The Accidental Werewolf 2: Something About Harry (Accidentally Paranormal Novel) (21 page)

“Were you talking about my girlfriend, Lloyd?” He gripped his neck tighter, jamming his face in Lloyd’s, begging him to give him a reason to kill him. “
My girlfriend
? I sure as hell hope not, limp dick, because if you were, I’d have to kill you.”

Lloyd collapsed against the wall, his lean, spray-tanned face going pale as he held his hands up to signal his surrender. “Dude! We were just bullshitting. You know, just us boys. Calm down, man!”

Harry fought the very urge he was about to express—with every ounce of will he possessed. He let Lloyd drop hard, righting him when his legs began to crumble. “Get one thing straight, you piece of shit: I ever hear my girlfriend’s name on your lips again, I’ll tear them off your face. Now shut your mouth or I’ll damn well shut it for you. Clear?” Harry seethed down at him, his muscles rigid and ready to spring into action.

Lloyd’s deep gray eyes, wide with terror, and probably confusion, over quiet, unassuming Harry making a threat to take him out, warred with pride and the idea that he’d been checked in front of Gary. “It was just a joke, Harry,” he attempted to make light.

“Don’t joke about my girlfriend—ever. In fact, quit talking about women like they’re monkeys meant for your amusement. It offends me, and when I’m offended,
this
is what happens. Got me?” Harry roared in his face.

Lloyd gave his chest a halfhearted shove, slipping out and away from Harry. But he took a parting shot to save face. “Whatever, man. It was just a joke. If you can’t take a damn joke, I get it.” He made a fast exit, the sound of his hurried footsteps satisfying to Harry’s ears.

His vision cleared in that second, leaving the impact of what he’d done crystal clear. With a wince, he picked up a chair and held out his hand to Gary. “Sorry, pal. I don’t know what came over me.”

Gary’s eyes went wide with shock. “What the fuck was that, Harry?”

Harry jutted his hand forward at him again, insisting he take it.

Gary’s gaze was hesitant, his grasp tentative. “So? What the hell, buddy?”

Harry yanked him up and righted him while he thought about what to say next to explain how mild-mannered Harry had turned into the Hulk.

He jammed a hand through his rumpled hair while Gary waited, blotting his coffee-covered tie with a napkin. “Lloyd’s an asshole. That’s what that was about. He’s always talking shit about women. But he can’t talk about mine.”

Gary backed up. “I gotcha. But Lloyd’s always been an asshole, Harry. You’ve heard his sexual exploits since day one. I get that he was talking shit about your girlfriend, but that wasn’t like you at all. Even when you’re pissed off, you’re never that pissed off.”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “This is different.” And it was. Fuck, it sure was. He couldn’t remember anyone he’d spent so much time not only conflicted about, but thinking about, quite the way he did Mara.

“So is it serious?” Gary asked with a grin, smoothing back his blond hair and brushing at the seam in his tan trousers.

He didn’t want to talk about Mara. Not right now. And it wasn’t like this was all real anyway. For all he knew, her crush from Christmas was long over. He hadn’t exactly been crush-worthy these last few days. Not to mention, they were only doing this to keep up pretenses. He found himself wishing it were real. But he didn’t reveal that to Gary. Instead he shrugged with a smile. “I don’t know.”

Gary slapped him on the back, letting him know he understood. “It damn well must be for you to get so worked up. Now quit talkin’ and help me clean up. Then we’ll superglue Lloyd’s
Playboy
pages together. He’ll never know what hit him.”

Harry chuckled, shaking his head and stooping to pick up a batch of papers when his phone rang with the theme song from
Star Trek
, the song he’d chosen to alert him it was Mara.

But it wasn’t Mara. It was Nina, her voice brisk, her statement, as always, littered with bad language and to the point. “Brainiac? Get your fucking ass up to Keegan’s office now. Nine-one-one, buddy.”

CHAPTER

14

Harry burst through the ornate double doors to Keegan’s office, tripping over the plastic runner and almost falling. “I’m okay!” he yelped, righting himself with his hands against the dark oak paneling until he caught his balance.

