Chapter 31 Pieces of Paper

Sara rode the bike home and did a few loads of laundry in the basement laundry mat.  There were at least 50 dryers and just as many washers but there were less then 40 chairs scattered around the room. She sat in one of the clusters of seating and opened the used book written by Dan Brown. The first few chapters were slow and threatened to loose her interest. However with nothing else to do she continued reading. There were a few times that she had to reread a few pages to understand what the author had written.

Laundry done she tucked the book into one of the baskets as she stood at the table folding the warm clothes. She didn't openly invite conversation with the other pack members as they did laundry but she did share a smile or a few words occasionally. 

She folded the last shirt and laid it on top of the basket with out the book hidden away. She tucked a basket under each arm but quickly sat them back on the table.  She stacked the lighter basket on top and carried them to the elevator.  

She put the cloths away and started dinner. It was so strange to cook on an electric stove. She missed the smell of wood and smoke. She wasn't brave enough to make a meal in the oven but the stove-top wasn't hard to use. She fried some fish fillets in butter, made a salad, a pot of  tea, and boiled some noodles with a light buttery sauce.

She deliberately made enough for two, hopping that Sebastian would come by for dinner or even a stupid movie. Half an hour later she put the second plate in the fridge as well as the remains of her own meal. 

She debated calling it a night but decided to watch a movie instead. She selected one at random. It was about a small man that lived in an underground house. She vaguely remembered the story from childhood didn't recall seeing the movie before. She feel asleep when his uninvited guests where rummaging in his pantry for food.

A knock sounded at her door pulling her from sleep. Groggy she blinked. It took her a moment to realize where she was and that pulling  sensation in her stomach wasn't hunger but the mate bond pulling her towards her mate. She pushed her body up from the sofa and shuffled to the door when the knock sounded again.

Sebastian stood on the other side. His shoulders looked slumped as if carrying a heavy weight. His eyes looked tired and he had acidic tang to his scent. As soon as the door opened he engulfed her in a hug. She rapped her arms around him and she could swear that she felt him tremble. Her feet hovered over the floor as he straitened to his full height.

"Are you okay?" she whispered against his neck. She felt him nod as he moved taking them both over the threshold. Without letting  her go he used his shoulder to close the door. She heard him drew a deep breath taking her scent into his lungs.

"I know it's late." he said and inhaled again. "I'm sorry for waking you." he said and loosened his grip but he didn't release her. Her bare toes just grazed the carpeted floor.

"That's okay. I hoped you would come by." she admitted. She was starting to feel just a little awkward dangling as she was in his arms. "I made dinner, are you hungry."

"Yes." he told her and nuzzled his nose against her neck. He inhaled her scent again and gently lowered her feet to the floor. "So, what's for dinner?" he asked as he reluctantly released her. He was anxious.

The case he had been working on for the past week had been solved today. Unfortunately it had not been a happy ending. A Lycans human mate had been kidnapped by a past boyfriend.  The Lycan, Sean Glen, had known his mate a month before she had been taken. Her ex had killed her when he realized that she would never willingly return to him. Tina Jones body had been discovered buried in the park under a foot of dirt. She had been missing for five months but had only been dead for one.

Sebastian couldn't imagine what Sean was going through. He watched as Sara walked into the kitchen and pulled a plate from the fridge. "Its just Fish." she said with a glance over her shoulder. "I'll heat it up if you want to pick a movie."

Dutifully he started rummaging through her growing movie collection. In the mood for something that would make him smile as well as ease his tension he chose Guardians of the Galaxy. After putting the move in he slumped on the sofa with the remote in hand. He moved the pillow and tossed it to the other side of the sofa. A folded piece a paper caught his eye. He picked it up and sniffed the air, frowning. Why did he smell blood. With another sniff he opened folds.  

I told you to leave. You should have. This is your last chance to go back were you came from cave rat. Sebastian is better without you. The pack is better without you. The next blood I spill will be yours if you don't leave before the Allhallows.  I'll skin your hide and burn you to the ground.

There was no signature. But Sebastian recognized the scent of blood. It belonged to a rabbit. It wasn't fresh but that didn't lessen his anger. It was at least twenty hours old but it could be as much as 28 hours old. The threat was very clear. The words alone made it clear that this note was not the only one that had been sent to his mate.

Sebastian jumped to his feet and stalked into the dinning room. Speechless with rage he watched as Sara pulled out a plate from the microwave. She turned and placed the plate on the bar. She smiled at him and for some reason it made him angry.

How could she not tell us? Does she not trust us? Taron demanded.

"Sara." he growled. Taron just below the surface of his skin.

Startled Sara turned around after filling a glass with tea.

Sara stood at the bar blinking at Sebastian. He held a sheet of unfolded paper in his hand. The paper shivered. She knew that paper.

"What are you doing with that?" She asked.

"I found it on the sofa. Why haven't you told me about this? And how many have you gotten?"

"This isn't your problem Sebastian. It's just words." she told him defensively.

"You are my mate, Sara. It is for me to protect you, even if you can protect yourself. How many have you gotten?" His asked his voice rough. He shook the paper in the air.

"I don't remember." she admitted.

"You don't remember? Why because you have ignored them or because you have gotten so many you lost count?" He was clearly angry but Sara didn't understand why. "Answer me." he said trying to control his voice.

"Both. I didn't even read that one." she nodded to the paper as she spoke. She placed a glass of tea by the plate she had saved for his dinner. "I've kept them all." she chose her next words carefully. "It's just words, all of it. There's not enough scent on them to find the writer. I'm sure whoever it is ... is a coward."

"These letters are why you've been so upset at  work?" he moved forward an placed the paper on the bar beside the plate.

Sara shifted uncomfortably. Yes and no, she thought. But she decided to simplify the verbal answer. "Yes." She licked her lips. Evodine pushed on the inside of her skull. "And- uh -" she watched as his eyes narrowed. "I've smelled the soap scent a few times."

She watched as he inhaled the air and the scent. She still found it hard to separate multiple scents on the paper but he didn't seem to have a problem.

"Whoever sent this to you was careful to remove their scent and use a soap and masking spay too." he picked up the paper and inspected it.

"This is the first one that had blood on it. The others were just words." she volunteered.

"Where are the others?" He asked. "Get them, we have to turn this into the Alpha and Luna."

"Eat while I get them." she asked. After  a moment he nodded and sat at the bar.

A few minutes later she handed him the other notes. She hadn't realized that there were so many. He growled when she placed the small stack on the bar. There were twenty one pieces of paper.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A/N~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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