Treasure

“She’s going to shift,” Martin said as his Pack members gathered around Rori. She was rolling on the ground, holding her head, trying to fight it off. “Get her clothes off,” he said as he grabbed her leg, pulling off her boot. The others helped as the young girl stopped screaming and fighting. They had just pulled off her jeans when her bones started crunching, and a few seconds later, her wolf was in her place.

“She’s beautiful,” Charles said as he looked at the rust-colored fur as she tried to push herself to her feet. Sleek, smaller than a male Alpha but still good size for a female juvenile, with bright eyes trying to take in what was around her. “It’s all right, Charlotte, you’re safe.”

Her eyes got big at the word “Charlotte” and she turned and bolted for the trees. “Shift and follow her,” Martin said as he started to pull his own clothes off. Ten seconds later, five of them were in their own wolf forms, tracking the fleeing wolf. “PATROL, we’ve got a new wolf, rust colored and scared. Do not engage, observe and report only.” He got confirmation from them, then he slowed down a little, growling as Charles tried to run ahead of him before sheepishly slowing and moving back behind him again. “She’s frightened but she’s safe on our lands. Let her wolf run herself out.”

Ashley chuffed as she ran behind her leaders. “Alpha, I hate to break it to you, but if you’re waiting for her to get tired, you’ll give up first. Here I’m considered one of the faster females, and she’s a gazelle compared to me.”

He considered it, they were losing ground to her quickly. “You’re right, the more we chase the more frightened her wolf will be. Ashley, take your Dad east, station yourselves on the south side of the lake. Dad, you go west, cover the forest road. Rebecca and I will continue to trail her.” They broke off, heading their own ways, as he gave directions to other Pack members. A few minutes later, vehicles were heading out to get ahead of them and reinforce the border.

The plan he sent to everyone was simple; don’t challenge the frightened wolf, just use your presence to herd her in a big loop back towards the Pack House. As long as she stayed on their land, she’d be safe from humans and cars. Martin looked over at his mate as they ran hard down the trail Rori was following. “Ashley wasn’t kidding about her speed,” he said.

“She will be a strong wolf, I expected nothing less of your niece,” she said as she breathed hard. They got to the top of a hill and paused for a moment; a flash of red on the next hillside gave away their target. “She’s slowing.”

“Let me try something.” Sitting back on his haunches, he let out a howl of greeting. Rebecca saw the wolf stumble, then go to a halt as she listened to the voice of her people. She howled back, her voice filled with confusion, then ran over the crest of the hill again. “That got her attention at least,” he sent.

“Can you link with her?”

“She’s not Pack yet, we haven’t done the ceremony.”

“Still, she’s family. Can you find that bond?” She took off down the hill, he followed as he sorted through his brain, searching for a link that was not his own Pack.

Finding it, he gave it a try. “It’s all right, my niece. You are among family, no one will hurt you here.” He heard a pained yip up ahead, but heard nothing back on the bond. They were starting to get close to the border. “Patrol, we’re a mile from the border and two miles west of the lake. Set up a picket along the border, push her east and south until we can use the lake as another line. Herd her towards Ashley.”

They caught another glimpse of Rori, again running hard and increasing her lead on them. Martin was glad he’d sent men ahead in the Jeeps to reinforce the wolf on border patrol here. As they got closer, they could hear the howls of the patrols as they made themselves known to her, forcing her to change her course to her right. The men were well trained and coordinated, driving her like they would a herd of deer in a hunt, never getting too close and never letting her get around them. They pushed her in a big circle as she reached the lake and was forced south again.

“Let me try something,” Ashley said as they moved out from their position to intercept her friend. She sent her plan to her Alpha pair.

“Form a containment circle with the lake on the east, spread out far enough not to frighten her but close enough you don’t leave gaps she can run through,” the Alpha said. “She’s got to be tired, Luna knows I am.” The border was twenty miles from the Pack House and they had run most of the way at a full sprint.

