Claiming Treasure

Warrior Greg Bark’s POV

Beloretsk Pack, Russia

“Are you ready? We need to be at the Pack House in ten minutes,” I said. I was thankful today was an English day. As part of our language training, odd days were in Russian, even days in English in our home.

“Da, yes, I’m ready.” She came out of our bathroom, dressed in a cable-knit sweater and jeans. Tatiana was a beautiful young woman, and I loved my mate with all my heart. I hated the looks, the secret comments that were made over the link as we passed by others. Both of us had screwed up, and it would be years before it would die off.

We put on our jackets and boots and walked out of our small home, joining the others heading for the four-story log lodge that was the Pack House. We climbed the stairs and took a right inside, heading for the Dining Hall. “Do you know what is going on?”

“Father said there was an attack on the Cascade Pack, and Alpha Carson is declaring war.”

My heart sank. “That is where… my…”

“Where your ex-lover and baby mama are, yes.”

I might never live down my actions with Heather Rhodes, and every day I cursed my failure to wrap that rascal the first time we made love. “It wasn’t her fault; it was mine. She never deserved this.”

“Yes, just as my attack on her was my fault. Come on; we can sit with my parents.” The lights in the room were down, but wolves had no difficulty seeing in low light conditions. We found seats at the table next, Tatiana placing me between herself and Vasili. The projector illuminated a giant screen on the long wall; the global conference of the world’s Alphas was beginning soon. Along the bottom of the screen were two rows of small boxes, most filled now with waiting Alphas. The Council seal was in the center. “любые новости каскада (Any news on Cascade),” she asked him. He shook his head no and pointed to the screen.

I was glad the proceedings were in English, although someone was running subtitles in Russian. I could see Alpha Carson; his face showed bruises, and stitches went down his left cheek and back towards his ear. I was nervous as the last of them joined, and then the conference started.

The Chairman talked about progress, but all I wanted to hear was whether Heather was all right. Finally, it was time for Carson, but Sawyer Nygaard spoke instead. “As you can see, my younger brother is recovering from injuries sustained in an attack earlier today and requested I speak on his behalf. Nine men attacked Alpha Carson, his Beta, and Heather Rhodes.” My stomach flipped. “Alpha Carson and Beta Angelina will recover, but one got through and bit Heather Rhodes.”

“NO!” I jumped to my feet, my wolf surging forward at the news. Vasili was on me in a flash, holding me back with those big arms of his.

Tatiana was in front of me, her touch and voice calming me. “Control yourself, love. You cannot do anything from here.”

“My babies…”

“I’m sorry, my love.” I relaxed enough for her father to release me, and Tatiana pulled me down to the chair before sitting on my lap. “I know you gave custody over, but they would have been your firstborn.” I watched the rest of the proceedings as I bottled up my anger. When the conference ended, I felt cheated, like Carson must have felt when his revenge got taken away from him.

Heather escaped the Arrowhead Pack after Tatiana’s attack, and I never had a chance to speak to her. I never got to apologize for being the asshole I was, leading her on and then abandoning her by letter, and now I wouldn’t have the chance. That hit me as hard as the loss of my children; I mentioned it to Tatiana over the link, and she leaned into my side. “I won’t get to apologize for attacking her, either,” she said. “You loved her.”

“I did. I figured I’d come back after my penance and find a way we could be together. My wolf didn’t like it, but I would have done it anyway.” I kissed her head. “Your parents tell you about how wonderful the mate bond is, but there’s no way to truly describe how I felt when I found you, Tatiana. I love you, and my wolf loves you, more than life itself.”

“I love you too, my mate.” The room got quiet as Alpha Ivan and Luna Svetlana Boronsky walked into the room and onto the raised area at the front. I bowed my head in submission, as did the rest, while he stood at the front to talk.

“I’ll translate for you,” one of the warriors said over the link.

“Thanks, Ivan,” I told him. My Russian was rudimentary, and I’d be unable to keep up with the Alpha’s rapid-fire talk. I focused on his link as I held Tatiana’s hand.

“Well, that was not boring,” Alpha Ivan said to nervous laughter. “First off, we have confirmed that Councilman Millner is dead. He took three silver bullets to the chest, and there’s no coming back from that. Since Alpha Carson withdrew his proposed declaration of war, which was only a means to force the Council to hold the teleconference, the matter is now local.”

“It’s over, Alpha?”

“As a matter for the Alphas, yes. Alpha Carson and Alpha Coral will deal with the prisoners, and they will work out any reparations between them. I doubt if the siblings will hold a grudge. It is unfortunate the human will not survive; our sympathies are with Warrior Barks for the loss of his unborn children, and the Arrowhead and Cascade Packs for the loss of their friend.” Tatiana squeezed my hand as some of the others around me put their hands on my shoulders in support. Babies were treasured, and even though I had given their care into Alpha Carson’s hands, they were still mine.

“There are many lessons to be learned from this tragedy,” Luna Svetlana said, “but none more important than honoring the mate that the Goddess made for you. Warrior Barks will be the first to tell you he made a mistake, falling in love with a human when his true mate was still out there. The Cascade Pack woman will die a traitor’s death. Why? Because she thought she could press her Alpha into taking her as Luna, instead of waiting for her mate. Even Alpha Carson suffered for decades because his true mate rejected him for another male. The Goddess Luna’s pairings are never wrong, and the price for taking on her role is high. Wait for the one who is yours.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

“What will happen on the Council,” one of the warriors asked.

