Aztec Treasure
Orientation

Maria Meztli’s POV

Arrowhead Pack, Northern Minnesota

I woke to the smell of pancakes and bacon. For a moment, I closed my eyes and let myself imagine I was at home, my mother cooking breakfast while my father got ready for another day of Club business. I’d come down the stairs, rubbing my eyes, and Mom would hand me a plate with a smile on her face.

It wasn’t going to happen, and I knew it. I had to make a new life for myself. I opened my eyes to the guest bedroom. It was nicer than any hotel, tastefully furnished with a full bathroom attached. The windows looked out at the Alpha’s home at the end of the Point, but you could see Lake Arrowhead to the left and the Pack House complex up the hill to the right. Spider Monkey, the pregnant human and mate of Beta Vic, had taken me under her wing. It wasn’t something I sought out, but Spider is something of a force of nature. Even the wolves deferred to her.

Looking at the clock-radio on the bedside table, it was eight in the morning. I got out of bed, stretching out and checking on Maritza before I went into the bathroom. When I came out, Spider was knocking on the door. “Your luggage arrived late last night, Maria. Tom made a loop into central Wisconsin before coming up here to make sure no one followed him.”

“Thank the Goddess for fresh underwear,” I said as Vic set the bags on my dresser and the chair in the room. “And her diaper bag! Thank you.” I grabbed what I needed for Maritza as she woke up. “Did you and Meghan get back safely? I didn’t see you at the party last night.”

“There were problems, and we didn’t want to ruin your party,” Spider Monkey told me.

“It’s why I didn’t get back until late last night, Maria. It was a good thing we switched cars and snuck you in. A dozen men, we believe from a CIA team, went after Meghan’s car using three SUVs. The four of us took cover in a rural driveway north of Duluth. The team blocked our exit and demanded you give yourself up. We opened fire on them, and they are now dead or in Federal custody. None of our people were seriously hurt. Meghan’s car got shot up, and the car and the contents are all part of a crime scene. We had to have people pick us up after talking to the police because the car isn’t driveable now.”

I stared at them, my jaw open. “It sounds like it was more than you’re admitting to, Vic. What is this ‘not seriously hurt’ stuff? Who got hurt?”

“Frank got grazed with a bullet, but it’s only a few stitches and some new clothes.”

“A few inches left, and the Council would be declaring war on the CIA for killing Colletta’s mate,” Spider Monkey said. She wasn’t happy Frank was in the field and got hurt. A few inches to the left, and it would have been a different story.

Vic continued with the damage. “Brent banged his knee up diving for cover, and Laura’s cheek got cut by a rock fragment. We’ll all be fine. It was a textbook ambush.”

“And Meghan?”

“Her shoulder is a little sore from firing that shotgun so many times, but she kicked ass. She took out five of them with those deer slugs. The rental cars looked like Swiss cheese when she stopped shooting.”

I’d endangered my host’s mate and three others just by existing. “I’m sorry I brought trouble to your Pack, Beta Vic.”

“Just Vic; while you are here, you’re family. I’m happy to have you in my home and my Pack, Maria. I think you can be happy here, and you’ll make the Pack stronger by your presence.”

“Thank you.”

“Now get dressed and come down for breakfast before it gets cold,” Spider Monkey said. They closed the door behind them, and I changed quickly. I put on a T-shirt, shorts, and sweats, and then changed Maritza’s diaper and grabbed a terrycloth romper for after breakfast.

I scented we weren’t alone as I came down the stairs. I recognized Lance and Chase by their scents, and Frank introduced me to his Colletta. I smiled at everyone as I put Maritza into a high chair and put some Cheerios on the tray for her.

“Good morning, Maria,” Lance said. “How did you sleep?”

“It was good, thank you,” I replied with a smile. I took a pancake and started cutting it up for Maritza, topping it with syrup before putting the food on her tray. Maritza LOVES pancakes, but they make a mess. I quickly filled my plate as Spider Monkey set a glass of juice in front of me. “Frank, I didn’t see you at the party last night. When did you get in?”

Frank looked at Chase, and I could see something pass between them. I guessed what it was. “Vic told me Meghan’s car attacked yesterday, and they were after me.”

“Yes,” Frank replied. “Three attempts on your life is unacceptable. I have made it clear to the FBI and the Kettering Administration that you are now under Pack protection, thus included in the Treaty.”

“And I’ll be meeting with the President tomorrow, with the rogue CIA being a major topic,” Colletta added. “The President told me she didn’t direct the abduction attempts, and I believe her.”

Lance finished up and put his plate and glass in the sink, walking out of the room without a word or look. Chase waited until he was gone before he spoke up. “Maria, with the threats and your unfamiliarity with the Pack, I want to assign a warrior to escort you.”

My eyes got wide. “A bodyguard? Why would I need one on Pack lands? You said I’d be safe here.”

“Think of it more as a guide to help you integrate into the Pack who happens to be armed just in case,” Frank said. “It isn’t uncommon. Colletta has a security detail everywhere she goes, and our daughter’s protected 24/7 by dedicated warriors.”

“Why would Cheryl need security as a one-year-old?” I’d met Chase’s twins last night, and I could see them being good friends with Maritza in the Pack daycare.

Chase gave a quick talk about Rori’s blessing as a direct first-born female descendent of the first Werewolf female and what it meant for her and Cheryl. I knew werewolves lived a lot longer than humans, but I had no idea how tough it was for them to get pregnant. It was no wonder their daughter had around-the-clock protection. “What do you think about Lance as a bodyguard for you?”

“He’s a good guy from what I’ve seen. He was nice to me when he brought me in.”

