Page 26 of A Wolf's Heart

Finally, I lost him. The side roads could get really confusing to an outsider, but—

I slammed on my brakes as Weylin pulled out in front of me. I could see the excitement in his eyes from here.

Okay, enough playing around. I backed up and drove to the precinct. I got out of the car and closed the door, spinning around, only to run directly into Weylin’s chest. I had to force myself to back away, in an attempt to put some distance between us, and ended up against my car.

Weylin’s eyes were lit with excitement, his chest puffing out and a low restrained growl vibrated through his chest. Oh, how my wolf fucking loved that. “You have no idea the level of restraint I am using right now.”

He put both hands up on the roof of the car, leaning in. At first, I was ready to knee him in the balls and shove him off, but then my hands touched his chest. A humming warmth spread through me, and instead of pushing him away, my body swayed into him. If I wasn’t drugged before, I definitely was now.

Weylin took a deep breath the closer I got, and that sweet citrusy scent of his surrounded me again. “We are wolves first and humans second,” he whispered in my ear, his voice deep and rough. “We will always respond as a wolf should. If you run, Iwillcatch you. I will always find you.”

I was at a loss for words when he pulled away, clearing his throat and adjusting his belt buckle. Fixing the laptop bag strap that hung across his chest.

He waved his hand towards the precinct doors. “Mate.” The single word sent a shiver up my spine, but I couldn’t find my voice to say anything, so I ducked my head and walked into the office.

Weylin followed me in and sat at my desk while I logged onto my computer and began clicking through my files. “Everything I had was wiped,” I said, pressing my lips together.

He pulled a phone from his pocket, pressed a few buttons, and put it to his ear. “I’m calling about Detective Lila Evans. She was reinstated last night…on the triple homicide case…and her files?” His blue eyes met mine as he listened to what wasbeing said. “Yes… You will have that on my desk tonight.” After another long pause, he raised his eyebrow at me, angling his phone down to say, “Apparently, we are missing a body.”

I winced.

He pulled his phone back up to his mouth. “I think we’ve found it. Let the pack know their alpha will be delivered today.”

He hung up, his eyes assessing me.

“I hadn’t been given enough time to examine it.” Why did I feel like a child being scolded?

He shook his head. “Rain was right, you are going to be a handful. Where’s the body?”

“The morgue, where else? I just changed the tag on the door.” He nodded, dialing another number on his phone. “Wait, did you think I literally took the body and hid it somewhere?”

“Yes.”

I was baffled that he actually assumed I had relocated the body. I watched him arrange a pickup at the morgue. I quickly sent a text to Patty, stating I was caught and to hand over the body. She was a pretty good accomplice.

Weylin pulled out his laptop and set it in front of me on my desk. I spent the next few hours reviewing my files that were now uploaded to his computer. He also let me dive into the work his task force had done. I combed through as much as I could, getting completely lost in the notes on the victims, since the John Does were now identified. I did my best to keep up with the terminology, but it turned out that smut novels probably weren’t the best source of information for true shifter lore.

Everything around me had faded while I worked, until a paper cup of hot coffee was placed on the desk next to me. I looked up at Weylin. “Promise I didn’t poison it.”

“Thanks. I need—”

“It has one cream and two sugars. I watched what you put in your morning coffee. What do you think?” he asked, nodding towards the laptop.

I took a sip of my coffee, leaning back in the chair. “There’s a lot I don’t understand about pack lines. Also, I think you got a few things wrong with the cause of death.”

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. A group of officers walked in then, laughing and smacking one another on the shoulder. I glanced at them and then back to Weylin.

“Do you want to get some lunch?” he asked. “I know a place.”

I nodded, wanting to talk about the case in detail without worrying who around us might be listening. I went to get out of my chair when a hand landed on my shoulder. “Lila, I heard the news this morning,” Rodney said from behind me. “Back on the case, bet you are loving that.” His fingers squeezed, and a shiver of disgust slipped down my back.

I was about to say something, to turn around and move out of Roddy’s way, since it’s how I always dealt with him. But I didn’t get a chance. Weylin stood up and took three steps forward, getting uncomfortably close to Roddy and causing him to back away from me.

“Well, Chief Nix. After reviewing Detective Evans’s file, I realized she would be an asset to this case. Her experience and work over the years more than demonstrate her ability to handle such a high-profile workload. We were just about to head out on break.” Each word Weylin spoke was clipped, each step forward caused Rodney to take a step away from him, and inevitably from me. He purposely made Rodney uncomfortable.

“Well, ya know what?” Rodney said. “I was just thinking to myself that I, too, am in need of a break. Working all morning holed up in my office, am I right?”

“That’s nice, have a good break.” Weylin reached over me for the laptop, shoving it into the bag before taking my hand andpulling me to my feet. He picked up the coffee I had set down with his other hand, then pulled me out of the precinct.

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