Accidentally Wolf (27 page)

“
I get that
,
”
I chuckled before I turned to Riley.
“
You okay?
”

“
Yeah, a little stunned, but I
’
m straight
.
”
H
e
dipped
his head as he
stood up, the tension flowing out of the room as it left his shoulders.
“
This has been a crazy night. Let
’
s just all think about what we
’
re going to do for a few days and then we
’
ll talk. Sound like a plan?
”

“
Sounds good,
”
I answered as I took his hand and led him to the door. Once we were there, he leaned in and gave me a gentle kiss
on the lips
.

“
I
’
m not going to lie, Seraphine,
”
he said quietly so no one else could hear as he opened the door.
His eyes were full of lust and I could practically feel the desire he had for me.
“
I want you bad. I mean crazy bad
.
I
’
d be
willing to share you
with whomever I have to
i
f it meant I got to be with you.
”

“
Thanks for sharing that,
”
I replied as I swallowed loudly, suddenly burning to be naked with him.
“
But I think for right now, we need space and time to sort this all out.
”

“
Call me when you
’
re ready
.
”
Riley ducked out the door. I closed it behind him then leaned my back against it trying to calm my hormones.
Don
’
t get me wrong, most women would have that reaction to Riley. He was my height and had a tight, firm body that just screamed it was full of yummy goodness. Having that quarterback form, I guess he was about
one
-
ninety
or so.
Definitely
nicely muscled, but not to the point of
being
obscene or overkill. His shorter blond hair was
light, and so were his blue eyes.

Shaking my head, I walked back towards the dining room. Wasn
’
t going to help me calm down to think about how hot his body was.
A baseball bat to the head wouldn
’
t help me either at this point. Fuck a duck.

Chapter 9

I spent Sunday packing and avoiding Tristan. Hard when
we
share
d
a small space, but
,
since he slept during the day
,
I gave him my bedroom when I got up. It did help that he probably could have slept through a bomb exploding in the living room and that he had to work that night.

When he left
,
I sighed with relief and made a decision that had been bothering me since the shit went down with Riley. When we
’
d looked at houses
,
there was one that was almost the same style
as the one
we chose by the same builder. It was just
slightly
bigger, no more than another five hundred square feet. Five bedrooms instead of the three
—
three
upstairs and two downstairs. There were also three bathrooms,
one with
a garden tub that had made me groan with want.

It was a few hundred extra a month
,
but I called the rental agency and told them we
’
d take that one instead. After almost making Riley my minion, it seemed smart to get the bigger one. What if I didn
’
t stop myself next time? I didn
’
t want to move each time some bizarre shit happened to me.

Creepy rational and accepting of me? No, I wasn
’
t accepting shit, but I was trying to be as prepared as possible. It might be the only way I didn
’
t lose what was left of my mind. I left Tristan a note about the change so he could
give
the cleaning crew we hired the new address. Sure, the rental agency was
supposed
to have the place cleaned out, but most times they just vacuumed. And while cleaning never bothered me… Cleaning up after other people was just gross in my opinion.

I went to bed feeling so many things that I was worried I
’
d never get to sleep. Relief that I
’
d picked the bigger house as my
just in case
plan. Fear that I had a suspicion that I
’
d need to use the extra rooms. Anger that any of this ever happened to me. Sadness that what little normalcy I ever had in my life was gone.

I hadn
’
t even heard Tristan come home, but
suddenly
he was there, slipping into bed with me
and cupping the side of my face with his hand
.
“
I
’
m sorry, Sera.
”

“
We
’
re never going to survive this if we
’
re not on the same team, Tristan,
”
I whispered, feeling tired down to my soul. I didn
’
t push him away, letting him pull me back against his larger frame and wrap his arms around me.

