Abandoned Treasure
This Changes Everything

Independent Shifter Board Chairman Stanley Biggs’ POV

Arrowhead Pack House

Monday, August 3rd, 2020

With Nathan’s life in the hands of the Alpha jury, I headed to the beach for dinner and a swim. The weather was hot and humid, and the dining pavilion was packed. My nose was overwhelmed by all the smells, as it was more sensitive than those of wolves and cats. Both were here, along with a number of humans. Arrowhead was living up to its reputation for its facilities and friendliness.

None of the Alphas were around; they’d been sent into isolation until they reached a verdict. I saw both friendly smiles and wary glances as I went through the line to get my tray of food. Not everyone had appreciated my testimony in support of a man many wanted dead. I knew the man, and the shifter world was better with him around.

I looked around at the tables, spotting them near the beach side and surrounded by a protective cocoon of Arrowhead Pack members. “May I join you?”

“Sure, Stanley,” Isra Roberts replied.

I carefully sat on the open space on the bench between Nathan’s children. “How are my nieces doing?”

“Fine, Uncle Stan,” Khoi replied. “Did Daddy come with you?”

“He’s eating with the Alphas,” I said. Nathan wasn’t officially restricted, but Alpha Rori thought it best to keep him away from all the visitors. They probably wouldn’t harm him, but they’d definitely say things. “Did you have fun today?”

All three nodded. “SOOO much,” Bao piped up.

“Tubing behind boat,” Chao added.

I’d seen some of the kids earlier getting towed around the lake by one of the Pack speedboats. Cats loved the water in either form, and I could swear these kids were half fish with all the time they spent in the pool. Werewolf packs typically had only a few children, so there were plenty of people to spoil them. The number of children at Arrowhead and their closely allied Packs had the Lunas taking notice. As soon as the kids finished eating, Isra put more sunblock on them before they ran back to the beach to play with the others. “How are you holding up, Isra?”

“Not well,” she confessed. “I haven’t been this nervous in a long time. We had a good thing going until Nathan came forward. I’m not sure it was worth the risk to the rest of his family to get a slightly better chance of saving Mykayla’s life. He never hesitated, though.”

“He’s a good man and father. Nathan wouldn’t hesitate to lay down his life to save a daughter. He couldn’t live with the regret if he didn’t do everything possible.”

“I know,” she said. “I worry about the rest of his family if this trial goes badly.”

“I have faith that our arguments reached the Alphas. He won’t escape punishment, but I don’t think they will kill him. He and Jade are just the first pair of mismatched shifters that Luna will use to restore our numbers.”

She snorted. “You should hear the women talk about all the pregnancies and babies in Packs aligned to Alpha Rori. If hear the same from my feline friends. They want things settled so they can see if they have mates among the Packs.”

“Yeah, three children are a blessing, and I’m sure the Alphas are getting an earful at night. I don’t know if they will listen. Your grandchildren can shift wolf or cat, and cats are notoriously independent. Nothing scares an Alpha like a wolf that can resist Alpha command.”

“They listen to Grandma command, I’ll tell you,” she grinned. “They’re good kids. They love it here.”

My phone rang. I looked at the number; it was an area code in northwest Canada, but I didn’t recognize the number. “Hello?”

“Mr. Biggs?” I could hear screaming and crying in the background, but didn’t recognize the language.

“Yes?”

“They TOOK them! Men came and shot my cousin and my uncle!” She broke into a sobbing fit, and I didn’t know who she was talking about.

Thankfully, someone else picked up the phone. “Men came in a plane to Fort Ware thirty minutes ago. They killed Denny and Betty Didder, wounded Jade Roberts, and kidnapped her friend and infant son.”

SHIT! I covered the phone and motioned the nearest Pack member over. “Contact the Alphas and tell them Spider Monkey has been kidnapped.” Her eyes got wide, but she passed the message along. I started running for the golf carts. “How is Jade?”

“Stable and conscious, but groggy. She managed to change back. Our healer has her stabilized, but we’ve called for a medical evacuation.”

Nathan was going to fucking FLIP, and he couldn’t leave because of the trial. The tribe the Werelynx lived among knew of their kind, and they wouldn’t have said that if they didn’t know who I was. “What of the kidnappers?”

“They took off in their plane twenty minutes ago. We reported the kidnapping to the Mounties, but they won’t have anyone here for an hour.”

I got in the golf cart and took off for the Pack House. The Alphas and Council would be there, and by know they’d know we had an emergency. “I’ll be meeting with the Council in a minute,” I told them. “Is there anything else I should know?”

“They knew she was hiding here, but not exactly where or with who. They had six men who moved like soldiers. They were heavily armed, moved like an experienced SEAL team, but they were fucking brutal. They tortured her location out of one man, and threatened another girl’s life to get their way. Fucking savages.”

It sure sounded like a Cartel crew. “Were they Hispanic? Any accent?”

“Only their leader spoke, and he sounded American. We couldn’t tell their races the way they were dressed and with the face paint.”

“What’s your name, sir?”

“Dan Gliebals.”

“Dan, I’ve got to speak to some people. I’ll call back in ten minutes for an update. Anything you and your people need, you let me know and I’ll get it for you.”

“I’m sorry about this, sir. We offered her friend refuge among our tribe, and we let her down.”

I couldn’t imagine how he felt. “I knew both of your dead tribal members. They were good people, and I’m sure you all did everything you could. Nobody expects you to fight off a force like that.”

