Missing Ch. 41-50

"It's all right. Let me bring you up to speed." I filled them in on the situation with the Iron Horsemen and Sean's killers. Alpha Anthony asked about my work situation. "I don't have a reason to be on any DEA or FBI task forces, so I'm unable to look for the killers that way. I'm also fairly certain the killers are up in Canada. I need to get up there."

"You have work responsibilities."

I shrugged. "If I hadn't needed to take that time off to recover from the punishment, I'd be free to head up there in ten days. I'd planned on burning my accumulated vacation and overtime before coming in one last time to process out. Now, I have to wait until April seventeenth before going on terminal leave. I asked Sheriff Ty about taking more vacation now, but he hasn't responded."

Anthony nodded. "He was waiting for me to weigh in on it. He wants you back right away before your desk collapses under the weight of the paperwork that hasn't been getting done."

I snorted. "Max wasn't good at it, and then he was gone too."

"Ty wants you to work with your replacement for the next few weeks. I agreed it would be best."

I sat straighter, fighting to hold in my anger. "With all due respect? I'm needed in Canada."

"No, you aren't," Anthony responded. "The Council is running the search for Sean and Vince's killers. Fixer Lassiter will be running a team of Enforcers, supplemented by volunteers from other Packs. The Council refuses to allow you to join the search, Bonnie. They don't want you anywhere near what they are doing."

"I'm the best tracker in North America," I complained.

"Yes, and you assaulted three Council Enforcers and created a major embarrassment for their leadership. They won't budge on this. If you show up in Canada, they will all go home."

I couldn't believe it. "That's it? The Council is freezing me out of the search?"

"Explicitly so," Anthony replied. "They cannot deny you a part in the execution if we capture them. I verified that with the Chairman. You shall turn over all intelligence on the were-coyotes to me, and I will pass it to the Council. That is as far as you can go."

"It's not fair."

Pamela sat by me and took my hand. "You need time to heal and put your affairs in order. We have a room here at the Pack House ready for you, and your parents have brought over what they thought you might want. We've arranged the sale of your home and property, and we'd like to close on that in three weeks. Between this and work, you have plenty to do until you go on terminal leave."

I looked between the two and let out a sigh. Once again, the Council was doing what it wanted, and I had to give up my desires. "This is your command?"

"It will be if you don't agree to it first," Anthony replied. "It is the best path for everyone. Let us help you recover and move on."

I didn't have any choice here. "I'll need help going through my house. I don't know how I'll handle sorting through everything."

"We'll give you all the help you need," Pamela promised.

My stomach let out a growl. "Go," Anthony said with a laugh. "The kitchen staff made your favorite."

"Thank you, my Alphas." I excused myself and left the office with a bad taste in my mouth. I didn't know if the smoked ribs would erase it.

Ch. 50

Bonnie Woods' POV

Baxter Pack House

I ate dinner and socialized with Pack members until I couldn't take it anymore.

They were loving and supportive and happy to see me again, but I couldn't bring myself out of my funk. I felt robbed, and nothing the Pack could say would change that. The ones who kidnapped and tried to kill me were gone now. My mate's killers escaped the country, and the Council froze me out of the search. I wouldn't be there to catch those bastards if Fixer Lassiter's team or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police tracked them down.

The worst part was that even if the police caught them, we'd have a tough time proving the case unless someone testified against the others. They hadn't left fingerprints on the shell casings, and we didn't have them on camera. The only way to identify the shooters was by scent. The Baxter and Downeast Pack wolves in law enforcement would recognize them. You can't exactly say 'the werewolves sniffed the werecoyotes out' in Federal court, though.

George and Sally picked up on me withdrawing socially and got me out of there. "You've got a nice room," Sally said as we walked to one of the residence wings. "We moved some of your things in already."

The room was nicer than I expected. It was more like a hotel suite; a bedroom with a queen-sized bed and closet, a living room area with a couch, a small kitchenette, and a bathroom with a jacuzzi tub and shower. The windows looked out over the backyard and the woods, plus there was a narrow deck outside accessible from the bedroom. My office desk and computer were already in place and hooked up. They'd even moved all my clothes and shoes into my closet already. "It's nice," I said.

"You deserve a room like this," George said. "You're a senior Tracker and Trainer, and all our Betas live independently. We parked your car in the assigned spot for your room and left the keys on the counter. The keys to your storage room are on there, too."

The Pack House was like an apartment building; there was a storage room downstairs for seasonal things, sporting goods, and boxes. "It's pretty neutral, not even a painting on the wall."

