15 Meeting Imani

LUCAS

"Sutton, park," Lucas mumbled and the car beeped as he tossed the phone on the seat next to him before he buried his face in his hands.

"Searching for parking space... Parking lot found." The car dived to the ground and began to slow down. "Parking... Currently at Milos, parking lot." The car came to a stop.

Lucas let out an exasperated sigh as the doors began to curve back into place and the resilient screen slid down. He had just received a phone call from Parisa Barnes telling him not to come to the institute anymore because she hadn't been able to contact Jacob Peterson, the scientist, whom she wanted to introduce him to.

He wasn't surprised when she had told him, just disappointed. A part of him had been expecting her to do this because he doubted that she really wanted to help. She had said she would call him back as soon as she got a hold of Jacob but his mood had turned sour already.

'Maybe Vinay is right about me having anger issues,' he thought as he lifted his head up from his hands and looked at the neon sign board that said Milos. He remembered all the meetings that he had set up here with Imani... meetings she didn't show up to. He had taken a liking to the coffee they served in the cafe during the times he came here.

'I should get a cup of coffee.'

A car pulled into the parking space next to him and he immediately glanced away from it to the seat next to him when his phone rang before he grabbed it, thinking it was Parisa. It wasn't her. He instantly scowled when he saw the name that flashed across the screen.

Kyle Stevens. He was the leader of the werewolves in Maryland and he reported directly to Lucas but he felt that he should be the Alpha and he didn't hide this from Lucas. Lucas would have cut him off if not for the fact that he wasn't good at his job and he hadn't met any werewolf in Maryland good enough to replace Kyle.

Lucas wasn't the Alpha of all the werewolves in the world, he was just the Alpha of the werewolves in this country. There were other Alphas in other countries and they had formed an Alpha council.

The council wasn't very happy with the situation in this country and they certainly weren't happy with Lucas. He hated Kyle because Kyle made the council think he had been doing absolutely nothing to solve the issue about the new virus.

He ignored the call and got down from his car as his phone chimed in his hands. It was a message from Kyle Stevens.

KYLE STEVENS, 9:37PM: I just got off the phone with your beta, Ella, and she told me that the Barnes lady set up a meeting between you and a scientist named Jacob Peterson today. The fact that you didn't mention this to the werewolf leaders is preposterous and I have already e-mailed the council about this.

'I- what the fuck?'

Lucas wheeled his arm backward and threw his phone as hard as he could in anger... except he didn't look at where he threw it to and it definitely didn't hit the ground. A woman in a red one shoulder dress had just stepped out of the car parked next to his, shutting the door behind her when the phone hit her right in the forehead and she went down with a yelp.

Lucas' hand flew to his mouth. "Holy Shit!" He quickly rushed around the car she had gotten down from and to her side when he saw her on the floor. "I am so so sorry. Are you okay?"

She was face down on the ground, with her dark brown curls fanned on either side of her head. The hem of her dress had ridden up a little due to the fall and a clutch purse and two phones were a couple of feet away from her. She wasn't moving and if he didn't know any better, he'd think she was dead but this could become very bad nonetheless. The last thing he needed was the media saying the werewolf Alpha tried to kill an innocent woman by throwing a phone to her head if she decided to report this incident.

'Headline: Lucas Harrison, the werewolf Alpha, attacks woman in Milos' parking lot.'

He grimaced at the thought as he watched the woman lying on the ground. The cops would gladly put him in cuffs seeing as most of them had no love for werewolves or vampires.

"Miss?" He gently poked her shoulder and she let out a groan. "I'm sorry. I didn't do that on purpose."

She still didn't look up and after a short while of deliberating, he decided to help her up.

'How do I do this? Do I help her up by her hand, shoulder or waist?' He furrowed his brows in confusion as he kept staring at the woman and realized that this could also go bad for him if she took it the wrong way and reported it too.

'Headline: Lucas Harrison, the werewolf Alpha, tries to sexually harass woman in Milos' parking lot.' That would be really, really bad.

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Miss? Are you okay?"

She suddenly raised her head up and Lucas almost fell backward since he was crouching on the ground next to her. He couldn't see her face since her curly hair was covering it.

"I'm fine, okay? I'm great. No big deal, really," she said in a rush and her voice was loud and squeaky.

'Okay... she's definitely not fine,' Lucas thought as she turned her head to face him. He leaned forward a bit and used his hand to sweep a portion of her hair back so she could see.

He blinked in surprise when he saw the woman's face and his mouth slightly fell open. "Imani?"