When I woke up, I was alone… I panicked for a second, but then I heard Dale’s voice from downstairs. I wanted to see him. I needed to see him. I got out of bed and immediately headed for the door. I had to make sure that he was okay, though he was probably quite angry with me. From the sounds, he seemed to be talking to someone and making breakfast. It occurred to me that maybe Simon or Ashley had come for a visit. Anxiety gripped my chest. I slowly descended the stairs, looking carefully into the kitchen and living room while keeping hidden on the stairs. The last thing I wanted to do right now was to talk to them. There was nobody here though, just Dale, who was standing by the sink in the kitchen filling a glass with water. Something very good smelling was cooking on the stove. I realized he was holding a phone. Relieved that none of my friends or family were here I wanted to go down and see him, but then he turned off the water and I heard a voice on the other side of the phone.

"Pup... kill… than you…" I caught only parts and immediately froze in place.

"His name is Andrew, Andrew Cross and he works as a police officer. He seems to hate him too, it’s not like Lazar is building himself a pack,” Dale replied, his voice low. "Plus, he's a former soldier and he's damn strong. And his wolf! Ha! I'd rather not even talk about that. He's probably as big as Lazar himself. If he’s powerful enough maybe we could...” The voice on the other side said something very quietly, and Dale frowned even more. "Stop it, Thomas! He's not like him... Andrew is...” Dale sighed and turned the pancakes over. "I know… I know he’s his Maker but...” he said and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “I can’t just do that! I’ll wait and see if he’ll do it or not. I know we can’t risk it. But… I’ll be careful, okay?" he grunted, then added something so quietly that I didn't understand and hung up.

Confused, I stood on the steps, hidden behind the wall, trying to somehow understand what had just happened. Dale had just told someone I existed, and that someone obviously wasn't happy about me. Maybe Dale called him to get help? Maybe he decided that after yesterday he couldn’t deal with me alone? But he said he knew no other werewolves… With a deep breath, I straightened and ran down the last few steps.

"Ah, good morning." Dale smiled at me and put the last pancake on the plate. There was no evidence of the bite on his neck. He was also clean, with not a drop of blood on him. I, on the other hand, was still very dirty. “Why don’t you go take a shower, while I finish with this? You stink.” He grinned. I guess he wasn’t angry…

“Um, alright…” I ran back upstairs and took a quick shower trying to not read too much into the call. I had no idea what they were talking about. There was no point in guessing.

“Thanks,” I said nervously as I got back down and he set a plate on the table in front of me. It looked delicious. However, my stomach tightened into a nervous knot, so I just stared at the pancakes. There were about six of them on top of each other, topped with maple syrup, blueberries, and whipped cream. I didn’t have any blueberries or syrup at home. I frowned at my plate, but unfortunately, it refused to give any explanation. Dale collapsed in the chair next to me and dug in hungrily. He looked quite calm, not angry or scared as I expected.

"What?" He looked up at me when he realized I was staring at him.

"Dale, I’m sor—" I began, but he interrupted me with a loud, annoyed sigh and rolled his eyes at me.

“I swear to God if you apologize one more time I’ll stab you with a fork,” he said with so much seriousness that I decided not to tempt fate. "It's not your fault. It's Lazar's fault. Werewolf blood doesn't taste good, your reaction wasn't possible. For some reason, your mind was convinced I tasted like a human.” Dale shook his head and frowned at something behind me. "What scares me the most is the fact that I had no idea something like that was possible. But Lazar is a damn powerful and old werewolf.”

"I felt him, in my mind, after I stopped," I added and shuddered as I remembered it. How was such a thing even possible? Could he just go into my head and change reality anytime he pleased? Dale’s blood really did taste like human blood.

"I thought... I thought we could wait a while, teach you to control yourself, and explain everything to you, but... God, how I hate him!" he growled angrily and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "If you really want to kill him, we'll have to do it as soon as possible." I more than agreed. We both went back to food, my nervousness replaced by determination.

"Damn, that's good," I admitted. I was never the best chef, I learned how to make some simple things to survive nothing more. My pancakes weren't even close to his. If Dale cooked for me like this every day, I would have to add a few more hours at the gym to my schedule. Dale grinned at me and winked, his mouth full. We ate in silence for a while. I was trying to figure out how to ask about his phone call.

"By the way, did someone come here or something?" I tried with a nonchalant tone. I probably did it well since Dale just continued eating calmly. "I thought I heard you talking to someone."

"Ah, a friend called me." He shrugged. "I'm sorry if I woke you up." He didn't seem to want to tell me more. I let it be for now, but only because Dale changed the subject. "Did anything else happen on the hunt yesterday?" His question confused me for a second. I blinked at him in surprise. "Did you meet Lazar? Did he try anything else?" he prompted me.

"Look, I hate to remind you, but I almost killed you," I said, wondering if he was really okay. He looked at me and my confusion was reflected in his eyes. "I took you home, remember? And then we slept,” I said and felt my cheeks go red as I remembered just how close together we slept.

"Are you telling me you didn't shift at all yesterday?" A pure shock crept into Dale’s voice now. "What about your wolf? How come you're not going mad right now?” he blurted out, forgetting all about the food. I tried to focus on the Beast inside, but he had been hiding somewhere since yesterday. I just shrugged. I didn't even realize how used I was to his dark presence in the back of my mind until he disappeared. I didn't like it… I felt lonely.

Before Dale could ask more, there was a sharp knock on the door. A racing heart awaited behind them. I quickly opened the door. The first thing that hit me was Simon’s anxiety.

“Andrew!" He was out of breath and his urgent tone made my stomach tie itself into a knot. But then he noticed Dale, who picked up our plates and started washing them. Simon leaned closer and whispered, "They found a body and there’s a witness." Cold and terror ran down my back.

"Two minutes," I told him. I ran upstairs and pulled on my uniform in a hurry. As I left the room Dale was waiting for me behind the door.

"Andrew, wait." He blocked my way. "I'll go with you."

"No!" I dismissed it immediately, my heart pounding somewhere in my ears. "You said it yourself. You're ruining his plans, he wants you out of the game. You’re not coming with me. I mean it,” I told him, looking for every bit of this dominance I supposedly possessed. Dale froze and frowned at me, but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out. His shoulders went tight but he backed away. "It's a police matter anyway," I reminded him.

"Fine, but be careful," he whispered softly. I just nodded and ran downstairs. Simon was still standing in the doorway, pacing nervously.

"Let's go." We ran out of the house together and got into Simon's car.