Allure of the Wolf (Seraphine Thomas Book 2) (6 page)

“Why are you here playing nice, Noah?” I sighed, too tired to dance around with him.

“Tristan chewed my ass out for not giving you more notice about the fight and letting Vlad turn it into a circus,” he muttered, knowing others might hear us. “He says you’re really pissed and it wasn’t what you signed on for.”

“It wasn’t.”

“I didn’t realize that. In our world, it was. But he’s right, you were too new to know that and I’m sorry. Do you want me to reschedule? Tone it back?”

“Would you really do that the day before the fight?” I hedged, turning and studying him.

He thought about it a moment and nodded, crossing his arms over his chest—letting me know he wasn’t fond of the idea though. “Yeah, yeah I would. This wasn’t meant to piss you off. We made a bet, and it was supposed to be some fun. We wouldn’t have done the casino if it wasn’t breaking the law to take money wagers at Vlad’s club and that would have pissed you off to be around that. We thought we were doing the right thing in your eyes. We didn’t mean to make this a circus and upset you.”

“I appreciate the consideration and respect for my job,” I conceded, closing my eyes and biting the bullet. “No, let’s just get it over with. Tomorrow night is fine.”

I heard his jaw click as he ground his teeth. “See, this isn’t what I wanted. Now you just want to get it
over with
.”

“Noah, I was
never
all for having a fight with you. I wanted your help and you wanted a fight to prove something. This shit with the pack is a lot on my plate. I’ve not even had my second full moon, and now I’ve got another murder to solve while my team is in training. Oh, and guess what, there’re great white
shark
shifters.”

“When was the last time you slept, Sera?” he asked gently as he tucked a strand of my hair blowing wildly from the lakefront breeze behind my ear.

“Don’t start on me too,” I sighed, pulling away. “This is important stuff I’m dealing with, not watching reruns of
Veronica Mars
instead of getting my full eight hours’ rest.”

“I’m not. I’m a friend who’s worried. What can I do to—” he started but then smiled widely, his fangs slightly poking out. “I have a contact. A preternatural specialist, studies rare breeds and knows all about them. I bet he could update your FBI files in no time with all his research. He owes me a favor or twenty for saving his ass when he goes places on fact-finding missions and is too big of a dork to get himself out of any trouble other than rebooting his computer.”

“I’m listening.” Suddenly I wasn’t so tired as my heart skipped a beat.

“Forgive me for the late notice of the fight, it being now with the pack shit—which is not my fault by the way—and it’s some circus at the casino, and I’ll get one of his assistants to start updating your files or whatever you were working on with binders Monroe mentioned during your move that said the regular FBI was so interested in.”

“That was us updating the known criminal database with information about who was paranormal actually,” I chuckled, realizing that was another headache I needed to attend to. Just thinking about it had me rubbing my temples. “Yeah, forgot that’s next week’s project now with the wolves once shooting training moves on to the others on my team and continues on until they’re all qualified.”

His jaw dropped open and he didn’t say anything a moment until he moved past his surprise. “Jesus, you need a team of
eighty
for the workload they’re dumping on you, not seventeen.”

“We have to show we can be useful to start getting a real budget but to be able to
be
useful I need them trained so they don’t get killed. Until then, only three of us have
some
training.” I shook my head when he opened his mouth to ask other questions. Noah didn’t have clearance for all of this yet. He was still getting his temporary contract FBI credentials. “The other binders were my project for our office and others as to the truth about paranormals instead of myths and so they’re prepared.”

“Not
all
truths, right?” he breathed as his eyes went wide. I didn’t even verbally answer, simply shaking my head. I still wasn’t comfortable keeping from the FBI that it was
gold
that truly killed paranormals, not silver as the myths spread by non-humans told everyone. “Okay good. So forgive me, and I’ll hook you up with this guy and take this project off your plate.”

“If his background check clears and he’s solid, then yeah, consider yourself back in my good graces,” I agreed with a smile.

Noah returned the gesture, looking pleased with himself. I get why
he
did it. He thought he was going to win the fight and the side bet which meant he was going to be my moon mate and have an extended weekend of full moon sex with me.

Wouldn’t be much fun if I was pissed at him. But now I was happy because I potentially had more help. And even
better
news, I got to go home and
sleep
while the crime scene guys did their thing with the remains since this wouldn’t be a quick and easy identification job.

When I returned home and crawled into bed with Tristan, I saw a long list on the nightstand in his handwriting titled
Things Engle Does That Will Chap Sera’s Ass
.

Lovely, but true.

It was number ten that finally put the pieces of the puzzle together for me.

Turns attractive women into wolves to pad the female numbers of the Chicago pack and make the ratio not a sausage-fest, unlike other packs.

That was how Engle was doing it. He wasn’t
buying
strong wolves with money… He was promising them companionship. Until I came along, no one was keeping the pack in check with that. Engle had a wolf in the Master vampire’s bed distracting him from what was going on in case the vampires might want to stop it even.

I rubbed my chest as my heart ached even as Tristan rolled over and snuggled up to me in his sleep. He was right. Everyone was right and had seen it before I was even able to admit the possibility.

There was no way I’d let Alpha Engle be in charge much longer even if it meant taking over the pack.

Fuck a duck.

* * * *

“What news do we have on the vic?” I asked Harris as he and Riley squared off in my backyard later that evening.

