Half Truths (A Helheim Wolf Pack Tale) (4 page)

His wolf was
pacing—agitated—and snapping at everything. He got up. Running a hand through
his short hair, he tried to figure out what he wanted.

Grey.

His cock
twitched. He growled. No, not Grey. He needed to use up some of the energy he
shouldn’t even have. He needed to punch something or go for a run or
some
thing.
Changing into his wolf’s skin at work wasn’t a possibility which only left one
place for him to go: the gym.

Marching out of
the office, he walked towards the gym they’d had installed last year. The room
was probably the size of half a basketball court with three different kinds of
cardio equipment and a weights and boxing corner. Peeling off his holster, he
dumped it onto the ground followed closely by his button-down. He hadn’t
brought a change of clothes to work today, so he’d just have to deal.

Not bothering
with gloves, Vaile stepped up to the punching bag and raised his fists. His
first punch was a right hook followed closely by a jab. The bag rocked back and
forth twice before he struck again with a speed and strength only lycanthropes
could possess.

It didn’t take
long for beads of sweat to form on his brow. Blood rushed through his veins,
pounding in time with his deep grunts as he let all his frustrations out on the
bag. He barely felt his knuckles burst open, leaving bloody prints all over the
leather. All he could feel was this rush of power, his blood burning through
his veins and a sense of release careening through his body.

He’d barely had
time to think about what had happened to his alpha. Guilt constricted his
chest—the first time he’d ever allowed himself to feel it since he’d found out
his alpha’s mate had been taken by the rival pack. Antain wouldn’t move until
he was absolutely sure of her location, so for now, all they could do was wait
and gather the information they needed.

It was the scent
of roses that brought him back to the room, back to the throb in his knuckles
and the loud pounding of his heart in his ears. He whirled around only to find
Grey standing in the entrance to the gym. Her mouth was slack, watching him
with hooded eyes. If he didn’t know any better, he could have sworn that she
was attracted to him.

His eyes took in
her slender frame, travelling from her face down. He looked at her hips and her
long legs, lingering on her small, perfectly-proportioned breasts for a second
longer than he’d meant to before meeting her green eyes once more. Her cheeks
flushed and she looked down. Vaile growled to himself, turning to land a few
more punches, pretending that he hadn’t just checked her out and that he didn’t
want her.

‘You’re here
early,’ she said. Her voice was closer. He turned. She was just standing a few
feet from him now, leaning against the side of one of the treadmills. He turned
back around without answering. The scent of roses got stronger as she
approached, and Vaile pinned her with a hard stare. She looked up at him, but
made no show of backing down. His wolf liked that.

‘Yeah,’ he
replied gruffly. ‘So are you.’

‘I just thought
we could get started on that murder case. I hardly got any sleep last night.’
She shrugged. ‘It must have been that extra cup of coffee.’ She smiled and his
heart skipped a beat. Clearing his throat, he gave his attention back to the
bag, hyperaware that she was standing only one foot away from him now.

‘Oh my God!
You’re bleeding,’ she said in a rush, putting herself in between him and the bag.
He quickly took a step back to avoid hitting her.

‘You shouldn’t
do that. It’s dangerous,’ he growled, not just talking about standing in
between a man with his fists raised and the object of the rage. He was talking
about her touching him. Ignoring his objection, Grey took his hands and
investigated them carefully.

‘We need to get
these cleaned and dressed. Come with me,’ she said in a no-nonsense voice.

He pulled free
of her grasp and stalked over to his shirt and gun. ‘They’re fine. They’ll
heal,’ he grumbled. She trailed after him, persistent.

‘It’s not fine,’
she insisted. ‘Let me take a look at them, then we can get some breakfast
before we officially have to clock in.’

Vaile’s eyes
narrowed. ‘Why?’

She blinked at
him. ‘Because I don’t want you bleeding all over the upholstery when I drive us
to the diner.’

He shook his
head. ‘Not that. Why are you being so nice to me after what happened this
morning?’

