Treasure Ch. 46-50

The guard posted at the exit held his hand up to stop her. "Where are you going?"

"Town, the kitchen just got told about Alpha Nygaard's dietary requirements and now I have to go find grass-fed organic burger." She hoped her fear would not be sensed.

"Alphas," he said with annoyance. "Go ahead."

She let off the break and pulled through, turning onto the road towards town. As soon as she felt comfortable, she dialed the number. "Patty? You out?"

"I am, Connie. I'm heading up to Missoula now."

"I'm texting you the address of a restaurant now, Jaker's Bar and Grill. Meet Luna Nygaard there, have some lunch, and wait for Rattler to show up."

"Rattler?"

"That's his name, he's a member of the Steel Brotherhood Motorcycle Club, and he rode out to Missoula with Coral. You can trust him. He's bringing some electronics with him to make sure no one bugged or put trackers on your cars. You are to leave your Pack car where he tells you, leave your phone in it, and drive off with Luna Nygaard."

"Where?"

"Wherever she goes, you are to help her. She's Alpha Chase's mother, he talked to her this morning about it. Just make sure Rattler searches anything you take with you, we don't want the Council to be able to track you to your next place."

Patty calmed herself, she didn't like the idea of being in a car with a dominant wolf, but at least it was a female. "When do I break the Pack bond?"

"As late as possible. If they try to call you back, break it before you can be Alpha ordered."

"All right. Connie? Thank you for trusting me to do this."

"We all knew you could, and your new Alphas appreciate it. Good luck." She hung up and pulled over before pulling up the text message, setting the destination for Jaker's. Checking the Internet, she saw it wouldn't open until eleven. She would be there before it opened, so she had time to stop and shop on the way. Her bag contained little in the way of clothing she liked, and she would have to buy a new phone. She took a deep breath as she pulled back onto the road and headed north.

She stopped at a Wal-Mart at the edge of Missoula, buying a large suitcase and a bunch of new outfits and underwear. She had always dressed like an old woman at the Pack, it was better to not appear desirable to the males there. Now, she could do what she wanted. She bought all new everything with her bank card and decided to just leave her bag in the car. It would further confuse them if they tracked her down.

Finally, she pulled into the parking lot at about ten-thirty. She saw a big guy sitting on a Harley in the back of the lot and pulled up next to him. "You Rattler?"

"Yes Ma'am," he said with a smile. "Aren't you a pretty one. Chase didn't mention that."

"I'm old enough to be your mother," she said with a laugh. She was old enough to be his great-great-great-great grandmother, but with her slow aging she looked to be around forty.

"I don't mind a woman with experience. They know what they want and appreciate what I give them. Over, and over, and over again." He had gotten up and walked towards her minivan. He was tall, muscular and good looking, and if she had time she might entertain having some itches scratched. Not now, though.

"Too bad I'm not in town for that long, Rattler. I bet you have a nice snake." He laughed as she pulled into the space next to his. "Can you check my stuff for bugs?"

"Of course." He grabbed a black box from his saddlebag and ran it around her body. It alarmed in her breast pocket where her new phone was. "Gotta lose the phone."

"It's a prepaid phone I bought an hour ago, untraceable. My old phone is still in the minivan." He finished the scan, she was clean. She pulled out the new suitcase, then a few items- photographs, jewelry and her diary- from her bag. Everything was clean, and as she was zipping it up, a silver SUV pulled in on the other side of the motorcycle. She felt her dominance before she even got out and lowered her eyes as she approached. "Mrs. Nygaard," she said, careful not to call her Luna in front of the human.

"Call me Colletta. You must be Patty." She smiled and opened the hatchback, and Rattler put her suitcase inside.

Closing it up, he looked over at Patty. "We're going to dump your car over at that Ford dealer you passed about a mile ago. I'll lead you there and bring you back."

"Okay," she said. She got in the minivan and followed the Harley out of the lot. She parked in the back of the lot with the other vehicles waiting for service, leaving the keys in it, then walked over to his motorcycle. "I've never been on one before," she said as he handed her a helmet.

"Oh, you're going to love this, baby. There's nothing a woman likes more than to have something big and powerful throbbing between her legs," he said with a wink.

"Does that line actually work?" She threw her leg over the back and settled behind him.

