Claiming Treasure
Taken

Colletta Nygaard’s POV

Yakima Airport

I sat with my mate Frank at the airfield coffee shop, drinking a hot chocolate as we waited for Carson to return. When things went to shit at Arrowhead, we were in Duluth shopping. Carson asked us to take his jet and return to Yakima to stay with Heather. We had landed an hour ago, and the aircraft was refueled and ready for the return trip.

“His wolf has claimed Heather,” Frank asked me for the fifth time since we left.

“Rori believes so, and Carson’s behavior would bear that out. He defied the Council to run her out of there. Now, Carson continues to defy them by keeping her. He wouldn’t do it out of obligation,” I replied. “It’s about time.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s not something you would; you are a new wolf, mated from your first shift. You haven’t had to deal with the rejected or the widowed yet.”

“You said Carson was unmated,” he replied as he sipped his coffee.

“He is, but not by choice.” The heartache of that time came back full force; Carson never spoke a word of it, but a Mother could see the pain and loss in his eyes. “His wolf could not hide the pain from me, and only one thing could have crushed him like that. Rejection by his true mate.”

“Why? Why would someone reject their mate?”

“I pieced the story together after Carson returned home two days after he left for Katahdin Pack. They were hosting Beta Camp, which is a Council-run boot camp for future Pack leaders. Beta Camp happens every third year and serves to train and prepare them for the job. The social purpose is just as important. It allows them to make friends with leaders in other Packs as it brings together dominant wolves from around the world. It often results in one or more matings.” He nodded as I took a drink, my cocoa cooled enough to drink now. “I had received a call from Paxton Blackledge, the Katahdin Alpha, informing me he had kicked Carson out of camp for fighting. I was a little shocked; fights happen among dominant wolves as they jockey for position at camp. The only reason to not allow the boys to fight it out is if it would be to the death. As often is the case, it was over a mate, and it was the Alpha’s son who Carson was going after.”

“His true mate was with the boy when Carson found her,” Frank guessed.

“Yes. The two had mated six months earlier; I remembered getting the announcement.” The emotions were coming forward again, and Frank reached out to hold my hand as I gathered myself. “Anastasia and Steven had two years together. She was shot and killed by a poacher, and he killed himself to be with her. Paxton’s mate has not become pregnant since, and his Pack has no heir.”

“What happened when Carson came home?”

“He wouldn’t talk about it, and he withdrew from everyone. He would take long runs around our territory, sometimes remaining for weeks in his wolf form. He wouldn’t respond to our mental calls, and if we got close, he would run. It was six months before he came back to us, but he was no longer the fun-loving son I had raised. He was cold and distant, hiding behind his work and his training. He didn’t want our sympathy, and we weren’t going to force him into confessing his pain. I just loved him and prayed to Luna that he would replace a female who could spark his wolf’s interest again.”

“And now he’s found a female.”

“Yes, and she’s a human, pregnant with another wolf’s children. That boy doesn’t do anything the easy way,” I said with a shake of my head.

“Chase didn’t take the easy way either, from what I’ve learned.”

“No, but together they have grown into an effective Alpha pair. He was never the dominant one, Coral was. It was wise for Luna to pair Chase with a strong Alpha Female and Coral with a less dominant male.”

“And Ashley? Why did Sawyer have to wait so long?”

I smiled at the thought of the pair; my oldest was finally happy and expecting a child. “I don’t know. I’ve prayed for her since my boy was born; I think Ashley is the reincarnation of the fated mate he never found. I don’t have all the answers where the Goddess is involved. I can’t explain how I found you, but I’m not arguing.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Fate placing you in my life on that plane, then all that happened since then. You shouldn’t have a wolf, much less a wolf to match mine in dominance. When you show up in Council, others will challenge you. That is why we’ve worked you so hard to learn how to use your wolf.”

“It hasn’t been much of retirement, not when I’m getting my ass kicked daily.”

I snorted at that; I had been riding him hard in more ways than one. His training as a human helped in that form, but we had to teach him how to fight in his wolf. We’d spent a lot of time at Arrowhead in the woods, as he learned from me, my sons, and Beta Ron. He picked it up quickly and could hold his own against Alphas and experienced Betas now, or multiple wolves of lower rank. His wolf was my match in every way, and anyone who challenged him would regret it. “But you like when I kiss your owies better,” I teased.

“Minx,” he teased back. I heard a vehicle approaching, and headlights shone into the coffee shop as it parked. “I’ll get our bags,” he said as I went to the door.

“Carson,” I said as I opened my arms for my middle boy. He embraced me tightly, then stepped back as I kept my hands on his arms.

“Thanks for doing this, Mom.”

“It’s no problem at all. Rori doesn’t want Frank anywhere near the Alphas, and I have to agree.” He looked worried. “How is Heather handling what happened?”

“Better than I expected, but who knows what she will think in the morning,” he said. “I told her what I could in the time I had. She’s resting now. Doc gave her some painkillers to help her sleep.”

“Is she staying in your room?”

His jaw dropped. “NO, Mom! She’s… it’s not like that. Her whole world just crashed around her, and she is a friend I’m helping out.”

I just nodded. “So, Heather is staying in the dorms with the other unmated women.”

He looked surprised, then realized what I was doing. “Fine. I put her in the guest room across from mine. You can have your old room back; I’ve left it alone.”

He’d refused to take over the Alpha’s Quarters since he took the spot. “No, I’ll use Coral’s old room. You are the Alpha, and the Alpha’s Room is for you and your Luna.”

