Abandoned Treasure

Nathan Storm’s POV

Arrowhead Pack House

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

“The Alphas took off in a hurry,” Jade said.

“Yeah. Don’t take anything personally once it all comes out. The Pack may not be as welcoming once they know what I’ve done here.”

“They won’t harm you.”

I let out a breath. “No, but they aren’t going to invite me to share beers around their campfires. I hope any hostility doesn’t extend to you and the kids.” I looked at the four girls as they finished their breakfasts.

“We don’t have to stay here. We can get a spot at an RV park along the lake.”

“No. Mykayla is here, so this is where I will be as well.”

A young woman walked up to us, her baby in a sling latched to her left breast and a toddler at her side. A sniff revealed she was a werecat, as was the oldest, while the baby had the mixed scent of my children. “You must be Maria,” Jade said.

“I am so happy to see more cats!” She took the open chair next to Jade. We got introductions done while she burped her daughter. With nudity so common in the Packs, no one gave her exposed breasts a second glance. “What kind are you?”

“Clouded Leopards, wolves, and hybrids,” Isra said. “I thought my daughter was in the only mixed-species mating, but I can see his bite on you. It must be quite the story.”

“As must be yours.” Maya was falling asleep while Maritza was getting antsy. “I’m dropping off the baby at daycare, then taking Maya to the pool for a morning swim. Do you want to join us?”

The kids were all for it, but we had things to do. “Go,” Isra said. “I’ll watch them while you two get settled and work things out with the Alphas.”

“I’ll go as well. I want to see this place,” Jade added.

“Let me check with the Betas first,” I replied.

I got up and sat next to Beta James, and Mykayla joined us a few seconds later. She reached for my hand, and I took it. “The kids have been stuck in the RV and want to see the pool. Is that all right, or is something else planned?”

“Maria already asked, and they will be fine.” I gave the thumbs up to the kids, and they followed Isra and Maria out of the room. “What next?”

“That depends on whether you plan to stay here or in town,” he replied.

“Mykayla is here, and we have lots to catch up on. Can we stay close to her?”

Lana shook her head. “Mykayla is staying in the Alpha’s home, and she won’t want you that close.” I wouldn’t either. “We have RV hookups across the road from the beach; you’re welcome to stay there. I can have Tom show you and help with the hookups. Nothing else can happen until Alpha Rori is available again.”

“That would be fine.”

“It won’t be for long,” Mykayla said. “Doc Olson said I’ll be starting chemo soon.” I could sense her apprehension about it. She knew what was coming, and it wasn’t pleasant. “Can I go to the pool? I can’t swim because my immune system is weak, but I’d like to watch my sisters play.”

“Keep your mask on,” Lana warned.

We hugged before she walked off. “I missed so much,” I said as tears ran down my face.

“Mykayla suffered as well,” James said. “You can’t change the past, but the future is full of possibilities.”

Yeah.I looked over at Tom. “Let’s get the RV settled.” Tom and I got in, and I drove my camper down the road to the RV park. A few dozen travel trailers and RVs sat across from the picnic shelter and swimming beach. We kept going, taking a spot in the shade with open spaces to each side. I got the RV leveled, and then Tom and I connected the electric, water, and sewage lines. “Do we walk back?” We were almost to the homes near the back entrance.

“Follow me.” We walked east a little, then up the hill to a big shop and storage facility. Walking in through the open door, I saw rows of Harleys, a dozen ATVs, and a bunch of golf carts. “There are fishing boats as well, down at the docks. There’s a gas pump out back. They all belong to the Pack, and members and guests can reserve them anytime. With your family, I’d take two.” He unhooked two golf carts while I signed them out. The electric carts were modified to carry more passengers facing the rear where the clubs usually went. “There are charging stations by the hookups.”

It was a sweet setup. I followed Tom’s cart back to the Pack House, paying more attention to the beach and the docks on the way. We parked in designated spaces and went inside the locker room. “I’ll give you the full tour later, but you’ll need to see this first.”

“I don’t have my suit.”

“We don’t use them. Now that werewolves are out in the open, we only have them when we have guests from the general public. The bikers know all about us and won’t go in if they aren’t comfortable with nudity.” I left my clothes in a locker, showered, and followed Tom in. The pool was bigger than I thought and full of children. “The pool is only busy in the morning and during bad weather. The beach is more fun in the summer.”

