Master Caroline

As it turned out, we didn’t have much choice about whether we should move. We had a one-year lease on the condo, but that didn’t matter. All the police activity created a ‘nuisance’ for residents, and that was a violation of the lease agreement. I didn’t care; we’d already determined the condo wouldn’t work for us, and we didn’t have that much there anyway. I passed the details on to my accountant with instructions to close things out by the end of September.

Amy flew down to San Diego to rejoin Kai’s sisters in the townhouse, with Kai’s mother as her escort. Alpha Steven wanted me to spend some time at his Pack, and I needed it. I drove back to Three Sisters with the rest of the guards. My wolf wanted to run, and the mountains had me raring to go. The guards could tell; as soon as we crossed onto Pack lands, they asked if I wanted to run the rest of the way with them.

Hell yeah, I did!

The driver pulled over, and I stepped out and tossed my clothes in the back before shifting. It felt great to be in my fur again. I shook out my grey-over-white coat before I trotted over to the side of the road with the two warriors. They ran into the woods with me following close behind the pair.

It felt so good to stretch my legs, and the two set a fast pace. The warriors had size on me, but I was a better runner. I paced them until I recognized the trail heading home. Barking out the challenge, I sprinted ahead of them and ran hard for the Pack House.

They had no chance. I sent a mental call to the Alphas, letting them know I was minutes away from the front door.

I broke out of the trees into the clearing and tore across the lawn. The pups were playing in the grass, and they barked and ran towards me as I blew past them at full speed. I didn’t slow as I approached the six steps leading up to the overhanging porch at the front door. Instead, I leaped high, shifting in the air and stumbling towards the front door where an amused Alpha Steven kept me from crashing into the wall. “Having fun,” he asked as Luna Carolyn tossed me a T-shirt dress out of the cabinet nearby.

“Loads,” I said as I pulled it over my body. The two warriors were just breaking out onto the lawn, breathing hard from trying to keep up. “You have no idea how badly I needed that run.”

“I think I do,” he said. “Get your things to your room and then come to our office. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

“Yes, Alpha.” My luggage was by the door; I grabbed the suitcase and bag and walked through the big lounge area towards the stairs leading to the third floor. Makai ran over and took the suitcase from me. “Thanks, little guy.”

“I’m not so little, I’ve been working out,” he said to my smile. Makai was Kai’s 14-year-old brother, whose name means ‘goes toward a sea’ in Hawaiian. “Can I swim with you in the morning? Kai tells me that’s the best workout.”

“Swimming has always been my favorite,” I said. “Easy on the joints, and builds strength without all the bulk. Be down here at five with your swimsuit, towel, and running shoes.”

“I’ll be here, Sharkbait. How is my brother doing?”

We reached the room I was assigned in the hall with the other Pack Betas; it was the smallest, but I was rarely here. I set the bags on the bed as Makai sat at the desk chair. “He whines a lot,” I said with a smile. “SEAL training is incredibly hard, and his body needs time to recover on the weekends. He spends a lot of time sleeping and in the hot tub.”

“How can he sleep with Amy there? I figured he’d be banging her like a broken screen door in a tornado.”

I whipped a t-shirt at his face, and he wasn’t fast enough to catch the unexpected missile. “That’s your sister-in-law!” I said in my outraged voice.

He grabbed the shirt and tossed it back to me. “He is, right? I’ve got money down that she’s pregnant before the New Year.”

“You shouldn’t bet on such things, because you’ll lose. Amy and Kai have a lot going on with her vision loss and his training. If they decide it is not the right time for them to start a family, then they will take steps to prevent it. Regardless, it’s none of your business what a mated couple does in private.” I pulled out a pair of sandals and a change of clothes and headed towards the bathroom. “Even if they broke the bed twice already.”

“I KNEW IT,” Makai said as he ran for the door. “Alpha says ten minutes.”

I showered quickly before dressing and heading for the Pack offices in the opposite wing. The Alpha and Luna shared a big office with a conference room on each side for more private meetings. I sent that I had arrived, and they called me in.

Alpha Steven was sitting in one of the oversized chairs near the window, Carolyn on his lap. “Have a seat,” he said as he pointed to the other chair. There was a glass of lemonade waiting for me, and I nodded to the Luna in thanks. “I guess we know school isn’t going to work for you now.”

I had to agree. “Maybe we could get away with being celebrities at UCLA, but not Oregon,” I said. “And it wasn’t just me, Amy’s fans mobbed her too. Who knows? In a couple of years, if we stop modeling and doing appearances, it might get better?”

“I don’t see that happening for you, though,” Carolyn said. “Your modeling career is just taking off, and you’re a rich woman. You’d have to find your mate and drop out of public life for a few years, and even that might not work.”

“I didn’t ask for this, but I’m going to make it work for good,” I replied. “Amy and I are still under contract to Bodyglove for another nine months, and I already committed to additional events. I won’t go back on my word. I need extra protection, and I’ll pay for it. It isn’t fair for the Pack to have to support my work otherwise.”

“Getting people to help isn’t the problem, Vicki. We have plenty of trained warriors and Betas willing to take on such thankless duties in crappy locales.” That drew a laugh from Carolyn too. “If not for Amy needing to be near Kai, I’d ask you to stay here.”

“I thought about that, I even thought about going back to Minnesota, but I told Amy I’d stay with her. She lost her sight because of me, and I need to be there.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Carolyn said.

