Abandoned Treasure

Nathan Storm’s POV

Buck Quarter Ranch, Cusick, WA

Monday, July 20, 2020

Our paws thudded along the forested path as I led us back home. We all loved living on the remote ranch after all those years in the Bay Area and the crowded Idaho cabin. The money Jade got as her cut for helping steal Cartel money? It paid the fifteen million dollar cost of the property and more. Nine hundred acres of forest meant we had privacy and room to run.

We were in a rural section on the state’s northeast corner, about halfway between the Canadian border and Spokane. It wasn’t easy to access, with the Colombia River and the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Area to the west and the Boulder Mountains of Idaho to the east. You had to want to be here to get here, which made it perfect for us.

Soon after moving here, Jade set up an extensive surveillance net around the expansive property. The main house was in the middle, on the shores of a private lake. I could see our dock sticking into the clear waters as we broke from the trees and ran across the lawn. “Anyone for a dip,” I asked my children.

“Dock Dogs, Activate!” I chuckled as I heard Khoi’s challenge to her siblings, remembering how they loved seeing the competitions on ESPN. I made the turn at speed and thundered to the end of the dock, leaping as far as I could from the end. I made a big splash in the cool water, turning just in time to see Khoi’s wolf land a few feet behind me. She was growing fast and would be twelve this year. Bao and Chao did their best with their short legs and oversized paws, landing halfway between us and the dock. At five and a half years old, they couldn’t keep up on the longer runs I’d take their older sister on. Everyone else was a cat, and cats didn’t run unless they had to!

I dog-paddled back to shore while the girls shifted to their Clouded Leopard forms and followed. Their cats loved the water and were natural swimmers. Wolves aren’t, so after I shook my fur dry, I shifted to my human form and sat on a bench to watch them.

Dahla and her four-year-old son Dawa joined the kids a few minutes later. Both were in their snow leopard forms and looking to play. We’d set a few forty-foot logs in concrete that extended over the lake, connected by thick ropes and smaller logs. It created an outdoor cat jungle gym and rope swing, letting them climb and play. The water below kept it safe when they fought, wrestled, and chased each other around. The kids loved it in the summer because it was three times the size of the one over the indoor pool in the spa house.

Dawa used his claws to climb to the nearest pole and ran to the cross-piece. He leaped off the log and flew ten more feet into the water, splashing the others. I watched as they got out and climbed onto the gym, playing chase before leaping off the jungle gym into the deep water. Wolves liked to run, and cats loved to climb. Our children loved both, making them unique in the shifter universe.

Dahla walked into the water long enough to get her fur wet, then climbed on the jungle gym and found a good spot in the sun overlooking the water. She looked at the kids playing, then back to me. “You got them?” She chuffed and stretched out, all four limbs hanging down. “All right, I’ll go help with lunch.”

I walked up the stone pathway to the patio, using the outdoor shower before drying off and dressing in shorts and flip-flops. It was a sunny and beautiful summer day, getting warmer by the hour. I climbed the stairs to the upper-level patio to the gazebo, where Jade and Isra watched the kids from chairs in the shade and sipped iced tea. “Ready for me?”

“Everything is in the fridge,” Jade replied. “I have some work to do if you can handle this.”

I pretended to be offended. “I am MASTER of the grill,” I told them. I’d better be; the outdoor kitchen was better equipped than the entire kitchen at the Idaho hideout. The curved kitchen included a six-foot-wide grill, smoker, griddle, pizza oven, fridge, freezer, lots of counter space, and even a dishwasher. I was loving this ‘rich man’s retreat’ thing.

I considered how much our lives had changed since Jade and Spider Monkey took down the Cartel. I was confident Jade hid the tracks from her hacking, but Spider Monkey’s face was on camera. She was in hiding, and we decided to do the same. Jade hid the money trail and ownership of the ranch behind a maze of banks and shell corporations. Our location was between Packs but not along any routes they’d travel. As long as we don’t attract attention, we’ll be safe.

I checked the fridge, finding the kebabs ready to go on trays. Chunks of steak, pork, and shrimp alternated with onions, peppers, and mushrooms. I set them out on the counter while I heated the grill and set up the rotisserie. It wasn’t long before the smell of cooking meats wafted down to the shoreline. “Ten minutes,” I yelled down the hill. Dahla was waiting for the children as they exited and shook the water out of their fur. They’d have enough time to shower and dress before joining us at the table.

Isra set the table and brought two jugs of lemonade while I put the meal on a large platter. “We’re sitting down,” I sent to Jade.

“Start without me,” she replied. “I have to make a phone call.”

“Everything all right?”

“Oracle stuff.”

We sat around the table and began eating lunch without her. I loved cooking outside, and the mango marinade Isra soaked the meat in was outstanding. The children ran off to clean up after the meal, looking forward to more playtime.

