The Porch Wolf

Olivia Lawrence’s POV

We brought along the sandwich for a hungry Sharkbait and grabbed some food from the kitchen on the way out. Luna Gina met us at the door. “The Chairman agreed to this trip as long as you keep the guards around. There will be four of them, in two vehicles.”

“As long as I don’t have to drive them, fine,” I said. I didn’t want these idiots around my daughter.

“Let’s go, it’s a little more than a two-hour drive,” Luna Bonnie said as she carried a cooler from the kitchen. “This should tide us over for the trip there.”

We followed her out to the driveway. Our Betas drove up in our rental minivan, escorted by two cars. Vicki ran over and jumped in her protector’s arms, Anita spinning her around.

Mike patted her shoulder when they stopped. “Hey, kiddo. Are you all right?”

She nodded. “Mean people tazed Mom!”

“I know,” Anita said as she brought her to the car seat. “She is all right now, right?”

“I'm still mad at them,” Vicki said. I buckled her in, then sat next to her.

Bonnie sat in the back with Anita, as Mike drove with Carolyn riding shotgun. “Just follow the lead car; they know we’re in a hurry,” she told Mike. We departed while Carolyn worked her phone. “We will get there about five-thirty, and they close at nine. We do get a twilight rate on tickets, so I bought those online. I'd hate to get there and not be able to get it.” She looked back at me. “It’s kind of late, especially for dinner. Will she be all right with it?”

“I slept with da SHARKS,” Vicki said between bites of her bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, heavy on the bacon. “I can stay up!”

“She will,” I said. “Dinner too, if it is steak or ribs. After that, my little meat-eater will sleep all night.” She finished eating before we left Augusta proper, and I gave her a tablet to play games on. I was telling them about her shark fascination when I felt Bonnie give me a tap on my shoulder.

It was a phone; I took it and looked at it. On her Notes page was a message to me. “Do not react. We’re trying to keep your daughter from finding out about this. Leo and Adrienne are under arrest and in the cells. There is a hearing tonight; him forming a Pack will mean their death if they decide it's not allowed for a banished Alpha.”

My eyes got wide, and I felt the car swerve a little as I passed the news over the link to Mike and Anita. “We have to go back,” I typed and gave it back.

She passed it back to me. “NO! If they die, Vicki is in danger. That’s why we’re getting you well away from the other Alphas. There is nothing you can do to help, and they won’t let you see them. Giving Vicki a fun birthday is the best thing you can do right now.”

I passed that on and thought about it. “Bonnie is right,” Mike responded over the link. “It’s all about Vicki. Distance is our friend.”

“I agree, but I don’t trust anyone who is not in our Pack,” Anita added.

“We play it by ear, but if it goes bad, we ditch the watchers and go on our own.” I wasn’t going to let men I didn’t trust decide my daughter’s future. Who could kill Leo, the kindest man I’d ever met? Or Luna Adrienne, who my wolf loved? “Anita, send a message to the Pack and let them know what is going on.”

“I’m on it already,” Anita said.

We talked about anything other than Leo’s trial as we drove to Atlanta. I liked both of the older ladies; they had great stories and answered all my questions about Pack life. I wanted to trust them, I really did, but I knew who their husbands were. I trusted Lewis Wolfe, yet he just stood there as Sanders ordered them to take Vicki. Both men watched the security guys hit me with a taser and then haul us off in silver like it was nothing. I had a sudden thought; what if they weren’t here as OUR help, but to help their husbands? Would three experienced Lunas defy their mates like that? I sent my suspicions to Mike and Anita.

“Wow, that’s devious,” Mike said. “You’re right. They have four warriors, and three experienced Alpha females, against two Betas and a female with almost no fighting experience. No offense, Liv.”

“None taken. Am I right?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t scented any deception, and why would Bonnie tell you about the trial if she wanted to capture you?” I didn’t know. “One thing is for sure. If they are going to take us, they will do it before we are among humans. Since you are driving, that means in the parking lot.”

