*Keera*
I gazed intently at the surveillance monitor, scanning for any signs of unusual activity. My eyes swept across the screens, taking in every detail. The hum of the machines and the faint glow of footages from the cameras we’d placed in the pack was a little soothing, even though my mind remained on high alert. I’d been doing less of field work, wanting to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity from the comfort of the house. More than that, I knew I had to be extremely careful.
Someone wanted to hurt me, and they were still out there.
My phone beeped, breaking the silence. I glanced down, my heart skipping a beat as I saw the notification – a file from our team back home. A surge of anticipation coursed through me. I made sure the surveillance monitor was receiving footage from every camera in the pack before picking up my phone. I opened the file, my eyes scanning the contents with a mix of excitement and trepidation. I read the subject of the file. Virus test results. My mind raced with possibilities, but I didn’t want to open the file just yet.
The team had found something.
I was sure of it. If they hadn’t, they would have sent a message instead, but they’d sent a file. Excitement mixed with anxiety had my hands shaking. I swiftly typed out a text, my thumbs flying across the screen. “Meet me in the conference room immediately,” I wrote, my message urgent. “We have the virus test results.” I sent it the message to the team’s group chat, knowing the bluntness of the message would get the job done. I was right. It didn’t take long for them to arrive.
Within minutes, Joe had walked in, followed by Lexi and Kathleen. Josie was the last to arrived. They all took their seats around the table, staring at me with blatant curiosity. “What’s going on?” Joe asked, his brow furrowed in concern. They met each other’s eyes, checking to see if I might have divulged the reason for the sudden brief. I couldn’t help the smile that took over my face. My eyebrow narrowed as I realized something.
“Trevor’s not here,” I said, glancing around the room. I was in charge of the case, but even I knew it would be a bit disrespectful to start the brief without him, especially since he was present in the pack. He was as involved in the case as we all were. My gaze met Joe’s. I remembered Trevor saying he would spend the day inspecting the pack borders with Joe.
“He said he’d stay with the pack warriors at the border.” Joe informed, saying Trevor has asked him to inform us but it had skipped his mind.
I nodded, my focus still fixed on the file as I gathered my thoughts. “The virus test results are in,” I announced, my voice measured and deliberate. I was surprised it wasn’t high pitched from anticipation.
Lexi snapped her attention to me, her eyes widening. “What do they say?” She asked, her voice laced with curiosity. Her brows furrowed as she leaned forward, her elbows resting on the table. I picked up my phone and forwarded the file to them, watching as they scanned the contents, their expressions shifting from curiosity to shock. Kathleen’s face fell, her eyes scanning the pages as if searching for a different outcome.
Lexi’s gaze darted back and forth, her lips parted in dismay. Joe and Josie didn’t show much of a reaction. I stared down at my phone, scanning the content of the file myself. I felt my heart drop to the pit of my stomach. The result was both good news and bad news. Good news because we’d finally, finally been able to narrow down the cause of death. Bad news because it was more complicated than any of us had imagined.
“Wow,” Josie breathed, swiping her phone screen as she flicked through the pages of the file. Her eyes met mine, seeking confirmation or denial at what they were staring at. I nodded grimly.
“The virus had been structurally engineered to attack the werewolf gene,” I explained, my words dropping like a bomb into the silence. The room seemed to shrink, the air thickening with tension. Joe’s expression turned grave, his jaw clenching as his eyes blazed with anger. I couldn’t fault his reaction. We all knew what the test result implied. The only way the killer could have gained possession of a structurally engineered virus was if…
The killer was working with a human.
“This is messed up.” Kathleen admitted quietly.
I cleared my throat, gaining their attention. “We know there’s no well equipped lab in the pack.” I raise my shoulder. “Or at least there hadn’t been one before we got here.” I pressed a button on the remote and displayed an image of the virus on the screen, with its components broken down. “If the killer is injecting a virus that’s specifically designed to destroy the werewolf gene, then it means that… they’re working with a human.” I finished silently.
“They don’t have the resources to come up with something like this…” Lexi chipped in, pointing at the large screen. “So we’re not just dealing with one evil mastermind. We’re dealing with two.” She let out a whole whistle. “Dahlia’s relationship with Gusto is starting to make a lot more sense now.” Gusto? Could he possibly be involved with this? I turned my attention to Joe, noting the disbelief in his expression. He was the closest to Gusto out of us all. Did he not think Gusto was capable of something like this?
I tapped my fingers on the table.
“I’d asked Gabe to do a background search on him and the results had been pretty good.” I stated. “But then again, I’d only been curious about Dahlia’s boyfriend.” I took my cellphone out of my pocket, wanting to shoot a quick text to Gabe but immediately deciding against it. What if his phone got into the wrong hands? “I’m going to bring Trevor up to speed about this before he leaves tomorrow. It would be a lot better if he talked to Gabe himself, get him to dig deeper without disclosing what the situation really is.”
