Butterfly Assassin Page 15

  Not that he thought she’d approve of the mess he’d got himself in at the minute. His nan hadn’t been a stickler for rules, but she’d always taught Aaron that laws were there for a reason and should be respected, as should the police. She’d probably have liked Michael—

  For fuck’s sake, he needed to stop that right now.

  Turning on the cold water, Aaron splashed his face, both to wake himself up a little and to get his focus back on the important things—like getting through a meeting with the alpha council and not ending up in Krillick Hall. Or banished from his pack. Or both.

  Ugh, today was going to suck.

  He was dressed and ready to go with five minutes to spare, but Harry was still stood waiting by the door, Aaron’s keys and wallet in hand, urging him to hurry up. “Come on.”

  “I’m ready! Calm down.” He knew Harry was as nervous as he was, but him acting all jumpy and panicked wasn’t helping Aaron’s attempts to remain calm. “It’s going to be fine.”

  “How do you know?”

  He didn’t.

  “How do you know that the SCTF haven’t told the council everything? All about you fighting, me gambling, all those lovely illegal activities that we took part in. They might be there solely for us, nothing to do with the investigation.”

  Aaron didn’t know that either. “Maybe Sam’ll shed some light on it when we get in the car.”

  Harry wasn’t placated at all. “Great. We’ll be in a confined space with our alpha while he tells us what fuck-ups we are.”

  Finally, something he could be sure of. “Sam won’t do that and you know it. He told us it’s dealt with, and he’d never go back on his word.” Aaron stopped for a moment, listening to make sure they were alone in the stairwell. He didn’t need anyone else overhearing Harry doubt their alpha. Satisfied, he picked up his pace again. “Sam’s got our back. Whatever happens.”

  “Yeah, I know. Sorry. I’m just nervous.” Harry sounded a little less depressed, and that was probably the best outcome Aaron could hope for, considering he felt much the same.

  When they got outside, Isaac leant against his SUV, keys in hand. “You two get in the back,” he said without preamble.

  Sam spoke as Isaac pulled into traffic. “I’ll cut to the chase. This meeting isn’t about you two per se. I spoke to Detective Chief Inspector Arlington this morning. There’s a shifter from one of the Nottinghamshire packs been reported missing.”

  Aaron’s eyes widened. “Are they the serial killer?” It sounded way too easy, but Aaron was okay with that.

  Sam’s eyes narrowed. “I know it seems like the perfect answer, but I don’t want either of you assuming anything until we hear all the facts, and I don’t want you repeating it to anyone.”

  Both Aaron and Harry murmured agreement.

  “In regard to the two of you,” Sam continued, “I don’t believe the SCTF have shared any details about your involvement as of yet, but depending on how today goes and what the council want to know, that may change.” Aaron swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. “But Arlington assured me they won’t be charging either of you with anything. And I’ll inform the council of your punishment as far as the pack is concerned. They’ll be satisfied with that.”

  Aaron desperately wanted to ask, “Are you sure?” but managed to keep it in. Sam would never lie to them or say something if he didn’t absolutely believe it to be true.

  “Just try to relax.” Sam smiled. “I know meeting the alpha council is daunting, but you have nothing to worry about.” He smiled, then turned to face forwards again.

  Aaron immediately glanced at Harry, who looked about as relaxed as Aaron felt. Which was not at all.

  At least he wasn’t the only one shitting himself. A small comfort, but he’d take it.

  When they arrived at the SCTF, Frank met them this time, and after a few awkward greetings—mainly on Aaron’s behalf because of the weird look Frank gave him—they were taken through to a room not dissimilar to where Aaron had listened in on Harry the week before.

  This one was larger; the table looked to seat about twelve or so people. Aaron counted the chairs to stop himself from panicking more. Yep, twelve of them.

  They took seats along the side in front of the window, facing the door. Frank stood, half in the doorway half out, as though he wanted to go but didn’t want to leave them unattended. Aaron imagined having four shifters in your space was a little unnerving, especially considering one of them was an alpha.

