A black police officer with a buzz cut stepped out of the patrol car and approached Shane and Olivia. His gaze swept past them, shooting a warning look at the ill-intentioned figures lurking nearby. He didn't look away until those guys slunk off, clearly disgruntled.
"Out-of-towners shouldn't be here at night. Especially rich ones," Luke warned sternly. He turned to them. "Where are you headed? I'll give you a ride."
"No thanks, we'll take a cab," Olivia declined politely. As a killer-in-training with blood on her hands, she wasn't exactly panicked by police, but she didn't want to interact with them more than necessary.
Luke turned his head, pointing behind them. "Once I leave, they won't give you the chance to hail a cab."
"Vulture Hotel. Thanks."
Shane patted Olivia on the shoulder, smiled and nodded at the officer, then walked toward the passenger door.
Olivia frowned slightly but didn't say anything more, sliding into the back seat.
Something was off.
Shane's reaction was wrong.
Neither she nor Shane would be worried about street thugs. There was absolutely no need to take a police ride. Even if they did, they should have sat together in the back. But Shane actively took the front passenger seat. What was he planning?
Luke was oblivious to Shane's strange behavior and Olivia's suspicion. To him, these were just two young people who nearly got into trouble in his precinct after his shift ended.
"I'm Shane. How should I address you, Officer?" Shane turned slightly, observing Luke with keen interest.
"Luke."
"Officer Luke, do you believe in fate?" Shane asked playfully.
"I'm a cop. Having fate with me isn't necessarily a good thing. Also, you'd better stop looking at me like that. I'm not a monkey in a zoo." Luke was annoyed; the young man's gaze made him uncomfortable.
"True, you're not a monkey."
Shane seemed to ignore the warning in Luke's tone. He turned and winked at Olivia in the back. "Monkeys in a zoo aren't rare. What's rare is a wolf playing cop."
SCREECH!!!
Luke slammed on the brakes.
"What do you mean?" Luke turned his head, his voice icy, eyes gleaming as he stared dead at Shane.
The atmosphere in the car instantly became heavy and oppressive.
Olivia's hand quietly reached for her lower back. When a supernatural enthusiast like Shane talked about a "wolf," he certainly didn't mean the regular kind. And a regular wolf couldn't be a police officer. So... this cop was a werewolf?!
Olivia realized why Shane was acting so weird. She'd heard him mention werewolves several times and believed they existed, but... wasn't this a bit sudden? She was completely unprepared.
Weren't they in New York to see a demon? How did it switch to a werewolf?
"Are you sure he's a werewolf?"
Olivia eyed Luke, skeptical. "Shouldn't werewolves be hiding in the shadows, living cautiously? How can one become a police officer? And he seems like a good guy—at least he offered to help us. He doesn't fit my image of a werewolf at all."
"The supernatural creatures in the Shadow World come in all shapes and sizes. A good werewolf cop is perfectly normal." Shane paused, chuckling lightly at the wary Luke. "Werewolves have different types, too. Some turn into full wolves, some turn into wolf-men. Most rely on bloodlines passed down through generations. Others... if they bite or scratch a human, they can turn that human into a werewolf. Officer Luke belongs to the latter category."
"Shadowhunter? Warlock? Hunter? Or something else?" Luke stared at Shane, demanding an answer.
"None of the above. You should be able to smell it."
Shane shook his head. "You came to us; I have no malicious intent. However, I am interested in you—or rather, in werewolves. I know you used to be a Shadowhunter, until you were betrayed and turned into a werewolf. That... must have been hard to swallow, right?"
Luke remained silent.
"You definitely don't trust me. No matter what I say now, you'll be suspicious. The innocent have nothing to hide, so I won't waste my breath explaining. Just drop us at the hotel. See you tomorrow at the Jade Wolf."
The Jade Wolf—the headquarters for werewolves in this area. Luke hadn't expected him to know even that.
Half an hour later, at the entrance of the Vulture Hotel. Before getting out, Shane exchanged numbers with Luke and said he'd call before coming over tomorrow. Then he and Olivia entered the hotel.
Watching the two figures disappear from sight, Luke drove away while pulling out his phone to make a call.
As a werewolf cop, he had channels in both the werewolf community and the police force to investigate these two.
Ding.
The elevator doors slid open. Shane and Olivia arrived at his room. Once inside, Olivia pulled a bottle of champagne from Shane's suitcase, grabbed two glasses, and sat on the sofa.
Pop!
She opened the champagne, filled the glasses, and leaned sideways against the sofa, looking at Shane. "I have wine. Do you have a story?"
"I know too many stories."
Shane sat on the other side, took a sip of champagne, and began slowly. "You know why we came to New York. Why choose Brooklyn? The biggest reason was to try my luck. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I could find the person I was looking for here. But ever since I decided to start a new life, my luck has been exceptionally good. Maybe not 'wishes coming true' level, but I always encounter surprises."
"Luke is one of the people I wanted to find. Or more accurately, the werewolves Luke represents. You said Luke is a good person and doesn't fit your image of a werewolf—you're right. He really is a good person, and a trustworthy one."
"About ten years ago, back when Luke was still a Shadowhunter, he..."