Becky came down the stairs, now fully dressed with her blonde hair wet. Rob noticed she wore no makeup and looked tired. “You haven’t slept well?” “What? No, that’s normal. Now what is happening? No, just stay sitting. I can get my coffee.” Rob tried to stand. He needed another cup, and she appeared to need one. “Want another?” “Yes, please.” Rob held up his cup, wondering how she functioned so well, as tired as she was. Her health concerned him. She brought the coffee to the table, then fetched the milk and sugar before she sat. “Now before Jane Ann gets here, what are you? I mean, are you a wolf man? Or werewolf? What do you call your species? Is that right?” “Wolf shifter. Wolf. Shifter. Are acceptable. Don’t call anyone a werewolf. They are a rare, almost mythical monster. If they’re created, they most likely die. Those who survive are crazier than you can believe.”Becky wanted answers from him before anymore interruptions. She needed
Rob sat, and Jon laid out the food. Becky could feel her heart skip with these two in her personal space. “Now, I’ve briefly filled Rebecca in on the situation. We need to eat and then we need to get out of here. Jon, whoever, attacked me, left me for dead. They found me and patched me up. Jon, it’s worse than a breach. She’s my mate and meeting her surprised me so much I said the word mate. No, I didn’t explain it to her, she thought I meant friend. Hebbs got his hands on her and she mentioned it.” “That’s a lot to unpack. Uh… The wolves who attacked you are from the Indigo Dawn. Or you don’t know them at all?” Jon looked down at his coffee and frowned, a little confused at how the story played out and who were the exact players. “They didn’t stop to talk, identify themselves, and their markings weren’t familiar. They just torn into me and left me for dead in the woods near an old side road.” Rob wasn’t pleased with what he had to say. “I’m not sure how the
“Look, I’ll help Becky get a few things together before anyone goes. Why don’t you two make sure there’s no one sulking around out there? I don’t know about you, but Officer Hebbs showing up here is a little disturbing at this early hour. He should just be getting to work right now. Not banging on Becky’s door. You might want to remind him about decency and all that.” Jane Ann said as she tucked her garbage back into the bag it came in. “Truthfully, I believe you’re correct. To get here from where he stays, he has had to leave his home well before six in the morning. He must have planned to come out here for this reason.” “Where does he live?” “Two towns over, barely outside of my territory. It either took him over an hour to get here this morning, or he’s been waiting all night to do that. Either way, he planned to be here and in your face.” Rob didn’t like this at all. Once Becky was in a safe and guarded location, he and Officer Hobbs were having
“You’re sure you want to have double trouble? I mean, I can just watch mine from a distance.” It was Jon’s voice Becky heard as she and Jane Ann walked down the stairs back to the kitchen. Her bag of belongings in her hand. “Call him and tell him what is going on. We’ll make sure everyone stays safe. Use her phone and I’ll use yours so Hebbs can’t connect me to her. We can’t leave any loose ends, or they could end up catastrophic.” Robert’s voice sounded stressed, more so than when they went upstairs. Both women frowned at each other. “Fine, but you won’t be able to hold that conversation on the phone. It’s too easy for someone to trace or record.” Jon again. Becky wondered if that was the conversation Robert planned to have with the officer. “I don’t plan to. He’s coming to the Wolf’s Den for this meeting. No more middle ground now. You’ll go with them when the time comes. Take them to the vet clinic and let them do what it is they want there. I’ll
Jon followed Rob upstairs. “Hey, listen, I know I said some things that she didn’t enjoy hearing, but it’s my job to remind you of the unsavoury truths. The elders will make her miserable until she left to get away from it. You need to talk to them before she meets them. The others would probably go along with whatever you wanted if the elders kept their opinion to themselves. But until that can happen. Why don’t you stay with her? At the Wolf’s Den or here. I don’t think it would matter which place. Well, that’s not true. The Wolf’s Den is more secure, and it has that apartment above it. She’d never be late for work. With a minor change to schedules, you could be with her when she works, and she could be with you when you do.” “I get it. Thank you. Now I have to call Hebbs and get this meeting set up. I’ll need you to be my hand on pack territory. I think Jane Ann should stay at the bar too. You okay with making the trip back and forth each day?” Rob knew Jon didn’t
Bill James, the head of this detachment, stormed up and through Bart Hebbs’ office door. He hated his domain being invaded, but there was no telling this human. Bill was opinionated, brash, and pushy with his rank. He was a typical bureaucrat through and through. Bart didn’t believe he’d been to a scene of a crime or on a call in decades and his waistline showed it. If that wasn’t enough, the man’s receding grey hairline gave him the air of a boiled egg.Bart glimpsed another man behind Bill. He didn’t recognize. When the door opened, though, Bart forced himself not to growl at the wolf smirking behind Bill. “What do you need, Bill?” Bart clipped out as Bill threw open his office door and stomped in. The wolf behind him stopped in his tracks at the door and cocked his head, waiting for acknowledgement. The wolf wanted permission to enter his domain. That surprised Bart after seeing the smirk on his face. Bart gave him a nod.Bill, on the other hand, turned and glared
“Why are we going to the bar? I don’t understand.” Becky asked Robert as he drove the vet mobile back into town. “It’s hard to explain, but I’ll try. I said something to you out of context. The word mate. You took it to another of my kind and they put it back into context. The part that makes this dangerous to you is. I suspect the officer has ulterior motives in this town. Those motives could put my pack and you in danger. If they don’t, but that information gets out to certain unknown people, it again could put you in danger to get to me or do something to you that could put your life and freedom in danger. As it’s my fault that you heard that word and didn’t understand who or what you were saying to an authority figure, I feel responsible for your safety and freedom.” Robert tried to look Becky in the eye, but she wouldn’t look at him. Instead, she stared out the passenger side window. “By effectively kidnapping me?” She sounded tiny, but resolute. He cou
Jon had to admit he didn’t like the silence it the vehicle as they drove. Janie sat in the passenger seat, staring ahead. Every time he turned on the music, she’d turn it off, and she didn’t explain why. This wasn’t his Janie. His Janie would chatter the entire way about everything and nothing. She was fun and playful. Now she fumed and ground her teeth. “Talk to me. Why did you leave like that?” “I had a choice to make, and you would have made me regret whatever I did.” “I would not have.” “Really? Would we have known any peace from your elders about mating? Don’t bother answering. I know exactly what’s going down with them. I’d have regretted not finishing my education really quick if I chose you over it. Do you think settling down with you and popping out a few kids would make me happy? Think again. I like to live, not subsist. We needed someone who could make money. Then having to listen to other wolves reminds me I’m only a weak, lowly