Alpha Kaddian, Alpha Scottlin, and Kyrrian had been pouring over the facts and details of the murders for the past eight hours in the kitchen of the Grayson home.

"That's enough for tonight" Kaddian finally said.

Scottlin and Kyrrian blew sighs of relief. Although they were determined to find the killers, Kyrrian and Scottlin knew that they were simply reviewing old information and weren't going to find anything new. Alpha Reik was sitting on very important information, but he feared voicing his discoveries he had made with Sheriff Hale due to the fact that the inside man was part of the Grayson Sleuth.

"Do you want something to drink?" Kyrrian asked the Alpha. She did not even have the opportunity to ask Kaddian as he quickly left the room, his right fist clenched in frustration.

"Yes, please" Alpha Scottlin replied quietly.

Silence filled the room while she grabbed two bottles from the fridge and popped them open.

"So, how was your date?" Scottlin asked after taking a swig of beer.

"Good" Kyrrian answered honestly.

Scottlin, confused by her disgruntled expression, inquired, "Why do you look surprised?"

"Well I guess I am surprised that I enjoyed it. Rory is kind of a flirt, I don't usually get along well with men like that, but we had a great conversation yesterday. I think he and I could be good friends" the honesty in her tone was surprising even to herself.

"Friends? I'm sure he was not too happy with just being friends" Scottling Reik knew his friend well. He was not the type to accept 'just friends'.

"I think he did, actually" Kyrrian replied, taking her seat and relaxing into a very unladylike position.

"Hm" was Reik's only reply.

With a sigh, Kyrrian asked, "So, what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Well I'm at a disadvantage. See, you decided to give me a break down of my psyche in the forest and so far I know that you're a Reik" Kyrrian was trying hard not to show how much his statement that morning of her run had wracked her to her core.

"Kyrrian Grayson, it was not my intent to hurt you that morning" Scottlin Reik's eyes were very sincere, so much to the point that it was overwhelming.

"You didn't... I just... you were right. And I hate being so easy to read" Kyrrian glanced down at the table and began picking at the old wood.

"You're not easy to read, Kyrrian, I just... recognize what I see in you"

"How can you see what my brother can't even see?" Kyrrian made quick eye contact with Scottlin.

"I think your brother does see, but he is not sure how to handle it. So he just waits for you to make the first step."

"Ok, you sound like Porter" was Kyrrian's only response.

"Alment? Is he wise beyond his years as well?" Scottlin's intoxicatingly wide smile made an appearance finally.

Kyrrian shot him a bland stare and replied, "You can't distract me, you're avoiding my question."

"What question is that Kyrrian Grayson?" there was a tenderness in Scottlin Reik's eyes that Kyrrian found entrapping.

"W-what about you?" she stumbled.

"What about me?" the deja-vu dialogue did not phase either individual.

"Why are you so happy all the time?" Kyrrian intended the question to be a verbal attack but it exited her mouth as more of a desperate plea, as if she desired to know how she could become that way as well.

"I can choose to focus on the negative or on the positive, and a smile looks much more attractive on my face than a frown" Scottlin admitted.

"You must not have found your mate then" Kyrrian muttered, turning from him.

"That's a negative statement" Scottlin said, cocking his head to his side.

"All of my friends that have found their mates have been tragically hurt and ruined because of it" and that was not a dramatization. Porter, Lizbet, Rory, all of them had found and lost their mates, causing deep emotional scars. "Oh, and! And! We" her voice was escalating in volume as she began working herself up into a frenzy, "the mateless thus far have this inner, depressing belief that we're going to be alone forever because we haven't found our mates, thanks to our bears!"

Scottlin Reik sat in silence for a few seconds before responding, "what makes you think I haven't found my mate?"

"Because you're THAT guy" Kyrrian's tone was exasperated to the utmost degree.

'That' guy'? What does that mean?" he asked with a laugh.

"THAT guy. The guy who either finds his mate and lives happily ever after or never finds his mate, marries whoever he wants to, and lives happily ever after" Kyrrian couldn't believe she was having to explain this to him.

"What makes me that guy?" Scottlin Reik had never heard this theory before and he found it immensely interesting.

