Aztec Treasure

Maria Meztli’s POV

Arrowhead Woods

I prayed Lance would stop shooting as I entered the fray, and he did.

Dropping down on a moving target was dangerous if done wrong. Go too early, and you could get run over. Too late, and you miss. Dad warned me about situations like this with motorcycles; as fast as they were going, they’d knock you out of the fight with the impact. My target wasn’t a deer or pig, either; it was an adult male riding a heavy ATV. The key was to drop near the target, but not on him.

My front claws raked at his right arm and shoulder as I dropped towards the trail, my body twisting to stay out of the way of the tires. I shredded his jacket as he sped past, my claws tearing deep into his flesh. I landed softly, bounding after the ATV as it swerved off the trail and crashed into a rock.

I was on top of the attacker as soon as he stopped moving. I growled at him until he stilled; his rifle was trapped under his back, while his pistol was on his right hip, and that arm wasn’t working. I put one of my big front paws on the middle of his chest, the claws poking through the flannel, and roared in his face.

He pissed himself. “GET HER OFF! GET HER OFF!”

“Hold him while I check the other guy,” Lance said as he came running down from his shooting position. I could hear two more ATVs coming fast. My prisoner kept his eyes closed as he bled from his wounds. It wasn’t long before Lance and two others parked near me. Lance used a set of heavy-duty zip ties to bind the prisoner’s arms in front of him, then they sat him against a rock and removed his helmet.

“Damn, you tore the shit out of him,” Colleen said as she opened up the medical bag she’d brought along. She had cut away his shirt, but the parallel wounds were deep and bleeding heavily. “He needs a hospital.”

I moved silently over to my pile of clothes and shifted, pulling them back on. I felt good; I’d fought to defend my new home, and I proved to them I wasn’t a helpless female. “What’s the plan?”

Lance had removed the prisoner’s weapons and left them by the crashed ATV. “We found their vehicles and trailers by the highway; the Sheriff is meeting us there. Monica took a round in the bicep, so she will meet them and head to the hospital to get it patched up. Tony, bring your machine up. We’ll load the prisoner on it, then you and Colleen head for the highway and turn him over to the Sheriff.”

“What about us?”

“We wait here for Alpha Chase and Beta Vic,” Lance said.

We got the prisoner loaded onto Tony’s machine; he’d lost so much blood that he’d passed out. Lance tied him to the rear luggage rack, and they took off to the south for the road. “Is he going to make it?”

“I don’t know,” Lance said. “If he dies, it’s his fault alone. They came onto Pack lands with hostile intent, they fired at our patrol, and he kept heading for the Pack House. Three of his buddies are dead now. Even if he lives, he’s going to jail for a long fucking time.”

“I’ve never…” I looked at the blood on the ground as my hands started to shake and my stomach flipped. I panicked, running into the woods and behind a tree. I fell hard onto my hands and knees and started throwing up. I kept retching as Lance stood by me, holding my hair out of my face. “I’m sorry.”

Lance helped me to my feet and kept his arm around me while he turned me back towards the trail. I wrapped my arm around his waist, taking comfort in the hold. “Your first real fight?”

I nodded. “Dad trained me, but I was protected.” I was still shaking and needed his arm.

“It’s the adrenaline in your system. Let’s get you back to your ride, and you can sit down until everyone is here.” He sat on my ATV, pulling me into his lap and holding me as I kept shivering.

That is how Chase and Vic found us when they arrived on their ATVs. “You’re all right?”

“She’s shaken up,” Lance said. “It was her first action, and she tore the guy up. Maria did her job; the last one got past me, and she was our last line of defense before reaching the compound.”

I stood as Chase walked over; he checked my face, then pulled me into a hug. “You fought well,” he said. “I have to ask, though. Is the man you took out going to die from a forced change?”

“No, I didn’t bite him. Claw scratches are neutral.”

