📎A/N. So, suffered from a little bit of performance anxiety over the past week.  hummed and hared, wrote something. Then threw it in the bin. Freaked out a little more, then wrote something else. Scraped that and started all over again.  

After battling with myself, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and the return of our favorite couple. Don't forget to vote!

Take care,

❤ ℳ

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Parker pulled her Blazer into the reserved spot beside Daniel's vehicle and breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a long day, and the drive from the Denver airport felt like it would never end. While the trip had been successful and had secured another major client for her data security firm, she was glad to be home.

Eager to get inside, she quickly exited the car and pulled her luggage from the trunk. The chill in the night air, a gentle reminder that winter was not too far away, cut through her like butter. Suppressing a shiver, Parker headed towards the compound, fully expecting Daniel to appear from the opposite direction. At the thought of her soon-to-be-husband, her body was draped in a warm glow, and she picked up her pace. The click of her heels as they made contact with the car-park's pavement, kept time with the cacophony of crickets and added a steady beat to their nocturnal music.

That's odd. 

After reaching the small path that would guide her the rest of the distance to their house, and with still no sign of Daniel, Parker's curiosity was peaked. The moment she'd turned off the main highway, onto the private road that lead to the Mountain Pack's thriving village, he would have been aware of her return. There was no way the patrol did not alert their Alpha his mate was back on pack land.

From their earlier phone call, she was surprised he hadn't turned up at the airport to carry out his threat.

At the memory of their last conversation, a quiver of excitement rushed through her. How a single call had gone from a disagreement to Daniel describing exactly what he was going to do to her once she got home was anyone's guess.

Actually, that might have been my fault.

If she hadn't mentioned her purchases at Victoria's Secrets, their exchange might not have degenerated into something that required an ice cold shower to settle the inferno that Daniel had ignited.

Parker's brows knitted together in a disappointed frown as she passed the Pack House that guarded valley below like an ever present sentry. There was still no sign of Daniel. The realisation that he wasn't coming dampened the anticipation, and her shoulders dropped.

He must have been detained.

This would be the first time he had failed to stand vigil, impatient for her return. While he supported and encouraged her work, she knew he dreaded each time she needed to travel. There was no doubt he was as possessive with her as any other werewolf male when it came to their mate. Parker understood it was part of who they were; however, it didn't stop her rebelling against it.

"I'm home," Parker called out once she had walked through the door.

After depositing her luggage, she wandered towards the wing that housed Daniel's office. The moment Parker walked through the door, she knew something was wrong.

Zach, her programming wiz, and white hacker prodigy, cowered behind his laptop, his entire body tense as Daniel stood over him in full Alpha mode. From Zach's nervous twitch and unsteady fingers as they hesitated over the keyboard, it was clear the pressure only served to make the poor boy shrink further into himself.

"I need that location now," Daniel said, his deep voice booming across the room.

Parker cringed at Zach's physical recoil at the unexpected outburst from Daniel. His tone, harsh and uncompromising would make anyone think twice about crossing him.

Zach visibly gulped and looked like he wished the earth would swallow him whole. "I-I'm trying, Alpha, but without a live connection, it's difficult."

The way in which he pulled at his t-shirt as he spoke, it was a wonder he hadn't ripped yet another hole in his already half destroyed top. How one person could have an entire wardrobe of moth eaten looking t-shirts was anyone's guess.

"What's going on?" asked Parker.

Relief flooded through Zach's face when he looked up to see her in the doorway. The fact that he wasn't already aware of her presence, another indication of his stress level.

Daniel stood to his full height and raked his fingers through his hair. "Something's happened to Murphy."

"How do you know if you can't reach him?" she asked. Murphy O'Neill was the only Werewolf that seemed capable or willing to defy Daniel's orders if he so chose. "It's not the first time he's ignored a call from you."

While she had only met the gruff Werewolf a handful of times, she had a soft spot for him and would forever be in his debt. It was Murphy who was instrumental in guiding the team in the right direction when she had been abducted. Had they not been close when they finally had her location, the team might not have reached her before it was too late.

Daniel, who had moved to her side of the desk, pulled his phone from his pocket, placed it on his desk and selected voicemail. The moment Murphy's recorded message began; she knew the reason for Daniel's concern.