“Have your knife ready to go when we get there. We each bought a shiny Spyderco folding knife at a sporting goods store while we were out since we can’t carry pistols. They won’t get through the metal detectors going into the aquarium.” He paused for a moment. “There is one other option, Liv,” Mike said. “They don’t need us at all. They only need Vicki, and a big aquarium is an easy place to disappear with a child. All they have to do is tranquilize her, and everyone will think she’s sleeping after a long day.”

Shit. Mike was right; we were just things to be handled. I expanded the link to include my daughter for this part. “Vicki is NEVER alone, and you can’t run off on your own,” I said. “There have to be two Pack members within your reach at all times. If you can’t do that, we’ll leave.”

“Better if one of us is holding her hand or carrying her,” Anita responded.

“I’ll hold your hand, Mommy,” Vicki said. I cut her back out of the link.

Anita had an idea. “If we start feeling nervous, tell the security guys that the security guys are stalking us. It might give us just enough time to slip away.”

We were in Atlanta and nearing the Aquarium exit when Mike linked again. “Anita, quietly remove your knife and keep it out of sight by your side. They’ll go after you and Liv first. Liv, if it goes down, get out of the car and take Liv to the nearest crowd of humans. Yell that one of the men exposed himself to your daughter. That should slow them down.”

“I will.” My stomach lurched as we wove through the streets and into the parking garage. I was looking forward at Carolyn, sneaking glances at Bonnie, and an eye out at the guards in the surrounding cars. We drove up, finding a section that wasn’t full, and pulled into three adjacent spots.

“Be ready,” Mike said.

The Lunas didn’t move, not even when I hit the button to open the side door. I watched as the four guards got out and took up positions around our car. Carolyn turned around, her hand in her jacket pocket. “This is going to be so much fun,” she said. I was petrified she would pull a syringe or something out.

Mike was watching her, his left hand by his hip and ready.

She pulled out her cellphone. “I can’t wait to see this place!”

“Me, too,” said Sharkbait. I got out, then helped Vicki as we all exited the car. “Maybe we are just paranoid,” I said.

“Paranoid keeps you alive,” Mike replied. Our group walked to the elevators and made our way inside. We took a picture in the entrance, and I made sure I had a group shot, plus a picture of Vicki alone.

“SHARKS, MOMMY!” She started pulling me forward.

“We have to wait for Miss Carolyn, she has our tickets,” I said.

Her eyes were wide as saucers as we walked in. It was ten minutes to six, and we made a beeline for the Ocean Voyager exhibit. Vicki wanted to go through the tunnel and see her sharks.

The trial started in an hour. I’d let myself forget about it for now, and focus on the joy on my baby’s face.

She pulled our whole group towards the entrance, which was marked by a Home Depot sign. As soon as we rounded the corner, we all froze in awe. The window into the expansive exhibit was ten feet wide and went up 23 feet to the waterline. On the other side of the two-foot thick acrylic panel, a whale shark slowly swam past.

“Wow,” I said. Vicki had her face pressed to the clear panel; she didn’t even move for a few minutes. When she did, it was when Mike asked her if she wanted to go on his shoulders so she could see better. “Are we staying here all night, or going through the tunnel,” I finally asked my enraptured child.

“TUNNEL!” It took some walking to get there, and there was a line. On one side of the tunnel, there was a people mover, and our group got on it. Mike held Vicki on his hip so she could see better. Whale sharks, blacktip reef sharks, giant guitarfish, sandbar sharks, and zebra sharks were all around us. I pointed at a giant grouper. “That fish could swallow you whole,” I said.

“I’d bite him until he let me go,” Vicki said as she went back to watching the giant whale sharks. It was an impressive aquarium, a much bigger scale than the one back home.

When we were making our way to the exits as the aquarium closed down, Bonnie got a text. “It’s gone to the jury.”