A/N: So I accidentally posted the same chapter twice. I'm sorry, here is the correct one

Mary woke up in the middle of the night to noise outside of the newspaper office. Getting out of bed, she pulled on her house coat and tied the sash around her waist before walking out the back where she slept. From the window, she could see people moving outside in a hurry, coming out of buildings and packing things on wagons.

A robbery?

She went to the cabinet and pulled out the rifle she had stashed there. Making sure it was loaded, Mary opened the door to the office and looked around. Squinting in the dark, she recognized some of the faces. Yosemite and Tiny were leading the horses out of the livery. Carter Berry, the owner of the boarding house, was instructing men in carrying out furniture. Further down the street she saw Standish standing outside the saloon while men carried crates and other furniture out of the building.

Mary ran over to him, clutching her rifle. "Standish? Ezra? What's going on? Is this a robbery?"

Ezra didn't seem surprised when she was standing next to him, probably smelling her before. She knew of his being a creature of the dark, but he hardly ever seemed like a killer like the creatures were believed to be. "Ms. Travis, I believe it would be safer for you indoors."

"But what's going—"

"Mary." Chris's cool voice had her turning to see the alpha standing a few feet away. He almost was a part of the darkness with his all black attire. "You best go back to sleep."

"Not until you tell me what is going on. Why are these people robbing their own town?"

"They aren't robbing the town, they're moving out of town."

"All of these people?" Mary looked to the wagons that were beginning to head out, "And the furniture from the boarding house and the horses?"

"An investment we made a while ago in which they own said items after paying it off." Ezra said before receiving a look from Chris. Ezra lowered his head a little at the silent order and went to check that everyone was heading back out of town.

Once the gambler was gone, Chris turned back to Mary, "Go back inside. It's not safe for a woman to be out at night. Never know what's out here."

"I could get the sheriff."

"But you won't."

Mary frowned, unapprovingly at Chris, "I worked too hard to have this town grow. I will not see it torn apart in a night."

"This town has lived in fear of each other for years. Nothing you do will ever change that. This marshal, he don't care about us."

"That's why we need you to change that."

Chris shook his head, "Our kind is considered dangerous to humans and hunters are dangerous to our kind. There's nothing you can do that can change that."

The blond walked off, seeing to the last of the people leaving. Mary wished she the power to keep the both sides from going at each other's throats, but so far, nothing.

Chris made note of each of his pack's whereabouts. Vin and Ezra were bringing up the rear-end, Nathan and Josiah leading the wagons out. JD and Buck would meet them on the trail out. As they made it back to Larabee's property, the alpha noticed that some of the people who had arrived first, began setting up tents while others built fires and unfolded bedrolls.

Vin and Ezra stood on the porch of the main house where Chris lived. Nathan and Rain returned home to sleep with the twins who had been left in the care of Nettie while they were gone. The Wells were now asleep and Buck took Inez to their house which was a little further from the main house. Chris approached the two men who had been looking over the preparations for bed from their guest.

"I can stay up, make sure the marshal don't come looking for the missing people and items." Vin volunteered. The appeal to sleep outside under the stars usually beat sleeping in his bed.

Chris nodded and only watched for a minute as the young werewolf took his bedroll and walked pass several campfires towards the edge of Larabee's land.

Ezra walked into the house and was soon followed by the blond. The battle was only getting started against the marshal.