Aztec Treasure
Orders from the Oracle

Leonis Woodley’s POV

Bloomington, Mi

I opened the burner phone and called the number I’d memorized long ago. A woman picked up. “Identification code?”

“Jaguar Zero Zero Seven Xray.”

“Voice match. How may I help you, sir?”

“Arrange a meeting with our friends to thank them for their presents. Somewhere in the upper Midwest within a day.”

“Call back in two hours,” the voice said before the line went dead.

I called back at the appointed time. The message was short and sweet. “Our associates are not pleased with your recent failure.”

“Then they should have given us three or four instead of just two.” The fucking fighter jet ruined our attack, flying between us and Air Force One and soaking up the second missile. We were long gone before it landed, and I’d kept Julio out of sight since then. It hadn’t been easy to get us out of the Arrowhead Region without getting caught, but I’d done it. “Our goal hasn’t changed. She can’t hide forever.”

“Leon Cemetery, about a mile south of Sparta, Wisconsin on Highway 27. By the maintenance shed at ten PM tonight. Bring an enclosed van or truck and be ready to head east. Will advise on next house at the meeting.”

“Understood.” I hung up and broke the burner phone in half, tossing the pieces in a trash can at the Mall of America. That was better than I thought, as I looked at the map on my phone. It was less than four hours away, a straight shot southeast out I-94 then south on 27. I looked at the map of the area; there were a few stands of trees near the boundary, but the rest was all open field. No one would be sneaking up on us. The country road wouldn’t have much traffic, and few homes were around. It had easy access to interstates leading in three directions.

I stopped to get some Cinnabon and two large coffees at the mall store before heading out the north mall entrance. I crossed the road and walked over to my Class C toy-hauler motorhome in the north lot. The Oracle had helped me with a new identity and cash after I got out; the motorhome gave me the mobility I needed now that all the Chapters were dead. I could blend in, just another old guy roaming the country with his Harley in the back, too old to make long runs in the saddle. The RV had hidden compartments, perfect for guns, drugs, or hiding the FBI’s Most Wanted fugitive. I opened the door and climbed into the driver’s seat, setting the cups in the holders and the box of rolls on the passenger seat. I drove until I was on Interstate 494 heading east, picking up Interstate 94. It was only when the traffic thinned out that I called back to Julio. “It’s safe now.”

I heard the curtain moving that separated the living area from the driver’s seats. “Finally. That smell has been driving me crazy.” He grabbed the box and one of the coffees, taking it back to the dining area. “What did she say?”

“We’re on for a meet tonight. Ten PM at a cemetery outside Tomah.”

“Why?”

“She only said to bring an enclosed truck and be ready to head East. They want the President dead, Julio. They won’t accept a second failure.”

“Then they better give me some good fucking stuff because I want that bitch dead too.” He heated two of the rolls in the microwave and handed one forward. I set it on the flat console. “Security is going to be a bitch. A sniper shot will be difficult.”

“Maybe they are giving you a Barrett?” That thing could reach out and touch someone from a mile away.

He snorted. “The Secret Service will never relax security enough for outside events while I’m at large. You can’t reliably make a long-range shot at a target moving from a building to a limousine, either. I’m thinking more along the lines of a bomb or a drone.”

I took a bite and washed it down with some good coffee. “I want to get this shit done so we can get to that Arrowhead bitch.” I’d signed on with Julio for revenge, and both he and the Oracle wanted revenge on the Federal Government first. I’d been begging for a chance to go after Rori Nygaard or their children to no avail. I’d done some reconnaissance of their Pack, and security there was tight. The weak spot was the public lake their home overlooked. A fast boat could get there before security could respond in force, but we wouldn’t have much time. It would be a suicide mission.

Julio promised we’d get them next, and Chase would get the Sons treatment for those who betrayed them. We’d rape his wife and kill his family in front of him, then torture him for a day before finally executing him with a shot to the face.

I kept the cruise control on and enjoyed the drive out east. We had plenty of time before the meetup.

Chase Nygaard’s POV

Arrowhead Pack House

If there was a way to have too much sex, Arrowhead Warrior Lance Skollson had found it. When I got him into the treatment room, I had to help him remove his jeans and underwear because he was in so much pain. He had bruising around his hips and thighs, his balls were red and swollen, and his dick looked like he’d whacked off with steel wool. “How the hell did you function like this? How could you even drive?”

“It didn’t start to hurt until the drive back,” he replied. I shook my head; the heat’s effect on males was greater than I believed. It was one thing to keep him hard, quite another for his body to ignore the pain of his abused organ as he used it like that. “Now it hurts so much I’m afraid to look at it.”

