The Wyvern's Defender Dire Wolf

by Alice Summerfield

  Of course, all of that was before they had made out on his couch.

  Maybe his feelings towards her had changed, as hers had towards him. No longer was he a hot piece of beefcake that she liked to admire and lust over. Now, he was a hot piece of beefcake that she liked and whom she enjoyed kissing, as well as looking at, admiring, and lusting over at her leisure.

  Just thinking about it, Helena felt her face warm, and she tried to sneak a peek at Dolf out of the corner of her eye. Unfortunately, all Helena saw was a wall of well dressed muscle. Standing as he was, to one side of Helena’s chair and slightly behind her, it was impossible for Helena to see his handsome face without twisting in her seat.

  The man across the desk considered first Declan and then Dolf carefully. He ran a hand through his hair, disarraying it further.

  “Without knowing all – or even any – of the details, this sounds like agency business,” said their boss.

  “Helena can’t afford the agency,” said Declan.

  “I can pay for my own protection,” protested Helena. “I should pay. For all we know, I’m going to need to be protected for the rest of my life – or at least, for the rest of my grandfather’s life. He’s old, but he’s not so old that we can count on him dying of natural causes anytime in the next two weeks.”

  “Come on,” scoffed Declan. “Everything you own fits in a corner of Dolf’s closet. You ought to save whatever money you have. Let us do this for you.”

  “Things have changed,” said Helena. “Originally, I didn’t want to give my grandfather any clues as to where I’d gone. And yes, during that period, all of my financial assets fit in this purse. But if those hellhounds can sniff me out wherever I go, then there’s no longer any reason not to touch my intangible assets. So you should let me pay whatever your agency’s going rate is, so that your pro bono services may remain available to people who really need them.”

  “She has a point,” said the boss from behind his desk. “The agency can only afford to float so many pro bono protection details a year. If your cousin really needed it, I wouldn’t hesitate to make her one of our annual pro bono cases. But if she thinks that she can afford our services without breaking her bank, then I’d prefer to let her pay for the protection that she needs.”

  “And I want to pay.” Twisting in her seat so that she could look up at Declan’s conflicted face, Helena continued, saying, “You’ve both been so kind to me, and you’ve both helped me so much. I want to pay that forward.”

  Declan’s face softened.

  “If you’re certain…” he said hesitantly.

  “I am.” Helena smiled up at her cousin. “Believe it or not, when I have access to my bank, I’m quite well off. My mother put her dragoness’ portion in trust for me, rather than letting any of it revert to her father’s hoard at her death. I can cover my financial obligations.”

  “What that financial obligation will be depends on which of our services you require,” said Giles Geissler. “Perhaps you could explain your situation to me in more detail.”

  Helena smiled. “Gladly.”

  Because if she had realized one thing last night while the hellhounds were trying to carry her off, as if she was the maiden and they the dragon, it was just how badly she needed professional protection – at least until she figured out how to make her grandfather give up on her.

  Helena hadn’t quite managed to figure that one out yet.

  Chapter 16 – Dolf

  When all was said and done, and after Gil had applied a heretofore unknown friends and family discount to their services, Helena and Gil agreed on eye watering amount as their daily rate.

  Dolf had had no idea that his services were worth so much. And, now that he did, he was slightly embarrassed. Maybe he should have tried to be slightly more personable on his previous assignments?

  Then Dolf remembered the last time that he had actively tried to be personable. He’d spent the rest of the night in the emergency room. There had been temporary stitches. He wished that he could say that they’d been his, but he hadn’t been the one who tried to escape via a bathroom window, gotten stuck, and then broken the window while trying to wriggle lose.

  Maybe it was safer for everyone, but most especially the clients and his ego, if he just kept being himself.

  Dolf had always enjoyed his job, and he had always taken it seriously, but looking down into his newest client’s smiling face, Dolf found that he had never been more serious about keeping a client safe. It wasn’t just professional pride either. He wanted to keep Helena safe, because he –

  Ruthlessly, Dolf cut that thought off there. Whatever it was, he didn’t want to know. He didn’t have thoughts like that about clients, which was what Helena Tarleton officially was now: a client.

