He still didn’t move.
“Okay, fine,” I said, crossing my arms across my chest. Thank goodness my shirt was still in one piece, even though it had ripped in a few places. “You want to label me a freak because I didn’t finish my shift? Fine, I’m a freak. But, honestly, it’s a damn good thing I didn’t have to drop to change, or I’d likely be dead right now. Then all your gruesome death visions of me would’ve been accurate, and my bloody, broken body would’ve haunted your dreams forever. Do you really think Furry Joe over there would’ve waited patiently for me to finish my shift? There was no time!”
“Jess, that’s not—”
“Tyler!” I yelled. I was finished with this conversation. “We can talk about this later. If we don’t get this body out of here before Ray arrives, he will bring the entire police force down on our heads. If he finds a dead man in my apartment—I go to jail. Period. We cannot kill the entire police force!”
Tyler physically shook himself and walked over to the body. He crouched beside James and asked, “Do you recognize him?”
“No.” James took in a deep breath, mouth open, nostrils flared. “His scent doesn’t register at all, so I know I’ve never met him face-to-face either.”
My cell phone rang.
It was on the floor in the corner, where my purse had been flung when I’d been attacked. I was surprised it was still intact. I walked over and punched the talk button without looking at the number.
I knew exactly who it was.
“Jessica!” my father roared into the phone. I pulled it several feet away from my eardrum. “What in the hell is going on? Your wolf called to mine for a second time tonight, and you cut me off again! Goddammit! I can’t help you if you keep doing that!” His anger was palpable. It sent a searing, physical wave into the room and attacked my emotions on so many levels.
James’s face was inscrutable. Tyler looked away. They both went back to figuring out how to get the mystery man off the floor, ignoring my conversation completely.
I paced away, back into my bedroom. “I’m sorry, Dad. Honestly, I have no idea what’s going on. I didn’t mean to block you again. It’s nothing I’m doing on purpose. I don’t feel a trigger from you or anything. If I did, I would’ve answered right away.”
“Jessica, just tell me what’s going on down there,” he said, forcibly trying to calm himself. “I’m trying to keep you safe, and it seems I’ve missed the godforsaken mark entirely. This can’t keep happening. I feel you, I know something’s wrong, and I can’t figure out what’s going on. It’s maddening.”
“Dad, my secret is out. There’s no slipping under the radar anymore. Someone knows. There was a rogue waiting for me when I got home. I was careless, thinking about other … things”—there was no way I was going into that—“and I wasn’t paying attention. I have no idea how he got in. It must’ve been the balcony, because I didn’t smell him in the hall. It was a mistake thinking I could fly undetected for even one day.” I sat down on my bed, feeling defeated.
“We made a grave mistake,” my father said. “I made a mistake when I sent you home. I should’ve listened to my gut. I knew it was going to be risky no matter what we did, but I should’ve kept you here, where I could’ve protected you myself. I was dreaming, hoping the wolves would stay calm. It was a mistake.”
“There was no way you could’ve known for sure,” I said. “None of us knew. We had to try. I don’t regret trying. I liked my life. I’m sorry to see it go.”
After a beat of silence. “Tell me what happened,” he said. “All of it.”
I gave him a complete replay of the entire evening. I started with the imp and ended with walking into my apartment, minus the sexcapade.
When I got to the part about changing only partially into my wolf form, I faltered. “Then I gave physical control over to my wolf … and I started to change … but … I sort of stopped midway through … Um, I’m actually not quite sure what happened …”
His silence was so deep it scared me.
I waited a few beats. “Dad?”
“Did you hold this form for long? Were you able to fight in it?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be down there first thing in the morning. I’m calling a Pack Council meeting tonight. The entire Council should be able to make it into the city by eight a.m. if they leave now. If your secret is officially out, we will address it then to the whole Pack. This thing will be out and we will deal with it accordingly.”
“Dad!” I shouted. “You can’t leave it like that. What’s going on? You have to tell me what’s going on. Danny said a word … he said ‘Lycan’ to me. What did he mean? I know what a Lycan is, but why did he call me that?”
Lycans were our ancestors, the original werewolves. We evolved from them thousands of years ago. We were different from them now, but I didn’t know exactly how or why.