Chapter 8
Isaac
An alert had gone out to the entire Pack. Those boys had been spotted downtown. I knew it hadn’t been them squatting in the woods behind my house and stealing from my farm. Still, someone was and I wasn’t going to rest until I knew they were long gone.
Still, that night, Kyle showed up with another group.
“What the hell? I thought those boys were downtown,” I grumbled, earning me a few wary glances.
“It’s just routine, Isaac.”
“Well stop it. I have enough shit to deal with without your team traipsing through my farm. Did you know that someone’s been squatting out here? Your team won’t find anything because I already ran him off. And wasn’t a bunch of kids either.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because they built a nest like a damn gorilla out of my hay. Don’t you have a couple gorillas over in Westin Force?”
“Excuse me?” a rather large man said. “What exactly are you saying?”
“I’m just stating a fact. Someone stole my hay from my barn and made a nest of it in the woods. And he stole the eggs from my chicken coop too.”
“That doesn’t sound like a couple kids. Plus, what kid would be brave enough to come out here and mess with Crazy Sac? No offense.”
Kyle sniggered.
“What did you just call me?”
“It’s not me, sir. That’s what the kids in town call you.”
“Crazy Sac?”
“Yeah, sort of a play on Isaac I think.”
I growled. “Dumbass kids.”
“Ben, that’s enough,” Kyle warned.
“I’m just saying. He’s right. The odds of the kids being here are pretty slim.”
“But someone has been here,” Kyle reminded him.
“Was, is the word you’re looking for. Haven’t seen him in a couple days and everything’s been fine. Archie has a team coming out tomorrow running surveillance for me. Just to be sure.”
Kyle groaned. “I thought I forbade you and Archie from talking.”
“Yeah, but you weren’t serious about that. That stupid mole calls me for favors all the time. Least he can do is repay this one time.”
He shook his head. “I wasn’t joking,” he muttered under his breath.
I pretended I didn’t hear a thing.
“If they step on my garden and ruin my winter plants, I’m holding you personally responsible, Alpha.”
He rubbed his temple as if I was giving him a headache or something. If these fools screw with my garden, then he will definitely have a headache to contend with.
“Archie did ask me to come out and setup some cameras out here tomorrow. Personally, I thought he was crazy, but I can see now that it was a legitimate request,” one of the men said.
“If that’s the case, we can check the feed for the kids without having to come out here,” the big man agreed.
“Isaac, this is Silas Granger, he’s in charge of Bravo team.”
“One of those gorillas who did not build a nest or steal your eggs.”
Silas was up in my face and damn lucky that the Alpha was standing there.
“My apologies,” I said, being sure to spit in his face as I said it—accidentally, of course.
I saw the beast surface in his eyes and my own wolf took sick pleasure in that.
“Enough. Fine. Tarron, make it first thing in the morning,” he told the smaller guy.
“You got it, boss.”
After that, they left. I didn’t really settle down until I knew for certain they were long gone.
It was going to be a cold night, so I went outside and pulled wood in for the night. On a whim, I stopped and counted the remaining stacks. That asshole had stolen my hay. I wouldn’t put it past him to try to go after my wood too, especially on a cold night like this.
As wolf shifters the cold really didn’t bother most of us. Still, I loved a warm fire when the chill set in.
With the wood stove pouring off heat, I settled into my recliner with a book. It didn’t take long before my eyes started drifting shut.
Some time later I awoke with a start. It was that awful feeling of not having realized I was asleep leaving me in a surreal state of fog.
There was a chill in the air and I realized I had to have been out a while because the fire had died down. Outside it was still dark, though the sky was beginning to shift to a lighter hue.
I got up and tossed on the last of the wood I’d brought in. Before I fully warmed back up, I wrapped up in my coat and put on my boots. Then I snuck outside as quietly as possible to retrieve more wood without waking the entire farm.
It was far too early but I knew the second the animals heard me they would be wide awake and ready for food.
I made it all the way to the woodstack, being stealthy with no sign of waking anyone, and then I saw it.
I’d counted the stacks of wood just hours earlier, and now there was a whole section missing.
“Sonofabitch!” I screamed.
Suddenly Gertrude was running her mouth, the donkey was backtalking me, the sheep and goats were wide awake. Even the damn chickens were trying to figure out why the door to their coop was still shut because clearly it was morning.
A ferocious growl ripped through me and the whole farm went eerily quiet.
I stomped back into the house. It was warming back up quickly, but I was in no mood for that.
To calm myself down, I went to the kitchen and started slamming cabinet doors and gathering all the things I needed. At a time like this, the only thing that truly soothed me was baking. I had no idea why either. Perhaps it reminded me of my mother or some shit like that.
