Allure of the Wolf (Seraphine Thomas Book 2) (20 page)

Jesse squeezed me tightly as if he hadn’t been hugged in a long,
long
time. Then I saw in his head it was true and how good it felt that someone finally cared about his pain. I got a few flashes of a woman from his mind from a photo Engle was handing him. I gasped and leaned back, meeting his eyes.

“Jesse, did Engle order you to attack a woman? Turn her into a wolf?”

His eyes bugged out as he slowly nodded. “Yes. How did you know that?”

“I get random images sometimes,” I admitted before moving and kissing his neck again, showing my approval. “You did the right thing by disobeying that order. He should
never
have told you to do that. Engle’s breaking the law, the Shifter Council rules, hurting people, and god, that’s just wrong.”

“I did it once by accident,” he whispered, burying his face against my shoulder. “Right after I changed the first time, they dumped me off by a sorority house at one of the colleges before the full moon and I hurt someone. I didn’t mean to. My shift was too uncontrolled and they couldn’t get me back again without causing a scene so they didn’t ask me to do it again for a while. But now I can control it and Alpha Engle started ordering me to attack certain women. I can’t do it. I
won’t
do it.”

“You won’t, I swear, you won’t ever have to,” I soothed as I ran my hands over his back. I glanced over Jesse’s shoulder and saw three sets of heartbroken gazes focused on the guy. Yeah, to have gone through what he had, basically tortured like that by his own pack was unthinkable. “Is this enough? Can we do something about Engle now with the Shifter Council?”

“I don’t know,” Monroe admitted, sucking in a deep breath as he scrubbed his hands over his head. “But it’s enough to try and will start some serious shit at least. I’ll get on it first thing tomorrow. I can’t see how they could ignore this. We have
proof
he’s been intentionally turning women against their will now so he can mate them off in the same manner for muscle to build his power base. If nothing else,
that
should concern the council.”

“Yeah, I don’t ever want your job, boss,” I grumbled, even as I hugged Jesse tighter. “I’d be too busy chewing their asses for not having their priorities in line instead of ever getting anything accomplished. Everyone would hate me.”

“No one would, Sera,” Jesse sniffled as he snuggled up closer. “You’re already a better Alpha in the total ten minutes I’ve been around you than the years I’ve dealt with Engle.”

I smiled at him when he pulled away. That might have been one of the nicest things anyone had said to me… Even if Engle was an asshat.

Ten minutes also wasn’t a very long time. I took the compliment.

12

Life
flew
by after Sunday. We had Noah’s edited files to update in our systems and weapons training continued while we worked both our big cases. It was a lot.

But apparently Jerome Curtis and Chief Monroe had been on the same page about getting us into Quantico right away before too many people found out and tried to squash the idea. That was how I ended up in Virginia, at Quantico, in a massive lecture hall Wednesday morning in nothing but a
towel
.

No, I didn’t think that was
ever
something I would say either.

Monroe, Harris, Shaw, Davis, and Barnes were all there with me up front but off to the side.

“Good morning,” I greeted, trying to act a lot cooler about the situation than I felt. “And no, you didn’t just walk into an art class nor is this a joke of a
stripper-gram
.” That got me a few chuckles at least. “I’m Division Chief Seraphine Thomas and forty-two days ago I was wounded in a bust gone bad and infected with wolf strain of the lycanthropy virus. And by gone bad I mean we didn’t know they were wolves and it could have gotten us all
killed
.” I nodded to the members of my team and my boss. “They did know and it never crossed my mind to ask the other division in my own backyard if the people we were investigating were human or preternatural.

“That mistake I will live with for the rest of my life, and while it cost me a lot, I thank whoever was watching over us that day it didn’t lose anyone their
life
. So learn from this lesson. Always,
always
check with every available resource at your disposal and find more than you’re used to having because we survive in our line of work by adapting and staying ahead of the game. The game changed about a decade ago and we need to catch up. Which is why I’m standing in front of you in a towel.”

“No, really, she comes to work that way every day,” Harris teased. I shot him a dirty look and everyone really laughed then, most of the tension easing from the room.

I glanced over at Jerome Curtis. “No one’s armed, sir? You promised I wouldn’t end up shot here.”

“You’re clear, Thomas,” he chuckled. “And the folks seeing this remotely can’t do much harm from there.” He gestured to the cameras and monitors. I nodded, knowing he was showing me for a reason, but I swallowed loudly.

“Oh goodie, I always wanted to Skype half naked,” I drawled. Another round of chuckles and I stretched out my neck. “Okay, let’s kick this off right then.” I focused on my wolf and right there in front of all of them, changed into her.

There were a variety of reactions, including but not limited to several
holy shits
.

“Now, keep in mind, Chief Thomas is sentient and can understand anything you say,” Monroe explained, taking over for me.

“So if we mention she’s totally fuckable, she’ll remember it later?” some guy in the back joked quietly. In a flash I was up the stairs, growling at him. “Oh fuck, sorry, Chief Thomas!” I gave him a nod and backed off, trotting down towards the front.

“And we have really,
really
good hearing,” Monroe snickered. “Now, Chief Thomas is different than most wolves because she has more than her human and wolf forms. She has a combo form, if you will.”

I took the cue, focused, and changed once more to my half-and-half. “And now I can talk again even if everything I say is more a growl. It’s the teeth,
not
someone being aggressive.” I glanced around the room at their stunned faces before looking to Curtis. “Do they not take notes at Quantico anymore? I remember taking
tons
of them in my lectures and classes.”

“You were a better student than this lot apparently,” he drawled. “Write the shit down people and stop gawking only! This is education, not shits and giggles time.”