"We didn't know if you'd want to paint the walls or change the carpeting before moving everything in. We can help you with what to bring here when you are ready."

"No, let's go tonight," I said. "I don't care about the colors, but there are some things I want with me. I need your help, though."

"Whatever you need," George replied. "That box has everything from your 'I Love Me' wall. The things from Sean's side are in your storage room. There's a lot more at your home we can help you go through. If it's easier for you, we'll take Sean's things to our home for now."

"NO!" I couldn't let him go, not like that. "I mean, thank you for bringing them. It might take a while before I can look at them again, but they were important to him." Cops and military people all had a space where they displayed their awards, photos, and accomplishments. Sean's wall was as impressive as mine.

I managed to get them to leave ten minutes later. I tried out the Jacuzzi tub, soaking for twenty minutes with the jets on. My thoughts kept returning to how easy it would be to slice a wrist and drift into nothingness. "You promised me," my mate's voice spoke into my head.

"I wish I hadn't. You have no idea how much I miss you." I opened the drain and let the water out.

I tried to sleep for hours. Finally giving up, I pulled on jeans and a T-shirt and grabbed my keys. The Pack hallways were quiet, and I only saw a few people on the way down to the storage room. I turned the light on and closed the door behind me.

The room was spacious, ten feet wide and sixteen deep. A dozen boxes lay stacked along the back wall. I went to the biggest one, almost four feet square and six inches deep, and moved it out. Opening the top, I removed the two wall hangings I'd last seen at Sean's funeral.

I set the first one against the wall. Sean's dress uniform was behind the glass with his Green Beret. Surrounding it were all the unit patches and some photos from his time in the Army.

The second frame held his State Police uniform, with his awards and photos from his career there. His Lieutenant's Bars shone in the harsh light as I set it next to the Army one.

I dug through a few more boxes until I found the pictures from our mating ceremony. We were so young and in love. He'd changed my life completely, taking me away from a Pack that barely tolerated me and bringing me into a family and Pack that loved me.

I found one last picture and set it against the wall. One of the spectators had caught the moment on camera. Our Alphas had the image blown up and framed, giving it to us on our first anniversary. I was in wolf form, my lanky red wolf almost to the finish line. It captured the moment right after Sean tripped me up. The side of my head was on the grass, while my momentum had my back end going over the top. Sean's wolf was on his side as he slid behind me. The look of shock and outrage on my face contrasted with the raw lust in his eyes.

I ended up on the floor, crying and holding that picture to my chest. I somehow fell asleep.

The Luna sent out a search party for me when I didn't show for breakfast.

After that, I was rarely alone. Sheriff Ty kept me busy at work training my replacement. When I got home, people would help me move and sort. I still had trouble with the scents and memories of my house, so we figured out a workaround. I'd stay at the Pack House with Sally. We'd video call over to my house, where George and his volunteers had a tablet. As he went through a room, we'd apply colored stickers to the stuff. White was for my new apartment, blue for George's house, green for the storage room, and red meant sale or donation. Things like books and papers got boxed up and brought over for us to sort late into the night.

And when I finally collapsed into bed, a few of the Pack juveniles would go wolf and snuggle in with me. I'm pretty sure that Luna Adrienne gave them that idea.

Weeks passed, and I went on terminal leave. The weather was warming up, and I was getting the last things out of the house and garage before the new owners closed on the place. George took off with the last load for Goodwill. Going back inside the garage, I gazed at Sean's surprise.

We worked for different law enforcement agencies with different schedules, so he had time out to work on projects. His buddy filled me in when he brought it over. Sean bought a Harley-Davidson 2003 100^th Anniversary Edition VRSCA V-Rod at a police auction for a song. His buddy had a garage with a full shop, and they worked on it there when he had time. The powerful motorcycle had crashed, but most of the damage was cosmetic. Sean planned to strip it down over the winter, repaint it, tune the engine, and replace the damaged pipes. After he died, his friends restored it for me so I'd have the retirement motorcycle he wanted to give me.

We had ridden motorcycles for years in the short Maine riding season. I'd sold Sean's Road King and my Softail Slim, keeping this liquid-cooled drag racer for myself. I walked it into the driveway before closing the door, then fired it up. The big engine throbbed under me as I put it in gear.

Racing along the roads towards my new home, I reveled in the temporary freedom I had on the back of a bike. I was halfway there when the Alpha sent to me. "Bonnie, we need to talk to you immediately. Come to my office."

"I'll be there in ten minutes," I replied. "What is this about?"

"They found them," Anthony responded. "I can't believe it, but Lassiter did it! All three are in the Pack Prison at Saint Raymond Pack."