8. Lila
8
LILA
M onday morning, I was in a mood. My housecoat was losing Weylin’s scent, an atrocity my wolf absolutely did not like. When I went for my morning run, I found myself running on all fours to the tree at maximum speed, disappointed when there was only a hint of a scent from Rainor remaining. My chest ached and heaved, something I found completely ridiculous.
I gave myself a shake before following along the territory line. I had grown accustomed to Kage marking the neutral zone and did my best to cover it up with my own scent. Only, today, a different instinct kicked in. Afraid of losing Kage’s scent, my wolf dipped down and rolled in it. It felt so right, yet so wrong. Despite the thought of running into that alpha male again causing my stomach to churn, I couldn’t deny the need to be covered in his scent.
Max watched me the whole time until I got up, giving him a look of we will never speak of this again. He understood and remained quiet as he followed me home.
Still, every time I breathed in Kage’s masculine scent, my wolf begged to stop and revel in it. My brain had to be malfunctioning. The guy was a class-A creep. Wealthy, chauvinistic, and anarcissist with a capital N. Though, maybe he wasn’t wealthy. I bet he was a drug dealer. He definitely gave off drug dealer vibes. See? I told my wolf. Not the kind of guy you want to be around .
I stopped at my housecoat and shifted back into human form, already missing my wolf. How I longed to remain in wolf form.
I was halfway to the back porch when I caught the sweet and citrusy scent. I sniffed my housecoat, but it wasn’t coming from there.
Instead, Weylin stood on the back porch, a large grin on his face as his eyes raked down my body. I was torn between racing for my gun inside and jumping into his arms, rubbing my body down his, and shoving my nose into his neck to breathe in more of him.
Max growled before launching himself at the intruder.
“Cease!” I yelled. “Max, heel.” Max stopped in his tracks, giving a side eye to Weylin before turning on his haunches and trotting back to me, walking close to my side but not touching.
I wasn’t afraid of Max attacking Weylin; I was more concerned Weylin would attack Max, and that thought alone was enough to sober me up. I stopped short of the porch and stared at Weylin.
His grin never faltered. “I brought coffee.” He held up a cup in each hand.
I eyed them, wondering which had the poison in it. “You crossed over into my territory.”
“I was requested to step over, I still have a case to oversee. Also, just because it’s your territory doesn’t mean every shifter has to avoid it. It’s just in good taste to be respectful on your land. I’m not going to attack.”
I glanced around, even looking up to the roof, for signs of the others. “You’re the only one?”
“Yep.”
Weylin didn’t rush me as I deliberated for a moment, weighing my options and what would be the right move, not only for my safety but also for Max’s. I wasn’t in denial; these shifters scared me. My wolf moaned within me, though, pushing, asking, almost begging to be let free. I didn’t understand how my body and mind could be at such odds with one another.
Weylin tilted his chin, his nostrils flaring as he breathed in deeply before releasing a sigh. “If it makes you feel any better, you can get your gun. Though, I ask you don’t shoot without reason this time. Kage prefers a slap up the side of my head when I’m being unruly.” His eyes twinkled with humor. “You are more than welcome to slap me, should I deserve it.”
“I had a reason,” I said as I walked up the stairs, passing by him and into the house.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, Kage threatened my dog.” That was more than enough reason for me to shoot someone.
Weylin didn’t ask if he could come in. He just waltzed into my homestead, as if he had already been given permission.
He set the coffees down on the kitchen counter as he looked around. Max remained with me while I walked to the bedroom, closing the door behind us and getting dressed for the day.
“I know,” I whispered to Max as he stared at me. “I know. We can hear him out, and then he can leave.” Lies! It was all my inner wolf’s doing. She wanted him in here, touching whatever he wanted to, so his scent would get left behind again.
Once I was dressed, I reached for my lockbox and took out my gun, loading it with silver bullets. Although Weylin seemed like he would control himself, he had given me no reason to trust him.
As I stepped out of the room, his eyes were already on me, tracking me, as I walked down the hallway. Through no fault of my own, I swear my hips swayed as I walked.
