The Lunar Destiny Series

Chapter 28

July introduced itself with sunny mornings, rainy evenings, and thunderstorms most nights. Iericho and I hadn’t seen much of each other since the tournament, but he did call and check up on me every now and then. Since my fate had been slammed into my face time and time again, I finally decided to accept it. If any more evidence of being Lio’s Teman Sejiwa appeared, I was going to deliberately blind myself.

The pack’s business wasn’t the only big part of my life now. Officer Rollards sat on the opposite end of my couch now, discussing the violent break-in that took place two months ago. This was now harassment in my eyes. Seeing as how there was no need for further investigation. I was convinced this officer had suspicions about something and was doing this without his superior’s approval. Judging by his mood I could tell that he’d found something out. It was late morning and I was still in my pajamas; cotton shorts with frog prints and a plain, white tank top. I’d fixed Officer Rollards some coffee but I wasn’t having any with him. My anxiety was enough to keep me alert. I watched him take two big gulps before setting the mug on the table.

“Miss Ilithyia, I’m very pleased to inform you that we now have two suspects in custody concerning your break in.”

My eyes widened with surprise momentarily. I immediately wondered who they were and if one of them was the wereleopard that had gotten into the house.

“Really? Who are they?”

Officer Rollards didn’t seem to be emotionally present. His face was neutral and he was acting completely different than he had before. Something was up, more than he was letting on.

“The first man fit the witness’s description. When we asked him why he broke into your house that night he simply replied, ‘I did what I was told.’ After that he stopped cooperating. Although he did mention that your boyfriend was there that night before he gave us the silent treatment. I found that interesting, because both of you told me you weren’t here during the break in.” Officer Rollards said, giving me very judgmental eyes.

What could I say? He’d caught me in a lie. I shifted on the couch, suddenly uncomfortable. I tried to think of something, anything to take the suspicion off of Lio and me.

“I did ask Lio to check on my house that night. He must have caught him in the house…”

Officer Rollards sighed before he looked me square in the eyes.

“What if I told you that the second suspect we have in custody right now is your boyfriend Miss Ilithyia? Would you be more open to sharing the truth then?”

I must’ve turned pale because Officer Rollards started to grin like he’d won the lottery. I was speechless, completely speechless. Now I know why Lio hadn’t called or came by yet today. The police couldn’t possibly have any proof linking him to anything Rollards had suspicions of; how the hell did Lio become a suspect?

“You and your boyfriend are lying. I know you are aware that withholding information and hindering a police investigation is punishable by law Miss Ilithyia. Are you prepared to spend a few years in a prison cell?”

He asked, his eyes becoming more and more intense with each word.

My eyebrows furrowed and I stood up from the couch.

“With all due respect Officer Rollards, you can’t come into my house and threaten me with jail time on top of accusing me of lying when you don’t have a shred of evidence. What is it that you’re trying to get out of me exactly? Out of Lio for that matter?” I asked.

Officer Rollards rubbed the deep lines in his forehead before looking up at me.

“The truth, simply the truth. We know there was more to that so-called break in than the two of you are telling me. Before Mr. Barzalai had his buddies clean up all of the evidence, our officers found some very strange markings among all of the damage. Very deep grooves that looked like claw marks were in the floorboards of the kitchen, the walls, even on the fence in your backyard. On top of all that, the blood samples we collected were tested and the results showed several abnormalities. They were nothing like the lab techs had ever seen in human blood. Care to explain why that is?”

I shook my head. So they had evidence of something; I wasn’t about to tell them anything.

“There’s nothing I can tell you officer, I’m sorry. Look, if you don’t have any real charges to pin on Lio you have to release him.”

I said, I let him hear all of the agitation in my voice.

“I know you two are hiding something, and when I find out what…”

He got a call from dispatch on his radio before he could finish his threat.

“Officer Rollards here…You released him? Who the hell authorized it? Damn it! Fine, copy that…” Whoever paged him had called with bad news. He stood up then and gave me a cold stare.

“Your boyfriend’s free, his lawyer showed up.”

I sighed with relief and put my hand against my chest. Officer Rollards headed for the front door but stopped just before he went out of it.

“This is far from over Miss Ilithyia, I can promise you that.”

I didn’t take his warning lightly, not at all. What I knew was dangerous knowledge to have and I had to watch what I said, when I said it, and who I said it to at all times. As I went to lock the door, my phone rang. I almost ran to the phone in the living room hoping it was Lio but it was Celeste.

