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Some of the food was prepared more quickly and was served first, and she filled Harry's plate with that. After she had the food in front of Harry, then she went ahead and filled up a plate for herself and got them drinks. Sally had to admit that all this action had taken it out of her, and she needed to eat something, too.

“I'll have to get back soon, but if you can get me more food, I'll try to set up a little bit of security and magically fix the doors. The bosses will be so upset when they hear about this because they thought the terrorists were finally backing offa little bit. How can they get so many guys when everyone hears what happens to them? This is such a mess.” Harry lamented.

“You're telling me. I'm going to be stuck in the middle of this.”

Harry shot a sad look at her. She began to wave her hands around, and the doors came back together, and everything was cleaned up in no time. Sally began to fix plates because Harry would need at least two full plates to take back that kind of energy. She knew that as soon as Harry was done eating, she would flash away. It was hard to blame her because she was one busy witch. With the plates in front of her, Harry began to eat, and Sally imagined she could just see the energy flowing back into her. It wasn't long before Harry waved at her and disappeared. She took the frogs with her, and Sally was glad about it because it would take a while for the bad smell to disappear.

Sally needed to get back to work, set up some appointments, and prepare the lists so that they would be easy to print out tomorrow. The number of locations that required security installation was overwhelming because they had received another wave of new customers. There was no way to catch up when they continued to receive more and more customers yet still had the same number of people setting them up. It was frustrating and overwhelming, but what could they say? They simply had to work hard and try to accomplish everything.

She was in the middle of her paperwork when Xantos returned. Sally quickly explained what had happened because they weren't planning to tell the others. Just as she finished, some of the others arrived.

“Doesn’t look like you have as much as usual. You two got hungry today?” Renard asked.

"I'm not adjusted to being a wolf yet," Sally said with a smile.

You’re making me sound like a pig.Her wolf protested.

"If I didn't know better, I would think Harry had come by," he chuckled.

That made her wonder if he knew. She thought that he was close to Tyne, and that might mean he was getting information about what was happening there. Since she wasn't sure, she just shrugged her shoulders and didn't answer the question at all. Others came in, distracting them, and he overlooked the fact that she hadn't said a thing. It was hard, walking this tightrope between what was going on and what she could tell others about it. Why did everything have to be so complicated? As bad as it was now, she had a feeling that it was only going to get worse.

Everyone had made it in, and at least none of the others had been attacked. The office had been the only target for the day. All of them ate their supper and then headed to the rooms. Even though they had gotten to know each other somewhat, they didn't tend to hang out in the evenings, and that was true at most of the offices that Wolf Security ran in Alaska. Many of those who were here were hiding something, and that meant they didn't want to get too close to their coworkers. They all turned in for the night, and it wasn't until the morning that she would see any of the others except her mate.

“Maybe the bosses should tell our coworkers that the danger has escalated," Sally observed.

“It's not our decision to make. I'm not sure if anyone who's not at the office will be in the same kind of danger. That is probably what Tyne believes to be true.”

“What if he's wrong?”

“Let's hope he's not wrong. Don't you want to get some sleep?” Xantos asked.

They once again skipped the sex and cuddled in bed and fell asleep and were lucky enough to sleep deeply all night long. In the morning, all the worries and concerns of the day before hitting them again. They rushed to get ready, and Sally wished she had woken up just a little bit earlier so she could have had his breakfast prepared before they went downstairs. She knew she would feel rushed all day long, and that was on top of feeling worried that someone would attack her. She prepared his breakfast as quickly as possible and placed his plate in front of him, then turned to her own and the rest of their crew. The basic bacon and egg breakfast with hash browns was quick, and she got it done before everyone else made it downstairs. By the time they came downstairs, she was sitting across from her mate, and they were eating breakfast together even though he was almost done.

As usual, he was the first one out the door to get his truck ready, and he came back in and got his list. The others trailed behind but were also gone in no time. Sally wondered if she would be better off being out in the field than here in the office waiting to be attacked. That was probably something she shouldn't worry about since they were going to be gone within a couple weeks. They would have different things to worry about, and who knew what they would have to deal with. She could only hope that it would be something that they could handle.

Sally was in the middle of paperwork when Harry appeared. She almost jumped in the air until she realized who it was.

“I’m here to give you some information. Tyne is moving things up. Something smells good. Is it the chicken and dumplings?” Harry asked.

“Yes, and I can fix a big bowl for you while you tell me whatever Tyne wants me to know.”

“I already told you what Tyne wants you to know. That was the whole message.”

Sally hurried up and fixed a large bowl for Harry and, since it was nearly lunchtime, a smaller bowl for herself. She wished that Tyne and Moe were less secretive, but she decided they must have a good reason to keep those secrets. This must have been something they were concerned about others finding out.

Chapter 7

Moving On

Tomorrow, everything in his life and his mate's will change. Tyne and Moe would explain to them precisely what the plan was and what part they played in it. Xantos wasn't an idiot, and he had a good idea that it involved his father, who was a pack alpha in northern Nevada. He also knew that he would be risking his life and possibly hers if he decided to follow through on this. This was something he'd always wanted to do but had never thought he'd have the opportunity or the courage to follow through on. Some would call it justice, and others might call it revenge, but whatever you called it, he needed it and had needed it since his mother had died. The bastard had cost him the one person that he had loved more than anyone until he had mated.

That male was pure evil, and he could understand why they would want him taken out and why they wanted it done before they tried to do anything in California. They would need the support of all the surrounding alphas before they made a move on such a powerful one. There was also the possibility that, once everything was settled in California, those in the state would fall into line and do what was expected of them. Waiting was the most challenging part, but they wouldn't have to wait for long.

It was finally the day, and they were coming. The aroma of some great breakfast foods had awoken him from his sleep. It was either pancakes or waffles, and he could scent the sausage that she was cooking with it. There were other smells mixed in, so it was impossible to know what she was cooking. He could also smell the coffee, which he had become addicted to, even though they said that didn't happen to paranormals. What didthey know anyway? All he knew was that he felt the need to have it every morning, and even though they said it made no difference, he felt like it woke him up and gave him energy. Isn't that what most humans said, too?

Once he was ready, he headed down the stairs to get this most critical day started. No one else was here yet, and that was alright because he preferred to eat before the others arrived. The field personnel's day would begin late, but everyone except Xantos would eventually get out into the field and start setting up security systems. They would be joined by a group, a specialist that Tyne would bring with him. A large enough group, with the hope that they would catch up on all the backlogs.

Sally had piles of pancakes set on the table and a plate full of sausage patties. He wondered if she would have enough food for the large group. That was why she’d started cooking early. The others who were already assigned to the office began to appear. They filled their plates and began to eat, but none of them were finished before the guests started arriving. Tyne and Moe arrived with Harry and a couple of others that they did not know. Harry would have to eat a large meal before she could go back and get the rest. They sat at the counter after filling their plates and began eating immediately.