Chapter 21: Danger Close

Joe Walker’s POV

Banff Pack Computer Room

It was so simple, and I almost missed it.

The mystery of how the hacker had accessed a secure Council server had evaded our team for three days now. The worm had destroyed many of the files, its design such that it covered its tracks. I had to find something else.

We knew that the program had infected the hard drive between six and nine days ago. The connection logs were not corrupted, thank Luna. These files recorded the IP addresses, usernames, and passwords of those accessing the system. It wouldn’t tell me what they did, but it would list who had accessed and for how long. I was slogging through the pages of data, cursing the fact that the trials resulted in so many people logging in during this time when I saw it.

The same username and password had been used twice, both active at the same time, and from different servers.

I moved over to the terminal connected to the reconstituted Council server, which still was isolated from the outside world. Accessing the right file, I found out the username belonged to Colletta Nygaard, former Luna of the Cascade Pack.

I looked up and across the room to where Beta Teri was staring at her screen. She hadn’t yet figured out the source of the hack or how it worked. As I considered the new information, I had to wonder if she was here to find the hacker, or if she WAS the hacker. Luna Colletta was the mother of her Alpha and was hostile to the Council and its decisions.

It wasn’t enough, not yet. Going back to the log, I did a reverse lookup of the IP address used for access. Neither matched the IP addresses used for the Arrowhead Pack server. One went to a server in Australia, while the other was in rural Minnesota.

Two Harbors, Minnesota. Home of the Arrowhead Pack.

My head hurt at the possibilities. I walked over to where Lisa was pinching the bridge of her nose while leaning back in her chair. “I’m going to take a break. Want to get some air?”

“Sure.”

“We’ll be back in a few. Anyone need anything from upstairs?”

“Milky Way bars,” Patrick said.

“I’m good,” Teri replied.

Brian Steele was still sleeping, so I held the door open for Lisa and followed her upstairs. Walking outside, we enjoyed the crisp night air. There was no one around at three in the morning. “I need you to tell me if I’m crazy or not,” I told her.

“About what?”

I explained what I found. The dual logins by Luna Colletta. The fake IP address in Australia. The potential Arrowhead involvement in the hack. She didn’t say anything for a minute as she walked along. “It could be Arrowhead was hacked first; someone found Colletta’s login and used that for their own devices,” I said.

“Or it could be that Arrowhead wanted to spy on the council, and Teri is here to make sure it doesn’t blowback onto Saint Rori,” Lisa said. “You, I mean we, cannot hold back this information. It’s my responsibility to inform the Council of the potential Arrowhead involvement.”

“What if I’m wrong?”

She stopped and grabbed my arm. “What if you are RIGHT, Joe?”

I looked up at the stars. “You are right,” I finally said.

“Come on. I’ve notified the Chairman we have a breakthrough. He will meet with us in twenty minutes.” She led me back into the dining hall, where we got coffee and sandwiches before the meeting.

The Chairman blew a gasket when I told him what I found.

Beta Ron Carlson’s POV

Banff Pack House

I woke at five, the bed next to me cold. Teri was in full computer mode, spending long hours in the computer center with no windows and no sense of time. “Love, how are you doing?”

“Busy,” she said. “And frustrated. Nothing is happening.”

“I know just how you feel,” I said with a hint of horniness over the bond. I could feel her response, and I kicked it along with a description of what I’d rather be doing with her right now.

“I have a few more hours before I come out,” she said. “Don’t wait for me for breakfast. Get out there and continue your work,” she said.

“Give me fifteen minutes.” I quickly dressed and headed down to the dining hall. When Rori had sent me, protecting Teri was only part of why I was here. I was also trying to gauge the mood of the Pack. Rori suspected that even in Packs that were opposed to us, the strong opposition was only at the top. That is what Coral found in Blue River, and what I was looking for here.

So far, that was the case. I’d spent a lot of time talking with the Omegas and Warriors, most of whom were very interested in my Pack and my Alpha. If a challenger came forward along Coral’s lines, the Pack would back him or her. They wouldn’t openly disrespect their Alphas, but their eyes told me what they thought.