"If it doesn't, the ride usually does. Just hold onto my waist, lean when I do and enjoy the ride," he said. She gave a squeal as he took off, accelerating hard after getting back onto the two-lane highway. It was all too soon when they were pulling into the lot of the bar. "What did you think," he said as he shut the engine down after backing into the spot next to Colletta's SUV.

"I want one," she said. "Is it hard to ride?"

"Baby, I'll always be hard when you want to ride."

She smacked the helmet into his chest. "Give me your number, maybe we can ride together again someday, but right now, I want a steak." She stretched as he searched for a pen and paper, and he was distracted by the sight of her breasts pushing out the flannel as her flat stomach was exposed. She smirked a little as she saw him adjusting his jeans as he handed her the paper. "I'm in Portland, but my Mom lives here in Missoula so I'm here once in a while."

"Good to know. Do you need to search Colletta's car?"

"Already done, she got here way before you. Her car GPS is disabled and she destroyed her phone, and we already got her a new one."

Colletta was waiting for them inside, and they took the time for a big lunch. Rattler had to leave before they were done, and he gave her a quick hug, while Patty got a kiss with the bonus hand squeeze of her ass. "Call me when you are back in town," he said before he walked out.

"Damn, he liked you," Colletta said with a smile.

"He's a nice guy," she said. "At my age, I'd be happy with a nice guy and a satisfying ride, even if he is human."

"There's a man out there for you, I know that. Chase told me a little about you, as did Connie. Sometimes all a tired plant needs is to be planted in the sun, and suddenly it's blooming." She finished off the last of her steak and left cash for the bill. "Chase and Rori understand the importance of a mate, and they want their Pack to be happy. They will help you find yours."

"My Alphas never allowed Omegas to even search for their mates, because he didn't want to lose them." Traditionally, the higher ranked wolves took their mate to their own Pack, and if the same rank, the male took the female. Preventing them from finding their mates was a way to keep Pack numbers up, hoping they would take a choice mate from within the Pack instead.

"Tradition is there, but that is not the law. The mated pair gets to decide which Pack to stay in, not the Alphas. I bet he didn't mention that part." She shook her head no. "Come on, use the bathroom and we'll get on the road. We're driving straight through."

"Where to?"

"Two Harbors, Minnesota, north of Duluth. Chase wants us to check out the Arrowhead Pack territory and make arrangements for the others to join us."

Ch. 50

Sawyer Nygaard was nervous as his driver stopped in front of the stairs to the Pack House. His father still did not answer his phone or open the Pack link to him. During the long drive, he had slept with some difficulty. He had heard Chase's side to the story, and he didn't like the way things were going.

He stepped out, bringing himself to his full six-foot-five height. He let his dominance out, this was not the time for him to defer to anyone. The lower-ranked wolves lowered their eyes and moved on as he was met at the door by a Council Enforcer. "Sawyer Nygaard, Next Alpha of the Cascade Pack," he said to the guard.

"You aren't expected, Mr. Nygaard."

"I'm aware of that, but I have urgent Pack business with both Alpha Nygaard and Councilman Forrest. If you could direct me to my father and request an audience for me with the Councilman at his availability."

The Enforcer linked someone as he waited. "Your father is in the guest quarters number 3, an Omega is coming to show you the way. The Councilman wants to meet with you and your father at one PM in his office."

"Thank you." He stepped into the foyer and one of the maids approached, curtsying to him before asking him to follow her. He tried linking his father again, without success. They made their way upstairs to the guest room and he knocked on the door. "Father? It's Sawyer."

He heard movement, and a moment later the door opened. His father looked like hell. He obviously hadn't slept, his face was unshaven, and the stench of whiskey was heavy on him and his clothes. "What are you doing here, boy?"

Sawyer moved in past him, closing the door behind him. "I came here because the Pack is in an uproar, and I can't get them the answers they need. Our Luna broke the Pack bond, and only the family bond being intact kept them from a complete breakdown," he said. "You aren't answering your phone, and Mom won't talk to me, so I had to come."

"She left me, she left the Pack," he said. "All these years, and she leaves me." He grabbed the bottle of Jack Daniels and sat on the couch, taking a long swig straight from the bottle. "Ungrateful bitch."