Between the laboured gasps for air, and strained words that ripped from Murphy's lips, as if he was holding on with the last vestige of strength, his warning sent a cold chill up her spine. Parker wasn't sure what she was more concerned about — Murphy, or the fact their reprieve from Elise was over.

Worried, Parker continued to stare at the phone well after Murphy's voice had failed and became silent. The connection hadn't been severed, and she could hear loud static, broken by sharp cracks.

Daniel pressed end and said, "The next three minutes is just the storm in the background."

So not static.

"What about Murphy, can you hear anything from him?" she asked, knowing Werewolves hearing was far superior to hers.

"Nothing. I can't make out any breathing patterns or movement," Daniel replied. "The rain and thunder are distorting our ability to separate the frequencies."

Zach, more relaxed now Daniel was no longer towering over him said, "As far as I can tell, he's not made any calls since."

Parker raised an eyebrow. "As far as you can tell?" She turned to Daniel. "When did you get the message."

"The call came in around seven. I didn't check my messages until a while later."

Glancing down at her watch, Parker frowned. Three hours. "Do you think he's..." she trailed off, not able to finish the sentence. If someone of Murphy's stature and power could fall, the implications were alarming.

Daniel hesitated before responding; not enough for Zach to notice, but enough for Parker to see behind his iron exterior. The ice cold expression he wore, belied the concern for the other Werewolf. While Daniel found Murphy's flagrant disregard for the chain of command irritating, she knew there was a mutual respect between them.

"I don't know. Whatever Murphy ran into was a lot more dangerous than either of us expected," said Daniel. "I've already sent Alice with a team north. If they find him injured, she'll be able to patch him up."

"What happens if he didn't survive?"

The muscle in Daniel's jaw tightened. "Then they'll bring his body back so that Alice can carry out an autopsy. We need to know about the poison he was referring to."

Parker knew that Alice, the pack's doctor, would be dreading the possibility of another wave of deaths. If Elise was involved, the body count would not stop with Murphy.

"Is he still in Nebraska?" she asked, silently wishing Alice would be tending to a live patient.

Parker's eyes narrowed when Daniel glanced towards Zach. "You do know where to send the team to don't you?"

Zach's sudden focus on his laptop spoke volumes. She shook her head in disbelief.

"In case it slipped your mind, the Corn-husker state is a little larger than a football field. If you don't know where Murphy is, it will be like trying to find Simon when there's a two-for-one deal at Costco. You won't."

Daniel crossed his arms over his chest. "I know where I first sent him. The problem is, he's been following leads all over the state, and he wasn't exactly forthcoming in his reports."

"I've been working on pinpointing his location, but the information from the cellular provider is missing tower data for the entire mid-west. The last feed is over twenty-four hours old," said Zach.

Parker stared at the Pokémon sticker on the back of Zach's laptop, twisted the band of her diamond ring on her finger, and mentally sifted through the options. Without Murphy's last known location, it was going to be difficult to find him.

Think.

The obvious hit her like a freight train, and she halted all movement. "Follow the money." Parker snapped her head around to face Daniel.

"The what?"

A sense of urgency swept through her. By her count, they had four hours before the team would reach Nebraska. "The money," she repeated. "If he's been there a few days, he would have spent money. Unless he carried wads of cash, at some point, he's paid by credit card or used an ATM. We need to get into his accounts."

"What do you need?" Daniel asked.

"It would make things a lot easier if we had his account numbers."

Daniel pulled out his phone. "Simon would have reimbursed him for the Europe mission, he'll have the details."

Parker leaned over the desk and reached for a pen and slip of paper. Quickly scribbling down a series of words, she pushed it across the desk to Zach. "The banking programs we used to track down Wildfire are in that location. Use the password to access the hidden folder and the other to unzip them. Load them all and, as soon as you get the account numbers, get started." She headed towards the door. "I'm going up to change, I'll be right back."

Parker raced out and made her way upstairs. If she was going to be attached to a monitor for who knew how long, she at least wanted to be comfortable.

With as much speed as possible, Parker slipped off her skirt and blouse and tossed them onto the bed. She was about to remove her high heel shoes when a long, slow, appreciative growl broke the silence.

"Just as well I brought your luggage, or I might have missed out on the show."

