Heartbeat

by Mell Eight

  He worked diligently for another hour uninterrupted. Night classes wouldn't end until eleven, so there was still a chance he would need to help a student, but that chance was slim.

  Denton jumped in surprise when his pocket vibrated, only belatedly realizing that his cellphone was stuffed in there. He hurriedly pulled it out and looked at the unfamiliar number on his caller ID.

  "Hello?" Denton answered, hoping the call was actually for him instead of a wrong number.

  "Is this the Supernatural Tutoring Service?" a familiar voice at the other end of the line asked. Denton felt his chest tighten as the beta wolf that had been with Orion spoke. It took him a few extra seconds to find his voice again.

  "Yes, this is Denton. How may I help you?" He fought to keep his voice bland and only interested in what the beta had to say on a professional level.

  "I have a GED student who is struggling to keep up with his coursework, and I need a tutor for him as soon as possible," the beta said. Normal people would ask if Denton was available, but the beta simply stated his needs instead. Dominant werewolves could really be pushy.

  "I'm available," Denton replied. "When would you like me to start?"

  The beta huffed a sigh that sounded like it was full of relief. "Your advertisement says you're available after dark, so I'm assuming you're a vampire. You'll have to tell us what hours work best."

  Denton had to hide his grin, not that anyone was in the office to see him acting so inappropriately, or to see his extra-long teeth. Thanks to the time the sun set and the hours the school was open, Denton could only work part-time. He picked up the slack with tutoring, and since that paid more than his secretarial work, he cut his days at the school whenever a job came up.

  "I'm available after sundown any day you need me," Denton replied, already looking forward to cutting one or two days from his secretary job.

  "How about Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays?" the beta asked.

  Denton almost danced with glee. For three days a week he would earn twice the money for half the time, and he wouldn't have to be a secretary. Orion had late afternoon classes or no class at all on those days, if he remembered correctly.

  "I'm available. If you'll tell me your name and the student's name," Denton added, "and what time you want me to start and where I should meet you?"

  "I'm Beta Arnie Vough and you'll be tutoring Orion Smith. We'd like you to start on Monday at 9 p.m., and if you could come to the house, that would be best." He rattled off an address outside the city.

  "Is your house near any bus lines?" Denton asked, already trying to figure out how he was going to get to Orion's house.

  "We'll send a driver," Vough replied firmly, the topic clearly not open for discussion. They spoke for a few more minutes to iron out final details like cost and Orion's coursework and then Denton hung up. He did a small jig in place, and his heart beat twice in a row in anticipation.

  He never could have foreseen Vough calling for his tutoring services. He had resigned himself to never seeing Orion again, and instead he was going to be spending three nights a week with him. Time to spend with his mate, plus a little extra cash? Denton really couldn't complain. He was still at work, though, so he forced himself to calm down and return to filing. Still, he was hard-pressed to keep his smile under control so he didn't show any teeth when a student stopped by to drop a class.

  Monday couldn't come soon enough. The rest of the week and the weekend dragged on as anticipation built. The late summer sun had set by eight, although it was still twilight, so Denton waited outside his apartment building in sunglasses and a heavy coat. Only really young or really powerful vampires could withstand even the barest touch of the sun. Denton wasn't young, but he shied away from the idea of being that powerful. He was powerful, yes, but that power hadn't ever brought him anything but grief in the old country. Rather, he preferred to believe he was able to endure the touch of the sun through sheer necessity, even if it weren't entirely true.

  A pickup truck stopped in front of Denton and the window rolled down. An unfamiliar man looked over at Denton, but since Denton smelled wolf, he opened the passenger side door and hopped in. He dropped his backpack between his feet and buckled in.

  "How long of a drive is it?" Denton asked.

  "'Bout twenty minutes, so long as we hit no traffic," the wolf replied with a shrug. "I'm Welsh, and I've been assigned to driving you."

  "It could be a late night," Denton replied apologetically.

