Treasure

Coral felt the impact on her shoulder right before she lost control. She felt the weight drag her off the back of the saddle. Coral fell hard on her right shoulder before her head bounced off the concrete, her helmet taking the brunt of the impact. She continued to roll as the wolf let go of her shoulder and flew into the ditch.

She shook off the pain and stood, her left hand moving to the inside pocket of her heavy leather motorcycle jacket. She pulled out the combat knife from its sheath as she turned to face the attacking wolf. He growled at her as her senses told her that he wasn’t alone.

She spun and dropped to a knee, just as a second wolf went airborne for where her neck used to be. Her left hand shot up, burying the razor-sharp knife into the belly of the grey wolf as hit flew over. Blood sprayed everywhere as the wolf’s stomach split open. The wolf collapsed on the ground, his guts spilling out onto the road, as Coral looked for the next threat.

Right behind the grey wolf, a black one was running full speed. He jumped for her throat and got her forearm instead. Coral bit back her scream as the teeth clamped on. The heavy leather kept the teeth from ripping her arm apart, but the pressure still hurt. She raised her arm, stretching the wolf’s neck out, just before slamming the knife in below his skull. The blade cut his spinal cord, and the body went slack. The wolf’s teeth were still stuck in her jacket, the deadweight holding her arm in place.

The first wolf went for her legs, biting through the leather chaps at the back of her right thigh. The impact collapsed her right knee. The hit, combined with the dead weight of the wolf on her arm, knocked her to the blacktop. The wolf let go of her leg and went for her neck, but never got there.

A huge grey and black wolf crashed into it, knocking it off her and into the ditch. Growling furiously, the big wolf followed it down into the grassy ditch. The first wolf tried to get away but was no match for an enraged Next Alpha. Blood flew everywhere as Sawyer’s wolf extracted a painful price for what his cowardly attack on his sister. The wolf made a desperate lunge for him, but Sawyer grabbed his front left leg and shook; he nearly ripped it clean off in his fury.

Coral had worked her arm free of the dead wolf and rolled up to her knees. “Sawyer, don’t kill it yet,” she said. The wolf in the ditch gave up, exposing his neck to Sawyer. Coral pushed herself to her feet and limped closer. “SHIFT,” she ordered the injured wolf, letting her Alpha heritage show.

He did, even though it must have hurt like a bastard. Coral recognized him as one of the three men who had tried to rape her that first morning here. She ignored the others running up, mostly Enforcers, but she sensed Beta Carlson’s approach as well. Sawyer shifted back, his Alpha genes on display as his hulking body stood uninjured above the bleeding man. “WHY,” he asked.

“Revenge on that bitch sister of yours who ruined our lives,” he said defiantly. “Alpha said you were rogue, and no one would stop us if we attacked.”

“Alpha Forrest?”

He nodded. “He told us that if we killed you, he’d sign off on our release from the program. Our lives have been shit ever since the day you arrived, Coral. We dreamed of this chance.” He was bleeding out into the grass and was fading quickly. Both knew the Doctor wouldn’t make it in time. “You beat us again.”

“You have no honor, Scott. You and your friends never did.” They watched as he bled out, his head falling back and his eyes glazing over. Sawyer led Coral over to his SUV and sat her on the hood, getting the first aid kit out while she took off her leathers and her jeans. She clenched her teeth as he poured alcohol on the bites, which luckily weren’t deep since the leather provided some protection. He wrapped her leg and arm and put a big bandage over the punctures in her shoulder before he helped her dress again.

By then, the Doc arrived with Alpha Forrest. Doc checked the two on the road, then went down into the ditch to check Scott as Alpha Forrest looked around shocked. “What the hell happened here?”

“Coral was attacked from behind by these men of yours,” Sawyer said.

“They’re all dead,” Doc said as he walked up out of the ditch. “I should check Coral’s injuries.”

“No, we’re not staying here a minute longer than we have to,” Sawyer said. “Can you drive?”

“I think so,” Coral said as she slid across to the driver’s seat.

“You’re not going anywhere, there needs to be a full investigation,” Alpha Forrest insisted.

“Sir, I saw the whole thing. Those three attacked her from behind, unprovoked. It was cowardly, and they are now dead. Coral and Sawyer did nothing but protect themselves,” he said.

Beta Carlson stepped forward. “Alpha, I heard Scott confess before he died. He was still upset with Coral, blaming her for their punishment and their situation. They got what they deserved.” Coral looked at him, shocked he didn’t mention Alpha Forrest’s involvement.

“You have to stay,” Alpha Forrest said. “She needs medical attention.”

“She’s going to be fine, and you’re not our Alpha,” Sawyer replied. He walked over and stood up her motorcycle, which was on its side in the ditch. Pushing it up to the road, he checked it over. It was scratched up, but functional. “Goodbye.” He threw his leg over his sister’s motorcycle and accelerated away. The SUV went in gear and followed behind him.

“Follow them,” Alpha Forrest told one of the enforcers.

“Yes, Alpha, I’ll make sure they leave the territory immediately,” he replied.

“No, follow them, and tell me where they go.” The man jumped in his Jeep and took off after them.

--

Sawyer looked in the mirror at his sister as she followed in his SUV. “How are you faring?”

“I can’t do this much longer, Sawyer. I need to lay down and heal.”

“We’ll stop at the next town. I need to get you food, and better bandages than those in that first aid kit.” They left Bitterroot Pack territory and stopped in the town of Darby, pulling into spots outside a drugstore. He went in and bought a pile of gauze dressings and wraps, along with juice and snacks for the road. The next stop was a hardware store with a U-Haul franchise; after twenty minutes, he had a small trailer attached to the back of his SUV, and her motorcycle tethered inside. “How are you feeling now,” he said as he got back in. She had laid the passenger seat back and looked exhausted.

