Treasure
Leverage

Patty put the breakfast on paper plates. Prisoners were not allowed utensils, so things were kept simple. Four breakfast sandwiches with scrambled eggs, cheese and sausage, toast with jam, half a cantaloupe and a liter of orange juice.

She arranged her uniform carefully. Connie had called her last night with the instructions, and she was nervous about being caught. She had been born an Omega in this Pack and couldn’t wait to get out. She had never been allowed to travel farther than the Sam’s Club in Missoula, and never to other Packs. Patty had almost given up on the idea of replaceing a mate. She had just turned two hundred and two, and the odds of him still being out there were slim.

She placed her phone in the pocket of her apron, using double-sided tape to hold her phone in place with the camera behind the small tear in the pocket. The video was streaming live over the Pack internet link to the web address she had been given. Taking the tray, she walked out of the kitchen and around the side of the house before crossing the grass to the security building.

She buzzed in, looking up into the camera before she heard the lock click. The entryway was double doors, and she waited for the outside door to latch before the inside one unlatched and she pushed the heavy steel door open. “Breakfast for the prisoner,” she said with her eyes down.

The guard, one of the Council Enforcers, didn’t even look up from his phone as he pressed the button to allow her to enter the cells. “No talking to the prisoner,” he said.

“Yes sir.” She moved through the hallway, going to the last cell on the left. Coral had sensed her coming and was standing facing the cell door. The bars were lined with silver, but there was a slot at waist height that the food could fit through. She put the plate halfway through and held it there.

Coral walked up, smiling at her. “How are you, Patty?” She took the plate and set it on her bed, then took the juice. “You can’t talk to me, can you.” Patty shook her head no. “It’s all right, I was doing my job and you are doing yours. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. My brother will get me out of here before they can execute me.”

Patty started to cry as she turned away and walked back to the door. The door clicked, and she walked through. The enforcer was still looking at his phone as she walked to the exit doors. “Omega.”

She froze, fearing she had been discovered. “Yes sir?”

“What’s for lunch?”

“Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, chips and fruit, sir.” He unlocked the door and she walked in, then finally was outside. She took a deep breath as she walked back to the basement of the Pack House where the Omega quarters were. As soon as the door to the room she shared with three other girls closed, she pulled the phone out and stopped the video.

A text message popped up on her phone. “Great job, now get out of there.” She quickly changed into jeans, boots and a flannel shirt and grabbed a duffel with her few belongings. Her purse contained her debit card and some cash, enough to get the hell out of this place. She went into the Pack Garage, taking the keys to an old minivan from the rack, one they used for shopping trips. Tossing her bag on the passenger seat, she fired it up and drove out.

The guard posted at the exit held his hand up to stop her. “Where are you going?”

“Town, the kitchen just got told about Alpha Nygaard’s meal preferences and now I have to go replace grass-fed organic burger.” She hoped her fear would not be sensed.

“Alphas,” he said with annoyance. “Go ahead.”

She let off the break and pulled through, turning onto the road towards town. As soon as she felt comfortable, she dialed the number. “Patty? You out?”

“I am, Connie. I’m heading up to Missoula now.”

“I’m texting you the address of a restaurant now, Jaker’s Bar and Grill. Meet Luna Nygaard there, have some lunch, and wait for Rattler to show up.”

“Rattler?”

“That’s his name, he’s a member of the Steel Brotherhood Motorcycle Club, and he rode out to Missoula with Coral. You can trust him. He’s bringing some electronics with him to make sure no one bugged or put trackers on your cars. You are to leave your Pack car where he tells you to, leave your phone in it, and drive off with Luna Nygaard.”

“Where?”

“Wherever she goes, you are to help her. She’s Alpha Chase’s mother, he talked to her this morning about it. Just make sure Rattler searches anything you take with you, we don’t want the Council to be able to track you to your next place.”

Patty calmed herself, she didn’t like the idea of being in a car with a dominant wolf, but at least it was a female. “When do I break the Pack bond?”

“As late as possible. If they try to call you back, break it before you can be Alpha ordered.”

“All right. Connie? Thank you for trusting me to do this.”

“We all knew you could do it, and your new Alphas appreciate it. Good luck.” She hung up and pulled over before pulling up the text message, setting the destination for Jaker’s. Checking the Internet, she saw it wouldn’t open until eleven. She would be there before it opened, so she had time to stop and shop on the way. Her bag contained little in the way of clothing she liked, and she would have to buy a new phone. She took a deep breath as she pulled back onto the road and headed north.

She stopped at a Wal-Mart at the edge of Missoula, buying a large suitcase and a bunch of new outfits and underwear. She had always dressed like an old woman at the Pack, loose clothing that hid her curves. It went better for her if she did not appear desirable to the males. Now, she could do what she wanted. She bought all new everything with her bank card and decided to just leave her old clothes bag in the car. It would further confuse them if they tracked her down.

