Order of Protection

Former Alpha David’s POV

The next morning, six SUV’s pulled out of our compound and headed north for Lake Vermillion. I was in the back of the lead vehicle with Beta Fergus, as the two of us would lead any attack. One of the warriors was driving us, and the other vehicles contained Pack warriors except the last one, which had our Pack doctor and nurse and medical supplies. The cases contained rifles with silver-core bullets, silver knives coated in wolfsbane, and sedative autoinjectors that would knock out a full-grown werewolf in seconds. We were loaded for bear, as they said, and we weren’t coming back until we had our vengeance.

The convoy headed north on Interstate 35 towards Duluth. The drive was going to take about four hours, including one stop for gas. We spent some time on the computers figuring out the best area to stage everyone outside their Pack area. They had a lot of land, but it was up against State forest which they could use but not claim. We studied the satellite images of the area and the maps we had of their territory, looking for a place close enough for what we wanted. A fast run into the compound, before the men could react and protect their Alpha from us.

“Here’s the Alpha residence,” I said as we looked at the satellite photo. The compound was built in concentric circles; the main Pack House at the center, shops and businesses surrounding it along with the Pack Clinic, gym and senior leadership houses. The next ring of road had smaller houses for Pack families, and outside of that was open lawns, playgrounds and training fields. In the back, a large building, like a pole barn, would hold large equipment and storage. “This building is also where they would do punishments, out of sight,” I added.

“Defenses?”

“The Pack House has a large safe room, many of the residences have panic rooms. The armory is in the Pack House, and they will have trained the women as snipers. I would estimate thirty to fifty warriors of age.”

“With jobs and other obligations, that means maybe three to five guards on duty at any time,” Fergus said. “That’s a typical rotation if not at war.”

“Figure one or two at the main entrance, one patrolling the compound itself, and one or two running the border,” I said. “That’s a fifty-mile perimeter, so the border will only get checked every few hours. As long as we don’t stage too close, we should be able to avoid detection.” We settled on two points, half our men would approach from the others would come from the south. Both teams would race to the Alpha’s House and take him into custody, while the second group would head to the barn in case John was being held there.

“Where are the cells?”

“Underneath the pole barn, I’d venture to say. They wouldn’t want any prisoners near the housing.”

“What are our rules of engagement,” Fergus asked.

“We want the leadership, not the rest,” I said. “Use sedatives and non-lethal force where you can, but if you have to kill, you kill and move on. I’ll take two autoinjectors with me, hiding them in my clothes. I’ll try and get at least the Alpha alone, if not his mate too. Once I knock them out, I’ll link my men and we’ll attack.” I smiled as I thought about what would come next. “We’ll make our own little video, I think. We’ll use that same punishment pole and execute them in front of their own Pack, just like they did our Jessica.”

“You men can have your fun, but if my Beta has been killed, I want to kill the Alpha myself,” Fergus said. “We’ve been best friends since we were pups.”

“I will give you that, as it would hurt me to kill my friend, even if he does deserve it.” I took a long drink from the coffee I’d brought. “May Luna have mercy on their souls, because we won’t.”

Jessie’s POV

I loved my wolf, and every part of being one so far.

After we had showered and eaten lunch, John had taken me back outside for what he called “Werewolf Boot Camp.” We spent the rest of the day as he helped me learn what my wolf and I could do together. I shifted a hundred times or so, and he was right- after the first five, it didn’t hurt much, and I was getting faster. By the end of the day I could jump off the porch in my human form and land as a wolf.

We went through the woods, learning how to track and to hunt. The island had no deer, but it did have rabbits and mice. My wolf was more than happy to take the lead in using her nose to find prey, and soon had a fat mouse between her teeth. I cringed, but when she crunched it and swallowed, I was strangely satisfied. The rabbit was even better, fat and ready for winter.

We spent some time play fighting as I unlocked my wolf’s natural fighting ability. At first I was getting knocked down quicky, his teeth at my throat, but after a few hours I was able to give him a decent fight before I lost. “You’ll improve quickly with practice,” he told me. “Your wolf is strong, she is an Alpha. Let her out and she will protect you both.”

