The Elemental Huntress

Chapter 11 - Conflicts & Cherry Lips

WILLA POV

After arriving back on U.S soil from Canada, Rhydian and I decided to head straight to headquarters to go through documents until we found something. We were both desperate for answers and wanted something concrete to share with Elira once she woke up. Moonlight Tech had offices all over the United States, but headquarters was located in Ohio, close to the vicinity of werewolves. Plus, there was always something going on in Canada and it meant they were close.

Rhydian and I both knew that Angie and Richard were in Europe on a mission, so getting into their office wasn’t expected to be too hard, especially since we are technically part of their organisation.

"Do you have a plan to get into the archives? Because I think my version may be more fun." I assumed Rhydian had planned something much more by the book. I on the other hand, was keen to make things a little more challenging.

"Of course, I do. Please just leave it alone and save the theatrics for when we know the truth, something tells me that we aren't going to like it too much." Rhydian whispered as we entered the pass code to Angie's office. We had searched Richard’s office and come up empty on both hard copy files and digital files on his computer. If anything was going down, it appeared he knew nothing about it or was very good at hiding his tracks. It was now time to investigate Angie, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to find something or come up empty once again. Part of me wanted answers and the other part wasn't sure how to feel if Angie had played a part in any of it.

"You search the filing cabinet and I'll go through the computer." Rhydian spoke softly as we headed through the office door. "What are we looking for exactly?" I whispered back to him. "Anything dated 18 years ago!" He was laser focused as he sat down at her desk and got started. It was early morning, around 8am, not many people were in the office yet, we knew we had just a thirty-minute window to get this done, it really wasn't much time.

I searched the filing cabinet from top to bottom and didn't find anything, as I was about to finish the final draw, something caught my eye. There was a file that had a name on it, Elira Lykaios. I grabbed it and started to skim through the pages, seeing a date from 18 years ago pop up. "Rhydian, I think I found something. The file is named Elira Lykaios and mentions a date from 18 years ago." I held my breath as my thoughts started to spiral. "I found something too, let me copy these files quickly and we can head out." I skimmed to the last page of the file and noticed that some pages were missing, there was a post-it note that simply read the number 42907. "Rhydian, I think some of this file is missing, the last few pages are gone, and it has a note with it that reads as just a number." He looked over at me with a raised eyebrow, "What's the number say?" I wasn't sure what it meant and hoped Rhydian would. "It says 42907. Could it be code for something?" I looked through the rest of the file to see if there were any other notes as I answered him.

He put his hand out, gesturing for me to give him the file. He looked at the note and a realisation hit him, "It's a case file number, this must be Elira’s case file. These records are usually kept for authorised personnel only in the archives room. It's down on the basement level." I started to smile at him, "Ohh now you're talking, let's head down there now and see if we can find the rest, plus they might have files on us as well." Rhydian looked at me like I was crazy. "Why couldn't this just be a quick office sweep and that's it?" Rhydian felt defeated. "Stop your whinging, let the fun and games begin!" I snickered at him and was already heading for the office door.

We swiftly left the office how we found it, minus the hard copy file I'd taken, and we headed for the elevator. We had 10 minutes before hunters started flooding these offices, we didn't want to risk being seen as we weren't keen to answer any questions or be interrogated. As we leave the elevator and step into the basement, we are met by a desk that is surrounded by a fenced and screened off area. There was a Hunter by the name of Aiden sitting at the desk, I smiled at him as I approached the desk. This was going to be too easy.

"Good morning hottie, long time no see, I was hoping you might be able to help me with something. I need to follow up on a recent case file, could you get it for me?" I knew Aiden wouldn't be able to resist my charms, given that he'd asked me out a few times the year before. "Well, well, well, look who it is. You're looking good Willa, shame you won't accept my request to take you out. What's the case file number?" Aiden smirked at Willa. "The case file number is 14298. I could go out with you, but I've been busy, you know, slaying demons and hunting werewolves." I gave him a small wink as I teased him a little with my response. "Classic Willa, always the tease. I'll be back in a minute, don't go anywhere now." He gave me a cheeky grin as he got up to look for the case file.

"Oh, come on now, that's no way to talk to a woman!" I yelled after him, shaking my head. "Do you think this is really going to work?" Rhydian was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, clearly not impressed with my flirting. "Trust me Rhyd, this will work. I may have to comprise and go on a date with him, but it'll work." Rhydain shook his head at me. "And how do you think Sloane is going to react to this little date of yours?" Rhydian responded with a raised eyebrow.

I hadn't thought about Sloane, being tied to someone was kind of new to me and even though I was willing to accept the bond between us. I wasn't exactly head over heels in love yet. Moments later Aiden returned to his desk. "Ok here's the file you asked for, you just need to sign it out and you'll be good to go." He passed me the sign out form which I signed and gave back to him. "Before I go, there is one more thing you could do for me, it may require some rule bending, if you're up for it." I gave him a grin and waited for his response.

