Treasure Ch. 56-60

Beta Carlson was glad that Alpha Nygaard left shortly after their discussion, because holding back his revulsion at the man was becoming difficult. With Coral gone and a challenge coming, Alpha Forrest told him to return to his Pack and prepare for the challenge. Enforcers, along with Counselor Long, would be sent in two days to conduct the voting for the Pack. If a third of the Pack didn't accept Sawyer as a potential Alpha, his exile would become permanent.

He stood at the bottom of the main stairs as the former Alpha of the Adirondack Pack, Charles Smith, arrived in a car driven by one of their Omegas. He stepped out, not smiling, and was joined moments later by a striking young woman. "Mr. Smith, welcome to the Bitterroot Pack."

"Thank you, Ron. It's been too long." The Beta had visited the Adirondack Pack two years earlier on a training visit, basically an excuse for unmated males and females to spend time with other Packs. "This is my assistant, Ashley." He took her hand, disappointed there was no spark, and welcomed her.

"Let's get you to your rooms, then I'll take you to greet the Council. They've been informed of your arrival." Two Omegas had already grabbed their bags and without a word led them into the house and up to the guest floor. Charles got a VIP room as a retired Alpha, while Ashley got a small room closer to the stairway. The Omegas returned to get sandwiches and drinks for them, while Ron walked them down the hall to the conference room to meet the Council.

"Arriving with Charles Smith and his assistant," he sent to Alpha Forrest.

"Bring them in." He opened the door and held it as the two entered the room. Charles walked over to where the men had stood up from the large table, starting with the Council Chair. "Chairman Gruber," he said as he shook hands with him. "May I introduce my assistant, Ashley Madden."

The Chairman smiled as he shook hands with the young she-wolf. She was wearing a dress that exposed her unmarked neck, and her dark brown hair was pulled back in a braid that went down to her shoulder braids. "A pleasure," he said. "Are you seeking?"

"Assisting," she said. 'Seeking' was visiting other Packs for the express purpose of finding a mate. She wouldn't object to finding hers, but Charles was not exactly computer literate and he didn't know Rori like she did. Charles brought her in case they got close to a skittish Rori. "Anything else is a bonus."

"Well, you never know when you'll find the one," he said. They greeted Councilmen Forrest and Waterman, then they were passed to Beta Carlson. "The Beta will see to your needs. It must have been a long trip for you, and we've had a busy day. We will see you at ten AM here."

Beta Carlson pulled out his phone while standing at the far end of the table, cursing under his breath as he dropped it. He knelt down next to the chair and reached for it, coming back up a few seconds later. "I'm sorry, sir, I need to make sure that appointment is on my calendar. I will make sure they are here on time."

"Thank you for your hospitality, gentlemen," Charles said. "You are right, it's been a long trip and we have much to do tomorrow." With another round of handshakes, Beta Carlson followed them out and closed the door.

They didn't say anything, but when Ashley turned to go to her room, they followed. "Bring the food along, we need to talk," he said. They all moved into the larger room. "Go ahead and eat," he said as he walked over to the desk. They looked at him as he pulled out a pad and pencil, writing something then showing it to them. "Don't say anything other than small talk, just eat. Room is bugged."

Charles nodded, and they started to eat, commenting on how good the bread was and their thoughts on the Pack House. "The Council is desperate to get Rori King under their control. I need you to come with me. When you are done, say good night and run the shower, then come out with me."

They both nodded and finished their food. "That was good, but I'm heading to bed," Charles said. "What time is breakfast in the morning?"

"Anytime between six and eight. Ashley, leave the plates outside the door and the Omegas will pick them up. May I escort you back to your room?"

"Of course, Beta. Thank you." They walked out, waiting down by her door until Charles quietly closed his door. He led them to a back stairway to the basement tunnel that took them to the garage. He opened his extended-cab F-150 and they all jumped in. He pulled out, not saying a word, and drove a gravel road a few miles until it was at the top of a hill. Parking the truck, he got out and they followed him over to a large boulder where he set his laptop down and booted it up.

"What's going on, Ron?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." He pulled the memory card out of the voice recorder and inserted it into the reader. He attached the file to an email, sending it to three people as they watched; Alpha John Coffey, Charles, and Chase Nygaard. "You watched the hearing?"

