Finding Rose

After updating Sam about his lack of findings, Henry left the office of council. All he could find was records about the litigation, and nothing more about what happened to the Ka-Luna pack. He was going to have to widen his search and thought perhaps his only shot of finding something was to enter R.C Pack territory. He found the number of Alpha Fred Packet in the registry and dialed the number.

Ring~ Ring~

Then line picked up.

"Hello you've reached the office of Alpha Fred Packet, this is Nora speaking." A kind voice answered the phone.

"Hello Mis. Nora this is Henry Bishop calling, I'm looking to see if Mr. Packet is available to speak with me.?" Henry asked.

"I'm afraid his schedule is full for the next two days, however...I might be able to squeeze you in, three days from now if that's alright?" Nora asked.

"That would be perfect." Henry answered.

"Ok wonderful. We will see you here for 8 in the morning. Can I add a note as to why you are meeting with him?" She asked.

"Yes. It's actually to discuss litigation matters." Henry said.

"Okay, we will see you then. Have a good day." Nora ended the call.

Henry hung up the phone, realising he had another full day of travelling to do before he reached R.C territory. He went back to his hotel room and had a bite to eat before packing up and hitting the road again. He figured he would be there by tomorrow night, and would have a day to settle in, and organise his findings for his meeting. He hit the road at about 7 o clock at night, as the sun was setting, and took to the back roads. It was slightly longer, but he enjoyed the scenic route. While driving, he let the crisp air fill the cab.

Along the way he made pit stops for bathroom breaks, coffee breaks and splurged here and there for small momentos. He didn't reach R.C territory till about 6 in the evening, and made himself comfortable at an Inn.

The following day, he went to the library and researched the foundation and history of the R.C. Pack. The only thing he could find were newsletter clippings of marriages and the most recent of merges and pack laws. Nothing about the litigiation itself.

After spending hours at the library he found a small cafe bistro located in the middle of town. It was small and inviting, so he decided to rest there for a bit and enjoy a cup of coffee. He was seated near the front, as to overlook the streets. It was a beautiful spot he thought. He could tell there were alot more shifters than back at home, and this territory was atleast 5 times greater. Even the waitress was a shifter.

Each time the door opened a bell that hung on the trim, dinged notifying the waitress of a new customer. He stayed there a couple hours enjoying the coffee and reading up on his research.

~ Ding~

"I'll be right there, just find yourself a seat." The waitress told the customer.

Henry kept his eyes on his paper, but immediately could sense something was off with the individual who entered the establishment. Another shifter, he thought to himself. The man found a spot across the cafe from Henry. He wore all black including a black ball cap to hide his face.

"Hi there what can I get you?" Henry heard the waitress ask him.

Henry watched the man slowly raise his head with a big smile to greet the waitress. He then proceeded to take his order. Maybe he was just imagining it, but something definitely felt off. Henry quickly finished his cup of coffee and packed up his papers. He went to the bathroom at the back of the cafe and walked back out to purposely walk past the man in black. He was testing him. Typically when you walk past someone it's natural for them to watch you walk past or atleast gock at you.

Henry made sure to take his time to walk past him heading towards the door. The man kept his head down.

"Shit." He said to himself.

He opened the door, and through the reflection of the door he saw the man watching him. He left the cafe, acting his normal self, until he fell out of view.

"What the fuck is going on?" He thought. "I'm being tailed..but why, and how long?"

While turning the corner of the block he heard the bell ding from the cafe. He saw a cab and quickly hailed it. Once it stopped he climbed in and told the driver to move. He slid down the back seat and held his cellphone up with his camera and hit record. When they cleared the block he sat back up and hit play. He watched the man in black appear from the corner of the block and make his way to the middle of the street watching the cab drive off.

"Who the fuck knew I would be here? Only Sam knew. Unless he told others....even so why would I be tailed?" He looked back to see if the man was following. "If he knew I was at the cafe, he must have followed me to the library...which also means he knows where I'm staying."

Henry thought it would be wise to stay elsewhere. He left the car at the cafe and decided to cab it to the meeting tomorrow. Who ever it was that was keeping tabs, had to work for it.

He woke up early in the a.m to make the 8 o'clock appointment. He made sure he wasn't tailed. He made his way to an office building located just outside of town and made his way in. He took the elevator to the 20th floor where he was then greeted by a woman roughly his age. Another shifter. Her name plate read Nora.

"Good morning Mis. Nora, my name is Henry Bishop, I have an 8 o'clock appointment with Mr. Packet." He said.

