Alyssa glanced at Diego. “Come on. Let’s go spend some taxpayers’ money before I change my mind.”
Chapter 5
Neither one of them said anything for a good ten minutes. Instead, Zane and Rachel polished off several burgers and two trays of fries. Being this close to In-N-Out Burger meant they were living on fast food. Which wasn’t a hardship. He frigging loved American cheeseburgers. In fact, he could eat them every day for the rest of his life and not get bored.
“So, what happened with the twins?” Rachel finally asked. “How did they handle it when you told them they’re werewolves?”
“Surprisingly well.” He knew Rachel was purposely trying to get him on a topic of conversation that had nothing to do with why he was there. He told her about what happened to the twins’ parents, then explained, “It turns out they came to LA looking for their alpha. Apparently, they’re following some kind of homing instinct that tells them this is where they need to look. You ever heard of anything like that?”
Rachel shook her head.
“I mentioned that you and Diego would stop by their hotel soon,” he said, “so they could see if either of you happen to be their alpha.”
Another nod. Well, this talk was going well.
“What was Alyssa saying about paying for another hotel?” he finally asked after he’d finished chewing, figuring it was as good a way as any to get the conversation started. If Rachel let him.
Rachel picked up her can of Diet Coke. “I was joking when I asked her if she could get us rooms at a place that didn’t have bedbugs, but I think she’s actually going to try and find us another hotel. Which is pretty damn cool, not that I’m surprised. Something tells me she’s special.”
He chuckled. “Specialwould be a good word for her.”
Rachel regarded him, a knowing look in her eyes. “How special?”
Zane cursed silently. His pack mate had just played him like a cheap instrument. “Not that special. And just so you know, I didn’t stay behind to talk about me. I stayed so we could talk about you. Diego is worried about you.”
Rachel grabbed another handful of fries, chewing slowly before washing everything down with a gulp of lukewarm soda. “Yeah, I know. But I figured before we get into my issue, we could get into yours.”
“I don’t have an issue.”
“Cool.” She shrugged. “Neither do I. Now you can tell Diego to stop worrying.”
He sighed. He hadn’t known Rachel very long, but he’d already figured out she was as stubborn as a stump. At least, that’s what some of the other members of the Pack said. Personally, he wasn’t sure how stubborn a stump was. Despite having an American mother and living in Dallas for years, he still didn’t get a lot of the slang and metaphors he heard on a daily basis. He understood the ones with a southern bent to them even less. Sometimes it felt like that part of the country was a world all its own.
But he knew enough to realize Rachel wouldn’t talk to him if she didn’t want to. And after the stuff Diego had mentioned, Zane needed her to talk to him.
“Alyssa makes me feel kind of crazy,” he finally admitted softly. “My heart starts beating fast every time she gets close. And her scent? I’ve never smelled anything close to it. It’s like she’s a chocolate-covered cinnamon cake sitting on a bed of rose petals. Bloody hell, I’m drooling right now just thinking about it.”
He couldn’t believe he’d said all those things to a pack mate he wasn’t even sure he trusted. He hadn’t intended to share, but the moment he thought about the gorgeous blond FBI agent, his mouth wouldn’t stop running. It was like he’d lost his bloody mind.
Regardless, he meant every word of it. And that scared the hell out of him.
“I’m sure you’ve already thought about this yourself,” Rachel murmured, “but I have to ask. Do you think all this stuff you’re feeling—combined with the way she smells—means she’sThe Onefor you?”
Zane opened his mouth to give the knee-jerk response. The one where he claimed there was no possible way Alyssa was his bloody soul mate. He was even ready to point out that the only reason he felt this way was all the drugs he’d been taking for his arm lately. But he couldn’t, because he didn’t believe any of that crap. He doubted Rachel would either.
“Becker told you what Alyssa does for the FBI, right?” he asked quietly.
Rachel nodded. “I know Becker thinks she tracks down werewolves for the federal government. I’m just not sure I believe it. Hell, you’re the one who told us about what she did to help those two girls in the alley behind the club last night. Between that and meeting her in person, she doesn’t come across as a coldhearted federal werewolf assassin.”
“Federal werewolf assassin?” He let out a short laugh. “Bloody hell, you make her sound like a comic book hero.”
“You think this is funny?” Rachel snapped. “I never really thought of you as a chucklefuck, but maybe I was wrong. It’s been known to happen.”
Chucklefuck.Another one of Rachel’s favorite words, the precise meaning of which still eluded him. But he could pick up enough through context to understand what she was trying to say.
“No, I don’t think this is funny.” He picked up his can of soda and took a swig. “There’s not a single part of me that wants to believe Alyssa could be the kind of woman who’d hunt down and kill a werewolf, especially since I have a hard time being around her without wanting to do something crazy and definitely inappropriate. But I can’t afford to be naive about any of this, regardless of how she makes me feel. She very well might beThe Onefor me. But she could also be a threat to me, you, Diego, and every other member of our pack. I can’t overlook that, no matter how much I might want to. If the federal government knows about our kind, we have to be very careful.Ihave to be careful.”
Rachel was silent for a long time. “So what are you going to do? How do you treat Alyssa like a threat andThe Onefor you at the same time?”