“Good. If the idiot doesn’t bleed out, the cops will have someone to interrogate. Can you imagine? Four hunters against a Pack when we know they are coming?” Chase shook his head. “You’d think they would learn.”

“We’ll keep stacking bodies until they do,” Vic replied. “It’s not like we didn’t warn them.”

“I should take Maria back home,” Lance said.

“Not yet; the Sheriff is on his way in now. He’ll want statements from everyone involved,” Chase replied.

“She’s still shaking, Alpha.”

I wasn’t all right, and I wasn’t going to talk to the cops. “Lance is right; I need to settle down. I’m not ready to talk to anyone right now.”

Chase looked at Lance and nodded. “Drive her to the clinic, and have Possum check her out. I’ll take care of the Sheriff.”

Lance put on my helmet, then fired up the ATV as I tucked in behind him. I held his waist as he drove back at a leisurely pace. “We’ll see the rest of the woods on our next date,” he said with a laugh.

“You know how to show a girl a good time,” I said as I leaned my helmet against his broad back. It wasn’t long before he stopped at the clinic and helped me inside where Possum was waiting.

My pulse and blood pressure were high, but that was normal after such a traumatic event. Possum had me lay down for a few minutes. I started to doze off when the door opened. “Mama!” Maritza walked into the room, followed by Possum and Lance.

“Hey, baby,” I said.

Possum put her up on my stomach and my little girl snuggled in. She checked my blood pressure, and it was back to normal. “You can go when you’re ready,” she told me. “Chase will find you when the Sheriff is ready to see you.” She walked out, leaving Lance behind with me.

“I’m not talking to the cops,” I told him.

“Do you need more time?”

“I need a lawyer. I’ll never talk to the cops without one; Dad taught me that early on.”

He must have linked someone because he didn’t respond for about thirty seconds. “Our Pack lawyer is on his way out. Ralph Emerson remained loyal to Arrowhead from the time of the original Pack. You can trust him.”

“No.” My father had a lawyer representing the Club, but he’d never use that person to defend himself. Civil, criminal, it didn’t matter; your lawyer had to be responsible to you, and you alone. His advice was even more important as I came to this pack with baggage from my previous life. “I’ll retain personal counsel.” I looked on the office computer for criminal lawyers in the Duluth area and made a phone call. My choice would arrive in an hour, and I left his name with Security. “Would it be safe to duck into the woods with her in cat form before we head to the pool?”

“Sure, no one can see you from off Pack lands here.”

I pulled off Maritza’s clothes and diaper, then my own, folding it all before shifting. Maritza shifted as Lance bagged my things, then he opened the door to the hallway. The wolves in the building were fascinated by our cats, and I was happy to scent excitement instead of fear as we walked by. A few were bold enough to reach out and pet or scratch us, which Maritza loved. I walked with Maritza into the woods, where she spent time sniffing and bounding around before doing her business where I did. Now that I knew she wouldn’t pee in the pool, we crossed into the doggie door of the Pack House rear entrance.

A hush came over those in the pool as we walked in, wet from the shower Lance had given us in the locker room. Maritza sat up and looked at the huge room, her eyes wide as she looked at the slides and the trees. She heard squeals from the other children and took off for the kiddie area where the other babies.

People looked at me, but they were fascinated by Maritza. It dawned on me that because werewolves didn’t shift until their teen years, they’d never seen anything like my little jaguar. She splashed in the water as the other babies grabbed at her fur and her tail. I followed her over, taking a little time to rub against some of the females watching them before I plopped down into the shallow water with them.

All of the babies came over, climbing on me like a jungle gym. I laid there with my tail flopping from side to side as they played with their new toy. When they had enough, I stood up and grabbed Maritza by the neck, carrying her into the deeper water. The watchful nannies kept the toddlers from following.

