Page 45 of Caged Between the Beta & Alpha
I need her.
The following morningdawned grey and cloudy, just like my mood. I left Grandma Amelia’s home with the book and card in hand. I’d look more into it at another time.
Locking up after me, I replaced the key where I usually hid it and returned to the packhouse, making sure to avoid everyone, then placed the card and book into the safe in my room. Showering, I got dressed quickly as I needed to go see Kia and Alejandro off. I knew Raven would definitely go to see them off, too, and I didn’t want to run into her there, not after last night…
After I had visited them, I headed straight to the pack security building. It had everything, including the surveillance centre. The cells were beneath this very building, too, along with the morgue and the rest of the labs or holding rooms. Let’s just say it was the headquarters of our pack, and it was the only place that not all members of the pack had access to.
I made my way inside after scanning my hand and keying in the security code. The metal doors slid open, and I walked past the entrance guards, making my way upstairs to one of the labs and wondering if Esteban, one of our forensics, had found anything on the new body. Scanning my hand once again, I entered the room. Luckily he was there, coat, mask, and gloves on, despite the body being covered with a sheet.
“Anything?” I asked.
“Alpha.” He lowered his head to me respectfully before looking at the covered body. “Well, like the first, when we ran the blood tests, there were slight traces of wolfsbane, silver, and ricin. Ricin, as you know, is not something that can really do too much harm to a werewolf; however, it seems when it’s added alongside wolfsbaneand silver, which slow down the healing capability of a werewolf, it does wonders, but it’s very faint, whoever has done this thought it out. Like the first, the body shut down due to organ failure.” I crossed my arms, thinking how well-planned it all was. Who was doing it, and why?
“Any idea on how the teeth were removed? Or the eyes?”
He frowned, his brown curls falling into his eyes as he placed the clipboard down. He passed me gloves and a mask before moving the sheet back.
“See these cutting marks? There’s bruising on the gums where the teeth were pulled out. By the looks of it, I would say garden pliers,” Esteban said, glancing up at me, his sharp hazel eyes turning back to the body after a moment.
“Some sicko…” I muttered. “And the eyes?”
“Going by the striation marks, or lack of them in this case, I would say a spoon,” he said, making me glance away disgusted.
“Right…”
“We didn’t find any residue or DNA, so the killer was probably wearing gloves,” he continued, moving back. “As for the incision along the mouth corners, I would go with a small kitchen knife.” Covering the body once again, he took his gloves off, shaking his head. “Whoever did this knew what they wanted to do prior.”
I nodded, thanking him and removing my gloves and mask before I headed to the IT quarters. From the temperature of the body at the time of discovery, it was clear the person had been dead for at least two hours before being discovered. It was all so planned out.
Entering the IT department, I walked over to Zoe, who was our pack hacker and the smartest wolf I had met, when it came to computers anyway.
“Did you manage to get the data?” I asked her. She looked up at me, pushing back her bright red curls.
“Yes, Alpha, most of it, but gathering data from hundreds of people using the internet is going to take time. I’m getting there. Apart from having to wash my eyes out thanks to the amount of porn that is being accessed, I haven’t come across anything disturbing,” she said, blushing almost the same bright shade of red as her hair.
“Filter out the trash and send me the rest. I’ll take a look myself and see if anything has been missed.”
“Yes, Alpha,” she replied, glancing up at me. I gave her a curt nod.
The thing was, I didn’t trust anyone. Leaving the room, I looked around, observing my men doing their jobs through the glass partitions of separate quarters. From watching the cameras to discussing something to those standing around… the killer could be anywhere, at any rank and position in this pack. They could be on the inside, with a good chance of avoiding detection and covering their tracks.
I didn’t care if I was hated… I really wanted to put everyone under Alpha command, but the only thing that made me truly hesitate was what happened with the Sangue Pack when Rayhan had visited them. His actions had only caused unrest within that pack.
I cast a final glance around at my people. Those who caught me watching lowered their heads in respect, and I gave them a small nod of acknowledgement.
Who knows who the killer is and, above all, where and when will they strike next?
Let’s Do This
Raven
Ihad told Zack the plan and filled Damon in yesterday. We were going to do this at eleven pm tonight. However, I was feeling extremely confused. There were so many things that were eating me up inside, from the pain I felt in my chest when I remembered Damon’s pictures to the way Liam had treated me.
When I had gone to bid Kia farewell, the way Aunty Red had remarked that I had just missed Liam was almost as if she suspected something was up. I just remained smooth and blew it off.
I was adjusting my dark pink ribbed top when there was a knock on the door. Who was that?
I walked over to it, pulling it open. My smile vanished the moment I saw Liam standing there. Like always, he looked like a Greek god in grey pants and a black and white graphic tee that stuck to his body like it was painted on, along with black boots. Why did he look so damn good? He had his hands in his pockets. His intense cerulean eyes trailed over me slowly. I suddenly felt very self-conscious about my fitted, clingy top, with a V-neck that I knew showed off a hint of cleavage, and my black fitted jeggings. I saw his eyes darken with desire, lingering on my neck before they slowly met mine.
