25

As they drove through Ohio, Linda settled in to the large padded chair in the living room of the large RV. Her mate refused to let her out of his sight, much less do anything, and she was tired of sitting on his lap. "I'm pregnant, you idiot, not an invalid."

"I don't care." Joe pulled her further up on his lap. "Our baby is in your belly; my instinct is to protect it with everything I have." The other women smiled, this was typical for a first pregnancy among wolves but they didn't know how a panther would react. They were still getting used to the idea of having a cat as an Alpha, much less mated to a wolf. There had been a lot of discussion and even a few friendly bets on whether the baby would become a panther or a wolf, with the panther bets getting 4-1 odds against. The Alpha pair was exempted from driving duties; they didn't want any cameras or passing wolves to see them. The other four mated pairs were rotating between driving, sleeping in the back bedroom, or relaxing in the living room.

Lois was cleaning up from the lunch. They had stopped at a grocery store and loaded up on deli sandwiches, salads and drinks. Joe nuzzled his nose into her neck. "So, baby, what do you want to do about Trevor?"

"I want to tear his fucking head off." She laid her head on his shoulder. "I still can't believe he did that to me. All that time, all those things I did for the Torchellis, and it was all because a man I trusted turned on me."

"The good news is that he doesn't know that we know what he did. I think we should exploit that."

She sat up and looked into his eyes. "How?"

"Well, we know for a certainty that he was involved. After Victor's confession, the CIA started tracking down all the money. Enrique just got word from his tech buddy there that they found the accounts the Torchellis paid him off with. You'll be happy to know they are ready to drain his accounts on our signal. He's all about the money, and I think we should dangle that in front of him."

"The CIA." She chewed her lip. "We call him, say that the Director wants to bring me back into the fold, to work for them again on a contract basis. We tell them that they are offering big money for me to go after terrorists, but I'm reluctant."

"Yes, without an organization looking out for you the CIA could easily get you killed." Joe looked up at the ceiling. "You'll want someone with experience to be the buffer between you and the CIA. Someone with experience on both sides, someone who can negotiate a good deal for us."

Linda smiled. "We're getting the band back together." It took another hour, kicking around the ideas with the rest of the Pack, before she was ready to make the phone call. It worked just as they expected. He would meet them near Kansas City tomorrow.

Gila Pack House

New Mexico

The passenger vans started to unload outside the Pack meeting hall, under the watchful eyes of the Alpha and his mate. Mike Donaldson approached them, as the senior member of the Telluride Pack delegation, and passed along the letter from Alpha David Francis. These social calls were becoming fairly routine since borders had been agreed to and mates found in different packs. Beta Andy and his mate Linda per-formed the duties as escorts, introducing them before they had a meet and greet in the hall. Family members had already run off together, while single males and females of both packs nervously sniffed the air for a hint of their mates. As the group walked off, Robert used the bond to his mate. "I don't trust them. Something is going on."

Renee squeezed his hand. "I know, but we've got things well in hand. Surveillance is in place, nothing will happen yet."

"We are keeping Lynn out of sight, right?"

"Yes, Caleb and Maria know of the danger. Her grandfather is maintaining the watch; he is close enough but out of sight. Only the four of us know who he is, and that he has a family bond with Lynn. She will be safe."

Renee leaned into his side as they approached the meeting hall where the party was already going. "She better be. If anything happens to her, Joe and Linda will be devastated."

K-177 Overlook Park

Five miles north of I-70 near Manhattan, KS

The RV made Exit 313 off the interstate onto Highway 177, then stopped in the darkness. "Tell me again why we are meeting out here?"

Linda looked at Enrique again. "Trevor knows people are after us, so he will expect us to be more comfortable out in the woods. What he doesn't know," she looked around at the others in the RV, "is that we have a Pack. That is our advantage. Jennifer, John, you get out here. Work your way into the woods and shift, sweep south of the meeting point at the east end of the lake. Stay back far enough he doesn't pick up your scent. Enrique, you and Anna will stay with the vehicle and drop Robin, David, Lois and Alex at the northern end of the park. Robin and David, you'll move inland and come back from the north side of the lake, while Lois and Alex work their way down closer to the road. I want you all in wolf form, keep clothes tied to your legs and stay back until we signal. At midnight, Joe and I will move west to the meeting point from the overlook."

