Claiming Treasure

Heather Rhodes’ POV

Cascade Pack House, Alpha Office

“Baby, I need you to sit in the corner here and watch,” Carson said to me. “I don’t know if we can trust them with the secret of your existence, and you’ll appear to be a guard.”

“Fine, if I have to,” I replied. My wolf didn’t like getting pushed to the side; she wanted recognition as his equal. “What happens if we can’t trust him?”

“Then we fight his claim to take over as Alpha of the Denali Pack and find someone else to take over.”

“Alpha, we have arrived,” the driver said from out front.

Yesterday, the son of the late Denali Pack Alpha had called requesting our support of his leadership. Carson said he would have to speak to him in person first. We told him to fly to Seattle, and we would bring him to our Pack to discuss it. Interim Alpha Anthony Robertson, who was seventeen years old, immediately accepted.

“Bring him up to our office.” I didn’t know if he would understand the snub we were giving him by doing this. Fellow Alphas were met at the stairs, while lower-ranking wolves were brought to the Alpha’s office. When he arrived, he didn’t appear to be upset by it. “Anthony, welcome to the Cascade Pack,” Carson said as he came around the desk to shake his hand.

He shook it back, glancing at the corner where I was watching him intently. Carson didn’t introduce me, so he looked back. He met Carson’s eyes, but only held them for a few seconds before looking down. “Thank you for seeing me, Alpha. On behalf of the Denali Pack, I apologize for the issues the former Alpha caused you.”

“Issues is one way to say it,” Carson said as he gestured to the chair. He sat behind the desk and looked at the young man. “Invasion is another.”

“My father always had his nose too far up Coffey’s ass to see straight,” he said. “It will take a long time to heal from the damage he left behind.”

“What do you mean?”

“Denali is remote and isolated, and he used that against us. He would talk about the need for the Pack to be tough and independent, but that was a cover. In reality, he was afraid someone would push him aside. Vic Knightly was a good example. He was more respected than my father, even though my father refused to allow him to rise beyond Pack Warrior. My father encouraged him to leave by taking away his Warrior position.”

I thought about what an Alpha like that would fear. The biggest competition for an Alpha came from his offspring, and Anthony was now reaching adulthood. “How did he react when you shifted?”

“He tried to kill me. When I shifted, my wolf and I both knew that our destiny was to rule and to rule soon. My wolf refused to submit to him, and that enraged him. He choked me out; if the Pack Healer hadn’t grabbed me when he turned away, I would have died there on the front lawn. No one would interfere with his family.” He looked out the window for a moment, collecting himself. “He’d been beating me since I was ten, to ‘toughen me up’ as he said. My mother’s wolf had been beaten into submission shortly after they were mated. She wouldn’t ever do or say anything against him, for fear that he’d kill her the next time.”

What a loser. Hitting on a boy who hadn’t shifted yet? Abusing his own mate? “How can the bond even allow that?”

“It shouldn’t,” he said. “Your wolf has to be seriously fucked in the head to do that to your other half.” He stood and grabbed two water bottles out of the fridge, handing one to the boy. “What happened then?”

Anthony took a drink and continued. “He didn’t allow me to train with the other warriors, and he wouldn’t train me either. I think Alan knew that if I learned how to fight, I’d use it against him. Instead, he would keep me away from the rest of the Pack. I spent months doing patrols, hunting parties, explorations, anything he could do to keep me out of the way.” He smiled a little. “If he thought he was holding me down, he was wrong. I spent months in wolf form in the mountains, strengthening my body and sparring with every warrior in the Pack. I learned quickly and grew strong. I was waiting for one thing before I challenged him for the position,” he said with a sigh.

“A mate.”

“Yes. I did not find my mate in my Pack, and I was not allowed to travel. My father knew that with my true mate by my side, I’d be even stronger. He was planning to mate me to a Pack member, knowing a choice mate wouldn’t be the same.”

I liked this boy. “He does not seem to be like his father.”

“How would you change things at your Pack?”

“I would return us to the path Luna set us all on. I would encourage true mates. I would repair our facilities and finances, which are in poor shape. I will lead them towards a path that makes us respected not for our power, but our character and faith.” He looked over at me. “Luna Heather is proof that the Goddess is doing new things in our world. I wish to be a part of that movement and partake in the blessings that you have.”

“Do you believe your Pack would support you, despite your age and heritage? The Council will treat this the same as a challenge since I have the lawful right to the Alpha position.”

“I know they will. As you said, my father attacked and failed, and we all saw it happen. If you want Denali, it is yours, and I would serve as your Beta. If you do not, I am here to ask for the position.”

“I agree with you, Heather. The prisoners said the same, they would gladly accept him as Alpha.”

“What would we do with a Pack in Alaska, Carson? Better to have an ally than a long-distance responsibility that will drain our energy and finances.”

“You are right.” He stood up and went around the desk as Anthony stood too. “You have our support to become Alpha of Denali,” he told him as he embraced him. “I will inform the Council of our decision.”

“Thank you, Alpha,” he said with a smile, then looked at me. “And thank you, Luna, for being the change we need as a people.”

“What are we going to do with his warriors?”

“We can’t do anything about the dead.” All of them were buried now, except one man who’d been decapitated by the cable on the road in the rental car. We left him with a staged accident scene and fire. Another car had been brought back to the rental company on a flatbed after crashing into a tree. The other vehicles they brought, they had been rented for a week. We had them parked out of sight. “I’ll send back the others with him in the rentals.”

I got up and stood by the door while I waited for them to catch up. When we went outside, I ran into the woods and relieved myself before following them to the cells. It made me feel good to see how his people reacted to seeing him, and their joy when they found out he was going to be Alpha.

An hour later, as they drove off, I rubbed my head against Carson’s leg. “I feel hopeful now,” I told him. “I just hope Carl and Angelina can handle Banff.”

“Me too, baby. If it doesn’t work, we may have to liquidate the Pack and disperse the members. They could be the biggest problem since Coral had to straighten out Bitterroot.”

“How bad was that?”

He just laughed. “Come on. I need to show you a video called ‘The Battle of the Coral Sees.’ You’ll get a new appreciation for your sister-in-law.”

“You haven’t even asked me to marry you! If you liked it, wouldn’t you put a ring on it?”

He knelt in front of me, picking up my paw as I sat down. This was it, I thought to myself. I had the man I love on bended knee, about to make a romantic marriage proposal! I looked at him with my head tilted and my tongue hanging out the side of my mouth while my tail whapped the grass behind me. Yeah, that’s just like I dreamed it would happen as a little girl. “Rings don’t survive the shift, but we can tattoo the skin if you want,” he said. “I will give you a ring, just as I will give you everything you desire. I love you, Heather, and I do want to marry you as a human just as I mated you as a wolf. You are mine, I am yours, forever.”

“I love you, Carson.”