“Patrick, will you tell this woman there’s been a terrible, unfortunate mistake?She seems to be laboring under the misguided notion that she works here as a detective.”Silas pointed a hand at her, his lip curling into an incredulous half smile.
“Silas…” The captain scratched his balding head, the heel of his hand brushing the point of his ears.That particular feature wasn’t visible to humans, but Meredith found it a good reminder not to mess with the captain, whose powerful fae side dwelled just below the surface.“Let’s talk about this.”
All humor drained from Silas’s expression as he realized there was no mistake.Meredith folded her arms against the tension rising in the room.The werewolf was not going to accept this without a fight.Oh shit, here it comes.
“Talk?What?Who the hell is she, and why does she think she’s my new partner?”The words came out along with a background growl that rumbled straight from his chest.
Meredith braced herself against the alpha vibes rolling off the man.God, it reminded her of when she was a teenager and her father would get angry and puff up like a blowfish.Well, she was not a teenager anymore, and she wouldn’t let an arrogant, spoiled brat of a man intimidate her.
“I tried to break the news gently,” Meredith said, not bothering to keep the smugness or the grin from her voice.She shrugged one shoulder as if she found Silas’s tirade amusing.
“Not your fault,” Manahan offered, then turned his attention to the uniformed officer who was still sitting in one of the two chairs across from his desk.The guy’s ears were red and he was glaring at Silas.It seemed Meredith was not the only member of the CCPD who thought the man needed to be taken down a notch.“Officer Brighton, would you give us a minute?”
“Yeah,” Brighton gritted out.The young man rose, bumping shoulders with Silas on his way out the door.It didn’t look like an accident.
Meredith took the liberty to close the door behind him, drawing a fortifying breath.Silas’s alpha tendencies and hair trigger weren’t exactly a secret, but she didn’t love experiencing a werewolf tantrum in person.Part of her enjoyed watching him be put in his place, but a bigger part didn’t relish what it was going to take to win him to her side.And the truth was, she probably needed his help to do what she’d come to do.Probably.If he didn’t fall in line, she’d find a way to catch Alex on her own.
“Explain,” Silas demanded, getting in Patrick’s face.He braced his hands on the desk, leaning forward so that his wide shoulders cast a shadow over the captain’s bulky form.
Way too aggressive.Meredith silently chuckled to herself.Patrick was not going to go for that.
Manahan glared at Silas, his normally warm blue eyes turning icy.“Sit down.Both of you.”
Cracking her neck, Meredith slid into one of the molded plastic chairs, but Silas stayed right where he was.“Uh-oh,” she murmured from behind a smile she fought to keep from taking shape.The wolf was about to get his furry ass handed to him, and she was here for it.
“I said,sit!”Captain Manahan’s voice reverberated in the tiny room, his fae side coming to the surface.As an aerial fae, the captain’s voice was a literal weapon.The sound rumbled deep within Meredith, sending a flare of heartburn into her throat.She shifted in her seat.
Silas was not immune to the captain’s power and had been on the receiving end of most of it.He coughed into his hand and promptly sat.This time she couldn’t fully suppress her chuckle.Yeah, sit the fuck down, Alpha.
“Better,” Manahan barked.“Now we can have a civilized conversation.”The captain spread his hands, eyes darting between them.
Meredith smirked as a vein in Silas’s temple popped and his cheeks took on a ruddy hue.This was getting good.
The captain pointed one meaty finger at Silas.“You need a partner.”
“I don’t.”
“You do.This Alex thing… I understand why you’re obsessed.”
“Oh, you do?You understand what it’s like to have your parents murdered and the werewolf responsible free and living somewhere in the city?”Silas slid his narrowed gaze toward Meredith, probably wondering how much she knew about Alex.She knew.Everyone close to pack life knew.
The captain leaned back in his chair, bouncing against the backrest and threading his fingers over the mound of his belly.“Okay, let me rephrase that.I understand the pursuit of Alex needs to be your top priority.But there are other cases.”
“Which I haven’t neglected.Name one time I ever fell short on expectations.”
The captain ran his tongue along his teeth, making a sucking noise like he was dislodging something caught behind his eyetooth.“Sleep.A personal life.”
Silas snorted.“I haven’t enjoyed either in years.”
“Exactly.”
A long stretch of silence unraveled between them.Meredith straightened in her chair.She crossed her legs and bobbed her foot.How long was this going to take?Silas needed to get his shit together on this.They had work to do.
“You’re burning the candle at both ends,” the big man continued.“The stress is getting to you.It’s my responsibility to keep you safe, and that means until Alex is brought to justice, you need backup.”Silas began to protest, but the captain cut him off.“Last week you busted down a door on Fifth Street.Significant property damage.”
“There was a healer there I thought might know something.”
“Yeah?Well, you’re lucky she didn’t know a spell strong enough to kill you.”
