Between the Were Wars

Author's note: This is a sequel to Behind the Lines of the Were War and Beyond the Were War. I recommend you read those first.

Only love

Can make it rain

The way the beach is kissed by the sea

Only love

Can make it rain

Like the sweat of lovers laying in the fields

Love, reign o'er me

-The Who, Love Reign O'er Me

Gila Pack Vehicles

New Mexico

"Wake up, lovebirds, we're back on our territory!"

Enrique and Anna laughed as they heard the frantic scramble for clothing from under the blanket in the back of their SUV. Caleb's head stuck up first, looking around he found a bra on the wheelwell and passed it underneath the covers where Maria was trying to get dressed. When they left the hotel, neither had gotten much sleep so they moved the rear seat out of the way and 'slept' the whole way home. Well, they finally fell asleep after four hours of mutual exploration and excitation. Maria's breakthrough in the hotel carried through to all kinds of amorous activities, which the driver and navigator had overheard and giggled to themselves about most of the way home. The middle seat of the SUV was loaded high with all their bags and supplies, which gave them the illusion of privacy.

It was just an illusion, though, because as the lead vehicle they did not consider that the truck carrying all the money and gold and such was right behind them and could look right into the back despite the tinted window. Robert's teasing voice came through the link. "Caleb, you might want to see Doc when we get home. The commercials say that if you have an erection lasting more than four hours you should seek immediate medical assistance." All three vehicles erupted in laughter, with Renee slapping Robert's chest and Maria diving back under the blankets in shame.

"ALPHA!! I... we... HEY ITS OK WE'RE MATED!!!" Maria was holding on tight to Caleb's chest as she tried to hide her embarrassment. It took a minute before she looked up at his smiling face. He pulled her up and kissed her firmly, his lips taking hers with authority. "I don't care, I love you and I always will."

Linda's voice came through to everyone. She and Andy were driving the tail vehicle, the panel van they had taken from the Cartel. "Yeah, I don't think I'll be able to use that footage in my documentary on werewolf mating practices. Too much mating, not enough practice!" The laughter roared through the cars again, this time Andy grabbed her leg. They had to be careful with Maria, she had been through so much in her life and they didn't want to ruin what she had now. That didn't stop everyone.

Enrique's voice came through next. "They may have to name their baby Silverado!" The laughing died out way too quickly, and he knew immediately he had gone too far.

Robert came over the bond, dropping it to the rest. "Enrique, don't joke about that. Maria may not be able to have children, we're not sure if she was too damaged from what they did to her." Enrique said he would apologize, but instead Robert went over the bond to all but Maria and reminded them not to say anything about babies unless she brought it up first.

Enrique felt like shit. He held Anna's hand and waited until he saw Maria's eyes in the rear view mirror. "I'm sorry, Maria, I didn't know."

Maria smiled at him. "I don't know either, the doctors don't know. No one has ever had this happen to them, Doc said. It's all right, I'm not mad at you." She opened her bond only to Caleb. "I don't want you mad at him either. You knew about this when you claimed me, and although I want badly to have a family with you, we can adopt if my body doesn't work anymore."

Caleb kissed her gently. "Whatever we have and however we have them, they will be loved. As long as I am with you I will be happy, and will do everything to make you happy."

Maria cuddled into his side. "We have plenty of time, I'm still young and apparently we need the 'practice.'" She finished dressing and they folded the blankets.

The caravan passed through the border of the territory, the guards howling in celebration at their return. They made their way towards the Pack House, slowing only to weave around the landslide area where the Cartel attack had been repelled. The vehicles had been towed away, but parts of the road were still damaged and the helicopter was still visible near the river below. Renee's hand was over her mouth as she surveyed the damage. "Robert, I wasn't happy when you sent us away, but I understand now why you didn't want us around for this. Look at all they sent."

"No, love, I'm the one that should be sorry. I foolishly thought that if you weren't here you wouldn't be in danger. I should have known better, I should have insisted Derek keep you better protected. I let you get captured and it's my fault that bastard did that stuff to you." He was fighting off a shift, his wolf was howling at the memory of how he failed his mate.