  “All right, Miss Tarleton,” said Gol. “Da Luz will go with you now, and Shaw will catch up with you both later. He has some housekeeping matters to take care of here before he joins you.”

  And by housekeeping, Gil meant that Dolf needed to take his annual physical and maybe attend the weekly staff meeting before he met up with Declan and Helena again.

  In the present, Helena inclined her head.

  “Of course,” she said. Half turning to look up at Dolf, she added, “We’ll probably be at the apartment complex when you need to catch up to us.”

  Dolf inclined his head.

  Then Helena and Declan were leaving, no doubt off to catch up as cousins while keeping one step ahead of that pack of hellhounds, and Dolf watched them go.

  “Did you remember to bring workout gear?” asked Gil.

  “Yes, of course.” Proper preparation prevented piss poor performance, after all.

  “Then let’s get to it,” said Gil cheerfully. “The sooner we get this over with, the sooner you can go catch up to those two.”

  Dolf nearly smiled. He liked that Giles, Geissler seemed to have no doubt about his ability to pass his physical.

  “All right,” said Dolf. “Let’s go.”

  There was nothing new or shocking or even particularly difficult about his annual physical, not with as good of shape as he was in. In fact, it was more or less the same as every other year.

  It was still an enormous relief to have passed it.

  Dolf loved being a Defender. He loved making a positive difference in the world. Running away to the military had been his dream as a boy, continuing to be a Defender was his dream now that he was a man and that previous part of his life was over. Since leaving the military, he had never imagined himself as anything else.

  On passing, Dolf’s first thought was I should tell Helena!

  A heartbeat later, he was appalled.

  He’d never had that particular impulse before. Dolf had been more or less alone for most of his life. That was probably why he’d loved the camaraderie in the military so much. It was definitely a large part of how he had ended up defining his pack. He needed the other Defenders, and no one else.

  Except Helena, it seemed.

  It was unsettling, but somehow it felt right.

  He didn’t give into the impulse, however. She was busy with Declan. And anyway, she’d see that he passed soon enough.

  Instead of bothering his newest client with his personal matters, Dolf got a cold bottle of water from the staff room, grabbed a shower in the men’s changing room, and then changed back into his street clothes.

  Dolf finished cleaning up just in time to attend the weekly staff meeting.

  The Orlando branch of Dial A Defender was roughly three dozen strong, although only a fraction of that number made it to any given staff meeting. Some missed meetings because they were on assignment, others because they were injured, on vacation, laid low by the conditions of their second nature, or otherwise attending to personal matters. Whatever the reason, there were usually only about a dozen people at any given staff meeting, although the conference table could certainly seat more.

  As he entered the room, Dolf surveyed the area to see who was i
n attendance at this week’s meeting.

  Buck was already there and working his way down the snacks table. His bagel had as nearly as many pecans on it as it did cream cheese and apple jelly. Tall and dark, Buck knew more about ghosts than any thirteen year old Goth. He also had a serious weakness for carrots and apples. As Dolf watched, Buck stuffed a couple of baby carrots into his mouth as he headed for the conference table.

  Behind Buck in line was Leonard Griffith. Dolf was often awkward, and Barrett was shy, but as a general rule, Leo was downright surly. Dolf had seen a glare from him curdle milk. True story.

  Connor and Barrett were already at the table, their assorted snacks forgotten in favor of a spirited debate regarding hockey teams. There were even arm gestures.

  Ducking past one of Barrett’s flailing arms, Dolf made his way to the snack table. His mouth was already salivating at the promise of guilt free carbs.

  That was when Cherry entered the room. At the sight of her, Dolf shuddered.

  He wasn’t the only one.

