The Silver Rapids Pack was known for a few things, the first being its remote location on the far border of Federation territory. The small settlement nestled between rivers on the southern Plains was also known for its refusal to play by the rules of the Federation of Wolves. Out of the Federation’s reach, both physically and legally, it was an ideal place for anyone who found themselves in the crosshairs of civilized shifter society and law.

No official representative of the Federation of Wolves was permitted to come within seventy miles of the border, especially since two Great Plains Alphas had trespassed the year before in search of a missing child. Clyde Harp had made a note in his file that while the Silver Rapids Alphas had been cooperative in that extreme instance, their compliance with future investigations was not to be expected.

It was rare for a pair of Alphas to mate, and rarer still for them to form their own pack where Federation standards didn’t apply. It had long been known that Silver Rapids was a lawless refuge for any shifters who didn’t want to be bound by their pack’s restrictions, whether romantically or otherwise, but the fact that it existed in a no-man’s land outside of Federation reach made it a popular destination for those with far less noble intentions as well.

As a Mediator of the Tribunal, Clyde was considered a truly neutral party. In order to preside fairly over cases involving Federation officials, he was both given immunity to its authority and allowed to exercise his own judgment in trials ranging from conspiracy to custody disputes. It was a duty he held sacred, and the fact that it kept him isolated from his own kind had never bothered him. The job was enough.

As the first omega to be appointed as a Mediator, he had a role to play that exceeded any other calling he might have otherwise pursued. It was not a calling he took lightly, and while he had once been conflicted about the life he might be giving up by focusing on his career, his work had become a more than suitable replacement for a mate. Impartiality, order and focus. Those were the virtues he lived by, the only companions he needed, and he knew that even if he could find time for any of the Alphas who had shown interest over the years, none of them would have the patience to always play second fiddle to the job.

At the age of thirty-four, it was a cost that Clyde had more than made his peace with. He had come to value his freedom and independence more than those fleeting dreams of falling asleep in the arms of another. In a sense, he could sympathize with the Silver Rapids Alphas and their separatism, as extreme as it was. His job provided him the same autonomy they had created with their pack of self-directed outcasts and the territory they guarded so ruthlessly.

He doubted they would feel the same benevolence toward him. After all, he was an intruder on their land and while the course of his investigation had led him there for good reason, he had no reason to expect a warm reception.

As the road he seemed to have been traveling forever became winding and tight, the white sky that had only been dusting snow began to let it fall in diagonal sheets, as if nature itself was siding against the intruder.

Out of the corner of his eye, Clyde saw three huge shadows barely visible through the heavy snowfall. Four more appeared through the opposite window. He wasn’t yet within the territory lines unless his GPS was severely mistaken, but after the previous year’s events, he could safely assume that the pack had become more proactive in keeping outsiders out.

Clyde pulled off on what he could only hope was the side of the road. Not that it seemed to matter. He felt the shifters closing in and calmly pulled out the badge that identified him as an agent of the Tribunal. That small octagonal piece of silver was the only thing standing between him and the death the Silver Rapids guards could rightfully deliver any other who trespassed on their lands. He waited until a man who was taller than his SUV approached the car, his bare torso blocked off at the waist by the window. Clyde rolled the window down and a stern looking Alpha whose dark hair was covered in snow leaned in, propping his burly arm on the doorframe.

“You have a reason for being here, bud?” he asked in a thick, throaty drawl.

“As a matter of fact, I’m here on business for the Tribunal,” Clyde said, offering the stranger his badge.

The Alpha took it, scowling down at the engraved medal like he’d been hoping for a suitable reason to turn him away, at the very least. “We didn’t get news of no Tribunal bullshit.”

“Calling ahead seemed like it would be counterproductive,” Clyde admitted, keeping his tone pleasant but professional. As an omega, he was used to Alphas looking at him the way this one was. Skeptical. Bewildered. Trying to figure out why an omega had been sent to do an “Alpha’s” job.

At length, the Alpha snorted and passed the badge back through the window. “Go on, then. Wait at the front gate to be let in and I’ll escort you into the pack where Kade can figure out what to do with you.”

“Kade?” Clyde frowned. “Is he the only one here? I was hoping to speak with Jason as well.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but Jason’s away on business. You’re welcome to come back another time,” he sneered, gnawing on the toothpick wedged between his sharpened molars.

