Broken Moon

Chapter 7- The owner

Lizzys POV

The standoff was really awkward. No one seemed to know what to say. Finally, I said:

“We had a mission and we are going to be late for our mission. I’ll just jump in the back of the car.”

They nod and we all take our seats.

“I’m sorry, this meeting became really awkward. Hello, my name is Altic Bonecrusher!” He reaches his hand out to James and they both shake hands.

“James Stroungbourn. Nice to meet you.”

His voice was strained but it was clear both of them were doing their best to be polite.

“I was not told much about the mission other than that there was a robbery. Do you mind briefing me?” Altic says.

“Sure. We are going to talk with Mary Cobalt. She is a human who is married to a werewolf. He works as a park ranger and she owns a shopping mall. Since she found out about our kind I know she has been collecting various items humans claim to have connections to our history. I don’t know if the theft has anything to do with this. We were sent there because she wouldn’t say what is missing. But beware that the alpha voice won’t work on her.”

There was a lot of information in his briefing that I did not know previously.

“Our teacher at the Academy said he thought she would say what had been taken to us. If the alpha voice won’t work what made him think she would talk to us? Does she know who you are? What does she know about me?” I asked.

“I believe she will know of your history back in… eh yeah. Either was my guess is that he sent me to be calming security blanket in contrast to your bad cop. And that she will tell us whatever we want in order to get you out of the house,” James responds.

“How nice,” I say ironically. “Always a fun way to make a first impression.”

This was not the first time I had been used this way. While having me on their land made people frightened they never hesitated to use it to their advantage. They knew no one would invade the lands I was living in. And they knew nobody wanted to me near me for an extended period of time. Having me in the room was often more effective than torture.

“For the horde,” I say. Curious to see who would get the reference.

Both of them c***k small smiles.

“And here I thought you played alliance,” Altic responds.

“Never, undead all the way” I countered.

“I honestly can’t say I have played much. But when I did I played blood elf. I did however use the undead starting area.”

At least now the mood was significantly better. One might be surprised a girl like me spent time playing World of Warcraft. But, then again, imagine having no one to communicate with on social media. It was nice having something to do on a platform where no one was afraid of me. I played a lot with my sister Jane.

We arrived at an beautiful old house in the middle of the city. I could imagine the Bridgeton’s buying this house if they moved to America. It belongs in the nineteenth century in a very well of family. It is also clear that the person who owns it cares about the history and has a lot of money. Because it is kept in pristine order with an amazing amount of preserved period details.

We go knock on the large mahogany door but no one arrives. We wait two to three minutes before starting to feel very uncomfortable. Whenever one stands at a house like this one feels the people walking by looking at one and wondering if one is planning to rob the place. Then James tries the handle. The smell that meets us has us taking a step back. A human would not even have noticed it. But to us it was unmistakable. Someone inside this house was dead.

James call the werewolves within the police department and have them come to the crime scene. This is the most practical way for us to handle the police and hospitals. By always having werewolf staff at the various departments, we can guarantee that crime and healthcare is handled so that no humans find out about us while still not hindering their efforts to find out what happened to their members. Our representatives have been to the required human schools and know exactly how to handle crime according to the human rulesbooks. They do, however, also have their werewolf advantages.

As the police know we are handling the case from the Academy’s side, they allow us to join them at the crime scene but direct us to where we are allowed to stand and force us to wear gloves and masks.

The body is in the sitting room on a day sofa. She is wearing a blue business suit which is stylish but also looks practical and comfortable. And her head had been shot. We do use guns, but only rarely. We have so many other effective weapons they feel unnecessary. If this was a werewolf, then this was definitely a premeditated murder. No werewolf would, in the heat of the moment, choose to pull their gun. They would have changed long before that.

There are scents of both humans and wolves in the house. They clearly entertained a lot.

“I must go talk to the husband,” James says. “I will be going with one of the detectives from the police force. Will the two of you go back to the academy and inform the higher powers.” He hands me his car keys and before they land in my hand he grabs hold of it. He looks me in the eyes sadly. I know in the moment he regrets having to continue without me.

“I would like to talk to you later. Would you consider letting me take you out for dinner? I know you are new here and…”

“I’m also new here. Does this invite extend to me?” Altic asks.

He receives an irritated glance because of that comment.

“You don’t have plans?” James asks.

“Nope, I just heard about this trip this morning. What restaurant are we heading to?”

He sighs. “I will text you two the address.”

“I actually was planning to have dinner with my sister,” I say. “Would it be okay if I brought her?”

I feel like I had just accepted an invite to the worst double date in history and am not sure if it was cruel to bring my sister along. But she is great at diffusing situations and keeping my calm. I really feel I need to get my body and wolf under control. Because now I was going to dinner with a mate I felt nothing for and the werewolf who made my body tingle but who was not meant for me. And I was not allowed to make any form of physical contact with either of them.