Chapter Eleven

Otsana

"Explain to me why it was so urgent I meet you here?"

When Aodhan informed his wife was ill, I'd called Zarina and asked her to meet me at the Worlds Apart building.

"Calliope is ill and Aodhan said she is barely able to get out of bed to go to the bathroom."

"I know all that, but still don't know why you need me."

"I've been tossing and turning, worrying all night. Something was warning me not to come here alone."

"Good enough for me. I don't have to be at the hospital until later for an evening shift so I'll drop over and see Calli when we're finished here. At least you know it wasn't your mom's cooking since the rest of you are well."

"True. Text me after you see her and let me know how she is doing. Give her my love."

"Will do."

The elevator came to a stop, the door slid open, and we stepped into the entry foyer which was dimly lit. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as we moved forward, the door silently sliding shut behind us. Zarina grabbed my arm, pulling me to a stop and pressed a finger to her lips, indicating for me to stay quiet.

Zarina's hearing was freakish, she was capable of hearing a pin drop on the other side of the building where I'd been blessed with unusually sharp eyesight. We made a good pair and trusted each other without question.

Remaining still, I focused on listening and heard voices coming from Xavier's office—Angry voices.

Zarina inclined her head and we started toward the door to the office. Being wolves, we were adept at being light on our feet and moving without making a sound. Zarina slinked to one side of the door and I stayed on the other. She waited while I rose to take a lightning fast glance at what was happening on the other side of the door and checked the doorknob.

Anger rose in my chest when I saw Betty holding a gun on the men in a threatening manner. Signaling to Zarina, I led her off to one side of the foyer to where the ladies bathroom was located. I pushed through the door and after we entered, propped the door ajar. We left the lights off, our eyesight was every bit as good in the dark as it was in the light.

I moved close to Zarina and whispered so the echo of my voice didn't carry beyond the bathroom.

"Betty, Xavier's personal assistant who is guilty of insider trading, is holding a gun on him and his best friend and partner, Cillian. The door is locked, probably by Betty when she entered the office."

"Shift?" Zarina asked with a grin on her face.

"That's my thinking. We can use our wolf strength to break down the door. I'm sure Xavier won't object. Are you okay with this?"

"Of course…Let's take the bitch out."

"She's not to be hurt," I warned and the grin on Zarina's face faded.

"Damn. You're no fun at all these days."

"Do I need to remind you of where fun has gotten you? You're skating on thin ice with the pack, Zarina. Aodhan said the hierarchy came very close to ex communicating you last night."

"Yeah, yeah. Aodhan said I was on my final warning, but he's said that before."

"We'll discuss this later, we're wasting time."

While we'd been speaking, we had stripped off our clothes, stashed them neatly in one of the stalls and closed the door. We stood naked, I nodded, and we both shifted to our wolf personas. Zarina was impressive in wolf form. Her fur was snowy white and large pale blue eyes were piercing.

We left the bathroom and I was grateful to find the entire floor was still in semi-darkness and quiet. It was fortunate I'd arranged to meet with the men so early before staff had begin arriving to begin their day. Xavier and Cillian may have been injured or dead if I'd scheduled the meeting for later and that thought sent ice cold blood pumping through my veins. There was no doubt in my mind that Betty's intention was to dispose of the men, and knowing the pair always came in early, it would have been easy to catch them together.

We padded to the door, Zarina and I locked eyes, and seconds later, charged the door. The wood splintered and glass shattered startling everyone in the office and giving me the time to pounce on Betty, knocking her to the floor to land on her back. Two guns flew from her hands and slid across the floor, our of reach.

I stood on the woman's chest, growling, and Zarina stood close and snarled angrily. Betty started screeching and thrashing beneath me but when I set a paw hard on her throat, she quieted.

Xavier shot out of his chair, grabbed the guns from in front of his desk, shouted to get Cillian's attention, and tossed one to him. He winked, clearly knowing it was me, and I backed off Betty. The men kept their guns trained on her, warning her not to move.

I wound myself around Xavier's legs in a sexual display and was intrigued to see Zarina was doing the same to Cillian. Given the all clear that the men had the situation under control, I ran off to the bathroom with Zarina following.

We shifted back to human form, and headed back to the office where the men continued guarding Betty who was now seated in a chair.

