They found the one responsible for the knife by nightfall. It had been a matter of looking for out of towners first, talking to those who had been seen at the trial. Josiah arrested a woman by the name of Hilla Smith, who had come by coach a day prior to the trial, and who had tried to leave with the late evening coach again. She had only been discovered because she had made a fuss about not getting a ticket, throwing a tantrum, and finally threatening the station's office clerk with a knife.

A knife that was a twin to the one Stark had used.

"Sister," Josiah told the assembled pack as they shared drinks and snacks in the saloon. In JD's case the 'snack' was a gigantic serving of nachos covered in cheese, peppers and minced meat. "Poor misguided woman. She firmly believes her brother was set up, that someone is out to ruin him, and that she is his savior."

"Travis will have one more hearing then," Buck commented.

Chris nodded darkly. Stark' trial was set for tomorrow morning, early in the day, and the man would be found guilty, he knew. Marshalls were already heading for Four Corners to collect the man, to take him to Denver, because penalties were not served or carried out in Territories. Hilla would be on a separate transport, awaiting her own sentence. She would most likely spend a long time in prison or a psychiatric ward.

JD shoveled nachos into his mouth and Chris wondered where their youngest pack member put all that food. Buck was already a bottomless well, but JD beat him to that title by now.

"At least it's all over for now," the sheriff remarked after he had swallowed down his food. "Just have to clean out the cells and I can finally have some peace and quiet."

"Except for George," Vin chuckled.

George Fisher was notoriously broke and kept sinking whatever pennies he earned into liquor, which resulted in him either passing out drink in the middle of the road or becoming a major nuisance. JD usually locked him up until he was sober, only to have the whole thing repeat itself the next time he came into some cash.

"Yeah," JD sighed. "But he's a light weight to take care of compared to what else we had lately."

Chris had to agree. He was glad that the reputation of the Larabee pack was fierce, close to mythical and legendary sometimes, with tall tales and terrifying warnings not to cross the Fenris in charge of the pack or else. Fewer criminals tried their luck hiding in his Territory and a lot less crimes occurred. Gangs gave them a wide berth, unless they were stupid and/or too full of themselves, convinced what they had heard about the place was nothing but old wives tales.

Inez brought another round of beers, much to Buck's joy, but she ignored his jovial comments as usual. It was a game those two played and both enjoyed the status quo. Buck wasn't looking forward to a relationship with Inez and Inez wasn't interested in anything more serious than flirting either. It was an arrangement that served them both well.

Chris finally got up and left, heading a last round through town before he caught some sleep. The leg barely bothered him any more and he knew he could take out the stitches by tomorrow. The worst had been the loss of a perfectly good pair of jeans.

Oh well.

And didn't those thoughts sound almost like Ezra talking?

He grinned to himself as he walked along the closed or closing businesses, nodding to the men and women crossing his path. The colorful lights of the Yule festivities were still up, brightening the dusk. When he reached the livery at the end of the main road, Chris felt something prickle along his senses and he stopped, eyes on the darkening town around him. There was a soft yip and he turned quickly, coming face to face with a red fox perched on a stack of hay bales.

Ezra. Ezra was in his fox shape! shot through his head.

And he was looking smug as hell about it somehow. Sure, it was the red fox, not his true first form, but Chris was secretly delighted to see the other man shifted. He grinned all of a sudden, stepped forward and grabbed the furry head, planting a kiss on it. The fur was thicker than summer, giving him a more fluffy look.

"Nice to see you, Ez," he laughed.

The fox huffed and it sounded annoyed, ears flicking.

He laughed more and shook his head.

"Stretching your legs? All of them?"

::In a way:: came the suddenly cheeky reply. ::Interested?::

::Always:: he replied in kind. ::You know it'll rip the stitches and Nathan will start yelling::

::You can always stretch your legs in human form::

::And watch you run in circles around me? Nope::

::Then you don't really have a choice::

Chris scratched is mate's head. Ezra leaned into the scratches, then caught himself and grumbled a little. Chris smiled and tugged at one ear. Ezra flicked the ear in annoyance.

"You might have to bail me out with Nathan later," Larabee teased.

