The Porch Wolf
Protective Custody

Adrienne’s POV

Once Liv and Vicki were out of sight, I thought the guards would let us go. I was wrong.

Chairman Sanders spoke up again. “Luna Adrienne, you may exit the vehicle. The two in back, they are your Betas?”

I got out as the guard opened the door, holding back my wolf. “Yes. Betas Mike and Anita Winters of the Welch Pack.”

He leaned into the open door and took a sniff. “Send them to a hotel for now. You may stay or go as you wish.”

That was the last straw. “They are my Betas! They have a right to be here! This reception is an OUTRAGE, Mr. Chairman, and I won’t stand for it! Release my pack members at once!”

I noticed the guards moving behind me as I spoke to the Council Chairman. “Be quiet, Luna, or I’ll have you restrained in silver and tossed in the cell next to your mate.” Chairman Wolfe had a look on his face that was begging me not to continue. I swallowed my next sentence and steeled my face, making it neutral again. “I have to arrange Leo’s hearing. Chairman Wolfe, control your employee or get her the hell off of the Summit site.” He turned and left, with half of the guards going with him.

Chairman Wolfe came up next to me. “I’m sorry it happened this way, Adrienne, but I could not stop it. Please, send your Betas away. Their presence will only make things worse.”

“Why?”

“The Chairman received two legal petitions this morning. The initial ruling is that Leo is not eligible to be an Alpha. A banished wolf cannot be a Pack member, and Leo was banished from the Welch Pack.”

“He formed a new Pack, Lewis. He didn’t do anything with Welch.”

“It’s more complicated than that. Send your people away, and come to my office. The guards will escort you when you are ready.” He turned and walked back towards the main house.

“Give me time to speak with my Betas. They will not leave the van.” The leader of the guards nodded, so I got back into the minivan and closed the door. I shifted to using our link so the guards wouldn’t hear. “I think I know what is going on.”

Mike was pissed. “They have denied Leo his Alpha status? If they do that, what is our status?”

“Packless as well. They are giving the two of you a break by having you leave; technically, you are rogue wolves on Pack lands. If you do anything other than drive out of here, you’ll be silvered and put in cells with Leo.” I didn’t like it, but I gave the order. “You are to drive out of here and find a hotel to stay at near Augusta. You will be too far out for the link, but I will check in on you periodically by phone. If you do not hear from me for 48 straight hours, you are to fly back home. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Luna,” they both said.

“Good. While you leave, call every Pack member and inform them that our Pack status is in question. They are not to go on any other Pack’s land until further notice, even if invited. I don’t want to end up with anyone else captured or killed.”

“I will call them myself,” Anita said. “What about Sharkbait? They fucking SILVERED a five-year-old and hauled her off!”

“It’s all about Vicki and her mantle,” I said. “Leo doesn’t have enemies that are still alive, and nobody is worried about his Pack becoming a problem. No, Leo’s death would be a means to an end. If he isn’t an Alpha because of his previous banishment, his entry onto Pack lands is a death sentence. With him out of the way, what is Vicki’s status?”

Anita thought for a bit. “You’re still her Luna, right? If Leo can’t lead the Miesville Pack, you can?”

I shook my head, no. “I didn’t form this Pack, Leo did. Technically, we have mated, but until the mating ceremony is over, I’m not officially recognized as Luna of the Pack either. Whoever filed the complaints is smart. They’ve found a way to clear us out of the way.”

Mike jumped in. “If we don’t have a Pack, then we can still be Packless wolves, right? We still have a bond, Liv and Vicki are ours.”

“It’s not that simple. Packless wolves are not a problem unless they band together, which we have done. Other Packs could attack us and wipe us out if they consider us a threat, and Pack Law would support it. Alternatively, they could offer us places in their Packs. Either way, they won’t let us continue as is.”

“Can you be our Alpha? You have a mantle.”

“I could, but another can challenge me for the spot. How effective do you think I’d be if they just killed Leo? I’d be in no shape to lead you.”

“Fuck,” Mike said. “What about Sharkbait? If she doesn’t have an Alpha, they can’t force her and Liv to join a Pack.”

“That’s where you are wrong,” I said. “If Vicki was of age, laws on mating would apply. Since she is not, everything changes. There is a specific Werewolf law for Packless underage wolves with mantles. The first Alpha without a mantled heir to find the Packless mantled child can claim her. In this case, she would be ‘adopted’ by the Alpha into his Pack and become his heir. The Council would enforce the claim, forcing the bond to shift.”

