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  Enzo smiled and chuckled. “Yep, that’d be him.”

  “I’m glad they’re all right,” Heath said truthfully. “You keep saying ‘mate’. Is that like a spouse?”

  Enzo shifted to one foot, looked down to the ground, and rubbed his chin. Heath could tell he was worried about something he was going to tell him.

  “It’s more than just a spouse, Heath.” Enzo looked up at him, directly into his eyes. “We each are given a predestined mate. You could call it a soul-mate. Each paranormal senses their mates differently. For shifters, it’s by scent. We’d do anything for them, even forsake any other relationships we may have formed. I want to tell you more, but that is a very big subject, and there are a lot of other things you need to know to better understand it. But I want you to know, Heath, you are my mate. I would lay my life down to protect you from anyone who would harm you, even if it is from myself.”

  Heath felt his heart start to speed up. What does it mean to be his mate? He didn’t know why he believed him, but Heath really felt like Enzo told the truth. He truly trusted Enzo to protect him, and in this new world of crazy that he now found himself in, that was enough for now.

  Heath nodded his head. “Ok. Uh, one more question. You said ‘each paranormal’. What does that mean?”

  He heard Enzo sigh. “Paranormals are beings beyond the scope of scientific understanding. There are more than just shifters, Heath. That’s why we have to keep our existence a secret, because scientists would butcher us for their own ends.”

  “Okay, I get that, and I also understand there’d be more prejudices against you than there are for gays. I promise I’ll keep your secret, Enzo. I may be seriously freaked out about all of this, but I don’t want you to be in danger. So what other kind of paranormals are there?”

  Enzo took in a deep breath, let it out slowly, and leaned against a wall. “Well, Havana’s mate, Dultyn?” He looked up at Heath, and Heath nodded in return. “He’s a gargoyle. He can shift into a gargoyle form.”

  “No way! Really?”

  Enzo chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, really. We have a couple others, but they aren’t mated yet, so they aren’t capable of changing into human form. They are up and about by now, but come sunrise, they turn to stone.”

  “They really do turn to stone?” Heath asked excitedly, then paused. “I don’t get it. What does mating have to do with turning human?”

  Enzo waved it off and stood back up. “That’s a long explanation. But if you see them, they are good people. Don’t judge them by their looks, which can be shocking.”

  Heath’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah, and I’ve proven I don’t handle shock too well.”

  Enzo snorted. “We’ll work on that. I should also tell you that we have a few vampires.”

  Heath felt the blood drain from his face. His heart-rate shot up, and he felt himself starting to shake again. Enzo must have sensed it because he dropped his clothes on a nearby chair, and wrapped his arms around him.

  “Shh, don’t freak out, sweetheart. They won’t hurt you. They are personally just like you and me.”

  “But don’t they have to drink blood?”

  “Yes, but remember what I told you about the Hollywood versions?”

  “Mostly fictional?” Heath asked, and couldn’t help the tinge of hope in his tone.

  “Yes. They aren’t the bloodthirsty monsters you were told about growing up. True, they need to drink blood, but they never take from someone who isn’t willing. And when they’re mated, they can’t drink anyone’s blood except their mate’s. You know Seamus and Ryker?”

  Heath gasped and stiffened. “They’re vampires?”

  “Yes, but they are also both mated. They can only drink from their mate. And in spite of what you’ve been told, they can go out into the sun.”

  “Really? ‘Cause Ryker doesn’t look like he could handle thirty seconds in the sun without going up in smoke.”

  Enzo leaned back and laughed hard. The sound of Enzo’s laugh made Heath smile, and he felt himself beginning to relax. Enzo gave Heath a squeeze before pulling back and picking up his clothes. “We all give him grief about his complexion. You’ll fit right in.”

  Enzo walked over and grabbed the hanging privacy curtain. “Shifters aren’t usually too modest when it comes to nudity because we have to undress to shift. But I know you aren’t used to that, so I’ll close the curtain, and give you some privacy to change while I change on the other side of the curtain at the same time. Is that okay?”

  After Heath’s nod of affirmation, Enzo pulled the curtain around, keeping to the side of the door, while Heath was on the side of the bed. He quickly changed into the clothes Ryker had given him and crawled up onto the massive bed.

