Raising Innocence by Shannon Mayer Page A

Valley and made my way over to him. This many people in such a tight space was too much, and I wasn’t even claustrophobic.
    A tall, thin, balding man rapped his knuckles on the small table in the middle of the room. “As most of you are aware, there was another kidnapping this morning. Officer Gossard was on scene. Can you fill us in on anything?” The tone implied that Will should have captured the criminal with one hand tied behind his back. These fucking humans, they just didn’t understand what it meant to deal with a supernatural who stole children. There were no hard and fast rules when it came to magic and the world we lived in.
    While Will spoke about what we’d done to try and track the kidnapper, I leaned down to Agent Valley.
    “How much do they know about me?”
    His lips barely moved. “Everything.”
    I closed my eyes and stood back up.
    “Ms. Adamson?” My eyes opened, and I forced them to do so slowly. No need to let them get the upper hand.
    “Hmm.” I arched one eyebrow and lifted my hand in the air. “Present.”
    A low snicker went around the room.
    “Would you care to share your particular findings?”
    I shrugged and took a step forward like I would if I were called on in school, tucking my hands against my lower spine. “I Tracked the kid, Johnny, until he died. Everything else that happened, Officer Gossard already told you.”
    Silence met my words. Perhaps that wasn’t the best way to pass on the info, but what the hell, I wasn’t one of them, never would be.
    The man licked his lips, frowning. “The child is dead?”
    I didn’t get a chance to answer. Alex did it for me, being helpful, as usual.
    “Yesssirrrreee.” He let the word end in a light howl, then his eyes flew to mine and he clamped his paws over his muzzle. “Sorry, Rylee. Alex forgets.”
    If I thought the room had been silent before, it was nothing to the emptiness that filled it after Alex spoke. I could almost feel the panic swirling into the air.
    “Ah, fuck it. Someone else in here’s a werewolf too, so don’t get your panties in a twist that I brought one in,” I said, motioning at the rest of the room with a broad sweep of my hand.
    Now the panic let loose, grown men scrambling to get out of the room until it was the tall man, Agent Valley, Will, and one other Officer left with me and Alex.
    Agent Valley shrugged. “I told you she was difficult, and you wanted all your Officers to get a good look at the supernatural Tracker. Well, now you did. Are you happy?”
    Was he standing up for me? Booyah!
    The tall thin man shook his head. “We can’t have her going rogue on us, not after Feen. We have rules—we expect them to be followed.”
    Much as I wanted to tell him to take his rules and shove them up his ass, I thought I’d let Agent Valley speak up for me.
    Which he did, in spades. I liked the short ugly man who wanted to be my boss better and better.
    “She has a higher success rate than all of your officers and my agents combined. I’m inclined to let her do as she wishes” —he gave me a look that told me he wasn’t really giving me free rein at all— “within reason.”
    Will stepped forward. “I’ll keep an eye on her. I can partner with her while she works the case.”
    Alex clapped his paws and his tail thumped. Out the side of his mouth he did a stage whisper. “I like the kitty.”
    The other man—the one sitting in the corner—stood up, anger darkening his features. His head was shaved to the wick and his eyes were hooded, hiding the colour from me, but I’d have laid money at that moment they were a tawny yellow. “You bitch, who do you think you are collaring a werewolf?”
    He stalked toward me and my normally submissive Alex stiffened against my leg, his body inching forward. “No mean to Rylee!”
    “Smith, ease down,” the tall man said, motioning for the werewolf, Smith, to sit.
    Surprisingly enough, he did. Good to know. Perhaps he wasn’t a true Alpha?
    “Alex,