Luke
This is a disaster. One of my pack members is dead, and I have no idea whether or not I’m behind it. My hunger for human flesh was damn near impossible to fight earlier, but now, I’m suddenly fine.
Shit...
Did I kill Cindy and drain all the blood from her body? I don’t remember doing it, and I barely had time to do it either, but fairies are strong - it could have happened extremely fast. I’m not sure when, still, the possibility is there.
What if I’m a murderer?
“This is terrible,” Jessica whispers for the billionth time, her eyes locked on the corpse. “What do we do? If it’s a supernatural murder, we can’t call the police, but what if it’s not and it’s related to the strange murderings happening in the nearby town? Damn. We really need to call your parents, Luke. Your dad will know what to do since he is the Alpha.”
“I’m not sure if they will respond,” I mutter. “Considering they are celebrating their anniversary. They might be too into each other to pay their phones any notice.”
“We should still give it a try...oh, and should we carry the body inside your house?”
My eyes study Cindy’s wide, frightened eyes. She must have been so scared before getting murdered. You can see it on her expression, how absolutely terrified she was.
I swallow thickly. “If this is the work of a supernatural creature, we need to move the body somewhere, but if it’s not...then I don’t know if that’s such a bright idea.”
Jessica nods, her face solemn. “Right, that’s true. We don’t want to tamper with any potential evidence. But what if someone comes by and sees us here with a dead body outside? We could get in trouble.”
“I know, I know.” I run a hand through my hair, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down on me. “I have a tarpaulin in the back of my trunk, but I honestly don’t think anyone would see us out here. But just in case, maybe we should call a pack member with a big car like Jake. He works as a construction worker and could help us.”
“That’s a great idea!” Jessica exclaims.
As we wait for Jake to arrive, I can’t help but feel restless. I need to know what happened to Cindy and if I’m responsible for her death. I pace back and forth, my thoughts consumed with guilt and confusion.
“Luke, calm down,” Jessica says, placing a hand on my shoulder. “We will figure this out. I know you dated her for a short moment, but we don’t have time to grieve her right now. We need to find out what happened to her.”
I take a deep breath, attempting to calm the whirlwind of emotions inside me. Jessica is right. I can’t let my personal feelings cloud my judgment. We need to figure out what happened to Cindy and fast.
Jake arrives soon after, and we carefully move the body onto the tarpaulin, careful not to leave any evidence behind. We load her into his truck and drive to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. It’s a place we often use for pack meetings and gatherings, and it’s the perfect place to conduct an investigation away from prying eyes.
Once we arrive, we lay out Cindy’s body on a makeshift table and begin examining it. There are no obvious signs of a struggle and no marks or injuries that would indicate how she died. All the blood has been drained from her body, but our forensics tells us that’s not how Cindy died.
“She died before they drank her blood,” our pack member, who is trained in forensics, declares. “She was suffocated, and it was a manual strangulation. There are bruises on her neck and throat.”
My heart drops to my stomach. Suffocation? That means it couldn’t have been me, right? I’ve never been that brutal with my kills, even during my worst moments of hunger.
“Any signs of who did it?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
The forensics expert shakes her head. “No, nothing yet. But we will keep examining her and the scene of the crime. We will figure out who did this to Cindy.”
I nod, feeling a glimmer of hope. We have to find out who killed her not only for justice but for my own sanity. I can’t bear the thought of being a murderer, even if it’s just a possibility.
“We need to keep this quiet,” Jake says, his voice low. “We don’t want the police on our asses. This was most likely a supernatural crime, and getting humans involved wouldn’t be very wise.”
The pack members standing in the room all nod in agreement. We all know the danger of letting humans know about us. Hundreds of years ago, humans drove us out of their cities as soon as they knew we were werewolves. But these days, humans don’t know what we are.
It’s safer for us that way, but it also means we have to handle situations like this on our own.
“Agreed,” I say, my mind already racing with ways to find the culprit without alerting humans. “We will handle this as a pack and find out who did this to Cindy.”
As the night wears on, we dig deeper into the investigation. We interview pack members who were in the area at the time of Cindy’s death, and we scour the crime scene for any clues.
But as the hours tick by, it becomes clear that we’re not going to find any solid leads tonight. We are going to need more time, so Jessica and I decide to head home, where Fanny is already waiting for me.
“Hello, Sweetie!” she greets me by the door, arms outstretched to hug me before she kisses my cheek. “How was your day?”
“Terrible,” I tell her. “Cindy is dead.”
Fanny gasps, but all her shock is quickly replaced by irritation the second she sees Jessica. A low growl emits from her throat, which confuses me. Jessica is my stepsister - why is Fanny always acting so territorial around her? It’s clear as day that Fanny is the one I’m meant to be with.
But I push that thought away, knowing that the situation with Cindy is far more important than my romantic life.
“Fanny, this is serious,” I say, my voice stern. “We need to figure out what happened to Cindy. She was murdered.”
Fanny’s eyes widen, and I can see the gears turning in her head. She is a brilliant strategist, and I know she will be able to help us figure out the next steps.
“What do we know so far?” she asks, her voice steady.
I fill her in on all the details we have so far, including the fact that Cindy was suffocated before having her blood drained. Fanny listens intently, her eyes flickering with intelligence.
“It sounds like a vampire attack,” she says finally. “But we can’t be sure until we have more evidence.”
“It does, but the corpse...Cindy...she didn’t carry the smell of a vampire on her.”
“That’s...odd,” Fanny tilts her head. “But how about we discuss this more tomorrow?” She places a manicured hand on my pectoral muscle and squeezes. “Because right now, I just want to enjoy my boyfriend. Is that okay?”
In the background, I can hear Jessica opening the door to the house, and, for some reason, I feel guilty for having texted Fanny to come over. It makes no sense, but I do.
“Of course,” I say, trying to ignore the twinge of guilt in my gut. “We can discuss this more tomorrow. Right now, let’s just relax.”
Fanny smiles, and I can see the relief in her eyes. She leans in to kiss me, and I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close.
But as we kiss, I can’t help but feel like there’s something off with our relationship. Fanny is amazing, she’s beautiful and brilliant, but there’s a part of me that feels like I’m not fully committed to her. It confuses me. Yesterday I was ready to marry her - I really thought she might be my mate, but now? Today? I’m just not in the mood to be with her.
I push the thought aside, knowing that right now, finding Cindy’s killer is the most important thing.
“You two have a good night,” Jessica says as she stands by the stairs. “I’m tired, so I’m going to sleep. Goodnight!”
Fanny and I say goodnight to Jessica, and I pull her close to me, feeling her warmth against my body. She smells like lavender and vanilla, and it’s comforting.
But my mind is racing with thoughts of Cindy’s murder and the guilt of potentially being a killer. I need to focus on finding the culprit and fast.
“Fanny,” I say finally, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen between us. “Do you think it’s possible that one of our pack members could have done this to Cindy?”
Fanny pulls back, looking up at me with furrowed brows. “I don’t know, Luke. It’s possible, but I don’t want to jump to conclusions. We need more evidence before we start pointing fingers.”
I nod, knowing she’s right. But I can’t shake off the feeling that one of our own could be capable of such brutality. It’s a scary thought, and it makes me wonder if anyone in our pack is truly trustworthy.
“We will figure it out,” Fanny says, sensing my unease. “We are in this together, and we will get justice for Cindy.”
I nod, feeling a sense of comfort in her words. We will find the killer, and we will make sure they pay for what they did to Cindy. But until then, I know I won’t be able to fully relax, not until justice is served.