"Yes, I have to agree," growled Andrew with a look of displeasure. Chris paled some, nodding. "Now out please so I can have a word with Lily," he demanded. Everyone except James, who she just now noticed, left the room obediently.
What the hell was he doing here? She wondered as soon as she saw him.
Her father sat down on the bed beside her with a look of concern marking his face. "I want to know if what happened to you this morning is in connection to what I asked you to do."
She knew where this was going. "Yes Andrew, it was. The thief was a werewolf looking for the pills," she told him and saw the guilt flash through her father's eyes.
"How do you know he was a wolf?" James asked leaving the corner where he'd been lurking with a grumpy look on his face.
"His eyes turned yellow the angrier he got. Also, only you people use the word "human" as an insult" She said but gave him a sly smile at the end.
"So he took the pills?" Andrew asked, still looking upset.
"Unfortunately. I eventually had to give him what he was looking for when he threatened to hurt people," she said with a slight frown.
"Eventually? You actually refused to hand them over?" Her father asked as he looked at her with obvious disapproval on his face.
"Of course I did! I am not going to give in to a bully or threats that easy, werewolf or no werewolf," she told him, crossing her arms.
"He could have killed you," James spoke. This time with an unexpected stern sounding tone.
"Yeah. He could have," Lily said, then shrugged as she continued, "like so many other things in this world. It's a good thing I had a plan B."
"A plan B?" Andrew asked, curiosity replacing some of the worry.
She got a large smile on her face. "Once you told me yesterday that there was a traitor I thought they may try to break in the lab. Though I never expected a full blown break in during operational hours. Anyway, I have some pills stashed at home. I can use the resources at school to continue working on them," she explained, feeling satisfied with herself.
Lily expected him to share her feelings or at least appreciate her forethought. Instead he crossed his arms over his chest with a frown. "No Lily, you're done! Involving you was a mistake. No more analyzing, no more tests, nothing... it's over. I will take what you have and deal with it," Andrew told her.
She recognized that tone in his voice. It was his alpha persuasion tone of voice, but that stuff never worked on her. It only made her angry that he was trying to control her like one of his little wolves.
"Oh don't go all Alpha on me, Mister, I am not one of your mutts! I will not give you anything and I'm not going to stop because someone decided to play it rough. If that mangy mutt thinks he is going to intimidate me then he has another thing coming!" Lily told her father. She didn't care if he was in the presence of another werewolf or not.
Andrew let out a small growl. "Lily!" he said in warning.
Lily wasn't in the mood to listen or compromise. There was no way she was going to stop. No one breaks into her lab, steals from her, threatens her co-workers and gets away with it! "Andrew," she shot back at him imitating his tone. She tried hard to keep her face serious when she noticed James's expression of complete surprise at their confrontation.
It wasn't the first time they fought like this. Though it made her angry as hell Lily got where Andrew was coming from, she really did. He was the all mighty alpha, and everyone did what he said. The fact that she didn't cower at his feet like everyone else drove him more than a little nuts. She usually tried not to push him, unless it was something important to her, like now.
At that moment a couple entered the room and identified themselves as detectives. She smiled with a gloating expression towards her father and claimed victory. He just glared at her and then left with James when the detectives wanted to ask her a few questions in private.
"Hello Ms. Nawassa I am Detective Bryant, and this is Detective Santiago. How are you feeling?" asked one of them asked, a woman of maybe late thirties with auburn hair streaked with gray. She smiled at Lily, but Lily didn't feel any warmth in the smile. "Ms. Nawassa we would like to ask you about the break in," she said, not waiting for Lily to answer her first question.
"Go ahead," Lily stated, irritated that she didn't wait for Lily to answer her first question.
"We are to understand the thief had spoken to you, correct?" the man, Detective Santiago, asked. Lily turned her attention to him, he appeared to be about the same age, but he seemed a lot kinder than the woman.
"Yes, he spoke to me," she started. "He was a little taller than me, and I am five foot six. He had a fair complexion. Dark brown eyes, his hair was a light color, blond or light brown. Or at least that what I assumed from the color of his eyebrows. No discernible accent that I could tell of. So it's possible he could be a local," she explained before they had a chance to ask. She was hardly able to contain her grin when they looked at her surprise.
"That's... a really detailed description" Detective Santiago said. He looked impressed, but the Detective Bryant looked at her with suspicion.
"When I realized someone broke into the lab I paid attention to his appearance," Lily told him. She allowed some smugness into her voice.