Gabriel stood by the window of the motel with a towel wrapped around his waist. Tanya laid on the bed in a fit of exhaustion and a state of satisfaction. He smiled to himself, gratified. Not too bad for a mere human. He pulled the curtains and the morning sun flooded the motel room with light as it rose above the crest of the mountain range. It laid far in the distance. Life was good, yet it could be better. If he could only find a way to get his inner wolf back. He stood and looked into the distance, and he thought seriously about how the turn of events had half-changed his life back from to how it used to be. Only half, but half was better than nothing, he supposed.

Life in Cripple Creek steadily slipped back into a sort of regular routine, especially since the final war between the hunters and the werewolves had occurred. Now the hunters saw the light because they’d all been turned into wolves, apart from Noelle’s mom and dad who had been spared. Noelle voluntarily accepted her role as the alpha mate with glee, and she wantingly took it upon herself to embrace it. Now, and with the aid of Declan to educate the rest of the hunter packs around the country, they would hopefully, eventually impact the entire nation. There could; and would be a co-living harmony between humans and wolves. One day it would ensue. But there was a lot to do, and there was much that could be learned from all involved, humans and wolves alike. However, living “as one” was the priority, first and foremost, above all else.

Even though he was human, Gabriel still thought like an alpha, yet he knew deep in his own heart he was best suited as a beta. He’d learned a lot and become humbled since he’d made that fateful error and eaten the spiked meat that had turned him human, once again. Had he not done that though, there would have been a good chance he might be pushing up daisies now, and even be buried six feet underneath the ground. His ego had stood in the way and wouldn’t let him back down, and Declan in his new wolf form could’ve easily shredded the living essence from his soul. He knew it, Declan knew it, and Tanya knew it, although she’d stood by him, nevertheless.

Gabriel's broad chest heaved as he inhaled, and again he glanced at the naked body Tanya tried to hide under the bedsheet. He turned his gaze back to the window as he thought of life outside of the motel room. The room they would soon see the back of.

Maria was placed in charge of Clifton Towers, and with a more than generous donation from Noelle's dad, Maria received the task of giving the apartments a makeover, and putting things right, rather than patching things up to make it appear decent. Things couldn’t have worked out better, some of the hunters were in the construction industry. And now that they were wolves and resided in the apartments, skilled workers were on hand to revamp the apartments before Maria moved onto the exterior. The east wing was recently completed and was about to receive the new guests. Not that they were entirely new, they were actually old residents, the ones who had exited in a quick and sharp manner on that eventful evening, the one that happened so many months ago.

Declan declared that Gabriel (and the remaining pack members who followed him) could return to the apartments, rather than being holed up in a crummy motel. Gabriel wouldn’t have one of the larger apartments he’d had as an alpha for a while, because that privilege had long-since been removed. Gabriel was happy for the other pack members because they really needed a place to call home. Nevertheless, his mind was filled with worry. Tiffany had vanished on her way back from work at the library. She was content tagging along with Gabriel and had showed no sign of wanting to leave the small pack. Her few belongings were still in her room, and there had been no sign of her for a couple of days now.

Gabriel knew it couldn’t be hunters. They were now all turned, so there must be another reason. As he tried to think what it could be, he heard a seductive purr from the direction of the bed. His head turned as Tanya sat and let the bedsheet fall from her body, her long blonde hair ruffled and falling over her face. She shook her head and tossed her hair over her shoulder with a single, sensuous flick. Her hands rubbed up against her thighs as she licked her lips and stared at Gabriel, all the while admiring his muscled physique.

“You coming back to bed for a while?” she asked.

Gabriel turned. All his thoughts vanished as he raised his hand and placed it on the edge of the towel. He started to walk toward the bed, but then he hesitated. The newscaster on the TV caught his attention.

“Breaking News. Cripple Creek General Hospital has been the latest victim of unexplained circumstances. In the early hours of the morning, the hospital was broken into…”

Gabriel sat on the edge of the bed as Tanya pulled the bedsheet around her body and knelt at his side. Now they both continued to listen to the newscaster.

