Page 15 of An Alpha's Commitment

"We can send someone up there tomorrow, maybe this afternoon, depending how the work's going?"

"Yeah. I think we should. Find out if anyone's living there now, and if they are whether it's that pack or someone new."

"Sure. I'll send a couple of guys... just in case there's trouble."

I shook my head. "By all means send two, but I don't want themengaging with anyone. If they find someone there, tell them to stay well clear. I don't want anyone thinking we're interested in the place."

"Sure," Johnson grunted and we got back to work.

Once we'd finished with the fence, I hefted the massive chainsaw from the back of the trailer and we moved on to sawing up the bough and stacking it well away from the trees, ready for burning off at a later date. Now that more and more city folk were moving out to the country and panicking every time they saw smoke, it had become obligatory to notify the local fire authority prior to lighting any fires, so we tended to prepare all the piles ahead of time and then spend a solid week burning them off all at once.

By the time we were done, my shirt was soaked and sticking to my back, my sweaty hair plastered to my forehead. I swallowed, my throat dry and raspy. My stomach growled. But I felt good. Physical work and fresh air were just what I needed to placate my wolf, make it feel closer to nature.

"I'm gonna head back to the house," I told Johnson. "Want to join us for lunch?"

He shook his head. "Thanks, but no. I've got a couple more jobs I need to finish up before I head back."

I turned to go, paused mid-step, then facing him again, said "Let me know as soon as you find out the situation at Isca's old place."

Johnson grunted affirmatively.

Mounting the bike again, I headed back to the compound.

Later that evening, I was enjoying a quiet post-dinner moviewith Irian leaning up against me on the sofa, and Isca seated on the floor between my legs, when the familiar buzz of my phone hummed in the background.

I was comfortable where I was and didn't relish interrupting our evening, but Isca bounded up and grabbed the phone off the table before I could tell him not to bother.

"It's Johnson," he told me, holding the phone out.

Irian paused the movie as I grudgingly accepted the phone, my cozy evening with my omegas interrupted. However, I never refused a call from Johnson. He knew what was important and he was unlikely to ring for anything else.

"Hey," I said into the phone.

"Hey, Talius. Sorry to disturb your evening but I've had a report back on Zarbius' pack house and I thought you'd want to get an update as soon as I had it."

I leaned forward, phone pressed to my ear, listening attentively. "What did you find out?"

"The place is completely deserted. It's as though they just packed up and left and no-one's been there since. The outside is overgrown, and inside is empty and dusty. Everything's gone, except for in one room which looks untouched. I'm speculating that was Isca's room."

"Do you have a description of the room?"

"Just a minute." I heard Johnson and some other voices conversing in the background, before Johnson came back on the call. "I'm gonna put Oscar on. He and Anders were the ones who went up there."

A deep voice spoke into the phone. "Alpha, this is Oscar."

"Hey, Oscar. Thanks for going up and checking on the property.What can you tell me about it?"

"Alpha, it's obvious no-one has been there since the pack left," he told me. "Me and Anders scented around the buildings before we went in, and there was no trace of any shifters having been there recently. Just the usual forest animal scents. There was evidence some animals had been living in the house - scats in some of the rooms, a couple of snake skins and the like - but no humans and no shifters. The buildings had all been cleared out, except for one room in the main packhouse, and everything was overgrown, not that it means much. From what we'd seen of those guys when they were in town, they didn't seem too concerned about appearances."

"Tell me about the room that wasn't cleared out. Where was it located in the building? Can you describe it? Any distinguishing features?"

There was silence for a moment, then Oscar said, "It was in the main house, as I said. If you enter from the back door, you go through the kitchen, down a corridor and it was the first on the left. Had a single bed, bookcase, closet with one door half-broken off. Had a few clothes inside. Small window, the glass was cracked. Blue walls. Nothing else remarkable."

"Hold on a minute." I put the phone on mute. Turning to my newest omega, I said "Isca, I've just had someone go up to your old packhouse and check on things..."

Isca's eyes flared wide, pupils dilated. He sucked in a sudden breath.

"It's okay," I reassured him. "There's no-one there. They haven't been back since... since they left. Did you have your own room there by any chance?"

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