Renee put her hand on his forearm. "It's no one's fault but Juan's. I knew the Cartel was after our pack, but I decided to take a shopping trip when I should have been on Johnson Pack territory making sure the pregnant mates and babies were safe. I had a lot of time to think, love. I don't blame you, or my brother. We need to learn from this and move on." She held his hand as they drove on. "We need to make amends to some people." Robert looked over. "When I was captured, there was a Dr. Martinez who treated me. He lied to them about giving me wolfsbane, and warned me to hide that I wasn't being sedated like he had been told to do to me. It would have been a lot worse for me without his help. I don't know if he survived or not, but I owe him."

"Call Alpha Merino, he captured a few people at the safe house after you were taken from there."

Renee did, and found out that he was being held for questioning. "Alpha, he risked his life to help me when I was being held there. I'm in his debt. Please consider releasing him, or at least consider transferring him to us and we'll take responsibility for him." Robert listened to the response, and smiled because this would make her happy. "Thank you so much, Alpha. If you could give him my contact information when you let him go, I would like to see him again and thank him in person. Thank you again for you Pack's help." She hung up. "Anyone else we need to recognize?"

Robert thought. "Well, Alpha Merino's team was a great help, both his Betas and his medical staff. Their doctor took a big risk by issuing a death certificate for Enrique, even her Alpha doesn't know about it. Andy and Linda went above and beyond, and without Enrique's help we would have had nothing. Then there are the people on my teams that got the stuff in the back of this truck, and the ones that defended our Pack from mercenary attack. That includes the team your brother sent down to help us. I think we should have a feast in a few days, and celebrate with our Pack. We should also invite the El Paso and Johnson Alphas and people who helped so we can recognize them."

"I agree. We should do something tangible for our allies, as well. Have you decided what to do with this truck full of loot?"

"No, I wanted to talk with you first. I'm not giving it back, his money is our spoils of war and it us right to keep it." Renee nodded her head. "But, I don't want to keep it all. It's far more than we could ever spend, and there is so much good we could do for our people with it." He had told her earlier how much they estimated was on the three pallets of cash, plus the gold and gems and bags of jewelry. It was a fortune. "I'd like to use some of it to make improvements to our facilities, especially now that our Pack is growing again. I'd like to purchase more land to expand our borders. And I want each of the members of our Pack to share in the gain."

Renee thought about it for a minute. "I would like to help out the other Packs. I know there were reparations, but so many had their homes and facilities destroyed, many are starting over. I think we could help seal the peace by taking away the temptation to attack other Packs, giving them the means to live in peace again."

Robert nodded at that. "I want to do something that would help us as a people, not just Packs. You didn't see the end of Wolfstock, but there were so many great ideas out there that we could fund. Helping people find mates, support and education for the orphans, scholarships for college and to fund those years of lost education for all the young ones who survived. Legal help for those who are trying to get land or property back. Genealogy projects. Capturing our history. Helping with transitions of humans who find Werewolf mates."

Renee smiled. "And I want to start a program to help people through the loss of their mates, and help them to find their second one. I want everyone to be as happy as I am right here, right now, because of you." He lifted his hand up and kissed the back of it.

"Keep it simple? Split the cash 30% us, 10% El Paso, 10% Johnson, then 25% each for other packs and Council activities?"

"Sure. We divvy up the jewelry among our Pack women, keep the diamonds, gems and gold as a reserve in case something else comes up."

They crested the last big hill and the Pack house came into sight. Enrique slowed and stopped, the whole caravan was spellbound at what was before them. Robert spoke first. "Linda, you take the truck and have Andy come up here and drive this one. We're going wolf." All except the drivers bailed out, tossing their clothes back in before shifting to wolf form. Renee came up next to Robert, licking his face as their tails wagged furiously. Her pregnant belly now showing, she moved slower than normal. The rest came up behind them, rubbing against each other in greeting. Robert raised his head and let loose a howl, joined first by Renee then by the rest of their group.

