35

Bobby Meechum's POV

Sulphur River Pack House

I followed my mate and my child into the Pack House as my Mom led her to the guest room. "

Bobby, to my office,"

my Dad sent.

I stopped, looking at the closed door, then turned around and walked into the Alpha Wing and to my father's office. A T-shirt and basketball shorts were on the floor outside, so I shifted and put them on. I knocked on his door and went in. "Welcome home, son," he said as he hugged me. "Still playing puppy?"

I nodded. "She's skittish, Dad. She's had a rough time of it, and it hasn't been over for long." I had talked to my Mom about it on the flight down, and I filled him in on what I had learned from her talks with Randall. "Two weeks ago, she was being drugged and held as a prostitute," I finished. "I'm amazed she's even functioning."

"She has strength, she will push through this. She has her child now, she will do it for him."

"I hope so."

"She needs her mate, Bobby."

My Mom picked this time to walk in. "They're settled in. Phillip is sleeping and Tania is going to take a shower and go to bed. She's exhausted."

"Thanks, Mom."

She hugged me. "You need to come clean on who you are, Bobby. She's not ignorant to what we are, she isn't a human who has to be eased into the knowledge of our true nature."

"I don't know if she's ready yet," I said. "Is it so bad that she trusts my wolf and takes comfort in him?"

"Of course not, son, but she should be taking comfort in her mate. The sooner, the better. You have a son to raise together, and she will need your help."

He was right. My wolf and I had already accepted Phillip as ours, and he was very protective of them both now. "I'll shift for them in the morning," I said.

"Good. We'll keep the others away for now, and ease her back into Pack life," Mom said. "It's going to be hard for both of them to adjust, but we're here for you along with the whole Pack. We are all happy you found such a strong and beautiful woman to be your mate."

She was right. My mate was the strongest female I knew, having gone through hell and survived. She was beautiful to me, scars and all. "I'm going to grab some food then sit at the door in case she needs me." I hugged them both and went back out, down to the kitchen. I made myself a huge sandwich and chips, plus a tall glass of milk. When I was done, I walked back to the guest room and pulled my clothes off before shifting. I curled up, my back against the door, and went to sleep.

"No! NOO! PLEASE DON'T"

Her screams of terror work me up. I jumped to my feet but was unable to get in while in my wolf form. I quickly shifted, grabbing the doorknob and finding it locked. She was still screaming in terror, and Phillip had now joined her. I put my shoulder to the door and broke it down.

She was having a nightmare, she had rolled herself up in the sheets and was fighting to get free. I ran to her, ignoring her scratches and flailing arms as I pulled her into my chest. "Shhh, it's all right, I'm here," I said.

My Mom appeared at the door, but I didn't stop rocking her and stroking her neck. "

Take Phillip please,"

I linked. She went over and picked him up; he was tired, but he calmed in her arms and she walked him out.

She finally stopped struggling and was now sobbing into my bare chest. My Dad looked in and I shook him off. I had this under control, and she didn't know him well yet. I kept talking to her as she calmed down. "It's all right. Mom took Phillip back to her room, she's got him calmed down and he'll be asleep soon."

"Who are you," she finally said as she looked up into my eyes.

"Bobby Meechum. I'm Randall's younger brother."

"Hi Bobby, thanks for helping me," she said. "I should be freaking out, I don't like men, much less finding a naked man in my bed."

"It's not the first time I've comforted you," I told her as I laid down next to her. "I'm Snacks. I traveled up to Wisconsin with my brother."

She smiled. "I thought those eyes looked familiar. You're a good friend and brother to be helping me."

I let a breath out, gathering my courage. "I'm more than a friend, Tania. I'm your mate."

Her eyes got wide. "I don't have a wolf, I don't have a mate," she said. "You're mistaken."

"My wolf claimed you the first time he smelled your clothes," I said. "You're my mate, Tania. I love you. I love Phillip. And I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy again."

Alpha Clark's POV

Present day, La Crosse Pack

Talia had called almost forty minutes ago, reporting the convoy of Suburbans filled with werewolves heading east on Interstate 90. I brought my other lookouts in, and soon we had our own convoy a mile behind them as they crossed the river. Now all I needed was the direction they were coming from to attack my Pack.

We kept the trail vehicles back, and I had people stationed along the road to watch for where they stopped. "

Alpha, they are turning in the main driveway,"

my lookout reported.