‘Oh,’ she
replied, looking down at her feet and dropping his fists. ‘I just figured you
were having a pretty bad night and wanted to get some sleep. It was my fault
really. I kind of just expected you to come to the diner.’ She looked up at him
again. ‘So, will you let me look after those for you?’ she asked, waving her
hand in the direction of his clenched fists. He’d felt his skin knit back
together while she was talking.

‘They’re fine.
See?’ he said, showing her his hands for half a second before taking them back
again. Once he washed the blood off, nobody would have been able to tell they’d
been torn up. Instead of just accepting what he’d said, Grey took one of his
hands in hers again and studied it.

‘Impossible,’
she breathed. He shrugged out of her grip again, pulling his shirt over
shoulders slick with sweat. He stared at her thinking this was exactly why
being friends with humans was a bad idea, and why having a relationship with a
human female was an even worse idea.

‘I’m a fast
healer,’ he said, brushing past her and shrugging into his holster again. She
caught up to him quickly.

‘I saw how deep
those cuts were. They couldn’t have healed so easily, or quickly.’

He paused halfway
through pushing a button through a buttonhole. ‘Yeah, well, they did. Are we
going to get breakfast, or what?’ he snapped, stalking out of the gym ahead of
her. Vaile finished buttoning up his shirt, but he could hear her trailing
after him quietly as he navigated his way back to his desk. He swung around to
her suddenly. ‘I’ll see you there soon. I have to take a shower first.’ Maybe
he could just make up some excuse for not going.

‘I can wait,’
she insisted.

‘Fuck,’ he growled
under his breath. He pushed into the men’s bathroom, finding his boss standing
by the sink, shaving. Vaile raised an eyebrow at him.

‘I had a fight
with my girlfriend last night. She threw me out.’

‘Women are more
trouble than they’re worth,’ Vaile grunted, pulling open his locker and taking
out the small towel he kept in there for occasions such as this one.

‘Don’t I know
it,’ D’Angelo agreed, talking to Vaile through the mirror. ‘You got a girl,
Wolfe?’

‘Fuck no.’

One of his dark
brows arched. ‘What about Larissa?’

‘Grey?’ he shot
back incredulously. ‘What about her?’

His boss stopped
shaving and turned to look at Vaile, his eyes narrowing as if he was trying to
figure him out. ‘You haven’t noticed her pining?’

‘Pining?’                              

D’Angelo smiled
at him and turned back around to face the mirror again. ‘She asked to be
assigned to you specifically. At first I didn’t understand why a fine woman
like her would want to spend any time with your fucking miserable ass, but I
see it now.’ He drew the razor down his face and rinsed. Vaile still couldn’t
think of anything else to say. He knew Grey had asked to work with him
specifically, but he figured it was because she was dared to, or something
equally as fucking juvenile.

‘So, have you
made a move yet?’

‘No,’ he replied
darkly. But that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to. He squeezed his eyes shut
for a minute.

‘I would if I
were you. She’s begging for it.’

Vaile cocked an
eyebrow at his boss. ‘Are you condoning interoffice relations?’

D’Angelo glanced
at the Rolex on his wrist. ‘Work doesn’t start for another three quarters of an
hour. We’re just two buddies having a chat right now.’

Vaile cursed
under his breath. ‘I have to hit the showers,’ he muttered. Rounding the corner
quickly, he slumped against the tiled wall and let out a shaky breath. The
tiles were cool through his clothing, but it did nothing to help the heat that
was travelling through his body now.

Grey was
screwing with his head. She had to be. Nobody would want to get to know him any
better. And he refused to let his boss plant any more ideas that she would.
Grey was just his work partner—nothing more.

Slinging his
towel over the half-wall between shower cubicles, he stripped off and turned on
the hot water, letting it wash away all thought of Grey. He closed his eyes,
letting the water barrel over his head; running like tiny, hot rivers down his
face and chest. Grey. He could see her face again—how she looked at him when
she came into the gym … how he could smell her arousal even though he was
trying hard to deny it at the time.