"Where will he be?" Lois was concerned about the job.

"Pretty much anywhere but the parking lot. It wouldn't surprise me if he is already there, hidden in the trees. He didn't live this long as a panther by being reckless." Linda motioned for them to get up and they all grabbed their gear. Each team was equipped with a pistol with silver tipped bullets.

They dropped off the first two just as the sun was setting, then continued north. They parked at a WalMart in Manhattan until it was closer to midnight then drove to the overlook. Joe walked up and squeezed Enrique's shoulder. "If there is any hint of an ambush, if our bonds break, get the RV out of here. Stay safe, and get back to Lynn for us."

Anna looked at them with tears in her eyes. "And leave you behind?"

Linda gave her a hug. "If you must, Lynn is more important than us." With that, they were out of the RV that had been their home for the last two days. The overlook wasn't much, a stone and concrete structure perched over the prairies and trees below. They ducked under the gate and moved towards the back of the overlook. They paused to scent and when it was clear they moved down the hillside towards the water.

"That's far enough." Trevor's voice came from well above them; they froze as he climbed down to the trail behind them. "Are you alone?"

"Yes," Joe replied. "We've been very careful to avoid attention, and we weren't followed."

"And the people in the RV?"

Linda spoke up. "Friends from Joe's pack. With facial recognition and all, we thought it safer to stay out of sight and pretend to be tourists." She walked up to Trevor. "Are you all right? Did you recover from that attack?"

He laughed. "Of course. I was fine after a couple of days. I heard you took care of the Torchellis." She nodded. "Good, they deserved everything they got."

Joe shook his hand. "Have you given thought to our problem?"

Trevor nodded. "I have a few ideas."

"Good. We do too. I want to show you something." He pulled out his phone, opening the videos he started the recording of what had happened with Victor. He was so fascinated by what he was watching he didn't notice Linda moving out of his sight, or the other six wolves closing in on their position. It was only when he saw Victor telling them about how he had betrayed him that he looked up. His face betrayed how screwed he really was. "You didn't think we would stay ignorant of this, did you?"

Trevor looked around, he could see the six wolves now surrounding him and Linda had shifted into the Panther form. "Yeah, actually, I figured that mongrel bitch was too stupid to figure it out." Joe let out a roar as he shifted, and Trevor shifted into his Panther at the same time.

"Back off. He's mine." Linda snarled to the rest of her Pack; Joe stared at her, wanting to protect his mate and their babies but she stared him down. He backed off as they started to circle each other in the grass. Looking at them side by side, you could see the difference Linda's wolf part made in her body. She was larger than Trevor despite being female; her chest was larger and more muscled, as well as her legs. Trevor attacked first, hoping that his experience would give him the advantage. Linda jumped to her right, swinging back with a paw she clawed his left front shoulder open before he could get his teeth around. He tried to turn into her, but she jumped away. Every time he tried to exploit an opening, he found that she was too fast and he walked away with another injury.

Joe watched the battle with a pit in his stomach. She was a stronger fighter, she was almost toying with him, like a cat with a mouse. He didn't use the bond, since it was important for her to remain focused. Trevor was losing his strength, his coat was saturated with his own blood as dozens of claw swipes and bites had done their damage. Knowing his time was short, he charged her, lowering her head to knock her over.

He caught only air. She had leaped into the air and twisted, her jaws digging in at the base of his neck while her body pushed him to the ground. "Tear him to shreds NOW." The Pack moved at one, rushing in from all sides the wolves bit into legs and flanks, pulling the claws away from where he was desperately trying to escape. As he twisted his neck to get Linda off him, Joe took advantage of the opening and clamped his powerful jaws on his open throat. With a vicious growl and shake, he tore his neck open. The Pack continued their assault well after he was dead, spreading body parts and gore around the clearing.

When they finally stopped, Joe raised his head and let out a powerful howl. The other wolves joined in, followed by a roar from Linda. Trevor was dead.