I could see why. It was bigger than many hotel waterparks we’d seen. People gathered at the end where the waterslides exited, and it didn’t take long to see why.

The cats had taken over.

“Wow, they’re so beautiful,” Tom said as he watched Jade standing in the water with Bao and Cao on her back. I heard Khoi call out just before she jumped into the tube. The juvenile clouded leopard emerged from the slide seconds later, bouncing across the water before stopping with a splash, and Maritza was right behind her. Maria was lying in the shallows while Maya played by her side. “It’s so unfair that they can shift so early.”

“It’s unfair that werewolves live so much longer,” I replied. “This trip is going to cost me money. They’re going to demand a waterslide back home.”

I spotted Mykayla sitting with Isra at a table away from the crowd. I grabbed a few towels and made my way over. “They’re having fun,” I said, spreading a towel on a chair and turning it towards the pool. I sat down and laid the other across my lap. Mykayla had a mask on and was wrapped in towels to stay warm. “How are you doing?”

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around having a big family,” my daughter replied. “I need to know how this happened, Dad.”

“It might take a while.”

“I’ll get you a coffee,” Isra volunteered as she got up. “She needs to know.”

“I’d like to hear this as well,” Alpha Chase said as he approached the table. “If you don’t mind.”

“Mom and Mommy are on their way,” Mykayla added. “Can we wait?”

“Sure,” I said. “Anyone else you want in on this?”

He looked off, sending for someone. “Beta Lana will be joining us shortly.”

The table filled, and I sipped my coffee before starting my story. It took over an hour, and I didn’t hold anything back. My upbringing in the Bitterroot Pack, being orphaned, warrior training, and our raid on Arrowhead. More Pack gathered around as I spoke, but I didn’t care as long as they gave Mykayla space. I laid out my sins before them with no expectation of forgiveness.

A few left after hearing about the Pack’s demise, but many stayed for the rest of the story. I told of the attack on the rogues in North Dakota, finding my injured mate, and the Alpha’s decision to enslave her instead of letting us be together. The ones who’d never been part of Alpha Todd’s reign of terror couldn’t imagine what he did to me and my fated mate. It was monstrous, and his treatment of the slaves appalled them. Unfortunately, they could see the truth of my words in the eyes of Mykayla and the other wolves who’d come from there.

I talked about what I did to prepare to escape with Carol, including the drug running for the Sons of Tezcatlipoca. People stayed riveted to their seats as I described our escape and life on the run. “It took time before my mate trusted me, but we finally completed our mating, and her heat took. We’d befriended some werebears in the mountains east of Grand Forks and were on our way there for a check-up when the Enforcer found us.”

They knew Vic Knightly, and some heard the story from his side. People were crying as I talked about being forced off the road and getting shot. “I woke up in Isra’s home, and she nursed me back to health over the coming months. The Council Chairman told them Carol died in childbirth, and you passed the next day. Pack records confirmed that when I accessed them years later.” I looked at my daughter. “If the Packs ever found out I was alive, they would stop at nothing to kill me. If I’d have known, I would have come for you. I love you, Mykayla. I always have.”

I picked her up and held her as she let all the emotion out. “I spent my whole life thinking my parents abandoned me, and it was all a lie.”

We took a break before I continued with my life since then. I talked about meeting Jade, our mating, and the births of our children. The Oracle’s activities were a revelation to the Pack wolves, but falling under the thumbs of the Sons and then the Cartel had them scared. Jade’s work with Spider Monkey was better known. “We’ve been hiding out since then for the same reasons,” I finished. “We have enough money to live comfortably out of sight.”

“What about me?”

“You need to get well first,” I said. “We won’t leave you.”

Chase looked up at us. “Doc’s here,” he said. “He needs Mykayla in the clinic.”

“I guess storytime is over,” I said. Mykayla looked weak and nervous as Isra helped her to her feet. “I’ll meet you on the other side.”

After a shower and dressing, I waited for my daughter to emerge from her locker room. Alpha Chase led us out back and across the road to the Pack Clinic. The older wolf was waiting for us in one of the exam rooms with her two guardians. After taking her vitals, he got down to business. “Now that we have your father as a donor, the countdown to the transplant can begin,” he said. “We can start your first round of high-dose chemo on Friday.” That was fast! “You’ll have a second round on Monday, both at the hospital in Duluth. We go to the Mayo Clinic on Wednesday for your whole-body radiation treatment. Between the chemo and the radiation, it will kill off your marrow, including the cancer cells.”