  A Defender in her own right and also the agency’s in-house medic, Cherisse Van Hoorn was highly competent in her chosen areas. If you lived through it, she could fix you up. As a medical professional, her record was impeccable. But her methods were unorthodox at best. More often, they were painful and terrifying. Fair or not, it was the goal of every Defender to require as little of her brand of medical care as possible.

  Placing her folders and pens before a seat at the table, Cherry moved to join Dolf at the snack table. She had an amazing shiner on her. When Dolf said as much, while handing her a small paper plate, Cherry grinned.

  “You should see the other guy,” she said cheerfully, while miming a throat punch.

  While Dolf doctored on his bagel – a cheese one that he slathered with a thick layer of cream cheese and drizzled with honey – Cherry helped herself to the fruit on the table. She had just as big a weakness for carrots and apples as Buck, but she had much less shame than he did about claiming all of the fruits and vegetables within arm’s reach as hers.

  Dolf barely got a couple of baby carrots, both of them dipped in ranch dressing, past her. He immediately popped them in his mouth, lest Cherry tried to reclaim them.

  Loaded down with his bagel and a cup of black coffee, Dolf joined everyone else at the conference table, choosing a seat next to Buck.

  While he and Buck made plans to get a group together and go camping, roughly another half dozen Defenders filed into the room, all of whom helped themselves to things from the food table. Vega claimed the seat next to Dolf, his expression as blank and wooden as it always was. Ver Vega was the weirdest guy that Dolf had ever met, and that was definitely saying something.

  Brave soul that he was, Gunther Smith claimed the seat to the right of Vega. As he and Buck made their plans, Dolf listened with half an ear as Gunther tried to explain that old spider gag to Ver. From that angle, seen in profile from the corner of his eye and with the harsh overhead lights making his pale blonde hair shine, Gunther bore a certain resemblance to Helena. Blinking, Dolf tried to unsee it.

  Last of all, Giles Geissler himself entered the conference room. The seat at the head of the table had been left empty for him and, leaving his things there, Gil nimbly duck past Connor and Barrett on his way to the snack table.

  Another man might have been dismayed at discovering that only the picked over remnants of the snack table awaited him. Giles Geissler seemed to view it as a challenge. Dolf had yet to actually catch the man eating a tin can, but he certainly wouldn’t have put it past him. Survival training with Giles Geissler was always humbling.

  His own plate arranged to his satisfaction, Giles took his place at the head of the conference table. Opening his top folder with his left hand, Giles used his right hand to take a bite out of his everything bagel. And around the room, all the various minor conversations cut off, as if with a knife.

  “Good morning, everyone,” said Gil. “I’m happy to see that so many of you made it to this morning’s meeting. We have a little outstanding business to cover this morning, and a couple of decisions to vote on.”

  In quick order, they went over the outstanding assignments and who was assigned to what before they got down to voting on the serious issues of which company mixer to invest in this year as well as the potential catering options at any such event.

  Opinions got heated. Contests of wits and arms were had, and someone was in the middle of threatening eternal vengeance against anyone who dared bring potato salad with actual eggs in it to any potential company picnic, when there was a quiet buzz somewhere along the table. The threat cut off mid-word, as every Defender in the room checked his or her cell phone.

  “It’s me,” said Cherry, standing. “But for the record, I was going to propose a cruise. They’d probably give us a good group rate.”

  And with that bomb dropped, she left.

  Dolf, who didn’t particularly care what they did so long as everyone who attended it was happy, sat back and watched the fireworks.

  It was going to be a long afternoon.

  Chapter 17 – Helena

  “So, what are we going to do until Dolf gets back?” asked Declan, and Helena blinked.

  On the one hand, she supposed that technically, as the client, she probably should be the one making the plans for how they would spend their day. On the other hand, it felt uncomfortable to dictate things like that to her new cousin.

  “I have a couple of forms that I need to fill out,” Helena said carefully, “but otherwise, I’m wide open. Why? Did you have something in mind?”

  “Well, my apartment’s a mess now,” said Declan. “It would be nice to try to clean some of that up.”