“That’s crazy,” Anita said. “What about Olivia? She’s not going to let her another Alpha take her daughter!”

“I’m sure whoever is behind this would offer Brent and Olivia a place in their Pack. It would secure their cooperation. Leo would be dead, and I would be grieving. I’d tell them to go, for their own good.”

“Madness!”

“Yes. Now go, I need to find out who is behind this and get Leo recognized.”

“Yes, Luna,” Mike said.

I got out of the van as they moved to the front seats. The guards watched them drive away, the one with the motorcycle following them to the exit. I turned to walk towards the main house, and two of the armed guards fell in behind me. “I’m a Luna and a Council mediator, I don’t need an escort,” I said to them.

“Chairman’s orders. He doesn’t want any incidents, and you have already made threats.”

The Chairman didn’t know the half of it.

Olivia’s POV

I was still shaking, not trusting my legs as we walked towards the main house. I’d seen videos of tasered people, but those didn’t do it justice. “Where are we going,” I asked the goon who was ‘helping’ me along.

“A guest room in the Council’s wing,” he said. “For now, you are in protective custody. As long as you cooperate, you’ll be comfortable.”

“And if not?”

“Protective custody can be in the cells, too.”

That part, I understood. I looked up at Vicki; a female guard was carrying her in front of us, her head on her shoulder so she could see me. She was quietly crying, but she was all right. I tried reaching her on the bond, but it didn’t work. “I can’t link my daughter,” I said.

“The silver collars prevent you from shifting or linking,” the guard said.

I reached up and felt the collar; it had a small box on the front and foam on the outside. I went to pull it off; the foam-like coating compressed, then I felt my fingers and neck burn. I quickly let go. “What the heck?”

My guard looked annoyed. “Don’t you know about silver?”

“It hasn’t come up in conversation, no.”

We were almost to the house. “Silver is commonly used in controlling werewolves. It burns on contact with the skin; those collars have a coating to keep it off your skin unless you pull on it. Don’t try and cut it off either; if you try to tamper with it, the collar will give you a shock that makes a taser feel like a tingle. It will knock you out.”

Damn. “Anything else this thing can do?”

“GPS tracking, so don’t try running. We’ll find you, and then you’ll be in a cell lined with silver.”

We entered the impressive plantation-style home and took stairs to the top floor. One of them opened a door, and I followed Vicki’s guard inside. She set my daughter on a couch facing a television; I could see a bathroom and a bedroom through open doors. I went and sat on the couch, pulling my daughter into my lap. “It’s going to be all right, baby,” I told her as she cuddled up to me.

“There are drinks and snacks in this refrigerator, and we will bring your meals. If you need anything, inform the guard posted outside the door. Our security office just set GPS alarms both of your collars; if you leave the room, you’ll get the shock, and we’ll come by to toss you into the cells. Any questions?”

“Who do I thank for the hospitality,” I said with a sneer.

“You should be thankful you have this, it could be far worse for you.” With that, he turned and left.

It took a few minutes before Vicki spoke up. “My wolf is mad,” she said.

“Mine too. She doesn’t like not being able to talk to her Pack. Don’t touch the collar; it hurts.” I set her beside me and picked up the remote from the coffee table. “Why don’t you find something to watch while I check this place out?”

She started looking for Animal Planet while I looked around. We were on the third floor with locked closed windows, not that it mattered. I couldn’t see the building where we had parked, and I couldn’t link the others. No phone was in the room, and my cellphone was in the car. I couldn’t communicate with anyone but the guard, and I wanted nothing to do with them.

I found some snack-sized bags of animal crackers and goldfish, a bottle of orange juice, and a Coke. Taking them back to the couch, I sat with Vicki on my lap. “No shark shows,” she said with a frown.

“Hmmm… do we have Netflix?” I checked, and soon we were watching a Disney documentary called “Oceans.” We ate our snacks until the adrenaline crash hit and she closed her eyes.

I woke as I heard the door to our room opening. A woman was coming in with a tray, dressed as a maid. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were sleeping,” she said. “I didn’t know if you’d had time for lunch, so I brought some sandwiches and chips.”

“Thank you,” I said as I moved Vicki off of me. “Do you have our bags? We don’t even have pajamas.”

“I will ask,” she said. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“I want to speak to Luna Adrienne,” I said. I needed to know what was going on around here.

“I will ask,” she said as she left. I ate the Club sandwich as I waited.

And waited.

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