The Porch Wolf Ch. 41-50

The second was Alpha Carl Owens. He was watching me like I was his enemy; after his ambush of us at the Mall of America, I wasn't sure that was wrong. He was sitting with Alphas and Lunas from the Twin Cities metro area.

The third was Alpha Mark Conway of the Stillwater Pack. I'd used my authority with the Council to force him to kill a sitting Alpha in prison. If he figured out that no one above my level in the Council sanctioned the deal we made, it would go badly for me. He looked confused, wondering how my business might affect his. I hoped he never found out the truth.

The guards led me into the hallway towards the Alpha's office. For the duration of the Summit, the Augusta Alpha had moved into his Beta's office, and the Council took his office and conference room. He opened the door to the conference room, stepped aside, then closed it behind me.

"Ah, Luna Adrienne, just in time," Chairman Sanders said from the head of the table. "Please sit. I believe you know everyone?"

All of the Regional Chairmen were at the table. I looked at them with my face expressionless, and my wolf held back, just like when I worked as a mediator. On his left sat Norman Platt, East Region; Jacob Burns, Eastern Canadian Region; Kurt Markingham, Western Canadian Region, and Lewis Wolfe of the Central Region. To his right sat the Counselor Randall Albertson; Leland Carter, Southern Region, Luke Smith, Mountain Region, and Spencer Timms- Western Region. That left the end seat for me. I sat down and placed my hands on the table. "Have we come to our senses yet," I asked.

About half of the Chairmen couldn't hold back their snorts at my response. Chairman Sanders leaned forward. "The charges laid against Leo Volkov are serious, Luna Adrienne."

"What charges? My MATE was pulled out of the car, cuffed, and silvered without a single warrant. My Pack members, one FIVE YEARS OLD, were hauled away by strangers, silvered and confined. What could justify tasering a mother in front of her child?"

Counselor Albertson responded. "The Council received a formal complaint from Alpha Carl Owens, stating that Leo Volkov illegally claimed Alpha status. I reviewed his complaint and found it to have merit. Leo Volkov lost a challenge; the Council recognized Todd Miller as the new Welch Alpha. Leo's banishment was in place of death. As you know, Pack law prevents any Pack from taking in a wolf that has been exiled by another Pack."

"True. No Pack has accepted Leo; he formed a new Pack. He remains a mantled Alpha blood wolf."

"Leo might form a Pack, but he is permanently outside the Council and civilized werewolf society. Any group he assembles is considered rogue and poses a threat to surrounding Packs. The Chairman agreed, thus the arrest order. Leo Volkov is a rogue wolf on Pack lands, and will be executed tonight for that offense."

It took every bit of self-control I'd developed to keep from leaping across the room and ripping his smarmy face from his body. I took deep breaths. "Just like that? No public hearing, no chance to respond? You're going to execute MY mate based on a technicality?"

"It's the law, Luna," he said.

"I demand a hearing on the charges," I said. "And a jury."

"A rogue isn't entitled to a jury trial," the Counselor responded.

"A Council Staff Member is, and I remain one. The charge against my mate is running a rogue Pack. I am Luna of that Pack. If my mate is guilty, so am I. I demand the trial."

Chairman Sanders leaned forward. "I'll grant it. Trial to commence at seven PM tonight. The Unmated Leadership Reception will wait until the hearing concludes."

"Acceptable. What were the other two petitions?"

"Both are contingent on Leo Volkov's execution, so they don't matter," the Counselor said.

"Yet you have our designated mantled heir, Vicki Lawrence, in protective custody while her protectors have been ordered offsite," I replied. "Why do I suspect both petitions regard her?"

Chairman Sanders shook his head. "They are. One is by Luna Brenda Peterson. Her petition states that Vicki's mantle is from her via her former mate, John. She seeks custody over Vicki to keep her mantle in her Pack."

Figures. "And the other?"

"Alpha Carl states he discovered Vicki this week. If Leo's Pack is illegal, he is claiming her under the Abandoned Mantled statutes. He and his mate have children; he would take her into his Pack and make her his heir."

That figured. "I need a lawyer and access to Alpha Leo to prepare for the hearing," I said.

