Lily and James (werewolf novel) novel Chapter 7

(Lily POV)

I watch as my father parks his SUV car and gets out. I can tell that he is annoyed to be called to the border at this time of night.

“What seems to be the issue?” my father asks the three guards after he enters the check-in station building. His tone is gruff, annoyed, and consistent with his typical no-nonsense approach.

Marcus steps forward, points in my direction, and hands my father my driver’s license. “I am sorry to have bothered you, Beta Robert. This female here is requesting entry, but this is the identification card that she handed us. Obviously, this female is not your daughter, Sir, but she insisted that we call you.”

"Do you always honor the demands of strangers with false identification?" my father asks without even looking at me or the license. He is clearly frustrated.

I have to wonder how long these three have been working at the border; my father's frustration level should have been predictable to anyone who had served at the border for a decent amount of time.

"Well... no, Sir... but ---"

"But what, Marcus?" my father cuts in. "What does your training tell you that you are supposed to do in this situation?"

Marcus looks down. "We are supposed to run the identification card through the computer processor and then contact the officer in charge with the computer results as well as our findings and suspicions."

"Did you run the identification card?"

Marcus gulps loudly. "N-n-no, Sir."

"Am I the officer in charge?"

"No, Sir."

“What about her car? Did you follow protocol as to that?”

“W-w-we had her park her car and exit the vehicle, Sir.”

"Is that all that you were supposed to do?"

"I-I am not sure, Sir."

“After concluding that she was an imposter, did you run her plates? Did you have a wolf scent it for explosives or other occupants?”

“No, no Sir.”

For some reason, Joey --who has never been known to properly gauge the temperature of a room-- decides to jump in and defend his friend. This confirms for me that they are all new to the border assignment. "Beta Robert, we just thought that because she was claiming to be your ---"

My father spins 90 degrees on his heel and looks at Joey and Aiden angrily. "Oh, so it wasn't just Marcus who forgot the training protocol? Were all three of you thinking that skipping the processing procedures and calling me instead of the officer in charge was the right thing to do?"

Eventually, my father looks over at me for the first time. He glances at my driver’s license, rolls his eyes, and then turns back to the guards. “I will take the ‘imposter’ with me. I will come back for the vehicle after the memorial events tomorrow. I recommend you three get as much sleep as you can tonight, because you will be performing clean-up duty at tomorrow's events, and at the packhouse for the next three weeks. After that, you will be sent to remedial training before you are allowed to return to regular duty.”

With that, my father walks towards the exit. He gestures for me to follow him, which I do. We get in his car silently, and he starts the engine.

Once we are a few blocks from the pack border, my father glances at me out of the corner of his eye.

“You told them to call me knowing it was against protocol, did you not?”

"I did."

"Did you do so to annoy them or me?"

"Them. I got irritated with them for giving me a hard time and not recognizing me. But I am honestly surprised that they listened to me and ignored the other protocols."

"I'm not. I told Alpha Randall those idiots could not be trusted to put together a ham sandwich. I got overruled. I suppose I should thank you for proving me right."

"I am sorry that I did so tonight of all nights."

"Don't be. Since Stephanie died, there is no good night."