  Frank straightened a little, just as Aaron caught the scent of alpha. More than one. “The others are about to join us,” Frank said, as if everyone in the room hadn’t just got a whiff of them. He came in and took a seat opposite.

  A minute later, Michael appeared, and Aaron’s heart sped up as soon as their eyes met. He shouldn’t react that way—in any way, considering their present company—but he couldn’t help himself.

  Two members of the alpha council followed Michael. The power rolled off them, and their scents both raised his hackles and made him want to bare his throat—a weird feeling Aaron didn’t like at all. Being in the presence of an alpha, two alphas that weren’t his without more of his pack around him, was unsettling. His wolf was uneasy too, and as Aaron looked to Sam, not sure what he needed, just that he really didn’t feel right, Isaac’s hand landed gently on the back of his neck. Calm radiated through his body as Isaac gave him a gentle squeeze, then ran his thumb back and forth over the skin there. Aaron had almost forgotten how soothing a beta’s touch could be.

  Closing his eyes for a moment, he sank into it, enough of the tension draining away so he no longer felt so on edge. When Isaac let him go, he didn’t move far, and Aaron felt his presence like a solid pillar of support.

  Feeling brave enough to face the council members now, Aaron looked up as Sam greeted them. “Alpha Wallace, Alpha Jones, good to see you again.”

  Alpha Wallace smiled, but she was still terrifying as far as Aaron was concerned. “You too, Alpha Thomas, although I wish it were under different circumstances.”

  A bubble of inappropriate laughter threatened to burst out, and Aaron clamped his mouth shut to keep it in. Surely the circumstances had to be shitty to be meeting the council in the first place? He schooled his features into what he hoped was a respectful expression as Sam said, “This is one of my betas, Isaac Lax, and two members of his unit, Aaron Harper and Harry Nash.”

  Alpha Wallace inclined her head in greeting, which all three returned.

  Arlington came into the room along with the two other SCTF agents Aaron had met the other day. “Please take a seat. Then we can begin.”

  The table was oval, and the two alphas sat at one end while Arlington sat at the other.

  Michael sat directly opposite Aaron.

  “Alpha Wallace,” Arlington began. “Would you like to speak first?”

  “Yes, thank you.” Alpha Wallace set a colour photo on the table.

  Everyone leaned closer for a better look.

  The guy in the photo was okay-looking, not really Aaron’s type, but he had a certain appeal. Not that that has any bearing on anything, Aaron, come on. She’s not trying to set you up.

  He had short, almost shaved, dark hair, with brown eyes, and a strong jaw. He appeared to have a typical shifter build from what Aaron could see. Only his shoulders and chest were visible, but his shoulders were broad, bulky, and the green T-shirt he wore stretched across his chest like it was in danger of ripping.

  “That’s Dale Wilson, a soon-to-be beta in the Clumber Park pack.”

  “Soon-to-be?” Aaron blurted out without thinking, then immediately shrank into his seat as all eyes turned to him. “Sorry for interrupting.”

  Much to his surprise, Alpha Wallace’s smile was warm and genuine. “Not at all, Mr Harper. I encourage you to voice any questions you have.” Aaron released the death grip he had on the side of his chair. “Mr Wilson was chosen as pack beta but has yet to go through the beta ceremony itself. He had
the status, but not the added strength that comes with the position.”

  “Thank you for clarifying.”

  She shot him another smile and carried on. “According to Alpha Yates, Mr Wilson came to London on Saturday, March fourth, met with friends from the Regent’s Hill pack, and went to a concert with them. He left them the next day to go visit his sister in Brighton—she joined a pack down there to be with her husband—and that was the last time Wilson was seen.”

  Michael had his pad out, scribbling notes again. “Alpha Wallace, do you know why his sister didn’t contact his pack when her brother failed to show up?”

  She glanced at Alpha Jones and he passed her a black file which she set on the table. “At Detective Chief Inspector Arlington’s request, I’ve been in touch with Wilson’s alpha and his sister. They both received text messages from him. His sister believed he was staying longer in London, and his alpha assumed he was with his sister in Brighton.”

