Rose Ch. 28-31

I'd felt him in cat form before and it was uncomfortable, but now that I was the same it was amazing. We both had been waiting too long, we needed each other too badly, and I melwed in pleasure as he ravaged me. He started to come, filling me with his seed, then ripped it out. The barbs sent me over the edge as I came as well. "Wow."

He laid next to me as I collapsed onto the ground. "Wow is right." We drifted off to sleep, it was dark when I woke up. The dim moonlight was plenty for my new eyes, and my movement woke Gunny up as well. "Come on, Rose, we need to go back," he said as he got to his feet. He put his head under my neck, helping me get up. We set off through the trails, he let me lead so I could practice scenting again.

"Gunny, what happened on the investigation while I was out?"

"Not much. We're putting a net around Luis. As for Maitea Jennings, she has disappeared. Renee had her brother's pack investigate, she sold her home three months ago and cleaned out her bank accounts. So far she's off the grid, probably using a false identity because we'd have a hit if she used her own. We've got photos, fingerprints, every Pack has been alerted and instructed not to say why we're looking for her."

"The FBI investigation?"

"It's moving along. The disturbing thing is that Maitea should have popped up a week ago when we built the database. Someone erased her information or made sure it didn't get in."

"Luis?"

"Maybe. Josh and his team are still working on it. Luis may have other people doing his bidding, Rose."

We reached the back yard and crossed silently to the back door. "Hi guys," Renee said as she opened the door. "Have a good night."

We went up the stairs and Gunny shifted, letting us into our room before pulling on some clothes. "Now we need you to shift back, baby. I want you to close your eyes, go meet your cat in your mind, and imagine yourself in human form. Fingers, toes, your hair..." My bones started to crunch and reform, and moments later I was back in my normal body. He caught me before I could hit the floor, I was wiped out. He carried me to the bed, tucking me in and kissing my forehead. "Josh says Charlotte is worried about you, can she see you before you sleep?"

I nodded, making myself comfortable in the bed. A few minutes later Charlotte rushed in the room and knelt at the bedside, Josh staying by the door. "Mom, are you all right? Did it hurt?"

I nodded at her. "Char, baby, being a cat is amazing. You'd love it," I said sleepily.

"Oh hush Mom, I'm making her into a wolf when we mate."

I laughed. "It's your choice, baby. Either way you're going to love it." She was cupping my face as I closed my eyes, and in moments I was asleep.

Ch. 30

I woke up feeling wonderful. It would have been perfect except Gunny's spot in the bed was cold. "Baby?"

"Hi love. We're in Alpha's office going over some things. You should come down here when you're ready." I moved into the bathroom, the aches and twinges of my normal awakening and movement were noticeably absent. Usually by the time I stood up, my back would be aching, my left knee would have made a noise like rice krispies on a stairway, and I'd have rolled my neck twice to work out the kink from sleeping. Instead, I felt like that impossibly happy morning woman in the mattress commercials. You know, sit up in full makeup and perfect hair, throw both arms skyward and smile to welcome the new day!

I hated that bitch. Mornings suck, and so do morning people. Plus, they have hair and I don't. I felt the stubble on my head as I moved to the toilet. I didn't feel the big scar. I turned to the mirror, my eyes not believing what I was seeing.

I still didn't have hair, but there was no scar, no discoloration, no nothing. The skin was smooth and unblemished. I looked at my face, and I moved my fingers down in shock. The crow's feet on my eyes, the ones I had been fighting a losing battle to hold back, were gone. My face was tighter and more youthful looking, the skin almost glowed with health. My features were a little more defined, the stubborn fat on my cheeks and neck were gone. I looked like I was in my late twenties, not thirties.

My hands kept moving down my body, over my shoulders and chest. The muscles underneath were larger and more defined, not bulging, but leaving no mistake as to their presence. My breasts were higher and firmer, I cupped them and felt the difference. My stomach was flat, the stubborn love handles gone. I moved my hand over the ridges of muscle; I had always prided myself on my abs, doing hundreds of situps a day, but now I looked absolutely ripped. The scar from the knife wound was gone. My hips were the same width, just better defined., as well as my legs. I turned to see my ass, it was firmer and sculpted, looking down my calves were larger as well. Overall, I looked like I had been dipped in the fountain of youth and given six months to work out. "Baby, this change did amazing things."