“No,” Clyde sighed, refastening his seatbelt. “I’ll meet you up ahead. What did you say your name was?”

“I didn’t,” the Alpha scoffed, stepping away from the car. “But it’s Jeff.”

Clyde started the car up once more and waited until Jeff shifted into a large gray wolf. He disappeared up ahead, and Clyde struggled to keep a reasonable speed for the weather without losing track of him. It was the only way he was going to be able to find the road, but something told him his hosts didn’t care all that much if he ended up stranded in a ditch.

A small town soon became visible in the distance, which was Clyde’s only saving grace, since Jeff had already abandoned him. He spotted the gate and parked, deciding to leave his things in the back. He didn’t plan on leaving until he had the information he’d come for, or the omega he’d been sent after in his custody, but he knew better than to make that obvious from the outset.

Jeff had already donned a coat and jeans by the time he came around to open the gate, and Clyde drove in, parking in the small lot the Alpha motioned him into. The roads in town were actually paved, and for a pack that was known as a savage wasteland, it actually looked like a relatively normal if isolated town. The plains didn’t provide much cover, but there was a small mountain that separated the territory from the eastern pack system on its western border.

As Clyde got out of the car, Jeff was already waiting with his broad arms folded and a disapproving look on his face. He was being more civil than Clyde had expected. It was rare that anyone who required his services actually wanted them. From the couples who required a Mediator to ensure the peaceful dissolution of their relationships to the criminals who couldn’t easily be dealt with by their home packs, Clyde had long since come to accept that he would always be an inconvenient necessity rather than a welcome arrival.

“This way,” Jeff said gruffly.

Clyde followed him down the road, glancing at the small, quaint buildings they passed. He’d been expecting a far more industrial layout, or perhaps a series of barracks. The diner was certainly a surprise, but not quite so much as the florist. Perhaps the Silver Rapids Pack wasn’t as uncivilized as it wanted the Federation to believe.

“How many are here?” Clyde asked, unable to stem his curiosity.

Jeff gave him a sideways glance. “Several hundred.”

“Several hundred as in four, five, six?”

“Several as in it’s none of your concern,” he shot back.

“Fair enough.” Clyde followed him the rest of the way in silence to a large house in the middle of what appeared to be a small but thriving neighborhood. A few children played in the snow outside a two-story Cape, laughing gleefully as they built a snowman. The beta on the porch supervising them took on a guarded look as she watched them pass, making it clear to Clyde that it wasn’t only the guards who viewed him as persona non grata.

“The Alphas live here?” he asked, surprised as Jeff led him into the warm, tastefully decorated home. It was far from the Wild West recreation he’d expected to walk into.

“Yep,” Jeff said, clearly agitated. “I’ll go let Kade know you’re here. Sit down.”

Clyde looked over at the sofa and shrugged out of his damp jacket before realizing there was nowhere to put it. For such a nice place, it was lacking in the simple details that made a house a home. Like a coat rack.

“I’ll take that for you.” The deep, unexpectedly pleasant voice took Clyde by surprise and he turned around to find himself face-to-face with a man he could only assume was one of the Silver Rapids Alphas. He was even taller than Jeff, his broad shoulders amply filling out the red plaid shirt he wore untucked over tight blue jeans. With soft brown hair that flirted with his collar and piercing blue eyes lit with curiosity and a good deal of surprise as they swept over Clyde, the Alpha was far from the surly, intimidating beast he had expected to meet. In fact, despite the crisp outline of his jaw and his hard, aquiline nose, the man’s strong features were set in a decidedly pleasant if somewhat guarded expression.

“Thank you,” Clyde said, offering his jacket as he smoothed a hand through his light brown hair. It was a bit long for his tastes, always falling into his green eyes, but he was particular about who cut it and hadn’t been in one place long enough to make an appointment in the last few months. He pulled off his glasses and rubbed them with the edge of his sleeve since the snow had covered them in a layer of frost. “My name is Clyde Harp. You must be Kade Willis?”

“I go by Kade Smith now, after taking my mate’s surname,” he answered, offering his hand. Clyde shook it, alarmed by the strange sensation that happened on contact. The Alpha was unusually warm, or perhaps Clyde simply wasn’t used to touching one.

Kade seemed to feel it, too. He looked down at Clyde’s hand, keeping it in his for a moment before letting it go. “Please, sit down.”