I got my pancakes and bacon from the kitchen, then sat down at the table in the nearly-empty room. One of the Omegas got me juice and coffee, just as another woman approached. “Beta Ron, what are you still doing here,” she asked.

“Breakfast,” I said. “Please, join me.”

“You didn’t leave?”

I looked at her funny. “Why would I leave?”

She shook her head. “The Council wakes me up in the middle of the night and tells me to order a jet for five people to go to Two Harbors, and have a car downstairs in thirty minutes to go to the airport. I thought something happened with you or your mate, and you had to return home.”

“Maybe it’s Council business,” I said. “No one said anything to me.”

“You’re probably right.”

I was getting that feeling that something was wrong. The full Council walked in with Alpha John, and all of us stopped talking and nodded our heads in respect. Councilman Kirk glared at me, which almost made me ill. “Something is wrong, Teri. The Council sent a plane to Arrowhead in the middle of the night, and none of them are on it.”

“Shit. Lori left with Joe a few hours ago, and they aren’t back yet.” I could sense her fear through the bond. “I found something in the hack. It’s a code I’ve only seen one person use.”

“Who?”

“Spider Monkey.”

FUCK fuck fuckity fucking FUCK! If she was behind this, we had a MAJOR problem. “We have to warn them, Teri.”

“I agree. The Internet isn’t available, and I can’t get an outside connection without attracting notice.” The Pack House was far removed from roads and surrounded by mountains, and there wasn’t cell service here. “We can’t risk a telephone, either. We need to get to where we can get a cell tower.”

“We need to get out of here, and quick,” I told her. “Come on up to the room. We’ll steal a car and make a run for the US border.” I excused myself and went back up to our room, throwing all our stuff into a backpack and a bag. I had just finished when Teri came in, pulling Brian Steele in behind him. “What’s going on?”

“Brian is going to get us out of here, and Alpha Rori is going to take him into our Pack,” she said.

“I cannot stay, the Alpha is going to kill me as soon as he doesn’t need me,” Brian said. “I’m your only chance of getting out of there without being seen.”

“What’s the plan?”

Ten minutes later, we were under a blanket in the back of one of the Pack cargo vans. We kept still as he slowed, mentally communicating with the guard at the main gate. “We’re through,” he finally said. “Thirty minutes, and we’ll dump the van.”

As soon as the service became available, I used my cell to make two phone calls. The first was to Alpha Rori, to warn her someone was on their way. The second was to order an Uber to take us to the Calgary airport. While I was busy with this, Teri got us a flight to Minneapolis and a connection to Duluth.

We would get home by nine tonight, and we knew we’d miss the action by at least eight hours.

Heather Rhodes’ POV

Cascade Pack House

I had taken a quick shower after my morning run with Angelina, thankful that my ribs healed enough that it didn’t hurt to breathe. Dressing in yoga pants, sports bra, a T-shirt, and a hoodie, I walked into the Pack Dining Room at just before seven. Carson pulled out the chair to his right at the breakfast table and smiled at me. I looked around, but I could tell everyone expected me to take it. “Good morning, everyone,” I said as I sat down.

“Good morning, Luna,” the Betas responded. I just blushed; I didn’t deserve the title, but I couldn’t stop them from giving it to me. In their mind, I was their Luna as soon as their Alpha claimed me as his mate during the asylum hearing.

“Did you sleep well,” Carson asked me as he started serving me scrambled eggs out of one of the bowls on the table while his plate remained empty. It was another one of his habits I couldn’t break. Angelina had explained it all to me. Their wolf instincts demanded that he make sure his mate was cared for and fed, even before he ate himself. When the mate was pregnant, the urge to feed me was even stronger. He wouldn’t eat himself until I had enough.

“Well, thank you.” I was still in the room I had chosen on arrival and was still sleeping alone in my bed. Carson had the room across from me, not that he slept there. From the first night, his wolf would take over and whine at my door before sleeping in front of it. By the second night, I’d tired of the whining and just let him in. I made a bed for him on the floor next to my bed, and he stayed there in his wolf form. So far, I hadn’t let him up in the bed, but he whined and put his head up by my pillow every night. I’d say no, he’d give my face or neck a lick, and then he’d settle down for the night. I turned to Beta Angelina. “What is the plan for this morning?”