"Well, you're always smiling and you take good care of your Sleuth and you've had a tough life and..." Kyrrian trailed off when she realized she was yelling at an Alpha, which should never happen, for being perfect, or as perfect as Bears could be.

"And?"

"And... nothing" Kyrrian mumbled. In an effort to change subject, Kyrrian checked her phone, which had been on silent in her packet for the last eight hours. On her screen was two text messages, four missed phone calls, and two voicemails. All from Lauren Hale.

"What the-" Kyrrian's brow furrowed as she read the texts.

"I found something"

"Important! Call me!" Kyrrian felt her heart beat a bit faster as she played the voice message. Lauren's voice was hurried and rushed, "Kyrrian, I've discovered new information. The murder victims were all attendees of a seminar Mrs. Redd presented the day before her disappearance. Your father and Scottlin both questioned the idea that Hunter's did it, and I think-"

The message cut off as her time ran out for the message. Kyrrian quickly opened the second message. Scottlin was now standing, waiting impatiently for whatever news was bothering her.

"Kyrrian, I'm on my way right now. It's Liam Redd, Liam Redd is the killer. He knows I know, he-What the-?!" and the message ended with what sounded like a car crashing.

"Kaddian!" Kyrrian screamed. Alpha Grayson was downstairs in what seemed like nanoseconds.

He searched her quickly with an concerned expression, which was very similar to his angry one, and when he found no injuries, sent her a look that showed he was inquiring as to why she was screaming for him.

She held the phone up and pressed play. The message played over the speakerphone, and Kaddian's expression slowly changed into one of extreme virality. As soon as he heard the car wreck, he pivoted on his toes and ran out the door. The Alpha and Beta followed him and barely made it into the vehicle before he peeled out of the driveway.

"How long?"Alpha Kaddian barked.

"An hour" Kyrrian panted. She hadn't seen him this angry since that night with Brian. Even as she watched him, his teeth began to elongate and his fingers were fighting the eruption of claws. Luckily, he was human enough to think logically. He had known that taking the car was more intelligent than running after her as a bear, because if she was injured, he would have no way of getting her to the hospital without causing more harm than good.

Alpha Kaddian said nothing, and they only drove for fifteen minutes before they began to smell burning rubber and gas. As they rounded a corner, they saw Sheriff Hale's police vehicle impeded into the woods along the road. The hood of the car was embedded into tree and a massive dent was punched into the driver side.

Alpha Kaddian stopped the car and jumped out, sprinting straight for the battered vehicle. He reached door and looked inside before letting out an inhuman yell crossed with a roar. The sound ripped through the night and Kyrrian felt the reverberations in her own body. The window was shattered, and as Kyrrian got closer, she could see Lauren Hale, unconscious, leaning away from the window, as if she had been trying to escape someone's reach. Her gun was firmly grasped in both hands, which is probably why she had not been another body in Liam Redd's M.O.

The most shocking part was the four massive claw marks stretching across her mid-section.

Kaddian was making a low growling noise deep in his chest as approached the car. Kyrrian looked up to his face as she tried to keep up with his long strides. His brow was furrowed tightly in some terrifying cross between rage and fear. Kyrrian was about to reach out and touch him when they reached the car and he grabbed the door and ripped it off its hinges, throwing it into the trees across the road. Kyrrian jumped back and bumped into Scottlin, who steadied her with strong hands on her shoulders.

Kaddian, in the most gentle manner Kyrrian had ever seen, reached in and removed the gun from her hands. At the contact, Lauren Hale groaned slightly.

"She's alive" Kyrrian mumbled lowly in relief.

"Barely" was Kaddian's almost inaudible response. His attention was one hundred percent focused on Lauren Hale. He gently moved her legs, then reached into the car and slid her out with outlandish precision that only extreme athleticism could accomplish.

"Drive" he growled. Scottlin ran to the SUV and got in the driver side. Kaddian crawled in to the very back so he and Lauren would have room. Kyrrian shut the door and climbed into the middle seat so she could look into the back.

Kaddian cradled Lauren Hale in a way that kept her body in the exact position she had been in when she was in the vehicle. He placed one hand on the side of her face and rested his forehead on her own, and said nothing else the entire trip to the hospital.