It was good advice for all things Wolfy.

At the end of the fighting practice, we shifted back into our human forms and I just stared at him. He was the hottest man I’d even seen; his broad chest, chiseled abs and ripped arms made me all tingly. I moved towards him, reaching a hand out to trace the bead of sweat running down from his neck. The tingles flowed, and soon he was touching me too. I reached further down, teasing him to full hardness before he pulled me down on the grass on top of him.

I loved this part of being mated as well, and we had mated often and everywhere since that first night. I knew some of it was this being our honeymoon and discovering each other, but with the wolves it was more. My wolf’s drives were primal, she wanted to eat, claim and mate. There was one thing my wolf wanted I hadn’t done yet, and now was the time.

I held his hands in mine, pinned next to his head as I rode him to my orgasm. “Cum with me, love,” he said as I felt him start to tense. My wolf took over, shifting my face and jaw and letting her teeth come out. We exploded together, and then I struck. Biting hard on the juncture of his neck and shoulder, I marked him as mine forever. His blood filled my mouth, the taste setting off another orgasm, and I held him until it was over.

I let my teeth go back to normal as I licked the mark, helping to stop the bleeding. I looked at it, it was deep and would scar noticeably. My wolf was happy with this. John was ours, and we would kill any woman who tried to take him from us. The workout, the sex and the sensation of claiming him caused me to lay on him, and he held me as I fell asleep in the late afternoon sun.

Former Alpha David’s POV

I called Alpha Sven on the way up, explaining that I was in the area and hadn’t seen him in a while. He immediately invited me for lunch, and I accepted. I told him I’d be there about 11:30.

It was now pushing eleven, and I was with group staged to the south of the Pack property. The vehicles were parked and most of the wolves had shifted, moving into the trees out of sight of any passing traffic. I was going over the plan one more time. “Nobody does anything until I link you to attack,” I said. “I need to find out if they were involved in Jessie’s death and if they have Beta John. Remember it’s just as possible they helped them, then the two were captured and she was killed after they left.”

“I’m not waiting forever, Alpha. What if they figure out you’re on to them,” Fergus asked.

“If I’m not out and I haven’t called you off by six, come get me,” I said. “They won’t know your close so they won’t expect me to use mind link. I’ve got your phone numbers in case anything happens. Fergus, if I call you, ignore anything I say because I’m under duress.”

“Got it.” I made sure the other group was in place on the east side, then I got back into the car and drove towards Sven’s pack. It was a nice afternoon in the late fall, so I kept the windows down to reduce the scent of the other wolves. It only took five minutes before I was turning off the highway onto the road leading to their compound.

There was a gate just off the road, with a security keypad and speaker. I pulled up to it and waited. “Your name and business?”

“Retired Alpha David Larsen to see Alpha Sven. He’s expecting me.”

“Wait there.”

I didn’t smell any wolves close. “At the entry gate, no guard present, one of the rovers is coming.”

A few minutes later, an ATV pulled up to the gate, driven by a younger man. He opened the gate for me and I pulled through. “Follow me, Alpha,” he said before he started the Grizzly and headed towards the house.

I was led into the main area, then we stopped in front of Alpha Sven and Luna Linnea as they waited in front of their house. “In the compound, Alpha and Luna are here. I can’t smell John.” I got out of the SUV and the man took off, returning to his patrol. I walked up, smiling broadly. “Sven, thank you for seeing me on such short notice. Linnea, you look more lovely with each passing day.”

“Such a smooth talker,” Sven said as he pulled me into a hug. I hugged Linnea briefly as well. “It’s been what, three years?”

“I think so. Retirement had reduced my travel demands quite a bit, as well as my blood pressure,” I said with a laugh. “Stan and Larissa are doing a fine job. With my mate gone, I just didn’t have the heart for it anymore.”