No, I thought, it wasn’t her. It was my grandmother.
After my mother had died, she’d taken me in for a short time.
She loved to bake the most delicious treats.
While I was an out-of-control child, she’d calmly walked me through the steps of helping her bake.
I had still been mad at the world, but it had helped, too.
I’m sure there was more to it that a shrink could psychoanalyze me on, but who gave a shit why it helped, it just did.
Banging pots and pans, and aggressively stirring a batter just seemed to take the fight out of me.
It was the wrong time of year for fresh fruit, but I had several jars of peaches I’d canned at the end of summer. I went and got those, forcibly calming myself enough to ensure I didn’t smash them all. I certainly didn’t want to deal with cleaning up broken glass in this state.
I cleared my mind and got to work mixing everything into a pan. Realizing I had made too much batter, I retrieved some more peaches and made a second one.
There was just something so orderly and precise to baking that it helped reset my day and stave off my temper. Whenever my world felt like it was out of my control, I baked.
Within the hour, the whole place was smelling with the scent of freshly baked peach cobbler. It took the last of my frustration and just melted it all away.
My stomach grumbled in anticipation, but I knew it needed to rest and cool.
By now the sun was rising and the animals were actively bitching for my attention.
I cracked the window and placed the two cobblers on the windowsill to cool, and then I changed into my muck boots, bundled up, and got to work on my morning chores.
Tending to the farm calmed me and gave me a sense of peace. It wasn’t quite as strong as a run in my fur, but a close second. By the time I was done with everyone, I had completely relaxed and was ready to clearly think through the steps I needed to secure my farm.
“I’ll get him. Don’t worry, Gertrude,” I promised her before walking back inside.
I went to the kitchen and washed my hands. Something felt off but I couldn’t quite place it.
A shiver ran down my spine.
The window was open. For just a second I was confused as to why. But when I moved to close it, I remembered.
My cobblers were gone, both of them.
I roared in anger.
That was it. I’d reached my break point. I went to the closet, opened my safe, and grabbed my gun. It was time this asshole learned a lesson.
I walked outside and pointed to the ground and shot. Then I listened, but I didn’t hear any sudden movements beyond the animals.
Ready to take to the woods, I made it two steps off my back porch when a car pulled up.
Growling, I rerouted my course to see who it was.
An SUV pulled up and parked in the drive. I nearly pointed the gun at them, but when Tarron stepped out, I immediately recognized him.
Westin Force. They were there to set up cameras around my property. This was a good thing.
He held up his hands in the air.
“Is this a bad time?”
I sighed. “That asshole stole from me again, twice already today.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. And I’m done with it.”
“Well, let’s get these cameras installed and we’ll be able to see what’s going on out here. Okay?”
“Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks for coming out and doing this.”
“It’s no problem. Besides, I’ve got a few new toys I’ve been wanting to play with and this gives me an excuse,” he admitted.
Three others slowly climbed out of the vehicle. I supposed they decided I wasn’t clinically insane, or at least no longer a threat.
“This is my mate, Susan. She’s a computer wiz and going to help setup your system.”
“I can handle that part,” I told them.
“But you don’t have to,” Susan said cheerfully. “Though, I could use some help. And you are free to watch my every keystroke.”
“They warned you about me?”
“Oh yeah. Archie was mad as a hornet when he heard Tarron asked me to help and not him. Apparently, you haven’t actually met in person yet?”
I softened and smiled. Then I shook my head.
“She’s good?”
“The best,” Tarron said proudly.
There was a small part of me that ached watching him lean down and snag a kiss from his mate. I’d chosen my lifestyle as a sort of shield of armor against the pain others could cause. Being that close to someone came with a lot of pain. I’d suffered enough for one lifetime.
Besides, my lifestyle was not conducive for a mate. It also left no opportunity to find one. I’d made my peace with that a long time ago.
Still, it was rare that I actually saw mates together like this and I couldn’t deny how empty it made me feel inside.
This whole week was turning into an emotional one. I hated it.
Tarron quickly introduced the other two with him.
“This is Ben. He was here last night. And that’s Grant. He’s also on Bravo but wasn’t around yesterday. They both volunteered to help me install. We’ll be in and out as quickly as possible.”
“Good,” I said, a little gruffer than I intended. I really did appreciate them coming out here.
“Why don’t you show me your setup. Archie said you already had a server in place, but I brought some things anyway, just in case.”
I hated showing anyone my equipment, but if I wanted their help, I didn’t think I had a choice. I did trust Archie, or at least as much as I trusted anyone. Maybe even a little more than that.
“Right this way,” I told her.