"Good morning Mr. Bishop, let me see if he's ready for you." She said

She got up from the desk and made her way to his office. Henry stood there taking a look at his surroundings. He learned in his research that Fred Packet was a C.E.O. of a major international conglomerate. Which showed through his distinct taste in furniture and valuables that were laid out for everyone to see. He also scanned Noras desk. It looked like any regular assistants desk but he could see her own personal touches. She had a picture of a woman on her desk, roughly in her 30s, with beautiful blonde hair and green eyes. Her daughter perhaps he thought. It reminded him of the photo he has sitting on his desk of his children in the office.

"He's ready to see you sir." Nora said. She held the door open for him and let him in. She showed him to a chair, just as Mr. Packet entered the room from a side office.

"Mr. Bishop." He said sternly holding out his hand for a shake.

"Good morning Mr. Packet." Said Henry.

Mr. Packet turned to Nora. "Nora could you please get us some water." He asked her.

"Yes of course." She replied and left momentarily.

"So how can I help you Mr. Bishop. My assistant informed me you wanted to discuss a litigation. Unfortunately for me, your going to have to tell me which one." He smirked.

Henry just cut to the chase. "I need to discuss the outcome of your litigation that took place in 2004 against the Ka- Luna pack."

Nora entered the room with their refreshments. "What on earth would you need to know about that!" Fred said angrily.

I'm sorry I had to be blunt about it, but there is good reason why I'm here to ask you. I have read about the battle over territorial rights, but I haven't been able to find any information in regards to the attack that followed shortly after. I wanted to know if you knew anything about it, seeing that you and there Alpha are brothers?" Henry presumed.

"We're brothers!? Is this some sick joke! you just show up here to what! blackmail me!?" Fred yelled.

"I assure you Mr. Packet, that is not my intent-"

"Well whatever your bloody intentions are, you aren't going to get any information from me!!" He interrupted and quickly got out of his chair. "Nora let this gentleman out please, and make sure he leaves the building!"

As he was walking out the office Henry yelled to grab his attention.

"Please! There's someone I'm helping." His plead went unheard as Mr. Packet slammed the door behind him, with Nora still stood in the room.

"I'm sorry Mr. Bishop, please if you could follow me. I'll escort you off the premises now." She did what she was told but she was still kind.

They entered the elevator. She hit G for the ground floor. Henry just stood behind her and leaned up against the wall of the lift and sighed.

"I'm sorry Rosalie." He mumbled to himself. He closed his eyes, and felt like a failure. Suddenly he felt the elevator come to a sudden stop. He looked and saw Nora holding the stop button. She turned around to him with a look of shock. He just looked at her perplexed.

"I heard what you said, before I entered the room with your refreshments. You mentioned the Ka-Luna pack." She said.

"Y...yes I did." Henry answered.

She looked down as if she was pondering. She looked back at him with an intensity that even made him feel on edge.

"You said Rosalie. Do you mean Rosalie Winters!?" She asked surprised.

"Wh- y..yes....How did you know? Wait do you know her?" Henry asked with hope.

"How do you know her?" She asked him.

He felt like he was being interrogated. "I'm helping her." Henry said.

Her eyes widened. "She's alive!?"

Henry pressed again. "How do you know her?"

She turned around and flipped the button, and the elevator started to move again. It was silent for a moment, but she spoke again.

2468 Tull Ave Unit B.

She was giving him an address. Henry didn't hesitate. He grabbed out a pen and paper from his coat and wrote it down. The doors to the lift opened and he got out. He looked back at her as the doors were closing.

"Tonight 8 pm." Was all she said.

Henry nodded.

He had time to kill till then. He had to get a couple things from the Inn, knowing that who ever was tailing him could be there. It was a chance he had to take. For whatever reason she needed to talk to him, it could give him answers. Could give Rosalie answers.

Time passed really fast, and before he knew it he was heading towards the given address. He took a cab again just in case, and made the driver take a couple side roads in case he was being followed. He eventually pulled up to the address just after 8. He got out with his documents that he gathered from the Inn and made his way to the door. Before he could knock Nora opened the door, and invited him in.

She led him to her kitchen and gave him a seat at the dinner table. She had a kettle already on the stove warming up. She waited for it to brew and once it was finished she then brought it over to the table and took a seat. She proceeded to poor herself a cup and offered one to Henry.

"Yes please." He said. He waited patiently for her too talk. It felt like the silence was forever, so Henry spoke first.

"Miss. Nora, why did you invite me here?" He asked.

"Rosalie Winters." She said. "Tell me what happened to her."

Henry didn't really know what to make of it but he obliged. "She came to my pack not long ago asking for my help. My son...he brought her after he found her living alone in the woods."

