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Some people suggested I took the Journey, that I travelled without direction, led only by my intuition.

We didn't know how we were paired, yet many believed that we were destined to find a soul mate - even though some never did - and that Fate or some other great force would eventually make sure we'd cross paths, if only we would follow our instincts.

Rhys was considering taking the Journey the weeks before he met Riley; he was thinking about closing his eyes, pointing to an open map and heading in the direction of where his finger fell. And if during his travels he felt like changing direction, he would.

That wouldn't work for me for two reasons: one - as the Alpha of the Silver Bullets I shouldn't be away from my pack for long so this was not a good choice even if two - I hadn't already recognized my mate.

I often pondered on why he of all people would be chosen by any divine being to be my soul mate and I still couldn't come up with even a vaguely logical answer.

The mate was supposed to respect you and that man patronized me; they were supposed to provide comfort and support in harsh times and he provided only criticism; they were supposed to show you love, to act as if you were the most important person in the world, and I was sure he didn't even like me.

The worst part?

He was human.

The werewolf/human pairing worked for my Beta and his soul mate even though the latter couldn't feel the mate bond, but I doubted the same would happen with me and...

"Keri?" My cousin's voice was followed by the sound of a knock. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." I closed the paper folder and rubbed my temples - my nails scratchining the frame of my reading glasses - as I tried to put aside both the thoughts of my mate and the gruesome pictures from the crime scene that I could see in my mind.

"Anything new at the station?" I asked when Kelly walked in; she had yet to take off her police uniform and change into civilian clothing.

She shook her head.

Great!

We were nowhere closer to catching the shifter who not only murdered innocent humans, but was trying to pin her heinous acts on my pack.

We had almost caught her during the summer.

Well, not we as in my pack and I, but the Sentinels we cooperated with.

The centuries old Order consisted mostly of Gifted humans these days - shifters were rare and Dayers even more so - but that didn't mean they protected only humans. The Sentinels watched over all species: Gifted and ordinary humans, shifters of all kinds - wolves, bears, everything, and Dayers - the sentient vampires who could control their thirst and only needed small amounts of blood every few months. The only ones the Sentinels considered an enemy based on species alone were the Nighters, those monstrous vampires who could not get a grip on themselves - some claimed they'd lost their souls - and who drained the rest of the species of all their blood; they would sometimes even attack their own.

This time I took my glasses off and put them on the desk before I rolled my fingers over my temples.

I probably needed to get some rest, but I was going to go for a coffee instead. Maybe I could stop by the Milk & Cream and get one there; a change of environment, a conversation with my dear friend Riley, who was a barista there, and his beautiful coffee art - that would help get my mind off of things... Unless he asked about the investigation. He had every right to be worry and to be kept updated. Human or not, Riley was Rhys' mate and they'd moved in together; he was a part of my pack now.

"Keri?"

I lifted my gaze from my desk and to my cousin's face.

"Sorry," I apologized, giving her my full attention.

"You need a break, cous." She sighed, sitting on the wooden chair on the other side of the desk. "It's the holidays after all."

"It's the second of January," I corrected. "The holidays are over and I got a long list with a bunch of broken equipment that I need to find a way to fix or replace. Thank the Great Spirits that we have money left in the common fund," I added, thinking of the small tax we took from all people in our neighborhood - the Silver Bullets' neighborhood - and which we used for the construction and repairing of the training grounds, helping out pack members who had money trouble and so on. I was very proud that one of my ancestors had implemented that system; it helped us buy land at the edge of town and live somewhat separately from the rest of Woodbury and its human population.

"I know that's not what's really on your mind, cous. We haven't heard anything from the murderer in months; can't you relax?"

I frowned at her.

