Page 12 of Wolf Promise

He sympathized with her. He really did. Being on camera all the time was bound to be intrusive. But on the other hand, he and the team needed to do their job, and the faster they got the creep making her life horrible, the faster he—and the cameras—could get out of her life. Surely she could see that? "Would it help if I told you I could set the angles of the cameras so you have some spaces where you won't be seen on the feed?"

"Like how?"

"We're monitoring the apartment to protect you from intruders and harm. We're not using the cameras to spy on you. The concierge service and the building’s general security make our job easier in terms of who enters the building. For your apartment, we need to be able to see your interactions with guests and any entry points, like the front door and the windows."

"What about my bedroom and bathroom?"

He shook his head. "We have to be able to see your bedroom and bathroom windows in case anyone breaks in, but we do not need to see your bed or your shower and bath." A thought struck him. "Unless you're planning on having guests in the bedroom." For some reason, that disturbed him.

It bothered his wolf more, though. The beast growled. Once again, alert and looking for threats.

Bolt frowned and reined in the wolf with a sharp command down their mental connection. Something bothered the beast, but he couldn’t deal with that right now. Maybe it had become restless because it had been a while since he’d run in his animal form.

He turned his attention back to Regina. "For our relationship to work, you should know that I wouldn't be with a cheating fiancée—fake or not." That didn't come out right. "What I mean is that in order for people to believe that we are together, you can’t sleep with other men—or women. Can’t sleep with other people."He rubbed his chest. That weird feeling stabbed him again.

Regina blushed. "I wasn't planning on it." She wiped her hands on her thighs. “And the same goes for you. I wouldn’t remain engaged to someone who cheated on me. I’d lose all respect for them.”

Like he would ever cheat on someone like her. Actually, Bolt abhorred any kind of cheating. An honorable person finished a relationship before having sex with anyone else. And he bet sex with Regina Lansford would be something a man would never get enough of. Why would anyone risk losing that by looking for intimacy elsewhere? His dick agreed, and it pressed against the fly of his jeans.

What the fuck was he thinking?

He would not be having sex with Regina. His dick disagreed and grew even harder. Controlling both his wolf and erection had now turned out to be a full-time job.

The lady who caused both of his base instincts to misbehave stared at him, which made him realize that the silence between them had officially entered awkward territory. “Right,” he said and had to clear his throat. “Noted. No sex with other people.”

She blushed and looked away. "But why do you need to monitor the living and kitchen areas? Wouldn't you know whether I'd invited someone in by checking the cameras by the door and the windows?"

Bolt felt sorry for what he had to say next. She really had no clue about how messed up her life had become. Or that the statistics were stacked against her stalker being a stranger. "Your stalker is most likely someone you know and trust. Someone you’re friendly with. Maybe even someone you work with. They wouldn’t need to force their way into this apartment. You’d probably invite them inside. We need to make sure they don't hurt you once they've gained access." Regina's eyes widened. He hated that he frightened her. "I'll be here most of the time—or someone from my team will—but just in case you're ever here by yourself when someone visits, we need the cameras to monitor what goes on."

"On some level, I knew that the stalker could be someone I know, but this makes it so much more real." She bit her lip. "I'm going to need some time to process this."

Bolt understood. Most likely, whenever they found her stalker, she’d experience a deep sense of betrayal. For her sake, he hoped for a colleague rather than a close friend. He pulled out a dining room chair and gestured for her to sit. "Let me show you exactly what my team will see on the cameras. Maybe that will make you feel better."

She sat, and he placed the laptop on the table. As he adjusted the screen so she could see better, he touched her shoulder. A jolt of electricity zapped his hand, and he snatched it back. What the fuck?

Regina jumped. "What was that?" Her eyes were big and round as she turned and looked at him.

"I must have built up some static on your rug." It had felt about a hundred times stronger than a static charge buildup, but that must have been it. The explanation seemed to satisfy Regina because she turned back to the screen. Bolt's inner wolf, however, was not satisfied. The beast stood at full alert, ears forward, its muzzle slightly open as it drew in air over the scent glands on the top of the roof of its mouth.

Mine, it whispered inside his head. Ours.

Calm the fuck down, Bolt thought back. I'm working and do not have time for your games.

The wolf chuffed, but did as he asked, its tail twitching. Mine, it said again before putting its head on its front paws and closing its eyes.

He sighed inwardly. This job would be hard enough without his stubborn wolf messing with his mind. The beast had reacted to attractive women before, but not with quite as much enthusiasm. Nor had it claimed them as theirs.

As soon as logistically possible, he'd head across the Golden Gate Bridge and to the Marine Headlines to shift and have a long run in his wolf form.

Maybe he could get a group of wolves together for a moonlit hunt. It had been ages since he had given his wolf a good run. If it hadn't been for Arek's dozer of a plan to make Bolt pose as a fake fiancé and thereby make him have to move in with Regina tonight, he would have taken the time to shift and run before starting this case.

The wolf became restless when he went too long without shifting. And a restless wolf was an unpredictable wolf.

An unpredictable wolf was a powder keg.

Anything could happen when his wolf hadn’t been let out for a while, and it decided to take charge of both of them.

Usually, the people working for Heimdall got downtime between cases so they could decompress and make sure both their wolves and their minds were in the right place before starting another job. But business had picked up, and they were stretched thin trying to cover all their active cases. Especially with Bayden missing and Justice trying to figure out what the hell happened to the younger wolf.

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