"Yes, we left immediately after. Martin and I couldn't believe what a flimsy case they had on her. If Chase is her mate and Coral her Beta, we will do whatever we can to help them."

He filled them in on what had happened with Coral that afternoon, plus his suspicions about Alpha Forrest wanting to do anything to keep her under his control as bait. "When I was in the witness chair, I put a recorder under the table. That's what this file is. Alpha John wanted it sent out, over cell network not Pack internet, before we listen to it. You'll get the file, but don't join the wi-fi network here or listen to it in any of the buildings or around anyone but me."

"You think they are dirty?"

"I think there's far more to this story than we know." The file had finished downloading, and it took a few minutes to find the part where the Council had kicked out everyone else. He turned up the volume as they listened in.

Gruber: "This is a complete fuck-up, Craig. We looked like idiots."

Forrest: "You wanted her kept here, and we had to make up something. If our lawyers got involved, it never would have been charged."

Waterman: "It would have worked if we didn't have Sawyer show up. The kid is sharp, I'll give him that. I can't believe Will's falling apart like he is. He's a bigger security risk than Rori is."

Gruber: "Expedite the challenge. He's old, his mate leaving him has already weakened him, and Sawyer will be a good Alpha. We're better off with him dead, the fewer people who know about that night the better. If anyone finds out about him covering for Todd, it's going to open up way too many questions."

Forrest: "Agreed. He's losing it and his Pack is falling apart. I wouldn't be shocked if the vote for Sawyer is unanimous."

Waterman: "So we get rid of Will, but what about Rori? She's still out there, she's found her mate and she's the heir to the Arrowhead Pack. We have to kill off Chase, and quickly, before her usefulness plummets. Once she mates, we'll have to wait for her to have a daughter and her to come of age to have another chance. Rori will only have the fertility blessing with her first mate. Giving her over after killing her mate would be no different than giving your boy any other female."

Forrest: "I'm not giving up now. My son will have her, and he will restore my Pack to greatness with her at his side. You all stand to be very rich men if we don't fuck this up now. We keep her from claiming Arrowhead, and her inheritance comes to us. We close this place down next year and liquidate its assets, and we get even more. Daniel is going to transfer a fortune to you two when Rori is mated to him, so you better help me find her."

Gruber: "The testimony today helps in one way. It was obvious that Rori exposed herself to humans, and Chase prevented his Alpha from containing the situation. He thought he could make a video and intimidate us, but he did us a favor. Tomorrow, we will call a video conference of all North American Alphas and lay out the danger we face due to their reckless actions. An arrest warrant will be issued, one with proper legal vetting this time, and every werewolf in the country will be sent out to find them. Rori we need alive, Chase? Not so much. We will make that clear in the broadcast."

Waterman: "The Adirondack Pack won't like that, she's the Alpha's niece."

Gruber: "Then we don't tell them. Tell the Packs around them, that's one of the places they might seek refuge."

Forrest: "Charles is coming here tonight, I'm sure to talk about Rori. Act concerned, promise to help her, just blow smoke up his ass until he leaves. We don't want him or anyone else poking around here or asking about how the Arrowhead Pack got wiped out."

Gruber: "The story of that night can never be told, gentlemen. Craig, you need to keep Coral here somehow, we need leverage on Chase and Rori more than ever. Get it done." The sounds of chairs moving were followed by the door closing and silence.

"Holy fuck," Ron said.

"I'm going to kill them, slowly," Charles said.

She held him back from the truck. "Going off half-cocked will get you killed, and it won't help Rori," she said.

"We need to leave. Now." Beta Carlson closed up his laptop and led them back to the truck. "I can't do this a moment longer, I can't serve under an Alpha like this." He fired up his engine after they were all loaded up, then turned back down the trail.

"Where will we go?"

"We have to find Rori before they do," he said. "Is there anything in your rooms you care about?"

"I have my phone and wallet, the rest is just clothes," Charles said.

"Nothing I can't replace," Ashley said.

