11. Lila
11
LILA
I was exhausted after Max and I took our morning run. When I got back to the house, seeing Weylin standing on the porch, waiting with two cups of coffee, was like heaven. Seeing Rainor standing next to him was a little concerning, but I took a deep breath and accepted that this might be my new normal.
Hug them , my wolf pleaded, roll in their scent.
Instead, I rolled my eyes. “Morning,” I said to Weylin as I took the coffee. He smiled. “Morning,” I then said to Rainor, who looked as exhausted as I felt.
“Morning, Lila.” His voice was raspy, as if he hadn’t talked all morning until just now.
Max jumped around, seeming excited to see them. I guess we were done with the “there are strangers in my space” phase. Weylin bent down, picked up a stick, and threw it. Max stared at him.
“Fetch,” I ordered. Max ran off to retrieve the stick. “He’s a trained working dog, so you have to give him permission to play.”
Weylin grinned. “When are you going to give me permission to play?” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.
I bent over, picked up a stick, and threw it. Then I turned back to him. “Fetch.”
Rainor laughed, the sound catching me off guard from the normally reserved and quiet man.
I didn’t look back to Weylin as I went inside to get ready for work.
I wasn’t a fool. Even though I found myself more comfortable in the presence of the two shifters, I still armed myself with silver bullets.
Walking out to the kitchen, I said, “I think we should write up a timeline and expected tasks that need to happen with regards to the case. We should have plans set for what’s—” Noticing the two males staring at me, I cut off. I looked down at what I was wearing, just my standard badass detective pantsuit. Well, it was a black pair of pants, white top, and black blazer, but I called it my badass detective pantsuit. Gun holstered at my side, ID badge in my pocket, and my hair pulled up in a messy bun. It was my attempt to keep my hair out of my face, but I knew half of it would fall out by the afternoon. It’s what all the detectives wore in the crime shows. “What?” I asked.
“You’re off the case,” Weylin said.
“Wey.” Rainor sighed.
“What? What the hell?” I put my hands on my hips. “I’m not off the case. I don’t care if I have to go above your head—you can’t just pull my job around on a string like this. My career is not your toy.”
Weylin groaned. “She’s so sexy when she chastises me,” he said to Rainor before gazing back at me. “Do it again.”
I went to the kitchen and pulled out some waffles. “Want some, Rainor?”
He walked over to me, his smoky woodsy scent washing over me as he looked at the toaster, frowning at the waffles in question. “Is this what you eat in the mornings?”
I shrugged. “This or toast. It’s not fancy, but I’m usually in a hurry.” Rainor glanced up at the smoke detectors, where they were dangling, batteries removed. “And I might be a terrible cook.”
“As a shifter, your body requires better nutrition than this. Come on, we’ll eat on the way.”
“On the way to where?”
I sat in the passenger seat with my laptop balanced on my knees, eating a breakfast burrito and drinking my coffee. I reviewed as much of the case files as I could, preparing myself for the conference I was apparently about to have at Weylin’s facility. I called it his facility because there was no name for it. It was work. It was the office. It was a training arena. So, facility seemed to fit.
I was down to my two last bites of the wrap when I reached behind me. Max took the wrap from my hand, likely swallowing it down in one gulp. I drank my coffee and then looked up. “Thanks for letting me bring him,” I said to Weylin.
“Whatever makes you comfortable.”
Learning I was going to a facility that was primarily run by shifters made me nervous. It had been Rainor that suggested Max come along, telling me that Max was technically my pack, and having him with me in a different territory would help. They normally traveled in numbers as well.
I looked back at Rainor, who scrolled on his phone as he sat next to Max, completely ignoring my furry companion. Max seemed to like him, even though Rainor paid him no attention.
“You sure he will be safe? No one will attack him? I know how some dogs get territorial.”
Weylin choked. “Did you just refer to us as dogs?”
I shrugged. “Pretty sure it was you that said you're a wolf first,” I mumbled as I went back to studying.
“I can’t believe you just called us dogs.” Rainor spoke calmly, staring at his phone. It looked like he was texting or emailing someone. “I guess you have been spending a bit of time with Weylin.”