I embraced him again as Frank came back and shook his hand. “Your plane is ready to go,” Frank told him. “You’re doing a good thing by granting her asylum. Don’t let anyone take her from you.”

“I won’t,” he said before he walked out to where the jet was waiting for him.

Frank opened the door of the SUV for me, and we waited until the jet was out of sight before we left. We drove for about an hour until we passed through the Pack border, and the driver pulled to the side. “What’s going on,” Frank asked me as I opened the door.

“Strip and shift,” I told him as he got out onto the snow-covered shoulder of the road.

I’d been training him long enough that he didn’t argue. He piled his clothes in the back seat, then shifted into his wolf. “This is a test for you and our patrols. There are twenty wolves out there waiting for you, and a case of steaks goes to the wolf or wolves who take you down.”

“And if I make it through to the Pack House?”

“Then I’ll be waiting for you outside. If you want me, you’ll have to chase me down and take me.”

His wolf smiled and wagged his tail at me. “The whole Pack will hear you howl as I take my reward,” he said.

“Talk is cheap. The Pack House is fourteen miles in that direction, over that notch in the ridge. Fights are to yield.” He jumped up and put his paws on my shoulders, licking my face before taking off into the woods. He let out a long howl, which was answered by at least a dozen others. I got back in the SUV, and we arrived at the house a half-hour later. Two of our Omegas took our bags to our room, and I piled my clothes near the door before I went outside to wait.

I missed the Pack link the most. We were technically part of the Arrowhead Pack, as Frank had submitted to Chase when he first changed. I was known and loved here in the Cascade Pack, where I had been Luna for over a century, but it wasn’t mine anymore. I sat at the top of the stairs, listening to the howls and the yips of pain as Frank made his way towards us.

“He’s doing well,” Beta Angelina said as she walked out and sat next to me, wrapping a blanket around us. “Most of the patrols thought he’d come straight through the notch, but he crossed a mile to the east. He’s fast; only three have tangled with him.” I looked at her, tilting my head. “They’re replaceing out that you don’t take on an Alpha alone.”

She sipped at her insulated mug of coffee and told me the updates on his progress she got on the Pack link. It wasn’t long before I could hear them running hard after my mate.

She stood and removed the blanket, moving out of the way. I turned to look as they broke through the trees into the clearing around the homes. “Oh, you’re going to get some loving soon, Luna Colletta,” she said with a grin.

I stood at the top of the stairs as Frank shot out of the trees like a cannon, a dozen wolves trailing behind him. He leaped for the stairs, skidding to a halt just before he slammed into the stones to the side of the door. The warriors chasing him stopped down below, panting hard and hanging their heads. “Two dozen warriors out there, and he makes it through to the Pack House without a scratch,” Angelina growled at them as they sat down. “You knew what the consequence of failure would be. Get some rest, because the punishment run will begin at five AM.” The wolves slunk off, some heading to the smaller homes, others passing Frank and Colletta and bowing their heads respectfully as they went past.

“I believe you know the consequence of my triumph,” Frank told me.

“And I told you that you would have to catch and submit me if you wanted your prize,” I said back.

“I’ll give you a thirty-second head start.” I took off for the trees, hearing his howl as time expired. I was on my old land, I know every rock and tree, but Frank is a beast in wolf form. His long stride and endurance wore me down. Ten minutes later, I could feel his breath on me. He swatted at my rear leg as I reached the top of a hill, causing me to crash to the snow and slide to the bottom. When I stopped rolling, his teeth were on the back of my neck. “Submit to me, love,” he said.

Being chased by your mate is the werewolf version of foreplay, and I was wet and ready for him. “Take me hard,” my wolf and I begged him. He moved behind me as I raised my hips under him, his cock head replaceing the right spot. He shoved his hips forward, sheathing himself in one long move. I howled in pain and pleasure as he stretched me open. “YES OH LUNA YES,” I sent as he started to slam in and out of me.

He pounded me into a puddle of wet fur as his wolf took the spoils of victory. I lost track of the number of times I climaxed on that big cock of his, especially after the knot formed. It was like a softball, stroking my insides and slamming back against my G-spot with every one of his short thrusts. When he got close, he started moving so fast I thought I would pass out from the pleasure. The orgasm that hit when I felt him fill me with his hot seed was so intense I passed out.

I woke as I felt him withdraw, and the fluids spilled out of me and onto the grass and snow. “Are you all right?”

“I don’t know if I can move,” I told him.

“Rest, I’ll be back.” He licked my neck and ran off, returning twenty minutes later with a fat snowshoe hare in his mouth. He dropped it in front of me, sitting with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. I tore the fur off and ate the still-warm flesh, tossing the rest to him. He licked the blood off my muzzle, then cleaned my still-sore sex. “We should get back,” he said. “We can’t sleep in too late if Heather needs us.”

We moved through the trees, making our way back to the Pack House and a warm shower. “Do you think there is anything to the Arrowhead Blessing,” he asked as he washed my back.

“There are too many pregnancies to be random chance,” I said. “If we…”

“I’d love to have a child with you,” he said as he moved his hands around me from behind. I could feel him stiffening against my butt as his hand moved down.

“If you didn’t pup me tonight, another time isn’t going to do it,” I said as I moved his hand away from my tender pussy. “We need to sleep.”

And we did.

After some gentle loving, ending with me filled to overflowing again.