“The seat belongs to North America, and those Alphas will vote on a replacement. It could take anywhere from days to weeks until an election fills the seat.”

“What about the hacked server? Was that related to Councilman Millner,” another asked.

“That is still under investigation. The actual hack was performed by a human, who is married to the former Beta of Arrowhead Pack, Vic Knightly. I’ll add to what my lovely mate said; a werewolf cannot mate a human, but a widow like Vic could choose to mate another widow. When he inevitably bites his wife in the throes of passion, she will die. In any case, both are wanted fugitives, and the American Packs and Council are actively searching for them.”

“Will they out our kind to the humans? They have the Council’s Genealogical Database; they know all of our names,” another asked.

“They have already extorted money from Arrowhead, but we don’t know what else they may do with the information. The Council and the Packs are working on contingency plans should our existence be revealed. I will be making this a priority with the Council. Any other questions?” No one said anything. “Breakfast is in twenty minutes. Dismissed.”

I stood up, setting my mate on her feet, and Luna Svetlana waved us over. “Greg, we know this is a shock to you. If you wish, we will make arrangements for you to fly to the Cascade Pack for Miss Rhodes’ funeral.”

I looked over at Tatiana; I wanted to go, but not alone. Alpha Carson, reeling from the loss of the woman he thought was his mate, might not want me on his land. “I appreciate the offer, Luna, but I need to speak with my mate and Alpha Carson before I could accept. I don’t know if my presence there would be welcomed.”

“Let me handle that part,” she said. “You and Tatiana talk it over and let me know today.”

“Of course, Luna. Thank you.” She joined her mate, and Tatiana and I joined some of the younger warriors as we waited for the breakfast service to begin.

Colletta’s POV

Cascade Pack House

The Alpha videoconference was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. In the end, the man responsible for the attack was dead, and our thirst for vengeance unsatisfied. I almost pitied the survivors in the cells. The Pack would want them to suffer even more before death now.

Frank’s reaction was a little different. Growing up human, he didn’t have the same bloodlust we did. He was satisfied that Millner was dead, but there was something else. “The bomb on Coral’s plane; who thinks this is the first time they’ve used that?”

“Charles?” Rori’s grandfather had died shortly after her Pack formed, and it was only in the past week that the wreckage of the private jet had been found and recovered in Lake Michigan.

“Has the family gotten any reports as to the cause?”

“I don’t think so, just that it is under investigation.” I thought for a moment. “Do you have contacts in the investigation?”

He shook his head, no. “The National Transportation Safety Board didn’t get involved in DEA matters. I do have some FBI contacts, but not in the Chicago area.”

“I have Hugh Patterson’s private cellphone number in my phone. Maybe we should speak to the FBI Director and have him smooth the way.” I had met Hugh in Washington, DC when I went to head off the investigation into the Packs and provide Spider Monkey’s intelligence on the Sons of Tezcatlipoca. Hugh was the only one in government who knew about werewolves.

“Let’s check with Rori first.” I texted my daughter-in-law and asked her to call me back when she was alone with her mate. It was about forty minutes before she did. “Hi honey,” I said as I answered.

“Hi, Mom. Chase and I are in our office now. We just got done with the Pack meeting.”

“I’ll make this quick. Frank thinks the bomb they found in Coral’s plane is related to the death of Charles.”

“It’s too much of a coincidence, and it means there’s a bomb expert out there taking contracts on Alphas,” Frank added.

“You’re right,” Chase said. “The NTSB and FBI haven’t said anything about the cause, but it’s suspicious as hell.”

“I want to run it past our law enforcement contacts, maybe find a way to get close to the investigation. I just wanted to make sure you knew and were all right with it,” Frank said.

“I think the rot in the Council goes far beyond Millner. It’s probably a good idea for you to get out of Cascade for a while, Frank. We don’t know what information the mole passed along, so they may know you’re there. They might even know you shifted. That makes you an even bigger target than if you were still human.”

“We’ll make the call, but I can’t leave just yet. I need to be here for Heather’s shift; I’m the only one who’s been through it. I owe it to her to help her deal with everything, including the loss of her babies.”

“Fine. Just stay out of sight and around the Pack House. I doubt if they have another team, but who knows what happens after today,” Rori said.

“Thanks, honey. How are my grandbabies doing?”

“Good, they’re adjusting well, and I’m past morning sickness. How’s my new sister-in-law doing?”

“So far, so good, but why do you think it’s a girl?” It was way too early to find out.

“Frank has a boy already, and you’re due for another girl,” she said with a laugh.

“I’ll let you get back to work. Love you both,” I said.

“Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad,” they chorused.

I looked at Frank, who was stunned. “They called you Dad,” I said.

“They did.” He wiped a tear away. “Let’s get the information on the investigation from Coral, then call the Director.” An hour later, we were buying plane tickets to Chicago. Director Patterson was understanding of our interest, and given the targets, agreed to give Frank access to the investigation as a ‘consultant’ from his office. I was going because Frank wouldn’t leave his pregnant mate behind.