The water went from six inches to over two feet deep, leaving my shoulders dry as I let Maritza go. Swimming is instinctual for our cats, and she quickly figured it out. She paddled around for a bit before climbing up onto my back between my shoulders and holding on. I went into deeper water, avoiding the water volleyball game and heading for the area where the slides came down. I sank below Maritza, forcing her to swim again as I led her to the stairs.

We both shook off the water before I led her up the stairs to the smallest of the slides. My cub had no problems with the stairs and joined me at the top a moment later. I slid down in front of her, splashing into the pool just before she did. This time, she raced for the stairway to do it again.

When she was too tired to continue, we trotted back to the kiddie pool area where the babies had been dried off and diapered, and the nannies were feeding them dinner. I shifted, and Maritza stomped a foot in irritation before she changed back. There were extra towels and diapers on the table by the chair, so I dried us off, then put on her diaper and pulled her into my lap. “That was FUN,” I told everyone. Other Pack members joined our group, including a pregnant Spider Monkey.

“How can you stand the cuteness,” Spider asked. “I wish our baby could shift like that.”

“I’ve never known different,” I said with a shrug. The ladies had arranged dinner for the young ones here in the pool area, their high chairs between us as we snacked on pizza and chicken wings. “I can’t get over how cool this place is,” I finally said. “Are all Packs like this?”

“Only those run by a Nygaard. Carson has a great setup in Casper now, Sawyer's is in construction at the Donner Pack, and what Coral has planned for Blue River Pack blows this place away,” Lance replied. “The Pack House and this pool area cost almost five million to build, but it’s the focus of Pack life up here in the winter. Chase shared the windfall from the takedown of the Sons… Oh, crap. I’m sorry, Maria. I forget they were your family.”

“It’s all right, go on.”

He looked embarrassed. “You know that Chase helped take down the Sons drug operation, right?” I nodded; it was on the news. “Chase and his brothers snatched millions in cash from a warehouse controlled by the Los Angeles chapter meant for the Cartel.”

“And I took millions more from Club accounts before the Feds could take it,” Spider Monkey said.

“You took my father’s money?”

“I did, thus saving it from asset forfeiture laws,” she said. “I kept track of the amounts. Now that you are part of the Arrowhead Pack, those funds belong to you.”

My jaw dropped; why would she give me that? “I have no claim to the Club accounts,” I said.

“It’s part of your legacy, Maria. I’ve already spoken with the Alphas about this,” Spider replied. “We took you in to protect you, but we aren’t going to force you to stay with us if you decide to move on. You’ll have enough money to settle anywhere you want.”

“And if I stay here?”

“There are building lots along the lake if you want a home of your own, and those Harleys aren’t cheap. You can go to college, provide for Maritza, whatever you want.” I looked out on the pool, watching the adults play volleyball. The feeling here was different than the Clubhouse I’d grown up around. They were family, and violence wasn’t a daily worry. I liked it.

Lance stood up and looked at me. “Your lawyer is at the front gate. Do you want to take Maritza along?”

“I’ll leave her to finish dinner if that is all right.”

“We’ve got her; go have your meeting,” one of the nannies said.

“I better get dressed, then.” Lance had left my clothing in a cubby in the locker room, and I met him on the other side.

“I had the riding clothes returned to the garage, and everyone is back now. You can use Beta Vic’s office to meet with your counsel.” We started walking towards the offices. “Are you sure about this?”

“I am. If my legal needs extend to the Pack, I’ll bring in Mr. Emerson. I’ve got a lot to talk about.”

“I’ll be outside if you need anything,” he said as he opened the door for me.

“Hello, Maria. I’m Thomas Kendall,” the man in the expensive suit said. “I understand you need help regarding today’s incident.”

“My whole life has been one incident after another,” I said as I shook his hand. “Let’s get the business part over, and then we can go over my problems.” It took almost three hours to go through everything and discuss our strategy. Today I acted in self-defense of others, and he helped me through the interview with the investigators. The rest? Let’s just say he’d earn his retainer.