His eyes shifted to them, his scent drifting in the air around me. I licked my lips and took a steadying breath, shaking my head, confused by what was happening to me. Had I been drugged?
“Coffee?” he asked, sliding it across the counter towards me. His voice was rough.
I turned away from him and got out my own coffee pod. “I prefer this coffee,” I lied. “Sorry, nothing against you.” I loved coffee in all forms, from anywhere. Even the cheap truck stop coffee just off the highway. What I didn’t like was that, already, I seemed drugged around him, and I hadn’t even drunk what he was offering.
Weylin didn’t argue or seem hurt. I went about my business prepping Max’s breakfast and fed him before fixing up my steaming travel mug of happiness. “Are you hungry? Have you had breakfast?” I asked, not wanting him to think I was being a spoiled brat for declining the drink he brought me.
I turned around to find Weylin staring at me.
“What?”
“You don’t know the significance, do you? Of one mate offering the other food.”
Oops. “No. You’re going to have to forgive my ignorance. I don’t know much about shifter customs.”
He leaned his hip against the counter. “This is more fun than I figured,” he mumbled. “I’ve eaten breakfast, but I would eat again and again if it were by your hand.”
My cheeks flamed red at the intensity of his words, my eyebrows going up in surprise. “Easy there. The only things I have are frozen waffles or toast with butter.”
A relaxed grin took place on his lips. “I haven’t had waffles since I lived in the orphanage.”
Oh. “Do you want…”
“Please.”
I got to work tossing four waffles into the toaster from the freezer, his eyes tracking my every movement. “Why are you here?” I finally asked.
“Generally, I like to meet with my partners before debriefing.”
Debriefing? Seriously? Ignoring his double entendre, I crossed my arms. “Partners? I was kicked off the case. I spent most of yesterday watching all my work from the past month be stripped away.”
Weylin raised a shoulder, taking a sip from his coffee. “Yes, well, we hadn’t realized you were a shifter then. That changes things. I looked at your track record as well—you’re a decent detective.”
Decent. Gee, wow, what a compliment. I threw a frozen waffle in the toaster, and he turned to mush. I solved murders and took down bad guys and, suddenly, I’m just decent.
“Did I offend you?”
“Oh, no. Not at all.” The waffles popped, and I quickly buttered them before placing them on a paper towel. “I'm going to the precinct now. You know, to do a decent job at the profession I’ve spent over a decade working at.”
I gave Max a pat on the head, grabbed my coffee, and left the house. I locked the door once Weylin stepped out.
He grinned. “So, I did offend you.”
I wasn’t going to play games. I walked to the car, but before I could open the door, he stopped me. “Detective…investigator? Officer? Whatever your title is, I have a job to perform. I don’t mix business and pleasure. I don’t play around when it comes to my work.”
“So, you find me pleasurable?” I gave him a not-so-pleased look.
“We’re taking my car,” he said with a sigh.
I glanced over at the Mercedes parked behind me. “No, thanks. I’ll meet you there.”
He leaned down, so his sweet blue eyes were in line with mine. “Get in my car,” he whispered.
The words pulled at me. I wanted to turn around and get in his car; however, while my wolf greatly enjoyed Weylin leaning into my space, close enough to feel the warmth of his breath, she merely fluffed her fur in his face.
I smiled at him, as sweet as I could muster. “Weylin, while I appreciate you wanting to drive me, I want my own car with me, so I don’t have to rely on you to get where I want to go. Last week, you three were discussing my death, as though it was as significant as making a grocery list. I shot you with a fatal bullet, so clearly, I don’t trust you. I will meet you at the precinct and invite you to my desk, where we can go over the case. I will not be spending personal time with you.” For the most part, my wolf agreed with my words, until I spoke the last bit.
Weylin stared at me, surprised. “Interesting,” was all he said before sending me a wink and walking to his car.
On the car ride, I ate my waffles and drank my coffee, keeping an eye on my rearview mirror as Weylin followed. I wasn’t sure why, but my wolf wanted to play, even just a little. I turned down a road leading away from the precinct, and still, he followed. Hmm.