"I know, it was VERY hard to leave you sleeping this morning. Doc said it would happen, the first change has regenerative properties. That cold shower was very uncomfortable."

"I'm sure it was very hard, love. It must have been painful." I felt his groan in my core, his lust for me. "Too bad you're working. You should have woken me up for a test drive."

"Hurry up and get down her, Rose. We have work to do, dammit." I giggled to myself as I quickly finished my business and got dressed. As I moved downstairs, I say another change from having my panther; my footsteps were silent, my body moving with feline grace. I didn't think about it, it just happened naturally as my nature was now combined. I could hear and smell everything; I paused on the landing, letting my mind sort out the smells. Some I recognized, others I would learn. I moved into the large dining area, not missing how the room quieted when I entered.

There was a scrape of a chair and I looked over to see Charlotte staring at me in shock. She ran to me, hugging me tightly, before moving to arm's length so she could look at my body. "Holy shit, Mom, you look fantastic," she said. Her fingers traced my face and down my shoulder to my elbow. "You look like my older sister, not my Mom!"

"I was shocked as well." The werewolves I had met had this natural beauty to them, a perfection given that others had to work hard even to approach. I had the same look now.

"Gunny is going to flip out," she said as she followed me to the serving line.

"He saw, but something important is going on or I'd be in bed screaming his name right now." I looked at the server. "Can I get a few breakfast sandwiches and some juice to go? I need to meet with the Alphas."

"Certainly, Rose." She ran off to put it together.

"What did Doc say about you?"

"Well, the change healed everything, I should be fine. I just have to keep learning about my panther and my new body." I took the bag and bottle and turned to give her a hug. "I'll talk to you more when we're done."

"I love you, Mom. I'm so happy for you, your cat is the most beautiful creature I've seen." She kissed my cheek and went back to sit with her friends as I walked out. Moving quickly through the hallways, I soon reached the doors to the Alpha's offices.

I was about to knock when the door opened, Robert was smiling as he took me in. "Good morning, Rose! You look great. Did you sleep well?"

"I slept great, Alpha. The change, it was amazing. I feel so different this morning!"

"So I've heard. Come in, come in, we needed the break." I walked in and looked at the conference table they were at. Gunny was standing waiting for me, he embraced me and buried his face in my neck. "Later, Gunny, there's work to do," Robert teased.

My mate pulled back from the hug and gave me a quick kiss before allowing me to sit in the open spot next to him. I smiled at everyone in the room; Renee gave me a huge smile, her hands clasped over her rounded belly. Craig and Ella were next to them, both were looking at their new Pack member with pride. All of Robert's betas were present, except William and Melody, and Linda Remington. "Still working with the task force, along with Melanie and Nadine," Craig said into my head. From our Pack, Al, Josh and Jacob were all present. "Can we quickly get Rose up to speed?"

"Sure," Al said. His CIA background had proven very helpful to us. He opened up his laptop and pulled up a photo on the big screen. It showed a young couple, obviously in love. "This photograph was taken a few months before Captain Jennings' helicopter was destroyed," he said. I looked at the woman; she had dark hair, with widely spaced eyes.

She didn't look like a serial killer. She looked happy, her eyes full of promise. In a better world, they would be holding their baby, moving into their suburban rambler with the picket fence and the golden retriever. Life didn't happen that way, though.

"This is the most recent photo we've found," he said. "She rarely posted photos of herself on social media, and there has been no activity since her husband died."

"You said yesterday the Packs have her photo?"

"Yes," Al replied. "All Packs have been provided with several photos including this one. They know she is the killer, but they have been instructed not to share that information with humans just yet." Al sat back. "We have been monitoring the investigation, the database is being corrupted to keep her name out."

"I'm working with my friends to work back and figure out who is doing it," Josh said. "They are good at hiding their tracks. If you want, I could put the name directly in the database, they won't be able to ignore it then."

I looked around the room. "No, it's not the right time. If the FBI makes her a prime suspect, he's going to warn her off. We need her to think she's safe, to think she's winning."

