Sabelina, did Ethan seem sincere to you? It's hard to tell sometimes, Keira asked her wolf an hour after Ethan had departed from her office.
Something about him always had her on edge. He was known to be cunning.
His wolf doesn't agree with him being involved with the Task Force, she replied. His wolf is more concerned about taking care of his family, not politics.
Men like power, she said, thinking about previous encounters with men like Ethan. They don't appreciate being chosen over a female.
You're not just any female, Sabelina stated. We come from a long line of powerful alphas from both sides of the family.
I know, Keira replied. My family keeps reminding me.
Sabelina chuckled and went to take a nap; paperwork always bored her.
It was past lunchtime by the time Keira was finished with the reports. Antoine stopped by several times to update her on the status of their trip and how everyone was getting along. So far, there have been no fights or challenges.
Keira stood up from the desk and stretched out a bit before heading to the common area where the rest of the TF leaders should be hanging out at.
When she arrived, the snack table was almost empty, and the group was all on their mobile devices.
At least they are being civilized. This much testosterone in one place makes wolves all go crazy.
She made her way over to Connor and sat next to him on the couch.
"Captain," he said in surprise. "I didn't notice you walked in."
It was odd to hear him say 'Captain'. Only Antoine was the one who called her by her given title.
"Any word about our reservations?" She asked as the rest of the team began to pay attention.
Connor cleared his throat, "They were able to set us up with one room. They will provide several mattresses for us to use."
"Everything included?"
"That's what I was told," Connor responded.
"I'm also assuming we are only getting one shower."
"It can't be helped," Keira said. "At least we got an invite to the gathering. Last time we didn't even get a notice until it was over."
Keira heard several grunts in agreement.
"Antoine is making sure the van is prepared for tomorrow morning," She continued. "If we leave early enough, we can get to Canada right when everyone is already awake."
"That being said," she continued, standing up. "Don't stay up too late."
They'd better behave, or else I'll lock them up in thebasement.
Keira made a quick walkthrough of the HQ before heading to her room. Since everyone was still on paid leave, she had the floor to herself, which she was grateful for. It was rare to have the floor to herself and not be bothered.
Keira grabbed her travel bags and began to pack. Even though she hoped that the Task Force wouldnt be disbanded, Keira added a few more outfits just in case.
When her bags were ready, Keira took the opportunity to shift into her wolf before she made herself comfortable in the bed.
No one had seen her shift since she turned 17, and she wanted to keep it that way. Sabelina wasn't too keen on being seen either, so it worked out perfectly.
'It's been too long,' Sabelina commented as she stretched out on the bed.
'Yes,' Keira agreed. 'Too long indeed.'
'What are we going to do about the death of our cousin?' Sabelina asked, getting comfortable. 'You know it was no accident.'
'There isn't much we can do in our current position," Keira reminded her. 'Unless the Task Force is disbanded or something like that, we aren't going anywhere.'
'Plus, we don't have any leads," Keira continued, feeling sleepy.
"I do hope we catch whoever it was that murdered him,' Sabelina murmured before falling into a deep sleep.
'Yes, we did promise to find out who was behind his death,' Keira added before falling asleep.
**
Keira woke up a quarter till 2 fully awake. She was glad to have shifted last night since she wasn't sure when she would get another chance to do so. Keira listened carefully but didn't pick up any noise from the rest of the TF. She rolled over and looked up at the ceiling for a few minutes.
Since she had already packed the night before, all she had to do was change, load the bags, and get the van ready. She hadn't planned to stop for breakfast until later that morning; they couldn't afford to be late.
After a few more seconds of resting, Keira got up and went to get ready. By the time she got out of the bathroom fully dressed, she heard the rest of the TF up and about.
"Antoine," Keira called out from the bathroom.
"Yes, Captain," he replied as he walked into her room
"You ready?"
"I'm about to go start the van."
"We'll be there soon," Keira said, walking out of the bathroom with her travel bag. "I'll grab any leftover snacks from yesterday and whatever else we have in the kitchen for the trip. I want to be out of here within the hour."
"Yes, Captain," Antoine replied, leaving.
With the bag in hand, Keira headed to the kitchen to grab anything edible for the drive. When she got to the garage, most of the TF were already there loading their things.
"Grace," Ethan said, seeing her. "All set?"
"Yeah," she replied, handing him her bag. "I'll take the snacks up front."
"Captain," Antoine called out. "Everything's packed up. We're good to go."