His erection
came quickly, unexpectedly. ‘Fuck,’ he growled, trying to think of something,
any
thing
other than his partner. But his mind tricked him. All he could think of
was
Grey; how her hair and make-up were always perfect, how her body was perfectly
proportioned although some would say that she was a little too skinny. He
thought she was perfect. He could even picture her emerging from the steam,
coming towards him and undressing slowly.

He would reach
for her hair, pulling it free from the artfully constructed knot she managed to
somehow make and run his hands through it, fanning it out over her shoulders.
Her body would be soft and pliant to his fingers, hands, mouth and tongue. She
would bend to him because how could she not? He’d drop small kisses like fire
down her neck and along her jaw, and she would moan for more—beg him for a
taste of his mouth.

Taking one of
her breasts into his mouth, he would tease her nipple with his tongue until it
was hard. Her body would arch into his, wordlessly begging for more and he
would give it to her. Sliding his hand between them, he’d slip his fingers
inside her while his thumb would work the tiny knot of nerves until her body
bucked, and the screams of her own release were all he could hear.

His cock jerked
suddenly, and his knees buckled. Bracing his arm above his head against the
shower wall, he hissed, riding out his orgasm. She’d made him come without even
as much as a touch, without even being in the room. With a growl, he washed
himself off and got out of the shower, towelling off carefully.

Sliding back
into his only set of clothes, he walked back out into the office to find Grey
waiting patiently at her desk. She smiled when she saw him, and he quickly
averted his eyes.

‘Let’s go,’ he
growled, not waiting for her reply.

*

Larissa couldn’t get the image of
Vaile at the gym out of her head. The writhing muscles, the sweat beading, his
skin glowing with the exercise. At the mere thought of him again, a tower of
heat shot through her body starting between her legs and working its way into
her chest. She could feel her cheeks flushing as she walked towards the car
park at the back of central command. Her partner was heading towards his
unmarked, and all she could do was follow like a puppy trailing after its
master.

The car beeped
when he unlocked it. Vaile pulled open the driver’s side door and got in while
Larissa swallowed the embarrassment of her wandering mind and slid into the
passenger seat. She glanced at Vaile from the corner of her eye, noticing how
tense he seemed.

‘Are you okay?’
she asked after he’d made it out of the car park and into the early peak
traffic.

He glanced at
her quickly before looking back at the road. ‘I’m fine,’ he replied abruptly.
Snow began drifting down outside her window. She watched it stick to the window
for a second before melting away before her eyes. They were driving alongside
Buxton River. It hadn’t frozen yet, but it would only be a matter of time.

Ten minutes
later, they pulled into the snow-dusted parking lot of the diner. They’d
managed to get the last spot in the lot, and as they walked to the entrance,
she recognised a lot of the cars parked there. Half of central command was
there getting their fix of caffeine and sugar.

Vaile walked in
first, his grey eyes scanning for an open spot just as she was doing. His
height advantage meant he found one first. Without a word, he started making
his way through the crowd. She noticed that people just seemed to move out of
his way, whereas she had to fight her way through, bumping into people’s chests
and nearly being elbowed in the face with each step she took. Sometimes she
wished she could be intimidating; the way that Vaile seemed to be.

It was only once
she was settled into the worn, vinyl bench seat did she realise it was the same
booth as the one they’d shared earlier that morning. She looked up at Vaile
from under her lashes, noticing how much he was trying not to look at her.
Burying her nose in the menu, she waited until the waitress came over to take
their orders. She ordered a coffee—the same as before—but instead of the pie,
she ordered pancakes. Vaile mumbled something about black coffee and a slice of
plain toast.

She stared out
at the snow-covered treetops until Vaile finally said more than two words to
her. ‘I got an email from Lee this morning.’

‘Already? What
did he say?’ she asked, relieved that talk about work was enough to break the
silence he was forcing them to endure.

‘Still don’t
know the kid’s surname. Lee ran his prints through the system, but he got
nothing from that. What did that witness tell you this morning?’

She pulled her
notebook from her bag, flipping to the last entry. ‘The girl’s name was Cherry
Green. She—’

Vaile barked a
laugh, startling Larissa. ‘You’re kidding, right?’