Avalyn put the SUV in park and jumped out. She grabbed any files she thought she may need from the back, before following Alexander up the steps. Finnick followed closely behind, not wanting to get left anywhere.
A tall, blonde headed man stood at the top of the stairs, waiting for us by the front door. "Devon, this is Avalyn Grant, Finnick Daniels, and that's Trey Falon back there", Alexander introduced. Devon smiled invitingly, as he stared at Finnick.
"It is nice to meet everyone", Devon said, reaching for Finnick's hand first. Finnick nervously accepted Devon's hand, sparks shooting up their arms as their skin connected. Finnick gasped and pulled his hand back.
Finnick had never felt anything like this before. It felt like electricity. Like he had touched a live outlet. Avalyn watched the interaction closely. Is it possible that they are mates? Avalyn wasn't too sure, there was a good bit about mates that she herself didn't understand.
It wasn't something she thought she had to learn about, until recently. Alexander's admission to sensing her wolf gave her a semblance of hope. "We will take you to our conference room", Alexander uttered, catching Avalyn's attention.
She nodded as she followed him closely. It had been many years since she had returned to the Sol Valley Pack. She wondered how long she would be here this time. Will she have time to research all the questions she has for herself?
"We are going to set your team up in here. It's easy access. It puts them close to their rooms and the cafeteria", Alexander said, showing Avalyn the large open plan conference room. A large screen was mounted to the wall in front of the table, very similar to the one they had back at headquarters.
"This is perfect. Thank you", Avalyn uttered, placing her bag down on the table. "Where do we find the vampire in question?", she asked, looking over at Alexander. "He's close now. Do you want to go to him now? Or, do you want to wait for Hitch?", Alexander asked.
"Wait for Hitch for what?", Trey asked, as he walked through the door with Finnick and Devon. "To move any further on this case", Avalyn answered. "There's no way you already know who the culprit is", Trey said, anger and jealousy laced his voice.
"Actually, I already do. As King of my people. I know all their scents", Alexander answered, getting tired of the way Trey talks to everyone. "How is that possible?" Trey asked, his eyes wide.
"Dedication", Alexander answered flatly. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get him", Trey said. "And do what with him? Put him in a cell that would never hold him?", Avalyn asked, throwing her hands out to the side.
"We have to wait for Hitch so that he can be the median between the director and the King", Avalyn said, gesturing to Alexander. "Why would it get left up to him?", Trey seethed.
"It's his people. It's like coming to America and committing a crime. The punishment is usually left up to their home country that they are deported back to", Finnick chimed in. "Ugh, the genius and the genius always teamed up", Trey hissed with venom.
"You got a problem you want sorted out before Hitch gets here?", Avalyn asked, stepping forward and squaring her shoulders. "This pack isn't a separate country, it should be left up to us", Trey barked at Avalyn.
"That's where your stupidity gets the best of you. Packs are treated exactly like Native American lands. They have their own rules, leader, and justice system", Avalyn gritted out.
The lack of distance between Avalyn and Trey made Alexander extremely jumpy and on edge. "Children! I leave you alone for five minutes and this is how you conduct yourselves?", Hitch's voice resonated through the conference room.
"You need to get her under control, DAD. She is an embarrassment to the bureau", Trey snapped, looking over at Hitch. His use of dad was reference to the fact that Hitch has mentored Avalyn for so long.
Avalyn snapped, finally unable to control it any longer. She drew back and swung as hard as she could at Trey, clocking him right in the jaw. She grabbed him by his hair and slammed his head into her knee twice before slinging him on to the table. Before she could jump back on Trey, a set of strong arms wrapped around her waist.
"Feisty little mate", Alexander uttered, as he pulled Avalyn away from Trey. Avalyn's blood was pumping too hard for her to fully register what was said. "What is going on?", Hitch asked, looking between Avalyn and Trey. "Ask your adoptive child", Trey hissed, wiping the blood from his nose.
Avalyn jumped towards Trey again, trying to get back at him. Alexander's hold on her didn't budge. "Easy, malen'kiy volk (little wolf)", Alexander whispered into her ear.
It was then that Avalyn became hyper aware of the person holding her so closely. Her anger slowly began to flee her as she zoned in on him. How his hands were wrapped around her, and how his chest felt against her back. Her focus shifted to his breathing, her body instantly falling to his command. Her heart rate slowed, as her adrenaline faded out.
"Falon, take a walk", Hitch told him. Alexander nodded at one of his guards, signaling for him to walk with Trey. "Why do you let him get to you like that?", Hitch asked Avalyn, once Trey had left.
"He shows how ignorant he is every time he talks", Avalyn said, frowning deeply. "That didn't answer my question", Hitch sighed. Hitch shook his head when he got no response from Avalyn.
"I apologize, your highness, for my team's lack of professionalism. I do hope that we can continue to work together", Hitch said, turning to Alexander, and extending his hand for a handshake. Alexander released Avalyn gently and shook Hitch's hand.
