Better Off Dead

by Sarah Noffke

  Kris’s heart nearly fell out of her chest when the toddler pointed straight at her, convicting her of taking the book. She was invisible though. It was simply coincidence. The little boy couldn’t have known that she had the book.

  Kris moved to the side when Adelaide breezed by her. She was able to slide out behind Adelaide when she left her residence, before the automated door slid back closed. The invisible girl didn’t know why she’d followed Adelaide to her apartment. Curiosity maybe. Or maybe she was stalling. She had the book and knew it was what Mika wanted. All she needed to do was go to the dry dock and wait for the next submarine to leave the Institute. Then she’d be generously rewarded and hopefully given an even cooler case.

  Kris stared at Adelaide’s back as she stomped through the stainless steel hallways of the Institute. But was there really a cooler place to be assigned than the Lucidite Institute? This place was like being on a ship in space. An underwater space ship. And the people were fascinating to watch. They were nice and talented and more intelligent than any group Kris had ever seen. Even their leader, Trey, was compassionate and ruled with a tender smile. Maybe that’s why she was stalling. She wasn’t done studying this secret society of Dream Travelers.

  “Kaleb!” Adelaide roared outside a door before knocking furiously at it.

  A moment later the stainless steel door slid back to reveal a brown-haired boy standing in the opening with a pursed smile. “I don’t want any Girl Scout cookies, but thanks for asking,” he said. Kaleb was the jokester of the pack, Kris had observed. Connor the damaged one. Rio the guy’s guy. And Zephyr was the stoic leader. Kris had enjoyed watching them interact, all having different personalities that complemented each other. It would be interesting to see the dynamics shift as more werewolves were added to the pack. Then Kris silently admonished herself for the thought. She was supposed to be gone from the Institute, she thought, pressing her hand to the book residing in the bag at her side.

  “Do you have my book?” Adelaide said, her voice still loud.

  “So you aren’t selling cookies? I’m surprised, because—”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Adelaide said, cutting him off. “Answer the question. Do you have my book?”

  “I don’t, but—”

  Adelaide turned at once, again interrupting Kaleb. Apparently his answer was enough for her. And the girl with fiery red hair nearly knocked into Kris as she sped by, her eyes narrowed with anger.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  “Grant Walker has exhibited a higher degree of aggression than other subjects. This is believed to be due to the wolf DNA, which was substantially increased in this experiment.”

  - Olento Research, Canis Lupus Project File

  It had to be the wolf’s fault. That was the only explanation, Zephyr thought as he thumbed over his dog tags. There was no reason that a guy like him would be drawn to a girl like Rox. It was laughable to even consider taking a girl like her to meet his parents, not that that was even an option for him anymore. He wasn’t going home. No more Sunday dinners. No more holidays, just him and his parents. Their family had been a small one. “Our precious nuclear family,” his mother used to call them. However, there was more love between the three of them than in a mass of siblings and aunts and uncles. The Flournoys preferred things small, quaint. They were minimalists, and more importantly, his mother always said Zephyr needed a girl who took care of him. He didn’t think she’d approve of an FBI agent with a dirty mind and slutty wardrobe.

  The chair beside Zephyr swung out. He’d been lost in thought and didn’t even notice that Rox had entered the conference room. It was like that lately; since he’d been at the Institute he’d let down his guard. That had never happened before. And if he was honest, his guard was usually down when Rox was around, but he wasn’t sure why when it should have been reinforced.

  She hiked up her leg and placed her foot on the leather seat, sticking her knife down into a sheath hidden inside the knee-high boot. Then she tossed her flipped out blonde hair over her shoulder and gave Zephyr a small smile.

  “You really are starving for attention, aren’t you?” he said, giving her a repulsed look. “Did you grow up the youngest and were forgotten by your family most of the time? Is that why you try so hard?”

