Accidentally Wolf (20 page)

“
I think so,
”
I replied
,
scrunching my eyebrows.
“
Basically you
’
re saying
,
as a leader in the community, they respect your authority, but no, they don
’
t directly report to you. So at no time should I have to question their loyalty to me or the FBI.
”

“
Yes,
you said it perfectly
.
”
H
e
gave me a nod and a toothy, fanged smile.
“
Is that all you wished of me, Seraphine?
”

“
Yes. I want you to know that I
’
m not asking because I
’
m trying to hide something from you,
Vlad
. I need to know that my agents have my back and I can trust them.
”

“
I would expect nothing less
.
A
s a leader myself, I understand fully.
”

“
Also, Seraphine is fine for conversations
like this one
.
”
I
informed him
,
making sure I looked him right in the eye.
“
If I do come to you as Chief of the FBI, I would hope you would respect that and address me accordingly.
”

“
Of course, I understand my respecting your title
is important to others accepting you as such.
”

“
Wise and handsome,
”
I
purred
,
smiling as I
repeated
what he said to me earlier.
“
Thank you,
Vlad
. While I
’
m sorry we originally got off on the wrong foot, I am glad we worked to this level of respect.
”

“
As am I, Seraphine. I wish you goodnight,
”
he said before taking to the sky.
I watched as his form disappeared, blending into the inky blackness of the night sky.

“
Holy fucking shit,
”
I whispered.
“
I didn
’
t know you guys could fly.
”

“
Not all of us can
.
”
Tristan wrapp
ed
his arms around my waist and turn
ed
me to face him.
“
I
,
for instance
,
cannot. Only those very old and very powerful can.
”

“
No one
’
s ever going to fit into a box for me, are they?
”
I asked
,
leaning forward to rest my forehead on his chest as I sighed.

“
What do you mean, Sera?
”

“
I
’
m never going to have a list of things vampires can and can
’
t do because each of you can do different things.
Personally, it makes it hard for me to ever know what to expect. Professionally, it makes my job more difficult if I ever need to profile someone for a crime. It was much easier when I was just dealing with humans.
”

“
You
’
ll figure it out, Sera,
”
he whispered against my hair before kissing the top of my head.
“
Now, are you done with work for the evening?
”

“
I suppose, why?
”

“
Well, I decided what car I would like,
”
Tristan answered
,
removing his arms from around me but still holding my hand. He bent down to retrieve my ba
g
before leading me to my Charger.
“
And I would love your opinion on i
t
before I take you out to dinner.
”

“
We
’
re going out to dinner?
”
I asked
,
looking up at him confused. Did we have plans?

“
I would like to take my woman out to dinner,
”
he answered
,
smiling at me.

“
Look, Tristan
.
”
I stopp
ed
in my tracks and
gently
taking back my hand
, placing it in the pocket of my jacket instead
.
“
Don
’
t read into what happened last night
.
I
t was what it was. It doesn
’
t mean we
’
re living together as a couple or that this is a relationship.
”

“
Sera,
”
he re
p
lied
,
cutting me off and taking my
other
hand,
“
I understand all that. Dinner is just dinner. Referring to you as my woman seemed better to say than the woman I made love to last night. I didn
’
t mean anything by it.
”

“
Okay,
”
I sighed with relief,
“
let
’
s go get you a car then. And
,
as for dinner, while I appreciate the idea of going out, I
’
m really wiped. Can we get some take
-
out on the way home and eat in comfy clothes on the couch?
”

“
Sounds like a plan,
”
he replied
,
smiling as he brought my hand to his lips
and brushed them across my knuckles
. He opened the driver
’
s side door for me then walked around and got in the passenger
’
s seat.
Tristan was quite the gentleman I was learning, and flexible to what I needed. So then why did I have this sinking feeling he was just saying what I wanted to hear?

