Accidentally Wolf (8 page)

“
That happens a lot,
”
he replied
,
eyeing me over as if really looking at me for the first time. Chief Chad Monroe looked big, though I couldn
’
t tell how big with him sitting down. His wide shoulders spoke volumes though, even in his suit jacket I co
uld see he was well built. T
hough he was a vampire and had stopped aging, you could see the years of knowledge in his piercing blue eyes. I
’
d have guessed he was maybe thirty-five when he was turned.

“
So what
’
s the plan
,
Chief?
”
I asked point blank.

“
I am going to be working with other offices in sharing resources and intelligence,
”
he replied.
“
I want you to work on making the agents of this office into FBI
-
worthy agents. I
’
m giving you free reign to do so.
”

“
Why me?
”
I didn
’
t mean to look a gift horse in the mouth
,
but I had to know.

“
Honestly, I think you
’
re exactly what this office has needed,
”
Chief Monroe answered.
“
At twenty
-
eight, you
’
ve already been promoted to Special Agent in Charge
.
N
ot a single boss or agent you
’
ve ever worked with has anything but positive to say about you. You graduated Quantico at the top of your class, have years of field work under your belt, and
,
most importantly
,
have been able to hide you
’
re a clairvoyant from some of the most observant people on the planet.
”

“
You know,
”
I whispered,
doing my best to school my features even though I was
completely shocked at
,
not only his glowing image of me, but
his
figuring out my secret.
“
How?
”

“
Every vampire has a certain gift, some more than one,
”
he answered, seeming to choose his words carefully.
“
My gift is to be able to determine others
’
gifts.
”

“
Now that I have shifted, I was going to tell you,
”
I replied honestly.
“
I would prefer it not be in my file, though. It
’
s very hard on me, and I
’
m not a regular clairvoyant. I don
’
t get anything from objects, well
,
very rarely at least. I seem to get them only when touching people or if they are a loud broadcaster.
”

“
I can understand you not wanting it in your file,
”
Chief Monroe stated
, leaning back in his leather chair
.
“
I
’
m okay with that because
,
honestly, I don
’
t like the way the FBI treats clairvoyants. They aren
’
t sideshows at the circus. That being said, I
’
m putting a lot of faith and trust in you, Thomas. I expect you to do the same with me, fair enough?
”

“
Yes, sir,
”
I answered
,
letting out a sigh of relief.
“
I think that
’
s incredibly fair, and I appreciate it. I also appreciate the promotion
.
I
t
’
s actually quite a shock.
”

“
You
’
re a great agent, Thomas
.
W
e need
your
help here. Are you up for it?
”

“
Yes, sir, I am.
”
For the first time since I
’
d woken up in the hospital, I was actually looking forward to some of the changes in my life. Excited even.

“
Then I have one last question for you
.
”
Chief Monroe
’
s
tone chang
ed
to something gentler.

I knew that look and his tone, plus I got an image from him. Damn Brian! He had to have run his mouth.
“
You want to know about me and Chief Havers?
”

“
Yes, I do.
”

“
Sorry, I saw a picture of him in your mind,
”
I
mumbled
somewhat sheepishly.
“
I
’
m not used to being able to use my gift freely. I
’
m not sure the correct protocol on using it.
”

“
I think in this instance it was fine, but you didn
’
t answer the question.
”

“
Chief Havers and I have had
relations
half
a
dozen times,
”
I replied, feeling my face heating up.
“
That
’
s all it was. It was stupid and not something I should ever have done, but I did and I can
’
t change that.
”

“
Is it over?
”
h
e asked
,
looking surprised by my honesty.