  Enzo opened the curtain and dropped his dirty clothes on a smaller chair. He walked over and set the larger chair next to the Heath, and lowered into a bed. Walking back over to his clothes, he grabbed his jeans, and dug into one of the pockets, pulling out the packet of pills Seamus had given them. Next, he exited the room, and came back with a small glass of water.

  After Heath downed the pills, Enzo leaned over and placed a kiss on his head. “Goodnight, sweetheart. I’ll be right here if you need me.”

  Heath leaned back and closed his eyes. In a way, he wanted to wake in the morning to find this was all just some nightmare, but on the other hand, he liked Enzo. Ever since the first day he saw him through the shop windows, he’d felt a pull towards him like nothing else. Sneaking in and stealing his address information, to be his secret admirer, was something he wouldn’t have done normally, especially in this day-and-age. But something deep down told him that Enzo was worth the risk, and if he could just get over the fact that he turned into a werewolf, he hoped that would still be true.

  Chapter Seven

  Ryker blew the steam away from his newly poured fifth cup of coffee. He was having a difficult time keeping his eyes from drooping as he studied the monitor in his laptop.

  “Wow, Rye, why use a cup when you can drink directly from the coffee pot?” Gavin laughed at his own quip.

  “Perhaps you should get some rest,” Neto said.

  “There’s no time. We land in twenty minutes, and this is the only time I’ll have for a while to try and find more information on Lizzy. Someone did a doozy of a job making her disappear.”

  Rudo leaned over and rubbed his hand over Ryker’s shoulders. “You need to take care of yourself. You can do that while I pack up my belongings. I don’t have much anyways. It’s mostly just tools and big furniture.”

  “Who really does?” asked Pierce, one of the vampires Raymond sent to help. “I rarely see any paranormal gather much in the way of possessions, until they are bonded. There isn’t too much of a point.”

  Ryker liked Pierce. His looks could be intimidating, but he was a really kind man. He’d become friends with him, and a few others from Raymond’s coven when they came to stay with them just over a month ago, after helping to rescue Slate’s mother and sister. Wow, that was only a month ago?

  “I agree,” Fabian said in his usual French accent. “Not much sencze when you cannot share with that quelqu'un de spécial.”

  Ryker didn’t say anything. He didn’t have any reason to disagree since up until about a month and a half ago he was still living with his parents. He looked around at the others on the plane, who were talking quietly among themselves. Gavin and Neto were here to help him get Rudo packed up. Slate, Fabian, Pierce, and Gregory were there to help retrieve Mina and her mate, Craig. With Mina and Craig targets of an alpha who just may have been the cause of Lizzy’s disappearance, Alphy wasn’t taking any chances with the safety of their retrieval.

  Ryker could hear the different mechanical parts of the place whir as the plane began its descent. Resigning his search for now, he packed everything up and readied himself for touchdown.

  They landed in Erie, Pennsylvania, and from there rented two vehicles and checked in to their hotels before heading a half an hour so
uth to their destination, a place called Waterford.

  They pulled up to a 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 here. However, we have just now learned much of Mr. Sarr’s work equipment is missing.”

  Ryker watched the sheriff flip through the papers as Ryker gave his little speech. He remained silent after he was done, until the sheriff gave another nod of his head and handed the papers back to him.

  The sheriff turned and called to his deputy. “Rodger, get your cuffs out.”

  Ryker froze and held his breath. Does the alpha have the sheriff in his pocket?

  The sheriff pointed to the man Ryker thought to be the alpha. “Take Mr. Branch into custody for submitting a false report.”

  Ryker silently breathed out his relief as he heard the deputy giving the Miranda rights to the now sputtering man. He could hear the clicking noise of the cuffs locking around Mr. Branch’s wrists.

  “Add slander, embezzlement, and maybe conspiracy to that, if you would, please. Can we also get a warrant, or something, to search his house for Mr. Sarr’s things?” Ryker asked the sheriff.

  Ryker saw the other man just standing quietly beside the car he arrived in, when the sheriff answered.

  The sheriff nodded. “I’ll call it in. Meanwhile, have Mr. Sarr make a list of everything that is missing.”

  “Did Mr. Branch have the keys on him?” Ryker asked.

  “I don’t know. Let me go see.”

