The Porch Wolf
Wired

Luna Carolyn’s POV

I watched the minivan pull away from us in the McDonald’s lot, pushing down my wolf’s desire to go after them and make them pay for threatening us. “Call the guards, I’m calling my mate,” I told Bonnie. She dialed one number while I dialed another. “Lewis, it’s me. Liv and the others kicked us out of their car and drove away after learning Leo was dead.”

“Shit.” I heard him talking to some of the others. “Sanders will be back soon, and we’ll talk about it. Have the guards pick you up, and I’ll call you back. Are you all right?”

“Shaken up, but all right. We got kicked out at knifepoint after almost crashing the minivan to get away from our escort.” I heard his growl at knowing that we were in danger. “We should have expected it with the news of Leo’s death. They don’t trust us, love.”

“We haven’t given them a good reason to trust them. I love you, baby.”

“I love you too.” I’d just hung up when one of the guard cars pulled up, and we got in the back. Bonnie had told them the last direction we’d seen the minivan going, and we headed that way. Five minutes later, it was clear they were gone.

Lewis told us to come home, so we got the cars back to the freeway and drove east. “Dammit, they took all the pizza with them,” I said as my stomach growled. One slice just wasn’t enough.

Alpha Anthony McInnis’ POV

Once we got to the room, I called my Betas to join us. “Keep the illusion going,” I told her. When the Betas arrived, I switched to the link. “From now on, only mental communication. Pamela, I need you to stay here, and I need them to guard you. Things are going to get bad out there tonight, and I don’t want you anywhere near it.”

“What’s going on,” my Beta asked.

“I can’t divulge that now,” I told them. “The doctors needed to sedate Mom; when she wakes, she’s going to need our help.”

“I can’t imagine how tough it will be to lose her SECOND mate,” the Beta female said. “We’ll do everything we can.”

“I know you will. I’m going to head down and figure out what is going on. I’ll keep in touch.” I kissed Pamela deeply, then walked out. My wolf and I hated lying to my packmates, but the illusion had to be complete, or it would be for nothing.

I headed downstairs to the entryway, where most of the Alphas and Betas were gathered and talking. Chairman Sanders came in and called for quiet. “The trial will not restart tonight, even if the Jury returns a verdict,” he said. “With one defendant dead and the other sedated, we will resume no earlier than tomorrow morning. The Single Wolves Reception will start in twenty minutes. All unmated females are to report to the Gymnasium, and all males line up outside the East entrance.

“Twenty minutes to scratch and sniff, no trial until the morning,” I sent to the three in our room.

“May Luna bless some with their mates,” Pamela said.

I closed the link and started walking around, keeping my eyes on Alpha Mark. He didn’t have much time to talk to her; since Brenda had rejected John as her mate, both pf them had to attend the Scratch n Sniff. I watched as he caught her eye and walked away. She followed a minute later.

Chairman Steele walked up to me. “I need to speak to you in private, Alpha McInnis,” he said.

“Of course, Mr. Chairman.” He led me out of the room, but instead of heading upstairs to the offices, we went downstairs. He led me to a door marked “SECURITY CENTER.” A guard was waiting, his gloved hands holding a collar. “Let him put that on, and then you can come in,” he said.

“You’re silvering me?”

“We can’t take any chances that you will link to someone and ruin the operation.”

“Love, I’ll be out of touch for a while, don’t worry if you can’t link me.”

“Is everything all right?”

“Of course. Love you.” I turned around and let the man attach the silver-core collar. He closed the locking mechanism and slid the cover over it. The metal was dipped in black plastic, so it didn’t burn my neck, but it cut off my wolf. I didn’t like it a bit.

“Come on.” The guard opened the door, and we walked in. “The wires are working well?”

“Perfectly,” the guard Captain said. “We have audio and video from this camera hidden in his tie, and audio backup from under his shirt.” The room was full of screens showing the installed security cameras, but the main screen showed what Alpha Mark was seeing. “We have officers surrounding the area, far enough back not to raise suspicions.” Mark was walking into the woods surrounding the main compound. He found a small clearing and sat on a fallen log. It wasn’t long before Luna Brenda Petersen arrived in her cocktail dress and handbag.

“You wanted Leo dead, and he’s dead. I want my money.”

“How did you do it?”