“They killed our Chief, and we let them go.”

I reached the parking area behind the Pack House and braked to a stop. “They are free now, but I guarantee they will not live long. We will get that mother and child back and avenge your dead. You have my word.”

“Thank you, Mr. Biggs.”

“I’ll call back in ten.” I hung up my phone and rushed into the back door. Beta Lana met me just inside. “Alpha Chase is on his way, and Chair Grimes is bringing the Council to the conference room. She wants the Alphas to hear first.”

I looked at the worried faces of the Pack members. “You won’t be able to keep them in the dark for long. They already know about Spider.”

“We won’t.”

We followed Chief Enforcer Trestman into the room. Nathan was here between two Enforcers in the back, silver cuffs on his wrists and a worried look on his face. Vic looked like he was ready to explode, and I could see other Enforcers positioned to control him if needed. Three Council members had joined the table along with Chair Grimes. The Alphas no longer wore silver, so what we said could be relayed to their fellow Pack members.

Chase walked in with the rest and closed the door. “What happened?”

I relayed what I’d learned to shocked faces. “That’s all I have. I need to call my contact back to get more.”

“Number?”

Alpha Chase dialed it on the room’s system so everyone could hear. It picked up after a few rings. “Hello?”

“Dan, it’s Stanley Biggs. I’m in a room with friends on a speakerphone. Can you add anything to what you said earlier?”

“We’ve isolated the crime scenes until the RCMP arrives. Jade is stable and waiting for the medevac; the helicopter should land in ten minutes.”

“Sir, my name is Nathan Storm. I’m Jade’s husband. Can you tell me what her injuries are?”

“She was shot twice with a rifle. Our healer says one round hit her left thigh a few inches above the knee. It missed an artery, but made a mess of the outside of her leg. The other hit her just above her left ear. It looks like it didn’t penetrate the skull, though.”

“Where are they taking her?”

“Fort St. John Hospital.”

Alpha Coral knew the place.“I’ll send my Doctor and some of her friends to meet her there.Vic, take our plane and go replace your mate.”

“Thank you, Dan. Call me with any updates.” Chase ended the call, and everyone started talking.

“I’d like to go with him,” Mark Trestman asked loudly.

“Get out of here.” Vic was already at the door, and Coral apologized as she walked Mike out. “I have to make arrangements.”

“Quiet,” Chair Grimes said as she banged a hand on the table. “A friend and the mate of a Pack member has been kidnapped, likely by the same Cartel that attacked here earlier. We need to plan our response.”

“Why?” Everyone looked at Martin Smith, who had joined the group after being left out of the jury pool. “Spider Monkey is a human.”

“Not anymore,” Alpha Rori said. “She completed the change after Vic’s son was born. They were part of Blue River until she went into hiding. We didn’t publish that on the Council rosters because of her unique situation.”

Martin looked at Colletta, who nodded. “The FBI informed us that the Tijuana Cartel was after Spider Monkey for her hacking prowess. Now that they have her, I propose we do everything we can to get her back.”

“You want to take on a drug cartel in THEIR territory?” Carl Packwood looked at the others. “We have no presence near the border, few of us can pass for Hispanic, and we have no assets with our best hackers out of commission. This isn’t the same as with Sinaloa, when we had the US Government to do the dirty work.”

“He’s right,” Ivan Boronsky replied. “We can’t get in a stand-up battle with these people. We need to use smarts, stealth, and surprise. Most of all, we need to retrieve her without anyone knowing we are involved.”

“The Government has been pushing for wolves to get involved in covert operations outside the United States, and we have refused,” Alpha Rori stated. “That was a good idea. I saw the FBIs request for what it was.”

“A chance to bring us under Government control,” Sawyer Nygaard added. “This needs to be a three-S operation. Shoot, shovel, shut up.”

“Let me lead it,” Nathan said from the back of the room. All eyes turned to him. “I’ll work through Stanley and use our network of independent shifters, some of whom are in California and Mexico. They almost killed my mate, and they've taken Vic’s. He can be my partner in this. Jade will bring in her hacker friends. You’ll have complete deniability, and we’ll get her back.”

“You have my support,” I added.

“Wait a minute,” Martin objected. “Mr. Storm’s fate is still under discussion by the jury!”

“Hercules was sent on a series of dangerous labours as penance for his sins,” Carson Nygaard replied. “If he completed the tasks, his penalty was complete. Rescuing a Pack member from a Cartel would be a difficult labor to accomplish. I would rather use Nathan’s skills to get Spider Monkey back than to watch him die on a pole.”

“This isn’t the jury room now,” Martin replied.

Colletta stood and the others followed. “We will leave you to it, then. Alphas on the jury, remain here. Everyone else comes with me.”

I followed the group out the door, hoping that cooler heads would prevail.

They did. Thirty minutes later, I watched as the jury sentenced Nathan to retrieve Spider Monkey alive in the next three months. Her return would complete his sentence. If he failed in his task or attempted to evade justice, the death penalty would be imposed and any Pack could execute him on sight.

“Nathan Storm will be released from arrest immediately. Beta Knightly will be his direct supervisor, and he will report solely to the Council Chair. All Packs are directed to provide any needed support by order of the Council. Mr. Storm, do you agree to the terms of your labour?”

“I do, sir.”

The judge brought the hearing to a close.

The next chapter in his life was about to begin.

THE END