"Good." He linked one of the Omegas, asking her to go into Charles' room and turn off the shower and the lights. "Do any of you have a phone number for Sally or Connie?" She was hesitant but relented when he explained he needed to get a message to Alpha Rori and he didn't have her number. She gave him Connie's number, which he repeated while Charles punched it into his phone.

He waited anxiously as it rang, finally being picked up by a tired-sounding Connie. "Hello?"

"Connie, my name is Charles Smith, I'm Rori King's grandfather and the former Alpha of the Adirondack Pack. I was hoping you could help me."

"With what, sir? I'm not in the Bitterroot Pack anymore."

"I know, you and Sally joined Rori's Pack. It's very important I talk to her or Chase as soon as possible. The Council is going to issue arrest warrants for them tomorrow."

She didn't say anything, but he could hear noise in the background as she turned a light on and got out of bed. "How do I know I can trust you? I don't know you. You could be anyone."

Ron snapped his fingers, asking for the phone as they bounced along the rutted trail. "Connie, this is Ron Carlson. Charles is who he said he is, and he's a friend to Chase and Coral."

"Beta?" She said something to Sally before putting it on speaker. "All I can do is pass along the message, it's up to them to call you," she said. "I've been told not to give the numbers to anyone in case they are being tracked."

"You can give them mine too." He gave her his phone number. "Connie, things are getting bad fast. I'm leaving the Pack, but I haven't broken the bond yet because I don't warn them I know anything about their plans. I know there are others you know who are thinking about leaving. I beg you, get anyone you care about out of there now. Alpha Forrest can no longer be trusted."

"I'll pass that along to my Alpha as well." She was smart, he thought, not willing to commit to anything without their concurrence.

"That's all I can ask for. Be well, Connie." He hung up, hoping it wouldn't take long.

"What is the plan, Beta?" Ashley had been following along from the back seat; from the files on Rori, he knew how close the two of them had been.

"They are afraid of two things- Rori being mated to Chase, and her claiming her birthright. We need to help her do both, and quickly. Once that is done, it's time to clean house."

"I mean right now," she said.

"There's a back way off the territory, it's just a trail to a logging road so it isn't manned. We'll take that and get the hell out of here before I go back and kill Forrest myself."

"I call dibs," Charles said. The truck bounced along the trail into the dark night as they desperately sought to get the hell off this Pack land.

Ch. 57

The constant buzzing of the phone woke Rori up from her long sleep. Opening her eyes, she was confused by the surroundings; nothing smelled familiar except the man who was spooning her from behind. She moved her hand down, lifting his arm off her waist and his hand from around her breast. Even in sleep, he always seemed to end up with a hand on her tits.

Not that she minded. She loved the feel, the closeness and the love he shared with her via physical contact and their bond. It was all she had hoped for and more, finding a good man who would love her and accept her for what she was. She used to dream about having a man but didn't think anyone would ever want such a broken, crazy woman. She was wrong, very wrong.

She sat up, putting her legs over the edge of the bed. They were much better now, sore, but she could move her legs and hip without the pain of before. Looking around, she saw they were in a recreational vehicle; through the windshield up front, she could see the lights of a Wal-Mart sign. They were alone in here, all other scents from the Club were stale. She had to go to the bathroom, bad. Standing up slowly as she tested her leg, she moved past the small kitchen to the door nearer the back. Opening it, a light came on and she was in the tiny room.

She'd taken a vacation in a rental RV when she was ten, so she knew how things worked. The room had a toilet, small sink with medicine cabinet, and a shower. She lifted the lid and used her hands to slowly lower herself down, keeping her injured leg as straight as she could in the small space. When she was done and washed, she opened the door again and was taken into a pair of strong arms. "Are you all right," Chase said. "You should have woken me so I could help you."

"I'm all right," she said. "I managed it on my own. It's not like there is room in there for both of us anyway." She looked past him. "Where are we?"

"Bend, Oregon. I bought this from Switch so we could travel while you were still recovering."

A look of panic came over her face. "My motorcycle!"

"Relax, it's here." He opened the door to the toy hauler area and flicked on the light. "I wasn't going to leave mine behind either."

She hugged him, it was the perfect solution. "How long have I been out?"