Chapter 7

Saturday night rolled around without any
more major issues. During the day, Tristan and I had found a nice split
-
level house to rent. It was a little bigger than we needed, but I figured with two of us paying the rent
,
it was affordable. Plus
,
that way
,
it wouldn
’
t be like we were on top of each other all the time.

I arrived at the location Joseph Engle gave me fifteen minutes early. Already having problems since it was
the beginning of my first
full moon
cycle
, I truly started to regret my decision to come.
The lunar cycle of the full moon was three, sometimes four days. The actual full moon wasn
’
t even until tomorrow though.

Most of the day I had that itchy feeling, like something was crawling all over my skin. I took Tristan
’
s advice and made sure I had extra clothes with me all day, just in
case I did shift. Wouldn
’
t
it just
make me feel
s
o much better in life if I had to be naked after I accidently shifted
?

While this was an official interview, I wasn
’
t going to risk ruining one of my nice suits if I did end up changing. Instead I wore an older pair of baggy, low rise jean
s
and a
fitted
T
-shirt
with
a light jacket over it. You could easily see my shoulder harness and weapons if you got close enough to me, but that was the point. I also had another gun tucked into the back of my jeans that the jacket covered. Uncomfortable? Oh yeah, but if I needed it, I had it.

Getting out of the car
,
I headed toward the gathering of people, looking around as I went. I kn
e
w it was private land, but it really did look more like a forest preserve than anything
with the
vast number of huge
trees and acres of untouched land
.

“
Tonight, we gather to celebrate the full moon,
”
the
Alpha
said loudly
to the crowd gathered around him as he stood
at the top of a small hill
in the center of a clearing in the midst of all the trees
.
Now that I was part of the crowd, I could see h
e was flanked by about
seven
men
.
W
ho they were or why they stood there, I had no clue.
“
Also, we welcome a new member in
to our pack, Seraphine Thomas.
”

“
No, you don
’
t
, and it
’
s Chief Thomas to you, Mr. Engle,
”
I stated flatly. So much for hiding any pretenses now
that
he
had gotten me here jumping right in
to the bullshit.
“
As I stated on the phone, I am here for an official FBI investigation. At no time have I stated I wanted to join your pack. On the contrary, I told that I did not, and wouldn
’
t be trapped into joining by showing up here.
”

“
You challenge the word of our
Alpha
?
”
a
man sneered
,
stepping away from the crowd.
The way he had his hair meticulously gelled and styled to look tousled made me want to laugh. He probably spent
many
hours in front of the mirror.

“
Call it whatever you will, but I
’
m not pack, therefore it cannot be an official challenge,
”
I
replied
, turning to keep him within my line of sight.
“
As with any group, your rules or laws
do no
t
supersede the laws
of the state of Illinois or the Federal Government. I am here as Division Chief of the FBI, that authority beats those of local citizens,
Alpha
or not. You know good and well to challenge that is not the same as to challenge in the pack. Challenge me or my authority,
your
ass will end up in jail.
”

“
You can
’
t take all of us on
,
”
t
he man
taunted
.
“
You won
’
t win unless you play by pack rules.
”

“
Are you seriously stupid enough to threaten a federal agent?
”
I asked
,
not even hiding my shock.
“
Get this through your head, you are citizens of the United States,
and
I am an official of the law.
I can call and have backup here in minutes if that
’
s the route you want to go.
”

“
You cannot bring local law on to our scared lands
—
”
he started to say.

“
I
’
m done explaining myself to you,
”
I said
,
showing the anger
I was feeling
in my voice.
“
One
,
I was doing it to be polite, which you seem to have no interest in. Two, you
’
re either to
o
dense to get the shit you
’
re about to step into or don
’
t care. Three, I
’
m here on official business with
Mr. Engle. You are not him, so I suggest you shut your mouth before you spend the night in jail. Now, Mr. Engle, I tried to be nice and not have you pulled in for official questioning and this
is
how you act?
”