A Forbidden Love

by Lorelei Moone

  Jamie could be the most single-minded and focused person in the morning, but come nightfall, his thoughts went everywhere at once. Somehow it was easier to keep the bear part of him under control when the sun was out. It was his bear who was suffering more than his human side.

  Now that it was morning, the world made sense again. Jamie grabbed his things and made the trip to the office on foot like he often did when the weather allowed it. A bit of drizzle like today wasn't enough of a deterrent.

  "Morning." Jamie greeted the rest of the team as he swung the door open. Aidan and Heidi were already sitting at their work stations, while their resident computer genius, Kyle, was pouring himself a cup of coffee in the corner.

  "Anything I need to know before getting things ready for Alison later?" Jamie asked.

  Aidan looked up from his desk, as did Heidi. In the couple of days since her rescue, both of their behavior had changed drastically. They'd been distant toward each other earlier, especially Heidi, but now they seemed to have connected in a way one doesn't often see. Like they understood what the other was thinking without voicing it.

  Jamie knew what it meant - they were mates, despite belonging to different species - and he'd tried to talk to them about it, but they were intent on keeping a low profile. Jamie couldn't blame them. Wolves and bears didn't ordinarily get along and there would be many who would oppose the idea of interspecies mating.

  He suppressed a smile as he watched them exchange a subtle glance. They were talking to each other, communicating with their thoughts alone. Rather than worry about their connection distracting from their work here, Jamie was certain it made them more valuable to their cause. He would never have to second guess their loyalties, as long as they were on the team together.

  "No progress on the prisoners. We've been keeping the lights on in their cells to confuse their sense of time in the hopes that it would help us break them," Aidan said.

  "I see. Perhaps the girl can give us something that'll help."

  Aidan shrugged. Jamie could tell from his demeanor that he didn't think bringing the informant in would make any difference. But it was Jamie's responsibility as team leader to steer this investigation forward. If he was called in by the Alliance Council, he wanted to be able to say that he hadn't left any stone unturned. They'd given him this chance to make a difference at a time when he was completely lost. He owed it to them, as well as himself to do the best job he could.

  "Very well, I'll get things ready for the interrogation," Jamie said. "Kyle, walk with me?"

  Jamie pushed the door leading to the staircase open and waited while Kyle caught up, steaming cup of coffee in hand. "I'm thinking of converting one of the upstairs rooms so we can use it for interrogations. The one closest to the back entrance. I want you to think about recording solutions."

  Kyle followed him up the stairs as the door slowly shut behind them with an ominous creak.

  "Right. I'm assuming you don't want to make things too obvious?" Kyle asked.

  "Hidden cameras. Multiple angles."

  "Sure thing. I have some equipment lying around that would be perfect. It'll take me a couple of hours maximum to set everything up." Kyle said.

  "Wonderful. Let me know if you need any help." Jamie smiled. They'd all struggled to get along initially, but the team was finally pulling together as one. If they wanted to be successful in their fight against the Sons of Domnall, they needed to keep this up.

  Chapter Two

  "This is a bloody disaster," Alison Campbell whispered, while sinking back into the sofa and shaking her head.

  "Yep," her brother Gareth, who was sitting opposite her, confirmed.

  "How did the Alliance find them, you think?" Alison asked.

  "No idea, perhaps someone talked. Or perhaps they managed to sniff us out somehow. Who knows what these animals are capable of?" Gareth shrugged.

  "Are you sure they're just holding dad and the others prisoner and they haven't actually killed them?" Alison had been talking to someone from the Alliance in an attempt to create her cover, but her contact was so distant, so cold, that she couldn't get a read on him. She was told that their entire race was made up of dangerous killers, but she hadn't been able to gather any real evidence of just how ruthless they could be.

  "We don't know anything for sure. But it would make sense for them to try and squeeze him for information first. That gives us a little time before they realize he won't talk." Gareth ran his hand over his tightly cropped hair. He looked a lot like their dad when he did this.