"What's in it for me exactly? And what is it you want?" Aiden lent back in his chair, twisting a pen in his hands as he crossed one leg over the other.

"Well, I was thinking, I may take you up on that date you offered after all. In regard to what I want, it's another case file, but it's not exactly one that I'm authorised to sign out. I was hoping you might do me a favour and let me take it without having to sign it out of the system? Without asking any questions."

I bit my lip softly as I spoke, looking him in the eye, hoping he wouldn't be able to resist me. "Well ok, you don't mess around do you Willa. I'll do it, if I can pick you up on Friday. You're still living downtown, right?" Aiden had no idea I'd moved to the west. "Yes, I sure do, let's meet at 8pm, I'll text you the place?"

This game I was playing was a little too fun.

"Deal, just give me the file number and I'll see what I can find." I gave him the file number and stepped back to lean against the wall with Rhydian, a proud grin on my face. "You can stop bragging now, I'm pretty certain our 10 minutes is likely up. What's the plan for when we get back upstairs?"

I gave him a discerning look before I gave him a pat on the shoulder. "I say we act normal, none of the hunters will know what mission we are currently supposed to be on. Who is going to know that we aren't even technically living in Ohio now? So, let's just act normal, if it happens to get back to Angie and Richard that we were here, we can just tell them that it was part of the mission. I'm sure we can come up with a story by then, if it happens." I was being smug, but I couldn't help it. This felt easy to me, and fun. I was hungry for answers, and I knew Rhydian was too. Aiden returned with the file and gave it to me, I made promises of a date for Friday. As we were about to leave, I remembered that there might be files on myself and Rhydian. “One more thing hotshot, is it possible to look up files from the same date as the file you just got for me? I need everything you have from that date” I was desperate to get out of here now and hoped there were extra files.

Aiden sighed and asked me for the date. I gave it to him, and he searched for it on the computer system.

“There are two more files from the same date, I’ll grab them for you now, but you owe me still Willa.” I smiled at him as he got up to search for the documents. Rhydian and I both looked at each other and didn’t say anything. It was one thing to investigate Elira’s file, we knew something more was up with her than just being a werewolf, but to discover more secrets that included us was different. If all of us have really been lied to, what does that mean? And if Moonlight Tech are the ones behind it, are they a corrupt organisation or just have corrupt agents? So many questions were running through my mind, I decided not to worry about it presently and focus on getting back home. I'll worry when I know all the information, I thought to myself.

Aiden returned with the files, as he handed them over, we had another dirty exchange and then Rhydian and I left. We got back up to the main floor and was surprised no one really questioned us, we got some hellos on our way out, but that was it. We were happy to save time and be on our way to heading home back to Oregon.

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ELIRA POV

It was a strange thing, waking up in such a beautiful room. I could feel that there was history here, not just in this room but in this place. There was almost a magical beauty around it. I had briefly seen glimpses of places on the pack lands that I really wanted to check out today now that I was starting to feel better. I had decided on one more day of rest before returning to school, it was going to be a Friday when I returned but I wanted to do well and felt that I was likely going to need to catch up and I could do it over the weekend. I usually hated school, the whole hierarchy of it all and fraternising with the enemy really got to me. But the academic side was always something I excelled at and really loved. I wasn't going to let a little bit of mistaken identity stop me from excelling.

I'd just finished getting dressed when I heard a knock at the door, I look up and it's Killian. I couldn't help but look at him from head to toe, drinking in the image of this walking s*x doll. Suddenly I hear Artemis yip in my head, she's excited to see her mate. That makes one of us, he is a godly sight to see but I wasn't exactly foaming at the mouth.

"I just thought I'd check in and see how you were feeling this morning, I know that yesterday was likely a bit overwhelming for you." Killian stood in front of me with his hands behind his back, showing off broad shoulders and a well-defined, muscled chest. "My head is less heavy now, clearer, although I am definitely not used to sharing my head with someone else. Artemis is happy to see you by the way." I smiled at him; his presence was relaxing for me.

"That is good to know, I have pack business to attend to for most of today, I figured if I know you in any way thus far, you likely want to explore on your own?" He smiled at the knowledge of Artemis, his hand reaching out to touch my arm as he explained his day to me. I was impressed by the fact that he seemed to understand my need to be on my own. "I would like that very much, you have a keen eye Killian, I like that you're paying attention." I continued to stand there with my arms folded, looking down at his hand touching me, in awe of the sensation his touch was giving me. It was like a tingle, one that reached my core and made me want to buckle my knees, which I refused to do. I didn't want him to know how much he affects me. I rested my hand on top of his on my arm and smiled at him.

