Abandoned Treasure

Alpha Rori Nygaard’s POV

Arrowhead Pack House

Monday, August 3rd, 2020

“I’d like to smack the shit out of Councilman Nemmers for doing this to us,” I grumbled as we made our way up the hill to the Pack House. Chase and Frank chuckled at my frustration, while the others in our large group pretended not to hear. We hosted family at our house, which meant Chase’s Mom and step-father, plus his brothers and sisters and their families. Add in all the nannies and guardians, and it was a big group. “I mean, REALLY? We were already overflowing with Steel Brotherhood after the attack, and most are staying through the week before going to Sturgis. Now I’ve got twelve Alphas and their entourages PLUS the entire Council to host, and I didn’t even do anything wrong!”

“Maybe we just like it here in the summer,” Mom teased.

“We managed to move enough people around to host everyone,” Chase said. At a minimum, each Alpha traveled with two bodyguards. Since we had a lake and a beach and it was summer? Add in Lunas, family members, and their attendants. Some Packs had over a dozen in their groups, all of whom had to be transported, housed, and fed. “It’s tight, but we managed.” Most of the Brotherhood had been moved to homes or the RV park closer to the beach, leaving the homes around the Pack House to handle the werewolf influx. Some of the senior wolves didn’t like having humans around, so we were running both the Pack House kitchens and the pavilion by the beach three meals a day. As the Host Alpha, I had to keep the VIPs comfortable and fed. That meant eating at the head table for each of the meals instead of hanging out at the beach. “Smile and be gracious. We need as many votes as we can get.”

“I don’t know how we’ll get to the two-thirds needed.” That was the threshold for Council trials, both in determining guilt and determining the sentence. Our family and close allies should be enough to stop a death sentence, but I’d need to persuade others to let me handle Nathan’s punishment.

“You’ll have to be persuasive,” Mom replied. “Now put on your game face, Host Alpha.”

Grrr… Grrr… mouth noises. One of our warriors opened the door for us, and we walked into the Pack House and over to the dining hall. We greeted our fellow Alphas and made small talk for a few minutes until it was time to take our seats. As hosts, we sat in the center of the head table. Seating for the others was assigned based on rank and seniority, so I had Frank and Colletta opposite us with the Council on either side. Our closest allies had the least time as Alphas, so they were far from us. I had Conor Shaw and his mate Elizabeth on my right; they were the retired Alpha pair that took over the Katahdin Pack until Brian Blackledge was of age. On our left sat Boris and Ludmilla Sereda, the Alpha pair of the Lost Trail Pack. They’d brought the Murmansk Pack here, taking over the old Bitterroot grounds and renaming it after a local landmark. I got the signal the servers are ready, and used a knife against my glass to get everyone’s attention. “Welcome to the Arrowhead Pack. Please be seated.”

The other tables waited until we were sitting before they sat down. A line of Omegas emerged from the kitchens with trays of food, quickly serving the head table before moving to the others. I smiled at Luna Margaret, silently thanking her for sending so many of her Pack members to help. It was a typical werewolf breakfast, with big portions of steak and eggs, pancakes, and hash browns on big plates. “Alpha Sereda, how are you settling in to your new Pack grounds?”

“Is good,” he replied in a heavy accent. “Build sauna and baths. Have everything else we need, except pool.” There were chuckles at that; a visit to Arrowhead or Blue River would give you ideas.

“Any problems with the locals?” The previous Pack had killed and buried dozens of humans, and that was a challenge for the Council to deal with after we came out.

“Some protests. Little trust. No attacks yet.”

“We’ve been encouraging open communication with state and local governments,” Mom said. “Transparency has been key. Well, that and none of the perpetrators still being alive.”

“Exactly, our criminals get executed,” Councilman Nemmers said. Poison the jury much?

“We follow our justice system. Humans see that and trust it,” Mom said evenly. “Is everyone taking advantage of the scheduled activities?”

Working with Oxbow Lake, we’d arranged a number of excursions and activities for the day. Fishing charters on Lake Superior, motorcycle tours, chartered buses to Duluth and the North Shore? Check. All of the boats and vehicles we had for use were booked solid. There was a chance for storms late in the afternoon, so I expected the pool would be rocking tonight. I put on my sincere smile. “If there is anything else we can help with, please let us know.”

“Ludmilla and I are looking forward to seeing Duluth,” Luna Elizabeth said.