  Welsh snorted. "It was this or watching after the baby. You're much more interesting."

  The rest of the drive was silent as they headed out of the city and into the suburbs. The sun finished setting during the trip, so Denton took off his sunglasses and coat. He was mentally prepared for the tutoring session. Walking in and jumping Orion would not go over well. Beta Vough would rip him to shreds, and he might traumatize Orion. Denton had to be a cool and collected teacher and bide his time. Orion might be a zeta wolf, but he was still a wolf. He would feel the mating bond and would eventually act on it; it would just take more time than a less submissive wolf would. That was the way the magic worked.

  Somehow, the magic always knew. That was how his Master had described the mating bond to Denton. The magic didn't change someone in order to force a bond, nor did it bind together two people who were totally incompatible. It was an alert system that told two people they were absolutely perfect for each other and then bound those two people together forever. Which was why mating bonds could be very rare—Denton had only met two people who had found their other halves—and they were considered precious because of that. Once Orion recognized the bond, his pack wouldn't have a choice but to accept Denton's existence in Orion's life.

  Denton had his opportunity to secure his heartbeat and to find the person who would complete him. He just needed to not screw up.

  The car turned onto to a long driveway and began heading directly to a very large house centered in the middle of a beautifully trimmed, expansive lawn. Built of brick and stone, the house was at least two stories high, with wide windows and ornate embellishments. There was even a wrap-around porch, but that was all Denton could really see through the car window.

  They drove directly into a four-car garage, bypassing the five cars already in the driveway. Welsh cut the engine and they both hopped out of the car. Denton was about to see Orion. He tried to still his anticipatory heartbeat as he followed Welsh into the house. The garage door led directly into a large kitchen. The room looked lived in—there were dirty dishes in the sink and the scent of the meat cooked for dinner still hovered in the air—but what Denton noticed first were the three young wolves laughing together at the kitchen table.

  Orion was there, his head down as he snorted and with a friend's hand on his shoulder as they shared some sort of joke. The sound of the heavy garage door clicking shut behind Welsh and Denton turned all three heads towards him. Orion's eyes were bright with laughter, his face lit up and shining, and Denton's heart gave three simultaneous thumps.

  Then the humor faded away from Orion's brilliant eyes the second he realized Welsh was back and his tutor had arrived. Denton could see that unhappy thought flit by before a more petulant frown took over. Denton's heart stopped beating again.

  "I guess I had better get this over with," Orion sighed, sounding defeated and tired. "Beta Vough will strangle me if I put this off."

  "He totally would," one of Orion's friends said around a snort of laughter. "Well, good luck."

  The friends headed off into the depths of the house.

  "You can work here," Welsh said with a wave of his hand to indicate the kitchen table. "Give me a call when you're done and I'll drive you back. I have to go check on the alpha's baby."

  Welsh also disappeared into the house, leaving Denton behind with Orion.

  "I want to make this as painless as possible," Denton said after a few long moments where Orion was staring at the table and Denton tried very hard not to stare at Orion. "
I have some tests with me," he began while pulling out a chair so he could take a seat at the table across from Orion. When Orion winced at the word 'tests,' Denton quickly continued, "That we'll work through together. I've found that they're actually useful tools to learn how to use the material in a real world context."

  Denton started pulling papers and pencils out of his bag, pointed to question one on the worksheet, and got to work.

  *~*~*

  Orion certainly knew how to pout, Denton remembered fondly. He was walking to work, trying hard not to think about the previous night or the young man that had filled his dreams long after he had returned home. Orion wasn't stupid—not by a long shot—he was just severely uneducated. With patient teaching, the middle school level work Denton had started with had become clear. During Orion's next math class, advanced division and fractions wouldn't be a big mystery.