Sawyer staved off his anger, he needed answers even though he wanted to throttle him. "You should lay off the whiskey, Dad. Councilman Forrest wants to see both of us after lunch."

"Great," he said as he put the cap back on. "Another fucking meeting."

Sawyer sat in the chair and looked at the man he'd always looked up to until this day. "Dad, what happened? How did it all fall apart?"

"Chase defied me, that's what happened. He knows the rules just like you do." He told him how they had arrived at the cabin where Chase was tending to his injured mate. "He and Doc were busy stitching her up, and she was still in wolf form when they got there. They had to force a shift," he said. "You can't hide that. I went to talk with her stepfather, and the first thing he asked me was if I was like their daughter. When I said yes, he told me what happened."

"They saw her shift."

"No, not that time, but they found out she was a werewolf. Her stepfather said he was scared of her at first, but when he saw the wolf's eyes, they were just like Rori's. She had jumped between the two of them and the bear and fought it, giving them time to get away. He was worried about her, whether she would survive the wounds after all the time it took to walk her out of the woods. Then Chase goes and forces the shift in front of her Mom." He looked longingly at the bottle. "I was just glad it was contained. Nobody was in the house with the two humans except our Pack members and Rori. I told him what had to be done under the Law, I even told him to walk away so he wouldn't be a part of it, but he refused me." His hands formed into fists. "He REFUSED ME AND QUIT MY PACK!" Sawyer waited for his Dad to calm, finally he continued. "Coral tried to talk him out of it, but in the end she left with him. He convinced me I had to leave because Rori was an Alpha and it was her territory, and by the time I realized she wasn't yet, it was too late. There were bikers everywhere."

"What did you expect Chase to do, Dad? He had his mate there, she was injured and hadn't bonded with him yet. She just lost her adoptive father recently, and you were talking about killing her mother and her new stepfather. After losing her birth parents to werewolves, he rightly figured she might reject him if you did that to her."

He shook his head. "It's not his decision to make, he's not an Alpha and he's not responsible to the Council. Imagine the danger we would be in if they talked about what she was, and what WE are."

"There was time to deal with all that, Dad. We could have brought them back to the Pack and involved the Council. There was no need to kill them then."

"You're questioning me, boy?" He stood up, a little unsteady from all his drinking.

Sawyer rose as well. "Yes, I am. Just like your Pack, your youngest son, your daughter and your mate. We're all wondering what the fuck you were thinking." That was enough, his father let out a fierce growl and jumped towards him, his fist flying towards his chin. Sawyer easily sidestepped the swing and sent a powerful right fist into his father's exposed stomach. He crashed over the chair and hit the carpet hard.

"You little shit," he said as he tried to catch his breath.

"Save it, father. I'm going to lunch, I'll see you at Councilman Forrest's office." He walked past him, ignoring the things he was saying and threatening as he left the room. A pair of Enforcers met him in the hall. "It's all right, he got drunk and fell," he told them.

"Great, another drunk Alpha," the big one said. "Hopefully he'll just fall asleep."

"I'd like to see my mother and my sister Coral before lunch," he told them. "What do I have to do to get permission?"

"You mother is gone; she is now rogue, so she was escorted to the edge of Pack lands and placed in her vehicle a few hours ago. Beta Coral is in the cells. Follow me," the shorter Enforcer said. He led him across the compound to the security building. It took a few minutes to process through, and then he was outside her cell. "I'm sorry, we cannot open the cell without Alpha permission, but you may visit as long as you like," he said as he brought over a chair. He left them alone, the door clicking shut as he left.

"Coral..." He looked at her, she didn't look like she had been mistreated, and she was focused. It was quite different from the state he had left his father in. "Congratulations are in order, I hear. I agree with Chase, you'll be a fine Beta in their Pack."

"Provided I get out of here, yes," she said as she moved to the end of her bed. "What are you doing here?"

"Damage control," he said. "The Pack is in an uproar; you and Chase leaving was a shock, but Mom leaving the Pack was a nine-point-nine earthquake. Neither of them would answer their phones, so I came here to straighten things out. It's not looking good, though. Dad isn't taking it well, and I'm planning to challenge him."

Her eyes got wide. "It's that bad?"

"I know I can get a third of the Pack to support my challenge. It's time; he's losing the support of the Pack and he's inflexible. I have to act now or the Pack will implode."

