*Grayson*
I slowly paced back and forth in my study, my mind racing as I struggled to come to terms with the unthinkable truth. Asides Keera and her team, only the council members had been aware of the cameras in the pack, and Keera was aware of that. The fact that the camera had been tampered with could only mean one thing; A council member, someone I trusted, had to be working with the killer. The very thought sent a wave of nausea through me. The cameras were way too small to draw attention on their own.
And yet they’d been destroyed.
How else could the killer have known they were there in the first place if they hadn’t already been aware of it? I pressed my lips together in worry. I didn’t want to believe that one of the council members was in on it. I stopped with the pacing and poured myself a glass of whiskey, downing it in one gulp. The burn didn’t ease my tension. I needed answers and I needed them as soon as possible. I sat down behind the desk, my thoughts drifting to Keera.
She’d been working tirelessly to uncover the killer’s identity, and I knew she was getting close, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that we were running out of time. The killer was still out there, waiting for their next victim. I clenched my fists, my anger and frustration boiling over. I sent a text to Ryan and asked him to please meet me in my study, dying with the need to share my suspicions with someone.
A dark thought occured to me after the message I had sent. Could Ryan be person one involved with the killings? I brushed the thought off immediately. It couldn’t be Ryan. I’d known him for too many years to not know what he was capable of. However, I knew I had to be careful with how I explained my suspicions to him. I couldn’t risk the wrong period getting wind of it. Ryan walked in a few minutes later, concern etched on his face.
“What’s going on, Grayson?” He asked, shutting the door behind him. He walked further into the room and took a seat across from me.
“I’ve been thinking about the killer’s movements,” I began a bit reluctantly . “How did they know about the cameras? We only discussed them in council meetings. It’s not like we advertised their placement to the entire pack.” His eyes narrowed, understanding my concern. His expression became thoughtful as he considered my words, nodding when he realized there was truth in them. It was something we hadn’t considered before.
“Only council members would have known,” He said, his voice laced with unease. “But who would do such a thing? We’re talking about one of our own, Grayson. Someone we trust.” I shook my head. He didn’t need to remind me. I was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact myself, but I couldn’t deny it. And I wasn’t going to protect or try to cover for anyone, not when they had proven over and over again just how psychotic and cold blooded they truly were. No, the killer had to be stopped at all cost. It didn’t matter who they turned out to be.
“We need to find out,” I said, my jaws clenched. “I don’t want to think about it,” I admitted. “But if that’s the case, we can’t afford to blind ourselves to the truth. We’ll investigate everyone, no matter their position or relationship to us.” Ryan nodded, agreeing. I remembered the other reason I’d wanted to meet with him. I overheard a conversation in the pack. One of the younger ones had been saying something about Dahlia being in a relationship with a human.”
Ryan knew that by younger ones, I met the teens in the pack. His eyebrows furrowed deeply though he didn’t seem surprised. It wasn’t the first time a werewolf would be getting involved with a human, but it was the first time the werewolf in question would be so young. “I hadn’t heard,” he admitted. “But Elena’s been acting strange lately. Always defending Dahlia, making excuses for her absence. I wrote it off as Elena being protective of her volunteer, but now I’m not so sure.”
My instincts flared as I put two and two together. He nodded when he noticed the look in my eyes, reaching the same conclusion I had. “Elena’s been covering for her,” He whispered in surprise. I leaned back into my chair, completely stunned. The realization that Elena had encouraged her young volunteer to continue a relationship with a human stunned us into silence.
“I need you to dig deeper, Ryan. Find out everything you can about Dahlia’s relationship and Elena’s involvement. I want to know how long this has been going on and who the human in question is.” Ryan nodded, getting to his feet. He scratched his chin, looking deep in thought. I could see how tired and weary he had become because of the case.
We all had. It saddened me that I was failing them. It’s been months since we’d discovered the first victim and I was almost as tied now as I had been then. Fortunately, we’d already reached out to the other packs around us and secured back up, in case we got attacked again in the future. The alliance had been important. I never wanted the pack to get attacked the way it had a few weeks ago, ever again.
“”I’ll get to work immediately.” Ryan promised, lightly tapping his fingers on the table. “Grayson, what if this is more than just a simple affair? What if Dahlia’s human connection is tied to the killings?” My heart sank. The possibility hadn’t even crossed my mind. Was the breakthrough we were been looking for in the case? The loophole we’d been struggling to find?
