*Keera*
“Fuc-fudge!” I yelled as I turned, barely stopping myself from throwing the coffee in my hand away in fright. The little girl responsible for scaring me in the first place was kneeling on one of the dining chairs, her upper body bent over the table. Her blonde hair was tied in cute pigtails, a bright pink headband the same color as her shirt resting on her head. She had big dark eyes and they were no doubt focused on me. She looked a little around six years old. “You scared me.” I said a little harshly.
She blinked once, tilting her head.
I looked around the kitchen, past the dining space and into the living room for any sign of the person she had come with. Seeing no one, I frowned slightly as I picked up some tissue and dabbed at the slosh of coffee that had splashed on my hands. I trashed the tissue and then picked my coffee back up, resting against the fridge as I turned to stare at her.
She was still looking so intently at me.
My frown reappeared as I brought the mug to my lips. Why was she staring at me like that? I drank my coffee, refusing to look away from her gaze. I saw a small smile tug on her cheek and I felt like I had somehow given her the reaction she had been looking for. “What?” I couldn’t help but snap at her because there was no way I was getting into a staring contest with a little girl.
Her lips transformed into a full blown smile.
“You’re very beautiful.” She said simply, grinning widely. She folded her hands on the table, curiosity evident on every inch of her face. I brought my mug to my lips again, refusing to let this tiny werewolf pup charm me. My gaze went round the room again and still I couldn’t find who might have brought her here.
“Who brought you here?” I couldn’t help but ask. She rocked the chair back and forth with her weight, her pigtails flying around her head as she moved. I didn’t think Grayson had a child, but then again I could be wrong. It wasn’t like I knew him personally. Six years was a lot of time for him to have gotten a werewolf pregnant and raised a little child with her. I wondered, as I studied the little girl, whether or not her mother was his mate. I’d heard stories that werewolves couldn’t stand to be away from their mates for so long but maybe there were a few exceptions.
The girl paused, like she was actually trying to remember how she had gotten here in the first place. Then a small smile broke out on her face as she looked at me. “Aunt Ginny.” She responded, her eyes moving to the door and then coming back to rest on mine. I felt tension seep into my bones and I downed the rest of my coffee in one go to get rid of it. I looked down at my phone to check the time. It wasn’t too early, but still. It was earlier than Ginny had ever been to Grayson’s place since my team and I had moved here.
So what changed?
I’d already gathered from the way the girl had addressed her that she wasn’t Ginny’s. I couldn’t think of any other reason Ginny might have brought someone else’s kid to Grayson’s house that early. Unless the girl belonged to Grayson, that is. I searched the girl’s face, trying to see if they had similar features. “What’s your name?” I finally asked, not exactly having the time to hang around.
“Ellie,” She replied softly, adjusting herself so she sat properly on the table. Her legs dangled in the air and her chin barely got past the table’s length because of how short she was. She bobbed her head childishly a few times before slanting it, a curious expression on her face. “What’s yours?” She asked. I rinsed the mug in the glass, still trying to figure out who the girl was.
Was this something that was common in the pack here?
Strangers were allowed in and out of the house?
Was it because it was Grayson’s place and he was Alpha?
I finally turned back to face her, crossing my legs at the ankle and giving her a rather serious look. “Keera,” I answered bluntly, folding my hands across my chest. My gaze went to the stairs before coming back to rest on the little girl. Grayson usually came downstairs around this time of the morning, and while I wanted to avoid being anywhere near him, I still wanted to see if I could get some valuable information out of the tiny werewolf in front of me. “What’d you say your name was again?” I asked.
She smiled her toothy smile again, placing her tiny arms on the table and locking her fingers together. “Ellie,” She repeated simply, looking proud of herself for some reason. I nodded at her and she nodded back. Thrice. She was kicking her legs beneath the table, the expression on her face letting me know she was waiting for my next question. Eager to prove you’re so smart aren’t you, little one?
Okay then.
“Who’s your mom?” I asked, bracing myself for her reply. I didn’t want it to come as a surprise that she was either Ginny or Grayson’s kid because in reality, it was entirely possible. Werewolves could have kids with people other than their mates and if Grayson or Ginny had a daughter, it would be smart of them to try to protect her by trying to not make her existence known to just anybody.
Especially with the psycho serial killer on the loose.
She folded her fingers and supported one cheek on her right fist. “Nyx.” I leaned back in surprise. I wasn’t aware Nyx had a child. Her eyebrows creased like she just realized she didn’t exactly know much about me. Her eyes went to my face and she sat up in her seat. Other than that she stayed right where she was. “Who are you?” She asked, her face squeezed.
