Treasure

Chase ended the video feed and set his laptop on the bedside table. He and Rori had watched the proceedings live, and he was still in awe of how well it had gone for them. “My brother is a hell of a lawyer,” he said as he pulled Rori a little tighter to his chest. She was wearing only one of his T-shirts, and he loved the feel of her against him. She was strong, yet soft for him, and he’d never tire of this feeling.

“He’s right, there’s more to this than it appears. It was the Council who made sure she stayed there and faced charges, even though they must have known they were a stretch. Their poor prosecutor looked embarrassed, obviously they didn’t run this through him first.” She ran a hand under his shirt, her hand exploring the firm muscles of his stomach and chest. “The question is why. Why would the Alpha Council keep her there.”

“To get us there, obviously. And by us, I mean you. My departure from the Cascade Pack means nothing, I was not the Alpha or heir, and I wasn’t going to challenge my older brothers. You, on the other hand, are key to a lot of things, dead or alive.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s say they capture you and put you on trial for exposing yourself to humans. Worst case, they put you to death for it, and what happens? The Council inherits the Pack lands and any funds in the accounts. I looked it up earlier on the Lake County website; you stand to inherit 1,987 acres of woodlands and lakes, backing up to state and national park land. The assessed value of the land is over four million dollars. Luna only knows how much is in the funds. The Arrowhead Pack was prosperous, I wouldn’t doubt if the inheritance is far more than that.”

“Do you think they would really do that? Kill me?”

“No, you are far too valuable alive. Me? Not so much. I’m in the way.” He ran his fingers along her neck, causing tingles to course through her. “I’m the wildcard. You’re an incredibly valuable asset to have under your control, and if your true mate is gone, your value skyrockets.”

“What do you mean?”

“If they kill me before we complete the mating, you could be a choice mate to anyone. How much could the Council get in exchange for your neck? I bet letting them have the Arrowhead inheritance would be a pittance. Alpha Todd was willing to wipe out an entire Pack to get you, imagine if you were up for auction.”

She looked up at him shocked. “They can’t auction me like some brood mare! I wouldn’t stand for it!”

“If you are convicted and imprisoned, I’m sure you’d agree to most anything to get out of there. An arranged mating and becoming a Luna and brood mare, as you put it, would be the best option for you then.” He moved his hand down, tracing her firm breast and teasing her nipple erect. “The fact is that both of us ARE guilty. You shifted in front of two humans, and I stopped my father from taking them into custody and I kept him from bringing you back to the Pack. It didn’t matter that you hadn’t been charged, he had all the evidence he needed to arrest you, and a duty to do so. Only the fact you were unconscious, and I kicked him out, kept him from doing that.”

“I would never let you be killed for protecting me and my family!” Her wolf was forward, wanting to protect what was her own.

“I have no plans of getting killed,” he said. “When Sawyer meets up with us, we’ll make him Pack then have him look at what our legal options are. I’m not giving you up, even if we have to move somewhere far away from them and their authority,” he said.

“Nothing I’ve seen thus far gives me any confidence towards them as leadership,” she said. “Do I have to submit to them? Is it mandatory for our Pack to be part of the Council?”

He thought about it for a moment. “I don’t know, our Pack has always been part of the Council along with the other eleven Packs, going back centuries. I’m a doctor, not a lawyer. We can ask Sawyer.”

“You aren’t involved with them?”

“No, since I wasn’t destined to replace the Alpha or Beta, I was never included in those meetings.”

“But the Arrowhead Pack was part of it when they were destroyed.” He nodded. “Fat lot of good it did them,” she said. “They didn’t even figure out who did it until I showed up on the news.”

“And only then because the Sheriff killed the two who came for you.” He looked at the clock. “Dinner’s soon, and I’d like to check your wounds before then,” he said. “How do they feel?”

“Better,” she said. “Not as much pain when I move.” He got up and laid his medical kit on the bed, then pulled her shirt up and off. He carefully removed the dressings, cleaning the residual blood with a gauze pad and water. “It’s much better,” he said. “It’s time for you to shift into your wolf and back. The shift will help speed healing.”

“I don’t know how,” she said. “My wolf just took over the first time, and I barely remember shifting back, just the pain.”