His eyes, fraught with worry, flew past Keegan, Marty, Wanda, and Nina, and sought Mara. His hair was mussed and his shirt was torn, but he stood strong and tall, his expression a question. “What’s going on?”

Nina popped her lips, pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead. “Jig’s up, Harry. We’re fucked.”

Marty flicked Nina’s tie on her hoodie with a snort of disgust. “Nina! Why must you always be so crude? Could you just once find your sensitive bone and make use of it? We have a serious crisis here!”

Nina flipped Marty the middle finger. “I’m just callin’ it like I see it. Why bullshit? We got trouble. Big, big, ugly, hairy, pack trouble. I’m not butterin’ up my fist to jam a painful truth down his throat.”

Wanda, stately as always, dressed in a red cowl-neck sweater and black trousers, ironed to within an inch of their life, held up her hand, as always, the calm in their crazy storm. “Nina, I’ll say this once.” She snapped her fingers under Nina’s nose. “Shut it.”

When Keegan’s secretary had called Mara up to his office, she hadn’t thought much of it until she’d gotten a slew of texts, one after the other, from Marty, Nina, and Wanda, all with the ominous words,
“He knows.”

Apparently, Keegan had received an anonymous tip earlier this afternoon from someone who had details of Harry’s turn. Details she’d thought only the group knew about.

Whoever this person was, they knew everything about the night Harry had been accidentally accosted by Mara’s serum. The revelation left Mara not only stunned but petrified this same person was responsible for taking the children and Carl.

According to Keegan, “Anonymous” promised to reveal to the council what happened that night in the lab if he didn’t do it first.

Cue spooky organ music.

So with shaky words and trembling limbs, she’d confessed everything in the hopes that even if she went to pack prison, Keegan would be able to protect Carl, Harry, and the kids.

Marty sat at the edge of Keegan’s desk, her eyes filled with concern. She took a deep breath and addressed both Harry and Mara. “So like Nina said, we have trouble.”

Mara watched Harry stiffen, still so solid, still trying to keep their secret. “I don’t know what you mean,” he said, moving to stand behind Mara, placing a hand at her waist.

But he sucked at subterfuge as much as she did. His lie was written all over his adorable face. Mara put her hand at his wrist, fighting the possessive pride filling her heart. “It’s okay. Keegan knows about you, Harry. He knows I’m responsible for what happened to you.”

Harry looked at Keegan, his gaze direct. “It’s my understanding you’re the alpha male of your pack. What kind of action do you plan to take? Because while I don’t want to be disrespectful, or cross any employer-employee boundaries, I’m not letting you punish her for something that was an accident. You know what those are like. That’s how you ended up with Marty as your wife.”

Mara’s heart shifted and fluttered at Harry’s noble gesture. He might not always be terribly coordinated, but he was nothing if he wasn’t all about doing the right thing. She turned to him and patted his warm chest, ignoring the tear in his white shirt. “Harry? Someone tipped Keegan off anonymously. It’s not his fault he has to do what he has to do.”

Keegan, despite his anger, stuck out his hand. “We’ve met, Harry, on several occasions.”

Harry nodded, shaking Keegan’s hand before placing it back on Mara’s waist in a protective gesture. “We have.”

Keegan nodded, his head full of thick, dark hair. “You have children, right?”

Harry’s answer was guarded. “I do.”

“So then you know they’re always protected within the confines of the pack, correct?”

“It’s what I’ve been told, yes.”

“Then for the moment, I don’t want you to worry about their safety. It will be handled. We have other things to focus on.”

Harry stayed silent, really taking Nina’s “less is more” lecture to heart.

Keegan waved his finger at Mara with a shake of his dark head. His smile could have been tagged as ironic if his eyes weren’t filled with what smacked of betrayal. “You and that brain of yours.”

Yeah. Her and her big, big, brain with the big, big ideas.