  The sheriff walked over to the very non-silent man in cuffs, and after a moment, came back dangling a pair of keys.

  “Are these the keys?”

  Rudo stepped up and held out his hand. The sheriff placed them in his hands, and Rudo inspected them.

  “These four keys here are. I do not know what the other keys are for.”

  Ryker harrumphed and shrugged. “They are more than likely his own keys. He probably just added yours to his.”

  The sheriff agreed with a nod. “That would be my guess as well. Go try them out to show proof they are yours.”

  The sheriff looked back at his deputy, who was putting the cuffed man into the back of his rig, and then looked over at the other man, who had silently walked around the car he arrived in, and got in before following him and Rudo up the front porch. Ryker heard the car start up, back out, and drive away, spinning his wheels as he did so.

  Rudo tried the doorknob before inserting the key. The knob wiggled, but it was clear that it was locked. He inserted one of the keys and turned it. Then he twisted the knob, easily opening the door.

  “All right, Mr. Sarr, I’m going to need a full statement from you, as well as that list of everything that is missing.”

  Ryker felt Rudo’s mixed emotions, and none of them felt happy. To give his beloved a moment, he turned to the sheriff and answered him. “I’ll make sure you get that, sheriff. Thank you for your help. Will you be needing a statement from me and my guys, too?”

  “That would be helpful. Here’s my card.” The sheriff pulled out a card from the front pocket of his shirt, and handed it to Ryker. “Call me if you need further assistance. I’ll inform you when that warrant is ready.”

  “Hope it doesn’t take too long, sheriff,” Ryker said as he looked in the direction the alpha’s car had disappeared. “I have a feeling they’ll get rid of the evidence if you wait too long.”

  The sheriff turned and headed back down the steps, then entered his rig. He and the deputy turned their vehicles around, and headed back down the driveway, leaving a small dust cloud in their wake.

  ****

  Rudo’s heart hurt. He knew there was no love lost between him and his alpha, but to have had his trust broken in such a way hurt.

  He heard his mate’s soothing voice in his head. “You okay?”

  All he could do at the moment was just blankly shake his head. He really didn’t feel okay. He felt violated. He had trusted his alpha, as all the herd did, as executor of his estates. As he stood in the doorway, looking into his house, he could see that almost everything had been taken. His a
lpha’s actions said to him that he had known he was gone, and probably believed he wasn’t coming back. Rudo originally hadn’t believed the alpha had anything to do with his abduction, but now he wasn’t so sure. Who else could have been involved? He would have had others do this for him. Suddenly having his mate’s buddies here for protection didn’t feel so overkill, like he had originally thought. Rudo sighed and moved further into his home.

  He heard his mate gasp behind him, indicating he saw the condition of the inside of his home. Now Rudo’s heart really hurt. He wanted to protect and provide for his mate, but how could he when everything he had was taken? He wasn’t even able to prevent his own home from being raided.

  “Hey,” Ryker said in a hushed voice. “I know what you’re feeling, but you were betrayed, Rudo, by your alpha, no less. An alpha is someone everyone should be able to trust.”

  Gavin’s voice came from behind him in the form of a very long line of expletives.

  “Where’s Neto?” He heard Ryker ask him.

  “He’s inspecting the perimeter,” Gavin responded.

  The group inspected the house in silence. It was a solemn event that shook him to his core with each room he ventured into. His furniture was gone, his cookware, and all his food was gone from the kitchen. Many of his clothes were gone, with the rest piled in a heap on the floor. His bookcases he’d built himself were gone, and his books were carelessly thrown in a pile in a corner. Even his four poster bed, which he had built himself, was gone. There wasn’t a chair or stool to sit on to allow himself to hang his head in grief.

  Rudo walked up to a cheap mirror, with a plain wooden frame he had built. He was hopeful as he saw it was still in place. It was three feet wide, and over six and a half feet tall. Grabbing one side, he pulled on it, opening it like a door. Behind it revealed a large, upright safe.

  “Wow, that’s awesome. Did anyone else have the combination?” Ryker’s voice held awe, which helped ease the sting of being robbed in front of his mate.

  The safe looked intact. “Sort of. I have a copy of the combination in my will. Whether or not the alpha was able to take a look at the will, I am uncertain.”