Hendrix ✓

40 ★ Keep you safe

     Dismissing the slight change to her smell, I survey the living room with interest. The furniture is plain and drab, cheap, and probably second hand. Somehow, Hendirx made it look homey with rugs and blankets and candles.

     Something doesn't feel right when I close the door behind me, the sound of it echoing through the small adjourning hallway. There's a smell that annoys me. I realize in a split second that it's testosterone, and definitely canine.

     "Fried chicken and okra!"

     The smell is male, the voice is male.

     There's a male in my mate's apartment.

     I don't think, I don't rationalize. I just act.

     My boots stomp loudly as I pound down the hallway towards the offending stranger. My jaw is clenched, my nostrils flaring as the terrible scent forces itself on me. I'm greeted with a small, dingy kitchen. The aroma of southern food fills the air, along with the stench of a werewolf.

     A werewolf who's currently staring at me in absolute terror, his eyes the size of dinner plates. He's backing away slowly, he knows the danger I pose by just standing here.

     Half a second goes by before I have his shirt collar in my hands, lifting him above the tile floor so that he's eye level with me. His back creaks against the wooden wall behind him, and he trembles in my hold. I can't help but think about how pathetic he is.

     "Who. Are. You?" I seethe, still hating the idea of a male other than myself in Hendrix's home. I hate him just for being here. He has no business being around Hendrix.

     Deep down I know that of course she has the right to make her own choices, or to move on after I left. She can allow him into her life, and I should be okay with that, but deep down I'm not. I will never be okay with that. I'm the only male she needs.

     "CPO. I work for the CPO!" He wails, squirming like he's got a noose around his neck. Unmatched fear stains his flushed face. He's panicked.

     What the hell is a CPO agent doing in my mate's apartment? And then it clicks. He's the one sent to watch over her, but why is he this close to her? Why is he cooking for her? Why is he in her house?

     I growl, but I don't drop him. I despise the fact that the little wolf has some sort of immunity against me. If I place a single hand on a CPO agent, I could be in deep shit. No one can touch me, sure, but it's not me I'm worried about. Any drama can circle back to Hendrix. I won't put her in harm's way.

     "Why are you here?" I demand slowly, trying to calm myself down and take the bite out of my words. It works partially.

     He adjusts his neck, and shifts his red rimmed eyes my way warily.

     "That's classified." He says.

     "I'm with the Guard." The lie flies from my mouth, and I watch the agent visibly pale.

     "What are you doing here?" He asks, sounding dejected. His distraught features pinched tight.

     "That's classified." I throw his words back at him, pushing him harder into the wall in hopes to squeeze more terror out of him. "But now that I'm here, there's no need for you anymore."

     Maybe if I bluff, he'll reveal exactly why he's in here in the first place.

     The blonde wolf clenches his jaw, and I hear his heartbeat pick up in his chest. He's panicking.

     "I was deployed nearly 2 months ago! I've gained the trust of the human already. Why would they send you?"

     Gain her trust? What the hell is going on here? A prickle of unease goes through my system.