“I’ll talk you through it. It’s easy, but you and your wolf need to share so you both have control. Close your eyes, go into your mind and find your wolf. When you have her, think of being in wolf form and let the change take you.”

She closed her eyes and looked into her mind, finding her wolf sitting patiently for her. She threw her arms around her neck, burying her face in the rust-colored fur. “Let’s do this together,” she said.

“Always together,” her wolf replied. She kept her eyes closed as she felt the crunching and pain of the shift, made worse by the wounds that shifted and stretched with the shift. She yelped in pain as she opened her eyes, she was lying on her side on the bed.

“Beautiful,” Chase said as he ran his fingers through her fur. “I can’t wait until we can run together. I know you want to play, but this isn’t the time or place,” he said as her tail whapped against the bed. “Shift back. Same idea, just imagine yourself human again.”

She did, and a moment later she was lying naked on the bed. “Shit that hurts,” she said as her hand moved down towards the red scars that were on her leg.

“It worked. The skin has healed enough for you to take a shower, and the shift will help the muscles. I don’t want you doing anything strenuous, no sitting or bending, but you can stand with assistance and walk.”

Just then the phone rang, and he saw the caller ID. “Holy shit, Sawyer, you were amazing,” Chase enthused as he picked up.

“Like Beta Carlson said, the charges were bullshit. With the Packs watching, they had no choice. It was almost too OH FUCK!!!”

He heard noise, then nothing. He hung up the phone, figuring he had dropped the phone or something and would call back when he had more time. “Shower now?”

“Shower sounds heavenly,” she said. He carefully picked her up, maintaining the angle of her legs and torso until he had her on her feet. He kept an arm around her as she slowly made her way into the bathroom. He turned the shower on, then helped her in. She moaned in pleasure as she was finally able to wash herself properly. She had just finished her hair when he got in the shower behind her. “No playing around, I’m sore,” she said.

“I know. I don’t want you bending over, so if you hand me a washcloth and soap, I’ll get your back and legs.” She was both nervous and aroused; the man of her dreams was naked behind her, tending to her needs as she ran the cloth over her flat stomach. She shivered as his hands worked up and down her legs, reaching higher and higher towards her core. It was all too soon when he stopped and pulled the shower wand down, rinsing her heated body off.

“My turn,” she said as she put more soap on her washcloth. She turned towards him and used the wand to soak his head and body. “Turn around, I’ll get your back.” He washed his hair as she worked on his neck and back, only able to reach down and clean his muscled ass without being able to bend. She spent a lot of time on his back, admiring the inverted V of his broad shoulders and feeling the muscles down to his narrow waist. He was a vision of male perfection, and he was all hers. She moved closer, pressing her body against him. Her nipples were like hard erasers, and they sent delicious feelings though her as they dragged on his soapy skin.

He took the wand and rinsed off, turning halfway through and washing her off as well. She looked up into his face as he put the wand back, biting her lip nervously. Her closeness and obvious arousal was mirrored by his, and she felt his hard length flatten against her stomach as she moved closer. She tilted her head back and moaned as his left arm snaked around her, pulling her hips close, while his right cupped her firm young breast. “You’re perfect,” he said as he leaned down and kissed her.

Nothing in her life had ever felt as right as being in his arms. She opened her mouth to his, their tongues dueling as their bodies sought each other. He broke the kiss and turned her around, pulling her back against him. His left hand moved between her legs, brushing her swollen lips, as his right cupped her chest.

“I want you,” she said.

“I know, but you’re in no shape for what that would mean right now,” he said. “You make this very difficult.” She smiled as she felt his hard length move between her ass cheeks, and she moved them slightly, wincing in pain as she tried to bend her knees and drop down slightly. “See? We will do that and more when you have recovered.”

“I need… oh God!” His finger moved between her lips, dipping just inside as his hand rubbed up and down her slit. He held her up with his free arm as he moved his finger up to circle her exposed clit before taking it back down and in. She started to pant as he moved to two fingers, then three. Finally, he sent her over the edge and she screamed in pleasure as he kept her from falling to the shower floor.

He turned the shower off as she recovered, then opened the door and grabbed a towel for her. Wrapping it around her, she walked out on shaky legs. She dried her hair as he toweled off, and she couldn’t help but noticing that he was still hard. She used the hairdryer out as he went back into their room. By the time she was done, he had changed the bedding.