“Sheriff Delaney is on the scene and can now explain to us some more of what happened in this heinous crime against Cripple Creek.” There stood Gloria Parker (the newscaster), according to the banner shown, accentuating her name in a dark blue hue. It appeared in bold text at the bottom of the TV screen. “So Sheriff, what is it that made this crime so bad, in your good opinion?”

Gabriel reached for the remote and increased the volume. His fingers were wrapped around the black plastic remote nervously now, and as he leaned forward. He felt Tanya’s body push against his, yet his mind was focused on what the Sheriff was about to say.

The Sheriff had a ruddy complexion and his face was a mix of patchy looking skin. He looked a little on the heavy side, sporting a pot belly, and he seemed a bit camera shy, too. His jaw wobbled as he smacked his mouth on a piece of chewing tobacco.

“Well Gloria, it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the Creek. The rear doors to the hospital were pulled from their hinges, and it seems attention was focused on the blood storage facility. Some bags remain, but most were taken, and the floor was covered in spilled blood from bags that had been dropped and trodden on.”

“What do you think the reason was? And who do you think would commit such a strange crime?” Gloria asked, now holding an umbrella due to the rain.

Gabriel sat and listened until the broadcast had finished. He thought of the scene and how it sounded like something that a human would expect a werewolf to do. He knew better, because none of the wolves in the Creek would attempt to do that sort of thing.

He sighed as he turned to Tanya. “You think this has anything to do with Tiffany going missing?” His face looked lost as he thought about the very-missing Tiffany. The circumstances were weird, that was for certain. Tanya was now busy painting her nails.

* * *

Maria stood looking up at the builders as they scurried up the scaffolding to start work. It would be another dusty day as they scraped old paint from the massive stone blocks, but it would be worth it in the end. The massive front entrance would beautify that side of the street and put most of the other buildings to shame.

“Kelvin, be careful up there will you,” Maria shouted as Kelvin laughed and bounded from the scaffolding across to the roof. That kid’s gonna hurt himself one day. Kelvin looked down and saluted Maria before he vanished across the roof. She shook her head in dismay as she heard a voice behind her that sounded familiar.

“Havin’ trouble there?” the voice said. Maria turned to see Gabriel and Tanya stepping up to the top of the stone stairs. She pushed her hand against her brow to shield the sun from her eyes. She glanced down the steps and noticed not all the pack members had arrived with Gabriel.

“You seem to be a person light?” she probed as she turned back to face the building.

Maria adjusted her eyes from the bright, mid-morning sun that rose over the far side of the street. As she turned to Gabriel, she half-squinted to regain her focus.

Maria heard the breath fall from Gabriel’s lungs when he sighed. “Tiffany’s been missing for a couple of days. We know she hasn’t run away from the pack because her things are with us. She was due home after her shift at the library, and there’s been no sign of her,” Gabriel explained.

Maria looked stunned as she heard what Gabriel said. She explained one of the girls from the apartments had been approached a few nights earlier, and after her shift at the gas station. She possessed the sense to run, and as soon as she got out of view, she turned into her wolf form and ran back to the apartments without looking back. Gabriel thought for a moment before he said they should take the conversation inside. Out in the open, it wasn’t possible to tell who was listening.

Maria turned to lead Gabriel and Tanya inside as they heard a voice shriek. They looked toward the large, yellow, rubble chute that ran down the front of the building. It vibrated and swayed as the voice was heard from the inside of it. A giant cloud of dust kicked up from inside the rubble skip.

Kelvin popped his head up with just the whites of his eyes and his teeth showing. “What a rush,” he said as he scrambled from inside the skip. He was covered with a thick layer of white paint and stone dust.

“Jesus Kelvin, we thought someone was hurt.”

Maria had a frown that filled the full width of her brow. Kelvin shook his head and walked toward the entrance. Dust fell from his clothes, now showering the floor while clear footprints appeared on the pavers where he stepped. Without a care in the world, he sauntered toward the entrance.

“Don’t even think about walking in the front door like that. You better go ‘round the back and remove your clothes.”