“I know, but she’s my best friend, and Amy needs me. Kai sees her on weekends, and he’s sleeping for half of that time. She does her best, but she can’t see well enough to live alone. We take the same classes; I can help her study while the twins are at high school. Susan has Luke with her, and she has enough stress to deal with already. We need to be there on weekends, and I don’t want to be in a hotel.” I told them about us getting evicted, and my conversation with Adrienne about the Vampires. “It’s just for this school year. By next summer, Kai and Amy will be moving, and the twins will have graduated.”

“October tenth they come of age, and who knows what will happen then? Imagine if those SEAL trainee twins are their mates? What a wrench that would be in the works.”

I wouldn’t mind that a bit as I liked Ricardo and Manuel almost as much as the girls did. The only thing holding them back was the knowledge that human mates were uncommon. As Beta females, the Pack would host a large party for them, inviting eligible males from Packs across the entire Northwest. “If their mates are out there, I pray to Luna they find them before the Scratch and Sniff.”

“Your wolf needs to be out more often than you are letting her go, Vicki. I know you can’t shift in Coronado, so you need to head somewhere at least every other week to shift and run. I need to be with you when you meet with Master Caroline,” Steven said. “The Council brokered the deal with the Vampires, but you are MY responsibility. We should set up the meeting before you make any other plans.”

He was right. There was no point in looking for another place until we knew if the Vampires would let us stay. He made the call; we arranged to meet Master Caroline at her office in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday evening. He reported the meeting to the Northwest Region Councilman while I chartered a private aircraft to take us down and the Alpha and his bodyguard back home.

I enjoyed my downtime, relaxing with other singles my age, and taking advantage of the Pack lands. It was all too soon when Alpha Steven led me into the 40th-floor office suite of Caroline Grey. Two imposing vampires opened the doors and followed us in, remaining by the door. “Alpha Dauntless, welcome to Los Angeles,” Caroline said as she stood up behind the glass and stainless steel desk. “And Vicki Lawrence, I’ve heard so much about you,” she said.

“A pleasure to meet you,” I said as I shook her hand.

She raised my hand to her nose, sniffing the skin. “It’s true,” she said. “You let Master Alexander feed from your neck.”

“Once, and never again,” I said.

“Please, sit,” she said. We sat in the black leather and metal chairs. “You are far more than the college freshman and model that was represented to me when you moved out here, aren’t you?”

“It has been a rather busy summer, and not the one I expected,” I said.

She stared at me, and I held her gaze. Caroline was a beautiful woman, looking to be in her late twenties even though she was centuries old. Her skin was perfect, and her ink-black hair hung straight down past her shoulders. Her eyes were old and cold, and I had to look away before she could see into my very soul. “Tell me how you killed Master Alexander,” she demanded.

“First, you have to understand why,” I said. “Corvinus was holding werewolves captive and harvesting their blood, but it was MY blood he craved. He had his familiar force my boyfriend and I off the road, nearly killing him.”

“And for that, you killed him?”

“It was preferable to war. I knew that as soon as Alexander found out Werewolves were storming the prison gates, he would drink my blood to gain power. The blood bag had sanguinarine in it before I started filling it with my blood, so Alexander never had a clue. The toxin weakened him, and I took a Japanese sword from his wall to decapitate him.”

“The Honjo?” I nodded. “The Japanese people celebrated its return but never mentioned where it came from.”

“Emily promised me half of the art and antiques in his office if I would help. She gave them all to me, knowing half was hot, and I’d have to deal with the FBI. She altered the will and made up the ‘Sharkbabe Room’ to convince them she was the innocent wife.” I shook my head. “The paparazzi are on my ass 24/7 now, while she took his billion-dollar fortune and faded into the woodwork.”

“You came out all right,” she said. “I don’t want to be your enemy, Vicki, but I’m not comfortable with you on my territory either.”

“I’m no threat to you, Master Caroline. My associates and I merely want to remain in Coronado while we go to school, and Kai is in SEAL training.”

“I’d like to believe that, but your behavior is that of a Pack carving out territory. Instead of the four of you, there are two more living with a human, and more wolves staying for weeks at a time.”

"I had to deal with threats to Vicki's life," Steven said.

“Amy’s mother visited and found her mate in a human friend of ours. She has to be here with him,” I added.

“Renting a home is far different from moving into private property,” Caroline responded. “Let me make this simple. I will not allow more than five adult werewolves to live in Coronado, and no werewolf will own property there. If you cannot accept that, you should leave.”

Kai, Amy, and I were three, Susan four. The twins were underage, but only for another six weeks. Luke wasn’t going to come of age this school year, which was good. “There are a few questions I have,” I responded evenly. “Makani and Noelani come of age in October and are already enrolled in high school. I would prefer they both stay with their family until the school year ends.”

She tapped her nail on the glass before responding. “I didn’t tell you who made up the five adults. If you want the twins to stay, another adult needs to leave.”

“What about Susan’s mate? He owns the home, but he’s human.”

“The rules apply regardless. If Susan changes him, he’s another adult werewolf in my territory, and he cannot own property. Either Susan doesn’t change him, or they sell the house and move.”

“It’s the best deal you are going to get,” Steven sent to me.

“I understand and will comply, Master Caroline,” I said.

“I would hope so, Vicki. You’re far too interesting a person to end up dead.” She stood up, indicating the meeting was over.

“Thank you for your time,” Alpha Steven said. We shook hands again, and I followed Steven out of the office and to the elevator with his guard. “That was fun,” he said.

“They are creepy as hell. I’m glad I can’t settle too close to them.”

Susan was waiting for us downstairs; we dropped the two men at the airport before heading south towards San Diego. We had a lot to talk about on the drive.