-3- Lily

Lily and Lacy gave him a sheepish apology. Lily handed her sister the journal, and they tried to hide their laughter. The older man just shook his head. "James, as much as I regret the manner in which you have met. This is my adopted daughter, Lily Nawassa," he said. He gave her another disapproving look. "Lily, this is James Lacrosse."

James held out his hand, and his large hand swallowed her much smaller one. Like all werewolves, his body temperature ran warm, and she could feel that heat run up her arm. Lily swallowed nervously, her mind going over all the things she heard about him. "Nice to meet you," he said, still giving her odd looks.

"Same here," she replied, glad she sounded normal. Lily wondered just how much of the twisted tale of James Lacrosse was true.

"Later we have some matters to discuss with Lily," Andrew told her, and she nodded. Lily knew when Andrew Roberts said the words matters to discuss that meant they were to be discussed privately.

"Okay, sure thing," she stated and grabbed Lacy's arm and dragged her back into the house.

"Hey, hey, easy on the goods there, sister," Lacy scolded her.

Lily exhaled the breath she had been holding. "Now that was embarrassing," Lily whispered to her friend.

Lacy gave her a smug smile. "That's what you get, journal thief," she teased.

Lily rolled her eyes. "You were right, that man is hot beyond belief," she whispered to Lacy. She couldn't help but wonder if all of him was big.

Lacy chuckled and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively earning another eye roll from Lily. In a sing-song voice, she said, "I told you so!"

"Talking about me again," Chris asked, walking over to give Lacy a kiss on her temple.

"You wish Playboy," Lily told him with a scoff. Seeing he was in a perfect position, she gave him a little push causing him to trip over the couch. She burst out laughing as he fell over back on it and bounced off, hitting the floor. "Point one for Lily! Power to humans!"

He shot her an irritated look. "One day, you'll get yours," Chris warned her in a playful tone.

Lily was about to reply when Andrew and James entered from the back porch. James' gaze turned to her and felt a shiver run down her spine. She had no idea why but his gaze made her feel tiny and prey-ish, like a deer in headlights. Lily closed her open mouth and instead gave Chris a threatening point of her finger. She got out of the room as quick as possible. She didn't like the way he made her feel at all.

Lily went into the bathroom and splashed her face with cool water. Chill woman, she told herself. She grabbed a towel as she chastised herself for being so silly and heard Sandy call out that dinner was ready. A smile crossed her face as her stomach rumbled and she left the bathroom. Lily looked at the large oak table filled with several different dishes. She couldn't help but wonder how Sandy had managed to make such a varied meal all by herself.

"You know some of us are hungry. Mind moving or at least taking a picture," Tony shot at her.

"Well you can eat my socks, Rex," Lily shot using her pet name for him. He couldn't stand it, so she used it as often as she could. She turned to face her brother with a smug smirk, but it only lasted a second. She noticed James was behind him, and she got that whole small furry forest animal in danger. So she quickly took her usual spot at the table.

Lily shrugged off the feelings the new wolf's presence gave her. She preferred to load her plate with everything within her reach and some that weren't. Lily tuned out the conversation that didn't involve her. She preferred to keep her nose out of werewolf affairs. It was a world that she didn't belong to, and she didn't feel the need to belong to. Right now Lily preferred to keep her attention on her food and food alone.

She wanted to savor every last morsel and was quite content to ignore and be ignored. "Do you always eat like a pig or is this just a special occasion," Chris whispered in her ear.

She smiled impishly and answered him with a swift kick in the shin that caused him to jump and hit his knee on the table. "Everything okay, Chris?" Andrew asked with a concerned look that had Lily trying hard not to laugh.

"Uh...yes sir," Chris replied, shooting Lily a nasty look.

She smiled at him with all the sweetness she could muster. After dinner, Lily helped pick up the plates until Andrew called her into his office. Let the fun begin, she thought as she walked down the long hallway. Lily was already feeling herself grow nervous as she got closer to the room. Lily didn't worry about what Andrew had to talk to her about. It was the mere fact of entering into his office that made her nervous. There was nothing menacing about the room.

Bookcases lined the left wall from floor to ceiling. On the right wall were several old photographs of her dad, his friends, and family. He even had a few pictures of her up there. In the center of the room sat a large oak desk. Andrew always sat behind that made him seem so much more intimidating. As well she only entered that room when she and Lacy had gotten into big time trouble. Which was more often than Lily cared to admit.