Keira got into the driver's seat of the van and passed the bag of snacks to Montego, who was sitting in the first row.
"Something for the road," she said as both Antoine and Ethan got in the van.
"Here we go," Keira mumbled, driving out of the Task Force Headquarters.
It wasn't long before Keira heard several people snoring in the back before she even got on the highway. The drive out of Colorado was quiet since they were leaving so early. Everyone was still sleeping by the time she had driven to Ogallala, Nebraska.
"We should make a stop to get some breakfast," Ethan commented, waking up. "It's another four hours to Iowa."
"I'll fill up here," Keira said, looking for the nearest gas station. "Then I'll head over to get some breakfast."
"Sounds like a good plan," Ethan agreed.
By the time Keira had pulled up to McJoes, several TF members were waking up and wanting coffee. Keira ordered several cups of coffee for them, along with breakfast burritos, sandwiches, and biscuits. As soon as they had their order, Keira was back on the road and heading to Iowa.
It was mid-afternoon when the group arrived in Indiana in a foul mood due to hunger. It had been a long time since anyone in the Task Force had made a drive to the King's land in Tay Valley, Ontario. It was more than 1500 miles away by car.
"We'll make our stop here," Ethan said, looking over the road map. "It'll be around 11 pm when we reach the Bluewater bridge heading into Canada."
"Then another 8 hours or so until we reach Tay Valley," he continued. "We won't arrive until 6 or 7 in the morning.
"Someone is expecting us," Connor inputted as Keira pulled up into a gas station. "I left a message this morning when we left, saying we were on our way, but I haven't heard anything else."
"Try them again," Keira instructed. "It'll look bad if we arrive unannounced."
"Take a break," Ethan said, getting out of the van to pump gas. "We can switch again before we cross the bridge."
"Alright," Keira said. "I could use the nap."
Keira took a quick walk around the gas station to stretch her legs before heading inside to use the bathroom. When she got back to the van, everyone was waiting for her.
"Anything, Connor?" Keira asked, climbing into the passenger side.
"They know we are coming, Captain," Connor replied. "One of the maids will set us up when we arrive."
"I figured as much," Keira said. "I'm surprised we even have a room to stay in."
"Alright," Ethan said. "Let's get this show on the road."
Keira was sleeping deeply when she felt the van slow down and drive on some gravel.
"How close are we?" She asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and stretching.
"About 30 minutes," Ethan replied. "I can't say how long it will take to get through immigration at the bridge."
"We'll worry about that when we get there," Keira replied as both she and Ethan switched places. "Everyone's passport should be in the black bag by your feet."
When the van arrived at the bridge, there were about four other vehicles in front of them waiting to get through. As they waited, Keira saw a security guard walking toward them. She rolled down the window and waited for him to approach.
"I thought I recognized the van," the guard said. "Task Force."
Keira stared at him for a long time but couldn't place him.
"Derek," Ethan said from the passenger side. "Is that you?"
The guard looked past Keira and saw Ethan, "Ethan!"
"This is the acting captain for the Task Force, Grace," Ethan said, introducing her. "This is Derek. He used to be a part of the Task Force until he was transferred."
"Nice to meet you," Keira said, shaking his hand.
"I'm assuming you're here for business," Derek said, looking through the windows of the van and seeing the rest of their group.
"Exactly," Keira replied, smiling.
"I'll get Holt to check you in," Derek said before walking away.
"Both Derek and Holt are previous TF members," Ethan commented as the line began to move. "We won't get any grief from them."
Sure enough, when it was Keira's turn to go through the immigration line, one of the guards with a name tape reading Holt approached them.
"Identification," he said.
Keira handed him her passport as Ethan handed her the rest of the passports from the bag.
"Pleasure or business?" He asked, taking a look through the windows of the van.
"Business," Keira replied, getting ready to hand him the rest of the passports.
"Carry on," he said, handing back her passport.
Keira thanked him and drove over the bridge.
'I guess it pays to have previous TF members on the bridge leading to the King's region,' Keira commented to her wolf, Sabelina.
'The King knows how to keep his lands secure,' she replied, almost impressed. 'I can see why you're acting captain, and Ethan is not.'
'Because he has a mate,' Keira said, handing Ethan the passports. 'And I have nothing to lose.'
'Don't worry, you will,' Sabelina replied, mysteriously. 'Our ancestors have something in store for us. I know they won't disappoint.'
Keira rolled her eyes and drove through. The Ancestors always had something planned, whether it was good or bad was open to interpretation.