Page 89 of A Wolf's Heart

He didn’t know Weylin. “Well, he’s a beta, but I get the hesitation. We aren’t claimed, though,” I said, hoping that would persuade him. “It doesn’t have to be him I bring. I just doubt he will let me come in alone.”

“My, my, an unclaimed mate.” He tsked. “I apologise, Ms. Evans, but I cannot be persuaded. Either you come alone, or we are at an impasse.”

I tapped my thumb against the steering wheel as I thought the situation over. Finally coming to a conclusion, I held the phone closer to me. “It’s just not going to work. The guys will never allow it. Would you be able to come to the precinct here? On neutral territory? This isn’t run by Cridhe, and you are welcome to bring whoever you want with you. However, it will just be you and me in the interrogation room.”

“No, forgive me for rejecting your generous offer. At the moment, I am a stand-in alpha. My pack will not let me off territory with an alpha killer on the loose. Should you change your mind, my offer still stands. You, and only you, will be welcome on this land.”

How odd. I didn’t think the pack had a choice whether Kage stayed or went; he seemed to be able to do whatever he wanted. “Thank you for taking my call. Could I leave my number with you, should anything change or if something new comes up?”

“That’s all right. I have all your information right here. Thanks for the call, Detective.”

“Thank you for taking it, Markus. I hope to be in touch with you again.” I hung up the call, completely drained. I needed some coffee if I was going to survive the rest of the day.

25

LILA

As soon as I stepped through my door after work, I fell against it, shutting it with my back and sliding down to the ground. Max greeted me, stepping between my legs and leaning in for slobbery kisses on the cheek. I hadn’t realized tears were slipping free.

I was exhausted, more so than when I’d been having mind-blowing group sex all day. This was a different kind of exhaustion, though, as if I was emotionally hanging by a wire.

My heart ached, there was this weird tugging pull, and I felt lost, or as if I had lost something. The moment I stepped into the house, though, their scents had surrounded me, and I just deflated.

My phone rang, and I smiled when I saw who it was. “Hey.”

“You willnotbelieve the hell I’ve been through today,” Emma said. “Take him back,please. It was so peaceful without him here. Even though all hell broke loose.”

I swiped my tears away. “He’s not being mean to you, is he?”

“No, he’s just grumpy and short-tempered.”

I chuckled. “Just say you’ll do something.”

“What do you mean?” she asked suspiciously.

“Like, if he has a lot on his plate and there’s something you’re able to do, tell him you’ll handle it. That you’ll take it over. Sometimes he likes to know it’s not all on his shoulders.”

“Lila, do you know what he does? There is nothing on his list I can—” She was interrupted.

On the other end of the phone, I heard a door bang open and Kage talking about something, snapping at people. I just sat there and strained to hear his voice. Picturing what suit he would be wearing today, wondering how deep his scowl was right now. Emma should boop his nose. I bet that would throw him off.

“Um, Alpha, I can do that,” Emma said. A growl started in the back of my throat, surprising me, and I quickly cleared my throat to get rid of it.

“Do what!?” Kage snapped nastily at her.

“Well, I can color code the files to make it easier, and I can organize them so that—”

“That’s completely unnecessary.” He spoke quickly, clearly walking away from her, but his voice was softer, not as menacing.

Emma sighed. “There is nothing I can do for that wolf. My skills in his field of expertise are zilch.”

I wondered if it would be weird of me to ask her to follow him and put the phone on speaker so I could hear more of his voice. Yeah…probably. I stood up and lay down on the couch, breathing in the spicy whiskey scent.

“What’s Rainor doing?” I asked.

“His normal minion stuff. Trailing around and taking all of Kage’s orders, making things happen.”

“And Weylin?”

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