Chapter Eight
Myles took her hand as they exited the plane. Jackie knew she had a big, goofy grin on her face, but couldn't stop smiling. No matter what her reservations about this relationship were, she couldn't help but feel good about having the most handsome, most eligible man on the continent at her side, giving her grins every few seconds as though he was the lucky one.
I can't wait to tell Penny.
"We have two hours to get new wardrobes for our visit here, then one hour to go to the hotel before dinner," Jackie said, switching her mind from her new relationship status back to work. "The conference is tomorrow–really?"
She scowled fiercely as she saw a pack of reporters standing at the airport gates. How did the press find out where they were going? They hadn't actually told anybody!
The cameras were already flashing and Jackie lifted her chin and tried to smooth out her expression. The last thing she wanted was for the tabloids to be printing unflattering pictures of her with headlines like 'Myles Foster's New Girlfriend?!' or other epitaphs that showed just how unworthy she was of his attention.
"You'll get used to it," Myles told her, releasing her hands to pull her tight against him. "But at least we've got some police here to keep them from getting all up in our business."
Jackie's shoulders relaxed a little when she saw that it was true. There were at least a dozen cops standing between the gates and the reporters, and several more were pushing them back as she and Myles approached. Jackie put on her best smile as Myles opened the door for her.
"Officers," Myles greeted, nodding his head.
One of them, dressed in a business suit rather than a uniform like the others were, stepped into Myles's path. His expression was blank, his shoulders thrown back and his neck stretched out in an attempt to give himself more presence.
"Mr. Foster, I am going to have to ask you to come down to the precinct with me."
Camera lights blinded Jackie as the reporters began taking even more pictures. The noise of clicks pounded against her ears. Myles frowned at the officer. While the cop wouldn't be called short, the werewolf towered over him, and with her high heels on even Jackie was a couple of inches taller than him. The officer seemed very aware of his disadvantage because he stretched his neck out even further. If he tried any harder to give himself height, he'd have to go on his tiptoes.
"May I ask why?" Myles had an annoyed growl in his voice, and his arm around Jackie's waist tightened.
"There have been allegations made against you that we need to take care of," the officer replied. "Please, we don't want to cause a scene here. I would rather not have to put you in cuffs."
"What allegations?" Jackie demanded.
The officer glanced at her, his expression still not giving anything away. "A member of his pack has come forward claiming that he had mated himself to a human female without human governmental permission."
Myles went rigid, but Jackie laughed. "If you're talking about that whole Kathy Morrison thing, we've already taken care of it. It was proven to be false allegations—"
"Not Kathy Morrison," the officer interrupted. "You."
Jackie's jaw dropped. "What?"
The officer gave her stomach pointed glance. By this time, it was clearly rounded out and obviously pregnant. "Please come to the precinct with me now."
"But we're not—" Jackie started, but Myles shook his head.
"We'll come to the precinct, but neither of us is going to talk to you until my lawyers get here."
Jackie's jaw dropped. Was he serious? Was he going to play along with this obvious scam? She started to pull away from him, angry that he would bring in lawyers instead of just explaining the situation and getting them out of this faster, but when he gave her a warning look she kept her mouth closed. The officer looked relieved.
"I assume that Jackie and I can drive ourselves to your station?" Myles asked, raising a brow.
The officer hesitated but nodded. "We will give you an escort."
Myles nodded and led Jackie away, the police officers following after them. Jackie's mind whirled. They had only slept together once, and it wasn't even on the full moon! They weren't mated. This was just ridiculous. And why would somebody in Myles's own pack accuse him of breaking the human law and mating her without permission from the human government?
Was it Harley? Hadn't he said that he didn't think Myles was a good enough Alpha when she was there? And then there was Tamara, and how Myles kept Harley from her.
When they were in the car she voiced her opinions to Myles. He nodded. "I won't act until I have proof, but if he's behind this then he will pay."
She shivered at his tone, but when she tried to press he wouldn’t answer.
"Just don't say anything until my lawyers get here, okay? I don't want them twisting anything we have to say in order to arrest me. California is more tolerant of werewolves than other states, but it's still illegal for werewolves and humans to mate without prior permission." He squeezed her hand and smiled. "Don't worry. All this is going to be sorted out soon. The conference isn't until tomorrow night. We'll be out by then. And I think I know exactly what my address is going to be about."
***
They were split up at the precinct, and Jackie waited alone for what felt like hours before the officer who had 'asked' them to come down here entered the interrogation room with a well-dressed man who introduced himself as Myles's lawyer. The officer gave her a hard look before leaving the two alone.
The lawyer had a no-nonsense attitude and drew every last detail out of Jackie's story. When he was satisfied, she was made to repeat it to two detectives, who had her going over and over the smallest details until her head was spinning. Finally, though, they told her she could go.
With a wave of relief she stood. Her bladder felt like it was about to blow up, but she clenched her thighs and asked about Myles.
"We'll be keeping him here overnight," one detective said.
Jackie's jaw dropped. "What? Why? I just told you we're not mated!"
The detective nodded. "We still need our own experts to verify werewolf mating rituals before we can release him. Given his… status, he is considered a high flight risk."
"But I'm not?"
The detective shook his head. "You haven't done anything illegal."
Jackie's brow furrowed. What was this guy on about? "If you think that Myles and I are actually mated—"
"Then he is the one who has committed a crime. You're the victim here." The detective's expression was sympathetic, but all Jackie wanted to do was slap him. She was the victim?
"So you're saying that it's illegal for him to mate me, but not for me to mate him? That's blatant bigotry! I can't believe this! I thought this was supposed to be the land of the free, not the home of stupid people who repress people simply because of how they were born!" Jackie's hands shook. "I want to see Myles."
The detective shook his head. "I can't do that. You're free to go. You may want to write up something for the press, or whatever it is that personal assistants do for their bosses."
He shot her belly a look. Jackie fought to keep herself calm. Going berserk on this idiot wasn't going to help anybody. She breathed out a heavy breath and nodded, leaving the precinct before she actually lost her temper. She fumed all the way to the hotel, her mind churning over how impossibly unjust this whole situation was. How were laws like this still legal?
The government had no business in her bedroom, or anybody else's bedroom for that matter! People claimed the law requiring werewolves to go through the lengthy application process to mate a human was for the human's protection, but protection against what? Werewolves weren't any more dangerous than anybody else.
This had to stop. This bigotry and prejudice against them had to stop.
***
By the time Myles got to the hotel, hours later, Jackie had written a manifesto calling for the government to stop institutional discrimination against werewolves. She'd have to take some time to proofread it and clarify some points, but overall she was pleased with her work, and when she explained to Myles what she had been doing he was pleased as well.
"At least everything is sorted out and the investigation was dropped," he said, shrugging off his suit jacket. "PR's going to be furious, though."
Jackie wrapped her arms around him. "I hate that this happened."
"Me too. But you should try to rest. We have a long day tomorrow, and I need to write my speech. I was going to talk about the discrimination against Shifters worldwide, but I think I'll narrow my focus." Myles's face grew hard. "I'm sick and tired of this. I don't want my child to be raised in the same world I was."
Jackie put her hand over his as he caressed the curve of her belly.
Myles closed his eyes for a moment and leaned his head against hers. "I want our baby to grow up in a better world, where they can love who they love without fear."
With a sigh, he pulled himself away from her and headed for his laptop. Jackie watched him work, admiring the strong line of his jaw and his steely gray eyes. He was every bit an Alpha, fighting for his pack. And what could she do? She sat back at her own laptop and began editing her manifesto. She could, and would, support him in this fight.