Zarina and I stepped over the debris from the door, and I crossed to where Betty sat. Pulling the woman to her feet, I ensured she understood why she was being arrested and her rights while cuffing both hands at her back.

A knock on the door frame had me turning to see a company security guard showing two police officer's into the office. I flashed my badge before instructing the officers to take Betty to Central, book her for attempted murder, and have her kept in a cell until I arrived. I'd add the insider trading charge and any others after further investigation.

Betty pointed to Xavier and Cillian. "I was attacked by wolves and I want those men charged because they did nothing to protect me from the growling beasts."

The police officers, one on each side of Betty and gripping her upper arms, looked to me for an explanation for what they perceived as an outrageous statement.

"I didn't see any wolves. Did you, Zarina?"

"Nope, nothing."

"Xavier, Cillian?" I asked.

Both men shook their heads.

"They broke down the door and one had its paw on my throat and was growling," Betty screeched.

"Zarina and I broke down the door," I explained. "Ms. Lowe was holding a gun on the men, we confirmed the door was locked, and broke it down."

"Do you have tapes?" One of the officers directed his question to Xavier and Cillian.

Fuck…I hadn't stopped to consider there would be security cameras recording.

Xavier nodded and I was scrambling to think of how I could prevent the officers from taking them.

"Betty disabled the cameras. She wanted to stage our deaths to make it look like we'd killed each other," Xavier explained and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is that correct, Ma'am," one of the police asked Betty.

"Yes, but I'm telling you, it was wolves that broke down that door," Betty insisted.

"Of course, Ma'am. We will have someone talk with you about that at the station."

The police, with the security guard following, escorted Betty away and Zarina made for the coffee machine.

"Anyone want coffee, because I sure need one?" Zarina asked.

We all agreed coffee was needed and Cillian handed me the gun he'd been holding and crossed the room to help Zarina. Xavier handed me his gun and I bagged both to log into evidence at the station before placing them on his desk.

Xavier stepped closer, gathered me into his arms, and we shared a bruising kiss before he whispered how grateful he'd been when Zarina and I broke into the office.

"Enough you two. Come and sit down. I have questions…A lot of them," Cillian put two of the mugs onto a small round table that was surrounded by four comfortable chairs. Zarina put the two she'd carried on the table and we all sat.

I pulled a notebook, pen, and small recorder from my pocket. "Before we start answering questions, I need to take both your statements while events are clear in your minds."

I ensured both men were okay after their ordeal, and when they assured me they were, I hit record and taped both of their statements which were identical. Obviously, they left out the part about the wolves, saying instead it had been Zarina and I who'd broken through the door and the shock had been enough for us to disarm Betty and bring her under control.

I switched off the recorder and palmed my notebook, flipping to the page where I'd recorded several points about Betty's activities within the company.

"The team uncovered quite a lot about Betty and her family which was why I called for this meeting. I suspect she was aware she had been discovered and came in to frame you both so she could escape undetected. Or so she thought."

"Should I be here?" Zarina questioned.

"I have no objection to your hearing what Otsana has to say. I guess it's not normal procedure but Cillian and I have nothing to hide and I doubt you would go to media with anything you learn."

"I agree," Cillian added.

"It certainly isn't proper procedure but since Zarina played a part in disabling Betty, and you two agree to her staying, I won't object. You can certainly trust her not to take the information public."

I spent the next hour outlining Betty's insider trading scheme and the involvement of her eldest son, Evan.

"It's hard to believe Evan was working against us discovering what Betty was doing, but being his mother, I guess it makes sense. Betty said he and his father were waiting at the airport for her. They must have known why she was coming here and did nothing to stop her from attempting to murder us both.

"Evan and his father were arrested an hour ago and taken to Central. They both insist they had nothing to do with any of this and didn't know what Betty was doing which we know is not true. The judge Evan paid off so you would win your case against having senior staff investigated, including his mother, has also been arrested. At this point, we have not ascertained if any of Evan's team were aware of what was happening."

"Did you know Betty would be here?" Xavier asked.

"Zarina and I were on our way here for our meeting when the police called in to say Betty wasn't located at home and I figured she'd come here to confront you both. When we saw her holding a gun on you…Well, you know the rest."

