“Um, nothing because it’s not real.” He paused as he watched Rian reach behind his head and pull his shirt from his body. “What are you doing?”
“I assure you, the supernatural is real. Some bad, some good, but very real.” Rian undid his belt buckle as he spoke, his clothing slowly being piled in a pool on the grassy yard as he removed items one by one.
“Dude!” The deputy turned his head as Rian unzipped his jeans and started to pull them down. “What the hell are you doing? We need to go find Lexi.”
Rian nodded as he stood up straight. “I know where she is, and if you're coming along, you need to know what you’re going along with.” The deputy returned his glance to Rian just as he lowered his boxers to the ground and stood up naked before him. The man of law could not hide the confusion that filled his expression, yet within a second his confusion transformed to fear as Rian lowered into a transformation to his cheetah cat form.
“Wh…wha…” The deputy took quick steps back until he hit the sliding door, voice stuttering to a stop. Rian took a slow step forward, his paws moving along the cool grass, his nails extended as he stretched to a full stand. His bright amber eyes locked to the man before him, listening to his heart beat rapidly, the stench of fear expelling from every pore of his skin. Rian took another step forward before he lowered to a non-threatening sitting position.
The deputy took a step forward as he stretched his arm out, hand shaking as he neared Rian, who remained sitting. Rian, to help him understand, stayed as still as possible.
He took another step toward Rian, followed by another as he brought his fingers to a full stretch. Rian stood and moved toward him slowly, his head lowered as he lightly pushed it under the man’s shaking hand. He could hear the gasp that caught in the man’s throat at the contact, the fear fading as shock and awe remained.
Rian knew he took a large risk revealing who and what he was, putting the club in possibly more danger, but he had no choice. If the deputy wanted to help him storm the brewery and save Lexi, there was no other choice. He could find out now, or he could find out then, where he'd be more likely to shoot without understanding what was going on.
Rian took a step back, his eyes meeting the deputy's once he shifted back into his human form, which was met with another gasp. “Like I said, the supernatural is very real.” Rian spoke as he reached down to grab his boxers. He pulled them up, standing tall once more.
“Wh… what are you?”
Rian cleared his throat as he continued dressing. “I’m a shifter. And before you ask, yes there are more of my kind in the world and yes, Lexi knows what I am.”
Rian took a step toward the deputy, who in turn jumped back. Rian stopped the forward movement with a nod. He understood the fear the man felt, once upon a time Lexi had behaved the same way. He himself felt the fear when he'd discovered what he was.
“Look, Charlie. I get it. It’s a lot to take in, but I need you to pull it together, at least until we get Lexi back. That’s the only reason I revealed it.”
“Why? Why would you trust me with something like this? You barely know me.”
“Because I know you love her and would do anything, accept any situation, to make sure she’s okay. I knew if I wanted to clear my name, ensure the club was safe and save my girl, I would need to do it outside of human form. If you're determined to go with me, I needed you to not shoot when you saw me as a cat. If you want to expose me, fine, do it tomorrow. Just for tonight, I need your head on straight.”
Charlie inclined his head in understanding after a few long moments, before he stepped past Rian to grab his shirt from the ground and held it out to him. “Let’s go get your girl, then.”
Chapter Three Hundred Thirty-Four
Rian arrived at the brewery already shifted, his fur capturing the breeze in the air. He moved stealthily against the chilled ground, Deputy Weasley close behind. They moved along the North end of the property, where Rian would cross through the fence and start his search for Lexi. He knew that was his best option; her scent, her heartbeat... they would call to him, pull him to her like a magnet.
Rian stopped just outside the fence. The parking lot was clear... silent and dark. His amber gaze scanned along the line, through the darkness of the shadows that surrounded the base of the building. He looked to Charlie and lowered down to his stomach as Charlie pulled out a pair of wire cutters.
Click. Click. Click.
Charlie cut the fence free from its post, gripping along the sides to pull it back. He lowered down to a squat, his head turned as he looked back at Rian. With a slight grin, the Deputy lifted and spun away from the fence. The plan had been made before they got here. Charlie would enter from the South end, he would act as backup in case Rian needed him.
While Rian was looking for Lexi, Charlie would look for anything that not only cleared Rian from the murder but tied someone, anyone, from Billingsworth’s team to it. If all went well, they would meet back at the cruiser hidden in the brush a mile East of the property, by one-fifteen.
Rian hesitated a moment to scan the surroundings once more before he bolted under the cut fence. With a dash, he made his way across the lot, lowered down to his stomach, and crawled under one of the trucks
