Of prejudice and pack ( Bound by fate 2)

Chapter 5: Shadows and Shifters

The cold and sterile interrogation room became the battleground between a shifter and a hunter. Jake was restrained, hands cuffed to the steel table, but his eyes were alert, darting between Eric and Elena.

The tension was palpable. Elena began, "Jake, the map we found – why the school and the hospital?"

Jake's lips twitched into a smirk. "What map?"

Elena slammed the detailed map onto the table. "This one."

He leaned back, feigning surprise. "Never seen it."

Eric moved, swift and silent, his face inches from Jake's. His voice, when he spoke, was a dangerous whisper. "You think this is a game?"

Jake's smirk grew wider, and he leaned into Eric's space, their noses almost touching. "It's always a game, wolf. The question is, who's the prey?"

Elena felt a chill run down her spine. Eric's energy was shifting, the room growing colder. The man was gone, replaced by something wild, something deadly.

"I won't ask again." Eric's voice was barely audible, the threat implicit.

Jake swallowed but held Eric's gaze. "Do your worst."

Without warning, Eric lunged at Jake, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him into the wall. The room's temperature dropped as the shifter's aura darkened, his anger palpable. "What's your game? Why the school? Why the hospital?"

Jake, though startled, quickly recovered, smirking. "Maybe I just wanted to see how easy it'd be to rattle your cage."

Elena jumped in, trying to pry Eric's fingers from Jake's shirt. "Eric! Let him go!" But it was like trying to move a mountain.

Jake's face was turning red, his breaths coming in short gasps. "You... don't have... the guts," he managed to choke out.

Eric's eyes, now an intense shade of deep brown, never wavered from Jake's. "Test me."

Suddenly, a gunshot echoed through the room. Elena had fired a warning shot into the ceiling. Plaster rained down as she pointed her gun at Eric. "Back. Off."

The intensity in the room peaked. Eric released Jake, who crumpled to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. Elena kept her gun trained on Eric, her voice steady. "This isn't the way."

Eric's breathing was ragged, his entire body tensed. For a long moment, there was a stand-off. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, he relaxed, his eyes returning to their normal shade. He took a deep breath.

As they exited, Eric's pace was brisk, his frustration evident. Elena touched his arm lightly, "Eric, I know it's hard, but we need to tread carefully. He's our only lead."

He met her eyes, the dangerous glint still present, but softened slightly. "He threatens my pack, my family."

She nodded, understanding his pain. "And we will protect them. We'll get to the bottom of this."

Back at her desk, Elena rubbed her temples, attempting to shake off the events of the interrogation room. The image of Eric's eyes changing, the sheer force of his anger, continued to play in her mind. She had known shifters could be volatile, but witnessing it firsthand was another story.

Suddenly, a cup of coffee appeared in front of her. Looking up, she found Eric standing there, his demeanor calmer but with an underlying tension. "Peace offering," he murmured, avoiding her gaze.

Elena accepted the coffee, taking a cautious sip. "You can't go around intimidating suspects, Eric. Not here."

He sighed, leaning against the edge of her desk. "I'm not used to your rules. In our world, you show strength to get answers."

She leaned back in her chair, meeting his gaze. "And how's that working out for you?"
He grunted in response, clearly not in the mood. "Look, we need to find out what Jake's up to, and who he's working with."

Elena nodded in agreement. "Agreed. But we'll do it my way."

Eric raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Go on."

"We release him," she began, "let him think he's outsmarted us, but tail him. He'll lead us right to whoever he's working with."

Eric seemed skeptical, "It's risky. If he senses he's being followed..."

She interrupted, "That's where you come in. Your heightened senses can help us maintain just the right distance. We need to stay close enough to keep tabs on him but far enough to avoid detection."

He seemed to ponder the idea. "I'm game, but only if I can be the one to tail him. You'll be in my ear, guiding me based on the intel from the precinct."

She smiled, "Deal."

As they prepared for their covert operation, the hours provided them with an unexpected opportunity. The tension from their earlier confrontations melted into genuine curiosity.
"Why did you become a cop?" Eric asked, genuinely curious.

Elena sighed, looking out of the window. "To make a difference. To protect those who can't protect themselves. And you? Why did you decide to apply for Beta?"

Eric laughed, "You don't apply, it's assigned to you." He continued, "To honor my lineage, and because I genuinely care for my kind. Leadership is about responsibility, not power."

Elena found herself drawn to him, captivated by his depth. "Tell me about shifters," she murmured. "I've read the files, but they're so... clinical."

He smiled, leaning back. "We are just a bunch of dogs who like to pee on other people's property," he said through a laugh.

Elena winced. "I'm sorry about that, it was uncalled for," she apologized.

He stared at her intently. "We're much more than what the reports say. Our bonds, our loyalties, run deep. We're bound not just by blood but by the very essence of nature. With a pack mentality, no one is ever truly alone. There's always someone to lean on, rely on."
He looked her dead in the eyes. "Someone to be there for. Purpose," he concluded.

Elena looked down, having come from a broken home his words hit hard. The idea was comforting.

As the hours wore on, Elena's understanding of shifters expanded, and she found herself reassessing her biases. And Eric, in turn, gained a new appreciation for the human world Elena was a part of. Their dynamic shifted subtly, from reluctant allies to burgeoning friends.

By the time Jake was released, the duo was ready. They set out on their mission, not as adversaries, but as a unified team, each covering the other's back.