Parker spun around to discover Daniel was already half way across the room, his look predatory as his gaze devoured every inch of her.

"Did you get Zach the numbers?" she asked as she kicked up her heel to reach for her shoe.

"He said it would take him at least forty minutes to get what we need."

Parker's fingers had only just reached her stiletto when Daniel's hand snaked around to the small of her back, and she found herself flush against his body. Her foot fell back to the floor at the unexpected movement, and her hand flew up to his chest to steady herself.

His hot breath fanned across her skin as he lowered his head to nip and tease the length of her neck. "Leave them on."

Goosebumps erupted over every exposed body part as desire rippled through her body. She struggled to concentrate. "We need to find Murphy," Parker argued.

Daniel ignored her protest and continued his assault. "Will us being downstairs make the process go any faster?"

"No."

"Does Zach know what he's doing?"

"Yes, but—"

The words died on her lips as his drifted and teased her mouth.

"I told you what I was going to do to you," Daniel said, his voice now thick with unbridled passion. "You can't expect me to allow that conversation to go unpunished?"

Parker hauled in her breath as Daniel's free hand roamed across her bare midriff, then travelled north to caress and tease her now aroused bud which strained through the lace of her bra. She tilted back her head and closed her eyes to grant him further access. Every nerve ending came alive in response to his touch.

A moan escaped Parker's lips at the speed in which he could set her alight. "You wanted to know where I had been," she said, her breathing laboured as he continued to wreak havoc.

A moment later she felt barren. Daniel had ceased his plunder and remained still. She opened her eyes, to discover his face hovered over her. His expression, full of intent and longing, told her just how difficult it was to hold back.

"Torturing me with images of you in little more than a scrap of lace wasn't what I had in mind. Do you know what affect that had on me? On my wolf? You were half a continent away, and my entire soul hungered for release; release that only you can bring. All I could think of was that my bed was empty while you were wining and dining them."

Parker lifted her hand and rested it against his cheek. "You know better than to be jealous. I love you and would never let anything destroy what we have. It was a business deal, that's all. I'm in no danger of running off with one of them."

Daniel smiled. "I'm aware of that. I am your mate; no other will come close." His voice reflected the confidence in his expression.

He paused, and the certainty crumbled. "I envy the time they have with you. Every moment you have with them is one less with me. I've — we've— waited so long to find you, it is hard to let you go, even for a short time."

Parker rested her head on his broad chest. This could not have been an easy admission for him. As Alpha of the Mountain pack and Alpha Commander of the Alliance, he couldn't show weakness. Daniel was laying himself bare to her, showing just how much power she had over him.

"Don't think it's not hard on me," she said, "but we both have responsibilities; responsibilities that will require us to be apart every now and then."

Daniel wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "That doesn't mean I have to like it."

He nuzzled his face into her hair and breathed her in. A moment later, the tension left his stiff frame, and he relaxed into her. Outside of their cocoon, the world continued onward. Right now, at this moment, she didn't care. The centre of her universe resided in this overbearing, formidable, duty bound Werewolf Alpha, who frustrated her one moment then surprised her the next.

Parker tipped her head back to look at Daniel, raised an eyebrow and grinned. "So you're that confident no other man will sweep me off my feet?"

The corners of his mouth twitched. "That, I have no doubt."

"What makes you so sure?" she teased.

Daniel's green iris's darkened and turned primal. "This," he growled as he lowered his head and crippled her with a searing kiss.

Before Parker's legs gave out, she was swept up and carried to their bed where Daniel proceeded to show her just how much he had missed her.

***

"Report," Daniel barked out the moment they returned to the office where Zach was pouring over printouts.

Parker stole a glance at Daniel. He was in full Alpha mode. Nothing about his expression indicated they had just experience nirvana.

Figures.

It had always frustrated her how he could switch with very little effort. In public, he was the epitome of strength and confidence. A smile was rare and is granite expression never gave way his inner thoughts. It was an entirely different matter when he moved out of the spotlight, and they were alone, or he was with his inner circle.

Zach handed Parker one of the printouts. "As far as I can tell, there's no pattern to his movements," he said. "The last transaction was yesterday, at a gas station in Valentine."

Parker scanned through the statement. "Do you think he's still in that area?" she asked Daniel who was reading over her shoulder.

