Buried Treasure

Alpha Chase Nygaard’s POV

Steel Brotherhood Clubhouse, Orlando Chapter

We pulled into the parking lot of the club just after three in the morning with our load of stuff. This was the second load out of Harleigh’s room, and this time I brought more photographs and papers I’d collected from the house and garage. I also decided to do something about the bedroom so no one else had to see it. I hauled the mattress and box spring out to the garage, moved the furniture, and tore out the carpeting. I then found some bleach and soap and started cleaning the bloodstains on the walls and floor. It still needed work, but at least people wouldn’t throw up when they see it.

I’d gotten the word from Tom and Meghan that the snatch of Harleigh from the hospital had gone perfectly, and they were on their way to the airport. Another team of warriors from Oxbow Lake Pack, Nate and his mate Connie, had flown down to replace them. Connie’s wolf was similar enough in coloration to Meghan’s that she would pass for the same dog. Nate was using the story that he was replacing Tom, who had to head back for work. Since I was a patched member and vouched for them, there was no issue at the gate.

We unloaded the boxes into a storage area behind the garage, then I called the three teams of dogs and handlers to me outside the gate. “We’re changing tactics,” I said. “Way too many Club members are here, and it makes more sense for us to be outside the fence than inside now. There’s a hotel about a half-mile back, get three rooms at it. I want two teams on duty outside the Clubhouse at all times. One team stay close to the front gate, the other roam the perimeter of the property. Use the SECURITY vest and the WORKING DOG vest and stay visible, and the handlers are visibly armed.” It was standard practice for our Packs to get a Minnesota concealed carry permit, plus a Florida non-resident permit. The combination gave us more states with reciprocity we could carry in, and Florida was our main winter hangout. “The third team can sleep.”

They nodded; it was not the best schedule, better to have four groups, but werewolves were stronger and could function on less sleep. “Food? Are we getting it on our own?”

“I’ll make sure they send out food for both teams from the kitchen. They don’t have dog food around, so you’ll have to make do with burgers,” I joked. Wolves can’t laugh, but Connie licked my hand in thanks. “You’re meant to be a deterrent. If a big group comes in, you can’t shift. Either get back inside the fence or get out of the way, don’t get caught in the crossfire.”

“Like when the four Sons came riding for the gate,” Nate said as he nodded. I’d filled him in on what had happened while we were packing.

“Exactly. They’ve got a couple dozen around, and we can’t go full werewolf with all these humans around.” I looked at my watch. “Work out the schedule and get the rooms under your own credit cards, we’ll settle up with Pack funds late.”

“Yes Alpha,” the men said.

I walked back inside the gate to find Rori; she was sitting with a group of the Ladies near the memorial wall. I looked at it and smiled; she’d captured them perfectly, his Harley in tight formation, wind in their hair, her chin perched on his neck. I picked her up out of the chair, bringing her up to my face as her legs wrapped around my waist. “I am blown away every time I look at your work, baby.” I kissed her hard as some of the Club members hooted, then set her down. “Ready for bed?”

“Yeah, I’m exhausted. I just finished about twenty minutes ago. Make sure no one touches it,” she asked the women at the table as she gave me a sultry look.

“No problem, Rori. Go ride your man, you make beautiful babies together,” Bumpers said. She was the Old Lady of the Miami chapter and got her name because of her tits arrived in the room five minutes before she did. My sweet girl was embarrassed to be called on her lustful thoughts, but I could sense her excitement over the bond. I took her hand and led her up the stairs to the guest room we had been given.

I closed and locked the door and she was already tossing her clothes into the hamper. Mine followed as I watched her move into the shower, my body responding to her. She was sexy as hell, and her body had quickly returned to pre-pregnancy shape thanks to her werewolf metabolism and her workout regimen. The example she and Cora set for the women was amazing; all Pack females, regardless of rank, had at least two hours a day of physical activity. Even number days were cardio, mostly swimming, long runs in each form, or stationary bikes. Odd numbered days were weight training.