Chase nodded. “He volunteered for the duty, but Rori and I have concerns because he isn’t mated. We’ve had recent unpleasant experiences with bodyguards becoming too close to their charge. We made our expectations clear to Lance, but we need you to understand as well. Lance has a fated mate out there that isn’t you, and he could replace her at any time. When they replace each other, no one before her will matter. You can’t let him get close to you, or you’ll both get hurt.”

“If you want him as your bodyguard in the first place,” Spider Monkey said. “We can replace someone else if you don’t get along.”

“No, don’t get anyone else. I trust Lance to do his job,” I said. Lance walked back with a smile on his face a moment later, thanks to that freaky Pack link thing the werewolves have. It was so much better than the vocalizations and posturing we used in our cat form to communicate. He got a washcloth and started cleaning up Maritza for me while I finished eating. It wouldn’t be easy because she had syrup in her hair. “What is on the agenda for today?”

“Doc Olson is coming over from our friends at the Oxbow Lake Pack to give the two of you arrival physicals,” Chase said. “Possum will meet you after lunch at the Pack clinic to start the workup.”

“Possum?”

Spider Monkey laughed. “That’s her road name in the Steel Ladies. Her old man is Roadkill, and what kind of roadkill is good to eat?”

“Oh,” I said as I blushed.

“Roadkill is our Facilities Beta, so he’s responsible for everything mechanical. Possum is a registered nurse, and both are human,” Chase said. “I’m in training as a psychologist, but I’m the only doctor at Arrowhead until Doc Olson shows up. If you don’t mind, I’d like to sit in on your appointment. I don’t have any experience with jaguar physiology, and it’s a chance to get a baseline.”

“That would be fine,” I told him. “It’s been years since I saw a doctor.”

Lance spoke up next. “I should give you a tour of the Pack grounds and talk through the security rules with you. We can leave Maritza in the Pack daycare if you’re comfortable with that.”

“We’re the only Pack in the country that needs a daycare,” Chase said with a smile. “The other Alphas are quite jealous of our baby boom.”

“That sounds good,” I said. “Maybe after Maritza’s afternoon nap, we can hit the pool?”

“Sure,” Chase said. “We’ll join you if we get our work done. Speaking of which, I better get going.”

“Thank you for breakfast,” I told Spider Monkey. “We should be going too.” Lance handed me my cleaned-up and fully-dressed daughter, then led me down the stairs to the basement tunnels. I’d been amazed by them when we used them last night, but I understood why. Living right on the lake among humans, it was not just an escape route but a way to get around without being seen by humans.

We went up the hill to the Pack House’s basement, taking the elevator up to the daycare. It was off the hallway leading from the dining area to the pool room. Maritza took off for her new friends and didn’t look back; after months of being alone with me, the toys and children were a treat. “It’s like I’m not here anymore,” I said as I watched her sit with the others.

“It’s new for her,” one of the nannies said. “We’ve got her; go have fun. I’ll link Lance if we need you.”

So we did. I’d seen a little of the Pack House last night, but it was bigger than I thought. Three dining wings, with one in use, the pool and locker rooms, offices, and kitchen were on the main floor. Downstairs were bunk rooms and guest quarters, a large gymnasium, weapons training areas, and utilities. A class of women was taking pistol combat class when we went past the firearms simulator. “After Chase saw this at Carson’s pack, we had to have one. Realistic pistols with lasers and a hundred-and-eighty degree video projectors.”

“It looks like fun,” I said. As a Club Princess in an outlaw biker gang, I’d been shooting since I was five.

“Once you settle in, Beta Vic will evaluate your fighting skills and slot you into classes. Everyone does it, even the Omegas. Every adult has a job in defense of the Pack. It’s made all the difference in defending against attack.”

“The Jaguar attacks?”

“Yes, but the worst was when two other Packs attacked. It was a slaughter; none even got close to our people.”

“Can you defend us? I’ve watched the news; you’ve been attacked how many times in the past year?”

“Five times, Maria. We lost a few in one of the jaguar attacks, plus the wolves we lost defending the Orlando clubhouse. We aren’t a big pack, so we have to take our preparedness seriously. On the bright side, we have great parties, and there are plenty of fun machines to ride.”

“I can’t wait to ride,” I told him. “It has been MONTHS.”

“We can take ATVs out when I show you the Pack Border today. A motorcycle run will need a lot more people to keep you safe, but I’ll ask the Alpha to schedule one.”

That sounded good. The more I saw, the more impressed I was. I spent way too much time in the garage, hanging out with Roadkill and his mechanics as he got the motorcycles, ATVs, and boats ready for the summer season. We made it to lunch a few minutes late. Maritza ate with the nannies so I could enjoy my meal. Lance laughed at me when I cut my grilled cheese into tiny bites out of habit.

“Come on, we need to get to the clinic,” he told me when we finished. We walked across to the clinic in the sunshine since the hills and buildings shielded us from view. “You can go right out that doggie door to the woods,” he told me. “There are cubbyholes for clothing just inside.”

“I want to let my cat out,” I said as I looked at the pines and rocks. I knew the Pack owned hundreds of acres back there, and we’d be riding the trails later on.

“Shifting is at night only due to the threat from the anti-werewolf groups, and only in groups of five or more,” he replied. “I’ll take you out after dark if I can get some volunteers for a run.”

I laughed. “You guys can run all you want, Maritza and I like to climb and leap. Ambush predators, remember?”

Possum welcomed me to the clinic, and Lance waited in the lobby as she took me back. Seeing the doctor was going to be interesting.