And again, he heard only one person react. Alyssa gasped and again, she whispered his name. But this time she added a plea.
“Simon, come back to me.”
He ignored her and focused on the cop. “That’s for questioning your alpha.” But then the curious part of his mind pushed to know more. “What did you ask?”
If the cop refused to answer, he would be the one to die. But he didn’t. He pushed himself upright from where he’d caught himself on support column, and his gaze flicked to Vic. “I asked what he knew about the Detroit Flu.”
Flu? It took him a moment to even comprehend the word. But then he remembered. It was a tiny unseen enemy that destroyed from the inside. “Why?”
“Because some people who catch it turn into that.” He didn’t gesture at Vic. He pointed at the nearest of the dead monsters.
“You’re a cop, not a doctor,” he said, feeling his higher brain functions shift into analysis mode. It wasn’t an automatic change. He had to decide to do it, but once he made the choice, the questions became easier.
“I’m a cop looking for answers. Nanook said the wolves did it.”
“Wolves!” Simon snapped. Another enemy? He would destroy them.
The cop nodded. “But he blamed the wolves for everything. I wanted to know why specifically they were responsible.”
“And what did Nanook say?”
“He said I asked too many questions.”
“Cops usually do,” he said, the tone almost casual. It was not a tone he was comfortable with, but it came out anyway. Which told him clearer than anything that he was losing control of himself. His minds were splitting apart again, the human finding humor in strange ways that the animal didn’t understand.
This was bad. His goal was to dominate all, and if he couldn’t control his own mind, then he would appear weak before the others.
So he stalked away, fury in his every moment. And again, he considered killing the cop. But before he could decide, he came back to Alyssa. To stand before her and glare. To see if he could intimidate her with just his stare.
He could not.
Worse, she lifted her chin in a show of defiance. “We came for information about the virus. To find out how to fix Vic.”
“Vic is fine. He is mine now.”
He hadn’t missed that Vic had snapped a response along with everyone else. Vic had acknowledged him as alpha and was therefore one of Simon’s. The ownership went two ways, he thought now. They gave loyalty, Simon gave protection.
So he looked at Vic. “You are under control.” It wasn’t a question, but Vic answered anyway.
“Yes, sir!”
Simon liked the military response. He especially liked it from his friend who had served at his side so long ago.
“You will not lose control. You will not go monster unless I say so. Unless I order you to. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
He looked back to Alyssa. “Vic is fine.”
“But are you?” she asked. There was no challenge in her tone, more of a soft concern. He felt emotion stir inside him. Whereas his mind didn’t fully understand her question, his feelings responded to the warmth in her tone, the softness in her eyes, and most of all, the touch of her hand on his arm. He stared at her fingertips. Creamy brown, a shade darker than his fur. Shapely nails for a human and uncolored. Not sharp as might be serviceable as a weapon, but curved and pretty.
He did not understand pretty, and yet his body pulsed with desire. It liked pretty, and it liked her.
“Are you questioning me?” his tone was sharp and angry.
Her eyes narrowed. “I would never challenge you, Simon, but I will question you. Are you going to hit me, too?”
“Maybe.” It was an honest answer. He really didn’t know.