  “Okay,” said Helena cheerfully. “Let’s do that first.”

  It had only been a few days, but she was already much better at cleaning than she had been when she had first moved in with Dolf. Helena blamed Dolf for that.

  They were on their way back to their particular apartment building, when Helena spotted something that stopped her in her tracks.

  “What? What is it?” hissed Declan under his breath, and suddenly, her laidback cousin seemed a lot more alert and looking for trouble.

  “The police tape is gone from Mr. Lazarus’ apartment, and the door is open. Someone’s in there.”

  “That’s not any of our business,” said Declan, as he resumed walking.

  “No, I guess not,” agreed Helena, but her steps were so slow that she forced even Declan to slow down.

  It paid off, though. As they passed Mr. Lazarus’ apartment, a girl in her late teens came storming out of it at speed, her arms filled with a cardboard box. She nearly bowled Helena over.

  Only Declan’s hand on Helena’s arm, pulling her out of the way of the other woman, saved Helena from a painful collision with a box corner and potentially an ignominious meeting with the pavement.

  “Oh, sorry!” exclaimed the stranger, while stumbling back a step. It would have been too little too late, if not for Declan’s quick reflexes.

  “I’m sorry,” said Helena at the same time, purely on reflex. Then “I was unaware that anyone lived in this apartment.”

  “You mean lived here anymore,” spat the other, bitterly.

  Helena didn’t bother to deny it.

  Putting her box to one side of the door, the stranger held out her hand, while saying, “I’m Mitch’s little sister, Pamela Pommard.”

  Helena’s initial response was to wonder how being someone named Mitch’s little sister could matter to her. She didn’t know anyone named Mitch.

  Then she remembered that Mr. Lazarus had apparently had another name.

  “Do you mean that you’re Mr. Lazarus’ little sister?” asked Helena uncertainly, as first she and then Declan shook the other’s hand. “Mr. Greg Lazarus?”

  That bitter look crossed the younger woman’s face again.

  “I’d forgotten that he went by another name while he was here,” said the strang
er. “Yeah, I’m his sister.”

  Ignoring the other woman’s tone entirely, Helena said earnestly “I’m so sorry for your loss! I can’t believe he’s gone! He was always so kind!”

  Perhaps too kind; would he have still been alive if he had ignored her problem and just left?

  “Thanks,” said Mr. Lazarus’ sister, now morose.

  “It’s just so shocking! This place always seemed so safe,” said Helena, meaning it despite her recent brush with forcible kidnapping. That was trouble that she had brought from home, after all. “Who could have done such a terrible thing?”

  She sincerely hoped that it wasn’t the hellhounds, either accidentally or on purpose.

  Across from her, the other woman snorted.

  “Oh, I know who killed him,” spat Pamela Pommard, the full force of her bitterness having seemingly returned. “Those people would do anything for money. He was afraid of them. That’s why he was hiding out in this dump.”

  Helena arched her eyebrows, feeling both appalled and mildly offended at the other’s lapse in good manners. Next to her, Declan bristled.

  Their expressions must have conveyed some of what they were feeling, because Pamela Pommard’s expression briefly faltered.

  “Although I’m sure that it’s very nice for you,” she added. “It’s just not what we’re accustomed to.”

  Helena scoffed at the other woman’s pretentiousness –she was Mr. Lazarus’ sister? Really? Helena couldn’t see much of a resemblance, beyond the physical – but the sound was nearly covered up by Declan saying, almost angrily, “Why did you set foot in a place heap like this, anyway?”

  “I said that I was sorry!” snapped Pamela Pommard, although she didn’t look particularly sorry. She had never sounded particularly apologetic either. Briefly looking away, she said “My running off at the mouth aside, have you seen any important looking papers around here? Maybe when you were visiting my brother?”

  She made it sound like they, by virtue of living in this apartment complex, were either too ignorant to read, much less read and understand, whatever documents she was looking for.