  She laughed, smoothing her hand over her knee and up to her thigh where her cutoff shorts started. Leather boots and jean shorts. Yeah, his mother would probably donate all of her cardigans to Rox if they ever met, just out of charity for the girl who was obviously defunct when it came to fashion and modesty.

  “I’m an only child and also the center of my parents’ lives,” Rox said with a laugh. “I don’t need attention. Can’t help it that you are fascinated by me.”

  “Mild interest coupled with an ability to overlook your many flaws isn’t really attraction, but whatever,” Zephyr said, his eyes skirting down briefly to her leg still resting on the seat in front of him. Damn, why did she have to be so sexy? Not romantically sexy, but robustly sexy.

  Rox opened her hiked up leg to the side, revealing a little more of her inner thigh, an impish grin on her pink mouth. “Mild interest, huh? That didn’t feel like mild interest last night.”

  Zephyr’s blood beat in his head. A warmth spread through his groin. This was the wolf’s fault. This wasn’t Zephyr. He didn’t want the girl in front of him. She was a mess. Yes, an FBI agent, but also a train wreck waiting to happen. And Rox had probably been like that ever since she learned her skill was pretty much being invincible. A girl like her didn’t know what it was like to be hurt. To fear death. She would probably die from old age, not ever finding a challenge that could kill her. And Zephyr would probably die from the damn wolf making him do something incredibly impulsive, like jumping over a chasm to get to Rox.

  He cleared his throat. “What happened last night?” he said and then slapped his forehead. “Oh, that’s right. I totally forgot, which means you’re forgettable.”

  Rox leaned her neck to the side, cracking it loudly, an amused look on her face. “That’s funny because those noises you made didn’t sound like you’d easily forget what I did to you.”

  “Sorry I keep giving you the wrong impression,” Zephyr said, leaning forward when he really only wanted to lean away. He was calculated. Balanced. That’s why he’d been a captain in the Special Forces. He knew how to control himself and make decisions when in intense situations. However, right then he didn’t feel at all like himself. The leather of Rox’s boot was cool under his palm. When had he done that? Put his hand on her boot? Looking up at Rox standing tall made him feel suddenly put into submission. And the satisfied look on her face just sealed that feeling.

  “Please tell me that you’re thinking of being a shoe salesman and are practicing your skills on Rox,” a girl’s voice coated in a British accent said at Zephyr’s back. He spun around, taking his hand off Rox’s boot to find Adelaide. Again he’d let down his guard.

  “I was helping her sheathe her knives.” Instantly Zephyr felt dumb. What the fuck was going on? He was lying and it made no sense and yet he’d gotten himself into this situation.

  “Or you were putting the moves on Rox and she’s now fired,” Adelaide said, looking delighted.

  A loud laugh popped out of Rox’s mouth as she slid her foot off the chair and to the floor. “You think I want rabies? I’m only teasing the dumb dog, so don’t you worry, Freckles,” she said.

  Adelaide gave Rox a long discerning look that said “I don’t believe you, hooker.” Or maybe Zephyr just embellished the last part. Probably.

  “Speaking of rabid dogs,” Adelaide said, thumping a file down on the conference room table, keeping a few folders still cradled in her arms. “There’s been another attack in Los Angeles. Another mutilated lady and this time an eyewitness saw a werewolf attack the lady from a third-story window.”

  “When was this?” Zephyr said, pulling the folder open.

  “A week ago, the night that you all changed,” Adelaide
said, turning to watch the rest of the team enter. Rio and Kaleb took seats, but Connor stood beside Adelaide, giving her a strange look, a question written on his face.

  “What?” she said, pursing her lips at him.

  “Third story is kind of a distance to view anything with accuracy. And if it was the night we changed then it would have been dark in the street,” he said.

  “When did you become a fucking detective?” she said to him, not looking impressed.