My two guards came in. "Place Luna Adrienne under arrest and put her in the cell with her mate," Chairman Sanders said. My eyes got wide, and before I could react, the guards had my arms behind my back and were slapping silver handcuffs on my wrists. "Don't look so surprised, Luna. You insist on sharing Leo's fate? Well, that starts now. Get her out of here."

The two almost dragged me out of there. Any restraint I might have had was lost as I yelled my outrage at the Chairman. Guests stared as I was pulled past them and out the doors. As I went down the stairs, Anthony caught up to me. "At least my prediction was right," he said.

"Not quite, they grabbed me before I could rip anyone's balls off," I said. "Find us a lawyer, and fast. Get him or her to the cells; the trial starts at seven."

"Give 'em hell, Mom," he said as we reached the jail facility.

I was taken into the processing room, given a silver collar, and chained up. There was a delay as they got enough female officers there to strip and search me. It was just after three in the afternoon when they shoved me into Leo's cell. "Leo," I said as I ran into his arms.

"Adrienne, what the hell is going on," he said. I gave him the Reader's Digest version before our lawyer arrived.

By moonrise tonight, we'd be free or dead.

Olivia's POV

The yelling in the hallway was my first indication that something was changing. I muted the television so I could hear it.

"Step aside, Larson, I'm going in there," a woman's voice said.

"Luna Wolfe, I'm under orders directly from Chairman Sanders. No one goes in there without his express permission, except to deliver meals."

"I'M THE MATE OF A CHAIRMAN AND I'M ORDERING YOU TO STEP ASIDE," she yelled.

"Please, Luna, take it up with your mate. I cannot allow any of you to go in there without his direction."

Another voice started. "Well, I am the mate of Chairman Sanders, and I'm ordering you to move aside before I get the keys I need and pull them out of your pocket through your scrotum."

I laughed; he was stuck. I heard a key in the door; I woke up Vicki before it opened. Three older ladies rushed into the room, their faces showing their anger as they saw my daughter's state. "Oh, HELL no," the one in the lead said. She turned back to the flustered guard. "You get that collar off her NOW."

"I'll have to get my supervisor. I don't have the equipment to remove it," he said.

"Then get his furry little butt up here and bring the key," she said. "Go. We'll be fine here." The guard looked relieved as he was practically running back out the door. As soon as it shut, the ladies turned to me as Vicki crawled in my lap. She let out a breath, blowing a strand of graying curly brown hair that had escaped the hairpin that held the rest back. "I'm sorry about all this. I'm Luna Gina Sanders, mate to that idiot who did this to you." I giggled at her exasperation.

"The Chairman is in your doghouse?"

She nodded, making us all laugh. "Big time. I can't believe this," she said as she reached for my collar. "This is Luna Carolyn Wolfe and Luna Bonnie Carter."

"Olivia Lawrence. This little one is Vicki. Today is her fifth birthday, and it's been a lousy one so far."

"Sharkbait," she said as she snuggled back into my chest, still sluggish from her nap.

Carolyn knelt to look in her eyes. "My mate told me he met you in Miesville, and you were a cutie. He was right."

Bonnie was shaking her head. "What a crappy way to treat someone on their birthday! We were in the dining area when we found out about your treatment, and now we're here. I don't know what those men were thinking. You don't treat people in protective custody like criminals! Who thought it was a good idea to do this to a child?"

"I did," the Captain of the Guard said as he entered the room with two other guards. "My apologies, Luna. My direction was to confine them to the room, and our normal confinement practice is to use the collars."

"We will be redefining your NORMAL, Captain," Luna Gina said. "Remove the collars."

"Yes, Ma'am." One of his men, wearing latex gloves, placed an electronic device over the box. A few seconds later, he had deactivated the electronics and released the silver band. The collars went in ziplock bags, the contaminated gloves in the trash. As soon as the collar was off, I checked the Pack links. I couldn't reach Leo or Adrienne, but I did get Mike and Anita. "We're getting the hell away from this place. Bring the car to the entrance and wait for us," I told them.

The Captain's men finished and left. "We will watch them from a distance from now on."

"You are dismissed, Captain," Luna Gina said. We were alone again. "So, what would you like to do now?"

"Leave," I said. "I'm new to this whole werewolf thing, Luna. I've had my wolf for about six weeks, and Vicki here had her first shift shortly before that. We don't care about the council, the mantle, or any of the politics that go on here. The ONLY reason we came was for Alpha Leo was going to introduce Vicki as his heir."

