did not expect you to be in town after our last conversation."

"And I wasn't going to let Todd get away with trying to kill my family," he said. "I spent a lot of time going through my options. I finally settled on the one that would have the best outcome, not for me, but for Liv and Vicki, even if it meant not taking my vengeance."

"And my vengeance? How am I to get that with Todd in prison?"

"I took that from you as well, and for that, I apologize. I do not apologize for taking the best option for my daughter." I couldn't argue with that. "After I talked to you while you were in the hospital, I did a little checking around. I stopped by the Volkov Construction business office."

"You got in there?"

"Todd's lazy and knows nothing about electronics. The security system code hadn't changed since we ran the place, and he'd turned off the surveillance cameras after he arrived that night so he wouldn't be seen driving the truck out. They were still off when I arrived."

"The safe?"

"I couldn't get in, but I left him a little present for the Feds in his desk drawer. A bag with ten grand in cash and a burner phone that I'd used to set up the grab with the Stillwater duo. I erased the text messages, but their tech guys will be able to make the tie. No fingerprints, of course."

"You are a real bastard, you know that?"

"Yeah, but I'm the best at something."

"Asshole."

"Prick."

It was just like old times. "You called in the tip?"

"After I left. There was one dump truck missing; I could see the tracks from when it drove out. It will show up in the video before Todd arrived, and be gone after he turned the system off. Todd thought he'd hide it, but those trucks all have GPS. I looked up where it was and included that in the tip I called in from Red Wing. The dump truck alone is enough to get an arrest warrant, and the cash and phone will get the Feds looking at him as the guy behind the kidnapping."