  Zephyr skimmed the room. It was getting fuller, now with four werewolves. He couldn’t imagine how it would look in a few weeks. What would it feel like to have all the werewolves around the table? A gentle pressure clamped over his chest. A feeling of security took residence inside of him. And then it depleted a bit. Except for Orion. The pack would always be short one. Orion was gone, of that he was sure. It’s like he’d felt his spirit blotted out when Wolf X picked him up and broke his neck. Zephyr hadn’t even realized he was connected to the stranger, but now he knew it. He was connected to all of the werewolves. Maybe for that reason he should be worried since he’d recently felt another jolt in his system, like a new werewolf had been hurt, or maybe blotted out. Zephyr shuddered at the thought.

  “I think Connor is just trying not to jump to conclusions. It’s hard to consider that someone from the pack mutilated a woman,” Zephyr said, leafing through the file. This was one of many attacks in Los Angeles. The dates matched up with the nights they changed. Every seven days there had been a woman attacked, usually brutally. And in a number of the cases, a werewolf was seen or reported to be involved. The authorities were dismissing this to different factors like lighting, disguises, or gang activity.

  “Yeah, well, you may not want to believe that a man from your litter would do something, but I’m going to need you to consider the facts,” Adelaide said. “The truth is that most people are bad and couple that with new angry genetics and super skills, they might be employing this for selfish gains.”

  Connor lowered his chin and regarded Adelaide with a raised eyebrow. “Your cynicism is really enchanting,” he said.

  “Oh shut it. I’ve got other bloody business to disclose to you all,” Adelaide said, shuffling the folders in her hand. However, the pages started to leak out of one and when another began to slip to the side, Adelaide’s hand darted for it, allowing the other file to fall toward the floor. Connor reached down in a blur, catching the folder before it touched the ground. As he rose his face took on new shapes. The lightness was replaced with a flare of anger. His eyes narrowed and Zephyr was on his feet at once.

  “What is it?” he said at Connor’s side. Connor was now staring at the file with contempt.

  Slowly he turned and looked at Zephyr. “Wolf X has struck again…” He then closed his eyes, probably gathering intel from the folder in his hand using his psychometry. When he opened his eyes, they were glowing green. “He murdered Hugo, a werewolf who was described as one of the most gentle among us.”

  “No,” Zephyr said in hush, looking toward Adelaide. She merely nodded. “Why is he murdering the pack? Doesn’t Olento Research want us back?”

  “I’m guessing that he’s lost control, based on what the agents found,” Adelaide said. “I had a news report from Roya and it has just come to pass. There wasn’t enough time to stop it. I sent agents out to retrieve the body and they say it looked like an act of pure aggression.”

  Zephyr nodded. That made sense. Missions were done cleanly. When passion and emotions entered into situations, they turned ugly and violent. “We need to go after him,” Zephyr said, looking to Connor and then Rio and Kaleb.

  “I agree, but I can’t have you just running off,” Adelaide said. “Kaleb has another case for the strategic department, so you can’t take him. Connor, you haven’t been cleared by the doctor yet. So you three,” she pointed at Zephyr, Rio, and Rox, “will go after him, but not yet. We have a window of time when we know where he’ll be, on his return to Olento Research.” Adelaide turned to Connor, who still looked to be simmering with quiet anger. That wasn’t going to serve him. Zephyr would have to help him control his emotions. Adelaide snapped at him, angling toward the folder. “Give me,” she said.

  He started to hand her the folder and then turned and stalked out of the room, with the report.

  Zephyr turned to go after Connor at once.

  “Don’t,” Adelaide said. “Let him go. He’s just angry. He’ll get over it.”

  “But the location,” Zephyr said. His shoulders were higher now, no doubt due to the stress of the moment.

  “And I have an incredible memory and don’t need the file. The location is the DFW airport in two hours,” Adelaide said. She wasn’t exaggerating about her excellent recall, because she’d inherited her father’s photographic memory. However, that didn’t help her with remembering all the details from his book, since she hadn’t studied all the pages and the ones she had were so cluttered with words. Grief coated her stomach with unease. She had to find that book. Somehow she had to figure out how it had disappeared. Not having that small object was cutting off her spirit little by little.

