Penny’s breath escaped her as she followed Drake from the elevator. She’d tried to hide her surprise when he had entered a code onto the panel of the elevator. It was like something off one of those secret agent thrillers that she loved to watch.
He had yet to let her hand go once they’d stepped off the elevator. Nervousness of the unknown filled her as she followed him. They walked down a sterile dark corridor that led to a glass door. A box resided on the wall next to the door that held the logo of his company on it.
“Anything you hear or see, I expect you to keep in confidence. Sensitive information could be discussed between my employees while we’re down here,” Drake announced as he paused at the door. She jerked her head in a nod.
“Of course,” she agreed, taking a deep breath.
Drake reached over and flipped the lid to the metal box, revealing a biometric scanner. Her eyes widened as she watched him place his hand on the scanner. It beeped, showing a green light, and the door clicked.
“Wow,” she murmured as he guided her through the door. She entered into what looked to be a tech nerds wet dream, for sure. The large room would give NASA’s technology a run for it’s money. She followed him through what she was sure was considered the bullpen for the secret operation. The room was filled with computer monitors, television screens, and people manning the stations. “What is all of this? I thought your company was a security firm. Why hide all of this?”
“There are some things humans don’t need to know of. Upstairs is the basic security firm, providing protection for government officials, events, occasional rescue missions, and anything else that is called on for humans. But down here…” He paused and looked around the room with pride displayed on his face. “Down here, this is the heart of the organization. This is the paranormal side.”
“So everyone down here is like you?” she asked softly, leaning against his arm. She didn’t want to offend anyone. She looked around at the bustle of people who she thought were human. It was hard for her to tell who was human and who was not.
“Yes. Few humans work down here, but they are the ones that are loyal to my family and my kind.”
“Oh,” she breathed, nervousness filling her. Would they resent her for being down here? Would they hate her? Her thoughts began to run wild at thinking that she was the odd woman out.
“No one will harm you. You’re under my protection,” he assured her, bringing her closer to him. He leaned down, causing a shiver to pass through her as his lips brushed her ear. “You carry my scent on you, so they know that you’ve been with me.”
Her eyes widened at the mention of his scent. What the hell? Did she stink or something?
They walked through the bullpen, almost everyone greeting him by name. Curious eyes met hers as she followed along behind him.
“Jody, please tell me you found something.” Drake stopped near a large man crammed behind a small desk.
Jody certainly didn’t look like a computer nerd to her. His muscles bulged from beneath his white button-down shirt. His keen eyes met hers for a second, and she instantly saw the intelligence in them before he turned to Drake.
“Well, whoever sent the message used a public computer,” Jody announced, typing a few commands into his computer. “I hacked into the computer and tried to see if I could access any login information, but the computer is public and doesn’t require one.”
“Where?” Both she and Drake asked at the same time. She cleared her throat as he turned his eyes to her.
“Can you pinpoint the exact location?” he asked, turning back to Jody.
This was more information than the police was able to get for her. Excitement filled her chest at the thought of being one step closer to catching whoever was stalking her.
“It was a coffee shop a few minutes away from her office.”
“The Java Hut?” she asked as her stomach clenched. The stalker knew her favorite coffee shop.
“Yes, that’s the name of the place.” Jody nodded.
“You know the place?” Drake asked.
“I only go there about three to four days a week. They have the best coffee around.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as her stomach rolled. Just the thought of this person having been to the same places she had, left her sick to her stomach.
“And there’s nothing else that you gained from the email?” Drake asked.
“What about the security cameras? I know that they have them.” She’d seen them plenty of times on her breaks when she’d gone there for lunch.
“Thought of that, and I was able to hack into the camera feed. The only thing is, the position of the camera is set to catch a burglar or a robber on their way out the door. The bank of computers are on the opposite side of the place. The time he was there was the busiest time. The place was packed, and I couldn’t see past the crowd.” Jody typed a few more commands into his computer.
Both Drake and Penny leaned forward to look at the computer screen. Penny sighed, disappointment filling her chest. She knew from experience how packed the Java Hut could be around lunchtime. It was located in the heart of the business district and drew large crowds. When the coffee shop began offering mobile ordering, it saved her plenty of time on her breaks when she would run over there, only needing to grab her order instead of standing in the long lines.
“But there was one more thing that I’m not sure either of you noticed,” Jody announced, turning away from the computer. He leaned back in his chair, his intelligent eyes locked on hers. “The email originated from your personal email account.”
“I didn’t send the email.” Penny’s weak voice broke through his thoughts. Jody’s announcement had rocked both of them.
“I know you didn’t,” he bit out, feeling the need to punch something. He clenched his fingers on the steering wheel as he tried to focus on the road ahead of them.
His wolf had wanted to burst forth and tear Jody to shreds for insinuating that she had made the whole stalker story up. He didn’t outright say the words, but Drake knew that was what Jody was thinking.