"I doubt that is going to happen," Gina said. I could tell by her face and the way she looked at Vicki with pity, that there was something she was not saying.

Carolyn looked worried. "I think it would be best if they weren't around tonight, to be honest," she said. "It's going to be a little rough."

"I agree," Bonnie said. "And it's her birthday. There has to be something more fun than this. What do you want to do, Vicki?"

"Aquarium," she said.

Gina nodded. "You know... I have to stay here, but you two don't."

"I'm in," Bonnie said. "I'd rather see the whale sharks than oversee a scratch 'n sniff."

"Me too," Carolyn said. "We're getting ahead of ourselves. We should ask if it's all right with you to go there, Olivia."

"You'd come along?" I would prefer to be leaving on my own.

"We would be with you, and some guards would remain in the area. There are still dangers, Olivia. You need protection for good reasons; too many power-hungry Alphas are around."

"Fine. You two can ride with us; I don't want any of those guards in our car. I need to let Adrienne know we're leaving, so she doesn't worry. I can't reach her on the link, though."

"I'll take care of that," Gina said. "I'll clear it with my mate while you guys head to the car."

It was too easy. At the aquarium, when I could talk to one of the Lunas without Vicki listening, I'd find out the truth about what happened today.

Ch. 47

Olivia Lawrence's POV

We brought along the sandwich for a hungry Sharkbait and grabbed some food from the kitchen on the way out. Luna Gina met us at the door. "The Chairman agreed to this trip as long as you keep the guards around. There will be four of them, in two vehicles."

"As long as I don't have to drive them, fine," I said. I didn't want these idiots around my daughter.

"Let's go, it's a little more than a two-hour drive," Luna Bonnie said as she carried a cooler from the kitchen. "This should tide us over for the trip there."

We followed her out to the driveway. Our Betas drove up in our rental minivan, escorted by two cars. Vicki ran over and jumped in her protector's arms, Anita spinning her around.

Mike patted her shoulder when they stopped. "Hey, kiddo. Are you all right?"

She nodded. "Mean people tazed Mom!"

"I know," Anita said as she brought her to the car seat. "She is all right now, right?"

"I'm still mad at them," Vicki said. I buckled her in, then sat next to her.

Bonnie sat in the back with Anita, as Mike drove with Carolyn riding shotgun. "Just follow the lead car; they know we're in a hurry," she told Mike. We departed while Carolyn worked her phone. "We will get there about five-thirty, and they close at nine. We do get a twilight rate on tickets, so I bought those online. I'd hate to get there and not be able to get in." She looked back at me. "It's kind of late, especially for dinner. Will she be all right with it?"

"I slept with da SHARKS," Vicki said between bites of her bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, heavy on the bacon. "I can stay up!"

"She will," I said. "Dinner too, if it is steak or ribs. After that, my little meat-eater will sleep all night." She finished eating before we left Augusta proper, and I gave her a tablet to play games on. I was telling them about her shark fascination when I felt Bonnie give me a tap on my shoulder.

It was a phone; I took it and looked at it. On her Notes page was a message to me. "Do not react. We're trying to keep your daughter from finding out about this. Leo and Adrienne are under arrest and in the cells. There is a hearing tonight; him forming a Pack will mean their death if they decide it's not allowed as a banished Alpha."

My eyes got wide, and I felt the car swerve a little as I passed the news over the link to Mike and Anita. "We have to go back," I typed and gave it back.

She passed it back to me. "NO! If they die, Vicki is in danger. That's why we're getting you well away from the other Alphas. There is nothing you can do to help, and they won't let you see them. Giving Vicki a fun birthday is the best thing you can do right now."

I passed that on and thought about it. "Bonnie is right," Mike responded over the link. "It's all about Vicki. Distance is our friend."

"I agree, but I don't trust anyone who is not in our Pack," Anita added.

"We play it by ear, but if it goes bad, we ditch the watchers and go on our own." I wasn't going to let men I didn't trust decide my daughter's future. Who could kill Leo, the kindest man I'd ever met? Or Luna Adrienne, who my wolf loved? "Anita, send a message to the Pack and let them know what is going on."

"I'm on it already," Anita said.

