Portland, Oregon

Parker's office phone rang just as she reached the door. Carefully balancing her coffee cup, she made a mad dash across the room for the phone.

"Parker Johnson."

"This is an automated announcement from your local council. We would like you to participate in a very important survey. Please hold the line while we transfer you to one of our live agents."

Seriously?

She slammed the phone down and collapsed in her chair.

It's going to be a long day, I can feel it.

In fact, the three weeks since she had returned to Portland had been the longest in her life. Daniel's team had hoped that once they successfully installed the tracking software on Matheo's phone, they could trail him at a safe distance until he led them to Elise and the source of Wildfire. But that was easier said than done. The team following him was clocking up frequent flyer points at an alarming rate with no indication Matheo was slowing down.

Her part of the job done, Daniel had arranged for her to be escorted to Nederland where the Alliance would be better served if she found out why Matheo had met with Hollingsworth. She was also keeping an eye on the Wildfire online sales.

The mature, rational adult in her had agreed. She had found and led them to Matheo and given them the best chance to follow him to wherever Elise was hiding out. More importantly, she wasn't as trained or as experienced as the other team members, nor did she have the physical strength and endurance. She would only hamper their progress.

The not so mature person in her was slightly miffed at being so easily ousted after they had come so far. In defiance, she had returned to Portland, rather than Nederland, where she now juggled catching up with her normal business affairs and working with Jay to analyze the data coming from Matheo's phone.

Daniel wasn't happy with her decision, but he had relented with caveats. She wasn't surprised when three Werewolves were sent to trail her 24/7.

Parker had been prepared for the uncomfortable phone conversation with Daniel when he discovered she had returned to Portland rather than Nederland. What she hadn't counted on was the distressed call from Alice, immediately followed by Jessica berating her for leaving without saying goodbye. She had spent an uncomfortable two hours trying to convince both of them she did not do it deliberately to upset them. Jessica had been so angry with her, she'd had to look up every second word on Google to work out what Jessica was saying.

She finished off her coffee and proceeded to look over the data from Matheo's movements the previous day.

Beth breezed into her office an hour later. "Girl, you need to get a life. Did you go home last night?"

Parker threw a sullen expression in her PA's direction and returned to what she was doing.

Beth huffed. "Don't look at me in that tone. You have been nothing but secretive and moody since you got back from that assignment. You're in need of a booty call, if I ever did see a need." Beth rested a hand on her hip as she continued. "Perhaps I'll get hold of that fine specimen of a man you are on the phone with every day, and see if he can get you out of your frump."

Parker growled. "Beth!"

"What?"

Parker sighed and rubbed her temples. "Nothing. Why did you come in here?"

Confusion clouded Beth's eyes as she searched for her original purpose. "Oh, yeah, Marc phoned in sick."

She organized another of her employees to cover for Marc, then sat back and considered Beth's comment. She had to admit, her mood wasn't the best lately. But that's probably due to the excessive hours I've put in juggling my business and the data analysis on Matheo.

Her phone rang. She looked at the caller display. At least he's punctual.

"So, let me guess," she said. "He had a meeting, went to a bar, picked up some unsuspecting woman, had another meeting, and then rinse and repeat?"

A chuckle, deep and warm, washed over her and her knees felt weak.

"If nothing, he is becoming predictable," Daniel said.

After the first week of trailing Matheo across borders and cities, Daniel and the others returned home, leaving only Vic, Adam, and Jeremy behind to continue the shadowing. Much to their disappointment, Matheo hadn't yet led them to Elise. Instead, he seemed to be on some kind of a mission. What, they had yet to work out.

Over the three weeks they had been tracking him, Matheo had visited four more cities in three countries. The pattern was the same with each new city. When he hit the ground, he would meet with a prominent local business person, and then meet with them a second time a few of days later. After the second meeting, he would head to another city.

She and Daniel had set up daily update calls to keep each other informed. He would brief her on the team's findings, and she would supply him with the information she had found on who Matheo was meeting with.

"Any closer to working out what he's up to?" Daniel said.

Her shoulders dropped, and she shook her head. "None, sorry. Zeke sent me the address of Matheo's new friend. It's the same deal as the others. Patterson is the chairman and majority shareholder of a privately-owned company. They have a lot of interests in a variety of industries."

"And there is no way to look for any paper trail?"

"No, unlike public companies, they can pretty much do what they want. They don't have the same reporting restrictions."

Daniel went quiet. "I'm getting an uneasy feeling about this. Elise is up to something. Whatever it is, it's extremely well-planned and executed."

She heard the aggravation in his voice.

"It feels like this is the lull before the storm. We've stopped them from selling Wildfire online. Current reports are showing new cases have diminished almost to nothing. What concerns me is that they know about this. So, the question is, what tactics are they going to use to distribute it now?" Daniel said

She attempted to ease his concern. "Hopefully we work that out before it happens. Do you really think they are so bent on wiping out a complete cross-section of the Werewolf race? I'm struggling to understand how they could do this to their own kind."

Daniel let out a low, disapproving growl. "Elise, like her father before her, is a fanatic. She truly believes that a Werewolf with mixed heritage is an abomination. It was part of the reason the Alliance refused the pack admission to America. They spread discord and prejudice wherever they go."

"No one mentioned that in the stories about the great migration."

"I suppose it's something we aren't proud of. We don't talk about it too often. When we have a few spare hours, I will fill you in on it." Daniel cleared his throat and got back to business. "In the meantime, we need to work out how we are going to deal with current events."

She flicked through the reams of paperwork on her desk. "I finally got into the carrier's database, but that was a dead end. The only record of his calls is the local ones he makes when he is in the city. We know he is talking and texting with Elise, it's just not through the carrier network."

"So how are they communicating? It can't be through telepathic link. There is a limit to the range we can extend it."

"They must be doing it on Viber or some other messaging software." She rubbed her forehead and sighed. "We just need to work out which one, and install something on Matheo's phone that will provide us with the information we need."

"Let me guess," he said. "There is an app for that?"

She grinned and chuckled. Daniel, who she had decided was technophobic, had made an attempt at humor. Something he was doing more frequently. "See, coming out with a modern expression didn't kill you, did it?" With each conversation, his icy exterior had dropped a little more, and she was relishing the daily calls with him. "I'll speak to Zeke to see if we can come up with something and get it installed."

She sighed. "In the meantime, I'll try and access the bank accounts of the companies Elise and Matheo are courting. It's going to take a while—most organizations have multiple bank accounts."

"Make sure you keep me in the loop, and if there's anything you need, just let me know." He rang off.

Despite the dire situation, a feeling of contentment wrapped around her. The warm smile stayed with her as she returned to work.

Less than thirty seconds after she put the phone down, it rang again. Thinking Daniel had forgotten something, she answered without looking at it. "You just can't get enough of me, can you, Alpha Locke?"

"Liebe, you need to come home."

Parker's stomach dropped at the sound of Clara's distraught voice. "What's happened?"

Clara hauled in a shakybreath. "It's Bobby. Youhave to come before it's too late."