Claws & Chaotic Commitments (Werewolf Regulation Bureau Files #2)

Chapter One

Hesitant Goodbyes, Houseguests, and Heart-Sinking Truths

Elliot

The credits roll across the TV, and the countdown to the next episode of Fleabag pops up. Nicholas inches closer, burying his face in the crook of my neck as the numbers tick lower. “I wish I didn’t have to go.”

The words attempt to sink in and warm my heart.

I resist because I know what he’s doing.

Snatching the remote, I press pause. “Didn’t you just tell me you need to show your face in this meeting or they’ll report you missing?

” Knowing his friends, I’ll be surprised if I don’t see Nicholas’s wide smile plastered across the entire city.

Not that I want him to leave either. The couch is too warm and comfortable to move, at least some of it because of the giant lump clinging to me.

Nicholas brushes a kiss against my shoulder, then rests his chin on it. I swallow the flinch. That sharp jaw is not made for stunts like this. “Are you trying to get rid of me, Elliot?” he asks, his voice filled with mock sadness.

I turn to meet those impossibly blue eyes. His long lashes brush his cheeks as he blinks rapidly, trying to mimic Mickey’s innocent puppy dog eyes. As if he isn't every bit as pure and innocent as his dog. As if he can’t get anyone wrapped around his finger by just a flicker of his attention.

I clear my throat. Sliding away from him, I dislodge his pretty face from my poor shoulders. Creating some much-needed space for my poor eyes too. “Go to work, big guy. I don’t want a horde of Bureau Agents breaking down my door.”

“One week and you’re already bored with me.” He pushes to his feet and heads for the door.

Don’t fall for it. He’s obviously not being serious.

I huff and follow him through the hallway.

“Hey,” I start. I don’t know where I’m going with this, but I’d hate for him to think I don’t want him here, not after the best week of my life.

Even with a Nicholas-sized limpet attached to me almost all the time, I’ve never felt lighter. Free.

When I look up at Nicholas, he’s grinning. His teeth are on full display, even the sharp incisors failing to make him look anything but soft. I sigh and shake my head. “Aww, you really care,” he mocks, but immediately softens it with a kiss on my pouting lips. God, he’s such a dork.

His soft lips move slowly over mine, leisurely and securely. He pulls me closer until we’re plastered together. I let myself enjoy it for all of a second before pulling back. I can already see where this is headed. The growing bulge against my stomach is a huge giveaway.

Nicholas makes complaining noises, but I recognize them for what they are this time and show no mercy. “Seriously, you need to—”

My doorbell rings, and we both turn to the door with twin frowns.

No one comes to my place with good intentions, other than Nicholas, of course. And occasional Mickey pupnappers, but he isn’t even here right now.

“Are you expecting someone?” Nicholas asks, his voice low.

I shake my head, my eyes trained at the door.

“I don’t recognize the scent,” he says. “Maybe a delivery person?” he suggests.

“Didn’t order anything.” I start walking towards the door because this is getting a bit too dramatic. C’mon, no one would abduct me right from my front door. Again. In fact, the chances of that happening twice must be negligible.

Nicholas follows me closely. When we’re at the door, he rushes to get the doorknob, placing himself firmly between me and the door.

I let him do his whole thing but not without rolling my eyes at his back. His shoulders tense as he opens the door, his body leaning forward, ready for attack.

“Finally! Where the fuck is your pho— Oh hey, Nick. Oh my god, this is the exact expression I pictured whenever I talked to you. Didn’t believe Elliot’s whole rhapsody about the golden retriever thing for a second.”

I push a confused Nicholas back before remembering he’s a wall.

With a complicated maneuver involving a lot of squeezing and sidestepping, I push myself in front of the door to avert possible catastrophes.

Nicholas has been sensitive ever since I got abducted from my front door the first time around.

“What are you doing here? Why was your phone off for a week?” I ask a grinning Sam, who’s still looking at Nicholas over my shoulder.

I thought the man was smart, but aggravating a man twice your size can’t be wise.

Sam might be close to Nicholas in height, but he’s lean, and his muscles are more for show than power.

Also, there’s the whole werewolf thing. Sam was firmly the brains of our operation, safely tucked behind his laptop or multi-screen system that he calls The Samanator. Don’t ask.

His gaze flicks to mine. “That’s the welcome I receive after traveling in a hostile ship for five days to check on my best friend?

A growling boyfriend and an interrogation at the door?

” Sam shakes his head in mock disappointment.

