Chapter 1
Stepping into the clearing, the scent of iron and damp earth fills my nostrils. My heart pounds, instincts screaming that this is no ordinary crime scene. We are miles deep into the forest. How did anyone even find this scene to call us? My mind swirls with too many thoughts to contain.
Nora stands beside me, her eyes scanning the area with a clinical detachment that I envy. I”m on high alert. The Blackwood Pack who lives this deep in the forest doesn”t want a lot of interaction with the humans from Cascade Falls. They abide by the pact by avoiding the humans entirely.
Until today.
The victim lies sprawled on the ground, his throat ripped open. A violent shudder runs through me. No wolf or bear could leave marks this large. A shifter must be involved, but why would any human venture this far away from Cascade Falls and straight into Shifter Territory?
A sharp sound breaks the silence as Nora pulls on her gloves. She taps my bicep to hand me two gloves of my own. ”I”ll check for an ID.”Her voice is soft but not shy. She doesn”t hesitate to do what must be done.
Pulling my gloves on, I scan the rest of the clearing. The recent rain left the damp leaves plastered to the dirt. There isn”t any sign of a fight here. ”Is the ground damp beneath him?” I ask.
Nora lifts one side of the victim”s body, searching for a wallet. ”No. He was out here for the storm. But he doesn”t have any wallet or ID. His hands aren”t damaged, so if his prints are in the system, we can match them.”
”Possible. But a human. This far out here.” Thinking aloud, I hear the words before registering that I”m the one that I said them. The implications keep swirling through my mind. Why would a human be this far into the Shifter Territory? The Blackwood Pack doesn”t appreciate humans. That”s how I knew no one would follow me when I headed straight to Cascade Falls after leaving the Pack.
A small pile of leaves snags my attention. It”s out of place because the leaves look drier and more likely to blow away in a good breeze than the rain-soaked ones around them. I shuffle them aside and catch a glint of silver.
A pendant, half-buried in the damp dirt. I pick it up, the metal cold against my gloved hand. The carved surface catches my eye—a crescent moon and wolf”s head with three stars. My breath hitches in my throat. I know this symbol. Intimately.
Zane.
His tattoo. The one he had inked onto his chest the day he challenged the Alpha. A symbol of power, of leadership. And now, it”s here, at the scene of a gruesome murder.
”What is it?” Nora asks, her gaze sharp.
I clench my fist around the pendant, the edges digging into my palm. ”I”m not sure,” I lie, my voice steady. But inside, I”m reeling. What”s the Blackwood Pack”s Alpha signet doing out here?
My mind races. I can”t help but wonder about Zane. Is it possible that he”s entangled in this grim situation? It doesn”t sound like something the Zane I knew would do, but a person could change a lot in eight years, right?
A lump lodges in my throat as I consider the implications of either scenario. No matter what, this changes everything. For the first time in years, I feel caught between my duty and a past I thought I”d left behind. Eight years away and one memory of Zane”s tattoo above his heart brings me back to the day I left the Blackwood Pack. Why couldn”t this happen when Sebastian had the night shift? As my boss, Sebastian may still reprimand me for not calling him when this call first came in, but I wanted to prove myself. I knew I could handle this case. The metal feels colder in my hand. That was before I knew this case had any connection to the Blackwood Pack.
”We need to get him to Dr. Chang and take this back to the lab,” I say, standing up with the pendant dangling from my hand so Nora can see it. The pendant feels heavy as I slide it into the evidence bag.
”Have you seen that pendant before?”
”The pendant? No.”
”The symbol.”
”You don”t want me to answer that question,” I say, and Nora nods solemnly. We”d agreed on the plan not to call Sebastian, to handle this case ourselves. I may still get taken off this case when Sebastian finds out where this body was found, but I”ll search for answers until I am forced off the case.
