Orrin Travis had been doing his rounds, visiting the Territories in his Section, and so far there had been no more trouble in any of them than expected. He had read the reports that had come in from the sheriff stations. They were nothing out of the ordinary, detailing the usual offenses. Even Four Corners hadn't stood out. But when he arrived he knew something had happened by the stance the alpha had taken on alone.

There was no overlooking the pack dynamics and it had never been. Chris Larabee was a born alpha, with all the power that came with the position. Tanner was his second-in-command. The rest fell in their places, working seamlessly, like a well-oiled machine.

Except Ezra Standish.

Travis would have gladly thrown the former con artist into a deep, dark hole and forgot about the key and his existence. He would have taken him off Larabee's hands without a moment's thought, but the alpha hadn't declared him packless after their first operation as a team together. And throughout the probation there had been no negative reports. Afterwards, Travis had been convinced the wily man would gladly leave the Territory behind, but he hadn't.

Standish had stayed.

He was still here.

And looking at him, now, standing a little to the left of Larabee, but not behind him, he held a firm position in the pack. Not at the fringe. Not tolerated.

Accepted.

Yes, something had happened. It showed in Chris' eyes, his posture, his whole behavior. There was a solidity within the seven men that hadn't been there before, a power the pack had had in the past, sure, but it had never shown this openly.

"Looks like you got everything well in hand," Travis commented.

Chris inclined his head. "Just the usual trouble."

"Good to hear. Anything important I should now about?"

"Nothing comes to mind, sir."

But something had happened, had changed the status quo. They seemed like an even tighter knit group, if that was at all possible. As diverse as the pack was, as different as the men were, they presented a solid, unified front against whoever threatened one of their own.

Something had threatened one of their own, he mused. Something had shaken the pack, but it was nothing Larabee seemed to deign important enough for the Judge of Four Corners Territory to know about.

So it was an internal pack matter.

Travis let it rest. If it had been a pack matter, Larabee would have taken care of it. If it concerned a more official side, it would come out on its own.

"I think I could do with some food and drink before the first hearings tonight," the Section Judge decided, heading for the establishment in question. "Mr. Larabee."

It was a clear invitation and Chris took it. The confident stride of the taller man was tell-tale, as was the way people acknowledged him. No one from the pack accompanied them, the men dispersing to take care of their duties.

xXxXxX

Chris knew something had been on Travis' mind and it wasn't just the town or the Territory. It also wasn't his daughter-in-law, whom he had inquired about briefly. Still, Chris had answered all questions dutifully, going over reports with the Section Judge, expanding on a few incidents the man wanted to know more about, about trespassers, about criminal acts, about prohibited activities the Seven had interrupted or stopped.

"I had an interesting conversation lately," Travis said when he closed the last file, interlacing his fingers on top of the manila folder. "Milton is an old friend, way back from law school. He was Section Judge of Gull's Way Territory before he made it onto the Board. He oversees the Territory Protection Act."

Chris was silent, waiting.

"He called me not too long ago. Milton received word from another friend of his. This friend is a former peacekeeper himself, knows the ins and outs of handling a Territory only too well. He was apparently made aware of Mr. Standish."

On the outside Larabee was as cool and collected as always, but inside something sat up and took intense notice, baring teeth. He felt his hackles rise, the tension almost crawling up his limbs.

"What about Ezra?" he asked calmly.

"According to my friend's acquaintance, the party involved seemed to be quite informed about Mr. Standish's past exploits, his past connections, his closed criminal records, as well as sections in this record that are Eyes Only due to his position as a regulator of Four Corners and your pack member. A pack appointed by me."

Dark brows rose. Travis looked at his interlaced fingers, then at Chris, a fine smile playing over his lips.

"To be aware of such blackened or closed sections, you either have to be outranking a Section Judge or be knowledgeable of who Mr. Standish was. In detail. And not because this person was able to decipher a coded file."

"Sir."

The tension in the slender frame was growing. Chris' jaw tightened. A muscle twitched and his civility was fast declining.