"She's right," Robert said. "The Pack knowing her photo is enough."

"I've started hacking the surveillance cameras in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, using facial recognition software to search for her," Josh said. "If she shows her face, I've set it up so all of you get a text message with the warning and her location, plus the photo."

Damn, the kid was good, I thought. "What about other places?"

Craig looked over at me. "We still don't know what she is driving. I've asked four other Packs for help, we've sent the raw video to them and they have people looking through the footage continuously. We'll get a hit sometime."

I sat back thinking, this was about all we could do right now. We were assuming the FBI investigation was being sabotaged, but using the raw data we could do our own. "What about her accomplice?"

It was Al's turn to sigh. "Still working on it, if there was one. Unless we see her with someone or get more information, we don't know. She might just have been really fast and well prepared in her escape."

Gunny pounded his fist on the table. "SHE IS GETTING HELP," he said. "Sure, she was a shooter, at a hundred yards with a modified .22 caliber. Every kid that I trained came in knowing how to shoot decent, but that's a long way from being a SNIPER." He paused for effect. "She's making shots at long range with accuracy. Creating hides. Watching targets, waiting for just the right moment. Make the shot, then implement an escape route. I spend months training Marines to do just that, I know what it takes to do that. She didn't figure this out by watching YouTube videos, this takes lots of practice, lots of coaching."

"Then we find out who she got help from," I said. Looking at Al, I pointed to Gunny. "Use what he said. At some point during the war or after her husband was killed, she spent a lot of time learning this craft. Figure out where she was, who she was talking to, and what she was doing. Keep going until you find him," I said.

Al looked at Gunny for help. "Nope, not me," he said. "My mate and I need to let our cats out for a bit of sneak and peek. Josh, I'll need your help on this as well. Kind of a family outing," he said.

"What do you have in mind, baby?"

"I think it's time we paid your old boss's home a visit and see what the bad boy has been up to." He stood and motioned to Josh. "You are going to help with the alarms and surveillance while your Mom and I break in."

Cat burglar. I could do that.

Ch. 31

I drove the big white SUV through the back trails that were little-used accesses to the Gila Pack lands. We were heading out the west side, far from our target in Albuquerque, then we would make a wide loop to return to the town from the north. We couldn't risk the shooter or her allies picking up on us as we left the safety of the Pack.

Gunny was wearing sunglasses and we had bleached then dyed his hair a light brown, plus he had shaved his light beard. I had my new blonde wig in a high ponytail, poking through the back of my Diamondbacks ballcap. We were all dressed in touristy attire, made more believable by the lack of sun that Charlotte and I showed on our skin. She had insisted on coming along, and after a battle I had finally agreed. Josh knew that we would need eyes on both sides of the houses, and Gunny needed someone who could scout out the security system without raising suspicion.

We finally agreed that Charlotte would pretend to be a high school student selling Christmas wreaths for a swim team trip. We downloaded a form and borrowed a clipboard. One of the Pack members had a T-shirt from a local private school, and with that her disguise was complete.

"Comm check, one two three..."

"Loud and clear," Charlotte replied with a smile to her mate, who was working furiously on his laptop keyboard. She adjusted the in-ear transceiver slightly. "So, I just talk normally, right?"

"Yes, you'll be able to hear me, and I can hear you," he said. "Mom, Dad, I need you guys to use the mindlink so you don't step on her communications."

"Sure Josh," I replied. "I'm still not used to you calling me that."

"It will be Grandma soon enough," he smirked. "We want a big family and we're getting started on it right away. With the Pack's help she can still do college as she pops them out."

"You're lucky she isn't in on this conversation, Josh, just wait until she has the first one and threatens to emasculate you if you look at her that way again."

He just chuckled. "Yeah, just like Alpha Ella, right? She had twins first and that didn't put her off from more."

"Ella's not normal, that woman gets pregnant just from thinking about her mate! And I'm too young to be a Grandma!"

"Just wait until you see your mating present from us, Mom."

I glared at him, then looked over at Charlotte. "Mating present?"

"Of course, Mom. It's bigger than a wedding. It should be here soon, and we'll get it put together for you." Oh God, I thought, what did that kid do now?

