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Trinity
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The following morning, Reece told me that the FBI was coming to assist the local PD with the case. They were supposed to be here today, and he had apparently spent all day yesterday and the night before gathering information before they got here. We still had people on the inside of the police department, so we wouldn't be completely without help, but it just wouldn't be as easy with the FBI running things.
Reece had talked to all the families of the pack cubs that were taken. He had made copies of all the files. He talked to as many of the families in town that would let him. He introduced himself as a private investigator to gain access to them. Apparently he actually had a PI license so he wasn't actually lying. He said he got it a long time ago to give him an in when investigating personally. He said half of the pack warriors had one as well, that was news to me. Who would have guessed that.
When I finish my law degree, perhaps I would get one as well, then I can investigate as a lawyer and a PI. I would have a lot more access than the warriors did anyway.
We had been discussing what options we had, and where we should investigate next, when Peter announced that there was a visitor for us.
"Excuse me, Alpha, Luna, there is a visitor here to see you." He said in his dignified and aged voice.
"Who are they and what do they want?" Reece asked him curtly, we were currently in the middle of a meeting with Noah, Vincent, Carter, and Cedar who had joined the pack warriors, with Grandfather and Michael representing the Elders. We were not in the mood to be interrupted.
"Sir, it is a Ms. Otsana of the FBI." There was a collective gasp that ran through the room.
"Why would the FBI come here?" Cedar asked.
"Did they get suspicious because of our investigation?" Cedar wondered.
Everyone in the room wore nearly identical looks of shock and worry.
"Whatever the reason is, we need to see what she wants. We have nothing to hide." Reece declared.
"Nothing?" I looked at him skeptically.
"Aside from that, don't be so literal." His barking voice made me giggle.
"Sorry, I couldn't help it. I mean, you made it sound like we were going to reveal ourselves."
"Woman." He growled with a laugh in his voice.
"Stop it you two, this isn't the time." Grandfather reprimanded us.
"Peter, please bring her up. We will see what it is she wants from us."
"Yes, Sir." Peter left the room, closing the door behind him.
We sat in silence, waiting for Peter to return with the FBI agent. We smelled them as they started coming down the hall. The agent, who was female based on the Ms title Peter had used, was wearing a copious amount of perfume. It was so strong that it was making it hard for me to even smell Peter's scent. Damn that's strong.
There was a slight knock before the door swung forward revealing Peter and a rather interesting woman. She was beautiful and quite exotic looking. She had an olive complexion with a golden undertone. Her eyes were a deep brown with an inner ring of gold that made her eyes pop. Her long wavy brown hair was pulled back tightly in a ponytail, but the wavy bounce behind her head was hard to hide when she moved. Her long narrow face, high cheekbones, thin straight nose, and cupid's bow mouth all made her look like a model instead of a federal agent. I immediately felt inferior. She wasn't much taller than me, perhaps five-foot seven, that made me feel a little better, but not much.
"Good morning." She smiled broadly as she came into the room, but I noticed she was doing a sweep of the room and cataloguing everyone that was present and assessing her surroundings. "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, I am Agent Rawlynne Otsana from the Denver field office. I'm here to investigate the recent kidnappings." She didn't talk like I thought she would, not like you heard all the FBI agents talk in movies and on TV.
"Good morning Agent Otsana, my name is Reece Gray, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. May I ask what brings you to see us today?"
"As I said, I am in town investigating the recent child abductions."
"And your investigation immediately led you to my doorstep?" Reece looked at her skeptically and spoke with a slight hint of annoyance.
"Well, I could say it was your private investigations that led me to you." She smiled at him.
"So, trying to help the families of the missing children is a crime now?" Reece was definitely getting angry.
"Only if it interferes with my investigation." She smiled at his anger, knowing full well that she was pissing him off. She was brave for sure, most would have buckled under the glare he was levelling at her. "But, to say that would be dishonest of me." She smiled once more.
"Then what brought you here?" Reece demanded from her.
"I figured I should introduce myself to the local alpha."
