I decide to make a quick visit to Yarvey while the days are still peaceful. However, when I reach Yarvey I find myself glowering at a pesky girl, who's a couple of years younger than me, being way too friendly with Jackson.
When she wraps her arm around his, I crush the soda can in my hand.
"Please, stay calm, Leah, she's just excited to see him," says Wren, the girl's older brother.
"Ask your sister to leave him alone," I tell him.
Wren goes over and drags her reluctant younger sister away. She had just arrived from her boarding school for the holidays. "Jinny, come on! Stop bothering him!" He says to her.
"No! I want to hang out with Jackson!" She cries.
"Jackson?" I say, "That's Alpha to you, you little critter!"
"Who are you to tell me that?! I'll call my Jackson however I want!" She shouts louder.
My Jackson? You just wait, you rascal! I storm towards the girl, ready to teach her some manners, only to be held back by Jackson. "What are you doing?" He says.
"Protecting your honor! Aren't you embarrassed a little girl is calling you by your name?" I say.
"I'm more embarrassed by the fact you think you can protect my honor. I didn't know my honor was that cheap."
"Jackson who is that girl?!" Jinny says, struggling against her brother.
"This girl is an Alpha! And a guest of your pack," I tell her.
"Alpha? You? You don't even look like a werewolf!" She says.
I admit, in spite of her being younger than me by a few years, she's impressively tall and well built like Chloe, all the telltale signs of a she-wolf. But I'm still the Alpha of us two, dammit.
"I'll show you if I'm an Alpha or not, come here!" I say, trying to reach her but failing to do so because of Jackson.
Suddenly Jackson picks me up and hangs me over his shoulder like a towel he was done drying his hair with, and starts walking.
"What are you doing? Put me down," I tell him.
"I don't have the time or patience for your cat fights. And you need to update me on that wolf, so how about we go to my office and calmly talk business like two Alphas should."
Inside his office, he puts me down on a chair across his desk. I scowl at him. Bent down, he says, "Stop glaring at me. She's like a sister. I've known her since we were kids."
Scoffing, I turn my face away. He straightens up and says, "So what happened with that wolf?"
"We didn't see him again. He must've moved to another territory."
"So you know who he is," Jackson says.
I look at him surprised. "What? No, I don't," I say.
"You do," he says, "Otherwise you wouldn't refer to it as him."
"It was just a figure of speech. We don't know who the wolf is. Besides, didn't I warn you already? Don't butt into my pack's business. And I didn't come here to talk about it either. I just came to see you. But you were busy entertaining some other girl."
"I told you she's like a sister. And she wasn't clinging to me any more than you cling onto your beloved Beta."
"What? When have I ever clung to Ivan?"
"It's easier to answer when you have not. The way you two are always together, people would think you two are mates or something," he says.
I open my mouth to shut down his preposterous accusation when my phone rings. And it's Ivan.
I take the call and whisper, "What?" Jackson scoffs.
Ivan says, "Someone sneaked into your room at night. Your things are rummaged through."
"Where's Chloe? Is she with you?" I quickly ask.
"Yeah, she's with me. Why?" He says.
"Nothing. Check the security cameras, it's probably," I say and stop before letting the name slip. I get up to leave the room to talk outside, but Jackson comes over and stops me.
"Hello?" Ivan's voice says through the phone, "Leah?"
"Yeah, I'm here."
"I think it's Hermann, too," Ivan loudly says, making me wince. "I don't know how he could've come in and gone without alerting the patrollers," Ivan says.
"Yeah well, we'll discuss that when I'm there. Keep Chloe close with you," I say and end the call.
"So it's that Gerth Hill Alpha's son?"
"Just a guess."
"You didn't think it was him before. What changed your mind? What did you do after I left?" Jackson says.
"I paid a visit to Gerth Hills. When it was just us two Hermann admitted to the crimes, knowing full well I didn't have any evidence against him."
"Why is he after you? At the lake, then the move theater, and now your room."
"Look I don't know how a crazy person thinks. He's not right in his mind. But like I said, I got this. We'll catch him soon enough."
"How? He even trespassed into your house and left without a trace," Jackson says.
That's what I don't understand either. How is he able to do that when we've installed so many new cameras around? Either way, it looks like he had fully recovered and is ready for revenge.
"I don't know. I'll find that out when I'm back home," I say.
"No," Jackson says, "You're staying with me until I've wrapped up my work here. Then we'll go together to Fault Lake."
"I can't."
"If you stay here, he won't have a reason to trespass into your territory," he says.
"No, Chloe is still there. I can't leave her alone," I say.
"He's after Chloe too?"
"Look, don't ask me too much. I can't stay here for long."
"One day, then," Jackson says, "Give me at lease one more day."
Although I don't want to put him in harm's way, I admit I'm a little spooked by everything. I can use the help. "Okay," I tell him.
I leave for my room and call Chloe to make sure she's okay and tell her to keep her guard up until I'm back.
End of chapter