They all agreed. Kathleen’s face paled, her skin taking on a translucent quality. “If this gets out… the consequences will be catastrophic,” She whispered, her voice trembling slightly. Her hands clasped together, as if praying for a solution. I couldn’t deny the truth in her words. There was no saying Grayson or the members of his pack would react when they found out a human was actually behind the murders. The weight of that realization settled heavy on my shoulders. They’d lost so many people.
It was enough to start a war against us.
The entire human population could be at risk in a heartbeat.
“We need to inform Grayson about this,” Joe said, his voice firm. His eyes locked onto mine, seeking agreement.
I nodded. “Agreed.” I was glad he’d said Grayson because informing the council was a big no-no. We had to keep this to ourselves for now but I couldn’t leave Grayson in the dark. Knowing I’d also kept something important from him, just like the others, would hurt him, and I had already hurt the man enough. I blew my hair out my face, thinning my lips. “We need to keep this quiet until we’re sure who’s involved,” I added. “We can’t afford to tip our hand.” My gaze swept the room, ensuring we were all on the same page.
Conversation flowed easily after that as we all raised ideas to trap Dahlia. After the briefing, Josie lingered, her eyes locking onto mine with an unnerving intensity that made my heart flutter. Her gaze seemed to bore into my soul, as if searching for hidden truths. “Keera, can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked, her voice low and gentle. I slanted a look at the others as they left the room. Everyone was preoccupied with their own thoughts.
I nodded, feeling a mix of trepidation and curiosity. She said she wanted to talk to me somewhere less… formal. That definitely got my attention. I didn’t understand why we couldn’t just have the talk in the conference room. Did it really matter that the setting was formal? Now standing, I cleared out the table, locked the door and then we headed upstairs to my bedroom. The soft hum of the air conditioning enveloping us in a comfortable silence. Josie closed the door, ensuring our privacy.
She turned to me, her expression softening.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about this for a while,” She began softly. “Keera, I know something’s going on between Grayson and you,” She said, her voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes sparkled with amusement as she tilted her head, studying me. My heart skipped a beat. How had she known? I wondered, feeling a flush rise to my cheeks. No one of the team had really confronted me about it yet, not even Lexi. It felt different somehow that Josie was the one I was having the talk with.
She wasn’t exactly the most outgoing person on the team. More than that, she was someone I really looked up to, and not necessarily as a friend. I respected. A lot. Her professionalism, her bluntness, the way she always seemed to have her emotions under control. I wondered what she thought of the team leader getting involved with a client. Her gaze didn’t waver when she continued. “I’ve seen the way you look at each other,” She said. “The tension between you two is palpable.”
Her words hung in the air as she waited for me to say something.
I let out a deep sigh, feeling a storm of emotions swirl inside me. My shoulders sagged under the weight of the feelings I’d been keeping to myself, refusing to share with anyone. I lowered myself onto the edge of my bed, kicking my shoes off and tucking one leg beneath the other. “Josie, it’s complicated,” I began, my voice hesitant, barely above a whisper. She dragged the chair beside my bed closer to me and sat down, indicating she had time. Her features softened into an encouraging smile.
“Tell me everything,” she urged.
I took a deep breath as the words spilled out, a dam breaking free. I filled her in on everything I’d kept away from them. Starting from my past with Ginny and Grayson to our chaotic relationship, I laid it all bare, exposing my vulnerabilities. Josie listened attentively, her expression empathetic. Her eyes never left mine and it was letting to pour everything out when I saw no judgement in her eyes.
She let out deep sigh when I finished, leaning into the seat. “Wow Keera,” she breathed, staring at me in wonder. “I have no idea how you’ve managed to deal with all that, why you wouldn’t even accept to work on the case in the first place.” I was relieved she still wasn’t being judgemental even after listening to everything I’d said. Her voice was gentle and light. The expression on her face was only of wonder and curiosity. I let out a hearty laugh.
“Trevor can be very persuasive,” I replied. “And some part of me had planned on just arriving at the pack at least, and then making excuses to return home.” I admitted, my face heating up in embarrassment. I was literally letting her know I had initially planned on leaving the team. She didn’t bat an eyelash at my confession. I guessed learning to keep her true emotions hidden was one of the perks of being a profiler. I sighed. “But then I saw how much the pack needed the team and I decided to stay,” I fell back on the bed. “And now I’m-”
“In love with Grayson?”
My heart skipped and my heart stuttered. I exhaled shakily, throwing my arm across my face. I couldn’t deny it any longer. They were finally out there. The words I’d refused to admit, even to myself.
I had fallen in love with Grayson.