Page 78 of Her Alien Neighbor

“I understand, but surely, on a night when there is supposed to be a snowstorm, a helmet would be wise, do you not agree?”

Officer Burton purses his lips. “The motto of this state is ‘Live Free or Die,’ son, and since it’s not required by law to wear a helmet, it’s up to each individual to choose if they want to do so.”

I raise my hands in surrender.

“Now, do you mean to tell me you made no other stops on your way home from the gas station?” he asks, again.

“No,” I reply. My route from the gas station to home was direct, though I did go back after returning home, but that’s not what he’s asking. “I went straight home.”

“Hmm,” he says, scratching his chin. “Interesting.”

My knee begins to bounce as agitation sets in. I know this is their strategy, to get me irritated until I slip up and change my story. I refuse to fall into their trap.

“You were seen just a few days ago at that new bar, uh, Tipsy’s. Over there on the corner of Hobart Street,” he says. “You recall being there?”

“Yes.”

“Trevor was also there that night. Seems you two got into an argument of some kind. Can you tell us about that?”

I shrug. Is he expecting his nephew to sound like an innocent victim? And I am some kind of bully? “From what I recall, he was drunk and being disrespectful to the women I was with, so I asked him to return to his game of pool.” Clearing my throat, I add, “I believe that was when he lifted his shirt and showed me the gun he had stuffed into the waistband of his pants. A nonverbal threat, I believe.”

The other officer starts scribbling something on a piece of paper, much to Officer Burton’s chagrin. He glares at the paper, trying to read it, but with the way he’s squinting, clearly, he cannot.

“Are you charging me with a crime?” I ask just the way Vanessa told me to before I left the house in the back of the police car.

“Not at this time, no,” the other officer says.

“Great. Can I go then?”

The other officer looks to Officer Burton for approval. Begrudgingly, he nods. They walk me out to the front area of the police station, and Officer Burton says, “You’re free for now, Mr. Monroe, but this is just the beginning of our investigation. We may need to speak to you again, so I wouldn’t leave the state, if I were you.”

As if there was anywhere else that I would like to go. My mate is here. Nothing else matters. “Very well,” I reply as I leave.

When I walk outside, I find Mylo waiting for me in his car. I was hoping Vanessa would be here too, but no. It is just Mylo.

“Thank you for waiting,” I tell him as I get into the passenger seat.

“Of course, brother,” he replies with an easy smile.

I knew this would not faze him. Hardly anything does. We spent too many years as the king’s henchmen on Sufoi, slaughtering his enemies and fighting his wars for something as trivial as this to come between us.

Though, the same cannot be said for Luka. “Get in touch with Luka?” I ask Mylo as he turns onto the main road through town.

“No,” he replies heavily. “We have all called him, texted him, left voicemails. Nothing yet.”

“Where is Vanessa? Is she still at our place?”

“Uh, no,” he says, slightly distracted as he changes lanes. “She and Sam went back to her house to discuss everything further.”

My heart sinks into my stomach. I was hoping she would either still be at my house, waiting for me to return, or would want to be at the police station when I was done being questioned. And yet, she took the first opportunity to leave.

Telling her how I felt and why I did what I did was thrilling, a relief, even. I knew it was a risk, and that it might scare her, but I could not keep it from her a moment longer. She should know what kind of mate I will be.

However, now that she knows what I am capable of, perhaps her feelings have changed. Never toward her, of course––I would rip my heart from my chest before I would lay a finger on her in anger––but toward anyone who causes her pain. It does not seem to be the human way, and perhaps more intense than she is used to.

Does she think me a monster? Or worse, does she hold me in the same regard as Trevor? That would devastate me. During my confession, I did not notice fear in her scent. If anything, there was a hint of arousal, which was surprising. If she feared me, surely, I would know it.

Perhaps it is not fear that she feels around me now, but instead, disgust. It is unfortunate that the emotion of disgust does not change her scent at all, therefore I would not be able to tell. She will not agree to be my mate if I disgust her, of that, I am certain.

---