She let her eyes fall to the floor, but her words were fierce. “I’ll just say this—I won’t apologize for wanting a family of my own. I won’t. I want children. So, so much,” her voice hitched, going gravelly and full of the emotion she’d tried too hard to keep to herself, before she cleared her throat and let her eyes meet Keegan’s. “The pack says I have to mate with my own kind if at all possible. But none of my kind was all that interested, and there weren’t many I was interested in either. So I took matters into my own hands. The only thing I regret is involving Harry and his children. But I’ll never regret making a choice that might not have been with my head, but was definitely with my heart.” End impassioned plea. She wouldn’t say she was sorry for something she was only half sorry for.

Keegan crossed the room, dragging her into a hug, making her eyes sting with tears. “Jesus, kiddo. What the hell am I supposed to do?”

She heard how torn he was, listened to the ragged release of his breath. Struggling out of his strong embrace, she cupped his jaw and patted it. “You’re supposed to treat me just like everyone else, Keegan. It’s the only way to keep the respect you’ve earned. Just because I’m the alpha’s sister doesn’t mean I get special treatment.”

Harry was beside her again, standing just on the fringes of her and Keegan. “I won’t let you do that, Keegan. I know I’m crossing a line here, but it was an accident. Period,” he said with clenched teeth.

Keegan’s gaze, usually so serious and fierce, was torn. “I can’t do it, Mara. I
won’t
do it.”

She gave him a shove, regretting the instant she left the security of his arms, but determined to keep his good name and reputation as alpha intact. “Oh, no, brother. You will do it. You will, or I’ll give myself up to the council and pretend like you never got this anonymous tip. I’m not jeopardizing the faith these people have in you. So either you hand down the edict and turn me in, or I go myself.”

“Goddamn it, Mara!” he thundered, his face a tight mask of myriad emotions. “Why didn’t you just come to me? Tell me what was going through your mind before you made a baby potion?”

Marty was all flapping hands and accusatory tones as she hopped off the edge of Keegan’s desk, her kelly green pumps clacking on the hardwood of Keegan’s office floor. “Because sometimes, darling husband, you’re a total Neanderthal. How uncomfortable would it have been for her to come and tell you she wanted to become a mother, but without the aid of a penis? Wouldn’t you have spouted these ridiculous, Victorian era rules you’ve all set forth within the pack? What would you have said, Keegan? ‘Oh, sure, kiddo. Go on and make some baby juice’? Hah! And I’m here to tell you right now, if you don’t, at the very least, attempt to convince those council members your sister has every right to do as she pleases with her body, I will leave you, Keegan Flaherty. I’ll take Hollis and go to Nina’s dark, dreary castle, and I won’t come back!”

“Fuuuck, Marty,” Nina complained, clucking her tongue. “Why didn’t you pick Wanda? She has Arch, ya know. He likes you a shitload more than I do.”

Marty’s eyes blazed, her ringed fingers flying upward in Nina’s face. “Shut it, vampire. I’m making a point!”

“Couldn’t you make it the fuck at Wanda’s?”

“Nina! Shut up!” Wanda yelled, slapping Nina’s arm with her gloves. “Don’t make things worse.”

But Nina slapped Keegan on the back with a roll of her eyes at Marty and Wanda. “For what it’s worth, dude, I’d let her bring the kid and all her girlie guru crap, and her chest full of hair dye, because a personal choice like that shouldn’t be up to a bunch of dicks who have no idea what it’s like to have a vagina. This rule you ass sniffers have about keeping the bloodlines pure is one thing. Yeah, it makes sense to avoid hooking up with a human if you can to keep everyone safe. The rest is just goddamn ridiculous. Short-Shot found a way to make little werewolves. She wants a little werewolf. She can take care of the little werewolf. I don’t see the fucking problem. So I hate to be a bitch, ’cus mostly I like you, pal, but I gotta pick Marty over you, or Wanda will never let me hear the end of it.”

Keegan’s lips thinned when he planted his hands on his hips, staring them all down. “You women and your conclusions. Did it occur to any of you that, Neanderthal that I am, I might actually agree with your stance on Mara’s wish to have children without the benefit of a mate?”