“Have lunch at Grandma’s,” I told her. “I’ll make sure you get the ship schedule. Watching them enter and leave the port under the lift bridge is amazing.”

We kept up the small talk until people finished, excusing themselves from the table. As host Alphas, we had to stay, even though we had a ton of work ahead of us. Chair Colletta saved us, telling everyone we should let the Omegas clean up and get ready for the day’s activities. “Thanks, Mom,” I sent her.

I had two hours until I had to be in the jury room, and I barely got to sit down. I was still short a Beta with James injured, and there were dozens of things that needed coordination. “You got it, Chase,” I said as my phone alarm sounded at ten minutes to ten. He wished me luck, kissed me, then smacked my butt as I turned towards the door. “Hey!”

“I need to stay here and get work done while you’re in the hearing. I'll show up when I can. I love you, Rori.”

“I love you too, Chase.” I left him to the paperwork and walked across to the dining wing we’d set up as a hearing room. The room was full when the eleven of us walked in; Sawyer Nygaard and Martin Smith being disqualified for the jury. Eight of the eleven would have to agree on the punishment. We each put on the plastic-coated silver bracelet that would prevent us from sending or receiving mental messages while serving as jurors.

We remained standing while Councilman Nemmers entered. He hit the gavel as we sat and looked into the cameras covering the trial. “The penalty phase hearing for Nathan Storm is called to order. The defendant previously entered a guilty plea which this court has accepted. Are Counsel ready?”

“Prosecution is ready,” Pat McGroin replied.

“Defense is ready,” Sawyer stated.

“Call your first witness, Mr. McGroin.”

“The prosecution calls Chief Enforcer Trestman to the stand.”

Pat began questioning him about the killing of the guard at Bitterroot, overruling Sawyer’s objection of relevance. “It goes to the character of the defendant,” he argued.

Mark testified as to the original warrants issued for Nathan Storm after he escaped Bitterroot with Carol Sampson. The crime scene photographs were disturbing; Bob Neelan was clearly taken by the surprise attack. His pistol was still in the holster, and he hadn’t sent any warning over the pack link to anyone. The bullet was fired from close range into his face and blew the back of his head out. I could see the powder burns around his left eye and the hole in his skull. “Is there any evidence this was anything other than a cold-blooded execution, Enforcer Trestman?”

“No,” he replied.

“Your witness.”

Sawyer stood and approached the witness. “Enforcer Trestman, you’ve seen the tape of my client describing his escape from Bitterroot?”

“I have.”

“What would the consequence have been if Mr. Neelan had contacted his Alpha about what he saw in the van?”

“Given that he considered Carolyn to be Pack property and the stories we’ve heard about how he handled those who betrayed him? The Alpha would skin him alive.”

Sawyer had a point, but not enough. “She was a Pack slave, but the Alpha knew he was Nathan’s true mate.”

“I can’t imagine what it did to him. Imagine watching your mate be raped and abused daily while you can do nothing. I know I’d do anything to stop it.”

Nice work getting that out, Sawyer. “Do you think it was justified?”

Pat jumped up. “Objection, Your honor. Calls for opinion.”

“The Prosecution opened the door by bringing this action into play. If he’s going to argue character, I’m entitled to explore it.”

The objection was overruled. “If the Council had known what was going on in that Pack, we would have raided it to free the prisoners. The guards would have been the first to die. So, yes. He was justified in killing anyone who stood in the way of saving his mate from that hell.”

Sawyer smiled. “No further questions for this witness.”

“Mr. McGroin?”

“We call Alpha Martin Smith.” The Prosecution first played the section of Nathan’s video confession where he walked through the attack and his actions, stopping after he heard the Luna’s screaming stop. “Alpha Smith, you attended the trials of the men convicted of this attack?”

“I did.”

“If Nathan Storm was still a Pack member at the time of the trials, would he have been convicted of murder?”

“Absolutely. We knew every person who participated, and he was known to have been Luna Joanna’s killer.”

“Of the men involved, how many were sentenced to death?”

“Every man who killed a member of Arrowhead was sentenced to death, along with all of the Pack leadership. Thirty-four died in the arena, fighting each other for the one chance to survive. Fourteen others who didn’t kill anyone were whipped and imprisoned.”

“And how did the Alpha and the other Pack leaders die?”

He let out a smile. “Their actions became their punishment. We brought them to Adirondack Pack lands. I had them chained them to the floor of an old barn. I personally broke one of Alpha Todd’s legs before my father broke the other. When the four lay helpless, their limbs broken like Joanna’s, I set the barn on fire around them. It was not a quick death for them.”