“I’m Keera,” I said in reply to her question just as Grayson walked into the kitchen, his hands tucked into the pockets of his black hoodie. I moved my weight away from the fridge, standing uprightly as Ellie ran to give him a hug. “Alpha Grayson,” She called, jumping into his outstretched arms. He picked her easily and then twirled her around once before setting her on the dining table.
He ran his hand through his hair, ruffling it even further than it already was and turning his head to glance at the front door. “Who brought you here?” He asked, staring at her. His eyes shifted to connect with mine then and he held my gaze for a little while before looking back at Ellie. I barely adjusted to having Grayson in the room when Ginny walked in. She paused in her steps, taking in the scene before walking to give Ellie a hug.
“I asked you to wait, Ellie.” She scolded softly, pulling away from her.
Ellie pouted, still holding Ginny by the waist. I cleared my throat, walking around to the other side of the counter and trying to quietly leave before any of them would notice my presence and make things even more awkward than it already was. But of course I couldn’t help risking a glance at Grayson for whatever reason.
He was staring right back at me.
***
“I’ve gone through almost every page of the book,” Kathryn said, throwing Lexi and I a look of exasperation. The old book lay open on the counter in front of the three of us, the pages more worn out than they had initially been from the constant flipping. We’d been trying to find some kind of explanation to how Sam had been injected with whatever he’d been injected with and then it had suddenly disappeared from his body.
I took my gloves off and threw them into the trash, walking to wash and disinfect my hands in the sink. “His organs are beginning to be badly compromised,” I reminded them. We’d had his body in our custody for a few days and other than finding the time of death, we had not been able to find anything else. We’d checked every sickness known to humans and then checked those written in the book and yet. . .
Nothing.
If we hadn’t known any better we would have concluded that he’d died of a natural cause. “And I think the council’s going to ask for the body soon,” Lexi chipped in. “Joe said something about some kind of ritual they had to perform.” I muttered a curse word under my breath, moving to stand by Sam’s covered body. I didn’t want to disclose it to the team but I could also tell that Grayson was starting to have his doubts on whether or not we could actually crack the case and stop the killer.
And deep down, so was I.
“Yeah, I heard that too.” Kathryn confirmed with a nod, fixing her attention on Lexi. “Didn’t they say the ritual was long overdue?” She asked, with a frown. Seemingly shrugging it off, she peeled her gloves off her hands and trashed them. I let out a breath, massaging my temple. If only there was a way to keep an eye on the entire pack. If we could somehow keep tabs on everyone and everything that happened then it might be a lot easier to catch the murderer.
Suddenly an idea came to mind.
It must have shown in my expression because Lexi and Kathryn shot each other a puzzled look before staring back at me. “What?” They asked simultaneously. I pushed my hair behind my ears, wondering how they were going to take the news. I at least needed the team’s support if I was going to disclose the idea to the council. “Keera?”
“What if we get CCTV cameras installed everywhere in the pack?” I suggested it carefully. I saw the air rush out of them like I’d just sucker punched them in the gut. They shot each other another look before seemingly thinking about it. A part of me wished they were just going to discard the suggestion with valid reasons so there would be no need for me to bring it up with Grayson.
Heaven knew I was not in any position to talk to him.
Lexi tapped her finger on the counter, the sound echoing in the room. Her shoulder lifted casually. “I mean, I don’t see why we can’t get it done.” She started. “If the council agrees then we’ll have to talk to Trevor to see if he could get it all arranged and then send it down here.” Her head tilted. “Although the problem might be convincing Grayson to let us set the camera up.”
“Yeah,” I agreed solemnly. “He’s already so uncomfortable with having us here as it is. Setting up CCTV cameras everywhere would feel like an invasion of the pack’s privacy to him.” Why did I even care what anything felt like to him? He just had to choose which mattered more. Us gaining more knowledge of how his pack members went about their daily lives, or us catching the killer? “But I guess that’s for him to decide.”
Kathryn curled her lips, obviously trying to keep her thoughts to herself. In the end she seemed to say screw it. “I’m all for setting the cameras and stuff but if we’re doing this, we need to be considerate about how they’re going to feel,” She said softly, staring pointedly at me. “We’ll need to come across as trying to convince them that it’s only for the best.” She explained further. “And not making it seem like we’re intruding.
“More than that,” I added, “We need to find a way to ensure that the rest of the pack do not find out about any of this.” My phone rang and I picked it up, frowning as Josie’s name danced across the screen. “Josie?” I called, meeting Kathryn and Lexi’s eyes. There was a little background noise before I heard Josie’s voice.
“Tala never made it to her friend’s house.”