The Pack members, over thirty of them now, followed their Alpha’s call and formed the circle to keep her from escaping again. The Alphas Pair reached a hill that overlooked the lake and stopped there to rest and see what Ashley could do. Her plan was simple; she was Rori’s friend, her wolf would recognize her and hopefully stop and listen. They could see her grey and black wolf standing near the beach, waiting for the rust-colored wolf to reach her.

Ashley stood tall, tail up in wolf form, and yipped excitedly as her friend ran around the edge of the trees and onto the field leading to the beach. Rori stumbled as she saw the new wolf, her paws scrambling to bring herself to a stop. Ashley put her front paws out, keeping her tail and back end high, and yipped excitedly like a puppy wanting to play.

Rori’s wolf didn’t know what to do. She stood there, breathing hard and staring. Her ears could hear the pounding of paws around her from her pursuers, and when she raised her nose she could scent many strange wolves. One scent she recognized as her friend, some others from earlier, but all made her nervous. She started looking around for an escape route, then back to the grey and black wolf.

There was a noise like popcorn popping, and Rori’s wolf turned its head to the side and stared as the wolf became a woman. Not just any woman, it was Ashley. “You’re safe, Rori. Nobody here will hurt you.” Rori stared at her for a while and looked around, no one else was coming, and she sniffed the air again. “Come over here, let’s talk.” Ashley sat down under the shade of a large tree, naked on the grass, her hand reaching towards her friend. When she didn’t come, she just talked to her softly until her curiosity won out, and she slowly approached her friend.

Ashley stayed still, knowing her friend could bolt again at anything that frightened her. She waited patiently as Rori sniffed her arm, then circled her and licked at her neck before sitting down on her haunches. “Can you shift back,” she asked. “Think of yourself as a human, let the change come to you.”

Rori growled and shook her head. “Fine, I’ll change for you then.” She let the change come about, and her grey and black wolf replaced her human body. Rori’s wolf stood and started wagging her tail, sniffing her excitedly as Ashley did the same. The two wolves sniffed and played for ten minutes as their amused and tired Pack mates watched from a distance. Finally, Rori laid down next to her friend and fell into an exhausted sleep.

“Nice job, Ashley,” Martin said. She chuffed and put her head over Rori’s neck, watching over her as she slept. “The Luna and I will stay here with her. I need the border patrol to return to their duties, and six of you to remain in case she runs again when she wakes up. The rest of you can return to your duties.” He looked over at his father. “You too, Dad. She recognized you, and not in a good way. She doesn’t respond well to her birth name, either. Go home, let me handle her,” he said.

Charles stood, looking back towards his granddaughter he let out a chuff and turned for home. His son was right; she had been the victim of multiple kidnapping attempts. Following her and being spotted had just made her associate him with Todd’s men. There would be time for explanations later.

Martin watched with Rebecca until they had both recovered from the hard run. “Ashley, how is she doing?”

“She’s in a deep sleep, Alpha. The change and the run really took it out of her.”

“We’re coming down.” He got up, rubbing his head on his mate’s neck before they started walking towards the two wolves down by the lake. Ashley’s wolf was whapping her tail against the ground and whined softly as her Alphas greeted her with sniffs and licks. Martin sniffed his sister’s daughter, then started to groom her. She let out a low rumble as he licked at her face, ears and neck, but didn’t wake. He laid down next to her, Rebecca taking the other side, and they all fell asleep with Rori in the middle.

An hour later, Rori had opened her eyes to find herself in the middle of the other wolves. Instead of being frightened, she felt good… safe, even loved. She had her friend on one side, and she could feel the power and dominance of the wolf on the other. Instead of scaring her, it helped her settle. She smelled his neck, then the neck of the silver-colored wolf whose neck was over his shoulder.