He shook his head. "I doubt it. He's filled the tank, which means he's heading out of town."

"Why would he buy a gun?" Zach asked. He had returned to reading off his monitor

Daniel stopped his perusal of the statement. "He wouldn't. Why?"

"According to this, he brought something at Gun 'n Ammo in Omaha three days ago."

"Let me see that," Parker said moving closer to the desk.

Zach turned the laptop so that it was now facing her. She cast her gaze down the transactions. Sure enough, Murphy had spent twelve hundred dollars at a gun store.

Parker was about to comment on it when two transactions near it flew out at her. "You never told me he flew to Omaha."

Daniel shrugged. "I didn't think it important. Why?"

"I think I might know a way to find his exact location." Parker reached for her laptop. She only hoped she could get to the information on time. "He picked up a rental at the airport."

"And?"

A sense of purpose pushed her mind into overdrive as she recalled an article she had read. "The agency he used has been in the news recently for not disclosing they could remotely turn on the video camera installed in each car."

"I don't follow, how's that help us?" asked Daniel.

"The camera is standard with the GPS unit. We can track Murphy through the car's GPS location."

"What do you need me to do?" Zach asked.

Without looking up from what she was doing, Parker reeled of instructions. "The first thing is to find out which vehicle was rented to Murphy, then we need to jump into their tracking system without them realising we are there."

It took them less time than expected to obtain the location. To Parker's surprise, the security system, supposedly keeping out unwanted intruders, crumbled at the slightest push. Once they had breached the network, as was his habit, Zach began to chant 'We are the champions' as he sprung up from his chair and rocked his hips from side to side.

Parker had to stifle a smirk when Zach halted mid-chant at Daniel's piercing stare. She wasn't sure who was more amusing, Zach's sudden embarrassment at forgetting an Alpha was in the room, or Daniel's at her prodigy's sudden outburst.

***

"They're about two hours away," Daniel said as he hung up the phone. The team knew where they were headed, and it was now a waiting game.

Her job done, Parker's fatigue made itself known. She yawned and cracked her neck from side to side.

Daniel pulled Parker up from her chair and gently kissed her. "You're tired, let's get you to bed."

Allowing him to guide her, she leaned into the comfort of his embrace. "You know, you should go a little easy on Zach, he's terrified of you."

Daniel snorted in disgust. "That boy is without self-restraint and has an unhealthy fixation with tattered clothing. He requires more discipline—not less."

Too tired to argue the point, Parker filed the discussion for later. Right now she was home and safe in Daniel's arms, and that was all that mattered.

"You're not coming to bed?" Parker asked once she got in between the sheets and realised he had yet to disrobe.

Daniel lay beside her, fully clothed and she scooted into his outstretched arms. "I will, once I hear from the team."

Parker could feel him play with her hair as he moulded their bodies together. She closed her eyes and relaxed, fatigue demanding she slept.

"Do you think he's alive?" she mumbled, willing her body to stay awake a while longer and bask in his tender care.

Daniel took a deep breath as he considered the question. "I don't know," he admitted after letting it out. "His entire existence was fuelled with a single purpose—tracking down Elijah to avenge June's death. Now it's done, my only concern is his desire to be with his mate. If he is badly injured, his will to live will decide his fate."

Parker fell silent. It was the words that Daniel didn't speak that concerned her the most. Whatever had struck Murphy down, was still out there. A situation they couldn't afford to allow to continue. She clung on to the arms around her waist and bit on her lower lip to curb the rising panic. There was no doubt in her mind; Daniel would send out a team to track the creature down.

A team he would lead.

Parker's mind refused to entertain the idea he would suffer the same fate as Murphy. Instead, anger that had festered and bubbled since she witnessed, first-hand, Elise's destruction, returned in full force.

That bitch is not going to take another victim in this psychotic war of hers if I have anything to do with it.

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📎A/N. So, what did you think? What a way to multitask ;-)

And what would they do without Parker?

Looks like they've managed to track down where Murphy's car is located... What will Alice and the team  find when they get to their destination?

Parker is not going to stand by and watch her man suffer the same possible fate as Murphy... she is out for Elise's blood!

... And I wonder what Murphy brought at the gun shop? any guesses?

Don't forget to vote and/or comment. :-)

Till next time, take care,

❤ ℳ