“Probably a good idea,” I told him. I had him take a cold shower and clean up first, since he smelled strongly of sex and lake water. An examination found no significant injuries, just scratches and friction burns. I found some sunburn gel with aloe and Lidocaine. “I need you to coat your penis, testicles, and other sore areas with this gel. It should help cool the burning and provide some pain relief.”

“Hand it over,” he said. I squeezed some into his hands and let him take care of his junk. “Ah, yeah. That feels better.”

“This next part won’t. I want you to hit the ice bath in the training room three times a day, for at least ten minutes each treatment, for the next three days.” His eyes got wide; nobody liked the ice bath. “That should keep the inflammation down. Apply the gel every four hours until it stops hurting. You’re off duty status for the next three days, so eat and sleep as much as you can.”

“Yes, Alpha.” He looked up towards the door. “Is Maria pregnant?”

“We won’t know for a while. Don’t get your hopes up, Lance. From what she described, it’s tough enough for their kind to get pregnant with a male jaguar. The chances of you getting her pregnant are slim to none.”

“Then why let me go?”

“Slim is still a chance, and Maria deserves that. Having a male attend her heat makes it shorter and much more pleasant, right?”

His face got a little red. “I guess. It was over in less than thirty-six hours.”

“And the two of you had fun if the reports from your guards are true.”

Now he was pretty embarrassed. “The specifics are a private thing between the two of us. You are correct in Maria being enthusiastic and energetic. I was thanking Luna this morning it was over because I couldn’t have lasted another day. You’d have to send in a stunt dick.”

Now it was my turn to laugh. “I’m glad that didn’t happen.” I walked to the door and let Rori in; she sat next to my chair. “Now that we’ve got the medical stuff done, we need to talk to you about your relationship with Maria. How would you describe it?”

“I’m not sure,” he said honestly. “I know we are friends, and I know she trusts me.” He thought for a moment. “I guess it’s like being around a drunk girl. I don’t know how much of this weekend was real and how much was the heat talking.”

“She’s not your mate, Lance.”

“I know that, and so does my wolf, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t developed some level of a bond. I don’t think I could have knotted her without my wolf having that.”

My eyes got a little wide; the wolf controlled the knot, and it wasn’t normal for that to come out unless the other person was your mate. It was a gift of the Goddess to increase the chance of pupping our mate, not to sex up humans. “You tied to her?”

“Every time,” he said. “Most of our sex was in our animal forms. Maria thinks the knot might have functioned like the barbed penis on a male cat. She liked it a lot more than that ribbed dildo; I’ll tell you that.”

I sent only to Rori. “Is it possible they are mates, but it’s different between them?”

“I have no idea. We should watch closely, especially if Maria picks Lance for later heats.”

“I could send him away as we did with Greg.”

“No, he’s not pursued her, he’s done nothing wrong, and I don’t want her to think we see anything wrong with them being friends. You should talk to your brother about how his wolf recognized Heather as his mate. Maybe this is similar?”

“What I don’t know could fill a book.” I let out a sigh. “We don’t mess with mates. I guess we let it ride and see what happens?” Rori nodded, and I looked back to Lance. “We’re going to talk to Maria about the weekend as well. You haven’t done anything wrong; it’s just that we’re in uncharted territory here. We need to learn all we can so Maria and eventually Maritza can have a family.”

“I understand, Alphas. I’ll stay away from Maria, so it doesn’t feel weird.”

“No,” I said. “Maria’s heat is a natural part of her life, and you helped her through that. Don’t be weird about it, but don’t expect her to have sex with you outside the heat. It’s all right to be her friend.”

He thought about it and nodded. “Am I still Maria’s bodyguard?”

“She doesn’t need one full-time now that she’s settled in and the Pack knows her. I don’t want her outside without at least one guard, four when she leaves our territory. I’ll let the Pack know. If you happen to be the one, that’s fine.” He smiled and looked back towards the door. “We’re done here. Get something to eat, take your ice bath, and get to bed.”

“Yes, Alphas.”

I handed him loose-fitting shorts and a T-shirt for his walk back to the Pack House. When he was gone, I reached down and scratched Rori’s ears. “I hope we’re doing the right thing here. I don’t want another situation like with Greg Barks.”

Rori growled as I opened the door for her. “At least we don’t have to worry about Maria’s mate showing up out of nowhere to replace her pregnant with another man’s child.”

“Let’s go see how Maria is doing.”