She walked carefully over to the bed, where he stood with a towel over his waist that didn’t have a prayer of holding down his male nature. She tugged at the towel, watching it fall to the ground, and her hand moved to his length. “You didn’t get relief,” she said as she jacked him slowly.

“I can’t hurt you, love. I’ll be fine.”

She wrapped both hands around him, then had an idea. “Stand on the bed,” she said. He looked at her, then did what she said. Turning towards her, his stiffening cock was nearly at the right height. He kept a hand on the ceiling to steady himself as he moved closer to the edge. “Mmmm, perfect,” she said as she let her own towel drop.

Grabbing the base of his cock with her hand, she brought it up to her tongue and started to lick her way around the top like an ice cream cone. He moaned as she shifted her attention down, licking from the head to the base and back up. “That feels amazing,” he said as the tingles went up and down his shaft. She kept up the slow tease for a minute, then he gasped in pleasure as she suddenly took half his length into her mouth. Her tongue and lips moved wonderfully, causing his knees to slightly buckle before he recovered. “My wolf and I have been talking,” he said as she started to bob up and down. “He cannot wait to complete the mating and make you ours completely.”

“You never said exactly how that happens,” she sent him as she moved a hand to his ass, pulling him deeper into her mouth. He felt his spongy head reach the back of her throat, and then she pulled him deeper, swallowing around him. She backed off, gagging a little, then did it again.

“The mating is completed in wolf form,” he said as he watched her pleasure him, her lips stretched around his girth. “I have to chase you down and get you to submit to me. I will bite your neck as I enter you from behind, and my knot will lock us together. The mate bond forms when I release deep inside you. If we are lucky, it will result in a pup.”

She kept working him in and out of her throat, getting deeper and deeper with effort. If she had enough time she might get him all, but he was rapidly reaching his peak. “I’m close,” he said.

“I know. I want it all,” she said as her eyes looked up at him. She backed off until she only had his tip in her mouth, while her left hand jacked his base. She felt as his cock expanded even wider, then he groaned in pleasure as the first jet hit the back of her mouth. She swallowed as fast as she could as the following spurts filled her mouth, somehow catching it all.

When she let him go, he dropped to his knees and pulled her close to him again. “I love you so much,” he said before he kissed her. He could taste himself and he didn’t care; his mate was amazing, and he didn’t want her thinking he was embarrassed about anything they did together. He held her for a few more moments, then got off the bed. “Dinner is going on downstairs, let me help you dress and we can go down there,” he said.

“I can’t sit down,” she said as she watched him pull clothes out of the small dresser.

“True, but you can stand at the bar, maybe sit on the edge of a barstool,” he said. He helped her put on underwear, then pulled a loose-fitting summer dress over her before getting her sandals. The dress went below her knees, ensuring they wouldn’t see the wound was healing much faster than it would with a human. He then dressed in jeans and a Harley shirt, along with motorcycle boots. “Ready?”

“I need my cut,” she said. He grabbed the vest from the closet and helped her put it on, then took her hand and walked her out the door. She couldn’t do stairs, so he bent down and had her hold on to his neck while his arm locked around her waist as he walked downstairs.

“CANVAS!” The bar instantly quieted as the first person noticed her. Chase set her down, and she was soon surrounded by the men and women of the Portland chapter of the club. He warned them against touching her back or leg, but that didn’t stop her from getting hugged. It took a few minutes before he could prop her up on a barstool next to Thor and his Vice President, Switch. “How’d you get your name, Switch?”

“It was from a bar fight when I was a prospect here,” he said. “One of the guys came for me with a pool cue. I blocked it and hit him with one punch, and out go the lights,” he said with a smile. “Rumor is you’re pretty damn good in the ring.”

“I tend to be overlooked,” she said with a smile. “Never underestimate a redhead, though. Too bad it’s going to be a while until I can fight again, I love a good spar.”

“Well, don’t go getting ripped up by bears then. Fuck, even I know to stay away from them,” Thor said. He was big enough that the bears might be scared of him.

The two ate dinner and watched the party around them until her energy was gone. She said her goodnights and held on as Chase carried her back up the stairs. It was only when they got back to the room, where their phones had been left, that they saw all the missed calls and messages.

It couldn’t be good.