Claiming Treasure

Alpha Anthony Robertson’s POV

Denali Pack House, Alaska

“Alpha, we just received a notification of an emergency Alpha videoconference. It’s starting as soon as everyone is present,” my secretary said.

I looked up from the ledgers I’d been working with our Pack Accountant to understand. My father had kept a lot of things hidden, including money, and it was going to take months to uncover it all. “Thank you.”

I called for my mother and my Beta to join me in the office as I logged on to the system. The laptop camera would only show me, but the audio would show on the wall monitor so the others could follow along. Beta Scott was first to arrive; he had gone rogue and was making his way towards Arrowhead when my father died at the Cascade Pack. He agreed to return after hearing I was taking over. We had spent a lot of time together on patrols, and I trusted him with my life. “Alpha,” he said. “Any idea what is going on?”

“I guess we’ll find out soon,” I said as I entered my ID and password into the system. I kept the microphone muted, seeing there were still eight or so Alphas not connected yet.

Scott stood as the door opened, and my mother walked in. She was looking better now, her wolf recovering slowly from the shock of losing her mate. She was eighty-seven years old but looked like she was in her early thirties, with long black hair cascading in gentle curls below her shoulders. “Luna Kathryn,” he said with a nod of his head. Since I was not mated, she remained the Pack’s Luna.

I stood and pulled a chair over next to me. “Hello, Mom,” I said as I kissed her cheek. I could feel her shiver as I helped her sit, and my wolf reached out to comfort hers. She was looking around, a little nervous; she dreaded a summons to here when my father lived.

I needed to remodel this room soon to take away those bad memories for her. My father only brought her here for punishment or as a figurehead in discussions with other Alphas. Either way, something she did was wrong, so he’d beat her for it. “I need you to watch and give me any advice you have,” I said.

“If you think I can,” she said quietly. “I was never allowed to speak unless asked directly about something in meetings.”

“You didn’t sit through them without learning things, and I need your experience to help me appear like a stronger Alpha than I am,” I said. “As the youngest and newest, other Alphas might try and put me in my place. You know them, and you can help me push back.”

I held her hand as we watched the others appear. Mom had been Luna here for almost seven decades, ever since my father saw her in Banff and brought her home. She had lost the natural dominance of her Beta blood under my father’s fists, but she remained a capable administrator and beloved Luna. I needed her by my side to stabilize the Pack and help me through my growing pains as Alpha. “Nothing you say or do will get you hurt again, Mom.”

The final Alpha appeared, and Alpha Rori started things out. “We have a major problem on our hands, Alphas. Jack Coffey was spotted at a store near Duluth, Minnesota earlier this morning.” There were wide eyes at this news, as they soon figured out Rori was probably his target. “As you know, he has international warrants out for him for his hiring of an assassin to kill my Grandfather and my mate-sister. The police failed to arrest him.”

“We’ll send extra warriors, anyone you need,” Alpha Steven March said. “Coffey has to be stopped. I’m assuming he’s coming after you?”

“We don’t know why he’s in town, but it doesn’t matter now. Coffey undressed and shifted to his wolf behind the store, then he attacked and bit a cop before running away. All of this was in broad daylight. The cop might have seen him, and for sure, he’s going to show up on surveillance cameras doing it. Probably more than one, and maybe a dash camera. Our secret might be out within the hour if someone releases the recordings to the media,” she said.

That set off a bunch of talking and shouting among the Alphas, which Rori let go for a bit before she smacked her hand on her desk and growled. “There’s nothing we as Alphas can do about this. Frank Grimes and Colletta Nygaard are working to minimize the damage with the human government and law enforcement. If they request anything from you, see that they get it immediately,” she said.

“What does this mean for us,” Alpha Martin Nemmers asked.

“For Europe and Russia, not much right away,” Rori said. “Colletta is going to be talking to American officials first, and she’s flying to Washington now. She’ll probably have to do the same with the Canadian government, given Coffey’s ties to Canadian Packs. She will be requesting assistance in keeping this under wraps, and managing the fallout if it cannot be kept quiet.”

“Will they help us?”

