Aztec Treasure

Maria Meztli’s POV

Interstate 35, Minnesota

I climbed into the delivery van, closing the door behind me. These werewolves had their shit together; the whole evolution from pulling to a stop to moving again took maybe fifteen seconds.

“Sit down and stay out of sight,” a man said from the driver’s seat. He looked to be in his twenties, with a cheesy mustache and a mullet. He was good-looking, and I could tell he had broad shoulders and worked out. The mullet wasn’t the Joe Dirt mess; it was a flat-top with shaved sides from the front, but the back was hanging down past his shoulders. I wondered if he rode. “A mullet? In THIS century?”

“Hockey hair has a long and storied history up here, don’t you know. I couldn’t commit fully to the buzz cut when I was doing warrior training. My stylist calls this the Skin Fade Mullet. I like the feel of it trailing behind me when I ride.” The van’s rear held a love seat against the far wall, with pillows and a blanket on the floor behind the passenger seat. I sat down and set Maritza next to me. I waited until we were on the freeway, then I grabbed the beddings and tried to make a nest for her next to the arm. “I’m Lance, by the way. Welcome to Arrowhead.”

“I’m Maria, and this handful is Maritza. Thanks for bringing me in.” He seemed nice, and I was happy to be around someone who knew motorcycles again, even if they had been our enemies. “What do you ride?”

“I got a CVO Street Glide when I transferred here from the Monongahela Pack in West Virginia. How about you?”

“I used to have a Heritage Softail Low-Rider.” Emphasis on ‘used to,’ as Mom burned it with the rest of our house.

“The Pack has loaners at the main garage you can sign out. We had regular Pack runs before all the security problems started.”

I missed the runs; when the Sons were on the road, we owned it. “That would be cool. There’s nothing like it.”

“Many of us ride, and with our Alphas part of the Steel Brotherhood, we get a lot of visitors. Hell, I’ve been out a few times already this year when we’ve had warmer days. I never get tired of riding along the lake, even if it freezes my balls off.”

I was trying to get Maritza to sit still, and she was fighting me, then she started to cry. “Dammit!” The emotion of the day was catching up to me, and the tears leaked out as I leaned back.

“She won’t settle down?”

“No. Maritza doesn’t like being stuck in her seat for long road trips, and we haven’t stopped yet. It doesn’t help that she hasn’t shifted for a week.” He looked in the mirror, confused. “Werecats can shift shortly after birth.”

“That’s cool. I didn’t know that, but there’s probably a lot about you jaguars I don’t know. It’s the first time I’ve seen a live one.” I didn’t say anything about that; I knew some of my relatives had attacked Arrowhead, and he must have seen the bodies. “I wish my first shift had happened when I couldn’t remember it instead of at fifteen. It sucked ass. I’ve never felt such pain before or since.”

“I wish I could shift more often, but it’s too dangerous after the reveal.”

He didn’t even turn back. “We’ve got an hour before we hit Duluth, so if you want to shift and stretch out for a bit, go for it. No one will be able to see you if you pull the curtain.”

It was a great idea. “Thanks,” I said. I pulled the curtain across behind the seats and console, then took off Maritza’s clothes and diaper. I pulled my clothes off quickly, piling everything behind the bucket seat. I went to all fours, closed my eyes, and shifted into my cat. I was stretching out as Maritza changed to match me.

I laid down on the carpeting and watched her as she explored. She was fun to watch, with her oversized paws and insatiable curiosity. Once done sniffing, she started to play-fight with me. We played for a good twenty minutes before she climbed off me and onto the couch and promptly fell asleep.

I waited until her breathing evened out, then soundlessly got to my feet and crept forward. I got my nose under the curtain and pushed my nose through, letting out a cough-like sound to get the driver’s attention. “Hey there,” Lance said as he reached back with his right hand. I sniffed him, then licked his hand with my tongue. “Wow, that’s different. It’s like sandpaper compared to a wolf tongue.” I stretched my head out, letting him scratch me around the ears. “You better change back, though. We’re getting more traffic now.”

I went back to the couch, shifted, and dressed. “Thanks, Lance. We needed that.”

“It sounded like she had fun. She’s going to LOVE the pool.” I’d seen some video of it when Chase allowed a camera team on Pack lands for a documentary. It was an impressive facility, part of an even bigger Pack House complex.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to get her out. Jaguars LOVE to swim.” We talked as he drove north, and he filled me in on all the facilities and activities. It sounded more like a resort than a Pack.

Lance had transferred in shortly after Rori opened the Pack up to new members. “The Monongahela Pack had issues,” he told me. “Until recently, there were few opportunities to move between Packs unless you were a female going to your mate’s Pack. My Alphas cared little about those under them, and I had few opportunities to advance. They kept the leadership positions to those related by blood to them and enriched themselves on our labor.”