"She was targeting people in our town, Kelly. They might not have been from our neighborhood, but it's still too close to home, especially with her leaving a silver bullet at each crime scene as if our pack is somehow involved. Just because the Sentinels got close to her a couple of times, it doesn't mean she's going to give up on whatever her agenda is; she's going to stay low for a while and then she's going to strike again and this time she might try to take the life of one of us." I leaned forward. "How can I relax knowing that? I am the Alpha; I am responsible for our people."

"I know that." My cousin raised her hands at the level of her chest with her palms facing me in an attempt to appease me. "I'm working on the case with the humans, I'm the one who's been to all the crime scenes. I'm just saying that you can't let this take over your life, Keri; it will consume you and drive you bonkers. Even Callum hasn't opened the file in weeks to see if he's been missing something and he never gives up on solving a case."

My jaw clenched and my fists balled when she mentioned the detective who was the head of the investigation.

The Sentinels took interest in all cases involving supernatural beings and tried to keep them away from the eyes and ears of ordinary humans, but when the latter were the ones who got killed, it was inevitable for the local police not to intervene.

Detective Calvin Callum was one of those ordinary humans and one of the few of them who knew what my pack and I were. My uncle - the previous Alpha and Kelly's deceased father - had been the person who had let Callum in on our secret as he'd believed we needed a high-ranking policemen on our side. True, the Detective had not told anyone about us and he'd made it so that Kelly could join the murder investigation, but the only motive he had to be on our side was because we had a common goal; chasing after the same perpetrator was not reason enough for him to take a shine to our kind. The only Silver Bullet Callum didn't seem to mind - to even kind of like - was Kelly, but it had been a while before he'd warmed up to her.

"Take the Journey," Kelly said for a millionth time. My finders darted to my temples again.

"People will understand," she went on. "Rhys has Riley now so he's not going anywhere; he'll lead us in your stead. No one will protest. Well, except for Jasper, but when does my brother not protest?"

I groaned and leaned my forehead against the desk.

Jasper.

My not-so-beloved cousin who had wanted my position in the pack and had been dead set on opposing my every decision since I'd became Alpha. A.k.a. one of my problems on my ever-growing To Fix list.

Find and catch a serial killer, ignore feelings for your mate, hide those feelings from the pack, protect said pack, get new training equipment for said pack, deal with a jack-ass cousin by punishing him in a way that wouldn't affect his innocent wife and son...

By the Great Spirits of nature, I hated that list!

And I needed coffee. Large. Extra, extra large.

I lifted my head from the desk.

"I'm heading to the Milk & Cream. I'll call Aunt Olivia when I get back."

"Refreshments first, call the Treasurer later; got it." Keri rose from her chair. "I'd tag along, but, man, am I beat! I need rest. People are not machines, you know; we need our rest. No, scratch that; even machines need a reboot."

I rolled my eyes.

"Can you get any more subtle, cousin?" I quipped.

She placed her hands on the desk and leaned towards me.

"You. Need. A. Break."

"I. Need. Coffee." I insisted.

Kelly shook her head and straightened.

"You know, Keri, you were right when you said that since you are the Alpha, the pack is your responsibility. But how are you going to take care of us, if you don't take care of yourself first?"

I opened my mouth, but no words came out; I couldn't argue with what my cousin had just said.

I realized I needed rest to be healthy and to perform to the best of my abilities, that I needed my full strength and wits to take care of my people, and there was a part of me, a tiny voice that kept telling me to lift my butt of this chair and plant it in my bed.

But that tiny voice was drowned by all the others that were shouting at me to look over our patrols' schedule, to go over the finance book with Aunt Olivia, to get together with my brother Anthony, Rhys and Kelly and think of some way to deal with Jasper, to go over the murder case yet again... There must be something that we were missing, there just had to be!

"I need coffee," I repeated, getting up as I pulled my hair out of the bun, letting it fall over my shoulders. "I'll tell Riley you said hi."

Yay, next chapter is with Riley! And we also get to see why they didn't manage to catch the killer when they had a lead in the last WATA chapter.

Do you like Keri's POV so far?

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