We talked about anything other than Leo's trial as we drove to Atlanta. I liked both of the older ladies; they had great stories and answered all my questions about Pack life. I wanted to trust them, I really did, but I knew who their husbands were. I trusted Lewis Wolfe, yet he just stood there as Sanders ordered them to take Vicki. Both men watched the security guys hit me with a taser and then haul us off in silver like it was nothing. I had a sudden thought; what if they weren't here as OUR help, but to help their husbands? Would three experienced Lunas defy their mates like that? I sent my suspicions to Mike and Anita.

"Wow, that's devious," Mike said. "You're right. They have four warriors, and three experienced Alpha females, against two Betas and a female with almost no fighting experience. No offense, Liv."

"None taken. Am I right?"

"I don't know. I haven't scented any deception, and why would Bonnie tell you about the trial if she wanted to capture you?" I didn't know. "One thing is for sure. If they are going to take us, they will do it before we are among humans. Since you are driving, that means in the parking lot."

"Have your knife ready to go when we get there. We each bought a shiny Spyderco folding knife at a sporting goods store while we were out since we can't carry pistols. They won't get through the metal detectors going into the aquarium." He paused for a moment. "There is one other option, Liv," Mike said. "They don't need us at all. They only need Vicki, and a big aquarium is an easy place to disappear with a child. All they have to do is tranquilize her, and everyone will think she's sleeping after a long day."

Shit. Mike was right; we were just things to be handled. I expanded the link to include my daughter for this part. "Vicki is NEVER alone, and you can't run off on your own," I said. "There have to be two Pack members within your reach at all times. If you can't do that, we'll leave."

"Better if one of us is holding her hand or carrying her," Anita responded.

"I'll hold your hand, Mommy," Vicki said. I cut her back out of the link.

Anita had an idea. "If we start feeling nervous, tell the security guys that the security guys are stalking us. It might give us just enough time to slip away."

We were in Atlanta and nearing the Aquarium exit when Mike linked again. "Anita, quietly remove your knife and keep it out of sight by your side. They'll go after you and Liv first. Liv, if it goes down, get out of the car and take Liv to the nearest crowd of humans. Yell that one of the men exposed himself to your daughter. That should slow them down."

"I will." My stomach lurched as we wove through the streets and into the parking garage. I was looking forward at Carolyn, sneaking glances at Bonnie, and an eye out at the guards in the surrounding cars. We drove up, finding a section that wasn't full, and pulled into three adjacent spots.

"Be ready," Mike said.

The Lunas didn't move, not even when I hit the button to open the side door. I watched as the four guards got out and took up positions around our car. Carolyn turned around, her hand in her jacket pocket. "This is going to be so much fun," she said. I was petrified she would pull a syringe or something out.

Mike was watching her, his left hand by his hip and ready.

She pulled out her cellphone. "I can't wait to see this place!"

"Me, too," said Sharkbait. I got out, then helped Vicki as we all exited the car. "Maybe we are just paranoid," I said.

"Paranoid keeps you alive," Mike replied. Our group walked to the elevators and made our way inside. We took a picture in the entrance, and I made sure I had a group shot, plus a picture of Vicki alone.

"SHARKS, MOMMY!" She started pulling me forward.

"We have to wait for Miss Carolyn, she has our tickets," I said.

Her eyes were wide as saucers as we walked in. It was ten minutes to six, and we made a beeline for the Ocean Voyager exhibit. Vicki wanted to go through the tunnel and see her sharks.

The trial started in an hour. I'd let myself forget about it for now, and focus on the joy on my baby's face.

She pulled our whole group towards the entrance, which was marked by a Home Depot sign. As soon as we rounded the corner, we all froze in awe. The window into the expansive exhibit was ten feet wide and went up 23 feet to the waterline. On the other side of the two-foot thick acrylic panel, a whale shark slowly swam past.

"Wow," I said. Vicki had her face pressed to the clear panel; she didn't even move for a few minutes. When she did, it was when Mike asked her if she wanted to go on his shoulders so she could see better. "Are we staying here all night, or going through the tunnel," I finally asked my enraptured child.

"TUNNEL!" It took some walking to get there, and there was a line. On one side of the tunnel, there was a people mover, and our group got on it. Mike held Vicki on his hip so she could see better. Whale sharks, blacktip reef sharks, giant guitarfish, sandbar sharks, and zebra sharks were all around us. I pointed at a giant grouper. "That fish could swallow you whole," I said.