Tristan's Lyceum Wolves (16 page)

She jumped, startling as Tristan laid his hand on her shoulder. “Kalli, the bedrooms are a mess. I’m really sorry. Do you want Logan and I to help you get a bag together?” he asked softly. No matter how tough she was, this intrusion was bound to shake her.

Standing up, she pulled away from him. The impending lie felt like a lump in her throat. If the pills or thumb drive were missing, then she had to come clean. There was just no other choice.

“Can I just have a minute alone in my room?” she asked.

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I can do this. I have to do this.”

“Hey Logan,” Tristan called.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Logan answered, walking back into the kitchen.

“She’s going back to get her things. Alone.”

“I just need some privacy. A minute to think.” She gave them both a small smile, which didn’t reach her eyes.

“Hey Doc. I’m real sorry about this. Assholes,” Logan remarked, taking in the mess all over the kitchen. Cracked eggshells and dried yolk stuck like glue to every surface.

“Yeah, I won’t lie. It feels like such a violation. Strangers going through my house, tearing it up. Really, really sucks. But you know, this stuff,” she gestured to her torn books, cracked pieces of china and knickknacks. “It’s all just…well, it’s all just stuff. As opposed to animals or people, it can all be replaced.”

Logan set a comforting hand on her shoulder. At the same time, he shot Tristan a nod, careful not to overstep his boundaries. Logan loved his Alpha. He knew things were changing. He’d dreamed of Tristan’s mate. But unlike his Alpha, he’d had time to mentally prepare. However, he never imagined the sense of protectiveness he’d feel toward her. Confusion swept over him as he tried to resolve why. Considering she was human, not pack, it didn’t make sense to him that he felt so compelled to shield her from danger, hurt. He’d first noticed it at the hospital. While he always enjoyed watching his boss dominate, hearing Tristan attack her nasty boss had given him unusual delight. He’d known that if his Alpha hadn’t intervened, he would have been the one to do it.

Tristan studied him, tamping down his unreasonable possessiveness regarding Kalli. It continued to aggravate him that he cared at all. He kept coming back to the fact that he’d just met her. On top of that, it wasn’t as if he didn’t ever share women with Logan, so why was this any different? Logan was more than just a friend, given how many times they’d been intimate. They never were intimate with each other sexually during their trysts, but they did touch each other, share a caress; perhaps even direct each other’s play with the lucky woman. Whether it was Logan’s girlfriend or Tristan’s, it was always understood that neither man was with their mate. Therefore, jealousy never reared its ugly head. There were no limits.

But with Kalli, he’d felt the need to possess her, mind and body. And if he ever shared, he knew it would be on his terms only. No one would touch her without his permission, and she’d only be touched the way he commanded. It could be no other way. Tristan grew irritated as his territorial feelings grew stronger every hour he was around her. It felt uncomfortable to think about a woman in this manner, yet it seemed as natural as being born.

As Kalli caught a glimpse of Tristan observing her interaction, she pulled away from Logan’s touch. She was appreciative that he cared, but guilt ate her. She had to tell them about her formula. Dreading it, she’d have to confess sooner rather than later if the flash drive or pills were missing.

“Guess I’d better get my stuff,” she commented as she resigned herself to her task. Looking terribly defeated, she walked out of the kitchen. When Kalli reached her room, she locked the door. She knew that either wolf could easily break it down if they really wanted to, but they didn’t seem the type who’d go bursting in on a lady in a locked bedroom.

She ran into the master bathroom, trying to avoid the shards of glass scattered all over the room. They’d smashed the mirrored closet doors as well as the sink mirror. Opening up the vanity drawers, she searched for the small pill boxes where she kept the spares. One by one, she came up empty. Her stomach lurched at the thought.
They’d stolen the CLI.
Thinking she might vomit, she bent over at the sink and took deep breaths, willing the bile back into her stomach.

She prayed silently that they hadn’t taken the thumb drive. Without the data, they probably wouldn’t be able to replicate it. Even if they analyzed the chemical composition, its creation was a complicated process. And said process and all the underlying details were on that drive.

Opening the bottom of the vanity, she looked for her cosmetic bag, the one she used to hold her makeup. Cleaning supplies had been spilled inside the cabinet and the boxes of tissues had puffed up, smelling like pine and bleach. What she didn’t find was the drive. Bending her knees, she squatted, scanning the entire floor. Behind the toilet, her little pink bag peeked at her. She leaned over and scooped it up; even though it was open, most of the contents were still in it. Eyeshadow. Eyeliner. Foundation. Blush. Lipstick.

“Thank God,” she breathed. Her pink lipstick was still there. Gently screwing off the top, it popped open, revealing its secret compartment. The drive was safely nestled inside. She’d bought the little diversion safe on an online spy shop. Given a choice of soda cans, shaving cream and books, she’d decided on the lipstick. It was small enough that she could easily transport it, but easily concealed, especially among a collection of lipstick tubes.

Pressing it into her pocket, she exited the bathroom and went to her closet to pack a bag. After collecting some casual clothes, underwear and shoes, she unlocked the door. Luckily, she had a small bag she kept for traveling which was already stocked with toothbrush, baby powder, razor and other convenience items. With a sigh, she took once last glance at the mess that used to be her room and shut the door.

