Free Gifted with Hydrangea by Tigertalez

beautiful Victorian, two story home,
on a five acre lot that had a large woodshop next to it. They had called ahead,
arranging for the herd’s alpha to greet them. But as they met in front of one
vehicle and looked around, they didn’t see anyone.
    “ Huh, so nice of him to be courteous enough to be
punctual.” Gavin’s voice was full of sarcasm.
    “ I have a bad feeling about this,” Neto said in a low voice.
    “ Yeah, me, too,” Ryker agreed. “Good thing I planned
ahead and made sure we have all the legal documents we should need.”
    Neto looked around. “Notice how
close we are to Buffalo, New York?”
    Ryker could feel his beloved’s unease through their
bond. “Hey, why don’t we go check out your shop?”
    Rudo nodded.
    “ I’ll go with ya ,” Gavin
said.
    “ I’ll stay here and keep a lookout,” Neto offered.
    The three made their way to the shop, but without the
keys, he thought he would have to bash in the door. However, when Gavin turned
the doorknob, it opened.
    “ That isn’t good. It was supposed to be locked,” Rudo said as he cautiously opened the door further, and stepped
past Gavin, into the darkened building.
    Ryker heard him swear as he looked around. Ryker stood
beside Rudo and viewed the space. Light streamed
through windows, illuminating the place, but aside from being a bit sparser
than he would have thought, he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
    “ What’s wrong?” he asked.
    “ Over half of my equipment is gone.”
    “ Well that might explain why the alpha is running
late,” Gavin said as he leaned against the doorjamb. “You said he knew where
your spare keys were, looks like he didn’t want to be around when you found out
he robbed you.”
    “ Hey, guys, better get out here,” shouted Neto .
    The grouped exited the building and saw a car
approaching followed by two sheriff vehicles.
    “ Looks like he brought the sheriff and his deputy. But
why?” Gavin asked.
    Ryker had a bad feeling about this. “Maybe he got here
early, and found out about the theft and wants to report it?”
    Rudo shook his head. “I don’t
believe that, and I know you don’t either.”
    Ryker shifted his weight to one side as the vehicles
slowed and took places to park. “Good thing I brought documentation of
everything.”
    “ And a cover story,” added Neto ,
in a low voice. “Those officers are human.”
    A large, barrel-chested man with slate grey hair exited the civilian car. Another, thinner, man
exited the passenger side.
    The first man turned an angry look towards them, and
pointed at them as he approached.
    “ They’re trespassing. Arrest them.”
    The sheriff narrowed his eyes at the man before
turning towards their group. He hooked his thumbs on his belt and casually
walked closer, as the deputy leaned against his rig, with his arms and legs
crossed.
    “ I’m Sheriff Grant. That there,” he nodded toward the
other officer, “is Deputy Wiliks . Mr. Branch says he
owns this property, and that you boys are trespassing. Before I arrest anyone,
I’d like to hear your side of the story.”
    Ryker stepped forward. “That man lied, and I have
proof, if you’ll let me?”
    The sheriff nodded, and Ryker walked over to the
rented truck he came in, and reached in for his laptop and the folder of legal
papers he had so diligently hunted down. He handed the papers to the sheriff,
who immediately began looking them over. He also handed over a business card
with his name on it, that he had printed up for himself and his fellow ranking
pack members.
    “ I’m Ryker Rossi. I work for a private investigating
company in Canada. We are investigating an attack committed against Mr. Sarr and several others. It is still an open investigation.
He was severely injured, and is only just now able to return home. That man,”
Ryker pointed at the barrel-chested man, whom he guessed to be the alpha, “knew
Mr. Sarr had disappeared, and he assured us
everything of Mr. Sarr’s was all