The Paranormal Council: Complete Series

Chapter 10

BJORN

“I’ve got a name.” Bjorn kicked his feet up and rested them on Alden’s desk, his size meaning that he wasn’t comfortable in the other man’s poky office. The whole space screamed Alden, from the crammed bookshelves that didn’t seem to have any kind of system to them, to the desk covered in papers. The man himself sat on the other side of the desk, eyeing Bjorn’s feet disapprovingly from behind his black-framed glasses.

“Hi Bjorn, come in and take a seat,” he deadpanned, taking off his glasses and pushing a hand through his sandy coloured hair, and sighed. “The name of the necromancer responsible I take it?” He leaned back in his chair, giving off a surprisingly laid back look for someone who was wearing a formal shirt and tie. Bjorn imagined that he was the Professor that all the female students talked about. He was a tall man, though he had nothing on Bjorn’s height, with the lean but athletic physique which was common with bird shifters.

“Yes, he goes by Dean Winters.” Bjorn handed him the sheet of paper he’d brought with him, that had everything he’d discovered about Dean on it. Unfortunately for them both, that was very little, apart from his name and a basic description. That hadn’t surprised Bjorn. They were a secretive group at the best of times, even more so if they were actually doing something wrong, and Dean was the perfect example of that.

“I’ll talk to Rory about it.” Alden took the sheet from Bjorn’s outstretched hand and studied it, pulling a face at how little information was on it. Part of Bjorn wanted to ask Alden who Rory was, but he guessed from the look on the other man’s face that it was probably wasn’t the right thing to say. In all likelihood, she’d just be the necromancer who’d reluctantly been assigned to work with him on the case. “So, how’s Arabella this morning?” Alden raised his eyebrow and smirked.

“How would I know?” Bjorn attempted to deflect his curiosity, but knew he’d failed.

“We all know Bjorn.” Alden leaned back forward, looking Bjorn straight in the eye, a risky thing to do with a bear shifter at the best of times, never mind when trying to uncover said bear shifter’s secrets.

“Know what?”

“About you and Arabella.” His heart sank, but he quickly reminded himself that if they’d really known, then the two of them would have been off the Council already. “We’ve known for months that the two of you were…dating.” His tone sounded almost teasing, surprising Bjorn. While he didn’t dislike Alden, he was too easy a person to get on with for that, he hadn’t considered that they knew each other well enough for this kind of tease.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked softly, almost dreading what the other man would say.

“Well, you know Nathalie, she’s a hopeless romantic really. And Drayce couldn’t care less. As for me, well let’s just say your mate is one scary woman. I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side.” He laughed good-naturedly, making Bjorn think that he actually held Ari in high regard. “Plus, it’s always been clear how much being on the Council meant to her, she takes it so seriously. You, on the other hand…well I wasn’t surprised that you were the one who resigned.”

“She didn’t force me into it,” he defended quickly.

“Never thought she did. Your reasons for being on the Council were different from the reasons the rest of us are. Even not knowing exactly what those reasons were, I could tell that much.”

“Am I really that transparent?” He tried to joke, but inwardly he worried that it was true. He hoped not, or else he’d never be able to make it last with Ari. Not if she could see right through him.

“I’m just very observant.” He looked at Bjorn with his unnaturally large eyes, unnerving him slightly.

“Thank you for your time, Alden, I need to get back to work.” While technically true, Bjorn worked for himself, so could get away without leaving right this second. But the whole conversation had left him feeling decidedly unsettled, and he had a feeling that it was something to do with the bear in him not being sure what to make of the bird in Alden. He wasn’t quite prey, but neither was he a threat. He rose from his seat and made his way from the door.

“Let me know if you find anything else, Bjorn.” Alden chuckled to himself as Bjorn left. It was only once he had that he realised he hadn’t dwelled on Ari’s hesitance over him meeting her family the entire time that he was there.