Finding Clues and Rumours

             Brian got back to the packhouse and found a text message from Chris. Of course, it’s his job to deal with all the little things. If he would have to do the footwork, why shouldn’t he become the Alpha? He’s walking the walk. Chris just talked the talk.

             They’d searched the region again despite that. No one found any clues to what happened to Nathan or where the attackers fled to. Brian’s nerves frayed as his annoyance with his failure to find anything grew. Now, he needed to drop everything to find out who was at the gate. He’d only called in a few people on the list Chris gave him and gave them jobs to do before they arrived here. Brian couldn’t believe they’d accomplished them in this short of time.

             Brian dressed in the study while he fumed and struggled to form another line of investigation that wouldn’t lead to him coming back with anything. Then he left the packhouse and walked all the way to the front gate. Sure enough, there were Joshua Lawrence and Waldon Aims, bold as brass, waiting for him to show up.

             “What are the two of you doing here already? I gave you explicit instructions. Did you get any information?”

             Waldon or Wally spoke up first. “Yeah, and we thought you’d appreciate knowing what we’ve found.”

             “I’ll vouch for them, and they’ll accompany me right now.”

             The guards at the front gate let them drive through. After that, Brian climbed in the back and directed Josh to head for the packhouse. “We’ll talk when we get some privacy.”

             “Where’s Chris?” Josh asked, never taking his eyes off the dirt road ahead of them.

             “Busy. I’ll explain once we have some privacy.” Brian didn’t want someone to overhear accidentally what he’d say about certain things by any of the pack. For all he knew, they’d start a gossip chain and only the gods knew how corrupted the gossip would become by the time everyone heard it. The very thought of the damage control needed felt exhausting, and it’s only speculative right now.

             “Glad we’re back then. Just tell us what we need to know and put us to work getting things done.” Wally always exhibited a can-do attitude. He loved the action and getting things done right.

             “Don’t worry, there’s lots of work for both of you. Just park on that side of the main entrance. We’ll head in through the front door.”

             “You’re the boss.” Josh set the vehicle in park and the men piled out. Brian led them back to the study.

             Once the door closed again, and everyone settled into a seat. “Now, to answer your question. Chris is minding the Luna, now with her father’s death, she’s at risk of being kidnapped.”

             “So, we’re here to be bodyguards?” Wally asked, trying to clarify what Brian wanted from them.

             “Currently, no. We want both of you to keep an ear to the ground looking for the how and why of this mess. We’ve got three dead, a pack with no clear leader, a missing Beta, and no evidence who did all this. For now, you’ll act as our Betas. We’re acting as the Alpha together until it’s decided which one will permanently take the position.”

             Both men reacted with surprise to this explanation. Wally’s dull brown hair bobbed and bounced off his collar. Josh just gaped at Brian and shook his head as if he’d misunderstood Brian’s words. “You want us to walk in and administer all of this for you and Chris? Does Chris know about this?”

             “He planned it. Gave me a list of names and I chose your names from that list. Now, back to business. What did you find out?”

             “The rumour’s several people have seen Nathan in the presence of the Blue Mountain Pack on or near their territorial pack lands.” The study door opened as Wally informed Brian of this turn of events.

             “That can’t be true. Nathan despises them. They took his family away from him and removed him from their pack before I was born.” Helena stated as she entered the study, glaring at the men. “Who’s this Brian?”

             “You probably don’t recognize them. It’s been years since you’ve laid eyes on them. This is Joshua Lawrence, and that’s Waldon Aims.”

             Helena stopped and frowned at the two men. “Oh… Afternoon. But what are they doing here?”

             “I asked Brian to bring them in to help. We needed people we could trust to help look into this incident. We need people to help deal with the administration of the pack and the investigation. So, we brought two in, instead of one.”

             She hummed. “But why would he go back to a pack who didn’t want him?”

             “That we can’t answer currently. We’re attempting to find out that he’s involved with that pack again. There’s still a lot more to investigate. Just because he’s with the Blue Mountain Pack, it doesn’t mean that they’re the ones that attacked us. We’ll keep looking into it though.”

             “Good. I don’t want us to go after the wrong pack. Though it’s not a stretch to see the Blue Mountain Pack attacking us. They’ve done so in the past.”

             “We won’t cross them off the suspect list just yet.” Brian scribbled a few notes at Helena’s father’s desk, and it disturbed her to see him doing that. Her father allowed no one to use that desk but himself. She forced a sob back at this thought. Her feelings were just too raw right now for this.

             “Then one of you will discreetly make further inquiries into this. We need all the information as we can get.” Brian waved his pen at the two men. “Helena, I’m not sure where your father put the book with the yearly routines are. We need to help everyone get back to normal even with the increased security.”

             “Oh, uh, I believe it’s in his desk somewhere. Though I’m not sure how out of date it is. He stopped using it several years ago.”

             “That’s fine. It’ll still give us an idea of what he planned for the pack in the coming days and weeks. It’s about getting everyone back to some sort of familiar and safe life.” Brian opened the desk’s drawers and riffled through each one at a time. Helena forced herself to stifle her reaction to tell Brian to stay out of her father’s desk.

             “Are you okay?” Chris asked Helena when he caught her subtle reaction.

             “Yeah, it’s just a lot to accept all at once when it all feels so raw.” Brian stopped his search and met Chris’ eyes. Both men weren’t sure how much they should show in front of Wally and Josh.

             The twins shrugged in unison and then did exactly what their instincts told them to do. If she were their mate, it’s their duty to care for her in her time of need. “Hey, it’s okay. No one expects you to go on with business as usual. That’s why we are here, and why we brought these two lugs into the equation. You need time and that’s what we’ll give you. As much as you need.” Brian said as both he and Chris wrapped their arms around her. She sniffled a little for a few minutes.

             “So, how do you plan on getting this proof? Why would he do something like that? They’re known for stealing our resources.”