Gila Pack House

New Mexico

Two days of visiting had been completed, and it was time to go. "Our Pack thanks you for your hospitality, Alphas Robert and Renee. We will take on the responsibility for Wolfstock with the same drive you showed in founding it."

Renee leaned forward and briefly hugged the visiting Beta. "I'm sure you will, Mike." He moved down the line of people waiting to wish them a good trip back to their home to their pack.

"Thank you, Beta Donaldson, for bringing your unmated to visit. We are truly blessed that our young Michelle has found her mate among your members."

Mike smiled. "This is the fruit of the tree your mate planted, people are finding their mates younger and the ties of our packs strengthen. I will be sure to pass on your good wishes to my Alpha and our Pack."

He moved on, the Alphas saying goodbye to the other visiting Pack members. Most of the Pack had turned out to see Michelle off on her new life. Matings were such a magical time and their meeting at dinner had not left a dry eye in the house. As his Pack members loaded into the passenger vans, Andy Miller threw his arm around his buddy's shoulder. They walked together to the SUV that would be driving him home. His Delta had already started the car and had the air conditioning blasting.

"Mike, It's been great to see you. Here's the address of that friend I mentioned, they aren't far out of your way. The husband is working now, but you could surprise the wife and daughter." He pushed the paper into his pocket. "It's just a quick detour, you could catch up to the rest easily."

"Thank you, Andy. All my best to your family." They briefly hugged, then Mike's car trailed a procession out the drive to the northern border. When they were out of sight of the Pack House, he opened the paper and found a hand written map to the house where Lynn was being fostered. On it, he had drawn the best place to leave the convoy, the trail, and another trail leading outside the Pack border to a road where he could be picked up again. It was all pretty straightforward. He opened the glove box and re-moved the pouch containing the veterinarian grade autoinjectors. Their Pack doctor had included some wolfsbane in the adult doses to ensure they wouldn't be able to use the Pack link. Since the child was not Pack, they didn't have to worry about that, he just had to make sure he gave her the correct injector for a child.

Placing the injectors in his shirt pocket and buttoning the flap, he made sure the heavy duty nylon zip ties were in his jeans pocket and put the backpack on. It was specially modified for this job, it would allow him to move quickly in human or wolf form while carrying an unconscious child. His Alpha had been excited about the job, despite his promise to Andy he couldn't keep this from him. The note was in his other pocket. If he did it right, he'd be less than two minutes in the house and would be off Gila pack property before they suspected anything was wrong. The final step was to confuse the scents. While they were at the Pack, he had stolen several pieces of sweaty clothing from the laundry after morning workouts and placed them in plastic bags. The scents would overwhelm his own and make tracking more difficult. He put the stolen clothes on the net pouches on the side of the backpack where they would get good air circulation.

"Two minutes to the drop site, Beta." Mike nodded, readying himself to bail as he put on thin leather gloves. It would not do to leave behind fingerprint evidence. The drop zone was a tight turn where the vehicles would have to slow down. When the car slowed to ten miles an hour, he opened the door and dove out, rolling into the ditch while protecting the injectors on his chest. Before the car sped up, he was off on foot. It only took ten minutes at a run until the house was in sight. There was a light on in the kitchen, but no other activity. He walked up to the door, setting the backpack down just outside the door as he readied the adult autoinjector and knocked.

He heard soft footsteps approaching, and a young Hispanic woman opened the door. "Hello, Maria. Your Alpha asked me to drop this off for Lynn." He pointed to the backpack.

As Maria stuck her head out the door to look at what he had brought, he acted quickly and the autoinjector in his left hand swung up, striking her in the side of the neck just below her left ear. The sedative and Wolfsbane had an almost immediate effect; she struggled to get away but was already losing muscle control. He dropped the injector and caught her before she hit the floor. He turned her over, binding her wrists behind her back and then her ankles together with the zip ties. He then picked her up and placed her on the floor just behind the couch, out of sight from the front windows. The whole thing had taken less than a minute.

