Chapter 34
ELOWEN
With the family visits done, it suddenly hits me like a sledgehammer.
Four days remaining.
If Gideon’s information is correct, the other omegas all died within fourteen days of their heat. And we’re still no closer to finding our main suspect. Professor Robbins is opposed to multi-alpha bonds, but she isn’t alone in this. Although she does have access to heat schedules.
My head aches. Would traditional beliefs be enough motive for a professor to murder students? And what about Officer Brennan? He called at the heat suite when I was in heat.
Panic sets in slowly like congealing custard in my stomach making me feel nauseous.
The day after the visit to Julian’s family, we’re eating breakfast in the dining hall when I peer out of the window and spot Olivia with her friend James. I smile. Olivia was safe because she’s in a traditional pack: one alpha, one omega.
I sip my tea, but when I look back out the window, Olivia is kissing James.
I stop, my hand trembling. Patrick is her alpha. He was there in the infirmary when I visited her. She told me that he stayed with her during her heat.
I think back to conversations with Olivia, about how close she and James are, and realization settles inside me. She kept it quiet because she didn’t want anyone to know that she was bonded with two alphas. Sure enough, when I peer outside, they’re walking away, James’ arm around her shoulders.
Professor Robbins. She visited Olivia in the infirmary too.
And there was a small packet of tea on the nightstand by Olivia’s bed.
I stand abruptly. “I know who it is.”
"Absolutely not," Calder says when I explain the merits of my plan… for the third time. "Too dangerous."
"She doesn't know we suspect her." I've rehearsed these arguments in my head. "I'm her student. She trusts me. She didn’t leave a package for me because she knew I would take my own blend. But if I can convince her now that I need her help and she offers me something, we have proof."
"If she offers you poison," Julian says, "then we have a killer who knows you can use it against her."
"You'll be right outside." I look at each of them. "Any sign of danger, you intervene. But we need this. We need her to reveal herself."
“If she is the killer.” Tyler shrugs. “We could be barking up the totally wrong tree here.”
“Nice analogy,” Julian says, and I can’t help smiling. “I thought you were a cat person.”
“Okay, we could be dangling the wrong ball of wool.” Tyler winks at me.
Gideon's text arrives then: Smart plan. But don't forget you can’t trust her. You need her to talk, then you get out.
“You’re not going to change your mind, are you?” Calder asks.
“No. If we leave it any longer, we might be too late.”
“I’ve managed to secure the office across from Professor Robbins,” Calder says when we reconvene. “Call me before you go in, and I’ll record the conversation on my phone.”
“We’ll wait in the hallway,” Tyler says.
“If anyone asks,” Julian adds, “we can say that we’re waiting for Professor Robbins to help us with some research.”
“Is that a polite way of saying that we’re trying to catch a killer?” Tyler deadpans.
“No, that would be: Yes, sir, we believe that the professor is an insane traditionalist with a penchant for slipping deadly foxglove extract into the tea of omegas just out of heat, and we’re trying to record her confession on our phones.”
Julian’s expression is neutral until we all start laughing.
Walking to the academic building feels surreal. Normal campus morning, students heading to class, everything ordinary.
Except I'm potentially walking into a killer's office.
Third floor. Julian and Tyler peel off, trying to look casual. Calder disappears into the office across the hall. My phone is in my pocket, screen locked, call already answered by Calder.
I knock, heart thudding.
"Come in." Professor Robbins’ face lights up when I enter. "Elowen, I was hoping you'd visit."
I bet she was. Four days until her natural causes window closes.
Her office looks the same as usual, dried herbs hanging from the ceiling, books on traditional omega dynamics lining the walls, academic awards displayed with quiet pride. Student papers spread across her desk.
She smiles at me as I sit down across from her. "How are you feeling post-heat? I heard you bonded. Three alphas… quite unconventional."
"Still adjusting," I admit, playing my part.
"I’m tired. I understand that it takes time, but I wondered if you might have some advice.
A herbal remedy to speed up recovery? I have a lot of studying to catch up on.
" I chew my bottom lip and lower my eyes.
Perhaps I should enroll in a drama class when this is all over.
Her eyes sharpen with interest. “I thought this was something you would have studied yourself, Elowen. You surprise me. Going into a multi-alpha pack heat without considering the consequences.”
