Chapter 8
Cecilia stared at the window, straining for a sight of Hank’s furry body.
He’d just leapt out the window, and she was still holding the phone and waiting to see if he would come right back.
Meanwhile, her mind struggled to hold on to anything in the bursting whirlwind of data that came in too fast for her to process.
This whole night had been like ripping aside a curtain to reveal a whole new level of reality.
It was shocking and wonderful. It was also completely upsetting that she hadn’t even known she was missing it.
That’s what she was trying to deal with right then, but it was too much, and she’d gone too long without sleep. She couldn’t hold on to facts or details like she should. And as much as she wanted to dig into the corpses around her, she kept staring out the window waiting for Hank.
Why had he left and what had he been doing nuzzling her like that?
She didn’t want to think about it, but she couldn’t stop herself. He’d been playful and fun, but her body had responded in ways it shouldn’t. Her nipples had tightened, her belly had gone hot and soft, and that was nothing compared to the wetness that had drenched her panties.
What was wrong with her? She was hot and bothered because a bear had nuzzled her. A bear. A big, freaking bear. And when he wasn’t a bear, he was a big guy with a scar and a taciturn nature who reminded her of her harsh, demanding father. Yuck.
There. That ought to completely kill her libido. Except it didn’t.
“Hello? Are you still there?”
Cecilia jolted, remembering that she was on Hank’s phone talking to his…
well, she wasn’t exactly sure who this guy Simon was except that he spoke with clipped authority and acted like Hank should be reporting to him.
Kind of like a CO except that, as far as she knew, Hank was out of the military.
Either way, he demanded a response from her, so she cleared her throat.
“Um, yeah. Sorry. I was waiting to see if Hank would come back.”
“If he left, he had a good reason.”
“Uh ye—”
“I’ve got your GPS coordinates from the phone, but there isn’t anyone nearby. Are you in danger?”
Simon’s questions helped focus her thoughts. “Not right now. Mother and Sammy are resting. Mother because of her heart, Sammy because that’s apparently normal after a first shift.”
“Sammy popped?”
She frowned. “I have no idea how to answer that.”
“She turned into a bear and then reverted to human.” It wasn’t a question, but she answered as if it were.
“Yes and yes. Golden brown grizzly of approximately two hundred pounds and six foot nose to tail.”
Silence for a moment, and then… “Any other details?”
“Plenty, but I don’t know what you consider relevant.”
“Good answer. I’d like a full report by Monday. You can email it to me. But for now, tell me how she seems as a human.”
“Young African American woman of approximately sixteen years. She’s healthy and…feisty.” That wasn’t a medical term, but it applied. “Once the adrenaline wore off, she fell right asleep. I managed to get her to eat a couple Powerbars, but that was it.”
“Good choice. That’ll keep her until she wakes. And Mother?”
“Heart condition probably deteriorating with age. She needs advanced medical care, but is fine for now.” Then a pause. “Will you be able to help her? She doesn’t have insurance.”
Silence again as she heard tapping in the background. “She’s a werewolf asset. Hank wouldn’t even be there without Sammy in the picture.”
Somehow she doubted that. There was too much affection between him and Mother.
Initially she’d thought Mother was his biological parent, but a closer inspection of the two showed too many differences.
It didn’t preclude him from being her adopted child though.
She really needed to get more details on his history.
From a purely scientific perspective, of course.
Meanwhile, Simon was speaking to someone in the background.
He’d covered his phone, so the words were muffled, but then he returned a moment later.
“I don’t have anyone free to help you. We’re running food to those who need it and tying down those who are hallucinating.
It’s our duty to help the people inside our territory. ”
Pack logic from a bear. Not a surprise as humans could be extraordinarily territorial, but it wasn’t generally an ursine trait. Apparently, it was for ursine shifters.
“Understood.” She nearly added a “sir” but showing deference wasn’t in her nature. That she almost snapped out a salute was a measure of this man’s dominance.
“Alyssa and I will come as soon as we’re free. Expect us before morning.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Hank is one of my people, too. If he needs help, I’ll be there. Keep his phone handy. If the situation becomes dire, speed dial number two. Add your thumbprint to his phone so you can use it. His passcode is ‘m-y-p-h-o-n.’”
Seriously? His passcode was “my phone” shortened to six numbers? Practical, she supposed.
