The Porch Wolf
Family Issues

I looked at the young man who just declared he was the mate of a young woman who was very special to me, one I looked on like she was my own daughter. “You think Liv is your mate.”

“My wolf is sure of it. It doesn’t feel like what I was told, though.”

“I don’t believe you.” I stared in his eyes, and his wolf pushed forward to challenge me. I was Alpha, and the only reason his wolf would not submit in this battle of wills, was because it WAS true that Liv was his. A mate was the only explanation for his challenge.

“We should move this to your office,” Larry said.

I led them down the hall and into the soundproofed room. I’d built out the office myself, using ten thousand dollars worth of cherry plywood and hardwood. The walls had raised panels, the ceiling a mural of the night sky. The large window was bulletproof, the small closet a safe room. An immense curly-cherry desk sat in the center of the room, and the entire wall behind it was bookshelves over cabinets. There were two leather chairs and a couch in front of the desk; I motioned for Brent to sit in the chair closest to the window as Larry and Donna took the sofa. “What did your wolf tell you?”

“At first, he was confused and anxious; he wasn’t sure. It was only when I came into the room that he told me my mate was here. Her smell wasn’t what I expected, and I got closer so I could figure it out. I realized when I got close enough that she had no wolf scent, and she didn’t react to my presence at all. How could I be mates with a human?”

“It doesn’t happen often, but it has happened before,” Larry said. “We don’t know why some feel a mating pull towards a person who doesn’t have a wolf yet.”

“My old Pack taught me that Luna made the match because of the wolf she was going to give the human,” Donna added. “There are fewer than fifty thousand of us, and we all trace our bloodlines back to a much smaller line. New blood and fated mates keep us from genetic issues.”

It made sense; I’d never had to deal with a human mate situation. The closest I’d dealt with was with people who went through the change, and THEN they found a mate. They reacted the same way I did when the mate’s scent hit them; an instant attraction followed shortly by the mating bite and sex. “You and your wolf may be all cylinders firing on this mating thing, but Liv’s engine isn’t even in the car yet,” I told him. “She’s lived here for five years, and in that time, I don’t think she’s ever dated. She lives for her daughter, who right now is scared to death of being kidnapped again. In the last few days, she’s found out her daughter is a werewolf, that people want Vicki dead, and now her grandmother has been killed by those same people. She’s got so many things going on that you’ll be lucky if she notices you’re here.”

“What do I do, Alpha?”

“You protect your mate with your life, and you gain her trust. You are going to have to win her heart slowly without her noticing what you are doing. She’s like a nervous deer, ready to bolt, and you need to stalk her until the time is right. You only get one shot at this, so don’t make your move too early and spook her.”

He closed his eyes, talking to his wolf. “We understand,” he said. “I would like to call my Alpha before I switch Packs,” he said.

“It’s the right thing to do,” I said as I put the phone on speaker. “I don’t know what he’s going to say when I swipe another.” I dialed Doug Winter’s office, the Winona Pack Alpha.

“This is Jennie,” a woman answered.

“Hello, Luna Jennie, this is Alpha Leo Volkov of the Miesville Pack.”

“LEO! How is the girl? Did our people arrive?”

“They did, Jennie, and thank you for sending them. Liv and Vicki are sleeping now, it’s been a rough time for them.”

“That poor girl. Let me get Doug in here.”

I heard a door close, and Doug’s voice came on. “If you’re Alpha Leo again, did you take another of my Pack members or find your own?”

I laughed. “It wasn’t my fault,” I said. “Brent Lawrence came into the house and found his mate in Liv Anderson, Vicki’s human mother.”

“Damn,” Doug said as Jennie let out a whoop. “Nothing is easy with that boy.”

“I don’t mind a bit, Olivia is a beautiful woman,” Brent said. “Alpha, Luna, I would like your blessing to leave your Pack and join the Miesville Pack.”

“You have our blessing,” Doug said. “A mate and a future Alpha for a daughter, your parents would have been thrilled for you.”

“I know. Thank you.”

“Thank you, Doug. I’ll take good care of him, and we’ll see how much his patience will be tested as he tries to get a human to fall in love with him,” I said. I hung up, and we performed the ceremony to add him to the Pack. He was immediately linked to Mike and Anita. “Don’t try to link Vicki yet, I’ve been able to pass messages to her, but she doesn’t know how to respond, and she doesn’t know who you are,” I told him.

“We’re going to get going,” Larry said. “I’ll have Alpha Doug call when I’m closer, so the Stillwater Alphas don’t have time to avoid me. They won’t dare his envoys.”

“Their people attacked a Pack member of mine and a human under my protection,” I said. “I need to know if they were involved, or those two did it on their own.”

“We’ll find out.” The two left the room as my Betas entered. “How is it going?”

“Schedule is made. Since we just got here, I thought it best if you do a circuit of the perimeter with the first patrol and show the patrols what they need to know. They can pass it on to their reliefs. Watch one, do one, and everyone learns.”

“Good idea, but after dark, I’m taking them all out in wolf form.”

“We have the sentry posted at the main entrance, and Craig and Connie have left for town.”

It was all coming together nicely. “Help everyone get settled in, and let me know when Vicki or Liv get up again,” I said. “They have a lot to do today. I’m heading out. Send a couple people to the garage for the tour.” I went out into the garage, putting on my snowmobile gear. Opening the door, I moved the snowmobile out, then left it idling while I started the ATV. Mike had sent down Carl and a mated pair, Kevin and LuAnne, to join me on the first patrol. “Kevin, you two take the ATV. Carl, with me.” We took off, following the trail that ran along the fence line of my property. I had field fence topped with a single strand of barb wire surrounding my property, and the snow inside it would quickly pack down under the machines. It took twenty minutes, then I returned the snowmobile to the garage.

