Chapter 7 #2
“We won’t forget.” Dessa checked for her phone and keys before slipping out into the October rain.
Jamison followed her out and gestured to the blue Lexus parked on the street.
Of course he had a Lexus. She slid into the passenger seat, the car coming to life and the leather heating beneath her.
It smelled brand new, and she winced as she compared it to her dented Toyota parked crookedly on the curb ahead with all of her worldly belongings still crowding the stained upholstery.
One thing was for sure, there was no way she was ever letting him get into her car.
She tapped on the center media screen and typed in the address to the pack office at the edge of the neighborhood. Thankfully it was only a five-minute drive in a car that suddenly felt way too small for the both of them.
Relax, Jamison Kane’s your coworker now. Get used to it.
The engine purred to life, and Jamison pulled out into the empty streets. “Anything I should know before we talk to this Alpha guy?”
“Yes. First of all, the Alpha of the North Pack is a woman,” Dessa said. “And in general, while Alphas are considered the smartest and strongest in their pack, they’re also marked by their protective instincts.”
Jamison followed the GPS directions, his windshield wipers smoothly cutting through the rain. “Isn’t there usually an Alpha female and an Alpha male?”
“Yes.” Silently, Dessa was glad for the opportunity to refresh the current details she’d spent most of yesterday getting up to speed on.
“Unfortunately, Werewolf packs tend to be magnets for trouble, and as the first protector, Alphas don’t have a very good survival rate.
Alpha Hismark’s husband died last year after protecting the pack from an East Pack ambush in a territorial dispute.
Eventually, when the current Alpha dies, they’ll open a challenge for a new Alpha pair. ”
For a moment, Jamison was silent, and when he spoke again, his voice was soft. “Girls missing. People dead. The paranormal world really is kind of rough, isn’t it?”
Dessa nodded. “It’s one reason why we try not to initiate Nescients unless we have to, because the PC actively avoids them.
Knowing about the paranormal world makes it more likely you’ll become a victim, and if you don’t have any abilities to protect yourself with, then you’re just that much more vulnerable. ”
Jamison’s brows knitted. “But are your Uncanny abilities really that powerful?”
Her mouth quirked. “I think I’d worry about myself if I were you, Jamison Kane.
” Dessa turned on the soft croon of the radio to silence the rest of the conversation, wondering how long she could hide her gift from Jamison.
To date, there were only a handful of people in the PC who even knew she was an Uncanny, and of those people, only her uncle, Aiden, Alana, and Zach, if he was alive, knew what she could truly do.
If she wanted it to stay that way, she’d have to be on her guard around Jamison. Honestly, she had no idea how he’d react to the information, but if it got to the wrong people, she’d have a rather deadly problem on her hands.
Jamison threw the car in park when they arrived at the squat brick building at the edge of the forest, and they ducked out of the car into the drizzle.
“Just try to be quiet,” Dessa said as she strode up the muddy lawn. “And if you feel like you absolutely can’t be quiet, please try to be respectful.”
Jamison’s eyes glittered with a mirth that said he didn’t at all grasp that Werewolves mostly educated through pain. “You’re going to learn to trust, Blue. You just wait.”
“Shh, shadows don’t talk.”
But she’d barely put her hand on the door before a carrot-top woman burst out of it, her eyes wild with panic as a much larger woman followed behind her.
Even if her bulging muscles and top-knot of gray hair didn’t give her away, the capital A tattooed on her bicep certainly did. They’d found Alpha Hismark.
Dessa hurtled back into Jamison, and he pivoted her out of the way before the two large Werewolves could run her over.
“Did you see her?” the Alpha snarled in their faces, her eyes flashing yellow and her teeth too sharp.
Dessa’s nerves ratcheted into high alert, the steady rain already soaking into her clothes. “Um, who?” She looked back at Jamison, wondering if he’d misunderstood the phone call. “We’re here to meet Alex Redford? Carly’s ex-boyfriend?”
“I’ve already sent him out looking for her!” the redhead practically yelled, a howl in her voice. “I tried to run him down, but he was too fast, and he had no smell.”
“Looking for her? Carly?” Jamison asked.
“No,” the Alpha snapped, gesturing to the redhead.
“Brynn’s little sister, Lexi Medina. Eleven years old and someone tried to grab her on the way home from school thirty minutes ago before chasing her into the woods.
Either help or get out of the way. The rain will wash out the trail if we don’t find her soon. ”
Another one.
The howls of Werewolves carried over the rain, and the blood drained from Dessa’s face. She could almost feel Zach and Carly watching her from the darkness of the forest. “Not this time.”
With that, she took off running.