Accidentally Wolf (14 page)

“
He thought I killed
Bernard
just for the hell of it. I guess he was one of
Vlad
’
s wolves an
d
his people told him I killed him.
”

“
So you called
Vlad
to set him straight?
”
h
e groaned. Well, guess I
screwed
this one up.

“
Right,
”
I answered,
“
but when he asked about Tristan, that
’
s his vampire
,
I had to tell him why he wasn
’
t coming home.
”

“
What happened then?
”
Chief asked
,
sounding as frustrated as I felt.
“
What did he say?
”

“
He said that would make me very dangerous to vampires. I asked if he was threatening me, he said no, but he suggested I not tell people what I did. I thanked him for the heads up, asked him to keep it between us
.
I
n turn I promised I wasn
’
t looking to steal his vampires.
”

“
Did he say he would keep it to himself?
”

“
Yes, he did,
”
I sighed.
“
He also said he had no idea
Bernard
was smuggling weapons. That
,
if he did, he would have put a stop to it.
”

“
So there
’
s no longer a hit out on you?
”

“
No, he said
,
while Tristan failed him,
Vlad
was glad that he did.
”

“
Well that
’
s good at least
.
”
T
he Chief paus
ed
for a moment.
“
If
Vlad
said he wouldn
’
t tell anyone, he won
’
t. Vampires take giving their word very seriously. I agree with him, I wouldn
’
t be telling anyone that you bound a vampire to you.
”

“
Even you?
”
I asked quietly.

“
I
’
m never a threat to you, Thomas,
”
he answered, softening his voice.
“
I may be a vampire, but I
’
m also Section Chief of the FBI
.
I take that seriously.
”

“
I know that, sir,
”
I replied
,
sighing again.
“
But you can see why it was a leap of faith to talk to you about this.
”

“
Yeah, I understand that, but I
’
m glad you did.
”

“
What do I do now, Chief? I don
’
t want a vampire
minion
.
”

“
I hate to say it, but
,
too bad. You
’
ve got one.
”

“
What does that mean exactly?
”
I asked
,
still not understanding.

“
It means your life force, or
whatever
you want to call it, keeps him alive. You die, he dies
. It
’
s as if you made him but much more
,
”
Chief Monroe answered.
“
It means he will live with you now, like most normal vampires do with their masters. I
’
m a master vampire, even though I don
’
t have a territory, I
’
m strong enough to be on my own. Does that make sense?
”

“
In a way,
”
I replied
,
ru
nn
ing my hand through my hair.
“
So what do I do with Tristan?
”

“
You keep him. You lay down the rules about not hunting humans, or killing. Ask him if he worked at one of
Vlad
’
s clubs or bars. See if he can keep his job. Treat him almost like you have a roommate.
”

“
Great, just fucking great,
”
I growled, but then realized who I was talking to.
“
Sorry, sir.
”

“
Don
’
t worry about it, Thomas
.
”
H
e chuckled.
“
I
’
d be worried if you weren
’
t swearing right now. Just talk to him
.
H
e
’
s not a puppy or a slave. Yes, if you order him to do something
,
he has to do it. But he
’
s not a child. Tell him how things will be, and he
’
ll do it.
”

“
Thanks, Chief
.
”
I
was
honestly grateful for the advice.
“
How
’
s D.C. by the way?
”

“
It
’
s actua
lly going better than I thought.
It seems what happened to you has made it around
Capitol Hill
. The up and coming Special Agent in Charge who was attacked by a
shifter
that we knew about. Seems to have shown exactly what I
’
ve been trying to tell them, MNSTR is no good on
its
own. We need to work with the other FBI offices if we
’
re to be any use.
”

“
Don
’
t take my sarcasm the wrong way, Chief. But
so
glad I could help.
”

“
This isn
’
t how I wanted it to come about either, Thomas. I can
’
t change what happened, but we can work with the other offices so it doesn
’
t happen again.
”

“
I know that, sir,
”
I replied.
“
I
’
m not trying to be ungracious
.
I love my new position and thin
k
we have a great team. It
’
s just a lot I
’
ve had to take in the past couple of weeks, add to that someone tried to kill me tonight. Except I turned him into one of my vampires instead
—
”

“
And you need to get drunk now,
”
he said
,
interrupting me.

“
Yeah, pretty much
,
”
I snickered.
“
Thanks for listening, Chief. I appreciate it. Glad I have someone I can trust.
”

“
I
’
m glad you trust me, Thomas. I trust you.
”

“
Thanks, Chief
.
”
I smil
ed
even though he couldn
’
t see it
through the phone. No matter what chaos was going on around me, it
’
s always nice when your boss shows that much faith in you.
“
Good luck in D.C. and I
’
ll see you when
you
get back.
”

“
Thanks, Thomas, you need anything else, you call, okay?
”

“
You got it, sir,
”
I finished as we hung up. Thinking about what he said, a drink sounded
like
exactly what I needed. Realizing Tristan had still been sitting at my table the whole time, I turned to him.
“
Do vampires drink? I mean, like alcohol
?
”

“
We can, yes,
”
he answered
,
tilting his head the side as if I was acting strange.
“
Why?
”

“
I
’
m about to make myself a very large drink. It seemed rude not to offer you one, but then I didn
’
t know if you could drink it.
”
Actually I did, I remembered, but given the circumstances, I hadn
’
t been thinking about what I
’
d learned about vampires from the FBI reports. I cut myself some slack.

“
I would love a drink, thank you,
”
Tristan replied
,
smiling at me
while his cobalt blue eyes sparkled
.

I groaned internally
.
I
t really wasn
’
t helping matters how incredibly hot my new vampire was. Tristan was a walking wet dream. And he was mine to do with as I pleased… Not that I would ever order someone to have sex with me or anything. It was just there
was no getting rid of him. He
’
d
always be around now, looking delicious and tempting.

Shaking my head, I turned to make two large
r
um and cokes. I handed one to him when they were made, then headed into the living room. Kicking off my heels
and relishing the feeling of the
soft
carpet beneath my toes
, I took a large gulp of my drink before shrugging out of my suit jacket. Without me even noticing he had moved, Tristan was behind me, slipping it off my arms.

“
Um, thanks
.
”
I flinch
ed
at the contact.
“
Sorry, I didn
’
t see you there.
”

“
I apologize
.
I
’
m used to being around other vampires. I
’
ll try to watch my movements so as not to startle you.
”

“
Yeah, as much as that might suck for you,
it
might be best. At least until I get used to this situation
.
”
I s
a
nk into my comfy
,
overstuffed
red
chair.

“
This situation being me?
”
he asked quietly.

“
Yeah, well
,
no
.
”
I
r
a
n my hand through my hair
and gestur
ed
for him to take a seat on the adjacent couch
.
“
It
’
s not you personally, Tristan. It
’
s being the
sovereign
of a vampire. It
’
s living with someone. I haven
’
t lived with anyone since my sophomore year of college. I
’
m used to it being just me. I
’
m brand-spanking new in the
paranormal
community, and now I have my own vampire. Which reminds me, how do you feel about all this?
”

“
The fact that you care enough to even bother asking me how I feel about
it
makes me happy that you are my
sovereign
now.
Vlad
might have cared deep down,
”
Tristan answered me thoughtfully
as he leaned back against the couch cushions
.
“
But asking me would be a sign of weakness among vampires. Plus
,
you work for the FBI
.
I know you will never ask me to do anything amoral.
”