Returning my gear, I went back to my office and called my lawyer, Jacob Burnley. “I want you to work with the Sheriff’s Department on a few things for Liv,” I said. “She needs her purse, phone, and keys that were left in her home last night, and she needs access for her stuff.”

“I’ll see what I can do. I’m sure the home will be sealed for the FBI since it was a kidnapping, making it a Federal case. They will be there most of the day, I’m sure.”

“I wouldn’t mind getting my truck back either,” I said.

“The impound lot should be open already, do you need a ride?”

“No, I’ll get it myself. What about Liv’s grandmother?”

“They need to do an autopsy, so I wouldn’t expect them to release the body for a few days. Liv can make arrangements with one of the funeral homes in town.”

So much to do. “Jacob, am I off the hook?”

“It was a righteous shoot, Leo, and your permit was valid. Liv confirmed your story and said you saved them. They can’t arrest you for not listening to Dispatch and stopping them yourself, as much as they would have liked you to wait. I can’t see the District Attorney charging you with anything. I’d get a new gun because it could be months before you get yours back.”

Metro area Sheriffs loved to take in guns, but they slow-walked them back to the rightful owners. “I’ll do that today as well,” I said. If I could get down to Red Wing, I could have one today. “Let me know what they say about Liv’s things. They don’t have a change of clothes of their own, so I need to get her in there.”

“I’ll do what I can.” I hung up and called Brent up to my office. “You’re with me, I need to pick up my truck from impound in Lakeville. Are you carrying?” He turned and showed me the pistol on his right hip, a Glock. “Good. You’re driving too, here’s the address.” I slept most of the way there, paid to get my truck back, then followed him back home. It was lunchtime by the time I arrived home, and everyone was already up.

“LEO,” Vicki yelled as she ran towards me.

“Your hands are all sticky,” Liv said.

I picked her up and hugged her back to my chest as I entered the dining room, keeping her hands away. “How are you?”

“Grandma gone,” she said.

“I know.” I carried her back to the table, where she had been eating French toast and bacon. I looked into the kitchen where Connie was cooking up a storm. “That smells great,” I said.

“Here, go sit down Alpha,” she said after scooping food onto the plate. “You’re too skinny.” Brent came in behind me and got his plate next.

I sat by Vicki, with Liv on the other side. “Girls, this is Brent Lawrence. He joined my Pack this morning, so you’ll be seeing a lot of them. Have you two been introduced to everyone else?”

“Most of them,” Liv said. “Vicki is a little jumpy around strange men.”

“Our Sharkbait will get used to them. I will never bring anyone into this house who would hurt you. There are a lot of people here helping now because we don’t want anyone taking you from us.”

My phone rang in my pocket; it was the Sheriff. “Leo Volkov,” I said as I stood up.

“Mr. Volkov, it’s Detective Clark. Your lawyer contacted me about Ms. Andersen’s personal effects. I understand she is with you?”

“Yes, just a moment.” I handed the phone over. “Detective Clark.”

I ate and talked with Vicki as Liv spoke to him on the phone, hearing both sides of the conversation with my wolf hearing. She would not be able to visit the crime scene until tomorrow, and her grandmother would not be released for three more days. She hung up and handed it back. “Do you have what you need until then,” I asked.

“Connie picked up a few things for us already,” she said. “I have questions, though. Should I get a hotel room or something? I don’t want to impose.”

I couldn’t believe she’d ask that. “Liv, I want and need you two here. My wolf and I need to know you are safe and protected, and I can’t do that elsewhere. You are no imposition at all.”

She blushed a little at that. “What about the funeral? Her school?”

“School will have to wait unless we can provide adequate security. As for the funeral, we’ll need to plan carefully. If they want to try again, that’s one place they can flush you out.” She didn’t look happy. “Whatever you need, a lawyer, money, it’s yours. What are you worried about?”

She glanced at Vicki and shook her head. “LuAnne, can you take Vicki and help her clean up,” I asked.

“I need to tell my parents her mother is gone,” Liv said.

“They don’t know?”

“I was her next of kin. When Grandma took me in after Mom and Dad disowned me, they didn’t talk to her either. I haven’t spoken to them since I told them I was pregnant. I need to tell them before the police release her name.”

It was going to be difficult. “Do you want me to call your parents for you?”

“I’d like you to be there when I call, in case it goes badly.” I had finished eating, and Connie took the plate away as I stood up. LuAnn took Vicki to watch television while we went into the office.

She sat in my lap as she dialed the phone on my desk. “Hello?”

“Mom, it’s Liv. I have some bad news.”

“I have no daughter,” the woman said before hanging up.

That was enough to cause Liv to break down; I held her as she cried. When she could breathe normally again, I asked her to go to Vicki. As soon as she was gone, I called the number back using my cellphone this time. “Hello?”

“Mrs. Andersen, my name is Leo Volkov. I’m a friend of Natalie’s from the Hastings area.”

“Why are you calling me, Mr. Volkov? I don’t associate with either of them anymore.”

“I’m informing you that Natalie was killed last night in a kidnapping attempt on your daughter and granddaughter. You should be able to read about it in the news, or you can contact me directly if you have any questions.”

“Mom…”

“I will let you know when funeral arrangements are made.”

“Why?”

“Because you never know when you’ll lose the chance to repair the damage you’ve caused,” I said. “Olivia is a wonderful young woman and mother, and your granddaughter is special. You don’t know what you’re missing.”

“It’s none of your business, Mr. Volkov. Do not call me again.”

“As you wish,” I said as I hung up. I just shook my head; they had no idea what they had tossed aside.

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