"Is there any left?"Jarren asked as he stretched in his chair and rubbed his stomach.

"No" Kaddian said as he loaded the remaining grilled fish and asparagus into a to-go container.

"But I see it right there, in your hand!" Jarren called his bluff.

"You already had three filets" Kyrrian said, clearing her plate from the table.

"What can I say, I'm a bear, I love fish" he retorted.

"We're all bears" Sarai contradicted incredulously staring at Jarren.

"Nuance" Jarren said with a wave of his hand.

"Where are you headed Jack?" Rory asked as Jacklynn placed her dish in the sink and headed towards the back door.

"I always run in the evening" she said, continuing with a snide "being here isn't going to change that".

"No need to get your knickers in a knot, he was just checking" Chance added, finishing the last of his fifth beer.

Jacklynn stared at him in disgust before turning to Scottlin, "I'll be back" and exiting.

He nodded and leaned back in his chair, appearing to listen to the argument betwen Sarai, Jarren, and BB, however his eyes stayed focused on one target, Kyrrian, as she washed dishes. He continued to watch as Rory stood up and proceeded to take his plate to the sink.

Kyrrian held out a soapy hand for his dish, but he refused to relinquish it.

"What were your words again, 'I am perfectly capable'?" Rory replied, before pushing her over with the tap of his hip and joining his hands into the frothy water.

"I don't like you" Kyrrian said through narrowed eyes.

"Of course you do, everyone does" was his answer joined with a laugh as he scrubbed his plate.

"Are you done yet?" she asked, pulling her hands from the water when their fingers brushed each other.

"I still have to rinse. And wash my silverware" Kyrrian merely glared at him but returned to the dish she was working on, using only the very corner of the sink.

Alpha Kaddian stood in the doorway, watching the loud, raucous group with caution, before placing a hand on Porter's shoulder.

"I will be back. Keep an eye on everyone" Kaddian whispered to the dark haired man. Porter nodded solemnly and reached for his glass of tea, never one for an alcoholic beverage.

Kaddian made it to his SUV before Jarren caught up with him.

"Tell Lauren hey for me" he said with a smirk and a quirked eyebrow.

"Jarren" Kaddian said in a low tone, "I could break you".

"I'm just saying. But hey, honestly, she could a use a visitor. I think she gets lonely. She's always working at the station or home alone... working" Jarren added with honesty. Kaddian stared at him for a few seconds before grunting and getting into the vehicle. He was about to drive off when he remembered something.

He rolled the window down and said, "Jarren". The blond bear came to the window in curiosity. "Does you nose work?"

"What?" Jarren said, looking nervous.

"Your nose, does it work?"

"I-... no actually" he said.

"What?" Kaddian's grimace was strong as ever.

"I'll explain it to you sometime. But no, I have no sense of smell. I'm surprised it took you that long to notice. Why do you want to know?" Jarren said, a sudden seriousness on his face.

"Because when your mate is around, her smell should intoxicate you. And when you touch, her skin should send electricity through your body in the most pleasurable pain imaginable" Kaddian said.

"That was poetic, truly, I'm impressed. But what is it you're trying to tell me?" Jarren said as his phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and stared at the screen.

"I'm saying maybe you should pay more attention to Sarai" Kaddian said, then he rolled up his window. In his rear view mirror he saw Jarren take a phone call and begin to head toward the house.

Sheriff Lauren Hale lived about fifty yards past the Redd house on the outskirts of town in a small, dark brown cabin. Kaddian had to duck to get under the extremely sloped porch roof, but the cabin itself consisted of three rooms; a kitchen, living, and bedroom, all of which had very high ceilings. As Kaddian prepared to knock on the door, he noticed a plain face envelope wedged in between the logs of the cabin next to the door. He removed it and placed it on top of the food container before he knocked gently. There was music playing in the home, and he couldn't hear movement or shuffling, so he wasn't sure if the Sheriff had heard him, which is why he was surprised when the door opened suddenly to reveal a casually dressed Lauren Hale. Kaddian was not sure he had ever seen her in anything other than her uniform, and to see her now, dressed in plaid print, flannel pajama bottoms and a form fitting black long sleeve caught him off guard.

"Mr. Grayson!" she said, shocked. She was holding some sort of lemon wine cooler in her hand and, through the open door, Kaddian could see files open on the table in the livingroom.

"Hello Sheriff Hale. Dinner was made for my Sleuth and our guests and we had leftovers, I thought you might want some" he said, extending the food container.

"Oh, of course, thank you! Please, come in. Want anything to drink?" she opened the door completely and took the food from his hand and placed it in the kitchen on the counter. At his head shake, she continued "I'm sorry it's such a mess", scooching past him, she went to straighten up the papers on the table... the only 'mess' in the entire house. Everything from the hearth decorations to freshly vacuumed carpet was pristine, almost as if she didn't live here.

"Your house is not messy... it's the exact opposite" Kaddian said slowly.

Sheriff Hale looked around the living room before sighing. "Honestly, it's like this because I'm rarely home" she admitted. She plopped down on the couch and took a very long drink of her wine cooler.

Kaddian stood exactly where he had been the entire time, right inside the door, and realized this was probably the closest he had ever felt to feeling uncomfortable and awkward.

"Why do you work so much?" He asked finally, making his way slowly to the love-seat perpendicular to her position on the couch.

"Because I want to keep people safe" she said quickly, then took a deep breath and continued, "and to distract myself from... all of this" she made a grand gesture to the cabin surrounding them.

"You don't like your home?" Kaddian asked.

