Chapter 44: Reservoir Wolves

Harlow

“You’re...” I couldn’t believe what Bonnie had just told me.

“Keep it to yourself,” she said. “No one else knows.”

I didn’t dare ask who the father was, but I had a pretty good idea.

At that moment, Blayze walked into the bar.

“Hey,” he said, “Bonnie, we have a last-minute addition to the security squad. Cyrus told me Seventh Circle’s got five escorts on the trucks. He wants to add Butch and Shorty. Cool with you?”

“That’s fine,” she said, not meeting his eye.

“What was it you wanted to talk about this morning?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she replied. “Let’s just focus on getting through tomorrow for now.”

Ok, I knew who the father was.

“You sure?”

I felt really uncomfortable between the two of them.

“Yeah,” Bonnie insisted. “Don’t worry about it.”

I spent the rest of the day thinking about what Bonnie must have been going through. But it also got me thinking about Cyrus and me and our future together. I didn’t know if he wanted kids, but I’d always thought that I would eventually be a mom. It would only be possible for us after I was turned. Otherwise, just like Bonnie’s mother, I wouldn’t make it through a werewolf pregnancy alive. Cyrus and I had more to talk about.

Cyrus

Harlow was bleeding from several gunshot wounds to the chest, her car riddled with bullets. I pulled her out of the driver’s seat and laid her down on the Mega Mart parking lot to start administering first aid, but it was too late. She was already dead.

I woke up in a cold sweat. Sitting up in bed, I looked around, regaining my bearings. It had been a dream.

It was still dark, and the moonlight glowed through my window blinds. Letting out a sigh of relief, I collapsed back onto my pillow. Harlow was safe. I reached over to her side of the bed, but to my surprise, all I felt were bedsheets. But the sound of Harlow in the kitchen eased my mind.

That wasn’t my first nightmare about Harlow. The closer heist day—or H-Day—came, the more vivid and more frightening my dreams became. And now, H-Day was here. We’d be pulling off the heist in just hours.

When I planted my feet on the floor to check on her, they landed in a pile of Harlow’s dirty clothes. I loved Harlow, but her messiness managed to grate on my nerves from time to time. She’d gotten better about picking up after herself after we’d had a couple of talks about respecting the spaces we both shared, but occasionally, she still ignored the hamper despite it being closer to her side of the bed.

As I hurried into the kitchen to ask her to pick up her sh*t, my foul mood all but evaporated the moment I saw Harlow placing a mountain of eggs and pancakes on the table in the corner. Already set was a pile of bacon and sausage links along with piping hot coffee.

“Morning, sleepyhead. Thought I’d make you breakfast before the big day.” She smiled. Her face and neck glistened from the heat of the stove.

“You did all this for me?”

She nodded as she approached. “I just wanted to show you how much I appreciate everything you do. You’re always there looking out for me. Making sure I’m safe. This is just my way of saying, thank you.”

Harlow placed her hand on my chest and kissed my lips. Slipping my hands around her waist, we made out in the kitchen for a couple of minutes before Harlow pulled back.

“Enough of that now,” Harlow continued. “Your food’s getting cold.”

“Hey, you started it,” I teased. We sat at the table, and I dug in. Every once in a while, I’d catch Harlow watching me eat, as if she enjoyed watching me enjoy it. Pretty soon, not a single crumb was left.

“Everything taste ok?” Harlow asked.

“It was delicious. Thank you.” I replied.

“Hey, I have a question for you.”

“I might have an answer,” I said with a laugh.

“Do you want kids?”

I was surprised. This had come out of nowhere. Immediately, I started to worry that she... But we always used protection.

“Are you…” I began.

“Huh? Oh, no!” she said. “I just thought I’d see if you wanted them someday. We’ve never really talked about it.”

The image of a couple of pups running around with Harlow and me in tow popped into my head. It was a really nice thought. Something that would make me happy. Of course, she’d definitely have to be turned first.

“Someday,” I said. “Yeah, I think I would.”

“I would, too,” Harlow replied with a smile.

As we sat across from each other, sipping the last of our coffee, I felt at peace. I was able to forget about all the drama with the packs, Madoc and Sunrise Corp, and even Harlow’s occasional messiness.

I didn’t want this moment to end, but a text from Blayze reminding everyone that we were meeting in an hour brought me back down to earth. I thought about my dream again and how I’d watched Harlow die. It was less likely to happen if she wasn’t human. And the idea of having pups together… I decided then and there when the time came, I would be the one to turn her.

Harlow

Later that morning, but before the sun had risen, Madoc strolled into the bar. Today was the day we were supposed to pull off the heist, and everyone involved had gathered to go over the details one more time.

Goldie, Wyatt, Butch, and Shorty sat together at a booth while Stella, Gunner, and Tank sat scattered around the room at various tables. Cyrus and Red sat at the bar with Blayze and Bonnie.

I still couldn’t believe Bonnie was pregnant. I wondered when she would tell Blayze and found myself pondering whether this would change anything about the leadership of the packs. But in the meantime, I would do as I was asked and keep my mouth shut.

“Good morning, team,” Madoc said. “Before you go off on your mission, we’re going to play a little game to make sure everyone is fully prepared. It’s called, ‘Tell Me What Your Job is When I Point to You, or I’ll Suck Your Blood.’” There were confused looks all around. “Kidding! Jeez, Lighten up. Anyway…go.”

He pointed at Stitch first. “Crowd control, guarding the front entrance and getting key cards to the others.” For the last three weeks, Stitch had been undercover. He’d gotten hired at Mega Mart as an entrance greeter.

Stella had also been hired there as a cashier, and Madoc pointed to her next. “Get Mega Mart vests to the ones who are gonna be out on the loading dock, then distract the guards near the trucks, so Shorty and Butch can—” Stella began.

“Hang on!” Madoc interrupted. “Your turns over.” He pointed to Shorty and Butch.

“Take out the Seventh Circle guards around the trucks,” Shorty said.

“Without killing them,” Butch added.

Madoc pointed to the Betas. “Red and I remove the product from each truck,” Cyrus said, “and get it loaded into the trunk and back seat of Harlow’s car.”

“And what about you two lovelies?” Madoc asked, shooting finger guns at Goldie and Wyatt.

“Make a scene and cause a distraction for security to come out,” Goldie said.

“We’re thinking the Home Improvement aisle,” Wyatt added.

“Ooh! Nice touch. So Tank can…” he pointed to Tank.

“Get into the security room and get rid of the footage,” Tank replied.

“And…” he pointed to me.

“Take the drugs and drive like a bat out of hell,” I replied.

“While the rest of you,” he pointed to everyone else.

“Escort Harlow on our bikes and provide protection,” Bonnie said, speaking for the others.

“Amazing,” Madoc began to clap as he walked around the room. “Give yourselves a pat on the back.” No one did. “I also advise against anyone shifting. We don’t need a bunch of wolves running through the lingerie department scaring women and children. Any other questions? No? Good. Then best of luck to you all.”

Madoc gave a slight bow then exited as dramatically as he entered. When he was gone, the Alphas and Betas huddled together, talking in low voices. Cyrus seemed troubled. As soon as I approached, the conversation stopped.

“Everything alright?” I asked.

“Yeah. Just going over some of the finishing touches.” Cyrus looked uncomfortable, but I decided not to press him further. I knew he was worried about my safety.

When it was time to go, Cyrus walked me to my car and kissed me before I got behind the wheel.

“It’ll all be fine,” I said with a smile.

Cyrus nodded but seemed unconvinced. Regardless, once everyone was loaded up, we rolled out. The heist was underway.