Claiming Treasure

Colletta Nygaard’s POV

Richard Helgeson Airport, Two Harbors, Minnesota

I looked around as Carson’s jet taxied to a halt near the terminal. Both of us were running a sleep deficit; we only got a few hours of sleep back home before we had to head to the Yakima airport. The jet had departed at four in the morning, and with the time change, we were landing just before nine on the North Shore of Lake Superior. “I hope we just turn around and go back,” I told him. “Carson needs to get back there now that he can.”

“He didn’t look happy. He got a reprieve, that’s all.” The Council was letting Heather live, but only for a year. After the twins were born, she’d have precious little time before Carson would have to hand her over to be executed or die himself.

“I will not let them take my son or his mate,” I said with a low growl. “If the Council isn’t changed…”

“Then, we’ll change it for them.” He took my hand. “One way or another, we will bring the Packs into the modern world.” I squeezed his hand back, loving the tingles that ran up my arm when I touched my mate. The change Frank made from human to werewolf, though painful, had huge benefits. He was stronger, faster, and had the energy and stamina of a man half his age now. I suspected he would age slowly from now on like werewolves do, but we didn’t know for sure. He was a wonder in bed now, making me a very satisfied, and very tired, she-wolf. It was no wonder I slept the whole flight.

The pilots had shut the engines down, and one came back to open the door. We only had one small bag that Frank carried as he followed me down the stairs. “Luna Colletta,” Beta Vic said with a bow of his head. “Frank. Welcome back.” Vic showed submission to Frank based on his mating with me, a former Luna, and because he recognized Frank’s wolf was more dominant. Vic was an experienced fighter, but he wasn’t better than Frank. His law enforcement training and the power of his wolf made for a deadly combination.

“Thank you, Beta. Let’s get home before the Council wonders where you are,” I said.

He drove us back to the Arrowhead Pack, but by a different route. Spider Monkey, his pregnant human wife, had purchased a home three houses away from the far side of Arrowhead lakeshore. We drove around the far side of the lake before pulling into his garage. His F150 Extended Cab pickup had just turned off when Spider came running out of the kitchen into the garage to greet him. “Hi baby,” she said as she leaped into his arms.

I smiled as the newlyweds as I got out of the back seat with Frank holding my hand. Vic set the tiny woman down, and she embraced me. “Vic said you needed to crash here with all the people at Arrowhead,” she said. “We’re happy to host you.”

“Thank you, Spider. How is the baby?”

She moved her hand over her belly, which wasn’t showing a noticeable bump yet. “So far, so good. My obstetrician is keeping an eye on me, but she made me give up COFFEE! How fair is that?”

“You have to do what is best for the baby, no matter how much you miss it,” I said. “It’s worth everything you have to go through.” I leaned in and whispered into his ear. “Just make sure he knows how much you’re suffering, so he takes care of you and gives you lots of back and foot rubs,” I said with a smile.

“Honey, can you get them settled into the guest room? I have to get back to work.”

“Of course. When will you be done?”

“It’s going to be a long day for me, baby, but the conference will be over soon. I’ll text you when I know more.” He leaned down and gave her a deep kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too, honey.”

He got back in his truck as we followed Spider inside her new home. “I love the view from your kitchen,” I said as we entered the open-plan kitchen and dining area. Large picture windows looked east onto the lake, filling the room with natural light.

“Thank you. We’re slowly getting things the way we want them, room by room. It’s going to be a great place to bring up our family, and it’s so close to his work. Would you like some coffee or breakfast?’

I shook my head; we were getting close to trial time. “We’ve barely slept, Spider. I think if you show us our room, we’ll catch up on our sleep until this afternoon.”

“All right, it’s this way.” The large ranch-style home had the master at the end of the hall, with two bedrooms on each side along the way. She opened the door of the one on the far right, a queen-sized bed, nicely furnished with an attached bathroom. “There are extra blankets and pillows in the closet, and towels are in this cabinet,” she said as Frank set our bag down.

“Thank you for everything,” I said.

“I’ll be down the hall on the other side in my office getting some work done. If you need anything, poke your head in and get my attention. Yelling won’t work as I normally have my headphones on,” she said as she closed the door and left us alone.

“I’ll set up the laptop while you shower,” he said. I used the bathroom first, coming out in a towel. “One thing I love about Spider Monkey is that she likes having EVERYTHING wired. High-speed internet jack and the television HD connection available on the same wall jack.” The courtroom was already up on the television, with people filing into the room. “If we keep the volume down low, it won’t disturb her.”

With our werewolf hearing, we didn’t need it loud. Frank took a quick shower and joined me in bed as we watched the trial.