Jade finally came out, and I grabbed her food off the warm grill. I could tell something was wrong; I could see tear tracks on her face, and she was nervous. “What’s wrong, baby,” I said as I sat down.

“I,” she began. “I got an update on that request for a bone marrow donor.”

“The one from Arrowhead?”

She nodded. “Maybe I should just let you listen.” She set a voice recorder down on the table and hit PLAY.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Rori, it’s Jade.” Rori Nygaard was Alpha of the Arrowhead Pack.

“How are you doing?”

“Good. We got the note from Doc Olson this afternoon and forwarded it to our people, but I have a question.”

“Yes?”

“The girl with leukemia is Mykayla Pierce, right?” Mykayla was an abandoned baby in the Bitterroot Pack who moved to the revived Minnesota Pack.

“That’s right.”

“And Mykayla is the daughter of Nathan Storm and Carol Sampson?”

“Also correct, though we haven’t released that part until today. Mykayla needs a blood marrow transplant, and a relative has the best chance of a match.”

“WHAT?” I looked at Jade in shock as she paused the recording. “My daughter DIED with my wife that night!” I was furious and close to shifting. Isra got up to hold me from behind as Jade tried to calm me down.

“That’s what they told everyone,” Jade said, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Listen.” I took a deep breath and nodded.

“How is that possible? Her parents died two months before her recorded birthdate!”

“Enforcer Knightly delivered the baby alive to the Bitterroot Beta. Alpha Todd told them the baby died but had Omegas raise her. They made the abandonment up. If Mykayla wasn’t the mate of a Pack member, he planned to have her replace Carol as a Pack slave.”

That was it. Fur exploded as I shifted, tearing my clothes and knocking my chair down. I leaped over the railing, running off into the woods with my wolf in control. I ran for a while before the anger abated enough for me to think again. I looped back to the house, where Jade and Isra were waiting with fresh clothes. I’d been gone a while because she’d finished her meal. “Are you ready to listen?”

“My baby is alive,” I said softly.

“Yes.” She pressed the button again, and I heard her voice. “I located a blood relative. He’s nervous about responding to the plea because he’s worried the Council will kill him for what he did in the past.”

“Tell him not to worry. I’ve already cleared this with the Council Chair under the humanitarian exemption. If he is a match and agrees to help, no Pack or Council personnel will harm or detain him in any way.”

“And if he doesn’t believe you?”

“Mykayla is family to me. I’ll do anything to help her get better, Jade. You have my word he’ll be safe.”

“I’ve recorded this conversation and will pass it on. He’s getting his blood tested now and will forward the results to Doctor Olson. Thanks, Alpha Rori.” Jade stopped the playback while I thought about what I’d learned.

“My girl is dying,” I said as I leaned back and closed my eyes. “I have to help.”

“We had our blood drawn two days ago,” Jade replied. “If you’re a match, you can donate anonymously. They can do it here and fly the marrow to the Mayo Clinic.”

I shook my head. “She’s my daughter, Jade. Does she know that I exist?”

“Only a few trusted people do, Nathan. You died when Vic shot you in that Montana ditch.”

“They’ll know that is wrong if they run my DNA against hers. We’re Mykayla’s only blood family. I need to be there for her, whether I’m a donor match or not.” I looked between Isra and my mate. “You can’t hide a family tie. The bond will snap into place when our wolves sense each other. Can we trust Arrowhead’s protection guarantee?”

“I believe so. Some Alphas won’t like it, but the bad ones are dead now. The rest will leave us alone to avoid pissing Rori and her family off.”

“And then what?” I looked down to the docks where the kids played in the shallows. “I killed Rori’s MOM, Jade. I killed a fellow Pack member. The Packs don’t forgive or forget that shit. The only reason I’m still alive is that they think I’m dead. You saw what they did to the other warriors from that raid.”

She paled, remembering the video we’d watched of the trials and punishments. “You don’t have a choice, not if you want to know your daughter,” Jade said. “We should all go. Mykayla should meet her half-sisters.”

“You’d risk them as well?”

“Arrowhead has the only other werecat/werewolf mating, and they’ve accepted them. Our daughters would be safe under the truce. If we can’t work something out, we disappear again. They’ll never find us here.”

I looked at Mom. “What do you think?”

Isra looked into my eyes. “Things aren’t the same anymore, Nathan. She’s your daughter. She belongs with you.”

I hadn’t even thought of that. “What now?”

“We pack and leave in the morning,” Jade replied. “We’ll get the results tomorrow. If you are a match? We’ll take advantage of the Arrowhead offer.”

“And if not?”

“None of her sisters are old enough to donate marrow, but we can still go to the hospital and meet your daughter. She should know that her family didn’t abandon her.”

She was right. “How do you tell a girl you’re her father after all these years?”

Isra chuckled at me. “You’ll have two days of driving to think about it, Nathan.”