  “And then the texts stopped and they came to you for help?”

  “Yes.” Alpha Wallace sighed. “Alpha Yates sent members of his pack to look for Wilson here, but they found nothing to indicate where he might be now.”

  Aaron wondered what they had found. Did Wilson’s scent lead to where any of the three bodies had been found? Were Wilson’s pack aware humans had been killed here and that a shifter was the prime suspect? He wanted to ask, but—ah fuck it, Alpha Wallace had already said she didn’t mind. And if she was here working with the police, then she obviously had her concerns too. He wasn’t saying anything they weren’t all thinking.

  So he asked.

  “Did they find any trace of Wilson’s scent?”

  She eyed him as though she knew exactly what he was thinking. “Alpha Yates only said that they couldn’t locate him. I don’t believe they know much about the three murders and probably not where the bodies were found. Nor do I, so asking him for further details seemed pointless.” She turned to Arlington. “Detective Chief Inspector, if you’re willing to give Alpha Jones and me more information on the location of your crime scenes and anything else you consider pertinent, then I’ll gladly have another chat with Alpha Yates.”

  “Of course,” Arlington replied. “I don’t suppose you’d consider allowing us to accompany you for that chat?”

  She smiled at him, but it wasn’t the warm one she’d given Aaron. “Not this time. But if he has anything to add that you feel is relevant to your case, then I’ll arrange for you to talk to him.”

  “Thank you.”

  The relationship between the alpha council and the police was one Aaron didn’t fully understand. As long as no humans were involved, the police were content to let the council handle anything shifter related. If, however, the crimes involved humans, then the police, specifically the SCTF, took over. But they still worked with the council.

  From where Aaron was sitting, it seemed like even then, the council had a lot of say in what went on.

  “I don’t want to make assumptions here, but I do want to lay the facts out as we know them.” Arlington stood to face the whiteboard fixed to the wall. Grabbing a pen off the tray at the bottom, he started to write.

  “Wilson came to London on March fourth and supposedly left for Brighton the next day. He definitely didn’t arrive in Brighton, so, for now, we’ll assume he never left. The first murder was committed on March twelfth—eight days after Wilson arrived. He was still sending texts at this point but they stopped sometime after the second murder, which occurred on March seventeenth, but before the third on the twenty-fifth.”

  “So, wait.” Michael opened the brown folder in front of him. “Were the shifters from Nottinghamshire—the ones sent to look for Wilson—in London at the time of the third murder?”

  “Alpha Wallace?” Arlington asked, pen poised in mid-air.

  She frowned at the implication but nodded. “I believe Alpha Yates sent them on the twenty-third, so yes, they were searching for Mr Wilson when the third body was found. But I’d like to say, I find it highly unlikely they had anything to do with it.”

  “I agree.” Arlington added notes to the board as he spoke. “All I’m doing is writing down what we know so far.”

  “Fair enough.”

  No one had mentioned his and Harry’s involvement in all of this, and Aaron wondered why Alpha Wallace hadn’t asked. She must be curious why the Clapham Common pack alpha was there along with three of his pack.

  Unless she already knew?

  The not knowing was awful, and Aaron found himself stealing glances at Michael, debating the risks of mouthing a question to him without anyone else noticing.

  As it turned out, Arlington did it for him.

  “As you’ve brought up the murders, I think this is a good time to discuss where we are on that.”

  “I agree.” Alpha Wallace glanced at the four of them, and Aaron was positive he felt Harry flinch with him. “I’m assuming that will explain why you have members of the Clapham Common pack here?”

  “It will.”

  Aaron attempted a subtle glance between Sam and Alpha Wallace. Was Sam in trouble? Should he have contacted her first? Fuck, alpha etiquette was so not Aaron’s strong suit.

  Much to Aaron’s horror, Arlington gestured for Michael and Frank to detail the case as it stood. They told the council everything in a quick, concise manner while Aaron tried to make himself as small as possible.

