-11- James

Once they arrived at the lab, an officer was waiting for him. “Hey Tony, and James Lacrosse, I presume?” he asked and James nodded. The officer seemed a little nervous. “Only you can go in, sorry Tony, and please don’t touch anything or otherwise Detective Scott will have my ass! That woman is a real bitch,” the officer complained, and James gave him an encouraging smile.

“Don’t worry about me. I won’t touch a thing since I only need to check out the scents, which will only take me a few minutes,” James told him, passing the yellow tape and walking into the lab. James walked through the narrow hallway. He saw that the room at the end of the hall was a mess and he knew that was what he was looking for. Upon entering the room, the amount of destruction immediately shocked him.

Not a single piece of equipment was intact. This must be where the human woman worked. Her scent covered the room, but the heavy smells coming off the drugs that littered the floor made it difficult for him to distinguish any other smells. He walked over to a small desk and noticed an open file spread out across it. Staring back at him was the mug shot of some man who screamed bad news. He read some of the report and shook his head; the man was bad news. He made James look like a choirboy.

He glanced around the room at the distinctive powders on the floor and understood why the human had taken the break in personally. Thanks to the thief, men like this one in the mug shot could go free, and all because of some stupid pills. Remembering why he’d come, he focused on his sense of smell and began separating the several scents in the room.

Finally, he could get past the woman’s scent and the hundreds of different drugs and pick up the werewolf’s scent. He recognized it from the one in the woods. Well, at least they still had only one traitor to deal with. Being careful of his step, he left the wrecked room and walked out of the crime lab. They thanked the officer and walked back to the car. “So?” Tony asked, wanting to know what he had found.

“It’s the same scent as the kidnapping,” James told him, and Tony was silent as he started the car.

“So where to next?” Tony asked as they left the parking lot.

“Well, your dad wants me to check out the local hot spots to see if I can put a face to the traitor. Since it’s getting pretty late, the best place to get started is Lupin’s,” he explained. Tony nodded, started the car, and drove towards the exclusive werewolf bar.

The bar descended into complete silence as soon as James entered. All eyes followed him with fear, suspicion, and blatant mistrust as he and Tony walked up to the bar and ordered a couple of beers. “Damn, remind me never to bring you along if I want to go unnoticed,” Tony said, shaking his head and James gave him a weak smile as they sat down. Once the crowd decided James wasn’t there to kill them and rip them all to shreds, they went about their business.

James began the slow task of separating each individual scent and connecting it to its owner. “So, when this is all finished, are you going to stay or take off again?” Tony asked him. James brought his attention back to Tony for a moment and shrugged.

“I don’t know, I haven’t thought about it,” he told his friend, taking a drink of the untouched beer that sat in front of him.

“Well, I, for one, would like to see you back for good,” Tony told him, taking a drink. James nodded as he continued to identify the scents. “No one is as fun as you are. Chris is okay, but, I don’t know, it’s not the same since he is Lacy’s mate and all,” he added, and James laughed.

“You only think I’m fun because I was the only kid that didn’t kiss your ass because you were the alpha pup,” James corrected him and Tony smiled, taking another drink.

“That’s basically what I said, but not so colorful, and they only get worse the older I get,” Tony added with a look of irritation.

“Yeah, because being adored is so horrible,” James teased, and Tony shook his head.

“You should try it. People always want to be your best buddy and agree with everything you say. If I told them to eat silver, they would do it!” He grumped and James laughed again.

“No thanks, between the angry mobs and women wanting to tame the big bad wolf, I’ve got enough on my plate,” James replied with a look of disgust and now it was Tony’s turn to laugh.

“Tame the big bad wolf, eh?” he asked, and James shook his head.

“It’s not as good as it sounds,” he told his friend, and Tony smiled.

“Looks like there is a couple over there that wouldn’t mind trying,” he teased, and James looked over his shoulder to see two women staring at them, practically drooling. He narrowed his eyes at them with a scowl, but they didn’t respond like he wished. Instead of paling and fainting, they giggled to each other.

Tony laughed harder. “Yep, you're right, it sucks to be you,” he teased and James glared at him. Tony finished his beer and leaned back in his chair. “I have missed this, James; I want you to stay. A lot of time has passed. I am sure the pack can forgive and forget,” Tony pushed and James shrugged. That was one thing he didn’t think the pack could do, he thought as he finished about a quarter of the surrounding scents by then.

“I don’t know Tony; I don’t like staying where I am unwanted,” he replied, taking another drink of his beer.

“Well, you’re wanted in our family,” Tony stated. “Mostly,” he added so quietly that it was barely a whisper. James looked at his friend, confused.

“Now what does that mean?” James demanded.