Heath didn’t know how he’d approach Ty on this matter. Amber was Ty’s blood relation, and he’d done things with her that still unnerved him.She busied herself with planning their future. While he struggled with their here and now. What did he know about her or the community? Her father would have some kind of say in this. Ty might very well have a say too.Heath didn’t know where he’d stand with either Alpha. After all, he barely held anything but a minimum rank as a pack enforcer. When it came to this rank, he wasn’t much more important than a human mall cop.His words went unheeded by Amber and all Rose said on the subject was that Amber’s response was not surprising in the least. So, he sat there with Amber chattering away to him as he ate, and he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach making his meal sit heavy.“Amber, you don’t know me. What would you do if this mating went forward, and you found out that we had nothing in common? Or despised each other? For all you know,
He was about to enter the tunnel when his phone rang. “Hold it everyone. I must get this. It’s the town hall’s office number. I must take this. It’s probably something wrong with the paperwork.” It would be just his luck that they rejected his application for some obscure reason in the bit to be the town protector. “Hello?” “Alpha Randell. I’m so happy to have reached you. It’s Kelly Long over at town hall.” Ty knew exactly who she was. Kelly was a member of the Blue Dalia Pack, and they knew each other growing up. She worked as a clerk in the town hall’s office. Her job was to manage all the official paperwork for the town. “Hey, Kelly, what’s wrong? Do I need to put out a fire or two?” “Well, that’s what I’m calling you about. There’s no fire at all. Well, except that the time’s passed for submissions for the position of town protector and there were only two applicants. You and Jack were the only two.” Kelly’s voice hinted at what everyone knew already.
“Ty, we found the end of the tunnel where they left this place. It’s a way down and we’ve not tried to open it up because we don’t know where it leads, or if they are on the other side. Or if they booby trapped the door.” “Good. Jackson, you’re the traps and explosive specialist. You’re up. Go earn your keep. I know this is what you live for.” Jackson worked under Mikey in security and, as Ty said. He knew his way around most traps and explosives. He had the missing fingers to prove it. “I knew I’d be needed today. I brought my gear with me. Just stay back until I call you or you see the cloud of dust and debris.” That was something about people that did what he did. They had a mortician’s humor, or they had what was called gallows humor. Meaning they either had no sense of humor at all or they were sick and had a morbid sense of humor. Jackson didn’t believe in being serious about anything because he was too busy living what time he had left. With t
Ty divided up the group of wolves with him and they set about dividing up the gear. They discussed the strategies they’d use going into the Icehouse. The place was enormous with three floors. Two were underground. The deepest used to hold ice, the second food that preserved better with cold, and finally the ground floor where they stored food and things that need a cool location. It didn’t take as long as Ty thought it would. Everyone appeared to be eager to get these things under way. He and several others moved silently through the woods between the cleverly hidden tunnel entrance and the entrance to the Icehouse. It only had one entrance because the place was so old, but it was large with a door hanging off it’s upper hinge on one side and the other door was missing completely from the other side. If anyone saw the building, it looked like it was a low barn that was abandoned and left to rot. Everything was dark, even with all the holes in the walls and
Rose got word on what Ty found and the phone call he received from the mayor about being the town’s protector. The news that the mayor knew nothing about Ty needing to defend himself from being suspected of having done something to Jack and his wolves came as a surprise for everyone. “I don’t get it Rose. Nothing makes sense. The only way I could make sense of what I found when I examined the remains and was writing the reports, was there was no sign of wounds made from fangs or claws. Someone hacked them to pieces after they’d shot or stabbed them to death. So, it looked like humans did the damage rather than wolves.” Heather stood in Ty’s office. They’d taken a painting off the wall and were placing sticky notes on the wall in an attempt to find a logical progression in the timeline of events so that they could ensure that they covered every accusation against Ty. “Which are the humans we believe hid in the canyon before they got trapped in there.” Rose added.
Every wolf with Ty heard the growl, and instantly, every single head turned to the darkened portal. The growl came from within the darkness. Only a cornered animal would make such a threatening sound. But it was but one voice, one nonhuman voice. The great question now was it a shifter growl or a beast growling? Ty hoped it was Jack and they could finally have it out between the two of them. Have it done and over with? One less mess to deal with. One less thing weighing around his neck like some anchor stone that’s hanging over the side of a boat waiting for his one wrong move to pull him down into the watery depths. Ty shifted again into his wolf. He wouldn’t be caught unawares by whatever it was. Ty’s men swung their lights toward the sound and the green lights settle on a wasted she-wolf chained to the wall in the darkened room. Ty crept closer for a look. The she-wolf wasn’t in the best of care. He couldn’t believe she was alive down here in this
Ty brought the unconscious she-wolf up into the cool night air and passed her off to others so she could get immediate care. Now he needed to do something with the Icehouse. It was too far gone in too many ways to allow to stand. He knew it was a landmark for the area, but after what they found in there and the amount of rot and ruin, it would be a mercy to burn it down. Burning it was the only way to cleanse the taint from the land, and they would not save it with repairs. They’d have to give those within a chance to be identified at least, and then give them a send-off they deserved before they burned the place to the ground. He knew at some point they would place a reminder here for all of Russell’s victims. He would accept no less. Several pack members went back in to do a last search for the lowest level. No one wanted to leave anyone alive there. In the morning, he’d have wolves here to assist with removing the remains down there. Get He
Rose waited most of the night, but she didn’t hear from Ty until early the next morning before the sun had a chance to rise. He’d found a living victim, found, and captured Jack alive, and found the remains of many of the missing wolves from around the region. Ty’s hands were full, but he finally relented and came home to sleep. He had to be carried to bed because he’d crashed sitting up in his desk chair trying to get things started. Rose’s feelings were mixed by what he’d found and Ben’s findings in one of the last storerooms told her all she needed to know. That’s where Russell kept his ill-gotten gains. Antiques taken from the house, along with antiques he’d acquired from his dirty dealings, were stored there waiting for who knows what. Maybe to be sold off or traded to pay off his debts for whatever nightmarish pursuit caught his interest. Rose was disgusted at the thought that this wolf had shared blood with her. He let his pack flounder, knowi