I smiled when the majority started furiously scribbling things down.

“And when she smiles, she looks like she’s going to eat someone but she’s not,” Harris teased.

“Depends who keeps pissing me off that day,” I shot back. I reached for my towel again, but Curtis stopped me, asking if I wouldn’t mind doing a spin for the cameras. I nodded, wanting to eat
him
a bit but did as he wanted before tucking my towel around my body and changing to normal. Then I readjusted it. “Now, most wolves can’t do that and it’s
rare
to be able to do it right off the bat.” I glanced around and sighed. “Why can I? Oh, thanks for asking,
no one
.”

Monroe let out a snort and glanced up at the instructors. “Was she like this during training or was I just blessed to get the improved version?”

“She was quiet, determined, never stopped working or training, focused like a laser,” Curtis answered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Aced every class, lecture, test we could throw at her.”

“Okay, but she was
quiet
back then. Great. I still got all that same good stuff but you got her quiet.”

“I never cooked for him either,
sir
,” I drawled, rolling my neck so I was staring at him. “Don’t make me start uninviting you for weekend work barbeques.”

“Good point. You smoke some fine salmon,” he agreed, holding his hands out in surrender.

“Work a lot of weekends?” Curtis asked, glancing between us.

“I haven’t had a day off since I’ve been turned,” I admitted with a shrug, glancing up at him. “I got a crash course, I’m still learning, and to be honest, I didn’t learn shit from the FBI because we don’t know crap.” I felt the tension rise in the room and Monroe swore under his breath. “Prove me wrong. Is there
anyone
in this room or on the other end of those cameras who can answer why a brand-new werewolf can take all three forms and do this?” I held up my hand and shifted only it to claws. “According to the FBI, I shouldn’t be able to change right back to human after a wolf turn.”

“No, how come you can?” someone called out.

“Same reason I have three forms.” I glanced around. “Does anyone know why?” I waited until I saw all the instructors shake their heads. “The strength of the
newly
infected
wolf or shifter is directly related to the person who turned them. This is
not
true with shifters born what we are.”

“Wait, they can be
born
?” an instructor asked.

“Yes, and as a general rule, they are more powerful than an infected human turned shifter,” I explained. “What I can do shouldn’t be possible but it
is
because the wolf who infected me, a born werewolf who’s lineage is longer than my legs, was tremendously powerful. What we are when we’re infected is our starting line, from there we grow in power, strength—all of it. I’ve learned already how to hone my senses better.” I let my hand turn back and glanced at Curtis, knowing I had a test coming.

“Chief Thomas agreed to play a game with me,” he piped in. “There’s a dozen
sealed
containers in the back of the lecture hall. She’s going to tell me what’s in them.”

“Or at least what’s in everyone’s pockets,” I drawled. I sniffed the air and moved towards my left. “Seriously? Is that dog shit?”

“That’s one,” a female instructor chuckled and opened the back door before there was a thunk. Good thinking to have the garbage outside the room. I waited until the doors closed before trying again.

“Blood, but it’s not fresh…” I trailed off and glanced at Monroe. “Bagged? I’ve never smelled bagged blood before. It’s like coated blood? Is that the bag?”

“Yeah, that’s the bag,” he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away. Ohhhh, someone’s fangs wanted to come out!

“That’s two,” the same woman announced.

It got easier once the distracting smells were gone. “Someone’s got bacon, raw. Gun powder. Charcoal. Oil. There’s peanut butter and—”

“That might be my lunch,” someone admitted sheepishly as they held it up. I wasn’t the only one who laughed then.

“Six more, Chief Thomas,” the woman informed me.

I took a deep whiff and moved closer to the group. “Cat. Did you box up a
cat
?”

“Have you smelled tabby fur since you were turned?” Curtis chuckled.

“No, I’m allergic to cats.”

“Chief, you aren’t anymore,” Harris informed me. “We don’t have allergies.”

“Oh, we’ll that’s a nice perk,” I snickered, retucking my towel. I didn’t think it was loose but I didn’t like all the focus on me, and I
really
wasn’t going to risk it falling off right then. “Okay, five more.” I focused and then snarled, glancing around the room before focusing on Curtis. “Where is he? Why is Tristan
here
? He wasn’t part of this.”

“He’s not, his shirt is, Sera,” Monroe muttered gently as he moved closer. “I asked him for a shirt he’d worn and not washed yet.”

I adjusted my neck and took a few deep breaths. “My bad. It’s the shirt he was wearing when we went to bed. I assumed he was here.”

“You can tell it’s
that
shirt?” the female instructor asked.

“Yeah, I can smell the vodka sauce on it from when I reached for my phone at dinner with my fork still in my hand and splattered some on him,” I admitted with a shrug. “It’s gray with blue writing. It’s a Chicago Cubs T-shirt. Don’t throw that out. He
loves
that shirt.”

She opened the container and tossed it down to me. I snagged it from the air and several people gasped when they saw I’d gotten it right. I handed it off to Monroe, not looking at him because I wasn’t sure what kind of look he would
get
right then. I didn’t think Tristan’s shirt was really appropriate for this game.

I sniffed the air again and rattled off the last four: gas, sulfur, peroxide, and nail polish remover.

“What else can you do that other new wolves can’t?” another instructor asked after my round of applause at winning the game.

“Umm—well, I’m kind of too new to know that answer,” I hedged then it hit me. “Oh, I can make others shifters change forms.”

“What’s the purpose of that? I mean, I get the super-smelling, and everything, but I can’t see what would be the use of one shifter making another change into their animal.”