"

Attackers are coming in the main entrance, all defenders move into position and ready the strips,"

I ordered. I jumped into my car along with the reserve force of warriors, all of them from my allied Packs. We drove out, stopping about a quarter mile up the wooded road and using our vehicle to block the road. Alpha Dan and the Winona Pack took the left flank, the Arcadia Pack stayed behind the vehicles with me, and the Genoa Pack warriors took the right flank. We formed an arc, setting up behind rocks and trees with our rifles.

"

Standby the strips, twenty seconds out,"

I sent to my men. One of my men was hidden in the shrubs, right where the road was elevated three feet above the surrounding trees and swamp on a gentle left turn. The turn would keep them from seeing our vehicles until it was too late to stop. "

Everyone else stand by. Hold fire until instructed."

Thirty warriors took up positions behind the vehicles and trees, forming intersecting lines of fire towards the curve. I heard the caravan approaching and saw their headlights. When the lead vehicle hit the curve, my man pulled three spike strips across the road in rapid succession, then shifted and took off.

The strips did their job, blowing out the tires of the lead vehicle. It swerved to the right and rolled onto its side before hitting a tree. The second didn't fare much better. Its tires gone, it skidded to a stop with two wheels in the ditch. The other Suburbans would have done better, but the additional strips did their damage. In five seconds, all the attacking vehicles were disabled or stuck behind vehicles.

"

Chase teams moving,"

my Beta said. I had men hidden in the woods, on the hillside, and they rushed forward into the firing positions they had prepared. A truck was already coming down the entrance road towards them, making sure no one could back up.

I reached for the microphone on the PA system mounted on my truck. "THIS IS ALPHA CLARK. YOU ARE SURROUNDED AND OUTGUNNED. PUT DOWN YOUR ARMS AND EXIT YOUR VEHICLES WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR."

"

Snipers, keep an eye on the doors. If anyone comes out with a gun, take them down,"

I reminded them.

I looked through the binoculars at the Suburbans, disabled about fifty yards from our positions. There was panic in the cars; they were looking around at my men and the rifles, and it was sinking in that they had already lost.

"

Alpha is in the last vehicle. He's pissed,"

my Theta said.

I picked up the microphone again. "NO ONE HAS TO DIE OVER THE LIES YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD. THE COUNCIL HAS ISSUED AN ARREST WARRANT FOR ALPHA HERANUS AND BETA JACK MEOFFE FOR THE KIDNAPPING AND RAPE OF AN UNDERAGE FEMALE."

This news sent the wolves in the vehicles into a panic. Some were holding their heads, fighting Alpha command. I tried again. "BRING THEM OUT AND YOU MAY GO HOME. RESIST AND YOU ALL DIE. YOU HAVE ONE MINUTE."

There was a struggle in the lead vehicle; the back door opened, and a big guy was pushed out backwards. Another large man landed on top of him, and two more men jumped out and held the man down. "DON'T SHOOT," the man said. "This is Beta Jack. If you show me a warrant, I'll turn him over to you."

I recognized him, it was Beta Samuel Kirk of the Eau Claire Pack. "HOLD YOUR FIRE." I looked over at my men, telling two of them to come with me and to bring silver chains. I walked around between the vehicles, the warrant in my hand. We met each other halfway. "Beta Samuel," I said as I showed him the warrant.

"Thank you for not opening fire," he said as he looked it over. He linked to his Alpha and his Pack members that the warrant was valid. Immediately doors opened, and men exited and knelt on the road, hands over their heads. "My Alpha sends his regrets, he's being held at gunpoint by Alpha Justin in the last vehicle. He won't go without a fight."

"Then he shall get one," I said. "Have your men walk up past us and bring the Beta. They may exit the battlefield with honor."

"Yes sir." The men got up, hands on their heads, and walked towards us. Beta Jack was being dragged between two men.

I walked with them back to the vehicle and got the microphone again. "LISTEN TO THIS BEFORE YOU DIE FOR A MAN NOT WORTHY OF THE ALPHA POSITION," I said. Taking out my phone, I started to play the audio file, an edited version of Tania's story. It went for about two minutes, during which no one moved as they listened to her describe her abduction, her rape and then the stealing of her boy.

"He's saying it's a lie, he would never do that," one of his men in the second vehicle yelled.

"DID ANYONE SMELL LUNA RHODA AND KNOW SHE WAS PREGNANT? DID YOU SEE HER ROUND WITH CHILD? DID ANYONE ATTEND PHILLIP'S BIRTH?"