“Astraia! Ba’al just told me he was on his way to pick Lio up from the county jail! What the hell is going on?” She asked with a panic stricken voice.

I sighed and shook my head. Baltasar just couldn’t keep his mouth shut it seemed.

“Yeah...He was brought in some time this morning because of a misunderstanding. Thankfully he has a good lawyer. There’s a certain police officer being shitty because he can’t figure out certain details of a case, so now he’s harassing innocent people.” I said.

“What case? And why would Lio have anything to do with it? He’s not a criminal as far as I know.” She said, sounding like she was taking things a lot more personally than I was.

“There's nothing you need to worry about Celeste. Just know as long as his lawyer continues to do his job everything will be alright. Besides, Lio’s got a clean record.” I said.

“I hope so. I know how much you two love each other. Jail time would ruin those wedding plans.” She said in her devious little tone she usually used to tease me.

“Celeste for the last time, we are not getting married anytime soon so put the wedding planning on pause.” I said.

“Ugh, really? Are you going to wait until you two are back in diapers living at an old folks home? What are you waiting for?” She said, practically scolding me.

What my best friend didn’t know was that marrying Lio meant the possibility of losing my humanity. No, not the possibility, a fact. Once I marry Lio and complete the sacred rites with him, it wouldn’t be long before we tried having children and eventually I had to become one of them. I still wondered if I could handle all of that. Not to mention other issues like our children’s futures if any of them are born without the wolf gene...

“Astraia? Raia? Hellooo? Are you still there? You better not have hung up on me girl!”

Celeste yelled into the phone, snapping me out of my troubled thoughts.

“Sorry, I was just thinking about what you said.”

I heard her sigh.

“You should be. Lio is a good man with a lot of patience. But even a man with Lio’s patience will grow tired of your procrastination.”

Before I could give her a piece of my mind, I heard my front door open. Someone had let themselves in.

“Celeste I’ll call you back okay?”

I hung up before she could respond. When I turned around, I saw Lio walking into the living room from the foyer. He was wearing a black suit with a cream colored tie and white shirt. He was also wearing dress shoes which lead me to believe that the police must’ve arrested him at work. He looked so tired and frustrated.

I walked up to him, looking into his silver eyes with compassion and worry. He managed a smile but it was slightly sullen. His left hand went to my left hip and his other came up to my face. He lowered his face towards me and moved towards my left ear. He nuzzled the skin behind my ear and inhaled deeply; his warm breath escaped his mouth and warmed that small part of my neck briefly.

After he greeted me, we sat down on the loveseat and discussed this morning’s unfortunate events.

“How did this happen? Why would they arrest you at work?” I asked.

“The man they have in custody right now is the wereleopard I fought the night he broke into your house. His name is Manuel. The police only arrested me because he dropped my name.” He said.

“I don’t understand. How did you end up on the suspect list because of that? They know who broke in, there’s no sense in harassing you.”

He raised his eyebrows slightly.

“Officer Rollards has caught on to the hole in our little story. The problem he’s having is figuring out why we are lying which he of course will never find out. The only way he would is if Manuel makes a bold move and exposes me.” He said.

That would be something I wouldn’t put past them, but they would risk exposing themselves and others like them as well. I hoped he wouldn’t be that petty.

“Are you worried that Manuel will go that far?”

Lio shook his head.

“I don’t believe any of the wereleopards or anyone else would take such a risk even to get revenge. In the meantime, I’m sure Officer Rollards will undoubtedly be making more visits to your house now.” He said.

“Unfortunately.” I added. I sighed then, remembering what Officer Rollards had said about the results from the blood samples he collected.

“Lio, did the police mention anything about DNA results? Officer Rollards claimed that they took blood samples from my house before your friends cleaned up everything. He said they found blood abnormalities.”

Lio looked away from me for a moment seeming to think, then met my eyes again.

“I was asked about what I saw several times but when I wouldn’t go into detail they stopped asking. I wouldn’t be too worried about what they found in the blood samples since they don’t know what they’re looking for yet.” He said. I nodded in agreement.

“Why don’t you come and stay at my house for a few days? If only to dodge him temporarily.”

He said with a grin.

I smiled back at him, it was a good idea.

“Sounds good, let me go and get some clothes together.”

I told him before planting a kiss on his full lips. Running away from my problems wasn’t something I wanted to make a habit out of. However, I’d rather not be at my house for a while because stalker Officer Rollards intended to make my life miserable. He made it clear that he would, so I needed a plan. A good one.