“That’s not your business, it’s mine,” I said.

“It is my business if it can blow back on me,” she said.

He paused. “Fine. I used a poison ring. He barely felt the poke, and the toxin causes cardiac arrest after ten minutes or so.”

“Poison can be detected, Mark! They can replace it in an autopsy,” she said. “I’ve got a claim in on his heir. If they figure out Leo’s death was murder, I’m the prime suspect.”

“And that’s why you pay a professional. Fifty thousand dollars, in cash, now.”

“I don’t have all of it here. I can transfer the balance, or have it delivered to you after the summit.” She pulled her purse around, reaching in and taking out a wrapped stack of bills and handing it to him with her left hand. “Ten thousand.”

He reached down as she came closer, taking the bill. The next moment, the camera was moving around, and we saw a flash of a silver knife. “BITCH,” he said.

“MOVE IN AND TAKE HER DOWN,” the Captain said to his men.

The camera recorded the last moments of Alpha Mark’s life; the camera showed the knife plunging into his heart before he fell to his knees. The last thing it showed was the pine straw as he fell face-down onto the forest floor.

The security controller shifted to one of the bodycams of a guard responding to the scene. They arrived twenty seconds after the order and surrounded a shocked Luna Brenda. “You’re under arrest for murder,” one of the men said as he pointed a rifle at her. “Drop the knife and get on your knees.”

She looked around frantically, but there was no escape from this. The bloody knife was still in her right hand, her body covered in Alpha Mark’s blood. “I can’t,” she said. Before anyone could react, she slammed the silver knife into her heart.

“GET A MEDIC HERE,” one of the men shouted as they rushed forward. A gloved hand removed the knife and placed a handkerchief over the wound. It was hopeless; silver prevented clotting, and the bleeding wouldn’t stop without surgery. Brenda’s eyes glazed over, and her body went limp before the medics arrive. We watched as they worked on Brenda for a minute before the men sat back. “She’s dead, Captain.”

“Bag them up and bring them to the morgue,” the Captain replied. “Send guards to arrest the mates and Betas until we can replace out how much they knew about this.”

“Fuck,” I said. Brenda and Mark had avoided a public trial and punishment, and I was pissed.

“It’s not that bad an outcome,” Chairman Stevens said. “Brenda was going to die, but we would have to spare Mark for making the deal. This way, both are dead, and we can deal with the cancers in their Packs.”

I let out a breath. “What about Leo?”

“In the morning,” he said.

“Everyone thinks Leo is dead,” I said. “That was all to set up this trap, and that’s over. Can we tell the truth?”

“Not a good idea, sir,” the Captain said. “We don’t know if any of the other Stillwater or Marengo Pack members were involved yet. We need to complete the arrests and conduct interrogations. The safest place for Leo to be right now is dead.”

“I agree,” Chairman Sanders said. “We will reveal at the start of the trial in the morning. Anthony, it goes without saying that you can’t say anything about this.”

“Of course, sir.” I thought for a moment. “People are going to notice the two are missing, and the arrests of the Pack members. We have to tell everyone something.”

The Chairman thought for a minute. “A private dispute between the Packs turned deadly. The Council is investigating,” he said. “Captain, I need an edited copy of the video, including the aftermath, for the morning.”

“Yes, sir,” he said.

I had one more thought. “Mr. Chairman, the Miesville Pack members must be frantic about Leo’s death. Can we tell them?”

“They are in Atlanta right now; they visited the aquarium with two Council Lunas. We can inform them when they return, as long as they remain isolated from everyone else.”

It was the best they would get. I could only imagine what Olivia and Vicki, wolves for less than six weeks, would think about all this. All they knew was Leo and Adrienne, and you could see how much they loved him.

Sharkbait must be inconsolable.

The guard removed my collar before I left. “Baby?”

“You’re back, thank Luna,” Pamela said. “What happened?”

“It's over, but I don't want to tell you any details until it is revealed. Sorry about the link block, he had me silvered until the operation was over. I just got out."

“Are you coming back?”

“No. I’ve been asked to help oversee the scratch and sniff; why don’t you join me? The Betas are released.”

“I’ll meet you downstairs in ten. I have to get ready,” Pamela replied.

I had a good twenty minutes to hang out and drink with the other Alphas, easy.