6

Camerin knocked on my office door before he walked in and sat down in front of my desk. I had spent most of the day here working. Since I sent Camerin out to look into our new neighbors, I had to cover his work as well.

“I hope you have some good news for me. I doubled the offer on the property and I Haven't heard back yet.” I said as I signed the last piece of paper for the day and then gave him my full attention.

“I had Micah scout out the house. There are two people unloading the truck, so they're moving in. They must be health conscious for there was a lot of exercise equipment they moved into the garage. The owner of the truck is Scott Banner, an independent driver. The owner of the house is Kathryn Stevens, a relative of the lady who lived there. The couple is in town eating at Sherry’s Diner right now. Sherry said she would get some information on them while they're there and give me a call later.” Camerin finished his report.

“If anyone can get information out of someone it’s Sherry,” I smiled. She is just so friendly that anyone would open up to her. I bet she would make a great interrogator.

Both my phone and Camerin’s went off at the same time. We each took our calls, but when we finished, he was smiling and I was not. I hit my desk with my fist and exclaimed, “I doubled my offer, but she turned it down again!”

“Sherry just called.” Camerin reported, “Our two neighbors are not a couple, just friends. The guy is leaving tomorrow, leaving the niece of the old lady at the house alone.” He thought for a moment. “We could let her see more wolves - maybe she’ll get scared, change her mind, and accept the bid on the property.“

“That’s a good idea, but for now let’s just watch her and see what she has planned. Have Micah stick to the boundary and not cross into her land. I'm curious to find out what Jaxson is planning now that he has been turned down as well. He needed the land just as much as we do.” I leaned back in the chair and ran my fingers through my hair. “I’m going for a run before I turn in for the night. Care to join me?”

“I would, but I've a date tonight, so you're on your own,” Camerin said as he stood up. “See you in the morning.” He was grinning as he left the office.

I left the packhouse and walked to the edge of the woods. The sun was almost set. It didn’t matter to me, I loved running at night, it was my alone time. There was a full moon tonight and its reflection on the water would be amazing. I stripped off my clothes and shifted to my wolf form. My wolf was midnight black, bigger than most others in the pack, and he loved to run.

I ran first to the northern border of my land, having decided to meet up with Micah before his shift was over. I wanted to see if he found out anything else about Kathryn. Once I got his updated report, I would head over to the lake for my view of the moon.

A few rabbits crossed my path, but I did my best to keep my wolf on the path and not get sidetracked with a game of ‘chase the rabbits.’ The temperature was just right for a run. I could tell that autumn was trying to come early this year, but summer wasn’t letting go just yet, especially during the daytime when the temps reached into the high eighties.

I reached the area where Micah was watching the house. The humans hadn’t returned home yet, so he was just relaxing and waiting. Micah reported that he did see two of Jaxson’s wolves sniffing around the house, but they ran off when they saw him. I didn’t like the idea that Jaxson would let his men enter the property and walk around the house. There is a long-standing treaty that neither pack would enter the lands between the packs. That’s why Micah was sitting at the borderline while he kept watch.

I told Micah to go home for the night, and I would stay until the northern patrol made their way over here. I would make sure no one else sniffed around the house anymore. I decided to have a talk with Jaxson in the morning and remind him that the land is off-limits to both sides. The treaty was put into place fifty years ago, when Jaxson’s pack moved into the area. Ms. Stevens had bought the land a year before. Since then, no wolves had entered the property. Just because someone else owns the property now doesn’t make the treaty null and void.

A car pulled up to the house. I couldn’t see anyone get out of it from where I was sitting, but I could hear them talking. Kathryn was trying to get her friend to help set up the gym in the garage, but he wasn’t up for it. He wanted to get some sleep because he was leaving early in the morning. She talked him into one movie before bed. They stopped talking when they heard wolves howling in the distance. The howling came from Jaxson’s side; noisy bastards. The couple went inside moments after hearing the wolves’ cries.

Twenty minutes after the couple retreated inside, the northern patrol arrived. I updated them on the wolves wandering around the house, and told them to keep an eye on the area; I wanted to know if they saw any more wolves. They were to stay hidden and not bother the humans. There were four of them in the patrol and one would remain close to the home at all times to make sure the humans were safe from the other pack. I gave them final instructions and then headed to the lake while the moon shone bright in the night sky. It was finally time for me to enjoy my alone time.