As we leave the clearing to take the body to Nora”s vehicle for transport, the forest seems to close in around us, the trees whispering secrets in the wind. Secrets that I”m not sure I want to uncover. But I know one thing for certain: I can”t ignore this. I won”t.
Shadows detach themselves from the trees, solidifying into three figures. My heart skips a beat as I recognize them: Zane, Erik, and Rowan. Despite the years apart, they”re as familiar to me as my own reflection. Zane”s piercing blue eyes meet mine, and time seems to stand still momentarily.
”Word of a murder reached me,” Zane”s voice is deep, resonant. He”s always been direct, never one to mince words. ”A human in my territory.”
”Yes,” I confirm, despite the turmoil inside me. I”m acutely aware of everything about him. The strength and power that radiate off him like a furnace. The scar above his left eye from when he fought and won the right to be Alpha.
Zane”s gaze never leaves mine, those blue eyes searching for something. ”Why are you here, Ava?” His voice is low, almost a growl.
I square my shoulders, meeting his stare. ”I”m a detective with the Crimes Involving Supernaturals unit of the Cascade Falls Police Department. This is my case.”
His eyebrows knit together in surprise. ”You became a cop?”
”I had to find my own path,” I retort sharply. ”And this is what I found.”
Rowan snorts from behind Zane, disdainfully. ”Always knew you were nothing more than a human after all.”
Erik shoots him a warning look, stepping forward. ”That”s enough, Rowan.” His voice is calm, and measured. He”s always been the peacemaker trying to keep the balance.
Zane silences Rowan with a glance, his attention returning to me. ”Fine, we will play this your way. What brought the Cascade Falls Police Department all the way out here? Before the Alpha of the area even knew of the issue, Detective?” He made the last word almost sound insulting, making my hackles rise more.
I hold up the evidence bag, the pendant glinting in the dim light. ”We found this at the crime scene. Look familiar?”
Zane swipes a hand toward the bag as his eyes narrow, a muscle in his jaw ticking. He walks off to the side with a jerk of his head indicating he wants me to follow him. A part of me wants to argue, but Sebastian will definitely pull me off this case if I let my past interfere with this investigation.
”You think I had something to do with this?” Zane asks in a low, angry voice.
”I think it”s a lead that needs to be investigated,” I reply, my voice steady.
He studies me for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then he nods, once. ”Fair enough. But you know better than most that I didn”t wear the Alpha signet as a pendant.” He arches an eyebrow as though daring me to disagree.
I refused to let him see me blush. I nod, feeling a knot of tension in my stomach.
”Who called this in?” Zane points to the clearing beside us.
”I don”t know. It will be in the report back in the office.”
Nora stands at the mouth of the path she just followed to take the body to her vehicle. ”I”m going to head back to town?” Her voice, loud for her, ends with a question. I know she”ll stay if I ask her to.
I nod, understanding her unspoken need to escape the tension that entered the clearing with Zane, Erik and Rowan. ”Go ahead. Dr. Chang will be waiting,” I call back to her. I”m as safe here as anywhere at this moment. Blackwood Pack couldn”t afford to have anyone else harmed on their land tonight.
As she disappears into the trees, I turn back to Zane. Erik and Rowan melt into the shadows. I assume they”re giving us privacy to talk. The forest seems to hold its breath, waiting for our next words. But none come. The weight of our past presses down on us, a silent barrier neither of us is ready to break.
I turn to leave when Zane breaks his silence. ”Ava. There”s something else you have to see.”
I turn to face him, waiting for him to elaborate.
”Back at the Pack Meeting Hall.”
”I”m not going back to the Meeting Hall.”
”You”ll want to see this.” That”s all he says as he starts to walk away.
Damn my curiosity. he wouldn”t tell me to return to the Pack without reason.
I send a quick text to Nora. Doubt surfaces as I consider returning after so many years, but the pendant in my pocket feels like a burning coal, a constant reminder of the questions that need answers so I can solve this case. I shove it deeper into my pocket, hit send, and jog to catch up with Zane.