  Denton had been able to keep himself totally professional the entire time. Barely. It had taken just as much effort as trying to teach Orion the basics of fractions, but every time he had looked up at Orion and hadn't seen any sort of recognition, his resolve to let Orion realize their bond by himself had been reaffirmed. As soon as their lesson time had ended, Orion had gathered the information packet Denton had provided and dashed off. Denton would have been hurt, except when Welsh had appeared to drive Denton back home, Denton had felt eyes burning into his back. A covert glance behind him as the garage door swung closed showed Orion's eyes peaking around the corner. Denton hadn't been able to help winking at Orion over his shoulder before allowing the door to close behind him.

  He needed to plan for tomorrow night's study session. He had all the papers prepared, but he needed to tailor it to Orion's specific needs. There was plenty of time to do that after his work at the school was over, and it would be a pleasant distraction to fill the long hours spent alone.

  There were more people loitering outside the administrative building than usual for so late at night. There must be an event happening on campus, maybe a late guest-lecture or something. Denton didn't think anything of it until he stepped into the registrar's office and found the dean of student affairs, his supervisor, and two uniformed police officers waiting for him.

  "Mr. Jacobson, these officers, Officer McMin and Officer Roke, would like to have a few words with you. If you would follow me, we can use my office." The dean gestured towards the door. Denton didn't really have a choice except to turn around and head back into the hallway. He ignored Marla and Fred's curious stares on his back and allowed himself to be herded out of the office. Officer McMin was the older of the two. He was graying and stern, with a scowl on his face as he followed Denton. Officer Roke was young, probably just out of the academy, and he followed Officer McMin down the hallway with a touch too much eagerness for someone in his profession. He would grow into it eventually, Denton knew, but his youth was refreshing in comparison to his partner.

  Denton had to force his face to remain stoic as they walked to the end of the hall and entered the dean's office. He took his chair and waited for someone to explain what was going on while the cops milled threateningly behind him and the dean slowly took a seat on the other side of the large desk.

  The first worry on Denton's mind was whether he ought to be looking into running away before he ended up in jail and the humans realized what he was. It would be harder to run this time; the New World did a very good job of keeping their eyes on every person living in the country, and Denton had needed to procure the proper paperwork to get his job and apartment so the country knew he existed. He also had Orion to think about. Admittedly, if he vanished, Orion wouldn't notice except for the fact that he would need a new tutor, but one day in the near future, Orion would sit up and wonder why his heart was beating so quickly at the memory of Denton.

  He didn't want to run just yet anyway. Denton had no idea what was going on or why he had been pulled aside to speak with privately. If he found out that someone had run off with the silver, or something along that vein, and that they just wanted to confirm that he didn't even know where the safe was kept, then already having plans to run away would be silly and incriminating.

  The cops continued to hover behind Denton. There was more impatience in their silence, since Denton wasn't cracking and sobbing out a confession. The dean was also looking impatient, although his glower was for the cops and the theatrics. He probably had something more important to do than watch one of his part-time employees get questioned.

  "Did you know one Oliva Stantonopolis?" Officer Roke finally asked, the stress breaking down his resolve before anyone else.

  Denton blinked in surprise and then turned his head to look at Officer Roke. What did any of this have to do with that woman? Unless she was complaining about the class he had picked out for her in the most attention-grabbing manner possible. "She came into the registrar's office to sign up for a class this past summer. Modern Fashion, I think it was."

  "Have you had any contact with her before or since then?" Roke continued.

  Denton shook his head. "I didn't know her before, and since she never returned to the office, I haven't seen her since."

  "No association outside of work?"

  Denton shook his head. "I have a skin condition, so I can't go out during the day. I work nights until late. I don't have much of a social life, you understand."

  "How would you describe Ms. Stantonopolis?" Officer Roke asked, his voice light, as if he were asking about a friend's afternoon tea.