Spider Monkey’s POV

I’d known Colletta for over a year, having met her at Club get-togethers here at Arrowhead. Seeing her now with a man on her arm, I could see she was living again. The loss of her husband had hit her hard.

I smiled as I left the two lovebirds alone in the room. Rori had complained once about the noise coming from their bedroom after one of their visits. She said Frank had enough stamina to go for hours, and her Mom was very vocal during sex. Chase just turned red because his MOM was getting more action than he was! It was funny listening to HER complain, as she and Chase were the same way when they started out together. Still, I figured there was going to be some moaning and banging going on before sleep, so I went into my office and closed the door.

My office was my computer center and hacking center. I had two servers in the closet; one was for ‘legal’ use, the other for stuff that wasn’t so legal. I had paid extra for the best fiber-optic connection and internet I could get, with separate feeds for each server. An L-shaped desk dominated the room, with four big LED monitors on top and two bigger screens on the walls. The window was blacked out and insulated to prevent laser surveillance, and that wasn’t all. The walls, floors, and ceiling were lined with aluminum mesh, connected together and grounded to make a Faraday cage. The mesh prevented any electronic signals from getting in or out, the combination making the room surveillance proof. The rest had bookshelves and a print center on the back wall. All of the equipment was state-of-the-art thanks to the bag of money I’d received for my help in the Sons warehouse takedown.

I booted up the screens and settled in, putting on my headset microphone. It felt like an Eagles day, so I started “Hotel California” playing as the computers went through their diagnostic and monitoring routines. The hacking server was running a Kali package, monitoring an image of the regular server's Internet connection using Wireshark. It sent me an alarm, warning me of a new computer accessing the server. The mirror showed me the address, username and password they used to connect to the remote site; it was streaming video from a website. “Those kinky old people are watching PORN,” was my first thought. A few more keystrokes and I had recovered everything I needed to watch the same feed.

It was a big room, filling with people, and tables were elevated across the front along with two tables below them, then a gap until you got to the audience. I was about to click off of it when the cameras focused on a grim Chase and Rori walking in with Sawyer at their side, moving to one of the tables in front and sitting down.

I moved the feed to the wall monitor, turning on the audio on my headphones. With the big display, I could recognize others I’d seen at Arrowhead. I could see Tina, Ron’s wife, sitting in the front row next to Coral’s husband, Keith Sexson.

Then the camera shifted to a side door, which Vic was opening, and a line of people walked in. I recognized a few of them; Carson, Ashley, and Coral were together. The rest I hadn’t seen. The audience was standing as they walked in and took their seats, then the big old guy in the center banged a gavel. “Be seated,” he said. “The trial of Alphas Rori King and Chase Nygaard is called to order. The defendants previously pled GUILTY to charges of revealing our werewolf nature to humans in violation of Pack law, failing to kill the human immediately to protect our secret, and intentionally violating a Werewolf Council order. The Alphas on the jury have deliberated and determined the punishment. Defendants, please rise.” I watched as Sawyer stood next to Chase and Rori behind the table; the man at the other table looked smug. “Alpha Blackledge, what says the jury?”

“The jury sentences Alphas Rori King and Chase Nygaard to time served, and admonishes them to focus on changing laws they find unjust rather than breaking them.”

There was chaos in the courtroom with the verdict. Most of the crowd was cheering, while many sitting on the right side were screaming in outrage. The judge banged his gavel, and suddenly the audience shut up and sat down. “This trial is adjourned. The defendants are free to go.” He didn’t look happy as he said it, and the room stood while he and the men by his side walked out the side door. Some of the others from the front table, all looking pissed off, walked after him, but Chase’s family and some others stayed behind.

I watched as well-wishers surrounded the couple, and they accepted the handshakes and hugs with big smiles. Taking off the headphones, I tried to get my head around what I had just seen.

Werewolves.

Alphas.

Council.

Secrets.

Dead humans.

All those people I knew at Arrowhead? They were all werewolves, or they wouldn’t be in that room.

And Vic was in the middle of it.

Vic was a werewolf too.

My hand moved down to my belly, feeling for the barely-there bump.

I was married to a werewolf and having his baby.

I picked up my phone, starting a text to him, but put the phone back down when my brain engaged. I remembered the charges; their laws said humans who found out had to be killed.

I couldn’t tell anyone, not until I could talk to Vic in private.

Maybe I shouldn’t say anything.

I needed to know more before I could decide.

The feed stopped, and automatically brought me back to a home page for video recordings. On the page was a link for “Werewolf Council Proceedings.” Clicking on that brought up a page with recordings of earlier broadcasts, including several from the trial of Rori and Chase. That wasn’t all that caught my eye.

Chase Nygaard was on there as well, the hearing videos labeled “Asylum for Heather Rhodes.”

I put my headphones back on and clicked on the first link.