And EVERY day was self-defense.

It was one of the things I found helpful in my work with abused women; to make them feel they were in control, they had to be able to fight. We had instructors who taught Karate, Judo, Taekwondo, Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts, Krav Maga, Knife Fighting, Pistol, Rifle, Archery, and Wrestling. Every person in our Pack was required to master at least one armed and one unarmed discipline. The gyms in the basement of the Pack House at the lake were filled with these classes throughout the day.

I watched as she stepped into the shower and turned on the water, her toned backside and legs on display. Rori wasn’t voluptuous, she was built slender and athletically. She was the fastest runner in the Pack and her reflexes were her strength in the ring. She made a good complement to my build, which was more typical of Alphas. My height, broad shoulders and tapered midsection over powerful legs was more like a heavyweight fighter than a runner. It made for fun sparring matches between us.

“Tilt your head back,” I asked as she finished getting her hair wet. I massaged her scalp as I worked the shampoo into her red hair, now cut above her shoulders since the twins were born. She moaned as my fingers worked down the back of her head to her neck. Her painting could leave her shoulders and neck stiff, and I let my hands and the hot water relax her.

“You can do that all night,” she said.

“Sorry, you need sleep.” I rinsed it out and put in conditioner, then grabbed a cloth and started to wash her shoulders and back. Like all times we showered together, getting clean was just a side effect of what I was really doing, which was pushing her body to a heightened state of arousal. I loved the feel of my mate as she came on my fingers, her legs shaking as I held her to me. When she was steady again, I rinsed her off. “Go get in bed, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

She turned, her hip rubbing against my excitement. “Don’t you want me to take care of this for you?”

“In bed,” I told her. She finished getting ready for bed as I finished my shower, and when I tucked into bed, her naked body rolled into mine.

“You’re still hard,” she said.

“Getting hard isn’t the problem around you, getting rid of the hard-on before I stand up is,” I said with a laugh. “I love you more every day, and making love to you is better than ever.”

“Let’s test that theory,” she said as she straddled my stomach. I reached up her sides, my large hands lightly touching her before they cupped her breasts. She was still breastfeeding, and I didn’t mind the extra size and weight it gave her. I moved my lips to a nipple, nipping and licking as the milk started to let down. “That feels so good,” she said as I sucked some of her milk out.

I moved between the two as she reached behind, grasping my maleness and positioning it at her core. The shower and the foreplay had her ready to go, and she moaned softly as she sank down on my length. “Soooo good,” she said as she raised back up. She picked up the pace, and I could tell she wanted it hard and deep.

I rolled us over and raised her legs over my shoulders, the angle squeezing me as I slammed balls deep into her. “So tight and ready for me,” I said.

Her eyes were closed with the pleasure, and I watched her chest shake with each smack of my hips into her. I wasn’t going to last long this way, not with the way she was squeezing me tight when I tried to pull my cock back out. “I want you to cum with me, love,” I said.

Her hand moved down to her clit, and she used her fingers to push her closer. “Fuck me, love.Shoot deep inside your fertile mate.”

My eyes widened and my wolf pushed forward, her declaration pushing him over the edge. I shifted into my hybrid form, my jaw lengthening and my teeth growing in as the rest of my body became bigger. She screamed in pleasure as my knot formed and was pushed into her. I couldn’t talk, and my short stroking quickly took us both over the edge. I bit down on her shoulder as she bit down on mine, her scream muffled by the flesh and blood in her mouth.

I felt like I was emptying my whole body inside her until it finally ended. I licked her neck, stopping the blood flow. It would be healed before we woke up. I shifted back and rolled us until she was lying exhausted on my chest, both of us breathing hard. The knot was still in place and would stay that way for a while.“You all right?”

“I’m perfect, love.” She kissed my mark then laid her head down under my chin. “You didn’t know?”