It was in that very room Andrew told Lily her biological parents had picked up and left town, abandoning her. Lily frowned, remembering that day, but pushed the memories deep down inside her. Those memories were to cry for another day because today was not that day. "What's up chief," she asked entering the office then noticed James was also there. "I mean what do you need Mr. Roberts," she corrected with a more formal tone.

Lily tried her best never to be too casual about him when other werewolves were around. Their pack hierarchy was strict when it came to respecting those positioned above you. The alpha was above everyone. Andrew smiled at her and asked her to sit in the empty chair next to James. Part of her wanted to scream, thanks but no thanks, but she sat down. "You are familiar with James's story right?" Andrew asked her once she sat down.

"More or less but honestly I don't know how much of it is true. What I've heard he seems like the werewolf version of the boogie man," she said bluntly. It was only after she said it, Lily realized her bluntness may not be well received. The rumors were if you pissed James Lacrosse off you ended up in intensive care...if you were lucky. To her surprise, James started laughing a loud hearty laugh.

I suppose that's true," he said with a shrug.

She wasn't sure if she should be glad he was laughing or not. Lily shifted in her seat, still feeling nervous and a little turned on. I need to get laid and soon, Lily decided.

"I will go over the key points to make sure you have the right information," Andrew stated.

Lily nodded to let him know she was listening though she wasn't sure why they were telling her his history. She couldn't care less, to be honest. "When James was thirteen he was kidnapped. No one knew what happened. Two years later he appeared on our doorstep. He couldn't remember what happened or who had taken him. We quickly discovered his shifts weren't...normal anymore," Andrew explained.

"I'm told I'm a hybrid of a man and a wolf. Think Hollywood version of a werewolf," James stated with a smile that chilled her. Great, she thought and shifted in her seat again, so she was sitting as far away from him as possible. That helped cool some of the carnal attraction she was feeling.

"He also had difficulty controlling himself when he suffered strong emotions," Andrew resumed.

"It's still hard. At least now I'm not trying to rip out every idiot's throat when they start to irritate me," James said. His tone made it sound like he was discussing the weather, not brutal murder.

"Fascinating, but how exactly does this involve me?"

"I am sure you have heard about the kids from last week," Andrew asked back, tossing her an orange pill bottle.

Lily nodded, looking at the bottle for a moment before opening it. A week ago two kids were found dead in the forest. No one knows what killed them, not even the pack doctor and Beta, Xavier Thompson. She'd heard the scene hadn't been pretty. Lily shuddered slightly, not wanting to imagine what their last moments were like. "That bottle was found near the boys. Beta Thompson has no idea what those pills are. No one else in the pack can even attempt to guess," he explained.

Now Lily knew why he was telling her this. She looked at the pills again as her dad continued to speak. "That's not all, a day later someone tried to kidnap another kid around the same place the teens' bodies were. James is going to investigate the deaths and the near-kidnapping. He wants to see if they're connected with what happened to him almost twenty years ago. I want you to help him in any way you can Lily. Starting with those pills."

Lily groaned inwardly. She did not want to play Nancy Drew with the local Wolfman and her childhood enemy. Andrew didn't seem to pick up on her hesitance as he turned to James. "Lily is a forensic chemist. Her job is to identify drugs and other substances for the police around the country," Andrew told him.

She tried not to smile when she heard pride laced in his voice. Lily poured six pills into her hand and looked them over. "Well, they aren't common club drugs that you usually find with teens. I can tell you that much," she said after looking them over and slipped them back into the bottle.

"How do you know?" James asked, and she smiled a smug smile at him. The familiarity of her job eliminates the feeling of a rabbit trapped by the wolf.

"Club drugs are all marked with a particular symbol of some sort. Most of the times they are the same drug just marked with a different symbol and given a new name," she explained. Lily snapped the cap back onto the bottle and turned her attention to Andrew. "I will take these to the lab tomorrow and see what I can find. Anything else I can do for you?"

"No Lily that will be all. Enjoy the rest of the evening," he told her then looked at her with his stern stony face. "Take it easy. Don't overexert yourself!"

A bored sigh escaped before she could stop it. She, at least, managed to stop herself from rolling her eyes as she wanted. She got up from the chair. "I will do my best." Then she left the office.