Howl - Part 2 - Preview

After her long absence from National City, it felt strange for Lena to be striding into her own office again. As she flipped on her lights, she came to a halt to survey the room and waited for Kara to pad inside.
 

Kara’s transformation happened during their travels, about halfway through the long ride down to California from Washington state. They had stopped to pick up burgers, and while they were parked in the drive thru, the alpha’s appearance began to shift, and then she was sitting with a bag of take-out between her oversized paws.

It earned Lena a lot of weird looks from others who had pulled up with the plan to sit and eat in the parking lot. An old woman dropped her soda all over herself when she noticed Kara working her massive jaws and chomping on a burger.
 

It made Lena wonder how other people would react.

Lena imagined several delicious scenarios where her board members arrived at her office, only to find a giant wolf sitting in front of her desk. She liked the idea of it when she pictured herself sitting with her hands clasped in the middle of a negotiation, while Kara snapped and growled at her least favorite executives. It might save her a lot of hassle, all things considered.
 

She was smirking as she daydreamed, and then she turned around to glance back at the wolf. “Kara, I just need to pick up a few files, and then we can head home—”

Lena trailed off when she noticed Kara wasn’t with her—not behind her and not in front of her. 

“Kara?” She softly shrieked and hurried off down the hall in search of the conspicuously large wolf. 

Kara should have been easy to find, but after ducking into a number of offices, Lena began to feel more than a little frantic with worry.
 

She ran into the break room, because she knew that her assistant Eve always kept it well stocked with coffee and donuts, but apparently the sugar hadn’t attracted Kara. 

Her fingertips started to get that tingling, anxious sensation that she hated, and Lena nearly tripped in her heels as she searched the entire floor for her mate. 

“Hey, Lena, you didn’t tell me you got a dog while you were away,” Eve called out from where she sat behind the tall reception desk. 

Lena hurried over to find Eve feeding Kara half of her lunch. "I didn't have the chance," she replied as the relief settled over her that Kara hadn't wandered farther than the main floor.


To her amusement, Kara dashed off and began ripping up the papers on James’ desk, before snatching his lunch and running away with it. 

“She’s not trained yet,” Lena lied and hurried after Kara, following her down the hall and back into her office. 

“You have to stay in here with me, do you understand?” Lena questioned as Kara hopped up on the sofa, and dropped the lunch bag that was in her mouth. 

Kara’s ears twitched back as if she thought Lena was scolding her, but that didn’t stop her from tearing into James’ sandwich and gobbling it down whole.


Lena’s lips quirked into a smile, though when she sat behind her desk and flipped through a few files that had been left out for her to review, her mirth faded. 

“It looks like my employees didn’t do a very good job of handling things here in my absence,” Lena sighed, and played the feed for the security cameras on her laptop. She nibbled her lip as she watched a few masked men break the window at the front of the building and disable the ringing alarm. 

Among the paperwork on her desk was a police report with details of the incident, though it bothered Lena that no one had reached out to her during her time away. 

Kara must have sensed her distress, because the alpha wolf came over to nudge into her side. Lena absently stroked the fluff behind Kara’s ears and then glanced up sharply as someone burst into her office. 

Her best friend Sam halted in the doorway and registered the panicked expression on her face. “Hey, it’s only me,” she softly stated and Lena released the air that was tight in her chest. 

“God, next time text me first so I know to expect you,” Lena complained and watched with curiosity as Kara bounded up to Sam. 

“It’s your first day back in down after an extended vacation, so of course I’m going to come and check on you.” Sam frowned at the giant wolf that seemed intent on tracking her every movement. “And you got a pet while you were away. What's its name?”

"Ka-uh--Krypto,” Lena blurted as she glanced at the cryptocurrency files on her desk. 

“That’s kind of a weird name,” Sam chuckled and plopped down in the chair across from her.


Lena knew she couldn’t very well introduce her mate as Kara and then also refer to her dog by the same name.


Just as she was feeling relieved that Sam hadn’t noticed her mating bite, she was ripped out of that sense of security by an uncharacteristically shrill Oh my god from Sam. “Lena Luthor, you dirty little slut, did you really let someone claim you in the three weeks you’ve been gone?”
 

Kara growled low in her throat and put her ears back as if to suggest how much she disliked Sam’s choice of words.
 

Lena might have found herself at Sam’s mercy if Eve hadn’t come racing into the office with a basket of goodies.
 

“I sent a courier to the pet store,” Eve explained with excitement and grabbed a squeaky toy from the pile of items that she had clearly purchased for Kara. She bent down to pet Kara and to toss a ball her way.
 

Kara dutifully caught it and then dropped it on the floor, rolling it well under Lena’s desk so Eve couldn’t easily retrieve it.
 

“The dog actually belongs to my mate, Kara,” Lena slowly admitted, once she was certain both Eve and Sam were actually listening to her, despite how Eve was violently squeaking other dog toys with the enthusiasm of a small angry poodle.
 

“I thought you were never going to mate, on account of the fact that it’s a barbaric, old fashioned tradition?” Sam questioned and leaned back in her seat with her eyebrows raised in judgment. “Were you drunk or was this a legitimate union?”
 

“I wasn’t drunk,” Lena huffed with a defensive jut of her chin and glanced to where Eve was offering Kara a dog treat. “Krypto doesn’t like those.”

Kara halted with her mouth poised to take the treat, then trotted behind Lena as if to hide from Eve.
 

“So how did this alpha manage to win you over in three weeks?” Sam blinked and grinned over at her before narrowing her eyes and softening her interrogative stance. “You took two months to pick out furniture for your new penthouse. This alpha must be some kind of sex god if she convinced you to bind yourself to her for life."