“Why didn’t you leave?”

“It’s not that easy. You need to apply for the transfer, and both Alphas have to approve it. What is the upside for my Alpha to let me go? He loses my labor, and it isn’t an overall neutral like it would be with the female mates moving. Also, just applying for the transfer was enough to brand you as disloyal. He didn’t hesitate to retaliate.”

It was foreign to me; there were so many of them, and mates blew my mind. How could you know that person was yours forever with just a sniff? An arranged marriage, like the one intended for me, made more sense than that. “What changed?”

He told me about Rori shaming the Council into allowing immigration to grow her fledgling Pack. “I didn’t know much about Chase and Rori, but they were young and took chances. I wanted a fresh start, and they gave it to me.”

By the Goddess, I could use a fresh start. I wasn’t sure I would find it here, though. “Do you think we can be happy there? I mean, there’s a lot of history. Will people be able to look beyond it and accept me?”

He thought about it for a moment before answering. “Arrowhead isn’t like any Pack out there, Maria. Rori is the only remaining member of the original Pack at the hands of other werewolves. The first members of the Pack came out of abusive situations, if not outright slavery. Arrowhead has more human members than the rest of the Packs combined, not to mention the Brotherhood friendships we have. There are two things all Arrowhead members understand; bad things happen to good people, and forgiveness is the way forward. As long as you treat people with respect, you’ll get that back.”

I hoped so. Hiding away from people for these past months had been difficult; I missed the Clubhouse, school, and friends.

I could see the Duluth skyline through the partially-open curtain as we crested the hill and headed down towards the lake. A ship was moving in the harbor, and Lake Superior stretched beyond the horizon. Lance pointed at the temperature display on the radio. “Even in the middle of summer, Lake Superior doesn’t warm that much. The temperature dropped fifteen degrees in less than a mile. Weather can change drastically when the wind shifts.”

The pines and hills were familiar, but we didn’t have anything like this lake back home. “It’s beautiful.”

“Wait until you ride along the North Shore,” he told me. “There’s nothing like it.”

We turned off Highway 61 at Two Harbors and went inland towards the Pack. Thanks to the Pack link, the guys at the gate had it open as we approached. I woke Maritza and commanded her to shift. She did, and I dressed her. The van drove to the back of the Pack House, backing into the loading dock. “You ready for this?”

“I guess.”

He got out and came around to the rear doors while I put a sleepy Maritza on my shoulder. When the doors opened, I could see we were under an overhang, and the building surrounded us on three sides. “No one can see you. Come on.” He offered a hand as I got out, the dock making it an easy transition. He opened the door for me, which led to storerooms and the kitchen. We walked through the kitchen, the staff waving and smiling as they saw me. We entered the main dining hall through swinging doors as the room got quiet. “Arrowhead Pack, allow me to introduce our guests, Maria Meztli and her daughter Maritza.”

A big rust-colored female wolf, obviously pregnant, trotted over and sniffed my hand before licking it as everyone watched. Behind her was a tall, powerfully-built male holding his twin son and daughter. “On behalf of Arrowhead Pack, welcome to our home. I’m Alpha Chase, and Alpha Rori already greeted you.”

“Thank you, Alphas.”

“You must be hungry. Sit with us, please. Arrowhead Pack, please don’t crowd them, but introduce yourselves when you can.” I looked around the room as he led us to the main table. Four dozen people went back to eating, more men than women, and a dozen or so couples. My stomach growled as I smelled the food, and I was shocked to find a high chair and two plates of food when I got to the place Chase indicated.

“This looks so good,” I said as I looked down at the food. I put Mariska into the high chair and fastened the bib around her neck. The kitchen had left a kid’s plate with steak pieces, French fries, and applesauce.

“I can help her with her dinner if you want,” the petite Asian woman on the other side said. I took a sniff; she was human and pregnant. “I’m Spider Monkey.”

“The hacker?”

“That’s me.” She caught Maritza’s attention and started feeding her applesauce while I dug in.

“You’re catching the end of the dinner service, but they wanted to stick around and see you when you arrived,” Chase said. “Take your time and eat.” I didn’t say a lot as I ate the best meal I’d had in months. Maritza finished up before me, and Spider Monkey cleaned her up and sat her on her lap while I finished.

“That was amazing,” I said as I put my fork down.

“I hope you saved room for dessert,” Chase said. The lights dimmed, and my jaw dropped as two of the chefs walked out with a big sheet cake. I started to cry as I saw the eighteen candles and “Happy Birthday Maria” on it. “Happy birthday.”

I’d completely forgotten about what day it was. I was an adult now, starting a new life, and I had hope.