“Dick,” Weylin shot back.
I smiled and shook my head. “Seriously, though, they won’t eat my dog, right?”
“No, they won’t. They do have restraint. If you had a police bunny, that might be a problem.”
I laughed at Weylin’s joke until I looked up and caught him staring at me. I blushed and went back to my computer. “So, the triple homicide side of this meeting I can breeze through. I’m good with debriefings. But is there anything on the wolf side that I should know? What if I offend someone? Any sort of customary way of talking to a group?”
“Just treat them like any other team you’ve debriefed in the past. You have nothing to worry about. It’s them that needs to watch themselves,” Weylin said.
“What? Why?”
Rainor cleared his throat, setting his phone down on his leg to give me his attention. I turned in my seat, so I could see him better. “The best way to put this is that you are free to do as you wish. You are our mate, claimed or not. There is some etiquette our team will follow because they are good wolves, they know their place. There may be times when Weylin or I may touch you, and I ask that you allow it. Rejecting us in this situation leaves our bond open to a challenge. Another male will be given the opportunity—”
“Ignore him,” Weylin cut in. “Reject us anytime you want. I want to see them try to challenge the mate bond.” He grinned, his eyes excited.
“This is a real thing, then, the mate bond,” I said. “I feel the heat whenever we touch and everything.” Everything being my wolf wanting me to throw myself at them whenever I got a taste of their scent. “But am I stuck being your mate?”
“Stuck?” Weylin gave me puppy dog eyes.
“In short, no. You aren’t forced into a pairing you do not wish to be a part of, although the bond will make it difficult to do so. And your heat, when is your next cycle?”
My eyes fell to my hands. If my cheeks weren’t red before, they must be neon now. “Like, a period?”
“No.” I glanced up at Rainor’s frown. “Your heat cycle. It occurs twice a year.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You’ve never gone through a heat?” Weylin asked. “Have you ever been so horny that someone had to knock you out because you would die if you didn’t get dick?”
“No! What?” I looked back and forth between the two very attractive men. Weylin was grinning from ear to ear, and Rainor had that curious look in his eyes. “Please, let’s not bring this up again.” I turned back in my seat.
“Lila, I wonder, after the debriefing, would you accompany me to the medical wing?” Rainor asked. “It may be beneficial to get a blood sample. Your DNA and blood type can tell us a lot about you and perhaps even how a wolf of your maturity has not hit a cycle as of yet.”
I sank in my seat, pulling open the laptop again. My maturity? Thanks for fucking aging me fifty years . I knew I was going to be different from other shifters, having grown up away from any wolf interaction, but I didn’t think the difference would be on a biological level. I was a lemon.
“Fine, just, let’s not bring this up again.”
I expected a large building, but nothing prepared me for what I was about to walk into. Weylin drove in and out of traffic, taking us right into the heart of the city and down into the underground parking of one of the tallest buildings I had ever seen.
There was no sign indicating what the building was, nothing about any police force or training facility. There was, however, security so tight, you’d think we were walking into the city version of Area 51. We were waved through as the security officer peered into the car.
Weylin pulled into the underground lot and into a private parking spot right next to the elevators. I said nothing as I gathered my things and got out of the car, Max jumping the seat to exit my door.
Rainor took a badge out and touched it to the elevator keypad before pressing the button to go down. “Here is your badge,” he said, producing another one. “Some floors, it won’t work for. If you get lost, find an elevator and go to the top floor. Kage’s assistant will help you.”
“Really? You’re going to introduce Lila to her ?” Weylin asked.
Rainor shrugged while we all got into the elevator. “All elevators go up, but this is the only one that goes up and down.”
The buttons on the wall went all the way up to floor twenty-four. At the bottom was a button marked “M,” which I assumed represented the main floor, but below that were five more buttons.
Weylin swiped his key card, then pressed the B3 button. “Basement three?” I asked.
“Yes,” Rainor answered. “B1 is where we are now. B2 is another parking garage. You have clearance for B3 and B4, but your card won’t work for B5.”
I nodded as the elevator lurched down. Max was quiet, the slight brush of his side on my leg the only indication he was with me. “Would you agree honesty among us is an asset?” I asked.
