The Dim Haze of Mystery:

There was almost nobody inside the sheriff's station when I entered and I looked around curiously with a frown on my lips as I walked further into the room. A few deputies lingered in the main section of the office where all the desks were set up and my gaze found the man we were looking for almost immediately.

Jordan was sitting at his desk mind his own business as a small smile spread across my lips and I started in his direction but someone caught my elbow to stop me. I spun around in suspicion but ignored my natural instinct to defend myself and sighed in relief when I saw that John was the one who grabbed me.

"Sophie, why is it that the sight of you in my station brings me a sense of dread?" The Sheriff asked me warily with a sigh as he let go of my elbow and I chuckled in amusement as I offered him a reassuring smile.

"I'm just here to see Jordan. Deputy Parrish, I mean." I amended my words quickly when I saw his eyebrows shoot up to his forehead and he rolled his eyes at me as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I thought you had a questionable boyfriend already?"

"Derek's not questionable."

"He's been arrested for murder. Twice."

"Uh, yeah. Arrested, not convicted." I corrected him in a faux offended tone as I tried to suppress my grin and he made a face that screamed 'what's the difference?' as he held his arms out to the side. "Besides, I'm only here to talk to Jor – Deputy Parrish."

"Go on then. I've put him on desk duty so he'll probably be grateful for the distraction." John told me with a sigh as he nodded in the direction of Jordan's desk and I smiled gratefully as I leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek. He wrinkled his nose at me as he patted my shoulder before heading towards his office and I spun on my heel with a small smile on my lips as I walked towards the other side of the station.

When I got close enough, I noticed that he had earbuds in his ears with his gaze locked on his computer screen and he wasn't hearing my approach. I smiled to myself when I noticed him bobbing his head slightly to the music and I gently tugged one of the earphones out of his ear, causing him to spin around to face me with eyes wide in shock.

"Tsk, tsk, an officer should have better situational awareness." I scolded him playfully with an eyebrow quirked as I sat down on the edge of his desk and I noticed with a smug smirk that his eyes drifted down to my bare legs before focusing back on my face. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly with a slight smile and leaned back in his seat to put more distance between us.

"Sophie. What are doing here?" he asked fondly as he crossed his arms over his chest and I reached into my handbag as I slipped off of the desk to stand next to him. I pulled out a leather bound journal from inside my purse and placed it down on the desk as Jordan leaned forward with a confused frown touching his lips. "This used to be on a hard drive. But we eventually decided it might be a good idea to have a hard copy around. So we put it in a book."

"What is it?"

"It's called the Bestiary. Whatever you are, it might be in here. I'd like to help you figure it out."

"Really?" he asked in surprise as he turned his head to look at me and I smiled a little at the evident shock in his voice as I copied his movement. My eyes widened slightly when I realised how close we had gotten but I didn't move away because I thought that would draw more attention to the situation. I caught him glanced down at my lips as I cleared my throat and turned my attention back down to the Bestiary in front of me.

"So, um, this Bestiary is pretty extensive because it's complied from the Argent's, who are an ancient hunting family, and the Hale's, who are a family of werewolves with a long history. I spent hours and hours verifying all of the information with my other sources. I'm hoping that whatever you are is in here." I said softly as I opened the front over of the book and turned it slightly so that he could see the elegant cursive writing I'd spent hours crafting.

"Where do we start?" Jordan asked me eagerly as he traced his finger over the writing and I shrugged unsurely as I bit down on my lower lip with a slight frown.

"Why don't you tell me some of the skills you've exhibited? Maybe I read something when I was cataloguing this thing."

"Well, there was the whole surviving being set on fire thing." He remarked sarcastically as he ran his fingers through his hair and I turned to face him with an eyebrow quirked in amusement.

"Oh, that's not normal?" I asked jokingly with a smirk on my lips as I leaned my hands on the table and he pretended to think about it for a moment before shaking his head in denial as I chuckled slightly. "I'll add it to the list then. What else?"

"When Argent was impaled in the sewer, he mentioned my eyes flashed an orange colour while we strained to bend the rebar."

"Huh." I murmured under my breath as I narrowed my eyes thoughtfully and I tilted my head to the side as I gazed out into the distance while I tried to remember if I'd heard of any creature that matched his description.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Jordan asked me softly as he leaned forward to catch my gaze and I tried to smile reassuringly but it came out more like a grimace as I sighed to myself.

"It's been a hard couple of months." I told him honestly as I turned around to lean my back against the desk and crossed my arms over my chest with a sigh. It might have been the understatement of the year. In the last few months I'd had to deal with the Deadpool, training a new Beta, a new relationship and learning that a man who was like a father to me was actually a psychopath who tried to have me murder my own brother. I was a tad stressed.

"I think I know what you need."

"I know what I need to but Derek's out of town for the day." I blurted out without thinking but then I remembered who I was talking to and my eyes in horror as I covered my mouth with my hand. I bit the inside of my cheek as I slowly tried my head to gauge his reaction and I saw that a bright red blush had spread up his neck as he avoided meeting my gaze but his lips twitched in amusement. "I, um, can we forget I said that?"

"Said what?" he asked with mock cluelessness after a moment of silence and I offered him a thankful smile as I returned my attention to the Bestiary. I could still feel his gaze burning into the side of my head but I actively ignored looking at him out of embarrassment and I bit down on my lower lip to stop from saying something else without thinking.