The answering howl from his Pack was deafening. The entire Pack was running towards them in wolf form. Robert led his group forward and they met in the middle in a huge mass of fur and dust. The Pack members rubbed each other and licked others faces in joy. It took ten minutes for every member to have a chance to greet their Alphas before the two made their way to the front. With a joyful howl, Robert set off for the Pack house. The Pack, roughly by rank, fell in line behind him. A Pack run was the best form of celebration among them. Even though it was the shortest run ever, this run was glorious.

The Alphas were back!

Tahoe Pack Alpha Office

Lake Tahoe, NV

Beta Don Gillette watched the news coverage with shock, working hard to keep his emotions off his face. Alpha Marcus Diggs had no such control issues. He was Alpha and he knew it, and so did everyone else in his Pack.

"That FUCKING BITCH! I can't believe this shit. You'd think a fucking DRUGLORD would be able to kill one uppity bitch whore of a she wolf!" His eyes went back to the large flat screen on the wall, where reporters were coming in live from the crime scene where Juan and Carlos' bodies had been found. A crawl along the bottom reported the news that Renee Hastings had been rescued from her captivity and was now returning home. File footage showed Juan and the growth and now loss of his cartel. "She needs to pay for what she did. She never should have been Alpha, never should have been able to leave that challenge circle in Colorado. The bitch should be fucking DEAD and her carcass left for the buzzards."

Don waited a bit for Marcus to start breathing a little easier. Boss, what can we do about her? She was weak back then, but now that she is mated to Robert Hastings their combined pack is a force. Look at how they beat the Cartel and all their money."

"Hastings is old, and Renee is pregnant. They aren't as strong as you think."

"She has powerful allies. Her brother, most of the other Alphas, the military and the government. Hell, the fucking President calls on her when he needs to work with us. I talked to some people I know in other packs, once the Alpha Council meets she could very well end up being able to control the whole thing. She's the only one, they say, who can bring everyone together because everyone respects her, human and werewolf. With enough supporters, she will be unstoppable. We don't have anywhere near that kind of influence." He sat back in his chair, hoping Marcus wouldn't do something rash that would get them all killed. "And with the rule changes that have been adopted, you can't just challenge her or Robert for their Pack. The new rules would result in you forfeiting your life."

Marcus sat as his desk, slowly leaning back as he cut and lit a cigar from the humidor on the corner. "We have more allies than you might think. That meeting at Red Rock, not everyone is happy with how things went. Since then, even more Alphas have learned of the error of supporting the changes. Did you know that five Alphas have been VOTED out of leadership since that bitch's brother pushed through the new rules? Strong, dominant wolves who were destined to rule their packs, watching them go to weak Betas and women who can't keep people in line. Packs that are losing members left and right to other packs, packs in chaos because Alphas are afraid to force people into line. If we can get her and Robert out of the way, we might have enough allies by next year to reverse these changes and get things back to how they should be."

Don went to the small bar behind the desk, pulling out two tumblers he poured them each a double portion of single malt scotch. Handing one to his Alpha, he sat on the corner of the desk. "What we need is a way to take them out of the picture without getting our fingers dirty. If we show our hand too early, we could be crushed."

Marcus smiled. "I have some ideas for that. I don't want them just to lose their Packs, I want to see them weak. Humiliated. I want them to suffer along the way and wonder how the hell it all went bad. They will never suspect us, because we won't be doing anything directly."

Don sipped his drink and smiled. "Death of a thousand cuts, I like that."

"There is one cut I will take directly, because I have to be the one to deliver it."

"What is that?" Don set his drink down and leaned forward.

"I'm going to the Alpha Council and petition that my brother's challenge against her was lost by her, and thus her old Pack and all its wealth should transfer to me. That bitch cheated, and I can't let her get away with killing my brother like that."

Central Intelligence Agency Headquarters

Langley, Virginia

"It's a fucking disaster, boss." James looked over the desk at his boss, the Director of the Central American division. Vincent Balducci was scowling at him, the Fox News coverage on the wall as he took off his jacket and flung it over the chair to the side. "Juan is dead, his organization is already destroyed. Between the werewolves and the other cartels, in another 48 hours you won't find anything left of his organization."