I began weaving in and out of back roads. It was a Monday morning, and not much was going on around town, so I picked up my speed again, trying to shake my tail. It became a game of cat and mouse. In my rearview mirror, I could see Weylin’s grin grow as he followed me around.
Finally, I lost him. The side roads could get really confusing to an outsider, but—
I slammed on my brakes as Weylin pulled out in front of me. I could see the excitement in his eyes from here.
Okay, enough playing around. I backed up and drove to the precinct. I got out of the car and closed the door, spinning around, only to run directly into Weylin’s chest. I had to force myself to back away, in an attempt to put some distance between us, and ended up against my car.
Weylin’s eyes were lit with excitement, his chest puffing out and a low restrained growl vibrated through his chest. Oh, how my wolf fucking loved that. “You have no idea the level of restraint I am using right now.”
He put both hands up on the roof of the car, leaning in. At first, I was ready to knee him in the balls and shove him off, but then my hands touched his chest. A humming warmth spread through me, and instead of pushing him away, my body swayed into him. If I wasn’t drugged before, I definitely was now.
Weylin took a deep breath the closer I got, and that sweet citrusy scent of his surrounded me again. “We are wolves first and humans second,” he whispered in my ear, his voice deep and rough. “We will always respond as a wolf should. If you run, I will catch you. I will always find you.”
I was at a loss for words when he pulled away, clearing his throat and adjusting his belt buckle. Fixing the laptop bag strap that hung across his chest.
He waved his hand towards the precinct doors. “Mate.” The single word sent a shiver up my spine, but I couldn’t find my voice to say anything, so I ducked my head and walked into the office.
Weylin followed me in and sat at my desk while I logged onto my computer and began clicking through my files. “Everything I had was wiped,” I said, pressing my lips together.
He pulled a phone from his pocket, pressed a few buttons, and put it to his ear. “I’m calling about Detective Lila Evans. She was reinstated last night…on the triple homicide case…and her files?” His blue eyes met mine as he listened to what was being said. “Yes… You will have that on my desk tonight.” After another long pause, he raised his eyebrow at me, angling his phone down to say, “Apparently, we are missing a body.”
I winced.
He pulled his phone back up to his mouth. “I think we’ve found it. Let the pack know their alpha will be delivered today.”
He hung up, his eyes assessing me.
“I hadn’t been given enough time to examine it.” Why did I feel like a child being scolded?
He shook his head. “Rain was right, you are going to be a handful. Where’s the body?”
“The morgue, where else? I just changed the tag on the door.” He nodded, dialing another number on his phone. “Wait, did you think I literally took the body and hid it somewhere?”
“Yes.”
I was baffled that he actually assumed I had relocated the body. I watched him arrange a pickup at the morgue. I quickly sent a text to Patty, stating I was caught and to hand over the body. She was a pretty good accomplice.
Weylin pulled out his laptop and set it in front of me on my desk. I spent the next few hours reviewing my files that were now uploaded to his computer. He also let me dive into the work his task force had done. I combed through as much as I could, getting completely lost in the notes on the victims, since the John Does were now identified. I did my best to keep up with the terminology, but it turned out that smut novels probably weren’t the best source of information for true shifter lore.
Everything around me had faded while I worked, until a paper cup of hot coffee was placed on the desk next to me. I looked up at Weylin. “Promise I didn’t poison it.”
“Thanks. I need—”
“It has one cream and two sugars. I watched what you put in your morning coffee. What do you think?” he asked, nodding towards the laptop.
I took a sip of my coffee, leaning back in the chair. “There’s a lot I don’t understand about pack lines. Also, I think you got a few things wrong with the cause of death.”
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. A group of officers walked in then, laughing and smacking one another on the shoulder. I glanced at them and then back to Weylin.
“Do you want to get some lunch?” he asked. “I know a place.”
I nodded, wanting to talk about the case in detail without worrying who around us might be listening. I went to get out of my chair when a hand landed on my shoulder. “Lila, I heard the news this morning,” Rodney said from behind me. “Back on the case, bet you are loving that.” His fingers squeezed, and a shiver of disgust slipped down my back.