“I considered the consequences of heat, Professor Robbins,” I keep my voice steady, despite the obvious meaning of her words. “But my experience is lacking. First heat, you know.”
"Of course, dear.” She sits back in her seat, hands folded demurely on the blotter on her desk while she eyes me up. I’m starting to wonder if she suspects my motives for coming to her when she says, “First heats can be a little… traumatic, but I have just the thing."
She turns to a shelf behind her desk, her back to me while she measures herbs into a small cloth bag, a kettle chugging away beside her. I can't see what she's adding, but I track her movements as she tips some of the contents into a cup. My heart hammers so loud I'm sure she can hear it.
"Here. Drink this twice daily. It will help tremendously." She sets the sachet and a steaming cup on the desk between us. "Specially formulated for newly bonded omegas. I've given it to several students. They all found it helpful."
They all found it… helpful. Was that before they realized they’d been poisoned or after, Professor?
"What's in it?" I force curiosity into my voice. "I want to learn. For my own practice."
She lists ingredients that sound innocuous. Chamomile. Valerian. Lavender. There's pride in her voice. Pride in her work.
"Traditional methods are best," she continues. "New bonding practices are dangerous. Multiple alphas strain omega physiology in ways we're only beginning to understand, Elowen."
"Some omegas handle it fine."
"Some appear to." She leans forward, steepling her fingers. "But the strain builds over time, unnoticed, until eventually, it becomes too much for the omega’s body to bear. Better to help them transition peacefully now, before the damage becomes catastrophic."
There it is. Justification wrapped in concern. She genuinely believes she's being merciful.
"You killed them." The words escape before I can stop them. "Iris. Lydia. Shannon. Kira. Helena. You killed them."
Her expression changes. Warmth draining away, replaced by something cold and calculating.
"You're a smart girl, Elowen. Too smart for your own good, perhaps." She stands slowly, moves toward the door, and turns the key in the lock. "I don't want to force you. But I can't let you leave if you’re going to accuse me of something quite so heinous."
I hadn’t figured on her locking me in. My alphas are outside, but they can’t help me now. It’s me and Professor Robbins, and I will not be another name on her list of victims.
I stand up and face her. I think about Mira and Asha, two strong powerful women, and wonder what they would do in this situation.
One thing is certain: they would fight. They would fight for their beliefs.
They would fight for the people they love.
And they would fight for the omegas who died because of one person’s personal vendetta.
“Why did you do it?” I’m surprised at how steady my voice is.
"Drink the tea, Elowen."
"Why are you so against multi-alpha packs?"
Her eyes narrow. “Don’t make this any more difficult than it needs to be. Drink the tea.”
“What did those omegas do to you?” I step closer.
She is standing between me and the locked door, but I want her confession before I think about how to escape.
“You weren’t worried about their well-being. Their physiology,” I continue, moving closer, sensing the weight of my phone in my pocket. “You’re stuck in the past. Stuck in the belief that old ways are the only ways.”
Her mouth stretches into a sinister smile. “While you continue to practice herbal remedies passed down to you through the generations. How dare you lecture me about being stuck in the past?”
“My great-great-grandmother contributed to the research that forms the foundations of Elderwood’s mission statement. She was ahead of her time, Professor Robbins. She was open-minded.” I take another step.
I’m so close to the professor that I don’t catch the glimmer of movement from a door on the other side of the room until it’s too late.
A uniformed officer crosses the room and grabs me from behind before I can react. Something sharp digs into the flesh beneath my jawline, and fear slides down my spine like ice.
Officer Brennan.
“We’re going to back away from the door slowly,” he says, voice low. “Then you’re going to drink the tea the professor prepared for you.”
He guides me back towards the desk, one small step at a time. Something warm and wet trickles down my neck from the tip of the blade he’s holding against me. Professor Robbins watches us, her expression unfathomable. But she doesn’t try to stop him.
I need to act before we reach the desk and he forces me to drink the tea. “Are you in this together?” I ask.
A huff escapes his lips behind me. “Catch on quick, don’t you? Shame it wasn’t quick enough to save you.”
Is that enough evidence to charge them with murder? I’m running out of time. “What’s in it for you?”
“Just keeping things in order,” he says.