"No hope of pulling something out of this?"

"I can't see it. We've been propping up the Socorro cartel for almost a decade now. Arms, money, hell we even made sure their drugs got through or transported them ourselves. It worked to keep the Gulf and Pacific cartels from getting too strong, but now they've each snapped up territory and routes. We're on the verge of a new war now, a much wider and more destructive drug war. There's no buffer territory between them, the whole nation just became unstable."

Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose as he leaned back. "OK, two things. Find out how the fuck this happened, there is no way they were able to take them out this fast without good intelligence. Second, start purging. Congress will have our balls if they find out what we've been doing, not to mention what the Mexican government will say. I want us to be clean as the driven snow by the end of the week."

"Yes sir, it will be done."

Drug Enforcement Center Office

Albuquerque, NM

Kim Corrigan smiled as she walked to her car in the secure underground parking section of the building. Washington had appointed her Agent in Charge after the death of her old boss, Michael Miller, in a car bombing. She smiled as she thought about how the cartel war had helped her keep his murder from being discovered; it was now just written off as an early salvo in the war. She was under no suspicion at all. She approached her reserved spot and unlocked her Ford Contour; now that she had been promoted, she could spend some of the Socorro Cartel money she had been hiding and upgrade to a nicer car without suspicion. As she opened the door, she thought about how she was glad she had saved because that gravy train had come to an end. She tossed her purse into the passenger seat, sat down and turned the key.

"Don't move." The voice from the back seat shocked her. She thought about reaching for her duty weapon, but it was carried on the back right of her hip and wasn't easy to reach in the car seat. "Hands on the steering wheel."

"You know who I am?"

"Yes, Kim, we know who you are. My boss wants to talk to you, if you do what I tell you when I tell you, you will live. Now... put your purse on the floor of the passenger side." She complied. "I need your gun, two fingers only, hold it at the base of the grip. I've got a shotgun pointed at your spine, one twitch and they'll be scooping your guts off the dashboard. Nice and easy, take it out and toss it on the floor on the other side of your purse." Kim was sweating now, there was no way out of this so she complied. "Now drive."

Kim pulled out of the parking garage and followed directions to an industrial section to the north. They approached a decrepit warehouse, the rollup door opening as they drove to it. The inside was dark, she parked and unlocked the door.

"Put this on." He handed her a black hood, trembling she put it over her head. Once it was on, her door was opened and a big man unbuckled her belt and pulled her out and to her feet. He led her into a room, closed the door and set her down on a chair. Her hands and feet were placed in leather cuffs and her waist was buckled to the back. She was helpless.

She didn't have long to wait. Several men entered the room and stood around her. "Welcome to your new business arrangement, Agent in Charge Corrigan. You may call me John. Now, what were the particulars of your arrangement with the Socorro cartel?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Kim, Kim... I had hoped you would be smarter than that." She felt the cold steel of a blade between her blouse and skin, then it ripped down the front of her body. Her bra fell open to each side. The man cupped her left breast, measuring its weight, then her nipple exploded in pain. She screamed, straining against her restraints but nothing helped. She begged them to stop, promised them anything, and eventually they stopped. "It's amazing what a simple pair of pliers can do. That was a warning. We know far more than you think, and you are going to fill in the details. We will be checking your answers, and any lies will be met with pain on a scale you cannot imagine." She sucked in her breath as an ice pack was applied to her swollen nipple, the relief immediate. "On the other hand, cooperation will be rewarded. I want us to have a long and successful partnership, one that will make us both rich. Now... what was your arrangement with the Socorro cartel?"

Kim slouched in defeat before sitting up. "I was first approached as a field agent. They knew I had trouble with student loans, so they made me a deal. There were times that I would lose evidence, let people walk, or just look the other way. I would get paid depending on the service. This went on for a year or two. Once they knew they could trust me, they started feeding me information on rival cartels. I used that information to make some impressive busts and it got me noticed. They kept helping my career as I rose through the ranks."