Her words threw me through a loop. If she knew about alphas, then it was safe to say she knew about werewolves in general. Why would she want to see us? How did she find out about us? What kind of problems is this going to cause?
The hushed silence in the room at her declaration was more deafening than anything I had ever heard. Everyone in this room, aside from her, was from the pack. Just knowing that a possible enemy with government connections knew about us was enough to make my blood run cold.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Reece said after just a few moments of hesitation. She had clearly surprised him more than he was expecting.
"No?" She asked. "I must be mistaken, you see I was under the impression that the Alpha of the Red Springs wolf pack was Reece Gray. Have you been replaced already?" She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side to show her confusion. "And I was just told about you this morning too. Wow, that was definitely fast." She laughed quietly at her own joke.
"Who exactly are you? And what do you want?" Reece barely kept himself from snarling the words at her, I could hear the restraint in his voice.
"Me? I already told you, my name is Rawlynne Otsana of the FBI."
"You know what I mean." Reece snapped causing her to laugh.
"I take it there are no name experts in this room." She giggled, her voice musical and her eyes batting as she looked at him.
"Nope, so that means you need to explain." Noah answered this time.
"Let me break it down for you. Rawlynne, it's a varied spelling of the English name of the same pronunciation, it means wolf counsel or wise wolf. And Otsana is an old European name that means she-wolf. Does that explain anything?"
"So either you know about us because your name made you curious, or you're hiding your true scent and your parents had a sense of humor just like mine." Cedar answered her.
"The latter." She looked at Cedar with a serious look. "What humor did your parents have?" She asked him with a curious look.
"They named me Cedar Woods, and my twin sister is Juniper." That made Agent Otsana laugh.
"I think our moms must have been friends, both being the comedians that they are." Cedar actually laughed at her words. The tension in the room finally eased as we heard him laughing.
"Alright, so you're a wolf as well. That still doesn't tell me why you're here." Reece grumbled. "And how are you hiding your scent?"
"Years of practice and getting used to strong perfume. That's all you're smelling from me right? Well, I can still smell you." She smiled at us. "And as for why I am here, I know that three of the missing boys are cubs from your pack, and I know you're going to be investigating with or without my help, so why not skip the middle part where we act like we can't help each other and are somehow enemies for no reason and we can get straight to helping each other out. Willingly or reluctantly, I'll accommodate the best I can. But just so you know, I think it'll be easier if we can just help each other out now so we don't need to get to that whole you scratch my back I scratch yours situation."
"Seriously?" Reece looked dumbfounded, he hadn't been expecting that answer from her. "So, you want us to work together?"
"Yeah, and what makes it so much easier is that a lot of you are PI's so I can say we're just working together."
"What's the catch?" Reece just didn't trust her, I could see it on his face.
"Why do you think there's a catch?" She asked him confused.
"There always is."
"Don't be so pessimistic, Reece." I tried to calm him.
"No, I know how this usually goes. It's not the first time that someone has tried to manipulate or use a pack to further themselves."
"Look, I'm here to help us all out. If you want to be a dick and throw that into my face that's on you."
"What the hell did you just say to me?" Reece's anger was at its boiling point now. "Don't ever speak to me like that again." He snarled at her.
"Sorry big boy, but I'm not part of your pack, you can't order me around." Agent Otsana taunted him.
"I can still make you shut that-."
"ENOUGH!" I yelled at them both which caused the entire room to go silent around me. "I don't want to hear another word from either of you right now, just shut up and listen."
At hearing my words, Agent Otsana's mouth snapped shut and her eyes popped in surprise.
"We're all wolves here and we're all looking for the same group of psychopaths, either you set aside your petty bullshit or you get the hell out. I intend to find these kids as quick as I can and your damn squabbling is only going to make things worse." Everyone looked momentarily shocked by my outburst before they all started talking again.
"Watch your language Trinity Faith." Grandfather scolded me.
"Little Bunny, you're right." Reece looked like a little kid who was caught stealing cookies before dinner, guilty and embarrassed.
"How were you able to force me to follow your orders?" Agent Otsana asked me in awe.