“
I
’
m on your side,
”
he sighed, his breath
blowing against
my hair
and making the wayward strands tickle my face
.
“
I
’
m feeling things I
’
ve never felt before. I
’
m an easygoing, nothing really ever bothers me, kind of guy. But when it concerns you or the idea of someone maybe taking you away from me
,
I see red.
”

He moved one hand gently over my lips when I started to protest.
“
I know you are not mine. We barely know each other.
Rationally
I know this. I can
’
t explain what
’
s going on. It feels like me and not me sometimes at the same time. Does that even make sense?
”
He was trying to sound casual, but I could still hear a hint of the distress he was feeling in his voice.

“
No, but neither does most of this.
”
It was then I realized that whatever I
’
d done wasn
’
t just fucking with me and my emotions but Tristan
’
s as well. Fuck
a d
uck
didn
’
t seem to cover it this time. Fuck a
really
big duck then
.

****

The next morning when I walked into work
,
I was feeling better, in part. Mostly due to the fact that Tristan and I had gloriously passionate sex and it seemed I needed some stress relief. But the moment I walked past the front desk and saw Joseph Engle
sitting
in the lobby, in the same ugly peach chair I had used my first day here,
I lost my good mood.

“
At least you showed up,
”
I said before I could stop myself. He raised an eyebrow and his eyes
widen
ed with anger
, his nostrils flaring as well
. Tough. He was lucky I wasn
’
t kicking his ass and locking him up for the shit he pulled. I kept walking, not waiting to see if he even stood.
“
Follow me and we
’
ll get you situated into a questioning room.
”

“
I thought you said this was an informal interview,
”
he practically growled from behind me. Good, he
’
d gotten the hint.

“
That was before you fucked with a federal officer and placed her in danger Saturday night. I
’
m all out of nice
other than
offering you a drink. That
’
s as far as my politeness now extends to you, Mr. Engle.
”

“
Alpha.
”

I spun around on my heel and glared at him
, hating the way he was looking at me with such arrogance filling his brown eyes
.
“
If you want me to acknowledge your title that is fine
,
but do
not
take it as an acceptance that you are the boss of me somehow. I will address you as Alpha, showing you proper respect that you seem to need so badly
,
if you understand that you are here as part of an official investigation and I am here as Chief of the FBI. Not one of your pack.
”

His lips pressed together in a thin line as h
e thought about that a moment and I could see the wheels basically turning in his head. After he was done
,
he gave me a sharp nod. I didn
’
t believe him for a second though. Burn me once, shame on them. But I didn
’
t let people burn me twice or trust them again.

“
Harris, please get Alpha Engle some coffee,
”
I called out. It wasn
’
t about the coffee
,
but I wanted my team to know the man was here so they could watch the interview from the two
-
way mirror.

“
Yes, Chief.
”
He hopped to his feet
,
and I saw out of the corner of my eye that he wasn
’
t the only one. If nothing else was going right in my life, my team was shaping up nicely. That made me smile.

“
Please have a seat, Alpha
.
”
I
gave him
a tight smile, gesturing to one of the
two
chairs around the
small
interview table. He gave me just a
s
fake a smile and moved to sit. I closed the door and took the seat across from him.
The room was small and shutting the door made it feel even smaller.
I smoothed out my skirt and focused my attention on Engle.
“
As a person of interest
,
I need you to understand that what is said in this room cannot be repeated under the penalty of law.
”

“
Human laws,
”
he corrected with a smirk. Oh goodie. The games were obviously still afoot.

“
You really don
’
t consider yourself human at all?
”
I asked, not falling into the trap of arguing. I thought
,
given the circumstances and his ego
,
I might be able to corner him with logic.

“
No. You should know by now that what we are isn
’
t human,
Chief
Thomas.
”
I ignored the jab
i
n the way he said my title.

“
You
’
re entitled to your opinions
,
but I
definitely
don
’
t think of myself as just an animal,
”
I replied flippantly as if this conversation bored me.
“
But
,
of course, we are United States citizens or we wouldn
’
t be living here.
”

“
Of course, but citizenship isn
’
t the same as saying I
’
m human.
”
He looked at me as if I
’
d made some stupid blonde comment and I smiled back at him.
Gotcha!

“
No, but it does hold you to the same laws as any human. They
’
re not written for shifter, vampire, or human,
just
American citizens.
”