Oh. Mara’d never given that even a little thought. Her brother enlightened? God, Marty really was the Caveman Whisperer.

Guilty looks passed amongst the women.

Marty gave him a sheepish glance. “Hadn’t gotten that far, Neanderthal.”

He held out his hand to Marty, which she immediately took without a single word spoken, meaning all was well with Team Flaherty. “That’s not my dilemma here, honey. I don’t even know if that’s going to be the issue with the council. Insemination is one thing—a separate issue all unto itself. The issue is Mara was careless, and someone was unwillingly turned as a result. Yes, it was an accident, but it was much different from ours. It’s a dangerous thing to create babies in a lab. What if someone got hold of her serum—or her and that genius brain of hers? Some shithead who wanted to make a buck—or a hundred million bucks? We’d be exposed, Marty—exposed and used. Potentially harmed.”

Mara let her chin drop to her chest. Damn all that big picture, long-term-effect thinking. Harry tapped her wrist, pulling her hand into his and squeezing it.

“But the worst of this?” Keegan said. “My dilemma in having to turn in my own sister for something I think is just as ridiculous as all of you just because I’m in charge. It’s not like I can hide the fact that Harry was a human and now he’s suddenly a werewolf. You knew damn well it wouldn’t be long before rubbing your scent all over him, or whatever crazy plan you hatched to keep him hidden, wouldn’t work anymore. You were just buying time. If I don’t do something about this, they’ll launch an investigation and corner Harry to find out how this happened, if they don’t already know.”

Harry shook his head, his jaw tight. “The hell they’d get it out of me. I’ll just act like I don’t remember. They can’t make me confess something I refuse to confess.”

Mara’s heart beat a tribal call of love for Harry. Even though he hated the idea of being one of them, he was protecting her anyway.

“And that’s all well and good, Harry, but is it fair? To you? To put you through a rigorous investigation, have the council invade your life? Mimi’s and Fletcher’s lives? Because that’s what’ll happen.”

Harry squared his shoulders, his jaw tight. “I don’t care. I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep Mara safe.”

“You know,” Keegan shook a finger at Mara, “if you’d come to me sooner, Harry’s suggestion might have worked, Mara. But you didn’t. You didn’t trust me enough to handle this—or to help you. Now, what if this information I have is leaked, accusing you directly, and it spreads like wildfire through the pack? You know what gossip is like. It’s hard enough to deal with weres and humans working together side by side. Then there’s the fact that in the thirty-five hundred employees we have here, there are a total of twenty or so humans.”

“Actually fourteen, if my records, and my nose, are correct,” Harry offered.

Keegan nodded. “There’s a reason for that. First, office affairs happen whether we like it or not. There are some pack members who are single. Single plus working closely together can create trouble and unwanted drama. Add in paranormal trouble, and we’ve got a problem. We’re careful about who we hire, not just because of this purity law, which I also think is ridiculous, but because what if the wrong human, one who becomes involved with a were, finds out, freaks out, tells the world?”

“We end up an episode of
The Werewolf Diaries
?” But her attempt at the joke fell flat. Much like most jokes fell flat with Keegan.

“No, funny girl. We’re a little sunk. You know why the rule to keep to your own was implemented in the first place. Sure, it’s a little more lax since Marty and I happened, but we didn’t just do it to protect our own kind. We did it to protect humans from the trauma Marty, and now Harry, have experienced. We’re as equal opportunity as we can be in the situation without risking the wellbeing of thousands.”

Everyone stood silent. No one could deny Keegan’s logic.

Tears streamed down Marty’s face. If Mara regretted one thing, it was that Marty had brought them all so close together, and now she was ripping them apart, leaving Marty the challenge of making peace with both sides of the issue, Keegan’s duties and her friendship with Mara.

Wanda held out a hand to Marty, squeezing it, just as Nina grabbed a tissue and blotted her friend’s tears before shoving it under her nose and dabbing. “Don’t cry, blondie—you get all blotchy and it’s damn ugly,” Nina snarked, pulling Marty into her embrace.