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Chapter 53
Greg's POV
He was surprised at how smooth the last the few months had been. Since Sherlock had joined the pack he had seemed a great deal calmer. He was still insulting, condescending, and arrogant but the edge that had always colored all of the taller man's actions seemed to have been dulled a bit. When Donovan and Anderson were not around he was simpler to get along with. Not getting angry as fast and a tad less insulting when he explained things. He had even been willing to take on some cases that he probably wouldn't have taken on prior to John and the pack much to his relief.

Having the option to go to two different pack meetings a month was unusual. The jackal family he had been born to only allowed full shifters to come to the pack meetings. On the rare occasions the human members related to the pack had come, they were not allowed to speak unless spoken to. So the fact that besides during announcement time everyone visited with everyone else was quite odd. Add to it, it seemed that his new pack had not only a mix of races, but also humans and children included without question. That second pack meeting he had attended had thrown him off when one of the older female wolves had brought him a plate and told him to relax, there was no need to be so formal. He hadn't really known how to respond to that. Jackals were always formal, so adjusting took some time.

When with the pack he got to see a side to Sherlock and John he never would have expected. Normally the short blonde was an easy going person, in his cuddly jumpers and jeans, he seemed like the unassuming type. Most the time he allowed Sherlock to go off on his tangents without getting excited, he took the bull folks threw his way without ever getting angry, he smiled lightly at nearly everything, giving off a cool exterior that was also very warm and approachable. However the moment you got him somewhere where he was in charge there was a subtle shift, and a core of steel seemed to appear. It seemed that every member of the pack respected him, some for his healing skills, some for his military record, and then the one group out of fear but he could see that it was slowly changing into respect from appreciation. Sherlock on the other hand does not seem to react quite so harshly with the younger members of the pack, the viciousness he is used to the genius using when speaking with people seems to be far less when dealing with most of the shifters. Though he would be the first to admit there were still some he ripped into, just not nearly as many.

On the nights of the pack meetings or when he was supposed to have dinner to discuss things with Mycroft his cases always came to a close quickly. Even the ones he thought were going to be difficult. On several occasions suspects had turned themselves in and given full confessions. Hell, there had even been a few times where the guilty had come to him to turn themselves in even before they were on his radar. While a large part of him wanted to know what was making the criminals cooperate, he was not going to question it too hard least something go wrong.

He still enjoyed his dinners with Mycroft, though in recent months they had been less about Sherlock, and more like visits between friends. However there had been several times when he had gotten home after one of their dinners and wished he would have invited the younger man in for a drink. There were times he felt intense flashes of desire for the ginger haired politician that made it hard for him to breath. The younger man had never shown any interest in him however, so he had never said anything about it. Still, there were nights when he would get back from one of their dinners and wish that he was going to bed with him, not even for sex, just to have someone there while he slept. It was very frustrating wanting something he could not have.

After that initial time of Sherlock and John showing up with three pups he had found all of the paperwork on them waiting for him on his desk. It gave Sherlock permission from someone high up in the Yard's chain of command permission to bring up to three of his students with them as long as they did not physically touch the body's of the victims. After that, there had been several of the lesser cases where he had brought the students with him. For the most part they ignored his team, and his team ignored them. The only one who tried anything was Sally and he remembers how she flinched away from some of the wolf pups, particularly Konrad and Tobe, though both seemed to be intentionally be harsh towards her. Though that tends to keep her away from Sherlock and the others, so perhaps that is why they do so.

A few days after the new moon pack meeting in October a startling thing occurred. Eric appeared at the Yard. As the tall man glided through the room he stopped twice to stare directly at different suspects, black eyes narrow for a moment before he continued to move. When one of the inspectors lost control of man hopped up on meth he was surprised at how efficiently the cobra pinned him to the wall with one hand, still completely in human form. The instance those long fingers wrapped around the mans under jaw and slammed him backwards he froze. The cobra locked eyes with him and it was nearly visible that all of the drugs in his system were being burned away. A moment later he dropped him and continued moving as if he had not just surprised every single member of the Yard.

"Eric, umm, come in," he invites the taller man into his office not sure what he wants or why he was here.

Black eyes study him in a flash and he is reminded of Sherlock when he is collecting data on a person. You have not been sleeping well, I would suggest having Daria check you for any health concerns. Is the first thing that he states before holding out his right hand with the flash drive. I request that you hand this off to the elder-second's sibling at your next prearranged dinner. Since you willingly see him weekly as schedules allow I have decided it is the best course of action is to have to hand off the flash drive with the automatically updating program so he may be informed of his brother's actions.

It takes him a moment to figure out what he means, and when he does, he can feel his skin heating up. "Ummm, alright, I can do that." He agrees as he takes the flash drive and puts it in his inner coat pocket.

The cobra nods once, turning as if to leave before turning to face him again. All of the evidence you need against Miller will be found at his sister's house in the garage, he thought himself clever committing his crimes elsewhere. Murry is guilty of more than just the one murder you have him on, if you check the area between the gas tank and the boot of the car you will find the weapon used in several of your old cases. He pauses speaking for a moment, eyes narrowing before he continues, Windelson is guilty of several different crimes, all of which he should be happy I am not the one to have come across him on the streets because he would not have liked the results. There is no remaining physical proof however you can force him to confess by confronting him about his ex-wife, get him riled about that and he will admit to nearly all of it. Ironically, the crime he was arrested for is not the same as the one he has committed. If you will excuse me, this place stinks.