Finally, she pulled into the parking lot at about ten-thirty. She saw a big guy sitting on a Harley in the back of the lot and pulled up next to him. “You Rattler?”

“Yes Ma’am,” he said with a smile. “Aren’t you a pretty one. Chase didn’t mention that.”

“I’m old enough to be your mother,” she said with a laugh. She was old enough to be his great-great-great-great grandmother, but with her slow aging she looked to be around forty.

“I don’t mind a woman with experience. They know what they want and appreciate what I give them. Over, and over, and OVER again.” He had gotten up and walked towards her minivan. He was tall, muscular and good looking, and if she had time she might entertain having some itches scratched. Not now, though.

“Too bad I’m not in town for that long, Rattler. I bet you have a nice snake.” He laughed as she pulled into the space next to his. “Can you check my stuff for bugs?”

“Of course.” He grabbed a black box from his saddlebag and ran it around her body. It alarmed in her breast pocket where her new phone was. “Gotta lose the phone.”

“It’s a prepaid phone I bought an hour ago, untraceable. My old phone is still in the minivan.” He finished the scan, she was clean. She pulled out the new suitcase, then a few items- photographs, jewelry and her diary- from her bag. Everything was clean, and as she was zipping it up, a silver SUV pulled in on the other side of the motorcycle. She felt her dominance before she even got out and lowered her eyes as she approached. “Mrs. Nygaard,” she said, careful not to call her Luna in front of the human.

“Call me Colletta. You must be Patty.” She smiled and opened the hatchback, and Rattler put her suitcase inside.

Closing it up, he looked over at Patty. “We’re going to dump your car over at that Ford dealer you passed about a mile ago. I’ll lead you there and bring you back.”

“Okay,” she said. She got in the minivan and followed the Harley out of the lot. She parked in the back of the lot with the other vehicles waiting for service, leaving the keys in it, then walked over to his motorcycle. “I’ve never been on one before,” she said as he handed her a helmet.

“Oh, you’re going to love this, baby. There’s nothing a woman likes more than to have something big and powerful throbbing between her legs,” he said with a wink.

“Does that line actually work?” She threw her leg over the back and settled behind him.

“If it doesn’t, the ride usually does. Just hold onto my waist, lean when I do and enjoy the ride,” he said. She gave a squeal as he took off, accelerating hard after getting back onto the two-lane highway. It was all too soon when they were pulling into the lot of the bar. “What did you think,” he said as he shut the engine down after backing into the spot next to Colletta’s SUV.

“I want one,” she said. “Is it hard to ride?”

“Baby, I’ll always be hard when you want to ride.”

She smacked the helmet into his chest. “Give me your number, maybe we can ride together again someday. Right now, I want a ribeye steak more than a tubesteak.” She stretched as he searched for a pen and paper, and he was distracted by the sight of her breasts pushing out the flannel as her flat stomach was exposed. She smirked a little as she saw him adjusting his jeans as he handed her the paper. “I’m in Portland, but my Mom lives here in Missoula so I’m here once in a while.”

“Good to know. Do you need to search Colletta’s car?”

“Already done, she got here way before you. Her car GPS is disabled and she destroyed her phone, and we already got her a new one."

Colletta was waiting for them inside, and they took the time for a big lunch. Rattler had to leave before they were done, and he gave her a quick hug, while Patty got a kiss with the bonus two-handed squeeze of her ass. “Call me when you are back in town,” he said before he walked out.

“Damn, he liked you,” Colletta said with a smile.

“He’s a nice guy,” she said. “At my age, I’d be happy with a nice guy and a satisfying ride, even if he is human.”

“There’s a man out there for you, I know that. Chase told me a little about you, as did Connie. Sometimes all a tired plant needs is to be planted in the sun, and suddenly it’s blooming.” She finished off the last of her steak and left cash for the bill. “Chase and Rori understand the importance of a mate, and they want their Pack to be happy. They will help you replace yours.”

“My Alphas never allowed Omegas to even search for their mates, because he didn’t want to lose them.” Traditionally, the higher ranked wolves took their mate to their own Pack, and if the same rank, the male took the female. Preventing them from replaceing their mates was a way to keep Pack numbers up, hoping they would take a choice mate from within the Pack instead.

“Tradition is there, but that is not the law. The mated pair gets to decide which Pack to stay in, not the Alphas. I bet he didn’t mention that part.” She shook her head no. “Come on, use the bathroom and we’ll get on the road. We’re driving straight through.”

“Where to?”

“Two Harbors, Minnesota, north of Duluth. Chase wants us to check out the Arrowhead Pack territory and make arrangements for the others to join us.”