Going back to the open front door, he grabbed the backpack and went into the back bedrooms. In the small one he found Lynn still asleep; using the child dose he kept her that way. She only weighed about 35 pounds, so putting her in the backpack and getting it up on his shoulders was easy. The pack was modified with netting to let air in, she would be fine during the short trip. He walked out, picking up the first injector, and closed and locked the door behind him. He easily picked up the trail heading north and took off at a run. Everything had gone without a hitch, he thought, as he settled into a comfortable run pace for the ten mile run to the pickup site.

He was slightly annoyed that his Delta wasn't responding to his mental call; the lazy bastard probably fell asleep. He could see his car waiting, engine running, by the side of the road where he was supposed to be. Running up, he tossed his unconscious bundle behind the seat before he jumped into the front seat. Looking over, his face turned white. "Hello, Mike."

Kansas Tollway

The big RV lumbered down the freeway, all but a few of the wolves asleep as the sun rose behind them. It had been a long night; after they calmed down from the adrenaline rush of the kill, they had some work to do. The Pack collected the body parts of the traitor, and Anna brought down a mesh laundry bag. Filling it with the pieces of Trevor's body, they added a few large rocks and tied it all together. Alex took the bag in his hand and swam out to the middle of the lake, releasing it into the deep water. The fish and bacteria would take care of the rest. It was a fitting end for a low-down piece of shit like him.

Robin and David had crossed his scent, and both being trackers they quickly followed it back to where he had parked his car. It was good that he hadn't suspected anything, they found his computer bag including his laptop and some portable storage media. Taking that for Enrique, they tore the car apart until it had revealed all of its secrets. Money, weapons and drugs were taken and they set fire to the rest.

When the Pack finally all returned to the RV, it was close to three in the morning. The small showers and limited water made getting the blood and gunk off a challenge, but eventually they all got through and got changed. When a driving rotation was set, they were on the road again.

Joe and Linda had claimed the bedroom in the back, the bed wasn't quite big enough to be comfortable but they didn't care. Linda laid back on the pillow, her dark hair spread around her face as her eyes lost focus and her mouth fell open. Her hands were tangled in the hair on the back of his head and she pulled him tighter, trying to force his long tongue just a little farther up and in. She moaned in pleasure as his lips continued the torture of her sex and his teeth gently bit her hard nub. He brought his tongue out and around, moving up her swollen lips on one side, circling her clit before taking it into his mouth and sucking on it. As he had it pulled in, he bit it lightly again then rapidly flicked his tongue over it until the sensation was too much for her. When he sensed that, he let it go, then brought his tongue down the other side before plunging into her again. She was losing control as he worked two fingers into her, then brought his tongue back to lap at her core.

Her tight abs were clenched as she lifted her head to see him. He was magnificent in the dim light; his broad shoulders hunched over her, a strong arm under her back that pulled her up to his mouth and laid her down again. He had promised to ravish her this night, and she had lost count of her climaxes already. This was the second time he had licked her clean after a long session of love making, and she was starting to wonder if she could ever fully sate his appetite for her.

"You are all I want, all I need, my love." Her unspoken question was answered quickly over the mate bond she was still getting used to. His ability to feel what she felt and hear what she was thinking helped him to love her like no one else ever would.

Her hands left his head, they fisted the tangled covers as she raised her knees up. He moved his hands under the firm globes of her ass, lifting her up so he could reach as deep inside her as he could. His mouth opened wide, encasing the whole of her sex, then as he withdrew he brought his lips together slowly. It was torture, exquisite torture, and she loved every minute. The climax built so quickly they had little time to react, her feet slammed down on the mattress and she arched her body as it exploded inside of her. He held on, licking her through it. He felt her start to lose control of her body and so he wrapped his arms around her, legs over his shoulders, and sat up. She struggled to stay conscious, the sensations were overwhelming and now in the upside down position all the blood was rushing to her head. Her legs kicked into the air, her thighs gripping his head as the after-shocks worked their way out.

He smiled as he looked down at her, she barely knew her name right now and he had done that for her. He gently lowered her body to the bed, then laid down on his back and pulled her into his side. "Linda, you're amazing. I will never get tired of doing that to you."