"I can not blame Avalyn for snapping on Falon. He has been at her nonstop. He said some pretty offensive things before she finally did snap on him", Alexander said, coming to his mate's defense. He was about ready to snap the little twerp's neck.
Hitch nodded in understanding. He was aware that Trey had a habit of picking at Avalyn until she snapped, then would try and make her look like the bad guy. It angered Hitch, but Falon never did it when he was around, so there wasn't too much that he could do about it.
"I know who your vampire is. And it is a vampire, which makes this fall under my jurisdiction. Avalyn spoke of you being a mediator between me and the director", Alexander started. "Correct. He will want to know that proper punishment is carried out is all", Hitch agreed.
"And, what might that be in his eyes?", Alexander asked. Hitch shrugged his shoulders. "If he was human, tried by jury, he would get life in prison", Hitch said, trying to give Alexander an idea of what the director might expect.
"So, he won't expect me to kill him?", Alexander clarified. Hitch looked taken aback for a moment. Confusion thick on his features. "No, I don't believe so. Why?", Hitch asked. "That's what your boy was trying to get at before Avalyn snapped on him", Alexander explained.
Realization set in for Hitch. "No. Guarantee from you that he won't be on the human streets anymore will be enough", he told Alexander, sincerely. Alexander nodded, "Good. If Avalyn is correct and he is going rouge, this is not his fault. And, it's my job to ensure his safe retrieval", Alexander said.
"We have another issue though", Avalyn added. "Yes, the rouges and hunter's knives", Hitch nodded. "Are we sure they are hunter's knives?", he asked, looking between Avalyn and Alexander.
"Yes. I am positive", Alexander said, his features strong. Hitch studied Alexander for a minute before submitting. "I will call Director Vance. If you don't mind starting the team on the next task at hand", Hitch said, looking between Avalyn and Alexander. "Will do", Avalyn said, giving her chief peace of mind.
Alexander looked over at Devon, "Get me the box, please", he commanded. "Yes Alpha", Devon nodded, before turning and leaving the room. "I need to call a meeting with Alpha Caden", Avalyn announced, speaking about the rouge alpha.
"So, what exactly is going on?", Carey asked, looking down her nose at Avalyn. "Have a seat, everyone. It's time to catch you up to speed. Finnick, get Kailey on the speaker, please", Avalyn announced, gathering what was left of her team to the table.
Finnick pulled out his phone and called Kailey. "What can I do for your beautiful mind today, Finny", her gentle voice rang through the phone. "You are on speaker. Avalyn has something she wants us to get caught up on", Finnick told her. "Okay, shoot", Kailey said.
"As you are all aware at this point, except maybe Kailey, we are at Sol Valley Pack", Avalyn began, looking around at her peers. "This place is sacred, and contains a mixture of vampires and werewolves", she said. "Seriously?", Carey said. "Yes, please let me finish", Avalyn cut her off. "Most of you don't know this, but six years ago, when I joined this team, I came clean to Hitch about what I was, and how I wanted to make a difference", she paused, taking a deep breath.
"Together, Hitch and I joined forces with Keenan Black, Alexander's father", she said, looking over at Alexander. "We made a treaty between the humans and other species. It took a while for it to take effect, but once it did it worked for many years. Until recently", she sighed.
"Apparently, rouges have been attacking other packs", Avalyn announced. "What's a rouge?", Kailey asked. "A rouge is a werewolf that has been banned from it's pack and sentenced to exile. Where a true rouge, is a werewolf that has lost his sanity and can no longer shift back into a human. True rouges were a bigger problem years ago. They were roaming into the human world and attacking people. When I assigned an Alpha to pack the rouges that became a far less problem", she explained.
"Because, they had a pack to go to?", Corey clarified. "Correct", Alexander chimed in. "A wolf without a pack loses his sanity. That's what we live for, a family that we can trust, rely on, and protect. If we don't have that, we go crazy", Alexander explained.
"That sounds so horrible", Kailey said. "It is", Alexander agreed. "So, what do we actually have to do?", Corey inquired. "Well, after each pack attack, a knife was left behind. A very particular, supernatural knife, that shouldn't be in the hands of a werewolf. We need to find out where they got them from. I know, Alpha Caden, he wouldn't betray the treaty, unless something was really worth it, or his life was on the line. He has a lot of people to answer to for this", Avalyn said.
"And, how exactly are we going to do that?", Carey snapped. "Through investigation", Avalyn clapped back. "Anyone who does not want to be here is more than welcome to leave. It is not in your job description to be here", Avalyn announced, looking at Carey.
Carey looked at the King, then back at Avalyn. "I'm staying", she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "So be it", Avalyn uttered, not thrilled by the idea. Devon walked back in with a large golden chest in his hands.
Avalyn looked at Alexander surprised by the measures he had taken. "They were whispering to me. I had to lock them away", Alexander explained gently. This explanation only made Avalyn's eyes grow wider in fascination, and more questions come to the surface. Devon sat the chest on the large round table. "Thank you, Devon", Alexander acknowledged.