“We won’t know. Colletta’s going to have to see how they react to finding out there are monsters in their midst. We’re hopeful they will help if only to keep a full-scale panic from occurring.” I could see how nervous Rori was about this.

“How much time do we have,” Sawyer asked.

Rori shrugged. “Minutes, hours, probably not more than a day or two. If this video is released, it will go viral in minutes. I don’t know if we’ll be able to get people to discount it.”

“People know you can fake things,” I said. “We could work that angle, call it a publicity stunt.”

“With a Ten Most Wanted fugitive at the center, an injured cop and an injured police dog? If it was one low-quality camera, maybe. If multiple cameras AND people saw it? Not a chance in hell,” Rori replied. “I recommend every Pack prepare as if a mob of angry humans with pitchforks is going to show up on their driveway soon. Keep the vulnerable close, up patrols, close up any physical barriers,” she said.

It was a sensible precaution. Denali was so isolated that it wouldn’t change much for us.

“There’s one more thing,” Rori said. “When Jack escaped, he bit a Deputy Sheriff on the arm. He’s at the hospital now getting stitched up.”

“Oh fuck,” Coral said. “You can’t hide that.”

“Yeah. The first werewolf to reveal himself to humans didn’t just pay people to bomb airplanes, but he will kill a cop,” Sawyer said.

“There’s only one way to stop it, and it’s a long shot,” Rori said. “We’ve been able to successfully change two humans into werewolves IF we had their mate to claim them and pull their wolf out. We need to find the man’s mate, if she exists, and quickly.”

“Werewolves don’t have human mates,” Alpha Ulf Svenson said.

“We didn’t think so, but Luna disagreed twice so far, and she’s the Goddess, not us,” Rori said. “She has not given humans to us as fated mates, at least we don’t think she has. Colletta was a widow, while Alpha Carson’s true mate had rejected him and later died.” She put up a photo of a Deputy Sheriff with his police dog, taken from the Sheriff’s webpage. “This is Deputy Mark Brighton and his dog Max. According to his social media accounts, he’s thirty-two years old, divorced, no kids, and likes canoeing in the Boundary Waters and fishing. He’ll be dead by tomorrow night if we do nothing, and his death will fall on our kind. Our only chance to save his life is to try what we did with Frank and Heather. We have to find if Luna has assigned him a mate. If she has, they need to find each other in time for us to explain everything and get him to agree to the change before he dies.”

“That’s impossible! There are HUNDREDS of potential mates around the world! What are the chances this random human among the billions is a second chance mate for any of our females?” Alpha Joel Sigurdsson looked around. “It’s a needle in a haystack!”

“There’s only one way to find out for sure,” Alpha Ivan Baronsky said. “Every Alpha needs to immediately send any wolves who have lost their fated mates to Arrowhead.”

Rori nodded. “Yes, but not just the widows and rejected. Two isn’t a representative sample,” she said. “I want every unmated she-wolf above the age of eighteen at Arrowhead by tomorrow morning at the latest. Fly them to Minneapolis-St. Paul or Duluth, and we’ll pick them up.” She thought for a moment. “If you wish, send unmated males with them as escorts; at worst, we get a chance for them to find their mates. We will accommodate them all with Oxbow Lake’s help, and I will guarantee their safety.”

Sawyer leaned forward and spoke first. “Rori, are you sure it’s wise to have everyone descending on Arrowhead when you’re the likely target of Jack Coffey AND maybe humans? Has the FBI even taken away the crime scene tape?”

“Yesterday. Oh, I have another idea to help with security,” Rori said with a smile. “It’s going to be one hell of a party.”

The call ended shortly after, and Beta Scott had already called for all unmated Pack members above the age of eighteen to meet in the Pack House. “Start making reservations,” I told him. “Prioritize the women first. Mom, you go pack.”

She looked at me, and her jaw dropped. “Why? I’m still recovering from the loss of my mate!”

“You’re unmated,” I said. “Go. Watch over the others, and make friends.” She was shaking her head. “It’s not an option, Mom. I committed to sending everyone, and I meant it.”

“Fine, but just to watch over my girls,” she said. She walked out of the office to go pack.

I looked out the window at the mountains. Change was coming, and right quick.