“Better now that we’re out of that place,” she said. “I didn’t just imagine that, right? Alpha Forrest told the three guys I caught sexually harassing an Omega when I arrived that I was fair game?”

“That’s what the dying man said,” he verified as he pulled out. There was a barbecue joint in town, so he ordered a bunch of meat to go in a Styrofoam cooler. He made Coral eat as much protein as she could handle before she fell asleep. Sawyer pulled out his phone, realizing he had never hung up from his call to Chase when Coral got attacked. He ended the call and called again; they were almost to Missoula by then. He put it on the hands-free over the car audio system. “What’s going on, Sawyer?”

“Things went to shit as we left. Remember when Coral showed up at the Pack and beat the crap out of those guys?”

“How could I forget? She kicked ass.”

“Well, they attacked her in wolf form as we were driving out. One knocked her off her motorcycle before the other two tried to kill her. We killed all three, but not before one of them talked. He said Alpha Forrest told him that Coral was a rogue, and if they killed her, he would sign off on their release from the rehab program.”

“MOTHERFUCKER!” His yell startled Coral awake, and she turned her head towards him. “How’s Coral?”

“I’m fine, Chase. I killed two, and Sawyer got the last one. It will take a few days to heal up my leg, shoulder, and arm, but I’ve had worse. I’m more pissed off that they scratched up my Harley and broke the mirror.”

He laughed. “I bet. Rori’s telling me she’ll help with a custom paint job once things settle down a little.”

“I’d love that, her work is incredible,” Coral said with some excitement.

“There’s one more thing, bro. Alpha Forrest sent them. When they failed, he insisted we stay there for an investigation.”

There was a pause. “It makes sense; Forrest’s whole plan to draw us onto Council land is to use Coral as bait. If he couldn’t keep her in jail, he’d keep her another way.”

“That wasn’t going to happen even if I had to crawl out of their territory,” Coral said. “That guy gives me the creeps.”

“I have to agree,” Sawyer said. “The Council is doing something, and they need control of Rori for it.”

“We’re not going near that place,” Chase said. “Rori’s healing; she can walk and shower now. Another day and we’ll be ready to move.”

“Where are we going?” Sawyer had planned to head back to Seattle, where Chase had an apartment.

“Coming west won’t help, they’ll expect that,” He paused for a minute. “There’s no point in us being here on the west coast when we need to get Rori her territory back. Write down these numbers.” He gave them the new phone numbers for Colletta and Patty, plus Connie’s number. Connie was still in Seattle with their stuff. “Mom and Patty left for Two Harbors, Minnesota, near the Arrowhead Pack lands. I’ll have Connie and Sally put all our stuff in a pod and have it shipped to Duluth until we have a place, and then they can fly there. Both of you head that way and help Mom. We’ve got two dozen Pack members coming to us soon that need a place to stay.”

“That sounds good, Chase. I take it the Arrowhead Pack estate is my next legal priority?”

“Absolutely. It’s what the Council is after. If she takes control of her inheritance, we can write the Council out as a beneficiary.” They talked for a few minutes about what else would be needed before he hung up.

“How are you feeling?”

Coral shifted and winced. “All right. We’ve got a tail,” she said. “Green Yukon, three cars back. The driver is one of the Enforcers.”

“Shit.” There wasn’t much on the road now, but they were getting closer to a larger town. “Ideas?”

“I bet they put a tracker on the car and my motorcycle. We need to get off the road and find them before we lead Forrest right to the others. Hang on; I’ve got an idea.” She pulled out her phone and made a call. “Hey Rattler, it’s Coral. Are you still in Missoula?”

“Yeah, just got back here, and I’m cleaning my motorcycle. What’s up? You all done down there?”

“I’m heading your way, and we’ve picked up a tail. The same people that are after Canvas are hoping we lead them back to her. I think we think they might have planted tracking devices.”

“Fuck! Ok, I’m getting on the road, and I still have the scanner in my bag. Where are you?” She told them where he was and their direction. “That’s great. Just before it connects to I-94 east, there’s a truck stop on the east side of the road. Pull in and gas up. I’ll be there soon.”

They drove another twenty minutes before they found the big gas station and pulled in to the pump. Coral ate a little more while he was pumping gas, then he helped her walk inside so she could use the bathroom. They saw the green Yukon pull into a parking space, and the Enforcer waited and watched. “If nothing else, this proves he has a tracker,” she said. “He was too far back to follow us visually after he got stuck at that light.”

They both used the bathroom, then Sawyer bought a large coffee and paid before they went back out. The biker ahead of them in line walked out to the parking spot he’d found next to a GMC Yukon. The driver ignored him, watching Sawyer lead Coral back out instead. He didn’t even notice when Rattler pulled out an ice pick and put holes in both passenger-side tires.

Rattler pulled out, following Sawyer’s SUV back onto the highway. Sawyer drove over the freeway, finding a spot in the back of a McDonald’s lot a mile away. The Yukon never made it out of the lot. “Thanks, Rattler,” Sawyer said as he greeted the biker who parked next to him.

“Let’s find this fucking tracker,” he said as he pulled the black device out of his saddlebag. “Is Coral all right? She looked like she was in a lot of pain.”

“She will heal,” he said. He opened up the hood as Rattler started moving the device around underneath the car. They found the first tracker under the passenger side door, and another on Coral’s motorcycle. He went to destroy them, but Sawyer stopped him. “Better to make them follow a false lead than know they’ve lost us,” he said. “Thanks for the help, we owe you.”

“No problem,” he said. When they left, he found a car with Washington State plates and placed the tracking devices under it. By the time they figured out they weren’t in Seattle, it would be too late.