The questions hit home, as men started to get out, holding their heads in pain as they fought the Alpha command. In order to avoid it, they would have to reject their Pack and Alpha. Some screamed as they did this, falling to the ground, while others fought to stand and move. "

Alpha, there are only a half-dozen left in the vehicles, including Alpha Bruce. He's been chained up and is on the floor in back,"

my sniper told me.

The standoff might have lasted for hours, but for two people who walked up behind the disabled Suburbans. Her voice shook with power. "ALPHA JUSTIN, I AM TALIA STILLWATER. THE ALPHA KILLER CHALLENGES YOU FOR THE POSIITON OF ALPHA OF THE COPPER MOUNTAIN PACK."

The men in the vehicle were shaking in fear, suddenly unsure of their survival. Three of them bailed out and rolled into the ditch with their hands over their heads.

"A CHALLENGE HAS BEEN MADE, ALPHA JUSTIN. YOU MAY USE OUR FIELD, UNLESS YOU SUBMIT NOW."

The door opened, and a furious Alpha Justin stepped out. "I accept the challenge," he said.

I looked back at the young couple standing on the road behind them. Randall Meechum was smiling broadly, happy his mate was going to get her chance. Talia? She looked like a warrior angel ready to destroy.

Ch. 32

Black River Falls Alpha John's POV

Tomah, Wisconsin

We met in the parking lot of a McDonalds in Tomah, three vehicles from my Pack filled with warriors were ready to go. Alpha Richard and his warriors from the Black River Falls Pack were ready as well.

The plan was simple; surround, then the Alphas go and arrest.

We decided to go in at sunset, hoping to catch the Pack at the end of their day. The long shadows would help hide our men as they surrounded the territory. If an alarm was raised, the women and children would be close to the safe room, and only the patrols would be out. "Remember to order them to stand down, no force except in self-defense," I said to everyone. "This is an arrest, not a war."

The drive only took fifteen minutes, exiting the freeway and following the roads along the north side until we were about a mile from the territory line. We pulled over to the side of the road near some trees, waiting for the coast to be clear before most of the men shifted and ran off into the woods. It took fifteen minutes for them to make their way into position. "

All men in position, Alpha,"

my Beta reported.

I called Alpha Richard on his cellphone and he reported the same. He was going to stay at the south entrance, ready to drive anywhere to provide backup. "Two minutes to enter the territory," I said as I gave the order to drive forward. I hung up the phone and looked out from the passenger seat of my Expedition. My driver and two escorts were armed with pistols for the worst case event, silver shackles and tranquilizer guns if needed. There was a chain across the road, PRIVATE PROPERTY- NO TRESSPASSING and NO HUNTING signs along a fence on each side, all the things to keep the humans away. I could see a camera pointed at the entrance from the shed by the side of the road.

It wasn't a normal shed, I'd been here before and the rusted sheet steel exterior covered a reinforced concrete and steel fighting position and guard post. My driver honked the horn as I got out, and a young man in shorts and a John Deere T-shirt came out from behind the shed. He sniffed, picking up we were wolves and then he recognized me. "Alpha, I wasn't aware you were coming," he said as he hurried over to the chain. He quickly linked someone. "The Beta welcomes you and your men to the Tomah Pack."

"The Beta? Where is Alpha Todd?"

"Gone, sir. He left about five hours ago, didn't say where. The Luna and their son are with them. They are too far away to link, and he's not answering his cellphone."

Crap. Someone must have tipped him off. "Take me to the Alpha's office and have the Beta call the Pack together, I need to address them all urgently."

"Yes, Alpha." He unhooked the chain and moved it aside as I got back in. I left the other men in place for now but called Alpha Richard back and asked him to meet me at the Pack House.

It didn't take long to arrive, and the whole Pack was walking towards the dining hall. The Beta couple was waiting for me. "Alpha John, welcome to the Tomah Pack."

"This isn't a social call, Beta Mendez," I said. I'd worked with him before, he was a good man, a cousin of the Council Chief Enforcer. His mate Maria stood next to him. I handed him the arrest warrant. "I'm here to arrest Alpha Todd on orders of the Council."

He looked shocked as he read the warrant. "He kidnapped Tania Stillwater?"

"Yes. Do you know where he is?"

He shook his head. "No sir. The Alphas left this afternoon, said they would be back after dinner but haven't returned. I tried contacting them but they aren't responding."