Nothing else is said as the tall man turns to leave only at that exact moment Sally decides she needs to ask him about something and comes barging into his office without paying attention to where she is going, running head first into the cobra who had just opened the door to step out. A low hiss escapes the cobra as his black eyes narrow dangerously on her face.

"Watch it," she snarls not looking at who she is speaking to.

He cringes, knowing what is about to follow probably will not be pretty but not planning on interrupting because he likes his skin where it is attached to himself. Besides, he is fairly certain that no one else is going to interrupt either.

"What did you say?" he hiss out, his voice nearly impossible to hear because of how low it is.

She glances up then, eyes going wide as she realizes that maybe it is not a good idea to act belligerent. Too bad she does follow through with that idea because the next thing that comes out of her mouth is as foolish as she is when dealing with Sherlock. "Who the hell are you? You shouldn't be here! You're a disgrace wearing your scales openly."

"Kneel." The cobra hisses. Nearly everyone in the Yard does so, their legs buckling under the command. Sally has it the worst however because not only do her legs buckle but she also finds herself face down on the floor unable to move. "Let me make something clear Sally Donovan. You will respect those who out rank you, you will be polite, and you will be courteous. If I ever hear of your behavior continuing the way it is right now you will find yourself having the worst day of your life. Do you understand?"

She whimpers trying to reply but unable to, instead she nods hard.

He nods once and he feels the force holding him on his knees let loose and he shakily gets to his feet to watch as the tall man exits the building. Others are slowly getting to their feet as well, though he notices that several of the criminals seem to be twitching on the floor.

Sally is the last one to get up. When she straightens she stares at him with wide eyes for a moment before mumbling, "That was…" her voice trails off as she shakes her head.

"That's Eric, upon entry into the pack I was warned never to piss him off." He states as he takes a seat at his desk. "What can I help you with?"

"Oh," she mutters before shaking her head, "I was coming to ask about the Summerfield case, has forensics gotten the results to the blood test yet?"

He shakes his head, "Not that I am aware of," he replies as he starts to write down the suggestions that the cobra given him just to discover that they were not need, every single criminal in the building had started confessing their crimes nearly as soon as the command to kneel had worn off. As he joins the other detectives in taking the confessions he cannot help but think that he had heard of the alpha gift but never seen it used before. None of the Yarders say anything about the fact they all hit their knees at the same time as they process all the new paperwork.

Two days later as he is leaving the Yard a familiar black car pulls up. With a smile he climbs in the back to see a somewhat tired looking Mycroft in the seat opposite of him.

"Good even Gregory, how are you?" the politician inquires in one of his smoothest tones.

"I'm good, tired, but good. It's been a long, surprising week," he replies, "How have you been?"

He nods once, "Moderately well, thank you," comes the posh response.

The rest of the ride goes smoothly, he is surprised when they come to his flat rather than a restaurant. As he gets out of the car he takes it to mean that they will not be having supper so he is started when Mycroft gets out as well, motioning to his door. With a small shake of his head, he heads up the walk, unlocking the door and letting them in. Upon entering the small flat he is mildly bothered by the fact it smells like someone had been cooking when he was not here. He would be more bothered however if he had been with anyone else and had that occur.

"I considered having you over, however I have noticed you feel uneasy at my flat, so I determined yours would be better." the politician answers his unspoken question.

He smiles ruefully, not saying anything as he goes to see what all is now in his kitchen. After finding baked chicken and a variety of side dishes, he digs out a pair of plates and some silverware and passes a set to the politician before getting some food and sitting on his sofa.

"Thank you, this is surprising but welcome." He tells the younger man.

A small smile curves his lips, not the fake politicians smile, but an actual smile and he realizes that he finds that smile far too attractive. "You're welcome."

The two eat in peace and quiet, when they are done he takes both of the sets of dishes to the kitchen, settling them in the sink before going to fish the flash drive out of his coat. "Eric wanted me to give this to you, it apparently has a program on it that will automatically update you on Sherlock. I am kind of surprised he didn't just install it himself because I get the impression that he does that sort of thing."

One eye brow arches questioningly as he accepts the flash drive. "I am mildly startled he did not as well, particularly since he made it a point to let me know he could."

He smirks a little, "That seems to be his style, he gives warning rather well. The other day he forced the entire Yard and the suspects there to their knees because he was annoyed with Donovan."

That eye brow that had returned to its normal placing arches again, this time giving the impression of disbelief.

"Look at the CCTV if you don't believe me," he tells the younger man as he goes to grab a beer, "You want something to drink? I'm having a beer."

"Tea, if it is convenient please," comes the politician's response.

He nods even though the other man cannot see it and gets to work making a mug of tea. When it is done, he takes it out to the living room where his guest is sitting and the two of them spend the next several hours chatting about random things. Including human politics regarding shifters, some of his cases, and nameless commentary from Mycroft on some of the situations he had to deal with. By the time Mycroft is ready to leave, it is early in the morning and he has had one to many beers he thinks. Because at that exact moment he is considering inviting the younger man to his bed, for anything he is willing to give. Instead, he swayingly walks him to the door to bid him a good day.

"Get some rest, Gregory, goodnight," the politician murmurs before opening the door.

"G'night Mycroft," he replies slurring. After the other man is gone, he leans against the now closed door and gives a small shake of his head. Slowly he pushes off and heads to bed. He is certain that in the morning he will have a bit of a headache.

He is surprised when he wakes up to find two aspirins and a glass of water sitting on the bedside table. Quickly, he downs them both before going to get cleaned up for another day at that Yard. As he is showering he reflects on the previous night and groans to himself, he is fairly certain that he had let the younger man know he found him attractive. He could only hope it would not affect their friendship, as tentative as it is.