Page 10 of Semi-Reckless

He grinned at her and took her hand in his giant paw. “That tracks. I’m Levi. Levi Asher.”

“Well, Levi Asher, we just came from the farm out on route 32 and something awful happened to a couple of the owner’s cows. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

His eyes narrowed. “Why do you want to know?”

She shrugged. “Would you believe I’m an animal lover?”

Roan snorted. In a literal sense, she was saying she liked animals and hated to see anything bad happen to them. What the horny werewolf just heard, however, was that she was cool with werewolves like him.

If he didn’t know Haven, he’d assume it was an unintentional slip of the tongue. But he knew Haven better than anyone else on the planet, and what she’d said was entirely intentional. She wanted to throw him off his game. Predictably, it worked.

Levi’s gaze shifted down the length of her body again. “I’ll just bet you are.”

She twirled a lock of hair around her pinky. “I can tell you’re a good guy, so I know you didn’t do anything to those cows. But I’m betting not much goes on in these woods without you knowing about it, right?”

He opened his mouth, and Roan could tell he was ready to spill his guts to her. That’s all it’d taken. A question, a few flutters of her long lashes, and a couple of admiring gazes. She had him.

Until one of the fighters popped up behind Levi and said, “Hey…I know you.”

“I don’t think so,” she said.

He shook his head. “No, I definitely do. You used to fight in the vampire cage matches, right? You’re the one they called the Angel of Death. I saw you fight when I was just a kid. You’re a legend!”

Levi’s gaze sharpened. “That was you?”

“No,” she said, incredulous. “I was, like, six months old the last time there was a vampire cage match. The Council outlawed them ages ago.”

The other werewolf leaned in, sniffing the air. Roan grabbed Haven’s wrist and tugged her back against him. There was no reason for any of these assholes to be that close to her.

“She’s not a vamp,” the wolf told Levi. “But she’s not entirely human, either.”

“What exactly are you, Haven? Why do you care about some dead cows?” Levi asked quietly. “And more importantly…who and what the hell is your friend here?”

Roan really missed his ability to teleport her out of dangerous situations. No single wolf in this group was a danger to Haven, but if all of them decided to attack at once, it could be an issue. Especially since werewolves weren’t nearly as flammable as he would’ve liked.

It’d probably be in their best interest to finesse their way out of this scenario. Play it cool. Be subtle. Maybe?—

Haven let out a disgruntled huff. “Fine. I’m a dhampyre.” She smacked Roan in the chest. “He’s a demon. The Angel of Death? She’s my aunt. I work for Section 8 and I’m here to track down who—or what— mutilated those cows. Since you’re a giant group of werewolves in the area, I figured you either did it, or you know who did. So, what gives?”

Or…they could just do that, he supposed.

Levi blinked at her for a full five seconds before a grin split across his face and he barked out a sharp laugh. “Well, you are full of surprises, aren’t you?”

Behind him, the other wolves looked distinctly uncomfortable. Roan wasn’t sure if that was because Haven worked for Section 8, or because she’d just told them he was a demon. Shifters were notoriously uncomfortable when put in the position of being prey instead of predators. And in this situation, if they made any kind of move to hurt Haven, they were definitely prey.

Haven shrugged. “The conversation was getting boring. Are you going to tell me what I want to know, or what?”

Levi crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t talk to the cops.”

“You know we’re not the cops.”

“You tell vampires, shifters, and whatever other paranormals are out there what they can do and when,” Levi said. “Trust me, sweetheart, you’re a cop.”

She spread her arms out in the universal what-the-fuck gesture. “Have I said anything about shutting down your little fight club out here? Or threatened to send out an alpha to force you into a regulated pack somewhere? No, I haven’t.”

But her tone made it clear she could. Section 8 generally held liberal, live-and-let-live views as long as no one was getting hurt. They had the power to shut down this unsanctioned little group of werewolves, though, and all it’d take was Haven’s say so. Roan knew she wouldn’t do it. These guys didn’t.

Levi wasn’t as dumb as he looked, because he clocked her message immediately. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

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