"So, you two are talking about starting a family already?"

"We talk about everything, Mom. He comes from a big family, I've always wanted one. I want to be like Ella, start young so I can enjoy them before I get all ancient-like. You know, like Gunny."

"HEY!" Gunny's head snapped around at the insult. "I'm NOT old."

"Twice my age and then some," she cheekily responded. "You're so old, you have T-shirts of legal drinking age."

He stared at her for a minute, then looked at me. "You believe this stuff?"

"It's true," I said. "But they are nice T-shirts." He stared at me, his mouth open, until I busted out laughing and the others joined in. "At least I'm not that way, I'm so young looking now I can pass for her older sister."

"Are you two planning on having kittens right away, or are you going to wait," Josh asked.

"We haven't really talked about it yet," Gunny said, "But I can't wait to see her belly rounded with our children."

"It's not time yet," I replied. "Things need to get settled first. Maybe we can be pregnancy buddies, or would that be too weird?"

"We could be pregnant again with her," my cat said into my head. I asked her what she meant, and she just curled up in a ball and went to sleep again. "Damn cat," I muttered.

"That might be fun, Mom. The pack house is going to be so busy by then!" That was true. All the young kids were getting bigger, and the other couples were making up for lost time during the war. Our Pack and the Gila Pack were having their own baby booms, thanks to new mates and the peace.

"We're almost there," I said as I looked at the GPS. "I'm going to stop a block away."

"Sounds good," Gunny said. He looked back at Charlotte. "Remember what to do?"

"Yes, Dad. Start at the end of the block, work my way to his house. Ring the doorbell, verify no one answers. Look for alarm stickers, cameras or motion detectors. Then move on to the next house like nothing happened."

"And your danger phrase?"

"Wrong house." If she said that, we would come in and grab her. I pulled to a stop by the curb, the house was just around the corner, so we couldn't be seen from it. She leaned over and kissed Josh quickly, then got out.

We watched as she went to the first house, talking for a minute before moving down. Five minutes later she was at Luis Hernandez's house. We knew he was still at the office, with appointment scheduled until after eight PM, so we had several hours before he would be home. "Ringing the doorbell," she said as we all listened over the radio link. "Brinks Home Security sticker, older logo. No obvious cameras on the porch. No lights on or pets. Normal lock and deadbolt setup on the door, looks to be steel door. No vibration sensors on the windows."

"That's enough, Charlotte. Move on to the next house."

She walked away from the empty home, hitting the houses on the other side before returning to the vehicle ten minutes later. "Made twenty bucks," she said with a smile. I had to chuckle, the old lady at the house had been very sweet and didn't want candy, but gave her the cash to help the young student out.

"Stay out here and keep your eyes open," I said. I drove the car around to the other side of the canyon, so we were in view of his back yard. We waited until the sun set, eating a meal out of the cooler, before it was time. Josh moved into the driver's seat, leaving his laptop and communication gear next to him. We left the windows rolled down, knowing we could jump in for a quick getaway if needed. If things went well, we would return here, change, dress, then go pick Charlotte up and leave. If it went south, Josh was to make sure Charlotte was safe before coming back to find us.

I stepped out of the vehicle, removing my hat and wig and tossing them in the back seat. I pulled off my sun dress and removed my underwear. My cat was asking me why I even bothered with that anymore, they just got in the way. We exited the car and immediately shifted. I rubbed myself on his side before walking to the driver's door and putting my big front paws on it. "Here's your kit," Josh said as he put the small bag around my neck.

Gunny learned to kill, but I learned how to break in while in the FBI. We had a class at Quantico, taught by a pair of convicted thieves, that went over how to break into a house or car if you ever needed to. I found I had an aptitude for it, my fingers were good at picking locks. The bag carried all my tools.

We moved silently down the side of the canyon, Gunny leading the way as I followed. I felt my cat pushing forward, this was her element and her instincts helped us out. I watched Gunny with interest; for such a huge predator, he moved with grace and absolute silence. We paid attention to how he moved and stepped, keeping to the same places. It took us about twenty minutes to slink to where we were at the fence surrounding his yard. "Josh, we're here," I sent.