She looked at him confused. "The woods?" She asked.

"Y..yes. There was an attack on her pack long ago. 14 years approximately, and since the attack she fled and shifted for the first time that night. Since then she hasn't been able to change back. U...until recently that is." He watched her face. She had tears forming in her eyes.

"She's alive." She stated.

"Yes." Said Henry. She didn't say anything. She just smiled as tears fell down her cheeks. "Miss. Nora, may I ask how you know her?"

She looked at him, and got up. She walked over to the hutch in the living room and looked to be grabbing a photo album. She brought it over to the table and opened it. She flipped the pages till she found one she was looking for. It was of her younger self and a little girl. She pointed to her.

"She's my niece." She said.

Henry looked up at her shocked. "Your niece!?"

"Yes." She turned the page and the photo that lay in front of him was of her and Rosalies father Jon. "He's my brother in law." She fell silent.

Henry continued to look through the album.

"We were both born into the Ka-Luna pack. And when I found my mate, I married into this one. You were right to come here. She sighed. Their deaths were my fault. She grabbed a tissue and wiped her tears. The litigation you were talking about...it didn't stop there. The Packet brothers resented eachother for years, and it wasn't until their father died that his brother fought tooth and nail for this territory, claiming he had rights over it. And when the council didn't rule in his favor, he got vengeful. She turned the following page. It was the same photo that sat on her desk. My sister Sylvie."

"The Alpha of the Ka-Luna pack plotted to attack us, and if it wasn't for the warning from my sister, they may have succeeded. Fred attacked first, essentially killing all but a few that managed to escape."

Henry soaked it all in. "But how is their deaths your fault?" He asked.

"Because Sylvie told me about the impending attack and I told Fred. She replied. And now you tell me my presumed dead niece is alive and well after spending 14 years in solitude." She wiped her tears again.

"Miss. Nora." Henry said softly. "The only ones to blame are the ones who burdened you all with their hate."

She nodded. "Is she here with you? My Rosalie?"

"I'm afraid not, but she is back at my pack house." He smiled.

Henry continued to look at the album, when he heard something outside the window. He got up slowly.

"Nora." He whispered. "Are you expecting anyone?"

She shook her head no.

"Come with me." He took her hand, and had her go in the bathroom. "Lock this door and don't come out till I tell you. We aren't alone." She did what she was told.

He quickly went back to the kitchen and turned all the lights off but the stove light. Then hid behind the door. It was silent, so silent he could hear Noras breathing quicken. Then the door knob started slowly turning. He stood still and waited. Suddenly the door was kicked in, and what first entered was a gun. Henry quickly grabbed the gun and started tusseling with the man from the cafe. Nora could hear the fight that was happening in the next room and kept as quite as possible. Then a shot was heard, followed by silence.

She didn't hear anything, and was trembling so hard, she almost collapsed.

"Miss. Nora!" It was Henry.

She ran out of the bathroom to see a gun on the floor and a man dressed in black bleeding from his neck. Henry was holding the man's throat trying to stop the bleeding.

"Tell me who sent you!? How did you find me!?!" Henry yelled.

The man was dieing. It looked as if he was trying to speak but so much blood was pouring from his mouth, and within seconds the man was gone.

"Henry." Said a trembling Nora. "What's going on?"

"I don't know." Replied Henry.

He got up and looked at the man, then went to the sink to quickly rinse the blood off his hands. Nora just stared at the dead man lying on her kitchen floor, in shock. Henry went to her and had her sit down. He went back to the man and checked his pockets, and found a cell phone. He checked his messages. Nothing. He checked his call history and there were recent calls from an unknown number. Just as he was going through the phone a photo from the photo album caught his attention. He carefully looked at it, and it was a photo of the Ka-Luna pack dated from 2002. One face jumped out to him. The phone in his hand suddenly went off. It was the unknown number. He motioned Nora to stay quite and hit the answer call button. He stayed silent.

"Is it done!?" A voice spoke.

Henry hung up the phone. The man on the phone and the photo was non other then Locklin O'Brady. He didn't waste anymore time and called Sam.

Ring~ Ring~

"Hello?" Sam picked up.

"Son, where's Rose....where is she!? is she safe?" He asked.

"Dad! hold on I can't hear you!" Said Sam.

"For god sake Sam....Sam!!" Henry pleaded.

"Okay, what is it you said?" Sam asked again.

"Son, someone just tried to kill me! Where's Rose?!? Listen carefully son....Locklin! Locklin sent the guy to kill me....he was part of her pack..." Henry heard the line drop.

He looked at his phone, that showed call disconnected. "Be careful Sam... " He said to himself.