“Thank you,” Clyde said, taking a seat on the sofa while the Alpha sat in a chair across from him. The chair was sturdy, but Kade barely seemed to fit in it as he leaned forward with his arms on his knees, studying the omega thoughtfully. He was big even for an Alpha, sturdy muscle at every turn. Clyde could understand why even the other pack Alphas were hesitant to cross this pack, as small as it was. “I’m sure you’re wondering what I’m doing on your territory.”

“It had crossed my mind,” Kade said with a hint of amusement in his eyes. For a shade that so closely resembled ice, they were strangely warm.

Clyde pulled out the badge in his shirt pocket and offered it to the Alpha across from him. “Tribunal,” Kade murmured, studying him with renewed interest. “Impressive. Especially for someone your age.”

“I’m not as young as I look,” Clyde chuckled. As imposing as Kade was, he’d be willing to bet he was at least a few years older than the Alpha.

“Well, Special Mediation Agent Harp, I’d welcome you to the Silver Rapids Pack, but as I’m sure you know, we don’t make a habit of doing that,” he said, passing the badge back to Clyde.

“Yes, I know. And I apologize for the intrusion, but I’m afraid it’s quite a grave matter.”

Kade’s brows quirked. “Oh?”

“I’m investigating the disappearance of a young omega by the name of Betty Harold. She went missing from the North Canyon Pack the same night the Alpha’s brother turned up dead,” he explained calmly, carefully watching Kade’s reaction. The Silver Rapids Alpha listened with interest, but even though Clyde was certain he must know of the girl’s whereabouts, he had a good poker face.

“I see. And since you’re involved, I assume you think she had something to do with his death?”

“It’s my job to examine the facts, not to leap to conclusions,” Clyde answered. “For the time being, that means finding Betty and getting her statement.”

“And that has what to do with our pack, exactly?”

“Maybe nothing. But we both know that Silver Rapids is a good place to hide.”

Kade frowned. “I’m not sure I appreciate the implication that this pack is some sort of safe haven for criminals.”

“Betty hasn’t been convicted of anything,” said Clyde. “But you are outside of Federation reach, and there’s only so far a seventeen-year-old omega could have gotten without help.” He paused, assessing the Alpha’s body language and deciding he wasn’t getting anywhere if he didn’t push a little. “Especially a pregnant one.”

That got Kade’s attention. The shock on his face lasted less than a second before he composed himself, but it was enough to erase the small doubt in Clyde’s mind that Betty had taken shelter at Silver Rapids. “Is something the matter, Mr. Smith?” he asked innocently.

“No.” The Alpha’s pleasant tone turned gruff. “We’ve got a few pregnant omegas here, but no newcomers. I don’t know anybody by that name, either. Not that I’d be required to tell you if I did.”

“No,” Clyde agreed. “You are quite outside my purview. However, in the interest of mutual cooperation, I was hoping we might be able to reach an understanding.”

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing to understand. The girl’s not here.”

Clyde took a moment to consider his next course of action. He’d been expecting outright denial, if they let him onto the territory at all. His options were limited, his power even more so. “I see. Well, thank you for your time. I won’t take up any more of it.”

“Wait,” Kade said suddenly, leaping to his feet.

“Yes?”

“The weather is terrible. Unless you’re driving a tank, it’s not safe to go out this time of night,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. “Why don’t you stay for the night?”

Clyde blinked, not expecting an invitation to stay. He’d planned on giving the appearance of leaving so he could double back and investigate in town, but that worked, too.

Or maybe Kade was telling the truth and they really did have nothing to hide. It would be the first time in Clyde’s career that his gut had been wrong, but there was something about the unexpectedly kind Silver Rapids Alpha that he wanted to believe was genuine. “That’s very generous of you. Are you sure I wouldn’t be imposing?”

“Not at all. You can have one of the guest rooms,” he said, nodding down the hall. “I was about to start dinner anyway, if you’re hungry.”

“I am,” he admitted. He’d gotten lost on the way and thrown off his schedule by an hour, so he hadn’t had the chance to eat lunch. “Would you like any help?”

“Nah, I’ve got it covered.”

“In that case, I’ll go make a phone call for work.” He smiled faintly. “Assuming of course that you don’t have a no-cellular policy in place.

Kade snorted. “No. We’re not that isolated.”

Something told Clyde it wasn’t for any lack of trying.