She stepped closer to him and looked up, way up, and took in his scent before whispering, “Are you really going to try and lie to me? We both know you’re more than human.” Not a conversation they should be having in a parking lot, and yet, where else could they go? At least they were alone, and in a neutral spot.
“You’re mistaken.”
“What did I say about lying?” she chided, tapping his cheek. “Your scent doesn’t lie. It’s definitely feline.”
“Maybe I just own a cat.”
“It’s not the same, and you know it.” She clucked her tongue. “Stop pretending. I know you can shift. I just don’t know into what kind of kitty. Maybe if we went to a zoo, I could sniff around and figure it out.” The closest one she knew with big cats was in Toronto.
“I’m afraid you’re mistaken.”
Another lie, but having read his file with his history of addiction, it hit her. “Do you have to get high to shift?”
“I got high because I liked it.”
“Not according to your records. You were prescribed medication for depression on numerous occasions. Did you have a hard time accepting your other side?”
For a moment, he appeared to struggle before harshly exclaiming, “What do you think? Most teenagers only have to deal with hair on their balls. Try hair all over your body and blackouts.”
So much now made sense. “The discovery you could shift is why you were in and out of rehab for addiction so much in your teens and early twenties. You couldn’t handle discovering you weren’t like other boys. And I’ll bet when you told the truth, people called you crazy.”
“I never told anyone,” he mumbled. “I knew they’d never believe me.”
“Not even your family?”
That had him scuffing the ground in discomfort, and she really expected him to not reply, but to her surprise, he had a soft admission. “Tell my family I was a freak? Nope. Instead I let them think I was a crackhead.” He lifted his head and offered a wry, “Because that was so much better.”
“It must have been fucked up to realize your family shared that trait.” She coaxed him, knowing at one point he’d realize he’d said too much and shut down. He didn’t seem the type to spill his guts.
“I see what you’re doing. Trying to get me to admit shit.” He scowled. “I did not come here for you to try and head-shrink me.”
“Don’t act pissy because I’m easy to talk to,” she hotly retorted. And probably one of the weirdest things she’d ever said. Most people usually avoided conversations with her. Something about her being intimidating.
“Who said it was easy? You’re just tricking me into saying stuff.”
“Then don’t reply. It’s not like I’m twisting your arm, baby.”
“Don’t fucking call me baby. I didn’t come here to give you my life story but to tell you to back off.”
“No can do. It’s my job to scout out potential rivals.”
His brows rose. “How are we rivals? For Christ’s sake, we’re not interested in taking anything from you.”
“Yet. What about once your numbers grow?”
Stefan snorted. “I can assure you my family has no plans to conquer Ottawa if that’s what you’re asking.”
According to the file, none of them had interesting jobs with the government or in other influential areas. Which was just plain shortsighted. The pack always had people in a few key spots, like law enforcement, the judicial system, and even on city council. They’d been strong advocates for more off-leash parks. A young wolf could pass for a dog easily enough and needed a place to expend their energy.
“That’s not the only concern. Your presence could expose us.”
“How?”
“For one, your brother was sloppy when he shifted and seen by a human. His story made the news.”
Stefan grimaced. “A mistake that won’t happen again.”
And yet it had, leading them to hunt Dominick down. Which was when the pack made an error. “You know what we are.”
“Because your people showed us. Otherwise, we’d have gone on thinking we were freaks that shouldn’t exist.”
“Oh, you shouldn’t exist,” she said flatly. The experiment that twisted him into a feline was a human-made genetic change based off the lycanthrope ability. Or so they’d learned. The details remained murky, as did the people behind the project.
“Harsh, but true,” he admitted. “Which is why we just want to stay out of sight.”
She waved a hand. “Go right ahead. Just don’t do it in our territory. Your family will have to relocate.” She poked him to see if he’d capitulate. As expected, he didn’t.
“I don’t give a shit what you or your pack wants. We are not moving.” He sounded firm on that point.
“Is that a threat?”
He cocked his head. “We’re not looking for a fight. But I get the impression you are.”
“It’s called looking after the pack. Its survival is my number one priority. And if you pose a threat to it, then what you want doesn’t matter.” Cold, but true. Everyone remembered the story that came out of Russia in the eighties. A wolf clan, thirty strong, wiped out but for one teenage boy. Humans weren’t kind to those they considered monsters. It only made sense to strike first.
The low whistle went with his headshake. “Fuck me, but that’s aggressive. So should I expect my family to get picked off one by one since we’re enemy number one?”
“Not yet. We’re still coming to a decision, which is why your family received an invitation to present themselves.” Her brother’s idea. As pack alpha, Gwayne had decided the Hubbard family should have a chance to make an impression at the Fall Family Barbecue. A yearly tradition that put the cooks of the families in competition against each other with delicious results. She couldn’t wait for Aunt Jenny’s ribs and Uncle Pete’s caramel-drizzled apple pie.
“You can’t seriously expect us to show up.” Apparently, Stefan didn’t understand what a grand gesture the invitation was. Outsiders never got invited.
“Did I mention you don’t have a choice?”
“Hell yeah we do. No way is my family going anywhere near you psychos, not after what you did.”
“Don’t tell me you’re going to whine about what happened?” She rolled her eyes.
“You kidnapped my brother’s girlfriend.”
“And gave her back unharmed.” Mostly because they’d proved a point and satisfied a curiosity. There were shifters on their land, and they needed to be reined in. But carefully, so as to not draw notice. Already the Hubbard clan had been careless, and the Valley Pack had their best scrubbing the internet of every unfortunate mention of the animal attack.
He snorted. “Unharmed? I heard what happened that night. You were going to hurt Anika if Dominick didn’t confess to being a panther.”
“We just wanted him to tell the truth. And luckily, he did, with a plausible enough excuse for his ignorance. Had he lied, we wouldn’t have spared his life.”
Stefan’s eyes widened. “You would have killed my brother?” Finally, she’d managed to startle him.