Rebecca stirred and woke, getting to her feet, and this woke the others. Martin stood and stretched, then greeted his mate with licks as he rubbed his scent onto her side. When he turned back to Rori, her wolf felt his Alpha presence and lifted her head to expose her neck. “It’s all right, Rori,” he sent to her wolf. “I’m so happy to finally see my niece again.”

She didn’t respond, so he went over and placed his teeth gently over her neck, accepting her submission to him. He licked her face, and she rolled over and got up unsteadily onto her paws.

“Did she say anything to you,” his mate asked.

“No. I’m not sure if my link is getting through, either.” They had a long conversation with the Pack Doctor after they had realized how many drugs she had been on and for how long. He was concerned her wolf had been unable to meld with her human side. Nothing he had seen at the Pack House had changed that; her human side was fighting the change, something all teens were told not to do as they approached their first shifts. Rori had so many things working against her, it was no wonder she thought the voices in her head were because she was crazy. “The human side is involved in the link as well, it gives the language and selects the link,” he said. “She probably can’t access the part of her brain she would need to without being melded to her human side.”

“Maybe Doc can help us. We should head home,” she replied. He let out a howl, and the three shewolves joined him the second time. When the echoes ended, he started trotting towards the trail that led back to the Pack House. He was relieved when Rori’s wolf joined them. She seemed happy now; she was playing with Ashley’s wolf, sniffing the ground and trees, and chased after a rabbit with no success. Martin gave her all the time she needed, knowing that her wolf needed to become comfortable in that form, and with them.

Martin smelled another rabbit and froze, causing the others to stop as well. He moved off the trail, slowly moving around to the other side of the clearing as the shewolves waited in the bushes. ’Let her catch it,” he sent to them just before he bolted from cover, causing the rabbit to run right to them.

Rori’s wolf didn’t miss this time, a quick pounce and the rabbit was in her jaws. She shook her head, snapping its neck, then dropped it to the ground and sniffed it. The others gave her space and watched as her teeth pulled the fur out of the way and gave the wolf her the first taste of a fresh kill. She tore into the warm meat, swallowing chunks down. She’d finished half of it when she picked it up and dropped it at Ashley’s feet. She tore a chunk off, then Rebecca and Martin finished it off as Ashley licked the blood from her muzzle.

They made it back to the Pack House an hour later; thinking it would be easier for her, the people waiting for them were in wolf form. He greeted his Pack, and was happy to see Rori’s wolf joining in. She was sniffed and licked and rubbed by many, including many a single male who had hoped she might be her mate. She didn’t react as wolves she had met changed into their human forms and got dressed, so pretty soon it was just her and two juveniles who were still playing on the lawn. Dinner was served picnic style, and the whole Pack ate together on the lawn or the front porch. They tried periodically to get her to shift to human form or respond to the link, but she didn’t, so they put her plate on the ground for her. “Can’t we make her Pack,” Ashley said as she watched her play a game of chase with the younger wolves.

“She has to say the words, she can’t do that unless she shifts back,” Martin said.

Martin watched as she seemed to run out of energy as the sun was near the horizon. She walked onto the covered porch, turned three times on a rug, then laid down and went to sleep.

The Alpha went over and stroked the fur of his niece, then picked her up. “Get the doors, honey. We’ll let her sleep it off in her room.” She ran ahead of him to open up the door to the guest room and turn down the covers of the big bed. He laid her in the center, then covered her up with the sheet and the thin blanket. “Doc thinks she will sleep for a long time,” he said. Her stuff had already been brought into the room, and he took her phone from the charger on the bedside table. Ashley knew her access code was her human birthday, so he opened the screen and sent Donna a text saying she had arrived at the lake and was having a great time. He got a reply back that said “Have fun, I love you” and he set it back down.

“Will she change back?”

“I hope so,” he said as he closed and locked the door. He didn’t want any curious people disturbing her as she slept. He pulled her close to him. “I wish she was better, but I’m so thankful she’s safe with us now,” he said.

“It will get better,” she told him as she buried her face in his neck. “Then we need to convince her to stay.”