Bruce held a brief meeting with his dressmakers the following morning. Then he went to his office.
He was anxious to get the morning routine over with so that he could go and talk to Jean about her disturbing behaviour the previous night.
First of all, she did not attend the celebrations, but then he ran into her in the woods. Next, she showed up outside his window as if that was her obligation for the evening.
"I must let her know that she is not gonna receive preferential treatment from me just because she's been after me for years and these other members of the pack have only met me recently," he told himself as he fine-tuned some of the designs on his desk.
"So, have you done some investigations into the mysterious guests who were here last night as masked dancers?" Lyle asked from Bruce's office door.
"No, I haven't really thought about investigating them. I just thought that the situation would resolve itself. I'm bound to find out who they are, eventually," Bruce responded as he looked up from the desk briefly.
"Oh, so you've cooled down overnight, I see. You were very passionate about finding the singer last night though," Lyle remarked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, she promised to pop in some time and so I expect her to pay me a normal visit without wearing a mask.
Anyway, attending a party can't be seen as paying a neighbourly visit," Bruce responded as he studied his designs and some fabric on the desk.
"Well, it makes sense. Popping in at a party isn't a cordial visit. But you couldn't let it rest last night, so, did anything else happen in the meantime? Did you perhaps find out that she has a boyfriend or a mate if she's a wolf?" Lyle asked with his eyes fixed on Bruce.
"No, nothing like that, but something did happen last night, so now I have to pay attention to that, unfortunately," Bruce responded without taking his eyes off his work.
"Oh, so something happened to change your mind last night already?" Lyle asked in surprise.
"Nothing to change my mind, no, but a distraction which I hope will only be temporary," Bruce replied.
Lyle went to sit on a chair opposite Bruce's desk then.
"So, something actually happened after I went to bed?" he asked with an amused look on his face.
"Oh, yes. Believe me but the world does not go to sleep when you decide to go to bed," Bruce commented with a light chuckle.
"I guess you could say so. Something important happened after I retired, you say," Lyle responded with a curious look in his eyes. "Tell me so that I can catch up. Maybe there's a solution out there towards you meeting this girl sooner," he added with his chin cupped in his hands as he leaned forward.
"It's not even about her. It's about another woman entirely. Someone that I don't want around at all," Bruce responded with his mouth pulled down at the corners.
"No, don't tell me that you've found yourself a new stalker around here," Lyle asked, leaning back into his chair.
"No, would you believe, it's the very same old one," Bruce responded.
"Jean Marks?" Lyle exclaimed.
"Who else?" She was out there in the woods and when I ignored her she came back here and howled outside my window," Bruce responded.
"How strange. So, you went out into the woods after all?" Lyle asked curiously.
"Yes, I couldn't resist the temptation of finding out whether the singer was a wolf who ran into the woods. You have to admit that she disappeared rather quickly," Bruce responded.
"But instead, you met up with Jean. Why wasn't she at the party?" Lyle asked.
"That's what I want to go and find out from her," Bruce responded.
"Are you going to take the trouble to go to her, just for that? She will think that she's more important than she really is if you do that in person," Lyle warned.
"No, I also want to give her a warning about coming to my window at night or at any other time," Bruce explained further.
"Won't that ruffle her feathers? She will realize that you've found someone that you're interested in otherwise you wouldn't go out of your way to give her a warning in person," Lyle responded with a concerned look in his eyes.
"I can't live my life in fear of her emotions and reactions. She just needs to get a grip on reality," Bruce responded with an angry scowl while he went back to studying a few sketches on his desk.
"Alright, as long as you've already counted the cost of her lashing out after a clear rejection," Lyle responded. "I think that you should still play it easy with her while you're busy settling into a new neighbourhood," he added with his brows raised objectively.
"I have to use tact, yes, but she should also know where to stop, don't you think? I mean, I can eventually complain about her to the local clan leader, can't I?" Bruce responded.
"That can also be another delicate matter because, what if he turns out to be a family friend of hers?" Lyle remarked.
"I'll just have to take the chance. Can you imagine what it was like to be tired and frustrated because I didn't find the singer and then to have a wolf making a noise at my window? I had to cover my ears with the bedding because there was no way that I was going to tell her to leave in person. That would only be a sign of victory to her," Bruce declared.
"I can imagine your frustration, yes and it's difficult for a security guard to chase away a wolf. Yes, she should be warned by a local leader," Lyle agreed.
"It's all because she hasn't seen me being seriously involved with anyone in all these years. Now she thinks that she can take liberties with me because she reckons that I will eventually settle for her," Bruce responded with a smirk.
"Okay, just make sure that she gets the point, but don't be too desperate to get rid of her because then you can find that the opposite happens. You just might find that you give in to her after all your resistance," Lyle warned in a level tone of voice.
"No, that will not happen in this lifetime. I will rather settle for being alone and living without drama," Bruce responded, putting up his hands as a sign of surrender.
"Alright then, as long as you know your heart and mind well," Lyle responded.
"So, when do you want to go there?" he asked.
"Right after I'm done here," Bruce responded.
"Uhmm, will that still be today or tomorrow?" Lyle asked, frowning at the pile of work on Bruce's desk.
"Within the next two hours," Bruce replied.
"That soon? Then I can go with you because I'm still around. I think she will take you seriously if you go with someone else, especially someone from your own family," Lyle suggested.
"You're welcome to come along. Maybe she will pay attention with you there as well," Bruce responded hopefully.
"Great! By the way, I've been meaning to ask you whether you are sure that there are no relatives of ours around this city?" Lyle asked in a lower tone of voice.
"I haven't really given it much thought, now that you mention it," Bruce responded, scratching his head.
"I think that's another bit of research that we could go into. Imagine if after all your efforts of finding the singer, you find out that you're related to her by blood?" Lyle continued.