Page 3 of Last But Not Leashed

“I didn’t bother reading it. I prefer to judge a man by his actions rather than look over what some paper shuffler sends me. She informed me you had security experience. That’s all I needed to know. Have you ever infected anyone?”

“No, sir.”

“Interesting.”

If I’d been in my hybrid form, I would’ve pinned my ears back and bared my teeth. Professionalism demanded I maintain a neutral expression. Why did he think my care and caution with the uninfected was interesting? At a loss of what to say, I waited.

“Do you believe current prevention methods are effective?”

While tempted to refer him to the CDC’s website for information on infection statistics, I resisted the urge. When trouble like his came calling, it was wisest to avoid adding to the problems, which would inevitably reach my boss. I made a show of thinking about his question. “I haven’t infected anyone, sir. But the lycanthrope isn’t the only liable individual in the equation. Others do need to be aware and take care. If you were to pick a fight with me and bloody my nose, infection is possible, and according to the law, I wouldn’t be held liable. The lycanthrope is only liable if they started the fight, and such incidents are always verified by an angel.”

“A good point. Be careful on your rounds, son. Give a holler if you run into trouble.” Mr. Coolridge flipped me a salute and strolled off, pulling out a cell phone and placing a call.

According to my nose, the man was satisfied about something, and I wasn’t certain why. Did he want lycanthrope security guards? The members of local packs would appreciate extra job opportunities. The risk of infection would make most think twice about trying their luck and picking a fight. It would also encourage those who wanted to be infected to pick fights.

Fortunately for most but unfortunately for me, those who wanted to become infected picked a fight with a lycanthrope with the hybrid form, hoping the virus would take hold and become strong enough. They’d be disappointed.

It wasn’t the source of the infection that ensured access to the hybrid form. What it was, however, I wasn’t certain. My father couldn’t access the hybrid form. Had I been normal, I wouldn’t have access to it, either.

I sighed, staring until my temporary boss turned the corner and headed deeper into the mall. If anyone learned I had the hybrid form, I’d rise to the top of the local eligible bachelor list, a status I didn’t want. At the rate my persnickety virus rejected women, I’d die old and alone. I wouldn’t die a virgin, at least, but I’d had my romp in the hay before I’d become contagious.

Dana had made it clear she wouldn’t mind being stuck with me for life, but then she’d gone on to pick up the virus from a different wolf. Most days, I wasn’t sure what to think of that, especially since she tried to have a new puppy every year.

Pack life sometimes drove me insane, especially when I ran into Dana at the pack gatherings. She loved everything about life as a mated pre-shift lycanthrope.

I remembered a few too many promises she broke when another wolf had wagged his tail, so I avoided her even more than she avoided me. I wasn’t even sure why she avoided me; her mate was a twig of a man with a heart of gold, and he’d gone out of his way to tell me I didn’t have anything to worry about.

I could be friends with Dana if I wanted.

My thoughts consumed me as I patrolled around the building, testing the exterior doors to make certain they were locked. Other security guards waited inside, though most of them were looking over their phones rather than paying attention to me. At most, I got a cursory glance to make certain I was a guard rather than someone hoping to slip in after hours.

As I made the circuit around the west side of the mall to the south side, I forced myself to pay closer attention; the attack yesterday had happened near one of the south entrances, a single door hidden down a concrete access ramp between two designer clothing stores. It took only a glance to understand why the attack had happened there; the lamp’s light was out, leaving it a shadowy place ripe for an ambush.

If I ever had a chance to film a horror flick, I’d pick the entrance as the prime spot for a murder. A lycanthrope wanting to spread his virus around wouldn’t have any troubles disabling and infecting a lone security guard.

Per my boss’s instructions, I took my time investigating the spot, searching for ways a lycanthrope might get the jump on someone. It’d be easier to identify spots safe from a hunting lycanthrope, which was nowhere. A concrete half-wall divided the walkway from the parking lot, and there were plenty of ways for someone to scale the mall to the ledges dividing the ground and second floor.

Someone—something—growled behind me.

Assuming I wasn’t about to be ripped apart by another lycanthrope, I needed a raise. In the worst-case scenario, I’d need to shift and fight. While having the hybrid form gave me strength and speed, I was likely the world’s most pacifistic wolf.

Experience mattered, of which I had none.

Expecting the worst, I turned to face the source of the growls, coming nose to muzzle with a hybrid-form female. She bared her fangs and growled again. With a single sniff, my nose and virus identified her as an unmated female on the prowl. The sensation never failed to bother me.

Unmated females always gave my virus certain ideas, but my picky-as-hell virus wanted my boss, and I had no doubts the damned thing wouldn’t quit until it got its way.

At least she wasn’t a mated female. Whenever I got too close to a mated female, I wanted to back away at least ten feet, tense and wary the male would show up and pull out my fur for getting too close.

With a little luck, she wouldn’t clue in I was a lycanthrope without a mate. If I got lucky, I’d be able to talk her down without someone—me—getting hurt.

“The mall’s closed, ma’am.” I relaxed so I wouldn’t look like a threat, looking her over. A second sniff warned me if she didn’t find a male soon, she’d act on her serious case of grumpy. She growled again, her eyes narrowing to slits.

Unmated females on the prowl had a tendency to beat on unmated males to prove they were strong enough to bear puppies.

I didn’t want anyone beating on me, not even my boss. As always, my virus had different thoughts about that.

I needed to stop lying to myself. If my boss wanted to beat on me, I’d encourage her, run to piss her off, and push to see how far she’d go to prove her interest in me.