CLAIMING TREASURE
Book 3 in the Treasure Series
(Book 1- Treasure, Book 2- Buried Treasure)
Heather's POV
Private Jet over Central Washington State
Turbulence woke me from my sleep, and the pain in my hip and ribs made sure I couldn't return to the land of nod. I pressed the button to raise my seat up. Carson's bulky frame was relaxed as he looked out the window. He didn't look like a wolf, he looked normal; well, if a 'normal' person had muscles like a linebacker, and a face like a god. I stared at him while his big hands worked the keyboard of a laptop. I couldn't reconcile the kind man who had carried me out of the room with the oversized, scary-looking wolf who took me away. My head was trying to accept that almost everyone I had met since Orlando was a werewolf. If that wasn't enough, my babies were going to grow up to be like them. He must have sensed me and looked up. "Hi," I said, at a loss for words after it all.
He looked up and smiled at me. "I'm sorry you didn't rest better." I raised my eyebrow; how did he know that? "Your breathing would change, and you were groaning in your sleep. My Pack Doctor will meet us at the Yakima Airport. He knows of your injuries and will treat you on the way to my home."
"There's not much you can do for broken ribs," I said. "And I can't take painkillers pregnant."
"He knows of that as well. You will like him. He treated Rori after the bear attack." I hadn't heard that story, so he told me of Rori's past, her shift to a wolf, and the problems that came about when her parents found out she wasn't human. "Rori knows what you are going through, Heather. She sends her love and apologizes for not protecting you better while on her Pack land."
It was all so bizarre. The red-haired dynamo was in charge of over fifty werewolves! Their Pack was in plain sight on a Northern Minnesota lakeshore, masquerading as a timeshare resort. "Am I going to become like her parents? A trusted person?"
"Trusted Agent, and no," he said. "The Council must approve those, and Rori's pack has more Trusted Agents now than the rest of the Packs combined. Many Alphas believe that any human with knowledge of us is a risk, so they don't grant it easily. Even Frank Grimes, who has done so much for us and our kind, has not been granted that status yet."
"Why not?"
"Rori and Chase are accused of allowing him to learn our secret, even though it was my mother who shifted when the Sons attacked the Arrowhead Alpha house. They pled guilty in January, but the Alphas could not agree on punishment. All the Alphas of the world are coming to form a new jury, starting the day after tomorrow. That is why there were so many people in the dining hall; everyone was celebrating Greg's mating to Tatiana. The Baronsky Pack Alphas, three members of the Werewolf Council, and a half-dozen Alphas had arrived early. As I said, you sure know how to make an entrance."
I snorted, which caused a sharp pain in my ribs. I breathed through it as I looked out at the lights below; we were flying over open country, there weren't many. "Was this a better entrance than crashing into the Brotherhood clubhouse in Orlando with four bikers on my ass?"
He laughed a little. "I saw the video; it's a tough call. This one was off the scale for awkward reunions, wouldn't you say?"
I nodded, thinking of how many people saw my dreams squashed like a bug on a windshield. No wonder they didn't say anything while it was happening. My life was a mess, and no one could look away from the train wreck it had become. "What now," I finally asked.
"There are specific clauses in the law I want to invoke to protect you. Before I can grant it, you must ask for my protection while on my Pack's land. Do you know what asylum is?"
"Yes, it's like when you let someone into your country when they are fleeing something in their old country. If sent back home, the person would be in danger."
He closed his laptop and put it in a bag by his feet. "Exactly. Werewolf law has the same construct, although rarely invoked. A wolf fleeing a bad situation that enters another Pack's territory can request asylum from that Pack's Alpha. If granted, the person gains the protection of the Pack, and the Alpha they left must respect it. If they want the person back, there is a legal process they have to follow with the Council. The Council will hold a hearing, where they must show cause for voiding the asylum claim. The person and the Alpha gets to respond, and all of this can take months. The person remains in the asylum Pack until the Council decides the matter. If the Council decides in the wolf's favor, they shift allegiance to the new Pack and become a full member." He paused for a moment, letting me catch up. "With you, it's a little more complicated. Werewolf law does not apply to you as a human, but it would apply to your babies. I would be granting asylum to your twins, technically, and you would be along for the ride."
Hearings? Council? "It seems like a mess. Wouldn't I be better off on my own? I have money and friends. I could go to any Brotherhood chapter and get protection."
"You could, but that would leave me in a bad position," he said. "I removed you from a situation where you should have been apprehended or killed, and I ignored the explicit direction of the Council members there to return you. If you leave, I have no defense for my actions. I will be tried and found guilty." My stomach flipped; he couldn't suffer because of me! "The only legal way I can protect you now is through the asylum process. My brother Sawyer confirmed that to me while we were running away. I could be stripped of my Pack, imprisoned, even killed for what I did."
I looked in his eyes and saw the fear and pain in them. It hit me then just how much he had risked for me. "Why would you do this?"
He reached over and took my hand. "I reacted without thinking to get you out of there because I didn't want you to end up dead," he said. "Then I realized that I HAD to save you. My wolf agreed with me; we would not allow anyone to hurt you again."
"Your wolf is separate from you?"
"Kind of. Our wolves are part of us, but different? It's hard to explain. We have been together since I was seventeen. He is more instinctual than me; he wants to hunt and protect."
"Your wolf doesn't want his mate?" Everything I had heard thus far said the mating drive was the important thing, more than love. Greg had proven that to me.
"He did. Our mate rejected us, and she died not long after. There is no happily ever after for me." He looked out the window, unable to show me his face as he fought back the emotions. My heart went out to him, and we didn't talk as we landed at the airfield in Yakima.
He carried me out of the plane, one of his men carried his luggage to the big cargo van waiting for us. A man who looked to be in his sixties waited at the bottom of the stairs next to a gurney. "Really?"
"You're injured, and it makes it easier for him to treat you," he said. "Doc Myers, may I introduce Heather Rhodes," he said as he laid me on the gurney.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am. How are you feeling?"
"Sore, and it hurts to breathe deep," I said. The two strapped me in, then rolled me to the back of the cargo van. As the gurney slid inside, I saw what the plain white exterior hid. The cargo van was a rolling ambulance! Doc climbed in next to me as Carson went to the passenger seat.
He slid a curtain across, hiding me from the men in the front. "I'll need to examine you, and for that, I'll need to remove some of your clothing. You'll have privacy."
"Thank you." By the time we turned out of the airport, I had an IV in place, and the painkiller was starting to hit. "This is safe for the baby?"
"Yes, and it will make this next part more comfortable for you." He helped me sit up and remove my shirts before he inspected my chest. "You were jumped on?"
"Yes, and landed on a table." I winced in pain as his fingers sought the breaks, then he used a portable ultrasound to check the areas.
"I'll get X-rays later, but this isn't as bad as I thought. Your lungs are full, but two ribs have been fractured and remain in place. I'm going to apply ice to help with the swelling; you'll need to ice the area for fifteen minutes an hour while awake. I'm prescribing you anti-inflammatory drugs for the next two weeks." He helped me put my T-shirt back on, then had me lay back so he could check my hip. Taking my jeans down and rolling to my side exposed the bruised area, but he didn't feel anything else. "Ice and rest will help the bruising. I'll show you some exercises tomorrow for both your injuries."
"How long will I be out of commission, Doc?"
"It will take three to four weeks for your ribs to heal enough you can take deep breaths without pain. The hip, maybe two weeks. You can do as much as you are comfortable doing. Now, let's check the twins, shall we?" He rolled me onto my back, leaving my jeans down, and spread the gel on my belly. "You are fifteen weeks along?"