“Anything else to report?” he asked.
Something along the lines of I’m not your employee, sprang to mind. But she didn’t say it. She didn’t dare at the moment. With Hank gone, she might need Simon’s help. So she suppressed her rebellious side and reacted rationally.
“Nothing.”
“Excellent. And let me remind you that our information is secret, Dr. Lu. There are real consequences if more people know about us.”
“So why bring me in?”
“The situation is dire. This Detroit Flu—”
“No, I get that,” she interrupted. “Why me?”
“Ask Hank. I told him to speak to Dr. Hayes. Simon out.”
Well, wasn’t he a barrel of laughs. This is why she never went into the military.
Whenever anyone gave her an order, her first instinct was to give him the finger.
Which in a good Chinese girl wasn’t normal.
In any event, she followed his instructions and added her thumb imprint to Hank’s phone.
And after checking on both Mother and Sammy, she was able to get down to business with the bodies.
Pictures first of all three—taken with Hank’s phone—and then she started taking detailed measurements of the werewolf given that his people were likely to take the body away for burial soon.
She couldn’t stop herself from looking for Hank every few minutes.
She was listening intently to the night sounds but except for the occasional long distance howl, all she heard were normal urban noises.
Cars, a couple helicopters, an angry cat.
Unless that was a cat-shifter? Did those exist, too?
She really needed to focus. She could already see evidence of decay in the hybrids. Interesting that the werewolf just looked like a normal wolf going through normal animal decomposition. At least as far as she could tell without the benefit of a microscope or even a magnifying glass.
She needed to stop with the werewolf and focus on the far more relevant hybrids. So she straightened and started her regular I-need-to-wake-up back stretches. She froze midtwist with her arms lifted over her head.
There was Hank standing framed by the empty windowpane. He was naked, his cut body lit like he was a Greek God. Or Shakespeare’s Othello. Or maybe just Hank looking fierce and terrifyingly wonderful.
“Hank,” she breathed, her gaze drinking him in greedily.
The harsh angles of his scarred square jaw, the raised line of his collarbone, the taut pectoral muscles, and the bulging biceps.
Her gaze took in the narrowing of his hips and the sweet line of dark hair that angled down to his erection.
Corded thighs, strong feet, and clenched hands imprinted themselves on her mind.
Wait. What?
Erection. Big, thick, and arrowed straight at her.
She saw the wet drop of pre-ejaculate and the way it seemed to pulse as he breathed.
She heard that, too. The steady bellows of his lungs.
And lord, she heard her own heartbeat rapid and aroused.
Her breath was short and quick, her nipples tight, and her body lifted as she stretched out her spine.
She unhooked her hands where she clutched them together over her head. And as her arms came down, she felt her breasts sway as if she wanted him to see her condition: interested and too tired to fight him off. Except, of course, she wouldn’t be fighting him.
Wait! Of course, she would! She wasn’t an animal who mated with the first hot guy who showed up naked and erect.
She was a thinking, rational, scientist. And she couldn’t possibly be wet and needy from the sight of him standing there, his gaze zeroed onto her nipples before dropping slowly—sensuously—to look at her hips and thighs.
She swallowed, her mind screaming to act rationally. This was not normal. Do something science-y. Grab a clipboard, take a measurement, damn it, say something! Begin with the basics.
“Are you…okay?” Her voice was breathy, and she cleared her throat midsentence trying to get her mind back online.
He nodded, a quick slash of his chin.
God, how could he be so beautiful just standing there? And how could the musky scent of him have her thinking of ways that he could impale her.
“Um, is this normal?” she breathed.
He tilted his head in an obvious question.
She gestured weakly toward his penis. “Your arousal.” She swallowed. “I’m…”
His nostrils flared and his hands twitched by his side.
“Is this pheromones or something? Are shifters deeply…um…erotic somehow?”
He shook his head.
“So, um, you want me.” God, how embarrassing to say these things aloud, and yet she couldn’t stop herself.
She had to know if this was just biochemistry.
And if it was, why weren’t women leaping onto shifters in every corner of the city?
Because, she was not a libidinous woman.
She wasn’t! But right now she wanted nothing more than to have him press her up against a wall, lift her leg, and thrust right inside.
“And, um, I think you can tell my reaction. You can smell it, right?”