Rainor raised an eyebrow. “Yes.”
I turned my back to him, standing ready for the door to open. “What’s on the fifth floor?”
“Storage.” He was quick to answer, too quick. I didn’t have time to think about it, though, because he took a step up behind me, close enough that the heat from our mate bond began going wild, my entire back warming up, my wolf begging me to lean into him. I didn’t have to, since he leaned forward into me. His breath tickled my neck, his scent filling my mind.
“My turn,” he whispered, sending chills down my body. He didn’t sound like Rain; he sounded close to what the beast had sounded like at the restaurant. “Are you a virgin?” His lips grazed the skin on my neck, and instinctually, I tilted my head to the side, giving him better access.
“No,” I answered in a hushed tone, my mind swimming too much to allow any normal volume.
He growled, his hands gripping my hips.
Max barked, the doors opened, and Rainor snarled.
“Leave him,” I ordered. I should’ve directed it at Max to turn his focus back on me—I had meant to—but I didn’t.
Rainor dropped his hands, and I stepped forward into the empty sterile hallway.
Weylin groaned. “Any bets on how many times I get hard today? I think I might end up breaking a record.” He grabbed his belt buckle and adjusted his pants.
Lord save me.
As we walked through the hall, we passed groups of men in black cargo pants and black shirts. Many dipped their heads to Weylin, but none of them paid Max or me any attention. All the same, I was glad Rainor had offered for us to bring him. Having Max by my side gave me some reassurance; it was almost like old times in the K9 unit.
I followed Weylin into an open room, trying not to react when over a dozen men stood up all at once. “At ease,” Weylin said, his voice changing from the tone I was used to. He took on the role of a military sergeant, and I had to talk myself down, explaining to my wolf this was not the time or the place for swooning.
“Detective Evans.” He turned to me. “These are the wolves chosen for your task force. They are sharp, perceptive, and they know the layout of our lands and territory. Should you accept them, they will follow your command.”
I had never had such an introduction. Normally, I had to explain my role and my credentials, but Weylin was offering up his men and essentially giving me the choice if they would do or not. I turned to the group. Each one faced forward, eyes ahead on the wall. They looked human to me, nothing about their features screaming shifter. I gave a slight sniff of the air, sensing the energy in the room.
They waited for me.
I nodded to Weylin.
He smiled. “They are all yours.”
For the next three hours, I fell into my role of detective. Everyone sat at desks and listened to me, asking questions at appropriate times, tossing suggestions back and forth, but most importantly, listening.
Aside from Rainor, who was on his tablet and phone off and on at the back of the room. I had a feeling he had other places to be but insisted on being here.
The room had a smart board, hooked up to a touch-screen monitor, where I displayed and went over the evidence and videos we had collected thus far. I was empowered and prepared, having already gone through this the night before. I didn’t have to act confident; I was confident.
I’d never felt the same level of professionalism from this room at any debriefing I’d had in the past. This was an entirely different tier of work, and I couldn't help but be excited that I was working with these officers.
Except…they weren’t officers. Not in the human sense.
“All right, this grouping is good. We have four groups of four. I want you four in Team Alpha, you four in Team Beta, your four Team Charlie, and your four Team Delta.”
There were a few smirks, some side glances at one another. From the back of the room, Rainor even smirked, looking up from his tablet. Had I said something wrong? I looked to Weylin, who stepped up.
“Just so we don’t get confused here, I’m going to make a few changes. You four, Team Amber. You four are now Team Blue. You four Team Charlie. And then you four Team Dallas.”
Oh. Oh! I had given them rankings. Shit. How bad of a mistake was this? Did I just make a fool of myself, giving away how little I actually knew about their world?
Max, who had been lying on the floor during my presentation, got up and came to my side, pressing his shoulder into my leg. Weylin walked over, turning his back to the group. “Plans for the teams,” he whispered.
Right. I cleared my throat. “The purpose of the teams is to gather more intel on the specific murders. I’m going to send you different assignments. If you could choose a leader that will be in direct contact with me, that would be helpful.”