“Alpha hasn’t told me yet,” she said.

I looked back at Carson. “The forecast is warm and sunny, and I would like to take you to some of my favorite places in the territory,” he said.

“By ATV? Car?”

“Riding on my back, if you’re up to it.” I quickly nodded yes, because it was my favorite way of getting around. As fast as a horse, but with more acceleration and maneuverability, it was a rush like none other. “There are some waterfalls near the northeast border that should be amazing with the snowmelt. I was going to get a picnic lunch packed for us since it will take several hours to get there. The view is worth it.”

I looked at his eyes, which were betting me to agree. I could see his love for me, and I liked spending time with him, but I had to respect our doomed future. The closer I got to him, the harder it would be when the Council took me away. I couldn’t allow him to die, not when my twins would need him. “What do I need to bring?”

“Ski wear would be good for the trip, as there is still lots of snow around. Layers. I’ll have you carry my clothes in a backpack with the food and anything else you want to bring.”

“Swimsuit?”

He just laughed. “Mountain runoff is nothing to swim in,” he said. “Bring your camera, though.”

We talked about some of the things he wanted to show me, and others added their favorite spots. He had given me a high-resolution compact camera to capture memories with, and I’d bring that along. I wanted to leave him lots of photos of me to show the babies when they grew up. “What are you going to do on your day off, Angelina?”

She snorted in her juice. “Not a day off. As the Luna’s guard, my place is out there with you. I’ll be around, but you won’t notice me.”

“Fine. I’m going to go change for my day out,” I said. I stood and kissed Carson on the cheek, then started to walk out.

“Luna,” Beta Carl said as he stood up and moved in front of me. “Spot check.” He moved his hand over, tapping the holster under my left shoulder before he smiled. “Good.”

“If you check to see if I’m wearing my Bang Bra, I don’t know if your mate or your Alpha would remove your fingers first,” I said as Carson and Angelina both growled at the thought. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”

A few of the Pack members saw us off as I climbed onto Carson’s wolf, and we headed out. I put my chest down and hugged his neck as he started to run up the trail, with the mud and snow kicking up behind us. I was still grinning as we reached the first rest point, a beaver dam that widened the stream into a beautiful mountain pond. “Too bad it’s so cold,” I said as he went over to take a long drink.

He just chuffed at me, following me as I circled the pond to take the best photos. I even had him stand on the bank so I could capture him and his reflection in the still waters. He was lying down and watching me, waiting for me to finish so we could get going again. I climbed back on, and we continued up the valley.

The temperature climbed into the fifties, and I took off my shell and snow pants at the next stop. This waterfall was only about eight feet tall, but the spring flow was impressive. I took more photos, enjoying my morning with him. He didn’t shift, and we were soon on our way to the last one.

I could hear the waterfall well before I could see it. All of the sudden, we crested a rise, and it was in front of us. It dropped about thirty feet, the flow splitting into three streams along the way. “It’s beautiful,” I said as I climbed off.

He shifted and took his clothes out of my backpack. “Everything up here is beautiful, Heather,” he said. When he dressed, he took the pack and put it on his back before hugging me from behind. “This is my favorite place in the world. My Mom used to bring me. It always relaxes me to watch it.”

“I can see why.” He took my hand and led me up the trail towards the top of the falls. “I want to see the bottom,” I said.

“We will go there last, or you’ll be soaking wet for lunch,” he said.

“Fine.” He led me to a rock overlooking the falls and set out our picnic lunch as I sat in the warm sun. He fed me bread, cheese, and sausage as I leaned back into his chest and listened to the roar of the falls.

It was beautiful.

After lunch, I turned around in his lap and wrapped my legs around him while I held on to his neck. “Thank you,” I said.

“You are welcome. I love to make you smile,” Carson said.

I looked into his eyes, seeing only love and devotion to me. My shields weren’t strong enough to hold him back any longer. I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

I leaned forward and captured his lips with mine.

He growled deep in his chest, his arms pulling me closer as the kiss deepened. It was perfect, it was a kiss I’d never forget, and then it was over.

“We’re in danger,” he said as he lifted me to my feet. Pulling off his clothes, he shifted into his wolf and growled at the woods above us.