"Rhydian and Willa will be back from Ohio this afternoon. I've sent word to them that you're awake, I know they were hoping to be back before that, they didn't want you to wake up without them here." I chuckled at his words, knowing that is exactly what they would have wanted. "Thank you for the update, I'm going to head out now, enjoy your Alpha duties." I stepped away from him and smiled. I grabbed my coat and swiftly left the room. Walking through the gorgeous packhouse out onto the grounds. My first stop was The Night Wolf, I was eager to drink some coffee and enjoy the atmosphere. I'd never been inside a pack before, seeing werewolves in this kind of environment was so foreign to me, a part of me still loathed their existence, but the other part felt longing, wanting to be connected to them as much as possible. I had no idea how to explain this to my two best friends, how could they ever understand what I'm going through?

I was expecting Artemis to chime in with her own thoughts on what I was feeling but she seemed to be asleep. Great, seems like my wolf’s a dud, I thought to myself as I strolled into the cafe.

It seemed normal. I ordered my coffee and took a seat towards the back, admiring the greenhouse look of the building. I'd been sitting at my table for about 10 minutes when a gorgeous blonde sat at my table. It was Elaine!

She looked surprised to see me there and to be honest I couldn't blame her. "Hey Elira, umm, what are you doing here? Aren't Hunters only supposed to hunt rogues, which are generally outside the packlands?" Her confusion was evident, but I couldn't help but smile at her. Something about this she-wolf made me feel excited.

"Hi Elaine, yes you are right. But I'm not here on Hunter business. It's a long story to tell you the truth, maybe we could take a walk and I'll tell you about it?" My words seemed to surprise her even more. "Sure, I'll get my coffee to go, and we can head out, there's a few nice places I could show you."

We grabbed our coffees to go and left The Night Wolf, turning left as we exited and walked towards the woods. "There's a nice outdoor area we could go to, there are some couches and stuff we could sit on and talk if you like?" I agreed to let her guide me, enjoying the nature around me, listening to stories Elaine would tell me, appreciating the history of this land.

We reached the hangout spot not long after, it looked comfy and seemed to be quiet with no one else around.

It was a small space, the couch was a light cream linen colour, a white coffee table and a rug. It was built under a wooden structure with small cut logs that made up the wall. It had fairy lights dangling from the roof and different sized lanterns on the floor, I imagined that it looked beautiful at night-time. We sat down beside each other, Elaine was explaining what this area was generally used for, people sometimes come to read, chat, have a glass of wine at night, nothing too special. I was about to tell her my secret, something I hadn't even told my best friends, it was a strange feeling to trust her, this beautiful she-wolf. "So, I want to start by saying that this is all very new to me, Rhydian and Willa are on their way back from investigating at headquarters and I haven't even had the chance to tell them anything. I am certain that they already know. I don't really know what's going on with me for sure, but I know that I'm not actually human. I'm a werewolf." I couldn't look at her when I spoke, I stared into the woods hoping I hadn't just made a mistake by telling her.

Elaine's eyes went wide, she was in shock. I look at her and see that she doesn't know what to say. "I am also Alpha Killian’s mate!"

I heard her suck in a breath, shock still in her eyes. Her mouth was slightly open, her lips a Cherry red. They were luscious, the kind I wanted to kiss and nibble on. Not like the last time, not to play games. There was something about Elaine that made me feel comfortable, it wasn't like with Killian, when I was with him, I felt on edge. I felt like everything would fall into place, but that's what scared me. I didn't know if I wanted that life, if I wanted him or for anything to just fall into place. I wanted to control my life, not have it control me.

"Are you ok? I mean, this is kind of huge Elira, your life is about to completely change. How are you so calm?" She placed her hand on my thigh as she expressed her concern for me. "I honestly don't know, I think once the others are back, if they found anything, it will clarify something, maybe then I'll spiral. All I know right know is that it was all a lie, everything I've ever known!" I was fighting back tears now; Elaine leant forward and hugged me.

Her scent hit me like a wave, enveloping itself around me, it was delicious and familiar. I slowly pulled back from our hug, our faces close together, foreheads touching. Our breaths were in sink now, hearts beating fast, I felt an innate, strong desire to kiss her. I pressed my lips to hers softly, slowly, not sure if she wanted the kiss as much as I did. I had no idea if girls were her thing. I knew I liked both men and women, I was comfortable with my sexuality, but I didn't want to make her feel like she couldn't reject me if she wanted to. After giving her a soft kiss, I waited, our heads still touching, neither of us speaking as we stayed in this moment. Then her lips were on mine, fierce and passionate, I reciprocated, my tongue massaging her tongue, our breathes hitch as we go deeper and deeper into our kiss. I felt like I was on fire, beginning to feel turned on.

Elaine climbed onto my lap and cupped my face in her hands, kissing me harder and faster, her passion was pouring out of her and it hit me like a wave. We were well and truly making out, her hands began to roam my body when I heard it, the sound of a twig snapping, distant voices, we both stopped suddenly, trying to catch our breath. People were coming, probably to chill at the exact place where we were making out. Elaine scrambled off me and sat beside me, both of us not speaking and trying to calm our breathing. Moments later two other she-wolves walked around the corner. They waved and said hello before taking a seat beside us. Elaine and I both looked at each other, smirking at the fact it was a close call.