::He might never even know about this. My lips are sealed:: There was a devilish glint in the green eyes.

xXxXxX

The stitches did rip, but no blood flowed. It stung a little and itched as fur replaced naked skin, but Chris couldn't care less. His clothes were hidden in the livery and the black wolf sauntered off without a limp, following the crossbreed fox of his pack.

Ezra was almost bouncy, nipping at Chris thick fur, then running off into the night. Chris gave chase. Ezra was running full speed, darting between the rocks and bushes, the Fenris in full pursuit.

When Chris finally caught up with him, tackling the slick shadow, they both tumbled through the undergrowth and he finally pinned down his mate, laughing-

::Already giving up?::

::Didn't want you to stress your wounds, alpha:: was the teasing reply. ::Nathan would have your head::

::I thought you would protect me:: Chris replied.

Ezra snapped playfully at him and Chris licked over the red head. They tussled some more, then finally plonked down, tongues lolling, pleasantly worn out.

::I'd always protect you:: Ezra drawled and grinned at him.

::I feel so much safer now::

A light snow was starting to fall around them, covering the ground like a layer of sugar dust. It was only a matter of days now, Chris knew from past winter seasons.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

By the end of Travis' visit the first snow had thickly blanketed the mountains and was not merely dusting the tree tops any more. Two days of thickly falling flakes had dumped a lot of the whiteness everywhere. The townspeople were busy keeping the main street free for travel and snow was piling up high left and right. Everyone was dressed thickly against the crisp, biting cold.

Unlike certain shifters.

Josiah, while bundled up, didn't look cold at all, and Buck animated JD to shift and romp through the snow with him. Chris watched it from time to time, amusement in his eyes. Ezra refused to leave the warmth of a heated room unless he had patrol, and even then he only left after a lengthy complaint.

"Seems like you finally worked it out, son," the Judge remarked as he said his good-byes to the Larabee pack's alpha.

Chris raised an eyebrow. He, like everyone, was dressed for the cold, the thick coat helping against the biting wind that ripped down the main road. The alpha didn't look cold, though.

A private, heated coach had been reserved for Travis to take him to Corner Crossing train station, outside the Territory, since the Protection Act stopped the railroad from crossing through.

"I didn't think you and Mr. Standish would ever come to an understanding. I actually would have bet on him not even lasting that first year. After a few months I thought he would see it through only to get his pardon." Travis smirked. "I was wrong."

Larabee grunted. "Seems like it."

"I'm not just talking about his criminal record."

The blond raised an eyebrow, eyes suddenly harder than before, more intense, reflecting the wolf.

"This is a pack matter, Judge," he said, sounding respectful, but there was a warning in his words.

Travis nodded, studying the guarded features, taking note of the subtle warning from the alpha that even a human like him could pick up.

"Glad it's all settled then."

Larabee dipped his head a little, eyes back on the street, keeping watch. There was hardly anyone out and about. It was too cold and too early in the day. The lead gray sky promised more snow and it was already drizzling down a little. Today would be one of those semi-light days where no sun came out and people preferred to stay inside. It was one of those days the regulators would be pretty busy because drinks flowed a little too freely and tempers flared.

The coach finally drew up to the station and Travis walked over, snow crunching underneath his boots. His bags were already being loaded.

"Take care, Chris."

"You, too, Judge. See you next time."

Travis climbed into the warm coach, almost sighing at the comfortable interior compared to the ghastly outside. Chris remained on the sidewalk, waiting until the coach started moving, then he continued on his way; wherever that was.

Yes, Orrin Travis had known about Ezra P. Standish, the clever and shrewd crossbreed with a criminal record a mile long. He had watched him in the new pack, had seen him grow, had seen Chris grow closer. Even without pack knowledge, without being a shifter, he knew what those two had become.

Good for him, he mused.

Good for the pack.

They were strong, settled deeply within the Territory, and Four Corners had quickly become one of the safest ones in his Section. The Board knew it as well as Travis, so the leaked information about Ezra's heritage had had no impact.

He leaned back into the comfortable seats as the coach headed for the train station.

tbc...