  A grimace crossed Denton's face before he could suppress it. The memory of her stench was that vile. "Horribly self-absorbed," he tried to explain. He didn't like talking badly about people behind their backs, but the police wanted an honest answer. "She liked to hear the sound of her own voice and wouldn't stop speaking while I tried to get her to register for her class. She, um," he paused, wondering if he ought to mention her poor hygiene or not. In the end, he decided to tone it down a bit. "She wasn't a particularly pleasant person."

  "Interesting," Officer McMin, who hadn't yet spoken, murmured. "We've heard similar accounts from other acquaintances."

  "Can I ask what all this is about?" Denton finally interjected. "I really don't know why I'm here?"

  "Where were you last night between the hours of ten-thirty and eleven-thirty?" Officer McMin asked sharply. Apparently he was the one who asked the more direct questions, but with his graying hair and hard jaw, he looked more like a senior officer than his partner, who had to be at least fifteen years younger.

  Luckily, Denton had an easy answer. "I was working last night."

  There was a flash of what looked like triumph in Officer Roke's eyes, quickly suppressed. Denton had noticed, so it was effort wasted.

  "But you see," Officer McMin continued, "we know for a fact you weren't at work. You took the night off. In fact, you changed your entire working schedule around to ensure you had last night off. Why don't you tell us where you really were!"

  Denton had to suppress an eye roll. Honestly, had the police done their research at all? Well, they were probably grasping at straws for suspects anyway—not that they had told Denton what crime he was being interrogated about. It was horrible to think of, but he couldn’t help wondering what Ms. Stantonopolis was accusing him of or what she was after from him. Had someone dumped a bucket of soapy water on her head? Denton mentally smacked himself for such a terrible thought and forced himself to refocus on the police officers before his thoughts could stray further. He didn't want to do anything to possibly incriminate himself and cause further investigation into his history. His worries and questions would have to wait.

  "If you'll go and do some background work, you'll see that every September I change my schedule around. I have a second part-time job as a tutor. Once I get one or two tutoring jobs lined up, I reduce my working hours at the school. This is my fourth year. I'm sure the school has kept records."

  "We have," the dean interjected. He tapped a few keys on his computer, then moved and cli
cked the mouse a few times before sitting back in his chair with a poorly hidden smug grin. Denton could see the time sheet from last September that clearly outlined his working every night at the school during the summer and the change in September to his only working two nights. He hadn't had tutoring jobs on Monday or Tuesday nights last year. The police officers watched as the Dean clicked back a year to show a similar calendar change, and then went to the current year's calendar to show the exact same occurrence.

  "We will still need to verify your alibi," Officer McMin said stiffly. "And if we could get a copy of your working schedule for our records?"

  The dean was already printing out the pertinent pages.

  "I can't give you the name of my student without his permission," Denton said. "Let me give the family a call to see if it's okay."

  He didn't wait for the officers' agreement. Denton was just as tired as the dean was about this entire situation, and they hadn't even told him what had happened yet! He pulled out his cellphone and found the phone number he was given to call in case he had to cancel suddenly.

  The phone rang twice before Welsh's voice on the other end said hello.

  "I'm sorry to bother you so late," Denton began, "but something has occurred at the school, and the police want to verify my whereabouts last night."

  "Oh, yes. Orion came home from class with the news. Terrible." Welsh tsked in sympathy. "Tell me which precinct the officers are from. We'll have the pack lawyer stop by to ensure no mistakes are made."

  "That seems a little excessive," Denton tried to protest.

  "You would think so," Welsh laughed goodheartedly. "But we've found that the faster the correct facts are ironclad, the sooner whatever ordeal the police are trying to draw out is ended. The less official scrutiny on the pack, the better."

  Denton understood that. He got the precinct information from the officers and passed it on to Welsh.

  "All right, tell them our lawyer will be there within the hour to take care of your alibi." A loud baby's cry sounded and Welsh sighed. "The baby's awake and Mamma's away. Damned official pack business. I have to go change a diaper. Have a good rest of your night, and I'll see you tomorrow to pick you up for tutoring. Give a call if you can't make it."