Chapter 10

The rapping on his apartment door woke a sleeping Tom Hanson. Crossly, he shook off his dream in which he'd been running through mist-filled woods with a wolf pack and made his way to the door. A quick glance at his watch showed it was four in the morning.

Sighing, he opened the door, not at all surprised to find Judy on the other end.

"Judy, what are you doing here? It's four in the morning!"

"Can I come in?" she asked, ignoring his question.

Blinking away sleep, Tom opened the door further. "Sure. Come on in." He stepped aside as Hoffs walked in. She immediately headed for the couch and sat down, patting the space next to her as an invitation for Hanson to join her.

Warily, he plopped down next to her and said, "I don't suppose you want to tell me why you're here."

Judy fidgeted a little and wouldn't look at him. Finally she said, "Hanson, we're friends, right? I said you could come to me if you need anything, but instead you've been closing me off. Why?"

"Yes, we're friends. Like I said before, I don't want to hurt you, Jude. I've warned you three times already not to get close, and I think you know why. You said it earlier today. Or yesterday, whichever. That still doesn't explain what you're doing here."

Even if he already wasn't watching her, he could feel the tension in her muscles. When Judy spoke, her voice was slightly angry, yet he could detect a hint of fear. "So you are a werewolf."

"Yeah," Hanson admitted.

"And you didn't think that was worth mentioning before now?"

Tom bristled. "I haven't told anyone else on the team! Jude, you're the first person I've told. Besides, I was afraid of how you'd react, and I can't always control my 'wolf. Apparently it's different for newbloods than purebloods. That aside, I've been recently turned. John was helping me at that meeting I told you about. You still haven't told me what you're doing here."

"I couldn't sleep," Judy said, a biting edge to her voice.

"You couldn't sleep, so you come here?"

"That and I was worried about you." She gave him a half-smile. "I guess I had good reason to be."

Hanson looked down at his clasped hands and muttered, "I guess so." Glancing back up at her, he caught her sweet scent again. Noticing how tired she looked, he said softly, "Come here," and settled his left arm over her shoulder, drawing her close. To his surprise, she didn't pull away. Instead, she relaxed and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. Before long, he heard her breathing slow and deepen as she slipped into sleep. Smiling slightly, he maneuvered himself out from under her body, grabbed a pillow and blanket from a chest of drawers, and covered her with the blanket, laying the pillow under her head as he carefully shifted her sleeping form so she was lying stretched out on the couch. Then he started to head back to his room before pausing and looking back at her. Without really thinking about it, he undressed and shifted forms, still amazed at how easy it was and the strength in his wolf body. He barely made any nose as he crossed to the couch and curled up into a ball, drifting into sleep himself. This time, he didn't dream of anything at all.

...

When Judy woke up later that morning, she felt confused for a moment, wondering why she wasn't in her apartment. Then she remembered coming over to Hanson's and the strange conversation they'd had. Hoffs laughed quietly. No way that was real. Maybe she was still asleep.

All doubts left her head as she looked over the edge of the couch, having heard a noise. There, lying stretched out on the floor, was a large dark brown wolf. A small shriek escaped from her throat.

The wolf stirred and raised its head, looking her straight in the eye. Judy caught her breath. Its eyes were sepia: the exact color of Hanson's eyes. She didn't want to believe it, but she whispered, "Hanson?"

The wolf sat up and gave her a lick on the forehead. There was a powerful ripple and the next moment, her sometimes-partner was grinning at her, crouched down so they were at eye level.

"Morning, Jude," he said.

"Okay, so you were telling the truth. I was right. Now go put on some clothes." And if her gaze was wandering where it shouldn't, Hoffs couldn't really help it, could she?

"You know, just a 'good morning' would work," Tom grumbled good-naturedly before he was replaced by the 'wolf. Judy followed him with her eyes as he headed into his bedroom. He might not know it, but he was gorgeous as a 'wolf.

Less than a minute later, he appeared in the doorway in human form, dressed in jeans, a black T-shirt, and his brown leather jacket.

"You hungry?" he asked.

Her mouth had suddenly gone dry. Unable to speak, she nodded.

Hanson started for the kitchen, then paused and looked at his watch. He cursed. "Come on, we're gonna be late for work." Already he'd grabbed the keys to the Mustang and was bolting for the door. Sighing, Hoffs followed him.

...

Hanson glanced at Judy as they started for the stairs that led up to the chapel. It had been only slightly stupid of him to tell her his secret, but at least she'd seemed okay with it. On the plus side, she wouldn't be pressing him on what was wrong.

Judy didn't seem to have noticed his look; she walked straight ahead and entered the semi-darkened chapel. Tom stepped in after her, his stomach growling as his gaze homed in on the leftover pizza on the table. He snagged a slice and bit down, enjoying the moment. Using his nose, he could tell Harry and Jenko were already here.

"Where's Penhall?" he asked.

Hoffs shrugged.

The sound of trash cans overturning alerted them to Doug's arrival. Hanson said, "I guess that answers my question," just as Doug stormed in.

"Ioki, did you put those trash cans in my parking spot?" he yelled.

Harry slid down the pole, an innocent look on his face as he joined the other three. Tom had to hold in a smile. It felt good to be with his friends like this after his life had gone crazy.

"Who, me?" Ioki asked.

"Yeah, you!" Doug retorted.

"All right, all right, break it up," Jenko said from his office doorway. The captain poured himself a mug of coffee and sat down at the group's table. Tom finished off the pizza slice, sat down, and took another one. Between bites he quipped, "What's up, Doc?"