“I see. And what would a fitting punishment be for the man who set Luna Joanna on fire?”

Martin leaned forward and stared at the jury. “He must die in the same way. Justice MUST be done. He executed a pregnant Luna. Nothing else is acceptable.”

“No further questions.”

I didn’t know what Sawyer could do with this, so I watched him as he approached the witness. “Alpha Martin, did any of those men apologize to the Court for their actions?”

“No.”

“Did any of them show true remorse?”

“No. They blamed the Alpha for the attack.”

“No more questions, your honor.”

I could sense the anger among some members of the jury. Sawyer would have a tough time talking them out of a death sentence. We ate lunch as a group, away from the others.

Sawyer did his best. It took all day for the defense witnesses to testify. Former Bitterroot slaves spoke of Nathan’s suffering and how he helped them when he could. Stanley Biggs, the werebear who was now Chairman of the Independent Shifter Board, talked about helping the young couple and the aftermath of the attack that killed Carol. Isra Roberts spoke of his time as a rogue, including how many people he helped as the Oracle. Chase was called in to speak about Nathan’s actions during the recent Cartel attack, and how he risked his life to allow their escape. “No one is saying that Nathan Storm does not deserve punishment for his actions,” Sawyer closed. “He came back here on his own, and was honest and sincere in his apologies and his remorse. Nathan suffered greatly at the hands of the Alpha who ordered the death, then at the hands of the Council. I ask that you allow his Alpha to determine his punishment based on the wolf he is now, not the young warrior on his first mission that he was then.”

The hearing wrapped up after jury instructions, just in time for dinner. We were escorted to my conference room, where the eleven of us and a Council administrative assistant filled the chairs. “We may as well see where we sit,” Alpha Conor Shaw (Katahdin) said. As the senior Alpha, he was the Foreman. “’Death’ is self-explanatory. ‘Alpha Choice’ is to leave the decision to his Alpha. ‘Other’ is anything else. Since there are eleven Packs voting, eight votes are required to choose a punishment. We’ll go alphabetically by Packs. Alpha Rori?”

“Alpha Choice.”

“Banff?”

“Death,” Alpha Carl Packwood replied. I didn’t expect that from an ally.

“Blue River?”

“Alpha Choice,” Coral Sexson answered.

“Cascade?”

“Alpha Choice,” Carson Nygaard replied.

“Casper?”

“Death,” Alpha Steven March replied.

“Denali?”

“Death,” Luna Kathryn responded. This was NOT good.

“Downton Lake?”

“Death,” Alpha Ivan Boronsky replied. Shit. We were down 4-3 and only had carried Chase’s brother and sister! This wasn’t good! I still needed two more votes to prevent a death sentence.

“Lost Trail?”

“Death,” Alpha Boris Sereda answered. 5-3.

“Monongahela?”

“Death,” Alpha Ron Carlson said. 6-3.

“Oxbow Lake?”

“Death,” Alpha Michael Ulfsson replied. My eyes watered up as I looked at my closest allies. “I’m sorry, Rori.” 7-3.

My stomach was doing flips as I looked back to our foreman. I hadn’t dealt much with Alpha Shaw; he’d retired before I was born, and was a caretaker. Old-line Alphas took hard lines when it came to discipline. I tried to see in his eyes what he was thinking, but he would have been a good poker player. “That’s seven votes for death, three for Alpha Choice.” Here it comes. “My vote is Other. Since none of the options reached the required two-thirds vote, we will continue deliberations.” I let out a breath, while others let out grumbles. “Why don’t we go around the room and talk about why we made the decision we did. Alpha Rori?”

“This is a complicated situation,” I said quietly. “It should be simple, but so much has happened in the last two decades. Nathan’s remorse and honesty, plus the actions he’s taken since he was eighteen, make me want to give him a chance. He’s got a family now, including a daughter that WE took from him the night we killed his mate. I blame Alpha Todd for my mother’s death. Nathan was the victim.”

“Carl?”

“I don’t give a fuck what he’s done since that night. He killed a Luna in cold blood. He needs to die. All those great things he did? They were all on borrowed time.”

I was looking over to Coral when the doors burst open. Enforcers rushed in to take positions, and Chair Colletta soon followed. “We are in deliberations,” Alpha Shaw said as he stared at her.

“Not anymore. There’s been another attack.”