"Milton's friend was on the wrong side of the law once, actually came to his position not unlike Mr. Standish did. A Judge convinced him." The smile was still there. "So he knows the other side of the law pretty well. He still has connections and gave Milton a few ideas just why this information was 'leaked'. I made my own inquiries into the source because should someone be breaking into our records, the Board would want to know. I would want to know. It's a criminal offense punishable by the High Law, which means life in prison. It seems no criminal offense was committed."

"You found the source?" Chris asked coldly.

"Yes, indeed I did. So did Milton's friend. It seems Mr. Standish had a falling out with his own family." Travis raised an eyebrow. "The person in question saw fit to divulge information that could harm one of my regulators quite severely if the wrong people have the wrong intentions."

Chris felt something snarl inside him, the Fenris about to rise. He was too used to locking down on that primal instinct, and it was easy not to give in to temptation, though it was becoming harder when it concerned Ezra. Finally admitting to what the man was to him had both strengthened what they were and weakened his control over his emotional responses.

"Sir." The single word sounded like it had been harshly spat out.

Travis' smile twitched again, leaning back comfortably in his chair. "I was quite aware of who Mr. Standish is, well, was. I have ways to dig into a person's past. Especially when I almost blackmail that person into protecting a Territory, pushing so very different men into what I had hoped would be a strong group of regulators. I wasn't wrong there. I was simply surprised how quickly my plan worked out. I know his file. All his crimes and alleged involvement in certain offenses committed. I know exactly who and what he is."

He let that hang there for a second and Chris inclined his head that he understood.

"It's not a matter of concern to me. Mr. Standish has been working for me for two years, without incident, and I know you have a strong and very loyal team, Chris. Having seven shifters as a pack in Four Corners had made this one of the strongest, most well-protected Territories. Your name carries. Few others have that kind of weight just within a name."

Chris let a smile slip, aware of their reputation.

"The person who leaked all those incriminating pieces to my friend has been made aware of my… unfavorable view of their actions. Including my knowledge as to who she is, what her own criminal record contains, and how I would view her pursuit of this course of action."

Larabee met the calm expression of his boss and a curl of satisfaction settled in his stomach.

"Milton is also quite aware of who she is and in turn returned the favor. It seems Lord Hartland Emmet has a divorce coming up in his near future."

"How sad," Chris spoke up for the very first time, but there was a vicious pleasure in the words that had Travis nearly chuckle.

"Yes. Very much. You see, Chris, as much as you protect your pack and this Territory as the alpha, I protect those employed by me," Travis told him. "No matter their… heritage."

"Good to know, Judge."

"It might surprise Mr. Standish that he isn't the only one."

Chris raised an eyebrow. Travis chuckled softly.

"My Section is one of the largest out there. While there are only three regulated Territories, I am responsible for a few more stretches of land that are patrolled regularly. As Section Judge I have appointed two such mobile teams a while ago. They won't cross into Four Corners, aware of the status of this Territory. They are both only handling matters outside regulated areas. But as they go where they are needed, even pursuing their men, they might run into your pack. One team has a member not much unlike Ezra. In many ways." Travis smirked. "They also have a very high success rate, just like you."

"As long they keep out of my Territory," the alpha stated levelly, an undercurrent of a warning running with the words.

"They will. Unless, as I stated, they are in pursuit. Four Corners is quite a stretch from their usual routes, though."

"Good."

Travis stacked the reports and put them into his travel bag. He would be taking the copies with him.

"I'm glad to see my choices were correct and the gamble I took paid off," he said conversationally as he and Chris left the office they had used.

"I didn't think you were a gambling man, sir."

The older man laughed. "I wouldn't put my wits against Ezra in a game of chance, but I like to wager a bet now and then. In this case, the return profit was… quite surprising and in the end agreeable."

Chris lifted a corner of his mouth, then gave the Judge an easy salute as they walked out onto the street.

Travis headed for the Clarion building to seek out his daughter-in-law. Chris watched him for a moment, then turned the other way and went to look for his elusive crossbreed pack mate.

They would have a busy week, starting tonight with the first hearings in all matters that had been brought before the Judge, and he needed to make sure everything else within his pack was working okay.

Especially concerning Ezra.

Chris had been quite aware of the tension in the other man's frame, the way he had faced Travis, standing with Chris as part of the pack, but still fighting his flight reaction.

tbc...