Penhall rolled his eyes. "Hanson, do the world a favor. Never say that again."

Tom pulled a face and went back to eating his breakfast.

"Well." Jenko was momentarily at a loss for words. Then he focused on Harry. "Good bust yesterday, Ioki. You just sit tight. We'll find you another assignment soon."

"Sure." Harry, at the moment, looked more interested in his cream cheese bagel.

"Any progress, Doug?"

"Our arsonists are deciding to stay low for a while, Captain, but I heard they plan to strike in two weeks. So right now I have nothing to do but be in school. Have I mentioned I hate doing nothing?"

"So noted. Hoffs, Hanson, how's our rape-homicide case?"

Tom nodded at Judy, indicating she should speak. Hoffs said, "We may have a new suspect, Mason Folan. According to an eyewitness, Ashley Myers left the party on the night of her death with him. Are the lab results back yet?"

"Yes, they are." Jenko handed her sheets of paper. Hanson read them over her shoulder as the hang-on hippie continued, "As you can see, they show Myers had intercourse the night of her death and the autopsy showed signs of vaginal tearing and she was extremely intoxicated."

"This proves she was murdered," Tom said. "She was still underage. If someone intoxicated her and—"

"We get it," Doug interrupted.

"See you guys after school," Jenko dismissed them.

Hanson, Hoffs, and Penhall made for the parking lot without saying anything.

...

First hour was relatively dull. All they were doing was taking notes, and Hanson found himself starting to fall asleep. Miranda, his lab partner, made a few game stakes at conversation before falling silent and resigning herself to copying vocabulary.

Second hour, Honors English, was loads better. Having finished "The Tell-Tale Heart," they were reading "The Fall of the House of Usher." Ms. Stephens was giving a lecture on using context clues to help them understand what was going on in the sentence when the school's principal, Ms. Russell, appeared in the doorway. The principal crooked a finger, a signal for the English teacher to join her.

Sitting in his desk, Tom's curiosity was aroused. He concentrated and could clearly hear the two women.

"Is John Bryant a student of yours?" Ms. Russell asked.

"Well, yes." Ms. Stephens sounded puzzled. "What's this about?"

"You wouldn't happen to know where his locker is, would you?" Their voices were growing fainter as they walked down the hallway, but Hanson could still hear them as if they were standing right next to him.

"This is it," Ms. Stephens said.

Hanson had heard enough. He rose from his seat and walked out, following the women's scent trails. It occurred to him that he'd been in a similar position when he'd gone undercover to find who was burglarizing a school. With his sharp eyesight, he could see the teacher, the principal, and a janitor, who had a pair of bolt cutters.

"Open it," Ms. Russell ordered.

"Now, wait," Ms. Stephens protested. "I really don't think it's fair just to search a student's locker."

"It's not just unfair, it's illegal," Tom said as he came up behind them.

The three of them turned around.

"Tom, stay out of this," Ms. Stephens said.

"Yes, shouldn't you be in class?" Ms. Russell added.

Hanson glared. His 'wolf was bristling, apparently disliking authority figures. "No."

The principal shrugged and nodded at the janitor. "Go ahead."

"No!" Tom growled. He leaned against the locker, eyes goading on anyone who dared cross him.

"Out of the way," Ms. Russell demanded.

Hanson didn't budge. "I have to ask you not to open John Bryant's locker. I'm a police officer." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his ID, flashing his badge.

"A cop?" The principal's voice was hard. "Why wasn't I informed of this?"

"Because then wouldn't be undercover," Tom retorted.

"Okay, so you open the locker."

"Not without probable cause."

"Hey, this kid is a major drug dealer. That's cause enough. And were you sent in here just to ruffle up the student body?"

"No, I pretty much stay away from the student body," Hanson snapped. "I'm not going to open the locker, either."

"Why you—" Ms. Russell began just as the bell rang. Students poured out of their classrooms and Tom could easily pick out Judy. His annoyance with Central's principal was made clear as he snapped, "Let me do my job, Ms. Russell. Don't be an idiot."

The short-haired, wiry brunette opened her mouth, but the locker's owner appeared just then.

"Hey, guys," John said. He frowned slightly when he saw the omega 'wolf in a stand-off with three adults, but he quickly hid it. "Man, you give a guy some fake ID and he thinks he owns the place."

Hanson bared sharpening canines at the drug dealer. "This one isn't fake." He flashed his badge again, then tucked it away, pretending not to care about the betrayal in John's eyes.

"Open your locker, son," Ms. Russell said.

Bryant's green eyes lit with a sly look. Smirking, he said, "Not without a warrant. Even this cub here will tell you that. But since I'll love embarrassing him . . ." He opened the door, revealing dozen of bags filled with coke, speed, whatever.

"Hey, that's not mine," he protested even as Hanson cuffed him. Since lies had a scent all their own, he could tell the beta 'wolf was telling the truth. That didn't stop him from walking Bryant down the hallway full of curious onlookers. One caught his eye: a black-haired junior with a sly, crafty look in his blue eyes. The scent of another 'wolf hit Tom's nose. Somehow, he knew this case wasn't over.

Wow, I can't believe this is ten chapters long already. (Although I wrote part of it while listening to Loverboy's "Take Me to the Top." That's probably why part of this chapter reminds me of it.) Kudos if you can name the episode I alluded to (and admittedly stole a few lines and scene from). I think this story takes place between 01x05 and 01x06, better known as episodes "My Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" and "The Worst Night Of Your Life." And Ghostwriter, thanks for the idea. I'll probably end up using it . . . right after Hanson posts bail for Bryant. =D