Chapter 288 - SIDE STORIES BOOK 1- DAVID AND RAWLYNNE CHAPTER 2 ~~ Rawlynne ~~ This day had been busy so far, and it wasn't likely to settle down anytime soon. I had woken up early to head to the office. There had been a few things I needed to finalize before I left with Jackson. We weren't going far so we were driving, I didn't want to worry about looking for a new vehicle there. After a few hours I went to get the Expedition out of the garage. I loaded my bags and some gear into the back then hopped in to get Jackson from his house. The trip from Denver to Colorado Springs would take a little more than an hour. The ride there was calm and filled with the usual type of banter that Jackson and I usually had. I hoped this case wouldn't be too difficult, but with Jackson there with me it would be easier on me a little. He always helped to make me feel better. He was the only man I could trust, the perfect brother for me. When we got to the police station in Colorado Springs it was the same old same old. The detectives from the local beat and their captains weren't happy about having their case taken from them and handed to the FBI. Stepping on their toes. Leeching their hard work and evidence. Stealing the spotlight and making them look like idiots. Craving glory. Attention seekers. Backstabbing dogs. Those were just a few of the insults I usually got when I took a case from the local boys and girls in blue. They never really liked working with us. There were always a few that didn't mind. A few good eggs among the bunch that would help us instead of insult us. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂 There were two such good eggs that I noticed right away. The first was the overly eager Detective Masterson, I had known that he would be willing to help me ever since he called me. The other was a Detective Scott, a quiet and tall man that seemed very capable. I was going to use these two and get all the information that I could from them. After the brief introductions I spoke with Detective Masterson to get directions to Reece Gray's house. He wanted to come along and encouraged me to wait. "He has a representative coming to the station as we speak. His name is David and he is a pretty good private investigator." "No offense, Detective Masterson, but I don't want to see his representative, I want to meet Mr. Gray myself. Unless he has something that he needs to hide from me." I grinned at the man before me, his bright green eyes went wide with shock and a desire to defend his Alpha. "Absolutely not. Mr. Gray is an amazing man." "Then he should have no problem meeting me, right?" "Yes ma'am." He conceded to my words and handed me the directions that would take me to the Alpha's estate. To get to the estate I had to go through some sort of a gated community which I thought was kind of pompous. Did these wolves really feel the need to separate themselves from everyone else? That was just so idiotic. When I started to drive up the driveway to the Alpha's estate I knew I was in for something extremely over the top. I had seen Alpha estates before and I knew that they had all been made to look like mansions or mini castles. The one that was hidden in the woods was the largest estate I had ever seen. Seriously? Being an Alpha must be a very lucrative job. This level of security and insanity was just not normal. I walked to the front door of that castle in the woods, that was the only name for it, and rang the bell. The person who answered the door was an aging man that basically personified the word butler. "Good day to you Miss, how may I help you?" At least he was polite, and he was definitely a wolf. I could smell it coming off of him. "I'm here to see Mr. Gray. My name is Agent Otsana from the FBI." I could tell by the look in his eyes I had not been expected. "Please wait in the sitting room, I will announce your visit." The elderly man took me to wait in a parlor while he went upstairs to speak to his Alpha. I had asked for a meeting with Mr. Gray and had gotten a representative instead. Clearly, Mr. Gray was trying hard to avoid meeting me so soon. After a little while the man came back and told me I was permitted to head up to Mr. Gray's office. I was guided from the sitting room to the stairs and up to the third floor. I walked down the hallway almost to the end and was shown inside. The shock was clear on all their faces. None of them knew what to think of me. And I knew that the special perfume I had been wearing, which I helped to develop myself, was hiding the fact that I was a wolf completely. "Good morning." I smiled sweetly at them as I scanned the room, cataloguing everyone that was present. "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." I intentionally spoke friendly and soft, I didn't want to put them on edge at all. "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?" Mr. Gray was a very good looking man with black hair and golden eyes, and very tall. "As I said, I am in town investigating the recent child abductions." "And your investigation immediately led you to my doorstep?" The Alpha who was sitting in his throne like chair behind his desk looked at me with a stern expression. "Well, I could say it was your private investigations that led me to you." I smiled at him. "So, trying to help the families of the missing children is a crime now?" The Alpha was definitely getting angry now, interesting. "Only if it interferes with my investigation." I just smiled at his anger, knowing that it would piss him off even more. Toying with Alphas was fun, if you did it right. "But, to say that would be dishonest of me." I smiled again, showing that I didn't really suspect him of anything. "Then what brought you here?" The Alpha demanded from me. "I figured I should introduce myself to the local alpha." Oh if I had been expecting shock then I wasn't disappointed. They all looked like they had been slapped with a stupid stick when I said that. They had just discovered that I knew what they were and who they were. But they still didn't know that I was a wolf as well. "I don't know what you're talking about." Reece Gray said after just a few moments of hesitation. He was clearly more surprised than he had thought he would be during this meeting. "No?" I cooed. "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?" I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head to the side to show a fake sense of confusion. "And I was just told about you this morning too. Wow, that was definitely fast." I laughed quietly at my own joke since I had in fact not been told today but years ago when I had found out. "Who exactly are you? And what do you want?" This Alpha barely kept his anger in control then. He clearly didn't like being surprised like this. "Me? I already told you, my name is Rawlynne Otsana of the FBI." "You know what I mean." He snapped at me causing me to laugh. "I take it there are no name experts in this room." I giggled, batting my eyes as I looked at him. "Nope, so that means you need to explain." A different man, one with dark brown hair, 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." A young man with bright eyes and ashy blond hair answered . "The latter." I looked at him with a serious look. "What humor did your parents have?" I was curious. "They named me Cedar Woods, and my twin sister is Juniper." That made me belly laugh. "I think our moms must have been friends, both being the comedians that they are." Cedar actually laughed at my words. The tension in the room finally eased a little after that. "Alright, so you're a wolf as well. That still doesn't tell me why you're here." Reece Gray 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'll scratch yours situation." I hadn't intended to be so helpful at first, but I could tell this was a strong pack, there was no need to stay away from them. No point in it really. "Seriously?" The Alpha looked dumbfounded, he hadn't been expecting that answer from me at all. "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?" He just didn't trust me, I could see it on his face. "Why do you think there's a catch?" "There always is." "Don't be so pessimistic, Reece." A woman sitting with him tried to calm him down. "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? 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." I taunted him. "I can still make you shut that-." "ENOUGH!" That same woman yelled at us. "I don't want to hear another word from either of you right now, just shut up and listen." When I heard her words my mouth snapped shut and my 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 her outburst. "Watch your language Trinity Faith." An elderly man scolded her. "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?" That hadn't happened to me since I was a teenager and frankly, it scared the shit out of me.