“Nothing yet. Focus, Chief,” he chastised, shaking out his hands again as if he wanted to shake
me
. I had a feeling that was a very likely scenario
or
he was trying to get his fighting groove on and talking about work wasn’t helping. Maybe he wanted to really see who would win here. “Turn off the work brain and start thinking about the fight tomorrow.”

“Noah is a big, bad warrior, and he is
good
,” Riley agreed as he did a few practice kicks that I found myself watching as I tilted my head. They were
impressively
high. “But you’ve got lots being a wolf that vampires don’t. You’ve not had a chance to learn those skills. Just give yourself tonight, Sera, and get a few pointers. Noah’s had centuries to excel at being a vampire and playing to his strengths.”

“Yeah, I get it, I’m going to lose,” I sighed, staring up at the sky. What was the point of all of this? To not make me lose too
badly
?

“No!”
they both growled.

My head snapped back up and I glanced between them. “Huh?”

Riley did a double take when he saw my expression. “Wait, you think you’re going to lose?” he hedged, walking towards me.

“Yeah,” I snickered, toasting him with my beer. “Like you said, big, bad
warrior
vampire who’s had centuries to learn how to excel at being a vampire. Brand new werewolf who’s so stressed out her eye keeps twitching and she’s eating migraine meds like candy.”

Harris blinked at me as he came closer too. “Why did you make the deal then, Chief?”

“I needed you guys trained so you didn’t get killed on my watch,” I admitted for the first time to anyone, giving him a shrug before taking a slug of my drink. “He had the resume. My siren wants a moon mate she gets to pick, and I’m a slut now. Everyone’s
happy
.”

“Except
you
,” Tristan growled from behind me. “What has gotten into you? The Sera I know
never
backs down from a fight or admits defeat.”

“Don’t,” I whispered, basically begging, as I curled myself down into the chair a bit. “Just please don’t. Not tonight.” I felt him even before his hands moved to my shoulders. I sighed and pointed to his list. He flinched and then leaned down and kissed my head.

“Okay, but know
we
have faith in you, so please listen to Mike and Riley. You can take Noah and still have him as a moon mate.” Tristan pulled up a chair behind me and massaged my shoulders. Hell, with that kind of attention I would have watched just about
anything
.

And it made me relax too that he wasn’t going to make me explain my revelation that his list caused before my nap. I kind of liked that we were enough on the same page that he just understood what I was talking about from a simple gesture like that.

“Okay, so balance is key,” Mike Harris started off and then my eyes just about bugged out of my head as he did a backflip and landed on his
fingers
with his legs split in the air. “We have strength and speed just as vampires do, but they don’t have our animal instincts.”

“Shit, Mike,” I breathed,
completely
impressed. “Cats are good.”

“Not just cats,” Riley chuckled. My jaw fell open as he did a one-handed cartwheel and then a summersault in the air before easily landing on the toes of his left foot in some spread-out yoga pose. “Wolves are remarkably graceful too, Sera. You need to listen to her in a fight. You guys are on good terms, just tell her that she can’t shift, and she will help.”

I felt my wolf agree, excited for the chance to kick some ass. Well this was getting interesting.

Tristan rubbed the tension out of my shoulders for about twenty minutes as I watched Harris and Riley spar. Then I gave it a try with Harris, checking with my wolf first that she was on board. Sure enough, she was. At first it was awkward, us working against each other and like two people trying to drive instead of a team thing… Which landed me on my ass a lot.

“You’re thinking too much,” Harris sighed as he helped me up. “You know a fight is all about instinct. Stop thinking.”

“Normally I do go off instinct, but I talk with my wolf and siren always,” I growled, hating that I was looking like a tool in front of them.

“I know and that’s normal when you’re new,” he coached, giving me a lopsided grin. “Look, it’s all about the visual. You and your wolf are the same, Sera. When I fight with my cheetah at my back, I visualize that third form I don’t even have. We’re one in the same. Do that, but don’t
shift
. You’re not working side by side as a tag team, you are one.”

“Yeah, okay, Yoda,” I bitched even as I closed my eyes and thought about it. I gasped as I
felt
it, us aligning almost. It was so
weird
like revved up me.

His eyebrows went from furrowed to a slow smile building on his face when I opened my eyes. “Got it?”

“That or I’m trippin’ on acid,” I snickered. We got back into position, and yeah, I
had
it all right. It took me about two minutes to land Harris on his ass the first time, less the second one.

“She’s got it,” he groaned as he stayed on the ground. “Riley, you’re up.”

“Um, no thanks. I’ve never had real training,” he called over, plopping his ass in the chair I’d been in. “Just street fighting. I’ve seen her without being aligned with her wolf enough to know I don’t want to play this game.”

“But you like playing with me so much,” I teased, feeling
great
and totally refreshed for once. I didn’t feel like a stranger was sharing my body instead, and
finally,
I felt like something was added to me by being a wolf.

Welcome to what happens when you stop fighting us and realize we’re part of you and here to help,
my siren breathed in my mind. I nodded. Yeah, I was starting to come around. It was hard, and I reminded her of that, asking them both to be a patient with me a bit longer. I could feel them both agree.

I also didn’t just have a wolf. I had a wolf
and
a siren.

And I was still fucking new.

4

I was a beast at work the next day, the nerves over the fight leaving me raw. Then again, we hadn’t identified our victim yet, not having much to go on and needing more time with the labs. We couldn’t seem to track down any great white shark shifters. We weren’t making much progress against the leadership of the pack more than domestic abuse.

And I was twenty seconds from strangling my boss.