I sorted through the files I had on the desk, putting together a folder. “Amber, you will be looking after Nadair Pack. Blue, you will be with Awlen. Crimson, you will be with Sgrios—” A few chuckles. Damn, I was fairly certain I had pronounced it incorrectly again.
Before I could make a joke about the mispronunciation, Rain and Weylin moved in a way that had the hairs on my arms standing on end. Rainor walked forward from the back of the room, but he did more than that. His footsteps were slow and purposeful, his eyes searching each wolf as he passed. Every time he met someone’s stare, they were quick to look down at the table in front of them.
Weylin moved to my side, and soon, Rainor joined him at his other side. “Detective Evans, please continue.”
I nodded. “Dallas, you will have Ophidian.”
Rainor took the file before I could hand it to the group. “We have no victims from Ophidian,” he said as he handed the file to the group.
“Not yet, but they do have a missing alpha, and until we hear otherwise, we should treat it as if he is part of this case. Are we able to get a team of wolves out to search Cartway Park for any more bodies?”
“Done. As of two days ago, it was clear, but we can do nightly runs,” Weylin said.
“That might benefit us. If not to find more evidence, it could scare out a suspect. If they think we have eyes on their dumping grounds, they might look somewhere else to dump a body. That change could be enough for them to slip up.”
Weylin nodded in agreement before dismissing the group. They had their assignments in hand, but Rainor and Weylin didn’t leave my side as the shifters started filing out of the room, each one lowering their head to me as they left, until…
He was part of Team Dallas. His sharp jaw and blue eyes were striking, but the narrowing of his eyes had my heart rate picking up.
Weylin growled, “Watch yourself.”
“My respect is given to you, sir, but what has the human done to prove herself?”
Rainor had the wolf pinned up against the wall before I could blink, his claws elongating into the shifter’s skin. “You dare challenge her,” he snarled, and my heart dropped. Was he about to harm this wolf because of me?
“I accept,” I said as quickly as I could.
“No!” Weylin all but shouted.
I reached out, placing my hand on Rainor’s shoulder, the warm pulsing calming, reassuring. I nodded to the wolf. “You’re right. I walked into this pack without finding my place. I accept your challenge.” On the outside, I was the perfect poise of calm. On the inside, I was freaking out.
I thought I knew what this meant, but I wasn’t completely sure. It only made sense, though. We had learned about the pack pecking order in K9 training. There had to be some sort of initiation.
Rainor’s hands slowly moved from the wolf’s neck. “I accept your challenge on behalf of her.”
His blue eyes widened, his face paling, his lips losing all color. “But…but, she, she already accepted.” He stammered through his words.
A deep voice filled the room. “She accepted his challenge.” Kage stood in the doorway, filling out the frame and then some, having to duck his head while he stepped through.
The wolf before us was about to have an aneurysm from staring at Kage, I was sure of it.
I hadn’t seen Kage since the night in the alley, but his scent was so familiar to me, from my morning runs, that I relaxed in his presence. “Prepare yourself in the arena,” Kage told the wolf. With a nod, he scurried out of the room.
“The beast will not allow this.” Rainor spoke through clenched teeth.
“ I won’t allow this.” Weylin glared at him.
“Then, stop it.” Kage folded his large arms across his chest, and that in itself seemed like a challenge. Both Rainor and Weylin froze.
“No.” I frowned. “It’s what has to happen.”
“Damn right, it does,” Kage snapped. “Look around. This isn’t some sort of game. You accepted a challenge from a wolf that has been trained his entire life to fight for this pack. If either of these two stop the challenge, you will have no place in this pack.”
I pressed my lips together. I had assumed the challenge they warned about would be against the bond, not of my place in the pack. “If I lose the challenge?”
“You die.” Kage stepped closer to me. “Welcome to the Cridhe Pack, we fight until death.”
“He won’t make it that far,” Weylin promised. “I’m going in with her.”
“Fine. Rain, you’re staying out with me.” Kage looked back at me, his blue eyes narrowed with disappointment. “If you lose, a good soldier dies. If you win, he still dies. No matter what, his blood will be on your hands. This is a prime example of why you will never be claimed.”