“
There really wasn
’
t anything to be over with
.
”
I
shrugged
,
looking back up
and meeting
gaze.
“
It wasn
’
t like a relationship. I think it was just adrenaline sex a few times after a big bust.
”

“
I do appreciate your honesty, Thomas. And what you just said will stay in this room between us,
”
he replied.
“
I
’
m assuming you
’
ve learned affairs with others in the FBI don
’
t work now?
”

“
Yes, sir
.
”
I swallow
ed
loudly
, not because I was in trouble and it was more a suggestion than a warning. I just didn
’
t like talking about my personal life. It always made me nervous and
feel
as if I was under a microscope
.
“
I
’
d like to start by getting a cleaning crew in here. Make this office look like a real office of the FBI.
”

“
I
’
ll get it set up for this weekend,
”
Chief Monroe answered.
“
That way it will be a fresh start Monday. Also I
’
m assuming you
’
d like to see the files of the seventeen agents we have.
”

“
You read my mind, sir
.
”
I
s
mil
ed
widely
at him
. I was feel
ing
much better about my transfer and surprising promotion. We spent the next half hour hashing out other details of what he wanted, what I wanted
,
and plans of how we were going to do it. I had a lot of work ahead of me, but I had the feeling I was going to enjoy every second of it.

****

I spent the weekend studying the seventeen files, paying special attention to the five I was going to promote
come
Monday.
While I was glad the files came complete with photos, I
guessed I could pick them out of the group just by the profiles I had read.

Agent Mike Harris
, the man who had shown me around earlier,
was a lycanthrope.
Twenty-six years old, s
ix
-
five, two hundred fifty pound
s
, and his picture showed none of that was fat. He had a stylish short haircut, gelled in the front, dark hair, and blue eyes.

He used to be a suburban cop. Actually, it had been his
first day
on the job, fresh out of the Academy, when he got clawed up during a routine traffic stop. Ended up the guy was a cheetah. I didn
’
t even know there were cheetah shifters. It was scary how much I learned in one short weekend. Can
’
t say I
’
d remember it all, but that
’
s why I had reference materials.

Like me, he was then transferred to MNSTR since that
’
s the only place law enforcement of any kind was allowed to work when they were a paranormal. We didn
’
t have that many offices around the country
,
and
,
while paranormals were a minority, I had a feeling there were a lot of them that hid what they were. I had before getting turned into a wolf.

Agent Miles Remington, necromancer.
His file was so vague on what that was that I ended up more confused than when I had started. And everything I pulled didn
’
t clear anything up either, though most of it was legend.
Thirty-two, f
ive
-
el
e
ven, black hair that was a little shaggy in the photo, brown eyes, and coming in at one-ninety.
He had applied when MNSTR was started a few years ago. He tested off the charts for intelligence, but really didn
’
t have
any
experience or field work.

Agent Grant Cooper, vampire. Grant had an impressive background in the military, Army Ranger, until someone caught him drinking blood on the job. Then he was discharged and given the option to work here.
Two centuries old, s
ix
-
two, two hundred and fifteen pounds of muscle, green eyes, and blond hair.

The FBI intel on vampires wasn
’
t all that complete but it had shocked me. I
’
d figured out that they could move around in the daylight since, well, I knew some that had
day
jobs. But I hadn
’
t known that most of the myths were bullshit. As mean as it was, the curious woman who worked for the FBI inside of me
,
wanted to test some of those theories on Cooper. I wouldn
’
t. But it had crossed my mind.

For example, yes, they needed to drink blood but that wasn
’
t all they could drink. They could also eat as well but didn
’
t need as much to sustain them as a human. Garlic didn
’
t affect them, crosses and the religious stuff wasn
’
t true either. But the big one? They had heartbeats. They weren
’
t dead.
Just as being a shifter was a virus that could be singled out, so was being a vampire. Not something I
’
d expected to learn.

Agent Nick Jennings,
Voodoo
Priest. Or his parents were
,
and
,
while he had
inherited
magical talents
, he wasn
’
t practicing. I
’
m sure he dabbled but he either kept it on the down low, or didn
’
t do it very often. He was going to be hard for me to place easily.
Twenty-three years old, f
ive
-
eight, one
-
fifty, with
sky
blue eyes and brown hair.
Jennings was wicked smart
,
but everything in his file said he was a little socially inept.
Even his picture made me think he was a computer geek.