Page 10 of Marked

Four

You look like shit.” Taylor comments.

I push my sunglasses further up my nose as the bright Monday morning sun beats down on me. “You know, you’re probably the only person who could say that and make it sound cute,” I say before taking a long sip of my latte.

Taylor laughs as she cradles a coffee cup in her hands. “Sorry, sometimes I don’t have a filter.”

I shake my head at her. “No, it’s what I like about you.”

The blonde grins. “That means a lot, Val. Thank you.”

I hate when people thank me. It makes me uncomfortable. “Don’t thank me. It’s weird.”

Her grin widens. “You’re weird, but I love you.”

I snort and set my cup down on the table, glancing away. Taylor is my complete opposite, and to this day I still have a hard time understanding how we became friends. Like Seth, I tried to keep the crime scene technician an arm’s length away, but the wolf had other ideas.

Despite me not responding to her persistent babbling when I first started at the LVPCU, Taylor wouldn’t be deterred. She brought me lunch and baked goods but finally won me over by showing up at a stupidly early crime scene with an extra coffee for me. From there, I found myself slipping and contributing to the conversations she would begin. I never wanted to, but damn did the werewolf have something about her. And now here we are, two years later.

“Sooo,” Taylor drawls out. “How was your one-on-one time with Mister Alpha?”

I quirk a brow at her. “Mister Alpha?”

She lowers her tone almost conspiringly. “Jack Khoury. You know, when he was interviewing you at the crime scene a few days ago?”

My eyes roll behind the glasses. “You mean when he was interrogating me? Just peachy.”

Looking down at the lid of her Starbucks cup, she purses her lips. “He’s like you.”

Surprise makes me sputter on the coffee. I immediately cover my mouth to prevent the liquid from spewing out. After some difficulty, I swallow and clear my throat. “Come again?”

“Not a werewolf,” she whispers in a serious tone.

I lean back in my chair, taking the cup with me. I never told Taylor what I am because I didn’t want her to be burdened by the knowledge of it. Or maybe I just didn’t want her to look at me differently now that I finally had a friend. “Can you tell because you are one?” I ask after a moment.

She shrugs. “I guess. But wolf or not, he’s definitely an alpha of some sort.”

“I agree, but I don’t know what he is either. He could be some type of wereanimal, I’m just not sure what kind.” Even as I say it, part of me doubts it.

“That’s true, I guess.” She hums and then glances at her watch. “Ah, we should get going if we want to be on time.”

“Are you ever late?” I question as we stand from the table.

The Starbucks is conveniently located just around the block from the main Las Vegas sheriff’s office. To make sure there is no workplace hostility, the Preternatural Crime Unit had its own building away from the human one. There are talks of the two joining under one roof, but I doubt it will happen anytime soon. Many states still don’t have their own preternatural division, let alone a merged one.

I can’t help but cringe at the thought of humans handling monster cases. I’m sure it was done unknowingly before the movement, but it still makes me uncomfortable.

“Nope, I take pleasure in being on time!” Taylor says proudly as she slings her purse strap onto her shoulder.

I sigh and pick up my small purse. “You’re better than me. I’m frequently late.”

“You were just off for a couple days! You can’t be late on your first day back!”

My brows lift in challenge. “Watch me.”

She lets out a soft laugh. “And you wonder why the lieutenant is always angry with you.”

“He’s just angry in general. I think it’s a cat’s nature to always be pissy.”

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