“They were right. The minute your friends find love, you may as well be month-old leftovers.”

I roll my eyes. It’s truly a wonder my eyeballs are still attached considering the dramatics of people around me. I step back to let Sam in. “Wait, what was that about the ship?” I ask as he walks into the house like he owns the place.

“Don’t worry about it,” he waves me off.

I’m worried. Then that stops being a concern because now I have an armful of Sam and am being hugged within an inch of my life. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he says into my hair.

As I wrap my arms around him, he feels bonier than the last time.

It’s hard to notice it in his expensive-looking black shirt and tan pants, both of which hang loosely on him.

His hair is a little too dark blonde and not purple, like the last time I saw him.

When he steps back, the bags under his green eyes concern me.

But nothing can ever take away the spark in his eyes as he grins widely.

I turn my gaze up at Nicholas, who now looks relaxed. “Now that we’ve established I’m not getting abducted again, can we take this party inside?” I carry one of Sam’s giant bags and haul it inside.

“That’s a lot of bags to carry for a trip on a hostile ship,” Nicholas mutters as he carries two bags, with Sam following him with the last one.

We look at the bags we’ve assembled beside the couch. “Wow. You guys are exemplary hosts. I’m feeling very welcome.”

I snort but otherwise ignore Nicholas’s frown still trained on the bags because it’ll be a long, distracting conversation about Sam’s need to pack separate shoes for each one of his elaborate outfits.

There are hats involved, too. I’ve never seen Sam wear a hat.

I take a deep breath to calm down. Right now, I have more pertinent questions, like where the fuck he disappeared off to after dropping a nuclear bomb on my life.

Nicholas’s head snaps to mine with a smile. “Don’t you think it’d be rude to leave now when Sam just arrived?”

Sam flops down on the couch. “It would be rude, yes.”

Nicholas points at Sam. “See, I should cancel. I’ll just cancel.” He nods.

“Give us one second,” I tell Sam, grabbing Nicholas’s arm and dragging him to the doorway, just out of Sam’s line of sight. Not that there’s any hope he won’t eavesdrop. Sam’s nosy. No werewolf hearing required.

I meet Nicholas’s eyes, standing just far away so I don’t have to crane my neck up. “Why don’t you want to see your friends? You love them.”

He averts his eyes. “I’m not avoiding them.” Sighing, he pulls me closer with his hand on my hips. “I guess… I’m just not ready to step out of this bubble.”

I cup his face with my hands, his stubble prickling my skin.

“They’re your people, right? As annoying as they are, I like to believe it’s because they care.

At least enough to march down here in large numbers and interrogate me about your disappearance if you decide to meld yourself into me like that gross movie you made me watch. So, you have to go.”

Nicholas snorts. “I wish we could meld something, alright.”

I shake my head, pushing him away. “No. That’s it. Now I need a break from you.”

He laughs, pulling me back in. Dropping a kiss on my head, he finally lets me go and grabs the doorknob.

I stare at him as he walks away, feeling lost. How can you already miss someone who hasn’t even left yet? Ugh, I’m just as bad as him, aren’t I? At least I have the decency not to put my thoughts into words.

“See you soon, Sam,” he shouts over his shoulder, then, with one last glance, he’s gone.

I come back to find Sam has already made himself at home. He’s leaning back, his feet planted on the coffee table with a coffee mug cradled in his hand. When did he have the time to make coffee? Nicholas drank the last of it in the morning.

“Took you long enough. Detective Fussy gone?” he asks as if he didn’t hear the entire conversation.

I collapse onto the couch beside him. “One meeting and he’s demoted from McHottie to Detective Fussy?”

“He was demoted the day he talked to me like I’m a five-year-old when that old fart abducted you.” He takes a righteous sip of his coffee of unknown origin.

I smile. “I wish someone had thought of recording that conversation. I’d pay good money to hear it.”

“Of course, you would. You’re obsessed with me,” he says.

I snort. “Anyway, where were you the entire last week?”

He waves me off like disappearing for days without so much as a text is completely normal. “Eh, it was nothing. I have a more interesting question. Did I sense some trouble in paradise there?” He wiggles his eyebrows twice.

“What? No, of course not. Nicholas had work, but he was enjoying his vacation a little too much.” And he wanted to avoid his best friends because I was making him lie to everyone he loved.

But Nicholas looked completely normal when he left.

I’m almost sure it wasn’t even the mask of goofiness he has on most of the time because he thinks he needs to keep everyone happy.