Free The Finding by Nicky Charles Page A

moves and countermoves he could take. He curled his lip as
he sent out a pawn, knowing he was sacrificing it to save a more
important piece.
    Life was rather
like a large chess game, he reflected, only the stakes were a
little higher. In real life, the pawns were people rather than
playing pieces, but they served the same purpose; eventually being
forfeited in order to gain the main prize. And he would gain the
main prize, no matter how many ‘pawns’ he had to sacrifice.
    *****
    Stump River,
Ontario, Canada...
    Bryan sat in
the pack house office completely unaware of the bright sunshine
that streamed in through the window heralding the start of spring.
Nor was he aware of the piles of paper work stacked on the side of
his desk, the half eaten sandwich and now cold cup of coffee.
Instead, he was transfixed by the e-mail displayed before him on
his computer screen. A mixture of excitement and disbelief washed
over him as he finished scanning the text.
    “Hey Ryne! Come
look at this!” Bryan called over his shoulder, knowing the Alpha
was in the house somewhere.
    A minute later,
Ryne strolled into the room with Mel, his arm wrapped possessively
around her slightly thickened waist. He was nuzzling her neck.
“What’s up?”
    Bryan looked at
the two of them; watching as Ryne nipped Mel’s neck and she made an
appreciative noise in her throat.
    “Er...did I
interrupt something?”
    “Not yet.” Mel
grinned and ran her fingers through Ryne thick black hair, then
trailed them down his chest towards his belt buckle.
    The Alpha
growled and clamped his hand over hers. “Behave.”
    Tugging at her
hand, Mel tried unsuccessfully to free it. “I can’t help myself;
raging hormones, you know. Besides, it’s your own fault for getting
me pregnant.”
    “It had better
be my fault.” Ryne rubbed the slight swell of her belly. “If I ever
found out you’d—”
    “Me? You’re the
one who had women draped all over him when we went to that show in
Toronto a few weeks ago!”
    “What can I
say? I’m a chick magnet.” Ryne waggled his eyebrows and
smirked.
    “A chick
magnet? More like a bit conceited.” Mel finally freed her hand and
stepped away, looking at him with narrowed eyes.
    “Hey! I’m just
aware of my strong points and as Alpha—”
    Mel rolled her
eyes. “Oh, right. How could I forget that whole ‘you’re my supreme
leader’ bit?”
    Ryne pulled her
closer and patted her on the head, then spoke in a condescending
tone. “That’s all right, Melody. From what I’ve heard, becoming
forgetful is all part of making baby-brains.”
    Bryan groaned
inwardly sensing another one of their infamous arguments. The two
really loved each other, but sometimes...
    “So what’s up?”
Ryne quirked an eyebrow at him as Mel sputtered at his side, no
doubt trying to think of a suitable retort.
    “It’s about
this e-mail that just came in. I might have some information on
Cassandra Greyson.”
    “Really?” Mel
looked at him with interest, apparently forgetting her spat with
her mate. Then just as suddenly, she winced.
    Ever vigilant
where his mate was concerned, Ryne immediately looked concerned.
“Are you okay, Melody?”
    “I’m fine. The
baby just kicked, I think.” She blushed slightly and then began
backing closer to the door. “I…I think I need to go to the
bathroom.” With that she turned and scurried away.
    Ryne watched
her, shaking his head. “Pregnant women seem to live in the
bathroom, and she gets upset about the strangest things.” He
frowned as if trying to fathom the problem, then shrugged and
turned back to Bryan. “So what did you discover about the Greyson
girl?”
    Bryan gestured
to the computer screen. “Look at this. A werewolf named Robert
Walker was on vacation in Vegas and thinks he’s found Cassandra
Greyson. He wasn’t able to get any information on her, but he did
take a picture using his cell phone. Does this look like her?”
    Ryne leaned
over, bracing his arm on the desk to