5

(Tyler’s POV)

The back door leading to the woods behind the packhouse opened up and Camerin walked in wearing shorts and a tee-shirt. I could tell he was going out for a morning run. I raised my cup of coffee in greeting, but remained silent. It was too early to talk. Camerin grabbed himself a cup of coffee, sat across the table from me, and just stared.

“What got you up so early, Ty?” Camerin asked, smiling. He enjoys mornings.

I grumbled, tossed him a letter to read, and replied, “I was going through the mail. The lawyer that’s handling the estate next door sent it. Our offer to buy the place has been turned down. I know Jaxson has put in an offer as well, and if they accept his offer, we are screwed.”

“I've a feeling that whoever owns it didn’t accept either offer,” said Camerin as he finished his coffee and got some more.

“Why would you think that?” Ty was interested in his theory.

“Well, I went running today and saw a woman down by the lake on the other side.”

“Did she see you?”

“I was in wolf form and she saw me. She didn’t look all that scared to see a wolf in the wild. She didn’t stay long after she saw me, but I followed her to see where she was going and she went right to the house. There is a semi-truck out front. So, they’re either loading up all of the items in the house or they’re unloading and moving in.”

“Send over a patrol and see if we can find out more information. I want to know if they're moving in or out, how many, and anything else we can find out about our new neighbors,” Ty ordered as he finished his coffee. “The last thing I want is a member of Jaxson’s pack moving in next door.”

“I do know she is human, I didn’t sense a wolf at all, so it’s safe to say she’s not one of Jaxson’s people. He can’t stand humans.” Camerin stood up and continued, “I’ll get a patrol out there this morning, and use my contacts in town to see what other info I can find out.” I nodded and Camerin left the room.

I leaned back in my chair and ran my fingers through my hair. It has been a while since I've not gotten what I wanted. I needed the land. My pack is outgrowing our present land and we need to expand. I reached for my phone and called my accountant. I doubled the offer to buy the land. There was no way they would turn it down.

“Good morning, Alpha Tyler,” the housekeeper said as she walked into the kitchen. “Shall I make you something for breakfast?”

“No thank you, Betty. I’m not hungry right now. Maybe later,” I said, staring at my empty cup of coffee. She gave me that grandmotherly smile of hers and refilled my cup without saying another word. I picked up the cup and headed to my office. For some reason, I'm already thinking that it is going to be a long, miserable day.

*****

(Kathryn’s POV)

Scott came downstairs and I handed him a plate of eggs and bacon. He set it on the counter and helped himself to the coffee in the pot. He sat down and noticed my pad of drawings.

“What are you drawing?” he asked around a mouthful of eggs.

“I’m trying to decide how I’m going to make everything fit in the house.”

“I’m sure everything will fit. You don’t have that much stuff besides the exercise equipment. Are you planning on opening your own gym or dojo?”

“Since I've only one car, I figure I’ll put all the equipment in the garage, then I’ll have my own gym and dojo,” I replied finishing my breakfast.

“Maybe when we unload the truck you can show me this lake of yours,” Scott said while he picked up the dishes and placed them in the sink. I nodded in agreement. “Then let’s go Sunshine! I need to load that truck tomorrow, so let's empty it.” He grabbed me by the glove, and out the door we went.

I need more friends...it took all day to unload the truck, remove Leslie’s bed, and replace it with mine. Scott wanted to move my bedroom onto the first floor the entire time that we wrestled the kingsize mattress up the stairs and around the corner. The mattress was the last thing we moved, and we were so tired after. I had to promise Scott that he could sleep on it tonight because the day bed in his room really wasn’t big enough for him. Once we got the bed together, we collapsed on it.

Five minutes went by before I asked him if he wanted to help me unpack all the boxes. He just hit me with a pillow. He wanted to rest a few more minutes and then walk down to the lake. There was a café in the small town nearby and I offered to buy him dinner for all his help. He hoped they had a big steak because he was starving.

My phone rang and I got up, went to the dresser and answered it.

“Hello?” I forgot to check the number before I answered again, and it was the lawyer. “Hi, Mr. Burke.” Scott got off the bed and signaled, asking if he should leave. I shook my head no.

“Wow, are you serious?” I said into the phone. Scott sat down again. He wanted to know what was going on, but I waved him off. “Yes, that is a lot, but my answer is still no. Alright, I'll think about it.” I could see Scott was confused as I hung up the phone saying, “thank you, Mr. Burke, goodbye.”

“Well? What did the Lawyer want?” Scott asked the moment I hung up.

“One of the people who wanted to buy the land has doubled his offer. I said no, but Mr. Burke wants me to think about it. It’s four times the amount of what the land is worth.”

“Is there gold on the land that you haven’t told me about?” Scott questioned.

“I've no idea. But someone wants the land very badly.” I was a little worried about being alone after Scott left tomorrow, but I wasn’t going to let him know that. I was sure the person would just go away after being turned down twice for the land. “Come on, let’s go eat. We can go see the lake tomorrow before you leave.” Scott agreed and we headed out to check out the nearby town