"Let's go to his office," I said. I didn't hold out much hope, but maybe he left a clue. Alpha Richard pulled up and joined us as we were walking in.

When he opened the office, we could see drawers left open and the wall safe was as well. Looking inside, there were legal papers only. "Anything missing?"

"Yes sir. About a hundred thousand in cash, and the bank books and bearer bonds for the Pack." He looked dejected. "Shit, he's going to clean out the Pack accounts!"

"He already did if he's been gone that long," I said. "Do you have access to the online accounts?"

"No sir, the Alphas had that." I felt for him, it would be tough to overcome such a financial loss along with the news coming their way. "Gather the Pack, I'll be down in a minute."

He and his mate left, leaving Richard and I alone. "Someone tipped him off," I said. "He's long gone."

"Yeah. We better call the Chairman." We used the phone on the desk to call the Council, putting it up on speaker. "Chairman Wolfe, it's Alpha John and Alpha Richard. We're at the Tomah Pack, and Alpha Todd and his Luna are gone. They cleaned out the Pack safe hours ago and are not responding to calls or link," I said. We discussed it for a few minutes, then we got down to the actions.

"Alpha John, what do you recommend for control of the Pack until I can get enforcers there?"

"I can stay here with some of my men," I said. "Provide some stability and guidance until the Council decides what they want to do."

A voice came from the background, I recognized it as the Lead Enforcer for the Council. "Mr. Chairman, the Beta of that Pack is my cousin, he joined the Pack after the alleged kidnapping, so he wasn't involved. He's strong enough to hold the Pack together through this."

"He is a good man," I agreed. "I have no objection. Do you want us to start a search of the area?"

"No, he's nowhere close by now. Inform the Pack of the warrant and direct them to notify Beta Mendez of any contact with the Alpha pair, or any information regarding their whereabouts. We're wrapping up things in Colorado, Alpha Justin is missing too."

What a clusterfuck. "I understand, sir. I need to go brief the Tomah Pack now, if you have the information you need."

"I do. I'm calling a videoconference of all North American alphas in an hour. You two and Beta Mendez can call in from there, then you can return home." He ended the call.

"Come on, let's let them know." We walked out and down to the mess hall, which was in a near riot by now. "The Beta must have let them know why a warrant is out on their Alpha."

It was true; the pain and loss of that day over four years ago was still fresh, and finding out their Alpha may have kidnapped Tania was a shock. I held up my hands, and they quieted. "First off, does anyone have any information as to where the Alpha pair are right now?" That was a no from the silence. "All right, I don't have a lot of details, but I do want you to see what Tania said happened. I don't recommend any children see this." While the children were taken out, I worked with the Beta to get the video file so it could play on the big projection screen they used for movie nights.

There were gasps of horror and relief as Tania's face came on the screen. Many were crying as she went into her story, and when she told what happened that day you could have heard a pin drop. I could smell the anger in the room; she was one of their own and was loved by them all. Seeing her this way, older, scarred and sickly, it turned their stomachs. A few had to run for garbage cans as she described her rape. The news of her son raised the anger to a fever pitch.

Not only was their Alpha daughter alive, she had a son, a son who was a bloodline heir to lead the Tomah Pack.

"What happened to Talia," one of the men asked. "That bastard drove her out of here, and we let him."

"She's the one who rescued Tania. I don't have all the details, I just know that Tania's wolf was killed and she was being held as a sex slave by a crime family in Texas." The Pack exploded in rage again at that. Having your wolf taken away was a fate worse than death for a werewolf, you would spend the rest of your days missing half of yourself.

It was time to wrap this up before the videoconference. "I don't have anything more now, but I understand your anger. Your Beta is going to join us and all North American Alphas to discuss this, plus the disappearance of Alpha Justin of Copper Mountain. They will find no refuge in any Pack, and we WILL bring them to justice."

"WE WANT THEIR BLOOD ON OUR TEETH," a man in the back shouted.

"LET THE ALPHA KILLER DO IT," another answered.

"We have to catch them first. If you want to help, do what you can to find them." The three of us walked out of the room, leaving them to process what they had just learned.

Back in the Alpha's office, the Beta logged us onto the secure server that the Council used for the videoconference. We watched as the Alphas joined, and Chairman Wolfe ran though what they knew so far. There was shock and outrage at the actions of the missing Alphas. "In addition to the two Alphas, the search for the Alpha Killer continues. Talia Stillwater remains at large, and we have confirmed by scent and video that she kidnapped Luna Rhoda and her son Phillip."