  "Shit. Well, how the hell will we find out where they're keeping him?" Alison wondered aloud.

  "That's up to you, isn't it? You've got to find out where their base is."

  Alison rested her face in her hands. Damn. "Did you guys have to capture one of theirs? This would have never happened if you hadn't taken the girl," Alison argued, tears welling up in her eyes.

  "In case you forgot, they got awfully close to us thanks to the information you gave them!" Gareth retorted and crossed his arms. Alison hated it when he did that; when he gave her that cocky look like he knew everything.

  "I had to give them something, otherwise how would I earn their trust?" Alison asked.

  "Did you have to give them the message board, though? A lot of the guys feel that that cut awfully close to home."

  "I can't be posing as an informant, if I don't inform, can I? And it was you who made the first move to meet with her. You could have just kept her at arm's length and they would have given up sooner or later." Alison felt the anger take over.

  Her brother had never taken her particularly seriously. In fact, he probably hated that their dad had chosen her to get close to the Alliance by posing as an informant in the first place. Well, too bad for him. Dad had trusted her to get the job done, not him.

  "Still, you're playing a dangerous game with these people, and now we're facing the consequences."

  "I've done whatever was asked of me. You can take your hindsight and stick it somewhere."

  Alison and Gareth stared at one another, neither in the mood to back down.

  "If you've done such a great job at earning their trust, how come you've only ever met one of them? How come you don't know where their base is or even what their full names are?"

  "This stuff takes time. Patience. Not that you would ever get that through your thick skull. And plus, our guys were no match for them at the warehouse. Don't you think we ought to arm ourselves a bit better before we can even think of acting?"

  "Well you better hope it doesn't take too long, or we'll never get Dad and the others back. As for weapons, they're on the way. Don't you worry about that."

  Alison gave him a dirty look and picked up her bag. If she had to stay here with Gareth one more minute, she'd be tempted to clobber him over the head with something. Such was her relationship with her brother – he really knew how to push her buttons.

  Wallet, phone, all was in place, so she zipped up the top and threw the strap over her shoulder, ready to make a quick escape when her phone rang, stopping her in her tracks while she checked who it was.

  Aidan.

  "Keep quiet, it's them," Alison warned her brother, who still had a disapproving scowl on his face.

  "Hello?" Alison answered the call.

  "Alison. It's Aidan."

  "Hello, Aidan. What's going on?" Alison asked, while keeping her eyes glued on Gareth.

  "We've made some progress in our investigation and I've been asked to bring you in to see if you can shed some light on a few things..."

  "Bring me in?" Alison repeated.

  "Yeah. I'll text you the directions. It's time we had a more formal chat, what do you say?"

  "Sure. Fine. I'll be there." Alison hung up and stared at her phone for a moment while she collected her thoughts. "They're bringing me in," she said triumphantly when she looked up at her brother again.

  "So?" Gareth asked.

  "So it seems they do trust me sufficiently now
. Fingers crossed this goes well and we can get Dad back soon." Alison grinned and looked down at the flickering screen. One new message. She was to meet Aidan in half an hour, at a park only a couple of blocks from the cafe where they'd met last time. He would take her the rest of the way.

  Gareth didn't comment, and Alison didn't wait for him to. She had already been ready to leave before the call, and now she definitely didn't feel like sticking around. She'd grab a bite to eat, then head to the meeting point as instructed by Aidan.

  Perhaps she still had a chance to fix things.

  Alison reached the meeting point ten minutes early and spent the time sitting on a park bench, watching the world go by. It was cold, but she was well prepared and didn't mind the fresh air. Today was a rather ordinary late October day, and Edinburgh's inhabitants as a whole didn't seem to care about the chilly weather either.

  Mothers pushed buggies with small children. A group of construction workers passed by her bench on their way further into the park to eat their packed lunches. Of course they couldn't hold back the obligatory inappropriate remarks once they noticed her.