I was about to say something, to turn around and move out of Roddy’s way, since it’s how I always dealt with him. But I didn’t get a chance. Weylin stood up and took three steps forward, getting uncomfortably close to Roddy and causing him to back away from me.
“Well, Chief Nix. After reviewing Detective Evans’s file, I realized she would be an asset to this case. Her experience and work over the years more than demonstrate her ability to handle such a high-profile workload. We were just about to head out on break.” Each word Weylin spoke was clipped, each step forward caused Rodney to take a step away from him, and inevitably from me. He purposely made Rodney uncomfortable.
“Well, ya know what?” Rodney said. “I was just thinking to myself that I, too, am in need of a break. Working all morning holed up in my office, am I right?”
“That’s nice, have a good break.” Weylin reached over me for the laptop, shoving it into the bag before taking my hand and pulling me to my feet. He picked up the coffee I had set down with his other hand, then pulled me out of the precinct.
I didn’t fight him. I didn’t let go. My wolf begged me to never let go. That heated pulse that moved through me every time Weylin touched me, and the way he firmly held on to my hand now, sent my heart into a frenzy.
He stopped at my car. “Did you want to drive? That way, if you want to bail, you can just ditch me.”
I smiled, giving a nod because, again, words failed me whenever Weylin touched me. He opened the door for me, and I got into the driver’s side, waiting as he walked around the car and got in next to me.
With the GPS on Weylin’s phone telling me where to go, I made my way out of town and closer to the city. “Do I have to worry about going into your territory?”
“No, it doesn’t work like that. Rain is going to meet us. He’ll explain it all to you.”
Oh. I had my gun still tucked in the holster at my side, and loaded with silver bullets, but being with two of them sent a wave of nerves through me. Except, with those nerves also came excitement. “This may seem like a silly question, but when you touch me, do you feel heat of some sort?”
Weylin nodded. “The mate bond, yes.”
I relaxed a little, knowing it wasn’t just me. “What is a mate bond, exactly?”
“You’d be better off asking Rainor that. He will tell you the technical details of what’s happening. I only know the old stories, and the more religious aspect of it. We were taught differently.”
“Well, I didn’t work a little over a decade to become a detective to only hear one side of a story.”
Weylin smirked at that.
“Do we have no choice in mates? Is it supposed to be love at first sight?”
“No. It’s survival at first sight. The stories go back before a time that wolf and human became one. During this time, humans had powers, gifts. They were attuned more with the energy within themselves. The human relied on the wolf’s animalistic nature, the intuition, loyalty, and raw natural power. The wolf relied on the human for companionship, and when the two were together, their power heightened to nearly limitless amounts.Hungry for the power, humans found ways to intertwine their spirits and souls with that of wolves. Why have two separate entities with qualities that benefit both, when they could make it one?
“Humans could’ve lived a happy life with wolves by their side, but they had to go and tamper with things they did not understand. We were too powerful. The fates saw it and split us in two. This way, the amount of power would be shared among multiple entities to prevent an overload. To stop the prospect of an ultimate weapon from being created. As if the fates would allow there to be a being more powerful than them.”
“So, humans and wolves were separated, then mashed together, and then torn apart again?” I asked.
“It’s what the old stories say. Rain will tell you something different.” He waved his hand. “Biologically, we are a different species than humans. To him, fated mates only occur when pheromones and attraction align. He sees it as no more than a chemical reaction in our brains.”
“Except, I wasn’t attracted to you when we met.”
“No?” He raised his eyebrow in a way I was starting to learn was specific to him. He liked to question things in a mocking manner, with a slip of a grin on his face.
“No, I wasn’t.” I’d been scared when I first met him, but I didn’t want to admit that. “It wasn’t until you headbutted me in the woods that I felt it.”
“What did you feel?” he asked with a low voice.
I kept my eyes on the road as I sifted through my emotions from that night. “Heat. To the point it was almost burning but cool, and the explosions were like fireworks in my chest.”
“In your heart,” he said. “The heart is said to be the place where all our power is held. As a pup, they would tell us, use the power from your heart , as a way of telling us to be good and kind.”
A lightbulb went off in my head. “Wait. Is that why the murder victims are missing their hearts?”