They rode in silence on the way back to Tristan’s condo. Tristan and Logan had both heard the lock click as she went to retrieve her things. Why did she feel the need to lock a door unless she was doing something in secret? Something she didn’t want them to know about? She hadn’t changed her clothes and was barely gone for ten minutes. What was she hiding? A nagging pull at Tristan’s gut reminded him that she hadn’t been entirely truthful. The feeling of distrust was confirmed when she refused to look him in the eyes after they left the building. It also didn’t help that he could not stop wondering about the way the wolves had torn apart her place. Sure, they could have done it out of spite, but more likely they’d been searching for something. And if that was true, then Kalli was involved up to her eyeballs in trouble.

As the elevator ascended, Tristan decided he needed a break from her. He was angry she wasn’t telling him everything. If he stayed with her, he was either going to force her to tell him what the hell was going on or take her up against the wall again. While both were feasible options, neither seemed like the right thing to do. He needed space. Time to think and get his head together. Tristan really didn’t want to leave her alone with another man, but even he had his limits.

When they got to his floor, he addressed Logan, ignoring Kalli completely. “I need you to stay here with Kalli for a few hours, okay? I’m goin’ up to my office to do some work and then may go for a ride or hit the gym. If you need me, text me.”

“No problem. Take your time,” Logan replied, sensing the tension. His Alpha looked like he was about to snap. And Kalli was running a close second.

Kalli said nothing as the elevator doors closed. She dropped her bag at the door, walked into the living room and fell back into an overstuffed lounge chair that faced the long wall of ceiling to floor windows. Throwing her head back, she put her hands over her eyes and blew out a big breath. She needed to tell them about CLI.

“Hey Doc. What’s going on? Wanna talk about it? I’m a good listener,” Logan offered, sitting on the sofa perpendicular from her.

Removing her hands, she stared out the windows. “I’ve gotta talk to Tristan about what happened today.”

“What happened with your boss or what happened to your apartment?”

“They were looking for something,” she stated flatly.

“Yeah, I assumed as much. Pretty sure Tristan already suspects that too.”

“They took something.” She bent over, placing her forearms on her knees and pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers.

“You wanna tell me what it was?” he asked, biting his upper lip. He wished she’d just spill it.

“Yes. No. Okay, yes, but I have to tell Tristan first.” She sighed in frustration. “Tell me, Logan, did you ever have to tell somebody something? Something that was a really big secret? But by telling the secret, you’d be putting your own life at risk?”

He silently regarded her, well aware her life was already on the line. She was a smart woman and had to know how much danger she was in; she had agreed to stay with Tristan after all. What the hell did she know that would put her in even more danger? Whatever it was, he could tell it wasn’t going to be good.

“Here’s the thing, Kalli. In Lyceum Wolves, we’re pack. Lies don’t fly too well here. And yes, I’ve kept things to myself on occasion.” He didn’t want to mention his visions to her yet. “But I can’t say it put my life in danger. If my life were in danger, my pack would be behind me, so I wouldn’t keep the secret.”

“How well do you know Tristan?”

“Like a brother. Hell, I know him as well as I know myself.”

“So what’s he really like?”

“He’s badass,” he boasted smiling. “Has more confidence than I’ve ever seen in a wolf, but it’s well deserved. He’s extraordinarily powerful, both physically and mentally. Fierce in battle and loyal as the day is long. And here’s something you’d do well to remember; at the end of the day, he’s fair. I’d even go as far as to say that he’s caring.”

“You love him, don’t you?” she blurted out.

“Well now, aren’t you the inquisitive one? Come on, Doc. Of course I love him. I’m his second. We’re best friends and do almost everything together. It’s our way,” he revealed thoughtfully.

“Wolves?” she questioned.

“Yeah. I mean, sure, there’re fights within the pack every now and then, but we live to support each other. It’s how it’s meant to be. The communal love and devotion, it’s in our nature and whatnot. Kind of hard to explain to someone who’s human, but I’m sure you feel it a little. Right?” He wanted to tell her she was Tristan’s mate, but it wasn’t his place. They needed to find their way to each other via their own journey.

“Yeah, but what about the brutality? You know, the forced breedings and matings? The fights for dominance? That’s not so loving,” she remarked directly, remembering her life in South Carolina.

“Hold on there, Doc. That’s old school shit and I can assure you that it doesn’t happen around here. Now, it could be part of the reason we’re about to have a territory war, who knows? I can tell you that Tristan and Marcel don’t schlep out our females like prostitutes. They make their own decisions about mating when they’re damn ready. As for the violence, put a group of human men together and you’ll see what happens isn’t too much different than around here. But I’ll guarantee you won’t see any ‘brutality’ as you so delicately put it.” Logan narrowed his eyes on Kalli. Where the hell was she coming up with these things? Sure, brutality was common long ago, but things had changed, in most packs anyway.

“I’m sorry, Logan. I didn’t mean to insult you or the pack. I…I just have a different experience is all. I spent some time around wolves before…not here…it wasn’t pleasant,” she admitted.

“No offense taken. Doc, I like you. I’d like for you to stick around a little and not just because you have to. Can I give you a bit of advice?”

She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Yeah, sure. Why not? I sure as hell could use some.”

“Whatever is going on with you, we’ll deal with it, okay? But you’ve got to tell Tristan. Like soon. I’m gonna be honest with you. Your life is already in danger. So whatever little nugget you’ve got stowed up your sleeve, it’s not going to put you more at risk. But by not showing all the cards, you could very well be putting others in danger. I know you’re not pack, but you should consider joining our team so to speak,” he said with a grin. “And hey, it’s a pretty good team. The only requirement for membership is honesty. Other than that there’s all kinds of great benefits; not only do you get the protection of a tough Alpha wolf, you get his beta. It’s a twofer. Also, there are lots of great friends here, runs in the wilderness, although you might need a horse for that,” he joked.