Gabriel chuckled as Kelvin bowed his head and walked along the front of the apartments toward the alley which led to the backyard. “He’s a fuckin’ crazy kid if you ask me,” Gabriel said.

Maria agreed and led Gabriel and Tanya inside toward the office. She pushed open the door, and the first thing Gabriel noted was no crack in the wall. The office was one of the first rooms to have a makeover. Gone was the old couch with the patterned throw; and it had new shelves and a good, professionally-mastered, lick of paint. The only thing that Gabriel could see that was original, was Declan's former chair and desk. Somethings will never change.

“I don’t suppose you saw the news this morning?” Gabriel asked as he sat and bounced on the new couch. The smile on his face showed he thought it was a much-needed improvement to the office.

“Nah, I was with the construction workers. I have been, since the crack of dawn. What’s happened?” Maria asked.

Tanya casually flicked through the bookshelf looking at the titles that sat there, positioned more-than neatly. She sensed Maria had made herself at home in the office because the titles weren’t the types of books Gabriel or Declan would read.

“Sheriff Delaney was on the news, the hospital has been ransacked, or at least the blood holding room was ransacked. No other part was touched,” Tanya said as she pulled a book from the shelf and started turning the pages. She looked up at Maria. “We came up with a thought that it might be related to Tiffany, and now you say you’ve had a pack member who was approached, right?”

Maria leaned back in the chair. The spring no longer squeaked, and the desk was moved toward the corner of the office so no black leather mark would appear on the wall, like it had done in the past. “It’s got to be too much of a coincidence, nothing has happened in the Creek for over three months.” Maria began watching Tanya closing the book and sliding it back onto the shelf.

Tanya turned into the center of the office and looked at Gabriel before she turned her gaze to Maria. Tanya pointed toward the book she just flicked through. “There is one thing no one has considered, let alone Sheriff Delaney,” she said. “Whoever did the ransacking at the hospital, well, what happens if they were looking for something very specific?”

“What the hell made you think of that?” Gabriel asked, curiously.

Tanya nodded her head toward the books. “Someone believes in conspiracy theories.”

Maria chortled. She had always been fascinated with conspiracies and detective stories. She’d always read between the lines and came up with alternative perspectives. “Now, if you look at it like that, you have things to consider. Most of which would relate to the blood stored there. What do they want with the blood?” she questioned, furrowing her brow as she thought.

Tanya spun the chair and straddled it. Her arms rested on the back. She rocked back and forth as she retorted. “I think there is a little more involved than what they want to do with the blood. Let’s break it down and see what might’ve happened. Ninety-five percent of the blood is missing. There were bags split on the floor, and the rest was taken,” Tanya said. “Now, if we broke in, and you were looking for something, how would you do it?”

Maria hummed as she reflected upon what Tanya said. She pictured herself in the scenario and it was like any robbery in a bank vault when they wanted something specific. Time was against the thieves, so they had a quick look and threw what they didn’t want onto the floor. They would probably have received a call from the person in charge, who would have said that the cops were on the way, and to move fast. Grab hold of everything and get out as quickly as possible. It made sense.

“You might be right there, perhaps they just wanted one person’s blood. Why? I don’t know, but it would explain why there were bags on the floor, and still a few in the chiller units.”

“Hang on Cagney and Lacey, do you think this is up to us to sort out?” Gabriel mumbled from the couch. “This is why we have sheriffs, it’s up to him and his deputies, even if they don’t know their ass from their elbows.”

“If it has something to do with Tiffany missing, and the pack members being under threat again, yes, we need to know. It’s our duty to protect the pack, and you above anyone should know that. BEING an alpha’s mate and all,” Tanya said in a louder-than-he-liked tone. Gabriel looked baffled as he listened to the truth coming from Tanya. She’d knocked him down a peg or two, and he heard in the tone of her voice that she was deadly serious.

“Point taken, so what do we have to do?” he asked.

Tanya stood up from the chair and pushed it back to the desk. “We take our things upstairs first, and about the hospital, we have to find whose blood was taken and see if there’s any relation to the pack… and to Tiffany.”

“Life’s like soup and I feel like I’m a fork.”