Chapter 5

Wearing high heels, I carefully stepped out of the car, my eyes glued to the police station in front of me, heart full of unease. Oliver got out from the other side, strolled over casually, and wrapped an arm around my waist like it was nothing. I blinked, caught off guard by how close he was. He just shrugged, gently tucking a few stray hairs behind my ear. “Nervous?” he asked softly, holding my hand with a little squeeze. “Relax. Let’s go.” Taking a deep breath, I nodded, still a little unsure. Thomas looked like a complete mess—hair sticking out every direction, dirt all over his clothes, and even some tufts of wolf fur clinging to his collar. He slumped there like half-melted slime, barely managing to sit up straight when he noticed someone coming. His eyes flicked up, saw me, and immediately rolled with irritation before turning his back toward us, staring at the wall instead. Yeah, I knew he wasn’t exactly thrilled to see me. The three of us—Thomas, Jackson, and me—basically grew up together. Thomas never liked Jackson. In fact, he straight up tried to forbid me from getting close to him. But I liked Jackson. Naturally, that caused a bunch of fights between me and Thomas. I kept trying to talk him down, begged him to let go of all that resentment. But he just grew more distant, blowing up at me whenever Jackson’s name came up. According to him, Jackson hated him too. Now after a fight between them, here I was, trying to bail him out. “Hi, I’m Thomas’s sister,” I said to the officer at the desk, head bowed with an apologetic tone. “What are you doing here? Jackson’s gone already. Yeah, I hit him. So what? Are you here to yell at me too?!” Thomas suddenly shouted, fiddling anxiously with his fingers without even turning to look at me. I was about to speak when I noticed Oliver walking straight towards him. Thomas didn’t expect that. He turned, confused, just in time to nearly jump out of his seat. “Shit! Who the hell are you?” Oliver had gotten way too close without a sound. He kept his arms folded, eyes fixed on Thomas like he was analyzing him. “Not bad, kid. Really,” Oliver said, clearly impressed. Thomas flushed bright red and scooted backward slightly, an odd look on his face. “You’re Oliver Davis?” While I was still asking the officer about the bail process, Oliver smiled under Thomas’s suspicious stare, raised a hand, and lightly patted his head. “Yep, that’s me,” he said, ruffling his hair as if proud. “Nicely done.” “Hey! Who said we’re even friends?!” Thomas slapped his hand away, giving Oliver a sharp once-over like he was trying to figure out how to get rid of him. Then suddenly, he sniffed. Like, actually leaned forward a bit and sniffed around Oliver like a bloodhound. Before I could even react, he grabbed Oliver by the collar. Oliver's brow furrowed. A beat passed, then he shoved Thomas off. “There’s something on you…” Thomas stared at him, eyes narrowed dangerously. Then he exploded. “Why the hell do you smell like Ella?! Did you two sleep together or something?!” I stepped back, completely mortified. Oliver just laughed, cool as ever. He tugged down his collar to show the bite mark on his neck. “Got this too. Wanna look closer?” he teased. Thomas’s face turned all colors at once—red, white, probably purple too. He breathed hard for a few seconds, then dropped back onto the bench, eyes locked on Oliver with laser focus. “Alpha Oliver, I want an explanation,” he growled. “What exactly is going on between you and Ella? And when the hell did you two hook up?”