  “Wolf X flies commercial?” Kaleb said with a laugh. He was looking more confident after his last case. Actually he’d been successful with disarming the bomb and made the whole case go along much more smoothly than if the strategic department had to rely on other methods. He might be the best thing to happen to the department since Adelaide came along.

  “Probably flying out on a private jet,” Adelaide said.

  “Okay, you two ready?” Zephyr said to Rio and Rox.

  “Whoa, problem is, you dogs are due to change tonight. As much as I want to go after Wolf X we can’t do it tonight. Instead, I’m sending agents to track him. This might give us a way to find out where Olento Research is located. If we can find the location then we can take Mika Lenna down,” Adelaide said. It was a good plan and Trent had approved it at once. She felt like she was working from the end, like Ren would have done.

  Zephyr stuck his hand into his gelled up hair. “Yeah, fine. That makes sense,” he said, but he didn’t sound convinced.

  “Once we have a location then you can totally go and bring Mika to justice. You can punish Wolf X,” Adelaide said. “But for tonight, I want you dogs in the safe room.”

  “Okay,” Zephyr said. “I’ll go round up Connor. You two meet me there,” he said to his pack before walking for the exit.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  “Wolf X was reported to have larger claws and canines than those in the original pack. It is therefore concluded that more than one werewolf will be necessary to take him down.”

  - Lucidite Institute, Werewolf Project File

  “What are you doing out of your hole, dog? You’re about to change,” Adelaide said, hoping the fear wasn’t resonating in her voice. She still had a fear of the werewolves when they were close to changing and that utterly sucked. Ren would have never been fearful of someone he was charged with protecting. But Ren hadn’t been attacked by a diabolical werewolf.

  “It’s Connor,” Zephyr said, striding forward, his forehead creased.

  Of course it’s fucking Connor, Adelaide thought. What had he done now? Torn the Institute apart because he was angry that he couldn’t go on this mission? Told the infirmary staff to all sod off, or whatever dumb Americans say when they’re pissed? Probably something like, “Get out of my way, junk face.” Americans did everything the dumb way, including being offensive.

  “What has Connor done?” Adelaide said, sounding bored as she flipped through the file on the table. Her life was just a series of days where she studied files. She needed to stop procrastinating and put herself out in the field. She needed to be on this case, rather than working it from the comfy chairs of the Institute. But outside the walls of the strategic department her demons had names and faces and could potentially dominate her, making her retreat into old habits. And without her book she felt worthless. Before, the idea of working at Pa
rantaa Research to find clues was intimidating. Now, absent of the comfort of the encrypted answers from her book, she was paralyzed, unable to take the risks that didn’t feel so monumental before.

  Zephyr pulled his bottom lip into his mouth and bit down, his eyes skirting to the side for a moment. “He’s gone,” he finally said.

  “He’s what?” Adelaide said, knowing she’d heard Zephyr clearly, but didn’t want to believe those two words.

  “I went to check his room and he was gone. Rio and Kaleb have searched the Institute. He’s nowhere to be found. I think it’s highly possible that he went after Wolf X, based on the way he stormed out earlier,” Zephyr said, his hands now pinned behind his back and his chin up.

  “And he had the file,” Adelaide said, but knew he didn’t need the file to know where to find Wolf X. His psychometry would have told him the entire contents of the folder without reading it because his gift was that strong.

  Zephyr interrupted his stoic stance to scratch his beard, then his eyebrow. “You’re about to change,” Adelaide stated, watching his pupils dilate. Soon the pores of his skin would widen. Soon he’d be a werewolf. Adelaide’s fingers shook as she turned for the exit. She had to get away from Zephyr or he had to get away from her. Her mind flashed with images of Connor bearing down on her, ready to tear into her. Would Zephyr be able to control himself when he changed, unlike Connor? She didn’t want to find out.