  When they finished explaining how they planned to go undercover at the next few illegal fights Smith organised, Alpha Wallace faced Aaron and his pack, eyebrows raised. “Alpha Thomas, although the SCTF have declined to bring any charges against your pack members, I trust you have dealt with that matter yourself, as their alpha?”

  “I have.”

  “Very well.” She turned her attention back to Arlington, and Aaron sat there shocked.

  Was that it? Was that all she was going to say on the matter? Sam had said as much in the car, but Aaron hadn’t quite believed him.

  He should have.

  “How do we proceed from here?” she asked. “Both with your murder investigation and my missing beta.”

  Arlington sat back in his chair. “We’ll carry on as planned with investigating Mr Smith. If there’s a connection between him and the murders or him and Mr Wilson, then hopefully we can find it. In the meantime, I would very much appreciate if you could get me copies of the text messages sent to Wilson’s sister and his alpha. And also provide me with his phone number so we can see what other calls he made during that time.” He paused while she made a note of his requests. “And I’d also appreciate if you could talk to Alpha Yates as soon as possible. Archer and Coldwell will give you detailed reports of each crime scene to help you tailor your questions.”

  He reached for the photo, then paused. “May I take this?”

  “Yes. I’ve emailed the alphas of the London packs; they’re all aware that Wilson’s missing. I’ve asked them to contact the council if they have any information, which of course I will immediately pass on to you.”

  “Thank you. I’ll make copies and send them to the Met and City police. Ask them to keep an eye out.”

  She nodded and then she and Alpha Jones stood. “I’ll be in touch, Detective Chief Inspector.”

  He rose and escorted them out.

  With the three of them gone, the whole room seemed to relax with a collective sigh.

  Once again, Aaron’s gaze was drawn to Michael. Their car journey Thursday night had been… Weird was probably the best way to describe it. The darkness had somehow pulled some truths out of him that he would never have said in the light of day.

  Being alone with Michael in the quiet of his car had loosened Aaron’s tongue, and he’d been far more open than he’d meant to be. At twenty-six years old, Aaron should have had his fair share of relationships by now, in comparison to the other shifters his age, anyway. But being bitten at fifteen, his self-confidence had taken a hit. Not the most popular of teenagers, it wasn’t all t
hat good to begin with, but then it had been like starting from scratch. He still struggled with letting people in. Worried that shifters still thought of him as an outsider—which was rubbish. Rationally he knew none of his pack thought that, but it wouldn’t go away. Or that humans looked at him and wondered why he’d done it, why he’d taken the bite.

  So Aaron had hookups, but nothing more meaningful where he might actually have to tell people about himself.

  “…that right, Aaron?”

  Hearing his name startled him out of his thoughts, and then Harry nudged him hard with his elbow.

  “Sorry, what?”

  Michael laughed and shook his head. “I was just checking that you usually get a text Thursday night, asking if you’re going to be fighting.”

  “Oh, yeah. That’s right. And then I get another text on Friday telling me where the fight’s being held.”

  “What about you?” he asked Harry. “What do you have to do?”

  “I’ve already told Rob that I want to bring you along. He was reluctant at first since he doesn’t know you, but when I said I’d vouch for you and that I was applying for membership so it’d just be the one time, he agreed. I need to give him some basic details though.”

  “Yeah, I’ve got them here.” He passed a sheet of paper towards Harry.

  “Archie Michaels?” Harry laughed. “Original.”

  Michael shrugged. “I’m used to answering to Archie around here, so it should look natural enough. And it’s not like Smith has cause to be interested in the SCTF. We aren’t usually anyone he needs to worry about.”

  They discussed the finer points of Friday night, and Aaron kind of zoned out since that bit didn’t involve him.

  As he sat there listening to them talk, it dawned on him that Michael was going to see him fight. Well, he presumed he’d stay for that. Harry never bet on Aaron’s fights, but he stayed to watch them, and Michael was there to keep an eye on Aaron and Harry, right?

  So there was more than a strong possibility he was going to watch Aaron fight, and Aaron had mixed feelings about it.