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Dmitri

The closer I get to Sky's house, the less anxious I feel, as if she is the source of this pressing feeling I have had the whole day. As I pull my SUV up to her house, I see her bike leaning against the wall near the front door, which tells me she is home. I grab the pizzas and a chilled bottle of semi-sweet white wine from the back seat before making my way to her front door. As quickly as the anxiety eased, it reappears, but for a different reason.

After everything surrounding Sky, the communication intercepted from the hunters, and last night's incident, I needed to play open cards. The hunter was clearly here for her, and I could protect her better if she knew the situation. But how would she react? There was no telling.

Ivan, Kira, and I had spent the day interrogating the hunter, to no avail. He was indoctrinated to die rather than spill the beans, and if we carried on, that is exactly what would happen. That left us no closer to finding out what they wanted with Sky. It would take days to get anything off the crushed phone, and from experience, those yielded little to no information. Disposable burner phones.

I had put in some calls with the Alphas closest to us, asking them to see if they could get any intel on the hunter's interest in Sky. Inconspicuously, as I didn't want to risk bringing more attention to her or this town. My surveillance team was already working our network of informants, trying to get information on the situation. I was hoping we would see some results in the next couple of days.

And then there was another issue. I couldn't fully trust Sky. Perhaps she was working for them, maybe giving them intel. It bothered me even though a part of me was fairly certain that wasn't the case. But I had to be sure. I was hoping tonight would shed light on her connection to them, or lack thereof. People had signs when they were lying. Their heart rates increased, their coloring changed slightly as the blood rushed around, and they perspired more, all things our kind could pick up on easily. I had been alive so long that I could tell if someone was lying within seconds.

Before I can knock on the front door, the door swings open. Sky stands there, wet hair, racing heart, and flushed face, telling me she has been rushing around. Then I make the mistake of breathing. Her scent hits me full on, stirring my Lycan. I don't think I will ever get used to it. As usual, her face is free of makeup, but luckily, the dark marks I noticed under her eyes are now less prominent. My gaze dips to her lip balm-glistening lips, lingering longer than is normal as I tear my gaze away.

She has swapped her dress from this morning for a pair of loose black gypsy pants that hang off her hips and a tight white tank top. Offset against a multitude of colorful bracelets on both wrists, something she never goes without.

"Hi Dmitri," she says, smiling and motioning me in.

"You can put the boxes in the kitchen. I was thinking we could eat outside?" She leads the way to her kitchen, my gaze following the sway of her hips before moving up to her waist. My hand would fit it perfectly.

Fuck. This wasn't a social visit, and there was no way I was getting involved with a human, I remind myself, tearing my gaze from a body I find far too appealing.

"Sounds good. I'm not sure what wine you drink, so I got a semi-sweet white. Middle ground." I place the pizza boxes and bottle of wine on the kitchen counter.

"Are you in a hurry to eat, or should we have a glass of wine first?" I ask, grabbing two wine glasses from the open shelving unit next to me.

"Wine first." She seems a little nervous, eagerly grabbing a bottle opener from the drawer before passing it to me. After popping the cork, I follow her through the house, the sunroom, and out to a table and chairs under a huge pine tree.

It certainly is picturesque and peaceful out here. It suits her, I think, as I look over at her, nature almost physically relaxing her.

I pour us both a generous helping of wine, handing her glass to her before holding mine up.

"Cheers," we say simultaneously, clinking our glasses before taking a sip. I have a feeling we may need it with what's coming. Though for me it would take more than a bottle to really affect me, and the effects are short-lived. Tastes good though.

"So, how was your day?" I am fairly relieved we are not diving straight into why I suggested this... meeting.

"Same shit, different day," I say, giving her a small smile to cover up the scowl that nearly appears on my face, thinking about the interrogation of the hunter that took place earlier today.

"And yours?" I ask, watching as a huge smile splits her face.

"It was great. There are quite a few tourists in town, and they have been in and out of the shop. Might be my biggest month yet," she gushes, pulling her feet up onto her chair and wrapping her arm around her legs. Sitting like that, she looks much younger, more vulnerable. It ignites an instinctive desire to protect her, a feeling I haven't had towards anyone in a very long time.

"I'm sure it will be." I knew those tourists were not tourists. I had various members of my pack on duty watching her, and I told them not to make it obvious. That meant them acting like tourists. They must be buying her non-medicinal stuff, like soap and shampoo, as werewolves had little to no ailments and thus had little use for anti-inflammatory balms.

She sips her wine, her gaze nervously flicking to me before she looks away again. I could feel we were getting to where apprehension was settling in with her. I had suggested this dinner to explain everything, and instead of asking me outright, she was waiting for me to broach the subject.

"Skylar, I want to explain some things about last night." She nods, almost relieved, as she takes another sip.

"As a new resident of the town, there are some things you don't know, things that only the longer-standing residents and a select few others know."

She nods slowly, and then her brow furrows, before she drops a bombshell.

"Is this about the werewolves?"

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