“I think my wolf did,” I said.

“My fertile time is just beginning. We should have talked about this first, I can see that. Your wolf isn’t going to roll a condom on for you.”

I just laughed. My wolf was so focused on keeping her pupped that would be poking holes in them. “It’s all right, I want a big family and I love our babies. I just thought it would be a little longer before your season started.”

“My wolf told me after you left. That’s why I stayed up, we needed you.” We talked for a few more minutes until I disengaged, then I cleaned her up. “Need another shower?”

“I just need my pillow,” she said. Her hair covered my shoulder as she fell asleep in my arms.

I checked in with the patrols, everything was quiet but I knew it wouldn’t be for long. There was a loud banging on my door. “Frame, Church is being called. Harleigh’s been kidnapped.”

“On my way.” I moved her off my shoulder and sat up at the edge of the bed. “And so it starts.Get some sleep, love, this will be a while.” I kissed her and covered her up before getting dressed in my boots, jeans, T-shirt, and cut. I was technically a Nomad, but since I had brought people with me, I had a seat at Church with the other Chapters who were supporting the Orlando chapter.

The anger was real, even if I knew it wasn’t necessary. I didn’t regret the decision we’d made to get Harleigh out of sight without anyone knowing; it was the safest play for her and the Club. I did feel bad that good men were going to risk death and prison to go after the Sons.

We were discussing what we could do to help when Tripod called in. Mongo was back with Three Tequila, who had been knocked out and was still out. “The cops are thick here, and they are pissed. Word is the officer outside the room was found unresponsive. Someone poisoned him and his heart stopped. They had to give him CPR and shock him, and he’s in intensive care right now.”

My blood went cold at this. We had to get him out of the way, but the last thing we wanted was for his life to be endangered. “Meghan? You still in range?” I got nothing back, so she was already gone. I couldn’t call her as they were under complete communications silence. I’d deal with her later.

“Any idea where they took her,” I asked.

“Nothing. The guys here saw nothing, and their security system is a piece of shit.”

“All right,” Granite said. He was President of the Fort Lauderdale chapter and a close friend of Mongo’s. “With Mongo out of touch, I’ll be running or response here. How many Brothers do we have here now?”

We added up the numbers, we had thirty-eight members here at the Clubhouse plus my three dog handlers, and the eighteen we had at the hospital. “I want fifteen volunteers to strap up and head to Ocala. Link up with the men we have watching the Sons. If she’s there, we need people to get her back,” he said. “Cottonmouth,” he said as he looked at his Master-At-Arms, “You go find volunteers and be out of here in twenty minutes. Club officers, I need you here to coordinate.”

He left the room, and the meeting continued. “These guys have crossed the line with the cop, and that’s going to make things even more difficult,” Granite said. “They know we will retaliate, and they’ll do whatever they can to head off a gang war. We’re still on lockdown here, and I want a dozen men out there protecting the women and children minimum. Set up the watches, make them visible and heavily armed. The cops can’t stop us from patrolling our own property.”

“I’ll keep my dogs outside the fence,” I said. “I can patrol out a few blocks with them, and make sure no one is setting up shop close to us.”

“Good idea. Who has contacts with the local police?”

The meeting went on for another hour before it finally ended. The sun was rising as I walked out with breakfast for my handlers and their dogs. “The cops are using us as bait,” Nate said as he wolfed down the eggs and sausage. “There are two unmarked cars out there, a block on each side of the road to the gate. The one police car posted on us is four blocks back.”

“Don’t be surprised if we see more,” I said. “Keep your eyes and ears open. I’m going to bed, send to me if you see anything suspicious and call it into the club security room.” I scratched Connie’s ears before walking back inside the gate and up to our room. A quick shower and I was in bed again.

It seemed like I’d barely fallen asleep when I was woken up by an urgent send from my patrol. “ALPHA… THEY’RE COMING.”