“This is going to suck,” Mykayla said.

“I’m not going to sugar-coat it. The side effects will be worse than anything you’ve dealt with before. You’ll be weaker than ever and have no immune system left. We’re going to have to isolate you between treatments and for months after the transplant. A simple cold could kill you.”

I’d learned this much from my reading. “How are we going to do that?”

“That depends on who you want staying with you,” Chase replied. “We’d planned on having Taylor and Tammy isolate with you. There are only two extra twin beds in the mother-in-law apartment downstairs.”

“And the more people that interact with you, the greater the chance of infection,” Doc replied.

Mykayla wasn’t happy that someone would be left out. “My mate can’t get away from Pack duties that long, so I’ll pick Dad and Mommy,” she said quietly.

Mate? MATE? What the HELL? She was WAY too young for that! I started to growl. “Mate?”

“It’s all right, Daddy. We know the bond is there, but we can’t act on it until I’m of age. Timur is a warrior’s son from the Beloretsk Pack. Alpha Baronsky let him transfer to Blue River so we could stay close, but he’s back home now since I’m in Arrowhead for treatment. He’s helping with the resettlement.”

“You’re so young! Did his wolf force you to shift early?”

“No, he came to my rescue after I shifted to stop the rape.”

I was barely holding on, and Chase gripped my shoulder. “Relax, Nathan. He didn’t complete the act, and Timur took revenge for her. It happened a year ago in April. I’ll show you the video later if you wish.”

I closed my eyes and let out a breath. Mykayla was ELEVEN at the time of the attack! How much had my daughter suffered while I was ignorant of her existence? “This Timur, does he touch you?”

“I’m still afraid of most males, but he’s good to me. He wants to cuddle and be close, but I can only handle that in wolf form. He’s so big that nobody would think of messing with me anymore.”

I looked at Chase. “We’ll be talking about this later.” How could I leave my children in a Pack where an underage wolf was in danger of that? Thank Luna that my girls would shift and shred anyone who tried something. “Doc, did Mykayla’s early shift have anything to do with her leukemia?” Shifting at that age was unheard of.

“We don’t know, Nathan. I’ve researched what I could, and the only common denominator is that the wolves that push forward are relatively dominant. Mykayla is Beta level to match her mate.”

Mykayla reached out her hand to mine, and I held on to it as I calmed. “I should have asked you if you wanted to be with me first.”

“I would walk through fire for you, Mykayla. Spending a few weeks with you will be fun.”

“I’ll be sick as a dog for a week, then I’ll be so weak I’ll sleep most of the day! It’s NOT going to be fun.”

“We have years of our lives to catch up on, and I have so much I want to show you and talk about.”

Chase had been busy linking while we talked. “I have a better idea. Betas James and Lana have a big house with three guest rooms on the lower level that aren’t in use. We can quarantine the whole bottom floor, including the air conditioning. You’ll have the extra kitchen, theater, and hot tub.”

“They don’t mind?”

“They volunteered, and it’s better than in my house. We are constantly entertaining guests,” Chase replied. “Rori thought you’d feel safer with us for your chemo.”

“Rori won’t mind?”

Chase smiled at my daughter. “She’s agreed. Hannah asked to stay with us since your RV isn’t big enough for everyone. She could have your room once we move your things.”

“She’s comfortable enough for that?” Given what her mom had taught her, I didn't expect her to trust the Pack.

“She’s a great kid, Nathan. Once she realized our Pack wasn’t anything to be afraid of? She’s having fun being a kid. You can’t get her out of the water with a net.” He laughed. “Well, until lunch at the beach.”

It sounded good. I ran it past Jade, who quickly agreed I needed to be with my daughter. “We’re making lots of friends here. We’ll be fine.”

“I accept,” I said with a smile.

“Great! I’ll make the arrangements.”

“We will get her packed and moved,” Tammy said as she helped Mykayla from the table.

Chase held me back as the others left. “There’s something I need from you, Nathan.”

“What is that?”

“I need you to bury the hatchet with Rori. Having you around is tearing her up, but you need to be here.”