Page 17 of Wulf's Pack
“I was only able to because of you.”
“It doesn’t always work. You’re very strong.”
Carl coughs and wheezes. “I don’t feel strong.”
She cups his cheek. “You just need rest. You’ll be back to your normal self after a good meal and a nap.”
“Thank you,” he whispers again.
Skylar moves back, letting Gorgeous take over. He helps Carl sit up. When the crowd sees that the drama is over, they go crazy again.
“Freak!” someone shouts.
Another calls out, “Monster!”
The hate doesn’t bother me. Humans are scared of what they don’t understand. What pisses me off is the fact that someone in this crowd somehow dosed Carl with wolfsbane. It’s deadly to shifters and a very horrible way to die, as we’ve all just seen. It’s torture. Gorgeous is worried about this too because he passes Carl off to Nora and starts barking all kinds of ordersat the agents to take control of the crowd and find the person responsible.
“You! Girl! What’s your name? How’d you do that?”
The question gets my attention. A wall of eager reporters and bystanders have clustered in front of Skylar.
“What did you do?” one asks, shoving a microphone toward her.
Another shouts, “What are you?”
They’re too close for comfort, and my wolf growls inside my head. We’re in complete agreement. I stomp up to Skylar’s side and glare at the group. I wrap my arm around her, and she quickly turns into me, ducking her head into my chest. She hates the attention. The embrace sets the humans off with another volley of questions. “Wulf! Wulf! Who is she?”
Of course they know who I am. Everyone knows who I am. They know every member of our clan. They stalk us like celebrities.
“Is she your mate?” someone calls. “Is she a wolf too?”
“Are you officially off the market?”
I cringe inwardly. This is going to make headlines, and once that footage hits the airwaves, things are going to get very complicated. Every shifter who watches it is going to know how special Skylar is. They’ll know, just as I do, how she was able to calm Carl, and every shifter around her, and they’re going to want her. Skylar has a coveted and rare gift. She’s an omega.
Chapter
Five
Skylar and I are forced to stay at the FUA office for nearly three hours while Gorgeous and Nora get the crowd outside cleared out. They find two people with wolfsbane. They’re part of a popular anti-underworlder group that has been escalating in violence all around the country. Since humans are involved, the FBI is called in.
I don’t like the human government all that much. They’re still too wary of us and suspicious of everything. They’re also a little too eager to learn what power we all have and often “ask” for our help. Sometimes I think they’re just an incident away from passing laws that would require all underworlders to register like the Jews in Hitler’s Germany. People on both sides are on edge and don’t trust each other. It’s one of the main reasons why most underworlders have chosen to stay anonymous.
They order Skylar and me to stay until we can give a statement. Once the crowd is contained and the perps are locked up in holding cells waiting for transport to a human jail, their focus turns to Skylar. I don’t like it.
At least I know the two agents questioning us. Agent Johnson and Agent Ralston have been the FBI people who have overseenthe FUA since before the underworld was known to the general public. They’re a little too eager, but they trust us more than most humans.
Skylar and I are asked to join them in the conference room. I’m relieved when all of my present clan members and Gorgeous follow us into the room. Oliver stops us before we can find seats at the table. With him is our clan brother, Parker. Parker is a vampire and one of Nora’s mates. He’s an old vampire with an old soul. He’s stayed up with the times, but he’s a very proper man with more manners than anyone I’ve ever met. He’s soft-spoken and reserved, almost somber most of the time, but he’s wicked intelligent and has a subtle sense of humor.
He can be unassuming, but don’t let that fool you. He’s scary when he needs to be. Vicious, even. He used to be the chief enforcer for the Detroit vampire clan before they got wiped out. Before hehelpedwipe them out. He was booted from the clan when he mated with Nora. His old sire, the master of the Detroit clan, Henry, was obsessed with Nora and considered Parker’s relationship with her a betrayal to him and his clan. Parker had to help destroy the clan he lived with for four hundred years when Henry went psycho. I know he struggles with that, but he did what had to be done to save our clan. I respect the hell out of him.
“Hi again,” Oliver says to Skylar. He gestures to Parker who, like a gentleman, has been waiting patiently for an introduction. “This is Parker Reed. He’s our clan’s second and one of Nora’s mates.”
Skylar stiffens a little and gulps audibly. No doubt Parker smells her fear as much as I do. Wolves and vampires don’t have the best relationships, but this is different. She’s afraid. She’s trying to hide it, though, so Parker doesn’t bring it up. He dips his head instead of offering his hand and murmurs, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to the clan.”
Skylar bites her lip and nods back. “Thank you.”
Before we can say anything else, Agents Johnson and Ralston come over to us. “If you wouldn’t mind taking a seat, we’d like to get started,” Ralston says. He’s a bit arrogant, always trying to act like the biggest man in the room. I suppose it must be difficult for him knowing he’s only human in a room full of very powerful people who could kill him in a second if we felt like it. It must be hard trying to be the boss. Nora respects him, though. I guess that’s why she was made director. She’s much more tolerant and patient than the rest of us.