"Wait…You two are the wolves? Is this some kind of alternate universe I've fallen into when I was asleep?"

Xavier laughed, Cillian's words had been identical to his when he'd witnessed me shifting. "Took you long enough to figure it out."

Zarina pierced me with a quizzical stare. She was wondering how I was going to sort out this mess.

"Excuse me, I need to make a call." I hurried from the office and out in the foyer, placed a call to Aodhan. I needed his advice urgently.

I explained everything that had happened and Aodhan offered his advice.

"Thanks, big brother. I think you are right about us needing to be more trusting of humans. We live alongside them and fuck ups are going to happen but we still need to be cautious of where we place our trust. I have no issue with these men."

Aodhan requested to meet them so dinner was planned for the following night at my home. Mom and Dad would also be invited to give their input.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Hopefully Calli will be feeling better by then."

I disconnected the call and returned to the office. Three pairs of eyes fixed on me, expectation clear. I sat and took a deep breath.

"I just spoke with my big brother—Aodhan. He took over the Alpha male role of our pack after our father retired a year ago. I'm the Alpha female. Xavier witnessed me shifting in the early hours of yesterday morning when I became preoccupied and careless so he is aware of some of what I about to tell you, Cillian."

"So I have dropped through a black hole into an alternate universe?" Cillian sounded almost disappointed.

I laughed. "No you haven't."

"Damn."

We laughed at Cillian before I continued explaining.

"Aurora is ill today which is why I brought Zarina with me. I sensed something was wrong and it kept me awake all night. I knew I'd more than likely need help, which proved to be the case. When a wolf has a mating link, we develop a kind of sixth sense about everything surrounding them and I have that with Xavier."

"I knew you'd fucked," Zarina blurted.

I glared at my friend and she made a show of zippering her mouth shut.

"Continuing on…When I saw Betty holding a gun on you , and found the door locked, Zarina and I went to the bathroom and shifted. We are more agile and powerful as wolves. I knew the shock of seeing us would shock Betty and enable us to take control."

I explained about our pack, and once done, gave Cillian the opportunity to ask questions.

"Is Aurora a member of your pack?"

Xavier showed interest in the question Cillian had asked.

"Her real name is Calliope and she's my sister-in-law. She uses a different name when she is undercover and it is true that she's a beat cop when not assigned to help one of the teams."

"That's why Betty didn't like her," Xavier mused. "She sensed Calliope was a threat."

"If my team hadn't uncovered what was going on, Calli would have figured it out. Last night when we were at my parents' for dinner, she insisted Betty was the one insider trading and she only needed a day or two to find the evidence that proved she was right. Of course, I'd already learned that it was Betty and Calli was pleased with how fast she had zeroed in on the woman. Aodhan wants to meet you both so dinner at my place tomorrow night at 7 pm."

Both men agreed to attending.

"I'm sorry about the situation with her youngest son. I had no idea she had children. If she'd come to me, I would have willingly paid to ensure he was well cared for in the facility," Xavier stated.

"You single, Zarina?" Cillian asked, seemingly satisfied he'd heard everything he needed.

Xavier and I looked at each other and he shrugged. He had a kind of ‘what can we do, they're both adults?' expression on his face.

"Yep and staying that way but I could be persuaded to join you for dinner, and a fuck could be on the table."

Cillian held his hand out. "Give me your phone and I'll add in my number. Text me with your address and I'll pick you up at 7 pm." Zarina dropped her phone into his palm, he did what was needed and handed it back. "I'll look forward to fucking you until you don't know which way is up."

I sighed but admitted to myself the pair were perfectly matched and pushed to my feet. "I have to go and sort things out at Central."

Xavier stood and pressed a kiss to my lips before he and Cillian walked Zarina and I to the elevator.

"I'll call you," Xavier stated before the elevator door slid closed and we descended toward the ground.

Zarina and I had driven to the building in separate cars, and when we reached them, we hugged.

"You're invited to dinner tomorrow night too. Aodhan wants your opinion on them."

"I'll be there. Talk to you before then. Love you, Ots."

"Love you too and thank you for your help. Be gentle with Cillian. He comes across as being confident and a little wild, but he's a good man."

Zarina nodded before we both climbed into our cars and drove away.