  All of these people acted like everything was fine. It wasn't their fault, obviously, nobody had told them about the threats that lurked in the city - and everywhere else in the world for that matter. They had no idea about werewolves, and other dangerous creatures that could attack at any moment. They had no reason to fear the dark.

  Alison knew better though, thanks to her dad and his work with the Sons. All their lives, she and Gareth had been taught about the various monsters that threatened humanity. Wolves, bears, lions. These were the three types they knew about, but it wasn't too farfetched to consider that perhaps there were other kinds of hybrids too.

  The one thing Alison was certain about was that they were all predators and that human society was no place for them to reside.

  She felt herself grow a little jittery, like she normally did shortly before her meetings with Aidan. She wasn't sure which of the three shifter species he belonged to, though she suspected he was a bear due to his impressive height and build. Either way, she wasn't fooled by his calm and controlled exterior.

  Most were-creatures were savage animals unable to control the urge to kill. That's what her dad had told her. And that made Aidan a dangerous exception.

  "Alison." Aidan's familiar voice interrupted her dark thoughts and made her flinch slightly.

  "Hey." She jumped up, not to greet him per se, but more because seeing him tower over her bench put her in too much of a disadvantage if anything were to go wrong.

  "Ready?" he asked. "Please give me your phone." Aidan held out his hand.

  Alison nodded, and did as asked. He switched the mobile off, opened the back cover and removed the battery just like he'd done before earlier meetings. After he put all of the separate components into his pocket, he gestured at her to follow him out of the park.

  They barely spoke while they walked, but Alison couldn't resist the urge to pry.

  "So you said you've made some progress?" she asked, while trying to keep up with Aidan's long strides.

  "That's right." He looked down at her, probably considering exactly how much information to share with her. "One of our own was taken, but we got her back. With interest."

  Alison nodded and kept quiet. Aidan wanted to be vague, and that was fine. Today he was going to bring her into the Alliance hideout, and that was already a massive step in the right direction. Alison didn't want to push her luck.

  "How about this weather, eh?" Alison attempted a bit of small talk.

  "Mhm." Aidan looked left and right, then scanned the area behind them. "You weren't followed, were you?" he asked finally.

  "No. Who would follow me?" Alison asked. God, she hoped Gareth hadn't actually followed her. That was exactly the sort of thing that could ruin her cover.

  "All right." Aidan started to walk again and Alison followed, through the narrow alleyways in the old town. Left, right, zig-zagging around the historic buildings, until finally they made it to the other end of the city where the buildings started to look more modern.

  Perhaps he had been trying to confuse her, so that she wouldn't remember the route they'd taken. That wasn't going to work, though, Alison thought. She'd lived in Edinburgh for most of her life, ever since her family had moved here when she was just seven years old. She knew this part of town like the back of her hand and no matter how much they walked in circles, she would know exactly how to get to where they were going.

  Plus, unless he blindfolded her, she would be able to read the street signs and remember the landmarks.

  After walking around seemingly aimlessly for about fifteen minutes, he led her further away from the center of town and towards the harbor. The streets no longer featured pretty old buildings, but bland warehouses and offices, most of which had been constructed in the sixties and seventies. A lot of this area was empty, abandoned. It was the ideal location for a hideout.

  Finally, they reached their destination. An old warehouse that didn't stand out in the least. It was as rundown and dilapidated as all the others in the area. The paint was flaking off the woodwork, and weeds made their home in the cracked concrete of the facade. Bingo.

  Aidan knocked and waited, though not very long, until the door was unlocked from the inside and swung open.

  It was dark inside, and it took Alison a moment before her eyes adjusted to the low lighting. Inside stood a man, at least as tall as Aidan, if not slightly taller. The sight of him took Alison's breath away. He was gorgeous, and also a little familiar...

