Chapter 19: Share a Secret, Gain an Ally

CLARA

My face must have had my worries written all over it, because I felt a ball of paper hit me in the head.

When I turned, I saw Jason watching me with a smirk.

“What has your face all scrunched up like you’ve been eating lemons?”

“Nothing!” I insisted, though I knew my voice came out more forcefully than it should have.

“If you need help with your article, you can just ask, you know,” he replied, a teasing lilt in his voice.

I couldn’t help shooting him a glare, expecting him to crack up like he usually did. But instead, his smile began drooping. “What’s wrong, Parks? You’re not usually this hard to read. Did something happen this weekend?”

I snapped. It definitely wasn’t my proudest moment, but I totally lost my cool.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” I spat and grabbed my coffee, making a beeline for the bathroom.

I needed to calm down, because the amount of anger I was feeling from Jason’s earnest question was irrational.

Jason started to follow me, but I glared back at him once more and he stopped in his tracks. The look of concern and hurt on his face echoed in my mind as I burst through the office door and turned the corner.

I practically body-slammed the bathroom door open. Thankfully, there was no one inside, so I parked myself in front of the mirror and stared at my own face.

“What the hell was that, Clara?” I asked my reflection. “Is the sleep deprivation getting to you? That has to be it, because you’ve never been this irrational. It’s time to quit being prideful and call the Goodwill guy on your break.”

Somehow, having even that small thing I had the power to fix drained away most of my anger. I felt my blood pressure lower, and the redness in my cheeks began to disappear.

“Okay. That’s the plan. Now let’s get back to the office and handle Jason. Because we both know he’s not going to let it go.” My reflection and I nodded at each other.

I felt embarrassment coloring my cheeks as I stepped back into the office and caught more than one of my coworkers staring at me. Yet, none of them actually said anything—they just turned back to their computers and resumed their typing.

I got back to my desk only to find that Jason was nowhere to be seen.

Well, that was one less problem, I supposed. I opened my laptop and the Marius article, staring at the current version for a moment before opening a new document.

If Perkins wanted me to draw parallels between him and the murders—challenge accepted.

I was just getting into the groove of things when I caught Jason returning from the corner of my eye.

He stopped at my desk and set down a plate with a bagel and a container of cream cheese on it.

“I brought a peace offering,” he explained and hurried back to his own desk, as if he was afraid I’d take a swing if he got too close.

“Thanks,” I said, pushing the bagel away from the edge of the desk—I 100 percent would have knocked it on the floor if it stayed there. “Sorry about the outburst. It was just a rough weekend.”

Jason looked at me with a mixture of pity and questioning, which flared my temper a little. I took a deep breath to tamp it down.

“Was it Elias?”

I nodded, annoyed that he knew…but also not surprised. I literally had nothing besides work and the Elias thing going on in my life right now.

His frown deepened, and he spun his chair around to face me.

“I know it’s none of my business, but ~please~ be careful with this guy. I’ve known plenty of men like him: charming, secretive, and ~trouble~.”

The accusation made me grind my teeth, but I knew he was right.

I ~should~ be looking for someone like Jason if I were looking at all. A normal guy with a normal job, living a normal life. Honestly, if Elias hadn’t shown up to make my heart go ~thu-thump~, I might even have considered giving Jason a chance.

Someday.

“Don’t worry about me, Jason. I can take care of myself. And I think I have some information for our serial killer project, but you’re going to think I’m insane.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and set my jaw, trying to convince myself as hard as I was trying to convince Jason.

He just sighed and shook his head. “Try me. I’m all ears, Parks.”

I couldn’t help replaying the way he’d looked when I’d told him about seeing Elias change the first time. If anyone in this town was likely to believe me, it was Jason. And damn, did I need someone to believe me right now.

So I made a risky decision.

“I don’t think we’re chasing a regular serial killer. I think we’re chasing a violent werewolf pack—and Elias might be the leader.”

Jason’s mouth fell open wide enough I could have tossed a quarter into it like a wishing well.

“We can’t just put out an article claiming that,” he whispered, and my stomach fell.

I should have known he wouldn’t believe me.

“But I believe it,” he quickly added. “I’ve believed in the local werewolves my entire life.”

“Wait, you do?” I raised one eyebrow, and he nodded.

“Absolutely.”

I scowled and leaned closer to him. “Then why did you brush me off so easily when I brought them up the first time?”

“We’d known each other for like a week, Parks. Most people in town label those of us who believe the old legends as crazy. How would I know if you’d go around telling people I did? Bad reputations are hard to change in a small town like this, so it was easier to brush it off.

“As such, we’re going to need dang good proof if we’re ever going to convince Perkins, much less the police. They trust me, but if I go to them with stories about werewolves, they might not.”

Ah yes, evidence. How did he propose I get that?

~“Hey Elias, can I take a video of you turning into a wolf for my boss and the po-po? Thanks!”~

Yeah, no. Not gonna happen.

Once again he seemed to read my mind and grinned.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll figure out something. Getting the scoop is our job, after all.” He winked just as Perkins emerged from his office.

“Foster! There’s another body. I want you to go find out what you can.”

I stood to follow, but the boss man shook his head. “Not you, Parks. You need to finish that last article I gave you to write. Foster can handle this.”

Anger burned in my chest. I was sick and tired of Perkins only giving me the leftovers, like some kind of pawn.

“You need to stop underestimating me! I’m perfectly capable of handling and reporting your little small-town murder spree. I came from the big city, where bodies turn up all the time. I don’t appreciate being your last-resort journalist!”

He raised one eyebrow, looking more amused than annoyed at my outburst.

“You really ~are~ as spicy as Jason said. But I gave you the interview with Marius, did I not? Have you considered that maybe part of being on a small team like ours means you won’t get ~all~ of the interviews on such a large event?

“It has nothing to do with your skills or my opinion of you. I need you to trust that I’m assigning interviews and articles based on factors that have nothing to do with you. Such as having at least one person in the office in case something big happens.”

He gestured around the room, and only then did I realize I was the only person left.

All I could do was lower my head. He was right. I’d started developing a bit of main character syndrome.

“Sorry, Boss.”

He placed a warm hand on my shoulder and smiled.

“New jobs take adjusting, especially when you’ve been used to things working differently. But you’ll get there. Just remember that we’re on the same side, okay?”

I nodded, and he left me to my work.

That evening, I sat in front of the living room window and stared out at the moon. I couldn’t help wondering if Elias was wandering around under that same moon, his silvery fur reflecting the waning rays.

“What are you doing, Clara Parks?” I whispered. “He’s dangerous—but he saved you. Could you ever truly trust him? Can you even trust yourself, if you’re so easily affected by him?”

And had he killed…again?