He grabbed his phone off the kitchen counter and looked at it. "It's five in the morning, so maybe seven hours. You didn't even stir when I carried you down and put you in bed here, you must have been exhausted."

"Your phone woke me up."

He looked at the screen again, he had over fifty missed calls and all kinds of text messages. "Jeez, someone's been blowing up my phone." He looked at his phone log; Connie and Coral had the most calls, but Beta Carlson and another number had almost as many. Making a choice, he called his sister first. "Coral, what's going on?"

"Chase? Thank Luna, I was worried they got to you."

"No, we're safe. We're in a Walmart parking lot in Bend, Oregon." He moved over to the bed, putting it on speaker while Rori laid down again. "What's going on?"

"You're in danger, Chase, we all are. This whole time, the Council has been involved with everything, including the destruction of the Arrowhead Pack. They knew about it, and the fuckers covered it up."

Rori stiffened behind him as he fought off the anger, his wolf pushing forward. "They knew."

"Beta Carlson recorded their meeting. Dad was in on it somehow, they're counting on Sawyer to kill him as he knows something they don't want out. We emailed you the recording, you need to listen to it, but first you need to get safe. Later this morning they'll be issuing arrest warrants for the both of you and setting all the Packs loose to find you. You have to get somewhere safe and complete your mating."

He thought about it for a moment. "They want Rori, they want to mate her to someone and turn her into a puppy mill," he said with a growl.

"Councilman Forrest, his son Daniel is Alpha of the Donner Pack in California. His mate died before she could provide him an heir. He made a deal with the other Council members to deliver Rori to him. They want you dead, Chase, dead before you mate her, so her fertility blessing is still intact."

"I'm going to fucking kill him," Chase said.

"Not yet, there's too much to be done first. Are you running with the Brotherhood?"

"No, we left them behind. I bought an RV for the trip so we could bring the bikes and Rori could continue to rest."

"That's a good thing. Put some miles on, but don't come through Montana. Too obvious, plus you'd have to go past our father's Pack and the Bitterroot. Are you heading to Minnesota?"

"We are, Coral," Rori said. "Sawyer says we need to see the lawyer there about the Arrowhead estate. It's worth a lot of money, and if it isn't claimed it goes to the Council."

"And that isn't happening. Rori is the rightful Alpha, and we are going to live there and build it back up," Chase vowed.

"Yeah, that's another thing. We couldn't get ahold of you last night, and Ron Carlson told the Omegas they needed to get out of Bitterroot before things get even worse there. He and Charles Smith are on their way to Two Harbors to meet with Mom." She laughed a little. "They are going to break the Pack bond at six, right when breakfast is supposed to start. There's going to be a lot of hungry and pissed off werewolves this morning."

"Good," Chase thought. "They never appreciated them, and now they can fend for themselves. No Pack is going to send them anyone to help, not after finding out what Forrest is really like. I wouldn't doubt if a lot of others leave too."

"Ok, bro, we need to keep driving. I emailed you all the phone numbers I have, but you need to talk to people and quickly. We need to get to the other North American Alphas, at least ones we think we can trust, before the Council does. Stay safe, claim your mate fully and get to Minnesota as quick as you can," she said.

Chase looked out the window, she was right, they needed to get moving again. He pulled up the list of numbers and left one on the screen. "I'm going to gas up and get us breakfast, why don't you call your grandpa."

She looked up at him, a little confused, then her eyes watered. "I have family," she said.

"You do, and they are going to be there for us. Call Charles, he's been waiting seventeen years to hear your voice. Saying your name before you shift on him doesn't count." He got into the driver's seat and started up the engine while her finger hovered over the button.

Finally, she pressed it. It rang twice before a deep voice answered. "Hello?"

"Grandpa?" She couldn't say more with her stomach up in her throat.

"Rori? Is that you?"

"Yes," she said as the tears let out. She tried to form words, but all her life she had thought she was abandoned, and now she knew she was anything but. So much pain pushed out, she couldn't form words and couldn't see through her tears.

Charles wasn't having much more luck communicating than she was, and she heard the phone moving before a familiar voice picked up. "Rori, it's all right. Charles is just a little emotional right now, he blames himself for you leaving the Adirondack Pack the way you did."