~YULIA
I watched the pictures with morbid interest.
The branded skin spoke to me. They were letters… unknown letters and I knew that they held a hidden message. I had no idea what they meant but I knew that they meant something.
“Where was the body found?” Issa asked as he arranged the pictures side by side, displaying the important parts of the photo shots.
“Deep in the woods, close to a small river bank,” Jamal said. “A bunch of teenagers up to no good came across it.”
“Why is this happening?” I asked, unable to take my eyes off the pictures.
“That’s what I am trying to find out,” Jamal replied and he gave Issa a hard suspicious look. “Unless Issa can really tell us what is going on.”
“You make it sound like he is behind it,” Miles said to Jamal with a frown. It was only natural for him to defend the Alpha and Lycan of his Pack.
“I am not saying he is behind it. I am saying it has happened twice ever since Issa returned to the pack,” Jamal replied curtly.
“So you are saying that I am to blame for this,” Issa said looking directly into Jamal’s eyes.
“Or you are the reason this is happening,” Jamal added.
“Or maybe I am the reason this is happening,” I said and all the three men looked at me.
Issa’s look hardened, sending me a silent message to stop talking. I ignored him because I was done with him keeping things from me.
“Why do you say so?” Jamal asked.
“The black rose, there is something about it but I am not sure,” I said as I picked up the shot of the black rose.
“It was lodged in his throat,” Jamal said as he carefully watched me.
“She did not need to know that,” Issa said.
“Who was he?” I asked.
“A werewolf, I am still trying to figure out which pack he is from.” Jamal replied.
“The black rose…” I trailed. “Where did it come from?”
“That’s the difficult part,” Jamal replied. “Black Roses do not exist.”
“And your forest analyst could not determine how they were made?” Issa asked, looking directly at Jamal.
“It is not possible to grow nor plant a black rose, Issa,” Jamal insisted.
“Unless you dye in black ink,” I said.
“That’s possible but there are no traces of ink or any form of chemical to determine if the rose was dyed.” Jamal replied.
“This cult,” Issa said. “What more do you know about them?”
I turned to Jamal, attentive.
“The only thing I know about them is their name,” Jamal said with a frustrated shake of his head. “It’s like they do not even exist, except for their name. It makes no sense.”
I was sorely disappointed by Jamal’s response. I mean I was not expecting things to be easy but still.
Issa packed the pictures together and put them back in the file. He pushed them towards Jamal. “Keep searching,” He said. “You might stumble upon something.”
“You know something?” Jamal asked.
“Why do you believe so?” Issa asked.
“You are quiet and less interested in the victim, and you only care about the cult,” Jamal said.
“You think I know something because I am not empathetic,” Issa said with a hint of mockery.
“They killed our kind,” Jamal said in a tight angry voice. “A werewolf like you and I.”
“No,” Issa replied with a slight shake of his head. “They killed your kind, I am above a werewolf.”
“That’s just kind of racist,” I said with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance.
“I know what I am,” Issa replied. “Call it whatever you want.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
“So you do not care?” Jamal asked.
Issa stood up. “What I care or don’t care about is none of your concern. Do your job. Find out who the Cult is.”
Jamal stood up and put the file in his inner jacket. “I will do my job,” He said. “But you better not be behind it, Issa,” He added with a threatening undertone before he exited the house.
“I don’t get the hostility between the two of you,” Miles said with a shake of his head.
“Follow him,” Issa told Miles. “Find out what he knows.”
“Got it,” Miles replied and left.
Issa sighed. “You are not allowed to be involved in this, Yulia, this is dangerous.”
I scoffed loudly at his words. “Allowed?” I echoed.
“I know what I said, Yulia,” Issa curtly replied. “It’s for your safety.”
“And I guess that you are keeping things from me because of my safety too?” I asked. “A dead body was fucking dumped at the backyard and you did not even tell me!”
“You did not need to know!” Issa thundered.
I shook my head at him. “Jamal was right,” I said, disappointed. “You definitely are hiding something.”
“You stay away from the detective, Yulia,” Issa warned and I could hear the threat in his voice.
“Or what?” I asked sarcastically. “You will break his arm too?”
“Stay away from him,” Issa repeated.
“That’s not going to be possible, Issa,” I said with a smug smile. “He kinda works where I school.”
Issa’s face scrunched up like he was deep in thought. “I will have him fired,” He said like it was a casual solution to his problem.
I gasped at how vicious he was. “You are going to take his job? What are you really hiding?”
“Goodnight, Yulia, you have school tomorrow,” He said and left me downstairs as he ran up the stairs.
“I am going to find out for myself!” I screamed after him. The door to his room slammed in response.
I yelled out in frustration and stomped up the stairs. I entered my room and slammed the door. Issa was driving me insane with the way he was keeping me in the dark.
No more! I will get to the bottom of things myself. No matter how dangerous it was going to be. It was better than being kept in dark.