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” I answered simply. “I have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg. Get me everything you can on Dahlia’s human, and let’s see if we can connect the dots.” I rubbed my temples as he left the room. Almost like a curse, my mind drifted back to Keera. We hadn’t talked since she’d asked me to agree to Ria’s request. Looking back, I knew I had let my anger at her get the best of me. I didn’t want to take Ria as my mate, but I feared it was already too late.
She seemed more preoccupied with the case than with thoughts of our broken relationship. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was partly because she was in a hurry to get back home. She wasn’t ready to talk to me, but I knew I still had to ensure she was safe. Her team and her were getting closer to cracking the case. I could feel it. If the killer found out she was onto them… I didn’t want to think about what they would do. I still wasn’t convinced her fall down the stairs had been an accident but I didn’t have anything to prove otherwise.
Besides, wouldn’t that also mean one of the council members or the team members had been behind it?
They were the only ones who’d been in the house on that day.
Whatever happened, Keera and the pack were my priority. I was going to review the council meetings, see if anyone slipped up, and then I would bring up my suspicions with Keera and listen to what she thought about it. If the killer was in cohorts with a council member, then they would stop at nothing to keep their secret safe. It would also explain how they had been managing to stay under the radar for so long. I finished up with the files I’d been going through and headed to the downstairs kitchen.
The scent of freshly brewed coffee and sizzling bacon danced around in the air. My breath caught in my throat as Keera came into view. I couldn’t help the way my gaze ran down her lean frame, noting the way her jeans fit perfectly, the way her yellow tank top hugged her curves. “I think it’s time you stopped your habit of checking me out.” She said quietly without turning around. I’d always loved the fact that she could feel when my eyes were on her. It was like she was attuned to me in a way she wasn’t to any other person.
I took a seat at the island, running my hands over the cool granite surface. “What if I can’t?” I whispered back. She didn’t respond, continuing to mix pancake batter in a large bowl. I silently watched her as she prepared breakfast for her team, both of us trying to ignore the elephant in the room. She must have found out I’d informed the council of my decision to mate with Ria. Words go around fast these days since the council had built some sort of friendship with her team members.
Did she know I regretted it? That I missed her?
Did she even feel the same way?
I had to stroke myself at night to the thoughts of her, just so I would fall asleep. Memories of me touching her, tasting her… I felt my pants tightened and immediately distracted myself with thoughts of the case before I had a full erection. “Were you guys able to find out anything new?” I asked. Her shoulders sagged in relief at the safe topic and she finally turned, her eyes flashing as she filled me in on the details. I wasn’t wrong. They were in fact, finally getting somewhere.
“The virus hadn’t disappeared from the victim’s body for the first time,” She announced, barely containing the excitement in her tone. “We were able to extract it and we’ve sent it to the labs back home so they could identify it.” She finished stirring the batter and filling the pancake pans. “Josie and Kathleen are going to pay the victim’s family a visit and try to find out who had last seen her.” Her voice dropped to a whisper and worry filled her gaze. “Grayson, I think the killer-”
“Might be working with someone in the council.” I finished, my voice equally as low as hers. I saw the surprise in her eyes and the silent question. She was wondering how I already knew. “I figured only the council members had been aware of the cameras. They would know to look out for it even though they didn’t know where they had been placed.” I explained. She nodded, relieved that I’d agreed. I could already imagine how worried she might have been, wondering how I would react to her theory.
“That’s great work, Keera,” I said, meaning it. “You’re getting close.” And I really believed it. There was just something that told me we were near the end. I wanted to reach out and touch her, to tell her how proud I was of her. I hesitated though, unsure how she’d react. Our relationship was still a delicate topic. We’d danced around it, but never really addressing the elephant in the room. “Keera, I…” She stopped me from continuing with a shake of her head. Damn it. How was it so easy for her to put our relationship behind her? Did she really not care?
Had it really been just sex for her?
Her eyes met mine as I searched for the right words to say, to bridge the gap between us. I desperately wanted to let her know I missed her, that I still wanted to fight for us. I wanted to let her know she was my mate, wanted to find out if she had even the tiniest bit of feelings for me. Did she even regret asking me to agree to Ria’s proposition? Before either of us could say another word, Lexi’s exclamation from the front door cut through the tension, her voice was laced with surprise.
“Trevor?”