"Wow. I can't believe Mom left the Pack." She looked up at him. "They have trial set in six days, charges are defying Alpha orders, harboring a known Council fugitive, and intentionally revealing our nature to humans. I think they are using me to lure Chase and Rori out, though."

"You need a lawyer," he said. "You all do."

"You volunteering?"

"Hell yeah, I love this Pack Law stuff. Dad didn't let me do enough of it." He had received his human law license almost seventy years ago, 'retiring' before coming back under another name in the seventies and taking the Bar under another name. He still paid dues and was a recognized lawyer, with a private practice. In their world, he specialized in estate law and identities. The advent of the Internet had made it much more difficult to change identities as they got older yet didn't age. He helped werewolves 'die' then be reborn under different identities, inheriting their assets from their old selves.

"You're it then." She filled him in on what had happened at her meeting with the Council, along with their Mutually Assured Destruction plan. "We need to get them off this whole kick with the humans and focus on recognition for her and giving her the Pack lands and assets again. Chase and Rori don't want to harm the Council or others, but they won't be pushed around, and they won't give up her parents."

He looked at the clock, it was time for lunch and he still had to prepare for meeting Councilman Forrest. "I will let them know I will be your lawyer, and I'm going to talk to Chase and Rori and ask them to have me represent them as well. Since I'm challenging the Alpha of my Pack, I'm required to shift allegiance anyway. Might as well shift it to Rori."

"I'm sorry about all this, Sawyer. It's not the way I expected things to happen."

"It's not your fault, Coral. I love you, and I'll get you out of here. Once we're both settled, we can look for our own mates. Why should Chase have all the fun?"

She laughed. "It's a deal, Sawyer. I love you too." He walked out of the cell block, right as an Omega was bringing in the grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Pulling out his phone, he moved towards the treeline to get a little privacy and called his youngest brother. "Chase, it's Sawyer. I've got some news." He quickly filled him in on the meeting with his father and his visit with Coral. "She's asked me to represent her at her trial, and I've agreed. I'd like to represent the two of you as well, if you want me to."

"You're leaving the Cascade Pack too?"

"I have to since I'm challenging Dad in about an hour here. It's standard procedure, to make sure the Alpha can't use his command on the person challenging him. I don't want to shift my allegiance to the Bitterroot Pack, since the Council is placing the charges. I was hoping that I could join you."

Chase laughed. "My big brother wants to sign on for what could be the shortest Alpha reign in centuries?"

"Yeah, if you'll take me." It would be the best situation for all of them; he would have his siblings, and a Pack link with Rori. "If I lose the challenge and survive, I'll need a place to land."

There was a noise on the other end. "Sawyer, it's Rori. I'd be happy to have you join our pack, even if it is just temporary until you take over your birthright. We have to do this in person, though."

"I understand. You can hire me as a lawyer over the phone, though. In full disclosure, I can help you more than you might think. I was called in by the Council to help handle the estate aspects of the Arrowhead Pack's aftermath. I never told Dad or Chase about it, of course he was still in elementary school then, so he didn't care about it. The Council has far less sway over your rightful inheritance than they think."

"Really?"

"Yes. It was all done with a human lawyer, in human courts."

"You're hired, Sawyer," Chase said. "Email whatever documents you need to me and we'll sign them and send them back."

"Thank you. I will include a limited power of attorney, so I can take certain actions to protect you until you are strong enough to appear in person," he said. "I also want to get Coral released from jail."

"You can do that?"

"Of course, it is allowed if the Alpha commits to producing the person for trial. Coral has done nothing to the Bitterroot Pack, so they have no legal right to keep her."

"That's better than our plan, but if yours doesn't work, we can always do mine." She told him of the video they had, along with a sworn statement from Tammy, stating Coral was being held by a cult in their dungeon and they planned to kill her. It was more than enough to get a search warrant and a whole bunch of law enforcement to descend on the compound.

"The Pack lands and assets were actually set up as a private corporation, and the bylaws drove the actions. Everything was set it up in a trust, with a neutral human manager and accountant to run it. If no survivors from the families of those listed in the Pack roster were found after twenty years, the assets would be liquidated, and the funds transferred to the designated beneficiary."