Accidentally Wolf (19 page)

“
Fine, come out for the full moon
celebration that starts this
Saturday night
with the pack
,
Chief
Thomas
.
”
Now he was just
putting extra emphasis on my title.
I really didn
’
t like this man.

“
Mr. Engle, let me make this clear, I
’
m not calling to get involved in the pack. This is an official FBI investigation and you are a person of interest. I
’
m trying to be polite and not step on any toes
.
T
hat being said, we can have an informal conversation. Or
,
if you prefer
,
I can have you brought in officially and interview you at my office,
”
I stated firmly.

“
I understand, Chief Thomas,
”
he replied
,
no longer laughing.
“
I was merely suggesting that you come out with the pack and see
first-hand
what you are going to question me about.
That way all of my pack will be available if you find you need to question any of them.
”

While he was being logical, and seemingly helpful, it wasn
’
t hard to see right through his ploy. He wanted me known to the whole pack, I may be blonde, but I wasn
’
t stupid.
“
I appreciate the forethought, Mr. Engle. I can make myself available for Saturday night. I want it very clear as to the purpose of my visit though,
understood
?
”

“
Absolutely
.
”
I could almost hear the
smirk of satisfaction in his voice.
“
I look forward to meeting you in person, I
’
ve heard quite a lot about you.
”

I ignored the innuendo and wrote down the
pertinent
information I needed
—
time
,
location, etc. It seemed the pack
’
s lands were something
to be
kept secret for their hunting
and meeting places.
Their land was known as
poaobou
, which translat
es
into
‘
ancestral home
’
in the old language, or so I
’
m told.

After talking with Harris, I agreed with him that I should be going in with backup since I was meeting with the pack in an official capacity. But it seemed like a major faux pas
to bring a different species of shifter or preternatural
species
to one
’
s secret lands. Which I was pretty damn sure the
Alpha
thought of when he suggested it.
So while I was going in alone, I was also going in armed to the teeth.

****

Later, when I called Tristan for a ride, I finished packing up for the night and headed out front.
It seemed someone was waiting for me outside though. What was wrong with just making an appointment during office hours?

“
Hello, Chief Thomas,
”
the man said
,
walking toward me. I recog
nized that deep
Russian
accent immediately.

“
Hello
,
Vlad
.
”
I put down my bag so I had my hands free if I needed to reach for my gun.
“
What can I do for you?
”

“
It is actually more a matter of what I can do for you, Chief Thomas.
”

“
Okay, I
’
ll play. What can you do for me,
Vlad
?
”

“
You strike me as a very intelligent woman, Chief Thomas
.
”
H
e started to circle me. He was very careful to stay several feet away, so as not to crowd my personal space and deem himself a threat. I still felt as though a shark was circling his prey, me being the prey.
“
You have to realize what you are walking into Saturday night.
”

“
I don
’
t know what you
’
re talking about,
Vlad
.
”

“
Come now, don
’
t bother to play coy with me,
”
he
chastised
,
smiling widely, his fangs showing.
“
I know you are meeting with the
Alpha
.
”

“
While officially you know I can
’
t comment on that, I will say, word travels fast.
”

“
It has to in our world
.
I
t
’
s how we stay alive. You know he
’
s having you meet him on his turf for a reason, do you not?
”

“
Yeah, he
’
s letting me into the inner workings of the pack, hoping to trap me into joining.
Mr. Engle also knows I won
’
t bring any backup, since I don
’
t have another wolf on my team.
”

“
You are
as
wise as you are beautiful
.
”
Vlad
was behind me now
, much closer than I was comfortable with.
“
Shifters can be shifters two ways
.
One
by an attack, as you yourself survived. The second
,
being born as such. You
’
ll find very quickly, Seraphine, that there aren
’
t as many woman
l
ycanthropes as there are men.
”

“
You
’
re saying he wants me in the pack so he has one more woman who can pop out baby wolves,
”
I
whispered
quietly, trying to ignore the effect he had on me. Especially the way he said my name with his seductive accent. He stopped circling me
and
got back in front of me again
.
Vlad
was about
six
-
one
,
one hundred seventy-five pounds
and absolutely
gorgeous. It wasn
’
t just his body, but
his
wavy, chestnut brown, shoulder length hair which
complemented
his caramel eyes.

“
Yes, that is exactly what I am saying
.
”
He l
ook
ed
at me intently.
“
Pack rules are the same as most in the preternatural world. If you go against what someone says or tells you, it will be seen as a direct challenge.
You can only challenge or stake your dominance if you are part of the group or want to be recognized as one of the group. Do you understand, Seraphine?
”

“
So if they order me to go jump off a cliff and I say no, I
’
m stating that I am dominant to that person. I
’
m assuming we don
’
t do rock, paper, scissors to decide who wins
?
”

“
No, you fight,
”
Tristan answered
,
walking up from the side of us.
“
Vlad
.
”

“
Tristan, so good to see you again
.
I was exceptionally pleased that you allowed Tristan to stay in my employment, Seraphine. He is quite a draw at my club. Most masters would have seen his continuing employment with me as a sign of weakness on their part.
”

“
I
’
ve been honest with you from the start,
Vlad
.
”
I
was
trying to choose my words carefully.
“
I never meant to make Tristan my
minion
.
H
e and I discussed his working at your club. He enjoys it, and I see no reason why he can
’
t continue if it
i
s okay with you. As for it showing me as weak, I
’
m not
so
self-involved
where I would take that away from him for fear of appearances. Not that I really knew it would be seen that way.
”

“
I understand,
”
Vlad
stated
,
bowing his head to me.
“
Tristan is still an asset
.
I saw you letting him work for me as
statement of our continued friendship. When I heard about Saturday night, I felt
,
as your friend, I
sh
ould warn you of the possible problems you may face.
”

“
I appreciate that, more than you know,
Vlad
.
”
I smil
ed
.
Again, weird turn of events seemed to be working on my side.
“
I seem to need all the allies I can get. Especially since what you told me will
affect me
personally, not my investigation with the FBI. I
’
m glad you
’
re happy Tristan is staying
, as long as it
’
s what he wants, I don
’
t have a problem with it.
”

“
I am glad,
”
he replied, once again giving me that killer smile. Then started to step away as if to leave.

“
Vlad
, may I ask you a few other questions, as long as you are here?
”

“
Of course you may, Seraphine. I would like to encourage this honest, open friendship we
seem
to
be
start
ing
. I find it incredibly refreshing after centuries of always dealing with manipulative creatures.
”

“
I don
’
t have time to lie, and I
’
m too new to this community to even know what I should lie about
.
”
I
snorted
.
“
As we both found out. I
’
ll be honest with you, if you are with me. Unless it comes to my role with the FBI, then I will simply tell you when I can
’
t say anything. I hope that
’
s acceptable and something you understand.
”

“
There will be times I cannot answer you as well, Seraphine,
”
Vlad
replied, eyeing Tristan curiously as he came to stand beside me.

“
Fair enough.
”
I t
ook
a deep breath
.
T
rust was not something that came to me easily.
“
I understand that Chief Monroe is a master vampire all of his own, so he can
’
t be compromised. I did want to know, my other agents, do they owe any type of allegiance to you?
If you order them to answer questions about our investigation, do they have to answer you?
”

“
I was wondering if you would make that connection,
”
Vlad
answered, smiling coyly.
“
While they
understand my leadership role in the community, no, they are not mine. I was not the one who made them, nor are they blood
-
bonded
to me.
I supposed
,
if I did try
,
I might be able to compel them with my powers to tell me if I so wanted. But I could do so with any member of your team. Does that answer your question adequately?
”