"You look constipated, Kyla," Delano smirked, then addressed their audience with a frown.
"The meeting ended an hour ago."
"Yes." The man replied, still unnerved by his discovery. "I had to stay back to assist in clearing up. Couldn't leave all the work to my wife."
"Hmm. Well, you didn't miss much." He shrugged, smirking again. "I don't believe you've been introduced to the newest member of my pack. Miss--ah, General Odin, at your service."
He pinched his brows together, breathing labored. "General Odin?"
"I can explain, Mr. McCarthy. I understand that this may come as a surprise to you, but if you'll give me a ride back home, seeing as it would be impossible to get a taxi now, I'll answer all your questions on the way."
"I can't." He moved towards her quickly, a little pensive as he took her hands in his much larger own. "Your grandpa is right outside the building. We left my house together."
"What?" She withdrew from him, chest tightened. "H-here?"
"Yes." He cast a worried look at Delano, who'd already lost his smirk. "I'm going to step out, act as nothing happened, and drive away. But here's the tricky part, you need to get her home before we arrived there. Henson wishes to speak with her tonight about…" He turned to her again, a solemn look on his face. "Her parents."
"My parents?" She repeated with a frown.
"I smell coffee beans," Their heads swiveled to Delano. "We have to go. He's coming." He grabbed her hand, taking her towards a back exit. The front door creaked open and Henson's head poked in. He stepped in fully when McCarthy approached him, preventing him from seeing Kyla leave through the back.
"Ha! There you are." He huffed. "As much as I'll rather remain in the car, the fog made me uncomfortable."
"I see." McCarthy forced a smile. "Well, the meeting is over. We may leave now."
"You were late?" He scoffed. "Who knew animals kept to time?"
In the distance, they hear a car engine come to life, and then tires on gravel until the sound fades away.
McCarthy sighed in relief, following Henson, who stepped out to see if he could catch a glimpse of the driver. He couldn't. "Yeah, let's leave this place, Lewis." He frowned. "It gives me the creeps."
***
Kyla looked out the window of the passenger's seat, fingers stapled together on her laps as she pondered over what the police chief had said. Her parents died exactly two years, seven months, and eight days ago, on their way to a camping site. She'd been in the car that day, sprawled at the back seat binge-watching videos on YouTube, when something shoved their car off the road. The vehicle somersaulted into a ditch, killing both parents on the spot.
She lost consciousness after that, only to wake up lost with burning pains which lasted for days, and then her first shift. Those were the worst moments of her life. She was dealing with the loss of her parents, trying to survive while seeking a way out of the forest she awoke in, and dealing with herself as a werewolf. She didn't know what she was or how to come to terms with her reality until she had another encounter that saved her life.
"Do you mind if I turned on the radio?" Delano asked, irritated by the silence in the car.
She shrugged in reply, leaving him to do whatever he wished as she focused on her thoughts.
Twenty minutes later, his mustang pulled up to her driveway, and he turned off the ignition. He glanced at her, a perfectly shaped brow raised as she sat still.
He cleared his throat. "Kyla?"
"Hmm?" She glanced at him, then around her surroundings. "Oh, we are here."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," She unfastened her seatbelt and stepped out of the car. She moved slowly to the front door, still in thoughts, as she fished out the house keys from her purse and turned back to see Delano behind her. "You don't have to walk me to the door. I'm fine."
"That's not entirely true. I could tell you've been thinking about what the Chief said. Why would your grandfather possibly wish to discuss your parents?"
"I don't know, Delano, and I'm not having this conversation with you. You should leave, they could arrive any minute now."
"Highly doubtful." He said with a smirk. "In a fog like this, they'll still be groping their way out of there." His gaze fell on her dress-- a black halter-neck gown which stopped mid-thigh--and rested on those thighs. "You looked gorgeous at the party today. Want to grab a bite to eat sometime?"
"No," She frowned. "What are you, bipolar? One minute you are shooting daggers at me and the next you're proposing a date?"
He drifted toward her, stopping scant inches away. He was invading her personal space, but she couldn't move since her back was almost against the door. "Hot and cold, you do that to me."
"Goodnight, Delano." She sighed, pushing the key into the keyhole and twisting the lock open.
His eyes darkened with arousal as he got a view of her exposed back and thick behind. "Forget the date--how about we just get it on?"
She jerked back, patience waning thin. "You know better than to mess with me, Delano. Supernatural aside, I'll have you know that I have a pump-action shotgun upstairs, a horsewhip somewhere in my grandfather's room, and a purple vibrator that doubles as a jackhammer!"
He took steps back, very amused as she continued. "If you're not off my property within a minute, I'll demonstrate all three on you, starting from the bottom of the list and working my way up, gladly."
"My little spitfire. This is precisely why you had me at hola." He chuckled but kept moving backward. There was something else he itched to say, and he made sure she heard it before she stepped in. "You'll be back in my bed again, Kyla. And this time around, you'll be more willing than you were a year ago. Remember how you begged me to eat you up?"
"Oh, go to hell, Delano!" She swallowed back the memory and slammed the door.
"You fucking craved my dick, Kyla!" He shouted into the emptiness of the night. "I'm not giving you up for that dimwitted Agent! You're mine, Odin!"
****