“Come, let’s go inside,” he said. “Linnea made lake trout, we were able to pick up some fresh fish from Lake Superior last week.”

“Oh, you went there?”

“My mate wanted to go to Betty’s Pies one last time before it closes for the winter,” I said. “Pretty soon the big snows will be here and travel will be difficult again.”

“The Alpha is admitting they were on the North Shore recently. I’m going to keep inquiring.”

Linnea led me to the table then disappeared into the kitchen to get lunch ready. We sipped on coffee and caught up on what our families were doing as we relaxed into our friendship. Linnea came out, placing a tray with a fish sandwich and fries before me, her hand on my shoulder as she leaned around me. I was so distracted by the smell of the fish I didn’t see her take the needle out until it was plunged into my shoulder. “They’ve done…” I couldn’t get out more before I felt my wolf being put to sleep. They’d hit me with wolfsbane, making me no more powerful than a human. I got up to attack her, but Alpha Sven expected this. He forced me to the ground, placing silver-plated cuffs on my wrists behind my back before he hauled me up and set me in the chair again. “Why,” I asked him, the betrayal clear in my eyes.

“There are things going on you don’t know, David, and I need to explain them to you before your men go off half-cocked. You do have men here, don’t you.”

“What are you talking about? I came here alone.”

He shook his head. “I know you don’t trust me, David. In your position, I’d do the same thing. That’s why as soon as we found the tracker you’d placed on Ingrid’s car, we were expecting you to retaliate. I figure you are here to distract me and gain intelligence before they come in, am I right?” I said nothing. “Let me give you a head’s up. As soon as you arrived at the gate, we started moving our vulnerable to the safe room where they are protected by a six-inch-thick reinforced steel door and three feet of concrete. Half of my warriors are in reinforced defensive positions around the compound, all are armed with scoped rifles. The remainder are in place, ready to respond in force to any incursion. If your men attack, they will all die before they get to the compound, much less to me. Do you understand? You will kill them if you let them attack.”

My head was spinning, I couldn’t believe it. “You killed Jessie, you piece of shit. You think we won’t come after you?”

He just laughed. “I just told you, I fully expected you to come after me. I also told you that you didn’t know what was going on.” He pulled his chair closer to mine. “David, we go back four decades together. What in all the time you’ve known me points to me taking money to kill a human? Especially one who is mated to a werewolf? Did you think so little of me that you would believe that?”

I looked at him, he was serious. “Twenty-five million is a lot of money. It can make people do things they normally wouldn’t.”

“You know we don’t care about money, David,” Linnea said as she sat down on my other side. “We would never do such a thing.”

“I saw the video,” I said.

“I know. I was the one who leaked it,” Sven said.

I jumped up, uncaring of my bound arms or my inability to reach my wolf. “YOU FUCKING BASTARD, OUR PACKS WILL KILL YOU ALL,” I yelled as I tried to tackle him. He just stepped aside, grabbing my neck he slammed my face into the table before tossing me back into my chair. “You won’t get away with this.”

“It had to be done, David. You need to understand why.”

I shook my head. “There’s no excuse. You betrayed my Pack, we were protecting Jessie, she was becoming like a daughter to our Betas. One of our men has already died protecting her from this bastard of an Alpha in Russia, and you take his blood money and do his dirty work. You disgust me.”

“David, this information is delicate. It cannot get out, you cannot change your behavior or Jessie is dead.”

“Jessie’s already dead, asshole. You killed her.”

“No, Jessie is very much alive, David. We used her magic to make the video, because as long as Yuri thinks she is dead, he is not hunting her.” He took out a key and unlocked my handcuffs. “I can’t let you ruin things now, David. I will give you the truth, but in return you and your Pack have to play along to the script. Jessie and John are safe and hidden right now. Don’t screw that up.”

“How can I believe you?”

“I’ll take you to them, David, but not with all your people around. Send them back home before someone gets hurt. They can’t do anything except die if they stay here.”

I pulled out my phone, looking at the addresses. Selecting one, I made the call.