Derek
Derek was crushed. He was aware enough to notice that Kyra was being really weird. He noticed a few things here and there, but he'd always had excuses for her. But this? There was no excuse for this.
He never told her there was a vampire attack. And Cody had never said that Jesse was bitten. He hadn’t said anything about that at all. And yet she'd seemed so confident when she asked. Was there a good explanation? Maybe, but he didn't want to tip her off. He needed her to be unaware of what he thought.
Why had she eavesdropped? Maybe it was normal to do that. Maybe he’d do the same. But then she’d lied too. And she seemed overly invested in what had happened. He could theoretically chalk that up to being scared of what might be out there, but that felt off too. He wasn’t buying it.
He put his arm around her, feeling a bit queasy. He was in love with her. He'd thought she cared about him too, but had she betrayed him? He wasn't sure. He wanted to be sure before he jumped to any conclusions. He knew what he had to do though; he had to talk to Roman. If there was any threat from her, then he had to let the pack know. They came first.
"I think I need to be alone,” he said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm sure. I won't be very good company right now."
"If you're sure, then I'll go ahead and go home. I have plenty of homework I need to catch up on anyway."
He needed to make sure she went home and that she did not follow him to the pack. Had he unknowingly brought someone dangerous into their midst?
They both shifted and ran back as wolves to where their clothes were waiting on them. They both dressed in silence. He tried to concentrate on being upset about Jesse and not dwell on his suspicions. He didn't want her getting wind of what he might be thinking.
When they got back to town, he hugged her tightly and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you,” he said. “I appreciate you being there for me.”
"Just call me if you need me."
He waited until she was inside her house. And then he turned back, making a beeline toward Roman's cabin. Roman was there with Jameson and Tristan. He did not want to alert Tristan and Jameson that there might be a problem, not at this point.
"Roman, can we talk for a minute?"
Tristan and Jameson excused themselves.
"Jesse is dead,” Derek said as soon as they were out the door.
Roman’s mouth dropped open. He got up from his desk and headed over to Derek. He threw his arms around him and hugged him tight. "I'm so sorry. That's horrible."
"It's the result I was afraid of. But I'm not surprised. He was never gone this long without at least texting me."
"What happened?" Roman asked.
"He was bitten and drained by a vampire."
Roman stood there for a second, motionless. He opened his mouth a few times and then closed it. “Are you certain?"
"Well, I haven't seen the body yet, but I did get a phone call from Cody over in Canada. He told me."
Roman gripped the back of the desk chair. “Right, so we trust him.”
“We always have. And I'm not arguing for anything else,” Derek said. “The reason I wanted to speak to you in private is a little different. It’s about Kyra."
"Kyra? What about her?”
“I think she might be a spy. For the vampires.” It felt crazy saying it out loud.
“A spy?” Roman made a face. “What the hell are you talking about? That doesn’t even make any sense.”
"I know it doesn't make any sense. But something is going on. I love her, but something’s off. I've noticed it since we met, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I still can't. But when I got the call about Jesse I flipped out. She followed me when I ran off and then she was supportive."
"I fail to see the problem here, with any of that.”