“Who else would know your password to your email?” he asked.
“Well, no one, really. My personal email is just a regular account. This wouldn’t be the first time it’s been hacked. I’ve been meaning to change services, but it just takes too much to change your email address for everything that you do online,” she sighed.
“You’ve been hacked before?” He tore his gaze off the road and glanced over at her.
“You know, when someone hacks your email and sends out a crazy email to everyone in your contacts? My friends told me that they got an email from me saying I was in another county and lost my passport. I was asking for them to wire me money in order to get home. But most of my friends knew I wasn’t out of town, much less out of the country.”
He relaxed a little with her explanation, but it just proved that anyone could have logged in under her email and sent the email to her work account.
“You do believe me, don’t you?” Her voice shook slightly as she laid her hand softly on his arm. He glanced back at her and knew that he believed her. He breathed deeply, taking in her scent, and didn’t smell proof that she was lying or being untruthful.
“I do,” he murmured, his eyes seeing a turn-off up ahead. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her lean back, relieved. He jerked the wheel hard and turned down the dirt road.
“Where are we going?”
“I need to think,” he answered. He drove for another mile or so until the dirt road dropped off. He brought his luxury sedan to a halt and cut the engine. It was not equipped for off-roading. It had been a while since he’d been in this area, but he remembered there was a walking pathway that led to a small, private pond. It was a quiet escape for anyone who wanted to get away from the world, relax, camp out, and even fish. “Come on.”
He opened the door and breathed in the fresh air. His wolf pawed at his chest, needing to get out. He glanced over the top of the car at Penny, and knew it was time that he allowed her to meet his animal. He walked around the car and grabbed her hand.
“Do you know where we’re going?” she asked as they walked down the narrow path. The trees were plush and bright as they made their way, and the sun was just lowering, still lingering in the sky.
“Yeah. It’s been a while.”
They continued to walk in silence. Twenty minutes later, they came to the end of the trail where it opened out to the small lake. The grass was overgrown around the water. A few picnic tables that had seen better days were placed around the water, along with a barbecue grill.
The place was serene and calmed his wolf, as if it knew he was about to call on him.
“It’s so peaceful here,” Penny stated as she looked around. Lust filled his veins as he watched her take in nature. Her face held a relaxed look as she jogged over to the nearest picnic table. She sat down with her back to the table, and he watched as a smile spread across her face.
He slowly walked over to her, needing to be close. Leaning down, he placed his hands on either side of her, and covered her lips in a soft, gentle kiss. Deep down, he wanted to pick her up, strip her clothes off, and sink into her soft body. She sighed her pleasure as she parted her lips and granted him entrance.
His impatient wolf caused him to pull back. It was close to the surface and demanded to be out. It wanted Penny’s acceptance, to feel her fingers run through his thick fur.
“Thank you for bringing me here. It’s gorgeous,” she murmured as he stepped back.
“Someone wants to meet you,” he announced, stepping back from her. He pulled his shirt from his pants and began to strip.
“Are you serious?” Her face lit up with excitement as she realized what he was about to do.
“Yes, he’s been dying to meet you.” Stepping out of his pants, he tossed them on top of the growing pile on the table.
Her eyes grew wide in excitement as he took the final stitch of clothing off. Her eyes dropped down to his semi-hard cock.
“Don’t be scared. He would never hurt you.”
“Scared? I’m so excited. I can’t believe—”
Her voice cut off as he began to feel the power of his beast come over him. It had run out of patience, wanting to come forward for Penny. Dark fur burst forth on his skin as his body began the transition. He fell to the ground on all fours as his bones began the lengthen and shift. The transformation was painless.
He blinked his eyes, and his vision became extremely clear. In his human form, he had perfect vision, but once in his animal form, his wolf’s keen eyesight was quick to detect the slightest movement in the wild.
He turned his head and found Penny frozen in her seat as she took in his animal. His wolf gave her a large, wolfy grin as he edged toward her. He didn’t want to scare her. His wolf was not the same size as his non-shifter counterpart. His wolf inhaled, and there was no scent of fear in the air. Just sweet Penny.
“Drake?” she called his name as his wolf stopped in front of her. Even though she sat on the bench, his height brought him eye level to her. She slowly reached out a hand to him.
He pushed his head into her hand, his wolf finally satisfied that he could feel her fingers in his fur. She laughed as she used both hands on his head. He pushed his muzzle against her stomach as she began to scratch behind his ears.
His wolf groaned, in heaven with the feel of her fingers rubbing him.
He pulled away from her, feeling playful. He backed away and yipped at her.
“What is it?” She laughed, standing from the bench. He glanced toward the woods and back at her.
He yipped again, and this time, leaped by her and playfully bumped her body toward the woods.
“You want me to follow you?” She glanced down at her feet before looking at him. “Glad I changed out of my heels and put on flats.”
He ran a few steps away before turning back to see if she was following him.
“Okay, okay! Lead the way.”