"Listen" Sheriff Hale said, "close your eyes and listen". Hesitantly, Kaddian did and heard nothing, even with his slightly improved senses.

"There is nothing" he finally said.

"Exactly. I'm almost thirty years old and I have absolutely nothing to show for it. This house should be filled with children's laughter and the smell of home cooked food and my husbands coat should be hanging by the door" and as Kaddian listened to Lauren Hale rant about how her life should be, he imagined everything she described with extreme vivacity.

"I'm alone and I'm lonely. Oh and my mother is the Queen of reminding me everyday that I am and have always been single" Sheriff Hale had anger in her tone as she stood up and made gestures ranging from rubbing her face to throwing her arms around in the air as she ranted on. Kaddian simply watched in fascination.

As if noticing him for the first time, Sheriff Hale turned and said "I am so sorry, you don't want to hear all this. Here you are a perfectly happy, attractive man, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about. No idea what it's like to be lonely" Lauren plopped to the couch in despair.

"Of course I do" Kaddian said with a furrowed brow.

Confused, Hale responded "but you live with all your... family... members and you have your sister and you can change into bears! Your life is fascinating and interesting!"

"I do have my Sleuth, and I love my sister, but it was not always like this. Our childhood was... stressed. And in my Sleuth, I am the only Alpha. The only one to take on the responsibilities and struggles of my people" Kaddian told Sheriff Hale this with hooded lids and a monotone voice, as if he was pushing his emotions inside.

"But, I'm sorry, isn't there supposed to be a beta or something that helps?" Lauren asked. Never had she been offered the opportunity to ask questions about their world.

"Kyrrian is my beta, and she has her responsibilities, but her main job is to relate to the Sleuth members. To be the people person. I am the one who makes all of the final decisions. And when I make a wrong one, I deal with the repercussions".

"Surely" Hale said, scooting closer to the edge of the couch," surely there is someone that you can go to when you're having struggles of your own?"

Kaddian looked up at her slowly. As always, when something peaked her interest, Sheriff Hale's eyes were bright blue and she had child like curiosity and earnest on her face.

"Sheriff Hale-"

"Please" she interrupted him, "Lauren".

His brows drew together before he slowly said, "Lauren" he looked as if the foreign name caused him distress, "there is a position for someone like that in a Sleuth, but it is much harder to find the right fit than it is to find a beta".

"Why?" Lauren pressed.

Weary, Kaddian answered, "because that is the Alpha females' duty".

"Wait, doesn't Alpha mean... basically King. King of the bears? How can there be two Kings?"

"Alpha means the dominate, supreme, strongest, and best, but there can be an Alpha male and he has a perfect mated opposite, the Alpha female" this conversation made Kaddian uncomfortable. That was twice, since entering this cabin, that he had flirted with that feeling.

"Oh, so why don't you just go marry some super she-bear? Wait, that's insensitive, that would be like asking me why I don't just go marry some Jo Shmo, of course there have to be feelings and emotions and I doubt you have time to date and-" she was rambling and Kaddian wanted to put her out of her misery.

"It's not that simple. Although I have the option to marry whoever I want, my genetics have already determined who would be my perfect opposite and who my mates' opposite is" Kaddian explained.

"Oh... so go get her" Lauren Hale made life seem so simple.

"We have to meet this opposite, in person, smell them, touch them, we can't just... Know... Where they are. And sometimes your mate won't or... can't... be with you" he explained further.

"So this is for all bears, not just you?" She asked. He nodded, a gesture she could handle considering this was the most she had ever talked to the man in five years and they had been... well she considered them to be friends.

"And have you met her yet, this amazing she-bear?"

Kaddian stared at some invisible spot on the floor at his feet before replying, "no. No I have not".

Lauren Hale and Kaddian Grayson sat in silence for a few moments before she stood up and walked to his seat, bending down and giving him a gentle hug around the neck. His hands remained in his lap, but there was a slight hitch in his breathing that quickly leveled out. He smelled like the perfect blend of when the sea meets the land, and his body was warm and firm. Lauren Hale enjoyed every second of this monumentous occasion when she, Klutz of the North and Queen Dork was allowed to hug the most stand-offish man she had ever met. When she straightened up, she felt a blush creep into her face and Kaddian said nothing, so she quickly flitted to the kitchen.

"So" Sheriff Hale cleared her throat quickly, "food. What is it?" She reached the kitchen and picked up the food container. Lauren Hale never heard his answer because she found the envelope on top of the container and opened it. Inside was a small letter with a note scrawled on it.

'You've been investigating and now you have to be punished. Stop or more die'

"Kaddian? Where did you get this letter?" Silence met her question followed by the barely audible sound of him rising and walking into the kitchen.

"What does it say" his tone was now all business.

Lauren handed him the paper and repeated her question, "where did you get this?"

"It was by the door" he said, looking up toward the direction of his home, as if he could see his Sleuth members from inside her cabin. "I have to go" he said, walking toward the door. Sheriff Hale barely hesitated before grabbing her badge and gun belt off the kitchen table. She ran to the door and threw on her shoes and coat.

"No, you stay here" he said. His infamous grimace was only more intimidating when he spoke, his jaw clenching with each word.

"No. I'm going. That letter was left at my house and those are my citizens it's threatening" Kaddian glared, nose flared, but Sheriff Lauren Hale had an intense ferocity in her eyes as she said, "I'm going". Kaddian said nothing, but rather turned and exited the cabin. Lauren Hale took that as a concession and followed, quickly hopping into his SUV. They sped off toward the Grayson property, the silence tense and heavy.