I noticed something very strange about him, something that was maybe even stranger than his mind-reading trick. He hadn’t, I was certain, blinked this entire time. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I studied him pointedly for another ten seconds or so, just to test my theory. And, sure enough, not one blink.
I swallowed hard and glancing down at my glass of wine, realized I’d just downed the entire thing. I opened my mouth to speak, but my tongue wasn’t quite ready to form words. I was about to try again when Alex turned and looked at me, giving me the full weight of his stare. His unblinking stare.
“Yes, Chief, you’re onto me.”
“I’m onto you?” My heart was in my throat.
He smiled, broadly and held my gaze insistently. His expression was confident, challenging. “I’m a werewolf, too.”
Chapter Fifteen
I just sat there for a few seconds as I tried to make sense of the words coming out of his mouth. And then I sat there for another few. After a good ten seconds, his words still weren’t making any more sense than when he’d first said them.
“What?” I asked, not meaning to sound dumb, but there it was. I had to remind myself my mouth was still hanging open. I was more than sure I looked like a trout.
“You could never look like a trout,” Alex answered. “You are far too beautiful to resemble a fish, of any sort.”
“Forget that part,” I replied impatiently and even waved my hand in front of his face as if I were swatting an invisible fly. “Get back to what you just said.”
“I. Am. A. Werewolf,” he repeated, his smile deepening and striking me as even more irritating.
“Yep, that’s what I thought you said.”
“Ah, come on, Chief, you saw this one coming a mile away.”
Yeah, not so much. I picked up my glass but then remembered it was already empty. Alex shook his head as if it were a crime to have an empty glass and then pushed his enormous beer my way. Usually, I wasn’t much of a beer drinker. I didn’t care for the taste. But tonight wasn’t one of those times. I grabbed the tankard, brought it to my lips and downed a good few gulps until the carbonation tickled my nose and throat. Then I slammed it back down on the table with a little too much gusto, the amber liquid reminding me of a tempestuous sea.
“So?” Alex asked, apparently ill at ease with the stretch of silence between us.
I couldn’t answer him right away. Instead, I picked the beer up again to down another few mouthfuls.
“Easy there, tiger,” Alex said with a little chuckle I found way too charming. I put the beer back on the table, noticing that even after my generous swigs, it was still over half full. Not wanting to get too carried away, I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and pushed the tankard back toward him. Then I took a deep breath and faced him. He was beaming from ear to ear.
“Yes, I have been known to be charming on occasion,” he confessed.
“Stop doing that!”
“Doing what?”
“You know what,” I insisted with a heartfelt frown. “Stay out of my head.”
He sighed, but I had a feeling it was all for show. “I have to admit your head is one that interests me the most.”
“Well, quit it or I’ll take you in for…” The words died on my tongue because I wasn’t exactly sure what I could take him in for. Trespassing on my thoughts?
“Haven’t we already been through this?” Alex insisted. “You’ve already arrested me once. Wasn’t that enough?” He yawned, probably just for the effect.
I shook my head, getting angry about the situation. Why couldn’t I just have a normal career in law enforcement like everyone back in Anchorage? Why did I have to deal with mind readers and werewolves and reanimated walking corpses and men who were way too handsome? Well, scratch that last part. I mean, Alex wasn’t that handsome. I stole a glance at him and then wished I hadn’t. He was that handsome and then some. Dammit. Again feeling sorry for myself, I wasn’t cut out for this supernatural crap. I’d never even believed in Santa Claus as a kid. The gentle throbbing behind my ears began to steadily increase until it was an all-out pounding.
“What a sad childhood you must have had,” Alex announced.
“I just don’t understand how this is possible,” I muttered underneath my breath, more to