  It was the eyes that got to Alison the most. A pair of almost sparkly blue eyes that pierced the darkness. She couldn't shake the sense of déjà vu. Where had she seen those same eyes before?

  The man opposite her was frozen in place as they stared at one another, until what felt like minutes later Aidan cleared his throat, breaking the silence and dragging both of them back into reality.

  "Err, I'm Jamie Abbott. You must be Alison Carter."

  Alison reluctantly accepted Jamie's outstretched hand. As soon as their fingers touched, a jolt of something - excitement perhaps, or nerves - hit her right in the chest. She didn't know why, but was certain Jamie had felt it too. It was difficult not to say something about how strange she felt.

  A subtle smile played on Jamie's lips as she let go after their handshake. As if he understood...

  Chapter Three

  Meeting the human, Alison, for the first time was a huge shock for Jamie. For a moment he wasn't certain if he was actually awake or had somehow found himself in a vivid dream, like the ones that plagued him every night.

  That face. Those green eyes and soft feminine curves. Alison was literally the girl of his dreams. As stupid and cliché as that sounded, it was true. She was the girl from the beach, he was certain of it. There was no way that this was a mistake. He’d seen her face every single night for as long as he could remember.

  He'd wanted to ask her if she knew him too, but with Aidan around that seemed too weird a question, so he'd just shaken her hand and introduced himself instead. The look on her face had told him that their meeting was significant for her too. Or had he imagined that?

  Shortly after he'd regained his composure somewhat, he'd stepped aside and let Aidan and Alison pass him and head upstairs. Luckily Aidan had understood that Jamie wanted him to take lead on this after all. Jamie found himself sitting opposite the radiant redhead in their newly set up interrogation room. The harshness of the fluorescent light overhead made her hair light up like it was on fire. He was glad that he didn't have the best view of her feminine curves while she sat there, half-obscured by the table, or he'd have even more trouble concentrating.

  Aidan asked the questions Jamie had come up with earlier, and Jamie observed. He caught himself staring at her so intently that his eyes burned from forgetting to blink.

  He looked down at his right hand which rested in his lap. It was warm where her fingers had touch
ed his. Like they were still touching.

  What did it mean? Had he lost his mind?

  "Could you tell us again how you found out about those websites you mentioned to me before?" Aidan asked. His tone indicated that he wasn't expecting much of an answer, but Jamie didn't care.

  He wasn't sure he wanted to know how she knew either. He just wanted to hear her voice as she answered.

  "I worked part time for a hosting company a while back. Tech support. They had some issues with their software which I sorted out. That's how I found out," Alison responded.

  Her voice sounded clear yet melodious, like she was singing her answers, not speaking them. He'd definitely lost his mind. Perhaps the years he'd been suffering from insomnia were finally catching up with Jamie.

  "Those websites are quite vague to the untrained eye. How did you know that you'd found something worth sharing?" Aidan looked up from the list of questions, scrutinizing Alison.

  Jamie tried to read her body language, but he kept getting stuck on tiny, irrelevant details. The dimples in her cheeks. The freckle on the tip of her nose. Her curvaceous lips which begged to be kissed...

  "While sorting out their issues, I gained access to the private messaging system," Alison said. She glanced over in Jamie's direction.

  Yes, she felt it too. Jamie could tell.

  He knew for sure that she was the girl he'd dreamed about as recently as perhaps twelve hours ago. But did that automatically mean that she was also the same girl he'd actually talked to on that beach so many years back? How could he be certain? He had to ask her, but not with Kyle's comprehensive video surveillance system running in the background.

  "What did you learn exactly?" Aidan asked.

  "That they're dangerous. They want to hurt people."

  "What people?" Aidan pushed.

  "I'm not sure. The words they used are confusing. Animals. Monsters. I figured they're a bunch of crazy fanatics." Alison blinked a few times, then focused her green eyes on Jamie again.

  He couldn't look away. He could barely breathe.